(A/N: warning – FLUFFFFFFF)
You're sitting in the Heads' Common Room with your best friend and the Head Boy to your Head Girl, Scorpius Malfoy. You're supposedly doing homework, both of you, but really you're playing stare tag, one of you staring at the other until the other looks up, and the roles are switched.
As he looks up and you look down, your Charms essay – or rather, the single introductory paragraph you've managed to write – fails to come into focus as your brain concentrates on what it deems the more important matter: how to tell the blonde boy sitting in front of you that you've been hopelessly in love with him for years. Unfortunately, you aren't coming up with many ideas.
You sigh and look up again, but a sound at the window distracts you from staring at Scorpius like you had intended.
An owl is tapping at the window with the foot not bearing a letter. Its eyes seem to bear an impatient look, as if it is saying "all right, come in, let me in already!" You get up from where you were sprawled in an armchair and go to the window. The owl steps in almost regally and extends the foot with a scroll of parchment attached. You take it and walk back to your chair, flopping into it as you examine the scroll.
"There's no name," you say, and Scorpius looks up.
"Can I see?" you toss it to him.
After a minute, he chuckles. "I reckon it's for you," he says and points out the small, intricate rose drawn next to the thin twine tying it shut."Nice," you remark as he throws it back and you manage to snag it out of the air. "Who d'you think it's from, though? No one ever sends us mail."
"Why don't you open it and see?" Scorpius says with a laugh. You glare at him and begin to do just that. You give the note a cursory scan, and your jaw drops. Suppressing a giggle, you toss it back to Scorpius. "Read that," you say through your laughter.
He reads it out loud. "Dear Rose,I've been trying to tell you this for a long time now... and I suppose, by that, I just revealed what it is I'm trying to say. Although I suppose technically I'm not trying to say it, I'm saying it.
Or would be, if I could get around to it.
Screw it. I'm just going to say it.
Rose, I love you.
I think that pretty much covers it.
Yours, Daniel Finnigan-Thomas."
"Well, you can't blame the guy for trying," you say, still laughing. "I actually have no idea who he is, though."
"Finnigan-Thomas... Isn't he that Gryffindor in our Potions class who always blows things up? His dads were in our dads' year, I think."
"His dads?" you ask, not sure you heard correctly.
"Yeah, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. Daniel's adopted, obviously, but I hear he takes after them both anyway."
You nod absently. "Scorp, what am I going to tell him? I don't think I've ever even spoken to him."
"Just tell him you don't feel the same, thank you for your time, good day to you?" Scorpius raises an eyebrow. "You don't feel the same, do you?" Something changes in his eyes. You toss a pillow at him.
"No! That's why this is so hard, tosspot. If I felt the same I'd just go find him and drag him into a broom closet, wouldn't I? That's the way things are done at this school." You sigh. "But I don't like hurting people, which is why I have absolutely no idea what to tell him.
"Behind you, the owl hoots. "Bugger it all, he probably told the owl to wait for my reply. Ugh. Okay..."
"Dear Daniel," you write, saying each word as you write it.
"Thank you for your letter. It surely brightened my day." You bite your lip and look up. "Can I say that, or is it too... too?"
Scorpius snorts. "Way too too. Keep it simple, Rosie."
"But think about it, Scorpius! How would you feel if you sent a love letter to the girl you fancy and she just wrote back saying thank you for your time? You'd feel like shit, wouldn't you?"
"She wouldn't say that," Scorpius mutters and your heart jumps in your throat. There's a she? He'd never mentioned a she. "But I see your point. Stall for time while we think of something, yeah?"
"Stall for time?"
"Yeah. Say something non-committal. But whatever you do, don't mention the weather." You look at him like one would at a mental patient and snort. "I wonder why he likes me anyway?" you muse. "Boys never like me."
Scorpius clears his throat awkwardly, then shakes his head. You wonder what on Earth is going on, and a tiny spark of hope flares in your chest, but you ignore it. Scorpius smiles. "That's it! Ask him why. That should take up a good amount of time."
You shrug. "All right." Taking a fresh piece of parchment, you quickly write out the question and tie the note to the now quite disgruntled owl's leg. It flies off without a backwards glance.
You turn back to Scorpius, who's loosening his blue-and-bronze school tie. "So, Scorpius, what do I say? I want to be honest, but not bitchy."
"Honest," he repeats. "What's the first thing you thought when you read this?" he asks, brandishing the letter.
You smile sheepishly. "My first thought was that I wanted to run and hide in my bed and that I wanted to go back to third year when none of this stuff was relevant."
He laughs at that. "Relationships aren't all scary, you know." He's looking at you intently.
"Well, yeah, I suppose, but I don't even know this guy! I don't want random people confessing their love for me. Now seriously, Scorpius, what would you say if you were me?"
The intensity in his eyes is blazing as he meets your gaze. "If I were you," he said slowly, "I would tell this Daniel guy that as much as his offer flatters me, I'm going to have to respectfully decline, seeing as I already have a wonderful boyfriend who loves me very, very much."
You stare at him confusedly. "But I don't... oh," you trail off as you understand what he's saying. Your cheeks flame up and you duck your head so as to avoid looking at him. You can hear him standing up and walking to you, but you avoid looking up until he crouches next to your chair.
"Hey, it's okay, Rosie," he murmurs. "It's just me." A finger snakes in to lift your chin and you meet his eyes, cheeks radiating so much heat you're sure you could fry an egg on them. Where your gaze is uncertain, his is determined and clear. He brushes his knuckles down your cheek. You bite your lip again.
"Tell me this, Rosie," he whispers. "Do you love me?"
You nod. His face breaks into a wide smile.
"I know you're not good with relationships, but it's okay. So long as I love you and you love me, we'll be okay." You smile tentatively. "That's the spirit, sweetheart. We're going to be okay. We'll take it slow, if you want. We're going to be just fine."
Your smile turns into a full-on grin and you launch yourself at him, wrapping your arms around him and burying your face in his neck like you've wanted to for the past two years.
"I think we're already just fine," you whisper into his ear.
Behind you, Daniel Finnigan-Thomas's owl taps at the window, completely forgotten.
A/N: yes, I ship Deamus. deal with it