Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Night had fallen over Wonderland. No one in the group had realized how many hours had passed since they left the White Rabbit’s house. Bridget had allowed the group to spend the night at the palace before returning to Auradon the following day.

The castle was filled with rooms where they could sleep, but everyone had preferred to stay in the sitting room, surrounded by cushions and comfortable sofas where they could spend the night. None of them knew exactly why, but after everything they had been through over the past few days, it felt strange to spend the night alone.

Unlike the others, Max had gone outside for a few minutes, enjoying the cold air. He needed some time alone to properly think about everything that had happened that day.

He didn’t know how to feel about switching sides. The idea of having a normal relationship with his father had blinded him. It was something he had always wanted, but in the end, he had hurt his friends, some of whom were much closer to him than his father was.

God, even the friends he had made during that little adventure were closer to him than his father.

Which was pretty sad.

He sighed and looked up at the sky, taking in the huge moon and the stars. The sky was an enchantment in Wonderland since it was underground, but even so, it was incredibly beautiful.

—A little late to be out, don’t you think?—

He turned and saw Luis approaching him, wearing his characteristic smile. Max didn’t know why, but seeing it made him smile too.

—I needed some fresh air—

—There’s air inside too—

He barely let out a small laugh at the joke and went back to staring at the horizon. Luis stood beside him and leaned against the railing as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Max could see the bandage on Luis’s shoulder beneath his torn shirt. He himself also had a bandage where his father had cut him.

The two of them stood there in silence. Luis glanced at him a couple of times before speaking in a slow, measured tone.

—So… you knew about the time travel—

Red and Chloe had insisted on telling everyone before the doctors arrived, but their mothers refused to let them, so the two girls waited until they had undergone a quick examination before asking the doctors for a few minutes of privacy.

That was when they told everyone the whole truth: what the previous timeline had been like, the coup, and their journey into the past. They didn’t leave out a single detail. Max had only known the surface-level version, and now that he knew everything, he understood why Red had told Maddox that life had been hell.

Although he and his father had had a good relationship back then, it seemed that his life had been much worse than the one he had now.

—Something like that. When I went to my father’s workshop, I only saw part of it. I knew they had traveled through time and what my father had been like back then, but I didn’t know everything else—

—And what do you think?—

—The truth… I’m not as angry anymore. My father is completely different, but it seems like my life got better. Something I never thought I’d say—

Once Red admitted what that life had been like, part of Max began to think that he had actually been lucky that history had changed. That was why he felt so confused that he had needed to get away for a while.

—And you? How are you handling knowing all of this?—

—Pretty well. I mean, it feels really weird to think that the Queen of Hearts was cruel, even more than your father, no offense— he quickly added the last part —But it didn’t change anything about my life, so I’m just a little surprised—

Max nodded, admitting that made sense, and the two fell silent again for several seconds until Luis broke the silence once more.

—Hey, I also wanted to talk to you about what happened in the labyrinth— Luis seemed to grow a little more nervous, and Max looked at him curiously —You saved my life—

It took Max a few seconds to understand what he was referring to. When he remembered, he brushed it off.

—It was nothing. I was partly to blame for you almost falling, so…—

—You saved me— Luis wasn’t going to let Max take the credit away from himself —You chose me over your father. Thank you—

Max was left breathless, not expecting the intensity of the other boy or the sincerity in his eyes. He needed a couple of seconds to recover.

—What is it you usually say? The first rescue is free?—

Luis smiled, happy that Max had heard those words and remembered them.

—That’s right—

—Anyway, you saved me too, so we’re even—

Luis grew more serious and moved a little closer.

—There’s one more thing I want to say. Something very important that I need to tell you—

Max’s eyes widened slightly as he felt his heart gradually speeding up, both because of Luis’s words and because of his sudden closeness. Luis kept looking directly into his eyes, completely focused on him.

—You owe me one—

Hearing that, Max thought he had misheard him until he noticed the teasing smile on Luis’s face. Fortunately, he was able to snap out of it.

