The two weeks leading up to Christmas quickly became some of Chloe's favorite memories. It felt like she had gotten everything she wanted already, just by being with Max again. Add in the fact that she now could get snuggly and kiss her whenever she felt like it, life was pretty good.
Max was still prone to blushes and squirming away whenever there was anything remotely intimate going on, and Chloe was trying her best to keep things chill. She wasn't worried about how fast the physical side developed, just as long as Max was there with her. It, of course, helped that Max was ridiculously adorable whenever her face went red.
Nothing made Max more red than the first time her parents were fully aware of their change in relationship status. Chloe, without thinking, had given her a drive-by kiss while setting the table for dinner, in full view of Vanessa. Between Max's discomfort and her mother's stunned expression, Chloe wasn't sure who was more flabbergasted. After a moment of processing, Vanessa had smiled widely, hugging both of the girls enthusiastically, which was a relief. Ryan took the news in a similar fashion, although offering Chloe a congratulatory beer was quickly shot down by Vanessa, which was quite disappointing.
After further discussions with the Caulfields, Chloe finally decided to get her driver's license, mostly as she needed to be a Washington resident to take her GED test. Chloe passed the written portion of her driver's test with flying colors, but her practical test was a little more shaky. When things started to go south, she made sure to drop the Arcadia Bay bombshell, which she was pretty sure gave her pity points.
Laying on Max's floor, Chloe critiqued her new ID. "Dude, I didn't realize how green my hair was getting. I should probably dye it again." Max made a sound of agreement from her desk, where she had been going through old photographs. "And I was right, that scar adds a bit of dangerous sex appeal." Chloe smiled at the sight of the Caulfields' house listed as her permanent address on her license - she felt like part of the family. "Any good pictures over there?" Max didn't respond - as Chloe had suspected, she wasn't actually listening.
Groaning, Chloe stood up, walking over and wrapping her arms around Max from behind. "Earth to Maximus," she whispered into her ear, laughing when she jumped from the contact.
"Sorry, just lost track of my thoughts for a minute." Chloe shifted her gaze from Max's cheek to the photo she was holding, her stomach suddenly dropping. It was a Polaroid shot of the sign above the Two Whales, pre-storm. "That was the day I convinced you I was a superhero," Max said in a small, reflective voice.
"Well, you always were a superhero," Chloe responded matter of factly, squeezing Max a little. "That was one hell of a day. Plus you had to save my ass again."
"Twice."
Chloe leaned to the side to look at Max, who surprisingly had a little grin on her face. She felt her brows furrow as she racked her brain. "Okay, I fully remember a train coming for my ass, but what do you mean, twice?"
Max turned in her seat to face Chloe. "You remember shooting the bottles, and you wanting me to pick trick shots?" Chloe nodded. "Well, the bumper of the car was very...reflective."
Chloe's jaw hung open a little bit as she tried to remember the event. "I had you pick...wait." Max looked a little sheepish. "You mean to say, you made me shoot myself?" She started laughing in earnest. "Damn, girl, didn't realize you wanted to get rid of me that bad."
Max was smiling ear to ear. "I didn't, I just knew that I could go back and fix whatever we might mess up."
Chloe chuckled. "Super Max, here to save the day." Other memories of that day bubbled up - some good, some bad. "That was the first time you passed out on me, too."
Max grimaced. "Also the first nose bleed - first two, at least. I probably messed my head up good that week."
With a smirk, Chloe grabbed her head, turning it gently as she inspected it. "What are you talking about? Your head looks perfect to me." She topped off her examination with a kiss on hMax'ser nose.
As expected, she blushed a little. "Har har. I just, I don't know what long term side effects there'll be from all that time travel. I haven't passed out since then, or another nosebleed," she mentioned, her hand going to her nose as if to wipe away imaginary blood. "So at least I'm probably not dying."
Chloe couldn't stop herself from shuddering at the thought. She could very distinctly remember holding Max's limp form at the lighthouse, how nothing she did could wake her up, how the only thing she could do was hold on to her helplessly as that storm ripped its way to the town.
Max was watching her, looking slightly worried. "Where'd you just go?" she asked, raising a hand to push Chloe's hair out of her face. It was such a comforting feeling that Chloe couldn't help but close her eyes for a moment.
"Just remembering. The storm." Max stiffened a little bit, eyes now wary against further information. "You passed out, and I..." Chloe shook her head, feeling a lump in her throat. "Max, I thought that was it. I thought you pushed yourself too hard, and you weren't coming back." She felt her shoulders drop as she caved in on herself.
"Hey," Max stood up, gently pushing her backwards until the back of her knees hit the bed, her legs giving out and forcing her to sit down. Max sat next to her, wrapping her in a warm embrace. "I'm alright, okay? It was just a...a weird dream."
