It was one of those moments that you saw in movies. Elliot may have considered this a non-movie perfect moment, but to David? No. This was… it was perfect. David's heart was pounding, not because he believed this form of his brother to be a ghost… not anymore… but because after four years of waiting, after four years of wishing and hoping that his family was still okay, there was Elliot, swooping in and saving the day as always. David may not have been completely the naïve boy he used to be, but a little bit of day-saving was nice every now and again.
He blinked, wondering when the tears had crept up to his eyes and blinked once more to keep them back.
"E-Elliot…" he repeated, as if not believing what he was saying. He climbed over the bench like it was nothing, and stepped up to his brother, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tight. No. Definitely not a ghost. Elliot was here and David didn't have to face this alone anymore.
All he could think of was the last time that he'd seen Elliot. He'd asked his brother to drop him off at the bus station for the seminar, and when Elliot told him to be careful, to be safe, David had told him not to worry so much. And then, after that, they hadn't so much as spoken to one another in four years. Four years… he thought. "I knew you were alive. I knew that if anyone could survive this it was you. They tried to tell me that you were… they…" he sniffled, barely able to keep the emotion back anymore.
He knew it. He knew that if Elliot was dead, his ghost would have come to visit him long ago, but they said no. That he was dead and that the best thing David could do was just deal with that. Everyone had tried to convince him that his brother was dead, but… here he was.
"I missed you… so much…" he whispered, unable to resist allowing a couple of tears to leak out.