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Barty’s hands are shaking as he wipes tears from his eyes.
“You have to tell him Barty,” Regulus says softly, pity in his voice. Barty hates it.
“I know I do, alright!” he snaps. He doesn’t mean to, he’s just so… frustrated. Why couldn’t everything just work out? He loves Xenophilius, truly. So why does part of him still love Evan?
Regulus seems to be understanding at least. Barty was there for Regulus when he was going through his whole James crisis, so he supposes he’s just returning the favour. But that was different. Because they’re happy now. Barty’s just going to end up alone.
He falls against Regulus letting him comfort him while he cries silently. He really doesn’t want to lose Xeno, but what choice does he have? He can’t just keep lying to him. You don't do that to people you love, right?
Regulus rubs his back lightly and starts singing a few lullabies to calm him down. Barty loves it when he sings. He rarely does it, doesn't really feel comfortable so it must be bad if he does it to comfort Barty.
“You’re such an amazing friend, Reg,” he whispers. He can see the ghost of a smile on Regulus’ face, barely perceptible to anybody who doesn't know him really well, but it’s there. And then he tries to focus on his breathing and Regulus’ singing, falling into an uneasy sleep.
When he wakes up, he and Regulus are still in his bed and Evan is shaking him. Unfortunately, Evan is the last person he wants to see right now. Merlin, even first thing in the morning he looks beautiful, sandy hair mussed up, cheeks lightly flushed. It really isn't fair. What cruel trick of fate left Barty in this position?
“Jeez, Ev, what?” he asks, rubbing at his eyes and rolling over.
“It’s almost 9AM, you dingbats,” he says, shoving Regulus to wake up as well.
“Shit,” is all Barty says as he jumps up, pushing past Evan to the bathroom. He hears Regulus grumbling at Evan.
“Why didn't you wake us up sooner?” he groans.
“I tried!” Evan exclaims. Barty quickly brushes his teeth and smooths out his hair, not that he really has anybody to impress today. In fact, just the opposite. He sighs, making his way over to his trunk to pull out a shirt and trousers.
Regulus has reluctantly gotten up, glaring daggers at Evan every chance he gets. It’s kind of hilarious. Barty holds back a laugh until he looks at Evan who was doing the same. They both burst into laughter, hearing threats from Regulus as they all rush to get dressed.
He gets rather caught up in the moment, feeling butterflies at the way Evan’s face lights up and his eyes sparkle when he laughs. He feels sick as soon as he realises. Today’s going to be a hard day. Barty quickly averts his eyes, ducking his head as he gathers his bag and robes and slips them on. He’s out the door without another glance at Evan.
Barty keeps his head down as he manoeuvres through crowds on his way to grab a bagel and his mail before class. Unfortunately, Barty’s first class is Divination, which he shares with Xeno. And he won’t get the chance to talk to him until at least their free period before lunch.
He cringes as he pointedly avoids Dorcas and Pandora in the Great Hall, not feeling much up to socialising. This is ridiculous, he thinks. Barty Crouch Jr. doesn't get sad and stroppy. He’s always up for mischief and talking to his friends. But this secret about Evan is weighing on him so heavily.
A part of him thinks he’s always known he loves Evan but it just didn’t click until the other day. When Evan got drunk at a party and got a little too close to Barty before Regulus pulled him away. And the worst part is, Barty didn't want him to. He wanted to get as close to Evan as possible. And it’s been all he could think about since.
Every time he sees Evan, he remembers what it felt like to have his hot breath on his neck, whispering in his ear, and- nope. No, at least until Barty speaks to Xeno he can't do this. It's wrong.
Finally, yesterday, he'd broken down and told everything to Regulus, who'd been comforting, but told him he had to tell Xeno sooner rather than later. Barty knew he was right. Doesn't mean he’s happy about it though.
Barty shakes out of his thoughts, glancing to make sure he hasn’t missed any mail, and grabbing a plain bagel to take with him on the way to class. Regulus always insists on eating them with cream cheese and tea, something with James? Right now, Barty just needs some food in his stomach no matter what it is. Regulus would be appalled by his choice of breakfast.
Divination is one of the furthest classes from the Great Hall so he’s got a long walk ahead of him. A long walk to psych himself out about seeing his boyfriend. He chokes down his dry toasted bagel, his mouth devoid of moisture by this point. He begins his ascent up the stairs and thinks over what he can possibly say to Xeno. He works himself into a panic by the time he reaches the top floor.
He just has to get through one hour of class with Xeno without letting anything slip. He can do that. Barty takes a deep breath as he approaches the hatch where the ladder to the Divination classroom will drop down in a few minutes, when the clock strikes a quarter after 9.
“Hello, my little chaos gremlin!” Xenophilius skips towards him, throwing an arm around his shoulder and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. Barty finds himself laughing at the nickname.
“How do you even come up with those?” he asks, between laughs. He feels so comfortable with Xeno’s arm around him and it fills him with guilt at the same time. Xeno just shrugs and spins Barty around. Barty loves how carefree and spontaneous he is.
“I suppose you just inspire me, dagger of my eye.” Xeno winks. Barty finds himself blushing. Xeno really takes every opportunity possible to flatter him and yet, it never gets old. He’s going to miss this so much.
