Author's Note:
So, there was a wish to write a real positive ending for this story. An ending that I'd have loved to write, but somehow always got stuck. Eventually lycan13 suggested that we could write it in a collaboration. And that's what we did!
Credit for the basic idea goes to lycan13 (check out his profile), I approved it and did some fine-tuning.
Now, have fun reading it!
Alternative Ending 2: New Life
Max
Every fiber of her body aches from exhaustion. Max just awaits the final intense pain that would make every other agony go away. But it doesn't happen. She still feels the pain as well as Kate's desperately yelled "MAX!"
Slowly, she opens her eyes again and sees the tip of Dimitri's blade, hovering in front of her face.
'What the fuck?!' she thinks and now focuses her sight on her opponent, who gives her a wry smirk.
"I guess, I defeated the Queen," he says, lowers his sword and reaches Max his hand to help her up, which the freckled girl takes thankfully.
"Hey!" Mike yells, now pointing his gun at Dimitri and Max as he closes in, "What do ya think you're doing?! Kill that slut, you Bolshevik fuck!"
Faster than a normal eye can see, the shining blade slashes through the air and connects with Mike's pistol, emitting another clanking noise before it gets beaten out of his hand. And now it's him, who has the tip of the blade barely a millimeter away from his throat.
"Mr. Brighton," Dimitri says sternly, "my family, including myself, are Cossacks. My grandfather fought honorably with the Germans against the red flood. So, if you EVER insult my family or their heritage again, I'll kill you! Besides, our contract only said that I should fight Max Caulfield, not to kill her!"
"I gave you fifteen grand!"
"For kidnapping one person and fighting the target. Tenfold it and you have my price for killing the Queen of the cage!" The assassin lowers his sword again, knowing that Mike isn't a threat to him anymore, turns his gaze towards Max and bows his head. "Max, it has been an honor for me to fight you and I'm apologizing for all your inconveniences."
He stretches out his hand once more and Max takes it, giving him a wry smile. "That's the first time you called me Max, Dimi."
"Really?!" he says in surprise, letting a chuckle follow. "Then I'll apologize for this, as well. Farewell, Maxine!"
"Yeah, see ya!"
"Hopefully, not!" replies Dimitri with a wink, sheathes his sword and walks away, vanishing into the darkness. Now, only Mike Brighton remains, since Nathan had crawled away, somewhat during the fight.
Max picks up her sword and moves in until she's face-to-face with her nemesis. "It's over, Mike! Just go back to Seattle and try to move on."
"You destroyed my family!" he replies with a venomous voice, but gets interrupted immediately by Max.
"NO!" she yells back, "You brought this upon yourself! All I ever wanted was Sam, not a war. I never wanted to hurt anybody, but…but you and your father treated Sam like an ill-bred animal and put her in a cage instead of letting her go. We would've vanished and that's it. Sam always gave a rat's ass about her heritage or your father's business. She wanted love and freedom, nothing more."
But Mike isn't impressed or even touched by Max's words. "You infected her!"
"With what?" the black-haired girl just scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief. "You don't get it, Mike. Homosexuality doesn't spread like a sickness or your stupid Nazi propaganda. Either you have it or not. But it's no use to talk with you about it anyway. I'm tired of this. Just go away and never come back, you stupid idiot!"
Not wanting to give him any more attention, Max walks past Mike, heading towards her beloved Kate with a big smile. It's finally over…or at least so she thinks, until Victoria's loud warning chimes through the night.
"MAX, WATCH IT!"
Victoria
Her soft hand rubs over the sore skin of her neck, trying to get rid of the still present feeling of getting choked. Together with the other members of the Vortex Club, Victoria is literally forced to watch the event that is happening on the field below.
Max has finally arrived and though the blonde with the pixie-cut can't understand a word that is said down there, she sees what's going on. And as both Max and that creepy guy draw their swords, a cold shiver runs down her spine. As soon as Taylor tightens her grip on her hand, Victoria knows that she feels the same.
With a loud clanking noise, both blades collide. It's an eerie sound, almost driving her insane and making her heart beat faster. The speed at which both fighters are moving is almost breathtaking. Nobody speaks a word. Nobody dares to make a sound. The silence is only broken when metal meets metal.
Though the actual event itself is nothing more than terrifying, Victoria sees some sort of art in this deadly dance of swords and almost wishes for her expensive camera to capture that moment. For a second she thinks about using her phone's camera until she realizes that she can put an end to this madness by calling the police. Nobody's watching her anyway.
She's just about to call 9-1-1, as Max's scream chimes over the stadium. Not a minute and another cry later, the fight is over, Max being the one who's defeated. But then something happens that Victoria never would've expected. The fight abruptly stops and the two opponents talk with each other like normal acquaintances. Then, before the strange man leaves, there's an argument between him and this brutal guy Nathan brought with. The entire situation is simply odd and hard to understand for Victoria. She witnesses how Max picks up her sword and closes in on that broad man and fears that the black-haired girl would kill him. But instead, they have an argument and right after that, Max just walks away, heading towards Kate. Everyone seems to think that this horrific event seems to be over, not realizing that Mike has approached his gun and is already lifting it to take aim. In horror and not able to be there in time, Victoria only manages to yell a warning.
