With a crack they landed on their front steps and the two men shuffled their smaller friend inside.
"Rose, you should really have a cup of coffee and a pepper up potion to help you sober up a bit," Scorpius said as he steered her towards the kitchen.
Whipping her head around to face him she stated, "well I didn't really have that much to drink, just didn't eat lunch that's all!"
"You may not have had much to drink, but you're tiny so you can't hold much anyway," The blonde laughed continuing to push her towards the kitchen where they kept their potions.
Grumbling under her breath, "You only think I'm tiny because you two are giants." With that she stubbornly sat down at their small round kitchen table and crossed her arms.
"Now Rosie, behave yourself and I'll floo James, Fred, and Hugo and maybe we'll all go out tonight to celebrate your new job!" Al ruffled the top of her head as he wandered past her to brew a cup of coffee for her. Rose stuck her tongue out at him when he wasn't looking which turned into a grin when Scorpius caught her and began to laugh.
After some negotiation, Rose finally drank her coffee and pepper up and was now stone cold sober, a state of being that she found much less fun than her previous one. After floo calling some of their other cousins and siblings, Al and Scorpius had begun to discuss their current case load and what paperwork needed to be finished with each one, growing bored Rose studied the two as they talked. Al really was the spitting image of his father, tall and lanky with unruly black hair and bright green eyes, instead of wearing glasses though he had gotten into the habit of charming his eyes so that he could avoid wearing his glasses most days, just as Rose tended to. Al ran a hand through his hair, a habit he'd always had when he was thinking. She switched her attention to their friend, Scorpius' light blonde hair was slightly longer in the front and stuck out in all directions, which somehow managed to look very effortless and attractive. Although he had inherited the aristocratic features of the Malfoys, his mother had given him a very expressive face, he liked to keep his emotions hidden most of the time but around people he was comfortable with, his face would light up energetically as he spoke. She found her gaze tracing the line of his jaw down to his strong neck until it was hidden from sight by the collar of his button up shirt. Her light green eyes began to follow the motions of his hands through the air as he walked Al through something, he had large hands with long graceful fingers, even from across the table she could see the callouses from his training and years of playing quidditch. I bet he's very good with his hands in so many ways she found herself thinking as she twirled a stray curl of her hair around her finger. Gaze wandering further up his arm she found herself watching the muscles move throughout his forearm as he scribbled on a piece of parchment he had pulled from his bag. She felt herself flush as she imagined how it would feel to be the focus of those hand's attention but her daydream was soon interrupted by James and Fred bursting in through the front door.
"ROSIE! Congratulations!" James cried as he spun his smaller cousin out of her chair to hug her.
Fred soon grabbed her and spun her around as he said, "We're so proud! Wee little Rosie is doing big things!" Finally releasing the laughing girl in his arms he waved a hello to Al and Scorpius.
"Thank you both! Now where are we going to go celebrate?" With a smile she walked over to lean between Al and Scorpius, using their shoulders as an armrest.
Turning his grey eyes towards her, Scorpius shrugged, "I think you get to choose since we're celebrating you."
Hoping that would be the answer she received, "Then let's go to the Twisted Wand! I feel like dancing!"
The Twisted Wand was a bar in one of the magic districts in London. It had a large old wood bar to the side, many tables to gather at, and a dance floor, which was Rose's favorite part.
Hugo, who resembled his sister but was taller with brown hair, had joined them after he had left work and the group of six now sat sipping firewhiskeys at their favorite table. The bar was a favorite of all of theirs, it was busy enough that they could blend in, but not so busy that they had to struggle to have a conversation over the music. The owner knew them all by name and there was always good music playing overhead.
Several rounds of firewhiskey later, Scorpius found himself watching as Rose danced on the edge of the dance floor with James and Fred to a very upbeat song. The three cousins were dancing so crazily that many people had moved to give them a wider space to move in. James and Fred took turns spinning their cousin around and dipping her dramatically with wide smiles on all three faces. Hiding a smile he watched as Rose threw her head back in laughter as James dramatically dipped Fred and nearly dropped him. Rose's laugh was contagious, it was the most genuine laugh Scorpius had ever heard, seeming to bubble forth and raise the spirits of everyone nearby. As the song ended, Rose danced over to their table to take a sip of her drink. James had gone up to the bar to gather another round of drinks and Fred joined into Al and Hugo's quidditch conversation.
