Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way things are. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

I Love You

Lined up against the opposite wall like kids called to the headmaster's office, the three teenagers and Finn automatically straightened when the door opened, all rather stunned to see how out of it James looked, assuming correctly that Malfoy had to have done something to him but not sure what exactly. Cause you'd think the man's father would have to arrest the Potions teacher if he'd actually attacked the Chosen One's older son, who would most definitely press charges if given the chance.

"It didn't go well?" Finn asked weakly, fidgeting a little since he didn't want to risk setting James off.

"It could have gone worse." Was the best Teddy could think to say about the whole thing. And since they'd gone to all the trouble to get clearance to bring Finn with them, not to mention the fact that the younger man had always wanted to see the school, Teddy cleared his throat and then looked at his godparents and Lily. "If you guys want to get James home I'll give Finn the rest of the tour we promised him and then head back myself."

"You don't have to do that, I mean it was great just coming to the game and everything."

Slugging an arm over the Muggle's shoulder Teddy wouldn't take no for an answer. While his godfather could use his influence to get permission for Finn to visit another time in the future he knew the man didn't like to throw his weight around that way. Besides, he needed to debrief the teenagers so to speak, which he could do while they helped him give the tour.

Trusting Teddy to handle things the others said their good byes except for James, who at this point was so lost in his own thoughts that he was hardly aware of anything going on as he allowed his father to steer him through the hallways and home.

Once they were out of sight and hearing distance Rell gave his father a searching look, having put enough of the pieces together to think he knew what was possibly going on. The girls and Finn had refused to confirm or deny, but his father's sorta cousin and his own twin just weren't that's good at lying.

"Is Uncle Al dating Professor Malfoy? Is that what this-?"

Any other words he might have said were muffled by Cynna's hand slapping over his mouth as she hissed at him to keep his bloody voice down or she'd knee him to insure he would.

Wincing in sympathy Teddy kept his voice low as he moved in close to his son, explaining quietly that yes, the two were dating but that no one could know. He reminded the boy of the difficulties facing those who preferred their same gender in the Wizarding World and made it clear that the whole family and Cynna would apparently be out for his blood if he let the truth about the two slip before the school year was over.

"I already knew and I won't say anything, Papa." Flora informed him smugly, wanting praise as she cuddled Caramel against her chest.

"You only knew because you caught them snogging."

Flora gave Cynna a dark look. "You only knew because you're Malfoy's evil henchwoman."

"Muhahahaha." Was Cynna's amused response.

Shaking his head over the whole thing Teddy prayed for strength before suggesting they start the tour once more for the sake of his continued sanity. It had already been a very long day and it wasn't even close to being over yet.

)

How long they stood locked in each other's arms Scorpius couldn't say, not really caring to estimate or worry about it. All that mattered was the man in his arms, knowing that Albus had turned to him, picked him to hold onto. By doing so Albus had made it clear to his family that HE was Albus's comfort and safe refuge. And more than that he knew, from that brief glimpse he'd had of Albus's eyes before his lover had hidden his face away, that his words had gotten through to his man. Whether Albus's view of himself would alter noticeable was still up in the air, but they had struck cords with him and that could only be a good thing.

Feeling Albus shift against him Scorpius simply waited as Albus's face moved away from his neck, the other man opting to rest his forehead on his shoulder instead.

"You really think all that stuff you said?"

Albus's husky voice washing over him, Scorpius kept stroking his lover's back as he answered. "I do. Though I'll admit to maybe making your brother seem even more of an ass than he actually is, but who wouldn't be biased against him in my shoes."

"And you really think, if I'd been in my dad's shoes, I'd have been able to do what he did?"

"That's what I said." Scorpius's arms tightened around Albus at the thought. "Especially since I'd be at your side during it all, keeping you safe and preventing you from getting killed for being too bloody nice and self-sacrificing for your own good."

Silence descended once more, the two remaining wrapped up in each other for a few minutes before Scorpius asked Albus what he was thinking, not wanting to push but needing to make sure his lover really was just processing and not finding some way to blame himself for everything.

"I was thinking how much I love you right now, for saying those things about me. For thinking those things about me."

The words a direct blow to his heart Scorpius eyes widened, his fingers spasming and then digging into the back of Albus's shirt as he struggled not to ask for the words to be repeated or thoroughly explained so that he wouldn't misinterpret them.

"So does that mean you aren't mad at me for figuratively bitch slapping the hell out of your brother?" He asked lightly, praying his voice sounded okay.

