Written for Shay - happy birthday! I hope you enjoy this - I haven't written Scorbus in quite possibly forever, and I had a lot of fun with this.
Also for Hogwarts' Writing Club, Showtime - (era) next gen.
Title is from ee cummings' In Times of Daffodils.
Word count: 2824
in time of roses
"Come on, Al, be honest with me - how much is your father going to freak when we tell him about us?"
If it wasn't for the real panic he could hear in his boyfriend's voice, Albus would have laughed. Instead, he took Scorpius' hand in his, running his thumb over Scorpius' smooth skin gently.
"Dad isn't gonna freak," he replied once he was sure Scorpius wasn't falling apart at the seams anymore. "He's known you for years - you were the first friend I ever brought back home, remember? And I'm rather sure he couldn't have missed you in my letters."
Scorpius bit his lower lip nervously - a habit that, to his father's greatest horror, he had picked up from Albus - and heaved a long sigh. He tightened his hold on Albus' hand and leaned in until he could rest his head against Albus' shoulder, forcing Albus to readjust himself and shift so his back was entirely to the wall behind his bed if he didn't want to risk falling off it or getting sore muscles trying to hold them both up.
"Yes, but we were only friends then-"
"Hey, come on, we were never just friends, we were best friends!"
Scorpius' lips twitched into a tolerant smile for a few seconds before falling back in a worried expression. "It's different now," he continued. "We're not just best friends anymore, you know that. And he doesn't even know that you're bisexual, much less in a relationship."
Albus shrugged. If he looked down, he could see his and Scorpius' hands, entwined, as they rested on their lap. The sight eased an ache in his chest he hadn't realized was there.
"You know why I didn't want to tell him though," Albus said. "I just, I mean, I wasn't, I couldn't… I didn't know how to," Albus sputtered, unable to find the right words to express the feelings bubbling up in his chest.
Scorpius sighed and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I know." He looked sad, and Albus was overcome with the desire to make him feel better.
"It's going to be okay, you know," he said. "My parents won't mind, I know they won't." Albus' lips quirked up into a smile. "Come on, your parents didn't mind that we were dating, did they? And I'm pretty sure I had as much reasons as you have now to think that your father was going to curse me and throw me out of your castle."
"For the love of Merlin, Al', it's not a castle, it's a manor," Scorpius replied with an impressive eye roll that had Albus huff out a laugh.
"Sorry, sorry, 'throw me out of your manor'," Albus corrected, barely resisting the urge to smile.
Scorpius scowled, elbowing Albus in the side. "I can tell you're mocking me, you know. And my father wouldn't have cursed you."
"I'd never," Albus replied, but he feared his offended tone was offset by the laughter and fondness he couldn't quite keep at bay. "And sorry, but your father probably would have cursed me, if he thought I was playing with your heart."
Scorpius blinked. "Are you?"
"Am I what?"
"Playing with my heart?"
"Of course not," Albus replied immediately, eyes narrowing as something that felt an awful lot like dread pooled in his stomach. He pulled away from Scorpius a little, shifting so they were face to face and half-kneeling, half-sitting on the bed, their linked hands between them. "I would never - is that… Is that really something you thought I could do?" The to you was unvoiced, because Albus hadn't always been very invested in his romantic relationships before.
Not for the first time, he wondered how it must have felt for Scorpius, to see the boy he had a crush on chase girl after girl, empty, meaningless relationship one after the other.
This was different though - not only because Scorpius himself was different from anyone Albus had thought he liked before, but also because there was a well of feelings in Albus' chest that threatened to overflow whenever he thought about them too much.
There had never been that, before.
Scorpius' grey eyes just bore into Albus' for a while - a long while. The moment felt oddly solemn, like there was a weight bearing down on their shoulders, threatening to cave their chests in. Albus barely dared to breathe.
Finally, Scorpius' lips twitched up, his eyes lightening again; and just like that the spell was broken.
"Not really, no," he admitted, shrugging a little. "But I guess I just wanted to be sure." His lips pulled into a wicked grin. "And by the way? I was going to say that my father wouldn't curse you. My mother, on the other end…" He winked as Albus paled.
"That's not funny," Albus said.
"It's a little bit funny," Scorpius laughed. "It's fine, you can admit it."
"Only you would laugh about my possible misfortune, Malfoy," Albus huffed, but Scorpius' amusement was contagious and soon enough Albus was laughing too.
"Don't try to pretend you don't love it, Potter," Scorpius quipped back.
He seemed more at ease now, like a tension Albus hadn't even realized had been there had now finally been lifted off his shoulders, so Albus didn't feel bad for asking if he was still scared of meeting Albus' parents as his boyfriend.
"I'm not scared," Scorpius immediately bristled. "Anxious, maybe - and I don't think I can be blamed for that - but not scared."
Albus was sure that Scorpius would have crossed his arms defensively then if that hadn't meant he'd also have to let go of Albus' hand.
