Title: Leather and Misunderstandings
Author: lethalogica
Characters: James Potter II, Scorpius Malfoy, Lily Potter
Ships: James Potter II/Scorpius Malfoy
Rating: PG-13 sounds good
Warning(s): leather, teenage confusion, mentions of wanking, brief (and definitely not explicit) nudity
Additional warning: Author is not responsible for underage readers. Mind the rating and warning(s).
Word count: 2,127
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This fic was written for fun, not for profit.
That wasn't his intention at all. No.
When James went traipsing around the Potter household in only a pair of clingy, leather trousers, his wild, dark hair still damp from the shower, and droplets of water hanging desperately onto Quidditch-sculpted muscles, he wasn't trying to seek out his little sister's boyfriend, who just happened to be that whiny git Albus considered his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. And so what if he barged into Lily's bedroom like that because he "thought" he was hearing moans on the other side of the door, even though it was common knowledge that his sister always took a shower after he did because he left the room moist and hot from his own shower- just the way she liked it- and if she did want to take her relationship with Scorpius to another level, she would've at least remembered to lock the door?
It was, however, not his fault that Scorpius' steely grey eyes absorbed the image of a half-naked, wet James like a sponge absorbs water, and got hard. That was most definitely not his fault.
And from there on, the faults just kind of...alternated between the two.
Because, really, if your little sister's boyfriend got wood from seeing you in leather trousers, what are you supposed to do?
Definitely not freeze up like a statue as said boyfriend flushes and makes cagey (and terribly belated) attempts to hide his arousal. But, with James being James, that is, of course, what he did.
"James," the blond blurted, "what - what are you - leather?" The spawn of Satan, as James so warmly nicknamed him as, was, in almost all aspects, a miniature version of his father, Draco Malfoy. Right down to those magnetic eyes (James would later argue with himself that he meant the colour of magnets, and absolutely not "strangely alluring", as it might've seemed), platinum locks that always fell into his eyes when he was trying to study (James would also later point out to himself that he only knew that because Lily gushed about it constantly when she was tutoring Malfoy in Divination), and that great expanse of smooth, milky pale skin (there are certainly times James has considered leaving home and just becoming one of those nomadic poets, like at Woodstock, that he read about in the Muggle history section in the Hogwarts library). There are, however, some things that one just can't pass down, as much of a Mini-me as one might attempt to make his kid be. A swift recovery from a surprise attack was, unfortunately for the blond, one of those things.
He continued to stammer indecisively and gawk at James, before deciding on looking away and letting his heartbeat settle, taking on a chilly mask. "What's the problem here?"
"The wand in your pants."
He reddened, staring down at the frilly periwinkle pillow he was holding on top of his groin, and muttered, "What about it?"
James bared his teeth, a sight that did utterly no help for Scorpius' condition, and growled (How does he make even such feral sounds seem so attractive?), "Birds or blokes?"
"What does it matter?" he replied with a defiant lift of his chin.
The brunet stalked over and took hold of him by the shoulders (Father naked, Father naked getting it on with Mr. Potter, Father naked getting it on with Mr. Potter and Mr. Filch watching), and leaned into his face. "It matters if you're leading my sister on."
Scorpius' eyes caught hazel ones that were shining bright with injustice, and, almost like in a trance, he helplessly began, "I - I - okay. All my crabs down-"
"Cards."
"- yes, you understand what I mean. All my cards down on the table, I-"
The contact between them broke as the door slammed even further open and an enraged Lily stepped into the room, clutching her clothes in one hand and keeping the lavender towel draped around her petite body up with the other. Her brother let go of his grasps on Scorpius and, taking on a stance of solidarity and challenge, turned to face the furious girl, who demanded, "What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing in my room, shouting at my guest, James Sirius Potter?"
"Well, actually, I'm also Al's friend- his best friend, remember?- and I was hoping on becoming James' friend, but obviously, that's-"
"Shut your face up, Malfoy!" and "Shut your pie hole, Scorp!" rang out simultaneously in volumes the blond previously thought was impossible, and left him wondering if Al had his own variation of "shut up" as the two siblings before him continued their fevered stare-down with each other.
"Wanna play the name game? Well, Lily Luna Potter, I walked into your bedroom and the instant he saw me, Malfoy here got an erection! That's what I'm doing here!"
Lily threw her clothes off to the side and stepped closer to her brother, sneering, "Why are you in leather in the first place?"
To both the friends' surprises, a hint of rose struck his face and James stammered out, "N-none of your business. And, anyways, what does it matter?"
The blond raised a single perfect eyebrow, recognising the words as his own, but James made no action to acknowledge so, leaving the next move to Lily.
"It matters if you're doing it on purpose!" Scorpius tilted his head, wondering if any of the siblings even realised how similar they were. "You know just how irresistible you look when you're in those trousers! I know because I've lost more than a couple of friends to them!"
"For gods' sakes, Lils, if they stopped being your friend because they got a schoolgirl crush and started focusing on me, they didn't deserve to be your friend in the first place! You know that!"
"It still hurts," she huffed, "and I don't wanna lose Scorpius."
The subject of her statement cleared his throat and spoke up. "You can't really lose me since I'll still be Al's friend, and even if I wasn't, I couldn't, for the life of me, ever ignore you- fully."
She wiped a non-existent tear away and sniffled, "Thank you, Scorp."
