A Wall Between

Chapter 23

Cooper abandoned his bags and approached Sasha. He opened his arms, just slightly, an invitation that held no pressure. Sasha stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him.

Sasha liked how solid Cooper felt. They were there to rescue him, but somehow he still managed to make Sasha feel safe and protected.

"Did things go okay?" Sasha murmured when they stepped back.

"Eh..." Cooper looked away and shrugged. After a moment, he looked back at Sasha. "Maybe, actually? It wasn't fun, but I got out of there and I think the things I said needed to be said. I don't know if it'll make any difference, but maybe at this point it's just like... if it doesn't, then I'm done anyway. Like, one way or another, this can't happen again. You know?"

Sasha nodded. He was pretty sure he understood, at least as well as he could while not really being able to relate. His own parents didn't always understand him as well as he would have liked, but they'd never done anything like that. If anything, they'd pushed him to be independent and self reliant beyond what he was comfortable with or capable of.

But... maybe they'd been right, in the end. It had been a rough transition, but here he was, living alone and making friends. Or maybe that was just luck. If he hadn't just happened to be next door neighbours with such nice people and hadn't ended up getting to know them by pure chance, his situation would be very different. He would just be a man who hadn't left his single room apartment in months and had no plans to change that any time soon.

They put Cooper's stuff in the car, and then everyone got in. Abra and Ellie got back into the front seats and Cooper sat in the middle seat in the back.

"I thought everyone hated the middle car seat," Sasha commented as he got in next to Cooper.

"Ooh, called out," Ellie said.

Suddenly, Cooper looked uncomfortable. "Oh. Do you want me to move over?"

Sasha stared at him, confused, until realisation struck him. Oh. It had been a deliberate choice to sit close to Sasha.

Sasha could feel his face heating. He had felt like there was something between them for a while now, but this was more blatant, and as Ellie had pointed out, Sasha had basically just called him out on it.

Sasha shook his head, but he couldn't look at anyone.

Cooper stayed where he was as Ellie started driving, but he didn't touch Sasha. Did he want to? He'd chosen to be close. Without saying a word, Sasha reached out and took his hand.

This was something now. They'd danced around whatever was between them, but this was undeniably something. Something more than friends.

Abra glanced back at them and Sasha was sure things were about to get really awkward, but all he did was give them a smile. Sasha's heart was beating a mile a minute, but this was... nice? Yes, nice. The niceness was buried under layers of anxiety, but hey, so were most of his emotions, so that was nothing new.

"Does anyone mind if we grab some food?" Cooper asked. "I just realised I haven't eaten since lunch time yesterday, and that seems like a problem."

"We let your family have you for three days — not even that, really — and this is the state they give you back in?" Ellie shook her head. "I'm suing for sole custody."

"Sasha, you mind if we stop for food?" Cooper asked. "We can go through a drive thru near home if you want to just get back as quick as we can."

Sasha shrugged. "I don't mind. I didn't bring any money, though."

"Man, after you fucking saved me like that, I'd be treating you to dinner even if you did have money," Cooper said. "If you want to stop and get something, I mean. If you don't, no worries."

"I didn't really do anything. I just told Ellie and Abra so they could help you."

"You reminded me that there was help available and I didn't have to put up with my parent's shit and you went and talked to Ellie and Abra even though I know that probably wasn't easy with your anxiety. You helped a lot and you went outside of your comfort zone to do it. A burger's the least I can do, if you want one."

Sasha nodded. "Burger."

"You want burger now and find somewhere quiet to sit and talk for a bit, or do you want burger and go home and eat?"

Sasha knew he was playing a dangerous game with his energy levels, but Cooper was holding his hand. He didn't want to just go home and end this night here. "Somewhere quiet and talk."

"Somewhere down by the river?" Abra suggested.

Sasha nodded. Rivers were nice.

Cooper squeezed Sasha's hand. "I know this is probably a weird thing to say about eating burgers, but I can tell you're stressed and you have good reason to be, so you know. You can change your mind at any time, okay? If it gets too much, in any way, we'll take you straight home. I promise."

Sasha nodded. That just made him want to cry, but not in a bad way. He turned his face and pressed his forehead against Cooper's shoulder and Cooper brought his hand up and stroked the back of Sasha's head.

Sasha drew in a deep breath and heaved it out as a sigh. Despite all of his anxiety, this was where he wanted to be.