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“Thank you boys so much for coming,” Audrey said warmly as she opened the door.
Albus was too busy ogling the bookshelves to respond, so Scorpius replied for both of them, “Of course, Mrs. Weasley! Thank you for having us.”
“Is this new?” Albus pointed at a large guitar case distractedly.
“Oh! Yes, you spotted it,” Audrey said with a laugh like tinkling bells. She had a certain warmth to her, probably something to do with her dimples that showed when she smiled — which was almost all the time. Overlooking her dark auburn hair and freckles, she reminded Scorpius of his mother. It comforted him just a bit.
Albus squinted at the shelf, and only stopped when Scorpius poked him in the side. “It’s awesome, Aunt Audrey. And you look great, by the way.”
“Thank you, dear.” She pulled him into a hug. “I wasn’t sure if the earrings were too much. What do you think?” She stepped back, twirling her scarlet dress and cupping particularly large diamond studs.
“Damn! Now those are rocks!” Albus grinned.
“They’re lovely, Mrs. Weasley,” Scorpius agreed.
Someone swung around the corner. “I think they had better be lovely, considering they were only half my salary.” Percy looped an arm around her and pecked her cheek. He turned to Albus with a smile. “The girls are thrilled you’re here.”
“They sure are,” Audrey agreed. “They’ve been bouncing off the walls all day since we told them that you two will watch them during our date.”
Albus and Scorpius exchanged a look. “Oh, great,” Albus muttered.
“Don’t worry, they usually aren’t too much of a handful,” Percy promised them. “And if there are any problems, just call us.”
“Does Albus have your telephone number?” Scorpius fretted.
Percy confirmed, “He does. Now, we won’t be gone past…shall we say nine o’ clock?”
Audrey grinned. “Let’s be adventurous and say ten,” She said cheekily, turning to the boys. “We haven’t been out much recently — the girls take up so much time. There’s simply never a good opportunity to leave the house. You’ll understand when you two have kids of your own.”
Scorpius hoped his confusion didn’t show up on his face. The way she said it almost made it sound like she meant that he and Albus would have kids together. Was he the only one who heard it? He was probably off his rocker for thinking of it that way. Surely she didn’t mean anything of the sort.
Percy nodded. “We are attending the opera tonight with a few of my colleagues from the Department of Magical Transportation. I wrote the address on a notecard that I left in the kitchen. It’ll have everything you need: bedtimes, routines — I even froze some food that you can warm up for dinner. But if you have any questions, call either of us. If —”
“If anything goes wrong, we trust you to know what to do,” Audrey interrupted him with a hand on his arm.
“But just in case, I wrote out the address of St. Mungo’s and restocked the Floo powder.”
“Thanks, Uncle Percy.” Albus said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “We’ll try not to burn the house down while you’re gone.”
Percy winced, and Scorpius elbowed Albus in the ribs. “We will not burn the house down.” He said seriously. “I will make sure of that if it means laying down my life.”
Albus shot him an amused look.
Audrey chuckled. “I’m sure it won’t come to that,” she gave him a sweet smile that put Scorpius at ease. “Shall we bring the girls down?”
Percy set his mouth in a firm line, but he didn’t say anything as he climbed the steps and called for his daughters.
They hadn’t been lying when they said the kids were excited. “ALBUS!” They shrieked, racing downstairs. Molly, the older daughter, had inherited the Weasleys’ red hair, which was chopped into a bob. She wore a long-sleeved blue dress, shiny Mary Janes, and white socks that came up to her knobbly knees. “We’ve been waiting forever for you to get here!”
Albus snorted and ruffled Molly’s hair. “That must have been torture.”
The younger girl, Lucy, was only five years old, but she already had quite a voice. “Forever and ever and ever!” She claimed loudly — very loudly. “I think it’s been ten hours!” The Weasley genes had miraculously missed her, leaving her with mousy brown hair that curled slightly around her shoulders. Gaps filled her mouth from missing teeth. Scorpius thought she might be the cutest kid he’d ever seen.
“Who is this?” Lucy pointed at him. Scorpius looked around awkwardly.
“This is Scorpius Malfoy. He’s my best friend,” Albus explained.
Scorpius blushed a bit at Albus mentioning his last name so confidently. There was no hint of shame or tentativeness in his voice, despite the Malfoy reputation. Even after years of friendship, it still gave Scorpius an odd flutter in his stomach.
