A/N: Written for the Triwizard Tournament (Task 7: Co Writing)
The first half of this was written by Sam (HP Slash Luv) she has all credit and props for the first half. The second half after the break is my contribution to this challenge. That's about it. Oh, I also don't own Harry Potter or anything involved with it.
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Lily Luna Potter truly hates that she's the baby of the family sometimes. Well, at least she's the baby of her immediate family. It's worse because she's the only girl as well. She has two over protective brothers and a lot of older cousins. They see her as a delicate flower to take care of, ignoring the fact that she's sixteen-years old, and by now, she knows her own mind. She knows what she wants and who she wants.
When she admits to Albus that she's in love, she hates the fact that he rolls his eyes and laughs at her naivety. She has always been closer to Albus than James. While James picked on her and tormented her like older brothers tend to do to their little sisters, Albus protected her and made her feel special. He made her feel like she wasn't just the baby of the family but actually had a willful mind of her own. She has always been able to tell Albus things she couldn't tell others. Truthfully, he is probably her best friend. That's why he is the first person she goes to when she realizes she's in love.
Albus' laughter in response to her honest confession is making her angry and regret her decision if she's perfectly honest. She should have thought it over more. After all, you don't tell your brother that you're in love with his best friend without expecting some kind of negative response.
"It's not funny," Lily growls as she crosses her arms.
Albus laughs so hard that tears are coming from his eyes. "It kind of is. My little sister is in love with me best friend. How can it not be funny?"
Lily arms uncross and slowly drop to her side. "Wait! You believe my feelings are genuine? I thought you were laughing because the thought of them was so ridiculous to you."
Albus' laugh tapers off as he regains his composure. "I'm not sure if it's genuine love or simply a crush, but I'd be blind if I didn't see the way you looked at Scorpius."
She twirls a strand of red hair around her index finger. "Do you think I might stand a chance with him?" she asks hopefully.
Albus bites his bottom lip, suddenly realizing the seriousness of the situation. "I don't know. He always commented that you were cute, but I thought he meant it in the way that a guy usually means it when talking about his best friend's kid sister. Frankly, I'm afraid you'll get hurt if you try to go after him."
Lily nods, understanding Albus' fear. "I understand, but I think I might need to at least try. If I don't I may always what would have happened. I don't want to live my life with 'what-ifs.'"
Albus bobs his head. "Be careful," he softly commands.
Lily wraps her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. "I will. Thanks for looking out for me."
"Always," he vows.
Their nice moment is interrupted when Scorpius strolls into their house. "Hey, what's up?"
Albus and Lily break their hug. While Albus smiles and silently warns his friend with his eyes – not that Scorpius understands the warning – Lily blushes and smiles at Scorpius. "Hi, Scorpius. How are you today?"
"Pretty good," he answers. "How are you Lily?"
"Good," she says. He smiles at her words, and she smiles back brighter than before.
"I'm good by the way." Albus looks between the two of them. "If you guys cared."
Lily turns to him, sending him an expression that she hopes he'll understand as a sign to leave. "Don't you have something to do?"
"I do." Albus says. "Scorp, you okay waiting with Lil for a minute? I've got to do something for dad. I'll be back."
"Ya," Scorpius says with a smile, "that's fine."
Albus smiles at them then leaves. Lily wants to breathe a sigh of relief as she looks at Scorpius. She wants to think that he feels similar. There's a shine in his eyes that she wants to take as a good sign, but there's always a shine to his eyes, so she's not quite sure what to make of it. Still, he's smiling and smiling's good. His eyes were still on hers, and Lily can feel the heat move through her body again.
"So," he says breaking her line of thought, "what have you been up to?"
"Not much." Lily shrugs in what she hopes is a casual manner. "Wanted to talk to you though."
"Oh," Scorpius seems surprised, "about what?"
Lily looks around in search for some family member that may be nearby. She turns back to Scorpius, taking his hand in her own. "Follow me?"
Scorpius nods. Lily takes this as a good sign and drags him from the house. The outside air is chilly. Lily leads him into the backyard and stops in front of the large oak tree. There is a set of swings that hang from the lowest branch. She sits on one of them, Scorpius sitting on the one beside her.
He swings back and forth a few inches. "So, is everything alright?"
"Ya. I just wanted to talk." Lily looks away. "I don't know how to say this through."
"Say what? Lil's, whatever's wrong you can tell me." There is a concern in Scorpius's voice that Lily likes hearing. She loves that he can be so concerned, but still so confident in her. For a girl who's always seen as the baby, she appreciates the fact that he makes her feel like a capable human being.
She needs to just say this before she loses her nerves. "Look, Scorpius. I like you."
Scorpius takes a moment, eyeing her carefully. "I like you too."
"No," huffs Lily, "I don't mean that I like you. I mean that I like you."
Scorpius heavily frowns. Lily begins to panic, positive that this was a bad idea. She opens her mouth to take it all back when Scorpius starts laughing. Lily remembers Albus' laughter whenever she'd told him of her feelings. She once more regrets ever speaking. She really should think these things through more first.
Lily makes to stand, but Scorpius grabs her arm. She's half standing, half sitting on the swing when she turns back to him. There is something in his gaze that makes her feel warm all over again.
"I shouldn't have laughed," Scorpius says. He lets go of her arm and sits back in the swing. "I'm just relieved. I got worried for a moment. You were really nervous. I thought something was wrong."
Lily doesn't look at him. "I shouldn't have said anything."
Scorpius stands. He's now in front of her, hands placed softly on her arms. He's smiling and Lily wants to smile back but she's scared. She doesn't like feeling this helpless. This… delicate.
"I'm glad you did," Scorpius speaks softly. He waits a second, then moves a hand to the side of her face. He feels so safe and comforting, and Lily could stay like this forever. He leans forward and kisses her. Lily can't help but squeal a bit in surprise before she kisses back.
She doesn't want to let him go but they eventually break apart. Scorpius still has a hand on her cheek, and she has hers on his chest. He speaks softly into her ear, "I really like you too."