Just One Person
A/N: A gift for The Krystal Cat who asked for middle-school aged Alex/Darwin. I may not quite have succeeded in writing Alex/Darwin, though, since this pretty much is just friendship rather than romance. Hope you still like it anyway!
The lightning flashed white and cold outside the dirty, rain-spattered window, cutting through the thin curtains with brutal unconcern. Alex lay on his narrow bunk, trying to stay both still and quiet. It was only his second night in the new house, the new foster home, yet another new foster home. It was always just "not a good fit" or "personality conflicts." No one ever told the social workers the truth, how they just couldn't stand the horrid little punk, that the compensation from the government just wasn't enough when there were hundreds of other kids they could be being paid just as much to tolerate, but Alex figured the social workers couldn't be dumb enough to miss the truth entirely. Not after the number of homes he'd been through in just the past year alone.
They always encouraged him to make friends, of course. Because friends were especially important to difficult, unwanted orphans whom no one actually wanted to grow up to be drug-addicted, mass-murdering psychopaths. Hell, Alex didn't want that either. But what would be the point? Try to make friends with whomever seemed the least terrible option, only to leave at the end of the month and never see his friend again? That didn't sound like it could help Alex, no matter what they said.
It just sounded like it would hurt. Yet another person he cared about ripped away. Just like his mother and father and brother...
Outside, the thunder rolled angrily once again, shaking a sob from Alex's throat before he could tamp it back down where it belonged.
"Alex?" Darwin, Alex's new roommate. The guy who'd said he didn't mind the bottom bunk and honestly didn't seem to. "You okay, dude?"
Alex really should lie, should say he's fine, should use some curse word as a defensive weapon to make the other boy leave him the hell alone. But...what was the point? If he'd be gone by the end of the month, why bother trying to look tough for someone who'd never see him again? Tears stung painfully at his eyes, like soap or shampoo. His voice was raw and ragged when he finally spoke. "No." He rubbed roughly at his eyes with his sleeve, a loose thread from the cuff tickling his nose and making it wrinkle in irritation. "I'm not."
Darwin didn't laugh or mock. He just said, "You wanna come down or can I come up?"
Alex supposed he could also say, 'Neither,' and that would be okay too. It just seemed like Darwin would be okay with pretty much anything. And maybe he was assuming too much after having barely met him, but Darwin just seemed so...chill. And right then Alex kind of needed that calm. Or at least, he thought might help. "I'll come down," Alex said, already climbing down the narrow ladder with shaky legs. Pausing at the bottom, bare feet cold on the thin, itchy carpet, Alex fidgeted, suddenly unsure what he was meant to do.
"Come on." Darwin jerked his head slightly towards the wall, shifting over to make room for Alex.
Alex crawled up to sit on the bed next to Darwin, pulling his knees up to his chest and allowing Darwin to pull the blankets around him. The lightning flashed again, and Alex ducked his head, tightening his arms around his knees.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Darwin asked, maybe not quite 'gently' but...kindly?
Alex shook his head. But when the thunder clapped again, loud as the metal wings shearing off a plane, he found himself leaning into Darwin and whimpering, face pressed against the other boy's t-shirt. Pulling back slightly, Alex looked up at Darwin, the other boy's eyes nearly black in the darkness. "You're not going to laugh at me or...call me a baby?"
"Nah." Darwin shook his head and shrugged. "Why would I do that?"
Alex shrugged too, picking at a dry bit of skin on his bottom lip. "It's what most people do," he mumbled.
Darwin smirked slightly, his white teeth flashing brightly. "I guess I'm not 'most people.'"
"That's good." Because most people sucked. Alex let out a shuddering breath, trying to make himself a bit more calm, a bit more like Darwin. He picked at a bit of lint on the blanket, rolling it between his finger and thumb. "We were in a plane," he began, not looking at Darwin as he spoke. "The night...that night." He dug the fingers of one hand into his knee until he could feel the bite of his fingernails through the thin fabric of his pants. "My mom, my dad, and Scotty—Scotty's my brother." He bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut as tears leaked out to trace quiet trails down his cheeks. "There was a storm that day, and the plane...my dad put parachutes on both me and Scotty, and he told us he'd see us on the ground. But I never saw any of them again."
"Man, I'm sorry." Darwin's arm around Alex's shoulders felt natural, and Alex leaned against his side again. "That really sucks."
Alex nodded. It did suck. "Sometimes," he whispered, hating himself, "I think that maybe Mom and Dad and Scotty are all out there together somewhere, but they just don't want me, so they don't try to find me."
Darwin's arm tightened around his shoulders. "You know it's not true, right? They could all be out there, but they'd be looking for you, and of course they'd want you."
Alex shrugged. "I guess...but no one else wants me."
"That's really not true," Darwin said, leaning down to kiss him gently on the forehead. "Maybe a bunch of idiot folks don't want you, but y'know, a bunch of idiot folks don't want me either. Doesn't mean no one does. Doesn't mean you're not important."
Tilting his head to look up at Darwin, Alex smiled tentatively. Maybe...maybe just one person was enough. And maybe this time...it might be worth it to make a friend. He wasn't sure he could stop it now anyway even if he tried. "Thanks," he said softly.
"If you're ever scared by a storm...or anything else..." Pulling Alex closer, Darwin shrugged one shoulder. "I wouldn't laugh at you. And I'll always want you around."
Maybe Darwin would change his mind. Maybe Alex would be sent to another home in three weeks and he'd never see Darwin again. But as the storm raged on outside the window, Alex couldn't make himself care. He just curled closer to Darwin's sturdy warmth and eventually fell asleep, feeling safe for the first time in far too long.