Hello everybody, this is my first fan fiction that I've actually written. I was so inspired by the book this weekend I couldn't help myself. Anyway, I don't any of these characters, they belong of course to JK Rowling.

It was several months following the events of the time turner, and Albus had a new issue on his hands. He couldn't stop thinking about Scorpius. They were just starting their fifth year, and he felt like he was walking on eggshells around his friend since he started trying to date Rose. Albus thought it was great that his best friend wanted to find somebody, but he couldn't describe this feeling of jealousy. It made him uncomfortable and his skin crawl when he tried to consider what it all meant.

Sitting in the great hall one evening, his friend sat down closely next to him, and it made him jump. Scorpius looked at him funny.

"Albus, are you okay, you've seemed a bit off lately?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just worried about that potions essay I think.." Albus replied.

Then it started happening more and more often, to the point that Albus was actively avoiding him. Soon if felt like Christmas break was upon them in the blink of an eye. His father owled him a few days before the break with the most disparaging news. He would have to stay at Hogwarts over the break because he and his mother were traveling with Ministry concerns to the Americas. Albus realized this would mean he was either A) going to have to stay alone or B) stay with Scorpius. Neither option excited him right now. Scorpius had come up behind him and saw the letter. Excited he reached forward and snatched it out of his friend's hands.

"This is great! You know what this means don't you?" Scorpius beamed.

"That my parents don't care about Christmas?" Albus sighed dreading what his friend was about to say.

"No! That you can finally come to my place for the holidays!" Scorpius replied.

Albus almost fell out of his seat, he hadn't even considered that option! It was sudden that the thoughts of sharing a room with Scorpius in his house hit him. This would be much worse than sharing a castle with a massive library and plenty of trouble to get into. Plus, he still couldn't figure out what's got him so upset and jumpy around his friend. Being in close quarters right now, doesn't seem like the smartest idea. He ran through a million reasons in his head why he couldn't go. While none of them really worked he finally settled on the most believable.

"I really don't think your dad would appreciate that, maybe you should stay here?" Albus nearly plead.

"Of course he'll do it, he really says yes to just about anything I ask for simply because I actually work up the courage to ask for it in the first place! It's brilliant, besides, why would we want to stay here in this dusty old castle? Let's go to my place, I can show you our library, and all the cool stuff we have, that we probably shouldn't have, and you eat all the sweets you're not usually allowed to eat! It's fantastic, plus I have brooms there we can practice flying! It's settled, I'll write him now" Scorpius said excitedly and immediately sat to write a letter to his father.

Albus internally groaned, and put his head in his hands. He felt like this wasn't good a idea but he couldn't pinpoint why. All the more frustrating he really couldn't find anyway out of this. At least there's a chance his dad may say no too. So he started scratching out a letter to his father asking as brazenly as possible hoping to trigger a negative reply.

'Dear dad,

That's great. I think I'll just go stay with Scorpius over the break then since he invited me! He's writing his dad today, but I think it'll be fine. Better than staying in the castle alone with just James and a few loners to play tricks on me. I take it Rose is staying too? She's always a joy to spend time with, teaching me about everything I don't know. Anyway, have a save trip!

Love,

Albus'

That seemed bold enough to cause trouble and make his dad say now. He folded the letter before Scorpius could take a look at it, and attached it to the waiting owl.

A couple of days later Scorpius got his reply first. His father said in the most formal way possible that he would allow him to stay there only if he avoided causing even a tenth of the trouble Harry Potter drags around with him. Albus couldn't help but laugh. There was also a note to Scorpius at the bottom that said he also would not allow them to get into trouble with any of the collection they house at the Malfoy Manor. Albus asked Scorpius what he meant, and Scorpius explained he probably immediately assumed I'd show you all of the banned stuff he keeps. Albus laughed, he really did want to spend the break with his best friend, but when his heart skipped a beat when Scorpius reached for the eggs his spirits fell. It was like he was nervous! Maybe he's nervous that his friend will leave him and stop spending time with him if he and Rose actually started dating. Albus felt his heart drop at the thought. Scorpius once told him though that he felt something similar when Albus was getting close to Delphi. So maybe this wasn't completely abnormal!

"Earth to Albus, a letter's arrived" Scorpius said around a mouthful of toast. Most un-Malfoy like Albus noted.

Albus opened the letter and recognized his father's handwriting immediately.

