A/N: Ok, my first Deamus fic! Yay! Actually, this is my first finished Deamus fic. I've tried other ones, but this is the only one that's made it this far. Kinda seems, well, not rushed, more like not fully developed or something… I just… don't really like it… maybe some reviews (or just hits! I'll settle for hits!) will make me feel better. Don't get me wrong, I'm not begging for reviews. Ok, so maybe I am, but can you blame me? I live off reviews!

Warning: Slash, people. Yaoi. Shonen ai. Boyxboy. You've been warned. (Kinda pointless in my opinion, but hey, w/e)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. C'mon, I'm writing slash fan fiction. You don't get much worse than that. I mean, I'm a :shudder: fan girl!

Rating: T for safety.

Summary: Dean was perfectly happy, until Seamus asked Dean about him. Now he was confused. What did Seamus mean? What did he want? Was Seamus trying to tell him something? Title pretty much explains the plot. Deamus Slash.

Author: Ridley Jack

Title: Skirting the Issue

And now, time for shameless advertising! I've got a Drarry (Draco/Harry) fic called Serene Chaos, if anyone's interested. Six more hits and I'll reach a hundred! About ninety-four more reviews, but I'm not really complaining.

Skirting the Issue

He should have left him alone. If he had, then everything would have been fine. But no, Seamus had to go and incessantly bother Dean.

Dean was perfectly happy. He had a best mate, better than average grades, good teachers (excluding Snape, of course) and a great school. All the good things were going for him.

And then that stupid Irish boy had to go and ruin it all.

Flashback

"Hey, Dean, can I talk to you?" Seamus asked, uncharacteristically nervous.

"We are," Dean replied, amused. It's not often you get an agitated Seamus, so you've got to take advantage of it while it lasts.

"No, I mean privately," he exclaimed.

Dean looked thrown, before agreeing readily.

They walked into the boy's dorm together. Once inside they stared awkwardly at the other. Or, rather, Dean stared at Seamus who was looking anywhere but.

"What's this all about, Seamus?" he asked, but not harshly.

"I… er… what do you think about Neville?" he asked suddenly.

"Neville? He's alright, I guess. Why?"

"No! I mean, yeah, Neville's great, but what do you think about him?"

"I just said he--"

"No! I mean, what do you think about him and Blaise?"

Dean, once again, looked shocked, but then shrugged it off.

"I'm a little disappointed in his choice, but other than that, I don't care. Why?" he asked again.

"So then, you don't care if he's…" he trailed off.

"Gay? Naw. S'long as he don't go after me," Dean grinned.

Seamus visibly deflated. "Oh. Ok. Well… that's all I wanted to know… g'bye."

Seamus rushed out of the dorm, leaving behind a very confused boy.

End flashback

Dean, for days afterwards, puzzled the riddle that Seamus presented. Why was he acting like that? What did he care about Neville? What did he care about what Dean thought about Neville? Did he like him or som--suddenly it hit him. Maybe Seamus was gay and this was just his way of asking!

No way. This was Seamus. If he was gay, he'd just come out and tell everyone. Especially his best friend. Right?

So now Dean had another predicament. If Seamus was gay, then he'd tell. But if he wasn't, then why did he ask? Maybe he was trying to find out if Dean was gay! But why didn't he just ask? He would've said yes!

He'd been ever since he was sketching Seamus as that particularly beautiful beam of sunlight fell down around his shoulders and realized he cared for Seamus as more than just a friend.

So back to (one of) the original questions: why didn't he just ask?

Dean spent what felt like an eternity puzzling over that stupid thought. Finally fed up, he pulled Seamus aside the next time he saw him.

"Why didn't you just ask?" he demanded. "Why just skirt around the issue? If you'd asked, I'd have said yes!"

Seamus went pale. "Y-yes what?" he stammered.

"Yes, I'm gay!"

"Y-you are?" Seamus asked, incredulous.

"Yes! Why didn't you just ask?" he questioned again.

"But when I asked what you thought of Neville, you said you didn't like boys," Seamus replied, looking forlorn and completely ignoring Dean's question.

"No, I said I didn't want to go out with him. That's different," he defended, beginning to get the idea…

"Oh," Seamus said softly, with an indescribable look on his face.

"What?" Dean asked, suddenly feeling wary.

"So you like boys?" he questioned.

"Well… I like a boy," he hedged.

"Oh," Seamus deflated again.

"Why do you care, anyways?" he challenged.

"Because¾because I like you!" he blurted out.

Dean grinned; the first real grin ever since this whole stupid charade started.

"Why, I like you, too!" he answered, still grinning a Seamus-like grin.

"No!" Seamus despaired. "You don't get it! I-- like-- y--!" the rest of his emphatic sentence was cut short as Dean pressed his lips against Seamus'.

"I already said I liked you, too," he whispered. "What more do y--" now his sentence was abruptly severed as Seamus grabbed his short dark hair and pulled him down for a proper kiss.

"For Merlin's sake, it was about time," an imperious voice retorted. "Now move, you're in my way."

The two boys snapped back into focus to see an imperial-looking Draco Malfoy sneering down at them. The effect was slightly ruined by the fact that his fingers were entwined with a certain raven-haired boy who was currently grinning from ear to ear.

"Congratulations," Harry whispered as he swept by.