Hey all It's been a while hasn't it.

But Playing for keeps is BACK, Looking at weekly updates if everything goes to plan. Also as a side note, Chapters 1-24 have been updated/re-written over on AO3: /works/11329788

If ya need a recap or just want to see whats different, go have a gander, It's been edited by my good friend NYCP (Nothing You Can Prove).

Without further delay, The LOOONG awaited and very over due Episode 25 :D

So enjoy

Episode 25 - Return Trip

The long drive back to Arcadia Bay was pretty uneventful. Max slept most of the way there, Chloe having to find ways to amuse herself that did not involve an awake girlfriend… surprisingly hard. As tempting as it was to get the brunette up, Chloe voted on quietly listening to the radio and planning mischief for later. Letting her imagination run riot, she managed to resist the urge to pester Max… in reality, anyway.

When they crossed over the Arcadia's threshold, the bluenette gave her a firm poke. Most of the debris had been cleared due to the massive relief effort. Several Red Cross tents had erupted across outside the hospital, helping with the effort. The place looked busy, dozens upon dozens of people coming and going.

Eventually, they passed Blackwell Academy. The building was in disarray, windows boarded, trees toppled, even the poor Tobanga statue on its side waiting to be set upright. Most of the downtown stores were secured with wooden planks, new frames erected across the disaster torn landscape. One or two had been burned, leaving a smoldering ruin. Dead whales mascot removed, the Two Whales Diner was still standing somehow, looking a little worse for wear.

As they drove up to the Price family house, the storm's damage lessened – windows blown out, roof tiles missing and a few destroyed garden sheds, contents spewed out. Pulling into the driveway, the two girls eyed up their childhood home. It was a little battered, a few missing windows here and there, but otherwise still standing.

"Looks like a fixer upper," Max commented as she examined the rundown building.

"Hey, I'm not that much of a wreck," the bluenette added with a teasing grin.

"Oh hush you," Max replied, leaning over to give her a quick kiss. "You know full well I was talking about the house."

"I know, just wanted to guilt trip a kiss outta you, that's all," Chloe smirked, getting out of the truck.

"Well, you could just ask," the brunette countered with a playful shoulder shove.

"And damage my pride? Fat chance," her girlfriend scoffed, sticking out her tongue as they headed inside the house.

Chloe let out a high-pitched whistle as they inspected the damage. Paper, magazines, broken glass, clothes and god knew what else had been tossed around. Like a tornado had ripped through the house… not too far from the truth, honestly.

"You know, I think your room might actually be the cleanest in the whole house for a change," Max teased playfully, kicking some trash into a messy pile with her foot and picking up a few things.

Crossing her arms, Chloe pouted with mock irritation. "Wow, Max. If you're gonna start insulting my living habits, I guess you can go sleep in the yard. Sorry girl, but I ain't change for anyone."

"Fine, I can always go stay at Blackwell. Then, I'll have the bed ALL to myself. Make a nice change from the tiny space you let me have," Max smirked challengingly, feeling arms snake around her waist and warm breath at her neck.

"No way, Caulfield. If you think I'm leaving you alone with those Arcadia Bay hillbillies, you've got another thing coming," Chloe murmured, planting several small kisses down the brunette's neck, making her shudder.

When Max heard herself moan softly, she pulled back to face the punk. "No, none of that till we've tidied up. No distractions."

"Aw, c'mon Max. This place is gonna take YEARS to clean," the older girl whined, eyes flashing suggestively. "Besides… I want to take advantage of being truly alone."

"Work first," Max insisted. "I still have to make sure I'm ready for class tomorrow, too. There will be plenty of time for… other things."

With a reluctant sigh, Chloe let her go. "I'm holding you to that, Caulfield. You should know better than anyone, I don't do patience well."

"Don't I know it," Max muttered as they began cleaning up. Part way through, she reached for a shard of broken glass, hand recoiling when she caught her finger on it. "Ouch."

Chloe was at her side in an instant, fumbling around in her pocket for a clean tissue to hold around the bleeding cut while she located a band aid. "Honestly, Max, how have you not bled out before now?"

"A question I ask myself all the time," she replied softly as Chloe returned with a box of band aids, taking a smaller one out.

The bluenette wrapped the band aid around her finger, inspecting her work. Then, she gave Max a mischievous glance, placing a kiss on the covered wound then down her finger and along her hand.

"There, all better now," she mentioned in a low voice, blue eyes meeting. It was kinda… intense.

Clearing her throat, Max nodded before getting to work again, feeling just a little flustered. "Th-thanks, Chloe."

Being clumsy, the brunette managed to cut her hands on broken glass another couple times, giving Chloe a reason not only to play nurse but to give her a playful telling off.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're doing this on purpose," Chloe chuckled, sticking the fourth band aid down on the back of Max's palm, kissing each of her injuries in turn for good measure. "If you wanna have a break, just say."

