a/n: this collection will feature fifty albusscorpius aus, and this is our first one – an oxford university au, in which albus and scorpius want to become gods. this was also written for the otp bootcamp, using prompt #40, want, and for the globetrotter drabble competition with new delhi, india.
i. amongst the gods
the desire to reach for the stars is ambitious
the desire to reach hearts is wise
—maya angelou
The ancient library is where they spend most of their days, basking in the smell of paper and ink and the golden sunlight streaming through the windows. Albus likes to run his fingers along the leather spines of the books that line the walls, feeling the countless stories of the men that have lived, fought and fallen before them, making them come alive beneath his hands. Scorpius sits at their usual wooden desk, chewing the end of his fountain pen, crafting fluid sentences across the smooth paper and watching as Albus' eyes light up with delight at each new story he uncovers.
Albus is captivated by the worlds he finds lurking amongst the dusted shelves, and he hopes that he could one day live out adventures that could enchant the minds of other boys who would one day walk these wooden floorboards. Scorpius, however, is rigidly proud and hopelessly determined to prove himself, in a slightly different way to how Albus intends.
Scorpius is terrified of failing and is determined to prove that he is worthy of being here – they are in Oxford University, the world class home of the brightest, and Scorpius wants to prove that he is good enough to thrive amongst the academic gods.
(Albus thinks that gods are made by creating stories that will be told on forever, but he doesn't tell that to Scorpius.)
(Scorpius thinks that Albus' dreams of making the history books are foolish and flawed, but he wouldn't dream of telling him.)
(Neither stop and consider what effect becoming gods would ever have on their love for each other.)
.
They do it eventually – Scorpius gains a first in his degree and becomes one of the Oxford elite, he makes his name amongst the greatest of them and proves that he truly is worthy; Albus slowly changes the tide of the world with his political forays and he makes it into the books he once ran his fingers across, along the way.
They both become who they always wanted to be, but, it comes at a price.
Scorpius' inked journey through university life and Albus' trek across the worlds in his attempt to make his name could last forever, but somewhere along the line, they lose each other.
(Neither are quite sure if it was worth it, now they've achieved it.)
.
"Goodbye," Albus says, the door closing behind him with a thud of finality.
Scorpius stands by the window of his impressive marble home, and he looks at the empire he has built and the name he has made, but he also looks at the bridges he has burnt and the sacrifices he has made – he looks at the golden, the good, what he is proud of above all, but then he looks at what is hiding in the shadows, at all the mistakes he has made, and he really isn't sure if it was worth it.
"Goodbye," he whispers, and he feels his heart shattering in his chest.
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