Rose stood swaying to the music with her eyes closed listening to her family talk. She had chosen muggle skinny jeans, a tight black sweater with a v neck front, and had her favorite pair of cheetah print flats on. She slowly unwound the bun her hair had been escaping from in order to make it a tighter bun. Scorpius watched her slender fingers work her copper colored curls into a knot on the top of her head. Strands of darker red danced alongside strands of bright gold in each of her wild curls. With great effort he turned his head away from her and tried to join the conversation around them.
"Al, Al come dance with me!" Rose stated as though it wasn't really a request. Rolling his eyes, the raven haired man finished his drink then followed his cousin out to the dance floor. As he watched his two best friends dance Scorpius fell into easy conversation with Hugo. The two had known each other as long as Scorpius had known Al and Rose, despite being a Malfoy he had been welcomed easily into the Weasley-Potter household and was considered part of the family by all.
"You know she's always had a way of getting people to do what she wants," Hugo smiled but looked pensively at his sister. "I think she has all of us wrapped around her finger because we just want to see her happy."
"She's got Al and I wrapped around her finger in the flat at home that's for sure," Smiling as Rose spun an ungraceful Albus around. "I think her happiness is contagious." He sipped at his drink. "You know how she prefers coffee to tea, now its all any of us drink in the flat, I don't even know if we have tea at home any more." Laughing at this, the two turned their attention to an Al and Rose who were making their way back to the table smiling.
Rose leaned on the table and sipped at her drink, never ceasing to sway to the music. Her green eyes turned to look up into his, "Come dance with me Scorp?"
"Oh Rose, you know how I feel about dancing, its more of a spectator sport for me," Scorpius ran a hand through his messy hair and looked sheepishly down at her as he turned her down.
"A spectator sport?" She looked thoughtful, then with a sudden determination she finished the remains of her drink and looked up at him, her eyes full of mischief. "Perhaps I'll have to give you something to spectate then." With that she sauntered back to the edge of the dance floor when a slower more sultry song began to play.
Swaying in place Rose began to swing her hips to the beat of the song, using them almost like a metronome as her arms began to drift above her head to wind around each other with the slow beat. She closed her eyes and revolved slowly around as she let the music take over and she simply moved to the beat punctuating some turns with a slight shimmy of her body.
Scorpius couldn't tear his eyes away. Her comment seemed to suggest that this show was just for him, he certainly wasn't going to miss it. As he watched her hips swaying back and forth he began to become acutely aware of the fact that he was surrounded by members of her family. Fighting desperately not to let his desire show on his face he let his eyes follow the swing of her hips back and forth and wander the rest of her hourglass figure. Her sweater was cut just low enough to hint at what was laying further south beneath the fabric.
Rose looked up at the table, all of her relatives were watching her little show with curiosity, but she only had eyes for Scorpius. He was watching her intensely, a look on his face that he had never seen before. His eyes looked darker from here and he looked slightly flushed. Rose found herself wishing they were somewhere much more private and longed for him to look at her like that forever, but she kept on dancing.
Al watched his friend, asking quietly so the rest of his family wouldn't hear, "How long Scorp?"
Startled, Scorpius looked away from the dance floor toward Al, "How long what?"
"How long have you fancied Rose? I mean I knew you fancied her at Hogwarts but I thought you said that was over?"
"What? Who said I fancy Rose? I'm just watching her to keep an eye on her, you know because I'm a good friend and roommate," He managed to splutter out.
Snorting into his drink Al asked, "Is undressing my cousin with your eyes part of you being a good friend and roommate too then?"
Scorpius looked around embarrassed and hoping Fred, James, and Hugo hadn't heard. "Al, can we not talk about this right now," he ground out between clenched teeth.
