Rating: PG-ish for language
Characters: Tony+Maxxie

Disclaimer: Neither Skins nor the characters contained within belong to me.

A/N: Takes place between the events of 01x09 and 02x01.

It just made sense, didn't it? Tony was practically reliving his childhood already anyway, so what was wrong with doing just this one more thing?

"It's fucking stupid, for one." Maxxie snorted at that, a short and sharp exhalation of amusement.

"And for two, then?" Maxxie questioned, feigning an affronted tone despite the smile he was wearing. "I'll have you know," he began, "this was always my favorite thing to do back when. Almost like an escape, yeah? So fucking shut up and just enjoy it. Tosser."

They were both quiet for a bit after that, staring up at the duvet-formed ceiling of the "cave," lost in their own thoughts. Maxxie's hands were knotted behind his head, pillowing it, but Tony's were clenched over his stomach, tensing and tightening every so often as he encountered yet another demon to wrestle. Tony fought with himself a lot these days.

"Maxxie?" he finally called, minutes, hours, a lifetime later, cutting through the silence that had enveloped them.

"Yeah, Tone?" came the answer.

"You didn't have to stay with me, you know?"

"I know, Tone."

And if a third hand then joined the two twisting hands fisting into Tony's jumper, well, that was enough of an answer there, right? Because Maxxie did know. He didn't owe Tony anything, wasn't close enough to him before The Accident to feel any sort of obligation to him now; it wasn't obligation that made him stay, had nothing to do with what he had to do. He stayed because he wanted to, simply put, and lately almost certainly because he needed to – although that one too came out of no sense of obligation to Tony. Maxxie couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that need had come about, but there was no denying that it had.

That was a thought for another day, though, wasn't it? The only important thing right now was that Tony's hands had stopped wringing themselves and had chosen to grasp at Maxxie's instead. Everything else could just wait for another time, a different day.

For them, for now, this instance was really all that mattered.