Sheraton Academy

Friendship Scarf

Rating: G. Warnings: none

Sage had a lot of scarves, but the one from Christian was special. It was the softest, and it had lovely little knitted holes in it he could poke his fingers through, and even his nose, and he wore it every day, even if it was just stuffed in his pocket in the summer. And somehow, Christian was able to work magic when he did laundry every Wednesday and could get the bloodstains from Sage's bitten lips out. And it was black, with one thick green stripe on one side, and those were Sage's favorite colors.

Since his cat had eaten George the gummi shark, Sage had had a really hard time finding a comfort item to replace him. But one afternoon he was out with Jussi and Christian – Sage wasn't sure how he felt about Jussi yet, but he seemed nice even though he didn't smile much – and it was cold, and he was unprepared, so Christian looped his scarf around his neck and gently nudged his forehead against Sage's, and he smiled, and Sage smiled, and it was like having the older brother he'd always wanted, someone who really connected with him, who cared and tried, who didn't see Sage's autism as an affliction and instead just another character trait.

"You're gonna get cold," Jussi had said, and Christian just flipped him off. Was there going to be trouble? But Christian just fixed the scarf's knot and said, "It's fine."

Sage's boyfriend, Poe, had been jealous at first – "Why aren't my clothes good enough?" he'd asked, "What's so special about his?"

"It's just different," Sage stammered, awkward and unsure about being put on the spot. He liked his scarf, and was even thinking of a name for it, something in German to honor his friend who had given it to him.

"It's not romantic," Sage said. "It's just friends. He's my friend. It was a present."

Even though it was only a present because Christian had seen how Sage pet the ends of the scarf, and stuck his fingers through the holes and wiggled them. Christian had no special attachment to this one, so why wouldn't he give it to Sage? The poor kid didn't seem to have a lot of things that comforted him, and Christian didn't mind giving up a scarf for the cause.

Sometimes Sage buried his face in it and rubbed it on his cheeks, or wrapped one end over the top of his head and flattened his messy black hair against his scalp. Sometimes he chewed on the ends, and Poe had admonished him for it because it would damage the yarn, but Christian assured him he knew people who could fix it if they needed to. And Sage loved Poe, maybe, he thought, although sometimes he wasn't sure – but Christian had been his friend for a long time, and he could trust the older boy.

Christian had gotten Sage a pass to the Brougham dorm rooms and the two of them were hanging out with Livia in his room. Livia had strategically pulled the curtains around his room to make a little living room space with a small couch and a TV, and although Livia and Christian weren't the biggest fans, they were playing Jeeves and Wooster. Sage watched, rapt, his scarf hanging from his mouth as he chewed at the edges absently. He loved TV and movies, but especially period comedies. He was on the floor, closer to the TV, and Christian and Livia were behind him on the couch. Livia shot Christian a fond, knowing look, and Christian gave Livia a small smile back. Christian had never said it but he'd never had to – he was honored Sage had chosen one of his things as a comfort item. Just a ragged old scarf he'd picked up at a thrift store for pennies, but it meant so much to his friend. It was his treasure.

"Hey, Sage, do you want to go get some dinner?"

Sage didn't turn around.

Livia stood up and sat down next to Sage. Sage leaned his head on Livia's shoulder, still chewing on the scarf.

"Are you hungry?" Livia tried.

Sage's eyes were locked on the TV. He shook his head.

"Do you mind if I go down to the cafeteria to get food for me and Christian?" He'd get something to stash in his mini fridge for Sage later, too.

Sage shook his head again.

"Okay. It'l be just you and Christian for a few minutes, then. Is that okay?"

Sage nodded.

Livia popped up, gave Christian a kiss, grabbed his wallet and his shoes, and went on his way.

Christian watched Sage from behind. His shoulders were hunched as he leaned in close to hear the quiet TV. He clearly didn't want to be engaged right now, and Christian would respect that.

He picked up his mobile and sent Sage a text. Christian knew the younger boy would ignore it for now, but he could read it later, and this way Christian wouldn't forget.

Try rubbing the scarf on your hands and wrists. I'll bet that would feel nice.

But for now, he was chewing on the ends with his fingers in the holes as usual, leaned in close to the TV, watching Jeeves and Wooster.