Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put all my poor victims in. Everything else belongs to somebody else and that must be how it remains for obvious reasons. Nobody would really want me in control. Anyways, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

I Need You

Returning to his human form as soon as he reached his destination Al took one deep breath and then opened the door just enough for him to slip through, closing it quickly behind him. The room he walked into had no windows or any source of light save the small fire burning in the fireplace Scorpius stood in front of. There was nothing in the room but the fireplace and the man who continued to stare into the flames as though it would reveal all the answers he was looking for.

Heart pounding in his chest Al walked over to stand just behind the man, not sure whether he should speak or not. Should he touch him? Hug him? Apologize for interfering before doing either?

Scorpius knew the Gryffindor was there in some part of his brain, but everything else was too painful and overwhelming for him to deal with that fact. The things his father had said, the things his lover had said. And more, the way his father had looked and spoken to him, really spoken to him for the first time in what felt like forever, Scorpius thought as he wrapped his arms protectively around him. He thought about the way his grandfather talked to him whenever they were together about what a disappointment Draco had been, and how he expected Scorpius to redeem them all. What his grandfather expected him to do to make that redemption possible. How until now it hadn't seemed like too much to ask. It had seemed like the right thing to do. The only way to live his life. And yet, and yet the love and terrible truths he'd seen in his father's eyes, the knowledge that he could become the man his father was now. The possibility that he could become someone even worse. All these thoughts and more crowded in his mind, curled in his gut, and threatened to tear his heart to shreds.

Which was why he'd agreed to let Rory contact the man standing behind him, Scorpius thought as he let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding, finally able to focus completely on the man behind him. Because he wasn't strong enough to deal with the pain. He needed to take refuge where thoughts of his family couldn't touch him. And that place could only be reached with one person.

His lover. The man behind him.

Before Al could make up his mind how to handle the situation his lover suddenly spun around, the other man's arms coming out to band around Al's waist like steel. The Slytherin pressed his cheek up against the side of Al's face, the Gryffindor not getting a chance to even read Scorpius's expression, the man had moved so fast.

"Scorpius?"

"Don't say anything. Don't tell me anything. Just make it stop. Make it stop so that I can't think about anything but you. I need you. I need you to make everything go away for a while, like you did that night when you thanked me for helping your sister. Make love to me. With me. Please."

Al could think of a million reasons to say no and back away, but one thing kept him from saying or doing either. One thing that overshadowed all those millions of reasons he should protect his own heart and stay away from anything that would increase their emotional bond.

The fact that he loved Scorpius, who needed him.

"Okay." Al rubbed his hands up and down the Slytherin's back. "I've got you. I've got you now. Everything's going to be okay."

Loosening his grip Scorpius moved to look down at the other man, seeing what he needed to see more than anything in those warm, beautiful eyes. And then the Gryffindor's lips were on his and Scorpius sank into the kiss with a grateful groan of relief. Eyes closing at the rush of connection, Scorpius concentrated solely on the feel of the other man's lips on his, the slow, possessive strokes of the Gryffindor's hands on his back.

When he opened his eyes again Scorpius noticed right away that all was light and airy now. The room had morphed around them, becoming a cosy bedroom where sunlight shone through the windows and the walls were the color of desert sand. The furniture was simple and functional, the surfaces covered with the things one typical found in the bedroom of a somewhat messy young male. But he didn't see the details really, just the feel of the place. The fact that he was, for the moment, exactly where he wanted and needed to be.

Letting the Gryffindor push him onto the bed's comforter Scorpius lifted his arms and drew his lover close as soon as the other man straddled him. More kisses, more touches, loving caresses that had the Slytherin sighing against the man's lips, rubbing up against the man in slow, drawn out thrusts to pleasure them both.

Breaking apart just long enough to get their shirts off Al moved down to kiss along the man's neck and shoulders, skin to skin as much as possible. They both needed the contact, craved it as they sunk into a world of their own making.

All clothing was shed and bodies entwined, the two moving in tandem to pleasure each other in the heat and connection between them. And when their climaxes came, one after the other, they held on and rode it out together.

)

Later on Scorpius relaxed with a contented sigh, his head on the Gryffindor's shoulder and his hand over the man's heart, the rhythmic beats comforting. The position should have been awkward, but it wasn't. At least not for him. He had to be heavy, especially at a dead weight, but he didn't have the strength to move at the moment. No thinking, no worrying, only feeling. The best kind of feelings, Scorpius thought as he felt the Gryffindor begin to stroke his hair, enjoying the touch more than ever. Even the fact that he'd grown his hair long to be like his grandfather didn't ruin the moment, because Scorpius knew that the man stroking his hair took pleasure in it.

