TWELVE
"Albus, I want you to get your things unpacked before you go running off," Harry's voice came from inside of the tent.
Albus frowned and looked longingly at all the other tents and people. He didn't know why they had to unpack; they'd only be here a week. Even a week was excessive, but Harry was adamant that if they didn't get here days early, all the good camp spots would be gone and he was not pitching the tent two miles out.
"Why do I need to unpack," Albus complain, turning into the doorway of their tent and looking at his father who was mixing a pitcher of iced tea using magic.
"Because," Harry said, pausing to test the tea, "if you leave it all in your bag, it gets wrinkled and you know how your mother gets when I let you run around looking like… well, a normal twelve year old."
Albus cracked a grin and laughed, walking around the table and through another doorway into the room he was sharing with James and Teddy. He frowned, seeing the older boys had claimed the bunk bed and left Albus the single. He'd wanted the top bunk and swore to himself next year he'd do that first before getting distracted by all the action.
"Why are you guys sleeping," Albus asked while he started to unpack his clothes and hang them up in the small wardrobe. "There's so much to do here!"
"We're older," James mumbled. "We need sleep. We can get to it later, man. We're here for a week."
Albus rolled his eyes and shook his head. James was only a year older than he was; hardly even a teenager. He was only 'sleeping' because Teddy was sleeping and James worshipped the ground their God-brother walked on. Sometimes Albus got slightly jealous of James and Teddy connecting better than he did with either of them, but most of the time it was just fine. He had his own best friend.
He was almost fully unpacked, just a pair of shorts and a sweater ("just in case," his mother had said) when he heard familiar voices in the main room. He gasped and dropped his trousers, darting out of the small room. He was greeted with the sight of his father chatting up a tall blonde man and a younger blonde boy leaned against the table looking antsy.
"You're early," Albus cried, flinging himself at the boy, Scorpius. He grinned and hugged Albus back.
"Mum decided she'd rather stay home," he explained. "So we came a day earlier than planned."
"Cool," Albus chirped, letting the boy go and bouncing up and down. "Oh, hi Mr. Malfoy," he said, wiggling his fingers at Scorpius' father.
"Hello, Albus," he said back, nodding in acknowledgement.
"Let me go finish hanging up my clothes," Albus said, disappearing into the smaller room and hanging up the articles left to hang up. He hurried back, a bounce in his step now that his friend was here. He and Scorpius stood next to each other, sighing and shuffling while their fathers spoke until Draco finally sighed and turned to look at them.
"I think they're waiting for dismissal," he said, looking back at Harry.
"Pocket money too, I expect," Harry added, rolling his eyes and digging into his pocket. Harry extracted a small pouch and handed it to his son who took it gratefully.
"Thanks dad," Albus chirped, waiting until Draco had given Scorpius a similar pouch.
On their way out of the tent, Draco called, "don't go too far."
"Yeah," Harry seconded the request. "And for the love of Merlin, don't get into trouble."
Both boys made vague 'okays' and stepped out of the tent, not knowing where to start first.
"What do you want to do," Scorpius asked, looking at Albus, anxious.
"Hmmn," he considered. "We could check out where there is to buy. I'm starving, maybe we can find something to eat."
Scorpius nodded, agreeing. "What will Rosie be here," he asked, tilting his head.
"Tomorrow," Albus answered. "I'm surprised they didn't get here first. Uncle Ron almost cried when the Chudley Cannons won the game to come to play in the World Cup."
"It was definitely quite the moment," Scorpius said, chuckling. "Well… let's start with food."
Predictably, both boys spent a great deal of their money on junk food and merchandise. After dumping off their bounty in their respective tents, shirts were shed and they went in search of the nearby lake to explore. Scorpius was a little more picky about cleanliness and stuck to the shore while Albus stripped down to his shorts and waded into the water.
"Scorpius," Albus screeched, wading back to the shore with his hands clamped over something small and greenish brown.
"Ewwww," Scorpius drawled, tucking himself up on the log he was sat on. "Gross, is that a frog!?"
"No," Albus said indignantly, standing before him. "It's a toad. And what are you 'ew'ing about? You play with James' toad all the time!"
Scorpius sighed heavily and rolled his gray eyes. "That is a domesticated frog, Albus. What you are holding is a germ-ridden wild toad from murky lake water."
"Well excuse me, your maj," Albus drawled, putting on his best high-brow expression and rolling his own eyes. Scorpius smiled and popped him on the head. "Ow," Albus whined.
