Closed Downpour

[Elliot Briar]

It was still early in the year, but Lars and Elliot had agreed to meet up and get some homework done today. Elliot was always happy to get an early start on things and he was looking forward to the chance catch up with Lars. The holidays seemed to go so fast but Elliot still found he missed his friends quite keenly during the months long break. While their history of getting things done outside without interruptions was a little rocky, Elliot hoped the gardens would be quiet enough to not tempt fate. Besides, the weather had been a little grim lately and Elliot wanted to enjoy some of the sun while it was still out for now. The castle was a cool place, but it could get dark and gloomy very easily when the weather was bad.

He'd set up near one of the vibrant flower patches, waiting for Lars to meet him and taking a moment to just enjoy all the color from the spring blooms. Elliot figured it would probably be great inspiration for Lars, but if he had his way they would be focusing on getting some actual work done today. He'd brought everything they would need, including some spare parchment and pens incase Lars forgot his own. Lars was fun to spend time with, but his tendency to wander or get distracted stressed Elliot out sometimes.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was so glad Elliot had agreed to meet up with him to do some homework. He didn't really care too much about homework, but doing it with Elliot was a lot of fun. Mostly because Elliot was there, and sometimes he would help Lars when he asked. He hoped. The gardens were a nice place for this and he was happy to do his homework outside. He just hoped he wouldn't be too easily distracted, the flowers were always very pretty, and Lars always itched to draw them whenever he saw them. But maybe Elliot would help keep him on track.

Worried he would be too early, Lars had waited inside for a while before heading to the gardens. But now he was worried he was too late. He hoped Elliot wasn't waiting for him for too long. He headed over into the garden, a little more rushed than usual, and smiled when he saw Elliot sitting there. He headed over and waved. "Hi..." He said, placing his bag on the ground before sitting down. He saw Elliot had brought spare parchment and pens, and immediately blushed. "I... I don't think I brought any parchment." He admitted, looking in his bag quickly. He pulled out a small scrap of parchment, which was all he'd brought. "Can I borrow yours? I'm sorry..." He was glad he'd at least thought to bring his books, and he pulled a few chocolate frogs from his bag as well, handing one to Elliot. "Here, as payment." He said softly with a small smile.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot waved Lars over, completely unsurprised that he'd forgotten something. Maybe he should get Lars a remembrall for Christmas. Though he doubted somehow that it would help. "Yeah go ahead, I brought spares, just in case," He said, though he was happy to take one of the chocolate frogs from Lars with a soft thanks. "What do you want to get started on first? I was thinking maybe Defense so we can just get it out of the way?" Elliot said, getting straight to business. The wind was picking up a bit and Elliot was a bit worried how much time they might have left outside. Plus Defense Against the Dark Arts would probably be easier to stomach with a chocolate frog. He pulled out his books, passing Lars the extra parchment so they could look over one of the recent chapters. It was nice, being outside and just being in back at school with his friends. Elliot had never had a great knack for making close friends, and he was glad he had found some kids at school he could feel at ease around.

 

[Lars van Houten]

It embarrassed Lars a little that he had forgotten something so important when he met up with Elliot, but at the same time he felt warm at the thought that Elliot had brought spare parchment just for him. He was kind of glad he got to use it. Lars smiled as he took some chocolate frogs and put the rest back in his bag. "Oh, Defence is fine." He said with a nod. He would probably have agreed with anything because he didn't actually really care what they did today. He mostly just wanted to spend time with the Hufflepuff. Lars grabbed his book and opened it, then took the parchment from Elliot with a small thanks. "It's good we have all classes together this semester, though I wish Slytherin wasn't also with us..." Lars said with a small sigh. "But it's easier to do homework together now, or to sit together... if you want... sometime..." He said quietly, already getting distracted from the task before he even really started.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had been making a point to try and avoid Blake and Tyler this year at all costs, and he had to admit sharing classes with them now definitely made that harder. "Yeah.. They probably wouldn't try any trouble in class at least. I hope," He said, reaching over to flip Lars onto the right page. "But yeah," He said, smiling over at Lars, "We gotta sit together, what's the point otherwise," Elliot had to admit potentially having classes with all his friends was definitely worth the trade off of sharing it with a few.. non-friends, and he was looking forward to spending a year sitting with a group friends and doing study groups.

