13: When Two Gentlemen Meet
A bell attached to the door dinged as Arthur entered the shop ignoring the closed sign against the door. He looked around confused at how empty it was until a familiar head popped out from a doorway behind the counter. Torris beamed.
"Arthur! Good to see you. We're back here!"
Arthur lifted a hand in greeting and walked towards Torris trying to ignore the way his stomach knotted tighter the closer he got. When he got close to the door, Torris put a hand on his back to steer him into the room saying in a low voice, "Glad you could make it."
Arthur planned to say something in response, but his words slipped away as he entered the back room. The area was part storage for the store, part office, and part lounge. There were bookshelves full of what Arthur assumed were extra books or copies taken off display, boxes stacked in seemingly random areas, and a small desk in the corner stacked with papers likely for running the business. A couch against the one blank wall, various chairs around, and even an old bean bag filled the space. It was small, but homey, if not a little stuffy from the crowd.
"Guys," Torris said, addressing the people around the room, "This is Arthur. It's his first time, so don't be assholes."
Everyone greeted or waved. Arthur only recognized two people - Raivis on the couch and the girl from the first time he went to the bookstore spinning around in the desk chair.
Torris addressed Arthur, "We are waiting for one other person, but if they don't show up soon, we'll start without them."
Arthur nodded. Torris tilted his head at the clearly overwhelmed Arthur. "You know it's really casual here. Just a safe space. You don't have to say anything. A lot of them just like to rant about the problems in their lives."
"Something tells me this is your way of saying it's not just drug problems."
Torris shrugged. "Like I said it's a safe place for people to get support. Some people have family problems or other things they are trying to get passed and have nowhere else to go."
Arthur sighed, "Family problems. No wonder Francis was so encouraging."
Torris was prepared to say something in defense of Francis, but a cough interrupted them.
Arthur turned to look at a short, blond man. If he wasn't analyzing his face closely, he'd assume the guy was much younger than him, but up close he could make out tiny features that hinted at a little bit more age and experience.
"Hi, I'm Tino. I help Torris run meetings," Tino greeted cheerfully sticking a hand out for Arthur to shake.
Arthur shook his hand. Tino's handshake was rather unremarkable, not notably good or bad, something Arthur had trouble reading. He wondered if this was how his handshake felt like from the other side.
"Arthur," he said distractedly.
"I know it can be hard to meet people like this. You can sit next to me and Raivis on the couch if you want."
Arthur nodded along and went to sit down. He greeted Raivis who seemed a tad jittery; his greeting making Tino smile. Tino was short enough that when sunken all the way back into the ratty couch his feet didn't quite hit the ground. It didn't seem to bug him, and he waved his legs back and forth minutely.
Arthur ran a hand through his hair claiming, "I kind of know you, Tino."
"Oh?" Tino responded pleasantly.
"I know Berwald, kind of," Arthur blurted, his brain stopping himself from mentioning his brothers. He liked how welcoming Tino was and wanted him to remain that way.
"Really? He's great, isn't he?" As impossible as it seemed, Tino got even happier when talking about his boyfriend.
"You're definitely an interesting couple."
Tino laughed. "You have no idea how often I get that."
Arthur snorted.
"How do you know him?"
"I don't really," Arthur admitted, "Just talked to him a few times when he was working, and you came up."
Tino leaned back humming contently.
Arthur swallowed. "I also think you know my brother, well maybe both of them. I don't know."
Tino sombered slightly and adjusted so that he was facing Arthur straight on more. "Who?"
"I, uh, think you went to school with one. I'm not sure." Arthur shifted. "I guess I didn't say my whole name earlier. I'm a Kirkland. Arthur Kirkland?"
Tino leaned back into the arm of the couch letting out a small breath. "And you are here?"
Arthur hunched forward. "Yeah."
"That's hard."
Arthur shot Tino an assessing look.
Tino explained, "Our dads work together. I know a little about how your family appears."
