MEMORY ? newtmas au

05 | advanced dementia

"I won't forget either, Newt," she tells him when she is done, kissing him on the cheek.

He still hasn't figured out what they are remembering.

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"Drink," he croaks from the wheelchair.

The old man immediately stands up, pours some apple juice into a glass, then adds a straw before bringing it to him. He slurps it up enthusiastically; when he is done, the man tries to take it away, but he keeps his lips firmly around the straw and continues to draw in air.

"Don't do that, Newt, it's not good to breathe like that."

He ignores him.

A piece of hard candy appears in the other man's hand. "Suck on this instead."

The straw drops out of his mouth immediately as he places the candy carefully onto his tongue. "Sweet," he says happily.

"I know," the man says, and he closes his eyes and sighs.

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They tell him that his hip has healed, which means he doesn't need to be in the wheelchair anymore. But when he tries to stand, he collapses almost immediately: his legs can no longer support him. Both of them have betrayed him.

So he remains sitting.

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The old man gently lifts him out of the wheelchair and places him on the couch, then sits down and cradles him against his body, rocking him gently. "Shouldn't reminisce, I know," he can hear him murmur. "Especially since you probably can't understand me." There is a pause as his hand begins to stroke his hair. "But I remember once, Chuck was going abroad for the first time to perform with Sonya and Harriet and Aris, and I was so upset... stupid, but I didn't want my baby brother to leave, even though I knew it was coming... so I saw him off at the airport and when I got home I cried, and it was pathetic but you didn't laugh and you held me like this... told me I wasn't alone... that I wouldn't ever be alone. Then you said something about how everyone became stars when they died, and I asked where on earth that came from. You got all flustered, remember? And something clicked and I asked you if that was from The Lion King, except you tried to deny it. Didn't work, though; I got the truth out of you eventually. And then we watched it." He laughs. "Two grown men, watching an ancient Disney cartoon. Even worse than a grown man watching Doctor Who. You didn't say anything, but I saw your eyes get wet when Mufasa died. So I held you too. And we just kind of clung to each other for the rest of the movie, and when that ended we stayed on the couch and didn't move until Chuck called the next morning."

He doesn't respond. Only the most basic words are getting through to him.

The man puts his head on his shoulder. "I don't really know what you're thinking right now. But I hope you realize you're not alone, either. Me, Minho, Sonya... we're here. And I know... you can't really hold me anymore. But that's fine. I've got you. I've got you." He repeats those last three words, more to himself than to anyone else, as he continues to cradle him.

"Got you," he mumbles in return.

The old man holds him closer.

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"Thomas, he's shivering," the woman says nervously.

He doesn't understand how he can feel so warm but so cold at the same time. It's uncomfortable.

"Sonya, go get a blanket from his room, okay?" the man says, kneeling in front of the wheelchair. The woman leaves while the man stares at him. "Newt, are you alright?"