“Thanks, babe,” he comments, squeezing his hand. One kid sneers over in their direction but the second Barty sends a glare their way, they decide better of it. At least they know what’s good for them. Barty has found that being the smartest student at Hogwarts (he did get all 12 OWLs after all) has proved an effective combatant to homophobia. Most people would rather stay in one piece than risk a snide comment.
With a loud bang, the trap door to the Divination classroom opens, and a ladder slides down. Barty climbs up, settling in on his favourite cushion on the floor of the dimly lit classroom. He’s at his normal table shared with Xeno, Bertram Aubrey, and Siobahn Montgomery. The four of them had formed a little group in third year and have stayed together into Advanced Divination.
Barty usually feels more comfortable here than anywhere else in the castle, but the unease of lying to Xeno is making his skin crawl. So he elects to sit opposite Xeno, hoping Bertram and Siobahn will act as a buffer for him. Class passes rather uneventfully. Barty’s nerves never go away, but he’s able to enjoy the hour at least a little bit. He doesn’t miss the worried glances he’s receiving from both Xeno and Professor Halford, though.
“Crouch, my boy!” he calls over to him, once class is dismissed. He stumbles up off the ground, stepping carefully around the cushions scattered about the floor to the low desk at the front.
“Yes, Professor?”
“Are you alright? Your aura seems troubled,” Professor Halford says, taking his hand and studying the area around him intently, no doubt looking for his aura.
“I suppose I am, but it’ll be alright. Thank you for checking in, sir.” Barty gives his professor a nod.
“If you say so,” he says, clearly sceptical. “If you need anything at all, feel free to knock on my floor!” he adds in a more cheerful tone, releasing Barty from his grasp and floating over to the windows. Barty takes that as his queue to leave and carefully climbs down the rickety ladder.
Of course, Xeno is waiting for him at the bottom, the considerate bastard.
“Everything alright, crystal demon?” Xeno asks, in a voice much softer than the nickname he supplies. Barty chuckles again.
“Yes, it’s alright, babe,” he assures, patting Xeno’s shoulder before strolling away. “Can’t be late for Alchemy!” he calls, sprinting the second he’s rounded the corner. He made it through Divination. Now he just has to make it through the lingering anxiety before he talks to Xeno during their free period. He’ll be a single man by the end of the day. It makes his stomach twist. He has to make a stop at the restroom before he feels well enough to attend class.
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Barty makes it through the rest of his classes, trying his hardest to focus only on academics and not at the spider trying to crawl out of his throat whenever he thinks about Xenophilius Berrycloth. At last, it’s time for his free hour. He and Xeno always meet in an alcove hidden behind a collection of cherry trees in the courtyard at this time.
Xeno found the alcove sometime in their first year and loved the peace and quiet it brought, as well as the beauty of the surrounding trees. He found solace in his little stone hideaway behind the cherry blossoms. Xeno showed it to him back when they’d been best friends. Barty confessed his feelings to Xeno there, they had their first kiss there. This alcove is such a special place to them, and Barty’s about to ruin all of that.
Each step he takes towards the alcove, Barty feels his heartbeat quicken and his hands shake more and more. Before he reaches the courtyard, he passes Regulus and James which somehow makes him feel even more sick than he already does. Regulus seems to notice this and quickly excuses himself to come find Barty.
“Hey, Barty, ‘salright,” he says quietly, guiding Barty into the nearest empty classroom. For the second time in 16 hours, Barty finds himself crying into Regulus’ chest about this whole messed up situation.
“He’s going to hate me,” he chokes out. Regulus tries to reassure him, rubbing circles across his back.
“Shh, sh. I seriously doubt that, Barty. I don’t think Xeno could ever hate you,” Regulus says softly. That somehow makes Barty cry even harder, leaning into the wall and clutching Regulus’ robes for stability. Regulus just stands there and reassures him until he’s mostly collected himself. “Are you ready?”
“I’ll never be ready to lose him,” he says quietly, “but I s’pose, yeah.” Regulus nods and gives him a tight hug.
“You’ve got this. I’m proud of you, Barty.” And oh. Those words mean the world to Barty, he feels a few new tears gather in his eyes and quickly dashes them away with newfound determination. At the end of the day, even if he has nobody else, he’ll always have Regulus.
“Thanks, Reg,” he says and Regulus smiles. He actually smiles. Yeah, Barty’s okay. He has his best friend behind him. Still shaky, but feeling much better, Barty slips out of the classroom giving a quick smile towards James who was waiting nearby, those two are so codependent, and heads for the courtyard.
He approaches the trees slowly, taking a few more deep breaths. And then he’s pushing through the branches of pink flowers and into the alcove where Xeno is already waiting.
“Barty, my falling dove, I thought you’d gotten lost!” he reaches out for Barty’s hand. He gives it, still shaking, as he settles onto the cold stone bench next to him. “What’s wrong, flying blueberry?” Barty takes a deep breath and decides to just rip off the band aid.
“I think we have to break up,” he says all in one breath.
“Is this because of your crush on Evan?”