Arthur swore he saw empathy in Tino's eyes.
Arthur huffed and turned to face the rest of the room taking everyone in. Torris was talking to a newcomer by the door — must be the straggler. Tino must have seen him too, because he leaned close to Arthur and whispered, "You should talk to me more after."
Arthur turned quickly to look at Tino who nodded in encouragement. Arthur nodded back unsure if he even had it in him to refuse. After the horrific dinner with his family, he wanted to know more about Tino, and this may be his only shot.
He didn't have the chance to say anything then and there, because Torris began the meeting by making a few announcements and having everyone introduce themselves and say a fun fact. The beginning definitely felt more like camp than the pseudo-group therapy Francis made it out to be. Then, Torris opened the floor for everyone to share anything new, and Arthur finally understood why this seemed so important.
People told stories. They talked about things Arthur couldn't imagine saying to his family let alone strangers, and others responded with sympathy, empathy and advice. Time passed as everyone just… talked — talked and listened and comforted. Arthur kept his time sharing short and sweet saying only what he felt he needed help with the most — mentioning staying with a friend but going home soon. Hell, he even said he wasn't used to sharing, that he didn't have much of that in him for the time being. Instead of encouraging him to keep going, everyone claimed they understood and moved on. Eventually, he found strength in himself to add more.
Arthur didn't feel the time pass.
He knew he would come back.
At the end, people lingered out in the front of the shop chatting a little bit, some deciding to walk together. Arthur stood off to the side, letting himself explore the shop openly in a way he hadn't let himself last time. He paused by the occult books.
"So, what'd you think?" Torris appeared behind Arthur.
Arthur stopped himself from running his fingers along book spines and turned around. "It's something. Weird. But I can see why it helps."
They stood together awkwardly. The time Arthur spent avoiding his friend shown in that moment.
Torris proposed, "We should hang out soon. Felix would love to see you. He misses his clueless Brit."
"You just heard me talk about addiction issues. I think I should take a break from going out like that."
Torris raised an eyebrow. "You do realize we also like coffee and tea, right?"
"I, uh," Arthur stuttered, "I'm sorry. That was rude."
Torris pushed at his shoulder. "It's okay. We all know you can be hard headed."
"Whatever."
"So?"
"Yeah, I think meeting up sometime would be good. I'll probably need it. Just, um, after I figure out -" Arthur finished the thought by waving his hand around, not wanting to mention his family.
"Of course."
Arthur wanted to say more, he felt like he needed to; yet, the words to say still evaded him. Luckily, Tino emerged from the back room as a distraction. Torris turned to see what Arthur was looking at and they ended up both watching Tino approach.
"So, Arthur, where are you heading?" Tino asked.
"Uh, I'm staying with Francis." He rattled off the vague location of Francis's house using landmarks.
Tino hummed in thought. "Okay, one second." He then turned and walked back into the back room.
"Wait what?" Tino didn't hear Arthur, so he turned to Torris. "What just happened?"
Torris smiled. "Tino's boyfriend usually comes by after to walk with him. I'm assuming he has him on the office phone in the back. He always calls to let him know when we are done."
Arthur sighed, "I guess having a chat means walking home together."
"You'll get more privacy that way than you would here." Torris gestured to the few people still hanging around.
"I guess."
At that, Tino returned from the back room grinning. "You ready?"
"Sure," Arthur responded knowing he would just have to go with the flow.
"You call Berwald?" Torris addressed Tino.
"Yep, there's a place he's going to meet me a few blocks from where we are heading," Tino turned to Arthur, "You'll have to walk the end alone."
"Initially, I planned to walk it all alone."
"Then, I'm glad I get to keep your company. Let's head out."
The three of them said goodbye to each other. Torris stared at Arthur intently when reminding him about hanging out soon. Then, Arthur stood back while Tino embraced everyone left and said goodbye to them. Suddenly, they were out on the dark sidewalk, the breeze the only thing disturbing the world around them.
