Nothing to Hide ((Oscar))

[Finn Miles H7]

Whenever Finn had decided that jumping into the lake to further investigate the floating pale green mass, he didn't really consider the fact that it was quite cold outside and even colder in the water. Finn often didn't think about what he was doing though, at least not completely before doing it. For that reason, he was shivering quite spastically as he waded out of the waist-deep water and back onto the grassy bank which lined the lake. In his hands, he held the dead creature, which he was fairly certain was a grindylow. He remembered learning about grindylows in both Care of Magical Creatures and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Grindylows weren't the kindest of creatures, but this one was dead. Finn was lucky there weren't more lurking around. Still, his boyish curiosity had gotten the best of him, and like most boys, he couldn't resist the chance to get wet and investigate the dead creature.

Finn's had a tough time gripping his wand as his fingers were starting to go numb with cold. Successfully enough, he cast the drying charm, which helped rid his clothes of the wet and heavy water which only made him more cold in the evening breeze. The sun would still be up for another hour or two, and by then he figured he'd be warm and back in the castle. An avid swimmer, Finn knew that the water was way too cold and that he shouldn't have jumped in for even the minute or so that he did.

Once he was dry and a bit more warm, Finn began to examine the lifeless grindylow which he had laid out on the ground. The creatures sharp green teeth extended beyond its thin lips, and he was grateful that he wouldn't have to deal with having been bit by a live grindylow. It was a funny looking creature, Finn decided, almost looking like a demon. If he remembered correctly, they were even known as 'water demons' and now he knew why. The pictures that he had seen of grindylows were nothing compared to getting to see one up close and personal. Half of him was surprised though that Hagrid hadn't had them work with live grindylows, as it seemed no level of danger seemed enough to prevent Hagrid from letting the students have hands on experience. Likely, Hagrid simply hadn't caught a grindylow, otherwise they might have seen a live one like this. Finn pondered the idea of taking the dead grindylow to Hagrid. After all, perhaps it was sick, or maybe there was some sort of predator that had killed it. Either way, Finn assumed Hagrid would be interested.

As he traced his finger along the wet skin, he thought he heard something from behind. Finn turned, startled a bit, and then let out a breath of relief when he saw another boy his age approaching. The boy was as tall as Finn if not taller. Not many were as tall as him. The boy was also quite fit, just like Finn. Clearly, a Quidditch player. As the boy got closer, Finn recognized him as Oscar Flynn, a Gryffindor in the same year as himself. "Hey Oscar," he greeted. His eyes darted down toward the dead grindylow, and Finn realized that it might have appeared that he killed it. "It was already dead," he explained. "There's no way I'd mess with a live one. Take a look at his teeth!" Finn pushed the lip of the grindylow out of the way, revealing the bright green teeth that were long and razor-like. One bite on the leg or arm would do enough damage to have Madam Pompfrey in a sure fit. "You suppose it was killed by something in the water?" Finn ran his hand through his short hair. It was still damp from having dove in to get the creature.

[Oscar Flynn G7]

A finger tapped gently against the end of a thin, home-made roll-up. From the other tip one large clump of ash dropped slowly. It floated gently through the air as if it had all the time in the world, clearly not in a hurry to get to the grass beneath it. Once it was a little closer to the ground it separated into two; the first little bit of ash, whiter than the second, floated a little way away from where it had been separated from its initial form of a cigarette. It fell a few more inches and then veered sharply to the left; and promptly disappeared into the water of the lake, not even a ripple to give proof that it was once above the surface. The second clump of ash was harder to track as it drifted away. Darker in colour, it didn’t float in an interesting manner, didn’t slip into the depths of the lake. Instead it fell onto the dark grass directly beneath it heavily and merely sat there, as if waiting for something. Seconds later a heavy shoe crushed it into the blades of green it sat upon, and soon it too was completely invisible to the naked eye.