“Yes,” he sighs, and then it registers, “wait- WHAT?” Barty asks, whirling around to face Xeno, who looks perfectly calm.
“You’re in love with Evan Rosier,” he states, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“I’m what?” Barty asks again, because quite frankly, he’s nothing less than bewildered right now.
“It’s really quite obvious, sunrise.” Xeno shrugs, squeezing Barty’s hand.
“Wha- you act like you’ve known this for years?!”
“Barty, light of my life, watermelon sorbet, demon of chaos, skeleton wearing a top hat, look me in the eye and tell me there was a time you weren’t in love with Evan Rosier,” he says. Barty’s mouth falls open and he just stares at his boyfriend. He’s right. As long as it’s taken him to realise it himself, Barty has always loved Evan, it just took one drunken encounter to fully notice.
“I- yeah, I guess.” Barty sighs, plucking up the courage to keep going. “So, what now? Do we- do we break up?” he asks the question warily as if he hadn’t just proposed this a few minutes prior. He can’t bring himself to look into Xenophilius’ eyes and see pain, or far worse, indifference.
“I don’t see why we have to.” Well, that’s certainly not what he expected to hear. “I mean, I have a crush on Evan too.” Barty makes a muffled noise of surprise and turns a truly baffled look at Xeno. “Actually, I’m quite sure he’s in love with you too.”
“What the fuck does any of that mean?” Barty exclaims, throwing his hands up in frustration. This is all far more convoluted than he thought it would be.
“I’m sorry, sunflower, I didn’t mean to startle you. I s’pose I’ve known all of this for a while now. I didn’t think it would come as a shock to you.”
“You’ve liked Evan for months and didn’t say anything?”
“You’ve been in love with Evan the whole time you’ve known him,” he points out.
“But- I didn’t know, Xeno! I just realised a few days ago!” Xeno cringes at that.
“I’m sorry, love. I thought you knew, I swear.” Barty huffs and falls back against the wall. He still has no idea what’s going on.
“So, what? Are you saying we just go on dating each other and liking Evan? I’m not an expert in relationships, babe, but I don’t think that’s how they work.” Barty scrubs his hands down his face trying to process all the new information that’s been given to him in the past five minutes.
“I’m saying maybe he’d want to date us.” Xeno says, clearly hinting at something Barty’s missing.
“But we’re in a relationship…”
“Yes,” Xeno says. “And he could join us.” Oh. Oh.
“We can do that?” he asks quietly, unsure if that’s a stupid question.
“There are no rules, caramel latte,” Xeno says softly, taking Barty’s hand again. Barty suddenly realises he’s crying again. “We can do as we wish.”
“I- I love you both so much and the thought of losing one of you for the other-” His breath catches in his throat. It’s true. He couldn’t imagine losing either of them. There’s a reason he’s spent so much time crying to Regulus.
“I can’t say for sure how Evan feels, but we can talk to him, yeah?” Barty nods, and sinks into Xeno’s shoulder. “For now, nothing has to change until we want it to, I’m not going anywhere, turtle dove.” Barty smiles and curls into Xeno’s side as he hums a few assorted tunes from his endless catalogue of songs.
That’s another thing Barty loves about Xenophilius, his endless passion for music. And so, so many other things Barty can’t even begin to count. With that happy thought, they fall into a peaceful stasis, happy to be in each other’s company with no fear of leaving in sight. After a while of silence, Barty is feeling significantly better.
“So, you’ve got a thing for Rosier, huh?” he asks, raising his eyebrows playfully. Xeno laughs and it’s the most incredible thing Barty has ever heard. Xenophilius laughs with his whole heart, his whole body. It’s truly an honour to be in his presence when he does so. “You’ve got good taste, Berrycloth.”
“He’s so pretty, Barty,” Xeno says.
“Don’t even get me started on the beauty that is Evan Rosier, babe, you have no idea.” Barty sighs wistfully, throwing an arm over his eyes and Xeno chuckles. “His hair is the colour of sand and his eyes are the colour of the ocean and when I look at him, I see a summer day at the beach.” He looks over at Xeno whose eyes are sparkling in thought.
“Wow, I’ve never put it that way. That was poetic, easter bunny.” Barty giggles.
“Oh and he’s so smart too.”
“Oh, I know.” Xeno says, grinning. “He’s in practically all my classes, always the first to raise his hand, always knowing the answer, O’s on every assignment. It’s been driving me crazy to watch him and not be able to do anything about it.” They both laugh at that because yeah, Barty can relate. He looks up into Xeno’s eyes. They’re truly remarkable. One colour isn’t enough to describe the eyes of Xenophilius Berrycloth.
They’re blue, sure. But deep blues swim amongst turquoises and sea greens. Flecks of gold adorn his irises. Barty reaches up to curl a bit of Xeno’s platinum hair around his fingers.
“You know, I don’t think I tell you how pretty you are enough, babe.” Xeno blushes a deep red and Barty smiles, leaning in to give him a quick kiss. “I love you so much, you know.”
“I know,” he confirms. “I love you too.” Barty smiles and the two of them chat about various things until the clock tower chimes, signalling their free period is over and lunch hour has begun.