They walked the first block in silence until Arthur couldn't take it anymore.
"So what did you want to talk about?"
"Anything you want."
"You planned to walk with me hoping I would talk?"
Tino sighed, "I'm not sure where to start. I feel like we come from similar places and are going through something similar, but that I've done it first and came out the other side. I felt like I could help."
Arthur nodded. He bit his lip thinking. "My family had a dinner once where everyone made fun of you."
Tino's pace stuttered before continuing slower than before. Arthur took the hesitation as a reason to continue.
"It was just my immediate family, but both my brothers joined in, even Walt. They were saying shit about how they didn't think they could handle having a son like that. They said stuff about how horrible it was that your family was letting you stay. My brothers laughed about your demeanor. Before that, I thought I could maybe trust Walt. Scott said something about Walt once admitting to… urges and getting over them. I mean, that part was complicated, the point is… the point… I'm not sure of the point. I just know things I feel I shouldn't, and I heard them from people being horrible." Arthur swallowed after his rush of words unsure if he made any sense at all.
Tino kicked a stone into the street and paused on a corner. "It sucks knowing people actually did end up gossiping like that."
"Sorry."
"It's not your fault, but what they are making fun of comes after my happy ending. It's a strange feeling."
Arthur nodded pretending to understand.
Tino watched Arthur and pursed his lips.
"Let me tell you everything." He started walking again as he began to explain, "My parents and family were similar to yours, there was lots of stress and stuff. The difference is that I never completely fooled anyone. Everyone always knew something was off about me. They knew before I did. I mean, I know how I look and act and that my interests can be, ah, unorthodox for boys.
"So my family really instilled how to be in me as if mentioning it early would stop it. Their behavior didn't. Plus, I was an optimist," Tino sighed. "Long story short, I'm gay, they found out about Berwald, and I was kicked out for a bit with nowhere to go. It was hard."
Arthur blinked. "I've been trying to avoid getting kicked out."
"Okay, yes! I'm having trouble saying things. I'm not good with words. That part of the story isn't important. Well, it is an important thing that happened to me, but it's not the reason I'm telling you. Earlier I said your family was making fun of my happy ending, right?"
Arthur nodded.
"I'm dating someone I love, I live at home and, although my family is a little awkward, they talk to and acknowledge Berwald. I mean, sure he's still aloof because he's mad about the getting kicked out thing, but still. The point is that even if they didn't accept me, everything wouldn't have been better if I was stuck with them. There's everyone from the meeting; there's opportunity elsewhere. The people I'm around now make my life worth it.
"Yes, sometimes people can harass me, and my family relationships can be weird at best, but this is so much better than before everything came out. The good is worth the bad. That's the first thing I wanted to say."
Arthur questioned, "You wanted to walk me home just to say that life is good and bad at the same time but to just do what makes you happy?"
"I, well, kind of. That rant was because you told a story about your family gossiping about mine, but it fits what I want to get across to you," Tino paused, "Actually, I think I got off track a lot. I wasn't expecting you to know anything about that."
"Sorry."
Tino waved off the apology. "What do you think is going to happen for you next?"
"Honestly, I think everything will still fall apart. I might end up right where Francis found me again." Arthur wished he was surprised by his own admittance.
Tino shook his head back and forth while listening.
"Arthur, family is what you make it. It is just hard to start making. You've lived your whole life listening to the same few people and molding yourself for them. The question starts to become who are you? Who can you be? If they disown you, are you going to end up having to disown the self that exists because of them?"
Arthur nodded along swallowing to hold back tears. He was unsuccessful, and his eyes began to water.
Tino carried on unnaturally serious. "Those questions are important. They are hard, and other people won't understand that. The thing is it only feels like they made you the you you are. If you can reject some of their influence, that means you got to choose the others. All the you that is you is you by choice. It's naturally you. If you end up leaving them behind, you don't have to leave behind the parts of you that are reminders of your time with them, you know that right?"