"MAX, WATCH IT!"
But it's too late.
BANG!
Kate & Chloe
The blades meet and with that loud noise of metal, Kate gasps loudly and flings one arm around Chloe's body in desperate need for someone to hold. She feels so powerless; so hopeless as she has to watch this already uneven fight. It doesn't need a trained eye to see that Max is barely able to defend herself against Dimitri's devastating strikes.
She fears for her girlfriend's life and as she has to watch how the Russian's blade cuts her leg, Kate breaks down into tears, almost expecting the fight to be over. But to her surprise, Max is able to launch one last counterattack, which gives Kate a short glimpse of hope, before it gets crushed as Dimitri avoids most of the blow and injures Max, once more.
"MAX!" Kate screams out and if it has been a trumpet of Armageddon, everything comes to a halt. Through her misty sight she sees that the blade has stopped a few inches away from Max's neck. Being entirely overwhelmed, it takes Kate some time to comprehend what's going on in front of her. From one moment to another the tides have turned and every threat seems to be gone.
Only focused on Max, relieved that it's over and overtaken by her feelings, Kate wants nothing more than to run towards her, but gets held back by Chloe as Max picks up her sword. Now she fears for her girlfriend again. But not because she could get hurt, no. She's scared that Max might take revenge once more.
Luckily, that doesn't happen. After an argument, Max just leaves Mike standing in the rain and heads towards Kate. Overjoyed, the blonde already wants to meet her girlfriend halfway, but the movement behind her lets Kate hesitate. Unfortunately, as Victoria's warning reaches her ear, it's already too late and everything that follows happens way too fast to comprehend it.
BANG!
Max
"MAX, WATCH IT!"
As Max hears those warning words her still with adrenaline flooded body acts right away. She spins around and gazes down the muzzle of Mike's gun.
BANG!
Max acts immediately after the warning, but Mike is faster. The loud shot lets Kate's heart stop and everyone watches as Mike falls.
'I'm not shot? But…' Max looks around and notices David holding a smoking gun.
"David?" Max asks in awe as she has problems realizing that David Madsen, the man who used to mistreat his step-daughter, has actually saved her life.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his gun still pointed at Mike.
"W-what the fuck are you doin' here?" Chloe exclaimed as she closed in together with Kate, who immediately took her girlfriend in a tight hug.
"Joyce called me."
"Mom? But how did she…?"
"Max's father called her and said she was in trouble. That someone was trying to kill her. Since she's a student at Blackwell I tried to reach our security, but none of 'em picked up. So, comin' here was the only hunch I had."
At that point they hear sirens and see lights in the distance. Soon cop cars and ambulances are surrounding the football field.
They are finally safe. Everybody is safe. Especially Kate and Chloe. It is over now.
As the tension and adrenaline is finally decreasing in Max's body, she starts to feel the pain and the exhaustion.
"K-Katie…" she says, her voice only a whisper as her legs can't support her anymore and her sight blurs until it gets entirely dark. As the young woman hits the ground, she's already unconscious.
After the authorities, everyone present had been taken to the police station to give their statements except for Max who was immediately taken to the hospital.
The moment she's woken up, a few hours later, she feels that a hand is grasping her's. Slowly, she opens her heavy eyes and sees Kate, sleeping in a chair right beside her bed, the blonde's head resting on the mattress.
Feeling relieved that Kate is well and right beside her, Max smiles and grips her hand back before she lets her gaze wander further around the room, noticing Chloe, Kyra, and her father, who were also dozed off or distracted by reading a magazine.
"Um…hey guys! I'm up," she calls out, making everyone jump in their seats.
"MAX!" They all shout in reply and jump up, surrounding the bed, right away.
"Shhhh! Let Katie sleep."
"Chill, Maximus!" Chloe says with a wide, toothy grin. "They've been freaking out since they got here. You should've seen 'em when they learned you've been brought to the hospital. Oh, and by the way, Joyce and Vanessa are here too, but those dickheads of doctors wouldn't let all of us in at once. Pft, like you'd pussy out from a bit of attention…"
Not being used to Chloe's foul mouth, Ryan looks at her in shock, at first, but then reminds himself that years have gone by and that he hadn't been better at that age. So, he decides to drop it and focuses back on his daughter.
"You gave us quite a scare with your message, kiddo. You should've heard Kyra. She was so worried about you!"
To underline those words, Kyra takes Max in a tight embrace and gives her a few pecks on the cheek, saying with a shivering voice, "Don't ever scare me like this again, you got this!? Damn, I'm so glad that you're okay."
