dappledleaves | meme for pocky /high school AU meme

Maybe. You do run a bit cooler than most...

[Sinclair hums softly in acknowledgement, his heart beat slowly easing into something more steady as he nuzzles at Oria's hair in turn, a little carefully. He smells nice...]

Maybe you should rest early, just in case.

But then I'll be cold...

[ aka he doesn't want to let go of Sinclair right now. Let him latch onto him like a koala! Be clingy! For once!!! In fact, he hugs Sinclair tighter. ]

Oh. [Sinclair blushes again and he hugs Oria in turn. This is a nicer hug than before...] Do you want to stay on my bed then?

[It's not weird. They haven't shared a bed since they were kids but. Let him cope]

Mm.

[ His head continues to feel fuzzy. He probably shouldn't be doing this and he wonders if this is what it's like being drunk--being somewhat self-aware but continuing to make horrible decisions. ]

Only if you're in it...

[He nuzzles a little at Oria's temple, willing himself not to blush all over again. He's very much overwhelmed now]

Okay. I'll stay put for you.

[Luckily for both of them, Sinclair's fox plush has a home on top of his dresser, and the long panda has a home on his seat. So there's plenty of room on his bed now]

You do so much for me.

[ Oria yawns with his face still into Sinclair's neck. ]

Maybe I'm the one feeling sick. Then...

[ Sinclair shouldn't be so close to him. ]

[He strokes over Oria's hair]

From getting cold, right? Then you should lie down with me.

[Lying down was better than sitting for someone who was unwell]

Okay.

[ That's all the warning Sinclair gets when Oria tips them both over on Sinclair's bed with Oria partially on top, but all he does is try to get close to Sinclair for warmth. ]

I remember... we used to do this.

[Well. So much for his attempts to calm his racing heart. But his arms stay wrapped around Oria, one hand petting his hair soothingly]

Me too. During all those sleepovers.

[ Up until they were 12? 13? It wasn't uncommon to find them sharing the same bed, limbs tangled up in sleep]

Why did we stop again?

Because I went to a boarding school.

[ And Sinclair only transferred this year. ]

... I missed this.

...me too. [ He holds Oria close, soaking up his warmth]

You know, I missed you like crazy when you got sent here.

[ Sinclair's parents had adamantly refused to put Sinclair in boarding school, even though he had wanted to follow Oria for some time. He had argued, but had been shut down without question. It had been unfair, or so Sinclair had thought at the time. He had wanted to be with his best friend, his parents just thought he would be too fragile for the type of person boarding schools tended to create]

I missed you too. I remember earlier on when I first came here, I thought it was so boring here without you... but it's not like we never saw each other. I still went back home often and I would go visit you like... every few months.

[ But it's nice, hearing that he missed him. ]

Mm. Those times were great but it wasn't really the same.

[ Significantly less late night calls, talking about nothing in particular...it felt like he had been missing out on a lot.]

It was nice though, knowing you had a friend in Cethin.

[There's genuine warmth there, not even an ounce of jealousy when it came to Cethin. Friends were important ]

I did! I roomed with him before in my first year here. He's a lot neater than one would expect.

[ Cethin is a scruffy guy. Definitely tsun. He and Oria are actually a lot alike, except one is sentimental and the other is Oria. ]

I hung out with his brother too. I think he's a teacher somewhere... I beat him in bowling.

[ heh ]

[Cethin...neat...Sinclair can't quite compute but he thinks it makes sense. Sinclair huffs a little with amusement]

That's what you remember about people?

[Oria, you have a bowling alley under your home??]

I remember a lot of things about people! Well, everything important at the time anyway. But it's nice, because like...

[ His voice drifts off a little. Perhaps from headache or sleepiness. ]

He's one of the few adults who I actually like being around. He's literally a decade older than Cethin.

Yeah? [Sinclair makes a little prompting noise, to get Oria to keep talking. It's nice. Despite his anxieties that Oria would forget about him once he had gone off to boarding school, that had never happened. He likes hearing about the people Oria spent positive time with] More like Beatrice then?

[Beatrice was eight years older than them both after all]

Yeah. I miss hanging out with her too. I wanna catch up with her in person one day.

[ Hopefully she won't bail on them again!!! The old times were nice, and really, the only reason why he occasionally looked back was because of Sinclair. He gave him a reason to enjoy the past for what it was—giving him the value of preserving those memories. ]

Mm. I hope next time she can stay home for longer. [He's a little wistful. Ever since their parents died...Beatrice had been working herself to the bone to clean up any loose ends and finalise the projects their father had been working on. It was a mess]

[ Oria feels for her, quietly sighing and burying his face into Sinclair again, wherever he can reach. ]

I hope she can get that rest soon...

[Sinclair blinks, feeling Oria's nose against his neck and tries not to squirm. That...tickles?]

She will. [Sinclair believed in that. But that's why he had been working hard on his own studies too. He couldn't leave everything just to her while he ran off and chased his own dreams] Soon.

[ Oria wishes his family could do something. While they could offer monetary assistance, they can't really do much else. Everything else would have to be done by the Sinclair family. ]

Did you talk to her about it...?

I did. But she keeps brushing me off. [It's annoying. He huffs a little and plants his face against Oria's hair, ruffling the ends of it to soothe himself] She says I should ignore all of that and focus on what I want to do.

[More than anyone, Beatrice and Oria were aware of the quiet family pressures that existed, even if it was a loving family. That's what the Sinclair parents had been like; loving and supportive, but with firm aspirations and expectations for each of their kids. Beatrice had wanted Sinclair to do his own thing, but...]

... It sounds like she just wants you to be happy, Emil.

[ Especially if Sinclair didn't like what he was doing beforehand. ]

You don't have to turn a blind eye, but helping her with small things would probably make her day. Like... sending her a text, or with a photo of what you found that day. If you give her something to look forward to, I'm sure she won't be burned out as quickly.

I know she does, but...

[It was hard. But he takes Oria's next words seriously, turning them over in his head]

...you really think it'd help?

[His voice is a little muffled, uncertain. He had been trying hard not to make Beatrice worry, especially since the school transfer was because Beatrice had seen what was happening to Sinclair and worried]

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