"No one has ever said it before. I, I hadn't thought of it that way."
Tino gave Arthur an empathetic smile seeing past the tears. He continued, "The search for personal happiness is important. You're at a point where you'll have to find that for yourself."
"You're too wise for someone so small."
Tino laughed. "Stop that. I'm trying really hard to sound smart and thoughtful."
"No, no. You've succeeded. I think you were right about having gone through something similar."
Tino nodded looking pleased. They walked another block this time in a comfortable silence.
"You mentioned your brother Walt earlier," Tino trailed off as if he didn't know exactly where to go from there.
"Yeah?" Arthur became guarded.
"I know you only mentioned him a little. Are you close?"
"We are, or were, I suppose. He moved away recently, and I haven't really reached out to him."
"But you said you thought you could talk to him about this stuff?"
"I thought I could, but then he said things that made me second guess it all."
"Maybe you should."
"This advice coming from any specific experience?"
Tino shrugged. "I didn't have siblings, but it seems like you guys had a close relationship. Could be worth trying."
"I don't know."
"Did he do something that bad? I don't want to be giving bad advice," Tino rushed in a panic.
Arthur pocketed his hands thinking back on everything that happened between him and Walt. "Actually, I don't think so. We had some strange conversations before he left, but maybe that was just because I was hoping he was going to say something that was never going to happen."
"Projecting?"
"Exactly. Then, my life got crazy, and I didn't know what to say."
"You were able to talk to strangers tonight," Tino stated as if cheering Arthur on.
"Yeah, maybe. I'll have to think about it, since my parents undoubtedly have called him by now."
"Ouch."
"Exactly."
Tino glanced at Arthur. "I have one last thing to say and, then, I'll drop it."
Arthur shrugged as a way to tell Tino to continue.
"I may currently live with my parents, but I won't once I start working. I live with them and am related to them, but they aren't who I consider family anymore. Family is what you make it, and you can leave the rest behind. It's possible."
Arthur stared at Tino not wanting to say anything back, letting the words sink in. Tino nodded minutely as if he understood that Arthur was trying to communicate that the words were heard without having to actually think of something to say.
After that, Tino changed topics to more pleasant subjects trying to get to know Arthur better while they finished their walk. Arthur stuttered seeing a large man on a bench across the street.
He huffed a smile and cut off Tino's chatter. "Tino, I think he's here for you." Arthur nodded in the direction down and across the street.
"Huh?" Tino paused; then, looked where Arthur was signaling. His face split into a grin, eyes sparkling. "Oh, wow, that was a fast walk."
He turned to Arthur. "Well, have a good night and safe walk back."
Arthur nodded. "You too."
"I'll see you next time, right?" Tino said seriously, giving Arthur an intense look.
"I think so."
Tino smiled again. "Good." Turning around he waved. "Bye, Arthur!"
Arthur watched him jog towards Berwarld who stood up to greet him. The large man looked over to Arthur and raised a hand in greeting before moving it to Tino's back to direct him away. Arthur stared at them going, thinking about everything Tino told him about the two of them. They were odd, but they worked.
The night felt a little empty without Tino's presence, but Arthur was still happy about the chance to be alone for a while, knowing Francis would be waiting for him and that this could be the only time to think about everything that happened.
The group was surprisingly helpful. Having a community to be open with felt like nothing he has felt before. Then, there was Tino and all the things he said. It was a lot to process, but for the time being his mind kept locking on two things: Walt and the fact that Francis was likely awake waiting for him when he didn't have to be.
Arthur approached the door to Francis's house slowly.
Francis sat up on the chair having obviously been dozing while reading. He grinned at Arthur. "Was it good?"
Arthur wished he could hide his smile to not give Francis the satisfaction of being right. "Yeah, very."
He flopped onto the couch prepared to tell Francis about his night and listen to what Francis thought about it all.