Another long pause was his answer, making it clear that Albus had been so caught up in the rest that it hadn't occurred to him how James would take having so many truths shoved into his face. The two brothers might be on the outs at the moment, but Scorpius knew how much they meant to each other, which was one of the reasons he had yet to use his wand on the elder Potter despite all the provocation he had to do so.

When Albus finally spoke his voice was quiet and thoughtful, his head coming up and his body shifting so that they were now facing each other. "I'm sorry he's no doubt hurt by what you said. But he did ask you to explain so I'm not mad at you."

"If it makes you feel better, one of the reasons I've never thrown all that stuff in his face before now was that I figured that as soon as he had to face the truth he'd have to re-evaluate his life and free himself from all the burdens he's been putting on himself for years trying to live up to his own expectations of who he should be. Watching him beat himself down for falling short has always made it easier for me not to give in and give him the beating he's always been asking for."

His brother had always been his harshest critic in some ways, pushing himself to be the best in everything he did like his life had depended upon it. Scorpius obviously felt his words had reached James, which meant his brother had to be at least considering what he'd said. How much his words would hurt or help James would remain to be seen. "I want you two to be able to be civil with each other."

Scorpius wasn't about to lie. "Best case scenario would be us tolerating being on opposite sides of a room someday. It would take years for us to reach a point of genuine civility towards each other, and even then it would only be for your sake."

Albus thought about that, a small smile curving his lips as another thought occurred to him. "Most people would have said that the world would end before a Malfoy would have nice things to say about Harry Potter."

Nodding his head in acknowledgement Scorpius didn't doubt for a moment that his father and grandfather would both have had simultaneous heart attacks had they been in the room when he'd said those last remarks about what defined Albus and his father. "I freely admit that my recent patriarchal line was made up of weak, easily led pricks where your father and the war were concerned. I don't have any problem with your father, at least so long as he doesn't try and take you from me."

"I don't think he will."

"Judging by his last comment I'd agree." When Albus gave him a puzzled look Scorpius repeated what Harry had said while his lover had apparently been too emotional to hear.

"He mentioned before, at the dinner, that he knew you liked me when we were kids."

Scorpius nodded, a hit of ruefulness in his voice. "He caught me ogling your ass once when we were about sixteen. When he called me on it I told him that he should find that reassuring since it meant he'd never have to worry about me procreating. After that he paid a lot more attention to me when he saw that I was in your vicinity. I…uhm…didn't hide my continued interest just to mess with him.

And I suppose I revealed more about how I felt about you than I thought, since he seems to be on our side. That or he had spies on me which I could see too." He added, then immediately wished he hadn't, hurrying to cover it up. "With your mother, well I knew better than to arouse her protective instincts by cluing HER into the fact that I had designs on her baby boy. That wouldn't have ended well."

Since Scorpius was a master at showing people only what he wanted them to see Albus could believe that, especially since the Slytherin would have been so motivated as his mother really would have gone after him if she'd thought there was just cause.

"And how much…do you care about me?" Albus asked, in that time and place having the courage to ask.

"Don't I show you every night how I feel about you?" Scorpius returned, not wanting to spill his guts any more than he wanted Albus to think that he wasn't far more involved in their relationship than the Gryffindor probably was.

"Yes…but I think we've established by now that I'm not all that great when it comes to understanding people."

"You're good at seeing everyone but yourself." Scorpius countered automatically, tripping over the rest of his words. "And I think me stating that…that I would be willing to spend years trying to be civil to James…indicates my level of commitment to you."

Years spent around politicians had given Albus good instincts when it came to knowing when someone was picking and choosing their words so that they weren't lying but still only telling as much as they felt it was safe to. And while that would have normally bugged the hell out of him, Albus knew how much his lover didn't like James…and saying he'd go to war to protect him, well that was like saying he was willing to die for him, wasn't it? Scorpius wanted to be his, had apparently had feelings for him for years…and made love to him.

It was those thoughts that had him reaching up to gently stroke fingers through the fine, pale strands of Scorpius's hair, his eyes meeting the Slytherin's as he swallowed hard and then spoke from the heart. "I think…I think I love you. The…uhm…big L. I've never been, so I don't know for sure, but I think I am. Is that…okay with you?"

And just that quickly his self-conscious nature returned in full force. "I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry. Especially since I can't even say for sure, that probably pisses you off and I don't mean to, I just-."

