Chapter 15: Rose

Friday, 12 December 2025

"He looks just like the perfect mix of the both of you," Rose whispered, aiming her words at Molly and John, even though her eyes were glued at the small baby in her arms.

They sat in the sitting room, with Rose and the baby in an armchair, while Molly and John sat opposite to her on the sofa. It was already dark outside, even though it wasn't yet five in the afternoon.

"You are so cute, did you know that?" Rose asked softly from the baby, who was sleeping peacefully, evidently not registering a thing that was going on around him.

Molly smiled. "He definitely looks more like John than me…"

It was nearly a week after Molly had given birth to baby Jackson. Everything had gone well, and the family had been discharged from the hospital on Saturday evening. Now the fresh parents were getting used to the magnificent change in their lives that happened to be the small and innocent bundle resting in Rose's arms, and the fact that everyone wanted to see him.

"How many visitors have you had?" Rose asked, feeling amused by the grimace exchanged between Molly and John. "So…many?" She asked with a snigger.

John chuckled. "Yep. It's fine, though – it'll settle down when everyone has seen him, I reckon…"

"Which ought to be any day now," Molly grumbled and sat up straighter on the sofa. "Tea?" She asked from Rose.

John gave her a kiss on her cheek and stood up from beside her. "I'll handle it," he said and winked at them.

Rose and Molly grinned at each other.

"So…" Molly asked quietly after John had retreated to the kitchen. She watched Rose with a twinkle in her eyes. "What's this I hear about a certain wizard called Nick?"

Rose's cheeks flushed lightly. "Dominique?" She asked tightly, pursing her lips at Molly, who was biting back a grin.

"Who else?" Molly said with an eyeroll in her voice. "No, seriously. I'm glad. If you're happy, I mean," she said softly.

Rose nodded slowly, trailing a finger against Jackson's smooth cheek. "I think I am."

"You think?" Molly asked curiously.

Rose frowned slightly, and thought what had happened the previous day at the coffee shop. When she had met Scorpius and talked with him after a long while.

"Hey, Rose, you mind being in the front for a while?" Scarlett asked as she came to the storage room, where Rose had been in the midst of making inventory. "I'm not feeling well… I think I should sit down for a while."

Rose gave her friend a worried look. "Do you need to go home to rest? It'll probably be slow for the rest of the day, so I'm more than okay with that…"

Scarlett waved her off, "No, no. I'll be fine in a minute."

"Okay… if you're sure…" Rose muttered hesitantly, and stood up from the floor where she had been sitting, surrounded by boxes of coffee grains and other items. She brushed her hands over her work attire, smoothing down the fabric before making her way into the front of the coffee shop.

It was otherwise empty, except for one person. Scorpius was there, leaning against the counter and reading the menu on the back wall with a curious expression on his face.

Rose was taken aback. What was he doing there? Had he asked Scarlett if he could see Rose? It seemed like that to her. Rose cursed Scarlett in her mind as her friend hadn't given even a hint of warning to her.

"Hey, Rose." Scorpius said coolly when he noticed her, and then gave her a tentative once over. "How are you?"

Rose blinked. "Um. Great. I'm fine. And. Um. And you?" She stammered, feeling utterly bewildered. What the hell was Scorpius doing there, asking how she was doing?

"I'm doing well, thank you." He replied cordially.

She walked closer to him, on the other side of the counter, and remembered that she was in fact working. "Would you like some coffee or tea?" She asked politely.

Scorpius cleared his throat and glanced around them. "Uh. Sure. Tea would be great." He said, and Rose was somewhat relieved to see that he wasn't looking as confident as he had been a mere moment ago.

"Black?" She asked, knowing it was what he preferred, at least it had been when they were dating.

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah."

Rose turned around to heat the water to the required temperature on the counter against the back wall.

"So… what are you doing here?" She asked, aiming for a casual tone while keeping her back to him. As she glanced at him over her shoulder and noticed the small frown between his brows, she quickly continued, "I mean, I haven't seen you here before. Didn't know you knew where I work…"

Rose inwardly berated herself for being so blunt to him.

Scorpius gave her a tight smile. "Yeah, uh, I knew. Al mentioned it a while ago…" he muttered, and watched as Rose finished the tea for him. "Just… didn't know if I was welcome here."

Rose's brows lifted up in mild surprise at his words, as she hadn't really expected him to be straight with her. She silently brought his cup back to the counter and looked at him. "That'd be one fifty."

Scorpius blinked and then pulled up his wallet, a frown on his face. "Here," he said finally, retrieving a crisp five pound note and handed it to her. "Keep the change."

Rose smiled. "Thank you." She put the money to the register and then hesitated. He was still standing there, and the place was otherwise empty. He hadn't asked his tea to go, but he wasn't making any gestures that he was going to sit down on one of the sofas or at the tables behind him.

"Do you… want company?" Rose asked slowly. She knew she could sit down for a moment, since she didn't have other patrons and Scarlett was at the back, handling the inventory.

Scorpius gave her a quick smile. "I'd like that."

They sat down at one of the tables close to the cashier counter.

"So…" Rose said, her eyes sweeping over the table before rising up to meet his.

