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Scorpius let his gaze fall to his lap when Mr Potter shifted his eyes between him and James suspiciously. Sat at the Potter's table in this supposed normal dinner was definitely weird, made worse for the fact that barely twenty minutes ago Scorpius and James had been caught by Mrs Potter exchanging lazy kisses on the garden, being too naïve to actually realise that curling under the living room's back window could prove a very poor hiding place when Mrs Potter's shocked yelp resounded and scared them apart.
Al looked like someone (Scorpius) had stabbed him in the back. Mrs Potter resolutely avoided looking up at them, though Scorpius supposed she was only taking her time to calm down before approaching the subject, with the way her face was reddened, her lips thin and drawn together. Lily looked unbothered, amused even, a grin twitching on the corner of her lips. And steady, fierce and gentle Mr Potter, Boy Who Lived Mr Potter, could only stare at them with knowledgeable green eyes, not possibly caring about the way he seemed to be making Scorpius' stomach turn.
"Hey, Al," James said, not seeming at all affected by the weird awkwardness hanging over the table. Al looked up from his plate, eyeing James with a determinate tighteness around his lips that denoted how he hadn't forgotten about his brother and Scorpius. "Al, pass me the salt, will you?"
Al took in a sharp breath, staring at the tabletop like he wanted it to burst into flames, but grabbed the salt in a strong grip, setting it in front of James loudly. This behaviour could've surely warranted a crisp admonishing from Mrs Potter, who Scorpius supposed spent lots of her daytime trying to correct her children's occasional banters, but as it was, no one said a thing.
"Well," everyone was surprised when Lily spoke up, "at least now we know James isn't single."
Scorpius almost choked on his soup, and James' cheeks became flaming red all too quickly. "Shut up, Lily-"
"James," Mrs Potter finally cut in, drawing her napkin to swipe at her lips. "Don't talk to your sister like that," James opened his mouth, but was refrained from speaking when his mother gave him a stern look. It was Ginny's turn to shift her eyes between them. Mr Potter cleared his throat before starting with "So, um, James-"
"When did you start shagging my best friend?" Al put in. Lily gasped, eyes glinting in mirth as she clapped a hand to her hanging mouth.
Mrs Potter stammered. "Al-Albus." But everyone was staring at Scorpius and James, their curiosity surpassing their attempt to bring normalcy to the table. James' flustering was reflected in Scorpius', and the older boy stared intently at Albus.
"That's none of your business," James said, through gritted teeth. Scorpius licked his lips, feeling an uncomfortable twist in his stomach. He and James had never discussed their thing. So it was hard to define themselves or even to discuss it with other people, James' family least of all.
Albus sent a betrayed look Scorpius' way, but promptly went back to his food.
Lunch continued much the same way, and with a heavy heart, Scorpius looked at James, who was unperturbedly eating his own food.
"Hello!" Came a voice from the living room, and James' eyes shone.
"Uncle George!'' James said, getting up in a flash.
"James!", Mrs Potter sighed, watching as her son went out the room with Harry in tow whispering something about how George must have news on the family. Ginny sighed when being ignored, and turned her eyes to Scorpius, as if waiting for him to be as disappointed on James' behavior as she was, or at least try to correct it. Blushing, Scorpius looked down at his food and pretended not to exist.
Ginny went to the living room to see what James was so excited about, leaving Scorpius with Albus and Lily, who promptly finished and took her dish to the kitchen.
"So," Albus mumbled. "You and my brother," he said, voice filled with a sour quality to it.
Scorpius made a nonchalant noise, and Albus puffed. "I can't believe it. After spending years bothering me about you, saying we were snogging in the common room. During all this time, Scorpius?"
"No," Scorpius said, rather enthusiastically for someone who had his mouth shut since, well, since kissing James. "Not during all this time, I- I mean, we," he said, fiddling with the hem of the tablecloth. "He noticed me a while ago. I had noticed him before. Way before," he whispered the last part, and felt somehow guilty.
Albus blinked at him, possibly trying to make sense of everything in his head. "You liked my brother?"
Scorpius shrugged, feeling his cheeks heating. "A little, yes."
"And you never told me?"
"Didn't think you'd be interested."
Albus sighed, but looked less likely to murder him with a mute spell. "Right," he mumbled, and with a quiet smirk: "So, did you two...?"
"What?"
Albus smiled, and it was enough for Scorpius to understand. "Al, please," he said, lifting his hands as if it could stopper Albus' indecent curiosity. "You don't need to know how far I went with your brother, do you?"
Albus shrugged. "Just asking. I've heard stuff."
Scorpius took a sip of his water, trying to maintain his calm. "What stuff?" he asked, trying for casual.
"Stuff. The girls say some things about him." Scorpius was on the verge of opening his mouth to ask what exactly they said, but Al continued. "Actually, I didn't know my brother was into blokes. He has always liked blondes though," he smiled predatorily.
Scorpius huffed, rolling his eyes.
"Seriously, though, they say he's a good kisser."
Scorpius didn't like imagining other girls kissing James and having something to talk about it, so he just lets out an uninterested - jealous - mumble. "Is it true?" Albus asked, as if it pained him to actually do it.
"It is," Scorpius turns abruptly when James answers from the doorway. He's leaning against the doorjamb, a lopsided smirk in place, the same that made Scorpius' heart flutter. "I'm the best kisser Hogwarts has ever seen," James came to a stop behind Scorpius, who looked back at him and lifted an eyebrow. Albus just stared at them. "Now," James continued, gaze firmly set on his younger brother as he held Scorpius' shoulder and motioned for him to get up. "If you'd excuse us."
Albus doesn't say anything when James pulls Scorpius to the garden again.