A/N: For the fabulous tweetysrcclt9 who requested Scorpius/Rose - awkward first date.
The clink of metal on porcelain sounded unusually loud in the thick silence currently engulfing the corner table in Madam Puddifoot's.
Rose swirled her spoon in her tea, head tilted down as she surreptitiously peeked up through her eyelashes at the wizard across the table from her.
The deer in the headlights look Scorpius had adopted as soon as they sat down was rather amusing. She could tell he was trying to mask it, but he had no idea what he was doing. He didn't know what to say or even what to do with his hands, clearly demonstrated by his subtle but constant fidgeting.
When he'd asked her to Hogsmeade for a real, true, this-is-actually-happening kind of date, she hadn't expected this. Wining and dining wasn't her style; she'd rather go flying, or maybe sneak into the Forbidden Forest and go exploring—both the woods and other, more interesting uncharted territory like each other.
Anything, really, as long as it was far, far away from this stuffy tea room they were trapped in.
She was pretty certain Scorp knew that, and she had a sneaking suspicion that one of her snot-nosed cousins had steered him in the direction of this very not Rose afternoon as some ridiculous prank that they were probably laughing their fool heads off about at this very moment.
As much as she liked to give him a hard time, sitting there watching him squirm as he muttered boring questions about her day could only keep her going for so long.
Leaning forward, she whispered, "Scorpius."
His gaze shot from somewhere beyond her left shoulder to her eyes as he held his teacup to his mouth mid-sip.
She jerked her head towards the door. "Let's get out of here, yeah?"
The relief sliding over his face was immediate, and he stood quickly, pulling her chair out and fastening her cloak around her shoulders, ever the gentleman. Reaching into his pocket, he set a few coins on the table, and she would have protested the idea of him paying for her if she weren't so keen to be rid of this pink-infested place.
The bell above the door tinkled as they stepped out into the snow covered street, and Rose grabbed Scorpius' hand, pulling him down the cobblestones and off the path to a wooded area just behind the Three Broomsticks.
When they came to a stop, she turned towards him. "Scorp."
"Rose." He looked a little unsure, like he was afraid she was going to tell him what a horrible date he was.
Sod that, she thought. He was a delightful date; he just needed a little redirecting.
"You hate pink. I hate pink. That place is covered in pink and the biscuits were abysmal."
One corner of his mouth quirked up as she spoke. "I thought they'd be better. You love sweets. I wanted to be the one to give them to you and watch as you took a bite and your whole face lit up."
As he spoke, he stepped closer until she had to tilt her head back to look at him.
Merlin, his words were warming her in places she couldn't speak of in polite company, and that combined with how fit he looked standing in front of her made her surge up on her toes and kiss him before she could second guess herself.
He was taken aback for a moment before he snapped to lucidity, curling one hand around the back of her neck and holding her still as he devoured her mouth, tongue tracing along the seam of her lips until she opened to him, and her eyes fluttered shut at the slide of his tongue against hers.
One hand slipped beneath her cloak to rest on her lower back, cinching her closer. He tasted faintly of bergamot and those nearly-stale biscuits, the flavour somehow not revolting when it was coming from the firm press of his lips against hers.
It was funny, the way he'd been all shy glances and stammering just minutes earlier but was comfortably and completely in control now.
She couldn't say she minded. It felt good, him touching her like this, and she suddenly found herself desperately wishing they were back at the castle in some empty classroom away from prying eyes, just the two of them and his fingertips on her bare skin.
Her hands slid up his shoulders, clutching the fabric of his robes as she tried to get closer, deeper.
Too soon, he pulled back, his grip on her keeping her questing mouth from returning to his as she made a very feminine, very not Rose sound in disappointment.
What was this boy doing to her?
He buried his face in the side of her neck, cold nose raising chill bumps on her skin as he nuzzled into her, breath slowly falling back to an even pace, and his low voice rumbled in her ear.
"Should've skipped tea and gone straight to this," he said before he stepped back.
She wholeheartedly concurred.
Fixing her cloak that had gone a little wonky from eager hands, she said, "That was… not abysmal."
He snorted out a laugh. "That good, huh?"
She shrugged, looking away with an air of faux indifference. "Adequate, I'd say. Your Slytherin ego doesn't need any more stroking."
His eyes darkened and he took one menacing step towards her, muttering something that sounded like, "I'll show you adequate..."
Dancing out of his reach, she bent to scoop up a handful of snow, packing it tightly before launching it at his annoyingly handsome head.
"Oh, now you've done it! This means war, witch."
The following moments passed in a blur of snowflakes and pink cheeks, both of them breathing hard as they zigged and zagged, launching snowy missiles at each other.
And by the time they headed back to the castle, Rose was damp and shivering but incredibly content with the direction their awkward first date had taken. She smiled to herself as Scorpius tugged her hand free of her pocket, folding his own over it and letting warmth sink into her skin.
She could get used to this.