It's Not Magic

Thirty-One

Wally

I couldn't believe it. Lili had left—again—but this time...this time she might not come back. And of all the people, she was listening to Hain. Braelyn Hain, the one person she never wanted to obey.

I don't think Max knows what to do. Neither of us do, really, but I haven't even been able to move him from his position on the couch since Kane told us.

"Max," I said, voice soft, as I sat down next to him on the couch again. "Talk to me."

He sat there, still silent.

I sighed, placing a hand on his back, gently rubbing it. "I'm worried about her too, you know."

Max turned his head towards me, and I could see the tears in his eyes. "She might die."

"I know," I replied, my voice tightening at the thought.

He turned to face me slightly, but not enough to remove my hand. "We might never see Eggy again."

"I know," I said again, voice still tight. "But there's nothing we can do."

Max wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my neck, muttering something I couldn't understand. "I know," I told him as I pulled him closer. "I know."

As I held him, I realized his body temperature was low, really low. It normally was when he was upset, but now, it was abnormally low. I pulled him a little closer, a vain attempt to warm him up.

Max kept muttering into my neck, and unable to understand him, I kept telling him I knew, and that it was going to be okay, that she was going to be okay. We had to have a little faith. My hand rubbed circles on his back as I hugged him closer, trying to reassure myself just as much as I was him.

"Wally," Max whispered, pulling away from my neck. "I don't want her to die."

My hands moved to his shoulders, gripping them tight. "She won't die, Max, we have to believe that."

He nodded, not seeming to believe me.

"Max, Lili's going to be fine. She survived on her own before she was here, so we have to believe that she's surviving on her own now." My grip loosened on his shoulders some. "She survived that damn HQ, after all."

Max met my eyes, the fire that normally burned there reduced to ashes. "But she wasn't on one of Hain's suicide missions then." I saw everything in his eyes then, the memory of his mom, and how she came back in a body bag. He didn't need to say anything more.

I pulled him into me again, hugging him close. "It's gonna be different this time, love. She's gonna come back alive."

He sighed into my shoulder, and I hoped it was in relief or just something other than this sadness. "I hope she does," he muttered into my shoulder.

Hugging him closer, I rested my cheek against the side of his head. "I do too. I do too."

We sat like that a while, and I lazily rubbed circles on his back, hoping to raise his still too-low body temperature. It almost felt as if he was a normal human, it was so low. I frowned, trying to think of ways to make him warmer.

Seeing the blanket laying next to him on the couch, I stopped rubbing circles on his back and reached for it, using my other hand to help pull it up over his shoulders.

"What're you doing?" Max muttered into my shoulder, moving to look at the blanket now wrapped around him.

"Trying to warm you up," I answered, quickly kissing his temple before standing.