Bitter Memories

[kriadydragon]

A little Thoughtcrimes something for karri_kln1671. Based on what has been dubbed the "baby-Brendan" one-shots, as well as the scene in TC when Brendan is drinking the cough syrup.

Brendan doesn't think anything of it, sticking the bottle to his mouth, tossing it back like a Seven Up. Harmless cough syrup he hadn't exceeded the dosage on, yet. Harmless bottle, hard plastic tapping against his teeth, tongue drowning in sticky, sickly sweet. Cherry flavor, but not cherry, never like cherry. Nasty, vicious, bitter like... like...

“Please, mommy, I don't like it. It tastes funny.”

“Brendan not now. Just drink it, it's good for you.”

Plastic bottle, harmless. Not brown but clear, sloshing with a funny-smelling water that tastes like fire. It burns holes in his stomach every time he drinks it.

“Please, no, I don't like it,” he pleads with tears in his eyes. Mommy holds his arm too tight. Such a skinny arm. The other boys don't have such skinny arms.

“Brendan, enough. Just drink!”

Plastic knocking his teeth so hard it's a miracle they don't break. Bitterness drowning his tongue, burning his throat...

It's a memory flashing faster than a dream, two seconds long in his head, an eternity in the making. His imperceptibly unsteady hand steers the liquid down the wrong pipe and he chokes, sputtering, staining his once clean shirt. The now races back to push then aside, and he forgets why he choked while he's changing his shirt.