The finger that brought about the fall of the of ash belonged to Oscar Flynn. Oscar did not notice the tiny things in life however and was oblivious to the journey the ash took to get to the ground. His shoes that had crushed the second piece of ash into the grass now continued their own journey across the grass beside the lake. They were old, comfortable shoes that kept his feet warm; his mother had insisted they go with him that term. Similarly, Heather had also monitored Oscar’s packing so that he included the large black fleece he also wore, and the thick black socks that were hidden by his equally dark jeans. He felt the cold on his face however and the gentle breeze still turned his cheeks slightly pink, although perhaps not noticeably. His long, dark-brown hair hid the fact that his ears were also a little pinker due to the cold. But he was comfortable, warmed by the thoughts of the Gryffindor fire that would be waiting for him in the Common Room. If only Theo could access the Common Room…

The thought of his boyfriend made the corners of Oscar’s lips curve into a small, happy smile. It was rare to find that smile off his face lately; whenever the Ravenclaw popped into his head, the smile leapt onto his lips. There wasn’t even a slightly negative thought that could get into his mind if he was thinking of Theo. Not one. Well, there was the whole thing with Scott- but he pushed that down… so nope. Nothing negative. And that was how he was determined to keep it. He didn’t have the energy to think about it all anymore; much of his physical and mental energy was put into Quidditch. Oscar was practising for the up-coming Quidditch match and he was determined to play his best. The holidays hadn’t exactly helped his body stay fit. Heather had baked her normal assortment of cakes and pastries, and Oscar, being the good son, had eaten everything she had put in front of him. While he had been on his normal morning runs in Llanrhystud and at home- at least when possible- Oscar he subconsciously cut the minutes from each session. Making up for those minutes wouldn’t take too long and he was resolute in getting as fit as possible once more. No way would Gryffindor play without a fight.

Oscar’s mind was wrapped up in thoughts of Quidditch now and he almost didn’t notice when he stepped into a small clearing, only to find a boy of his own age knelt beside a mound of… well, a mound of what? Intruiged, Oscar stepped closer. “Eugh!” Was his immediate reaction. He got a few more metres closer and his eyes snapped from the boys to the odd mound of… slime? “Oh, jeeze, Finn. What is that?!” Oscar’s mind tracked through the archives of his memory, of the old History of Magic facts that he had long ago abandoned and classed as ‘useless’, of the names of spells and potions that could help him do this and enchant that. Finally he arrived at the section for weird magical creatures. “That’s a… a Grindylaw?” He winced slightly. “…Grindylow? I never was good at Care of Magical Creatures.” No doubt the deformed looking creature beside Finn was probably one of the creatures taught to first years. “It’s hideous. No wonder something killed it…” His comment fell a little in the silent air. He knelt slightly, cigarette hovering between his fingertips, and cocked his head to the side in the manner a curious puppy might. “I don’t know; what do you wanna do with it, Finn? We could chuck it to Hagrid, no doubt he’ll have fun with it someway or another. Can’t really think of anyone who would want a… thing like that. Potions maybe?” Oscar sniffed slightly and suddenly became aware of a distinctly wet smell. Again in the manner of a curious puppy, he sniffed once more and grinned at Finn. “Err, Finn, did you go swimming just to rescue this thing?” His smile grew as he looked at the Hufflepuff curiously. How odd.

[Finn Miles H7]

"I'd much rather give it to Hagrid than Snape," Finn admitted when Oscar gave some suggestions for the dead grindylow. Snape would undoubtedly barrage them with an interrogation in which they'd have to explain how the grindylow came into their possession and probably how it died as well. Even though they hadn't done anything wrong, Finn didn't feel like having to defend himself for no reason at all. Hagrid would be more willing to take the creature with no questions asked. "His hut is on the way back to the castle. We can drop it off as we pass."

Finn turned the creature over on the ground. In doing so, he noticed two distinct wounds which were each about an inch in length and almost perfectly parallel to one another. "Teeth marks?" he suggested, looking at Oscar for some sort of confirmation. "I guess that means that there's something bigger and badder than this ugly thing." He let out a sigh of curiosity. Things like this always made Finn wish he had all the answers. He was naturally curious, and anything that seemed to provide opportunity for an adventure of sorts was something that Finn tended to find interest in. He wasn't about to jump back into the lake though and go searching for whatever it was that killed the grindylow.

He saw Oscar sniffing the air with a sort of puzzled look on his face. The only thing Finn smelled was the distinct smokey odour that was coming from Oscar's cigarette. Then, Oscar had apparently pieced together the evidence, realizing that Finn had actually retrieved the grindylow from the water and that he hadn't just found it washed onto the bank of the lake on its own. A guilty smile graced Finn's lips. "Yeah... I guess I did dive in so that I could fetch this slimy thing. But, I was too curious to just let it float there." He shrugged. "I like to swim." The explanation he offered didn't really provide much of an answer. Just because he liked to swim didn't mean it was a good idea to dive into the cold water to retrieve a dead creature. But, Finn never reasoned logically when he got an idea. He acted on impulse.

