Nodding at his words, Gus managed to smile softly at him; his eyes were getting heavier the longer they remained on the bed, and Gus shifted to lean his head against the headboard, watching with interest as the man before him doted on the cat in a way he hadn’t ever seen him do before with anything. “It’s been a long summer so far, hasn’t it?” He hummed faintly. It wasn’t something he expected an answer on, nor was it something he wanted to actually discuss - all Gus knew was the last few weeks had been harrowing and he wasn’t sure he was going to survive August and even if he did he was going to be in survival mode once the school year hit. This was the life he chose and it was difficult for him to adjust to things that were familiar but vastly different rolled into one; a decade would do that to things, and Gus had never been one who readily asked for help when it came to life (or well, anything); he’d been the one to leave his friends and he’d been the one to cut off contact with the few who wanted to keep in touch. He made his decision and either drowned in them as he desperately tried to keep himself afloat or was triumphant that he’d made the correct one; more often than not it was the former, but that was what happened when he acted without first thinking of the consequences. Another year at Hogwarts would weigh on his soul and the thought of not being good enough would sit in the forefront of his mind every waking moment. But it was worth it in the end, just to be able to reconnect with Basil.
(Oh, what he wouldn’t give for him. It was going to kill him in the end.)
But those were thoughts lost in his head, locked tightly away in a place he didn’t like to touch. His fingers absentmindedly threaded through Duchess’ fur as she curled against him, and he blinked down at her before he smiled. He could feel her tail against her arm, but he didn’t move it as he laughed, although it was laced with a sleepiness that was curling itself around him. He glanced up at Foxwood as he knocked shoulders. “I’d love to see you try, Foxwood.” He leaned forward as he mirrored the man’s grin before he shifted closer to Basil to drop his head against his shoulder, careful not to jostle Duchess too much in the process as she squirmed in arms, before twisting his head to hide a yawn. It was an uncomfortable position and his neck was going to hurt in the morning, but Gus was too content to move.
“Plus, it’s not a parlor trick!” He yawned again and his eyes drifted shut as the last few days finally caught up to him. “It’s… an experiment.” He wanted to tell him he was fearless, that the worst that could happen to him was he got wet, that he defied the impossible on several occasions and somehow came out alive in the end, but they were heavy on his tongue. Instead he mumbled “I’m invincible” incoherently against his shoulder, because at this exact moment he believed he was.
A silence settled around them and it didn’t take long for sleep to claim him.
![[Image: UkiVTG8.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UkiVTG8.png)