Work Text:
“Ahh!” Max screamed as she shot up in bed, breathless at what she'd seen. The feeling unreality and dreamt reality not quite dissipating till she looked at the golden ring on her finger and over at her slowly stirring beloved wife.
“M-Max, what's wrong?” Chloe asked as she sat up, worry in her beautiful eyes between the blue and green streaks she brushed aside.
“I-it's nothing, just a dumb dream, nightmare more like it.” Max said as she tried get her breathing under control, reminding herself that her Chloe was right here next to her.
“Hey, don't do that, you're hella shook up by this, tell me.” Chloe gently nudged her wife to open up as she pulled her in a hug.
“It's just a stupid dream.”
“If it gets to you Maxi-pad, it's not.” Chloe's old nickname for her wife (one of many) earned her a flick to the nose from the half-glaring half-smiling Max. An over the top pout and whine as she rubbed her 'wounded' nose, earned chuckle from Max, “Come on Max, it'll make you feel better.”
“Okay but don't freak out, because the more I think about it was sort of like a flicker.”
“A flicker. Why would I freak out about the thing that us separated across realities us for several years?” Chloe's answered with an exaggerated smile and fake eye twitch that quickly dissolved into half-hidden worry with an awkward smile.
“Because it was less than a flicker, barely a whisper, and in a dream, instead of being there I was just sorta watching, and I feel fine right now.” Max took a deep breath, punctuating it with raising and lowering her arms, then tapping the completely dry spot under nose, “See, completely fine.”
“Okay, all good, hella fine.” Chloe pulled Max in close, kissing her on the forehead and breathing in the lingering scent of mango shampoo; grounding herself in the knowledge that her Max wasn't going anywhere. “So, tell me.”
“Tell you what? That I love you? Because I do, love you. Wife.” Max tipped her head up to capture Chloe's suddenly smiling lips.
“You know what that does to me!” Chloe chuckled, she always loved it when Max just called her wife. The surreal joy of being married to her beloved Max never seemed to fade from the punk's heart and soul. “But seriously, I know everything's fine, you're not gonna worry me, but what did you see that seemed like a nightmare?”
“Ugh.” Max groaned as she buried her head in her wife's shoulder. She wasn't eager to recall what she saw in her nightmare, but didn't want to leave Chloe in the dark. She never liked doing that, more so after everything they went through.
“That bad huh?”
“I think I saw the worst versions of ourselves.” With a sad nod Max told her wife.
“What, were we like, serial killers or something?” Chloe cocked an eyebrow, the 'worst' part of Max's sentence giving her imagination a bit too much fuel.
“No, just broken up.” Max let out an embarrassed snort at her wife's assumption; perhaps 'worst' was a bit extreme.
“What?! Divorced?!” The idea of any version of herself walking away from her wife was anathema to every part of Chloe's mind rational mind, and most of the irrational parts.
“Worse, broken up before even moving in together.” Max wished she hadn't snickered as she answered, but Chloe's shocked horror was adorable.
“I-what?” Chloe sputtered, trying to comprehend the concept, blinking with her eyes aimlessly darting around in utter confusion, “I think this is gonna need some hella weird context.”
“Hella weird indeed.” Max sighed, gathering her thoughts for a moment to decide where to even begin. “I didn't see much but she- the other Max- was in Vermont, working at a photographer at a university.”
“Sweet gig, is Vermont pretty?”
“Yes and yes and don't distract me.” Max smirked as she cut off her wife's non-sequitur, “She was looking at some old texts and it seems that other Chloe thought other Max was rewinding on her to like, play her.”
“Oh come on other Chloe! No Max would ever do that!” It was an odd feeling to be offended for an alternate self's accusations towards an alternate of your wife, but Chloe found herself here anyway, “Wait, would the worst Max do that? Is that what makes her the 'worst' Max?”
“No, she couldn't even if she wanted to, her powers faded.”
“Wait, so did other Chloe think she was lying to have a way to use her?” Chloe face scrunched up in disgust at the distrust of her counterpart, “That really is the worst Chloe.”
“It gets worse.”
“How?” Chloe's voice was thick with incredulity.
“The letter.” Max hadn't meant to sound ominous, but it just happened, her wife's face becoming scared. “She 'officially' broke up by sending a letter, awhile after she walked out.”
“So let me get this straight.” Chloe leaned back pinching the bridge of her nose as she processed that info. “This other Chloe, she accuses her Max of sketchy shit she would never do, that she wasn't even capable of any more.” Deep breath. “Then she just walks out and sends a letter, days, weeks or months later?”
“Not sure how long it was,” Max answered her wife's inquiring look, “But I remember it saying something about wanting to 'move on from the past and towards the future' or some shit like that.”
Chloe slowly blinked, cringing as she let out a frustrated groan. “So this other Chloe accuses her Max of doing something scummy and gross that she literally couldn't do.” Max watches her wife take a long exasperated breath before she continued, “Then she just walks out and just sends a crappy letter, who knows how long later.”
“That is correct.” The moment after Max confirmed seemed to stretch on in the darkened bedroom.
“I would never do that!” Chloe shouted suddenly.
“I know! Right!” Max shouted back in agreement.
“That really is the worst Chloe.” Chloe rolled her eyes are her own comment, “You know, if you don't count the serial killers, or whatever.”
“Heh, yeah.” Max responded with a snort of laughter, “I mean, all the other Max did was just let her go, maybe 'worst' is a bit harsh.”
“Bullshit.” Chloe retorted, “Any Max that don't fight for her Chloe is bottom of the pile trash! I mean, I may be a bit biased,” Max smiled as she felt her wife hold her close, kissing the top of her head, “But let's face it, can either of us really even think about a Max without a Chloe, or a Chloe without a Max.”
“No. I guess I can't.” Max pulled away from her wife just enough to look her in the eyes before kissing her. Even after all these years, she never tired of kissing her Chloe. “And who knows, maybe they'll get over themselves and work it out.”
“They'd still be pretty low down in the list of Maxes and Chloes, wasting so much time-” Chloe established her opinion as a yawn overcame her, weighing down her eyelids; the late hour and interrupted sleep effecting her. “They'd have missed out of so much wedded bliss.” Her words were chosen to sound sarcastic but were completely sincere. Pulling up her beloved wife's hand up Chloe gently kissed the golden band on her finger.
“Okay, my dork of a wife.” Max smiled as she pulled them back down, their heads hitting the pillows. “Now we should get some sleep, big day tomorrow, long drive.”
“Eh, right, and we to take the 'car'.” Chloe groaned out the last word, even as aware as she was as to the need to be 'presentable' at their appointment.
“Chloe, dear, wife, I love your truck almost as much as you do.” Rust, tears, dents and all; it was a reminder to Max of that first day of their reunion, “But we really need to make a good impression at the adoption agency.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Chloe's smile faded a bit, the new phase of their lives on the horizon was a daunting one, “Still can barely believe we're actually doing this.”
“Well, believe it. Wife.” Max pushed the 'wife' button to make Chloe smile as she snuggled closer to her beloved, eyes fluttering close, “We're gonna crush it.”
“I love you, Max.”
“I love you too. Wife.”
“You know what that does to me.” Max could almost hear Chloe's smile.