standsonhigh | High school AU open post

There had been a time when he'd practically lived for Tom, not entirely by choice but close enough, and in dreams, where time was more fluent, he sometimes remembered it all too clearly. Looking for approval, waiting for praise.

Barty was dreaming now and his dreams had always been the time he was a lot less controlled than when awake. So he was whimpering, curled up and terrified, definitely not things he'd allow himself to do when awake, and under his breath he was muttering, too.

"Tom..."

Koschei wasn't asleep himself, he didn't really feel like it tonight as his mind was far too active to sink into a good nights rest. Instead he was reading, lamp dimmed as to not bother Barty, casually flipping his way through a rather dull book he had little interest in really. Theta had said it was a good read, last time he took suggestions from him on books.

He noticed something was amiss after the first whimper, noting the way Barty curled into himself like an injured animal. Putting his book aside, he watched silently. Until he heard the name he never wanted to hear again.

Hastily, he shook Barty's shoulder, trying to snap him out of whatever madness he was dreaming of. "Barty! Wake up!"

It didn't usually take long for Barty to wake up, but while he was back to consciousness quickly, his mind needed a bit longer to catch up this time. He blinked up at Koschei but his eyes only truly focused on him after a while and then he wasn't exactly at his most articulate either.

"Hhm?" Was something happening? He reached up to put a hand on Koschei's waist and turned toward him, eyes already falling shut again.

"Are you okay?" he asked carefully, not sure if he even wanted to discuss this. It made him feel a bit sick, hearing that name again, it always brought back the worst times for him and he couldn't even contemplated them any more. They just left a pit in his stomach. He would of happily glossed over it but he knew he couldn't.

Not when Barty could need him, he could totally do that. He could be that sort of boyfriend that listened and cared. And if he couldn't? He could probably ring up Theta or something. He actually liked emotional issues. "... You said Tom?"

"I did?" He asked, groaning. The question was more rhetorical than anything, because the moment Koschei said the name he knew, he remembered. No other memory that felt quite that haunting. He shifted a little, put his arm properly around Koschei and shrugged. "Sorry."

How to even apologize for something like that? "It's not as if I miss him or anything. Or regret ki... That he's dead." Killing him. Not quite a reality he was all that ready to face just like that, really. "I don't know why it happens."

The Master pulled Barty close just out of instinct, knowing that was what he was meant to do. Comfort him. After all, Barty had given him the greatest gift, he'd removed Tom and freed him from the horrendous situation he'd been stuck in. Honestly, the way things had gone, he was pretty sure he owed Barty his life.

"It's okay to feel guilty, you know?" Koschei said, just in case he was putting on a brave face just for him. He didn't want to put that burden on him. "Can't say I miss the bastard though -- I guess we never really spoke about it. I kind of assumed you didn't want to."

"I figured the same for you." Barty shrugged and kissed Koschei's cheek because he could. And because he wanted the comfort, he supposed. "I'm glad he's gone. He's just always been there, you know?"

With a frown he shook his head. "There hasn't ever really been anyone that seemed to be remotely smart until I met him. And that was in preschool. But he's always been..." He made a vague movement with one hand. "I'd rather have gotten close to you sooner. Much more rewarding."

"I understand, I know all too well," Though he never sough comfort in tom's existence, it had always been there. and hell, he knew what it was like to have a long term companion. He had Theta, they'd been friends since -- well, he actually couldn't remember a time when they weren't friends. It was just the way they'd always been.

"I guess I just didn't ever make a connection with Tom outside of hate. I don't know what sort of person he was or what he was like. I don't really care to know," Koschei confessed, trying his best not to found harsh. But years of bitterness just did that, he couldn't hold back the hate he felt. "I guess we're both lucky we found each other. I don't know what my life would be without you. I always wondered if I'd even of lived passed school without you."

"He's been a hateful bastard all over, really. But he liked me or... At least acted as if he did, and that felt pretty great for a while." Barty was rather content with not lingering on this too much. It haunted him, it obviously did, the influence Tom had been, the connection he thought they had had, but he found himself foolish for it these days and he always remembered the hours of being cuffed to his own bed and taunted with the knowledge of Koschei likely dying right this moment, the most helpless and desperate he had ever felt.

Even the vague memory of it now made him hold Koschei closer and his words hardly helped. "I'd never have let you die." He kissed his lips, caught his eyes. "Scares me, you know. Thinking of a world without you."

Koschei didn't think Tom was capable of liking anyone, he thought Tom was so removed from reality that he didn't feel like people did. But he wouldn't say that aloud, of course, he didn't want to ruin whatever illusion Barty had held. He deserved that much, And besides, he had clearly known Tom better than Koschei ever really could of.

Offering a kiss back, Koschei tugged Barty in closer, letting him hold on. And hey, Barty was actually pretty nice and warm, it was a pleasant enough experience. "I'm not going anywhere, not if I can help it. I survived so much, I won't die now after everything. The shit I lived through, I deserve a nice long life."

"We do," Barty agreed, because saying 'we' had to ensure that Koschei didn't even consider getting rid of him. Not that he really thought he would, but still. He dropped his voice, so quiet that it wouldn't even be audible if not for how close they were to each other and how quiet it was. "I love you."

It wasn't something he said often, at least not when he wasn't high or drunk, because it always felt odd that someone like him was in love and saying it was just strange. But there was something about being haunted by memories of Tom's corpse that made him want to state it out loud.

"I'd do anything for you."

It was one of those very odd things. He was always very well aware that Barty loved him and that he loved Barty but it was a topic they rarely spoke of aloud. It was just a little strange hear it but never the less, he did like it. A nice little assurance of how and where they stood together.

"I love you too," Koschei insisted, closing his eyes and letting himself relax into the warmth that was Barty. Maybe sleep wasn't the worst idea in the world, he did technically have work tomorrow. "And I'd do anything for you."

If Barty ever needed something, Koschei would get it done for him. He always owed him, forever and ever.

High school AU open post

Some point after living together.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject