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The setting sun hangs low in the sky, its reflection stretched long across the lake as it hangs onto its final moments into the new autumn, gently lapping the side of a small boat through the shallow waves that move it up and down. Max glances at Chloe, their eyes meeting briefly with a smile and the repetitive thought that neither can believe they’re here together right now, before they look away to take in the beauty around them. Despite the years of absence between them, there’s no anxiety, no itching to run, no racing heartbeat.
Well, there is, but for a completely different reason.
Chloe being here has been surreal. Max hasn’t been able to exist for a single moment without thinking about the other woman even when they’re apart, let alone sleep. Chloe and chaos tend to go hand in hand these days unfortunately—they had for years, and Max isn’t so sure she’d know how to live if it ever changed.
But that is a different time, and the only time she should be thinking about right now is the one where Chloe Price is sitting across from her in a canoe on a lake, less than three feet away.
Chloe’s eyes meet hers once more, smile bright and surely causing the swarm of butterflies in her stomach. The timing’s perfect, Max thinks, because there’s no chaos here for once. She leans in, and Chloe takes the hint because she leans in too.
The boat rocks and threatens to capsize, and Max thrusts her hand out to rewind before she can stop herself. The moment, again, presents itself to her, and she leans in again. And once again, the boat rocks. “Oh, come on!” she exclaims, rewinding.
After several moments, Max sighs and reaches for Chloe’s hand, earning a smile as Chloe accepts it. “Do you ever feel like the universe is trying to fuck with you?” she asks.
Chloe chuckles. “We have met before, right? I’m Chloe Price, the universe’s crash test dummy,” she replies, giving their joined hands a small shake. She stares at Max for a moment, narrowing her eyes before laughing. “Max Caulfield, did you try to kiss me?”
“What? How did you know?”
“I do know you a little bit.” She raises a brow. “So, what happened?”
“I fell into the lake.”
Chloe snorts. “Wait, how many times did you try?”
Max casts a sideways glance to the lake. “Thirteen,” she mutters. She looks back to Chloe. “It seemed like the perfect moment, but I guess not.”
“Did I fall in too?”
“Yes!”
Chloe laughs and shakes her head. “You really tried thirteen times?” Max nods, embarrassed. Chloe leans forward. “Do you want to try fourteen, and maybe not rewind this time?”
Max frowns. “But what if we fall—”
“Live like the rest of us mortals then, Max.” Chloe shrugs a shoulder. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then let’s show the universe who’s really in charge.”
As always, Chloe has somehow convinced Max, and she leans forward again. The boat rocks, threatening to capsize, and when her lips touch Chloe’s, the only thing she can think about is how much she’s missed kissing Chloe.
Until the boat flips.
Chloe’s hands grab hers before she can rewind, and they’re plunged into the lake as the boat overturns. She isn’t even sure how that was possible, but she time travels so physics isn’t exactly stable in her books.
When she surfaces, she’s face to face with Chloe, who’s grinning. “I’m really hoping that you didn’t rewind,” she says.
“I didn’t, I promise.”
“Good.”
Chloe leans in to kiss her again, a hand coming out of the water to cup Max’s cheek as they tread water. When she pulls from the kiss, she laughs. “See, the universe can’t fucking stop us.”
Max rolls her eyes. “Maybe we should get the boat flipped over before we decide to stick with that,” she counters.