Closed Always Meant To Be

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Continuation from here​

Ares could feel his whole body tense as he wandered around, completely lost and not sure where to go. He had received a couple of glances towards him by passersby, and he just ignored them, determined to find Jordie. But where could he be? They hadn't spoken in so long and the whole thing seemed totally impossible. The world was just way too big. Ares had to give up. It was all just so pointless. Maybe if he wrote a letter instead? But how would he know where to send it?

Ares hadn't realised he had been crying until he decided to throw himself against a tree in frustration, sitting with his back against it on the grass at the park near Brightstone. He had walked all this way, was very tired, and knew the next step would be to give up and maybe try again later. But tomorrow he might not have the same motivation. He needed to find Jordie now... he just had to.

As Ares heard a heavy sigh from someone nearby, he quickly looked up, instantly recognising the body lying along the park bench. Relief flooded through the man's veins and he quickly stood up, instantly running over to him. "J-Jordie!" he exclaimed in between sobs. He wrapped himself around him, sobbing some more. "I'm so s-sorry."

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie was having a rough day. Some days were better than others, but he just felt... lonely. He could say it was because he was out of school, he was out of quidditch and away from all of his tutoring and schedules and activities, but he knew it was because he missed Ares. It was stupid, it had been ages, but Jordie couldn't get over the guilt. Ares not showing up to his graduation... it had solidified how horrible of a person Jordie was, how he didn't deserve any of the roles he'd had. The break up had hit him hard, had destroyed any bit of self confidence he'd had, and recovering from it had been hard. He could still see that flash of dissapointment in the headmasters eyes at his lackluster speech.

Jordie couldn't stand another moment at the house, so he'd left, gone for a jog until he felt like his legs would give out, not even really seeing where he was going. He had collapsed down onto an empty bench, and still feeling restless, he'd reset to his default mode, stretching out over it with his feet and arms hanging off the ends, head buried. He sighed dramatically, not sure why he couldn't get himself to settle. He didn't have long to debate because out of nowhere someone had landed on top of him, in apparent distress. "Holy-! Oof!" He let out a breath as the wind was knocked a bit out of him, and startled, he wiggled. "Squished, I'm squished!" He declared, not yet realizing who had him pinned or why. His head in his arms was effectively stuck there with his unannounced visitor on top of him.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares didn't realise how impulsive his decision was until Jordie began to fight his embrace. The man instantly pulled away from him. "Oh, sorry." he said again, wiping his eyes. He had to second guess for a moment whether it actually was Jordie, but after looking at him for a moment longer, he took a sigh of relief as he realised it truly was him. There Jordie was, in the flesh, and Ares wasn't really sure what to do with himself. He wasn't even sure what to say. He just smiled, relief all over his face. He finally felt like he could breathe again and he was no longer crying. He suddenly felt nervous. "Hey, Jordie." he said, putting his hands behind his back, the smile still on his face.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie sat up when he was released, brushing his hair back as he straightened. "Hi, what-?" He started, before getting a good look at who was there. His jaw dropped and his cheeks flushed. He was silent for several moments, just staring, hand frozen in his hair. "Ares?" He finally managed, before blinking, and without warning he slapped himself- a bit harder than he meant to. "Ow!" He griped, eyes lowering to the ground as he straightened up again, rubbing at his even darker cheek. "Guess I'm awake... Well- uh," He was slow to speak, completely lost for words or how to react. "You squished me?" He finally settled on lamely.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares's smile faded a little as he watched Jordie slap himself. He was now suddenly worried, hoping Jordie hadn't hurt himself too bad. But even after all this time, Jordie was still as awkward as ever, and it made Ares feel a little bit better about feeling awkward himself. "Yes, I squished you." he said with a slight chuckle. He had to make things less awkward, but truthfully Ares wasn't really sure how. He just continued to stare at Jordie, taking everything in. He had missed so much, but also so little. Jordie was still the same boy Ares met all those years ago, and still so very attractive. Surely he had moved on now and was with someone else. But despite this, Ares decided to let his impulses take over again. He brought his hand up to Jordie's face, pulling him in, and kissed him. It felt warm, familiar, and it also made Ares feel safe again. He was surprised that Jordie was kissing him back, and he pulled him in closer, not realising how much he had missed it until now.