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That night, Barty enters the dorm with a bright smile. Today went so much better than he could’ve imagined. He’s met instantly with a confused look from Regulus who’s sitting on Barty’s bed with a book open, clearly expecting him to come in crying again.
“What’s got you smiling like that, Crouch?” Regulus asks, closing his book and swinging his legs over to sit on the edge of the bed and face Barty. “You sure look happy for a man who’s just lost his boyfriend.”
“We didn’t break up,” is all Barty says, dropping his bag on his bed and going to change into a set of pyjamas. Regulus clearly wants to ask more but senses he isn’t going to get much from Barty. “I promise I’ll explain, just not yet.” Regulus nods, walking back over to his own bed. “Hey, Reg?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.” Regulus smiles slightly and gives a quick nod before going back to his book and hiding a larger smile behind the pages. Barty feels warm at the sight. He loves making people happy, despite what others may think. He knows he can be a little shit, but it’s all in the name of fun and games.
He gets changed and settles into bed with a bit of Charms homework, content until his breath is knocked out of him by the sight of Evan exiting the bathroom. He truly is beautiful. He’s clearly just taken a shower if his wet hair and the towel tied around his waist are anything to go by. There are still beads of water dripping down his torso and Merlin, he is fit. He shakes out his hair flashing Barty a blinding smile.
Regulus clears his throat giving him a pointed stop drooling look and Barty realises his mouth is hanging open. He blinks a few times, doing his best to focus on his homework again, and trying to look away as Evan changes into his own pyjamas. He walks over to Barty’s bed, dropping down on the foot to peer over at Barty’s homework. He does this all the time but it feels different now.
“Need any help there, loverboy?” Evan asks, grinning. Evan and Regulus both started calling Barty loverboy ever since he admitted he had a crush on Xeno, and coming from Evan, it never failed to knock the wind out of him.
“N-no, thanks E-Ev,” he stutters out. He hears a snort from Regulus. Barty whips around to glare at him which just makes him laugh harder and turns back to Evan.
“Well just let me know, yeah?” he asks, flicking Barty on the forehead. Barty nods a few times, trying to smile and not seem like a complete moron. This is harder than he thought it would be.
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Two days later, Barty is fed up. He’s had two more nights like that first one and he is well on his way to losing his damn mind. He’s already decided by the time he wakes up to Evan standing over him smiling, that he’s going to talk to Xeno today. They have to talk to Evan today or Barty just might go crazy.
“Morning, loverboy,” Evan sings. Barty coughs. He fucking coughs. How is he supposed to react to that?
“Morning Ev,” he eventually gets out. “Happy Saturday?”
“I’ll be a bit busy today, but I’ll be around the North Courtyard if you need me!” he calls, stepping away from Barty’s bed with an inexplicable smirk across his face. And before Barty knows it, Evan’s out the door.
“What just happened?” he asks Regulus, who is also fully dressed and ready to leave the dorm.
“You’ll see,” he says with a shrug, adjusting his bag around his shoulder. “I’ll be with James and his friends near the willow by the lake, see ya later!” And he, too, is out the door. Well that was weird.
Whatever, Barty has more important things to attend to. Today he does have somebody to impress, so he puts a bit of effort into his outfit. Okay, maybe a little more than a bit of effort. Hopefully, by the end of the day he’ll have two boyfriends to impress, he’s got to up his game! Barty looks at the mirror at what he’s put together and smirks.
“I look hot,” he says to himself. Barty’s wearing a pair of black trousers with white pinstripes and laces on the side, near the hips. He’s got a few belt chains hanging off it as well. He’s wearing a sheer green shirt with a pattern of stars and moons and a black cropped leather vest on top.
As far as jewellery goes, he stole a few of Regulus’ silver rings and he’s wearing cross earrings his father gave him. Of course, said earrings now have a chain and an ear cuff attached to them and are dark red from when Barty decided to drown them in pig’s blood. They’re his favourite possession. He even put a bit of glitter on his face, and slipped on a pair of black boots. Honestly, Barty will be surprised if any sane person at this school doesn’t want him in this outfit.
Giving himself a last once-over and a smirk in the mirror, Barty straightens out his hair and grabs his bag. He practically skips out of the dorm, elated. He pretends to ignore the stares he gets in the corridors while inwardly freaking out every time somebody gives him a second glance. I really need to dress up more often, he thinks.
He approaches the Great Hall, walking straight towards the Ravenclaw table. He sits right next to Xeno. Dorcas has already migrated for Saturday breakfast, sitting next to Pandora, both staring wistfully at the Gryffindor table.
“If you both miss your girlfriends so much, why don’t you just go sit with them?” Barty asks, making his presence known. Immediately, Pandora, Dorcas, and Xeno all turn around to look at him and their jaws drop.
“Careful there, Barty, think you might’ve short circuited his brain,” Lily Evans comes up behind Pandora, setting a hand on her shoulder, and nodding towards Xeno. Pandora forgets all about Barty, looking up at Lily adoringly.
“You- you look-” Xeno clears his throat, “wow.” Pandora, Dorcas, and Lily all giggle at that and Barty simultaneously smirks and blushes.