—What? We saved each other once—

—I disagree. I saved you twice—

—Twice? When was the second time?—

—When we fell. I protected you from the rubble—

—You call that ‘saving my life’?—

—Of course I do. What would you call it?—

Max shook his head and leaned a little more heavily against the railing. Luis turned his entire body to face him.

—You’re impossible—

—Well, you haven’t told me to leave you alone—

The look they shared was calmer, less playful, and much more sincere.

—Maybe I’m starting to like having you around—
…
Curiously, Hazel fell asleep before the twins did. After the doctor gave her something for the pain, she fell asleep within minutes. She was lying on a sofa while the twins sat on the floor, playing with some cards to pass the time.

On the floor, lying across a couple of sofas, were Robbie and Félix, both fast asleep.

On another sofa, a little farther away, Chloe was beginning to wake up. While the doctor had been stitching up Red’s back, the two of them had been holding hands, mostly because Chloe wanted Red to know that she was there with her. The problem was that the exhaustion and painkiller had taken their toll, and the girl had fallen asleep within minutes.

As she began to wake up, she shifted uncomfortably, still feeling some pain throughout her body. She squeezed the hand she had been holding onto, only to find nothing there.

She opened her eyes and saw that Red was no longer in the chair where she had been sitting while the doctor treated her.

Curious, and a little worried, she placed her hands down to sit up and get out of bed, but she had barely moved a few inches when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

—Chloe, don’t move—

She turned her head and saw her mother looking at her worriedly. Ella insisted a little more, eventually getting her to lie back down.

—Remember what the doctor told you. You need to rest—

Chloe sighed as she looked at her bandaged knee.

A severe knee sprain. That was the diagnosis. The doctor had already warned her that she would need crutches to walk for at least a month, and that she would have to spend quite some time in rehabilitation to fully regain her mobility.

The good news was that she would make a complete recovery within four or five months. But those were going to be some very difficult months. Especially because the doctor had told her she wouldn’t be able to compete in Swords and Shields until she had fully recovered.

—And Red?—

—The doctor finished stitching her up a few minutes ago. She didn’t want to wake you, so she went to find Bridget and Pink—

Chloe nodded and looked toward one of the doors to the sitting room, the same door the two women had gone through after Red and Chloe had told everyone the whole story.

Finding out the truth had been like a bucket of cold water being thrown over them. They had both apologized to everyone and left. No one had spoken to them since.

—I should have gone with her—

—Chloe, you can’t walk, and you need to rest. Besides, this is something Red has to do on her own—

Yes, her mother was absolutely right. Even so, Chloe wanted to be there with Red.

Ella sat down on the chair and took her daughter’s hand, drawing her attention.

—How are you, sweetheart?—

—Fine. Everything still hurts, but I’m better—

Ella smiled at her and gently stroked her hand. She had also been stunned when she learned the truth, when she learned that she had died, that Bridget had ordered her execution. She didn’t know how to approach the subject with Chloe, or whether her daughter was ready to talk about it.

There was something else troubling her, too: she didn’t know how different this Chloe was from her Chloe. She was going to need a lot of time to understand the whole timeline situation.

The morning before Chloe had left for Auradon, Ella had noticed that something seemed different about her daughter. Not enough to be worried, but she had noticed it.

And now that she knew about the time travel, she couldn’t help wondering whether the personalities of the two Chloes were very different.

Or whether it was the other way around, whether she was the one who was different, rather than Chloe.

—Chloe—

The girl looked at her mother when she called her name, noticing that she seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Ella remained silent for a few seconds before speaking.

—Is there something you want to tell me? Something that’s very different from how things were before?—

Was she even asking that the right way?

Chloe had to think about the question, debating whether to tell her the truth. She didn’t want her mother to feel worse, but she had just told her an hour ago that she had literally changed history. Compared to that, this wasn’t such a big deal.

—You’re a little stricter. It’s not like I didn’t have rules or responsibilities before, but now there are a lot more of them. As soon as I woke up, you started giving me lists of my royal duties. You even came with me to class—

—I wanted to say goodbye. And it’s a long journey for you to make alone—

—I’m almost seventeen. I can go to boarding school by myself. And Dad stayed home—

She listened to her, knowing deep down that Chloe had a point. Chloe carefully thought about how to ask what was on her mind.

