Work Text:
Scorpius' favorite day had finally arrived. He'd just wrapped up a rather arduous studying session in the library after a double Charms class, not to mention the extremely early prefect patrol shift he acquired this morning. Thankfully, he only needed to give out two detentions, very slim compared to the dozens he usually doled out during the night shift. To put it lightly, he was utterly exhausted.
But Tuesdays meant Albus time. Uninterrupted, cozy, fluttery, perfect Albus time. Along with the occasional book or bath. Or both. His body was practically quivering at the thought.
The fallen leaves and twigs scattered on the stone path crunched under his shoes as he hurried to collect Albus from his Herbology class. Much to Albus' surprise, he'd been approached to assist in teaching the course's second-year cohort this term. He denied the position at first ("I'm his godson, of course he's going to pity me!"), but some words of encouragement from Scorpius changed his mind. He also knew Albus would do anything for some additional morning cuddle time.
"Hello Scorpius!" Alvira Moore, a younger Hufflepuff he'd been tutoring, waved at him as she passed by, almost dropping the books she was carrying. Scorpius inwardly sighed at the pleasantry. If he'd been stopped by anyone else, he selfishly would have pretended he didn't hear the greeting. Nothing was going to get in between him and his night of bliss. However, Scorpius found himself offering the girl a soft smile.
"Hi Alvira, how are you? Is Vera Verto giving you anymore trouble?"
"Not one bit! Thank you for helping again. I'd never have perfected my swishing technique without you." She earnestly clutched the stack of books to her chest.
"It was no problem. If you need help with anything else, you know where to find me." He fired her an impulsive finger gun before trotting off but stopped short. "Wait—aren't you supposed to be in class?" He glanced past her at the two rows of greenhouses flanking the path.
A look of befuddlement crossed her face. "I thought you would've heard by now. Class was canceled."
"Oh!" The sound escaped him. Between classes, social gatherings, clubs, and roommates, alone time with Albus was scarce. The two of them seized any opportunity to build on that sacred time. Surely, Albus would have intercepted him in the library if he had gained an extra hour? Although, Professor Longbottom did make a habit of asking Albus to tend to the more sickly plants after class. Perhaps he was still working away. "Do you happen to know if Albus stayed?" Scorpius inquired.
"Nope! He rushed out as soon as Professor Longbottom let us know. I thought he was going to meet you with how fast he packed up."
Scorpius couldn't suppress the grin that spread across his lips. Albus must be surprising him in their dorm. "Thank you for letting me know, Alvira. I'd better be off then." He nodded at her before briskly retracing his steps back into the castle.
Scorpius hummed excitedly at the sight of his bed welcoming him in for the night, but his mood deflated when he noticed Albus' bed was just as unoccupied. His quilt remained untouched, the owl perch yet to be cleaned, and Albus' favorite wool jumper dangled out of his overstuffed trunk from where he tossed it in the morning.
Scorpius swiftly rescued the pewter gray jumper from its ill-fated descent onto the boys' dormitory floor. He shrugged off his cloak and pulled it snug over his head, much preferring how Albus' clothing fit compared to his own formfitting jeans and tailored shirts. The jumper's hemline stopped right at the top of his hips, exposing his skin if he moved a specific way. His shoulders and arms drowned in the fabric stretched from Albus' broader physique.
Scorpius felt his face grow warm as he caught a glimpse of himself in the full body mirror between their nightstands. It was small moments like this that reminded him how lucky he truly was.
He spared one more glance at the neglected trunk before resigning himself to a quiet evening waiting for Albus to return. He opted to sit on Albus' bed and situated himself before summoning his book and glasses.
Scorpius was particularly eager to dive into the latest edition of a Muggle book series he'd picked up over the summer. Although his dad's owl containing the book arrived three days ago, he hadn't found the time to start it until now. He soaked in its smell. He loved nothing more than the scent of a new book yet to be cracked open with its spine still intact. Alright, maybe he loved Albus a smidge more, but books were a close second. Scorpius devoured the first couple of pages until he subconsciously began skimming paragraphs, his mind weighed down by his boyfriend's mystery location.
After rereading the same sentence five times, Scorpius irritably laid the book face down but took care not to crease the pages. He squinted, studying the space at the foot of the bed. Dirty owl perch and untidy trunk. He rolled a stray jumper thread between his fingers in concentration. Owl perch, trunk, and missing item. There was definitely some object filling the empty nook to the right of the trunk. Reinvigorated by the clue, Scorpius pumped his fist in the air. He loved a good puzzle.