Of course, Max feels guilty. Maybe her messages had been a bit too dramatic. Maybe she should've trusted her father and Kyra way earlier and asked them for help. But now it is too late. What's done is done.
"Sorry that I worried you guys so much!" she returns, her sight drops, before she gives them a wry smirk. "But I'm fine now, just a little exhausted. I think this whole thing shaved a few years off my life."
Kyra then looks at Kate. "So, this is your new girl, huh? Already talked a few words with her. She's pretty nice!"
Smiling warmly, Max gives her sleeping girlfriend a few soft strokes over her head. "Yeah, she's my angel. Told you, she's awesome. Well, at least, when you scratch out her folks."
"Well, um…they're actually here," Chloe adds, scratching the back of her head. "And it sounds like they wanna settle some things with you two."
"Fuck!" is everything that emerges from Max's mouth as she reminds the last time she has spoken with Kate's parents. And speaking of unpleasant memories, something else comes into the teenage girl's mind. "Chloe? You said Van-…um, my Mom's here too?"
"Uh, yeah," replies Chloe, knowing that this topic is some thin ice as well.
"Can you please send her in? I…I need to talk with her."
Everyone is taken aback by this request, regarding the fact that the relationship between Max and her mother used to be non-existent a year ago. Nonetheless, Ryan, Kyra, and Chloe granted her that wish and left the room before Vanessa walks in, giving them both some privacy. Now that they are face to face, they aren't sure what to say. Actually, they are both nervous.
"Hello, Max…" Vanessa starts the conversation, but eventually chokes down her next words as feelings are about to overwhelm her.
"Finally calling me Max, huh?"
Feelings. Max never was good at feelings, regarding how often they had been abused in her past. It is hard to learn to trust other people than Katie or Kyra with them again. She doesn't trust Vanessa, that's for sure.
"Max… I'm… I'm so sorry. You were right, right about everything. And I… I actually listened and I've started to turn my life around."
"Really?" Max scoffs, looking at her mother suspiciously as she's not believing what she's hearing. How often had her mother already lied to her? How often had she taken the blame for her failures?
"Yeah, I've cut back on partying and I'm taking online classes. After I graduate I'm thinking about giving my business another try. I… I wanna be a mother again. Your mother!"
Max leans back into the pillow and listens to those words, thinking them through while staring at the ceiling. "You really mean this? No bullshit?"
"I learned from what happened last time and… and…" Vanessa starts to sob, big tears of guilt running down her cheeks. "Oh Max, I'm so sorry. I missed you so much. I miss my Maxine and I… I wanna become the mom you always deserved."
"Mom," Max sighs, a single tear running down her face as well. "I…I can't forgive you…yet. But I'm ready to give you a chance."
"That's all I can ask for. Thank you, Max!"
Being disturbed by the conversation, Kate begins to grumble and squirm as she is about to wake up.
"Is this your…girlfriend?" Vanessa asked cautiously, her sight falling onto the still sleeping blonde.
"Yes… and don't you dare say one word!"
"I-I won't! I swear, I am trying…"
Realizing that Kate is about to finally wake up, Vanessa stands up and says "I'll give you two some privacy," before she takes her leave.
The sound as the door falls into its lock was the final push that lets Kate awake entirely. Still a bit drowsy, the blond teenager rubs her eyes with the back of her hand and lets out a giant yawn. Only as she turns her head towards her girlfriend she gets fully awake, yelling "Max!" before she literally throws herself at her beloved Max.
"Whoa, easy girl!" Max chuckles, pressing the petite girl even closer.
"I was so worried!" she cries out, sobbing into her girlfriend's lap.
"Hey, I'm fine Kate, just tired…" Max sooths, continuously brushing through the blonde's hair. With every passing minute, Kate calms down more and more, until she's just enjoying the comforting closeness and warmth of her girlfriend.
"Did you know your parents are here and wanna talk about…us?"
Kate immediately freezes and sits up again. Nervously, she nods.
"I, um… Chloe saw 'em when she got us a coffee, but… I was kinda hiding in here all the time," she says with a lowered gaze, fumbling with her fingers in her lap. "Max, I-I dunno if I'm ready to talk to 'em after what happened back home. Especially my mom creeps me out."
"We can do it together, y'know," Max replies, taking Kate's hand to reassure her. But the blonde just shakes her head.
"I don't think that your presence would be any good. Mom would just use you as a punching bag again. No, I have to face 'em alone…"
"You sure?" the black-haired girl then asks, which gets confirmed with a determinant nod.
"I can do it!" she says and stands up from her chair. Whereas Max gives her one last reassuring squeeze with her hand.
"I'm pretty sure you can." Then she pulls her one last time in for an intense kiss, before she says. "Look, I bet they're gonna keep me here for another night. Still, I'm pretty wiped, so I'd love to get a little more sleep."
"You do that, my love!"
One last time they share a kiss, which causes Max to smile as she closes her eyes and falls almost instantly into sleep.