"But what if you hadn't, Max?" She felt a sense of panic starting to overtake her, pushing out all logic. "What if you had left me again, what if I had to deal with all of this shit on my own? I don't- I don't think I would have been able to. Not again."
Max said her name once, but it was with admitted defeat. There was nothing she could say to try to override Chloe's fears of the past. Every fiber of her being wanted to run out of the house, jump in her truck and just drive, drive somewhere, anywhere, until there was nowhere left to run.
But Max was still holding on to her, still grounding her. She willed herself to stay put, to stay here, with Max.
Chloe looked over at her for a moment, catching sight of Max's worried face. "Feels like we're a skipping record. Every time I think we got our shit together, we just-" she made an explosion gesture with her hands. Max nodded, adjusting an arm so she could reach out and intertwine their fingers. They both looked at their joined hands for a moment. "Man, that's a sight I never thought I'd get to see."
"Is that so?" Max leaned her head on Chloe's shoulder, smiling. She wiggled her fingers, sighing happily.
"Yep." Chloe rested her own head against Max's. "Then again, a lot of things happened that I never thought I'd see, since you came back." Highlights flickered through her mind - breaking into the pool, balancing on the train tracks, watching Max tear up the photo that could have changed everything...
"Yeah," Max sighed, slumping a little. "It's been a long two months."
"Right? Like, shit, it's been two months, but it feels like it's been for-fucking-ever since the storm." She grimaced. "And also feels like yesterday at the same time."
"I know." A phone buzzed, and Max reached for it with the hand not already occupied. She frowned, sitting up and pulling her hand away for full phone focus. "That's weird. Victoria just texted me."
"Bitch-say-what?" Chloe sat up straight as well, looking over at her with a certain look of confusion. "Why's she texting you?"
"She said she's staying with her parents in Seattle, she wants to know if we want to get together." Max was frowning a little as she considered it.
Chloe laughed humorlessly. "That'll be a simple answer. No." No fucking way am I hanging out with Dicktoria.
Max swatted at her. "C'mon Chloe, she's not that bad." She had bit her lip though, as if she were doubting what she was saying.
Chloe scowled. "Yeah, and neither was Vader - and yet, he killed a shit ton of kids."
The brunette watched her quietly, brow cocked. "Are you done?"
Chloe fell backwards on the bed dramatically, arms flailing. "The younglings, Max! Think of the younglings!"
Max shook her head, sighing heavily. "And you call me a nerd."
"Takes one to know one, hippie. How did she know we were up here, anyways?"
"I'm guessing Kate told her. Kate mentioned they have been talking." Max frowned, a dejected look flashing across her face. "After all, they both had to deal with Jefferson. It's probably a, well, fucked up bonding moment."
Chloe groaned, rubbing her face. "Does it...bother you? That you can't talk to them about it?" She felt like she was tiptoeing on eggshells now, but it had been something she had been wondering for a while.
Max was watching her quietly, her eyes flashing different emotions. "I'll admit, it's weird knowing that we are all connected like that, and they'll never know." She shrugged. "I mean, I could tell them, but they may just think I'm crazy."
"Kate probably wouldn't think you were crazy. Well, after the initial 'no fucking way, that's some bullshit' reaction, sure, she'd believe you."
Max nodded, falling backwards on the bed as well. "I kind of like it just being you and me that knows."
"'You and I'. God, your grammar is horrible." She looked over, smirking as Max propped herself up, frustration on her face.
"You know what, Miss-I-dropped-out?" Jeez, she couldn't look less cute if she tried.
"Hey now, it's Miss-almost-got-a-GED to you, senior." Chloe pushed her playfully, laughing. She had scheduled her test for January, and was looking forward to being done with studying for a while.
As Max rocked back toward her, Chloe could see the little flash of determination in her eyes before she ducked down for a kiss. "Someone's getting bold," Chloe commented as Max pushed herself back up, feeling the corners of her mouth lifting up in a satisfied smile.
Max snickered. "I have a good bad influence."
Chloe threw an arm up in celebration. "Fuck yeah, you do." Max was still propped up, looking down at her, smiling dreamily. "Can I help you with something?"
Max's smile turned into a smirk before rolling onto her back again. "I'm gonna tell Victoria we'll meet her."
Chloe groaned. "Fuck. Only because you are hella fine and I don't want her trying to steal you."
Max giggled as she started texting a response. "Wow, jealousy is not a good color on you," she teased.
"Every color is a good color on me, you liar," Chloe muttered, briefly considering mutiny. Before she could enact her escape plan, Max laid back down beside her, cuddling up, and all thoughts of rebelling disappeared.