From the Abyss
by Moonstone 04
***
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.
***
Chapter One
In the darkness, there was only the low hum of the Elsa, and the soft breathing of his lover in his arms. Tony let his fingers drift through chaos' silky hair. It was cool to the touch, and the silvery strands seemed to glow with their own mercury light.
Something had been different today. What was different, he still couldn't figure out.
There was so much he couldn't figure out when it came to chaos. In the past fourteen years, they had lived nearly every day together, but there was still so much he didn't know. Warm memory filled him, as warm and comforting as the man he held close.
***
Tony had first met chaos when he was fifteen years old. Back then, it had only been himself, Hammer, and Matthews onboard the Elsa. Those were particularly troubled times, but for the Elsa crew, personal matters had been more pressing than anything else going on in the galaxy.
Hammer was in a bad fix, and Matthews meant to get them lost in deep space a while. Just until things cooled back down. They hadn't gone very far out when Hammer noticed something that bothered him. At the time, he was only thirteen, and was brand new on-board the Elsa himself. But he took to the navigation position like he had done it his entire life. He was a genius when it came to electronics. Of course, genius leads to curiousity, which in turn, Tony supposed, could lead to blatant stupidity. That was, after all, the reason Hammer was in trouble in the first place.
"Captain Matthews." Hammer frowned into the Elsa's navigation control. "We're almost on top of Miltia. Maybe we should change course? There's no telling what we might run into up there."
Matthews gave a start. "Miltia!? ...Aw, hell!" He briefly knuckled his forehead with a grimace. "Why didn't you say something earlier!" He bellowed at Hammer, then slumped back. "Damn it... It's like running a goddamned daycare around here."
Hammer rolled his eyes. "Captain, you told me to take this course, remember? And I'm telling you now, before we actually end up in Miltian space."
"I can't believe I dismissed a perfectly good crew for this," Matthews continued to mutter to himself. Crazy kids will be the death of me yet..."
"Captain." Hammer put his head in his hands irritably, waiting for Matthews to stop ranting. "We should change course now, Captain."
Tony suppressed a chuckle, pretending to be watching his station. At this rate, they were going to kill each other before the month was out. While Matthews and Hammer began arguing about which new course to take, a small red blip caught Tony's attention.
"Guys, there's something out there."
Matthews and Hammer fell silent.
"Is it the military?" Hammer asked.
"No. Wait... No, it's too small." Tony looked up from his readings to his crewmates. "But whatever it is, it's coming straight at us."
Soon, it was close enough to see approaching.
"Looks like space junk." Hammer said dismissively.
"It could be worth something." Matthews gestured towards it. "Let's bring it in."
***
Once it was onboard, they were able to get a good look at it. And they still weren't sure what it was. Smooth and silvery-white, it was pod-shaped. There seemed to be no seams, or markings to indicate what it was or where it had come from.
"Hmm. Maybe it's a funeral pod." Matthews mused.
"You mean we just picked up a dead person?" Tony turned white.
"I dunno," Hammer knelt down to tap it with his knuckles. "Those aren't this small. And usually those have some kind of engraving so you know who's inside. This looks solid."
"It's probably all that's left of some poor joe somebody wanted to forget about, that's all." Matthews shrugged. "Come on, we've already wasted too much time. Let's get back to the bridge and set a new course before we land on Miltia. We'll dump this out later."
***
The pod was forgotten for most of the day.
When Matthews finally remembered it, he ordered Tony to go down and dispose of it. Alone, Tony went down into the shadowy cargo hold. However, when he reached it, the pod was changed. It had cracked open like an egg, broken pieces, like shattered glass surrounded it. The broken pieces and parts of the pod had become translucent.
Each crunch of the debris beneath his boots echoed through the large cargo hold. Tony thought his heart would beat right through his chest. "Dead people don't walk around, there's no such thing as zombies..." Tony let out a nervous little laugh.
Dragging a sweaty hand down his tank top, he peered inside.
Lining the inside of the pod was a white cushioning, suggesting that it was meant for someone to lie inside of. It was empty.
