Work Text:
"You're here. You're really here."
"I'm here. I'm real."
"I didn't make you?" El asks. It might be a joke. It might not be. It's always impossible to tell with El, and that's one of the things Max loves about her.
Max half-laughs, half-cries. It comes out as a hiccup. "Not this time." They're having this conversation over Lucas' shoulder, because Lucas is clinging to Max as if she'll float away like an untethered balloon if he lets go. To him, Max says, "Lucas, I'm not going anywhere. Let me see my friend."
Lucas steps back, still holding her arms, and gives El a look that says Be careful with her. El takes one of Max's hands, then the other, and Lucas gives them space.
Max appraises El. She's wearing a weird little wetsuit that makes her look like a mermaid who wished to be a real girl. The sweatpants she's thrown on could be concealing a tail, for all Max knows. "I see nobody took you shopping while I was gone."
El gives her a little smile, pinching the fabric of Max's hospital gown between her thumb and forefinger. "Nobody took you, either."
"Maybe we can go together when this is all over."
The smile grows. "Maybe."
Max smiles back, and they look at each other like that for a moment, and Max could leave it there, could say hi to one of the other people looking at her eagerly, but she's gotten a second chance at life, and she's not going to waste it on avoiding important conversations by making jokes.
So she says, "I never got a chance to thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving my life."
El looks away, tears welling in her eyes. She shakes her head. "But I didn't save you. You died."
"I didn't stay dead. I would have, if it weren't for you."
"You shouldn't have died at all," El tells her, adamantly. One tear slips down her cheek, then another.
Max wants to reach up and wipe the tears from her face, but her limbs aren't listening to directions. "Hug me," she says instead.
"What?"
"Hug me," she repeats. "I'd do it myself, but my wet noodle arms aren't cooperating."
Tentatively, El wraps her arms around Max and squeezes. Max can almost feel it. She wishes she could hug her back. Someday, maybe. Not today, but someday. She whispers, "I thought you'd forgotten about me. Back then. When I was here, and you were in California. But you didn't."
El hugs her tighter. "I could never forget about you. Never."