*Godmod approved​

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie was surprised by the kiss, and for a moment he leant into it, the familiarity of it just too enticing. He let a little bit of longing slip into it, but then his head caught up quickly. He pulled back- albeit a bit reluctantly, and stood quickly, taking several steps away. "Oh no you don't, I'm not that easy," He countered, running both hands through his hair. "You don't get to just- just break up with me, skip graduation, and not talk to me for ages, then just- just show up and kiss me like nothing happened," He looked back to Ares. "I'm not falling for that," He crossed his arms, pouting.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares held his breath as Jordie pulled away. Then it started - the lecture he very much deserved. Ares looked down at his feet, not sure what to say in this situation as he stupidly hadn't prepared himself for the inevitable. After a moment, he decided to speak. "I know I was terrible, but I can explain." he said calmly, hoping that sharing his point of view might make Jordie understand. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I was just so sick and tired of you not taking my advice, and I'm very sorry I was so impatient with you. I know you were just thinking of others rather than yourself, because that's what you always do, but I felt so.... ignored. And I know you didn't mean that. I understand it now." Ares had a few more words to describe how he felt, but it was in the past, and he just wanted Jordie to understand where he was coming from. He knew Jordie was a decent enough person to at least listen, and Ares just stared at him, trying not to cry again despite the sudden urge to, as he waited for his response.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie threw up his hands. “And instead of talking to me about bad habits you knew I struggled with, your solution was to abandon me?” He couldn’t help it, tears in his eyes. “Well, congratulations. You win. I lost any semblance of sleep I had been getting, couldn’t write a speech for graduation and disappointed everyone and now all I do is mope around like an aimless wash out with no future and no friends!” He snapped, shaking and dragging his hands through his hair. “You knew every single fear I had and decided that a crash course through all of them was the best revenge?” He was trying to sound mad, but the longer he talked the more desperate he felt and the weaker his voice got. He was shaking, and he buried his face in his hands to try and hide how weak he felt.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares pursed his lips as Jordie continued to be mad at him. He knew he deserved everything that he was getting, but he didn't realise how much it had affected Jordie. The only reason Ares didn't go to his graduation was because he felt like he wouldn't have wanted him there, and he also thought it would be rather awkward after breaking up with him. The way he was talking about himself was degrading, and Ares could feel a tear fall down his cheek as he realised that it was all his fault. He quickly wiped it away as he spoke again. "I wanted to talk about it, I did." Ares tried to say reassuringly. He was almost begging for forgiveness now, not that he thought he deserved it. He just needed to remain calm, despite all of the emotions flooding inside him. He needed closure. "You were just so busy with everything... but it's okay now, right? The past is the past and I want to start again with you. If you also want to, of course." The thought of Jordie not wanting to talk to him anymore made him want to bury himself into the ground, but he had to at least have a little bit of hope. Essie's words lingered in his mind, and it was the only thing keeping him from running away again.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie threw his hands up in the air. "Of course I want to!" He snapped back, too worked up to bother lying. "I'm still mad at you!" He declared, crossing his arms and looking away. "You can't just run off and throw a fit and leave me a stupid broken mess for years and then just expect me to act like nothing happened! Do you know how critically low I am on cuddles? Everyone from school has gone their own ways and I'm just stuck here all on my own with no idea what I'm doing and confusing things and trying to figure out if I've got some weird magic abilities or if I'm just so lonely and out of my head that I'm going crazy." He complained, falling back onto the bench.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares couldn't help but jump back, a little startled as Jordie threw his hands into the air. Jordie was so mad, yet so forgiving, and Ares couldn't thank his lucky stars enough for having that man in his life. He knew he didn't deserve him, as he wasn't sure how forgiving he would be to himself if he was in Jordie's position. Ares simply stood there as Jordie spoke, and when he fell back onto the bench, Ares made his way over and sat down next to him. He placed a hand on his thigh. "Well, now you can have all of the cuddles that you want." he told him, with a slight smirk. "And I promise it's you and I against the world now. Nothing can get in between us, okay?" He looked at him with a reassuring smile, hoping that his word would be enough to make Jordie feel a little more comfortable.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie grumbled, but let his head rest on Ares' shoulder, arms still crossed over his chest. "This doesn't mean I trust you," He grumbled, both soothed by the warmth and oddly put on edge by it. "You were full of promises last time, too." He took a deep breath, tears pricking at his eyes. "You can't just take off like that and think I'll never doubt you again." He complained. "But if you want to hang out, I won't stop you," He added, his voice a bit softer as he said it.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares stayed quiet as Jordie spoke again. He didn't trust himself either, if he was being honest. He was disappointed in himself for everything that Jordie was saying, and there was nothing that Ares could really say back. He wanted to ask him for some reassurance at least that they could actually start again despite everything, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. He just made the most of Jordie finally being beside him again and wrapped an arm around him. He felt another tear fall down his face, but he ignored it, pulling in closer to Jordie, just grateful that he could be there with him again.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie let the silence go on for a bit, just sitting with Ares and enjoying the quiet. After a while, Jordie sat up a little, reaching up to turn Ares' face more towards his. "This is the part where you offer to make plans to meet up again." He prompted, giving Ares a shy, shaky smile. "If we're starting over, its your turn. I did the notes last time." He joked lightly.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares felt some comfort in Jordie touching his face. He smiled at him, glad to finally feel normal again. "Jordie Harris." he said with a little chuckle, taking his hand in his. He always loved when Jordie took the lead, but he agreed that he needed to work on it himself if he wanted to keep his promises. "Would you like to hang out with me at Brightstone Village some time soon? I miss having you around. We could have a meal at the three broomsticks, or stuff our face with candy at Honeydukes, or both. You decide." He wanted to be authoritative, but also give him a choice, and he hoped Jordie would be okay with this.

 

[Jordan Harris]

Jordie blushed a bit, and pretended to consider. "I suppose... I might be free friday," He offered slowly. "Just dinner, and if you're really nice you can walk me home after." He offered, and held out his hand for Ares. "I am, however, free for a walk around the park," He suggested. That seemed innocent enough- a walk around the park, casual, a chance to catch up.

 

[Ares Kuya-Tine]

Ares couldn't tell how serious Jordie was being, but nodded nonetheless. He was going to treat Jordie like a King. There was no way he was going to mess anything up again. He took Jordie's hand. "Of course we can go for a walk." he said, his heart beating strongly at the thought of it. There was no way he could mess up a walk, right? "So what have you been up to? Anything interesting?" He wondered where Jordie was working, if he even had a job, and he couldn't wait to finally catch up with him.