Leo Hemingway:
The world had stopped. Every eye in the hall was fixed on the two of them. Leo glanced around the hall, catching sight of the shock and amazement on some of the other students faces. A Slytherin boy dating Fred Weasley? The idea of it was laughable and if it had been anyone else, Leo would have been sitting at the Slytherin table chuckling at what was obvious some new prank. This wasn't anyone else though, this was him and Fred in front of the entire school. What was meant to be part of a routine they had perfected: walk in, split up to go to their separate tables and meet up in an hour somewhere, usually in the library for more talking and kissing. Now the whole hall seemed to have stopped as he waited for his boyfriend to tell him how he wanted to handle this; if he wanted to pass it off as a joke or own up to it.
Leo'd once read somewhere that there was two things you could do when everything was falling apart: you could run from it and stay running your whole life or you could owe up to it and owe it. Fred gave him a weak smile, "That wasn't how it was supposed to happen." He said quietly and Leo nodded, just as shaken as he sounded. "This really wasn't how it was meant to go." He agreed, his voice soft, "This isn't how I wanted it to go." By now the whispers had broken out; the fact that neither of them had burst out laughing at the accusation seemed to have confirmed the truth. Silently, he held out his hand to Fred. "You can run if you want to."
Fred Weasley:
The silence in the hall was almost tangible - everyone was waiting for some sort of reaction, even if it was just for them both to burst out laughing and deny it. Up to this point, it was just about possible that it was some sort of cruel joke played on one or the other, but their silence more or less proved the unseen person right. It took a couple of moments for Fred's brain to catch up with what was going on, and he dimly heard Leo agreeing that this situation was *ahem* less than ideal.
"You can run if you want to." Leo's offer made Fred smile weakly, and he took the proffered hand. "No, I think we have to do this. It would happen sooner or later, right?" He rolled his eyes at the still staring hall and shook his head. "If they want a show, then we might as well give them one, wouldn't you say?" He pulled Leo close to him and started kissing him. He tried desperately to forget that this was in front of most of the school and that they were probably the floor show for the assembled students. He especially avoided thinking about Lily and any of his other cousins that he hadn't told yet. Eventually he managed to ignore the people and his thoughts, and just concentrate on the man in front of him. When he eventually pulled away, compelled by the necessity of breathing, he grinned slightly. "Think that's enough?" He asked rhetorically, not waiting for an answer, but pulling Leo towards the doors.
"You know, I kind of want to see reactions." His cheerful words and face didn't show just how shaken he was by what had occurred, but his eyes told the real story. He felt like the reality of the situation still hadn't quite sunk in; almost like that time in the library.
Leo Hemingway:
It was totally and utterly cheesy how something as simple as Fred taking his hand made Leo feel like he could do this. He could face up to the two hundred or so students staring at them. "I think we have to do this. It would happen sooner or later, right?" Fred said, rolling his eyes at the students, "If they want a show, we might as well give them one, wouldn't you say?" Leo blinked, waiting for the words to line up in his head to something he could understand, "Wait, what?" He asked, that thought interrupted by Fred pulling him in close and kissing him. Well. That was... unexpected. Trying to ignore the fact that they were kissing in front of pretty much the entire school, including assorted relatives of Fred's that they hadn't told yet- and oh damn, his sister was probably somewhere at the Gryffindor table watching this right now, he kissed him back. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered shocked gasps and outbreaks of nervous giggles, pushing all of that aside as he focused on Fred.
When they pulled apart, (damn their need for air) Leo gave him a half-dazed grin. "Think that's enough?" Fred asked, he gave him a small nod in answer, looking back over the shocked faces in the hall as he was dragged towards the doors. He glanced over at the other, raising his eyebrows at his cheerful words but waited until they had gotten out of the Hall which had broken out into frantic whispers before turning to him, "You okay?" He asked softly, worry in his eyes. He knew what had happened in there would take a while to sink in and knew they'd have to deal with a lot of hate after that very public kiss. He frowned slightly, wrapping his arm around Fred and resting their foreheads against each other. "It'll be okay." He said, not sure if he was re-assuring Fred or himself.
Fred Weasley:
The whispers that started before they'd even made it out of the Hall assailed Fred's ears and made him even more nervous than he had been before. "You okay?" Leo asked him quietly. Fred didn't even hear him. He was second-guessing and third-guessing his actions. Not too many guys were openly 'out', and he had no idea how most people were going to take it. Leo wrapped his arm around him, and Fred took some much needed comfort from the gesture. Their foreheads were resting together, and Fred could feel Leo's breath on his face when he said "It'll be okay."
He would have asked how he knew, or if he was sure, but he knew that Leo probably had just as little idea as him. On the other hand, presumably having come out in several other places, he might have an idea of people's reactions. "How bad is it likely to get?" He asked tentatively, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. He had an idea that among certain people, it might get pretty bad, especially for Leo. Slytherins weren't exactly known for their kindliness and tolerance, after all. He tried to think of a solution and could only come up with one - if it got too bad, they, or Leo at least, could move into the Room of Requirement and only leave for lessons. Even then, they could use the passage ways to get around or go to the kitchens for meals. That was probably quite a good idea for right now, actually. He leant forward and kissed him on the cheek before standing up fully and pulling him towards the kitchen. "Come on, comfort food is good."