Audrey bent down to brush a curl aside. “You met Scorpius, remember?” She reminded her gently. “At the last family picnic. At the Burrow with Gran and Gramps.”
“Oh,” Lucy responded blankly. She studied him and Albus. “Are you in love?”
Albus cleared his throat roughly. Scorpius felt his whole face immediately burst into flame. “Er–erm—” he stuttered, but his brain was truly unable to come up with anything astute.
“Lucy,” Percy scolded her. “You know we don’t ask questions that could make people uncomfortable.”
Audrey muttered something that Scorpius didn’t catch. Percy shot her a disapproving glance.
“When are you two planning to leave?” Albus asked, boldly pushing past the awkward tension in the air.
“Oh, in just a few minutes,” Audrey assured him. “We’ll show Scorpius around and you’ll be alright from there, won’t you?”
They did just that. The boys walked the couple out, Audrey giving them each a kiss on the cheek and Percy leaving them with a brisk handshake.
“Albus!” Molly asked as the door closed, grabbing his arm. “Can we have a fashion show?”
“YES!” Lucy squealed at the top of her lungs.
“Of course we can have a fashion show.” Albus looked up at Scorpius, eyebrow raised.
Scorpius smiled. “Lead the way.”
Twenty minutes later, Albus and Scorpius were getting their nails done by Lucy — and their hands, and their wrists— actually, she’d managed to get the paint pretty much everywhere but the area it was meant to go — and their hair done by Molly. She pulled Albus’s thick, messy hair into a low ponytail, and despite the pink bow she added (for flair), he actually looked a bit like a rockstar. The thought made Scorpius’s mouth go dry.
Molly grabbed two handfuls of Scorpius’s blond hair. It was quite thin, so he understood why she spent a long minute frowning at it. “You will have pigtails,” she decided.
“Sounds good,” he said agreeably. He felt a hand abruptly yank his hair, and he winced.
“Hey,” Albus said, voice suddenly disapproving. “We don’t pull hair. Be gentle.” He ran a hand across Scorpius’s scalp, fingers lightly brushing his forehead. You okay? Questioned his eyes. They were so green. Scorpius didn’t want to look away from them.
“I’m alright,” he cleared his throat. “Just be careful, please!”
Lucy stuck the brush back in the nail polish bottle. “Do you like your manicure?” She giggled.
Albus raised his hands to admire her handiwork. “I love it, Luce.” He grinned. “Wicked, right?” He showed Scorpius.
“Wicked,” Scorpius smiled.
“Time for makeup!” Molly announced. The boys exchanged a glance.
Luckily, they only had play makeup: little palettes of eyeshadow and lip gloss, nothing with harsh chemicals that would stain or sting. Scorpius let Lucy apply whatever she liked as he watched Molly dab eyeshadow on Albus. Albus, on the other hand, had plenty of opinions about his makeover. “I want a smokey eye. Do you know how to do that?”
“Sure,” Molly said, smearing green onto his eyelid.
“And I want gold highlighter. And a lightning strike down my face. Not like my dad’s, though. Like David Bowie. Have you heard of David Bowie?”
“Nope,” she giggled.
Albus groaned. “Can you believe these kids? They don’t know David Bowie!”
“How dare they,” Scorpius said, trying to hide a chuckle.
“We’re having a dance party,” Albus announced. “As soon as I get my smokey eye.”
So once Molly and Lucy got bored of tugging their hair and painting shapes on their faces, they bounded out to the den to dance. Albus worked some magic with the tech-nology that Scorpius couldn’t even begin to understand, and loaded up a playlist on the television. “Rebel Rebel” blared from the speakers. Albus threw the brick with buttons on the sofa and jumped around to the beat. Molly performed some unique dance moves that involved a lot of wiggling, while Lucy cried, “Rebel, rebel, you’ve torn your jess!”
Scorpius shifted from foot to foot awkwardly until Albus grabbed him and swung him around. He looked positively insane, covered in bright green stripes that actually complimented his eyes rather well. Sticky gold lip gloss covered his lips. Scorpius had a difficult time tearing his eyes away.