—Mom, I already knew that your childhood wasn’t easy, and the trip to the past made that very clear to me, but I don’t understand why you hated royalty and now want us to present ourselves as the perfect royal family. And why you lied to Chad and me about always wanting to be a queen?—

She sighed and gathered the courage to explain herself.

—I wasn’t born into nobility. Every day, I had to earn my own bread, so thinking about people who had their whole lives figured out from the moment they were born wasn’t something I particularly liked, especially because back then I thought nobles never worked—

—But then I met your father, and everything changed. We got married, and that brought some unpleasant comments because of my background. And it got worse when we both became king and queen. So, between my change in perspective and not wanting those judgments to affect you, I was strict with you and your brother. But it’s true that maybe I went too far—

—I’m so sorry, Chloe. From now on, I promise I won’t expect so much from you. We’ll do things right, together. And if you notice anything different, please tell me—

—I will. I promise. Thank you, Mom—

—Good, because I don’t want to see you being evil again—

Hearing that, Chloe’s expression changed to something more amused, and she let out a small laugh.

—How do you know about that?—

—Maddox had a spell that let him see everything that was happening. We saw what happened in the cave—

Chloe nodded. Part of her felt a little embarrassed, but not too much.

—In fact, I’d go so far as to say that phase was Red’s fault—

Okay, that really caught her off guard.

She stared at her mother, extremely surprised and nervous. She felt the blood rush to her face as she struggled to find the words.

—What? I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. Red has nothing to do with it. She… just… What exactly did you see?—

—We saw everything up until Maddox left, which he did right after you returned to normal. By the way, thank you. You two helped me win my bet with Bridget—

She smiled when she saw Chloe turn even redder than before and let out an annoyed little groan, though she was so embarrassed that the sound came out incredibly adorable.

She tried to cover her face with her free arm, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

—You really had a bet?—

—Yes. Apparently, your versions in this timeline were also hopelessly in love—

—Mom!—

Her mother laughed. Chloe stayed still for a few seconds until curiosity got the better of her, and she lowered her arm slightly.

—Did Bridget bet that we wouldn’t get together?—

—No. I bet that you would finally confess your feelings to each other before the end of the year. Bridget was certain nothing would happen until the end of the school year—

The fact that their versions in this timeline had apparently been so obvious only made Chloe feel even more embarrassed. While she was going through the most mortifying moment of her life, Ella was delighted and couldn’t stop laughing.

—And now that we have some time, I want you to tell me your whole story with Red— Chloe looked at her curiously —I’m sure how you met and everything you went through together is different in the two timelines—

Chloe thought about it for a moment and realized she was right. She didn’t know everything, but it seemed that these versions of Red and Chloe had known each other much earlier, so their entire story would be completely different.

She felt a little calmer and noticed that she wasn’t blushing quite as much anymore when she thought about it.

—I’ll tell you on one condition. You have to tell me what we were like—

Ella smiled and squeezed her daughter’s hand.

—Deal—
…
Bridget had prepared some tea for herself and Pink, although that was really just an excuse to try to distract herself. Pink had been fidgeting with her cup the whole time, until her mother finally finished her tea.

Neither of them had said anything for quite some time.

The woman poured a little more tea for her daughter with a smile. Pink tried to return it, but all that came out was a grimace. Of the two of them, Pink was the more confused one.

It wasn't that she was different in the other timeline. It was that she simply didn't exist there. She had never been born. How was she supposed to feel about that?

No wonder Red wasn't comfortable around her.

And speaking of Red, she had just entered the room. Neither of them had noticed her, since she hadn't made a sound, which was something of a miracle considering the stitches on her back forced her to walk very straight to avoid hurting herself. Her wrist was also immobilized and held in a sling.

Red looked at the two of them. Her mother was trying to act as though everything was normal, but it was obvious from her expression that the information had affected her deeply. And Pink, her sweet and cheerful sister, was unusually quiet. Red had never seen her like this before. It was clear that she was struggling with everything too.

