Max and Chloe had been living together in California for a few months now, living off of money they both had stashed away, some help from Max's parents, and, of course, work. She had managed to get a few freelance photographer jobs, and was working as a cashier to make sure there was something steady if photography had a gap between earnings.
Exhausted from a long day at work, Max was relieved to come home to her girlfriend. Her stomach filled with butterflies every time she thought of that word. It seemed so foreign to her, a thing she had never thought would happen, yet here she was, living with the love of her life. She wouldn't have it any other way.
Tossing aside her shoes, Max practically collapsed on the couch beside the blue-haired woman she had fallen for. "Hope you had a better day than I did," she said, smiling slightly. She had felt a lot more irritated about the rude customers she had gotten today before she had gotten home, but now that she was here, so close to Chloe, it didn't matter to her as much. Everything was right in the world.<|im_end|>
Life had been... well, strange since Chloe had left Arcadia Bay in her wake, with nothing but her beat up truck and her best friend at her side. Which was ironic, because she imagined that it was even stranger for Max after the horrific experiences she had gone through in an attempt solely to keep her alive. She'd never been so grateful to a single person - Max came back. She swore that her best friend had left her behind, but she came back, found the closure she needed after Rachel vanished, and despite the fact that Max should have given up on her, here they were.
California was better than she thought it would be, and she had thought it would be amazing. They had a little apartment of their own and minimum wage jobs to keep them above the water, and honestly Chloe didn't need much else in her life at this point. (Though she could honestly say there were moments where she ached to have her mother back around, despite how volatile their relationship had been towards the end.) Today she had the day off, and she'd spent it lounging on the couch after she went to pick up and grab some groceries.
Chloe was finishing off a joint when she heard the door click open, and she dropped it in to an ashtray and shifted her position so she was less strewn out across the length of it and more sitting up. A grin grew on her lips as Max entered the apartment, and as Max collapsed on to the couch Chloe moved in to wrap her arms around the smaller woman's waist. A few months ago she would have never pictured this- Max back in her life, let alone as her girlfriend. She tried to act like she was tough most of the time, but Max made her weak in all the best ways and she wouldn't want it any other way. "Oh? What happened in today's adventure in retail hell?"<|im_end|>