dr. bert bartok. (bartok) wrote,
@ 2009-07-22 15:56:00

The wilting summer leaves that were quickly changing to autumn dropped sinisterly to the ground as Bert Bartok walked into Allegro School of Music for the first time in two weeks. Bert never spent this amount of time away from school, let alone the very first two weeks of school. The longest he had gone away was just a few days for treatment, but now that things weren't going so well, Bert stayed away for longer, undergoing the nasty treatment that the doctors forced him to undergo.

They had promised that there was still hope, that there was a way to make him better. Even when Bert didn't really care about the treatment, his family made him do it because he was too young to go.

Bert stepped on the lit cigarette that he wasn't supposed to be inhaling, letting it go out with a turn of his heel. Normally, Bert hid the fact that he smoked, but it didn't matter so much anymore. He opened the front door to Allegro, sliding through the door much more easily than usual because he had lost a bit more weight than usual this time around. As he stepped into his office, he closed the door behind him, paling when he saw a note from the director on his desk. Bert knew what this was about. Of course he wanted to inform the rest of the staff why Bert wasn't there; it was only appropriate that they should all know.

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise; Bert didn't really want to be there when they all found out. That still didn't stop Bert from being angry that the director didn't ask him for permission first.

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brideofwind
2009-07-23 12:20 am UTC (link)

"I didn't say that," she snapped, wrapping her arms around herself. Alma took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't mean to be so angry -- but it was a shock, and a betrayal to find out Bert had been keeping this from her. "I did not say that. I just had no idea you could be so...selfish." It was the worst word she could think of in the situation. Alma hastened to wipe her tears again, determined not to acknowledge them otherwise, and then explained. "Don't you think this effects me? What am I supposed to do?" It was vanity again, but Alma couldn't help it. She didn't know what she'd do without him, and it frightened her.

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	bartok 2009-07-23 03:16 am UTC (link)
	Bert pursed his lips. "I. I don't really know what-- what you want me to say, Alma," he said quietly, carefully. "I didn't want you to find out because I cared about everyone. I don't want them to feel like they owe anything to me. You, included." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

brideofwind
2009-07-23 03:37 am UTC (link)

"I want you to say --" This wasn't like fighting with Gus, not at all. For one, she wasn't just saying things to hurt him, and for another, she actually cared about the ending. It made Alma stop and snuffle as she tried to quell a sob, arms wrapping tighter around herself. She took a deep breath and tried to get a hold of herself again. "I want to have been important enough that you wanted me to know, because it matters to me, Bert." With the tears not stopping, Alma mopped at her eyes. "I have class in an hour, we cannot be having this conversation now."

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	bartok 2009-07-23 03:48 am UTC (link)
	"I didn't even want my family to know, Alma. I didn't want anyone to treat me special. I don't want that. I just want to be Bert, and that's all. Can't you understand that?" He sighed, ignoring her excuses, and cautiously walked towards her. "Alma, it has nothing to do with you being important to me. Of course you're important to me. Stop being silly." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	brideofwind 2009-07-23 03:56 am UTC (link)
	She watched him come a little closer warily. "You're important to me, Bert," Alma said, tone cold again. "I would have wanted to know. From you, not the director. When were you going to tell me, then? At all?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

bartok
2009-07-23 04:05 am UTC (link)

"Oh, Alma," Bert sighed, reaching forward and wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace, rather suddenly. She looked like she needed it, and he most certainly needed it at the moment. "Of course I was going to tell you," he insisted. "When it was a good time. But not now. Not at the beginning of the year. I can't believe he said it."

It wasn't that Bert was never going to tell her, honestly. He just kept putting it off. Cutting his hair off last year, collapsing in his office at the end of the year, all of those missed staff meetings... he blamed it all on minuscule things that were just so Bert.

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	brideofwind 2009-07-23 04:09 am UTC (link)
	The hug was all it took, Alma really did begin to cry, feeling stupid and small for having such a fit. It just scared her, the thought of not having Bert around. She cried quietly, pressing her face into his neck and curling his fingers into his shirt. "What the hell, Bert?" Alma repeated, this time without any edge at all. "You can't do this to me." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bartok 2009-07-23 04:17 am UTC (link)
	He rolled his eyes, murmuring, "Yeah, like I really have a choice either way." Nevertheless, Bert tightened his grip, putting his face into her hair and inhaling in this private little moment. "It'll be okay," Bert assured her. "Things will get better soon." Never mind his skinny frame and pallid skin. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	brideofwind 2009-07-23 04:24 am UTC (link)
	"Okay," Alma agreed, even if she knew it wasn't exactly true. She took a deep breath and pulled away, promising to contain herself from now on. "Okay. I'm sorry, this was just -- well." She couldn't very well admit to being so terrified of losing him. That just wouldn't do. "What can I do? What do you need?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bartok 2009-07-23 04:30 am UTC (link)
	"I need you to forget. I don't want you to pretend that you don't know -- I need you to forget. I don't want you to treat me any differently." Bert talked to her seriously, evenly. Because he was. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	brideofwind 2009-07-23 04:45 am UTC (link)
	Alma hesitated only briefly, could she do that?, but then took a breath and reminded herself that this wasn't about her. "Okay," she said nodding, tears coming to her eyes again. "Okay. Forgotten. What else?" If she could, Alma would do everything for him right now. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bartok 2009-07-23 04:48 am UTC (link)
	He raised an eyebrow, looking her over quickly. "Skip your next class and come get milkshakes with me. For serious, Alma, I'm dying. This may be my last milkshake and I want it with you." Bert grinned. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	brideofwind 2009-07-23 05:12 am UTC (link)
	She smacked his arm again. "That is not funny, Bert that is not funny. It's not going to be your last milkshake unless I personally throttle you halfway there." Alma paused, watching him carefully for a moment. "I'll need to get my jacket." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

bartok
2009-09-13 04:36 pm UTC (link)

He grinned. "Well, then, hurry up and get your jacket! Time's a-ticking, Almie, and I want to live long enough to try boysenberry milkshakes!" Trying to get back to his arrogant self, Bert put his arm around her slyly, leading her out of his office and grabbing his own jacket from the coat hanger on the way out.

Once they were out, he asked, "So Almie, what have I missed these past couple weeks? I mean, I've been gone forever. There has to be TONS of gossip that I haven't been hearing. SPILL."

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brideofwind
2009-09-13 11:39 pm UTC (link)

Alma made a slick face of disgust at the thought of boysenberry milkshakes as she pulled on her suit jacket and picked her purse up from her desk, but kept her thoughts to herself. It wasn't a habit she was planning on keeping, but for now she felt like Bert deserved a bit of a grace period, only because she'd hit him twice.

"I don't gossip, Bert," she reminded him airily, sniffing snobbishly as they exited the building. "And anyway, without you around, everyone has manage to get along fantastically." Alma gave him a quick, almost teasing, pointed look.

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bartok
2009-09-14 12:06 am UTC (link)

"Of course you gossip, Almie. You gossip with me all the time, remember?" he asked, nudging her in the arm just to annoy her. Bert always found the best ways to annoy her, whether it was touching her whenever he wanted to, leaving little post-it notes on her door, or dragging her all over the place on a mission for something minuscule.

"I bet no one got along," he said, frowning. "I mean, they must have all been incredibly bored without me. Where would they be without my Jazznrock scavenger hunts through their offices?"

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