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closed to Inigo (@flatteries) | poi 16

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He adjusts his arms by just a tad, but otherwise Roland remains still as Inigo nestles warmly against his chest in a practiced embrace. In his hands is a book from the library, of which he purchased himself some time ago. Turns out, it's easier to get through something like this when you've got somebody else to help you catch up to the day.

His brow cocks up against his hairline, reading the prompt. "It says It's just paper, tear this page in half." Roland tilts his chin, resting against the crown of Inigo's bed of dark hair. "Wanna do the honors?" He suggests lightly, his free hand offering the open spine to the boy tucked close in case he has some pent up aggression to offer the poor page. His remaining free limb, he simply dangles to the side of the bed, their hands intertwined in a loose fashion.

Platform days are never easy for anyone on the train, so he could think of no other thing but the most suitable distraction for one, potentially restless pup.

[flatteries]

Truthfully, it's not like Inigo has been doing anything anywhere even remotely close to okay for a while now. Times only seem to get more and more rough on the train lately, and the only thing he can take solace in is the fact that the Ministry, at the very least, did report that his own world is doing fine, despite his absence.

It's one worry less, though that still leaves a whole lot of worries. And maybe the only way to soothe those, no matter how temporarily, is just like this. His body tucked close against another warm body. The lights of the train already having dimmed a little. It makes it slightly easier to imagine the world to have shrunk to nothing more than this cabin, or even just this bunk. Like there's nothing else but him and Roland. Like Inigo, for a few moments, doesn't have to think of anything else.

It always makes him be just a tad sleepy. Not enough to immediately fall asleep, since he wants to treasure this moment more than that, but.. well, at least enough to seem a little dazed when he's suddenly snapped out of it.

".. hm?" is the boy's first response, just a small hum, the sign that Roland managed to catch his attention.

His head lifts just enough to be able to see the book the man is talking about, but even then, Inigo just blinks blearily.

"Isn't.. tearing books bad?"

Look, it might be a bit of a childish question, but Inigo is pretty sure people would have gotten mad at him if he tore a page in any of the books from the library here on the train, so the principle still stands!

(And maybe he isn't so scared of asking a question like that around Roland of all people. The other would never judge him - at least Inigo has that comfort well settled in his heart.)

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"That's right. Maybe that's why I can't bring myself to do it, heh." Roland answers with a lightness about him, tilting his chin further down such that it only snuggles him closer to Inigo instead. "But fortunately for us, this particular book was made for tearing and abusing...so you can be naughty about it, if you want."

There's a mischievous sort of implication there, though nothing about their interaction was forceful or tactless. In fact, even Roland was affected by the lazy, cozy atmosphere enveloping them in warm hugs and blankets. It's almost always like this, when platform days inevitably draw close, the fog rolling in slow from the outside as Roland's queue to search for his son high and low. Whatever came before the train's scheduled stop, they would heal with hushed tones and unconditional cuddles. Whatever pains they nursed from missions past, Roland would be there with a calming silence, or soft words meant only for Inigo's ears.

He's learned that sometimes, this is all they need. And so here he is, ready to provide, happy to do it more than he can express.

"Or you know, we can always pick another page. Give me a number. Let's see what we end up with." He adds, chuckling in dulcet tones. "You have to answer whatever's written on it, though. No cheating. Exciting, right?"

Roland squeezes Inigo's hand cradled in his own for a brief second. As if they don't get enough excitement on this confounded train already.

[flatteries]

"Maybe a little too exciting," Inigo mumbles in response. Nothing about the answer seems like it's a complaint though, despite what he's saying. Perhaps it's his own faintly humorous way of going along with it. After all, there are things Inigo certainly doesn't like to talk about - and there's definitely a random chance here of landing on one of those topics.

.. but then again, at least he's not stuck here with some person he hates sharing things with, so that makes it a little easier. There are only a few topics he truly fears bringing up about Roland, fearing that he might somehow change the other's perception of him all the same - even after all this time. A fact that has nothing to do with Roland's nature, considering Inigo is well aware of how unconditionally loving the other is, as much as it's a fact that has to do with Inigo's own insecurities, perhaps amplified by all of his worries lately, and the fact that it's a platform day.

Still, he doesn't reject the proposal. Shifting a little, he speaks up again.

"How about page twenty three?"

Might as well roll the dice, and see where it lands.