Scorpius took a sip of his tea. "So," he said, somewhat tentatively.

There was an awkward silence.

Scorpius cleared his throat. "Um. How's the family?" He asked and then grimaced. "Not the whole – I mean, I know bits and pieces through Al – "

"They're fine," Rose said quickly, and continued, "Molly had a baby boy."

Scorpius smiled. "Yeah, I heard. You've seen him?"

Rose nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes! He's quite the sweetheart!" She said and then blushed slightly. "I'm actually his godmother…"

"Wow, Rose. That's great." Scorpius said, his smile widening a notch.

It had been a long time since Rose had seen him smiling at her like that – with ease, with kindness. It made her feel… warm and somewhat nostalgic. Images – images of them, happy and together – started to flicker into the forefront of her mind. She blinked, suddenly realising that she had been staring at him for longer than was appropriate.

Rose looked down and tried to make sense of the mixed feelings inside her. What was she thinking? She was with Nick, for Merlin's sake! She was dating Nick, and Scorpius was there to for a cup of tea and…for a chat, apparently, and Rose's mind was already making images of Scorpius being there for the sole purpose of sweeping her off her feet!

"…Rose?"

Rose lifted her gaze quickly up. "Huh?"

"I asked, how's Jasmine?" Scorpius asked, watching Rose with a cautious look while he fiddled with his cup.

She knew he had adored Jasmine when they had dated, but assumed he hadn't seen her afterwards. Jasmine had been a little over one year old when Scorpius had seen her the first time, during their Christmas holidays in their seventh year.

Rose smiled at the thought of the now strong-minded three-year-old. "She's… a handful," She said and sniggered. "Knows what she wants and doesn't hesitate to fight for it."

Scorpius nodded slowly, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "A future Gryffindor, then."

Rose rolled her eyes at him, even though it was very likely going to happen. She sighed. "You're probably right."

Scorpius let out a short laugh. Rose couldn't help but stare at him, knowing, deep down, that she had missed his laugh and his smile dearly.

"And your mum?" Scorpius asked then.

Rose shrugged. "Dating a muggle."

"And how's that going?" Scorpius asked, looking curious.

Rose sighed. "It's… a bit awkward, being in his company, I think," she said, and at Scorpius's frown she continued, "he's a good bloke, but it's tiring – to constantly keep in mind that you can't do magic around him, or talk about magic around him. It's sort of like... Being on one's toes every minute…"

Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, I understand."

"What about your father?" Rose asked, relaxing in her chair.

He shrugged. "Nothing new, I suppose. He's teaching me the family business, hoping I'll take over so that he can retire, and while I'm at it, he expects me to procure a wife and produce some heirs to continue the Malfoy name," he said easily.

Rose snorted. "So… Nothing much?"

Scorpius sniggered and grinned at her. "Nope."

"But you're happy about that? Taking over the Malfoy investments?" Rose asked, remembering that Scorpius had once had his doubts about it.

He looked a bit hesitant for a moment. "I think so. It's not necessarily a dream job, but… it's something my father has kept running, and his father before that, and so on. I – I kind of want the continuity."

"I know what you mean," Rose said thoughtfully, and told him about a discussion she had had with her father, regarding the joke shop.

Her father had asked, some months ago, that if neither Fred nor Roxanne would be interested continuing the business, would she be inclined to take it over once Ron and George would retire. Rose hadn't known what to tell her father. She had thought about it, but there were still so many things she had to figure out – mainly, regarding her education – that she hadn't wanted to tie herself down into anything. They had agreed to leave it open for now.

After the topic came to its end, Rose looked around and saw two patrons sitting in their respective tables, and with horror, she realised that she had completely forgotten herself and the fact that she was working. She whirled around to look at the counter, and saw Scarlett there, cleaning the coffee machine.

"I – I should…go. Back to work." Rose said stiffly to Scorpius, giving a quick glance at the other patrons.

Luckily, her boss hadn't popped by the shop – something he occasionally did.

"Oh. Of course. Sorry." Scorpius said and gave her an apologising look. "I shouldn't have taken so much of your time…"

Rose shook her head quickly and stood up. "It's nothing, don't worry," she said hastily, as Scorpius followed suit and stood up as well.

"I'll – I'll see you around?" He asked, his eyes moving hesitantly over her face.

Rose swallowed deeply. What did that even mean?

"Um. Sure." She said, and with a tight smile, she said her goodbyes to him, before retreating back behind the counter.

As soon as the door closed behind Scorpius, Scarlett turned around from the coffee machine to smirk at Rose.

"Bloody hell, Scar…" Rose whispered, but didn't have time to berate her friend more, as the door opened and a small group of teenagers strolled to the counter to place their orders…

"Oh, god…" Molly groaned quietly after Rose had told her about the unexpected encounter with Scorpius. Molly leaned her head against the backrest of the sofa, before pulling herself up and fixing a long, sharp look at Rose. "I knew this would happen, Rose!"

Rose gave her cousin an incredulous look. "What? How could you know something like this would happen? Nothing like this has ever happened to me!"

Molly sighed wearily. "Yes, it has."

