Chapter Text
"Ugh already?…” I groan as I hear my phone alarm going off as it does every morning. There is suddenly a sleepy chuckle near my ear as I grab my phone from the nightstand to silence the alarm. "Babe please you hate it as much as I do." I mumble as I roll over to face her. She hasn't opened her eyes yet but she smiles softly and tightens her hold around my waist.
“True but you’re cute when you first wake up.” Chloe says as she leans in and kisses my lips softly. I can’t help but smile when she pulls back slightly and carefully pushes my hair back behind my ear. Her eyes finally flutter open a little and look back into mine. “Hey baby.”
“Hi” I reply sleepily as I lay my head down on her pillow next to her still inches away from her face. I feel her hand slide under my shirt and start to rub my back. I let out a contented hum. “You know you can’t do that if I’m actually expected to get up in time for work right?” She just laughs in response as she knows me well enough to know I’m completely full of shit. Sure she’s making me want to get up even less than before but I’d never be late for a photoshoot even if it’s one I’m not particularly excited about.
“Lucky for you I also have to get up hella soon for work but we can lay here for a few more minutes.” She insists as she leans in again to kiss me. I smile against her lips as we kiss very gently. Neither of us bother lifting our heads from the pillow. We are far too lazy for that. I place my hand on her cheek then run my hand up to stroke her freshly dyed blue hair as she continues to rub my back. After a few minutes the kisses slowly get a little less lazy and we start waking up a bit.
“Mmm okay.. I really do gotta go.” I sigh and pull away just a little. She grumbles shaking her head in protest. I smile as she carefully pushes on my shoulder to roll me onto my back and she starts kissing my neck. “Chlo.. mmm… I.. really…mmm… stop” I grumble half heartedly. I wait another few minutes just enjoying my wife teasing me a bit before finally rolling out of bed with a groan. She grumbles again and stretches before following me. I begin picking out my clothes for the day and she kisses my cheek on her way out of the bedroom. She’s most likely going to make coffee as she does most mornings. I much prefer her coffee addiction to her cigarette one which she only gave up due to my instance a few years ago.
I climb into the shower and my mind wanders a bit. The soft pecks this morning remind me of the first time I kissed Chloe. She dared me in her bedroom during the worst week of my life. Sure that week had been completely awful but there were definitely some moments I wouldn’t trade for the world. The kiss being one of them but also the night before that in the Blackwell pool. I think that’s when I knew I would never leave her again. It hadn’t taken long after we were reunited for us to become best friends again and I’m sure all the trauma pushed us together faster than what may have happened in normal circumstances but I know it would have happened eventually regardless. If anything “hell week” as Chloe always referred to it as kept us apart romantically longer than what may have felt natural. It took a good six months of both of us putting it off before we finally ended up talking about how we felt.
~ May 2014 ~
Chloe sounds like a herd of elephants running up the stairs before she bolts into my room. She has a bright smile on her face and it is absolutely contagious. I haven’t seen her this happy in forever and I feel a rush of butterflies in my stomach at the sight. Wowsers! She looks absolutely beautiful! She is in her normal outfit, white tank top and black skinny jeans, her hair has started growing out a little and the blue is just starting to fade to a sea green. There is nothing abnormal about her appearance but the joy radiating from her makes me realize just how gorgeous she is. My legs feel like jelly. Luckily I’m sat on my bed so she shouldn’t be able tell unless she is observant enough to see the slight blush forming on my cheeks. I really hope whatever is going on is distracting enough that she doesn’t pick up on it.
“Hey Super Max! Guess what?!” She exclaims practically bouncing around my room. Before I can even open my mouth to answer she interrupts me. “I passed! I got my GED!” My mouth drops open in surprise and I jump off my bed and into her arms. She catches me midair and spins me around. I can’t help but let out a girlish giggle as she places me back on my feet.
