Closed One Plus One Plus...

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Finding a place for a quiet moment alone in a castle as busy as Hogwarts was never an easy task, but it could be done once you knew your way around. After running into Louis and finding they both had a free moment, it hadn't taken Manaia long to track down the old bathroom he knew nobody used anymore. He pulled Louis in with a quick grin, tugging him into a kiss as soon as the door was closed behind them. "Missed you in the holidays." He said softly between kisses, relaxing immediately in his presence. Manaia wasn't really any closer to figuring out what he wanted to do about any of his three crushes in the long run, but right now it was just nice to be alone with Louis.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Out of the various makeout spots at Hogwarts Louis had discovered over the years, the abandoned bathroom was definitely his least favorite. But at least it was private, so Louis didn't protest when Manaia pulled him over there. Louis doubted even ghosts would hang out in a place as gross and depressing as that. Ever since his revelation about Caleb last year, Louis' mind hadn't stopped working. He was glad for this distraction, wrapping his arms around Manaia as the other boy kissed him. He simply hummed in agreement with his statement, trying to avoid touching the sinks as he backed Manaia into the room a bit more.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia chuckled softly as Louis moved him into the room, leaning into the wall and pulling Louis closer with a gentle tug to his robes. Everything was easy with Louis, somehow. It just felt natural, holding him close, kissing him sweet and slow. They had always been on a similar wavelength, and Manaia was able to relax with nobody else around, and no chance of being interrupted as he kissed Louis, pulling him close.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis was privately a little grateful to Manaia for being the one to lean against the wall, it looked a little grimy. He forgot all about it when Manaia tugged him closer, but even though something like this usually cleared his mind entirely, he couldn't really relax. His thoughts kept flying in different directions even when he tried very hard not to think about anything but Manaia's lips. He kept thinking about Caleb. Maybe if you really wanted to be with Caleb, you wouldn't be doing this. One small voice in the back of his mind whispered to him. He jolted a bit, breaking the kiss. Was it true? He didn't know, but it was bugging him enough for him not to enjoy this fully. He groaned, closing his eyes.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia was just starting to relax into the moment and let his mind go blank when Louis started, looking at him uncertainly. "You okay?" He asked, studying Louis' face for a moment before looking around. "Did you slip or something?" The floor felt fine to him, but you could never be totally sure in parts of the castle like this.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis ran a hand over his face, shaking his head. "I'm fine, let's go on." He said, trying not to linger on his thoughts. Caleb hadn't shown any interest in him, not even when Louis took him to his cousin's wedding as a date. He wasn't doing anything wrong. Determined to continue, Louis pushed close to resume kissing, but something was off. He accidentally bumped his nose into Manaia's and hissed, pulling back again as he cursed in French.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

The look on Louis' face had Manaia doubting whether he wanted to go on or not, feeling a little guilty for still wanting to kiss Louis. There was obviously something happening in his mind, and it didn't seem like the right time. He wasn't going to stop Louis as he came closer though, but the choice was quickly taken away from him as Louis bumped into his face. "F*ck..." He mumbled with a laugh, hand coming up to rub his nose. "You alright, bro?"

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis rubbed his nose, scowling petulantly for a moment. He shook his head and then shrugged at Manaia's question. "I don't know, I never do that." He said, gesturing to their noses. Merlin knew he had enough practice not to do stupid things like that. "My mind's just- ugh." He dropped his hand away from his nose and shrugged. "Have you ever been in love?" He asked suddenly, not considering the question and the timing of it at all before he asked it.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

((ASFLKJDHLS GJKLOUI S NO IM CRYING))

Manaia and Louis didn't exactly tend to have deep personal conversations, but he was savvy enough to see that Louis was genuinely off, for whatever reason. He shrugged slightly at the gesture and put his hands in his pockets. "It happens, no big deal..." He leaned back against the wall and watched Louis, giving him a moment to sort his thoughts out. Whatever he had expected the problem to be though, it wasn't this. Manaia was surprised by the small stab of dread he felt at the words, scrambling for any kind of response. Love... he had never gotten that kind of vibe from Louis. Love??!??! He liked Louis - liked him a lot, but when would Louis have found time to fall in love? And after talking things through with Valeria last year, Manaia was fairly comfortable keeping things as they were for the moment - easier to keep things casual with a few people than... decide? Unless this was Louis deciding for him? He shrugged painfully, the right words so far from his mind they may as well have been on the moon. "That, uh... I don't... know?"

 

[Louis Alcott]

((what do you mean this isn't the moment to discuss being in love with someone else))

Louis didn't really think about what he had said until the words had already left his mouth. So when he saw the strange expression on Manaia's face, his brain slowly put two and two together. Louis shook his head quickly, holding up his hands. Manaia looked downright panicked now, which made Louis feel panicked too. He didn't mean that. Though he now did kind of get why Manaia might jump to that conclusion, considering they had been kissing until five seconds ago. "Uh, wait! Not with you!" He said hurriedly, waving his hands a bit awkwardly to emphasize his point.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

This had quickly become one of the most uncomfortable interactions of Manaia's life, and he didn't know whether to be relieved or not when Louis said it wasn't him. "Oh... right..." He said with a nervous laugh, mind racing. Could you be relieved and disappointed at the same time? Making things official so suddenly had been a daunting thought, but he did like Louis a lot. And if Louis was in love with someone, did that mean that whatever they had going on was off the table? It was a lot to consider, and he didn't really know where to begin. "With, uh... do you wanna talk about who then?" He asked hesitantly. Even if he didn't know how to balance this with his own feelings, he did at least know how to be a good friend.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis knew immediately he had kind of messed up again. Who said that sort of thing to someone they were making out with? Was Manaia relieved? Disappointed? Just weirded out? Louis couldn't tell, and he half considered just turning around and running away. But Manai was a nice guy and also smart, if anyone could give him some insight... Louis sighed, running a hand over his face again. "Sorry, I know I'm being a huge idiot. And I'm being very rude to you." He admitted. "I don't actually know if I'm in love- I just feel... weird." He said, looking at Manaia pleadingly. "I can't turn my brain off, it's so annoying."