“Hey babe, your hair’s alright,” Albus sang loudly, tugging one of Scorpius’s pigtails with a grin. “Hey babe, let’s stay out tonight! You like me and you like it hard —” He spinned Scorpius around as he laughed, “We like dancing and we look divine!”
Scorpius couldn’t help but break into a laugh when he caught sight of Lucy and Molly copying them, dancing in a makeshift waltz.
“Starman” came on next. Albus poked him in the chest. “It’s like you,” he said.
“How so?”
“You’re named after the Scorpius constellation. You’re literally a star-man. Isn’t that sick?”
Scorpius grinned and bounced on his feet. “Huh,” he said. “Yes, I suppose so!” He loved the fond look Albus gave him then. If Albus didn’t always have such wild ideas, Scorpius would agree with everything he said just to see that look.
Scorpius and Molly tired out quicker than the others, who seemed to have endless energy, so eventually Lucy and Albus were the only ones still singing and dancing. Molly grabbed a book off the shelf and entertained herself with that while Scorpius peered over her shoulder. “A Simple Guide to Alchemy!” He cheered when he saw the title. “Are you interested in Potions?”
“Yeah,” said Molly shyly. “I really want to go to Hogwarts so I can start learning more about them. Daddy got me this book, though, and said I can help him make Pepper-Up Potions this week.”
“That’s great. You’re almost Hogwarts age, right?”
Molly nodded. “I’m ten,” she confirmed. “But I turn eleven in winter, so I have to wait until next year to go.”
“Well, you can always ask Albus if you ever need help with your Potions homework. He’s great with them. Right, Albus?”
Albus bounded over to them. “Did someone say Potions?” He asked breathlessly.
“Scorpius says you know lots about Potions.”
“Oh. Yeah! I’m taking the Alchemy class a year early,” he bragged, as he had been ever since McGonagall approved him for the advanced course. He didn’t usually boast, but he used to struggle a lot in school before he got diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD, so this was quite an achievement for him. Scorpius, of course, couldn’t be prouder.
“And you can talk to Scorpius about it, too,” Albus added. Scorpius squawked.
“Oh, no! Don’t ask me anything about Potions. I barely passed this year.”
Albus rolled his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic, Scorp. You got an E.”
“I almost got a Poor. I think Professor Hecate took pity on me. Or maybe my dad bribed her in secret.” His father often teased him about his lack of skill in the Malfoy family’s second most well-known talent, behind following dark lords.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s brilliant,” Albus scoffed, poking him in the side. Scorpius shoved him. They started play-wrestling. They toppled off the sofa, laughing until they were breathless.
Molly eyed them skeptically. “When you’re done flirting, can we watch Moana?”
They sprang apart. “Will you two stop saying stuff like that?” Albus huffed. “We’re not flirting!”
Lucy giggled. “That’s not what Mummy says. I heard her and Daddy talking about you.”
Albus balked. “Well, Mummy is a gossip,” he decided, but his voice held a twinge of tenderness. He took the black thingy and mashed some buttons for a while until he selected a movie that Scorpius didn’t recognize.
“Is this a ‘cartoon’?” He whispered to Albus.
“Yes it is,” Albus nudged him. “Congratulations, Malfoy. I’m impressed with your knowledge.”
Scorpius waved his hand. “No applause, please,” he drawled in a decent mockery of his dad’s pretentious accent.
The movie was possibly the most wonderful thing Scorpius had ever seen, although he thought that way about a lot of Muggle things. Except perhaps the dentist. That visit had not been as pleasant as Rose had promised him it would be. Moana had a lovely singing voice, though it paled in comparison as soon as Albus started singing along under his breath. He truly had a talent. Lucy and Molly sang unabashedly and didn’t hit a single note, but it couldn’t distract Scorpius in the slightest. At some point, he must have turned to watch Albus, because he caught him staring and smirked at him. Scorpius coughed into his fist and looked away.
Lucy announced halfway through that she was “VERY hungry,” so after the movie ended, Albus and Scorpius herded the girls into the kitchen to play while they made dinner. Molly engaged Lucy into playing “animals,” a game where they galloped around on the ground and roared at each other.
Albus watched Scorpius’s pale hands as they neatly unwrapped the pan of lasagna Percy had pre-froze. He had a certain glint in his eye that made Scorpius nervous. “What are you looking at?”
