trains are pretty neat.

After a long moment's silence, Ross gives off another little laugh. That's what Arin was worried about? ..Of course it was, Ross had run off shortly following. He makes a mental note to shove off breakdowns to more opportune moments.

With that, he shifts his body, hands finding the other's shoulders, leaning in enough to press his lips against the professor's. He lets the kiss linger, trying to let the man know that this is what he wants. When he pulls away, it's to glance away with reddened cheeks, and a smile that seems a great deal more shy.

“I don't regret it. I'm.. so relieved to hear you don't, either.” He glances back to Arin. “..I was. Really worried that you'd had second thoughts.”

|| the parting glass.

@slytherintotheend

Need to get out. Need to get out.

This is too much. Partying on the night of the full moon is no longer an option. Ross can’t stay in this enclosed space with so many people even a moment longer than he has to. Shouldering his way through a small crowd, he manages to come upon Arin. That’s probably his best chance to get an excuse out of the building without causing a scene.

“Ar-- Professor Hanson.” His voice sounds strained as he approaches rather quickly, eyes flickering about him in what may be a slight bought of paranoia. “I need out of here. Like, now.”

#t: parting glass

|| The Ball.

Perhaps Ross should have just called the whole thing off. Made up an excuse that he was sick or something to that effect, and just dipped out. But.. he couldn’t do that to Barry. It was he who had asked the happy little Hufflepuff, anyway.

Even if he is a ass, he’s not that much of one.

#i gave up lmao #drabble

|| If your heart was a house.

“..Professor Hanson?”

The rest of the students had taken their leave by now – those that didn’t have electives today were free to go back to their dorms and do whatever they wanted to until tomorrow. It seems that one student, though, had other plans. It’d been two, almost three weeks since Ross had stayed after class - since Ross had even spoken to Arin aside from when he had to. Now, though, he approaches his professor’s desk with what looks to be guilt written on his face.

“..Do you mind if I keep you company for a while?”

Arin had never expected Ross to really think anything of that one night - it had just been a silly little thing (he told himself not to get attached, he told himself not to do that, it would turn out bad-) and he knew Ross wouldn’t try and proceed any further. Ross had other people and things to focus on, and a fling with some teacher was one.

He knew that was coming.

What he didn’t realise was coming was Ross actively avoiding him. Every day his fear grew further that he’d somehow fucked Ross up or hurt him and now.. Now he wanted nothing to do with him.

He’d all but completely given up when Ross approached his desk slowly one day after class and he just cleared his throat, gesturing at the line of student desks in front of his own.

“Of course. Feel free.”

Ross gives a little shake of his head at the motion to the student desks, taking a step closer to his professor. He knew he messed up, and.. it hurt. This was something he had to fix.

“I.. I want to talk to you. About. Some stuff.” The usual confidence is all but gone from the young Slytherin’s voice. It sounds like he might actually cry. “..I fucked up, Arin. I didn’t.. want you to be disappointed in me. I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed in me. I wanted to disappear.”

His voice wavers, cracks, softens to almost a whisper along the course of his last two sentences. He’s more than prepared for Professor Hanson to throw him out, even though a part of him knows that he wouldn’t do that. “..Can you forgive me? I miss you so much..”

Arin stood, not wanting to listen to how heartbreaking his voice was. He was about to cry and it scared Arin. Ross was his best student and one person he trusted more than even his colleagues.

He wasn’t going to let him hurt.

He wrapped his arms around the boy and held him tightly, gripping him gently. “I would never not forgive you. Come to me next time, please. Next time you’re hurting.”

The relief that finally washes through Ross has him clinging to Arin, nuzzling into his collarbone as a few tears drip free. Whatever he says is muffled in the fabric of the professor’s clothes, but it was probably along the lines of a ‘thank you.’ This is.. this is good. Things can start to get fixed now. It’s going to be alright. “..I will. I will, I promise, I’ll talk to you.”

Arin spent the time he was holding Ross petting his hair, trying to calm him down. He hated hearing him upset, seeing him cry like that.

“Hey, shh, calm down. You’re okay, right? You’re fine. And, I mean. Don’t feel forced to come to me or whatever. You’ve got friends, like Ray, and Barry.”

The sting accompanied with that last name was completely uncalled for - especially for a professor.

And it was evident in his voice.

“Just know I’m always here for you, if you can’t get to them for some reason.”

Of course Ross noticed the slight change in Arin's tone. Even if it isn't directed at him, he seems to cower down a bit. It's incredible how submissive he's become to Arin, having just.. accepted this professor as his alpha.

“..I didn't go to anyone this time, but. You know I share just about everything with you.. I trust you.” Perhaps that's his way of saying ‘okay,’ in this context. “I trust you a lot. Considering certain things that have happened..” He trails off with a soft laugh.

larkspur ||

“Mm. I guess I can do one more, just for you.” There’s the tiniest waver in Ross’ voice, but his confidence seems alright – one more won’t hurt. Or, at least. That’s what he thinks.

