Author's Notes:

Here it is, the final chapter! It came out bigger and more detailed than I thought. In itself, it finishes the story very well, so that I don't know if I should write the other (more positive) end as well. If you want to, I'll do it and if not...well, then the story is complete.

I'll set it to complete anyway, since the alternative ending is more an additional bonus.

Final Chapter: Sleeping Bunny

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 are 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, is descending from 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 is already about to move towards him, but doesn't get the chance as Kate collides with her and takes her into a tight embrace, sobbing into her shoulder.

"I was so scared!" the blonde whimpers and tightens her hug.

Immediately, Max forgets everything. The pain and bleeding of her arm and leg, as well as Mike and everyone else around them. Right now her entire world is only defined by Kate and the intense love she feels for her. She simply feels happy at the moment, which only lasts until she hears Victoria's scream.

"MAX, WATCH IT!"

BANG!

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 going on the field bellow.

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 happening. 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 in 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 to use 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 just seems so odd and hard to understand for Victoria. Only as she witnesses how Kate runs towards and hugs Max, she realizes that everything is going to be alright again. Everyone seems to just focus on this happy reunion of two people in love, 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

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 some hold. She feels so powerless and 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. 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 ignores everything else, runs towards her girlfriend and embraces her tightly, while sobbing into her shoulder.

"I was so scared!"

Just feeling her beloved Max's warmth and smelling her scent gives Kate so much peace that the whole world goes quiet. All she wants to do right now is to go someplace else, far, far away. But her dreams and wishes are cruelly interrupted as she hears Victoria's yelled warning.

"MAX, WATCH OUT!"

And then a loud BANG blares through the night. Kate only feels a hot pain in her back, which quickly spreads out through her entire body. Desperately, she tries to hold on to Max by clawing into her top as her legs are failing to carry her weight any longer.

"M-Max…" is the only thing she manages to whisper, her blurry vision trying to look one last time at her love's beautiful face, before she feels herself falling into the inevitably darkness.

Chloe

"MAX, WATCH IT!"

As Chloe, who stands close to Max and Kate, hears those warning words from Victoria, she goes into high awareness. From the corner of her eye the bluenette sees how Mike has raised his gun, aiming at the couple. But it's too late to intervene. Mike Brighton manages to release a shot.

Luckily, Chloe has already reached him in time to prevent a second one. The punk girl kicks the gun out of his hands, but receives a punch right in the face, which sends her to the ground.

Once more, Mike reaches for the pistol and Chloe knows that she wouldn't reach him in time. But she feels something with her right hand: the hilt of Max's sword. Knowing that there's no time to waste, Chloe just grabs the Katana and throws it at the mad man.

The blade digs deep into his chest and impales his heart. In shock, Mike drops the gun and stares at the sword, before his brain shuts down and he drops dead to the ground.

The threat eliminated, Chloe turns around and gasps, "Oh no!" as she sees Kate laying on her back while Max performs CPR on her.

Max

The shot already fades in the distance as Max feels Kate's tight grip, clawing into her body. With every second the blonde's hold get's weaker and weaker. Forcefully, their embrace breaks as Kate begins to glide towards the ground.

"M-Max…" the blonde whispers, trying to keep her eyes open but fails to do so. Slowly realizing what just happened, Max can only reply a whiffed "Katie!"

Due to her injuries, Max isn't able to hold Kate upright and, therefor, lays her cautiously onto the wet grass.

"Katie?" she whispers once more with a trembling voice, shaking the unconscious girl's body slightly, "C'mon, wake up!"

Receiving no reaction, Max checks Kate's vital signs. "Oh no!" she gasps as she feels no pulse. "No, no, no…please!"

Being trained in giving First Aid, the black-haired girl gulps down the emerging panic, and starts to treat the severely injured girl. Knowing that the shot must've hit her in the back, Max pulls off her top and turns Kate's limp body around. She immediately finds the bleeding hole, presses the garment on it and turns Kate onto her back again, letting the blonde's own bodyweight do the rest of the job. Sadly, that's all she's able to do for the wound so far.

Still feeling no life signs, Max begins to perform airway-management and CPR. Right at the time, Chloe is at her side.