After Kate leaves the room, she sees Max's parents, Kyra, Joyce, and Chloe talking and then her parents, waiting a bit further away. With slow, insecure steps she approaches them.
Right away, her two siblings run towards her and embrace their big sister tightly. Then it was time to face her parents.
"Mom, Dad…" she greets them timidly before her dad hugs her. Yet, her mom keeps some distance, like she fears getting dirty by touching her own daughter.
"I was so worried when I heard what happened," Richard says, breaking the embrace and scanning his daughter from head to toe, like he fears that she might have an injury somewhere. But apart from her dirty clothes and her messy, unwashed hair, she was fine.
"Kate, you need to leave that girl before she gets you killed!" her mother says adamantly with crossed arms and a stern glare. Much to her husband's dismay.
"Janine!" he counters and faces her. "We agreed to let this topic drop for the moment."
"I'm right, aren't I?" she snaps back defiantly. "This was a clear warning from the Lord. If you continue this sinful path, then… Then he won't have mercy on your soul!"
"Will you finally shut the fuck up!?" Kate yelled back, now closing in on her too.
"Excuse me!?" the older woman exclaims scandalously, clenching her hands into fists. "You're out of line, young lad-..."
"Just shut up and listen, will ya! I am not gonna leave Max, ever. Not for you, and not for anybody else. I love her and if she proposed to me right now, I'd gladly accept. And if that makes me no longer your daughter, then so be it."
"Richard!" Janine shrieks, her anger reaching new heights. "Please talk some sense into this brat!"
"No," he replies firmly, flinging one arm around his daughter's shoulder, as well as her siblings.
With, in shock, dilated eyes, Jeanine looks at her family, exclaiming "What!?"
"No, I will not lose my daughter because of your false beliefs." He let go of Kate and took another step towards his wife. "Just like I said at the beach, last year. Even if she's in love with another girl she would still be our daughter and I would still love her. And if you can't live with that, then… then I can't stay with you anymore."
"I-I beg your pardon?!" Janine stutters as she is taken aback.
"You heard right, I'm going to file for a divorce and demand custody over the girls."
"Don't you dare, Mister!" she hisses before she loses her composure and yells right into his face. "I WON'T LET YOU EXPOSE THEM TO YOUR UNHOLY WAY OF THINKING!"
"Ma'am," a doctor intervenes as she's approaching them. "If you don't keep your voice down, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."
"Oh I'm leaving!" Janine confirms and storms off, turning around one last time. "This isn't over! May the Lord have mercy on your sinful souls."
As soon as her mother is out of sight, Kate turns to her dad. "Thanks for standing up for me, dad. So, you really don't mind that I'm dating Max?"
With a loud sigh, Richards touches his daughter's shoulder and gives her a determinant glare. "Sweetheart, after our fight that other day, I thought a lot about what you and Max said, and… I'm so sorry that I stayed silent. I should've stood up to your mother way earlier. Who are we to decide your way in life? Only the Lord has the power to judge us for our doings in life and I don't see why he shouldn't allow your bond with Max. Besides, if you're happy, I'm happy."
"Thanks, Dad!"
A few hours later…
It is now late evening. Kate and Chloe are chilling in the blonde's dorm room and listening to some soft tunes, the bluenette laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling and the blonde sitting on the floor, petting her pet bunny, Alice.
Though, the relationship between Chloe and her step-father got better after he had saved Max, she still isn't very fond of staying at home, but instead opted to spend the night at Kate's dorm room. She gave the blonde a quick onceover. Still not used to seeing her in something other than her black blazer and skirt. She was wearing a white T-shirt and skinny jeans.
"Um, Katie?" Chloe says quietly into the dimly lit room while her finger is moving to the rhythm of the music.
"Yes?"
"Do you remember what you said yesterday? About you, me 'n' Max, and our feelings."
"Yes, I remember," Kate confirms, already feeling uncomfortable about this topic, because in all this commotion she has entirely forgotten about this.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it somehow sounded to me like you were offering to… share Max?"
Kate blushes softly and her hands become all sweaty, so that Alice's fur starts to stick at them. "Uh, yeah. I, um… I kinda did say that, didn't I? Silly, I know… But…Ugh, I-I dunno…"
"But… Did you mean it? Like, for reals?"
Kate's breathing and heart stops for a second. Is Chloe really about to propose what she thinks she is about to propose?
"I, um…yes. I-I think I really meant it. I-I mean, y-you're attractive… a-and nice… a-and…"
Suddenly, and for Kate entirely surprising, Chloe jumps off the bed and lands right in front of her, a wide, toothy grin all over her face.
"So, you're really suggesting that I can borrow Max for some fun?"
"Um…" the younger girl stammers, averting Chloe's blue, out of anticipation sparkling eyes. "A-actually, I… I want the three of us to be…y'know…together…sexually."