One hand clenched onto his tank top, he looked around in a panic. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. Then he saw a small movement in the corner of his eye. If he hadn't been nearly paralyzed with fear, he would have screamed.
Instead, he turned around.
Standing between two big crates was a boy. He looked about Tony's age. A black bodysuit was all he was wearing, his hands and feet bare. His visible skin was the color of caramel, and his body was slender enough to mistake for a girl. Long silver hair cascaded over his shoulders and past his waist. His crystal blue eyes held an otherworldly light. Tony thought he looked like some kind of fallen angel.
"Hey..." Tony started slowly. "What... Who are you?"
There was no answer. The boy just looked Tony up and down curiously.
"Do you have a name?" Tony approached a bit apprehensively.
Instead of answering, the boy reached out to him. Tony was startled, but the boy was quicker. The silver-haired boy pulled him into an close embrace, nuzzling his face against Tony's neck.
Electric tingles danced over his skin and static crackled in the air. Tony's breath caught, feeling as though a strange wave of energy had suddenly entered him. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was jarring. Threads of silver floating in the unseen energy aura caressed his face.
Time stopped.
Next thing Tony knew, everything was back to normal. The boy had stepped back and was smiling sweetly at him. Tony blinked, wondering if he was starting to lose it.
***
Stepping out of the elevator, Tony almost collided with Hammer.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Tony growled.
"Why don't-" Hammer's voice choked in the middle of his retort as he saw who followed Tony out of the elevator. "Oh shit! You snuck a girl on-board! The Captain is going to kill you!"
"He isn't a girl! He's a boy..." Tony glanced back a bit uncertainly. "I think he is, anyway. He came out of that pod we picked up."
"There was someone alive in that thing!?" Hammer scrutinized the boy from behind his glasses. "So who are you, and what were you doing in there?"
"He doesn't talk." Tony watched as the boy began taking in his new surroundings with big, eager eyes. "At least I haven't managed to get him to say anything. I haven't heard him so much as make a sound."
Hammer twisted around as the boy began wandering off. "Hey! You can't just wander around here like that!" He talked under his breath to Tony. "We do have to tell Matthews about this, you know." With a frown, he did a quick double take at the boy. Then he raised an eyebrow at Tony. "Are you sure that's not a girl?"
***
"Kid, pay attention."
Tony rolled a kink out of his shoulder and leaned back against the console. It looked like Matthews was going to pop a vein trying to get the boy to talk. No matter what Matthews said or threatened, the boy just smiled that little secret smile while he swayed a bit on the balls of his feet. His hair flowed to and fro with each sway, and light rippled through it like water. Tony felt hypnotized by it. Hammer had long since lost interest in the whole matter and was messing around with his console again.
"What-is-your-name?"
The boy twisted some of the silky mass that was his hair around his hands, and just continued smiling. Tony couldn't help wondering what it would feel like to put his hands into that. Then he scowled a bit as he caught the thought. Maybe he'd been out in space too long. Damn it, why did the guy have to be so pretty?
As if he could tell what he was thinking about, the boy's knowing blue eyes caught his. They glittered with unvoiced laughter. A hard blush rushed to Tony's cheeks.
"To hell with it, I give up." Matthews growled. "Whoever he is, we're stuck with him for a while. We're not going near any ports for a few months, so we can't drop him off." He pointed a finger at Tony. "He's your responsibility until then."
"Me!?" Tony kicked himself upright. "Why me?"
"Because you found 'im, that's why!" Matthews barked. "I'm not running a daycare, no matter how many of you brats stowaway on my ship! Keep him out of trouble and out of my hair. That's an order."
"Aye..." Tony mumbled.
"Now go find him some real clothes and feed him before he gets any skinnier."
"Right." Tony motioned to the boy to follow him as he started towards the back of the bridge. As before, the angelic boy happily shadowed him.
"And do something about that hair! On my ship, men look like men, damn it!"
Tony cringed. "Aye, Captain."