“Thanks, babe,” he says, leaning in to give a quick kiss to Xeno. He winks before turning back towards the table and filling his plate with beans, bacon, eggs, and toast. He takes a sip of pumpkin juice and launches into a conversation with the girls on the latest Hogwarts gossip.
“Did you hear about Benjy Fenwick and Dirk Cresswell?”
“No!”
“Uh huh! In the Charms classroom, too!”
“No way.”
“What about Stebbins getting detention for punching Professor Canton?”
Barty animatedly participates in the conversation, happily taking note of his boyfriend staring at him the whole time. Barty drags out the conversation as long as possible, enjoying his meal and the effect his outfit seems to have on Xeno. Once his plate is empty, he turns to Xeno.
“We need to talk,” he says with a smirk.
“Good, I know an empty classroom nearby, let’s go,” he says quickly, grabbing Barty’s hand and dragging him out of the Great Hall. He just barely manages a wave goodbye to his friends on the way.
The second they’re in the classroom, Barty is up against the door.
“Are you trying to drive me mad?” Xeno asks, breathlessly, looking over every inch of Barty. His skin prickles with excitement.
“That was the goal, yes,” he says quietly. What happens next can only be described as Xeno snogging him senseless. Barty’s mind goes blank as he’s pushed up against the door, lips crashing with Xeno’s, hands everywhere. Xeno pulls back after a minute, breathless.
“What did you need to talk to me about, dagger?” he asks, still holding Barty close.
“Evan,” he whispers. Xeno smiles at that.
“Is that why you’re all dressed up today?” he asks. Barty nods. “You never do this for me,” he comments.
“I didn’t know you would appreciate it this much,” Barty says with a grin. Xeno kisses him again just to prove a point. Barty fully enjoys it anyway. “I s’pose I’ll be doing it more often now.”
“So, Evan, eh?” Xeno asks, lightly holding Barty’s wrist and guiding him to sit at one of the desks.
“He’s driving me absolutely insane, babe,” he says, dropping his head in his hands.
“How’s that, my dairy cow?” Xeno asks, sitting down next to him.
“He keeps walking around the dorm looking unbelievably beautiful and teasing me and calling me loverboy.” Barty groans. “I think I’m going insane.” Xeno nods, looking off for a moment, thoughtfully.
“We don’t have to talk to him until you’re ready, butter dove.”
“No, oh my Merlin, I’m ready, I’m so ready, I’ll go bloody mad if we don’t talk to him today,” Barty says, banging his head on the desk. Xeno chuckles.
“Okay, breakfast burrito, let’s do it,” he says. Barty leans back up.
“Yeah?” he asks, still rather unsure.
“Yeah,” Xeno replies. “Let’s talk to Evan.” Barty smiles and takes Xeno’s hand properly, squeezing it.
“Let’s talk to Evan,” he repeats back, feeling less nervous and more excited by the second.
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Xenophilius and Barty arrive in the North Courtyard a short while later to look for Evan. They’d briefly discussed how to broach the subject with him and some basic ground rules before Barty recalled Evan saying he’d be around this area, and the two of them set off to find him. Of course, once they reach the courtyard, they realise that was a very vague description of where they might find Evan.
On a warm Saturday morning in the spring, the North Courtyard is bustling with students. Not to mention it’s a large area surrounded on all sides by Hogwarts and leading out into the Hogwarts grounds. Evan never said he would be outside, he could very well be in a classroom overlooking the courtyard.
“This is going to be impossible,” Barty groans.
“It’s alright, my flying squirrel, I’m not too bad at finding people. And besides, I’ve got the brightest wizard at Hogwarts helping me, how hard could it be?” Xeno squeezes his hand and Barty finds himself flushed again. He’s right. How hard could it be?
“Apparently very fucking hard,” Barty complains an hour later. He and Xeno had split up to look around and so far haven’t found a trace of Evan Rosier. Xeno dramatically falls back on the ground, using a featherweight charm to keep him from breaking his back, and sprawls out on the grass.
“You sure you have no other hints as to where he might be?” he asks. Barty sits down next to him. He's been asking himself that same question for the past hour. And then it hits him. He whirls around to look down at Xeno.
“Regulus knows something,” he says.
“Oh does he now?” Xeno sits up, leaning back on his hands behind him.
“He was being weird in the dorm this morning and when I asked him about Evan he just said ‘you’ll see.’” Barty recounts, talking with his hands.
“Do we know where Regulus is, though?” Xeno asks, remembering the torturous past hour asking every living being in his path if they’d seen Evan.
“Yes, actually,” Barty smirks, jumping to his feet. “Come on now, Berrycloth, we’ve got a best friend to track down,” he says, holding out his hand for Xeno to hoist himself up off the ground. Without another word, Barty clamps his hand tighter around Xeno’s and runs off towards the Black Lake.
The giant willow tree between the lake and the Forbidden Forest comes into view, its branches parted like curtains to reveal the so-called Marauders and Regulus hiding from the sunlight.
“Hey, Regulus, I think Crouch needs to talk to you!” Peter says, watching Barty and Xeno barreling towards them. Regulus groans, turning over to hide in James’ lap. James just rubs his back, seemingly oblivious to everything happening around them.
