Chapter Text
The dorm was quiet, for once.
Rain tapped against the window, muffling the distant noise from the common room downstairs. Scorpius sat cross-legged on Albus's bed, rifling through a deck of battered chocolate frog cards he'd found wedged behind a textbook.
"You've had these for years?" he asked.
Albus shrugged from where he was leaning against the headboard. "Yeah. I keep meaning to throw them out."
"Clearly." Scorpius mumbles laughing to himself.
Scorpius flicked one at him. It bounced off Albus's forehead.
"Ow!"
"That was your dad! Be nice."
Albus laughed, picked up the card, and tossed it back. It missed by a mile.
"Terrible aim, thought you were a chaser."
"Yeah, well I wasn't really trying to hit you."
"Oh please."
“Plus, my shoulder is still hurt remember!”
“Need me to kiss it better for you?”
The argument dissolved into laughter before either of them could pretend they were taking any of it seriously. Scorpius leaned back against the bed beside him, their shoulders brushing. Neither of them moved away.
"Can I ask you something?" Albus said after a moment.
Scorpius glanced sideways. "Depends."
"No, seriously."
The grin on Scorpius's face softened. "Go on then."
Albus hesitated longer than usual, picking at a loose thread on the duvet.
"Would you think it was weird if I wanted to... ugh I don’t know?"
Scorpius frowned, not in judgment but in confusion.
"What?"
Albus let out a nervous laugh.
"I don't actually know how to ask this."
“No go, you can tell me anything” Scorpius leans close to Albus, a slightly worried look on his face. Scorpius always worries about Albus, he just knows him too well, he can tell exactly what’s wrong with him just by reading his face, well he can most of the time.
“No honestly forget it, I just had this…oh my fucking- this is so embarrassing to say” Albus covers his face, making Scorpius more confused. The dorm bed barely fit one person comfortably, let alone two. With Albus propped against the headboard, there wasn't enough room for Scorpius to sit opposite him without climbing onto the mattress. So, he did what he'd done a hundred times before, he moves so he is sat in between Albus’s legs, he shuffled closer and folded himself cross-legged into the only space left.
Albus's legs were stretched out in front of him, relaxed and naturally taking most of the room on the narrow bed, this is how Albus usually sat. It left just enough space for Scorpius to settle between them without either of them thinking twice about it or shift their position.
He rested his hands lightly on Albus's knees. Forcing them to lock eyes without having to touch each other’s face.
"There," Scorpius said. "Now talk to me please."
Albus let out a muffled groan behind his hands.
"No."
"Yes."
"No like I can’t."
Scorpius laughed.
"It can’t be that bad! Is it that bad?"
Albus uncovers his face and looks straight into Scorpius’s eyes. Scorpius’s mind wanders, he honestly believes he could get lost in Albus’s eyes, his beautiful bright green eyes, and the way he knows exactly how to use them. Albus had this infuriating habit of tilting his head ever so slightly as he looked at someone, chin lowered just enough that he was forced to look up through them, it’s almost as if the only thing you can look at is his eyes, how slowly he will blink like he is actually trying to give you a good look at them, his long dark lashes fluttering, every time he does it, whether intentional or not, drunk or sober, no matter the context, it drives Scorpius crazy.
Scorpius leans his body forward without realizing, he watches Albus smirk.
There it was.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
Scorpius felt heat crawl up his neck. He should've leaned back. Should've laughed it off. Should've looked literally anywhere else. Instead, his eyes flicked to Albus's mouth for the briefest moment.
When he looked back up, Albus was still looking at him, his hand suddenly on top of Scorpius’s, which sat on his knee, stroking his thumb across Scorpius’s knuckles.
That was enough.
With a quiet, defeated sort of sigh, Scorpius lifted both hands, cradled Albus's face, and leaned in closer, moving his own thumb to stroke the corner of Albus’s lip.
Their foreheads brushed for the smallest fraction of a second before Scorpius leaned back slightly again his hands dropping to Albus’s chest and taking a breath to say something, before Albus grabs the back of Scorpius’s neck crashing their faces into a long, open-mouthed kiss.