This time, as he’s murmuring the spell to himself, his wand decides to act up. The light from weaving the spell runs all the way up his arm, practically exploding in his hair. The force is enough to knock him down and stun him for a moment. ..That’s certainly not what’s supposed to happen. Whoops.

“Ross!” Barry yells in alarm, rushing forward to help his friend. He kneels beside the stunned Slytherin, forcing the still slightly unsafe wand out of his hand. “Ross, are you okay? Oh, man, I didn’t know–I shouldn’t have asked for another one, the spell isn’t complete yet, I’m so sorry!”

He whips out his own wand, muttering a spell that should fix any injuries Ross had obtained, and helps his friend up. “Man, I’m so sorry,” he repeated, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Ross gives a tiny laugh when he regains his senses a few moments later, reaching up to rub at his head. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a little hiccup, is all. Spells are tricky like that. Not your fault, don’t worry about it.” It doesn’t seem like he’s hurt. In fact, everything is the same aside from a faint sparkle in his hair. Lingering magic, most likely. Nothing to be concerned about.

“A little hiccup? Man, you really have no concern for your own health, do you? Be careful with this stuff, man!” Barry’s tone takes on that of a worried parent. He smooths down the sparking hairs on Ross’ head with a frown, before pulling the crown off of his head and placing it on Ross’. His smile returns. “There, all better!”

“Hush, Bear, I’m fine.” He’s smiling as the crown is placed on his head – as the flowers bloom properly into life. Looks like the spell did.. something. At least the crown doesn’t look as sad anymore, right? They can figure out all the details of the backfire later (or, at least Ross will when he visits Professor Hanson). “All better,” he agrees with a little nod, brushing his robes off.

Barry gives him a skeptical look, backing off a little. He looks curiously at the bloomed flowers, smiling softly. “Well, looks like the flowers like you, at least,” he giggles. “Still, be more careful.” Barry doesn’t know what he’d do without Ross; the two were practically insuperable, best friends for years. He was not about to lose Ross because he decided to screw around with spell making.

“I am careful. I promise.” Ross' smile grows a good deal softer as he hears the concerned undertone to Barry's voice. Ross isn't exactly the most empathetic person in the world, but. He figures he can ease some of the worry. “I'm sorry, man. Don't worry about it, okay? I'm not gonna get hurt or anything. It's not a powerful spell.”

#T: larkspur

larkspur ||

“Mm. I guess I can do one more, just for you.” There’s the tiniest waver in Ross’ voice, but his confidence seems alright – one more won’t hurt. Or, at least. That’s what he thinks.

This time, as he’s murmuring the spell to himself, his wand decides to act up. The light from weaving the spell runs all the way up his arm, practically exploding in his hair. The force is enough to knock him down and stun him for a moment. ..That’s certainly not what’s supposed to happen. Whoops.

“Ross!” Barry yells in alarm, rushing forward to help his friend. He kneels beside the stunned Slytherin, forcing the still slightly unsafe wand out of his hand. “Ross, are you okay? Oh, man, I didn’t know–I shouldn’t have asked for another one, the spell isn’t complete yet, I’m so sorry!”

He whips out his own wand, muttering a spell that should fix any injuries Ross had obtained, and helps his friend up. “Man, I’m so sorry,” he repeated, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Ross gives a tiny laugh when he regains his senses a few moments later, reaching up to rub at his head. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a little hiccup, is all. Spells are tricky like that. Not your fault, don’t worry about it.” It doesn’t seem like he’s hurt. In fact, everything is the same aside from a faint sparkle in his hair. Lingering magic, most likely. Nothing to be concerned about.

“A little hiccup? Man, you really have no concern for your own health, do you? Be careful with this stuff, man!” Barry’s tone takes on that of a worried parent. He smooths down the sparking hairs on Ross’ head with a frown, before pulling the crown off of his head and placing it on Ross’. His smile returns. “There, all better!”

“Hush, Bear, I'm fine.” He's smiling as the crown is placed on his head -- as the flowers bloom properly into life. Looks like the spell did.. something. At least the crown doesn't look as sad anymore, right? They can figure out all the details of the backfire later (or, at least Ross will when he visits Professor Hanson). “All better,” he agrees with a little nod, brushing his robes off.

|| If your heart was a house.

“..Professor Hanson?”

The rest of the students had taken their leave by now – those that didn’t have electives today were free to go back to their dorms and do whatever they wanted to until tomorrow. It seems that one student, though, had other plans. It’d been two, almost three weeks since Ross had stayed after class - since Ross had even spoken to Arin aside from when he had to. Now, though, he approaches his professor’s desk with what looks to be guilt written on his face.

