Chapter Text
Toby laughs as he finishes up the muffin. The chuckle is hearty and soft, almost a show of accomplishment. Breakfast was rare for Toby and having something right then just by Tim asking felt nearly surreal. He had basically been living a life of scavenging and homelessness and having something as simple as a buttered toasted muffin off the burner was almost dream-like. Food, right there, a plate with clean silverware and most importantly a friend.
"It's kind of funny, looking back..." Tim said breaking the silence. He took a deep sigh, a breath just before he began to speak again.
"Only a day before I was driving on a dirt road. Now I'm in a motel." Tim, said this with a sort of depersonalized blankness.
"Looking back? It was just a day ago..." Toby said.
"Time, feels fast when everything is changing around you. Sometimes it feels like its so slow that you are dredging your feet through quicksand." Tim smiled softly at Toby.
"It's not bad right?" Toby said as he chewed on a piece of bacon which he snatched from the one plate Tim did have in front of him.
"Not bad... Just out of place." A puzzled muted tone escaped Tim's lips. As if he were hesitant of saying the wrong thing.
"It was more than the breakup of a crew. It was all wrong all messed up, disjointed?" Tim questioned himself trying to recall.
"Tapes, Cameras, Vocorders and reeling back tapes. Sitting in bed, sweating, shivering all at the same time while being on the verge of throwing up." Tim said with a frantic panicked tone.
"Never being sure who's looking out for you, or going to exploit you..." He trailed off.
Toby looked at him confused but clearly stirred.
Toby look at Tim his eyes focused as closely as possibly to his face. Tim seemed to shutter a bit while Toby kept his eyes fixated on him. The man seemed to tear up albeit a little. This level of uneasiness which radiated from Tim seemed to stir Toby just by being near him. Toby was always keen when someone around him was upset. Whatever feeling was expressed would seemingly transfer to him. Maybe he was too empathetic, to kind. Toby knew he expressed it wrong in the eyes of other's but he always meant well.
After a long bit of silence and motionlessness Toby stood up to close the blinds eventually sitting back down, tapping his foot rapidly and he glanced around the room. His eye first made contact with the duffel bag on the twin beg, the phone lazily placed on the canvas lining. Then his eyes shifting their trajectory to the gaping of the blinds. Looking outside made Toby nervous so instead he looked at Tim.
A feeling which could only be described as helplessness filled Toby. He was so used to keeping his trauma to himself, yet Tim was so comfortable being able to be able to mention it slightly just as if the thought was passing him. Toby started to bite his nails and finally thought of the words he wanted to say.
"What happened." It wasn't delivered like a question but with the inflection of a statement or demand. The sort of muffle of Toby's voice through the face mask made it hard to tell tone unless he was screaming or crying, most things even without it were delivered with a certain level of indifference and monotonous jest, right now it was more so a demanding concern more than anything.
Tim gazed over almost dodging eye contact as began to sigh.
"It's... a long story. One you probably don't want to know."
Toby almost made a frustrated noise as he stood back up again. His hands waggling and waving confused and speechless. He was befuddled, of course he wanted to know. Though he couldn't deny that prying could do more damage than good. Asking too much could lose all trust built up to this moment and breaking it down just to know something that might be better left unsaid would be selfish and self-indulgent.
"Maybe... It would be easier if I talked first." Toby said with a light shrug. He started kicking back in his chair resting his dirty beaten up sneakers on the edge of the coffee table.
"I had a sister named Lyra. She was one of the most supportive and kind people in my life. Always there to bandage me up and cheer me up and play with me after school when I was little. She always had such a genuine smile. Can eyes be kind?" He started trailing his words off and scrambled to pick them back up again.
"Father didn't like her. Always said she was too kind to me, that she should focus more on him than me. Jealous that I was given so much care and attention."
Tim nodded silently listening as he started picking dirt from his nails.
"All he wanted was her to clean his vomit off the floor and make get him a cold one from the fridge. But all she wanted to do was get ready for nursing school."
"We got into a car accident on her way taking me back from an after-school club thing, everything rushed around me. All I remember was feeling the wind and static? In the head? Like a sort of fuzzy un-clearness, probably a concussion. Waves and and waves of nausea and shiny red and shards of glass. This sort of looming mass of doom. Next thing I was in a hospital bed and my mother was looking at me. After that things get even more unclear, fire?"
"Static?" Tim asked almost inquisitively.
"Yeah like... Literal head static? Not just, a fuzziness but a literal feeling of that electrifying nausea and disconnection."
Tim's phone rang off from his bedside table. Vibrating on the wood making a small shuttering clacking noise. He jumped up as if instinct has taken control over his body and answered the line, his voiced trembled when he answered.
"Yes? Timothy Wright on the line."
"No."
"Also, no."
"Not anywhere near there. Not coming down, Jess."
"It's close to Christmas, I'm aware..."
He paused a bit almost hesitant, sighing again almost relieved.
"I guess if I can make it in time? I have company."
Over the line there was a soft laugh of a woman.
"No- No- Not another cat... Better than a cat."
"Ok. So you're fine with company? One guest room will be enough really."
"Working late on Christmas Eve- Oh rush deliveries right. Apart of a courier service, gotcha."
"I'll be there asap, packing up now then. So... Uh..."
Toby started tapping his feet but his face lit up when heard Christmas, and Guest Room along with Packing Up.
"See you then!" Tim said almost uplifted as he hung up and started ushering Toby to him.