“Reg,” Barty starts, as they finally approach the tree, ducking under the leaves.
“No,” Regulus says, burrowing deeper into his spot. By this point, James is sitting cross legged with Regulus basically curled up in a ball on his lap. Sirius is fake gagging, while practically in the same position with Remus.
Barty notices that both Regulus and James have little matching flowers embroidered into their jeans, and he smiles to himself. They're adorable. He’s about to give them shit for it, though.
“I believe you have some information my lovely boyfriend and I require,” Barty says dramatically, plopping down on the ground and slinging an arm around Peter's shoulders. Xeno stands awkwardly in the same place, unsure of what to do with himself.
“Go away,” Regulus says.
“I’m afraid I can't do that, starshine,” Barty says, motioning for Xeno to come sit next to him.
“Die,” Regulus replies.
“Starshine?!?!” James asks, subconsciously tightening his grip on Regulus. “Why does he call you starshine?” James complains, looking down at Regulus like a wounded puppy.
“Because he’s an obnoxious git and regrettably, my best friend,” Regulus replies, beginning to untangle himself. “Don't worry, love, you'll always be mon soleil.” Regulus rolls off James who suddenly looks lost without him.
Regulus leans down to kiss James softly and smiles down at him. James seems satisfied with that and Sirius looks ready to throw up. The rest of the interaction is lost to Barty though, as Regulus marches over, grabbing his arm, and dragging him over to the other side of the tree.
“What do you need, Barty?” he asks, sighing.
“Where’s Evan?”
“Ah, that.” Regulus responds.
“Yes, that.” Barty says.
“'Fraid I don't know the answer to that question,” Regulus shrugs, turning around to walk back to the group.
“But you know something!” Barty calls, following him. Regulus just shakes his head.
“Doesn’t your boyfriend have that special map or something? You four can always find people,” Barty says, pointing at Peter, James, Remus, and Sirius. James reaches into his bag.
“I s’pose we can help you,” he starts, rummaging around. Regulus sits down next to him lightly lifting James’ hand out of his bag. The way James just goes willingly is endlessly entertaining to Barty.
“Let them suffer,” Regulus smiles.
“What?” Barty asks at the same time as Xeno and James.
“You don’t know the situation. Trust me on this one, baby,” Regulus says and James nods along. Peter leans in close to Barty and Xeno.
“Walk him like a dog,” he whispers and Barty breaks out laughing, falling into Xeno who’s also laughing. Regulus glares over at them, guiding James’ head down onto his shoulder. Peter, Barty, and Xeno all fall over on the ground laughing. Regulus seems to decide they aren't worth it, turning back to talk to James quietly. The two of them really live in their own bubble.
“Come on Reg,” Barty whines. “Starshine,” he tries. James instinctively wraps both arms around Regulus possessively. Regulus runs a hand through James’ hair, effectively calming him down a bit.
“You’ll find him when he wants to be found,” he says. Barty knows that’s the end of the conversation. He rolls his eyes, standing up, and offering his hand for Xeno again. The two of them start to skip away but not before Barty turns around to smile at Regulus. He smiles back.
“Right, so, that wasn't helpful in the least,” Barty says to Xeno.
“Sorry about that, princess,” Xeno says.
“Princess? Princess?” Barty asks, swatting Xeno on the arm. Xeno laughs, running off ahead of him. Barty chases after him. They end up collapsed under a magnolia tree, lying on the ground, laughing to themselves. This. This is what Barty was afraid of losing. And he’s so grateful he hasn’t.
The two of them end up running around the castle aimlessly for the rest of the day, laughing, and having fun, almost forgetting why they started in the first place. Thank Merlin for cooling charms because neither his nor Xeno’s outfits were built for running. Barty didn’t exactly expect to be sprinting all over Hogwarts when he chose his clothes this morning.
➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶
When the clock strikes 6, Barty and Xeno decide to give up their hunt for the time being in favour of some food. They’d skipped lunch in their mad dash about the castle, and especially with all the exercise they’ve done, Barty and Xeno have built up an appetite. Barty glances over at the Slytherin table, not seeing Evan. He sighs, following Xeno to the Ravenclaw table.
Pandora is sitting alone, but perks up as she sees the two of them arrive.
“There you are! Everybody else abandoned me,” she sighs, pushing some pasta around her plate. “But you’re here now, so everything’s fine. Tell me about your day!” she exclaims in a rushed manner. Barty smiles, swinging his legs over the bench and serving himself some spaghetti. He pats the bench next to him, signalling for Xeno to do the same.
“I officially met Regulus’ boyfriend’s friend group today,” Xeno says.
“Oh, you haven’t met them?” She asks, taking a thoughtful bite of her spaghetti, twirling a bit more around her fork. Lily introduced her to a muggle concept called ‘mindful eating’ and Pandora’s been obsessed with it since.
“Nope,” Xeno says, popping the ‘p.’
“Yeah, how’d that go, by the way? I was preoccupied,” Barty says, leaning into Xeno’s shoulder and looking up at him.
“I introduced myself to Sirius and he said bless you…” Xeno says suddenly and Barty laughs.
“I mean your name does sound a bit like a sneeze, babe,” Barty admits.
