Your Voice(please, I want to hear it again.) || TOMMYINNIT

12:

- Oh my god, how much pudding do you even eat?! - Tommy exclaimed as he opened up the fridge, unexpectedly finding pudding silently sitting behind some yoghurt.

- I don't eat it that much! I only made that last night for you! I wanted to tell you about it, but you then jumped in about wanting to bake something. - Nana responded before taking a bite of the milk bread.

The bread had been sweet, its looks not deceiving it. It was light, almost feeling as if the bread began disintegrating once Nana had placed it in her mouth.

- For me? So, then, can I have some?

- Well, who else will be eating it besides you or me? Of course you can, you shit-head.

Tommy had grabbed the white cup of pudding from the fridge, taking a spoon from the drawers to go along with it.

- Could I sit down somewhere?

- Yeah, anywhere is fine.

- Can I sit down on your bed?

- I said anywhere.

Tommy did not need to hear anything more. He carefully sat down on the bed, scooting himself to rest his back on the wall behind him. Tommy grabbed an excess pillow near him, placing it behind him for his back to rest on, still firmly holding the cup of pudding to not spill it all over Nana's dark red duvet.

Tommy could recall the pictures Nana had sent of herself, remembering each detail of her looks that he had admired. That being everything. However, he could not ignore the current colour of Nana's skin. The photos showed someone with quite lively, almost tanned skin tone. Tommy was able to tell that a story lived through her body. Though the bruises on her hands or freckles on her face.

While, yes, some skin colours turn paler in the winter, Tommy himself looked a little lighter than he was during autumn. Nevertheless, this was starting to become concerning.

- Fancy a cup? - Nana asked as she held up a box of tea bags with a lemon & raspberry flavour.

The sleeve of Nana's flannel had slightly fallen from where it used to be, revealing half of her forearm. Her arm had been trembling.

Tommy couldn't recall that same story with her skin or looks now. It had faded away. The only thing he could remember had been the difficulty people experienced in the story.

That struggle obliviously shows in her uncoverable eyebags. A struggle with sleep.

- Yeah, sure, it's pretty cold in here anyway.

- Sorry about that. Heating is just as expensive as it was last year. No prices have changed, even in supermarkets.

Tommy scraped the sides of his cup with the spoon:
- It's fine, I understand.

Nana soon joined Tommy with her pudding, placing her laptop in front of them before opening it up. The girl lazily dragged her finger along the touchpad, turning off Discord & Spotify, which popped up once Nana had finished typing in her password before heading off to google.

- Do you want to watch a film?

Tommy stared at Nana's hands, becoming almost fascinated with them.

- Sure, what kind?

- Well, you're the guest, so go on and choose. I'll go get our tea in the meantime.

Nana had hopped off the bed, heading back to the screaming tea kettle as Tommy typed in a film into an illegal film website's search bar. Nana came back a moment later, bringing a chair with her & placing it near the bed so that the tea would have stable ground while cooling down. 

- What film did you pick out? - Nana asked as she shuffled back next to Tommy.

- It's called The Meg, like the Megalodon! It's the one with the big shark. Have you seen it?

- I've seen half of it, I think? I remember it was being played in class during summer while the teacher was marking tests. But I don't think I paid much attention to it. Is it good?

- Yeah, I think you'll like it. Also, - Tommy added, grabbing the blanket beneath him & throwing it over Nana's legs, - use your own fucking blanket. You've been shivering this entire time.

Nana hid her legs & torso underneath the duvet, trying to make herself more comfortable:
- I know, it's weird. I used to handle the cold better than this.

Tommy stayed quiet, unsure of how to respond.

The clouds above them had flown into each other, making one big mess of a dark grey sky. And for that, no one could see a thing. Not even a singular star in the sky glimmered. There was only snow coming down from the lonely heavens above.

...

The scream of a child had jolted Tommy up from his sleep, his torso shifting back into a straight posture rather than his previous slumped one. The feeling was as if he had been falling & disappearing into the air.

- Nana? - Tommy called out, his voice groggy.

The girl merely turned her head towards Tommy as if she responded with: "What?"

Nana had been drinking tea that Tommy longed to taste once he agreed to have some too.

- Sorry, I've seen this film so many fuckin' times that I actually fell asleep. - Tommy sighed a little, rubbing his eyes with his hands before running his fingers through his hair. - Could you pass me the tea?

Nana grabbed the other cup off the chair, handing it to the guy next to her:
- It's okay if you want to sleep. If you're tired, then you're tired. What else can you do about that?

Very funny.

- Yeah, but not when we finally get to meet each other! I— How long was I out for?

- Around thirty or forty minutes, I think?

The torment of guilt had risen in Tommy's chest. The feeling stabbed through him.

- How— how insensitive of me. I'm sorry.

Nana bumped his shoulder a little, using that as if it were a pat on the back:
- Don't stress it, man. The film had kept me occupied, so I barely even noticed. It's good. But I'll have to watch it again with you since you seem to love commenting on it whenever you can

...

- Have you finished your pudding?

Tommy looked back at Nana, starring at her half-empty cup:
- Not yet. It's quite cold in here, and the pudding itself is cold too. Surprising, I know. So, it's a little hard to eat.

The film continued playing on in the background, yet Tommy paid no attention to it, focusing on the conversation instead.

- Do you eat it often? Because it looks like you do.

- And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?

- NO! That's not how I meant it, I swear! - Tommy laughed. - You just had it in the stream with Ela, and now we meet, and you have even more pudding in the fridge.

Nana looked back at the computer screen, scraping her cup with a spoon in the other hand:
- Well, I like it, and it's not bad to have it every once and a while, isn't it? Ela calls me a pudding monster sometimes, so now I can't just stop having it. I'm nothing but a monster then without it.

- ...Pudding woman. - Tommy muttered, taking a sip of his tea.

Nana glanced at Tommy, a little confused:
- What?

Tommy began whisteling a tune that went along with the films soundtrack. Nana galnced at him, her eyebrows furrowing.

- Stop that, you're going to call the devils to come here.

- ...The fucking whAT?

However, Tommy did not receive a response as Nana was soon distracted by the film.