***
"Okay, let's see." Tony opened his closet and pushed through some old shirts. The boy was smaller than he was, but he was sure there was something in his wardrobe that would fit him. "I've got some old shirts and things in here I don't wear anymore. You can pick out something from these." Gathering up a bundle of clothes, he turned around.
The boy was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bottom bunkbed, straight-backed with his arms before him. His toes curled as Tony met his smile.
"Yeah..." Tony spread the offering on the bed. "So there it is. See anything you like?"
The boy unfolded his legs and stood. He stared at the pile of clothing for a moment, his head cocked in casual contemplation. It was mostly grays and greens, the usual drab stuff Tony tended to wear. But the boy's eyes lit up at the brightest, and most unusual item in the tangle of chalky sweatpants and muddy tanktops.
It was a bright tangerine vest trimmed with star-blue and adorned with bright brass buttons. It fit snugly when the boy pulled it on over his bodysuit.
Once, Tony had worn that vest everywhere. It had been given to him by his grandmother, who said it made him look dashing. After joining the Elsa crew, he had felt it looked too childish. Seeing the boy wearing it, he felt a bit nostalgic.
"The rest of that outfit is in here somewhere..." Tony dug through the rest of the clothes and pulled out a pair of white trousers trimmed with the same star-blue. It also had a wide, white belt, sporting the same brass buttons as the vest. When the boy pulled them on, they were a bit too long.
"Uh..." Tony rubbed the side of his face thoughtfully. The kid's legs weren't even long enough to reach his feet through the baggy trousers. "I guess we'll have to trim a bit."
Tony retrieved a pair of scissors from his desk, but confronted with trimming his old trousers, he hesitated. "Wait, maybe we can just roll it up." He dropped the scissors onto the bed. "I've got some boots that go with that, maybe we can just roll it up in those..." With that, he went searching back inside the closet.
After a bit of digging, Tony found what he was looking for. Dragging himself back out of the closet, he was just in time to hear the last bit of snipping. He turned around to see the boy standing there, scissors in hand, looking very pleased with himself in the remnants of Tony's old trousers.
***
"What the hell...!? Tony!"
Tony marched grimly into the restaurant, pulling the ever-smiling silver-haired boy behind him. "Not a word, Matthews! It's the best I could do, and I'm seriously not in the mood to hear about it!"
Hammer snickered into his dinner. "That old thing? I thought you burned it! Nice alterations too..."
"Shaddap!" Tony slapped Hammer in the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"What did I tell you about the hair?" Matthews leaned back in the booth.
"I know, I know." Tony slid into the booth and the boy followed suit. "Later."
Digging into his dinner, it was a few minutes until he realized that Matthews and Hammer were staring. Next to him, the boy was imitating his every movement. At the moment, he was frozen over his plate, a spoonful paused before his open mouth. Blue eyes were watching him expectantly.
Lifting his spoon slightly, Tony watched the boy do likewise. Slowly, he put the spoon into his mouth, and the boy did the same. When he pulled the spoon out, the boy did as well, but Tony noticed a small pink tongue quickly flicker out to lick his lips. Tony frowned and put down his spoon.
"C'mon, stop that."
The boy just put his spoon down and waited for him.
"He sure is a strange one," said Hammer.
Tony was still irritated about having his once prized pair of trousers reduced to short-shorts. He had tried to convince the boy to try on another pair of pants, but it did no good. The boy refused to take them off. He was still wearing them over his black bodysuit, along with the vest. But he had accepted the matching boots immediately. Like the vest, the boots were orange with star-blue trim and brass buckles. It was almost like the kid was trying to be him. It was kinda cute at first, but it was getting annoying.
And a little creepy.
Grumbling, he went back to his meal, ignoring the mirrored actions beside him. Not to mention the snickers of his two crewmates.
***
After dinner, it was back to the cabin. Tony retrieved the scissors and looked to the task before him. Sitting with his back to him, the boy seemed entirely complacent. Timidly running his fingertips down the glossy silver hair, Tony wasn't sure if he could do it. He had never seen hair that beautiful before.