“I’m so proud of you Chloe!” I say into her neck. I want to tell her that I knew she had nothing to worry about. She has always been smarter than me when it comes to school but I know she doesn’t need the “I told you so” speech. She deserves praise and someone to support her. She’s spent way too long without someone who supports and believes in her. Losing William and now Joyce has been so hard on her and I just want her to believe in herself again. I feel her lay her head on my shoulder clearly not ready to let go of me any more than I am ready to leave her arms. We stay like that for a long time. Far longer than two friends giving a hug. Even longer than any celebration hug has any right to be but neither of us seem to care. I take in her scent as we hold each other in a comfortable silence.
After a while I finally will myself to pull back and look into her eyes. “Seriously Chloe your parents would be so fucking proud of you!” As soon as I say it I wish I hadn’t. If I hadn’t swore never to use my powers again I might consider rewinding it. Though I do think she needs to hear it even if I know it can’t be easy to hear. I also would rather be the one to say it first and not my parents. I can almost guarantee they’ll say it when they find out as well.
I see tears start rolling down her cheeks and I pull her back into my arms. I run my fingers through her hair and walk us over to my bed. We lay down together and I hold her and stroke her hair while she cries for awhile. “I’m so sorry Chloe. But you deserve to hear how proud they would be.” She nods against me and sniffs a little.
“I know Max. I’m sorry I kinda freaked.” She says trying to laugh it off. I shake my head as I continue running my fingers through her hair.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” I kiss the top of her head without really thinking about it. She’s done the same to me a few times usually after I have one of my many nightmares. I’ve been getting them pretty consistently after the storm but luckily she is always happy to comfort me. I think she appreciates the gesture as she just settles more into me. I can’t help but let out a contented sigh. I know this isn’t the time but I can’t help how I feel. It feels so damn good to hold her. Her hair is so soft in my hand. Her arm is wrapped tightly around my waist and I can feel her fingertips lightly touching the skin on my hip where my shirt has ridden up a little. Her head started out on my shoulder but has slowly moved down to my chest. Part of me doesn’t want to ruin the gentleness of this moment but I want to bring the mood back up a bit. She deserves to celebrate today. “So is my boob a nice pillow?”
“Uh yeah duh! Boobs are the best pillows Maximus!” Chloe replies laughing a bit. “And I’ll give yours a solid 10/10 would boob pillow again!” We then both start laughing. She looks up at me with a bright smile again clearly feeling a lot better. Suddenly the tension rises again but in a very different way. I want nothing more than to kiss her. Or at least tell her how much she means to me. Instead I just kind of stare at her awkwardly. “You okay there Mad Max?” She asks.
“Uhhh.. umm uh yeah..” I mumble in a very unconvincing way. She shakes her head and moves her body off of me to get a better look at me.
“Talk to me. I know something is up.” She insists. I don’t want to lie to her but I shift around trying to avoid her gaze. I’ve been wanting to tell her how I feel for so long but I don’t want to ruin today’s mood more than I already have. I just shake my head as I continue to look away from her. “Nuh uh Max. I know you better than that. You know you can tell me anything right?”
“I know Chloe but it’s no big deal. We should go tell my parents about your GED. They’ll probably take us out to dinner or something to celebrate!” I try to change the subject and get off the bed. Chloe gently grabs my arm to stop me.
“No freakin’ way dude! I’m not moving until you tell me what’s up!” She says stubbornly. I sigh knowing there is no getting around it when she gets like this. I don’t know what to say to her. I’ve been avoiding this for so long and I’ve definitely thought about this conversation a million times but that certainly doesn’t mean I have any clue how to go about this. She was my first kiss for fuck sake! I’ve never told anyone I like them before. Also she is my best friend who I sacrificed an entire town for. Shouldn’t it be obvious I have feelings for her? “Earth to Max. You in there?” She asks poking my side clearly trying to cheer me up. I grumble a little in protest.
“Chloe I.. I can’t.. I don’t want to lose you.” I feel tears building in my eyes.
“Shit Max there’s nothing you can say to do that. I promise.” Chloe assures me grabbing both of my hands in hers. I look into her eyes and I know she’s being honest. Even if she doesn’t feel the same way about me we’ll make it work. God it will hurt but she’s right she’d never leave me.
