"It's not like I'm asking for you to elope with me to Italy as part of some scandalous affair," Albus shouted. "All I want is to marry you. If you love me like you say you do, why are you against that?"

Scorpius growled, tugging at his hair.

"I've explained why a million times, and it doesn't make a difference. Why would this time be any different?"

He collapsed onto the couch, rubbing at his eyes. Only Albus could exhaust him to such a degree. When they were younger, they'd had arguments, but nothing had been as recurring or emotionally laden as the arguments that had begun once Albus had suggested getting married only to learn that Scorpius had no interest in it.

"Because I know you're lying to me," Albus said.

The fire in the hearth behind him was reflected in his eyes, making him appear even angrier as he stood over Scorpius, his arms out wide to take up space.

"I'm not lying to you," Scorpius said in a controlled voice.

"No one just doesn't want to get married, Scorpius. You have to have a reason, but I don't know what it is. Your parents' marriage was fine as far as I can tell. Your grandparents are fucked up, but even they mostly seem okay with each other. No one's forcing you to into a marriage to keep the Malfoy blood pure like they did fifty some odd years ago."

Scorpius stared into the fireplace, resolutely not looking at Albus.

"Why can't you take me at my word and accept that marriage isn't right for me? For someone who wants to marry me so badly, you're having an awfully hard time trusting that I'm telling you the truth."

Something about his words had been the final straw that took Albus from loud anger to the much more terrifying quiet anger that made him shut down. It was in these moments that Scorpius felt the greatest distance between them. When they were shouting, they were at least talking.

Without saying a word, Albus turned on his heel and headed for their bedroom. Scorpius cringed as his boyfriend slammed the door. With a groan, he rubbed at his brow. There was no hope in rectifying the situation that night.

He couldn't stay in their apartment. Even without Albus standing in front of him, he could feel animosity permeating the air. He reached for the Floo powder, not sure where he'd go but knowing he had to go somewhere.

As it was a weeknight, the Leaky Cauldron was on the slower side, not that such a thing meant much for the most popular wizarding pub in Britain. Still, Scorpius was thankful for what little isolation the smaller crowd allowed him.

He would have rather gone somewhere private, but he hadn't known where to find such a place. His father wouldn't have had a clue what to do with him if he showed up at the manor an emotional mess. And all of his friends were also friends with Albus, making it feel almost wrong to confide in them when he was angry.

The Leaky Cauldron was at least familiar, and he knew that people didn't ask questions there. That was what had made it popular for more than a century. People could speculate all they wanted, but they wouldn't approach him when it was clear he wanted to be alone.

Taking a seat at the bar, Scorpius kept his head lowered as he waited to order.

He felt the bartender's presence rather than seeing her approach.

"Butterbeer please," he said, keeping his eyes on the wooden surface of the bar.

"You sure you wouldn't like something stronger?"

He looked up into the sympathetic eyes of Hannah Abbott with shining eyes and flyaway hairs that framed her face.

"I don't drink alcohol," he said.

Hannah gave a short laugh as she pulled out a glass for him and began filling it with butterbeer.

"You sound regretful about it."

"I am at the moment," Scorpius said, allowing himself a small grin.

Hannah handed him his drink, and he tipped it in her direction before taking a sip. Part of him did wish for something stronger, but he'd drank before and found it unenjoyable. He gripped his butterbeer tightly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hannah asked, leaning her hip against the bar.

Scorpius drew pictures in the condensation on his glass. When he realized it was Albus' name that he was spelling, he paused, blinking at the letters as the water dripped and ruined them.

"Not really," he admitted.

Hannah may have been the proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron first and foremost, but she was also the wife of his former professor, a fact that he couldn't forget. Especially when said professor was a close friend of Albus' father.

"Does it have anything to do with a certain Albus Potter?"

Scorpius raised his head, brow furrowed, and Hannah chuckled.

"You learn a lot working in a pub. I think I've more or less got people figured out. You have the forlorn lover look on your face. Besides, I've known Albus since he was born. He's got a bit of a reputation for being difficult to handle, doesn't he?"

Scorpius took another swig of butterbeer.

"Please never say that to his face."

"Lay your troubles on me," Hannah declared, slapping her hands against the counter. "I've gotten good at advice over the years. To tell you the truth, it was the only reason I originally took the job here."

"It doesn't matter. If there was a way to fix things, we'd have figured it out by now. We just keep going in circles. There's no use."

She frowned at him.

"My memory never fails me. I remember the first time I saw the two of you together. You were coming through the pub to go to Diagon Alley and buy your school things. Ginny had brought you two, James, and Lily. You weren't dating then, but I could tell that there was something more than friendship between the two of you."

Scorpius' heart tightened. He didn't like being reminded of a time when things had been easier, even if it hadn't felt like it at the time. When he'd realized he liked Albus as more than a friend, he'd been terrified, yes, but that held nothing on the terror that overtook him each time Albus mentioned marriage and he knew there'd be another argument.