Arthur laid awake his face towards the back of the couch. Once he woke up from his catnap, he was unable to go back to sleep. His mind was racing about everything that had happened and everything that was to come. He turned to his back with a groan, and stared at the way the lamplight reflected off the ceiling. The muffled scratching of the end of the record they had put on earlier was oddly soothing the same way radio static during a rainstorm could be. Arthur furrowed his brow at the sound. Francis hadn't turned off the record?
He turned his head again to see why. Francis had fallen asleep on the chair just like Arthur had on the couch. Arthur pushed himself up to get a better look. Francis was curled in on himself, likely cold. He must have moved around in his sleep to get in position because his robe was on the ground and hair was muzzled sticking out of his ponytail, some messily creeping up the back of the chair. Despite looking tousled and likely uncomfortable, he seemed peaceful.
Arthur's lips quirked a feeling in his chest swelled ballooning out from his heart. Slowly he got up from the couch, eyes not leaving the resting Francis. In one quick movement, he draped his own blanket over Francis who sleepily grabbed at it and tucked it under his chin. Arthur froze at the movement afraid he woke his friend up and would be caught.
Instead, Francis snuggled into the blanket messing up his hair more. Arthur bit his lip to hold back a chuckle. Softly, he ran his fingers through Francis's hair to get it out of his face and fix it. After running his hands through it slowly pushing the strands back and down, his eyes trained on Francis's face.
He glanced towards the kitchen and paused his hand. Leaning down he whispered, "Please stay asleep for me, okay?" He stood up, brushed Francis's hair one last time and tiptoed into the kitchen.
The rhythmic sounds from the record player disappeared as he entered the kitchen, the room partially lit by the street lights shining through the windows. Arthur looked at the phone in the corner. A tremble ran up his arm. He gripped at his hands to steady himself. With a shaky breath he whispered, "You can do this."
He shuffled through the room and hopped onto the counter so that he could lean against the wall next to the phone. He stared at the way the light reflected on it and ran his fingers back and forth over it trying to work up the courage to lift it while using the physical feeling of it to ground himself. He bit his lip hard and lifted the phone.
The number he put in had been ingrained in his brain for weeks. Using it was always an option, but back then, he thought taking the time to craft the perfect arrangement of words was more important. Now, he regretted spending time doing that instead of biting the bullet and calling. The ringing on the other end built his confidence. He could do this. The hardest part was done. He just hoped he'd get a response this late at night.
The phone clicked, and a groggy voice answered, "Hello?"
Arthur furrowed his brows and bit at his thumb. He definitely woke up the speaker and couldn't be sure who it was. "Walt?" His voice cracked.
There was muffling on the other end. The phone was possibly dropped, or at least moved around as the speaker moved to be more attentive. Arthur's words obviously woke them up. Walt gasped, "Oh my God, Arthur! Are you okay? Where are you?"
"I'm fine. I'm guessing you talked with mom and dad?"
"Did I talk with -? God, Arthur, Fuck," Walt stuttered out. "Yes, I talked with mom and dad. I talked with them more than a day ago." The accusation was clear.
"Oh." Arthur knew they'd reach out to Walt, but had still been holding out hope that they didn't.
"Arthur, are you safe? Where are you? I just, what has been happening?" Walt was loud and spoke with conviction.
"I…" Arthur leaned back and banged his head against the wall. "I don't know what mom and dad said, but I'm safe."
"What they said? You have a lot of explaining to do. You jumped out a window? You're on fucking drugs? What the fuck!"
Arthur let out a breath. "That's…" He tailed off.
"It isn't wrong is it?"
"Not exactly."
"Fuck, Arthur." Arthur could hear movement on the other side. Walt spoke again, calmer, more defeated. "Where are you, Arthur?"
"I've been staying with Francis."
Walt sputtered trying to piece together what he knew. "You've been getting high with Francis ?"
