The fact that Basil thought he was handsome made him grin - even if they weren’t together, it was still nice to have reassurance that Basil wasn’t completely repulsed by him. (It didn’t matter if he wasn’t in the right mind or that it was seventeen year old Basil confirming to him that his boyfriend was cute.) Then he felt the warmth of the other’s hands against his own and Gus sighed softly. He missed this and he was going to miss this when the Ravenclaw finally got his thoughts put back together. Gus didn’t want to keep him like this forever.
Basil answered quietly and Gus could only manage a sad smile, saying nothing more of the matter. If only he knew he wasn’t glad. It still felt good to get the words off his chest and into the open, although he wondered if Basil would pack this entire encounter away in a dark box he never revisited. Part of him hoped so. He’d said a lot of stuff he’d been considering saying for a while, but not even in his wildest dreams was he actually crazy enough to speak them aloud.
Then Basil was laughing and Gus was grinning, although before he could say anything Basil was kissing him. It was chaste and sweet and just like he remembered; Basil still tasted like tea leaves and pumpkin. It was hard to deny it and even if Basil wasn’t aware of what he was doing a decade too late, it wasn’t as if they’d never kissed before. So Gus wrapped his arms around his neck and allowed himself to be tugged closer, and things just clicked into place. His heart hummed happily. This was where he was meant to be in life, right here, next to Basil, even if life and society would never allow it. Love was so fickle and so cruel but love could also be kind and never ending if one looked in all the right places.
It was over much too quickly and Gus could only chuckle as he took a small step back from him. “You’re in last place anyway,” he responded with a slight grin as he reached out to take his hand. All or nothing, right? “You want to see my room?” A loaded question - of course he would. Then he could lock him away and figure out how to fix him without others raising an eyebrow at how odd he was acting.
Basil answered quietly and Gus could only manage a sad smile, saying nothing more of the matter. If only he knew he wasn’t glad. It still felt good to get the words off his chest and into the open, although he wondered if Basil would pack this entire encounter away in a dark box he never revisited. Part of him hoped so. He’d said a lot of stuff he’d been considering saying for a while, but not even in his wildest dreams was he actually crazy enough to speak them aloud.
Then Basil was laughing and Gus was grinning, although before he could say anything Basil was kissing him. It was chaste and sweet and just like he remembered; Basil still tasted like tea leaves and pumpkin. It was hard to deny it and even if Basil wasn’t aware of what he was doing a decade too late, it wasn’t as if they’d never kissed before. So Gus wrapped his arms around his neck and allowed himself to be tugged closer, and things just clicked into place. His heart hummed happily. This was where he was meant to be in life, right here, next to Basil, even if life and society would never allow it. Love was so fickle and so cruel but love could also be kind and never ending if one looked in all the right places.
It was over much too quickly and Gus could only chuckle as he took a small step back from him. “You’re in last place anyway,” he responded with a slight grin as he reached out to take his hand. All or nothing, right? “You want to see my room?” A loaded question - of course he would. Then he could lock him away and figure out how to fix him without others raising an eyebrow at how odd he was acting.
![[Image: UkiVTG8.png]](https://i.imgur.com/UkiVTG8.png)