Title: At School
Fandom: Man in an Orange Shirt
Length: 100
Characters: Thomas March, Michael Berryman
Content notes: no warnings apply
Summary: Michael remembers his schooldays.



“Was I a beast to you, at school?”

“Er, well, a-actually you were always very kind,” Michael stammered, caught between pleasure and discomfort at the teasing question.

“What a relief.” Thomas smiled and closed his eyes, lying back against the hospital pillows.

What would he think, if Michael told him the truth? You were brilliant. You were extraordinary. I wanted you to notice me, to like me.

He’d wanted that before with older boys at school, but March was different. A smile from him would have made Michael breathless with delight. The sweetness of it made him half dizzy now.