"Am I too heavy?" He finally asked, stroking the skin under his fingers.

"I'll move us to our sides when that happens." Turning his head Al noticed the time, his hand stalling for a moment before continuing. "We need to head down for dinner soon. If we don't show up my family will come looking for me, they're on red alert where I'm concerned. "

Turning his head to look at the clock Scorpius noted the time, tensing up. Damn. There went his good mood.

Feeling his lover tense up against him Al automatically spoke to soothe without thinking. "We can come back here after dinner. I'll go back to the tower afterwards and do this little trick my brother taught me to create a body double. They'll think I'm there and I can fly out the window and back here. Goyle will cover for you, we can stay here all night if you'd like."

"Really? You'd...do that?"

Mentally cursing a blue streak in his mind for his gross stupidity, Al forced himself to keep his voice low and even. "If you want."

"I'd like that." Curiosity had Scorpius crossing his arms in front of him, propping himself up so that he could look the other man in the eye. "Why? Why are you willing to do that? To come here in the first place? According to Rory your note meant that you wouldn't be with me like this again unless I gave you a damn good reason to."

"You gave me a damn good reason to."

Scorpius's brows furrowed. "I did?"

"You didn't ask me here for a booty call, Malfoy. You asked me here because you were in pain and needed me." Al reached up to stroke the man's cheek. "If you were just looking for sex I would have told you to go fuck yourself in some very creative ways. And don't think I'm going to make a habit of this again, that note is still in effect."

"I could find a way, you know that." The Slytherin's lips curved in amusement. "You have a hard time resisting me."

Al snorted in response. "Back at you."

"Do you think people who love each other will always love each other, or do you think they can just stop?" Scorpius winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth, cursing the fact that they'd left his lips. He hadn't meant to say them, had been fighting the need to think and speak of it since his father had put the ideas into his head hours before.

Al's eyebrows rose in surprise, especially since that hadn't been one of the possibilities he'd imagined as the cause of Scorpius's pain. He'd assumed that the two Malfoys had locked horns over something Scorpius had done or over the elder Malfoy influence on him. He hadn't been expecting another hypothetical discussion about love. Was his man worried that his father would stop loving him if he became like Lucius? Or was he worried that Lucius would 'stop' loving him if he didn't become the man the Death Eater wanted him to be? Or was this just a random question Scorpius was throwing out to distract him from the real problem?

And not knowing the answer to his own questions didn't change the fact that Scorpius was looking at him and waiting for an answer. Change that to dreading the answer, Al amended as he attempted to pick his way through Scorpius's question. "I think that over ninety five percent of the time love doesn't die. It can fade or change, but I don't think it can just stop, not when it's real. But yes, there are situations, two off the top of my head, that can end that kind of...connection."

He hadn't really wanted an answer, but now that the Gryffindor had answered him... "Death would be one, what's the other?"

"Actually, death wasn't one of my two. Death doesn't necessarily stop the feelings you have for someone. The two things I can think of, well the first would be that the person becomes incapable of loving someone. If they destroy their heart and soul to the extent where they can't feel things, or become so obsessed with something or someone that they have no room in their heart for anything else. The other possibility would be that the person you love does something so horrible to you that it destroys every good memory you have of that person. If the love is poisoned to the extent where you forget all the reasons you loved that person in the first place. It's those memories that keep the love alive, even if you're not still together."

Scorpius pondered the idea while wondering if everyone thought about love as much as Rory and Potter apparently did. And why they would want to think about it so much was beyond him. Love sucked. Royally. Even more than Hufflepuffs and Muggles. Why would anyone want to depress themselves by thinking about it? And here he was, thinking about it. How ironic.

And thinking how much it sucked to think about it, Scorpius had to wonder why the man whose body cushioned his loved so many people. And why the man had been willing to consider adding him to the list.

"Can I ask why you're asking?"Al moved so that they were lying side by side, the weight finally too much for him. That and they were getting too comfortable, which wasn't good for either of them at present.

"No."

"Then let's get cleaned up, head to dinner, and reconvene afterwards."

"Okay, yeah."

)

Rorake looked up and then over when Scorpius took a seat beside him, his eyes searching as he tried to read the other man's expression. But the Malfoy mask was back in place and there wasn't a single chip to be seen. So he looked across the room to where Al had taken a seat beside Louis. The Gryffindor looked tired, but composed too. They were both hiding their emotions well, and he had too much sense to ask Scorpius.

"Thanks."

Slowly blinking Rorake turned his head to meet the other man's gaze, seeing the thanks in Scorpius's eyes before the man looked away, obviously not wanting to risk showing too much of what he was feeling.