He jumped up, ready to further examine his discovery. The object needed to be something tall for him to notice its absence from the bed. Occasionally, Albus borrowed his telescope, but the area was too narrow for its wide stand. Perhaps an umbrella? Yes, an abnormally long umbrella made complete sense, Scorpius. He thrummed his fingers against the bed post deep in thought. Albus' broom! His broom always leaned against this exact bed post. No wonder Scorpius hadn't realized earlier, the thing was coated in dust from how rarely Albus used it.
Scorpius allowed himself a small victory dance before confusion replaced his feelings of triumph. Albus loathed flying. During their first year, Scorpius dragged him to their flying lessons each week. Of course, Lily could have borrowed the broom—hers was always in need of repair with all the experimental weaving and somersaults she attempted. Scorpius dismissed the thought instantly. He bumped into Lily picking up her broom this past weekend in Hogsmeade. That left only one option.
Scorpius sifted through the trunk's contents and felt around the bottom. Albus' untouched Quidditch gloves and goggles lived in the deepest pits of the trunk. He assumed Ginny placed them there his first year, still full of false hope. They were no where to be found.
His book now forgotten, Scorpius immediately began the trek down to the Quidditch Pitch.
The harsh cold air nipped at his ears. Scorpius made the poor choice of foregoing any outdoor apparel in his haste to find Albus. Had he been out here the entire class period? Scorpius shivered the more he dwelled on the thought.
His pace quickened as he approached the enormous stands.
If he wasn't searching for him, Scorpius would not have known the figure in the distance was Albus. His trepid form rigidly stood in the center of the otherwise empty stadium. Scorpius' only other indicator was the Slytherin scarf loosely wrapped around his neck billowing in the breeze. The old, leathery cloak he sported was one size too small and obstructed the back of his head. His goggles hung limp in one gloved hand while the other tightly grasped the missing broom. It almost felt rude to intrude. Almost.
"Albus?" Scorpius called out, increasing the length of his strides. Albus' grip on the broom slackened, but he remained frozen.
Scorpius frowned. The quieter Albus was, the more his thoughts festered.
"Is everything alright?" Scorpius scanned his face for any obvious injuries.
Albus refused to meet his gaze, as if doing so would scald him, and his lips clamped shut in a smooth line.
"Albus, you're starting to scare me." Scorpius let out a nervous chuckle and cupped a worried hand around his cheek.
"Thought I'd try flying again," the hoarseness of his voice vibrated through to Scorpius' hand, "just didn't think being back here would affect me so much."
Wordlessly, Scorpius enveloped him in a hug. The goggles and broom Albus held fell to the grass with a dull and hollow thud. There was a short sniff before Albus desperately clung back.
"For a moment, I thought I lost you." The remorse in Albus' voice permeated the air. "I couldn't do anything, and you looked so limp, and—" he broke off, and Scorpius felt Albus' shoulders begin to silently shake beneath his hands.
Although they were already fused together, Scorpius managed to pull him closer. Albus' fingernails dug into him through his gloves like a lifeline. This type of vulnerability was different. Intimate. There was no textbook to reference or study to consult, so Scorpius relied on what he knew. He tenderly stroked the length of Albus' spine with his fingertips, like his mother would, until the trembling subsided. He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, holding each other, but Scorpius would stand there forever if Albus needed him to.
Scorpius detached them just enough to view the dried tears adorning Albus' puffy face. "Albus, that was not your fault. We can't erase the past." Albus raised his eyebrows. "We can't successfully amend the past, but we're both still here. Alive." Scorpius squeezed the hand lingering on his waist. "And I'll always be here to remind you of that." Albus watched him with restored admiration in his eyes. "What?"
"Nothing." He shook his head, but a small smile pulled at the corner of his lips. "Thank you. I would've stood out here trapped in my head for hours if you didn't come find me." He leaned up and pressed their lips together. Scorpius allowed himself to briefly melt into the kiss before breaking them apart. He almost fell for the distraction. He'd waited all day for his Albus time, he could hold out for a minute longer.
"What are you doing out here?" Albus' face flushed.
"I used to like flying when I was young," he mumbled like a child confessing to an arbitrary wrongdoing. "My entire family said I would be a Seeker like my dad. Of course, I had to prove them wrong. Didn't need to give people another reason to compare me to the illustrious Harry Potter," Albus spit with a regretful mocking tone. "So I set down my broom and much to my mum's annoyance, never summoned it again."
The image of a tiny, stubborn Albus refusing to summon his broom greatly amused Scorpius. He fought the laughter threatening to bubble up, knowing the fragile state he was in the midst of breaking Albus out of.
"It was stupid, really," Albus continued, "missed out on all that time I could have been enjoying something just so people could continue to call me a disappointment. And now I've scared myself into never trying again. Well, fuck them." Scorpius let his final words dissipate around them.
"Got it all out now?" He patted Albus' chest.
"Yes," he sighed and slumped into Scorpius' arms.
"What if I went with you?"
