Basil could tell Gus was nervous, if only because he seemed restless. He kept moving around: sitting then standing, then shuffling and stretching, then sitting again. It was all Basil could do to keep breathing as he felt his nerves begin to fray. He should have figured. He ought to have expected that Lissing would want to stretch his wings and fly. Not everyone was so homebound as he was, Gus had always been more adventurous than most. Basil frowned at the very thought and brushed it aside. Taking in a deep breath, the Ravenclaw ran a hand through his hair and tugged anxiously on the ends. What was he supposed to say? How could he feign congratulations when it was impossible to rationalize his life without Augustus? Letting out a half incredulous laugh at his friend’s suggestion, he gave the Hufflepuff a sideways glance.
“I can’t.” he replied simply.
Those two words sunk into the silence between them and Basil felt them settle in his gut. For better or worse, he knew they were true.
How fantastic was the idea of leaving everything behind to explore the world with his friend? Basil would have given half a limb to do it, and do it right: without fear, without regret, without… his own personality weighing both of them down. There was nothing about him that screamed ‘whimsical’ or ‘adventurous.’ It just wasn’t in his nature. He couldn’t do that to Lissing. He respected his friend’s dreams too much to be the very thing to hold him back from them. Besides, then he really would have to give up the one thing that kept him sane and Basil knew he wasn’t strong enough for that either.
“I’ll write to you,” he offered, meekly. It was a poor consolation and he knew it. But as the Ravenclaw sat there, both hands now twisted tightly in his lap, he knew it was all the consolation he could offer. They would still be friends after all. And perhaps he could visit sometime, wherever it was in the world Gus landed. Yes, he could visit. At least… for a little while.