"Alright, alright, stop your little sob fest," James said, rolling his eyes. "I don't care, but your boyfriend-"
"Boyfriend?" she cried out, eyes wide at him. "My boyfriend? I wish! Oh, Jamie, even you should've noticed by now, especially with what just happened! Scorpius Malfoy is gayer than a pink Chihuahua wearing a tutu in the heart of San Francisco! H-he's gayer than a glistening merman in a bubbly hot tub singing along to Indian musicals! He's gayer than a sodding flamingo dancing provocatively at a flash rave in underground Manhattan!" Lily began giggling hysterically, setting herself against the door for leverage.
Her brother pulled a corner of his tight-set mouth to the side, frowning, and told her, "Being gay isn't a kidding matter."
She smiled, sugary sweet, "I know, Apple Jam." James bristled slightly at the affectionate nickname (And definitely not in an adorable way, Scorpius pouted), and she went on, "I know. And you know. But you should've noticed. Maybe that was a little too much, even for Scorp-" "It very much was," the blond interrupted, "-but, Merlin, he would never be attracted tome- physically, at least. So, don't worry, you have no competition." She waggled her eyebrows and James turned a stunning shade of red, Scorpius making flushed, petty expressions towards her from behind.
"And to prove it, my lovely assistant here will take my poor, poor, mistreated pillow off his lower body- you better launder that case later, Scorp, or else-" he saluted and promptly pushed it off to his left with a "Yes, ma'am!" "-and I will demonstrate the defining act of my whole unprofessional, performing life- the disappearing towel!" Lily let go of her grasps on the terry cloth and set her hands on the nape of her neck, winking at her whimpering brother, who was trying (in vain) to shred up the image of his naked, teenage sister by rubbing his palms over his eyelids repeatedly. "Why don't you take a little peek at Scorp if I'm so traumatizing, eh, Jamie?"
He turned sharply, anger oozing through when he remembered that this was his naked, teenage sister in front of another guy who wasn't family or considered pseudo-family at all and didn't deserve to even- and froze. The blond was looking away, cheeks still gilded rosily, but there was no sign of arousal other than that, which could have easily been simply because there was a nude girl posing in front of him. The brunet muttered, "Alright. I get your point. Can you please put on some clothes on now?"
"I rather fancy being like this. It's all breezy and nice. Maybe I could join a nudist community," she pondered aloud, prodding her bottom lip with a finger, other hand on a hip. She saw her older brother's patented, ninety proof stink eye and groused, "Or maybe not. Fine, I'll go." Clinging to her forgotten towel, she sent a lascivious smirk towards Scorpius, who was finally looking away from the purple clock on her windowpane, and sang, "Scorp, good luck sorting out all your unresolved sexual tension with my thick brother here! I'm just saying. I'd love to have another brother in the family."
She skipped away, shutting the door on her way out, and silence reigned for the first few moments. Unsurprisingly, James broke the noiseless streak first when he turned back around, awkwardly sticking his hands in barely existent pockets, and asked, (hardly) conversationally,
"So. Gay, hm?"
"Yes. Very. And from the way she implied it, you?"
"Oh, yes. Since fifth year."
"Ah. That's...nice."
"Quite."
They looked off to their own respective corners, before meeting with each other's' nervous gazes once more.
"Unresolved sexual tension, is there?"
"I never noticed."
"There is an obscene amount, admittedly."
"Very obscene. Almost blasphemous. Barely ludicrous, though, so that's good."
"Is it?"
"I would think so."
They shared tentative smiles, having, now, at least two things in common: being gay and surrounded by an unhealthy amount of uneasiness in the air.
"Would you have gotten a hard-on if Albus walked in wearing these?"
"Straight to the hard stuff, why don't you."
"Oi, your evasive manoeuvre has been spotted. Answer my question."
"Fine." A pregnant pause lay there. "Honestly, no."
"I see. It wouldn't be just because I'm infinitely better-looking than him, is it?"
"No. Not at all, unfortunately."
"How is that unfortunate?"
"It made it all the more embarrassing to tell Lily of my hopeless little schoolboy crush on you."
James grinned. "Did you know? It's incredibly confusing when one starts exclaiming one's precious baby sister'sboyfriend's name in the middle of a wank... Can you believe, for some hugely asinine reason, I thought maybe confronting you while looking my best would help me get over my sudden and completely irrational infatuation?"
Scorpius smiled back, just as wide and earnest as James'. "With your Gryffindor principles? I think not."
"So. Let me get this straight- we've both had a crush on each other for at least the past month, but neither of us have acted upon it because, one, you didn't have the bollocks to, and two, I thought you were straight as a board and involved with my sister?"
"Well, when you say it like that, it makes me sound bad. But that's practically it in a nutshell."
"That's a month to make up for."
"Shall we start now?"
"Shall we?"
"Better start properly, otherwise Lily'll have both our heads. And probably decorate our decapitated skulls with stickers- a fate worse than death." The blond shuddered dramatically.
"You're right. So, proper: Scorpius Malfoy," the brunet stepped forward, "will you please, please, please not let our dear Tiger Lily's efforts go to waste and go out on a date with me? Preferably on a Hogsmeade weekend once we're back in school? But breakfast at my table would work splendidly, as well. Or yours, all the same."
Scorpius stood up and grabbed the back of James' head, saying, "Do you really need an answer?" before moving in on one of the most explosive snogging sessions either ever experienced- literally, when Albus threw in a Fiery Fireworks Flip ("Fire in the hole, Lily! Revenge is mine! Bwahahah- Lils? What are you doing out in the hallway? You're supposed to be inside, snogging Score, but if you're not the one he's- someone- who- where's- no- James- oh, my-" A gasp and exaggerated gagging sounds could be heard after that.)
Indeed. It was both of their faults. But, afterwards, neither really gave a shite about intentions or reasons, seeing as how they both got what they really want in the end.
The end.