This little short story was written in response to a prompt posted in the "Home Away From Hogwarts" Facebook group in celebration of PRIDE MONTH! It is unbeta'd and was written and posted all in one go, so excuse any errors, please! Happy Pride Month! Love ALWAYS wins!

-L

Common Room Confessions

Seamus stretched his legs out in front of him where he sat sprawled on the shaggy rug in the Gryffindor common room. If the flames roaring in the grate weren't enough, the Firewhisky burning through his veins was more than doing the job of keeping him nice and warm on a cold December night. He leaned his head back against couch where Dean was laying, one hand twirling his lit wand round and round, the other digging in a bowl of popcorn they'd snatched as they'd left the party in the Room of Requirement earlier that night. Seamus reached behind his head and dug around in the bowl, coming up with a handful of the buttery, delicious snack and popping it in his mouth before washing it down with a swig of the whisky. "Can't believe everyone buggered off to bed already. It's only- what time is it?" he wondered.

"Mmm… I don't know. Past three o'clock, for sure." Dean reached down and snatched the bottle from Seamus and took a drink.

"Damn. Didn't realize it was that late," he laughed. "No wonder everyone left."

"Yeah, either that or they were getting sick of kissing everyone over and over," Dean said. The party had basically ended up being one big spin-the-bottle session. Sure, it had been amusing to begin with, but after a while it had certainly become rather repetitive. Still, almost everyone had seemed to enjoy themselves. Almost…

Seamus sat up a bit straighter - or as best as he could manage in his current state - and cleared his throat. "You didn't seem to much enjoy the party," he said lightly.

Dean scoffed. "The bottle landed on Ginny three times. Little awkward, considering how we dated for a bit, and her new boyfriend was sitting right beside her." He tossed a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "Still can't believe she's dating Zabini," he mumbled around it.

"Still," Seamus pressed, "you didn't seem to really be into it with anyone. I mean, you got Parvati twice, and she's easily the hottest girl in our year. And trust me, mate," he added, twisting around to grin at his friend, "I know hot." He winked with the eye that was still missing its lashes from his latest explosion.

Dean threw his head back on the couch pillows and laughed loudly. "You're a git," he said and threw some of the popcorn at Seamus who tried to catch it in his mouth and ended up toppling over on the rug. Dean just laughed harder.

"Well," Seamus said as he heaved himself off the floor. He pulled Dean's legs up from the couch so he could plop down on it, letting the other boy's legs simply fall back onto his lap. Dean looked a bit startled, but Seamus ignored it. "Wasn't really my cup o' tea either."

"What?" Dean snorted. "Come on! You snogged Parkinson for a full minute before Ron pulled you off of her!"

"Well, yeah, but you know me. Always one for putting on a show. The thing is…" Seamus took a deep breath. Dean was his very best friend. He'd known him for eight years now, and they'd spent damn near every moment of those eight years together, save when Dean had been on the run last year, which Seamus very much did not like to remember. They knew one another better than anyone, and he was willing to bet they even knew things about one another that they hadn't yet admitted to aloud. He knew Dean knew, but he still needed to say it. It was far past time. He cleared his throat again. "The thing is, I don't actually like kissing girls at all. Never have. I like kissing blokes. I mean, well, actually I've only ever kissed one bloke, but I liked it and I only want to kiss blokes. Well, no, I actually just want to kiss one bloke, but… I mean. Fuck." He blew out a messy breath and looked his best friend in the eye. "I'm gay, Dean. And I think you know that, but I still needed to tell you. I'm tired of not saying it. I don't even know why I haven't said it."

Dean's eyes were wide, and Seamus watched the flames reflected in them, dancing around his deep brown irises. It was captivating, and it took him a minute to shake himself back to reality. "Are you gonna say anything?" he asked.

Dean blinked several times, and Seamus would have sworn he blushed, though it was hard to tell on his dark skin in the low light. "Sorry. I just… Yeah, of course I knew, mate. You just took me a bit off guard admitting it and all."

Seamus felt his shoulders tense and his defenses go up. Perhaps he'd been wrong… "Is it gonna be a problem then?" he said harsher than he'd intended.

Dean's eyes went wider still. "Wha- No! No, of course not! Sea, come on. You're my best mate. Nothing you could ever tell me would change that. Besides..." He huffed a little laugh and rubbed his face. "Never mind. This is your moment. I'm not taking that away from you."

Seamus frowned. "No, tell me. Besides what?" Seamus's heart was pounding, louder and louder with each second that ticked by.

Dean dropped his hand from his face. He smiled a crooked little half-smile and said, "I am, too, Sea. But I think you already knew that. I think we both already knew."