Still, orders were orders.
"Sit still, this shouldn't take long."
It felt like blasphemy as the scissors cut through the mercury waves. When the deed was finally done, puddles of silver lay at Tony's feet. The boy's hair no longer reached beyond his shoulders.
Tony sighed as the boy turned around with his familiar little smile. "That's the best I can do. That better be enough to satisfy Matthews."
The cabin door whisked open. Hammer stepped in, then stopped dead in his tracks. He took one good look at the boy and burst into laughter. "My god, what'd you do to him!"
"I'm a pilot, not a hairdresser!" Tony snapped. "His hair is cut, and that's that."
The boy's hair was clearly a hack job. Tony had cut it jagged, and some tufts stuck out unevenly. And a bit of hair that had once been weighed down by its length had become an outrageous cowlick curving up like some kind of feathery topknot.
"I'm sure it can be fixed with gel." Tony said evenly.
***
Gel couldn't fix it. Matthews wasn't sure if it was really an improvement, but Tony refused to cut it any further. And that was that.
***
For the next few days, it was life as normal aboard the Elsa, except for the silver-haired waif that followed Tony everywhere. On the bridge, he often stood or crouched near the pilot's seat. Following Tony to the lower decks, he would shadow him from one task to another with great interest. Sometimes it was annoying, but after a while, Tony found himself idly talking to him. The boy never said a word, but Tony liked having someone so willing to listen during the long, lonely hours.
"I should be cruising dock colonies right now," Tony sighed. He and the boy were wandering through one of the Elsa's storerooms checking resources again. "This is all Hammer's fault, you know. He's been getting me in trouble since we were kids. Always this or that, and I'd always have to get involved."
Crystal blue eyes twinkled with understanding.
"The guy's too clever for his own good. Had to stick his nose in where it didn't belong. You know he went and hacked into a criminal organization's network? Ends up that's how he managed to hook up Matthews with this ship some years back. And all this time we thought he just had a good inside connection... Some connections." Tony snorted.
The boy nodded his head slightly.
"Well, not too long ago, he comes crying to me that he's in trouble again. Seems the mob guys found out he was spying on their stuff, and they weren't very happy about it. I barely convinced Matthews to let him hide out here with us. So thanks to him, we're on the run. If we're ever caught, it isn't going to be pretty."
Leaning his arm against a crate, Tony stopped to give him a serious look. "I bet you've been in some bad trouble too. You came from Miltia, didn't you?"
The boy's smile waned a bit, and he gave Tony a blank look.
"Yeah. There's crazy stuff happening these days. And the way you showed up..." Tony shook his bangs away from his face with a toss of his head. "I was afraid you might be a Realian or somethin'. But you seem human enough, even if you are weird."
This was answered with a bright smile.
"Yeah, definitely weird." Tony could't help smiling himself. "I wish you'd say something though. Then you could tell me just what you were doing out there. Or at least tell me your name, y'know?"
The boy shyly turned his face away.
"Hmph. Well, guess you can't help it." Tony ruffled the top of his silvery hair, making even more strands stick out in wild directions. The boy's dark cheeks grew rosy. "In any case, you're going to be stuck here with us for quite a while." Tony frowned around at the large storeroom. "With all the chaos going on in the galaxy right now, it's safer to steer clear of civilization for the time being. So maybe Hammer just did us all a favor." He shook his head. "That'd be the day."
"chaos."
The soft tenor voice came out of nowhere. A chill went through Tony. He turned and stared at the boy in shock. "Did... Did you just say something...?"
The boy wasn't smiling. He wasn't even looking at Tony. His expression had become withdrawn and troubled. The lips moved. "chaos."
"You... talk!" Tony exclaimed loudly.
This seemed to startle the boy out of whatever funk he had been in. He looked at Tony with wide eyes, then broke into a smile. "chaos!"
Tony narrowed his eyes, regaining his calm. "Okay... Can you say anything other than that?"
"chaos." The boy said happily.