"Let it go," Scorpius said, looking at the toad. "You're agitating it. But put it back out there," he pointed out to the water, afraid if Albus let it go right where they were it'd jump on him.
Albus shook his head and turned around, wading back out. He lifted his upper hand and let the toad jump to freedom.
"You're such a sissy," Albus said, hoisting himself onto the log beside Scorpius. The latter glared and crossed his arms.
"I am not a sissy," he argued. "I just don't like to get dirty."
"Sure," Albus said, shrugging. Scorpius gave him a look but refused to take the topic any further.
"You have new freckles," he said finally, looking at Albus' shoulder.
"Huh," Albus said dumbly, trying to follow Scorpius' gaze and going slightly cross-eyed. "Where?"
"Around there," he told him, moving his index finger in a circular motion just above his friend's shoulder.
"How can you tell," Albus asked, furrowing his dark brow.
"I pay attention to you," he answered simply, shrugging. Albus smiled a bit, liking that Scorpius noticed small details about him. Too often middle-child-syndrome plagued him, so it felt good to know there was at least one person who gave him full attention.
They fell silent for a while, enjoying the sunshine and the gentle breeze evening brought along.
"Do you see them," Scorpius said, narrowing his eyes. Albus raised his brows curiously and looked around, trying to find what was making Scorpius look so appalled. Finally, something caught his eye- a boy and a girl were on the other side of the lake, snogging.
"Yeah," Albus answered, wrinkling his nose. Truth be told, he wasn't repulsed by kissing anymore, but he didn't feel any real desire to kiss a girl. Nor did he feel any compelling need to kiss boys either, but he was curious. Recently, thoughts of trying it out with Scorpius had crossed his mind. It was okay to kiss your best friend, right? He was only curious as to what kissing was like and he was comfortable with Scorpius. All he had to do was pluck up the courage to either ask or just do it.
"You haven't been kissed, have you," Scorpius asked, looking at Albus.
"I'd have told you," Albus assured him, shaking his head. "Have you?"
"I'd have told you," he parroted Albus. Albus looked at Scorpius, trying to analyze his expression and the redness creeping over his alabaster cheeks. "Can I tell you something?"
"Uh," Albus said, blinking dumbly. "I guess so, sure. What's up?"
Scorpius opened his mouth but bit his tongue, looking away from Albus for a few seconds. "Never mind," he said, blonde hair bouncing as he shook his head.
Albus frowned. "No, what is it," he insisted.
"Never mind," Scorpius repeated. "It's nothing, forget I was gonna mention it."
Albus gave him a long, hard look. It always bothered him when Scorpius was gearing up to tell him something and then backed out, telling him to forget it. If he had something to say, he should just say it.
"We should go back to the campsite," Albus said, sliding off of the log. Scorpius nodded, hopping down as well. He waited patiently while Albus put his trousers back on, then walked back up the path to the campsite with him. Scorpius grabbed Albus' arm at the entrance to the latter's tent.
"Shhh," he quieted Albus. Albus frowned and said quiet, listening.
"I still have your underwear," came Harry's voice from inside the tent. It was followed but a snort and some quiet laughter.
"I still have your vir- Ow!" Draco cut off mid-sentence.
"Would you shut up," Harry hissed. It was quiet for thirty whole seconds before Harry called out, "boys?"
"Hey dad," Albus squeaked out of instinct. Scorpius glared and ribbed him before stepping into the tent.
"Why have you got dad's shorts," he asked, cocking a blonde eyebrow. Albus stepped in behind him, also curious.
Draco and Harry both looked deer caught in the headlights. "Oh, well," Draco stammered, licking his lips nervously.
"I wet myself," Harry said much more loudly than was necessary, like it was the first thing he could think of.
"You… wet yourself," Albus said, not buying it.
"Yeah," Draco confirmed, nodding, much more calm and collected than Harry. "We had some trouble at the ministry the other week… damn new kids in the magical creatures department thought it'd be cute to unleash the Boggarts they had in."
"I ran into one and it scared me," Harry added. "And I'd just drank a large cup of coffee."
"Bollocks," Scorpius said simply, crossing his arms.
"Watch your mouth," Draco scolded, giving his son a stern look.
"Bollocks," he repeated, defiant as ever with his father. "Anyway, enough rubbish," he drawled. "When's dinner?"
Draco looked at his watch and looked surprised. "Oh, wow. Well, now I suppose," he said, looking up. "Have you got dinner plans," he asked, looking at Harry.
"Ah, not really," he answered, glancing at Albus and hoping the boy would forget the underwear issue.