Now it is Chloe, who is stunned with blushed cheeks.
"But you know that we then…y'know…" she stammers, signing with one of her hands towards her body.
The short peck on the lips comes quickly and for Chloe out of nowhere, stunning her even more and rendering her speechless.
Kate went beet red, saying timidly "I-I know… Just gimme one week to talk with Max about it and then…w-we can do more…hopefully."
1 week later…
Another week has passed by and normality begins to settle in. Max and Kate have just finished their tea date in Max's room and were having a cuddle session as suddenly Kate's phone chimes and she quickly checks it.
[Chloe: Is it time?]
[Kate: Gimme a sec. Wanna talk to her now.]
[Chloe: dude, you're killin me out here!]
"Something important? You seem kinda nervous all day. Is everything alright?" Max asks with worry as she puts away her tea box in its rightful place.
"Well, um…kinda…sorta…," Kate replies nervously, waiting until Max has taken her seat again before she grabs her hand tenderly and looks tight into her eyes. "Listen, I know how Chloe feels about you, and uh… y-you already told me how you feel about her, and…and…"
"Katie, I…" Max tries to intervene, but gets silenced by Kate's raised hand.
"Let me finish, please," she says firmly and continues. "It's clear as day that you two are still in love, and… I'm ok with it."
"Okay," Max replies, trying to hold her composure. But her blushed cheeks and the nervous shuffling in her seat is telling a whole different story. "Kate I know that my feelings are pretty fucked, but…I promise I won't leave you. Chloe knows that, and promised to…"
"That's, um… Th-that's not what I wanna say."
"Okay, I'm officially confused."
Kate takes a deep breathe, her nervousness reaching a peak as she finally mumbles "We'veagreedtoshareyou!"
Max freezes, not being sure if she just heard right. "Um…what? Did you just suggest that you and Chloe wanna share me?"
"Um, y-yeah… kinda."
"As in some sorta threesome-polyamorous-thing?"
"Mmh-hmm."
Silence settles in, only the hard thumping of both girl's hearts breaking it.
"Uh…Fuck! I…I-I dunno what to say…" Max stammers with a nervous chuckle, her heart almost jumping out of her throat so that she had to gulp it down. "Are you sure 'bout this? A-and what about Chloe. Is she behind this?"
"Max," Kate sighs, taking another deep breath. "It was my idea in the first place. Chloe just supports it, but won't be mad if you say no."
"Huh!"
"I've learned just because a relationship is not traditional or common doesn't mean it's wrong. And Chloe is so beautiful and nice and when we got abducted together, I, uh… I kinda grew to love her too."
"Huh!" is everything Max is able to bring forth, entirely being taken off guard. She expected a lot, but not this, and especially not from Kate.
"Chloe should be here any minute, then we can talk about this… If you wanna, of course."
Right on cue, there's a knock at the door. Already knowing who it is, Max opens it. One hand at her hip she gives Chloe a stern glare, making her feel uneasy. The tension is high, Kate fearing that Max isn't very fond of this idea of sharing her girlfriend. But eventually, she grabs Chloe by the collar of her leather jacket and pulls her inside, a wry smirk on her lips.
All three of them are standing in the room, exchanging timid gazes with each other.
"So…" Max begins to say, but then gets stuck. The same happens to Chloe, who, as some sort of a distraction, takes off her jacket.
"So…"
Kate becomes jittery a little as she watches the two of them before she takes a few deep breaths and then exclaims "Will you two just kiss already?"
Max and Chloe both still recall that night, the freckled girl had made a move at her friend. A moment, Max isn't very fond of herself, causing her to hesitate.
"Chloe, we talked about this," Kate then addresses the bluenette. "Or would it be easier for you to kiss me first?"
"Um…" Chloe just brings forth, which in return, causes Max to roll her eyes.
"Ugh, fuck it!"
Tired of this stalemate, Max takes the initiative, bridges the gap between her and Chloe, softly touches her cheeks and pulls her in for a soft kiss.
At first, Chloe becomes stiff as a wooden board as their lips collide, but soon relaxes, touches the back of Max's neck and pulls her in for a deeper kiss.
Biting her lower lip, Kate watches them both, witnessing how their tongues were dancing around each other. Her breathing becomes labored and her heart races. Timidly, she closed in on Max and Chloe, grabbing the latter one's head and pulling her in for a kiss as well.
Besides this one situation with Victoria and that little peck one week ago, Kate has never felt any other lips than Max's. And they're feeling good. A bit softer than Max's, but not better. Just different.
Now it's on Max to watch, and despite the fact that she had the fear that she might get jealous, it aroused her. Yearning for more, she joins in again, first kissing Kate again and then Chloe.
"So, um… I guess we're all together now?" Max asks as they all are taking a breath.
"Looks like it, Maximus," Chloe answers, a giant, complacent smile on her face.
"Then I guess you don't mind if I'm doing this."