Gathering her courage for the conversation, Red took a few steps forward, making sure to step on the wooden floor so they could hear her. After her first few steps, the two of them heard her and looked up, their expressions changing immediately when they saw her standing there.

—Red, you shouldn't be walking—

Pink approached her worriedly, examining her sister. Bridget was paying close attention too, but kept her distance, unsure whether she should approach or not.

—My legs are perfectly fine, so I'm going to have to disagree with you—

—You always have to be right, don't you?—

They both laughed and exchanged an awkward glance.

—How are you?— Red asked.

—Fine. I barely got hurt—

Red nodded, waiting a few seconds for her sister to say something else, but she didn't, leaving Red to take the lead.

—And what about everything else?—

Pink looked at her in silence, trying to put her thoughts in order.

—To be honest, I don't know. The idea that there was another life and that I wasn't a part of it is really strange. Does it ever get easier?—

—You talk as if I changed the timeline every day. I don't know if you ever get completely used to it, but I suppose it will get easier—

—You think so?—

—I'm getting used to having you. So yes, it'll get easier—

Finally, Pink smiled again. She looked like the girl Red had met a few days ago once more. But something still wasn't quite right. It was obvious from her expression that she was still thinking about something.

—Is something else bothering you?—

Pink looked conflicted, fidgeting with her hands before speaking again.

—No, well... I can't stop thinking about the fight. About everything you all did. Hazel and Chloe protected the others, Luis did too, you made sure Maddox couldn't get his hands on the clock. Even when none of you could barely stand, you all kept fighting. And I just stood there—

—What? You captured Maddox—

—With a spell that everyone else could do, but they thought I was the most suitable person to use it. You don't need royal blood to use the cards, Maddox is proof of that. I didn't do anything that the others couldn't have done. I—

—Hold it right there— Red quickly interrupted her —Pink, you saved us. And I'm not just talking about Maddox. You made me see reason in the labyrinth, you found everyone else, you were able to return the other three to their normal size, and you guided them back to us. And yes, maybe the others could have used that spell too, but you were the one who did it. Not them. You—

Pink was visibly moved by those words, almost in tears, but Red wasn't finished yet.

—You're the hero of this story. The one who showed up when we needed a miracle and fixed everything—

Pink moved even closer to her, but stopped a couple of inches away, a clear question on her face. She began moving her hands, pointing at herself and then at Red.

—Would you mind if I...?—

Red understood immediately and didn't hesitate. She raised her good hand and wrapped it around Pink, pulling her into a tight hug. Pink wrapped her arms around her waist and rested her head on her shoulder. Somehow, that hug felt like the most intimate and sincere one they had ever shared.

—Although you're going to have to be patient with me. I've never had a sister before—

Pink laughed through her tears.

—That won't be a problem—

The two of them stayed together, enjoying the moment, until Pink felt someone gently stroking the back of her head. She looked in that direction and saw her mother, looking at the two of them with tears in her eyes.

—I'm so happy for you girls—

The two sisters pulled apart, smiling at each other one last time before looking at their mother. Pink was incredibly happy, but Red didn't know what to say or how to react.

—My rose, could you give us a minute?—

Pink understood and looked at Red, silently asking if she was okay. Red nodded. Pink squeezed her good hand one last time before smiling at her mother and leaving the room.

Once they were outside, Bridget spoke before Red could.

—Red, I'm so, so sorry. For everything you've suffered, for everything I did to you—

When she had learned the truth, she had felt miserable upon realizing how much pain she had caused Red.

—Mom, it wasn't you, it was—

—Me. In another timeline, but it was me. I hurt you so much, and that's something I'll never forgive myself for—

—Mom, no” Red took her hand “It wasn't your fault. It was another reality. You can't blame yourself for something you didn't do, don't remember, or anything like that—

—But you remember it—

—Yes, and I still haven't completely gotten used to it. But what I do know for sure is that you're not responsible for any of it. You love me, and that's what matters to me—

—Red...— with some hesitation, Bridget placed her hands on her daughter's cheeks, making the contact firmer when she saw that Red didn't pull away —You don't have to pretend that this isn't affecting you. Overnight, your entire life changed completely. Nothing is the way it used to be. You have every right to be confused, or even angry with me if sometimes it's too much. Don't feel bad about it—

With her thumb, Bridget wiped away a tear that was running down her daughter's cheek.

