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The First Time
The first time Boris pulled out the umbrella, Theo had been confused.
"What's with the umbrella?" He asked the boy, watching carefully as those dark eyes scanned him, and a smirk hitched up in the corner of those red lips.
"Don't like the sun," he replied, opening the umbrella and holding it over his own head. He waited, staring at Theo with an almost expectant look in his eyes, and Theo hesitated. "Well? You coming, Harry Potter?" Boris asked, and the smirk deepened a little as Theo jumped and hurried over to stand under the shade.
They started walking, and he took a breath, looking around at the ghost town. Dust settled and then swished and then settled again under their feet as they walked.
"Where are you from?" Theo asked the mysterious boy curiously— his accent was heavy. He had to have lived somewhere before he came here. Boris thought about it for a second, and a gust of wind blew his wild curls into his eyes. He tossed his head to clear his vision and shrugged.
"Lots of places," he said, then began counting on his fingers. "Russia, mostly," he began. "Australia, Poland, Scotland, New Zealand, Texas, Alaska, New Guinea, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Ukraine." Off of Theo's odd look, he chuckled. "We travel. My father works in mines. Company comes, people say, 'Don't fuck up environment!' Company fucks up environment." He shook his head, brow furrowing. "No point, yes? People hate us. We move. Repeat story."
"How long will you be here?" Theo asked, looking down at the pale dirt and kicking a loose stone.
"Ah, that is good question, Potter." Boris bumped their shoulders together, switching the umbrella from his right to his left hand as to cover them more fully. "Here, does not matter." He gestured around at the desert-like area with a grin. "Environment is already fucked, no?"
They approached the deserted houses, and Theo could help but to smile back. Boris lowered the umbrella as they reached his front steps and closed it, slipping it back into his coat.
The sun hit their backs for a single moment, and Theo found himself thinking, He's right. What's so good about the heat, anyway?