He didn’t answer, just bit his lip and looked him up and down through dark eyelashes. Scorpius blinked in shock. Did Albus just check him out? To make matters worse, he couldn’t help but notice the way his biceps showed as he leaned against the counter. Oh sweet Merlin.
The oven dinged. Scorpius immediately shoved the lasagna in, sweating.
Lucy ran in just as the air began to grow hot. “Can we play outside? Please?” She begged. Scorpius sent her a silent thank-you.
“I don’t see why not…as long as we set a timer for this lasagna. Albus, can you do that on your telephone?”
“Got it,” he said.
The mid-summer heat had cooled into a slight chill as the sun set. To the girls’ delight, fireflies blinked in the grass. Albus called them over to teach them how to catch them properly. Scorpius watched him squat in front of the girls and cup a firefly in his palms gently. The girls crowded around him, oohing and aahing. They ran off in search of their own fireflies. Albus stood up and strolled over to Scorpius.
“Want to see?” He offered. Scorpius cupped Albus’s hands, thumb brushing over his wrist ever so slightly. Scorpius could spot the callouses he’d gotten from playing guitar, little rough patches that he yearned to reach out and touch. Albus caught him admiring his long fingers and smirked. For a moment, they stared at each other, not daring to breathe, and Scorpius swore that Albus’s eyes darted down to his lips.
“Tag!” Molly ran over and tapped Scorpius. “You’re it!”
When Scorpius turned back to Albus, he was already sprinting away. “What are you waiting for?” He laughed.
Scorpius chased them down for a while until he snuck up behind Lucy and tagged her. She dashed after Molly, but her little legs could only run so fast, and she got frustrated quickly. “STOP RUNNING SO FAST!” She shouted, stomping her foot. Scorpius sensed a tantrum coming on.
It was at that moment that Albus “accidentally” tripped in the grass and went sprawling. He groaned dramatically. Lucy’s eyes lit up. With all the energy in her 5-year-old body, she raced across the lawn. “No!” Albus cried, crawling away in exaggerated desperation. She jumped on him with an evil giggle.
“Tag!” She screeched gleefully.
He threw his hands up at the sky. “How could you do this to me?” He bemoaned. “I thought I was your favourite cousin!”
“Chase us! Chase us!” Molly cried.
Albus leapt up and did so, roaring and growling like a wild animal. He made to grab Molly, but she tripped him and he fell over into the dirt. “Hey!” He probably meant to sound stern, but he was laughing too hard for it to really work. “Dirty move!”
They played until the sun began to dip low over the horizon and cold seeped through their clothing. Scorpius ran up to Albus and tagged him. “Tag,” he panted. “You’re it.”
Albus shot him a fierce grin, which was not the typical response to becoming “it.” The smile made him look a bit mischievous, like Lucy. It must be a Weasley thing. The wind had mussed his hair, giving him a wild look. His cheeks glowed red from cold and exercise. His baggy black AC/DC t-shirt had ridden up, exposing the stretch of skin where his hip met his waist. Scorpius swallowed hard.
“We should bring the girls inside,” Scorpius told Albus. “Start winding down for bed.”
“What, are you cold?” Albus teased. He took Scorpius’s hand and rubbed it between his own. He felt his face go hot.
Before he could stutter out a reply, a sharp cry echoed from the treeline. The boys exchanged an understanding look and immediately jogged over. “OW!” Lucy howled. She clutched her knee as tears ran down her face. Huge sobs wracked her chest.
“What happened?” Scorpius asked gently, pulling her hands away to get a look. It didn’t look too bad — blood gushed from a rough scrape, but nothing seemed broken. He tsked. “Let’s go get you a band-aid, yeah?”
She didn’t respond through the waves of tears. Albus leaned down so he could face her. “Definitely time to go in,” he muttered. “Hey, Luce,” he soothed, “Scorpius knows everything about healing. Madame Pomfrey herself lets him help out in the Hospital Wing. Trust me, he’ll make you feel better.”
Lucy sniffed, but finally she limped up and followed the boys towards the house. Molly dashed out of a bush. “What happened?”
“We had a fall,” Scorpius reported. “But nothing to worry about. She’ll be okay.”
“Oh,” Molly said, staring. “Does that mean we have to go inside?”
“Yeah. Sorry, kid,” Albus replied. “But hey — we can have a snack before bedtime. How’s that?”
