A mask and A twitch

Old questions answered ...and a solution to Toby's problem

"...we have all night"

Toby sucked in air, to say that the questions scared him was an understatement. He wanted to run away and hide from Them. He wanted to go back in time and never let Masky stumble across him crying. He didn't want to talk about the nightmares or mention the blonde girl who seemed to haunt him.

"That is if you want to talk about it?" Masky turned to face the wall his arms no longer around the twitching boy as distance is what he felt toby would need. And truthfully toby did, though he knew this would most likely be one of the
only times he would be allowed to hug the normally masked man he didn't want to cling to some one and appear weak.

And Toby Erin Rogers was not weak!

Masky continued talking "I got nightmares for a while when I first came here...didn't really understand them but I found it helps to communicate ..." He cleared his throat and Toby nodded. The sick feeling that the dreams had left was still lurking there but he figured Masky could know a little.

"I don't K know who S she is"

"Lyra?"

"Y yea" Toby cracked his neck as he muttered the word.

"...what happens to her...in the dream?"

With a questioning stare Toby looked up at Masky and answered "she D dies" he twitched and cracked his neck ,looking ahead at the wall. It was strange, Masky, decided that a killer could talk about death so sadly and with such remorse.

"Oh...did you...did you kill her?" Toby shot up his mood switching Instantly from collected and calm to something-else and Masky felt something he didn't normally feel: fear. Oddly enough though Toby wasn't angry. Sad ,desperate, and depressed maybe but not angry. So what could he be fearing?

"No I..I Didn't k k Kill her .I I tried to ..to save her and I c C couldn't I just let her EH die I I watChed her go..." He spoke quickly and forcefully as if Coherency didn't matter.

Masky nodded "did she mean something to you?"

"NO"

"No?"

"N no I...I dont k know.? I t t told you I dont know!"

Masky sighed he wasn't all that great at comforting others. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry about Lyra...I'm sorry about the nightmares you get...I'm sorry..."

"N not your f f fault." Toby said quietly biting at his bandaged hands. To any normal person he'd look crazy but Masky wasn't normal.

Masky sighed again he didn't know why he cared what had happened in Toby's dream or why it was beginning to bother him to see Toby so...upset. He didn't hug people for starters and normally by this point he would have gotten angry and walked out so why was he so intent on staying? Why did Toby's sleep matter to him? They weren't Scheduled to go on any missions soon so what could it be?

"Ummmmmmmmmm Earth to-To M Masky?" Toby waved his hands in front of Tim's face Successfully breaking his trance. "I f f forgot t To mention lovely S sideburns!" Toby's normal smirk was once again plastered to the twiching boys face and although Tim knew he should have felt relieved something seemed off with it. The boy was bawling a mere seconds ago...was he not? "You should g go M mask-less more often!!!"

Shaking his head quickly as if restore some order Tim stood up. "So I ...I take it your okay now?" He muttered quietly as he turned towards the door. Before his hand had hit the doorknob he heard a whimper and Toby's face fell.

"W wait...um..c could y- no um g g good night! M Masky!" Toby grinned but it looked fake...forced like he was a scared child trying to prove to his parents that he could ride the roller-coaster at the fair.

"Do you not want me to go" Tim for some reason hoped that the answer would be 'yes Tim please stay' he felt sick at that thought. He realized then that perhaps this was the reason he had been having such difficulty sleeping lately, or at least more so then usually. Toby the annoying hyper-active proxy who never left him alone and at times actually made him smile. Funny that the boy would keep him up.

Toby didn't answer verbally and instead nodded, he turned away.

"I won't go if you don't want me to" Tim cursed inwardly, it wasn't like him to care.

"Nah ...I um I don't wanna b bother you"

"Trust me I'm good okay!" Tim grinned and grabbed a spot on the ground next to the bed. He leaned up against the wall.

That night Toby's nightmares didn't return and Masky didn't sleep. Instead Tim thought about everything, carefully lining up choices with possible outcomes and by precisely 4:16 in the morning he had his answer.

"I think...I think I love him!"