Totally Not A Date (Indigo/Jory)

[Indigo Noble]

"It's a month and a half either way," Indigo said. "No matter what we do it's gonna suck, at least that way you won't end up fired with two weeks left or something." He'd been trying to convince himself that they could hold out as long as they already had, but now it just felt like a month and a half's worth of chances to screw up.

[Jory Addison]

"I'm just scared," Jory said, not for the first time. He could get fired anyway, if someone thought they'd been doing anything inappropriate. "I never make the right decision, I always do something wrong and it ends up worse than it was before." This was no good, he felt like he was losing himself to pessimism, something he used to do frequently. He rubbed his face roughly and linked his fingers behind his neck.

[Indigo Noble]

"Well, you're not making this decision alone," Indigo said. It reminded him that he couldn't do that either. He couldn't declare to Jory that they were going to ignore some serious rules and live with a secret. He couldn't declare that Jory was quitting now so that he didn't have to wait.

"What you went with the first time was keeping your job so it doesn't screw up your chance with Valfirdu. Whatever we want, that was right. It's just a month and a half." If he could just pretend he didn't remember how close they'd both come to giving in, maybe they could keep going.

[Jory Addison]

Jory almost laughed. "Just a month and a half," he repeated. The urge to do something they shouldn't was just going to get worse, it wouldn't get better. "We're both going to have gone mad by the end of this, you know that, right?" He could only imagine the intensity of the kiss when they were finally able to let themselves go. It was going to be one for the books.

[Indigo Noble]

Indigo muttered a mild expletive at the thought. He was half mad already, so that was about right. "I don't know, all I can think of is asking the Headmistress what we should do or dragging someone around with us." Or going back to Hogwarts immediately and getting this out of their system the way they wanted to, but he didn't think he needed to say that.

[Jory Addison]

Jory almost laughed again. "Drag Hyacinth with us everywhere," he said. It would be a bit of a downer, but there would be no chance of making a mistake. He looked over at Indigo, his eyebrows coming together. "Do you really think we should talk to her about it?" He still felt horrible about holding them back. It almost was more terrifying to think of telling his boss this than it had been to come out. Coming out hadn't come with the chance of losing his job and getting a permanent mark against him.

[Indigo Noble]

"As long as we haven't done anything," Indigo said. "You can't get in trouble for thinking. If something happens, we keep it to ourselves." If something did happen, should they go with it? Should they pretend it hadn't and go back to restraint?

[Jory Addison]

"Can I think about it?" Jory asked. He lowered his hands and rested them on the counter, briefly closing his eyes again. If they did this wrong it could make a mess of things, he needed some time. "Just a couple of days." Hopefully, removing himself from this would be enough to help him make a decision. Who knew, maybe telling her would be a good thing.

[Indigo Noble]

"Yeah, of course," Indigo said. Maybe they'd think of something better in the meantime, or maybe it would be easier once they got back to school. "Do you want to finish the movie?" he asked.

[Indigo Noble]

"Yeah, of course," Indigo said. Maybe they'd think of something better in the meantime, or maybe it would be easier once they got back to school. "Do you want to finish the movie?" he asked.

[Jory Addison]

"Well, you paid for it, I don't want to waste your money," Jory said. "The popcorn and drinks are still there, anyway." He had no idea how much longer the movie was going to run, but they might as well catch the last little bit. He didn't think he was calm enough to head out on the street right now, anyway.

[Indigo Noble]

"All right," Indigo said. He gave Jory a sort of longing glance before stepping past him and leading the way back. When they found their seats he pulled the arm rest back down between them and sighed heavily. They'd missed a good fifteen minutes of the movie, but it was easy enough to figure out what had happened.

[Jory Addison]

The lowering of the arm rest felt like a wall as Jory curled back into his seat, reaching for his drink to occupy himself with. He felt so stupid, like he was making a big deal out of nothing. What would it really matter if they did something hidden safely behind the locked door of his apartment? He tried to focus on the movie, but his eyes glazed over as the minutes ticked by.

[Indigo Noble]

Indigo noticed when the better part of the audience screamed and there wasn't so much as a flinch beside him. He looked over at Jory, who didn't seem aware of the rest of the room.

"Hey," Indigo said softly. "Are you okay? We can get out of here if you want."

[Jory Addison]

Jory blinked and looked over at Indigo. "I'm fine, I just need to think," he said, reaching up to run an anxious hand through his hair again. A thumbnail ended up settling against his teeth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the date." He tried a smile, but he wasn't sure that it showed what he wanted it to.