'Dear Albus,

You can go to Scorpius's house for the break. I discussed it with your mother, and while initially I felt uncomfortable with you going to a place that harbors so many bad memories for us, she reminded me that you are not us. And she scolded me for trying to force you to spend time with your cousin and family if you don't want to. I disagree, but I do think you'd have fun. I used to spend nearly every break with Ron so I know how great it can be. Take care, and please don't touch anything suspicious you may see there. Draco is keeping things I'm sure he is not allowed to have and while he won't admit it, I'm sure of it. I do trust him though these days to ensure the safety of his son, and whoever is a friend of his son's so I'm hoping that he wouldn't allow you to get into any trouble. Enjoy Christmas, we'll forward your gift there.

Love,

Dad'

Albus sighed, this is not what he expected. That both fathers would begrudgingly accept this came as a complete surprise. He looked over at his best friend munching away and how his hair gleamed in the morning sun innocently and realized he wanted to be near him as often as possible, so really he just needed to get over whatever it was he was dealing with.

Christmas break came and he was now standing in front of Malfoy Manor with Scorpius who was saying a phrase to the enchanted entrance. The gates opened and there was Mr. Malfoy at the entrance to greet them. He held a reserved expression and hugged his son, and then took Albus by surprise when his pat him on his head once, and then magicked their cases up to the entrance of the house. Albus almost laughed out loud at the awkwardness of the encounter while Scorpius started prattling on all the things he wanted to do over the break. Draco just hummed, and nodded at most requests, and threw in the occasional no when Scorpius requested the most ridiculous things. At one point Scorpius asked if he could Floo Albus to the 1500 year old cathedral that his father had shown him the secret wizard who founded an entire religion. At this Albus did laugh out loud.

Albus entered the house and was floored by how large it was. He wasn't surprised by how dark it was however, with black walls, and dark wood floors, and dark curtains, and how very stereotypical of the Malfoys to have not changed a single thing despite the world changing around them. With a flick of his wrist, Draco sent the cases up a spiral staircase and turned to a room off the side.

"I have a few things to work on for today, and I'll be in the parkour if you need me, but otherwise Scorpius go get yourselves settled in and show him around" Draco said as he walked away.

Scorpius darted up the staircase and Albus followed, he was excited he had to admit to be somewhere new. Albus followed Scorpius into a room off to the right and let out a breath of air when he walked into a room that was much brighter. He saw light forest green silks layered over thicker taffeta curtains. There was a large silver and green embroidered floor rug warming up the floor in front of a fireplace that held a showy black marble mantle with silver running through it. The walls were an olive green with recessed alcoves and trinkets on every ledge. His room also had a large four poster bed in the center of the far wall made from the same marble at the mantle over the fireplace with matching silk comforter as the curtains. There were a few scattered items on the night stands that were impeccably Scorpius, odds and ends that showed off how much of a geek he was, and Albus actually adored this room. He didn't expect to walk into something that was so much his friend.

Scorpius was staring at him waiting for some kind of a reaction. .

"You have a really cool room, I won't lie." Albus said while smiling.

"Good, I worked hard on it, my dad refused to paint the walls a lighter color a couple years ago, and I had to figure out how to do it myself" Scorpius gleamed.

He sat down on the only place to sit which was the bed and started unpacking his things an that's when Albus realized something. There was only one bed in the room, so he must be staying in another room.

"Scorpius, where should I unpack my stuff?" Albus asked.

"Here of course, unless you're intending to go somewhere else for Christmas break" snarked Scorpius full of mirth.

"I meant which room am I staying in smartass?" Albus sighed.

Scorpius paused, looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well in here would make the most sense, I mean we share a room in the dorms. The rest of the rooms haven't been used in a long time and I can't guarantee they all lack hexes." Scorpius said completely serious.

Albus started, he thought about sharing the bed with Scorpius and for some reason he blushed. They were fifteen now, it didn't really seem like something two fifteen year old boys should be doing. He wondered if his father and uncle Ron shared a bed, but then he remembered something Harry said about the Weasley's having loads of children back then and how they probably all had sleeping quarters. Scorpius is an only child, hence only one room. Sure that Scorpius had not had loads of visitors, he wondered if Mr. Malfoy had considered the logistics of him staying over for the break.

Scorpius caught his concerned thoughtful expression, and shifted to stand up.