“..Do you mind if I keep you company for a while?”

Arin had never expected Ross to really think anything of that one night - it had just been a silly little thing (he told himself not to get attached, he told himself not to do that, it would turn out bad-) and he knew Ross wouldn’t try and proceed any further. Ross had other people and things to focus on, and a fling with some teacher was one.

He knew that was coming.

What he didn’t realise was coming was Ross actively avoiding him. Every day his fear grew further that he’d somehow fucked Ross up or hurt him and now.. Now he wanted nothing to do with him.

He’d all but completely given up when Ross approached his desk slowly one day after class and he just cleared his throat, gesturing at the line of student desks in front of his own.

“Of course. Feel free.”

Ross gives a little shake of his head at the motion to the student desks, taking a step closer to his professor. He knew he messed up, and.. it hurt. This was something he had to fix.

“I.. I want to talk to you. About. Some stuff.” The usual confidence is all but gone from the young Slytherin’s voice. It sounds like he might actually cry. “..I fucked up, Arin. I didn’t.. want you to be disappointed in me. I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed in me. I wanted to disappear.”

His voice wavers, cracks, softens to almost a whisper along the course of his last two sentences. He’s more than prepared for Professor Hanson to throw him out, even though a part of him knows that he wouldn’t do that. “..Can you forgive me? I miss you so much..”

Arin stood, not wanting to listen to how heartbreaking his voice was. He was about to cry and it scared Arin. Ross was his best student and one person he trusted more than even his colleagues.

He wasn’t going to let him hurt.

He wrapped his arms around the boy and held him tightly, gripping him gently. “I would never not forgive you. Come to me next time, please. Next time you’re hurting.”

The relief that finally washes through Ross has him clinging to Arin, nuzzling into his collarbone as a few tears drip free. Whatever he says is muffled in the fabric of the professor's clothes, but it was probably along the lines of a ‘thank you.’ This is.. this is good. Things can start to get fixed now. It's going to be alright. “..I will. I will, I promise, I'll talk to you.”

|| If your heart was a house.

“..Professor Hanson?”

The rest of the students had taken their leave by now – those that didn’t have electives today were free to go back to their dorms and do whatever they wanted to until tomorrow. It seems that one student, though, had other plans. It’d been two, almost three weeks since Ross had stayed after class - since Ross had even spoken to Arin aside from when he had to. Now, though, he approaches his professor’s desk with what looks to be guilt written on his face.

“..Do you mind if I keep you company for a while?”

Arin had never expected Ross to really think anything of that one night - it had just been a silly little thing (he told himself not to get attached, he told himself not to do that, it would turn out bad-) and he knew Ross wouldn’t try and proceed any further. Ross had other people and things to focus on, and a fling with some teacher was one.

He knew that was coming.

What he didn’t realise was coming was Ross actively avoiding him. Every day his fear grew further that he’d somehow fucked Ross up or hurt him and now.. Now he wanted nothing to do with him.

He’d all but completely given up when Ross approached his desk slowly one day after class and he just cleared his throat, gesturing at the line of student desks in front of his own.

“Of course. Feel free.”

Ross gives a little shake of his head at the motion to the student desks, taking a step closer to his professor. He knew he messed up, and.. it hurt. This was something he had to fix.

“I.. I want to talk to you. About. Some stuff.” The usual confidence is all but gone from the young Slytherin's voice. It sounds like he might actually cry. “..I fucked up, Arin. I didn't.. want you to be disappointed in me. I didn't want anyone to be disappointed in me. I wanted to disappear.”

His voice wavers, cracks, softens to almost a whisper along the course of his last two sentences. He's more than prepared for Professor Hanson to throw him out, even though a part of him knows that he wouldn't do that. “..Can you forgive me? I miss you so much..”

larkspur ||

“Mm. I guess I can do one more, just for you.” There’s the tiniest waver in Ross’ voice, but his confidence seems alright – one more won’t hurt. Or, at least. That’s what he thinks.

This time, as he’s murmuring the spell to himself, his wand decides to act up. The light from weaving the spell runs all the way up his arm, practically exploding in his hair. The force is enough to knock him down and stun him for a moment. ..That’s certainly not what’s supposed to happen. Whoops.

“Ross!” Barry yells in alarm, rushing forward to help his friend. He kneels beside the stunned Slytherin, forcing the still slightly unsafe wand out of his hand. “Ross, are you okay? Oh, man, I didn’t know–I shouldn’t have asked for another one, the spell isn’t complete yet, I’m so sorry!”