"Get your group together and come round to our tent in say, half an hour," Draco said, standing up.
Harry was fortunate and after Draco left with Scorpius, Albus didn't try to pick up the issue again. Albus went into the room to get changed for dinner and to wake up James and Teddy. Unsurprisingly, Teddy had been sleeping and James hadn't. Albus snorted, smirking to himself and wondering why James was such an idiot. Albus couldn't picture himself lying in bed for five hours wide awake just to being like somebody else. He didn't really idolize anyone that way; he didn't get it. If he didn't know better, he'd think James had a crush on Teddy. That thought made him wrinkle his nose and gag a little- a crush! On Teddy! In Albus' opinion, that'd be just as gross and James having a crush on him.
After dinner, Albus and Scorpius hid themselves in Scorpius' room of the tent. Albus snorted and tried not to laughed at the room; it looked like a regular room like he'd have in a house. The Malfoys certainly never did anything half-way… other than making confessions. Nosey as ever, Albus took up opening the drawers of the desk next to Scorpius' bed. In the biggest drawer, he found a massive stash of envelopes.
"Whoa," he marveled. "What's all of this?"
Scorpius blushed faintly, shrugging. "Letters."
"From who," Albus gaped at him; there were easily three or four hundred, he would have guessed.
"Everyone," Scorpius answered, shrugging again. "I keep every letter I receive."
"Why," Albus asked, closing the drawer and sitting on the desk.
"I like to read them over again," he laid back on the bed, hands folded in his lap. "I like reading yours when my parents fight. I like reading my mum's when she leaves the house angry; they remind me that she always comes back coz she loves me."
Albus nodded, intrigued. He'd never known this about Scorpius. "Why do you have them with you now," he asked, eyebrows knitting together.
"I guess I'm slightly paranoid about not having them," Scorpius said, his own blonde eyebrows coming together. "I like to know they're always right there for me when I need them."
"Hey," James head peeked into the room. "Uncle Charlie and Uncle George are here. Freddy and Roxanne brought fireworks!" Albus watched his brother's head disappear again, then looked back to Scorpius.
"Wanna go see," he asked.
"Sure," Scorpius said, nodding and getting off of his bed. "You know how much I love Weasley fireworks."
"My dad told me that in his fifth year, Uncle George and Uncle Fred set off fireworks in the Great Hall when they left school to like, embarrass this total bitch Head Mistress," Albus told him, grinning.
Scorpius snorted at the use of the word bitch. Albus had recently started dropping swear words, probably in an attempt to sound older than on the cusp of thirteen. Although he had to admit, Albus' uncles were some of the coolest men he'd ever heard of. Even if one wasn't living anymore.
Even though the day had been blistering hot, nighttime had brought on a cool breeze. Albus shivered, lying on his back next to Scorpius and watching the multicolored and multi-shaped fireworks light up the firmament.
"Do you need a sweater," Scorpius asked, rolling onto his side to face Albus.
"Don't feel like walking all the way to my tent," Albus said, waving his hand.
"You can wear one of mine," Scorpius told him, sitting up on his knees. "We're the same size; it'll fit."
"Alright," he agreed, getting up and following Scorpius into his room. "Hey, Scorp?"
"Yeah," the blonde turned around to face his friend, holding out a plain black sweater.
Albus bit his lip, taking the sweater. He wished he could just sum up his courage and try kissing him, or at least ask. They were alone, after all. Scorpius was his best friend; he wouldn't freak out on him for it. Albus took a series of deep breathes, feeling Scorpius' gray eyes burning a hole in him.
"Would it be okay, if… ah, if I… could I," he stammered, trembling slightly.
"Spit it out," Scorpius said simply, folding his arms, concerned.
"Could I kiss you," he asked finally, looking up to meet Scorpius' stunned expression.
"You… want to kiss me," Scorpius asked, nonplussed. "Why?"
Albus' cheeks felt like they were on fire and he trained his eyes on his shoes. "Curious. There aren't any girls I'd particularly like to kiss and you're my best friend, so I thought maybe… to see what it's like, you know?"
Scorpius' cheeks were now bright red, nodding a little. He looked all around the room; everywhere but Albus. "So," Albus said quietly, "can I?"
"I don't know," Scorpius responded, "can you?"
"May I," Albus corrected himself, rolling his eyes. Leave it to Scorpius to pick a moment like this to correct him. Scorpius nodded once and stood still.
Albus could hardly believe he was doing it. That his feet were carrying him three strides over to where Scorpius was stood. That he was placing his hands on Scorpius' shoulders to brace himself. That Scorpius had raised himself up on his toes minutely. He couldn't believe his face was getting closer to Scorpius' and definitely could not believe their lips were touching.