"No, God, no. He's helping me stop. I, there's so much to say, um. Firstly, the cocaine thing started before you even left."
"God dammit," Walt breathed into the phone.
Arthur squeezed his eyes shut. They stayed on the phone unspeaking listening to each other's breathing.
Walt broke the silence, "You tried to tell me, didn't you? Before I left?"
Arthur nodded, before remembering to speak out loud. "I was trying to tell you a lot more than that."
"I wasn't sure," Walt trailed off.
Arthur blurted, "I'm gay." He gripped the phone tightly waiting for a response.
"I know."
Arthur swallowed, tearing up. He spat, "Fuck you. You don't get to say that."
A pause.
"I'm sorry."
"Why?" Arthur wiped at his face trying to compose himself.
"I only wanted to help. I just wasn't sure how, and now everything has gone to shit."
"You're not the reason it's all shit right now," Arthur confessed knowing that his situation was far beyond Walt.
His brother stayed silent on the other end of the line.
Arthur leaned into the wall, gripped the phone close, and muttered, "How long did you know?"
"A really long time. I thought it was a possibility for a while, and then, I had a feeling," Walt trailed off. He summarized, "Just a long time."
"So all your brother talks," Arthur's voice held a trembling venom, "You've just been trying to give me advice and hint that you knew."
"Not all of them."
Arthur wanted to laugh but his throat was swollen from crying and it came out as a short croak. He murmured sarcastically, "Not all of them."
"Are you actually mad I was trying to help?" Walt accused.
Angry tears flowed that Arthur's cheeks. "If you were trying to help, you would have told me how to fix it! I never figured out how to fix myself." Sobs traveled through the phone to Walt on the other side.
"Arthur," Walt said as comfortingly as he could. "I don't understand. There's nothing to fix. Come on. You have to realize that."
"I'm just an unlucky person that's unfixable. I fucking realized it alright."
"I don't, why, what's got you believing that crap?"
"You fixed yourself!" Arthur sobbed. "You fucking fixed yourself and never told me how I could. You never talked about it. I wanted you to talk about it." His voice trailed off into stilted breathing.
Walt's voice was dry with surprise. "What?"
"Scott told me all about how you had urges when you were younger, how mom and dad tried to help, how you got better and moved on."
"Dammit Scott."
"You should have told me. What was the secret, hmm?" Arthur tried to sound at least a little threatening but the crying made himself sound pathetic and desperate to his own ears.
"I lied," Walt stated.
Arthur paused. "What?"
"I lied. The entire time I lied. To them and to myself. I had a kind of privilege to wait it out until I could leave. Then, I left. To Wales."
"You pretended? You even pretended to have girlfriends?"
Walt sighed. "Arthur, I'm not gay. I'm bisexual."
Arthur's grip on the phone loosened. Scott had not said or even hinted at it, but then again, would Scott of all people even believe something like that? It made so much sense looking back on everything.
"You still with me, Arthur?" Walt's voice broke Arthur out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, sorry."
"I, uh, wasn't expecting that to be surprising."
"Well it was."
"I guess we both misunderstood how much we thought we knew about each other."
"Yeah," Arthur agreed. He rubbed at his face. "What are mom and dad going to do with me?"
"I don't know, but I don't think they even really know what happened. You just ran out and disappeared." Walt was trying to emphasize the second part.
"I guess I did." Arthur picked at Francis's pajama pants that he was borrowing.
"Can you at least summarize what happened? I'm still at a huge loss. To me you went from maybe sneaking out once and writing in your room to doing cocaine and running away out a second story window."
"I've left through my window a lot. That shouldn't be surprising at all. I thought everyone could hear me on the roof."
Walt groaned, "What the fuck?"
"Sorry."
"Please. Maybe I can give some advice if you explain it."
"Okay," Arthur agreed and he explained from, well, not the beginning exactly. Even he wasn't sure about where the real beginning was. He started his story to Walt by talking about Francis because what he wanted to talk about was Francis. From Francis, he mentioned his first time sneaking out and all the things that snowballed from there.