"What's wrong? Did you want your own room? I know you shared with James for a while, but I didn't ask my father to prepare another room for us…" Scorpius apologized.

Immediately regretting how it looked to his friend, he rushed to fix the misunderstanding.

"No no! I was just thinking who should get the bed first over the floor!" Albus rushed out with a laugh and an arm behind his head.

Scorpius laughed along with him.

"Don't be stupid, we'll share the bed. It's huge, I got it for my fourteenth birthday and I've always wondered if my father expected me to be four hundred pounds to have a king sized bed made for a fourteen year old!" Scorpius smiled.

Albus's stomach lurched, and for some reason he felt that nervous sensation he felt every time his friend was too close. He must've blushed because he saw Scorpius get a nervous expression in response.

"Unless that isn't okay with you? I haven't had anybody stay over before so I'm not sure what's really expected. I imagine I could ask my dad to conjure up a cot or something." Scorpius rushed out in one breath.

Albus again, felt guilty immediately wanting to retract his expression.

"No, it's fine really. I just thought about what my brother and Rose would have to say about this if they heard. It's bad enough we hug each other, but really it's fine, you're completely right the bed is massive, and there isn't even room in here for a cot because the bed is so big." Albus laughed.

Scorpius lit up.

"Okay, let's unpack then, and then we'll go on a tour of the house" Scorpius beamed.

Albus nodded and got to work, thinking all the while about how his gut instinct was right. Something isn't right. Maybe he really shouldn't be worried about sharing a bed with his friend. He wondered to himself if seeing his friend talking with Rose on so many occasions has just brought to light how much he wants to be dating somebody himself. That must be it, he thinks. They finish unpacking and Scorpius promptly takes him around the manor.

He explains that when his father took over the manor he released the house elves and offered to pay whoever was willing to stay, which was very few, so they really take care of the occupied portions of the home and annually clean the remainder of the manor. Albus couldn't stop awing every time he opened a room or came across something he'd never seen before. A couple of time Scorpius came to rooms he couldn't recall their use, or couldn't open the door. Or he'd once gone around and corner insisting there was a neat room that had all glass windows for two of the walls since it was in the corner of the manor, but that was mysteriously missing. Scorpius frowned when this happened, and mumbled to himself about it for another twenty minutes. Before they could finish exploring a soft bell was hear throughout the house. And then Draco's voice could be heard saying dinner was served, time to join him in the dining room. Albus laughed at the formality compared to his unkempt household full of hustling and bustling.

When they arrived in the dining room, Albus was excited to see quite the spread of food.

"I wasn't sure what was too your liking so I ordered a bit of a spread. Assuming your taste is similar to my son, it's more akin to sweets but that comes after so eat up" Draco said with a slight drawl.

Albus sat down at one of the eight chairs at the table and dug in. He heard a laugh across the table when he looked up he saw Scorpius with his plate appropriately served, compared to Albus's piled high.

"This isn't the great hall Albus, the food won't disappear before you get to try everything" smiled Scorpius.

Albus blushed, and quickly glanced at Draco who had paused to observe, with a small smirk on his face.

"Ah, yes, thank you" Albus said around a mouthful of something delicious.

Dinner was coming to an end and then desert appeared on the table. Albus was very excited. He helped himself while Draco started talking to his son.

"So what are you guys doing tomorrow, should I have the house elves ready the brooms?" Draco said.

"Yeah that sounds great, I think we'll fly tomorrow. Albus is staying my room so they can just bring them there" Scorpius replied.

Draco paused, took a sip of his wine and sat very still for a moment. Albus heard the silence and he glanced up from scooping a piece of pudding out of the bowl in front of him to see Draco looking right at him, he quickly glanced to his pudding.

"Scorpius, did you need anything in your room to accommodate Albus? I'm sure I can have the house elves retrieve it, extra bedding or wood for the fire?" Draco asked.

Albus turned red head to toe with a mouthful of pudding he suddenly couldn't swallow, Draco had completely had the same thought Albus had about sharing the bed. It was a good thing they had gone back to looking at each other because he would've given himself away in that moment.

"Nope, we're fine dad, we have some Christmas assignments we'll probably just work on for a bit to get them out of the way" Scorpius replied.

Albus balked at the idea of doing homework early, but he was thankful for the normalcy and innocence of his friend's reply. He swallowed the mouthful of pudding and realized he was quite done with dinner. He snuck a glance at the two of them again, and clear his throat when he mentally prepared himself.

