a world alone [hbo war / band of brothers]

9: heart to heart

UPDATED: 05/22/2022. Minor revisions.

A/N: Looks like I'm on a roll here! Getting an update out within a month from the previous chapter. New record! If anything looks weird like if it was cut off, hmu because I think the format had some issues.

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Hugging Luz felt like an eternity. As soon as she saw him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulder, holding on tight and inhaling sharply. She refused to let go. She was afraid to let go. If she did, he might disappear.

Madison knew that Luz understood. After knowing each other for almost five years (the realization almost made Madison stop breathing. Has it really been that long?) and going through hell together...George Luz was probably the only person in Mobile who understood her the most at this point in time.

"You know you can let go of me, right?" Luz reminded her. It's not that he was opposed to being hugged by a cute girl, but she hadn't said a word for some time now.

"I know, I know. Give me a second, alright?" Madison requested, inhaling sharply once again. After a prolonged amount of time, Madison was able to step away from her friend. Her hands were still clinging to Luz's arms as she took her time to observe him. His hair was darker than she remembered. Hail Mary, how long has it been since she's last seen him?

"It's been too long," Madison finally settled on, voice wavering.

"It sure has," Luz agreed, who was studying the young woman. "You clean up real good."

"I could say the same about you," Madison replied, voice wavering and her grin on her face twitching. She hoped Luz was not able to tell by both how nervous and relieved she was to see him.

George Luz. What could Madison Klein say about George Luz? Well, she could say a lot about him. When she was younger, she thought of him as an annoying pest. As time went on, however, the man from Rhode Island grew on her. After all, they went through hell together. After she truly started to get along with him, Madison knew that George Luz was a good man. A good friend. A good brother.

Madison was lucky to have George Luz as a brother, and she felt lucky that he had decided to visit. It was a wonderful surprise. Now, they must catch up with each other. Before they were able to, however, Luz had dinner with her family.

Dinner went off with a bang. Sarah and her mother were charmed by Luz. Jack thought of him to be a good man, but did not know him well enough. He did notice that Madison was comfortable around the man, despite the occasional eye roll. Especially when Luz talked about some of their adventures together. While some of them made her want to smack him upside the head, he knew which stories to tell and not to tell. He also didn't go into detail either.

As much as he talks, he knows how to keep his mouth shut, Madison mused to herself as she took a sip of her drink. Maybe the war taught him that.

After dinner that night, it was made news to Madison that Luz was going to stay in their home. When he had originally planned the trip, he was going to stay in a hotel but Sarah had insisted otherwise.

"You're Maddie's friend! Any friend of hers is a friend of the family!" she had insisted. Luz had tried to decline but Jake had told him that it was useless to argue with his mother.

"Ah, stubbornness is a family trait I see," Luz teased. Madison rolled her eyes.

"Don't push your luck, Luz," she warned. "Come on, let's go set up your room."

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Luz and Madison ended up in the guest room, sitting on the bed. Per request, the door was left open. If they thought that Luz and Madison were going to do something...Madison couldn't even finish the thought. That's just gross. Madison loved Luz, but not like that.