"Shit!" the bluenette hisses, "Can I help?"

Giving her a short, thankful glimpse, Max says, "Your jacket…cover her legs with it!"

"Here," Victoria's voice chimes as the pixie-blonde reaches her cashmere sweater to Chloe, "use this as a cushion!"

"I already called 9-1-1!" adds Dana, who has joined with Juliet. Soon, everyone at the field stands close and watches how Max desperately tries to bring her beloved Kate back to live. Checking life signs, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, CPR, repeat.

"C'mon, Katie! You can do it!" Max says with determination, while more and more blood runs down her cut arm from the exhausting CPR.

At first, everyone is watching the heartbreaking scene in silence, but as time passes by, sobs and sniffs chime in.

"Katie, come on!" yells Max, first tears running down her cheeks. "Fight!"

Then, she feels a soft touch on her shoulder, accompanied by Chloe's trembling, heavy voice. "Maxi…"

"NO!" Max yells back, shaking the bluenette's hand off her shoulder. "She's not dead! She's…not…dead! She…is…"

With every word, Max's movements are getting weaker and weaker until she stops entirely, her body shaking from heavy sobs. Tenderly, Chloe drapes her arms around her devastated friend's shoulders from behind and rocks her soothingly, whispering, "I'm so sorry!"

Five days later…

Dressed in a black silk dress, Max stands in front of the white painted church. The very same church where she, Kate and Carla had played their song together.

The Chinese dress, formerly colorful adorned with flowers and supposed to be Max's prom dress, is now dyed black. It wouldn't need to serve its former job anyway, since Max has quit school right after Kate had died, seeing no purpose in education anymore.

Hesitating to take the final steps towards Kate's funeral, Max thinks about the previous days after her girlfriend's demise.

As the ambulance had finally arrived at the football field, Kate had already been dead as well as Mike. Right away, the police had taken everyone present in custody for questioning. At the station, Max had been told that nobody could've been able to save Kate's live since the bullet had pierced her heart and got stuck between two ribs.

The social quake that the blonde's death has caused shocked and changed the entire town.

The Prescott's are facing the biggest scandal in their family history, since their money had been used to pay Mike, the bribed security guards and an unknown assassin.

Nathan Prescott has to face a long sentence in prison for kidnapping and contract killing.

The Vortex Club has been closed down and banned. One of Principal Well's last acts, before he retired as Principal of Blackwell Academy as a consequence of Kate's murder that had been taken place on school property.

Admitting that she had been involved in the scheming against Max and Kate, Victoria Chase had been expelled from Blackwell. She plans to move together with Taylor to New York in order to start a new life.

Though every witness has been stated that Chloe killed Mike in self-defense and no legal actions will be charged against her, the bluenette still has to cope with the fact of having taken a human's life. For her it's an emotional rollercoaster. On one hand she's glad that she had prevented worse things from happening, but on the other hand she took Mike's life. In one way she's just happy that she had been able to save Max, but blames herself for not having rescued Kate.

In Max's eyes, Chloe has nothing to blame herself for, because had been Mike here for no other than her. The bullet that had killed Kate had been originally meant for her. Max sees herself as the person who had gotten her girlfriend killed and this fact has broken her. Chloe, Dana, Ryan, Kyra, even Vanessa…everybody had tried to tell Max otherwise. But she hadn't listened to them. Either she just shut herself in or just ran away.

The day before the funeral, Kyra and Chloe had tried to talk to the young woman again, but to no avail. Not wanting to hear their arguments, Max had simply run away into the woods, entirely ignoring the pain in her injured leg, until she hadn't been able to walk any further and broke down. Just late at night, Max had woken up again. Being all alone and not knowing what else to do, she had just sat down against a tree and had started to meditate.

During this time, Max had thought about her situation and how she should move on. The time she had come up with a decision, it had already been dawn.

Realizing that she would be late for the funeral, Max had run home, showered and got dressed.

Now all she has to do is to enter the church and attend the ceremony for Kate's burial. But somehow her legs refused to do another step. She just stands there, entirely frozen and not even aware of the time that is passing by or that the phone in her small, black purse is buzzing.

