No Place Like Home PV Jack B Closed

Jack was mildly surprised at Ruka's owl that he would be found at the back of the train, but as Jack wasn't really all that fond of long goodbyes and farewells in general himself, he didn't mind avoiding the majority of his schoolmates during their final hours together. Those that mattered to him most would surely be hearing from him over the summer by owl, anyway.

Besides, before they knew it, Jack guessed they would be back at school and seeing each other again. He didn't want to bother the students already excited to be attending summer camp together, anyway; especially because neither he nor Ruka would be joining them. They had other plans, like getting Ruka settled into his new home and familiar with his new family.

Since the majority of Slytherin, at least, seemed to be staying behind for summer camp, Jack wasn't surprised to find the train a great deal emptier than when he had first gotten on in order to get to Hogwarts. He wondered if the train was just as empty on holidays when other students opted to stay at the castle instead of returning home. In almost no time at all, he found Ruka at the very back of the train in the very last compartment. He grinned, having recalled being told Ruka would be at the back, not having expected him to be as far back as he could possibly manage.

"You're like a frightened little mouse backed into a corner here," he chuckled after opening the compartment door to find the Gryffindor at last. "You really wanted to avoid everyone else, huh?" He himself might not have sought out company usually, but he didn't particularly go out of his way to escape it, either.

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Jack Burnett

At the first sound of the compartment door opening, Ruka tensed a little as if expecting some unwanted presence to slide into his personal space. Some unwelcome Hufflepuff approaching him for no reason as per usual maybe. However, once he could see Jack’s reflection in the glass of the window, he could feel himself relaxing again, posture slacking a bit as he turned a little in order to look at the other boy face to face.

A small smile settled on his face at being compared to a frightened mouse, shoulders lifting in a tired shrug.

“I’m tired of talking to people,” he admitted. It wasn’t like he didn’t usually feel better when he was able to recharge by himself, but now that the school year had finally come to an end he was feeling downright exhausted. Especially with having tried to engage with his schoolmates a little more during the last half of June, he could tell that his capacity for social interaction had been drained to the last drop.

Luckily, being around Jack didn’t usually require much of that capacity anyway, even when things were intense and frustrating, something Ruka was hopeful the train ride would be neither of.

Patting the empty seat next to him, Ruka let his expression shift into something scared and pleading, deciding there was no use in hiding just how terrified he was from the other boy. “Come hug me,” he demanded, though his voice was a little shaky as he reached a hand out for Jack to beckon him closer. “Please.” Didn’t hurt to practice his manners if he was going to spend his summer with parents, actual grown ups who would likely not appreciate him being in any way impolite to either them or their son.

Whether Jack would oblige to his request or not, Ruka would struggle for a second to kick off his shoes before placing the heels of his feet on the edge of his seat in order to become an even smaller presence than he had been before. For the moment he felt like everything and everyone else in the world was bigger than him and all he wanted to do was to physically reflect that feeling.

“I’m scared,” he said, either with his forehead leaning against the windowpane, or against Jack’s shoulder, depending on whether he had been granted a hug or not. “Is it normal that I’m this scared?”

"Tired of talking to people?!" Jack repeated, looking as though Ruka had uttered something scandalous. "Who knew that was even possible?" It was clear by his obvious overreaction, however, that his incredulity was only pretend.

When the first year noticed the second year's expression as Ruka pat the seat next to him meaningfully, however, all the humor was retracted from Jack's tone, features, and the rest of his demeanor. He adopted a more serious manner as he went to take his place beside him, but couldn't help presenting a mildly startled look at the command to hug the Gryffindor even after it was followed by a 'please'. It wasn't the directness or way in which the request was given that was surprising to him more than the request itself. 'Hug him'...?

Still, there was barely any hesitation after that. The taller young man wordlessly reached out to encircle the shorter with both arms, hugging him close as he had a few times in the past, resting his cheek against his head. He wasn't sure why Ruka seemed to need such comfort, but if it was something he thought Jack could provide to him, he wasn't about to deny him that.

He paused to allow his upperclassman to remove his shoes and pull his legs up so his feet were on the seat with them. Now he seemed even more like a mouse, Jack thought - so utterly different and removed from the fire-dancing young man he had first met and come to know from the Rehearsal Room earlier that year but what seemed like a lifetime ago. It didn't suit him, the Slytherin decided.

"I'm not sure it's normal for Gryffindors to be scared, but then again you're not like any Gryffindor I've ever met before, so maybe that's a good thing. Perhaps it means you have more sense where they're lacking." It was a hint of humor in an attempt to lighten the mood slightly while simultaneously trying to keep it from seeming like he was trying to make light of the situation and Ruka's feelings themselves.

After a quiet second or two, he asked, "What is it you're scared of, exactly?"

@Ruka Burnett-Tân

@Jack Burnett

Jack's over exaggerated reaction to his claim of being tired of talking to people did little but cause Ruka to roll his eyes, a small smile on his lips to show a sign of amusement rather than annoyance. The question didn't exactly warrant an answer, so the Gryffindor didn't provide one, just allowed himself to drop all his defences to ask for that hug he so desperately needed.

He shouldn't have expected anything else, but the way Jack dropped all teasing to so readily sit next to him and wrap him up in a tight embrace still filled Ruka with pleasantly tingling surprise. So much so that it took him a moment, long enough to kick off his shoes and readjust his position, before he managed to get himself to wrap his own arms around the other boy in return, burrowing his face in Jack's shoulder with a silent sniffle. Ironically it felt easier to breathe with his nose pressed against the Slytherin's clothes, white dots dancing behind his eyelids at the pressure applied to them.

Relaxing into the embrace, Ruka allowed his legs to fall sideways, knees brushing across Jack's thighs as he pulled himself even closer, mere inches from draping himself across the other boy's lap.

A small chuckle escaped him in response to Jack's words about Gryffindors, and he nodded weakly against the Slytherin's shoulder, taking a deep breath to prepare himself for the inevitable question he knew was going to follow the short display of humour. It must have been obvious just how terrified Ruka was, must have shown in his posture and the way he was clinging to Jack as if letting go would rob him of any stability still present in his life. He felt pathetic, could feel himself shuddering as if talking about his concerns was one of the biggest hardships he had ever faced.

"What if they don't like me?" he blurted out as he removed one arm from around Jack to rub a balled fist across his eyes. With his face pulled away but his body still so close to the other boy's it was difficult to look anywhere but the door of their compartment without his nose bumping against Jack's jaw, so he fixated his gaze on a black spot close by the door handle. "Worse, what if they do and I can't..." He closed his eyes for a moment. "And I can't fit in? I have no clue how to be... part of a family."

Swallowing heavily, he allowed himself to rest his head against Jack's shoulder again, breathing in deeply just to let the air out again in a shaky exhale.

"I don't know," he added, dropping his hand to rest on his own thigh, fingers picking at a loose string on his jeans. "It's just... Change, I guess." He let out a dry chuckle in disregard of his own concerns. "I'm scared because I don't know what's coming. At least on the streets I knew what I was dealing with. What I had to do. Now I just feel like..." The arm around Jack tightened a little as if trying to make sure the other boy wasn't going to let go of him. "Like I don't know anything anymore. I hate not knowing."

Lightly biting his lip, Ruka let his eyelids shut for a moment, taking a few deep breaths as he counted to three in his mind.

"Not that I'm not excited as well," he added, a small smile chasing away the expression of dread he had been wearing until then. "About the opportunity to bother you all summer long, that is." He chuckled lightly, lifting his hand off his thigh to poke Jack's stomach playfully instead. "I'm just... It's just a big deal to me, you know?"