"Thank you for the food Mr. Malfoy, it was all delicious." Albus stated.

Draco looked at Albus for a moment longer than necessary.

"I am glad you enjoyed all of it, it certainly seemed like you found room to try everything. I'll have to let the house elves they need to cook a little extra for the next week." Draco said with a small smirk.

Albus blushed, and apologized before Draco waved them off and bid his son goodnight.

On the way up to the room Albus felt like he was walking to his own crypt. Albus decided before he even reached the top of the staircase that he would have to try to face this ridiculous embarrassment head on.

When they got upstairs and started pulling some of their books out of their cases Albus decided to dive right into some exposure therapy for himself.

"Scorpius, what do you like about Rose?" Albus asked briskly.

Scorpius paused and laughed.

"Well that's sudden, I guess she has nice skin, and she's smart, and she's like that cat that doesn't want to let you pet it that hangs out around Hogsmeade. The more she says no the more you want her to say yes, that sort of thing. Who knows, maybe I just enjoy the challenge, like it's the Malfoy in me or something." Scorpius said with an amused smile on his face.

Albus listened while he was talking all the while getting a pit in his stomach. He didn't like his friend talking about his cousin like she was some sort of challenge, and at the same time he didn't like her being the focus of his friend's attention. It must've shown on his face because Scorpius was staring at Albus intently.

"Albus, do you not like me asking Rose out?" Scorpius asked clearly.

Leave it to Scorpius to figure him out before he had the chance to process everything.

"It's not that, I guess, I think maybe I don't like you thinking of her as some sort of a gold star, she's a pretty mediocre cousin too, I'm not really sure what I think about it…" Albus replied half heartedly, already regretting asking because his friend is so smart.

"It sounds like you're jealous, I mean she's your cousins so obviously it's not like you like Rose, but Albus, I'm sure there's somebody out there we could find" Scorpius said helpfully.

Albus groaned, this is not what he wanted. He did not want the conversation to turn back on him. He was mortified his friend even said the word jealous. Although, when he said it he realized that he really isn't jealous of his friend, he's jealous of Rose. He realized he definitely wants to be the main thing to keep Scorpius's attention. He paused, and blushed at he had just thought of. Is that normal, for him to have those thoughts about a friend.

"I don't think I'm jealous, I was just wondering, since she's just not that great and all and I figure you deserve somebody awesome" Albus ground out.

It was Scorpius's turn to look a little embarrassed. He shifted and went to his wardrobe and pulled out his pajamas. Albus watched him walk over and then quickly shifted his eyes when he realized he was changing.

"Albus, that means a lot to me that you would think I deserve somebody good. So many people probably think I'm still the scum of the wizarding world, but you're always thinking I'm nice. It still takes me by surprise" Scorpius said around the sleeve of top.

Albus stood up an grabbed his pajamas too. He thought about how he wished he had never asked in the first place. He was slowly coming to the conclusion this isn't normal, whatever 'this' was.

As he slid into the bed alongside his friend, he was contented to fall asleep after such a mentally exhausting day full of embarrassing moments. When his friend rolled over and asked another question.

"Albus, are you worried if I date somebody you'll be alone?" Scorpius said softly a few inches away from Albus.

Albus was grateful for the darkness because the breath of his friend near his ear made his whole face turn red. Struggling for a reply he had to think of something. He realized it was pretty much true though, and he didn't want to lie to his friend.

"Yeah, maybe that's it." Albus said to the dark.

He felt a hand reach for his arm and lightly squeeze in the dark through his flannel top.

"Well, at least that's something I can assure you you have nothing to worry about, I'll always be with you because you're my one and only best friend and the first person who ever cared about me instead of instantly judging me" Scorpius said with a yawn.

Albus felt warmth spread across his body. The touch was more intimate than a hug and maybe because they were in a bed seemed more personal. Scorpius pulled his hand away and said goodnight, leaving Albus to battle with his thoughts. He realized what was wrong and it terrified him. He realized what he wanted was said in Scorpius's words. He wanted Scorpius by his side for the rest of his life, but not as he friend. He felt the lingering warmth on his arm and the faint smell of something so Scorpius like the pages of books on the pillow beneath his head, and realized he's in love. He was in love with his best friend.