Chapter Text
Everyone at the stands could feel the tension building, air thickening with every second. Quidditch season at Hogwarts never failed to set alight the hearts of students (along with the ancient house rivalries) and this game was no different. It was the second to last match before the Hogwarts’ Quidditch Cup was awarded, taking place on an early May weekend. Everything seemed to come alive for this moment: spring was in full bloom, evident by the warm draping sunshine and dew misted playing field, students were buzzing with excitement as they crowded house stands, and pure adrenaline (along with maybe some Felix Felicis) rushing through the veins of players.
-
A burst of red and gold robes met blue and silver ones high above the Quidditch goals. “Where are you going, darling? Were you, perhaps, looking for something?” the Gryffindor seeker smugly teased his Ravenclaw counterpart. He smirked, clearly relishing the thinly veiled anger on his opponent’s face.
“Choi Beomgyu, I swear, one day I really will strangle you,” the blue-and silver-clad seeker gritted out, eyes narrowing. He was so close to finding the Snitch, doggedly following its golden blur as it zipped around the field when the dark-haired Gryffindor had blocked his path, bumping into his shoulder, disrupting his focus. “Merlin, I was so damn close-,” huffed the Ravenclaw, the ending of his sentence swallowed by his frustration, jaw clenched with rising vexation.
To that, the Gryffindor just cheekily replied, “Choking, huh, wouldn’t take the legendary seeker Kang Taehyun to be into that, but you know,” he shrugged, “to each their own,” before shooting his trademark grin as he headed out to sweep the stands, generating roars from his fellow witches and wizards in red and gold.
The younger let out a breath of irritation, blowing his fringe off his face, before steadying himself and calming down. He was here to win, not to entertain an annoying, albeit cute (but Taehyun would never admit it to the other’s face) seeker from Gryffindor.
“Looks like someone had a pleasant encounter with Choi Beomgyu. Kang Taehyun currently looks like he may have ingested maybe a few too many of the wrong flavor Bertie’s Botts,” Huening Kai’s voice rang throughout the pitch with pockets of laughter emerging from the spectator stands. The youngest relaxed in his seat and smiled, Beomgyu and Taehyun’s matches were always the most fun to comment on. The two were equally cutthroat and fierce on the playing field, whizzing by their team members and lobbing insults between tight chases. Yet, this rivalry did not stop here at the Quidditch stands. The two seekers were infamous in Hogwarts for their friction in and out of the field. Many times, one could see Beomgyu, a freshly minted prefect, pulling the younger aside in a crowded hallway before docking points for “3 buttons undone! Kang, are we at Madam Malkin’s fashion show?”, into which the blonde scowled, brusquely yanking the elder’s fingers off his collar and fixing a button, not before uttering a colorful variety of curses (don’t worry, not the actual spell kind) under his breath. Other times, at the dining hall, students could witness the Gryffindor abruptly grimace at his (probably hexed) pumpkin juice and turn to see the gloating face of the younger sitting a table away. Beomgyu could never find enough evidence to dock house points from the blonde though, perks of being a Ravenclaw one could suppose. Luckily for most of their fellow students, their separation of a year in age saved many from experiencing the headache having both seekers in the same class brought… unless you were Soobin; the poor Hufflepuff shared not one, but two classes with the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Let’s just say the bickering did not stop past the doors of the classroom.
A Quaffle burst past the largest golden hoop of the goal post, raising loud cheers from the Gryffindor tower. “Choi Yeonjun, ace of the Gryffindor team, scores! This increases the Gryffindor team’s lead. Now it is up to Ravenclaw’s trusty seeker to be able to secure a blue and silver win! Who do you think will prevail on today’s hunt for the Snitch?” Huening Kai exclaims, jumping up with excitement. (He may have accidentally stepped on Professor Park’s loafers, but let’s just blame it on a stray pet) The Gryffindor captain spins on his broom, blowing a kiss to his boyfriend in the Hufflepuff stands before saluting Huening in the faculty tower. “I see someone’s particularly confident today, would it have to possibly be due to a special Hufflepuff’s ball proposal?” jokes the younger Hufflepuff, receiving a quick glare from Professor Min. “Mr. Huening Kai, keep it professional!” reprimanded the Charms professor, with no real malice in his voice. The Ravenclaw house head was too focused on intently watching the game, eyes quick on each team member, keeping tally of their moves. They had barely lost the Quidditch cup to Gryffindor the last year and they did not want a repeat of that this year.