"I'm not following." Albus pulled away from him at the spontaneous suggestion.
"Flying."
"You'll freeze without a coat or gloves." Scorpius glanced down at his barren hands only being covered by the stolen jumper's sleeves.
"I'll manage."
Albus fixed him with a dubious look before unwinding the scarf around his neck and securing it onto Scorpius. "Ah, don't want these to get ruined!" He plucked the circular frames that delicately perched on Scorpius' nose and tucked them safely into the cloak's inside pocket. The glasses were quickly replaced by the aging goggles. A slightly grimy film coated the lenses. Scorpius didn't want to think about it for too long.
"Can't have anything happen to those lovely eyes either, can I?" Albus kissed him once again and summoned the broom.
Scorpius would never get used to Albus' method of flirting. It was always so fleeting. Moving on so quickly that by the time Scorpius realized what was happening, it was too late for him to retort, which left him flustered beyond his wits.
"Come on then." Albus tugged Scorpius' hand causing him to stumble toward the broom.
Scorpius carefully sat behind Albus and settled his hands on his waist. His cloak was rough to the touch and cinched now that Albus was sitting. Scorpius could feel every curve and dip of his body. He wished they were back in the dorm.
Without warning, the broom jerked up and rocketed into the sky. Scorpius' hands reflexively leapt forward and anchored themselves around Albus' midriff while his feet struggled to find the stirrups where his boyfriend's already rested.
"Sorry 'bout that," Albus yelled over his shoulder as they began to plateau, "should be a tad smoother now."
Scorpius tentatively reopened his eyes, not knowing when he had closed them. He relaxed his death grip before making the foolish mistake of looking down. One wrong turn and they'd splatter onto the ground for all of Hogwarts to see, as if their classmates needed more fuel for their relentless heckling. His fists reclenched the taut fabric of Albus' cloak.
"Are you okay?" Albus craned his neck to peer back at him.
Scorpius frantically nodded. "Mhm!" He forced himself to breathe and focused on the fading scent of Albus' shampoo.
Maybe being up here wasn't as terrible as he thought. The view was quite spectacular. Albus had ditched the Quidditch Pitch in favor of taking a scenic flight above the school grounds. The castle's walls overwhelmed them the closer they flew. The structure was much larger than Scorpius had realized, but the highlands enclosing them towered over everything. The setting sun peeked through the mountain tops and reflected off the water glimmering below. If Scorpius could get over his nerves, perhaps this didn't have to be a one time occurrence.
He slid forward as Albus dove down to pick up some speed. He was practically laying on top of him now—not that Scorpius would've minded under different circumstances, but he wasn't too keen on plummeting to his death at the moment. They soared between turrets and over courtyards. As Albus' confidence grew, he adeptly steered them through narrow alcoves and through bridge pillars—a twist Scorpius did not approve of. He let it go for the time being as Albus guided them lower, the broom's tail now skimming the Black Lake's surface. The water rippled below them, sprinkling tiny droplets onto Scorpius' face as their speed slowed to a leisurely crawl. He let his head droop onto Albus' shoulder. A padded glove reached for his hand in response.
"I can't believe we just did that!" Albus hopped back onto the Quidditch Pitch, caught up in his own disbelief.
"I can't believe I just did that," Scorpius muttered as he used Albus' arm to dismount the broom. He felt like he'd been hit with a Jelly-Legs Jinx. "At least I can cross Slytherin Keeper off my potential hobbies list."
"You're too busy with all your prefect responsibilities for that anyway," Albus gently took the goggles off his head, "and you already know I think they assign you too many hours," he said with an edge of annoyance.
"But it has its perks," Scorpius reminded in a lower voice. He shot him his best attempt at a sultry smirk and twirled a strand of Albus' hair the wind had ruffled.
A tantalizing gleam glazed over Albus' eyes at his insinuation.
"Did you already cast the water repellent charm?" Albus yawned and leaned his head back against the porcelain bath.
Scorpius simply nodded against his chest without tearing his eyes away from his book. He sunk further into the bath, letting the water and Albus' body heat drive out the chill that had seeped into his bones. This is what Tuesdays were meant for.
A peaceful silence settled over them as they soaked. Albus ran his thumb over Scorpius' wrist under the water.
"I don't deserve you." Albus' words nearly didn't register in Scorpius' brain, but the quiet fondness and conviction with which he spoke made him pause. Scorpius withdrew his attention from the book hovering inches from his nose and planted a kiss on Albus' chin.
"Funny, I had the same thought earlier, love." The rare pet name slipped out without him thinking.
"That one's new," Albus teased. "I like it."
"So do I," Scorpius decided with newfound certainty. He flipped around so their chests were touching. "Want to test it out some more?"
Albus greedily wrapped his arms around him. That was all the answer he needed.