Relief and elation flooded Seamus, and he grinned so big he thought his face might split in two. "I knew it!" he cried. He lunged forward and punched Dean in the ribs lightly. The other boy laughed and tried to retaliate, which just resulted in the two drunken teenagers falling none-too-gracefully from the couch in a heap of flailing limbs and scattered popcorn, attempting an impromptu wrestling match. Eventually they both lay sprawled on their backs, breathing heavily and still laughing now and then, relief and alcohol still buzzing through them and causing a blissful high.

"So, who's the one bloke?" Dean asked. He turned his head to the side to look Seamus in the eye. "The one bloke you want to kiss?" His tone had turned more serious, and his eyes were suddenly guarded.

And just like that, the sense of euphoria evaporated, because this could be it. This could be the one thing that changed everything, for better or, God forbid, for worse. It was all or nothing, though. He had decided, with the help of alcohol, to come fully clean tonight, to bare his soul. No more hiding, no more secrets, no more lies.

He propped himself up on one elbow, eyes still locked with his friend's, and slowly brought one hand up, hovering just millimeters from Dean's cheek for several long seconds before gently cupping it. Dean's breath stuttered, but he didn't pull away, so Seamus tentatively stroked his thumb over the high, dark, smooth cheekbone. Dean's lips were parted, his breath coming fast and shallow, and when his tongue darted out to wet his lips, Seamus could hold back no longer. He eased forward, the top half of his body over Dean's and held off of him by one elbow, and he finally, finally, finally pressed his lips to the ones he'd dreamed of for years.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but Dean immediately parting his lips and burying his hand in his hair to pull him closer certainly wasn't it. The euphoria charged back through him at an alarming rate making his head spin. Though, to be fair, that could also have to do with the blood in his body suddenly rerouting from his brain to travel south.

Dean's other hand slipped under the hem of Seamus's shirt, pressing against his lower back and pulling him closer still until the creak of the staircase leading to the dorms caused them to instinctively spring apart. "Oh, sorry," Ron yawned. "Didn't mean to interrupt. Thought everyone was asleep. I always wake up hungry in the middle of the night after drinking, so I was going to see if I could knick something from the kitchens. Oi, you done with that popcorn?" Dean and Seamus just stared at him, wide eyed, red cheeked, and breathing heavily. "What?" he asked, bewildered.

Seamus was the first to regain his composure. He sat up and cleared his throat. "Erm, I- I mean, we- Well, I think we'd both appreciate it if you didn't, you know, mention this to anyone... just yet," he stammered out. He wasn't ashamed by any means, but blimey, he'd literally just came out and shown his feelings to the guy he liked in the last five minutes, and now someone else already knew! It was all a bit overwhelming, really.

Ron's brows drew together in confusion. "Mention what?" he asked as he picked up the discarded bowl of popcorn from the floor. He chewed on a handful while he waited, looking utterly bewildered.

Dean eyed him suspiciously. "What you just saw, of course," he said slowly.

Ron's frown only deepened. "What, you two snogging? I mean, I wasn't going to run off to gossip about it or anything, but what's the big deal?"

"Blimey, Ron! We've only just come out to one another! I don't think either of us really fancy the whole damn school knowing by morning, alright?" Seamus said as if that much was obvious.

Ron blinked uncomprehendingly for several moments. Finally he said, "Wait, you're serious? You two only just now admitted you were into blokes, much less one another?"

"Yeah," Seamus said slowly while Dean nodded beside him.

Ron looked as if he were trying to hold back laughter. "Huh. Hate to break it to you, mates, but far as I know, everyone's thought you two were together since the beginning of the year at least. Neville reckons you were dating as far back as fourth year, actually," he said casually.

"Wait a minute!" Seamus shouted. "You mean to tell me you lot have been talking behind our backs, speculating about us and shite?"

"No, no, you've got it all wrong!" Ron said quickly. "No one was gossiping about you or anything. We just all thought you were together. Like, openly together. I mean, you've always sort of acted like a couple, haven't you?" He shrugged. "Anyway, I won't say anything, of course, but it's really not a big deal. No one cares, and after everything we've all seen, I think we all just want each other to be happy." He smiled at them both and raised the bowl of popcorn in a little goodbye gesture. "Well, night."

They watched the redhead disappear up the stairs to the dormitory and continued staring at the stone staircase for long seconds before they both burst into hysterical laughter. Seamus flopped back on his back beside Dean, his arm slung over his eyes as he laughed until his sides hurt. "God, we've been stupid," he panted.

"Indeed," Dean laughed. Seamus opened his eyes to see his best friend's - no, his something else, something more, but they'd figure out the details later - smiling face inches from his own. "But not anymore."

"No, not anymore," Seamus agreed. He yanked Dean down on top of him by the collar of his shirt, determined to make up for all of the years they apparently could have been doing this, and proceeded to snog him senseless.

Not anymore.

*End*