Most of all, he couldn't believe how quickly it was over. He stared at Scorpius, lips parted slightly, scarcely breathing.
"So," Scorpius asked, swallowing and chewing his lips inside of his mouth.
Albus could only shrug. "Nice," he said simply. He couldn't think of another adjective. "Ah," he cleared his throat, shuffling his feet. "We should get back outside."
"Yeah," Scorpius agreed, also clearing his throat and nodding.
--
Albus heaved a sigh, flopping onto his bed back at the family's home in Godric's Hollow. He stared at the newly-hung Roger Davies, chaser for the Chudely Cannons, poster on his ceiling.
The last week had certainly brought its fair share of firsts with it. Albus' first time attending the World Cup and the first World Cup won by the Chudley Cannons. Albus smiled and chuckled to himself thinking about how his Uncle Ron had dropped to his knees and actually shed two whole tears.
The week had also brought his first real blow out with James; they hadn't spoken for the last four days preceding the match. James had been in support of the opposing team, the Toyohashi Tengu and had mercilessly taken the piss out of Albus for supporting the Chudley Cannons just to be like Uncle Ron. Harry and George had to pull the boys off each other after Albus coolly told James that he was not the sheep in the family. Albus wasn't usually one for gloating, but he couldn't help it when the Chudley Cannons won 500 to 210. It was definitely satisfying to hear James apologise on his own accord, not because their father made him.
More importantly, the week had brought Albus his first kiss. He smiled a little, pressing his fingers to his lips. He wouldn't soon forget standing in Scorpius' room with his hands on the boy's shoulders, heart pounding. That moment was permanently etched in his memory, no doubt about it.
The fireworks that'd been cracking and banging overhead didn't hold a candle to the fireworks he felt kissing Scorpius, even if the only adjective he could think of was 'nice.'
THIRTEEN
Albus set his lemonade down, licking the leftover liquid from his lips and reclining in his chair. If he'd thought last summer was hot, he was crazy. It hadn't been warm when they'd arrived at the campground, but that had also been at around ten the previous night. Now it was noon and the temperature was already easily thirty five Celsius. Not that Albus was complaining, though. It gave him an excuse to wear the giant sunglasses his brother hated and get a tan by the lake. He smirked to himself, trying to picture Scorpius' reaction to the weather. He might not leave the shade.
Suddenly, a shadow came over Albus. He frowned and pushed his sunglasses up and tilted his head back to see who was behind him. He was met with the pale face of Scorpius Malfoy.
"Oh, hey," Albus chirped, swinging his legs onto the ground and standing up. That's when he got a truly good look at Scorpius.
He hadn't gotten a chance to see the boy since school got out in late June and it was now late August. That was only about two months, not enough time for anyone to change much. Or so Albus thought but as he stood before him, Scorpius seemed so different. Maybe Albus just hadn't noticed before how much broader Scorpius' shoulders had grown or how his blonde fringe covered his eyebrows just so. Maybe he just hadn't paid enough attention to how nice his pale skin looks.
Either way, we was seeing it now. "When did you get here," Scorpius asked, smiling at Albus. And suddenly, his teeth seemed so much straighter and whiter than normal, too. Albus was a bit speechless.
"Huh," he could've rammed his head into a tree for responding so stupidly. And being so absorbed in Scorpius' appearance that he couldn't concentrate on his words. "Sorry, I mean, what'd say?"
"I asked when you got here," Scorpius repeated, setting down the lawn chair he'd been holding.
"Last night," he answered, trying to shake off the feeling of awe. "Did you just get here?"
"Yeah," Scorpius confirmed, flopping onto the chair. "About half an hour ago."
"Cool," Albus stated, looking Scorpius up and down again. "Uh, aren't you going to totally fry out here?"
Scorpius grinned again and shook his head, "Nope." He sat up a bit, grabbing Albus' lemonade and helping himself to a drink of it. "I picked up a sun block at the Apothecary. I just slather it all over myself and it keeps my skin safe all day."
And adds a nice sheen, Albus thought. He frowned at that thought and brushed it away. "Right on," he said, reclining in his chair again. He didn't understand what was going on and he didn't like it. He didn't know how to describe how Scorpius looked to him now. The only word that came to mind was… Isexy/I. On second thought, Albus preferred not knowing how to describe it.
"You'd think there would be a potion or some kind of something that I could put on that would actually let me get, you know, Itan/I," Scorpius said, eyes squinted in thought.
