Closed Sunshine Warmth

[Lars van Houten]

Lars hadn't minded playing in the previous Quidditch game too much, even if the bludger hit had been pretty painful. He hadn't expected to be hit, as keeper, but at least it had happened now and he no longer had to be so scared of it. But he felt bad for Minnie, who had been hit so often she had been sent to the hospital wing. It made him worry about the next match, as his boyfriend would be playing in that game as seeker. Lars knew that seekers were usually targeted more than other players, and he was worried Elliot would get hurt the way Minnie had been. He knew there wasn't much he could do about that, but he could support him in any way he could. He had taken an old, white shirt with him to the arts room, and had placed it on the table. He was currently painting on it, turning into his personal 'Go Elliot' shirt. He'd added yellow and black stripes, and was now painting the letters on the chest of the shirt, adding shading underneath them to make them stand out more. He knew it was unlikely that Elliot would see it from the air, but he hoped that he could show it to him before the match and that it would help him feel supported. He leaned closer to the shirt as he painted the letter 'i' in his boyfriend's name, turning the dot on the i into a sun at the last minute.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot had been building up the courage to come talk to Lars all morning. He'd been doing his best to spend less and less time around Lars since their first week back and after his tarot deck dragged him for it, Elliot had decided it was time to suck it up. Lars deserved better and Elliot was going to be brave for once and be honest about his feelings.

He was relieved though when he couldn't spot Lars in the Great Hall or the courtyard, and was almost ready to call it quits when he spotted Lars' red hair in the art room. It was tempting to pretend he hadn't noticed, but Elliot sighed and made his way into the room, shaking himself a little for being a baby. "Lars, hey-" Elliot said, eyes skittering around the room so he wouldn't have to look Lars in the eye. "What.. what are you working on?" He asked, distracted by the shirt Lars seemed to be painting and feeling his stomach twist uncomfortably.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was a little surprised when he saw the familiar face of his boyfriend, almost as if he had materialized in front of him. But he knew that he had probably just been so focused on his work that he hadn't heard him come in until he had spoken. Lars gave him a smile. "Hi..." He said shyly, wondering if he should try to hide the shirt. But Elliot had probably already seen it, and well... a part of Lars wanted him to see. "It was supposed to be a surprise." He said a little sheepishly, scratching his nose with the back of his brush and dripping paint onto his robes. "I'm making a shirt to support you during your first Quidditch match." He admitted. "It's going to say 'Go Elliot'." He paused, suddenly a little nervous about this idea now that it was out in the open. "If you don't mind me wearing that to your game." He added quietly.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot could rather tell the shirt was supposed to be for him, but he still felt his ears burn with pleased embarrassment when Lars mentioned it. "Oh.. thank you, that's sweet," He said slowly. The thought of the upcoming game still made him feel a bit sick, but it was nice to know Lars had his back. "You're getting paint.." Elliot started with a sigh as Lars managed to drop paint all over his robes. He'd learnt awhile ago that it was easier to just clean up after Lars when he was working than to try and prevent it. He did feel a soft, annoyed fondness at it though, gently reaching over and brushing his thumb over a spot that Lars had managed to get on his face. But it wasn't more than that. Fondness. And Elliot was disappointed. It wasn't anything like what Katy or Lily seemed to describe, he didn't feel giddy or unable to stop thinking about Lars. Just familiar and comfortable. Was that really so bad though?

The shirt made Elliot's stomach twist again and Elliot could feel his resolve about breaking up with Lars falter. Maybe he could at least wait until after the match. Lars was putting so much work into something like this for him, and Elliot was just here to ruin it. "You should wear it, I love it," He said, staring at his name on the shirt for a moment before shook his head quickly, trying to shake his uneasiness off. "I uhm. I had something I wanted to talk to you about," He started, trying to build up the courage for what he needed to say next.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars smiled as Elliot said it was sweet, and he glanced down distractedly as eh mentioned the paint. "Oh." He said, clearly unconcerned about it. But he smiled as Elliot brushed a thumb over his face, where had apparently gotten paint as well. He leaned into the touch a little bit for a moment, his heart skipping a beat at the sweet gesture. "I'll wear it." Lars said, nodding firmly as he had said he loved it. Lars laughed softly. "Imagine if I wore it if our teams have to compete against each other." He added, trying to imagine his captains' response to that. He blinked as Elliot said he had something to talk about, he smiled a little. "Oh, what is it?" He asked him, curious what he wanted to ask.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Elliot bit back a fond grin at Lars suggestion, smiling at the mental image of Lars on the bench, or even better guarding the hoops while wearing his shirt. "Man, imagine," He said, shaking his head. His face fell though when Elliot realized what he had to say now. Lars was making him a shirt, Lars was supporting and sweet and clearly cared about him, and Elliot was going to ruin everything by opening him mouth. "I um. I wanted to.." Elliot stared furiously down at his feet for a few moments before looking back at Lars' face. "I wanted to see if you want to go to the ball again this year?" He finished lamely. He just couldn't do it. Elliot couldn't break Lars' heart like that. He'd just have to bare being a terrible, cowardly person for a bit longer, but he couldn't bring himself to break up with Lars yet.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars could tell Elliot wasn't entirely at ease, and that made him frown a bit. Was something wrong? He wasn't sure what was happening in Elliot's life, besides the fact that he now had his cousin at Hogwarts. Had something else changed? Something he wasn't happy about? There was a moment where Lars started to worry about what Elliot was going to say, but he was relieved when the other boy simply asked if he wanted to go to the ball with him. Lars smiled. "Sure... I liked it last time." He said a little shyly. "Though if you don't feel like the ball we can also just hang out, that's fun too." He said, wanting to give his boyfriend options. "I'm happy with anything, as long as we can spend time together."