“I, Xenophilius Torquhil Berrycloth, have never been so offended in my life!” he exclaims, throwing his hands up for dramatic effect. Pandora giggles at that, too.
“They all have such normal names, they can’t talk,” Barty decides. “James Potter? Really? Here I am, Bartemius Christabel Crouch Jr., and you don’t hear me complaining!” They burst into laughter again, Barty nearly choking on a meatball at the conversation.
“Pandora, how’d you get such a lovely name?” Barty asks. “Pandora Celia Lovegood,” he says, “it’s beautiful.”
“Just lucky, I guess,” she giggles, fiddling with her necklace. RAB.
“And Regulus too!” Pandora smiles at the necklace she’d seemingly been playing with subconsciously. The three of them slip into easy conversation for the rest of the meal, enjoying their supper, the automatically refilling plates – Barty really was famished – and each other’s company.
As the meal comes to a close, Evan finally enters the Great Hall, sending a grin towards the Ravenclaw table and Barty feels his stomach flip. His nerves return. He scoots closer to Xeno who seems to sense Barty’s tension. He puts an arm around him, tracing light circles on his arm. It serves to calm him down a bit, but his nerves won’t be fully gone until he’s spoken to Evan.
Barty glances over towards the Gryffindor table, seeing Regulus curled against James’ side. He gives him a nervous smile and a little double thumbs up which Barty returns. The fucker knows exactly what's going on. Still, he’s grateful for the support.
He gives Xeno a meaningful look and they excuse themselves from the table. Pandora looks a bit confused, but doesn’t seem to mind as much when Fenwick and Trelawney join her. Barty is holding onto Xeno’s arm for dear life as they make their way over to the Slytherin table.
“What’s goin’ on there, loverboy?” Evan asks as they approach. Barty chokes and Xeno pats his back gently.
“Hey there, Evan. Barty and I were hoping you had a moment to chat?” Xeno takes over, given Barty is really in no condition to speak at the moment.
“Shoot,” Evan replies, turning back towards his food. Is he doing this on purpose?
“Er- in private?” Xeno asks. Something flashes through Evan’s eyes. It almost looks like excitement or curiosity, but Barty doesn’t dare think so optimistically. “It’s alright, water pixie,” Xeno whispers to Barty as they walk. Yet again, Barty feels himself calm down just the slightest bit.
“Um, sure?” Evan says, clearly confused. He stands up and follows them out of the Great Hall. Barty finds the nearest empty classroom and slips inside, ushering Xeno and Evan to follow. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?” Evan asks.
“What? No!” Barty says, closing the door behind him. “We- er- um-” Barty clears his throat.
“Webothreallyreallylikeyou,” Xeno spits out and immediately slaps his hand over his mouth.
“Uh… yeah, pretty much.” Barty sighs. Evan looks bewildered. “It seems I’ve kind of been in love with you the whole time I’ve known you Ev,” Barty says, smiling weakly. “I went to tell Xeno the other day and break up with him, which broke my heart because I love him so much, but I didn’t think I could do that. Date him while also loving somebody else, I mean.” Evan nods slowly, not saying anything.
“Well, he came to talk to me and I admitted that I er- kinda have a crush on you, too,” Xeno says quietly. Evan looks shocked. He didn’t look very surprised when Barty admitted his feelings, he notes. Actually, he looked hopeful? Was that too much to assume?
“What we’re trying to say is,” Barty cuts in again, “we both really like you and we were hoping… maybe you’d want to date us?” Barty winces the moment he’s said it, heart hammering in his chest again. What happens next, he was not expecting. Evan’s shocked expression turns into a devilish smirk and he leans back against a desk, nonchalant.
“Well, took you both long enough!” he says eventually. Barty and Xeno exchange confused glances. “Oh come on, you’re not as subtle as you think you are.” Is he really that obvious? Did he and Xeno just make fools of themselves? Is Evan going to make fun of them? His expression turns a bit softer when he sees Barty’s face.
“Hey,” he says quietly, standing up and stepping closer to Barty. “Hey there, loverboy y’alright?” Barty nods jerkily. “I guess this is the part where I tell you I really like both of you too,” he says, and Barty feels all the tension in his body dissipate. “I can’t even tell you how long I’ve been waiting for you two to ask me out,” he says laughing. Barty swats at him.
“Hey!” he says. Evan steps back, sitting on the desk again.
“At first, when you two got together I thought I was just jealous of you, Xeno,” he shrugs. “What does he have that I don’t? I kept thinking to myself. But then, well… I realised. And I rather fell in love with everything I found. Everything that you have that I don’t, Xenophilius.” Evan looks up, between the two of them, clearly trying to gauge their reactions.
“Barty, you’re so energetic and carefree and so smart, oh my Merlin. And you’re beautiful, don’t even get me started on what you’re wearing today. Are you trying to drive me mad?” he rambles. Barty giggles at Evan’s words, exactly what Xeno said this morning at breakfast.
“Yes, actually, that was the goal,” he snorts and Evan groans.