It was a little tricky keeping Lars on track, but they were able to just balance getting some work down between tangents as long as Elliot could gently steer them back after a few minutes. It was good to catch up with Lars even if Elliot felt a little bad interrupting him once or twice so the could actually study a bit. But Elliot was always grateful for a chance to spend time with people when they had a goal he could focus on. If he was just hanging out for the sake of hanging out he got all flustered and never knew what to do, worried he was boring the other person. That seemed less of a problem with Lars thankfully, in fact Elliot was caught up enough in their conversation and what work they had actually managed to do he was caught by surprise when the first drop of rain fell. "Oh. That's probably not good.." He said softly, looking up from the droplet on his book to the dark sky that had suddenly rolled in.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars nodded at Elliot's words. "I was thinking I could go sit in the front... so if anything happened the professor would see." Lars said softly. It had a downside, as the professor would also probably see it when Lars inevitably forgot to pay attention. Lars' heart skipped when Elliot said they had to sit together, and he gave Elliot a happy smile at those words. It made him want to jump up and down to hear that Elliot wanted to sit with him too, but he contained himself and simply drew a very tiny heart on the corner of the parchment, then covered it with his thumb. He then used that same thumb to rub at his face, leaving a small ink stain. Lars didn't notice, nor would he really have cared. He was too happy to really worry about small things.

He had a wonderful time talking to Elliot, though Elliot occasionally reminded him about the homework they were doing. Lars obediently penned down a few words, then started talking again. It was just so easy to talk to Elliot, and Lars wanted to know his opinion on everything. He would have throwing his defence book to the side to just listen to him talk, if he didn't suspect that would alarm Elliot a lot. When Elliot said something was probably not good, Lars at first thought it was something he said. Only then did he notice there were droplets coming from the sky, slowly, and that the clouds were gathering above them. He looked up. "Maybe they'll go away." He said, hopefully. But that hope was quickly dashed. After the first few hesitant drops, it seemed like the clouds had gained their confidence. Rain started coming down quickly, and Lars quickly put Elliot's assignment between the pages of his book to keep it safe, only then adding his own. It was much less neat than Elliot's anyway, and he knew he would have to redo it later because he couldn't turn in parchment to Professor Styx with a little heart on it anywhere. "Quick!" He said, gathering their stuff and putting it in his bag haphazardly. He then got to his feet and looked around for anywhere to take shelter, the rain starting to drench him quickly as the downpour intensified, his hair was already sticking to his face and he wiped his face with his sleeve.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had his doubts that the clouds were going to go anywhere anytime soon, but before he could say anything, the heavens opened and all Elliot had the wherewithal to do was yelp in surprise. Scrambling to their feet, Elliot helped Lars gather up their things, shooting him a grateful smile as he grabbed Elliot's assignment before anything got too soaked. He suspected the ink was already past saving, but he appreciated the effort none-the-less.