“Chloe.. I.. I um was wondering if you.. Well.. umm.. Why did you dare me to kiss you?” I ask deciding to deflect a little of the pressure onto her. Chloe gets a little flustered and wide eyed at the question.
“Wait.. why exactly are you asking?”
“Oh come on answer the question!” I press.
“I asked you what was wrong first!” We just kind of stare at each other for a minute both of us clearly trying extremely hard to read the other’s mind. Then I finally break.
“Fine! I was thinking that I wanted to kiss you. I’m sorry if that’s super weird and you don’t feel that way about—“ I’m instantly cut off by Chloe’s lips being pressed into mine and her arms wrapping around me. At first I worry it’s going to be a shy peck like our first kiss but I lean into it and attempt to deepen it. She enthusiastically obliges and we both let out soft moans before pulling away.
~ Present Day ~
“Babe hurry up your breakfast is going to get cold!” Chloe shouts from the kitchen. This knocks me out of my stupor and I realize I’ve been standing in the shower like a fool for way longer than I should. I quickly finish washing my hair before getting out and getting dressed as quickly as I can. I head into the kitchen and smile seeing my wife is already changed for work. She’s wearing her short sleeve button up for the garage open with a white tank top underneath. Her name patch reading “Chloe” seems like it’s coming off a bit at the corner but I still think she looks sexy in it. I especially love how she smells after work. Not everyone would find their wife always smelling like motor oil and gas extremely hot but I sure as hell do. I go over to her and grab ahold of her collar to pull her down to kiss me. She kisses me deeply running her tongue against mine. “Mmmm. Better stop that before I make us both stay home today.” She winks at me. I can’t help but laugh.
“As tempting as that is I already said no. Trust me if we were staying home today we’d still be in bed.” I reply as I lean in for one last kiss. “Thanks for breakfast.” I slowly pull away and grab the plate of waffles she had prepared for me. I appreciate that she likes cooking for me but I really should tell her to take it easy on the waffles. The fact that she is still as much of beanpole as she was at 19 but I actually have boobs and an ass feels like no coincidence. I sit down at the kitchen bar rather than the dinning table so I can hang out with her while she finishes making her own waffles and drinks her coffee.
“You’re welcome hippie!” She grins watching me as I take a bite and sigh happily. Chloe has definitely gotten her Mom’s talent for cooking. There are times I’m tempted to tell her that but I don’t like to bring up either of her parents too often. Even after all this time it still is a deep wound for her.
“Mmm you never disappoint in the kitchen.” I compliment with a smile.
“Or in bed?” Chloe teases.
“You’re such a dork! But yeah definitely not in bed either.” I roll my eyes.
“Neither do you babe.” She licks her lips and grabs her own plate. She then walks over and sits down beside me. “So what is your job today?”
“Should be pretty straightforward. Just engagement photos.” I much prefer those over weddings. Shorter hours, I don’t have to dress up and way less stress. She nods and kisses my cheek.
“So I get you home in time for dinner then?” She asks clearly hoping for a yes.
“Well only if you’re cool with a bit of a late dinner. They always want golden hour photos. So it will be dark by the time I’m home.” I admit rubbing my hand up her thigh. “I’ll have to make it up to you later” I tease with a wink. She just chuckles and puts her hand on mine. After that we eat in a comfortable silence. I clean up the plates afterwards and she begins getting her things together to leave.
Once she’s sure she has her keys, wallet and phone she comes back over to me. “Have a great day baby.” I say as I wrap my arms around her neck and pull her in to kiss me. Her hands run up the back of my shirt as she kisses me back deeply. I moan softly and run my hands through her hair. “I love you.” I whisper into her ear once I pull back from the kiss and pull her into a hug instead. She smiles as she presses her lips into the side of my head and returns the hug.
“I love you too, Maximillion.” She grins and moves her hands down my back and squeezes both of my butt cheeks before she stepping away slightly.
“You’re terrible!” I joke as I get up on my tip toes to give her one last peck on the lips.
“That’s not what you said last night.” I playfully push her away from me and she gives me another wink before waving and walking out the door. Damn I love that goof so much.