The church's front door opens and Chloe, dressed in a black suit and phone in her hand, comes out. As soon as the blue-haired girl's gaze falls on Max, she immediately lowers her cell and runs towards her friend, embracing her.

"Where the fuck were you?" she speaks with a brittle voice, "I was so worried!"

But Max doesn't reply anything, not even the hug, which causes Chloe to back away a bit and to look with her red-cried eyes at her best friend. "Maxi?"

"I-I can't!" she simply states quietly, her lips shivering, "I…I just can't."

Giving her an understanding nod, Chloe says, "Okay. C'mon, let's get you home and…"

Chloe hasn't even finished her sentence as the big doors swing open again. The ceremony has ended and the participants are leaving the church, ready to bring Kate's coffin to the cemetery.

Max's whole body clenches and her welling up eyes are widening as the coffin emerges from the building. At this moment her body suddenly awakes and seems to act on its own. With small steps she approaches the casket and touches the wooden surface.

"YOU!" a female voice suddenly yells. Janine Marsh walks straight towards the freckled girl with fast, angry steps and slaps her right in the face, which lets Max lose her balance so much that she hits the ground. There she lies, sobbing and broken, not even able to defend herself against the furious woman that stands above her. "How dare you, showing up here after all that misery you've brought upon my family?!"

"Hey!" Chloe intervenes, trying to help her friend up, "Are you fucking insane?!"

"Max!" then Carla chimes in, she and Lynn trying to rush towards Max as well, but get hold back by their mother against their will.

"Janine!" now Richard Marsh calls out angrily, stepping between his wife and the still on the ground laying, sobbing girl. "Not at our daughter's funeral!"

Being even more infuriated by her husband's chiding, Janine just walks away. In the meantime, Chloe has managed to get Max back on her feet, Carla and Lynn helping as well. The whole reception has come to a halt and has watched the whole scene. Sighing, Richard turns towards Max.

"Max, my family is going through a very hard time. The Lord has decided to lay a heavy burden upon us in order to test our faith and we need to pass it to move on, but…" He sighs once more. "Janine is right, you brought a lot of discord in our house and, as much as my little Katie would've wished your presence here, I can't allow it."

"What?!" gasps Carla, followed by Lynn's, "Daddy, no!"

"I'm sorry, this is my final word," he simply answers, signing with his raised hand that the conversation is over. "Carla, Lynn…"

Signing his daughters to follow him stat, Richard Marsh leaves, yet Kate's siblings are not willing to simply comply with their father's order.

"It's not your fault!" whispers Carla as she gives Max one last hug, followed by Lynn.

"We still love you!"

"Thanks! You guys are so awesome!" whimpers Max, barely able to hold her composure.

Then, the mourning procession moves on and it almost seems like everyone is ignoring Max, until something heartwarming happens.

From the crowd, Victoria Chase emerges and takes the freckled girl into a warm embrace before she follows the other guests. Her voice is heavy and filled with deep sorrow.

"I'm so sorry!"

Next are Dana and Juliet.

"We're with you!"

"Be strong!"

Other attending students of Blackwell who knew Kate, like Alyssa and Taylor, are giving Max their reassurance as well and soon, the reception is gone, only Chloe and Max are remaining.

"C'mon, Maxi! I'll get ya home," says the bluenette, already flinging one arm around her friend's shoulder. Both walk over to Chloe's truck and get in. The taller girl has just started the engine as Max's quiet voice chimes.

"I need to be with her one last time!" she says, gazing at Chloe with determination.

"One drive to the cemetery, coming right up!" she answers and brings her truck on the road.

An uncomfortable quietness fills the cabin of the vehicle. A silence which Chloe clearly can't endure. Especially, since she had heard from Kyra that her best friend wants to leave again. But she also knows that since Kate's demise, Max is more than just edgy. Her mood always swings between deep sorrow and burning fury. But not only that. Additionally, she has shut herself completely in, avoiding every conversation about her well-being and future plans, which can even peak in agitated outburst, like she's a wild tiger, cornered by hunters.

But still, Chloe needs to know and tries to approach the topic subtle and without any judgment in nonchalant, chit-chat way.