Grabbing Lars' hand, Elliot pulled him towards a nearby tree. "Here, this way," He said, trying not to slip on the newly rain slick ground. Caught up in the rush from the sudden downpour as they sprinted across the gardens, Elliot felt a giggle burst forth, the feeling intensifying when he caught sight of Lars' hair where is was plastered to his forehead. He figured he probably looks just as ridiculous, his own hair already dripping more water down his collar and his sweater sleeves slipping dramatically over his palms as the water weighed it down but Elliot found in the moment it didn't really matter that much. Stopping under the tree, Elliot tried to catch his breath between the breathless laughter, glancing up at Lars, who had thankfully saved their stuff in his bag. "Well," He said, pointlessly trying to wipe off some of the excess water from his face but mostly just succeeding in smacking himself in the face with his wet sleeve. "That was.. exciting," Elliot giggled again as he snuck a look up at Lars face. "Oh, hey you've got some ink here.." He said, reaching up to try and wipe the smudge off Lars' cheek. Lars' height made it a little tricky to reach and Elliot absentmindedly placed his hand on Lars shoulder to balance.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars barely had time to appreciate the smile Elliot shot his way before Elliot grabbed his hand and made Lars' whole world turn upside down for a few moments. He yelped as he nearly tripped over his own feet, but then managed to run to the tree with Elliot. He looked over at him, a light feeling in his chest. When Elliot giggled, Lars couldn't help joining in, even when half of his brain was still trying to comprehend that Elliot was holding his hand. He was almost sad when they made it to the relative safety of the tree, but still grinned at Elliot while catching his breath. He burst out laughing again when Elliot tried to wipe his face. Oh, how did he look this cute even when he was completely drenched with rain? If he could stop time, Lars would do so right now so he could sketch Elliot like this. But that was a silly thing to think. "It was... I hope your assignment is okay." Lars said softly. He had put everything in his bag, but wasn't entirely sure how much the bag would keep out the rain. But those worries faded to the background the moment Elliot's finger touched his face. Lars stopped breathing for a moment as Elliot's hand also moved to his shoulder. In this moment, Lars knew there was only one thing he could possibly do, even if it was something that terrified him. He leaned down, also placed his own hand on Elliot's shoulder for balance, and pressed his lips against Elliot's softly.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Lars' cheek was cold under Elliot's fingers and Lars' hands felt warm on Elliot's shoulder as he leaned down, pressing his lips softly together. "Oh," Elliot said, pulling back from Lars and blinking, his hands frozen where they were on Lars' face and shoulder. The kiss hadn't been bad or anything, at least he didn't think so, just.. Unexpected. "Oh, okay," Elliot suddenly didn't know what to do with his hands, awkwardly patting Lars on the cheek. Should he move his hands? Should he kiss Lars back? "Um. Sorry," Elliot felt the sudden urge to laugh bubble up again, the same feeling when they'd been running in the rain. He knew he shouldn't, but he was so nervous right now he couldn't help, giggling because his hand was still on Lars face and Lars had just kissed him and he did like Lars, at least he thought so. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you. That was nice, I think? I've never kissed anyone before, sorry," Elliot was still giggling, trying to hold it so he could actually talk to Lars, who looked terribly vulnerable standing in front of him, both of them soaked from the rain. "Thank you?" Elliot winced, that definitely wasn't right.