Lucy gasped, bruise forgotten for a moment. “Can we have ice cream?!”
“Hm,” Albus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know…let’s ask Scorpius.”
The girls immediately began begging. “You can have ice cream!” Scorpius announced, “If you sit still while I patch you up. And Molly, you have to help me find the plasters for your sister.”
“Okay!” She agreed eagerly.
Scorpius fixed Lucy’s knee with little fuss. As promised, they were all rewarded with ice cream. He scooped out two small bowls for the girls. They took them each with a polite, “Thank you!” Before dashing away.
“They have great manners,” Scorpius noted as he dug Albus’s scoop out of the carton.
“I know, right? They’re the best. I definitely wasn’t like that as a kid.”
“Let me guess, you were grumpy all the time?”
Albus barked a laugh. “You’re not too far off. Refused to play Quidditch, just stayed inside and played with Aunt Hermione’s piano.”
“Good to know some things never change,” Scorpius smiled.
“I was looking at that guitar that Uncle Percy got,” he admitted. “Do you think he’d mind if I played it?”
“I would love to hear it.”
Albus ducked his head and went quiet for a long moment. “You’re really good with them, you know,” he said under his breath. “My cousins.” It felt like the words had a deeper meaning, but Scorpius wasn’t sure if he was just reading into it too much.
“You are too. They adore you.”
“Yeah, but — you stayed calm during that whole thing outside. It’s just nice to know. That you can handle kids.” This time there was definitely something there, a heat that made Scorpius’s ears go pink.
He cleared his throat. “Do you…want children? When you’re older, I mean.”
“Definitely,” Albus confirmed. He leaned against the counter thoughtfully. “My dad always told me stories about the Dursleys — the family he lived with as a kid after his parents died. They were awful to him, and ever since I’ve started spending time with Lucy and Molly, it’s made me think about how many kids like him are out there who don’t get to live in loving homes.” His voice went thick, and he had to clear his throat.
Scorpius had never felt so attracted before. He could count a million times where Albus made him tongue-tied, or looked so good he almost couldn’t help himself, or said something so loving that he wondered if he felt the same way as him. But of all the vulnerable secrets Albus had shared with him over the years, for some reason, this one just broke him. He might’ve had a tough exterior, but Albus really was so sensitive underneath — always caring about what other people thought of him, loving his family so hard even when he felt like a snake in the lion den. Scorpius wanted to kiss him.
“Anyway,” Albus rushed, smoothing his hair like he always did when he got self-conscious, “I can see myself adopting. Or at the very least fostering.”
“That’s brilliant, Al,” Scorpius breathed. “That’s so brilliant. I want that, too.”
Albus’s cheeks were red again, but it wasn’t from the cold anymore. Scorpius handed him a bowl and spoon. Their fingers brushed. His mind flashed back to that moment outside, when Albus’s eyes had drifted to his mouth and he thought maybe, maybe he’d been about to lean in. Scorpius didn’t consider himself brave. He was certainly no Gryffindor. But at this moment, the idea of kissing him wasn’t just a distant fantasy for a bolder version of himself; it pulled at him like a magnet, like the most natural thing in the world. He reached out and took Albus’s hand. For the first time tonight Albus seemed like the nervous one. His eyes darted from his eyes to his lips and back up again as Scorpius leaned in, and—
“Are you kissing?” Molly demanded from the doorway.
Albus lurched away from Scorpius, which brought a pang of longing to his heart. “No, we are not kissing!”
“Mummy’s going to be so happy! She’s going to say to Daddy, ‘I was right, I was right, I was right!’” Lucy cheered, ignoring him.
“And Daddy will say, ‘I knew it the whole time, don’t feel too proud of yourself,’” Molly added dryly.
“Oh, come on, you two.” Albus herded them out of the kitchen towards the bathroom. “You have cotton candy on your mouth, Luce. And Molly, while I agree with your choice of chocolate, it’s currently going to stain your dress if we don’t wash it out right now.” Scorpius sighed as he watched them walk away.
The boys made the girls wash up. They let Molly get changed in her room while they helped Lucy into her pajamas. Or at least, tried to help her.
“Do you want ducks?” Scorpius tried, throwing a nightgown spattered with pink ducks on the bed. She shook her head no. “How about tiaras?” Again, she shook her head, adding a little hmph to show she detested that one especially.