Swiftly and with a chuckle, Max pulled Chloe's top over the bluenette's head. To her and Kate's surprise, she doesn't wear a bra, so that she's standing there bare chested.
"What?!" she blurts in order to overcome her shyness. "It's washing day."
Once again, Max chuckles and takes off her shirt as well before she closes in on Chloe again, saying "Shut up, Price and relax. Hey Katie, wanna help me to make her feel good?"
At first, Kate just stares at Chloe's beautiful breasts. Again, they are different from Max's, but also so awesome. A bit bigger than max's and perfectly round. The need to touch them becomes unbearable so, after removing her own shirt and bra, she closes in and touches one of them, making the bluenette moan, which causes Max to smile.
"I love you both, you crazy chicks!" she says and kisses Kate again.
Tonight, the three young women are sealing their new relationship.
Japan, summer 2014…
A warm summer breeze that is carrying the saltines of the pacific ocean blows through the open window, tickling Max's small, freckled nose. Slowly, she wakes up with a loud yawn. She hears the birds outside, chirping their beautiful songs. She smells nature and she finally feels like being home.
Though being fully awake now, Max still keeps her eyes shut and lets her mind wander.
It's now been several months since the events in Arcadia Bay.
After their graduation, Max, Kate and Chloe had decided to move to a small town in Japan. A wish Max had since her time in Seattle. She is just happy that Kate and especially Chloe, who is actually scared of flying, had chosen to come with her.
Chloe, her best friend and now girlfriend. Max loves her without any doubt. Yes, they used to have their ups and downs, but now that things are settled between them, they are closer than ever.
Sadly, Chloe is currently on vacation in Paris with Joyce and David. A travel, which Chloe had gifted to her mother by taking the money she once had received from Max to pay her bills. Bills that had automatically vanished as soon as Max had intervened.
She misses the punky girl and can't wait for her to return.
Being tired of working as a waitress, Joyce had picked up her wish of becoming a teacher, David helping her by finally adding his money to the family pot instead of his muscle car, which he had sold to give them a head start.
Max, herself, applied to an online-university for photography last autumn, and is also making money in martial arts contests, a small IT programmer and entrepreneur. She is still teaching Chloe and has started teaching Kate as well.
Kate. Her beloved Katie. Her little Angel.
Soon after their graduation, Kate had decided to start a career as a children's book author and illustrator. Once she had finished the first book of her Tigress Max series, the sales skyrocketed through the roof, earning the young artist a very lucrative contract with a big publisher. So, money is no problem for her anymore and she can work wherever she wants.
Having had enough of laying around and pondering, Max decides to get up. She already heard the sound of cooking coming from the kitchen, and as the additional tasty smell reaches her nose, her stomach starts to grumble.
The water already running in her mouth Max walks directly into the kitchen and sits down at the table. Hearing the shuffling of the chair Kate turns around right away, giving her girlfriend a wide smile.
"Good morning, my love. Had a good night's sleep?" she asks, giving Max a soft kiss before shifting her attention back to the almost ready breakfast.
"Mornin'," Max replies, having a hard time focusing on something else than her girlfriend. "Yeah, thanks to your treatment last night."
Kate is cooking breakfast in an apron…and nothing else, which somehow has become a sort of tradition since Chloe had dared Kate to do so the first morning since they were living here. But Max doesn't mind that. She enjoys the view of Kate's naked butt and back, and the blonde finds it kind of thrilling as well.
More than once, a normal breakfast had turned into a wild makeout session, just because of that.
Since Kate's hair is currently bound into her typical bun, her ephemeral tattoo is in full view. It's line art of angel wings that are spanning over her entire back. Chloe did it right before she left for Paris.
Not being able to withstand this awesome view anymore, Max gets up again and gently wraps her arms around Kate as she peppers her neck with numerous kisses.
"Max, that tickles!" the blonde giggles, as the muscular girl continues these affections, whereas every kiss gets wetter than the one before, causing Kate to quietly moan. "C'mon Max, stop it! Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."
Reluctantly, Max stops with the kisses, yet her hands are still roaming over Kate's naked body under the apron. "And what if I want you for breakfast?"
"Then…" the Christian girl returns, having a hard time not giving in to Max's ministrations. "Then your breakfast will burn and all my work would be in vain, you want that?"
Giving her lover one last kiss, Max stops her doings and walks over to her desk and fires up her laptop in order to check on her emails.
"Any emails from Dana and Juliet?"
After graduation, Max and Kate are currently trying to keep track of some friends from Blackwell Academy.
Dana and Juliet were still together and they were both in college where Juliet was studying journalism, whereas Dana was supposed to study sports, yet wasn't able to attend because of her pregnancy.
Back in Arcadia Bay, Dana had dated Trevor before starting a relationship with her best friend, Juliet. It was right after the events in autumn that the former cheerleader had found out that she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's baby. A minor scandal at that time, but fast forgotten in the normality of township life. Trevor had taken responsibility without another question and offered help whenever and however he could.
