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The Time When He Made Fun
"So you think this Russian of yours is good, yes?" Boris asked, flipping through Theo's old college notebooks and binders. He had the umbrella resting on the floor in front of him, blocking the sun that trickled through the window from hitting the papers he was reading.
"Well, obviously it's not the best," Theo said, shrugging. He was laying across the hotel bed, book in hand, but he wasn't really reading it. He was watching the man who sat on the floor, thumbing through loose-leaf papers, brow furrowed in concentration.
They had been back together for a few weeks now and Theo still could not believe it. But every time Boris looked up at him with that little smile, soft but warm, loving, he couldn't help but utter those little words.
"Я не могу жить без тебя, Potter," Boris has said, grinning. "Means 'I can't live without you' in Russian."
And Theo, being the dumbfounded idiot he was, with only the rather rusty memory of his conversational Russian class, said, "Я тоже."
Me too.
Boris still hadn't stopped teasing him about that one.
"I still can not believe you keep this all these years." A weight dropped down onto Theo's hips, and he lowered his book to look up at Boris, who was holding the umbrella above them with a cocky grin. "I did not take you for the nostalgic type, Potter."
"Yeah, well, I just... I needed something to remind me of you." Theo felt his cheeks getting warm. He tossed his book aside and let his hands settle on Boris's hips, hesitant, scared to overstep.
"Well, you don't need it anymore, do you?" Boris asked. "Have me now. Nothing to remember. Only to live with."
"I don't want to get rid of it," Theo said, grabbing the handle defensively. "It's the first thing you bought with your own money. This umbrella has seen some shit, man. We kissed under this thing for like, the first time. It has a special spot in here, you know?" He patted his chest over his heart.
"Okay," Boris relented. "Fine. You win. We keep."
"Thank you." Theo relaxed, settling back against his pillows. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then he said, "I've gotta get out of here, Boris. I've gotta go home."
"I know."
It was a bit of a sad silence after that. It had been nice, living in this little fantasy together for the past few weeks. That it was just them, and they could be together. That Kitty was just a memory and it was them now. Nothing else to worry about.
"I will help you pack, then, yes?" Boris said, closing the umbrella and getting up. "And you let me visit often. I find small place, you come visit me. Yes?"
"Yes," Theo agreed. "Boris?" The man turned, setting the closed umbrella aside, and looked at him. Theo snagged his wrist and pulled him back towards the bed, down into a deep kiss.
"What was that for?" Boris murmured when Theo finally let him pull away. Theo hesitated, then braved the man over and onto the mattress beside him, rolling until he lay atop him. Boris looked up, eyes darkening, and his tongue darted out to wet his lips.
"It's gonna take the whole day to pack," Theo excused, smirking a little bit. "I might as well pay for one more night anyway. We can start in the morning."
"You are still sneaky, Potter," Boris accused, but he welcomed Theo's mouth when it crashed back down against his own, fingers threading through the hair on the back of his partner's neck. "I like it."
"Me too," Theo said.
They didn't just stay one more night. They stayed three.
