Partners

Chloe POV

A/N: This story has triggers such as suicidal thoughts, rape, and anxiety. Read at your own risk.
Also, please give me feedback. This is the first ever fanfiction I'm actually gonna publish. Eek! I suck at describing, so I'm including an exact floor plan for Max and Chloe's apartment.

Bright light. That was the first thing I noticed as I woke up. I groaned and turned over, wanting nothing more than to just go back to sleep. Why is the sun for fucking bright and annoying? I don't have enough caffeine for this shit. Realizing that sleep was no longer an option, I reached over to bug Max instead. But Max wasn't there. Probably making breakfast again. I hope she has coffee! I made my way out to the small hall in the apartment, the smell of coffee hitting me hard. Smiling, I rounded the corner, and there she was in all her cute, freckled glory. 

"Morning, Freckles."

She nearly jumped out of her skin, spilling some of the coffee That was in her mug. "Jesus, Chloe. You scared the shit out of me!"

It's always funny hearing her curse. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." 

Under other circumstances, I would joke about how she could just rewind and not get scared, but she hasn't used her powers since the storm last year, and rewinding is a very touchy subject for her. 

After the storm passed, we looked for survivors until FEMA came. Most of the town actually made it, with only about 27 deaths. Luckily, only a few that Max knew such as Evan and Alyssa didn't make it. 

After that, we headed off to Seattle, where we stayed with her parents for a little while, Joyce and David joining after a couple of weeks. Once we had earned enough money, we went on a road trip, going through California and onward. Our road trip was cut short in Glendale, Arizona, when my poor baby finally died. RIP, Chloe's Beast.

So, settling on a cheap complex off 59th and Olive, Max and I actually had a pretty decent life in the Valley of the Sun. 

Our neighbor, Lacie, was pretty cool. She was chill about the 2 lesbians that live right next door to her. I even sometimes did favors for her like walk her dog or run to the store and she would give me cigarettes in turn for doing so. Lacie was an older woman, in her 70's, but you never would've known if she didn't tell you. 

Not to mention that she was looking pretty bomb with that purple streak I convinced her to put in her bangs. Get it, girl!

"It's fine. Just not again," Max said, breaking me from my thoughts. She held out the mug in her hands. "I made this for you. Now why don't we see if Lacie is up?"

Taking the mug, I headed over to the door, peeking out the peep hole that Max was too short to see out of. "She's up. Let's go say good morning." We stepped outside and sat on the chairs Lacie always left on the shared patio. "Morning, Lacie. How are you and Morgan this morning?"

"Morgan is well as am I, thank you, Chloe. How's your morning going? You look like you just got up." She smiled.

"Right, you are. You know my lazy ass doesn't pry myself from the bed until at least 10."

"Oh, you got up early today," Lacie said, looking at her watch. I pulled out my phone. Sure enough, it was 9:45am. Well, shit.

"Apparently so." I sighed.

"And how are you doing, Max?"

"I'm well, thank you. Just tired." Max gave her a smile that convinced no one that she was well. 

Lacie noticed, too, but didn't say anything as she handed me and Max each a cigarette. Lacie had helped Max so much over the 6 months we'd lived here. She'd gotten her to open up about everything, even her rewind power. That one surprised me one day when I returned from working the 7/11 down the road to Max explaining all of our adventures of that week in vivid detail. I was glad she could open up to someone else as well as me.

"So, Lacie. Gonna redo the purple?" I asked. It was looking a bit faded.

"I've been thinking about it. Not sure yet."

"You should go pink this time." Max pipes in. "I am."

"If only Morgan had lighter fur...." I trailed off, knowing she'll understand what I meant.

"No, Chloe, you can't dye my dog. What is wrong with you?" We all burst into fits of laughter. 

We sat and smoked, talking about life, and the gossip around the complex, just like every morning. I loved this routine. The only time there was a quiet moment was when we stopped to refill our coffees and such. Things may not have been perfect, but they were pretty damn close.

Sitting there just chatting away made me love being a partner in crime, time, love, and life.