Taking his wand, Finn cast the levitation spell. He wasn't about to carry the wet, slimy creature to Hagrid's hut. Not after he was just starting dry off. "Coming with?" He stood and waited for Oscar to follow. "So, ready for the upcoming Quidditch match?" Quidditch... it was always a safe topic of conversation. And, having grown up in the family he did, Finn was used to everything revolving around the sport. "Slytherin's got quite an experienced team." Finn knew Oscar was the new starting Keeper for Gryffindor. Things like that were always public knowledge. Who was the newest member of each team. Who would be starting in the upcoming matches. No matter what the topic, if it was about Quidditch, the entire school seemed to know. "Too many of those and the Slytherin Chasers are going to eat you alive." Finn nodded toward the cigarette in Oscar's hand. The truth was, Finn wasn't really bothered by people who smoked. However, everyone knew that smoking could seriously affect your physical abilities. Starting with your lungs, smoking could eventually make breathing difficult when flying at the heights that they were at in a Quidditch match. Finn knew all of this because his father threatened to snap Wyatt's broom in half when he found him smoking a cigarette behind the large tree in the back yard one day. "Don't you know that those death-sticks can ruin your entire Quidditch career?" his father had said, smaking Wyatt upside the head. Needless to say, none of the Miles children had smoked a cigarette since that day. At least none of them had done so if they figured their dad might find out.

[Oscar Flynn G7]

Oscar nodded to Finn’s preference of which teacher they could turn the mutant thing in to, and gave another nod of agreement to dropping the creature off on their way back. Although he had always liked Finn, Oscar came to the conclusion now that he really did like the other boy’s personality and character. The quick manner in which he decided what to do with the grindylow suited Oscar- despite the fact that he was sometimes incredibly indecisive. Finn also didn’t seem to mind the creature; he was knelt quite close to it after all and had no problem turning it over. That repulsed Oscar. Although he was very much male in most aspects, he had a secret dislike to certain insects and deformed creatures that was common in most first year girls. He would for example happily play some aggressive rugby (this being a muggle sport that involves a lot of physical contact and, quite often, getting very dirty) but could not be in the same vicinity as a spider. Being so close to the grindylow was starting to make him a little uneasy, but he tried to hide this. It was not, after all, a characteristic that most Gryffindor’s over second year should have.

Turning his attentions back to his friend and the monster he was studying, Oscar peered down (with an almost pained expression that he found difficult to hide) and resisted the urge to turn and run. “Look a bit teethy, yeah.” Oscar retreated to listen to Finn’s next comment. When it reached his ears, his eyes widened slightly. It was difficult to make it look as though he wasn’t disgusted. “Something worse than that…? Ugh.” Although Oscar tried to imagine something uglier, more deformed, more repulsive and possibly with more odd boils than the dead thing on the ground, it was certainly hard. But then, he’d never taken much notice of the creatures in the Lake; although he enjoyed swimming, Oscar preffered being on land. He also never listen in Care of Magical creatures. This and a result of his muggle upbringing meant that he didn’t know much at all about magical creatures; for all he knew there indeed be things far, far uglier than the dead monster he now stared at.

At the other boy’s guilty smile and reply to Oscar’s question about swimming, the Gryffindor laughed. The sounds broke what had previously been a gentle quiet at the lake. Oscar smiled as Finn then rose and charmed the grindylow into rising a few feet above the ground; at this, Oscar swiftly stepped directly out of the way, making sure he was a fair couple of metres away from the thing. “Sure,” His answered simply to Finn’s question. However the boy’s next question was met with a wild grin and a nod, followed by a stream of words. “Definitely. Slytherin; sure, they’re old. But that’s the problem. They aren’t fresh anymore. They’re stuck in their old ways, old tactics, and old rivalries. They think they’re going to steal the game from us but they’ve got another thing coming. Our team this year is brilliant; we match their older players with ours and surpass them in skill. When they’ve got a Mary, we have a Cass…” The grin was still fresh and Oscar’s eyes twinkled in the evening light. “I can’t wait.”

