Chapter Text
Dema was not a place for happiness. It was a place of dejected contentment, where people lied to themselves and were lied to by others. For Clancy to be back in Dema was to take apart who he was as a person. It dampened his spirit, it dulled his light. Torch had seen it after every escape, every rescue, but he had not seen it during the captures. This time was different. It had been too long, and Torch’s ability called to him, begging to be used. So he had.
Torch used his projection to watch over Clancy, from afar at first, but closer the longer they were apart. Clancy’s mind could not handle being back in Dema. It was breaking him. It may have already broken him.
So Torch remained in his cell, waiting for him each night to convince him to live another day. It was all that he could do. Times were bad. Clancy’s mental health was in a nosedive, and Torch could scarcely remember the last time he’d been truly, honestly, happy.
The days that Clancy smiled were not rare, though his smile was often more of a grimace, and it never quite reached his eyes with the light it once had.
But there were rare, precious days when Clancy smiled truthfully, even days when he laughed. The sound of it was more beautiful to the Torchbearer than any song. Clancy’s laughter was like crystal rain, bouncing off the cold stone of the room he was kept in most of the time. It could make even the coldest nights feel warm, as the two of them laughed together.
And Clancy’s smile, radiant and bright, distracted from the cuts and bruises on his face. It was like he was young again, like he was free.
Today was one of those days. Torch had been waiting in the cell, on edge as always to see what condition his Clancy would be brought to him. To his delight, Clancy walked in without guards dragging him or yelling. He’d sat on the small bed beside Torch and leaned in, smiling.
“How was today, Clance?” Torch asked carefully
“Good.” Clancy smiled softly. “I wrote a song. Not them, me. It won't make it onto the album, but... it feels good.”
Torch grinned. “That’s great. They didn’t…”
Clancy shook his head, still smiling. “No need for punishment when I’ve been following the rules so well. They even gave me extra snacks! I saved some for you.”
He tried to offer them to Torch, who refused, instead closing Clancy’s fingers around them.
“You have them. You need your strength.”
“Don’t you ever get hungry? I’ve never seen you eat.” Clancy seemed distracted, but still caring.
In truth, Torch hadn’t been eating, but as it stood, his projection was unable to. He was surprised he’d gotten so far without Clancy asking. He supposed that there were other things on his mind.
“Come here.” Torch distracted Clancy by pulling him into a tight hug, not letting him see the tears gathering in his eyes.
Seeing Clancy happy was so rare it felt wrong, and Torch had no way of knowing if he’d been drugged to feel this way or if it was real. He was sceptical that it could even possibly be real, with all the damage they had done to Clancy’s mind.
“I’m happy you’re happy.”