Leo Hemingway:
Leo held him in his arms, his eyes slipping closed. It was really comforting to be able to stand like this, outside of any passages with no walls to hide them as they just seeked solace in each other for a minute. If he was going to go through this, having Fred by his side was going to be the thing that kept him sane. They could keep each other strong and it was much easier to ignore the rumours when there was a warm hand in yours as you walked down the corridors. "I don't know." He answered honestly, "This is my first time too." Even though he'd known for years that he didn't like girls the same way all of the other boys did, it wasn't something he'd ever admitted to publicly before this. With Peter, it had been half alcohol that brought on their first kiss and after that they'd kept it a secret. He was planning on telling his parents... eventually but wasn't expecting a good reaction.
First though, he would deal with it here at Hogwarts. All he could hope was that the majority of students would simply accept it as time went on and if not- he only had to go to classes, the Dorms to sleep and the Great Hall to eat. After that, he could hide out in the library or a passage or even the Room of Requirement. That could be their little bubble away from the chaos if needed surely. Leo smiled at the kiss on his cheek, missing the warmth against him as Fred pulled away instantly. He let himself be pulled along, frowning slightly as he was tugged, "Fred, where are we going?" That was the problem with having a boyfriend who seemed to know the school scarily well. He was constantly being torn between his prefect loyalties and his genuine curiosity about what other wonders the school held.
Fred Weasley:
Leo's confession that he had never properly come out before worried Fred slightly - neither of them knew what to expect, and he had hoped that Leo might have some idea of what was going to happen now. He shrugged off the thought. They'd just have to work out what was going on together and get through it. It would be okay as long as he had Leo and his family still supported him. He was brought out of his thoughts by the question, "Fred, where are we going?" He smirked mysteriously and didn't say anything. They walked through the corridors leading to the kitchens, avoiding most people, even though it was unlikely that any of them could know yet.
"This isn't going to be fun, is it?" He asked quietly. He was just glad that most of the people who were important to them already knew. That said, Lily's reaction would probably be interesting. He doubted she'd have a problem with it, but she was just the type to take offence at not having been in the know before hand. She generally liked to know things and always took it personally when she wasn't told. Fred firmly told himself that for the next hour at least, he was just going to concentrate on Leo, and what they were going to do. He leaned over and kissed his cheek. "It'll be okay, won't it?"
Leo Hemingway:
Leo wasn't really sure if he liked that mysterious smirk that Fred was currently wearing. It was one over the years he had learnt to associate with pranks that caused the whole school to grind to a halt as they attempted to round up a thousand frogs or remove part of a swamp. There was nothing like that going to happen right now though- he hoped not anyway. Since he was a prefect, he was going to have to turn a blind eye to a lot of what the other was getting up to or even try distract him from pranks by nagging him to study or pulling him away for kisses and more explorations of the castle.
"Yeah, it won't be." He agree as they walked down the corridor, now able to hold hands since there was no-one down here. Leo couldn't help but feel grateful that they got to tell at least most of Fred's cousins and that almost all of them had taken the news well. James still seemed kind of uncertain about it but for the most part it had been the same- as long as you're not a Death Eater and you don't hurt him or make him run away with you, it's fine. The only person he could think of that they didn't get to tell was Lily Potter. Leo winced. That was one conversation he wasn't looking forwards to. She probably would be fine with it as a relationship but chances were that both of their heads would be eaten for not telling her sooner. His thoughts were broken into by the other leaning over to kiss his cheek and he gave him a smile back, "Of course it will be." He told him confidently, inwardly wondering the same thing.
Fred Weasley:
Fred carried on pulling Leo down the corridor towards the kitchens, completely ignoring the worried looks the other was giving him. Admittedly, this was his 'oh, I've got such an awesome prank planned' look, but there was nothing in the works at that particular moment in time. That said... He probably ought to do something with that portable swamp his dad had given him, but that was a thought to be pursued at another time.
Leo's confidence as he reassured him with a calm, "Of course it will be." was encouraging, but he couldn't help but wonder where the confidence came from, and just how genuine it was. "Do you really want to know where we're going?" He asked teasingly, giving up on the mysterious facade. After all, so many people knew about the kitchens now that it was hardly a secret. Or as far as he was aware, people did. Oh well, even if he didn't, it was always nice to be shown new places. He'd always enjoyed it at any rate. He shook his head to stop the rambling internal monologue. The kitchens were awesome, Leo would love them no matter if he'd been there before or not.
Leo Hemingway:
Leo smiled at Fred's back, happy to let himself be dragged along. Life with Fred was rarely boring, that was for sure. There were always new places to explore, hidden passages that he hadn't known about and even the Room of Requirement. Surely if things did get bad, they could just retreat in there? "You're thinking about that swamp, aren't you?" Leo rolled his eyes. He had gotten several descriptions of just what Fred could do with a swamp like that until he had firmly reminded his boyfriend that he was a prefect and thus would be pretending that this conversation never happened.
"Yes, I do." Leo grinned as Fred's attempt to be mysterious fell away. "I have no idea where I'm being dragged to." He didn't think he'd ever been down this way before, racking his brains to think of what might be down here. Wait, weren't the kitchens down here? He had never been, but had caught several students sneaking into the Common Room laden down with food from the kitchens. "Wait a minute..." He narrowed his eyes at Fred, "I think I know where we're going..."