Hannah's words ripped him from his dark thoughts.

"You'd be surprised what can be worked out if both people want it enough."

He watched her for a second, trying to decide if he believed her or not. He had no idea. Though he had once believed that exact thing, the last year had stretched him to his limits. Maybe Albus didn't want to work it out as much as he did, or maybe there were conflicts that couldn't be worked out no matter how much those involved wanted them to be.

"Have you told him everything?"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"You'd be surprised how often I see that," Hannah continued. She'd picked up a glass and was wiping it off with a rag. "So many people don't tell their significant other what's actually bothering them. That always blows up in their face."

"He knows," Scorpius said with a sigh. "He wants to get married, and I don't. We've heard the other person loud and clear."

"Have you?" Hannah asked. "Why is Albus so set on getting married that he'll fight you on it over and over?"

Scorpius opened his mouth to answer, froze, and closed it again. Hannah smirked, stowing the glass away and leaning over the counter on her elbows.

"See?" she said. "You need to talk to him.

Scorpius' shoulders sagged.

"He says that marriage is just what people who love each other do, that it's what we're meant to do."

"I highly doubt that's the actual reason, but you'll have to ask him about that."

Scorpius nodded, downing the last of his butterbeer.

"You're right," he declared, setting down his empty glass and getting up to leave.

The house had grown dark since Scorpius left. It was also deadly silent, and Scorpius knew Albus was still in their bedroom. There was a good chance that he didn't know Scorpius had left.

Scorpius made his way down the hall with loud footsteps, alerting Albus that he was coming. When he knocked, there was no answer, so he cracked the door open to speak. The fact that it wasn't locked was a good sign.

"Can we talk?"

There was a second of silence before Albus replied, "Yeah," his voice cracking from disuse and emotion.

Scorpius slipped inside, closing the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and perched himself on the edge, facing Albus, who was on top of the sheets but laying down with the side of his face pressed into the pillow.

Though he itched to reach out, Scorpius was careful not to touch him.

"Hannah Abbott has a lot of advice," he said, not sure how else to start.

Albus turned far enough to give Scorpius a sceptical look, but he didn't lift his head from the pillow.

"What did she say?" he asked.

"That we should tell each other why we feel the way we do about marriage."

Anger flashed in Albus' eyes as he sat up.

"I've told you—"

"Please," Scorpius begged quietly. "Please just listen to me for a minute."

Albus fell silent, though he was pouting as he crossed his arms against his chest.

Taking a deep breath, Scorpius continued.

"Me not wanting to marry you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I thought I'd made that clear before, but maybe I didn't. I don't know. My parents were happy enough before my mum died, but they were always the exception, not the rule, in my eyes. My grandparents only tolerated each other as far as I could tell, and I guess I've assumed that, if we got married, we'd become indifferent to each other too."

Albus was quiet. His arms had uncrossed, and his hands were lying limply in his lap.

"It was different for me," he said, voice cautious. "My parents and grandparents are happy. My aunts and uncles have always seemed fine, though I don't know that I was paying much attention. It never occurred to me that we'd," he waved his hands through the air, "fall out of love or something."

"Doesn't that seem too optimistic though?" Scorpius asked, wringing his hands. "People get divorced all the time. I mean, purebloods don't, but that just means they're more miserable than everyone else."

"Were they ever happy in the first place? Didn't your Greengrass grandmother try to escape before her wedding? I don't think there was any love to lose between them from the beginning."

"Maybe," Scorpius admitted with a sigh.

Albus readjusted to fit himself against Scorpius' side, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"I thought you didn't want to get married because something was wrong. Like you thought our relationship wasn't strong enough right now or something like that. It hurt."

Scorpius was quick to shake his head.

"No, nothing like that. I love you. So much. But the future scares me."

"Then we do our best to stay happy. We tell each other we love each other every day. I even promise to keep buying you flowers."

"Tulips?" Scorpius asked, unable to stop himself from smiling.

"Obviously," Albus said with a roll of his eyes. "And always in as many colours as the shop has in stock."

Scorpius pressed a kiss against Albus' cheek.

"Thank you." Pulling back, he said, "I still don't know how I feel about getting married."

Albus' returning smile was slight but genuine.

"That's okay. You can think about it, but I promise to keep loving you anyway."

"And buying me tulips?"

Albus shut him up with a kiss.

A/N: I think the multicoloured tulips have managed to become a head canon. I'm already working on another Scorbus fic where they're featured. So, that's cool, I guess.

Prompts:

Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments

Seasonal Challenges - Days of the Year: Elephant Appreciation Day - write about someone with a good memory

Fortnightly challenges - The Boyfriend Checklist: (genre) hurt/comfort

HPFC

Build a Zoo: panda enclosure - (setting) The Leaky Cauldron

Favourite Character Boot Camp: Scorpius Malfoy, (word) hurt

Word count: 2,006