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For as long as Albus could remember, he could see the lines that connected soulmates together. It was alike a red string, although it held no actual weight. His father was linked to his mother, the invisible red string tying them together by the wrist, but on his father's opposite hand was a frayed line about six inches long curled around his pinky. The black haired boy figured his father must have had a different soulmate once upon a time.
Albus meets his own soulmate at the ripe age of eleven on a crowded train, and instantly falls in love. The boy is awkward without a doubt, but Albus knows awkward like he knows his own name. His hair is a platinum blonde, whisps of curly hair falling around his face and brushing his neck. His eyes are a soft baby blue, and his cheek bones are high with a defined elegance that screamed, 'refined!'. He instantly knew that this boy was Draco's son, but couldn't care less as he sat beside him and took the suggested pepper imp.
When Albus had told Scorpius he could see the strings that tied soulmates together, the blonde boy had begged for him to tell him who his soulmate was, but Albus refused. He was only thirteen and oh so scared of relationships, so he swore that he'd tell him..later.
But, 'later' had become his biggest excuse for telling Scorpius. He had used 'later' as his excuse for nearly three years before Scorpius got fed up.
"Fine!" He had yelled, "I don't give a damn anymore!"
Albus had never heard Scorpius yell before, but he just forced a weak grin and said, "That's the biggest lie since 'later'."
The boys had both gotten a rather big laugh at that despite the sickening dread in Albus's stomach and the anger burning in Scorpius's chest.
If there was one thing Albus had hated more than when Scorpius would ask, it was going to his house when Draco was there. The older Malfoy had the ability to see the strings too and knowing that he knew what Albus was hiding from his son, made the middle Potter son very uncomfortable.
A particular instance burns into Albus's mind of one day in the summer before his last year at Hogwarts as he is standing in the kitchen waiting for Scorpius. Draco is there with him, leaned against the counter with a butterbeer in his hand as he sips quietly.
"Are you ever going to tell him?" The older Malfoy asked casually, and Albus knew exactly what he meant from the moment he opened his mouth.
"Later." Albus had said, not even bothering to sound believable at this point. He was trying his hardest not to stare at the older Malfoy's hands, both of which had a broken line. The one on the left was on the exact finger as his father's, but opposite sides and if Albus looked close enough to the individual tears he could see it would fit perfectly with his father's frayed line. The other was around his boney wrist, except it was black, and instantly Albus knew it was Astoria's.
"I said that alot with my first soulmate too, and I lost him." Draco says calmly, waving his pinky finger slightly to show off the frayed line. Albus cringes.
"He was my dad, wasn't he?" Albus really didn't need to ask, he knew already, but Draco nods and Albus feels sick.
"You should tell him."
"I know."
"You aren't going to though."
"No." Draco looks at him, but Albus feels like he is looking through him instead. The black haired boy looks away.
"I see us in you." Draco says and Albus can practically feel the melancholy in his voice. He knows why Draco sees that, the two of them look like the two so much it was impossible not to notice.
"You two are so much better than the two of us could ever be, but I see us in you and that scares me."
But, Albus is no longer a young teenager and he is no longer so tempted by his best mate. He still loves him, but he's older now and understands. He is twenty-six and single with a successful job as a muggle teacher. He is as happy as he can be, seeing as his soulmate is due to get married and move out of their joint apartment soon.
Albus has told Scorpius that his future wife isn't his soulmate, but he had simply shrugged that off with a large grin. He still hasn't broken the line (he knows now that he can) out of some form of selfishness.
The man is in the small apartment's office, grading papers as he waits for Scorpius to get back from cake tasting with his bride. Albus is distracted, shakily trying to grade the algebra work of one of his smartest students, but everything is blurring together.
"I'm home!" Scorpius yells from the living room and Albus quickly shouts back that he is in his office, soon hearing Scorpius's footsteps patter towards him.
The door swings open and Scorpius waltzes in, his hair freshly cut short. Albus misses the other's long locks, but doesn't say anything as he knows Scorpius's fiancé loves his short hair.
"How did it go?" Albus asks, laying his Slytherin green pen down as he swivels in his chair to fully face the young Malfoy.
"Good, say, Albus?" The black haired man's heartbeat speeds up and he lets out a small noise of affirmation to let him know he hears him. Scorpius looks contemplative, as if he is really making the right choice in asking.
