standsonhigh | High school AU open post

"I'm good," Koschei lied, not wanting to get into the details of his life these days. He'd been nervous for days, throwing up and panicking, worried that he'd either do something stupid to stop his release or ruin things with Barty. He had one chance here and he wasn't going to screw up again. Because he loved Barty, even if he wasn't totally loved in return any more, and he'd do whatever he could for him. "A little tired but you know, it's hard to sleep with glaring white walls."

It was a like an endless dull white headache sometimes. Hands in his pockets, he followed along after Barty. "How are you?"

"Really nervous," Barty said, completely honest in stark contrast. "And a bit scared. I don't even know what I'm scared of. Just... I'm really glad I get to spend time with you. Because I miss you. I've missed you for a long time now."

He lifted his shoulders in a helpless shrug and wet his lips, looking at Koschei and trying a smile. "Sorry. Wish I could do something about all that white. I'll petition for making pink the new white."

He envied how easily Barty found it to be open like that. Months in that damn place hadn't really given him many skills about conveying his emotions. Not to Barty at least. "Don't be scared, it'll be okay. We'll just get a coffee - which I can pay for - and it'll be easy. We can just talk like we used to before everything."

Or he wanted to anyway. Hell, he spent months doing chores around that damn place to get himself spending money for this trip so he was going to try his hardest to make it a good time. Even if the closer they got to town, the tenser his body got. "Pink wouldn't really help much. Why not blue? Or like an unsettlingly bright orange. Might wake people up there."

"I can pay, Koschei, it's not an issue."

And he did notice how Koschei was getting tense, so he was relieved that the coffee shop was coming up and also turned out to be almost empty. He held the door open for Koschei, smiling for him.

"How about you pick a table and I'm getting us some coffee? You can pay for the second round."

"Okay, if you're sure, but I have money," Koschei insisted, almost edging on the side of a child trying to prove they were an adult through some petty accomplishment. But then, sometimes he didn't really feel like an adult. He still felt like some idiot kid who'd gotten himself into trouble and this was how he was paying for it. Adults got to go out, have shoelaces and eat chocolate whenever they want.

He picked a seat as far away from everyone else as possible and took a seat, watching Barty and trying to stay calm while they were separated.

This wasn't too bad, at least no one was looking at him. And it was pretty quiet, which made it easier. Pulling out the handful of change he had, he carefully counted it over to make sure he had enough for the next round.

Barty walked over to the table carrying two coffees that should be large enough that he, at least, didn't need another round. He didn't want to treat Koschei like a child, but he didn't want him to have to worry about money, either. He could still buy a smaller coffee or something later.

He sat down and pushed one of the coffees over to Koschei, then took a sip of his own. "There's a new Disney movie coming out. Frozen, or something like that. Made me think of you, though mostly just because everything makes me think of you."

"Cause I used to drag you to disney films?" Koschei asked, hoping he was more reminded by that rather than him being a cold bastard or something. He looked at his coffee for a few moments before taking a tentative sip. He hadn't had a coffee in so long, it was lovely. "I miss going to the cinema. And watching whatever I want, these days I just have to attend movie nights. Never fun, either."

With a slight smile, he set his drink back down. "I always miss you. I don't know why, I just do. It's been weird not waking up with you or having you to talk to. It's kind of lonely."

"Yes. Do you know that I never saw one before being with you? And I've never seen one without you, either." Barty shrugged and turned his cup in his hand, looking down at it absently. "Not sure how much else the movie ought to remind me of you, given it's about princesses, as far as I can tell."

He looked up and smiled. "Maybe if you had a tiara."

"I remember you saying, yes. Your dad was somehow against them," he still didn't get how anyone could be against cartoons, especially when he watched them near obsessively himself. He couldn't help but smile himself at the idea of Barty sitting alone in a cinema full of kids watching the latest disney flick. "Personally I'd think it'd seem creepy if you went alone."

Leaning back in his chair, he rather openly contemplated the idea of a tiara. "I would look dashing in one."

High school AU open post

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