"Alrighty..." Tony sighed.
by Moonstone 04
***
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.
***
Chapter One
In the darkness, there was only the low hum of the Elsa, and the soft breathing of his lover in his arms. Tony let his fingers drift through chaos' silky hair. It was cool to the touch, and the silvery strands seemed to glow with their own mercury light.
Something had been different today. What was different, he still couldn't figure out.
There was so much he couldn't figure out when it came to chaos. In the past fourteen years, they had lived nearly every day together, but there was still so much he didn't know. Warm memory filled him, as warm and comforting as the man he held close.
***
Tony had first met chaos when he was fifteen years old. Back then, it had only been himself, Hammer, and Matthews onboard the Elsa. Those were particularly troubled times, but for the Elsa crew, personal matters had been more pressing than anything else going on in the galaxy.
Hammer was in a bad fix, and Matthews meant to get them lost in deep space a while. Just until things cooled back down. They hadn't gone very far out when Hammer noticed something that bothered him. At the time, he was only thirteen, and was brand new on-board the Elsa himself. But he took to the navigation position like he had done it his entire life. He was a genius when it came to electronics. Of course, genius leads to curiousity, which in turn, Tony supposed, could lead to blatant stupidity. That was, after all, the reason Hammer was in trouble in the first place.
"Captain Matthews." Hammer frowned into the Elsa's navigation control. "We're almost on top of Miltia. Maybe we should change course? There's no telling what we might run into up there."
Matthews gave a start. "Miltia!? ...Aw, hell!" He briefly knuckled his forehead with a grimace. "Why didn't you say something earlier!" He bellowed at Hammer, then slumped back. "Damn it... It's like running a goddamned daycare around here."
Hammer rolled his eyes. "Captain, you told me to take this course, remember? And I'm telling you now, before we actually end up in Miltian space."
"I can't believe I dismissed a perfectly good crew for this," Matthews continued to mutter to himself. Crazy kids will be the death of me yet..."
"Captain." Hammer put his head in his hands irritably, waiting for Matthews to stop ranting. "We should change course now, Captain."
Tony suppressed a chuckle, pretending to be watching his station. At this rate, they were going to kill each other before the month was out. While Matthews and Hammer began arguing about which new course to take, a small red blip caught Tony's attention.
"Guys, there's something out there."
Matthews and Hammer fell silent.
"Is it the military?" Hammer asked.
"No. Wait... No, it's too small." Tony looked up from his readings to his crewmates. "But whatever it is, it's coming straight at us."
Soon, it was close enough to see approaching.
"Looks like space junk." Hammer said dismissively.
"It could be worth something." Matthews gestured towards it. "Let's bring it in."
***
Once it was onboard, they were able to get a good look at it. And they still weren't sure what it was. Smooth and silvery-white, it was pod-shaped. There seemed to be no seams, or markings to indicate what it was or where it had come from.
"Hmm. Maybe it's a funeral pod." Matthews mused.
"You mean we just picked up a dead person?" Tony turned white.
"I dunno," Hammer knelt down to tap it with his knuckles. "Those aren't this small. And usually those have some kind of engraving so you know who's inside. This looks solid."
"It's probably all that's left of some poor joe somebody wanted to forget about, that's all." Matthews shrugged. "Come on, we've already wasted too much time. Let's get back to the bridge and set a new course before we land on Miltia. We'll dump this out later."
***
The pod was forgotten for most of the day.
When Matthews finally remembered it, he ordered Tony to go down and dispose of it. Alone, Tony went down into the shadowy cargo hold. However, when he reached it, the pod was changed. It had cracked open like an egg, broken pieces, like shattered glass surrounded it. The broken pieces and parts of the pod had become translucent.
Each crunch of the debris beneath his boots echoed through the large cargo hold. Tony thought his heart would beat right through his chest. "Dead people don't walk around, there's no such thing as zombies..." Tony let out a nervous little laugh.
Dragging a sweaty hand down his tank top, he peered inside.
Lining the inside of the pod was a white cushioning, suggesting that it was meant for someone to lie inside of. It was empty.
One hand clenched onto his tank top, he looked around in a panic. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. Then he saw a small movement in the corner of his eye. If he hadn't been nearly paralyzed with fear, he would have screamed.
Instead, he turned around.
Standing between two big crates was a boy. He looked about Tony's age. A black bodysuit was all he was wearing, his hands and feet bare. His visible skin was the color of caramel, and his body was slender enough to mistake for a girl. Long silver hair cascaded over his shoulders and past his waist. His crystal blue eyes held an otherworldly light. Tony thought he looked like some kind of fallen angel.
"Hey..." Tony started slowly. "What... Who are you?"
There was no answer. The boy just looked Tony up and down curiously.
"Do you have a name?" Tony approached a bit apprehensively.
Instead of answering, the boy reached out to him. Tony was startled, but the boy was quicker. The silver-haired boy pulled him into an close embrace, nuzzling his face against Tony's neck.
Electric tingles danced over his skin and static crackled in the air. Tony's breath caught, feeling as though a strange wave of energy had suddenly entered him. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was jarring. Threads of silver floating in the unseen energy aura caressed his face.
Time stopped.
Next thing Tony knew, everything was back to normal. The boy had stepped back and was smiling sweetly at him. Tony blinked, wondering if he was starting to lose it.
***
Stepping out of the elevator, Tony almost collided with Hammer.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Tony growled.
"Why don't-" Hammer's voice choked in the middle of his retort as he saw who followed Tony out of the elevator. "Oh shit! You snuck a girl on-board! The Captain is going to kill you!"
"He isn't a girl! He's a boy..." Tony glanced back a bit uncertainly. "I think he is, anyway. He came out of that pod we picked up."
"There was someone alive in that thing!?" Hammer scrutinized the boy from behind his glasses. "So who are you, and what were you doing in there?"
"He doesn't talk." Tony watched as the boy began taking in his new surroundings with big, eager eyes. "At least I haven't managed to get him to say anything. I haven't heard him so much as make a sound."
Hammer twisted around as the boy began wandering off. "Hey! You can't just wander around here like that!" He talked under his breath to Tony. "We do have to tell Matthews about this, you know." With a frown, he did a quick double take at the boy. Then he raised an eyebrow at Tony. "Are you sure that's not a girl?"
***
"Kid, pay attention."
Tony rolled a kink out of his shoulder and leaned back against the console. It looked like Matthews was going to pop a vein trying to get the boy to talk. No matter what Matthews said or threatened, the boy just smiled that little secret smile while he swayed a bit on the balls of his feet. His hair flowed to and fro with each sway, and light rippled through it like water. Tony felt hypnotized by it. Hammer had long since lost interest in the whole matter and was messing around with his console again.
"What-is-your-name?"
The boy twisted some of the silky mass that was his hair around his hands, and just continued smiling. Tony couldn't help wondering what it would feel like to put his hands into that. Then he scowled a bit as he caught the thought. Maybe he'd been out in space too long. Damn it, why did the guy have to be so pretty?
As if he could tell what he was thinking about, the boy's knowing blue eyes caught his. They glittered with unvoiced laughter. A hard blush rushed to Tony's cheeks.
"To hell with it, I give up." Matthews growled. "Whoever he is, we're stuck with him for a while. We're not going near any ports for a few months, so we can't drop him off." He pointed a finger at Tony. "He's your responsibility until then."
"Me!?" Tony kicked himself upright. "Why me?"
"Because you found 'im, that's why!" Matthews barked. "I'm not running a daycare, no matter how many of you brats stowaway on my ship! Keep him out of trouble and out of my hair. That's an order."
"Aye..." Tony mumbled.
"Now go find him some real clothes and feed him before he gets any skinnier."
"Right." Tony motioned to the boy to follow him as he started towards the back of the bridge. As before, the angelic boy happily shadowed him.
"And do something about that hair! On my ship, men look like men, damn it!"
Tony cringed. "Aye, Captain."