Finn’s words of the cigarette between Oscar’s fingers surprised him. He had the decency to look a little guilty as he replied. “The Slytherin chasers include Dawson and Lehane this first match; they’ll definitely be too busy flirting to think about eating.” Oscar grimaced however and studied the cigarette before taking another quick drag. Then he bent down, pressed the cigarette into a flat stone and took out his wand. After swiftly transforming the cigarette butt into a peacock’s elegant feather (and taking a moment to admire his own talent in Transfiguration) Oscar continued to follow Finn, not before placing the feather gently down in the roots of a tree. “I know it’s not great for me- and I know this is not an excuse- but I rarely smoke. It’s a nerves thing and lately certain fellow Gryffindors…” Scott’s face popped into his mind. “… have certainly been getting on my nerves.” As he was speaking, Oscar had sub-consciously moved closer to Finn. And moving closer to Finn meant closer to the grindylow. The realisation of this made Oscar yelp (in an entirely un-Gryffindor manner) and leap backwards quickly. “Ugh…” He searched for an explanation to his reaction. “I’m not so keen on scary or ugly animals. More of a kittens and puppies kind of guy…” He grinned sheepishly at Finn.

[Finn Miles H7]

It was good that Oscar seemed so confident in Gryffindor's ability to do well in the upcoming match. At least it provided some hope that the whole school wouldn't have to walk around while the Slytherin crew were on the top of their pedestals as they paraded around victoriously. The Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match had always provided a good bit of chaos for the school. It wasn't that these two teams were always the best (though they somehow always seemed to do well enough lately), but it was the fact that their rivaling ties went deep. No matter which team was the best, it usually proved to be a close game with tons of entertainment, as long as you enjoyed a bit of a rough game. "Ah, right... Cass and Mary." It was true. The best known players from each team this year were not the Seekers or the Chasers. It was the two Beaters. The captains. On a more interesting note, this meant that the overall outcome of the match (the catching of the Snitch) might come from someone unexpected and rather new to the Quidditch scene. It was a chance for the next 'great' to become known, Finn figured. Though all positions were important, you either had to be a superstar or the Seeker if you wanted to be known. "That's good that you seem confident."

Finn smiled as Oscar seemed to think he needed to provide an explanation for his smoking. Finn didn't care, but listened and watched as Oscar skillfully turned his cigarette butt into a feather. "Impressive," Finn noted, nodding his head as he continued to float the grindylow in front of them as they walked. "Dissention among the Gryffs, eh? Who could possibly..." Finn stopped talking mid-sentence when Oscar shrieked. The noise startled Finn, and he lost concentration which caused him to fail to keep the grindylow afloat in the air. With a wide-eyed look of surprise, Finn chuckled as he turned to hear Oscar providing another explanation. Finn was about to shake it off as though it were nothing when a blur of greyish-brown matted fur sprang out of the woods and snatched up the dead grindylow. It was a wolf! Before Finn could even realize what was happening, the wolf disappeared back into the line of trees that traced along the walking path. A silent stare was all that Finn could manage for a few seconds as he caught Oscar's eye. "Well that definitely wasn't a puppy," he said with a hint of surprise still in his voice.

Finn pocketed his wand, realizing there was no need for it now. Though it had proved to be an interested walk around the grounds, he was now empty handed. He didn't really mind though. Stopping at Hagrid's meant that they'd probably have to stick around for some sort of story or roast meal. Though Finn found magical creatures interesting, sometimes Hagrid's stories weren't the same, and as rumor had it, his cooking was even worse. "I guess the wolf took care of that problem," he said, referring to their decision of how to get rid of the grindylow. "Back to the castle then?" he asked, realizing that they would save time by just skipping past Hagrid's hut.

As they walked, Finn wasn't sure what else to talk about. He didn't really know Oscar that well, but at least he liked the guy. They had Quidditch in common, but Finn didn't want to overdo the topic. Surely there was something else they could talk about. Finn didn't like to think of himself as being a boring person, and only boring people had trouble finding things to talk about. "So, are you seeing anybody? You know, dating anyone?" Sure it was sort of a gossipy topic, but what else did all teenagers seem to have in common aside from relationships, classes, and possibly Quidditch. Finn surely didn't want to talk about classes. Then again, the topic of relationships was always complicated for him. He surrounded himself with so many people, so many girls, but diving into a deep relationship was something he tended to avoid. Just friends. That was the way to go for Finn. The more you added to it, the more complicated it became. Finn preferred simplicity, especially when it came to girls.

