shipverse

[sociopathchan]

Percy's desk was surprisingly comfortable.

Actually it wasn't all that surprising, everything in Percy's house cost more than Chris's parents made in a year (a fact Percy was happy to point out) and Percy's desk and chair were no exceptions. It had been three am when he silently climbed up through Percy's window, a bit surprised the kid was even asleep. He paused by his bed, looked down at his friend (enemy? companion?) even though he knew watching people sleep was one of the Things You Mustn't Do, Chris.

Percy's face was drawn, all the dark lines of his expression shadowed just so, and he looked like he belonged in some grim portrait rather than of this earth. He looked like that every time he slept, like maybe he was scared of something, or enduring some hardship by closing his eyes. Chris mentioned that to his latest shrink once and the man changed the subject to why Chris had seen his friend sleeping so much to know. Apparently laughter hadn't been the right response to that question.

Ah well, a swing and a miss.

Chris liked watching his friends sleep though, Percy never smiled, Alice looked pensive and Chloe's face was finally wiped of that strange, strained expression. He thought about it when he sat at Percy's desk, quietly, because it wasn't polite to wake someone from sleep, it was one of the Things You Mustn't Do. Sometimes he wondered what he looked like when he slept, and he always imagined he looked like Mary, like a corpse with a blank face and eyes that rolled back into her head when you tried to open them. He fell asleep.

When he woke his eyes didn't open, Percy's bed creaked and he murkily thought good morning sunshine, the earth says hello. He cracked one eye open when the door creaked, head tilted so he was facing the other wall and safe from discovery. Percy, what is he doing here? He didn't move, just smiled because it was funny, right? It had to be, something in his chest tightened.

They kept talking, Chris couldn't help but smirk at how easily Percy adapted to his new environment, like he was some kind of pro at knowing what people wanted to hear when they wanted to hear it. The twist in Chris's chest became more vicious, of course Percy would know, Percy who had parents who couldn't give two shits about him still managed to keep his family happy when Chris's parents had loved him from the start until one day they just couldn't do it anymore. Sometimes Chris hated Percy with everything he had, some days he thought maybe if Percy just came crashing down in a fiery fucking freefall that Chris would finally understand how to find something genuinely hilarious.

There was a poignant sort of pause after the conversation, one Chris guessed meant someone was feeling all sorts of important feelings, one of this times he Mustn't interrupt. He sits up anyway, in time to watch the door to Percy's room close. He wonders if Percy would be mad if he knew Chris heard the whole thing, if Chris mocked him for it, if Chris went and found him now and just pushed and pushed and pushed until Percy did that hilarious thing where he lost all semblance of manners and self control. He wondered if maybe this time would be enough to have Percy cast him out of his gilded little life.

He stares at the door, turning the expensive, comfortable desk chair to face it, and instead of getting up he stops, he waits. The twist in his chest is bitter now, it's angry and it wants to shake Percy until he realizes all this bullshit doesn't matter. It hurts because Percy is hurting and Chris just knows this must be hilarious, so he laughs.

When Percy returns he's busy twirling around in Percy's chair and he doesn't bother trying to read whatever expression Percy is giving him. He'd probably get it wrong anyway.

"Come on, let's go." He says instead, opening Percy's window and climbing onto the ledge, ready to make the short jump to the gnarled tree beside it. Sometimes Percy follows, sometimes he doesn't, and Chris has never been able to read another person quite right so he doesn't bother trying this time either. It's probably important, it's probably one of those things that tests the bond between two people, the understanding, but Chris can't really bring himself to care. When Percy does decide to follow it feels like a small victory somewhere within all the twists of his chest, and that just has to be enough.