Max Caulfield was no ordinary girl.
She was unique; gifted with an extraordinary ability to reverse time. Whenever something went wrong, Max was there to resolve it. In a way, she was a guardian angel but a disparate one. She hadn't been the same after nearly restoring reality back to way it was as at the expense of her powers, it took a much bigger toll than one could presume. Everything had a cost, and using her powers just unlocked something so dastardly that Max feared its very being.
When Max swore to never use her powers again, she had to break that oath. A few minutes after witnessing an accident occur right before her very eyes, Max Caulfield knew that she couldn't bear to allow anybody to suffer another loss. She had lost her best friend, her lover, who had also lost her father and her own previous lover. Seeing Kate so vulnerable and weak shattered Max's heart.
By stretching her arm out, Max closed her eyes to gain focus when all sound went completely dead. There was a faint whooshing sound and a light howl of the wind as Max waited for nearly three minutes until she ceased the time rewind. Max was out of breath in an instant but quick to compose herself when she opened her eyes to observe the scene around her.
Kate, (Y/n) and Lynn were around Max, all of whom were oblivious to her spacing out until they noticed blood running out of the nostril of the girl with brown and blue hair. Alerted by this, (Y/n) retrieved a napkin for his friend and watched as Max gratefully took it and wiped her nose before blowing it to dispose of any evidence of a nosebleed.
"Thanks, (Y/n)." Max said appreciatively.
"Are you okay, Max? We didn't expect to see you here," said Kate.
"Oh, I'll be alright. I was just passing by when I spotted (Y/n) and Lynn playing basketball." Max responded dismissively.
Lynn smiled brightly and waved at the older girl. "Hi! It's so nice to finally meet you. I heard so much a bout you from my sister. She says that you were a big help in getting her and (Y/n) together and that she's very grateful."
"Lynn!" Kate muttered coyly as a blush crept up on her face.
"What? It's true! Remember, you said you never had the courage to talk to (Y/n) after a while because you thought he was just--"
"Well, she's not wrong," said Max. "It was actually mine and Warren's idea to get these two together. All it took was a little peanut butter and jelly."
Kate rolled her eyes even though she knew she was right.
"Would you like to join us for some morning tea, Max? We'd love to have you." Kate offered.
"You know what, Kate? I'd love to. After all, we still need to have our little tea dates again."
Kate giggled. It warmed Max's heart to see Kate smile again. After Blackwell, she always hoped she would see her smile again. It came at a cost that would possibly provide much heavier angst should the thing Max did escape tenfold over one little rewind. The parents of both families welcomed Max openly where they got the opportunity to meet Kate's best friend.
Everyone chattered endlessly while Max sat by and waited anxiously for (Y/n) to get up and join Lynn in playing basketball. Impatience gnawed at Max as she hoped to act out in time to prevent a repeat of the incident she intended to correct. However, her attention kept getting drawn back to Linda and Victoria discussing the girls' choice of style and fashion.
"Max, what made you choose to dye your hair like that?" Linda asked curiously.
The brown-blue-haired girl tensed as her lips drooped. It became visibly clear that it was a sad topic but something he was barely fine with talking about.
"My best friend died last month. I never knew she was there meeting up with Nathan Prescott when he pulled a gun on her. He shot her. Nathan was taken away somewhere far away and well, I guess that since she had her hair dyed blue, I thought I would do the same to commemorate her. (Y/n), Kate and a few others attended the service. It was lovely." Max answered solemnly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, Max." John apologised.
"It suits you - the hair." Tilly added.
Max managed a weak smile and took a bite of a sandwich. After a while, (Y/n) decided to get up and join Lynn in playing basketball. (Y/n) went back to the general distance out of the court and estimated the power he was to put into throwing the ball. Before he threw it, Max strolled up beside him and ordered him to aim a bit lower. When he threw the ball, he managed to get it in thanks to Max.
"Alright! Go Max!" (Y/n) cheered and high-fived her. "Hey Max, want to take a shot?"
"Yeah! Go on, Max!" Lynn agreed.
Max grinned and took the ball. She moved closer to the court. Holding the ball close to her chest, she pushing out at the same time she jumped, throwing the ball but ultimately missed.
"Damn." Max uttered under her breath.
"Nice try though." (Y/n) encouraged. "You think Colorado's nice this time of year?"
"I'd go in February or March. Why?"
"I wanna take Kate there. Might go travelling: see new places, meet new people, admire cultures..."
"That's very sweet, (Y/n)."
"We'd only be gone a few months though. Be back by mid-late , early September."
"Hey, (Y/n)?"
"Hm?"
'Congratulations."
"On wha... oh you saw it, did you?"
