Work Text:
The day before Eleanor's wedding they have sex one last time.
It hadn't been planned and hadn't happened in years, but somehow in the middle of the conversation the nostalgia became too strong, and Eleanor placed her hand on Max's knee, and with them a touch was never enough and it progressed quickly after that. .
It was good, it was always good when they were together like that, but it didn't feel right. And then Max's gaze was distant in a way it had never been after sex between them. She was thinking about other things, about someone else. Eleanor ran her fingers through Max's hair and said:
“I used to think I was the worst thing that happened to you.”
“You weren’t, trust me.”
“But I wasn’t the best either.”
"You weren’t."
“But she was, wasn’t she? Anne?”
Max seemed to consider for a moment and said:
“Yes she was, or she could have been, I guess it doesn’t matter now.”
“I think you're lying.”
“Trying to throw me into someone else’s arms already?”
“And I just want you to be happy, whether with Anne or someone else.”
“Anne hates me now, I betrayed her.”
“I betrayed you, did you hate me?”
“Yes, but I loved you too.”
And there it was. Loved. Past tense. The love that had once been so essential in their lives was a thing of the past, now there were only echoes of what had once been.
“So you see maybe it’s the same with her, maybe she hates you but loves you too.”
Max looked at her for a long time and then brought her lips to Eleanor's.
It wasn't a kiss of love, or even a kiss of desire.
That kiss was a thank you, and it was a goodbye.