"I just want to make sure you know that she's not going to wait around for you forever. I'm pretty sure she's been dancing around you as long as you've been dancing around her. And in case you hadn't noticed, it isn't just your attention that she has, there are plenty of other blokes she could end up with if you don't get over yourself." With this Al indicated towards the tables around them, all the men in the area seemed to be watching Rose intently as she continued to lose herself in the song.
Scorpius stared at his friend for a moment, "Let me get this straight, you've known this whole time that I fancy Rose, and you are telling me to make a move on her? Are you off your rocker?"
Setting down his drink and looking squarely at Scorpius, "Listen I know why you've never had a longer relationship than maybe a month, its because the bird you're with isn't Rose. You've fancied her for practically forever, and although she's never told me straight out I think this little demonstration tonight proves she fancies you. We both know Rose can take care of herself and she could hex you senseless if you tried any funny business that she wasn't into, so it's not my place to warn you off her. And frankly I'd rather her end up with you than any of these random people." Turning away and seeing Rose wandering back to the table, "Now close your mouth and quit gaping at me like a fish, Rose is coming back over."
Avoiding his eyes Rose stopped at the table, slightly flushed and breathless, "Does anyone need another drink?" After agreeing to bring a drink back for James and Fred she wandered off to the bar.
Scorpius was quiet the remainder of the night, contributing small things to conversations, but never really taking his eyes off of Rose. He noticed the way a man leaned in to talk to her at the bar and rested his hand on the small of her back, the way she politely moved out of his reach while still chatting amicably. She smiled, and laughed, and drank with her family occasionally shooting him small smiles and looking at him quizzically due to his uncharacteristic quietness. Unable to shake the conversation with Albus from his mind, he nursed his drink and stared around absently until the group was ready to leave as it was nearing 1 in the morning.
Walking out of the Twisted Wand James threw his arm across Rose's shoulders, "Oh Rosie Poo you sure do know how to treat your family to a celebration!"
Fred followed suit, wrapping his arm around her waist, "Yes dear Rosie, you've done well! Although I think all of us, or at least those of us who are related to you, could have done without that little show you put on out on the dance floor." He grinned at his attempt to embarrass his little cousin.
Blushing a brilliant shade of Weasley red, Rose huffed, "Oh bugger off, I was just having a bit of fun!"
The teasing continued as they walked back to their flat where James, Fred, and Hugo chose to use their floo to get home rather than risk drunkenly splinching themselves.
"Well good night you two," Al announced while weaving slightly in the doorway. "It is off to bed for me!" Looking pointedly at Scorpius, "Remember what we talked about earlier," and with a wink that never would have happened if Al had not had quite so much to drink, "Behave yourself!" Turning to stumble towards his bedroom, he disappeared down the hallway.
Rose stared up at Scorpius with questions in her eyes, before grabbing a glass of water to fill from the sink.
"Al just had too much to drink that's all," Scorpius offered half-heartedly. "I think I'm going to head to bed myself, g'night Rosie." Not waiting for a reaction, he turned to head down the hall.
He heard a knock on the door next to his, and heard voices through the wall. Of course, Rose being concerned for Al, brought him a glass of water to help stave off a hangover in the morning. Sighing and laying back on his bed he stared at his ceiling waiting to hear Rose's door shut for the night. Once shut, he stood and traded his muggle clothing for pajama pants and an old grey shirt. Curiously, he soon heard Rose's door open again and heard quiet footsteps head back towards the kitchen.
Considering his options, he decided to check on her, she was his friend first after all, not just the object of his desires and fantasies. Walking quietly down the hall he rounded the corner to the kitchen, what he saw nearly took his breath away. As attractive as Rose had been all done up and swaying her hips in the club, this Rose standing in front of him was his favorite. Her hair was down, her loose unruly curls reaching down to her shoulders and shining in the moonlight. She wore an old Chudley Cannons shirt that was much too large for her, one of her freckled shoulders constantly sneaking out the neckline. Loose black shorts hung off her shapely hips. He knew when she turned around her glasses would be on, likely a little askew and sliding down her slender nose. This Rose, the Rose that he only saw when she was completely comfortable. This was the Rose he wanted most of all. Sighing, he cleared his throat, "Rose?"