"Yep. Kate always wears rings on her right hand. So having on on her left, especially her ring finger, kinda gave away that it wasn't some promise ring or whatever."
(Y/n) chuckled. "Yeah, well, I talked about it with our parents this morning before we both went down for breakfast. John and Linda were actually thrilled that I asked for their blessing to marry Kate. Said I would make a great husband and they couldn't wait to get the wedding preparations all set up for next September on Kate's birthday."
"That's incredible, (Y/n)."
Max wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. Kate herself joined their company and fed a grape into (Y/n)'s mouth.
"What are you guys talking about?" Kate asked, her voice came out dreamily and honeyed.
"Oh, just asking Max on whether she'd like to come to our wedding next year. Would you, Max? It would mean a lot to us." (Y/n) said innocently.
And without a moment of hesitation, Max accepted the offer. "I would absolutely love to come to the wedding. Can Warren come too?"
"Sure! He's always welcome, seeing as how he was the co-conspirator in our falling in love. Has he asked you yet?"
"No, I really do enjoy being around him. He's cute and all, but I don't think my boat will float that way."
"Wait, you're bi?"
"I'm gay." Max admitted shyly.
(Y/n) and Kate glanced at one another then back at Max whom they appreciated even more for coming out to them so bravely as she did. The young couple embraced Max in a group hug that Lynn also became apart of. Truly, this was a proud moment for Max Caulfield. For the remainder of the day, Max stayed with her friends until she decided to get on her way. Everyone bid the blue-brown-haired girl goodbye in hopes of seeing her again soon.
It was with good intent that wanted to surprise Kate for their travelling to Colorado. He knew she loved surprises. So he kept quiet about his travelling plan and waited for next year to roll around. In the meantime, (Y/n) wanted to spend as much time with his fiancé and her family, equally with his own until they had to leave to return to their lives; as changed people knowing that they had rekindled their relationship with their son.
September
Coming onto Kate's nineteenth birthday was extraordinary. Having the people around her celebrate her birthday brought Kate Marsh glee as time flew by so quickly she found herself seated at the dinner table with a chocolate caramel cake laid out in front of her. The two numbers, one and nine had flares on the top of it, lit and sparkling as her loved ones cheered for her 'happy birthday'.
Lynn and tilly were the most keen to have a slice of the cake all the while (Y/n) stood by Kate's side with his hand on his shoulder and then a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Kate giggled from the kiss before she blew out her candles which was followed up by a round of applause. The rest of Kate's family applauded her as they looked down on her with pride.
"Happy birthday, honey." Linda and John said in unison.
Kate grabbed a knife and started at it for a moment which dazed her out of her happiness. It made her recall her deepest struggles and how the knife represented her darkest moments that it wanted to sever. (Y/n) noticed his fiancé blank out when he took ahold of her knife hand and puppeteered her into cutting the cake. This snapped Kate out of her thoughts to what was going on around her and took over.
Equally sized portions of cake were distributed to each family member until Kate and (Y/n) got their slices and dug into the deliciousness of the cake. They all ate in silence with few bits of chitter-chatter here and there until Kate's grandfather turned on the television to watch some sports until they all decided to call it a night.
A few goodbyes and hugs and kisses later and the Marsh's with the addition of (Y/n) cleaned up altogether. (Y/n) helped his significant other carry her gifts up to her room where they hid for the time being until they decided to change into their pyjamas and brush their teeth before they snuggled into bed for some sleep knowing they had to go to church on Sunday.
(Y/n) rolled onto his side so that he was facing his fiancé and opened his mouth to speak very softly. "Baby? Have you been feeling okay tonight? You seemed a bit off. Was it because of your aunty?"
Kate looked at him in surprise and answered, "Hm? Oh, w-well, sort of, yeah. It's just... when I was going to cut the cake, I-I froze."
"Why?"
"It reminded me of the Vortex Club party and my video. I remember being so depressed and distraught over what my family would think of me, so I thought..."
Lively, (Y/n) sat up and cupped her cheek with one hand. She looked at him in shock as he stared at her wearily.
"Don't you ever think about that. It's not worth it, Kate. Think about me. Think about your sisters and tour father and your mother. We all love you to Heaven and beyond. You're too good for this world and you don't deserve the shit you go through."
"I love how much you care about me, (Y/n/n). It's amicable - the things you do and continue to do for me. But I promise you I will never leave you."
(Y/n) laid back down and whimpered as he curled up into a ball. Kate frowned at the sight and snuggled up against her significant other until they fell asleep, thinking of nothing but happy thoughts. They felt safe being in each other's arms as it provided a sense of security and isolation from danger and their troubles.