"So, I heard you wanna bail Arcadia."

A bit surprised and with a frown, Max gazes at Chloe. "Who told you that?"

"Kyra," Chloe answers with a shrug and earns a cynically snort.

"She can't keep her stupid mouth shut, huh?"

"Maxi," Chloe sighs, shaking her head slightly, "she just cares 'bout you, like…" Then she gives her friend a short, yet deep glare to underline her words. "…like I do. We're worried and I…I just wanna know what's goin' on."

And once more, there's silence between the two young women, broken a moment later by Max.

"I'm moving to Japan, Chlo. My flight leaves tonight. Sorry that I haven't told you earlier!"

Most people would think that, because of their past, Chloe would go all ballistic on Max again, like she had done five years ago as her best friend had told her about the move to Seattle. But it doesn't happen. On the contrary, a wry smirk is forming on the bluenette's lips.

"Japan, huh? Suits you, Martial Maxi. Care if I join ya?"

Taken aback at first by this kind of unexpected proposition, Max lacks any reply, because she already thought about this option multiple times, but never dared to ask. Let alone that Chloe has flight scare.

"Aren't you scared of flying, Chlo?"

"Yeah," answers Chloe with another deep exhale, "but it's way better than this fucked up shit here!" Swiftly, the punk-girl steers the truck onto a parking space in front of the local cemetery and turns off the engine. "Truth be told, when you're gone, I've nothing left here. Mom still hangs on to that Dildo. I have no friends, no place to stay, no perspective and not far enough money to start anew somewhere else. Maxi, without you everything's just fucked. You…you're everything I've left in my life!"

Instead of replying something, Max just reaches for the phone in her purse and types on the display before she reaches it towards Chloe, who gazes at the screen in astonishment.

"As soon as I'm back, we're gonna bail!" Max simply adds and disembarks the truck, leaving an entirely stunned Chloe behind.

Like at Sam's funeral, Max keeps her distance while the burial is still in progress. Under tears she witnesses how Kate's coffin is lowered into the fresh buried grave. She watches how the mourners, one after another, throw a handful of dirt into the hole before they leave. Soon, the cemetery is deserted again, only some staff remaining, entombing Kate's mortal body forever.

Once they're done, Max approaches her girlfriend's final resting place and gazes for some time at the framed picture that is leaning against shining white marble tombstone.

"Hey Katie," she says quietly with a shaky voice, a faint, soft smile on her lips. "Sorry for being late, but…your folks didn't really want me here and…I can't even blame them."

She sniffs and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. "How do you like my dress? I was planning to wear it at the prom, but…that won't happen now." Max pauses for a few seconds, fighting down another wave of deep sorrow as she thinks about another thing she'll never experience with Kate. "Katie, I need to go away. I…I need leave all this…" She waves with her hand. "Arcadia Bay, the west coast, just everything here behind. I need to live by myself. Just me, no one else around who can get hurt by me. Well, except Chloe." Max inhales again, clenching her left hand around her right wrist. "Katie, I'll be honest with you. You saved my life! Your heart literally stopped the bullet that was meant for me and…if it weren't for that; if you wouldn't have given your life for me, I…I already would've…"

Not able to withstand another barrage of sadness, Max sobs and starts to cry and needs some minutes to calm down again.

"Chloe will keep an eye on me. She'll make sure that I'll keep on going and that's it. That's the only reason I let her come with me."

Max kneels down and brushes with her fingers over the picture.

"I won't be able to see you very often, but I promise that I'll visit you every single birthday!" Then, she stands up again. "I love you, Katie! And wherever you are right now, take care!"

Slowly, Max turns away from the grave and walks back to Chloe's truck, new tears flowing down her freckled cheeks, while a set of hazel eyes watches her.

Near the city of Aki, Prefecture Kochi, Japan

Six months later…

Having taken the offer by Kyra's relatives, who are living in the city of Aki, Max and Chloe had spent their first nights in a small holiday home that the Kagawa-family owns. Thanks to their help and Max's savings, both girls had found and bought an old, small, wooden house in the nearby hills.