***
"Okay, let's see." Tony opened his closet and pushed through some old shirts. The boy was smaller than he was, but he was sure there was something in his wardrobe that would fit him. "I've got some old shirts and things in here I don't wear anymore. You can pick out something from these." Gathering up a bundle of clothes, he turned around.
The boy was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bottom bunkbed, straight-backed with his arms before him. His toes curled as Tony met his smile.
"Yeah..." Tony spread the offering on the bed. "So there it is. See anything you like?"
The boy unfolded his legs and stood. He stared at the pile of clothing for a moment, his head cocked in casual contemplation. It was mostly grays and greens, the usual drab stuff Tony tended to wear. But the boy's eyes lit up at the brightest, and most unusual item in the tangle of chalky sweatpants and muddy tanktops.
It was a bright tangerine vest trimmed with star-blue and adorned with bright brass buttons. It fit snugly when the boy pulled it on over his bodysuit.
Once, Tony had worn that vest everywhere. It had been given to him by his grandmother, who said it made him look dashing. After joining the Elsa crew, he had felt it looked too childish. Seeing the boy wearing it, he felt a bit nostalgic.
"The rest of that outfit is in here somewhere..." Tony dug through the rest of the clothes and pulled out a pair of white trousers trimmed with the same star-blue. It also had a wide, white belt, sporting the same brass buttons as the vest. When the boy pulled them on, they were a bit too long.
"Uh..." Tony rubbed the side of his face thoughtfully. The kid's legs weren't even long enough to reach his feet through the baggy trousers. "I guess we'll have to trim a bit."
Tony retrieved a pair of scissors from his desk, but confronted with trimming his old trousers, he hesitated. "Wait, maybe we can just roll it up." He dropped the scissors onto the bed. "I've got some boots that go with that, maybe we can just roll it up in those..." With that, he went searching back inside the closet.
After a bit of digging, Tony found what he was looking for. Dragging himself back out of the closet, he was just in time to hear the last bit of snipping. He turned around to see the boy standing there, scissors in hand, looking very pleased with himself in the remnants of Tony's old trousers.
***
"What the hell...!? Tony!"
Tony marched grimly into the restaurant, pulling the ever-smiling silver-haired boy behind him. "Not a word, Matthews! It's the best I could do, and I'm seriously not in the mood to hear about it!"
Hammer snickered into his dinner. "That old thing? I thought you burned it! Nice alterations too..."
"Shaddap!" Tony slapped Hammer in the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"What did I tell you about the hair?" Matthews leaned back in the booth.
"I know, I know." Tony slid into the booth and the boy followed suit. "Later."
Digging into his dinner, it was a few minutes until he realized that Matthews and Hammer were staring. Next to him, the boy was imitating his every movement. At the moment, he was frozen over his plate, a spoonful paused before his open mouth. Blue eyes were watching him expectantly.
Lifting his spoon slightly, Tony watched the boy do likewise. Slowly, he put the spoon into his mouth, and the boy did the same. When he pulled the spoon out, the boy did as well, but Tony noticed a small pink tongue quickly flicker out to lick his lips. Tony frowned and put down his spoon.
"C'mon, stop that."
The boy just put his spoon down and waited for him.
"He sure is a strange one," said Hammer.
Tony was still irritated about having his once prized pair of trousers reduced to short-shorts. He had tried to convince the boy to try on another pair of pants, but it did no good. The boy refused to take them off. He was still wearing them over his black bodysuit, along with the vest. But he had accepted the matching boots immediately. Like the vest, the boots were orange with star-blue trim and brass buckles. It was almost like the kid was trying to be him. It was kinda cute at first, but it was getting annoying.
And a little creepy.
Grumbling, he went back to his meal, ignoring the mirrored actions beside him. Not to mention the snickers of his two crewmates.
***
After dinner, it was back to the cabin. Tony retrieved the scissors and looked to the task before him. Sitting with his back to him, the boy seemed entirely complacent. Timidly running his fingertips down the glossy silver hair, Tony wasn't sure if he could do it. He had never seen hair that beautiful before.