Watching high above the other players, the Ravenclaw seeker was also feeling the pressure of the game. He had to find the snitch. “I should’ve hexed him when I had the chance to in Charms, hex his stupidly pretty eyes or his annoyingly attractive lips. Maybe then I would’ve already caught the snitch by now,” Taehyun grumbled as he gripped his broomstick tighter, neatly navigating through flying bludgers and fellow players on the pursuit of the elusive Golden Snitch.
“Mention me, Kang?”
‘Speak of the devil,’ thought Taehyun, ‘Just when I thought I finally lost him.’ He glanced to his left to see the grinning dark-haired Gryffindor hot on his heels (or broomstick, to be more precise).
“No, Choi, not everything’s about you, so shush and let me find my Snitch”
“Oh, but that’s not what I heard. What about my annoyingly attractive lips again, Kang?” the elder mischievously replied, pulling the corners of his pink lips up into a gloating (but hot as hell) smirk (that maybe Taehyun wanted to recklessly kiss off his face right now).
“Oh shut it!” exclaimed the Ravenclaw, raising a hand to ruffle his blonde locks. He seriously could not afford to lose his cool, not when the cup and house pride was at stake! As he set his hand back into his broomstick, he saw it. That telltale flash of gold zipping past him, just a meter away. The promise of winning the game, winning the points needed for the Quidditch cup, even winning the House Championships, were all a meter away. Taehyun could almost feel the exhilaration of being launched into the air by his team members as they rally in celebration. He quickly picked up speed on his broom, cutting off whatever retort Beomgyu was going to respond with.
“We see Ravenclaw Seeker Kang Taehyun sprinting ahead around the field. Could it be that he spotted the slippery Snitch?” the Hufflepuff commented, thickening the tension in the audience. From the Ravenclaw tower at the opposite end of the stand, wizards and witches nervously gripped their blue and silver scarves as the anticipation exponentially grew.
The Gryffindor seeker was hot on his heels, his shoulder meeting his counterpart’s waist. He too could see the whizzing golden ball just out of reach from the two of them. The seekers were almost conjoined with how close they were to each other. Beomgyu could even smell the faint scent of parchment and roses that clung to the younger.
The two seekers closed their distance with the Snitch. Taehyun was starting to lift his hand off his broomstick in anticipation in which Beomgyu followed suit. The Ravenclaw pursed his lips at how close the elder was at overtaking his lead, but he couldn’t do anything to move him out of the way: it was against the rules. The blonde shifted his weight forward, trying to gather any wind possible to push him faster. His palm was outstretched, just centimeters from touching the cold metal of the ball. He could feel the weight of Beomgyu’s arm on his. The Ravenclaw seeker scooted a couple of centimeters up the shaft of his broomstick. He was so close. He could feel the draft of the Snitch as its metal wings propelled it on his fingertips. A few millimeters more... Taehyun glanced to his side and met the equally steely gaze of his competitor. He extended his fingers just a tiny bit…
And he touched it. He touched it. His warm palm met the cool golden surface of the snitch as its wings slowly puttered to a stop. He clutched it in his palm, too distracted to be aware of his precarious position on his broom as it tilted under his weight.
But just as he was about to raise his arm in victory, he suddenly plummeted. The victorious seeker lost balance atop his broom and crashed to the side, crashing into the one person so close next to him.
“And it looks like the two teams’ seekers have crashed! Does one of them have the lucky Golden Snitch? Or will their teams have to call in substitutes?” boomed the voice of Huening Kai. He peered at the professors beside him. On one side, Professor Min was standing, leaning on the front railing of the stand, knuckles white, and on the other, Gryffindor’s head, Professor Jeon, was equally as tense, fingertips rapidly dancing on the edge of his seat. The two were so wound up, the youngest couldn’t help but laugh.
Taehyun was falling, he could feel the wind rush past his feet as he traveled further and further towards the muddy green grass. He could feel the metal imprints of the snitch along the inside of his fist as he tightened his hold. Most of all, he could feel the warm weight of Beomgyu against him. The elder was pressed tight against him, one arm wrapped around his back for protection. Neither dared to look down, as they were definitely expecting no pleasant arrival from how high their fall was. Even though the two should be bracing for impact, he felt the Gryffindor’s fingers creep up his arm, most likely in an attempt to pry the Snitch from his fist. He nudged the elder with his knee, to which the other seeker responded by gripping his arm, hand dangerously nearing the enclosed snitch. “Stop that, I touched it first,” Taehyun angrily whispered.
