(Untitled)

[cheeky_bugger]

[OOM: Coping MechanismsTravis cannot, he's learned rather suddenly, sleep in an empty flat. The flat is not completely empty, and it has not been the first time Nicholas wasn't in his own room, grinding his teeth loudly enough for Travis to hear through the door, but everything about it just feels wrong now. It's the absence of both Nicholas and

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[guppy_sandhu]

"Do you need a room?" Guppy asks, having shiftily wandered over.

He's covered up his swollen nose in hypoallergenic foundation, but it's still fairly obvious.

[cheeky_bugger]

"S'too quiet," Travis mutters, his face buried in the pillow.

It's probably not actually an issue of noise though, since there's plenty of noise in the bar, and he's still failing to sleep.

[guppy_sandhu]

"Too quiet? Ah. Londoner. I'm sure you could get a CD of traffic noise."

[cheeky_bugger]

"Wrong noise," Travis says groggily. "Nick moved out."

[guppy_sandhu]

"Oh." Even more guilty look than he was already wearing.

"Is it... it is my fault?"

The expression on Nick's face after he broke down has been quietly plaguing him since.

[cheeky_bugger]

Travis gives up on sleep, and sits up.

"No, he's been talking about it for a while," he says. "Got home from my shift today to find all his stuff gone."

[guppy_sandhu]

"I'm sorry. How is he?" Guppy asks.

[cheeky_bugger]

He shrugs an exaggerated shrug.

"I'unno," Travis says. "I covered his shift today, and expected to come home to find him scrubbing the kitchen counters with a toothbrush. Instead, I found him moved out."

He's not entirely willing to rule out his little episode as having sparked his sudden departure, but he also doesn't vocalise this suspicion.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy sits down next to Travis.

"Is he answering his phone?"

[cheeky_bugger]

"No," Travis says. "But he always dodges my calls. Has for years. He moved in with his girlfriend, though. That's what he's been planning on doing for a while."

[guppy_sandhu]

"So he's not on his own then." Guppy breathes a little bit, and fidgets. "That's something at least."

[cheeky_bugger]

Travis gives him an almost offended sort of look.

"He is an adult," he points out.

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy looks away. He was concerned because he's been there, and because he feels responsible for pushing Nick over the edge. So that wasn't really very helpful.

[cheeky_bugger]

Travis is tired and cranky for reasons he can't even begin to figure out. He hasn't felt right since Nicholas made his announcement about moving out, and got sick twice after getting home.

"He doesn't need a minder," Travis explains. "We just lived together because London isn't exactly cheap. I'll be struggling on a constable's salary until I can find a new flatmate."

[guppy_sandhu]

"You're not his minder, you're his brother." Guppy says. "Sometimes beats going through difficult times on your own."

[cheeky_bugger]

Travis shakes his head. "Difficult times, nothing," he says. "He does that crap once a month. Usually without the hitting part, granted, but he has a sulk on the sofa, deep cleans the entire flat, and then gets on with his life."

He tries not to sound quite so upset, and sort of fails at it.