"Nah," Albus shot the idea down. "You look fine pale," he told him. "I mean, it works. Chicks dig it."
"Right on," Scorpius murmured, inspecting his fingernails. They were nothing like Albus'. Albus were bitten down to the quick, while Scorpius' were taken care of and a nice oval shape. "So what've you been up to since school got out? You suck at writing to people when you're supposed to."
"Sorry," Albus apologized, "not much, really. I baby-sit Lorcan and Lysander on Wednesday and Friday but that's about it. What've you done?"
Scorpius gave a snort. "Well, my parents think I'm irresponsible and pampered. Imagine that," he started, laughing a bit bitterly. "So now I've got a summer job."
"Doing what?"
"Gardening, mostly," he answered, wrinkling his nose. "For my grandparents. I mostly just do things around the Manor since it's mandatory to pay house-elves now. They refuse to give their money to elves."
"Well much do they pay you," Albus asked, raising his eyebrows. It may not be such a bad gig.
"Ten Galleons a week," he answered. Albus' jaw dropped. "I only get to keep three, though. I have to put the rest into my vault at Gringotts."
"Why," Albus asked, pulling a face.
"I don't know," Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I know he told me why but I wasn't really listening after 'you have to save seven.'"
"That sucks," he said, wrinkling his nose and looking out over the lake. "I don't get paid diddly for baby-sitting the twins. Rolf and Luna always offer but dad won't let me accept it."
"Bummer," Scorpius said, sighing. "I'm hungry."
"So am I," Albus nodded, sitting up and resting his hands on his knees. "I'm sure my dad will be working on lunch soon."
"He was when I left my dad there," Scorpius informed him, standing up and folding his chair.
"Oh," Albus said, folding his chair as well and capping his bottle of lemonade.
Together they hiked up the hill back to the campground and found the Potters' tent. There was a table and a barbeque grill set up outside the tent, Harry and Draco were playing cards at the table with Teddy and some other men. They got within earshot just in time to hear one of the men say, "back in the sixties, some hippies came here and turned the place into a commune. You know, sex, and drugs, and debauchery."
Both boys looked at each other with big, confused eyes and then looked back at the group of men. Albus leaned over and whispered, "what does debauchery mean?"
He didn't whisper quietly enough, since Harry immediately looked up and paled a bit. "Lunch will be ready in five minutes," he told them, waving them off. Draco snorted and looked amused, keeping his eyes trained on his cards.
After lunch, the boys left the group almost immediately, wandering this time into the nearby woods just for the simple enjoyment of seeing whatever was to be seen. They must have walked half a mile before Scorpius stopped abruptly, looking up. Albus stopped just short of bowling into him, looking up to see what made Scorpius come to a halt.
Situated in the sturdy branches of a large tree sat a little makeshift house. This was a strange thought to both of them, why anyone would build a house up in a tree. Especially something so shoddy looking. Albus couldn't imagine living comfortably in it.
"Who the heck lives in that," Albus whispered, looking at Scorpius.
"I don't think anyone lives there," Scorpius whispered in response, looking up curiously. "It hasn't got a door and there's nothing in the windows."
"Let's go up there," Albus suggested, grinning wildly.
"Just because nobody lives in there doesn't mean it doesn't belong to someone," Scorpius stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "We can't just invite ourselves up there."
"Don't be such a nancy," Albus tease, walking around the tree to find a way up. On the opposite side, there were slats of wood stuck to the tree. Albus pulled on them to make sure they were secure. "Cool, permanent sticking charm."
"I am not a nancy," Scorpius glowered, following him around the tree. He rolled his eyes, watching Albus climbing up the planks. "Going to kill him," he muttered under his breath, grabbing hold of a plank and hoisting himself up to follow Albus.
"Scorp," Albus said, looking over at Scorpius heaving himself through the doorway. "Check this out."
Scorpius shuffled over to Albus on his knees, looking over his shoulder. There was a sizeable stack of magazines on the floor and a towel. Scorpius wrinkled his nose and inspected the magazine Albus was flitting through, then the next magazine in the stack.
"It's porn," Scorpius screeched, jaw dropping. "A lot of porn… merlin, Al!"
"What," Albus asked dumbly, looking away from the nearly-naked (some fully naked) women wiggling about in the photos.
"It's somebody's wank house," Scorpius screeched again, looking at the old towel with digust.
"A what house," Albus didn't know what he was talking about.
Scorpius gave him an incredulous look. "Wank? Masturbate? Jack off?" Albus' expression didn't change and Scorpius shook his head. "You know, touching yourself?"
