Title: True Smile
Author: Eternity
Rating: G
Summary: Max reflects on the worth of a smile. (little vignette)
Sometimes I see his smile when I close my eyes. I just let my lids flutter shut and there he is, his face creased with a charming grin. I was surprised the first time I saw it, it seemed so out of place on his serious face, and yet it was the most sincere smile I have ever seen simply because of that. I know he barely ever smiles, his mouth usually set in a grim frown to match his serious countenance. So I know he barely ever smiles and when he does...it's all the more unique and special because it's something not give lightly.
I'm surrounded by people who smile freely all day, their grins given with no further thought, like a breath of air. Original Cindy, Kendra, Sketchy and Logan, all of them...they have no idea the worth of a smile.
Smiling was forbidden at Manticore. I had never even seen one until I escaped, I didn't know what it was at first, a snarl? A challenge? Original Cindy taught me to really smile...but even she doesn't understand the importance of a true smile. The smile of someone who had know such little happiness in their life, gracing you with the uplifting corners of their mouth, and the flash of teeth.
Only the most tortured, darkened souls can give the truest, most radiant smiles, because only they have seen the other side where the light dare not go. Only they can shine so brightly because they have been so deep in the shadows. And only those of us who share that darkened past can recognize the beauty of the true smile in another. Zach may have still held onto the stony Manticore facade, but oh, he had the most beautiful smile.
Author: Eternity
Rating: G
Summary: Max reflects on the worth of a smile. (little vignette)
Sometimes I see his smile when I close my eyes. I just let my lids flutter shut and there he is, his face creased with a charming grin. I was surprised the first time I saw it, it seemed so out of place on his serious face, and yet it was the most sincere smile I have ever seen simply because of that. I know he barely ever smiles, his mouth usually set in a grim frown to match his serious countenance. So I know he barely ever smiles and when he does...it's all the more unique and special because it's something not give lightly.
I'm surrounded by people who smile freely all day, their grins given with no further thought, like a breath of air. Original Cindy, Kendra, Sketchy and Logan, all of them...they have no idea the worth of a smile.
Smiling was forbidden at Manticore. I had never even seen one until I escaped, I didn't know what it was at first, a snarl? A challenge? Original Cindy taught me to really smile...but even she doesn't understand the importance of a true smile. The smile of someone who had know such little happiness in their life, gracing you with the uplifting corners of their mouth, and the flash of teeth.
Only the most tortured, darkened souls can give the truest, most radiant smiles, because only they have seen the other side where the light dare not go. Only they can shine so brightly because they have been so deep in the shadows. And only those of us who share that darkened past can recognize the beauty of the true smile in another. Zach may have still held onto the stony Manticore facade, but oh, he had the most beautiful smile.