—Can we take it one step at a time?— she asked somewhat shyly.

Her mother simply smiled.

—Of course we can. And not only that. We'll make new memories. I don't want you to be the Red from this reality. I want you to be yourself, and I want to get to know you little by little. And I want you to get to know this world little by little too—

—That would be nice—

Bridget pulled her into a tight hug, feeling much more relaxed than before. Red also felt lighter now that they had talked about it. There was still a long road ahead of them, but it was a good beginning.

—And, as our first new memory, how about you tell me about Chloe?—

Red coughed when she heard that and pulled away to look her in the eyes, seeing a teasing smile on her mother's face.

—What—what do you know about that?—

—Well, I know you kissed her to break the spell. Something I'm very, very happy about, but you could have waited until the end of the school year—

Red didn't know why, but she suddenly started laughing. Her mother joined in shortly afterward, and the two of them stayed like that for a little while longer.

Bridget's interrogation about Chloe wasn't over yet.
…
When Pink left the room, she carefully closed the door so as not to wake anyone and walked as quietly as she could. She saw Chloe talking to her mother, and the two of them seemed very happy.

She approached at a leisurely pace from behind the sofa and placed her hands on the backrest.

—How’s your knee?—

At the sound of her voice, Chloe stopped talking and turned her head to look at her. When she saw who it was, she smiled sincerely.

—I’m getting better, but I’m not exactly looking forward to doing nothing for the next few months—

—Take advantage of the fact that several of us are going to be your personal assistants during those months—

The two of them smiled at each other, and Chloe squeezed her hand. Pink returned the gesture, exchanged a glance with Ella, and then began to walk away.

In a secluded area, she saw the twins still playing cards. When she spotted Squeaky, she stopped in her tracks. She thought it would be best to go to Robbie, although he was asleep and she didn’t want to disturb him.

She looked at the twin again, feeling herself blush slightly, and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She could do this.

She approached them quietly so as not to wake the others. Both brothers stopped their game when they saw her coming and smiled at her when she sat down with them.

—Do you have any food?— Squirmy asked.

This time, she couldn’t get angry with them since the whole group had gone all day without eating. Their mother had told them that, after the doctor examined them, she would ask someone to bring them some food.

—I have a few cookies left. Don’t worry, these aren’t the kind that make you grow—

She said the last part after seeing the expressions on both their faces as they remembered the last cookies they had eaten.

Pink opened her small purse and took out some cookies, handing them to the twins. Squirmy immediately started devouring his. He was starving.

Squeaky was about to take his first bite when he looked at Pink. He knew that she hadn’t eaten anything all day either.

Without thinking twice, he broke the cookie in half and gave one of the halves to her.

Pink smiled at him happily, a smile that Squeaky immediately returned, and the two of them took their first bite. She chewed her food slowly before daring to speak.

—Thank you—

He simply nodded in understanding.

Pink took another deep breath.

—And thank you for what you did earlier— Squeaky looked at her expectantly —For believing in me and staying with me while I was casting the spell. Thank you, Squeaky—

He stared at her with a smile for a few seconds before opening his mouth to say something, but his brother interrupted him.

—Pink, that was me—

The color drained from the girl’s face.

—What?—

—I was the one who was with you—

—No, I…— Pink looked between the two brothers, unable to believe the terrible mistake she had made —It’s just that… I thought… well, I…— the more she spoke, the redder she became.

The twins stared at her, waiting for her to come up with a good excuse, until Squirmy couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, immediately followed by his brother.

Pink stared at them in confusion for a few seconds until she realized what had happened.

—It’s not funny!—

She lightly shoved Squeaky, who couldn’t stop laughing.

—It is— the two of them replied at the same time.

It took several seconds for them to finally calm down, and then they fist-bumped.

