Closed A Small Piece of Home

[Lars van Houten]

Lars' palms were sweating, which was not ideal when you were about to hand someone a gift. He had considered simply leaving the present somewhere for Elliot to find, but had no good ideas of where it could be left safely. Besides, a small part of him simply wanted to give Elliot this present himself. He had made it, had made several different versions, had changed his mind about giving it to him about a dozen times. It only felt right to give it to him in person. With a small square canvas wrapped haphazardly in wrapping paper, Lars wandered around to look for his friend. He'd met up with him a few times at the courtyard, and hoped that on this nice day his friend would be there as well. He spotted Elliot as soon as he stepped outside, his heart leaping at the sight of him. Before he could change his mind, Lars headed towards him. "Elliot... hi." He said, holding the wrapped present in front of him. "I got you something. I mean. I made you something." He hoped Elliot wouldn't notice his hands shaking slightly.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had started enjoying spending more of his free time around the courtyard. It was usually pretty quiet and there was a certain way the light filtered in that he found calming. There was also the added chance that he might run into Lars near the arts room, or, as it was today, Lars would run into him. "Lars, hey," He smiled over at Lars, tucking away some of his class notes he'd been looking over from last semester. The gift Lars was holding out was unexpected thought, Elliot having a weird sense of deja vu to the ball at the sucking guilt he felt not having gotten Lars anything himself. "Oh wow, thanks. You uh, you didn't have to- But thank you." He said, tentatively reaching out for the gift. As bad as he felt for not thinking to get Lars anything, it was hard to ignore the warm feeling that Lars would think or want to make him something.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars held the present out more so Elliot would take it, already feeling his cheeks turn pink. "I know." He said when Elliot told him he didn't have to. "I wanted to." He added. "You should open it. If you want to." He said, his arms dropping to his sides after Elliot took the gift from him. He looked at the wrapping paper, wondering if Elliot would mind it wasn't the most neat. "Merry late Christmas." He added softly.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Not trusting himself to not continually thank Lars if he spoke again, Elliot quietly took the gift, giving Lars the biggest smile he could instead. He carefully peeled the wrapping paper, turning the canvas over in his hands to peer at the painting for a few moments. It took a few moments for it to click what he was looking at, Elliot just enjoying the colors and still pleased that Lars had actually made something for him before he realized what it might actually be. "Oh, hey is this... Is this my mom's herb garden?" He gave Lars a slightly incredulous look, suddenly remembering mentioning it off hand sometime last semester. Had Lars really remembered that he'd said that and actually wanted to paint it for him?

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars' heart melted a bit at the smile Elliot gave him, and he knew every moment he'd worked on this painting had been worth it. He smiled back, though his was much shyer. Then, he waited anxiously for a reaction to the painting itself. His smile fell at Elliot's question and the look he gave him, and he immediately hunched down a little, making himself smaller. "Is that weird?" He asked in a small voice. "It's just, you said you were feeling homesick... I thought with this maybe you wouldn't anymore." He muttered uneasily.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Talking to Lars could be a bit tricky sometimes, it could feel like he and Lars weren't always talking about the same thing. Elliot could tell immediately that he'd said the wrong thing when Lars' face fell, his entire body seeming to shrink a little. "No, it's not weird, it's really thoughtful, I love it," He said, scrambling to reassure Lars. It was a great painting, and that Lars had thought of the idea last semester and actually made it for him made Elliot feel incredibly touched. Setting the painting aside, Elliot wrapped Lars up in a hug, hoping to convey how much he really did like the present. For all his height, Lars was awfully skinny, but Elliot still found him strangely comforting to hug. "Thanks, really." He said, mostly talking to Lars sternum while standing so close.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars felt nervous and uneasy about the conversation, and wondered if he had made a huge mistake. He'd thought it was a nice gesture, but it wouldn't be the first time Lars mistook a social situation. But then Elliot said it wasn't weird, and that he loved it. Lars relaxed, and a smile spread over his face as he looked at the other boy. "Really?" He asked quietly. But then Elliot hugged him, and Lars froze for a moment. He felt nice to hug, warm and comforting. It took Lars a moment to return the hug, but then he wrapped his arms around him. He wondered if Elliot could hear his heart beating fast. It didn't seem unreasonable. Lars gently patted his back, unsure what else to do. " I hope it helps you feel less homesick." He said softly.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Stepping back from the hug, Elliot beamed at Lars when he mentioned the painting helping with his homesickness. He hoped it would too. "I'm going to put it by the window in my dorm, it'll be just like home," He said, tugging his shirt straight where it'd rucked up a bit. "Maybe we could find a way to enchant it so it smells like the plants too.. Though I'd hate to mess it up by mistake- Not that it's not perfect as it is I mean.." Elliot trailed off, talking to cover up the sudden blush he'd felt after hugging Lars. He picked up the painting again, grateful for something to do with his hands, and happily admired again instead.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars blushed as Elliot told him he would put the painting by the window in his dorm, and he nodded shyly. Though somehow the thought of Elliot's roommates seeing it made him feel a bit strange. It was for Elliot, and it felt a bit personal to Lars. But he could hardly tell the boy to hide it. Lars shrugged a little helplessly as Elliot wondered out loud if there was a way to enchant it to smell like the plants too. "I don't know." He said honestly. "I'm not that good at spells." He felt reassured when Elliot said it was perfect as it was, but a bit embarrassed too. He looked at Elliot nervously, then looked around. He wasn't sure what else to say now. "Maybe... maybe we could paint together sometime again?" He asked, trying to sound casual about it. The idea had only just occurred to him, but he realized he really wanted to. He hoped Elliot would say yes.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot gave Lars a sheepish look when Lars mentioned being bad at spells. He didn't think Lars was as bad as he probably thought, but decided to drop the idea anyway. It was too risky and he really did love the painting. "Let's leave it alone for now," He said softly.
Smiling at Lars suggestion of painting together, Elliot nodded. "Yeah, definitely! As long as you don't mind me sucking at it," Painting, or really any arty project made Elliot a bit anxious. He never really knew what to paint or draw, and he knew it probably didn't look that good, but he still loved hanging out with Lars. They'd probably just have to find a spot that was a bit.. Safer. Than last time. "And.. We should maybe do it inside this time." He said aiming for a bit of humor and hoping to brush past the unpleasant memory.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars nodded when Elliot suggested they leave the painting as it was for now. He was glad the boy decided to do that, because Lars had put a lot of work into it. He laughed a little. "I think you can do very well, I can help you." He said gently. The idea of teaching Elliot how to create things with paint really appealed to him. He imagined, for a moment, them holding a brush together and painting something. But he had to push that thought away very quickly. "Just paint what you feel... colors you're feeling. You know?" He wasn't sure if Elliot would get that, not everyone seemed to, but he knew the Hufflepuff well enough now to know he would at least pretend. "I think that's a good idea." He said softly as Elliot suggested they paint inside now. "Blake won't come to the arts room I think... and they have lots and lots of stuff there to paint with." He smiled at the thought of it all.