55- You Can Talk to Me
Summary: Max ends up being okay after S4. Well, no. She's alive, but she's definitely not okay. Luckily, Will knows what's that like.
Requested by: katrinfarmersdaughter
Max leaned back against her pillows, releasing a long sigh.
She loved her friends, her family she corrected herself, but sometimes they were a lot.
It had been two weeks since spring break and the whole Vecna ordeal and she was rarely alone anymore.
There was always her family, nurses, and doctors coming in and out. Even when she was "sleeping."
Max couldn't sleep.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw him.
It had been a week since she'd woken up from her weeklong coma, confused and disoriented about where she was, why there a red cast on her arm, and what had happened.
And all her mind could think about was him.
Of course, when her family came and visited, she got distracted, but even then, her thoughts eventually drifted to Vecna.
Like now.
Max closed her eyes and beckoned sleep to come to her.
It finally came.
But not without consequences.
Will can't believe he forgot his jacket.
It wasn't his fault; he'd been living in California where you don't need a jacket anytime. In Hawkins, while it was nearing summer, the nights always had a bitter cool in the air.
Will hurried up down the hospital hallway, trying to shake off the creeps that were crawling up his back. Another thing that him and El had in common, a hatred of hospitals.
Though he was pretty sure everyone was growing a hate towards hospitals lately.
Will opened Max's hospital door as quietly as he could and was glad to see the redhead asleep.
He tiptoed across the room, where his jacket hung over a plastic chair.
Will grabbed his jacket and turned to leave when he heard a whimper.
He turned towards Max and saw her starting to thrash against her sheets.
She was having a nightmare.
Will lurched forward, dropping his jacket, and gently grabbed Max's should and started to shake her.
"Max!" Will exclaimed. "Max! It's okay, it's just a nightmare. It's okay, you're okay."
Max wrenched upwards, panting.
"W-will?" Max stuttered out.
Will's heart broke, she sounded so terrified. He knew what that felt like.
"Yeah, it's me." Will told her. "It's okay, Max."
Max then burst out sobbing.
Will would usually feel uncomfortable with a crying girl, but this was Max and he understood how she was feeling.
So, Will wrapped Max in a tight hug.
Max collapsed into his chest, letting his t-shirt soak up her tears and snot.
Will murmured comforting words into the girl's hair, rocking them back and forth.
"I k-keep seeing him." Max's voice was muffled by Will's shirt.
"I get that," Will said softly. "I used to see the demogorn and the Mind Flayer. Still do sometimes."
Max pulled out of the hug. "How'd you deal with it?" she asked.
"Well, it's different for everyone. But with me, I didn't really want to talk about it. I woke up screaming and mom would never know why. Well, she would know why but she didn't know what I saw. I coped with it by hanging out with you guys, drawing, and writing DND campaigns. Just kind of tried to get back to normal."
"Did it work?" Max whispered.
"Sort of. I still had crazy nightmares, but my mind never really thought about it when I was awake. Only on my bad days and then my thoughts drifted there. And the nightmares slowed eventually, though I doubt they are ever going to be gone."
"I can't stop thinking about it." Max stared hard at her hands. "Even with the group, my mind always finds a way to bring it up."
"That's okay." Will assured her. "It's like that, for a bit in the beginning. But I promise you, it will get better."
Max nodded, though she didn't look entirely convinced. Will didn't get offended by that, if someone was telling him this when he was going through it, he would have felt the same way Max was.
"So, you never talked about it?" Max asked.
"Well," Will started. "No. I just didn't tell them like, right after I had my nightmare. It took a few hours or days. Sometimes I didn't talk about it. I mostly talked about it with El, since she was the one who most understood it."
Max gave a short nod of understanding.
"Can," Max asked hesitantly. "Can you be the one who I talk to about it?"
Will was taken aback.
"For sure." he told her. "Anytime, Max. And, if I end up totally sucking at it, I bet El would be willing to do it. Or Nancy."
Max huffed out a laugh. "You're doing great all ready. But yeah, I'll talk to them too. And you can talk to me if you want."
Will grinned. "Okay, deal."
Max grinned back at him then slowly started to grow serious.
"Can we start now?" she whispered.
"Yeah, if you want."
Max shut her eyes for a moment then reopened them.
"It varies," she croaked. "But it's usually when- when he's Billy, or when he's fighting El."
Will nodded, indicating to her to go on.
"I never know which is worst." Max breathed.
Will decided to start talking then. "I get that," he told her. "After the Mind Flayer, my nightmares varied. I always thought the Mind Flayer was worse but when I- when I dream of the demogorgon, it petrifies me."
Max reached out and held his hand.
"Guess we both got problems, huh?" she said.
Will let out a small chuckle. "Oh, for sure. Huge problems."
Max smiled at him.
"Would you mind staying with me?" she asked.
"Uh," Will said. "Sure, just let me let Johnathan know."
Will radioed Johnathan, who had some very harsh words to say because he'd been waiting for so long and told him that he was staying.
Will turned and found Max had shifted over to one side of the bed.
Will slowly climbed into the bed, getting under the covers besides Max.
"This okay?"
"It's great, thank you." Max told him, then settled her head on his shoulder.
Will curled up around Max, listening to her breathing as is got slower and slower.
When he was certain she was asleep, he let his body rest.
They both slept peacefully that night.
AN: Hope you liked it, katrinfarmersdaughter! I'm alive everybody! It's just been a busy couple of weeks, and I haven't found time to write, but I'm back! Though I might just start writing on weekends. We'll see! Requests are open!