Confessing to Walt in some ways was similar to talking to the group earlier in the evening. In other ways, it was vastly different. He purposely left out and emphasized different things; he talked less about how certain things felt. For Walt, he tried to keep what actually happened when he went out to the bare facts. All his mistakes there were on a need to know basis, and all Walt needed to know was that he was reckless and drugs were involved.
Walt tried to butt in when Arthur mentioned attempting to write to him. Arthur had let him make comments earlier, but claimed that if he stopped talking now, he might lose his courage. He mentioned the notebooks being discovered, escaping through the window, and Francis finding him in an alley. He spent a lot of time trying to explain the group without giving too much information and ended with when he got up to make the phone call.
Their conversation became overtly emotional with Walt simply pointing out parts of the story as he tried to respond. They spent a few minutes just summarizing facts back and forth before talking about feelings. Time passed, but they kept talking until the conversation got lighter and lighter.
"So, you and Francis are a thing?" Walt asked.
Arthur spluttered. "God, no."
"You said you were sleeping together."
Arthur's face heated. He thought Walt wouldn't go down this line of questioning if he left out the part about showing up to Francis's house drunk. "I'm staying over at his house. On the couch. Because I didn't want to go home. It's like you didn't listen to anything I've said."
"Oh, I thought you liked Francis."
"I don't," Arthur practically squeaked.
"Are you trying to lie?" Walt prodded.
"Please stop."
"So you like Francis, but you are not together? I'm not going to lie, I kind of assumed you've had some sort of secret relationship for a while."
"Why would you think that?"
"He seemed like he had feelings and was bad at hiding them."
"Yeah, well, he doesn't. Francis likes to pick up strays." Arthur tried to sound confident but some uncertainty bled through. Walt's questioning was making him think.
"You consider yourself a stray?"
"Not like I have a home."
"Arthur," Walt sighed.
"Are you going to try to tell me they won't just kick me out the moment I step foot in their door?"
"Actually, yes."
Arthur snorted.
"Listen. They aren't going to be happy, but there are appearances to keep. That is most important to them. You can figure it out."
"I don't know if I can." Arthur's voice cracked.
"Hey, hey, listen to me," Walt tried to calm Arthur. "It's not forever. It's short term until you can leave like me."
"You just have to make them think that no one will be capable of gossiping about anything you do. Make them letting you stay around the better option."
"They'll hate me. I can't deal with that."
"They hate confrontation more than anything and will mostly leave you alone. Plus, I'm here. You can always call me, and I am also in their ear. You'll be fine."
"I don't know."
"Please. Do it for me. Where else would you go? I," Walt let in a calming breath, "I don't think being on the streets or couch surfing is the best thing while you're recovering."
Arthur paused. He hadn't thought about how not going home would affect him like that, but it definitely would in the end.
"I can try. Just until I find something else."
"You don't have too much longer until you're out of school."
Arthur whispered, "And I can go to university anywhere." If he played it right, they'd want to help send him away.
"Exactly," Walt agreed.
Arthur wanted to say more but a yawn overtook him. Walt chuckled. "You called really late. We should probably both be going to sleep."
Arthur agreed, "Yeah, okay."
"You'll call again soon, right?"
"I will."
"Tell Francis I say hi."
"Whatever."
"Goodnight, Arthur."
"Night, Walt."
With a click, Arthur hung up the phone.
A/N: Yay another update! Hope all ya'll are staying and feeling safe.
I have most of the rest of this drafted. My work also just cut my work hours in half, so in theory I'll upload faster (but also it's extra stress)
MORE IMPORTANTLY: Do you use AO3? I am considering not uploading works here and only using AO3 after this fic (due to a long list of reasons I'm more than willing to share) but will keep posting here if there are people who only use this site. I really have no way to tell and am just trying to get an idea.