—They play the same prank on everyone— Hazel explained sleepily —Now keep it down. Some of us are trying to sleep—

The three of them silently apologized to her and waited a few seconds before she fell deeply asleep again.

The brothers exchanged amused smiles.

Squeaky turned his head and saw Pink sitting there with her arms crossed, bright red with embarrassment. He felt a pang of guilt, even though it had been a good prank, and clinked his cookie against Pink’s, making a tiny toast.

Pink noticed the gesture and, seeing the adorable expression on his face, smiled and began to relax. The two of them continued eating their cookies.
…
After finishing her conversation with her mother, Red and her mother left the room. Bridget opened the door for them and stayed nearby in case Red needed help walking. She managed on her own, but she was moving quite slowly.

When she saw that Chloe seemed to have woken up and was talking to Ella, Red almost ran over to her, but her injuries (and her mother) slowed her down considerably, forcing her to settle for walking instead.

Ella noticed the two of them approaching and stopped talking to her daughter. Chloe tried to see what was going on, but the back of the sofa was blocking her view. Ella stood up to free the chair and, when Red got close enough, helped her sit down.

When Chloe realized who it was, she tried to sit up, but the looks from both queens and Red forced her to remain lying down. Once Red had sat down, the two girls held hands.

Behind them, Ella gently squeezed Bridget’s arm. Bridget looked at her gratefully and quietly thanked her.

—We’ll leave you girls to rest— Ella announced —Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll take all of you to Auradon—

Red frowned.

—Are we really going to class after all this?—

—I’m sure Uma will give you a few days off to recover, but you’re not getting out of studying— Bridget tried to sound serious, but her smile gave her away.

—Almost got me— Red whispered to Chloe, earning a laugh from the girl.

They both watched their mothers leave before turning to look at each other again. Red began stroking the back of Chloe’s hand with her thumb, although she was still somewhat distracted by her conversation with her mother.

—How did it go?— Chloe asked.

—Fine, I guess. Everything is still really weird, and I don’t know when I’ll get used to all of this, but we agreed to take things slowly. So it wasn’t a complete disaster. What about you?—

—Pretty much the same. I’m getting used to everything, but I think I’ll be okay. In the end, telling her was a good thing—

Red nodded and looked around. Max and Luis still hadn’t returned. Pink was with the twins, talking to them, although it was obvious that all three of them were exhausted, and everyone else was still asleep. It was only natural after everything they had been through.

Chloe looked down at their joined hands, watching as Red absentmindedly played with hers without even looking at her. It was difficult to explain what she felt seeing Red do something so intimate with such ease, as if it were something they had been doing their whole lives.

Even though she didn’t know how to put it into words, the feeling wasn’t unpleasant at all. There was a sense of calm in her chest that she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

—Pink told me I’m going to have personal assistants for the next few months—

—Of course you are. We’re not going to let you move from that bed any more than necessary—

Chloe let out a dry laugh.

—‘We’? You’re worse off than I am. In fact, I should be the one helping you by now, not the other way around—

—Really? What are you going to do if I need some water? Bring it to me on your crutches?—

Red had a good point, and Chloe knew it. Even so, she shook her head with a smile and looked up at the ceiling.

There was a brief silence until she heard a small but unmistakable groan of pain from Red.

—What’s wrong?—

—Sitting is horrible— she admitted, shifting her back slightly in the hope that it would ease the pain, but it didn’t help.

—How would you be more comfortable?—

—If my back were completely straight—

Red reached her good hand behind her, trying to massage the area without applying too much pressure. That injury was going to be a nuisance for a very long time.

She noticed Chloe moving, pressing herself as far back against the sofa as she could.

—What are you doing?—

—Making room for you— she replied, as if it were obvious.

—What? Chloe, the sofa isn’t exactly very big, and you shouldn’t be moving—

—We can both fit if we stay close, and I’m not going to sit here comfortably while you’re in pain—

Red tried to hide her blush when she heard Chloe say they were going to cuddle. She had never done anything like this before. Luckily, she was able to think about something else when Chloe tried to sit up by pushing herself up with her arms.

