The Basics [Day 2: Void]
Title: The Basics
Author: andromedacain
Prompt #: Void
Table: A
Fandom: Skins (UK)
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing: Maxxie/Tony
Genre: Slash
Word count: 741
Disclamer: I will never own Skins.
Summary: Tony's still getting over his coma.
After Tony’s hit by the bus, it’s like his mind is filled with a void. Words he can clearly picture in his head, simple things that, really, even toddlers can point out, never make their way to his mouth until it’s too late. So when he’s trying to tell someone about his ankle, no television, no accident, it’s too late and they already label him a loony. If there’s one thing Tony Stonem hates, it’s rash judgment.
Soon enough, he just stops talking. Really, his only companions are the three family members whose names he always forgets, a few people labeled his friends, and nurses. They all seem to want to do the talking for him anyway, so he lets them. He stops trying.
One friend, either Matthew or Lewis or Maxxie, frequently visits. He’ll sit there, not really asking much of Tony, holding Tony’s hand or playing a bit of music or reading aloud quietly, and Tony gets the impression that this boy is not judging him. Tony Likes this boy.
The girl that’s supposed to be his sister is similar to the boy. She doesn’t ask much of Tony, she’s always patient, she sometimes guesses at the words Tony wants to say. They make a sort of game of it. It’s a little morbid, yet somehow it makes Tony feel better. Tony Likes her too.
That’s all the emotions Tony can feel, for now; the basic Want, Need, Like, Don’t Like. He tries to put this into words for them, to let them know he trusts them. Every time, the words somehow never make it out and Tony gets so angry he thrashes, destroying anything he can get his hands on. Once, he even hits the boy in one of his rampages, leaving a bruising eye and a few scrapes on the boy’s cheek. Tony becomes delirious with grief, cradling the boy’s face in his hands, tears running from his eyes. He can’t stand pain, especially someone else’s. Especially when he’s the cause of it.
The boy gently calms Tony, lets Tony know he’s okay, strokes Tony’s arm. Tony’s still crying, but he finally lets go of the boy, lets the boy dab a tissue against the blood and smile down at him, gently saying, “There, it’s alright. These probably won’t last a day.”
They do, though. They last throughout the week, the bruise darkening and the scratches slowly scabbing over. Tony’s so angry with himself, he stops eating. When the boy visits he only stares at his handiwork, hating himself, wishing he could take back his actions. After being hit by a bus, Tony shouldn’t be so affected by a few scratches, or so he tells himself. But he can’t bear the thought of someone else, someone he knows, someone he Likes, feeling pain. It brings himself pain.
Finally, the boy sees Tony’s slowly dilapidating appearance and does something about it. The next day, when Maxxie visits, his injuries are gone. “There, see?” the boy says, letting Tony run a gently wondering hand across the place the scratches used to be and around the boy’s eye, “It healed. No pain at all. Here, try your chicken, I hear it’s rather good.” And for the first time that week, Tony eats.
Maxxie only put concealer over his wounds, but with Tony’s eyesight still recovering and the nerves in his brain dulled by medication, it’s easy to trick Tony into believing his wounds healed overnight.
When Maxxie tries to leave, Tony reaches a hand out, grabs Maxxie’s wrist. His voice, underused as it is, sounds a little raw when he speaks. “Don’t…don’t go yet. I…” his voice trails off as the words escape him, his eyebrows twisting low. Maxxie knows what will come next if he doesn’t pacify Tony.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll stay. Maybe we can finish that book I was reading. Or, I could inform you of the lascivious nature of your past,” Maxxie states, raising his eyebrows and grinning at Tony.
Tony raises an eyebrow, unsure, but Maxxie only pats Tony’s hand. “Kidding.” He grabs a book from the table. “Now, where were we, page one hundred and something? Has anyone died yet?”
As Tony settles back to relax into the smooth words issuing from the boy’s lips, he decides he likes this boy much more than he first thought. A new emotion appears, something he had forgotten until now. He thinks he might even Love this boy.
