When Max awoke, her face was pressed against the warm skin of Chloe's chest. The taller girl's arms were around her, with one hand running softly through her hair. Not wanting to disturb the moment, she just stayed still, pretending to still be asleep.

Last night had been incredible. Max had heard so many stories about people's "first times," ranging from awful to funny, but they'd all kind of set her up to assume that the first time someone, ahem, made love, it was an awkward experience. To a certain extent, it had been for her, too. She'd been pretty nervous that her crotch smelled weird, or that her nipples looked odd, or that she'd do something that would just be a full-stop turnoff for Chloe, but none of that had happened. If Chloe's behavior had been any indication, there was nothing wrong with her. She'd had to be told what to do at a couple points, but that was about the worst of it.

But first time jitters and confusion aside, it had been amazing. Max had loved the way Chloe had touched her, and the way she'd kissed her. There had been one moment when Max had been lying on her back with Chloe kneeling between her legs when Chloe had just stared at her for a second, a look of adoration on her face, and Max had never felt so beautiful. Everything Chloe had done had made her feel amazing, really, whether on a physical or emotional level, and frequently both.

It hadn't been one-sided, either, and Max was a little proud of that. She was proud of the way she'd made Chloe moan and gasp a little. She was proud of the way that the taller girl's fingers had curled in her hair. Max was proud of the way Chloe had murmured "yes" and "don't stop" as she had touched her. The whole experience had been magical for her, and she really hoped it had meant as much to Chloe.

"Well, look who's finally awake!" Chloe remarked as Max eventually turned her head up to face her, "Sleep okay?"

"Yes!" Max replied, a bit more enthusiastically than she'd intended. She hadn't has as many nightmares in the night, and those she had weren't as bad as the ones before. It might have just been a function of time passing, but she kind of liked to think that it was because Chloe was holding her. "Did you, uh, sleep okay, too?" Max wasn't entirely sure what she was supposed to say the morning after having sex with someone.

"Pretty good, yeah," Chloe stated, smiling down at her, "I was pretty exhausted." Max felt that little glow of pride again, and scooted up so that her face was about even with Chloe's, pulling the blankets up with her. It was silly, but she kind of wanted to keep herself covered up, even after last night.

"Thanks for last night," Max mumbled, feeling a little awkward all of a sudden, "It was- I just- It was really special for me." Chloe smiled at her and leaned over, planting a gentle kiss on her lips for a moment.

"You're so cute," the taller girl said, grinning and reaching a hand up to stroke Max's hair again, "And you don't have to 'thank' me, Max. It's not like I was helping you move or something. We screwed. You don't thank someone after you screw." Max blushed at the nonchalance with which Chloe talked about the whole thing. "Screw," "twat," "snatch." The words she used seemed too crass for something as beautiful as lovemaking, but maybe Max was just being too mushy about everything.

"It was pretty great for me, too," Chloe went on, seeming to notice that Max was blushing and starting to fidget, "After everything that's gone down, a night like that is just what I needed." Max bit her lip.

"So, just the one night, then?" she asked, feeling a little crestfallen. It must have shown on her face, because Chloe furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head.

"It doesn't have to be a one-and-done," Chloe assured her hurriedly, "We can do this again tonight, if you want. I'd love that! I just- I mean, I don't want you to feel obligated to, like, marry me now or anything. If that was just you working out stress, or getting your cherry popped just to have it over with, I understand." The blue haired girl looked genuinely nervous, but Max wasn't entirely sure whether it was because Chloe was afraid Max didn't have any feeling for her, or if she was afraid she did. Whichever it was, Max couldn't quite muster up the nerve to ask.

"God, how could I not want to do that again?" Max wondered aloud. Chloe scoffed.

"You'd be surprised," she muttered, sounding a little bitter, "Wouldn't be the first time somebody's suddenly lost interest after getting the goods." Max sighed. Even after all they'd been through over the last week, and all that had happened last night, Chloe was still cautious.

She must have been burned before, Max guessed. Chloe had never been dumb, but she had definitely had a dorky romantic streak back when they were younger. Maybe the first time Chloe had slept with someone, she'd thought they were The One, and then had her heart broken. Or maybe it was just because of Rachel. It could always be both.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Max assured her, "I will happily share a bed with you any day. Er, night." Chloe smiled at that, and gently squeezed Max close.

"So, what's the plan?" Chloe asked, "Just become hipster nomads, driving the backroads by day and banging in motels by night? Because I can definitely get behind that." Max felt her face heat up again at the word "banging," but she tried to ignore it.

"Well, I need to get back to Blackwell to pick up my stuff," Max noted, "The email said the dorms were going to be open for a week so that people could come get their crap." Chloe glanced away sheepishly, and Max's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I, uh, don't really know where we are," Chloe admitted, "When we left Arcadia Bay, I just kind of drove. Did that yesterday, too. I don't know how to get back…" So, they were driving around aimlessly, with no idea what they were doing and just figuring it out as they went. Damned if that wasn't the laziest metaphor Max had ever lived.

"We could always just drive west until we hit the coast, and drive up and down that until we hit Arcadia Bay," Max suggested, "Or we could, you know, just use a map. I think that the diner we ate at last night had some travel brochures, like at the Two Whales. Or there's always just the GPS on our phones."

"I guess," Chloe conceded, "I kind of like the idea of driving to the ocean. Just you and me, riding into the sunset." Max laughed.

"Whatever works," she said, "Speaking of, we should probably get on the road at some point." Chloe grumbled a little but eventually agreed, and they got dressed. Max hastily pulled on her clothes while Chloe was in the bathroom at one point, but the taller girl didn't seem to have any sense of modesty about Max seeing her body as she changed. That was probably a healthier attitude to have, Max thought, and definitely made sense after last night, but she was still feeling a little unsure of herself.

As they started to drive, Max leaned over to rest against Chloe, enjoying the feeling of being close to her. She didn't really know what would be coming next. More snuggling and more lovemaking, ideally, and she kind of assumed that they would make it back to Blackwell, but beyond that, she had no idea. She didn't really mind, though, so long as she was with Chloe. Reaching down, she took the taller girl's hand in hers and held it tight. Whatever else happened, she was resolved to keep holding that hand for as long as she could.

A/N: We now return to our regularly scheduled "Where We Go From Here," already in progress.