*** 「 HOGWARTS PROMPTS → “ sorry, all the other carriages are full, i’m sitting here whether you want it or not. ” 」
long legs stretched out, bruce’s feet rest on the seat across from him, he looks up from the book rested across his thighs. great. they’ve had a few classes together over the years; zacharias smith is OBNOXIOUS and the handful of exchanges between them have never been PLEASANT. but bruce was an easy target back then, one of the few people he could pick on without risking a black eye.
“ don’t you have FRIENDS or something ?? ” a pointed look, eyebrows raised just enough to suggest judgement. maybe he just didn’t notice these things before, but the hufflepuff is CUTE from this angle. eyes drag down, slowly, deliberately, and then back up again. even if he’s incapable of SHUTTING UP for the next few hours, at least he’ll be nice to look at.
tongue flicks out over his bottom lip before teeth sink in — an easy target, surely ?? bruce stands up, sets his book aside to move his trunk from the seat to the overhead apartment. “ fine, i guess, if there’s really nowhere else. ”
« that’s an awfully bold statement from someone sitting all alone in a jam-packed train, wayne— don’t you think? » zacharias let out a laugh that was only 50% about the mockery and 50% about his own unintentional rhyme. nice one, zach. ‘friends’? had bruce met him? people tolerated him, which he was just fine with, who even needed friends when what he was doing was far more amusing, but— it did indeed mean nobody was saving a place for him on this journey. but zach was alright with that, too. one could never have enough people with no other choice than to tolerate him, right?
maybe he should stop randomly making people tolerate him, though, because what followed made him hesitate, his face suddenly confused. he couldn’t not notice the other’s gaze, and, well— what should he do? was this even allowed? this was not what he’d imagined to happen, ever. he contemplated turning around and leaving after all, but that would only look suspicious, and despite having absolutely nothing to hide, that was simply not the impression he wanted to give off.
so, he put on a winning smile, though there was something off about it, as he stepped closer. « would you— » he handed the ravenclaw his trunk. now that he was tall — taller than him, unfortunately, though that was not a grand accomplishment these days — he could very well do some noble work and store it where zach wouldn’t be able to reach without making a fool of himself. he sat down, noticeably the furthest away possible from where bruce had sat before. « you should be thankful », he claimed when his preoccupied mind wouldn’t come up with anything else to say to fill the silence. « i‘m saving you from— whatever this extremly boring book is. you’re welcome. »