“I wanna watch Moana again.”
Albus scoffed. “Well, tough luck. Butterflies it is.”
“Can I have the tiaras instead?” Lucy whined.
She dragged her feet some more, and Scorpius felt nothing but relief when they finally managed to get her in bed. But before he could flip the light switch, she called in a tiny voice, “Scorpius?”
“Yes?” He responded.
“I love you. Thank you for fixing my knee.”
He couldn’t help but smile giddily. “You’re welcome, Lucy.” He added quickly, “Love you. Goodnight.”
He shut the door gently. Albus smirked at him. “Aw,” he whispered. “I think she likes you more than me.”
“Oh, shush. That’s impossible. She adores you.”
“True. But I think Molly definitely has a new favourite now. When they were brushing their teeth, she talked about you non-stop. Must be a swot thing,” Albus commented as they crept into the living room. He threw himself onto the sofa, elbows splayed out. Scorpius settled in across him.
“Speaking of Molly, did you see the way she tripped you earlier? That was a Slytherin move if I’ve ever seen one.”
“Wait. You’re right. I mean, her dad sometimes makes me wonder why he wasn’t in Slytherin, and she’s really close with him.”
“And with you,” Scorpius added.
“Yeah. If she does get Sorted there, I hope no one thinks I ‘influenced’ her, or something.” That made Albus frown at the ceiling. They had shut off the main lights for bedtime, so only the warmth of a lamp cast stark shadows on his face. Scorpius watched him lace his hands together over his stomach, tapping his fingers absentmindedly.
“No one will think that. And if they do, they’re ridiculous.”
Albus didn’t say anything. He didn’t like to admit it, but Scorpius knew that being the only Slytherin in his family still made him insecure. He wasn’t ashamed of his House, he knew that, but he had this irrational fear that his family harboured some secret resentment or disgust toward him. And if Scorpius was being honest with himself, it probably wasn’t just the matter of his House that made him think those things.
Albus had never officially “come out” as gay, so to speak. It had happened quite casually one day, when the two of them had claimed a corner of the library to watch Brazil’s Quidditch team play Argentina. Gonçalo Flores had made an epic dive for the Quaffle and swept it out from right in front of the Argentinian Chaser’s face. Albus had declared right then, eyes glazed over, that “That man is so hot.” Scorpius couldn’t help but agree. Even if he did prefer Viktor Krum.
As far as Scorpius knew, Albus still hadn’t told anyone else in his family. He thought maybe James had figured it out — he tended to send winks Albus’s way when he saw his brother talking to boys, and Scorpius had overheard a few prodding comments, but it was probably just a lucky guess on James’s part. If Albus had told someone, it would be Lily. She was his biggest confidant aside from Scorpius. And from the way he talked, he had actually gotten close with Percy and Audrey this past summer. His uncle knew a thing or two about being an outcast in their family. He seemed to have a bond with Audrey, too. She was a Muggle, so since she didn’t grow up listening to stories about the great Harry Potter, she only ever treated Albus as her quirky nephew. Albus loved when people saw him for him.
“Can you play a song for me?” Scorpius gestured at the bookshelf. Albus still had that look in his eye, the one that usually led to spiraling. He hoped that music might distract him.
“Sure,” he agreed. He took the guitar case off the shelf and carried it to the sofa. His eyes lit up as soon as the case cracked open. It was beautiful: sage-green flowers twisted over its mahogany wood, only a few shades darker than Albus’s skin. His fingers came to rest on the strings experimentally. They didn’t pull, just laid there.
“I’ve written some songs,” he said suddenly then, voice tense.
“That’s what you keep in your journal, right?”
Albus nodded. Scorpius always saw him scribble in the pages of his black sketchpad, but didn’t like to pry.
“My mum got me into it. Well, not songwriting. But, er, when I was younger and going through all that teen angst and shit, she told me to write it down. She keeps diaries too.” He took the guitar out of the case. Strummed his fingers along the neck. Pulled the strap over his head and let it rest on his shoulders.
He glowed in the dim light. Scorpius couldn’t drag his eyes away.
Albus glanced up. “What’re you doing?” He asked, raising his eyebrows, a slight smile on his face.
“Waiting for you to play me something.”
