Chapter Text
"Max, can we just go now? We've been coming back to this trash pile for like- 2 months now. And its like 1 in the morning and I do not like being here at night.."
Hazel pushed herself into one of the only clean corners of Maddox's workshop, waiting for Max to look up from that stupid watch on the workbench. She slightly pushed herself closer into the corner hearing something skitter around outside, not able to see it due to the dark and the light right by the broken window blinding everything.
Max still didnt look up, his goggles pulled over his eyes, his hat tipped to the side slightly, his coat thrown across the room from how hot it was getting in there.
"Just- just wait a second Hazel, I've almost got the sides together!"
Max moved a bit quicker, shoving himself to the other side of the room for more metal, the soldering iron still turned on next to the nearly-finished watch. Max couldnt find the right peicr he needed and took a bit longer to get it, accidentally throwing a few pieces around the room, a few landing a bit to close to Hazel for comfort
"Okay! That's it! Max, I get this means a lot to you, and I do want to support you, but if another peice of metal goes flying at my head, I am leaving you here! Got it!?"
"YES! Yes, I got it! I just need another minute- AH! FUCK!!"
Hazel heard Max's pained scream and immediately ran over to him, almost tripping over some failed attempts. Max was holding onto his hand, he was so focused on getting the metal he needs and trying to reason with Hazel that he forgot the iron was on and his hand had grabbed the iron right on the heated metal, burning him through his glove.
Max stumbled back into the workbench, shoving it into the wall making the few bottles on the shelf above on the wall shake from the hit. Hazel quickly pulled Max away from the bench when the bottles fell, not wanting him to get more hurt.
The bottles smashed onto the workbench surface, clouds of different colors covering anything visible in front of them. Once the smoke and dust cleared slightly, they noticed an odd faint glow from the workbench, something familiar to Max. He quickly picked himself up and rushed over to the bench, Hazel slowly getting up and staying right where she was
"Uhh... is that a good glow or a bad glow?"
Max carefully picked up the watch from the workbench, his hands practically shaking as he turned the watch over and around. He did it. He actually did it! Years of watching his father fall further into madness, months of failing and failing but he finally did it.
He turned around to face Hazel, his expression holding an unfamiliar excitement Hazels never seen on Max's face in the nearly 8 years shes known him
"Your face is scaring me."
"Hazel Hazel Hazelll!!!! Dont you see, it worked, it worked, I did it!!" Max threw his goggled to the side and grabbed his purple trench coat. "Now time to see if this really works!"
"Woahwoahwoah, maybe let's wait until its actually morning- and you already pressed it, great."
The watch whirred and shook as Max pressed down on it, the numbers and hands seeming like they were swirling out of it, yet at the same time never seemed to shift. Within a matter of seconds, everything around them slowed down to a stop before a large flash blinded them.
When they could see again, everything looked... normal. Except for one thing. Everything in the workshop looked much older. Not like they had been there for a long time, but like they were made with older materials and techniques. They could hear someone moving around upstairs, and considering they were alone before Max hit the watch, they were reasonably spooked and quickly left with no intention of finding out whoever was up there.
Hazels had enough of Wonderland for now and dragged Max back to the rabbit hole, ignoring his protests and whines, throwing him into the hole and jumping in after him.
Once Hazel came out of the hole and dusted herself off, she turned to Max who carefully put the watch away in his pocket
"Alright Max, your dumb watch worked. Whats the plan now?"
Max went a little silent as he tried thinking. He's had a few idea for if he ever actually got this, though a few of them did include a bit more violent thoughts than he would like. Max looked at Hazel with that face he makes, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll think of one as we go". Great, just what Hazel wanted to hear.
(BTW this is the face he was making, I love this image so much)