He whips out his own wand, muttering a spell that should fix any injuries Ross had obtained, and helps his friend up. “Man, I’m so sorry,” he repeated, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Ross gives a tiny laugh when he regains his senses a few moments later, reaching up to rub at his head. “I'm fine, I'm fine. Just a little hiccup, is all. Spells are tricky like that. Not your fault, don't worry about it.” It doesn't seem like he's hurt. In fact, everything is the same aside from a faint sparkle in his hair. Lingering magic, most likely. Nothing to be concerned about.

larkspur ||

“Mm. I guess I can do one more, just for you.” There's the tiniest waver in Ross' voice, but his confidence seems alright -- one more won't hurt. Or, at least. That's what he thinks.

This time, as he's murmuring the spell to himself, his wand decides to act up. The light from weaving the spell runs all the way up his arm, practically exploding in his hair. The force is enough to knock him down and stun him for a moment. ..That's certainly not what's supposed to happen. Whoops.

#T: larkspur

|| If your heart was a house.

“..Professor Hanson?”

The rest of the students had taken their leave by now -- those that didn't have electives today were free to go back to their dorms and do whatever they wanted to until tomorrow. It seems that one student, though, had other plans. It'd been two, almost three weeks since Ross had stayed after class - since Ross had even spoken to Arin aside from when he had to. Now, though, he approaches his professor's desk with what looks to be guilt written on his face.

“..Do you mind if I keep you company for a while?”

larkspur ||

To be fair, Ross hadn’t exactly been paying attention either. He’d been lost in some train of thought involving potions and wolfsbane and who even knows at this point. The sudden appearance of a Barry in his path wasn’t registered until it was too late.

With a small, flustered huff, Ross brushes himself off, playfully bapping Barry’s shoulder in retaliation. His voice has a teasing lilt to it when he speaks up. “Watch where you’re going, you oaf. Just about took me out, damn.”

Barry grinned, accepting the small punch with a laugh. “Me? At least I had something else I was looking at. Got something on your mind?” His voice was lighthearted, but his question had a small amount of sincerity and concern. As he waited for Ross’ reply, he continued to fiddle with his crown.

He let out a frustrated and upset sigh, shoving his wand in his bag and giving up on the flower crown. “Damn, that was my favorite one,” he muttered under his breath, putting it in his bag as well.

“Uh. A couple things, actually. Nothing too big.”

Ross gives a little shrug, straightening out his robes and trying to finish gathering his thoughts. He looks to be processing for a moment, before he pulls his wand from his robes.

“Actually. Let me show you part of what’s on my mind. I think you might really appreciate this one.”

With that, he takes a breath, traces his wand in a circle, and murmurs something under his breath. The result is.. a rather sad looking flower crown. It isn’t woven properly, and the flowers look a little.. odd, but. It’s the thought that counts, right?

“It’s.. A work in progress. Heh.”

Barry tilts his head in confusion, watching Ross mutter something. He sees the result, which is, well, a flower crown. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it makes Barry grin widely. He throws his arms around Ross.

“Dude, that’s awesome! You’ve gotta teach me that when you master it! Oh, man, that’s so cool!” He takes the crown gingerly from him, putting it on his head. He smiles even wider. “Dude, thank you. This one is my new favorite.”

Ross gives a little grunt at the sudden contact – Barry’s lucky he’s in Ross’ inner circle, and close enough that the Slytherin is alright with the touch. He even smiles a little, the softest chuckle in his throat. Barry is just. So pure. So very pure.

“I’ll make a better one, I promise. I’m just still working on the spell, so.. It’s a little wonky. Might switch up the wording or something, see if that helps any.”

larkspur ||

To be fair, Ross hadn’t exactly been paying attention either. He’d been lost in some train of thought involving potions and wolfsbane and who even knows at this point. The sudden appearance of a Barry in his path wasn’t registered until it was too late.

With a small, flustered huff, Ross brushes himself off, playfully bapping Barry’s shoulder in retaliation. His voice has a teasing lilt to it when he speaks up. “Watch where you’re going, you oaf. Just about took me out, damn.”

Barry grinned, accepting the small punch with a laugh. “Me? At least I had something else I was looking at. Got something on your mind?” His voice was lighthearted, but his question had a small amount of sincerity and concern. As he waited for Ross’ reply, he continued to fiddle with his crown.

He let out a frustrated and upset sigh, shoving his wand in his bag and giving up on the flower crown. “Damn, that was my favorite one,” he muttered under his breath, putting it in his bag as well.

“Uh. A couple things, actually. Nothing too big.”

Ross gives a little shrug, straightening out his robes and trying to finish gathering his thoughts. He looks to be processing for a moment, before he pulls his wand from his robes.

“Actually. Let me show you part of what's on my mind. I think you might really appreciate this one.”

With that, he takes a breath, traces his wand in a circle, and murmurs something under his breath. The result is.. a rather sad looking flower crown. It isn't woven properly, and the flowers look a little.. odd, but. It's the thought that counts, right?

“It's.. A work in progress. Heh.”