"Holy shit!" Max suddenly exclaimed, causing Kate to immediately run over to her in worry.
"What is it? Did something happen?"
"Will you look at that belly!"
Kate stops, dumbfounded, as Max simply turns the screen towards her, where a picture of Dana with her round belly that is held by Juliet from behind, is shown.
"Ugh, and I thought something terrible happened…" Kate groans and gives her girlfriend a soft push. "But yeah, it's huge."
"Can you imagine carrying such a bowling ball around all the time?"
Once again, Max receives a push upon her statement. "It's not a bowling ball, but new life. And I'd gladly carry around such a lil' angel. And look at those two, they're so happy."
Max has to admit, she'd already thought of Kate being pregnant before. She knows that if the three of them would ever have kids and didn't adopt, Kate would be the one to carry them, because Max herself wasn't able to, even if she wanted, and Chloe had more than once declared that she never wants to go through the process of an artificial fertilization.
"Breakfast's ready!" Kate announces and takes a seat while Max closes the laptop and does the same before they both begin to eat in silence.
A silence that feels somewhat strange to Max, who then asks "Something wrong?"
Calmly, Kate gulps down her last bite and lowers her cutlery before she looks at Max. "I wonder if they picked a name yet?"
"I don't think so. Last time I asked, Dana told me that they couldn't decide, since Juliet and Trevor each have totally different ideas. That was three weeks ago. Besides, they make a ridiculous secret out of the kid's sex. So, they're not only fighting about 3 names, but six…minimum."
Kate couldn't help but giggle thinking of the 3 of them arguing over baby names or if it's going to be a boy or a girl. Yet, this whole topic about fights and parenthood let Kate also ponder about her parents.
Of course, Janine hadn't been ready to change her behavior towards her daughter, forcing Richard to go through with the divorce. Up until today, they are fighting about custody over Kate's younger sisters, Carla and Lynn. Though, things are looking good in Richard's favor that he will receive full custody since Janine's planned methods of raising her daughters and that she refuses to see Kate as her own flesh and blood because of her sexuality hasn't brought her any advantage in court.
And as soon as everything is settled, Richard plans to visit Kate, Max and Chloe, together with the blonde's siblings. But according to her father, this can take another few months. Which isn't that bad since the trio plans to make a short trip to America anyway.
In December, Kyra gave birth to her little daughter, Yumi. Max's step-sister.
Kate remembers the first time Max had seen her. How she had carried this little human being in her strong arms. How happy she had been to still be alive to see this little wonder of life. She's sure that during this moment, a strong bond had been formed. So, besides the regular video-calls, a visit to Yumi's first birthday is an obligation.
The chiming of Max's telephone ends Kate's train of thoughts abruptly.
"It's Victoria," Max mentions nonchalantly, signing that she needs to take the call. "Hey V, 'sup?"
Victoria Chase. The aloof queen-bitch of Blackwell Academy. Kate hasn't forgotten everything that she had done to her and Max. The emotional pain and torture. Yes she already apologized a thousand times, but Kate isn't ready to forgive her, yet. And Max sees it the same way, yet has agreed to be her business partner.
Besides her studies, Victoria founded an agency that organizes photo sessions for companies and hires professional yet less well known photographers. A noble endeavor that had brought the two of them positive as well as negative criticism. But both women are standing above, yet still they are having their difference, especially since Victoria's parents are trying to meddle into their business as well.
"Victoria, no. I already…" Max exclaims into the phone furiously, while walking up and down. "No, I already told you that I won't support this shit! …I don't fuckin' care. This bitch can go and fuck herself! …And I also don't care that she's your mom. …Victoria. VICTORIA! Either she stays outta our business or I'll sell her my share and then you two can run this shitshow alone!"
Still enraged, the young, freckled woman tosses the phone on the desk and huffs out some anger.
"Trouble with Icky-Vicky?" Kate asks, soothingly rubbing her girlfriend's back.
"More like her fuckin' bitch of a mom," Max replies and then thinks about her own mother.
Indeed, she and Vanessa have rekindled and talk now every other week. Yet, their relationship is still tense and needs a lot of work. At the moment, they both are more like siblings than mother and daughter. But, since Vanessa's new business is doing well, she and her daughter also talk a lot about this topic, giving each other some tips.
"Y'know," Kate then says with a cheer-up smile. "How about we both take the day off and go down to the Onsen? We could relax there and get a massage. Bet it'll distract us from this stuff."
Of course, Max doesn't disagree. Right away they both pack their stuff and make their way to the nearest Onsen, a Japanese thermal bath.
Kate and Max are standing at the edge of the steaming pool, towels wrapped around their bodies. They had rented a private compartment for couples and families, since not everybody was fond of showing their naked body to everyone.
"Y'know that your tatt will suffer, right?" Max mentions, dipping one toe into the hot water.
