Chapter Text

An orange beam of sunlight shone through the window into the peaceful bedroom of Rachel Amber. The beam hit two girls, asleep in each other’s arms, their breathing almost synchronised. But, as soon as 9 AM hit, the incessant beeping of an alarm clock cut through the silent bedroom, jolting both Rachel herself and Chloe Price awake. Chloe swore at the alarm in an attempt to turn it off before covering her ears with a pillow as Rachel sighed and got up to turn the alarm off.

“Do you think yelling at it will ever work?” Rachel asked with a smirk, drawing a glare from her partner.

“It’ll work when they invent voice controlled alarms. I’m just ahead of the curve,” Chloe can’t help but smile when she sees Rachel shake her head with a grin. The fact that she woke up in Rachel Fucking Amber’s bed would have been enough to blow her mind a year ago, but now it felt so… normal. Maybe because it had happened almost every morning for the last 6 months. Not that she was counting or anything.

The familiar smell of bacon and sausage wafted into Rachel’s bedroom from downstairs. Chloe made a mental note to thank every deity she knows of for Mrs Amber, before stretching and sitting up in bed. She watched Rachel put on one of the many hoodies lying on the floor.

“Hey!” Chloe said, sitting up a bit more as she saw the oversized, maroon, hole-ridden hoodie Rachel was wearing. “That’s my hoodie, it’s way too big for you!” Rachel just giggled at this, twirling so that the hem of the hoodie flared up a bit. Chloe blushed furiously.

“What? It’s normal to wear your girlfriend’s clothes. Especially when she buys hoodies that are too big even for her,” Rachel winked at Chloe, who opened her mouth to argue, but then leaned back in defeat. “That’s what I thought," Rachel said, planting a kiss on Chloe's forehead with a smirk.

“Rachel, Chloe, breakfast!” Mrs Amber’s voice echoed from downstairs. Rachel continued getting dressed as Chloe slipped further into the covers of the bed. Rachel pulled on a pair of sweatpants as she gave Chloe a stern look.

“Come on babe, we can’t stay in bed all day,” Chloe groaned at this. Rachel took a step towards Chloe, but was almost immediately grabbed by her and pulled into bed.

“Why not? You have to admit, it’d be awesome,” Chloe whispered before kissing Rachel's cheek softly. Rachel sighed, shaking her head.

“It would be awesome, but it’s such a waste of a day,” Rachel said, somewhat regretfully. She sat up, an action that Chloe mirrored. “I’m gonna go downstairs, don’t be too long.”

“No promises, captain,” Chloe responded. Rachel failed at holding back a smile as she leaned in for a kiss. Even though they had done it probably hundreds of times by now, the sensation still made Chloe feel like she could fly. The taste of Rachel’s lips, the soft touch of her fingers, even the way her day-old perfume smelled, it all filled Chloe with so much joy. Who needs drugs when you can make out with Rachel Amber?

True to her word, Chloe wasn't the quickest to get ready. She lazily put on a pair of jeans, a ratty old t-shirt, and stole one of Rachel’s flannel shirts. She ran a hand through her hair, a jolt of excitement running through her as the streak of blue hair fell into her eye line. It had only been a few months since she dyed it, but it felt like years since that day. She shook her head and walked out of Rachel’s bedroom, lumbering her way downstairs to the kitchen.

Even after everything with Rachel’s family, Mr Amber’s lies and Rachel’s real mom disappearing, they still seemed like a normal, happy family. Rachel was helping Mrs Amber put breakfast on plates while Mr Amber drank his usual morning coffee and read a newspaper. Chloe hung back, standing in the stairwell and watching the family operate with a small smile. Even though Rachel’s family was far from perfect, Chloe couldn't help but wish that her own family could be anything like this. Not that step-dictator David would ever be part of this hypothetical perfect family.

“Chloe is joining us, right?” Mrs Amber asked Rachel, a hint of concern in her voice.