After giving it a lot of love, it had become a comfy place to live. Not possessing a landline, power comes from solar panels, batteries and a generator, while Internet works via satellite.

Both also knew that living from the savings alone wasn't possible; therefor they had to search for a job. While Max has started to work for a software security company, using her hacking-skills for testing security-software, Chloe has found herself a job in a local workshop, repairing everything from a plain bicycle to a car.

Being a very handy mechanic, the bluenette soon has made herself a very positive reputation around the locals. But while she loved to interact with other people, Max mostly keeps to herself, only going into public from time to time, if necessary, though Chloe tries to get her out of the house as much as possible. And today is such a day.

To the chiming melody of her phone, Max slowly opens and then rubs her eyes, groaning a "Fuuuck!" as her body starts to fight the drowsiness. The young woman would've loved nothing more than to turn around and sleep a bit more, but she had promised Chloe to hit the city today and join the Kagawa's for dinner tonight.

Lazily, Max gets up and stretches her limbs, groaning once more. Before doing anything else, she fires up her Laptop and starts her playlist. Like every morning, she does her exercises and workout, shooing the last sleepy remnants away.

Now feeling full of energy, Max grabs some fresh clothes and heads towards the bathroom. Being undressed and ready to wash her sweaty body, she catches a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and stops her doings for a moment.

Her now once more naturally brown hair is cut even shorter, pixie-style and very short on the sides. Apart from this, everything looks the same, except a fresh scar on her right upper arm. Right away, Max's mood makes a nosedive as she recalls the night she had received this one, plus another scar on her thigh.

Her body cramps and her breathing quickens as a panic-attack approaches. In such moments she feels the dark emptiness in her heart, how it consumes her; how it makes every part of her skin itch. She wants nothing more than to release this inner pressure; to let that darkness flow out of her body.

Panicky, Max searches the cabinet for something sharp. Something that could help her to finally get rid of this darkness inside. Plastic bottles and cardboard packages fall noisily to the ground, but her search remains unsurprisingly without a success, because she knows that Chloe has already removed everything that could help her to hurt herself.

Groaning in anger, Max slams shut the cabinet and gazes at the mirror once again. A mirror consisting of glass.

Her fist connects with the glassy surface, making it crack loudly into small and big pieces. A stinging pain emerges from her knuckles. First cuts, a slight relieve, yet not enough. Swiftly, she picks up a piece of glass and already wants to add more deep scars to her body as the door gets opened violently.

"Hell no, you won't!" yells Chloe, closing in on Max faster than the brunette has anticipated and grabs her wrist.

Both are struggling now for the shard, Max having the upper hand due to her experience. But Chloe doesn't give up so fast; the worries for her best friend are giving her additional strength.

"Argh, let go!" screams Max, punching the bluenette right in the face, which let her stumble backwards with a groan. Luckily, her grip is tight enough, so that Max is forced to follow, losing the shard in the progress as both hit the ground.

Being caught in her rage, Max pins down Chloe onto the ground, wanting to punch her even more, but as soon as she gazes into those deep blue, with sadness filled eyes, she stops.

"Maxi…" Chloe whispers with trembling lips, brushing with her thumb over her friend's cheek.

Moments pass while both stare at each other until Max collapses onto Chloe and starts to cry hard. Flinging her arms around her best friend, the bluenette presses her closer, stroking and rocking her softly.

"I'm so sorry!" whimpers Max, soaking her friend's top with her tears.

"Shh, it's okay, Maxi. I'm here!" she answers, pushing the brunette's head away softly in order to look her in the eyes. "C'mon, let's get this shit cleaned up, okay!"

Nodding slowly, Max sniffs one last time before she gets up, reaching Chloe a hand to help her up as well.

"Better you wash yourself now and I'll do the cleaning."

"Yeah," Max answers, giving her best friend a slight smile. "Thanks, Chlo!"

The smell of freshly baked Belgian waffles fills Max's nose as she leaves the bathroom, now dressed in some short pants and a tank top. Her stomach growls loudly as she enters the kitchen and sits down at the table.

"Belgian waffles and black coffee for my awesome Maximus!" announces Chloe as she brings her friend some breakfast. She places the plate and mug on the table, grabs herself a pot of coffee and takes the other seat.

