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The bright lights of the restaurant were a stark contrast to the dead, dark Hill Valley, and Marty was just beginning to hit that point in the night where reality felt a bit altered. Although, he had just spent a week in the ‘50s, so reality might not have been what he thought it was in the first place. Maybe he’d start to feel back on track after a pile of waffles, which was the usual mark of an experiment well done. He would be fine. He was going to send in his tape, go to the lake with Jennifer, and get back to real life. He just had to eat that plate of waffles to get the ball rolling.
They found a booth in the nearly empty diner, sat across from each other, and ordered their food. As soon as the waitress was out of earshot, Marty said, “So, would you say that experiment was a success?”
Doc laughed, rubbing his eyes. “I’d say there’s a few kinks to work out, but overall, things turned out relatively well. You and your siblings still exist.” He paused, brow furrowed. “Although I imagine our victory isn’t without a few changes.”
“Changes?”
“Things may not be exactly as you left them,” Doc said.
A recent memory struck Marty. “The mall! The mall used to be called ‘Twin Pines!’” he said.
“Really!” Doc said, his eyes bugging out like they did when he was thinking. “Amazing. I bet you’ll notice all sorts of little things like that.”
“Yeah, I completely forgot about noticing that, I was-“ He stopped. “I was worried about you.” He trailed off. Why were his palms so clammy all of a sudden?
Doc looked at him with a curious expression. “Marty-“
“Doc, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Marty interrupted, the words rushing out automatically.
“All thanks to your actions,” Doc pointed out. “Because of you, I get a chance to actually travel through time!”
Marty laughed thinly, then tried to stop the tremors in his hands by shoving them in his pockets. Get a grip on yourself, McFly. We’re both fine. It’s over. “You might wanna try getting your plutonium somewhere else, though.”
“Yes, unfortunately the restricted access to nuclear materials left me with little choice-“
“And you thought terrorists were the way to go?” Marty almost yelled. Doc shushed him sharply, giving a frantic look over to the kitchen. They remained undisturbed, so Marty kept talking. “Doc, you- you can’t get mixed up with dangerous people like that-“
“I had to get it from somewhere,” Doc said. “I thought I had everything under control. In a million years, I never thought they’d find me in a- in a mall parking lot at 1 in the morning!”
Marty’s heart was pounding, and he felt almost trapped in the booth. He almost wanted to yell at Doc, ask him how he could have no goddamn sense of self preservation, how he could tangle himself in with terrorists, how he could be willing to die to finish the time machine-
“Here you go!” Both their heads snapped up, just now noticing the waitress. She put two plates of waffles in front of them. “Enjoy.” She walked off, giving them another look before escaping back into the kitchen.
Marty stared at the syrup dripping off his waffles onto his plate, avoiding Doc’s eyes. “Marty, I’m truly sorry.”
He had never really thought of Doc as old, but in that moment he looked so incredibly tired that all instinct to yell at him was gone. Marty’s hands hadn’t quite stopped shaking, and- God, was he tearing up again? He took the deepest breath he could before he spoke.
“It’s okay.” Doc still looked pained. “It’s fine, Doc. Just… be careful.” Doc nodded, exhaling heavily. Marty needed to change the subject, now. “So, I might’ve changed some stuff, huh?”
“It’s entirely possible,” Doc said.
He had to ask, just to be sure. “How did you and I meet?”
Doc laughed, and Marty felt a good deal of the tension dissipate. “I believe it was a classic ‘breaking and entering.’ To think, I agonized for years over when exactly our paths should cross, and you crashed right in without even knocking!”
Marty grinned, and said, “You can’t still hold that against me, though. I can’t turn down a dare!”
The rest of the evening was a blur of hushed time travel talk and laughter. It hit Marty then how happy he was to see doc again. Sure, he’d just seen him less than an hour ago, but Doc 30 years ago wasn’t quite the same person he knew. He was glad he no longer had to deal with any of that - the uncertainty, the awkwardness, and the unspoken question from ‘50s Doc: How the hell do I become friends with a high schooler?
Eventually Doc checked one of his watches - “Great Scott, it’s 3am?” - and they decided to wrap up their mini-celebration. Even though Marty thought reality was a bit off when he entered the diner, it was no match to how it felt when he left. He chalked it up to over tiredness when he couldn’t stop himself from giving Doc a hug, which Doc returned.
“Thank you,” Doc said sincerely, and he knew he had his best friend back.