"Chloe will happily draw me a new one, once she's back," the blonde replies, letting the towel drop and enters the water. Max following, stat. "You know that I'm her living canvas."
With an relaxing sigh, Max leans back in her seat and enjoys the hot water, and so does Kate. They both are happy and living a good, relaxed life. Once again, Max is reminiscing about the past.
She recalls that not everyone had a happy ending, though.
Nathan Prescott sits in Juvenile Detention. Last time Max heard of him, he had been transferred into a mental hospital since he had a nervous breakdown in prison.
His father, Sean Prescott, is under investigation for tax fraud. Which got uncovered by the ICS as the police checked the finance streams of his company, since the money Mike got paid with came from it.
After Mark Jefferson's attempt to sexually abuse Max, an anonymous article got published online, accusing him of sexual abuse of multiple students over the years. Soon, first confessions and reports of his victims got filed and the District Attorney's office began an investigation. He immediately got suspended and taken into custody, followed by being found guilty. At the moment, he is serving a short sentence in prison and has lost his teaching license indefinitely.
Following all those scandals, Principal Wells has been forced to resign. Latest rumors say that his alcoholism got worse and he's now in a clinic.
Ms. Grant had been nominated to take his place, but refused since she wants to stay a normal teacher and despises begging rich people for money.
As far as Max knows, some woman from out of town took over, but she never looked up her name.
"ASSBOMB!" Someone suddenly yells and jumps into the water, splashing it all over the place and ripping Max and Kate out of their relaxation. Both young women got drenched entirely, whereas Kate shrieks out loud. The following chuckle tells them who has just crashed their relaxing session.
"CHLOE!" both say in unison, still undecided if they should be mad or full of joy. But eventually, as they see the bluenette's wide, toothy, mischievous grin, they literally jumped at her, peppering her with kisses.
"How did you find us?" says Kate as she broke contact for a moment, followed by Max.
"What're you doin' here? You were supposed to be away for another week." she adds, putting one fist to her hip.
"Okay, okay," Chloe answers, joining her two girlfriends on the seats. "Firstly, when I got home, nobody was there. And then I saw you two through the window, walking down the street and I just followed you. And to answer the second question: during our trip to Paris, Mom and step-douche got more 'n' more touchy. Two days ago, I caught 'em fuckin' each other and decided to give 'em both some privacy. And since I missed you two crazy chicks so much…"
"Um, Chloe…" Kate shyly says, pointing at the older girl's chest. "I-is that a nipple piercing?"
All three are now gazing at Chloe's right breast, admiring that piece of silverish metal going through her areola.
"Oh…yeah. Got this on my second day in Paris. Mom was supporting it, David…not so much. Still itches like fuck, though."
Mesmerized and unfamiliar with such piercings, Kate closes in and takes a closer look.
"Did it hurt?"
"Um…yup. Like fuck. Especially the few days after I got it. It's still sensitive."
"C-can I touch it?"
Her mouth forming a mischievous smirk, Chloe leans forward and whispers "You can even use your tongue, if you wanna."
Chloe loves to tease Kate, since she's way more timid and inexperienced than her girlfriend's. Kate doesn't mind that, seeing it as a learning process, but sometimes, Max has to stop Chloe from going too far. But at the moment, everything is fine and Kate gladly takes the invitation.
Max watches how the young blonde pleases her other girlfriend, who is leaning back and enjoys it, accompanied by soft moans. It arouses her, causing a tickle in her belly that is inducing a hot sensation in her crotch. She loves it to witness Kate and Chloe making out. More than once she had just watched them, playing with herself until either one of them would've invited her to join.
This time, Max stays only away for a short moment. She hasn't seen Chloe for two weeks. In this time, quite a yearning for her has built up. A yearning she can't suppress anymore.
Slowly, she approaches the other two woman, whereas she faces Chloe right away and speaks to her with a seducing voice. "Say, Miss Price, is this the only piercing you got while being away?"
She lets her hand glide down her lover's body, trailing it right deeper towards her vagina, where her fingers brush softly through the bluenette's folds, causing her moans to intensify.
"Nope, no piercing there. But you're wet as fuck!"
Max leans forward, placing wet kisses on Chloe's neck and whiffes "How often have you done it to yourself, huh? Did you get off, imagine me and Kate fucking each other, hmm?"
As well as Chloe loves to tease Kate, Max likes to do the same to Chloe, and in return, Kate stuns them both when she gets kinky. It was a beautiful relationship, built on trust and love. Everyone is equal, nobody is jealous. When problems need to be resolved, they're talking it through.
In this case and since Max and Kate had had each other the last two weeks, it's just fair that both are pleasing Chloe simultaneously while the bluenette tries to give them both her full attention.
They are happy together. They survived the dark events during their time in Arcadia Bay. They defeated all obstacles in their way. A bright future is ahead of them, and they will grasp it and mold it into a beautiful new life.
- The End -