"Thanks, Chlo, you're the best!"

"Nah," the bluenette replies, waving with one hand, "just takin' care of ya! Y'know that I have to make up a lot for those five fucking years."

For a moment, Max stops to chew, being a bit taken aback by those full with guilt dripping words. "Chlo, you don't owe me anything, 'kay! What you did 30 minutes ago was worth more than anything else."

"Yeah, you tell my jaw!"

Said jaw drops right away as Max leans over the table and places a soft kiss on the blue spot that is getting more and more evident, followed by a whiffed, "I'm so sorry!"

And once more, both girls gaze at each other deeply. During the last six months, Chloe had kept her distance to Max, despite the feelings for her. She knows that her best friend only agreed to let her accompany her to Japan for days like this very one. To make sure that she keeps her own promise, though sometimes Chloe has the dark thought that it would be nothing more than mercy to let Max go. Eventually, it's a constant fight between light and darkness. A struggle that rages inside Max: the need for life as well as death. Maybe showing affection would unbalance the entire system into one direction. But which one? The risk that it might be the dark side is so high that Chloe never dares to even mention the possibility to intensify their relationship.

But the kiss she has just received changes everything. At least so she thinks, until she sees Max's eyes welling up again and her lips trembling.

"I-I'm gonna go for a walk."

Without another word or reaction, Max leaves in a fast pace. Chloe knows that, when things get too much or her friend just needs some space, she should let her do what she needs to do. Yet, the worries and doubts stay. Chloe always tries to strong for Max; tries to be the rock that breaks the waves; to be the captain who guides her through stormy waters. But it's exhausting. Always taking the hit during Max's breakdowns and suppressing her feelings is such a psychological pressure that needs to be released from time to time. And that's what Chloe does, every time Max isn't around.

Now not being forced to hold back anymore, Chloe breaks down into tears, crying out everything that has been built up since her last relieve.

"I love you, Maxi!" she whimpers, resting her head on her folded arms on the table.

She runs up the hill. Her heart thumping and her breathing shallow. The tweeting birds in the trees, the smell of nature, the blue, sunny sky; things she actually enjoys…nothing matters at the moment.

Eventually, Max reaches her meditation spot not far away from her home. A rock at the top of the hill, overlooking the city and the ocean. Panting and trying to get control over her shaking body, the brunette girl sits down.

"Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!" she repeats constantly, closes her eyes and focuses on a steady breathing. Soon, Max has finally reached a state of meditation and starts reminisce about every positive thing that had happened during these last six months.

She and Chloe had quickly settled in here, still have a lot of fun together like in the old dayd and started to have a steady live.

Kyra brought a cute, little daughter to the world and had named her Kate Samantha Kagawa. A slight smile appears on Max's face as she remembers the first time she saw her little step-sister via Skype. Chloe jokingly calls her Ka-sam.

"Chloe!"

This name slips over Max's lips unintentionally, like her body has forced her to say it. And instantly she deeply thinks about those feelings she has for the blue-haired punk-girl. Especially about if she's even allowed to have this affection towards her best friend.

Slowly, Max opens her eyes again and does something she's always doing when being up here.

"Katie," she says, glancing at the blue sky, "I need your help! I-I know I always said that I will never let anyone close to me ever again, but…" She pauses for a moment, inhaling deeply. "I love her, y'know. I always have and…it get's unbearable. I miss you so much and feel so empty. I want to fill this black hole in my heart, but what if…what if I lose her, too? What if she already hates me for hurting her all the time? Sometimes I think that she just stays with me, because she has no alternative. No one else. I…I don't…Oh Katie, please help me!"

Unable to hold back her emotions anymore, Max buries her face in her hands and sobs loudly. Only a rustling in the underwood let her stop and turn towards the origin of the sound. It rustles some more and out of a bush jumps a black and white spotted bunny, stopping right in front of Max, one of its long ears twitching slightly.

"Hey there, little bunny!" Max says quietly with a soft smile, which turns into a frown as the small animal comes even closer. Cautiously, the brunette stretches out her hand and – to her surprise – the bunny gives her the permission to pet its soft fur.