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia leaned back on the wall and did his best not to slouch in disappointment, hands firmly in his pockets. This definitely wasn't how he had hoped his afternoon would go. "No, it's cool." He said quickly as Louis apologised, though it was good at least that he was aware of how the situation felt from Manaia's perspective. He listened to the explanation quietly, trying to figure out who Louis might feel this way about. Caleb was the only option who sprang to mind, but that mental picture carved a hole of loss in Manaia's chest that he definitely didn't want to think about. "Sounds tough." He said slowly, trying to figure out what to say. "How long have you felt like this?"

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis knew he wasn't always the best at reading others, but he was pretty sure it wasn't really that 'cool' with Manaia to talk about his now. He considered dismissing it, but he felt the urge to get it out in the open too. He took a deep breath. "It is tough, yes." He said finally, shuffling his feet. "I hate it, I wish it would just go away." He admitted. "I figured it out talking to René." He grimaced at the memory. "We were talking about h- them, and ... I just realized I feel differently for him." He finally said with a small sigh. "It's stupid. They actually said something similar to me earlier but then I kind of rejected hi- them? And now I feel so stupid." He groaned softly. "You don't want to hear all this. Sorry."

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia tried to keep his face neutral as he listened, trying not to think about his own feelings. Too complicated by far, and not exactly helpful in the situation. He definitely didn't dwell on the revelation that whoever this was, it wasn't René. He couldn't quite help a small snort of laughter at Louis' terrible attempts to cover up the person's pronouns. "No, it's cool." He said, trying to focus on being a helpful friend. "How long ago did hthey say they had feelings for you?" He asked, unable to resist a small dig at Louis' unsubtlety.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis blinked at Manaia as he snorted, not sure what to make of it. "Are you making fun of me?" He asked, feeling a little betrayed. "Look, it's silly I know. I don't- I know you didn't want to talk about this. Sorry." He shook his head, stepping back. "I'm screwing this all up." He muttered.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia winced. "I was just joking. I get it. Sorry." He said quickly, shaking his head. "You're not - if you need to talk, it's cool, really. Not like I'd rather be making out while you're having some kinda crisis. We're - friends, we can talk about stuff." He paused. "You're... really serious about this guy, huh?"

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis had to admit, he should have given Manaia the benefit of the doubt. He was a nice guy. "Sorry, I know." He said, shaking his head. "Thanks for being so cool." He wasn't sure if he would have described it as a crisis, but he supposed it was accurate. At his question, Louis shrugged helplessly. "I don't know! I've never had this happen before." Louis sighed. "Do you think it'll just go away if I ignore it?" He asked hopefully.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia was relieved when Louis relaxed and kept talking, as much as he didn't want to hear it. He knew it wasn't good friend behaviour, but this meant the end of a... whatever this was that he had really been quite happy about. He shrugged slightly at the question, shifting a little from foot to foot. "I dunno, I've never been in love, really." He said, questioning how true that was. Was this love, actually? It didn't feel like it, he thought. He hoped. "I just kinda... really like some people, so I let them know and see what happens." He hesitated, scrambling for anyone he could draw on for examples. His parents' divorce had been a disaster, so not the best option. "I guess... think about what would happen if they did feel the same, and what would happen if they didn't, and figure out whether the risk is worth it?" He said slowly, fully aware that that was terrible advice.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis nodded when Manaia said he hadn't been in love. Louis wasn't entirely sure he was, but he feared that's what it was. He ran his hand through his hair and gestured to Manaia. "Yes! I do that too." He said, glad the Hufflepuff understood. Louis nodded slowly at Manaia's advice, feeling a bit of panic in his chest at the thought of Caleb not returning his feelings and things being weird between them forever. "It's probably not worth the risk." He blurted out, even if part of him wondered about what could be if he did like him. "Right? I mean, he's my friend. I don't want to ruin that."

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

It didn't matter how much he thought about this, Manaia still didn't know how to feel. Going from making out to consoling his friend about his love life was a bit too much emotional whiplash, and he still didn't know exactly how disappointed he actually was. He shrugged slightly at Louis' conclusion, a little surprised at how quickly he had come to it. "I mean, would it... ruin-ruin things? He might understand and just want to pretend it didn't happen and keep being friends. Or he might feel the same, and then..." He shrugged helplessly. The more he thought about this, the more Manaia was narrowing down the list of possibilities. Caleb seemed like the most likely candidate, and he really didn't want to think about that. Two of his crushes getting together was... well, it was a whole lot of things to think about.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis grimaced as Manaia kept on talking about it. He knew he had brought it up, this whole conversation was his own fault. But it had been kind of nice to just decide it wasn’t worth it so he didn’t have to think about it more. Somehow, he had thought Manaia might agree. He apparently didn’t. Louis shrugged helplessly. “I mean, can you pretend something like that without it being weird?” He asked hesitantly. He sighed. “Sorry, you never asked to hear all this. Maybe we should drop it for now.”