"Touching where," Albus asked, eyes shifty.
"Your penis," Scorpius said, tone suggesting that it was ridiculous Albus even had to ask. Albus' cheeks flushed and his jaw dropped a little.
"Touch it for… why!?"
"Because it feels nice," Scorpius replied. "Duh. You know, like sex only, you know... on your own? Instead of sex?"
"Oh," was all Albus could manage, looking back down at the magazine. It's not that he'd never been turned on before, because he had. He'd just never thought about doing something about it on his own. The naked witches in the magazine didn't turn him on.
Scorpius picked up the next magazine on top of the stack and opened it up. "Whoa," he breathed, showing it to Albus. The main 'article' was on the popular girl band, Splinche--d. None of them were necessarily naked, but they may as well have been. "Welcome to the world of scantily clad celebrities," Scorpius added, laughing.
"No joke," Albus said flatly, closing the magazine he'd been holding and putting it back on the stack. He wasn't really interested in the treehouse anymore. Something about how mesmerized Scorpius was by the three-fourths naked girls was upsetting to him and he knew it shouldn't be. "Let's go, or do you need some time to yourself," he hadn't meant for it to sound so bitter. Luckily, Scorpius didn't notice.
"Huh, oh, sure," Scorpius murmured, reluctantly closing the magazine and setting it down. "Better leave before someone shows up for a wank," he joking, flashing his grin at Albus. Again, Albus' stomach fluttered at the sight of Scorpius' smile.
--
Albus could still here the men outside while he lied in bed. Scorpius had hauled himself to bed about an hour previous, and Albus had nothing better to do than go to bed as well while his father, Teddy and Draco got smashed with his Herbology professor and other men they'd gone to school with. That wasn't necessarilt true, though. His father hadn't been drunk when he'd said goodnight and Albus didn't imagine he would be. Harry wasn't much a of a drinker. However, Mr. Malfoy would probably need help back to his tent.
He couldn't get Scorpius off his mind and oddly enough, he couldn't stop thinking about the pornography, either. He rolled over onto his stomach and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the mental image of Scorpius being 'scantily clad' and wiggling like that. Albus was certain you weren't supposed to think about your best friend that way, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't help the stirring in his groin, either.
Finally, Albus couldn't take the aching in his groin and his imagination had run completely wild. He took a deep breath and slipped his hand into his boxer short, tentatively holding his hard member with his thumb, index and middle fingers. He wasn't sure what to do, other than to move them up and down. Even if this was incorrect, it sure felt nice. He reached behind him for the stack of photos he and Scorpius had taken with the insti-photo camera. He sifted through them one-handed until he found the one he wanted. Scorpius was flexing and winking at the camera, standing in the water up to his knees. Occasionally he'd turn the other direction and flex. Again, sexy crossed Albus' mind.
A few minutes later, Albus felt his body tense and there was no way to describe it other than 'nice.' He laid his head back on his pillow, panting. His hand was all sticky now, and he didn't know what to do about. He stood up, looking around the small, dark room for something to clean himself on. He really didn't want to go walking into the main room and wash off in the sink.
Albus jumped and blinked his eyes against the light suddenly filling the room. He gasped, staring at his father who was staring back at him. Albus' boxer shorts were around his knees and his hand was covered in semen, not to mention there were pictures of Scorpius scattered over his bed. "Dad," he bellowed, yanking his boxers up with his clean hand. "Get out! Wait, scourgify my hand first," he asked, embarrassed but not so stupid as to let the man with the ability to use magic outside school get away without helping him first.
Harry got red in the face but waved his wand, cleaning his son's hand before turning out of the room. Albus found a pair of trousers, pulling them on and finally meeting his father in the main room. Harry looked up from the table and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were busy in there... I'd have left you alone, obviously. Don't be embarrassed."
"Dad I was pretty much naked," Albus said flatly. "How am I not supposed to be embarrassed?"
"Albus, I've seen you naked before. It's nothing to get excited over."
Albus looked at his feet, not knowing what to say. He was pretty sure his dad wasn't all that shocked anymore. James had probably already had this talk with him. "Were you... looking at pictures of Scorpius," Harry ventured, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," Albus confessed, sitting down at the table and staring at his hands on his lap. "I don't get it, dad. I mean, out of no where he's just... sexy," he finally said it out loud.
Harry snorted and laughed. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, I promise. It's understandable, Albus. You're thirteen; there are going to be a lot of things going on that you don't really get. But you don't need to be embarrassed about them. I won't tell anyone about this, I promise. I won't ask anymore questions, but I'll let you know you can talk to me anytime that you have a question."