"Fine, fine," Albus relented, smiling. "Are you still anxious then?"
Scorpius sighed, looking down at their hands pensively. "A little, I guess. But thanks. You - that helped."
Albus beamed. "I'm glad. Now come here," he said, tugging at Scorpius until they were laid down, legs tangled together. "We're going back home tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure my parents won't let you sleep in my room after we tell them."
Scorpius huffed a laugh. "Like you'd let that stop you."
Albus wiggled his eyebrows. "As if you'd be any better. I seem to remember more that one time where…"
Scorpius cut him off with a kiss, and Albus moaned. "What was that for?" he asked breathlessly once Scorpius drew back.
"Well," Scorpius replied mischievously, "it seems to me like we should take full advantage of our last night at Hogwarts before the winter holidays, shouldn't we?"
"What does it say about me that I find you a hundred times hotter when you're being evil?"
Scorpius chuckled, fingers hovering at the edge of Albus' shirt. they were inches away from bare skin and yet Albus could almost feel them already. "Is it really evil if you're enjoying it though?"
"Good point," Albus moaned.
They didn't really talk for a while after that.
"Calm down Al', I'm sure Scorpius will be there any minute now. You can survive half a day without him, you know," Lily said, barely looking up from the magazine she was reading.
Albus resisted the urge to stick his tongue out to his sister by scowling at her darkly. "Well, maybe I don't want to," he retorted.
Lily laughed, rolling her eyes as she turned a page. "You're so gone over him, it's sickening. Really."
"I-" Albus was saved from finding something witty to retort - not that he couldn't have, obviously, but his siblings somehow always managed to get under his skin - by the fireplace flaring green.
He stopped pacing, heart thundering in his chest. His palms were sweating and he wiped them quickly on his pants, but the instant Scorpius walked out of the fire, blonde hair in disarray and face slightly sooty, a silly grin broke out on his face and Albus forgot why he had been nervous.
Behind him, Lily scoffed and sent a greeting out to Scorpius, who returned it warmly.
"Ready?" Albus asked once they'd had a greeting of their own.
Scorpius shrugged, smile a little too tight to be entirely genuine as he reached down to link their hands together. "Are you?"
Albus took a moment to consider it, but in the end there wasn't much to consider. "Yeah," he breathed out confidently, "I am."
Scorpius nodded. "Let's do this, then."
At that, Lily's head snapped up from her magazine. "Wait, are you going to tell Mum and Dad? Oh, I need to be there for this - Rose is never going to believe she missed it!"
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I am," Albus scowled as Scorpius hid a chuckle behind his free hand.
Lily closed her magazine, her smile turning more genuine. "I'm happy for you, Al'. And you too, I guess, Scorpius," she added, feigning distaste.
Scorpius laughed. "Thanks, Lily," he said. "It means… something, I guess, coming from you."
Albus rolled his eyes as Lily and Scorpius dissolved into laughter. He'd already decided years ago that he wouldn't try to understand their friendship - born of snark, a mutual appreciation of fashion, Albus and Albus' lack of a fashion sense, and more snark - but even so, it still baffled him.
Albus was thankful he and Scorpius were still holding on them, because that meant tugging him along to the kitchen where he had last seen his mother was easier. Otherwise he feared they'd have stayed in the living-room and by the fireplace forever.
"Mum, Scorpius's here," he said, just as Scorpius said, "Hi, Mrs. Potter," and Lily added, appalled, "Are you trying to recreate Grandma's recipe again? Didn't Dad ban you from the kitchen after last time?"
It was fortunate Scorpius already knew the Potters so well, because otherwise Albus would have spontaneously combusted in shame right about now.
Ginny turned around, hands white with flour - she had a streak of it across her nose too, and Albus decided to ignore it.
"Yes, I see that," she told Albus mischievously, before turning to Scorpius and saying, faking offense, "And I told you, just call me Ginny." She then frowned as she looked as the mess in front of her - at a guess, Albus would say she had been trying to make treacle tart (it was her husband's favorite, and Ginny always tried to recreate it once every other month, even though she knew by now that she hadn't inherited her mother's cooking skills - and scowled, vanishing the mess away with a sigh.
"Not a word to your father," she instructed, staring down at Lily. "Or I'll tell him about who exactly took his Firebolt out on a joyride - he still thinks James did it."
Lily, who had been about to open her mouth, snapped it shut with a click, pouting. "That's not fair."
"I'm your mother, dear. I never play fair - if I did, this house would have collapsed on us by now."
While that was probably a fair point, it also wasn't why Albus had come here.
"Mum, hm, do you know where Dad is? I wanted to tell you something. I mean, both of you."
Ginny's eyes flickered to where Scorpius and him were still holding hands and back up again quickly, and she smiled. "HARRY!" she yelled, "SCORPIUS is HERE, AND AL' WANTS TO SPEAK WITH US!"
