standsonhigh | High school AU open post

"Sleep here," Koschei insisted, opening his eyes to look over at Theta's unmade bed. Perhaps Barty was a cleaner room-mate. "I'm sure Theta would let you stop over and use his bed time to time. He's rarely in anyway, always off on adventure. Plus my bed is pretty big, you know?"

And now very dirty. He was going to need to remove the mud soon and probably have a shower himself. He'd dried off and warmed up a bit now but he couldn't quite escape the chill and he could feel the mud caked on his feet. It wasn't a nice feeling. "Let him see what he wants to see. If he pushes me again, I'll destroy him."

"...right. Look, how about we come up with a plan that could actually work? Because I can't request a roommate change without a reason and I can't tell Tom I'm moving and I can't even stay here much longer now, because I have to get back before Tom gets back. And somehow figure out how to get back into the cuffs, too, while I'm at it." Barty sighed and rolled his eyes, then leaned up enough to kiss Koschei's cheek.

"Just feel better. I'll see what I can do from my end." He was silent for a while and then he asked, smiling a little. "Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"You can't leave, I need you here," Koschei insisted with a sort of sulkiness to his tone. Barty was the only thing keeping him warm and he didn't want to move, he wanted to be here with him and not think about Tom. He couldn't stand that little rat and all he needed was the upper hand, just once, and he knew he could beat him.

"Your boyfriend?" Koschei asked, looking to give Barty a curious look. He actually wanted to do this? Well, like he could protest, he liked Barty and this at least ensured they'd be together. "Sure, I'd like that."

"See, that's great. And after graduation, we can move in together. Where're you planning on going? Oxford?" That seemed like a much nicer topic to talk about. "You can probably get a scholarship just about anywhere. Take your pick, eh?" He ran his fingers through Koschei's hair and very firmly stayed in that fantasy. Koschei had to pass out soon, he could sneak out then.

"I want to study law, probably. Not sure yet. My father..." He trailed off, shaking his head. People knew his father, really no reason to bring him up.

"Oxford is on my list," Koschei answered, yawning as his gripped his fingers into's Barty's shirt, happily curled on him, enjoying actually having feeling in his toes again. He felt awful, he truly did, but he could lament that when Barty was gone. For now, he had to focus on the brighter things. Like Barty seemed to want to. "I'm going into politics, I did an internship last summer, it was amazing. Just what I want to do."

A whole new reality where he wasn't some victim, he was on equal standing and capable of showing off without fear of being beaten down later for it. It was a glorious thing to experience he wanted again. With a happy smile on his face, he felt his eyes start to get heavy. With a yawn, he felt himself start to drift a little "I can't wait to graduate, it'll be amazing. You can come with me to Oxford. Do law, I'll do politics. We can have very boring study sessions together."

Barty was just glad he'd stopped talking about killing people, though he could have lived without the reveal that his new boyfriend of a minute wanted to go into politics. Ugh.

"I hate politics. Maybe you can make me have positive associations there again. You know my father, right?" It was a stupid question. Koschei wanted to go into politics, of course he knew the man likely to be the next Prime Minister. "He'd not want me to go into politics, but luckily I really don#t want to, anyway."

"I did my internship with him. He's a prick," Koschei admittedly rather openly, not caring if that upset Barty. He doubted it would, from what he grasped they didn't get on. Crouch Sr had asked him if he knew Barty but at that time, he was just one of Tom's friends. So the answer had been very dismissive. It was odd how things changed.

"You should study it, you'd like it."

A baseless suggestion but he mostly just wanted Barty to be stuck with him, no matter what. With a vaguely amused little laugh, he fought of the sleep threatening to take him over and tried to focus on Barty. "Why do you want to do law?"

"You don't get to say that if you're just his intern. Try being his son, then we can talk." Barty snorted and shook his head. "You just want m to do what you do." A less baseless accusation, but he wasn't overly offended on the whole. It was cute, in a manipulatively possessive way, really.

"I don't even know. Used to interest me a lot, but I'm kind of giving up on the system, so what do I know. Maybe I do something completely different. Become a janitor or something."

"I'd rather not be his son, I have my own idiot father as it stands. He's a writer and an explorer," Yes, that is as dumb as it sounds. The man was one of those annoying heroic types, so much so that Theta seemed to worship. How embarrassing was that? Way worse than an neglectful father.

"You can't be a janitor, that's boring. You're so much better than that," Koschei protested in annoyance, not wanting anyone he even considers dating going into such an unspectacular profession when he could be so much more. "Either politics or law. Something with power. It'll suit you, trust me."

"Does he like you?" Barty tugged on a strand of Koschei's hair lightly, relieved by noticing that the other boy seemed to finally have warmed up enough to even stop that occasional shudder from going through his body. Maybe he wouldn't get sick.

"I do want power. Always have." A certain ambition did run in the family after all. And there was more than one reason he was, had been, maybe was still attracted to him. "So I was kidding about being a janitor. But once my father figures out I like boys I'm out of money, so. Might as well figure out a job to pay the bills."