Beomgyu replied with a hint of smugness, “But the stands don’t know that, do they? Imagine if the best seeker of our generation, Kang Taehyun lost the Quidditch cup again”. He dramatically gasped (well, as dramatic as one could if they were plummeting rapidly down from the skies) watching with glee as the younger narrowed his eyes, shooting a sharp glare at him.
“Choi, if you try any of that funny shit on me, I will not hesitate to ruin you,” the Ravenclaw threatened, pitch lowering, voice laced with venom. If it had been any other student, they would have cowered in fear, but alas these threats only fanned the growing flames between the two, the oil to quench a fire’s thirst. Beomgyu only gave a contemptuous smirk in response as the rival seekers braced for a bumpy touchdown. He gripped the younger’s fist, nimble fingers attempting to pry Taehyun’s off the Snitch. The response Beomgyu got was a sharp elbow to his gut which he defended with a fierce kick, momentarily detaching the Ravenclaw’s lower half from their cluster of limbs. The blonde quickly tightly wrapped his legs around the elder’s, confining them, fulfilling two goals: preventing future kicks and securing himself to reduce injuries. The muddy fields of the pitch grew closer and closer into focus, promising oncoming bruises and scrapes. Taehyun cursed, of course, he had to be the one landing on his back. The Ravenclaw sighed, ‘Just another uniform ruined,’ he thought, mourning in advance the shrieks he’ll get from his mother about all the repairs needed after this game.
The seekers hit the ground, but their wrestling did not stop. A tangle of arms and legs was all that was visible to outsiders as the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor ruthlessly wrangled and brawled and pulled and pushed and pried until there was a violent whistle. Taking advantage of the elder’s momentary lapse, Taehyun quickly broke his hand free of Beomgyu, proudly raising it to the air. He slowly opened his fist and the golden snitch wriggled in his palm. Victory at last.
Cheers erupted from the stands. Blue and silver ribbons flew dizzyingly onto the field, surrounding the air with confetti and sparkles. From the faculty tower, Huening Kai’s amplified voice reverberated around the field, “And it looks like star seeker Kang Taehyun did not disappoint! Ravenclaw has officially won this match, putting them as a final contender for the Quidditch Cup against Slytherin!” And on his right, Professor Min beamed, fists pumping in the air, as he gave his rare once-a-year wide grin. Poofs of blue and silver smoke erupted from his wand, his excitement clearly uncontainable.
It was not long before the owner of the whistle, referee Madam Kim, marched up to the two with a menacing glower. “Mr. Choi and Mr. Kang! Improper Quidditch behavior! I’ll be deducting 10 points each from the both of you! I can’t believe all these 5th and 6th years are getting so reckless!” she reprimanded, angry eyes stifling any protest the two could have made. As she left, the Gryffindor slumped and let out a sigh, “Merlin! I lost the snitch and house points? Today’s just great isn’t it!” He turned and glared at the blonde, before huffing in frustration, “I can’t believe, I was this close to getting the snitch, if only your fingers weren’t so damn strong!”, in which the younger only shoved him off.
“At least I won,” the Ravenclaw shot back, “This time I won’t miss my chance for the Quidditch cup. No distractions anymore.” Taehyun’s lips quirked up before widening into an elation-filled grin. The elder stared at him for a few seconds, blatantly expressing his disbelief and offense to the younger. As much as Beomgyu would say he’d love to wipe it off his face, he loved the feeling of being the reason (or at least part of) why it's on.
Then came the rumble of team members. Their footsteps imitated the sound of a herd of hippogriffs. “Kang Taehyun! Our legendary seeker! Come here!” the Ravenclaw team cheered. Many pairs of hands were quickly peeling him off of the elder and giving him congratulatory pats as if Taehyun was a stolen artwork being returned to its mother country. The victorious seeker felt his legs being hoisted up off the ground as he met the gaze of his Team captain smiling proudly at him. The younger glanced at the back of the crowd to see the opposing team sweep up his counterpart in consoling hugs and let out a sigh of relief he didn’t even know he was holding. Taehyun now could enjoy his win.
-
The locker room was buzzing to the brim. No amount of “Silencios” could fully quiet all the commotion going on. At the Ravenclaw end, endless cheers and early celebrations were taking place, members quickly cleaning up their soiled uniforms in preparation for the obligatory party in the house Common Room. “Taehyun, that was amazing! How in the heavens did you find that darn snitch?” Sunghoon, a beater, praised the blonde. “Of course he did! He’s not one of the greatest seekers in all our years for nothing!” Renjun added, with a ruffle of the seeker’s hair in endearment. The chaser was the first one to spot Taehyun in his first year and convinced their captain to take him onto the team. The compliments piled on and on as the members lavished in their victory.