"Thanks," Albus said, lip twitching into a brief half-smile.
Harry left to join the group of men and their alcohol, and Albus retreated to the room, gathering his photos and placing them on his bedside table. It may not have been porn, but it had still gotten him off. He smirked and chuckled to himself, musing about his earlier activities. He wondered what kind of a first the next World Cup would bring.
FOURTEEN
Sometimes he wondered how it got to this point. How meeting the son of your father's old rival on the train to school could end up like this. How befriending the boy with the knobby knees and crooked teeth could lead to a person documenting their every move when they were together and forgetting all others.
That's what happened to him when he was with Albus, though. It was like he lost all sense of anything else in the world; it was just the two of them. The sounds of other people enjoying themselves was just a dull buzz. Most of the time, Albus didn't seem to notice that Scorpius never took his eyes off of him. He wondered if his friend would remain oblivious while he struggled to pay attention to the Quidditch match in a few days.
Currently, Scorpius was watching Albus making signs for the game. He was covered in green glitter, and when he turned his head his black hair would shimmer. It was like it had a million tiny shamrocks in his hair. It made Scorpius smile because it matched so well with his vivid green eyes. Albus had the brightest eyes. Bright and alive and green. He'd yet to have seen a pair of eyes that were better than Albus'.
"Scorpius," Albus asked, drawing Scorpius out of his musing.
"Yes?"
"How do you have glitter on you even though you haven't touched it?"
"I've got glitter on me," Scorpius started turning and twisting, looking over his body. "Where?"
"It's on your nose."
Scorpius went cross-eyed and Albus laughed at him. "This shit is out of control."
"You can run but you can't hide," Albus winked, getting back to his work. You have no idea, Scorpius thought to himself.
"Why are you using glitter of all things," Scorpius asked, furrowing his brow. "Kinda gay, my friend."
Albus' eyebrows shot up and he blinked at Scorpius a few times. "You know who you're talking to, right?"
"Yes, but you're not the only queer here and you don't see me futzing with glitter."
"Because you're a big tough man who definitely is not afraid of mice."
"That's not fair; mice are dirty."
"Not domesticated ones."
"What does this even have to do with your gay glitter?"
"Nothing," Albus shrugged, smirking. "Just saying."
Scorpius rolled his eyes, shifting his body to lie on his stomach. It wasn't has hot as last year had been, but it was still warm and sunny. He laid his head on his arms, sighing. He wished he were able to share his feelings with Albus, just tell him that he liked him or even that he was almost certain it was love. There wasn't any worry that Albus would be repulsed by the homosexuality factor; he was gay, too. The problem was the friend factor. It was like a strictly enforced unwritten rule: you did not pursue your best friend romantically.
"Voila," Albus cried. Scorpius looked up, blinking against the light. The sign was made of poster-board and in giant green letters read 'HOLYHEAD HARPIES - CHICKS RULE.'
"Chicks rule. How original."
"I thought so."
"I'm not sure they'll appreciate being called chicks, though. What would your mother think?"
"But, their symbol is a talon. Like from a bird. Get it? Chicks?"
"A chick is a baby chicken. Or a baby falcon. Either way, it's baby. I don't think the ladies of the Holyhead Har-"
"You're reading too far into it," Albus interrupted him, waving his hand dismissively. Scorpius rolled his eyes and laid his head back down. "Hah," a long pause. "Hah."
"What are you sighing about?"
"I'm hungry," Albus whined.
"Oh Merlin," Scorpius grumbled, getting up on his knees. "Didn't we have lunch an hour ago?"
Albus' cheeks got pink. "Does it matter?"
"No," Scorpius answered, shaking his head. "Let's go, then."
Walking back to the tents, Scorpius was overcome with the urge to take Albus' hand. He wondered how it would feel to have his long, slender fingers laced with Albus short ones. Albus' hands were one of his cutest features, in Scorpius' opinion. They were so much smaller than his own, but then again all of Albus was smaller than him, of what Scorpius could see. And his appetite was bigger than Scorpius'.
"Hey," Albus called out to his father and Draco. The men looked up from their card game and waved. "Check out my poster," Albus said, holding it up for them to admire.
"Bitchin'," Draco said, giving him a thumbs up.
Scorpius stopped dead in his tracks. "What did you just say?"
"Bitchin'," Draco repeatedly slowly, raising an eyebrow. "You know, cool. Wicked, tight, dope…"
"Shut up. Just shut up, right now."
