straight back to it ⇉ central cee.

whole again.

It didn't really hit him until now, when he was holding Marvin in his arms much like he used to do to him, how much he had missed this man. To be entirely honest he hadn't realised how much he missed anybody, what with being so consumed by therapy and recovery. Now it was all coming crashing down on him and slicing him open like shards of glass raining from the sky. He felt a sob choke in his own throat and it took everything in him to push it back down again; it felt unfair to do that to Tori.

"Marv please man calm down a bit"

The man pleaded for him to stop crying, or at least halt the sobbing but it was no use. Marvin continued to choke on his sobs and rub roughly at his nose with the sleeves of his jacket despite Oakley having given him a bunch of tissues to use. He couldn't stop himself no matter how hard he tried, it was a triumph he couldn't overcome for a while. When he saw the younger enter his apartment his throat closed up with regret and his stomach swirled with sorry for what he did to him last year. Putting him into rehabilitation against his will was his biggest regret to date because he knew Oakley didn't want to. People don't deserve help if they aren't asking for it. But it was far too painful for him to watch this boy stumble and trip every day because he was so broken and messed up he couldn't help himself. It was so wrong.

"Am sorry"

His words were slurred and stuttered as tears continued to flood his face and he attempted to keep the snot from falling into his mouth but the other heard him loud and clear. He didn't know why he was apologising, there's nothing to apologise for. But he accepted it with small utters of affirmation in hopes it would help ground the man finally. And it did. His heart rate began to slow and the sniffles and little whines eventually came to a stop, only letting a sniffle through his nose every now and then. A frown was still taking over the features of his face but now a small smile was creeping onto Oakley's. He managed to help someone else? This was new, it felt good too.

"Tori come 'ere bub"

The small girl had been distracted by the Tv again a while ago after the show had changed over to what he could only presume was Peppa Pig, but she wasn't too engrossed. As soon as she heard Oakley call her over her little head swung around and immediately pulled herself to her feet, stumbling over to their space on the sofa. Tori climbed up onto the men's laps and grabbed at both of them with her hands; they were grubby from her cheerios but they paid no mind. Marvin made a small laugh at his daughter and wrapped his arm around her small frame, humming in contentment.

The older's mind had finally cleared, leaving space for a rational thought or two, it allowed him to finally take in all of the boy's presence. Marvin knew a lot would have changed since he had last seen him, it was bound to have, but he hadn't realised this much. He glanced him over a few times, taking note of how different his clothing was: his jeans were loose and cuffed, and he had an actual collared shirt on with a knitted Ralph jumper along with Vans. He found it odd that Oakley's dress sense is what stuck out to him the most, but it had undeniably caught all of his attention. There was a certain sense of fashion that always followed suit with the lifestyle they both formerly lived, a particular way to carry yourself and all of that palaver. Yet he carried none, he was fresh meat again and it was rather baffling - he'd never known anything different in him, and neither had Oakley.

After taking an entire man's day and a half scanning over his baggy clothes and his skating shoes he looked to the boy's face, and he somehow felt tears form all over again. Bags of heavy dirt no longer hung low below his tired eyes and the puffiness that once controlled his features had dissipated, leaving for a more youthful complexion. The colour in his iris had returned to its natural, golden hazel colour after losing its strength all those years ago - the innocence had returned, and hope. It was truly mesmerising to finally witness this, the truth of his face he'd missed out on before, and he was enjoying every minute of it. Though he still felt guilty, he was proud of Oakley's progress and how far he'd come from the shaken little boy he met him as. He no longer looked violently ill or dehydrated beyond repair; he looked, and actually was, healthy and the sad, sad look drugs and whatever else left behind was no longer visible. He couldn't be any prouder of him. Though he couldn't find a way to tell him that.

"You alright now ye?"

The older nodded as he rubbed at his eyes one last time, wincing at the feel of the fabric against the sensitive skin of his face before wrapping his arms around his daughter again. The three simply sat in a comfortable silence for a while and enjoyed each other's company; Tori had managed to doze off in the meantime. With the girl asleep, the adults were finally allowed the time to catch up and Oakley was determined to not let tears fall like they always did. He was healed for the most part and it didn't hurt to talk about his trauma anymore, not nearly as much as it used to anyway. And so they just talked. Oakley expressed his profuse gratitude for what Marvin had done for him and told him all about how much better off he was for it. Then Marvin told him all about his own sobriety journey, and how he spent his free time working on music and being more involved in Tori's life.

It wasn't intentional of course, but Oakley got the hint that his troubles had hindered the man's daily life. He didn't let on that he felt that way though, this was nice and he didn't want to ruin it. His only problem now was telling Shanel where he had been all this time when he finally went home.