A/N: Wigtown wanderers, Chaser 1

Prompts: 8. Hairbrush
13. Riverbank
14. I drink to make people more interesting

...

Albus was lounging back on his pillows reading a book he had recently borrowed from the library. He watched as his little sister emerged from the bathroom in a short, green flowing dress. He shook his head and continued with his chapter whilst Lily did her makeup in the mirror. The door burst open to reveal a smartly dressed Scorpius.

"Albus, what's that spell that makes your hair stay in place?" he huffed. He suddenly noticed Lily. "Uh, hey Lils. What are you doing here?"

"No free mirror space in my dorm. And I need to look good tonight," she replied.

"No amount of makeup can make that possible," smirked Albus, not even glancing up from his book. Lily scowled and threw her hairbrush at her brother. Scorpius' smile turned to a frown when he noticed his best friend still in his pyjama bottoms.

"Albus! Why aren't you dressed?"

Albus looked up guiltily at his best friend.

"C'mon, Scor. Do I really have to go? Parties are really not my thing," moaned Albus. Scorpius crossed the room and plucked the book out of Albus' hands.

"It's just one night. You can tolerate people for one night."

Albus sighed and accepted his defeat.

…

Albus was sat on a sofa near the fireplace. He was nursing another glass of Firewhisky whilst watching people laugh and talk on the other side of the room. He was on his fourth glass and was feeling a bit light-headed. He noticed a certain blonde across the room, laughing and joking with the rest of the Slytherins. Albus took another sip of his drink and watched Scorpius telling a story with big hand gestures. He watched as the group of people around Scorpius laughed. Scorpius was always the confident one. He loved to talk to people. Albus, on the other hand, would rather be reading. He found most people annoying if he talked to them for a long period of time, Scorpius being the exception to that. Scorpius crossed the room and dropped into the seat next to Albus.

"Firewhisky? A bit strong, don't you think?" smirked Scorpius. Albus shrugged in response.

"Needed it."

"Of course you do," sighed Scorpius sarcastically.

"If I'm forced to be social, I'm going to drink. I drink to make people more interesting," grumbled Albus. Scorpius laughed and Albus smiled, watching the muscles in Scorpius' jaw move and the happy expression on his friend's face.

"Yeah, but that involves you actually being social," countered Scorpius. "Not just sitting by the Fireplace by yourself getting drunk.

"I'm talking to you aren't I?"

"You always talk to me," pointed out Scorpius. "You could go talk to someone new."

By now Albus' head was starting to go fuzzy.

"Maybe you're the only one I want to talk to," slurred Albus.

"And why is that?"

Scorpius watched his friend and his eyes began to focus and relax. He smiled to himself.

Albus is going to regret drinking this much in the morning.

He noticed Albus' eyes flicker from his own slightly downwards.

He's not glancing at my lips. He can't be.

Suddenly Scorpius' face was being grabbed as Albus' lips crashed into his own. It took Scorpius a second to figure out what had happened. Giving into the moment, Scorpius began to kiss back. Albus tasted of Firewhisky. Albus stopped kissing abruptly and fell onto Scorpius' shoulder. His eyes were closed and he was brething heavily.

Of all the times for Albus to fall asleep, he would pick now.

…

When Scorpius woke up, Albus' bed was empty. He had carried him up to bef and tucked him in himself. Scorpius got dressed and descended into the common room, spotting Lily.

"Lily, have you seen your brother?"

"Yeah, I passed him on my way back from breakfast. He seemed a bit more moody than usual," recalled Lily. Scorpius said goodbye and walked out of the common room. He knew exactly where Albus would be. He always went to the same place when he was upset about something. Scorpius made his way out into the grounds and down to the lake. He spotted a Albus sat underneath a small oak tree on the riverbank.

"Albus?" called Scorpius. Albus looked up with an expression of a rabbit caught in headlights. Scropius sat down next to him. Albus stared determinedly at the lake. There was a long silence.

"So, are we going to talk about last night?" questioned Scorpius.

"Can we just forget it ever happened?" croaked Albus.

"Not really. Al, I didn't even know you were gay."

"Yeah, well I am," barked Albus defensively.

"And you like me?"

Albus shrugged in response, hugging his knees to his chest. Scorpius thread his arms through Albus' and placed his hand on his friend's knee. Albus' body seemed to relax a little. Albus lowered his knees and grabbed Scorpius' hand. They sat together with their fingers entwined, admiring the lake.