He scoffed and traveled his gaze back down to the guitar. Carefully, he began to play a tune. It came out as something between romantic and melancholy, between suggesting and pleading. He hummed softly. The sweet notes melted together into a song that sounded familiar. Though not a single word left his lips, Scorpius knew it was a love song. Albus’s eyes stayed on the guitar. Scorpius took advantage of this opportunity by propping up his chin on his fist and gazing at his face.
Albus caught him staring and coughed abruptly, cutting off the music with a jarbled string of notes. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just — sorry, I feel stupid.” His ears turned a little red and he looked away.
“Don’t.” Scorpius said, laying a hand on the small of his back. Albus flinched, like his first instinct was to move, but he settled into the touch after a second. His breath seemed shaky. Scorpius wasn’t sure why, but he wished he could fix it. “Are you alright? Is something bothering you?”
Albus shook his head. He still refused to meet his gaze. Scorpius didn’t like it. He wanted to see his sharp green eyes. So slowly, his hand drifted up, up his back until his fingers lightly danced over the skin of his neck. He pressed his thumb to Albus’s jaw until he finally turned to face him. Scorpius studied him, observed the hint of anxiety that formed creases between his eyebrows and lines around his mouth. He hadn’t even noticed that he’d cupped his face with his other hand until they both sat only an inch apart, breathing softly.
Scorpius kissed him. For a moment everything melted away. The press of lips only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like forever. When they pulled away, Scorpius could feel the tacky residue of lip gloss that Molly and Lucy had smeared on Albus earlier.
“I—” Scorpius breathed, but Albus cupped his neck before he could stutter anything out and drew him back into a kiss. He took control this time. Albus’s mouth moved tenderly against his. Scorpius had always thought that kissing would be quite awkward or uncomfortable, but with his best friend’s knee knocking against his own and warm hands tangled in the nape of his neck, it felt like coming home. The corners of Albus’s mouth quirked up and Scorpius couldn’t help but smile as well. Little laughs bubbled up between each brush of lips until they weren’t even kissing anymore, just pressing silly grins together—
The door slammed open. Albus and Scorpius jumped back — Albus flung himself off the sofa in such a panic that he cracked his head against the ground. “Ow!” He groaned.
“Hello, boys!” Audrey cheered.
Percy frowned. “What are you doing on the floor?”
“Enjoying the view,” Albus winced. His ears had gone amusingly red. Scorpius hoped they wouldn’t notice.
Audrey held up shopping bags. “We got you desserts! To say thank you for all your hard work,” she winked at Scorpius. “You don’t mind taking these as your payment instead of cash, right?”
“That’s fine,” Scorpius said agreeably at the same time that Albus snorted.
“Oh, I was just joking, dear. You deserve millions for keeping my hyperactive kids company tonight. Besides,” she said, pulling out her wallet with a coy smile, “You can use your paycheck to take a special someone out for a date of your own.”
Scorpius flushed. She hadn’t seen anything walking in, right?
“Quit teasing them, sweetheart,” Percy chided. He raised an eyebrow at Albus. “If this one had anybody‘special’ in his life I’d be the first to know, correct?”
Albus grinned. “Lily, then you.” He jumped up from the floor.
Audrey shoved a few 20 pound notes into each boy’s palm, accompanied by a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so much for coming,” she gushed. “You’ve been such a help. Did everything go smoothly?”
“Your kids are wonderful,” Scorpius assured her.
“Really? You didn’t have to slip something in their juiceboxes, did you?”
“Nope,” Albus confirmed. “Shocker. I didn’t even need to pull out the gin.”
Scorpius rolled his eyes and squeezed his wrist affectionately. Audrey’s eyes roved between the two, obviously bursting with curiosity, but she seemed to decide that there was plenty of time to be nosy later and waved them off. “Get going, boys. It’s late.”
Albus saluted and grabbed Scorpius’s hand, dragging him to the fireplace. Right before they reached it, he hesitated. “Hey,” Albus said softly, under his breath so that only they could hear. “Would you actually want to stay at my house tonight? So we can…talk?”
A smile bloomed on Scorpius’s face. “I would love that.”
They stepped into the fireplace, still holding hands. “The Potter Residence!” Albus called out as they disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
The last thing Scorpius heard was Percy mumble, “Think I’ll need to give that boy the shovel talk?” Audrey’s fond laugh quickly followed. And they were gone.