[Oscar Flynn G7]

Confident Oscar was. It made him smile to hear that he seemed so, but he also wondered slightly about the upcoming games; would he be so confident playing Theo? The Ravenclaws would be his opponents. Were he to play beater, Oscar would have to aim to hurt his boyfriend. He wouldn’t so much mind playing keeper against Theo- his competitive side would shine through there, knowing he wasn’t hurting Theo. Oscar swallowed loudly at the prospect of launching a Bludger at Theo and let the thought die for now. He would tackle that obstacle when he approached it on the pitch, but not now. Now was a time for happiness and no regrets. Oscar realised after a moment that Finn had complimented him- or rather, his talent in Transfiguration- again. What a nice boy. That was what his mother would have said. Oscar didn’t reply to Finn’s one word at the peacock’s feather but nodded his thanks slowly, a small smile dancing across his lips for a moment.

Finn’s chuckle at Oscar’s reaction to being too close to the grindylow for comfort was not a mocking one, so Oscar joined in with the laughter with his own deep chuckle. The transition of casually laughing with his friend to what happened next was sudden and came as a shock to Oscar. Was that… a wolf?! He supposed it was. This unnerved Oscar slightly. Although he didn’t feel fear in this situation he found it hard to believe that Finn was so calm about this. He was sure he hadn’t imagined the beast and this was confirmed when Finn commented about the sudden intrusion lightly. Still dazed, Oscar nodded in response. “Definitely not a puppy…” He murmered, more to himself than to his companion. He knew Finn to be a pureblood and wondered if wolves randomly popping up out of nowhere was a common occurrence living in the wizarding world. It certainly was not in the muggle world, where Oscar had grown up in. Although he was of course a wizard being a muggle-born and not so keen on Care of Magical Creatures made Oscar unaware of these facts that most wizards probably would be aware of. This irritated him. Although he didn’t have the hunger for knowledge that was common in most Ravenclaws he still liked to let his knowledge grow. Oscar agreed to Finn’s proposal of skipping past Hagrid’s hut; he too was not in the mood for a meeting with Hagrid.

They walked for just a moment in companionable silence, before Finn asked a question that made Oscar grin involuntarily. “Yeah… yeah I am. Not for long mind you, but I…” He glanced at the Hufflepuff, momentarily doubtful. Oscar was not one to put everything into a relationship. He was fearful of love and giving too much emotion. But Theo had definitely changed that… Oscar felt a need to give his all in the relationship. And he was not embarrassed by this and would not be embarrassed by talking about his feelings. “I think we could love each other. Everything is right and perfect. When we’re together it’s not… I don’t know. It’s just natural. As if we’ve been dating for years, although the new-couple love is stronger than ever. We just click… y’know?” He didn’t know if Finn did know. Although they were friends, the two had not discussed things like this before- did Finn have a partner? “How about you, Finn? Anyone you’re dedicated to?” Oscar knew that Finn was straight. He had certainly seen the Hufflepuff with Cass a lot recently. But that was out of the question- she was with the Slytherin Julian after all. This was not a subject that Oscar approached lightly, as he wasn’t one for gossiping about other people’s personal affairs. He hoped that Finn wouldn’t see his own question as an intrusion of his personal life.

[Finn Miles H7]

Perhaps Finn hadn’t expected such a deep and sure answer to his question. Still, he found himself listening intently to every bit of Oscar’s reply. Finn could imagine what love must be like, but he’d never experienced it. For him, it was all what he imagined it to be, and sometimes he wondered if that was enough. Times like this, where Oscar was so sure and so seemingly content with his life, with his love; it was in these times where Finn wondered what he was really missing. What was he depriving himself of by not allowing himself to fall in love? Well, one thing was certain, Finn knew that it didn’t require experience to know that love came with the price of risking the total opposite: pain, hurt, and loss. Everyone knew that love was like war. It was risky. It wasn’t fair. It was sometimes so consuming. Yet wasn’t it also the greatest thing in the world?

