-rainbow cookie, tracob

12,

-

It's a slow process, watching Troye put himself back together.

Two whole weeks have passed, and while things are different for him, much is still the same. He still looks surprised whenever people give him a hug or ask him how he's doing. He still looks at himself a little dispassionately when he walks by a mirror, and always, always looks at Jacob when making a decision to make sure his choice is alright.

But the changes are there, too, and Jacob makes sure to praise them at every opportunity. Troye wears all his own clothes now, skintight jeans and catalog-perfect outfits that he seems to put together with so much care. He stops assuming that every time someone laughs, they're laughing at him, and the more they tease him, the more he learns to tease back. He starts speaking up, too. Asking for things that he wants, sharing what he thinks. The first time Troye called him an asshole, Jacob smirked for an hour.

He helps Troye in every way that he can. Part of that is in listening to Troye talk about all of the things that happened with Thomas, in gently correcting and teaching and reshaping. But the other part of it- the part that's quieter, but maybe just as important- is Jacob making sure to just be there. It doesn't take a genius to see how he sometimes frets, or how he'll relax whenever someone is around just because he gets to remember that he isn't alone.

That's maybe the quietest thing of all about Troye's recovery- those casual little touches he seeks out just to know someone is there. Sometimes he would sit down on the opposite end of the couch from Jacob and move his feet so that his toes would just barely graze Jacob's thigh. Other times, he didn't even have to seek it out. Jacob would make some grand gesture as he told a story and make sure that as his hands fell, his fingertips would leave a little trail down the side of Troye's arm or give a tiny tug to a stray curl atop his head.

Always so quiet. Just a little whisper, a little I've got you that only Troye ever heard

Thomas is gone, truly and properly gone. He was MIA for a few days after Jacob's present showed up on his doorstep, and then according to Jed he dropped out without explanation. Jed was the new team captain, and everyone but the four of them wondered where their star player had gone. Jacob breathed easier. They all breathed easier.

Meanwhile, Jed and Jack fall steadily even further in love with Troye. He's like the little brother they never had, except that they're never annoyed with him and always seem to want him around. Jacob and Jed's dorm has become the gathering place for the four of them- five if you counted Adam, who started coming around just about every time he wasn't in class. There's a sketchbook that lives on top of their refrigerator now, just for him. None of them seem to mind that their friendship has been forged by a twisted man and a broken boy. They're here, and they're now, and that's enough for them.

So it's nothing unusual that one Friday night, Jed, Jacob, and Troye find themselves all lazing around the dorm at nearly two in the morning. "I should get home," Troye said. "Sorry, I didn't realize how late it was or I would have left earlier."

"Nah, it's too late," Jacob replied with a yawn. "It may only take five minutes to get back to your flat, but with your luck you'll get robbed for all your money along the way. Just stay here, okay?"

"Oh. If you're sure-"

"Hush. Of course I'm sure. Alright with you, Jed?" But Jed is already asleep on his bed, fully clothed and only half under the blanket. Jacob snorts a laugh and briefly debates taking a picture of the puddle of drool beneath his open mouth. "I think he's fine with it," he simply tells Troye.

Troye grins, too. "Okay. Do you have a blanket or something? I can just use the pillow already on the couch, that's fine."

"The couch? Don't be silly. You're a tiny baby, Troye, can't just let you sleep on the couch all by yourself." Jacob glances up from where he's digging through his dresser for sweatpants to find Troye looking confused and concerned. "My bed's more than big enough for two. You can just sleep with me, yeah?'