Just a row of lockers away, the Gryffindor side was not as vibrant, but there were no harsh feelings. It was simply a game of Quidditch, and they would play another tournament next year anyway. Yeonjun, being team captain, made sure his team members were taken care of and doled out improvement tips mixed with praises.
The last one to arrive in the room was Beomgyu, due to minor wounds from the fall treated by the infirmary. As he was heading in, the rest of his team were on their way out, without forgetting to give their injured member affectionate pats and hair ruffles, with a promise to join them at the common room for drinks (or basically pillaging Jake’s stash of smuggled butterbeer).
The Gryffindor waited until the chatter started to die down and files of blue and silver ties walked past to the doorway before slowly making his way to the opposing side, the atmosphere seeming to darken with every step he took. As he caught sight of Taehyun’s blonde hair and wide eyes, other lingering members of the Ravenclaw team swiftly sensed that the upcoming situation was something they probably did not want to be witness to. Renjun quickly muttered his goodbyes and reminded the younger about the celebratory party before more loudly warning, “Now don’t get into any bad fights, okay? Madam Kim is already up your ass about ‘misconduct’”, which was clearly aimed at more than just Taehyun.
The brunette, the other suspect, scoffed internally, ‘Fights, huh, that’s an interesting perspective there’. He scanned the room for any more straggling players before taking a seat on the bench across from the younger. Brown eyes met another set of brown eyes as they locked their gaze upon each other.
The remaining Ravenclaws huddled in a group a few meters out of the locker room, waddling their way back to the castle. The sky was just about to set, the tell-tale coral hue painted the sky and fields warmly. “Last time we left those two in the locker room, we could hear lockers harshly slamming and heavy panting all the way from here! Not to mention how roughed up the two looked the day after. Blimey, you’d think after years, they’d stop fighting, but I think it’s just gotten worse!” gossiped one Ravenclaw.
“I know! I’ve tried telling Tyun that, but do you know what he just says?” another added, “‘It just gets the adrenaline out!’” the teammate added air quotes about her last statement for emphasis. “Merlin, maybe he really is a legendary player, self-destructive habits and all!” joked a chaser.
As the outside temperatures were falling, inside the locker room, it was just beginning to rise. There was an unspoken, unseen timer between the two seekers, its ticking growing ominously louder with every second, counting down to a single moment, a single movement. In Beomgyu’s eyes, on the surface, swirled hurt, loss, anger, but deeper within its depths churned something darker, something more carnal-- desire-- but in Taehyun’s, it was fully displayed, eyes slowly becoming hooded, never breaking contact with the elder.
The clock was running out, frantically ticking, rapidly approaching its endpoint, as the two prolonged their gaze. Tick-tock, tick-tock. But just when the timer was about to ring, a second of silence passed. Taehyun’s eyes dropped, a target placed on Beomgyu’s lips, before glancing up again. Then, they lunged at each other. It was a messy affair, lips were smashed against each others’, moving furiously to a feverish rhythm, hands were tangled in the other’s hair, waist, chest, jaw, everywhere.
All the desperation melted into desire, forged through the inferno created by the two. The molten mixture of emotions translated into even more reckless movements, the younger’s cool hands sliding under the now rumpled button-down shirt of the Gryffindor, agile fingers making light of the delicate buttons. The elder matched this frenzy, finally detaching his lips from the other, before meeting the junction of his jaw, heavy breaths loud in the blonde’s ear. His hands too reached for the rest of the younger, nimbly loosening the blue and silver tie; the action was almost a muscle memory with how often he had gotten practice, palms aching to roam over the other, heated skin meeting its even warmer counterpart.
They were just a tangle of limbs and beating hearts, running on adrenaline without a brake pedal and any direction.
Robes were shed long ago, as Taehyun’s fingers made their way up, now firmly gripping shoulders. He slammed the brunette against the lockers, a loud clang as the locker door was forcefully shut. The brunette gasped, pupils dilating, a rosy flush eminent. One of Beomgyu’s hands released the undone tie to grip the younger’s bicep, the other migrated to the messy blonde locks. Their mouths slid back together, the fervor heightened. Any whimpers or groans were swallowed up, with barely any room for air, while both seekers dueled, but eventually, victory repeats itself. The Ravenclaw pinned his rival onto the metal door, lips claiming the other, the sounds of wet kisses echoing through the locker room. He kissed him roughly, sucking the other’s soft lower lip, letting it go with a wet pop. He then moved down his neck, teeth barely grazing the elder’s clavicle, leaving ephemeral red marks. The effect was immediate. Beomgyu jerked in his hold, knees shaking, and the fingers curled around the other’s upper arm tightened.