"Well, you're a cuddly one!" Max chuckles and starts to fondle it behind the long ears. After a minute, the bunny jumps away again, but stops before reaching the underwood, gazing at Max with its mesmerizing hazel eyes.

Entirely taken aback by the animal's strange behavior, Max just gasps a, "What the…?" and once more the bunny twitches with its ears, jumping back and forth several time before Max gets the gist.

"Y-you want me to follow you?"

A bob with its head to the side is everything it needs to confirm the brunette's question. Slowly, she gets up and follows the bunny through the forest.

"Wait, where are you…?" Max calls out as the black and white rodent quickens its pace, but she instantly stops in her tracks as it already sits on a small table in front of hers and Chloe's house, gazing inside through a window.

With small steps, Max approaches the bunny's position and follows its gaze. Inside, Chloe still sits on the kitchen table, fumbling on her old Laptop in order to repair it. A habit which has become common every time Max had freaked out, despite that she already had a new one.

Max feels something furry on her right hand and shifts her gaze. The little bunny has now leaned towards her hand and gives her another deep glare before looking at the bluenette inside the house once more.

Max's eyes open wide as she puts the pieces together. A bit freaked out, she takes a step back.

"K-Katie?!" she says with a low, shivering voice, small droplets rolling down her cheeks.

Twitching once more with its ears, the bunny bobs his head and as Max closes in again, it leans into her cupped hand.

"Oh my god!" she whispers, smiling faintly. "I missed you so much!"

Once more, the bunny's attention focuses on Chloe and now Max knows that Kate just gave her an answer.

"Thank you!" the brunette says with a grateful smile almost wishing that Kate would stay. But sadly, the small bunny jumps back onto the ground and vanishes into the underwood.

"Goodbye, my angel!" she whispers, her sight fixed on the spot where Kate has disappeared.

A moment later, she inhales deeply, gathers all of her courage and heads inside the house.

"Stupidmotherfuckingsonofabitch!" curses Chloe slamming her fist on her former, broken Laptop. She knows that it's a lost cause to get this thing up and running ever again, but Chloe loves some challenge from time to time. Especially after a fight with Max. It distracts her. Gives her another reason. It makes her forget about the feelings for her best friend and the hurt she always experiences during and after such an outbreak. One of many throughout the last six months.

She is just about to take a break as the bluenette hears how the front door gets opened and closed again. And not a minute late, Max comes walking into the kitchen, heading straight towards her without a word.

Puffy, red-cried eyes, a stern demeanor, clenched fists. Chloe knows the signs of her best friend still being edgy. The only differences are her insecure, almost shy steps and the nervousness she radiates.

"Maxi, listen…" Chloe immediately tries to defuse the situation, but never gets to finish the sentence as Max softly cups her cheeks and places a soft, yet long kiss on her lips. Entirely surprised at first, Chloe doesn't react at all. She just stands there, her brain going haywire and only after a minute, the punk-girl flings her arms around Max's waist and pulls her closer, now kissing her back.

Both would've loved to kiss even longer, but from one moment to another, Max starts to sob, breaks the kiss and buries her face in Chloe's shoulder.

Brushing with her hand soothingly through the brunette's hair, Chloe pushes Max cautiously away, in order to gaze into her watery eyes, because she needs to know if this is more than a pure act of desperation.

"Maxi, I-I need to know. You truly mean it?"

Max nods.

"This is not just some desperate shit?"

Max shakes her head and eventually adds silently, "I love you, Chloe!"

Out of relive, Chloe pulls Max in for another kiss and hugs her tightly, answering with a whiffed, "I love you, too!"

A black and white bunny sits a bit up the hill, gazing with hazel eyes directly into the window of a small house and witnesses how two young women are entangled into a tight embrace, expressing their love for each other.

The bunny's ear twitches as it hears someone approaching through the underwood and a few seconds later a fiery-red fox with stormy grey eyes joins and sits down right next to it, watching the scene ahead as well.

Both share a deep gaze, before the bunny leans closer to the fox. Slowly, their bodies are getting blurry, fading more and more, until they've vanished entirely.

- The End -