A/N: Slash/Strong Language. Adult scenes.
Yeah Tommy Conlon ran away.
So Fucking what?
It wasn't the first time, and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last. Except he wasn't little and listening to his Dad screaming at his Mom anymore. He wasn't standing in the back yard, running away inside his head. He wasn't daydreaming, putting himself on a swing with his Big Brother pushing him. He was in the Army now.
Well….he was...
He thought he could hack it. He thought he could be like his Dad, well, before the drink got a hold of him. But the Army life wasn't for him, especially when his colleagues, his friends his brothers got injured. They'd be on the ground screaming in pain and Tommy would be standing over them with bandages and stretchers mopping their brow like some retarded nurse and telling them that it was gonna be okay. Sometimes it was and sometimes they left…..for good.
But Tommy never, ever thought that would happen to Manny. Manny was a little guy, but he was a little older than Tommy. Manny had it made. Beautiful wife, amazing kids. He kept pictures of them everywhere. Laying up at the top bunk Tommy would hear stories about how Manny and his wife met, or the birth of their daughter. Manny thought that Tommy would tell him to stop telling those stories, but he never did.
Manny's happy stories kept Tommy's nightmares away. One week later they'd sat together side by side on an usually cold night. Manny nudged Tommy's arms and asked him to put another jacket on. "I'm good" Tommy said. "Tommy-boy, you're always good. I want you to feel great. Get other jacket on and we'll scope the initial landing OP for tomorrow" Manny said. That was the excuse for the week. But really Manny and Tommy needed to be alone.
When they got there, Tommy couldn't find his torch. "Shit I can barely fucking see you" Tommy said as he pulled Manny towards him.
"That's kinda the point" Manny told him. They made out in the darkness. Tommy didn't know if Manny did this with other guys. All he knew was that Manny was a great guy and Tommy didn't want to share him. From sweltering heat in the night to the cold winds in Pittsburgh. It was a change, but Tommy would get used to it…with Manny.
"Come on, Come on come, on" Tommy whispered.
"Don't be impatient, your Dad's probably working" Manny said.
"Yeah, on a six pack" Tommy said.
"Tom, is your Dad a gym freak?" Manny asked. Tommy shook his head. He didn't know how to explain it, so he didn't. His Dad came shortly and Manny immediately stood up to greet him. Tommy stayed seated.
"Tommy…you've got a friend with you?" Paddy asked confused.
"Manny Martinez…..Sir. Tommy has told me nothing but good things about you" Manny said. The men shook hands and Paddy invited him them in.
"We're Army buddies" Manny said.
"I used to be in there too….boy I could tell you some stories…." Paddy said.
"I'd love to hear them, Mr Conlon" Manny said with a nod.
"Dad…..me and Manny need a place to stay. I mean…I'll take the floor" Tommy said.
"Tommy…don't be silly…there's a spare room" Paddy said.
"Manny can take it" Tommy said. With that arranged, Tommy went to get Manny settled in his room. The next week was very odd for Paddy because he usually woke up alone to any empty house. Now Tommy and Manny were there and it was a change. Manny was a talker, polite, giving, and well mannered. He started pay him rent and buying him groceries at the weekend. Paddy and Manny would watch TV together and Manny would ask him questions about his time in his wars.
It was the kind of talks that Paddy wanted with Tommy, But Tommy wasn't interested. Some-times Paddy found Tommy asleep on the sofa, but most mornings he was out of the house. It wasn't until a punch filled Friday night that Paddy could see what Tommy was doing. "You okay?" Paddy asked. "Mmmm" Tommy grunted getting out a bottle of scotch and drinking it. Tommy looked around then started to go upstairs.
"Manny's not here….went out….I Think….yeah…..he's umm…..gone" Paddy told him. Tommy slowly came back down the stairs and sat back down on the sofa. Paddy got a cloth and when to the kitchen.
"Did you get in a fight Tommy?" Paddy asked. He got no answer.
Paddy came back out and moved toward Tommy trying to wipe the blood away from his face.
"Fuck….give it to me" Tommy said, snatching the cloth away and wiping his face.
"I'm not gonna judge you son" Paddy said.
"You can't fucking judge Manny, or me or anyone" Tommy said.
"I Don't know your Army stuff…..but…..maybe getting a job….or going back to the Army could…."
"No…I've got stuff….happening" Tommy said.
"That's great….cause you don't wanna be here forever" Paddy said getting up.
"Dad…you're….you're fucking useless" Tommy said. Paddy turned away, ready to sleep away the insult.
"But you can train guys…you're fucking good at that" Tommy said. Paddy turned around and sat down.
"What?" Paddy asked.
"Yeah I've been fighting. Proper fights that pay. But there's this huge fight thing. A fucking competition. It's fucking huge and it pays…..so…think it over" Tommy said.
"Tommy….we can start right now" Paddy said. "We can talk about fighting styles and….."
"Dad…you…you just train me okay?" Tommy asked. "Manny can handle the rest and be our fucking middleman"
"Oh yeah. About that. I need to ask you something Tommy…not about us….about you and Manny" Paddy said.
Tommy drank away the nervousness and told himself that his Dad was too dumb to figure out the truth.
"What?" Tommy asked briskly hoping that he could scare his Dad into changing the question.
"So about Manny…why on the news...are they saying Manny's dead?" Paddy asked.