"My dad? Yep. Loves me, unfortunately. It's all very tiresome. He once wrote a book and based a main character on me when I was about ten then gave it to me on my birthday," What a cheap and crummy present. It wasn't even like he enjoy fiction either. And he'd asked for the extensive history of rulers that year, not some sappy book about a boy having space adventures.

Truly, he'd known suffering. Thank God no one at this place knew about that, he kept his father's name and his own surname very hush-hush so no one connected the dots. He couldn't take that level of embarrassment. "Screw your parents and their money, I'll pay for you. They can't use money against you if you have your own source."

He'll happily play sugar daddy is he had to, he'd been saving his pocket money and wisely investing it since he was seven. He had more than enough to his name to cover himself if he had to.

"Oh." Oh. Well, that did sound like a bit much, but Barty experienced spontaneous envy anyway. He very happily changed the topic, even though what Koschei said just made him laugh and shake his head. "You're sweet."

Was that something one said? Well, whatever, he'd just roll with it. "Thanks, but no thanks. I want to make my own way, y'know. Can't really now, I don't have a penny to my name and my father wouldn't let me earn any money, but I will once I'm done with school. And I'll get top marks and become rich and make sure you rule the world. Sound good?"

"If you say so," Koschei offered with a slight shrug, feeling pretty good right now. He was warmer, his body stopped trembling and he was pretty much ready for sleep. The sooner he got some sleep, the better he'd probably be. But this was the most time he'd spent with Barty in a long time, he didn't want to give up and sleep.

"Fine, you get some dull job and earn money, I'll just help you invest it and triple it. Soon, you'll have more than enough," Koschei insisted, yawning slightly. "We'll get a flat together when we leave here, go to Oxford, build up our power and use it to crush those we don't like."

This was pretty much the longest amount of time they had ever spent together alone, since classes and the like hardly counted. Definitely the longest time that didn't include untying or redressing Koschei. Barty was becoming more and more aware of just how little Koschei was actually wearing. Bad thoughts, Barty. Very bad thoughts.

"Are we getting cartoon figures on our curtains? Just, y'know. Since you already seem to be picking them out." Barty grinned, not really actually bothered. "You promised me cotton candy, too."

"We should. Teletubby curtains and clangers wallpaper," Koschei agreed with a slight nod. Hey, Barty could eye him all he liked, he pulled of pale, skinny and muddy pretty well actually. Hell, he could of looked worse. Months of bullying had left him near permanently bruised and scarred, he was lucky to be as well kept as he was.

"You're obsessed with cotton candy," Koschei laughed as he very carefully rolled off Barty, landing on the less comfortable mattress. "I should probably shower."

"I'm not obsessed with cotton candy! I've never even had cotton candy. I just want to try some time." Barty smiled and sat up once Koschei was off him, looking down at him and not aware of how his eyes softened. He ran his fingers through Koschei's hair in a gesture he hoped wouldn't be seen as condescending and nodded.

"You should. Not that the muddy look isn't great on you. But I should get going, anyway."

"See, I look great in mud. I'm making it a cool look," Koschei teased as he slowly clambered off the bed, standing awkwardly, not quite in the best state. His legs still hurt and he felt rough but he definitely needed to have a wash. The mud was starting to flake off everywhere. Before he could let Barty leave him, he reached out and snagged the boy's wrist, pulling him close so he could steal a kiss.

He'd earned that much, anyway. "Had to do that before you left but, erm, yeah. Thanks. You didn't have to come and help me but you did. And I appreciate that."

"You could make any look work for you," Barty assured him, because he was feeling butterflies and a bunch of other stuff he'd never truly believed could ever happen to him. And then there was the kiss and it happened to fast for him to really kiss back, but it happened and it was great, even if it was over too soon.

"Thanks. I mean. For the kiss." He was a dork. Maybe he could hide under the blanket. "I really like you."

"Barty, stop being a wonderful dork. You don't thank people for kissing, you just accept it. Or tell them to piss off. One or the other, really," Koschei offered, ruffling his hair slightly. Urgh, it was so dirty, how was Barty even getting doe-y eyed over him in this state.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he offered, awkwardly moving towards the bathroom, not really wanting to say goodbye. "Don't let Tom know you were here, yeah? He'll get us both back for it."

"It felt good, might as well thank you for it. Seems more appropriate than thanking people for useless things like asking me how I am." Barty got up, ruffling his own hair to find something less awkward to do with his hair. Funny, he'd always pictured himself as more suave. Maybe with time.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to sneak back and squeeze my hand through that cuff again so he'll never know I left." He headed for the door, standing there similarly at a loss. He didn't want to go, this little moment right here felt like all they might have for a long time to come. "See you tomorrow."

"Be safe, don't get hurt," Koschei ordered more than asked. Then, finally, he forced himself to retreat into the bathroom and let Barty go. He'd see him tomorrow, that was better than nothing.

High school AU open post

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