Somehow Finn found himself content with his friends, the relationships he had with many people, guys and girls, and only occasionally wondering what he was missing. But he was still curious. “Nope,” he answered Oscar simply and quickly, intrigued by the way he had worded the question. Anyone you’re dedicated to? Dedicated… that was an interesting way to put it. Instead of even bothering to try explaining why he wasn’t dedicated to anyone or delving into his issue of fearing commitment and the idea of falling in love in general, Finn decided to explore his curiosity further by focusing on Oscar’s apparent love interest instead of a lack of his own.

“So that’s what it’s like then? You just… click? Kind of like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together…” Finn tried to understand the overall aspect of it by gleaning from Oscar’s words. Still, he was unable to ignore the surrounding doubt that seemed to fill his mind every time he thought about letting himself try to ‘click’ with someone else. “How do you know if it’s more than…” Finn stopped. This was stupid. Oscar probably didn’t feel like discussing the philosophy of love with someone as fickle as Finn when it came to such ideas. “Oh, nevermind,” he said, deciding he’d just brush the idea aside like he normally did. Someday he’d understand. Perhaps he was still too young. “As long as you know that the girl you have found is the right one, then I wish you all the best.” Finn smiled, truly hoping that Oscar was as sure as he sounded. Finn could only wish to be so sure and confident about the topic, but for now he’d just stay content with his friends and go on enjoying life.

[Oscar Flynn G7]

((Wow. Very late. But, here! XD Sorry again aha.))

Finn’s quick reply to Oscar’s question about a partner made him curious but he didn’t press hard on the matter – if there was something Finn wanted to say he would say it. Oscar was pretty sure he wasn’t the guy to hold information back after all. He merely smiled and nodded his understanding. It was unusual to think that this time just a couple of months ago he probably would have answered the same question with the same answer – but not now. Definitely not now. Now he had Theo. His smile growing, his attentions turned to the words coming from Finn. Another laugh came from him as he listened. “Well yeah – basically. It’s… hard to explain to someone who hasn’t felt it before – excuse me if you have. I’m just assuming…” He trailed off again as he realised he was rambling, and possibly could be causing offence. Not that Finn seemed like the type to take offence like that easily, but Oscar saw him as a good guy and didn’t want to offend him in any way.

The Hufflepuff’s next words basically confirmed his earlier thoughts that Finn hadn’t felt love – or what could almost be love – before. Reassured he smiled once more. “You just do. Everything’s in place. I’m not saying everything is perfect. There are obstacles and issues of course.” His mind flickered, irritated for a second, to the fact that Theo and Oscar had to keep their relationship a bit of a secret. And by a bit, he meant a complete hidden fact. But this wasn’t the time to have a heart-to-head argument about the situation. It was messy, but for now he could cope. While he had Theo, he could cope. He opened his mouth to continue in his slightly dazed tone – it was unusual for him to speak so truthfully like this, with that romantic touch to his normally light tone. His words didn’t come out just then however as Finn quickly waved the question away. Almost grateful, Oscar nodded again and continued. They were reaching the castle now and for some reason he didn’t want to leave, although it was certainly time to be getting back to the common room – or Room of Requirement…

There was a sudden switch in his mind as Finn added to the conversation. His former thoughtful content air morphed into something very amused – but also quite… well, irritated. The girl you have found… Sure, Theo wasn’t the manliest of men. But Oscar wasn’t going to let anyone call him a girl. He looked at Finn with a frown on his forehead. He wasn’t angry and not exactly annoyed with Finn. After all, his friend couldn’t have known. But it only enhanced the messed-up feel in his relationship with his boyfriend, making their commitments almost seem fake. “Actually…” He blurted out the first word and had intended to continue his explanation confidently… but he couldn’t. His words were suddenly cut off and he slowed his step a little in confusion. So far he had only told his owl the truth. Jez also knew – but he had worked it out for himself more than anything else. Come on, Flynn! He heard Theo’s playful tone of voice in the words that shot into his head and smiled lightly, automatically calmed. His tone became softer and he resumed his natural step towards the castle, which they were now fast approaching. “I’m actually with a guy. You know him too.” They were at a turning point – Finn would go towards the Great Hall and down towards the Hufflepuff room, while Oscar had the long walk to the seventh floor. Without waiting to see or hear his friend’s reaction, Oscar said a gentle goodbye and left. As he walked up the flights of stone steps a smile twitched at his lips. Admitting his relationship was a good thing, and enhanced his confidence that ‘Theo and Oscar’ would not be broken.