Cutting off the man's words with his mouth Scorpius snogged his lover with everything he had, keeping it up until he felt Albus melt against him, surrendering to the power of his need for him. He wanted to tell Albus how much those words meant to him, but putting his feelings into words had never been his strong point.

At least not the positive feelings.

So the best he could do when he lifted his head up to speak was to assure Albus that it was more than okay with him that Albus felt so strongly for him before kissing him again.

And then that wasn't the best he could do as Scorpius abruptly realized what a cowardly ass he was being. He'd always told himself that if Albus were to indicate that his feelings could actually be reciprocated that he would tell the man how he felt, including the use of the big L word. And as for the other reason to wait, aka Albus not believing he meant it due to his low opinion of himself…well he'd just made it clear what he thought of the man earlier and the Gryffindor seemed to believe he meant it even if he was still wrapping his mind around it. Which meant those conditions had been met, and he was dancing around the issue like a boy at his first dance, afraid to cross the room and risk getting shot down.

Fuck that.

Pulling back from the kiss Scorpius waited until Albus's eyes had opened and met his before he told it like it was. "You want to know how I feel about you? I love you. I love you and if you ever try and leave me there is going to be hell to pay so you better finish falling in love with me or you're going to spend the rest of your life alone because I won't let anyone else have you. You're mine."

"Breathe." Scorpius added several heartbeats later, when Albus continued to just stare at him in dumbfounded silence.

Nodding his head like a puppet Albus focused on his breathing, which was a really good thing as his brain definitely needed the influx of oxygen to process what had just been said to him. He had to have heard…no…no he hadn't heard the man wrong, Scorpius had been too damn blunt for that. But maybe he had, so…so…he needed to hear it again, Albus decided, making the request at a near whisper.

Not entirely sure what the man had said Scorpius asked Albus to repeat whatever he'd said, grateful when this time Albus's voice was audible.

"Say it again, please."

"Once more…but I'm not now nor am I EVER going to be one of those mushy idiots who has to spill his guts at the drop of a hat." Scorpius warned, clearing his throat before repeating his earlier statement. "I love you."

"Thank you." Was all Albus said before he once again buried his face against the side of Scorpius's neck and hugged him for dear life.

And once again they stayed that way for a long time...with nowhere they'd rather be.

)

Much later, when it was time to head to the Great Hall for dinner, Albus and Scorpius weren't terribly surprised to find that when they stepped out of Albus's room there were three teenagers and one cabbit waiting for them. They'd figured that the creature was safe with the three of them and with shy embarrassment Albus thanked the teens for looking after his pet, accepting her from Flora who was grinning at the two grown men in a way that had her uncle blushing and Scorpius wondering what was going through her twisted little mind.

"I'll…uhm…just put her in her pen and then we can…uhm…all walk to the hall together." Giving his lover a look that made it clear he was to behave Albus quickly reopened his door and headed inside to deal with Caramel, who was thankfully fast asleep and therefore not about to protest being left behind.

"You hurt him and there will be consequences." Rell warned the blonde as soon as the door closed behind his uncle, his arms crossed as he pointedly ignored the looks the girls sent him for speaking his mind. He didn't care what they thought about this, he was on Uncle James side here. His potions teacher wasn't to be trusted, especially with someone as sweet as his Uncle Al.

Scorpius sneered. "Cynna on my side and she can take you."

Flora and Rell gaped at him, which had Scorpius raising an eyebrow to silently inquire as to what was wrong with them now.

"You called her by her name." They informed him in tandem, their shock written all over their faces.

"And your point?"

"You never call your students by their names! You always call us annoying nicknames that make us want to dump the contents of our caldrons on your head!"

A little amused by the fact that the two could continue to speak in unison without the slightest variation, Scorpius simply shrugged his shoulders, sharing a look with his favorite student before answering the twins. "She's earned the right to be called by her name."

Slightly put out Flora pouted for a moment before her lips curved into a grin. "Well you better start practicing calling me and Rell by our names if you're going to be our Uncle Scorpius, Professor."

"Ooooooooooh, she's got you there." Cynna drawled out with a gleeful look in her eyes.

Trying to stop the twitched he'd just developed under his eye Scorpius gave her a dark look. "You're supposed to be on my side, remember?"

"Right, sorry."

Coming back out Albus asked what they'd been talking about, picking up the less than friendly vibe.

"Oh we weren't talking about much in particular, were we, Uncle Scor?" Flora asked, fluttering her lashes at her uncle's boyfriend just to tease him more.

Turning his head Scorpius met Albus's surprised gaze. "We're giving her coal for Christmas."

"Oh."