“You’ve been my best friend for six years and you’re so kind and thoughtful and just, how could I not love you, Barty?” The way he says all that is desperate, almost like a plea. “And Xeno, I didn’t really take the time to get to know you until you two started dating, but when you did, I felt like I needed to to be a good friend. And you’re so whimsical and knowledgeable in such a unique way. Everytime I talk to you I leave with a new view on the world, you know? And when you laugh, it lights up a room and just- ugh!” Evan seems monumentally frustrated just by the concept of the two of them existing. It makes Barty a bit proud, to be honest.
“What I’m trying to say is. Yes, please, I would love nothing more than to date you. And do you know you are the two most beautiful people to ever walk this Earth? Merlin, I’ve been going crazy just being around you two.” Evan huffs out a sigh, slumping, seemingly done with his speech.
Barty does the only thing he can think of and rushes over to pull Evan into his arms, vaguely aware of tears staining his cheeks. He squeezes Evan as tight as he possibly can, relishing in the warmth radiating off of his body.
“I love you so much Evs,” Barty whispers. “I can’t even list all the ways.” He holds on to Evan like his life depends on it, not caring how uncomfortable he is because Evan is here and he wants Barty there, too. He hears a choked sob from behind and turns around to see Xeno crying.
“Sorry, that was just- really sweet,” he says. Barty smiles, letting go of Evan to go hug Xeno.
“You too, babe, I love you too,” Barty says, hanging his arms around Xeno’s neck. “More than I know what to do with sometimes.” He drops his hands, going to hold Evan’s wrist and bring him over to Xeno.
“I love you too, fruit salad,” Xeno says, kissing Barty on the forehead. He feels himself smile widely.
“Fruit salad?” Evan asks, cracking up. Barty laughs too, if only a light chuckle.
“I like my little nicknames, they’re sweet,” he adds, bopping Xeno on the nose with his finger.
“I love you both so much more than words can describe and I would be fucking honoured to call you both my boyfriends,” Barty finishes bluntly, earning a laugh from both of the boys before him. They look at each other and smile nodding. Barty feels each of them kiss him on either cheek and feels his whole face warm up, most likely flushed red.
“I wasn’t joking earlier, Xenophilius,” Evan says softly. “I’m falling in love with you too.” Xeno smiles that bright smile of his that’s usually reserved only for Barty. But he isn’t jealous, if anything it makes him feel even happier than before.
“Oh shut up and get over here,” Xeno says, dragging Evan towards him and bringing their lips together. It’s a sweet and meaningful kiss, and Barty feels his heart soar again. He never even dreamed any of this would happen, but he absolutely could not anticipate the joy he feels that the two people he cares about most care about each other, too.
“Come on, lovebirds,” Barty says, rolling his eyes and trying to suppress a grin. “We’ve got somewhere to show you.” Evan looks slightly confused between Xeno and Barty who smile at each other, each grabbing one of his hands and rushing off towards the courtyard.
When they reach the cherry trees, Barty and Xeno step to the side, gesturing to the branches adorned with pink blossoms. Evan looks confused, but leads the way to the alcove anyway.
“This is our secret hideaway. Now your secret hideaway too.” Barty says.
“Perks of being my boyfriend,” Xeno chimes in, slipping into the small stone room after them. All three of them smile at the word boyfriend. Barty sits down on the stone floor, dragging his boyfriends down with him. He settles back, Evan leaning against one shoulder. Xeno twirls around, falling to the floor dramatically with another featherweight charm, and settles against Barty’s other shoulder.
Barty sighs contentedly, feeling every place his skin touches his boyfriends and feeling comforted by the warmth it brings him.
He feels a crooked finger under his chin guiding his head to the side and then Evan’s kissing him. Fireworks go off in his head as he sinks into it, feeling his heart flutter. Just a soft, chaste exchange, but meaning everything. They pull apart lightly, resting their foreheads against each other.
“Merlin, I’ve been waiting years to do that,” Evan whispers.
“Me too, Ev,” Barty says, peppering kisses around Evan’s face, glowing in the light of Evan’s giggles.
“You’re cute when you laugh,” Xeno says, which just causes Evan to blush and giggle even more.
“He’s such a flirt, get used to it,” Barty says, and they all laugh, falling against the wall and settling into each other. Barty finds himself curled against Xeno’s chest, Xeno’s arm around his shoulders, with Evan holding on to him from behind.
“That I am, my little trail mix, that I am,” Xeno says, running a hand through Barty’s hair. He sighs, feeling perfectly happy and content, wrapped in the arms of his two favourite people. Evan snorts from behind him.
“You better not call me your ‘little trail mix,’ or I will break up with both of you,” he says.
“How dare you!” Barty says in mock offence.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, love,” Xeno says, kissing the top of Evan’s head.
“Hm, love, I like that,” Evan says, smiling.
“Babe, are we going to ignore Evan threatening to break up with us over your wonderful nicknames?” Barty exclaims.
“Hey there, loverboy, I’m not going anywhere,” Evan replies easily.
“Well that was much too sweet,” Barty says, huffing and crossing his arms. That earns a laugh from both Evan and Xeno, which makes it all worth it. They stay in their own little world all night, hidden in the alcove, wrapped up in each other. Sharing each other’s warmth and trading stories until they fall asleep, their secrets behind the cherry blossoms.