Mere moments later, Harry arrived, hair a mess and ink stains running up and down his forearms. He kissed his wife, before drawing back a little, blinking and saying, "You have a little something there," as he pointed to the floor she had left across her nose.
Ginny wiped it away, cheeks a little red. "Thanks."
Harry nodded, shifting to stand beside her and in front of Albus, Scorpius and Lily. "Sorry about the mess," he told Scorpius as he extended his hand, "I was upstairs preparing this new test for our trainee and-"
"Yes, yes, you can tell us all about what you and my brother have been up to for the Ministry tonight, at dinner." She said the words 'at dinner' very pointedly, and Albus watched as his father's face turned first confused and then abashed.
"Sorry," Harry said, shaking Scorpius' hand. "Again," he huffed, self-deprecatingly.
"It's fine, Mr. Potter," Scorpius replied.
"It's Harry, Scorpius. Please - Mr. Potter makes me feel old, or like I'm back at school."
"But you are old," Lily said, smirking.
Harry rolled his eyes. "And I am starting to think that you might not be old enough to go on that summer trip with your friends you wanted to take," he retorted with a twin smirk.
Ignoring the way Lily turned toward Ginny, who just raised her eyebrows in a 'you're on your own in this' way, Harry turned back to Albus.
"So, what did you want to tell us?"
Albus took a deep breath, grabbing back onto Scorpius' hand who had had to let go of him so he could shake his father's hand like it was his lifeline.
"Mum, Dad," he said, swallowing thickly, "I wanted to tell you that I'm dating Scorpius now. I love him and we're dating, and I'm bisexual," he added, staring at them defiantly and daring them to say anything about it.
There was a moment of almost tense silence, which was ruptured by Ginny shouting, "About time!" and pumping her fist in the air.
She stepped around the table counter and pulled Albus, and then Scorpius into a hug. "I'm happy for you, son," she said, before turning to Scorpius and narrowing her eyes a little. "And you - if you hurt him-"
"You'll kill me?" Scorpius suggested weakly.
"Eventually," Ginny replied, smiling sunnily. "But we'd make it hurt."
"Mum, come on, please. It's Scorpius - you know him."
Ginny pouted. "But he's the first boyfriend you've brought home," she protested. "What kind of mother would I be if I didn't threaten him a little?"
"A sane one?" Albus replied.
He turned his attention back to his father, who looked a little lost and a lot confused, eyes flickering from Albus and Scorpius to Lily quickly.
"But I thought you were with that Hufflepuff girl, Smith's daughter," Harry said dumbly, frowning a little.
Albus gaped. "Dad, Liza and I haven't been together in two years."
Ignoring the interruption, Harry continued, speaking to Scorpius this time. "And you, I thought you were in love with Lily."
It was hard to say who spluttered more between Scorpius and Lily, though their responses were eerily similar - variations of 'ew, no way, he/she is like a sister/brother to me'.
Ginny huffed a laugh, patting Harry on the shoulder. "It's fine, Harry, I still love you."
Harry scowled. "I can tell when you're laughing at me, you know."
And just like that Ginny was gone. "I'm sorry," she laughed, "but how could you think that Scorpius was in love with Lily when Al' was literally all he could talk about?"
"I thought they were best friends," Harry retorted mulishly, crossing his arms defensively.
"You and Ron are best friends," Ginny corrected. "Scorpius and Al'? Yeah, they've been dating for, what, a year?" she asked, turning to her son.
"Ten months," Albus replied, flushing a little.
"And two weeks," Scorpius added. Albus smiled at him happily, squeezing his hand once.
"Yeah, and they're sickening," Lily said. "Even worse than you and Dad sometimes," she said, nodding at her mother.
Albus scowled at his sister, but Scorpius replied before he could. "You're just jealous you don't have someone to be sappy with."
Lily stomped her foot, huffing loudly. "I'm not jealous."
"Sure you aren't," Scorpius drawled.
Ginny cleared her throat, interrupting them before they started off on a 'am not'/'are too' kind of discussion. "Scorpius, will you be staying for dinner tonight?"
Her question seemed to snap Harry out of his confused state, because just after Scorpius said that yes, he would stay if it wasn't too much of a bother, he smiled at Albus.
"Hey, I'm proud of you, you know that, right? No matter what."
"No matter what?" Albus echoed, eyes watering a little.
"No matter what," Harry repeated firmly, smiling as he pulled Harry into a hug. When he drew back, Albus' eyes weren't the only ones to be a little red.
Harry then frowned, stilling suddenly. "I just realized," he said, sounding properly horrified. "We're going to have to change the sleeping arrangements, aren't we?"
Albus didn't think anyone could blame him for the way he dissolved into laughter at that, leaning against Scorpius, who was as equally lost, as he tried to catch his breath and the last of a tension he hadn't realized he was still carrying melted away.
"What? What did I say?" Harry asked.
"Nothing," Albus managed through his laughter. "Nothing at all."
And then he met Scorpius' eyes and he was off again.