Still, orders were orders.
"Sit still, this shouldn't take long."
It felt like blasphemy as the scissors cut through the mercury waves. When the deed was finally done, puddles of silver lay at Tony's feet. The boy's hair no longer reached beyond his shoulders.
Tony sighed as the boy turned around with his familiar little smile. "That's the best I can do. That better be enough to satisfy Matthews."
The cabin door whisked open. Hammer stepped in, then stopped dead in his tracks. He took one good look at the boy and burst into laughter. "My god, what'd you do to him!"
"I'm a pilot, not a hairdresser!" Tony snapped. "His hair is cut, and that's that."
The boy's hair was clearly a hack job. Tony had cut it jagged, and some tufts stuck out unevenly. And a bit of hair that had once been weighed down by its length had become an outrageous cowlick curving up like some kind of feathery topknot.
"I'm sure it can be fixed with gel." Tony said evenly.
***
Gel couldn't fix it. Matthews wasn't sure if it was really an improvement, but Tony refused to cut it any further. And that was that.
***
For the next few days, it was life as normal aboard the Elsa, except for the silver-haired waif that followed Tony everywhere. On the bridge, he often stood or crouched near the pilot's seat. Following Tony to the lower decks, he would shadow him from one task to another with great interest. Sometimes it was annoying, but after a while, Tony found himself idly talking to him. The boy never said a word, but Tony liked having someone so willing to listen during the long, lonely hours.
"I should be cruising dock colonies right now," Tony sighed. He and the boy were wandering through one of the Elsa's storerooms checking resources again. "This is all Hammer's fault, you know. He's been getting me in trouble since we were kids. Always this or that, and I'd always have to get involved."
Crystal blue eyes twinkled with understanding.
"The guy's too clever for his own good. Had to stick his nose in where it didn't belong. You know he went and hacked into a criminal organization's network? Ends up that's how he managed to hook up Matthews with this ship some years back. And all this time we thought he just had a good inside connection... Some connections." Tony snorted.
The boy nodded his head slightly.
"Well, not too long ago, he comes crying to me that he's in trouble again. Seems the mob guys found out he was spying on their stuff, and they weren't very happy about it. I barely convinced Matthews to let him hide out here with us. So thanks to him, we're on the run. If we're ever caught, it isn't going to be pretty."
Leaning his arm against a crate, Tony stopped to give him a serious look. "I bet you've been in some bad trouble too. You came from Miltia, didn't you?"
The boy's smile waned a bit, and he gave Tony a blank look.
"Yeah. There's crazy stuff happening these days. And the way you showed up..." Tony shook his bangs away from his face with a toss of his head. "I was afraid you might be a Realian or somethin'. But you seem human enough, even if you are weird."
This was answered with a bright smile.
"Yeah, definitely weird." Tony could't help smiling himself. "I wish you'd say something though. Then you could tell me just what you were doing out there. Or at least tell me your name, y'know?"
The boy shyly turned his face away.
"Hmph. Well, guess you can't help it." Tony ruffled the top of his silvery hair, making even more strands stick out in wild directions. The boy's dark cheeks grew rosy. "In any case, you're going to be stuck here with us for quite a while." Tony frowned around at the large storeroom. "With all the chaos going on in the galaxy right now, it's safer to steer clear of civilization for the time being. So maybe Hammer just did us all a favor." He shook his head. "That'd be the day."
"chaos."
The soft tenor voice came out of nowhere. A chill went through Tony. He turned and stared at the boy in shock. "Did... Did you just say something...?"
The boy wasn't smiling. He wasn't even looking at Tony. His expression had become withdrawn and troubled. The lips moved. "chaos."
"You... talk!" Tony exclaimed loudly.
This seemed to startle the boy out of whatever funk he had been in. He looked at Tony with wide eyes, then broke into a smile. "chaos!"
Tony narrowed his eyes, regaining his calm. "Okay... Can you say anything other than that?"
"chaos." The boy said happily.
"Alrighty..." Tony sighed.