Work Text:
It’s a very dark, clear, starry night, the perfect night for fireworks. The air is so clear here too, out in the country with only a cluster of small villages around them for company. That’s why they had come to the Manor for Bonfire Night. No one nearby will really notice if some of the fireworks are a bit too magical.
Albus and Scorpius sit and watch the fireworks on a bench by the house. Everyone else is a lot closer to the action. Harry, Draco, and Ron are arguing mostly good naturedly about the order of the display. Hermione, Rose, and Hugo are despairing of them all. Ginny is trying to keep James and Lily under control with limited success. No one is paying any attention to the two boys quietly curled up together on the other side of the garden.
Scorpius is happily watching the fireworks and Albus can’t stop glancing at him. He's smiling, and the light of the bonfire is making his eyes shine. His breath mists silver in the air in front of him. He looks rather beautiful.
As he looks, Albus is gripped by the urge to lean over and kiss him on the cheek, and in a thoroughly impulsive moment he does, because Scorpius is right there and it’s so easy to do.
Immediately Scorpius goes bright red and ducks away. "Did you just...?"
Albus withdraws hurriedly to the other side of the bench, also blushing as his brain catches up to what he’s just done. "I-I'm sorry. It was... A-a mistake. Definitely a mistake. Sorry. I shouldn't have." He presses himself right against the arm of the bench until it digs into his side, and he hugs himself, pulling his woolly hat down over his eyes in an attempt to hide.
"You wouldn't have done it if you didn't want to," Scorpius says, eyeing him.
Albus peeks at him from beneath the hat. "Yes but... What about what you want?"
"What do you know about what I want?" Scorpius asks.
"We're friends," Albus says. "Best friends. A-and best friends don't..." He gestures between them then looks away, blowing on his hands to keep them warm.
"Since when have we ever cared what other people do?" Scorpius asks, shuffling a tiny bit closer on the bench. "We're us. We're freaks, remember? Losers? We can do whatever we want."
"Yes,” Albus says, pulling his hat up to look at Scorpius, who clearly still isn’t getting his point. “But... But what you want and what I want are...” He shakes his head and lets the hat fall back over his eyes. “We shouldn't talk about this. Forget it happened. Sometimes everything in my brain snaps and I just do things because- because…”
"So you think you'll regret it later?" Scorpius asks casually, looking away from him. "Kissing me?"
"It wasn't- I didn't-" Albus laughs awkwardly. "It was just on the cheek. That's not... Anything."
"Then why are you panicking about it?"
"Because!"
"Okay." Scorpius turns to face him, leaning forward into the light of the bonfire so his face is flooded with warm, flickering light. "Do you want to know what I want?"
"Okay?" Albus asks, glancing across at him, then away again. He still looks far too good. Far too appealing. His cheeks are pink from the cold, and he’s practically glowing in the light of the bonfire. There's a bit of blond hair escaping from under his hat, and Albus wants to tuck it away for him.
"I want you to kiss me."
Albus snorts. "Now you're just making fun of me. I know it was stupid, okay? You don't have to rub it in."
"I am not making fun of you,” Scorpius says indignantly. “I really want you to kiss me. Properly."
Albus glances sideways at him. "Scorpius. Please don't."
Scorpius slides closer still. "I am being one hundred percent deadly serious. Do you not trust me?"
"Of course I trust you, but..." Albus looks over at him again. He's leaning forward in his seat. He's so close. And he looks so good. It's enough to make Albus's stomach flip, and he swallows.
"Kiss me," Scorpius says again.
So Albus does. He isn't good at it, he hasn't really done it before, but he leans in and carefully presses his lips against Scorpius's. They're warm and soft and taste slightly of peppermint and Butterbeer, and when Albus pulls back his head is spinning.
"Done," he says, turning away, because he liked it. Far too much. More than Scorpius is allowed to know.
"I think you need more practice," Scorpius says. "We both do." He's swinging his legs back and forth under the bench.
"Great," Albus says, now feeling utterly miserable. "Sorry I'm so disappointing."
"Do you want to know a secret?" Scorpius asks, nudging him.
"Not especially." Albus wants to run away from this whole situation. He has no idea why Scorpius is doing this, torturing him like this, but it's horrible.
"I love you," Scorpius says.
Time stops.
"You what?"
"Mmhmm,” Scorpius says, looking up at the fireworks bursting overhead. They send a cascade of colour washing across his face, making his grey eyes flash green and red and purple and a hundred other colours. “I love you. I noticed you watching me, and I spent all night hoping that, by some miracle, you would kiss me. And you did. And then you apologised for it.” He looks back at Albus and gives a small, almost sad smile. “But you didn't need to, because I liked it. A-and then you kissed me properly and I liked that even more… So now you know!”
He’s messing with his coat, undoing and redoing all the brass buttons, slim, pale fingers working quickly and deftly. They never stay still. “And now you're probably going to run away, even though you were the one who started all this. You know you're really good at getting me into terrifying situations? Probably because I'd follow you anywhere. It's definitely your fault that Malfoy the Unanxious exists. Even though he seems to get me into even deeper trouble than you do. And I should probably stop talking now, but you know I'm not very good at shutting up. Especially when I'm nervous, and-"
"I love you too," Albus breathes, stunned by this entire situation. Everything Scorpius is saying, everything that's happening. It's wild. But his heart is racing and he feels alive, like he's duelling, or on top of a train, or lost in the past. Except this is right now, and Scorpius's eyes are wide and glinting like stars through the darkness.
"Do you?" Tiny and full of wonder.
Albus nods and licks his lips. "I love you so much. And... I kissed you because I think you look beautiful."
Scorpius gives a very small, very pleased smile and ducks his head shyly, although he never looks away from Albus. "You could kiss me again. If you wanted."
Albus hesitates for the briefest moment before sliding closer until their knees are pressed together on the bench. "Okay."
It feels easier the second time. Still terrifying, but easier. He wishes he could run his fingers through Scorpius’s hair but the hat is in the way, so he just rests them against his jaw instead, holding him steady.
The second time still makes his head spin, still leaves him slightly breathless. Maybe it’s the Butterbeer; they have both had quite a lot of it. Or maybe that’s just what Scorpius does to him. Makes his heart glow and butterflies flutter in his stomach and his breath catch in his throat.
When they part they exchange a grin and melt against each other. Scorpius folds his feet up onto the bench and puts his head on Albus’s shoulder, and after a moment of nervous indecision Albus wraps his arm round Scorpius’s back. Apparently that was the right thing to do because Scorpius snuggles closer.
They sit like that on the bench outside the house and gaze up at the fireworks. A couple of the ones Ron must have brought are spelling out rude words which glow gold in the sky, and they can hear Draco grumbling, Hermione scolding, and the others all laughing. Albus grins. There’s something strangely comforting about it all, being here on this frigid November night, his family and friends chattering in the distance, and Scorpius warm against his side. Scorpius who has just kissed him, who loves him. This might just be one of the best evenings ever.