When the two players parted, a thread of spit was left connecting the two as they pulled away. Beomgyu wiped his mouth before turning to the side, facing the blonde. “It’s like this every time, isn’t it,” he said. His hair was tangled and slightly damp with perspiration, a once crisp white shirt now wrinkled and unbuttoned, red and gold tie dangling loosely around his neck, his lips red, debauched, and plump, betraying the nature of their activities. Taehyun wanted to kiss him again.
Instead, he turned the same direction, meeting the gaze of the elder before replying, “It is, I guess, but it’s not as if we do anything to stop it from happening.” The younger slumped against the cool surface of the locker, a respite from their heated moments before. Beomgyu watched as a drop of sweat made its way down the column of his neck, rolling down his chest, before disappearing into the creases of his untucked shirt.
“My mother, she’s probably going to send me another howler for-- wait, did you even hear anything I just said right now?” the Ravenclaw huffed, before returning to his original position, back flat against the lockers, “Quit staring, Choi, are you seriously getting distracted by a few open buttons?” He rolled his eyes, arms crossing. “And to think you’re a prefect!” Taehyun teasingly tutted, letting out a few chuckles.
‘Well sue me for appreciating art when I see it,’ a voice inside the Gryffindor’s head retorted, ‘It’s not every day, you see someone with the body of an Adonis on display.’
“About distractions, what was that you said today at the game about last year?” Beomgyu quickly blurted, his satiated brain cells gradually powering up, remembering something.
“Last year?”
“Yeah, as we were chasing the snitch, you were saying something about missing last year’s cup right?”
The Ravenclaw seeker’s eyes slowly fell to the floor before whispering, “No distractions anymore.”
“That’s it!” the elder’s face lit up in recognition before a wash of confusion set, “But what did you mean by that?”
Taehyun crinkled his eyebrows and turned to the Gryffindor, flatly stating, “Isn’t it obvious, I’m going to win the Quidditch Cup now, no more distractions.”
“So I’m a distraction?”
The younger searched Beomgyu’s face for any signs of hurt, but there was none seen, just… pride? His trademark teasing smile was back on, and he met Taehyun’s eyes, waiting for an answer.
“I-,” the blonde started before recollecting his thoughts and hummed, “You could say that, yes.”
He broke off the eye contact, cheeks reddening at the implication. Then, delicate fingers raised his chin, firmly affixing their gaze back together. The Ravenclaw checked again at the other’s face, looking for signs to hinder what he was going to say next but seeing none, then admitting, rushing words into one long breath, “I get distracted by you-- well, you’re kind of my biggest distraction. I got distracted by you at the last game when I should’ve been looking instead of the snitch, and at the game, before-- at all the games really-- I mean maybe some more than others, but nevertheless, I get distracted.”
Beomgyu stared at him, at his cheeks growing even more flushed as he guiltily confessed, at his lips formed in a small pout as the words jumbled out, at the honesty unmasked in his eyes. The words were getting scrambled in his overexcited brain, but the message was clear. The brunette quickly pecked the younger, silencing his ramble. There was much to decode in Taehyun’s statements, but that was a task for a future Beomgyu, one who didn’t have a perfectly kissable Ravenclaw seeker right in front of him.
“I can’t believe I'm the legendary seeker Kang Taehyun's weakness,” Beomgyu’s gloat broke the silence, “The best seeker at Hogwarts right now, and I’m your kryptonite!” The Gryffindor beamed, clearly feeling his ego rise 3 meters.
Obviously, his boast was met with a trademark eye roll from the younger. “Distraction, not weakness, there’s a difference,” Taehyun interjected, “It’s like if I was really hungry during the games, not like I lose vision or something by playing against you.”
“I mean, we all know I’m a snack though--”, a loud smack was then promptly delivered, “Ow! What was that for? Let me enjoy my 5 minutes of glory, Kang!”
A pause occurred, before the Ravenclaw met the eyes of the elder, eyes glinting in mischief, and suggested, “Want to enjoy it even more?”. Beomgyu took no time for his response: swiftly locking their lips together and pulling the younger close.
It really was like this every time blue and silver faced off red and gold on the Quidditch pitch. With both seekers so tightly wound up at every contact with each other, an explosion just had to happen.