"That last one wasn't my fault… you scared me," Max muttered under her breath.

The blue-haired punk rolled her eyes. "Sure, blame me. Seriously, though, I'd say we're about done. Downstairs, anyway. So…"

"Jeez, you are relentless…" Max sighed at her eagerness to skip the boring part. "We're hardly done for the day, Chloe. I need to go back to Blackwell to assess the damage and get ready for tomorrow."

"You are seriously blue balling me, Caulfield," Chloe grumbled, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Fine, let's get this shit outta the way, then."

They piled into the upgraded truck, heading off to Blackwell. On route to the Prescott Dorm, they gave a passing hello to several students. When they entered Max's room, they found it littered with books, papers, and photographs. Her window was boarded up blocking outside light and her poor plant, Lisa, had toppled over, soil spread across the floor.

"And you moan about my room," Chloe quipped as she took in the messy sight.

"In all fairness, your room looked like a tornado ripped through it BEFORE an actual tornado ripped through it," Max countered, already setting to work cleaning up.

That accusation made Chloe scoff. "Like you have proof."

"I could always ask Joyce… or nip back a couple months to take photographic evidence," the brunette suggested, shoving some papers back on her desk in a semi-neat pile.

"You might drop in on something you're not ready to see…" the bluenette replied with a smug grin, enjoying the endless opportunities to tease.

"Ugh, you are…" Max didn't finish, forcing the various mental images from her mind as her cheeks flushed.

Before Chloe could capitalize on the embarrassment, there was a soft knock at the door. Seeing an out, Max dodged around her girlfriend and answered, much to the bluenette's annoyance. A familiar pair of hazel eyes met her blue ones, accompanied by a gentle smile.

Max greeted her blonde friend with a hug. "Hey, Kate."

"How's the shoulder?" Chloe asked, pushing past the mild irritation at Max's escape.

On cue, Kate rolled her shoulder. "It's all good now, thanks. How are things with you guys?"

"Can't complain."

"Funny, I'm sure I've heard you complain about..." Chloe stopped herself when she caught the brunette glaring.

Raising an eyebrow at the unfinished sentence, not pressing further, Kate turned her attention back to Max. "So, you all ready for classes tomorrow?"

"I will be. Just gotta find the time to clean my room... and re-pot poor Lisa," Max sighed passing a wistful look at the wilted plant, in desperate need of a new home and drink.

"I'm sure the time will come out of nowhere," Chloe smirked, grabbing some books from the floor and shoving them on the shelf.

Max let out a groan, returning Lisa and as much soil as she could scrape up to the pot. While she did that, Chloe gathered all the trash together, Kate plucking out all the books and photos out of the pile, placing them to one side. Between the three of them, it had taken a little over an hour to return the room to its pre storm state. Not perfect, but comfortable.

"So, who's up for food? My treat," Max offered, wanting to thank them for helping clean up.

"Stupid question," Chloe replied, turning to Kate. "Hey, Marshmallow, ya know anywhere to eat that wasn't leveled?"

The blonde stopped in her tracks, deep in thought. "Umm, there are a few burger vans along the beach to supply workers and everyone else. There's a purple one that does a decent burrito."

Nodding, Max got to her feet and brushed herself down. "Burritos it is. Chauffeur, if you don't mind..." She turned to Chloe with a cheeky grin.

"Ugh, remind me how long I'm doing this for again?" Chloe sighed as they left Max's mostly clean room.

"I believe you said all of time," the brunette reminded her.

"Wow, that's a LONG time, especially in your case," Kate chuckled as they stopped off at the shower room to wash their hands before heading to the parking lot.

"You're telling me." Chloe shot a playful smirk in Max's direction. "Don't know if I'll be able to stick it that long."

Shaking her head, Max jabbed her thumb at the bluenette. "See what I have to put up with, Kate?"

"I think I do, yes." Kate's smile seemed to suggest her words had a hidden meaning. "You guys seem… close."

"You don't even know, K-" the blue-haired punk's words were cut off when Max elbowed her in the ribs, hard. "Ow, what was that for?"

"What Chloe meant to say was, yes we are. Guess it takes more than five years apart to permanently damage some friendships," the brunette finished for her, eyes narrowed.

Watching them, the blonde managed a knowing smile. "I suppose so. I should imagine some things have changed, though."

"Oh, they've changed alright," Chloe grumbled, rubbing her sore ribs. "Although SOME people seem keen on hiding that fact. Even if they don't have to."

All of them got into the truck, cruising down to the beach. The bluenette seemed just a little pissed at Max's effort to hide their relationship from Kate, almost like she was ashamed of it or something. Realistically, Chloe knew that wasn't the reason but… it still bummed her out. She wanted the world to know, make a statement. It had taken so long for them to get to this point… and she didn't want to hide it away. This was the best thing to have happened to her in years.