"Excuse me?"
"Dad, that's not shutting up," Scorpius' face was scarlet. Albus on the other hand was fighting off wild laughter. "This isn't funny, Albus," Scorpius huffed.
"Yes it is."
"How is my dad trying and failing to be hip funny?"
"Because it's your dad and not mine."
"Anyway, what brings you two back so soon," Harry spoke up finally, swirling the ice in his glass of water. "I didn't think you'd be back for a few hours."
"I got hungry," Albus explained. Without more conversation the two boys ducked into the tent. "Do you want anything," Albus asked, setting his poster safely between his bed and the wall in his room.
"Nah I'm fine," Scorpius sat down at the table, crossing his legs. "Actually, if you have iced tea I wouldn't mind some of that."
"Sure," Albus said, rooting around in the big white cooling box they called a 'refrigerator.' He pulled out a pitcher of iced tea and got a bag of marshmallows from the cupboard, setting both on the table and getting a glass for Scorpius.
That's when they heard their fathers talking about them.
"Do you think they know," came Draco's voice.
"I doubt it," Harry's replied.
"I don't know how they don't notice the other mooning over him constantly."
"Sounds like someone else I know."
"Shhh," Draco hissed. Scorpius didn't even want to know what that meant. "I hope one of them realises it soon. I'd hate to see them miss their chance."
"They're hardly even fifteen. Not even fifteen. They've got time."
Albus stared at Scorpius, green eyes larger than normal. Scorpius' mouth fell open a bit, staring back. He tries to process the conversation they'd heard. It Isounded/I like they thought… that he liked Albus and that Albus liked him but thought the feelings were unrequited.
Albus opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then ripped open the package of marshmallows and started to stuff them into his mouth.
"So what d'you want ta do after this," he asked around his mouthful. Typical Albus; avoid the topic.
--
"Orion," Albus said, pointing out the constellation. Scorpius followed his finger and hummed to let Albus know he'd seen it.
"Big dipper," Scorpius said.
"That one's easy."
"I didn't know it was a contest."
"It's not. I was just saying."
"Orion's easier," Scorpius countered, setting his jaw and looking back at the sky like that was the end of the conversation. He didn't know why he was being so hostile, but he could guess it had something to do with Albus not even mentioning what their fathers had said about them.
"Shooting star," Albus exclaimed, sitting up and pointing enthusiastically. Scorpius sat up, eyes locked on the star as is streaked across the sky. "Make a wish."
He didn't even think about it. "I wish it were true," he said, not meaning to let it out loud.
"What," Albus asked, frowning and looking at him. Scorpius froze, realising he must have said it.
"Nothing."
"Don't say nothing, you said something."
"It was nothing."
"You said you wished it were true."
"Then why are you asking me? You heard what I said."
Scorpius looked down when he felt something on his hand. It was Albus' smaller, darker hand. "Can I tell you what I hope you meant by it?"
"I can't stop you."
"I hope… I want you to mean what I wished for," Albus looked at the high grass like it might tell him what words to say. "I hope that you're wishing that our dads are right. That we want each other. I hope you're hoping that I want you because you want me. Because I want you to want me, too…"
Scorpius stared at him for a moment, trying to read what was going on in those great, bright green eyes. Hopeful, a bit embarrassed. Albus was putting himself on the line here.
"You're saying that," Scorpius paused to lick his lips, "that you want me?"
"Yes, that's what I'm saying," Albus looked like he was on the verge of hyperventilating.
He remembered the unwritten rule of friendship: you weren't allowed to fall for your best friend. But now the rule seemed to come with fine print: unless they fall for you, too.
"I love you," it felt so good to get off of his chest. The embarrassment left Albus' eyes and was replaced by joyful surprise.
"No shit?"
"Don't swear, it's common."
Albus grinned at him, throwing himself on Scorpius and hugging him tight. "I didn't know how to tell you. Just, that kiss two years ago, and then last year I noticed you're so gorgeous…"
"You've felt this way for so long and never said a word," Scorpius asked, incredulously.
"Because you've confessed it on so many occasions."
"Don't get sarcastic; it's my job."
Albus squealed and Scorpius didn't even make fun of him; he was too busy getting chills from the boy playing with the fine hairs at the nape of his neck. Scorpius close his eyes, nuzzling his face into Albus' neck.
"So where… does this leave us now," Albus ventured after a long silence.
"Do we have to decide that right now?"
"No," Albus shook his head, hugging his friend or whatever he was tighter. "We've got time."