"Can you break the line between me and my soulmate?" Albus feels his heart drop at the words and bites harshly at his bottom lip, swiveling his chair to face his desk rather than his soulmate.
"No." He mumbles, just loud enough for Scorpius to hear. He misses the raised eyebrow and the blotchy red blush rising to his cheeks when he gets angry, but Albus knows him well enough to know it is there.
"Why?" Scorpius asks and Albus gulps, resisting the urge to sink into the leather of his office chair. He could apparate out of this awkward situation if he so pleased, but he decided enough was enough.
"Because, you're my soulmate." As soon as the words leave Albus's mouth, arms are gripping the back of his chair and turning him to face Scorpius so quick the motion causes him to be sick. Scorpius looks livid, arms tightly gripping at the seat next to the other man's shoulders and Albus feels the tears coming. Albus was right, Scorpius's cheeks were the blotchy red they became when angry.
"Why are you just now saying this?" He asks, his tone pleading as his eyes stare intently at him and Albus would do anything to get out of this situation. He shifts uncomfortably, looking down at his lap to avoid his friend's intense stare.
"I don't know." Yes he does know, he has always been a coward.
"I'm getting married in a month Albus." The black haired man's heart gives a painful twist in his chest.
"I-i know." He says shakily, and then the tears fall. They fall down his cheeks before Albus can stop them, pressing fists to his eyes as he holds back a harsh sob. Scorpius's eyes soften and his gut twists.
"I'm sorry." He says quietly, letting go of the chair and backing up to give the other man room. This angle just allows the blonde haired male to see the shaking of his best mate's shoulders and hear clearly the gasping sobs falling from parted lips.
"I'm so so sorry." And he means it.
-
Albus feels old, rightfully so he guesses. His hair is sprinkled with grey at the temples and he has recently begun wearing glasses like his father. He is constantly tired, still alone in the same apartment he has lived in since he was twenty-six with Scorpius. He is forty-three years old and has no lover or child.
It's just him.
Well, right now it wasn't just him; he was in Scorpius's house helping him pack up his things. The blonde man's marriage had recently failed and he got his divorce, but Albus was there every step of the way. Nothing ever changed, they were still best mates and Albus loved Scorpius's family. The Malfoy ended up having three children of his own with his ex-wife in the time they had been married. Two girls and a boy that Albus adored with everything in him; dare he say he loved them more than the man who gave them life? The kids were staying with their mother for the time being, but once Scorpius got stabilized he was going to be getting full custody.
Albus sighs, tired green eyes scanning over the room as he cracked his back in attempts to work out the kink in his spine. Years of working as a teacher wasn't doing his body any favors. Scorpius laughs from behind him and Albus looks behind him to see his soulmate looking into a photo album. Age was treating Scorpius well, his blonde hair so blonde that you couldn't see any grey and crinkles at his eyes from years of smiling.
Albus still loves him, how could he not?
"What are you smiling at?" He asks a hint of humor in his voice as he walks over to see what has the blue eyed man so giggly.
"It's us." Scorpius is right, it is them, and Albus beams as he looks at the photo. They're young, watching the clouds from far away, pointing out figures and laughing. Photo-Albus looks away from the clouds and stares seemingly at nothing as Scorpius lifts his hand, but this Albus can see the line that he is staring intently at. Scorpius, the ever brainy man he is, knows what it is.
"Were you staring at our line?" He questions, but he already knows the answer.
"I always am." Albus responds, tiredness seeping into his tone, but he grins at Scorpius with a content look in his green eyes.
"What does it look like?" Scorpius asks and it is the first time they had talked about the line since the night after his wedding when Albus broke down into tears seeing the line stretching between the two as Scorpius made his way to stand at the alter.
"Like most lines, except it is tied in two separate places. Your end is connected to your thumb right here-" He demonstrates, tapping right beneath Scorpius's nail on the man's left hand. Their eyes connect and Albus quickly pulls his hand away.
"Mine is connected to my right wrist." He says, tapping the place where the red line is transparently sitting.
The two stand in silence a moment and suddenly Scorpius wraps his hand around the wrist where Albus had said his end of the line was connected. Their eyes met, and finally Albus had realized..
It's finally later.