 

[Lars van Houten]

The kiss felt nice, even if it didn't last very long. Elliot's lips were soft, and the rain was only making it all only a little more wet than Lars had thought it would be. He felt his heart sink when Elliot pulled back, and he looked down at his friend nervously. That didn't happen in stories where people kissed. It usually lasted longer than two seconds. At least, it usually seemed to. Lars winced as Elliot patted him on the cheek, and again when he laughed. Lars stepped back a little, his expression clearly hurt. But his hurt was soothed a bit by Elliot's next words. He finally found some words of his own. "Me neither." He said softly, scratching his neck. "Sorry... if you hated that we can pretend it never happened." He said quickly, though he knew deep down that wasn't going to happen. Lars frowned a little as Elliot said thank you, and he lowered his eyes. "Should I... say you're welcome?" He asked, though he was sure they both knew that wasn't what was supposed to happen after a kiss. "I'm sorry." He added again. "I shouldn't have- sorry."

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot was an idiot. He may not know much about relationships and kissing people, but he knew you didn't do what he was doing, but he couldn't seem to quite stop himself with the nerves flipflopping in his stomach. Elliot wasn't sure what to do and he hated that feeling.
"No, we don't have to do that," He said quickly when Lars offered to pretend the kiss had never happened, hating how defeated Lars seemed to look at the thought that Elliot hadn't wanted to kiss him. Elliot wasn't sure if he did want to kiss anyone, but he did know he wanted Lars to be happy to it was an easy problem to solve. Wishing briefly Lars wasn't so tall, Elliot put his hand back on Lars' shoulder, standing on his tiptoes to press their lips back together. He moved slow, in case Lars had changed his mind after Elliot had made an idiot of himself, dropping back onto his heels and shoving his other hand through his hair afterwards, scattering water droplets down his neck as he tried to quell his nerves. "That was okay, right?" Elliot asked, half to reassure Lars, as well as himself. He was realizing he was more worried about Lars being upset than he was about the rain or the kiss. Besides, the second time had been fine, now that he was ready for it. Even better if it made Lars stop looking so sad.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars' heart was beating in his throat, and he wondered if this was it. This was the end of their friendship. Had he ruined it all? Oh, what if Elliot would never want to study with him now? Did he think Lars would attack and kiss him every time? Maybe he should say he wouldn't. He was panicking a little, even when Elliot said they didn't have to pretend it didn't happen. What did they have to do? Lars' anxious thoughts ground to a halt the moment Elliot put his hand on his shoulder again, and he gasped right as Elliot kissed him. He kissed him. Lars closed his eyes and savored the moment, one of his hands coming to rest on Elliot's waist. He opened his eyes as the kiss broke, and he looked at Elliot. A smile spread over his face. "That was wonderful." He said softly, all his earlier panic now melted away. "You... you want to kiss me too?" He asked, still finding it hard to believe even after it happened. "Oh, wow... I've wanted to do that for a while, but I was scared..." He admitted.

 

[Elliot Briar]

It was a relief to see Lars face after the second kiss and Elliot was reassured he'd done the right thing. It was all completely new ground for them both and Elliot was terrified of doing the wrong thing. His face felt warm, even with them both soaked from the rain and Elliot wondered how people just up and kissed each other all the time without wanting to pass out. "Uh yeah, I think so.." He said. Elliot had thought about kissing people before, thought about how he'd like to hold someone's hand or touch them, but it hadn't really been anyone specific. He tried to piece Lars into those thoughts and could feel his ears warm up at the thought. "For awhile.." He repeated slowly. Was Elliot supposed to have noticed Lars wanted to kiss him? "It's pretty scary, that's true," Elliot said sheepishly, chancing another grin up at Lars, it feeling more natural now that the nervous giggling seemed to have passed. "Um. What do we do now?" Elliot hated not knowing what to do, were there rules about what you did when you kissed people? Or were done kissing people. He understood why the idea of kissing someone was so scary, how were you supposed to just do it and not worry about all the extra stuff that came after. Elliot found his brain circling back to what Lars had said, about wanting to kiss him. Was he supposed to ask Lars out on a date now maybe? Elliot was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, but at least Lars seemed to be in the same boat.

 

[Lars van Houten]

There was a part of Lars that wanted not to talk to Elliot, but instead to kiss him again, and again. But the rainwater dripping from the back of his hair into his neck kept him from getting completely lost in the romance of it all. Elliot had kissed him, but he maybe wasn't ready to kiss a whole bunch more, right here and now. Though... he had kissed him. That meant he liked him. Lars couldn't help a big smile from spreading over his face. He barely even registered that Elliot had said he thought he wanted to kiss Lars. He had kissed him, so things were fine. He nodded when Elliot repeated that he ha wanted to kiss him for a while, and Elliot's next words made him rethink his urge to lean in for a third kiss. It was scary to Elliot, that meant Lars had to take it slow. In truth, he felt like he needed a moment to recover too. Lars hesitated at the question. "I say... we make a run for it and head inside." He said, knowing he wasn't entirely answering Elliot's question. He wanted to hold Elliot's hand, and was already imagining dates they could go on, but he knew he couldn't voice those things right away. He'd startled Elliot, and needed to let this all sink in for the both of them.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot wasn't sure if he had meant for Lars to interpret his question the way he did, but found he was rather relieved that he had. Maybe it'd be easier to think inside, once they had dried off and calmed down. "Sounds like a plan," He said with a nod, peering up at the sky between the branches above them before cautiously reaching for Lars' hand. It seemed like the right thing to do, but this was all new territory and Elliot wasn't sure where the boundaries were now. Not a lot had changed since the last time he'd grabbed Lars' hand, and yet it suddenly felt so much more meaningful. Still, it was nice to hold Lars' hand, standing close to him, especially with the chill from the rain. Elliot smiled over at Lars, trying to mentally brace himself before they had to step back out into the rain. Clearing his throat, Elliot nodded again. "Okay, yeah, let's do this."