Driving for some time, they pulled up at the beach parking lot. Approaching the purple food van, they each got a burrito and sat on the hood of Chloe's truck to eat – Max in the middle, Kate to her left and Chloe her right. There were a few people in hard hats and neon jackets on the beach surrounding the food trucks, chatting on their break.

"Crazy to think there was a huge tornado here recently," Kate muttered as she finished her mouthful. "While destroyed still, it seems so… calm."

"Or boring," Chloe shrugged, taking a big bite of her burrito. "That storm was the most exciting thing to happen to Arcadia since… well, Max and me were running around, little pirates terrorizing the Bay." Despite feeling a little frustrated still, she couldn't keep the fond smile from her face at the memory. "Good times."

"Dunno if I'd call the storm 'exciting', but… can't really disagree with the rest," Max conceded, watching the bluenette eye up her burrito even though she had yet to finish her own.

"I bet you guys were cute," Kate theorized, looking out over the waters.

"Pretty sure there are photos lying around somewhere. Lots of embarrassing one's of Max I'll have to share," Chloe smirked, glancing at her mildly disgruntled girlfriend.

"Just as many of you," she retorted, sticking out her tongue.

"Pfft, I look awesome in all my photos," Chloe protested, lowering her voice so only Max could hear. "Hella sexy, too."

That made the brunette choke on her mouthful, Kate brought out of her staring off into the distance to gently pat her on the back. "Steady on, Max. Don't want you choking to death on a burrito after everything you've been through."

"As deaths go, could be worse," the blue-haired punk shrugged, her voice a little sad as she threw an arm around the brunette once she could breathe properly again, pulling her closer.

Very aware Kate was with them, Max refused to look at the blonde as Chloe drew her in, totally unapologetic. "Good death or no, I would rather stay alive, thanks."

Chloe gave her a gentle smile. "You will. So will I, and Kate. Everybody. All because of you, Bat Max."

"Thanks, girlfriend, uh…" Max hesitated, that offhand phrase having a whole new meaning now.

Not seeming to pick up on it or at least pretending not to, Kate nodded. "Chloe's right, Max. You've made all this possible."

"What, piles upon piles of rubble?" the brunette asked, not coming out as joking as she'd planned.

Not sure whether to roll her eyes or sigh, Chloe did both. "No, idiot. You've given people hope. Me included."

Max cast her eyes out across the water, watching the sunlight dance along the surface of calm waves. Very different from that fateful Friday… While she was distracted, Chloe – having finished her food – saw an opportunity to take a chomp on the brunette's burrito, almost starting a fight.

"Whoa, easy Mini Max," Chloe chuckled, easily fending her off with longer and stronger arms.

"With all the food you've stolen from me over the years, I think you owe me a banquet," Max mumbled as she held the remainder of her burrito close, eyes narrowed.

The blue-haired punk grinned. "Dude, I've got five years' worth of unstolen food to catch up on. Gotta start somewhere."

"You can have the rest of mine if you want, Chloe," Kate offered, about a quarter left and she was full as could be.

That made Max snort. "Kate, that girl only wants things she can't have."

"Oh, okay, well, Chloe I definitely don't want you to take the rest of my burrito, which I am totally not done with yet," Kate reworded, handing over her mostly eaten meal.

"Thank you, Kate. Glad to see there are some generous people left in the world. And I'll have you know, I've got something I want and can have right here." As Chloe accepted the offering, she shot a meaningful glance Max's way, the younger girl doing her best to ignore the comment.

Knowing that she was actually getting pretty full herself and unable to resist the sad puppy dog eyes, Max reluctantly handing over the rest of her burrito too, much to Chloe's delight. "Dunno where you put all that food."

"Guess I work it off, huh?" Chloe smirked, happy chewing away at her newly acquired leftovers. "With you around, I'm sure that'll only get easier." Her voice was laced with flirtatious suggestion.

'Jesus, Chloe, you have no filter… guess I already knew that, though.' Max sighed to herself, feeling her cheeks heat up. If Chloe wanted to say something, she would. The more embarrassing and vulgar, the better... and that part of her was just as endearing as it was frustrating.

Luckily, Kate was too busy looking at her phone to pay much attention to what was going on around her. "Uh, sorry to cut this short but... I need to get back. I can take the bus if you guys still want to stick around."

Shrugging, Chloe gave her an agreeable nod. "Hmm... oh, I'm quite happy going back now." Her eyes shifted to the other girl sat in the middle, smirking. "I'm sure Max and I can find something to entertain ourselves back at her dorm, right Max?"

"Y-yeah, sure. We'll watch some films or... something." The brunette cleared her throat, not catching her girlfriend's eye as she slid off the hood. She didn't stand a chance...

Well a certain blonde seems distracted, doesn't she :P

Till next week

Peace out