“Yes, mom, she’s just taking forever to get ready. She might’ve fallen back asleep. I’ll go check on her,” Rachel sighed, heading back towards the staircase. In a split second, Chloe thought of an idea. An evil smile forming on her lips, Chloe hid behind the wall separating the stairwell from the dining room, listening as Rachel’s footsteps get closer and closer. When the footfalls were right next to Chloe, she jumped out with a shout, causing Rachel to scream. Rachel’s face went from fear, to anger, to frustration all in only a second, as Chloe burst out laughing.

“Come on, how are you not used to this by now?” Chloe asked, extending a hand to the floor-bound Rachel, who muttered something about trust. She took Chloe’s hand anyway, getting pulled back up to her feet and into a hug. “Still love me?” Chloe asked, somewhat gingerly. Rachel smiled.

“Always,” she whispered, giving Chloe a quick kiss before heading back to the kitchen where a flustered Mrs Amber was giggling slightly at the show of affection. Rachel rolled her eyes at her mother and hit her lightly in the shoulder.

“Oh! Sorry, Chloe, would you like breakfast?” Mrs Amber asked, shaking herself back to reality. Chloe’s eyes lit up and she nodded feverently, almost running over to the kitchen. A beautiful spread of bacon, sausage, baked beans, and egg laid on the kitchen counter. Chloe helped plate the food, putting an extra piece of bacon on her plate before delivering the two plates she was holding to the table. She put her plate at her spot at the table, and set Mr Amber’s down in front of him. He barely looked up from his newspaper.

“Chloe,” he said shortly.

“Mr A. Anything new in the paper?” Chloe asked. Mr Amber grunted as a response, which Chloe takes as a sign to leave him alone. She didn't expect nor want any more than that out of their conversation, so she made her way back into the kitchen to assist Rachel. Eventually, everyone was sitting around the table and Mr Amber had finally put down his newspaper, so it was time to eat.

“Rachel, I haven’t seen that hoodie before, is it new?” Mr Amber asked. Rachel shot a look at Chloe and grinned.

“Actually, it’s Chloe’s. I’m just borrowing it before I actually get dressed,” this response elicited a slight squeal from Mrs Amber, who Chloe and Rachel both shot stares at.

“Sorry girls, I just think you two are so… cute together. I’m so happy for both of you,” Chloe couldn't help but smile at Mrs Amber for this.

“Yes, well,” Mr Amber interjected. “As long as you two are being… sensible,” Rachel glared at her father as a warning, which caused him to drop whatever he was going to say.

“Chloe and I are gonna be out for most of the day, just so you know,” Rachel said, grabbing Chloe’s hand and interlocking their fingers. Chloe flushed a shade a bright red and choked on the piece of bacon in her mouth. The Ambers all looked at Chloe with concern but she waved them off, dislodging the piece of bacon.

“Sounds like fun, what are you getting up to?” Mrs Amber asked, still looking at Chloe with concern. Rachel looked to the spluttering Chloe for support.

“U-uh well, we don’t really know yet. We’ll figure it out as we go, I guess,” Chloe said, drawing a wary look from Mr Amber.

“You better not get into any more trouble, we’ve had enough of that for a lifetime,” he said, staring at Chloe the whole time.

“We’ll be careful, dad. I like to think we’ve learned to avoid trouble, right?” Rachel looked to Chloe with a knowing smirk. It took every ounce of self restraint Chloe had not to burst out laughing.

“Right, we know better,” Chloe said slowly, regaining her composure. “Besides, I can take out anything that tries to hurt Rachel,” Rachel turned bright red this time, which wasn't helped by Chloe winking at her with a smirk. Rachel stood up suddenly.

“Thanks for breakfast, mom and dad, but we want to get going soon. I’ll probably see you tonight,” she said, slightly hurriedly, as she almost yanked Chloe to her feet. The pair made their way up the stairs to Rachel’s room, closing and locking the door before Rachel’s parents even knew what happened. Chloe looked at Rachel in bewilderment.

“What was that all about? I was enjoying those eggs, dude,” Chloe said. Rachel just laughed and wrapped her arms around the back of Chloe’s neck. Blushing furiously, Chloe put her hands on Rachel’s waist.

“I just thought what you said about protecting me was really sexy. Plus, I wanted some alone time before we embarked on our little adventure,” Rachel whispered, her face inches from Chloe’s. “Is that cool?”

“Yeah, definitely cool.”