Author: andromedacain
Prompt #: Void
Table: A
Fandom: Skins (UK)
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing: Maxxie/Tony
Genre: Slash
Word count: 741
Disclamer: I will never own Skins.
Summary: Tony's still getting over his coma.
After Tony’s hit by the bus, it’s like his mind is filled with a void. Words he can clearly picture in his head, simple things that, really, even toddlers can point out, never make their way to his mouth until it’s too late. So when he’s trying to tell someone about his ankle, no television, no accident, it’s too late and they already label him a loony. If there’s one thing Tony Stonem hates, it’s rash judgment.
Soon enough, he just stops talking. Really, his only companions are the three family members whose names he always forgets, a few people labeled his friends, and nurses. They all seem to want to do the talking for him anyway, so he lets them. He stops trying.
One friend, either Matthew or Lewis or Maxxie, frequently visits. He’ll sit there, not really asking much of Tony, holding Tony’s hand or playing a bit of music or reading aloud quietly, and Tony gets the impression that this boy is not judging him. Tony Likes this boy.
The girl that’s supposed to be his sister is similar to the boy. She doesn’t ask much of Tony, she’s always patient, she sometimes guesses at the words Tony wants to say. They make a sort of game of it. It’s a little morbid, yet somehow it makes Tony feel better. Tony Likes her too.
That’s all the emotions Tony can feel, for now; the basic Want, Need, Like, Don’t Like. He tries to put this into words for them, to let them know he trusts them. Every time, the words somehow never make it out and Tony gets so angry he thrashes, destroying anything he can get his hands on. Once, he even hits the boy in one of his rampages, leaving a bruising eye and a few scrapes on the boy’s cheek. Tony becomes delirious with grief, cradling the boy’s face in his hands, tears running from his eyes. He can’t stand pain, especially someone else’s. Especially when he’s the cause of it.
The boy gently calms Tony, lets Tony know he’s okay, strokes Tony’s arm. Tony’s still crying, but he finally lets go of the boy, lets the boy dab a tissue against the blood and smile down at him, gently saying, “There, it’s alright. These probably won’t last a day.”
They do, though. They last throughout the week, the bruise darkening and the scratches slowly scabbing over. Tony’s so angry with himself, he stops eating. When the boy visits he only stares at his handiwork, hating himself, wishing he could take back his actions. After being hit by a bus, Tony shouldn’t be so affected by a few scratches, or so he tells himself. But he can’t bear the thought of someone else, someone he knows, someone he Likes, feeling pain. It brings himself pain.
Finally, the boy sees Tony’s slowly dilapidating appearance and does something about it. The next day, when Maxxie visits, his injuries are gone. “There, see?” the boy says, letting Tony run a gently wondering hand across the place the scratches used to be and around the boy’s eye, “It healed. No pain at all. Here, try your chicken, I hear it’s rather good.” And for the first time that week, Tony eats.
Maxxie only put concealer over his wounds, but with Tony’s eyesight still recovering and the nerves in his brain dulled by medication, it’s easy to trick Tony into believing his wounds healed overnight.
When Maxxie tries to leave, Tony reaches a hand out, grabs Maxxie’s wrist. His voice, underused as it is, sounds a little raw when he speaks. “Don’t…don’t go yet. I…” his voice trails off as the words escape him, his eyebrows twisting low. Maxxie knows what will come next if he doesn’t pacify Tony.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll stay. Maybe we can finish that book I was reading. Or, I could inform you of the lascivious nature of your past,” Maxxie states, raising his eyebrows and grinning at Tony.
Tony raises an eyebrow, unsure, but Maxxie only pats Tony’s hand. “Kidding.” He grabs a book from the table. “Now, where were we, page one hundred and something? Has anyone died yet?”
As Tony settles back to relax into the smooth words issuing from the boy’s lips, he decides he likes this boy much more than he first thought. A new emotion appears, something he had forgotten until now. He thinks he might even Love this boy.