Turning with a glass of water in her hands, "Oh Scorpius, why are you still up?" She looked at him with wide sleepy eyes, framed by her round tortoise shell glasses.
"I fancied a glass of water, that's all." He smiled down into her lovely green eyes. Those eyes were his favorite shade of green.
"Oh here then," Setting down her own glass, she reached for a clean one, filling it she handed it to him, blushing slightly when her hand brushed his.
He leaned against the kitchen counter and studied her, she refused to meet his eyes. Bashful was not a color he was used to seeing on her, she was normally his bright, fiery, intense and fearless Rose.
"I should get some sleep, it's been a long day." She set her glass down and padded across the kitchen.
"Rose wait," He set his glass down and took several steps toward her. She stopped but didn't turn around. "Dance with me?"
Turning and looking skeptical she asked, "What? But Scorpius there's no music."
"Earlier you asked me to dance with you and I shouldn't have said no." He reached over to turn on a muggle radio that Rose liked to listen to when she cooked. Turning the volume down so they wouldn't wake Al, "Dance with me Rose." He held a hand out towards her, not really sure what his plan was, but not able to get Al's words from earlier out of his head.
Rose seemed to consider his words. Then without knowing why, she stepped towards him and slipped her small hand into his. Her other hand slid up to rest on his shoulder, and his hand found the curve of her waist. The slowly began to sway and rotate around their small kitchen. As the song went on, Scorpius slipped his hand from her waist around to her lower back and pulled her closer. She rested her head on his chest, and listened to his heart beating faster than the song they danced to. One song changed to another. Slowly Rose realized that they had stopped moving, they were simply standing and holding each other.
Slowly Rose lifted her head to look into his warm grey eyes. His hand that was holding hers rested her hand against his chest, now freed, his hand traced the freckles on her right shoulder as it had slipped out the neckline of her shirt. His eyes darted down to watch her lips as her tongue flicked out to wet them. Rose glanced from his eyes down to his lips, her left hand strayed to the nape of his neck and began to draw circles in the fine hairs she felt there. The hand that remained on his chest, traveled upward to skim along his neck and came to rest along his jaw. Rose slowly began to rise onto her tip toes as Scorpius tilted his head down to meet her. One of his large hands found its way into her hair and rested along the back of her slender neck.
Rose's green eyes fluttered close as their lips drew closer. She felt soft lips lightly graze hers, a small sigh escaped her lips in response. Just as she started to lean forward to find those lips again…
"And there you have it folks, the ending of another late night love song hour on WKR Radio," The announcer of the muggle radio station stated.
Rose's eyes flew open, startled from this intimate moment by the strange voice. Suddenly she panicked, This is Scorpius after all, one of my best friends, one of my best friend's best mates, what are we doing?! Without a word to the man standing before her she stepped backwards, out of his embrace, and walked down the hallway back to her room.
Scorpius heard the door shut to Rose's room before he could completely process what had just happened. Reaching over he switched off the radio then leaned forward onto the nearest counter. Head in his hands, and forearms outstretched on the counter he thought, I just kissed Rose, or at least almost kissed her, I had her in my arms, I touched her with my lips, and now its over. Damn bloody radio show had to ruin my moment. Now what am I supposed to do?
Resigning himself to a sleepless night, he downed the rest of his glass of water and slowly walked back to his room. Knowing he would dream of red hair, green eyes, and freckled shoulders that were warm to his touch he climbed into bed and tried to sleep.
Meanwhile Rose laid in her bed listening to Scorpius move back down the hallway towards his room, once his door finally shut she released a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. She rolled over in bed and tried to forget the feeling of his hands on her and his lips grazing hers. In her dreams she saw warm grey eyes and felt safe in a warm embrace.