"You're welcome." It wasn't like he'd done much anyway. That was all Al, Rorake thought as he studied his childhood friend's profile. Al who had been able to give Scorpius whatever his friend had needed to put himself back together. To at least numb some of the pain that had been all but radiating out of Scorpius earlier. It wasn't just sex between the two, he realized, it couldn't be if Al could do this to Scorpius. For Scorpius to let Al in enough for him to have this kind of effect.

Huh. Who would have thought it?

Thinking about that all during dinner Rorake got up when Scorpius did, having about as much appetite as his roommate for once. Well that and he didn't think it wise for Scorpius to be left alone now that Al wasn't with him. Whatever had happened between Scorpius and his father had been bad. Seriously bad after all.

They were just out the door when Scorpius reached out and grab his arm for a moment. "I'm not going back to our room. Not tonight. I'll see you in the morning."

A number of responses occurred to Rorake, but he spoke only one of them. "Will he be with you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then. Night."

Gratitude coming into his eyes Scorpius smiled faintly. "Thanks, Rory."

"You're welcome, Scor."

)

Returning to the Room of Requirement Scorpius paced like a caged animal as he waited for the Gryffindor to show up. His mind turned to earlier in the day and the way the room had looked then. And on cue the Room of Requirement began to shift, returning him to the room they had used earlier. And watching the room change Scorpius found himself with something else to do. Wandering the room he examined the objects it held, studying the pictures and the general cheerfulness of it all. It was a lot like its owner, Scorpius thought as he studied the room. Warm, natural, and just a little on the messy side.

Browsing the shelves on the Gryffindor's bookcase Scorpius got out a photo book and started browsing through the pictures, looking up from the book when he heard the sound of the door opening and closing. And there his man was, in the flesh.

As well as a couch that oddly appeared beside him, looking slightly ugly and very comfortable.

"Take a seat, Malfoy."

Raising an eyebrow Scorpius took a seat on the couch, watching the Gryffindor walk over to him with a duffel bag over one shoulder. "Well aren't you a girl. What's all in there?"

"A change of clothes for tomorrow, bathroom stuff and the stuff you really need." Flopping down in the seat beside Scorpius Al opened the bag and started pulling out the items he'd brought for the other man. He wished for a table in front of them and when it appeared he set down the bottles of Butterbeer and the bag of pretzels. "Start drinking and eating. You didn't touch your dinner and this is comfort food. Well, the best comfort foods I could get my hands on without access to a store."

Scorpius stared at the man in disbelief, his lips twitching as he thought about what the man had done. Bringing a change of clothes and bathroom stuff, trying to feed him, fussing over him, damn but his man was such a girl sometimes. And thinking that had him thinking about their whole screwed up relationship, and before he knew it he was laughing, laughing like an idiot.

Unable not to smile Al watched, thinking to himself that he'd never seen the man like this before but could get used to it. He looked so young and carefree, Al thought as he marvelled, simply leaning back against the couch to observe. He had no idea what was so funny, but he figured that it could only do the man good to laugh.

When his laughter started to die off Scorpius looked at the other man for a moment and then shifted over to lay his head on the Gryffindor's shoulder. "This is ridiculous. So ridiculous. Us here, like this. Me and my stupid plan."

Understanding instinctively what Scorpius meant Al tilted his head against the blonde's. "It was a pretty stupid plan."

"You don't even know what I'm talking about."

"Sure I do. You're talking about your stupid plan to corrupt me with mind blowingly hot sex. And yes, it was incredibly stupid of you to think I was so weak that that would ever work. Even more stupid than my plan to let you think you stood a chance of achieving your goal just so I could live out my fantasy of having that mind blowingly hot sex with you. Our plans screwed us both over royally."

Lifting his head Scorpius stared at the other man in shock. "Are you serious? You knew?"

"From day one. Don't look so surprised, I'm a Potter. Seeing through idiotic Malfoy plans is one of the things members of my family does best."

"You went to bed with me knowing that I was only doing it to manipulate you? Why?" He'd wondered if the Gryffindor had figured it out, but had always dismissed it because he'd figured that if the man were to figure it out the Gryffindor would try to castrate him for using him that way.

"Because I didn't want you to be a huge 'what if' in my life." Shrugging, Al's gaze was rueful as he met Scorpius's squarely. "You were what I wanted. It was my chance, my only chance to have you for a little while. I would have called it off if you hadn't...wanted to be with me that way. But you did so I took my chance. I took it just like you took a chance with me and we both...we both ended up with consequences we never expected, didn't we?"