Written for Cheek Slytherin Lass' Menagerie of Pairings Challenge. My prompts for this piece were Orion/Abraxas and "It's a lot harder than it looks!"
Word count: 785
"It's a lot harder than it looks!" snapped a young black-haired man; he was laying on his stomach with his chin resting in his palms. His eyes were narrowed and his lips curled with irritation – a not unusual expression on the face of Orion Rigel Black. There was even a rumour running through the halls of Hogwarts that Orion couldn't smile, that his face was stuck in a permanent scowl. No one dared mention it to him though; the consequences of such an action would be downright demonic.
"Pretending to be heterosexual?" The other man who posed this question was also on the bed, reclining on his side with his hands clasped over his stomach. He long silver-blond hair hung like a curtain and his expression could only be described as devious. If Orion Black was always scowling than Abraxas Malfoy was always smirking; the blond was the Dorian Gray type, with his delicate features and enticing grins.
They were opposites, Orion and Abraxas. In a party, Abraxas thrived – conversation with him flowed as easily as water and his laughter was practically music. Orion, on the other hand, stood out like a sore thumb; he stood towards the side, glowering at his drink and snapping at anyone who tried to make chit-chat with him. They had little in common and yet Orion and Abraxas were as thick as thieves. You hardly saw one without out the other, hardly considered one without the other. They were OrionandAbraxas not Orion and Abraxas.
Like brothers, people called them.
Like hell.
Orion shot the blond a glare, his nose crinkling with anger. Abraxas was fully aware that he was baiting an angry bull with a red flag but he didn't care. It was fun.
Tense moments passed between them but Orion didn't open his mouth to answer and eventually Abraxas rolled his eyes. "What?" he asked, one almost-translucent eyebrow cocked. "That's the truth. You're complaining about the fact you can't demonstrate to the world how you love me – that you can't serenade me in the halls nor do indecent things with me anywhere we may get caught."
"As if I could love such a narcissist."
Abraxas laughed heartily at that but Orion remained taut with tension. Abraxas sighed, shaking his head before scooting closer to the dark-haired one. His teasing smile faded into a soft sincerity as a hand of his came to rest between Orion's shoulder-blades. Orion's head turned, his grey eyes meeting Abraxas'.
"Life isn't fair – never has been and never will be, love. I learned that from you. You're quite the pessimist you know," the last part was said with a small chuckle that Orion didn't return. Abraxas ignored it. "We have to do what is right by our families and by our world – that is to continue the long dynasties we've be born into and to keep them pure. That is the only way our world can remain intact; half-bloods and mudbloods will take us into ruin if we don't. Remember the half-breed they let into Hogwarts that ended up killing a mudblood? How they only expelled it, not execute it or even throw it in Azkaban? That type of lawlessness is what will reign supreme in a world full of mudbloods. All purebloods must make sacrifices to prevent that. Sacrifices are meant to be hard – they're meant to hurt. That's how we know they're working."
Abraxas spoke gently but with a conviction that could move mountains and maybe even Orion. After all, Orion was more stubborn than a mountain. Orion's expression, however, was unreadable. The blond didn't let that dissuade him though as he continued with his speech.
"If you must marry Walburga and I must marry Tamara Peverell then so be it. It is what must be done and it will be for the best. I have faith in that and so must you."
Orion finally broke his silence and replied in a steely voice; "I don't believe in faith."
"Then just trust it!" Abraxas sighed, his eyelids fluttering shut as he reigned back in the frustration he was feeling. "We still have some time Orion – it's not like either of us is getting married tomorrow. We've still got time. Time enough for me to do this." And Abraxas leaned in, pressing his lips to Orion's. It took Orion a moment to respond and then he was kissing back, his eyes sliding shut as he lost himself in the kiss. He let out a soft groan when Abraxas pulled a way, eyes narrowing at the sight of the blond's smug grin before a grin of his own spread across his own lips.
"Have we got time for anything else?"
"I think we might."