—Which part of ‘you shouldn’t move’ don’t you understand?—

Red tried to make her lie back down, but Chloe refused to give in and eventually managed to sit up.

—If I don’t move my knee, I’m fine. And you’re going to need help taking off your sling. You’ll be more comfortable without it—

Carefully, Chloe moved her hands to the sling and began taking it off slowly. Red moved her arm at the same pace so she wouldn’t hurt herself, and within a few seconds, Chloe had removed it and placed it beside the sofa so she could retrieve it later.

Red moved her elbow a couple of times. It was numb after being kept immobilized for so long. Chloe gently massaged the area, hoping it would help.

Once she felt better, she helped Chloe lie back down. She moved the chair a little closer so it was completely flush with the sofa and carefully began lying down, mindful of both her back and Chloe. Once she was lying on her stomach, she rested her arm on the chair, leaving it in a more comfortable position.

Once she was sure nothing was going to hurt, she timidly moved her good arm around Chloe’s waist, gently hugging her. She slowly stroked her side without any particular plan in mind when she felt Chloe tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

The two of them stared into each other’s eyes, and everything around them seemed to freeze for those few moments. Chloe leaned in and kissed her softly. It only lasted a few seconds, but when they pulled apart, Red wanted more and leaned in for a second kiss. It lasted longer than the first, but was just as gentle.

When they broke the second kiss, they briefly rested their foreheads together before Red pulled back slightly and rested her head on Chloe’s shoulder. Chloe wrapped one arm around her waist and gently caressed her cheek with the other.

In that position, knowing how badly injured Red was, Chloe couldn’t stop the guilt from returning. She felt that all of this had happened because she had let Max get into her head instead of calmly talking things through with Red.

It was her fault that Red was like this now.

—What’s going through that pretty head of yours?—

Red gently stroked her chin to get her attention and then rested her hand on her chest. Chloe smiled at the compliment, but the guilt quickly returned.

—I was thinking that if I had talked to you sooner, maybe this wouldn’t have—

—Don’t go there—

—Red, it’s the truth. If we had talked about it sooner…—

—We already discussed this in the maze. Chloe, either we’re both to blame or neither of us is. It doesn’t work if one of us is and the other isn’t. We both did things we shouldn’t have done. So don’t carry all of this on your own, okay?—

Chloe nodded slightly, gently stroking Red’s waist while being careful not to touch her wound. The feeling hadn’t completely gone away.

—I’m just saying I wish things had happened differently—

Red stroked her chin again before running her thumb along her cheek.

—Well, not everything —

Chloe smiled as she understood what she meant. It was true. Not everything had been a complete disaster. Red nodded too and leaned in again to keep kissing her, but Chloe stopped her by resting her forehead against hers, earning a confused look from Red.

—I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s right to keep kissing you when I can’t call you my girlfriend yet—

Red laughed at how proper the girl she was completely smitten with could be.

—Are you seriously going to be this proper after everything?—

Chloe simply shrugged “I just want to do things right”

Red shook her head, still smiling, and held her cheek a little more firmly.

—Of course I want to be your girlfriend, princess—

They were both still smiling when their lips met again, and they didn’t stop there. Chloe pulled her a little closer, making sure she wouldn’t fall to the floor, while Red rested her hand on her shoulder.

They pulled apart when they felt themselves running out of air and stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds. Red noticed Chloe glance at her lips and kissed her again for the briefest moment. The exhaustion was beginning to catch up with both of them, and all they wanted was to sleep.

Red now rested her head on Chloe’s chest, listening to the rhythm of her heartbeat as it began to slow.

—Looks like someone was nervous—

Chloe shook her head with a laugh.

—Shut up—

Red quietly laughed too and snuggled a little closer, enjoying her warmth. She placed her hand against Chloe’s side while Chloe wrapped her arms around her shoulders and waist.

Chloe fought hard to stay awake until she noticed Red’s breathing becoming almost shallow, confirming that she had fallen asleep. She stayed awake a little longer, admiring her, until exhaustion finally overcame her too and she fell asleep.

Holding the girl she loved with all her heart.