"No, it hasn't!"

Molly rolled her eyes at Rose. "The moment you feel happy, the moment you have your relationship in a point where you have been aiming for – you manage to bollocks it up. And it seems that it usually is because of Scorpius."

Rose scoffed. "What? That's rubbish."

"Logan during fourth year? – All right," Molly said quickly after seeing Rose's bewildered look – "I admit that he was a right tosser for cheating on you," she said with a disapproving look. "But you dumped him even before you found out that he had been seeing that Slytherin – that – what's her name –"

"Alyssa." Rose said coldly. It was a long time ago, but she still remembered how Alyssa had humiliated her during their Charms class, in front of the fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins, a week after Rose had broken up with Logan. Alyssa had told everyone that she and Logan had been seeing each other in secret the whole time Rose had been dating him – which hadn't been more than a couple of weeks.

Molly nodded. "And wasn't it Scorpius, who convinced you that you should ditch him?" She asked with an arched brow.

Before Rose could tell her that using Logan as an example was rather questionable to begin with and that Rose hadn't left Logan because of Scorpius but because he had presented her some worrisome rumours, Molly continued, "What about Gregory during fifth year?" Molly asked pointedly. "After you had been gushing about him for five or so months, the moment you started dating, you ditched him because – who was it again?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at Molly. "Scorpius."

They hadn't really dated then – Rose and Scorpius – when Rose had ended her fling with Gregory. She had ended things with him, thinking that Scorpius would come running after her, only to find out that he had started dating one of their classmates. Which had lasted until their sixth year, until one night, Scorpius had confessed to her – in a mild state of inebriation, in a party between the houses – that he was going to break up with his girlfriend, because he was in love with someone else. Because he was in love with Rose.

Scorpius and Rose had started dating seriously sometime after the party, at the end of their sixth year. But before that, he had always been there, one way or another. Even if nothing had happened between them before they had started dating, there had always been chemistry between them. According to everyone else, it had only been a matter of time when they ended up together.

And that something between them was still present, even though they hadn't really seen each other more than a handful of times during the past year and a half.

"And don't even make me say what happened with –"

"I thought you weren't going to say it!" Rose hissed quietly, interrupting her.

Molly sighed and was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry Rose… I think you should be happy. And if Nick makes you feel that way, just… be with him, and don't waste it for something you think could be better," she said softly.

Rose looked away and frowned. She really had done it, previously – at least with Gregory and Scorpius. She had also regretted her decisions afterwards. With Gregory, it had mostly been because she could've been dating him instead of being alone. But with Scorpius, she had thought there was no room for relationship if she were to reach her goals. How utterly wrong she had been.

And now, she could be making another bad choice and possibly throw away something that could essentially be…good. Perhaps there was something to be done about it.

Rose nodded slowly, keeping her focus on the baby, who was slowly waking up.

"I think you're right, Molly," Rose said quietly.

Molly sniffed. "I'm always right."

Rose gave her a wry look. "Don't push it."

Later that night, Rose was waiting for Nick at the front door of her building. The previous weekend, Nick had taken her to a rather nice restaurant in Mayfair, with dress codes and everything. The night had been enjoyable, and everything they had ordered had been exceptionally good, but what had made Rose cringe inwardly at the end of the night, had been the bill – which Nick had insisted taking care of.

This time, Rose had asked if they could go to a place of her choosing, and Nick had readily agreed. The Italian restaurant close to her flat wasn't a fancy place, but Rose rather liked it: the place was full of feeling, it was inviting, and the food was delicious.

Rose shivered in the rather cold and breezy night and glanced at the timepiece on her wrist, hoping that Nick wouldn't be late. Before she could even finish the thought, there was the familiar 'pop' of apparition in the otherwise quiet night, and soon after it, she saw Nick walking briskly towards her building.

"Hi Rose," Nick said when he got closer.

Rose smiled at him as he walked up to her and leaned down to kiss her on her cheek.

"Hello to you too," Rose said as they pulled away from each other. Her thoughts instantly went to the previous time she had seen him – earlier that week – and what had transpired between them right before Nick had left home from her place.

It had been on Monday night, and Nick had come by to spend some time with her. Scarlett had been at the hospital for her apprenticeship, and Rose had been quite grateful of her roommate's absence. Because at the end of the night, the movie they had been watching, had been long forgotten, and instead their focus had been entirely on each other, as they both had been more inclined to kiss the other one senseless.

Sadly, Nick had had to leave before their make-out session had transpired to… other areas, and Rose had been thinking about the night and him for the most part of the week, wondering if they were going to finally spend the night together the next time they would meet, and see where they would end up during it.

"You went to see Molly?" Nick asked as they started to walk towards the restaurant, holding hands.

They had texted a lot during the week, and Rose had naturally told him how excited she was to see her godson again, and finally have a proper chat with her cousin. Her thoughts went to her discussion with Molly, and by the extension, to the unexpected meeting with Scorpius the previous day.

She decided to push away the thoughts regarding her ex and instead recounted to Nick exactly how adorable baby Jackson had been.

"…I mean, you should see him! He's so… tiny!" She squeaked and smiled widely at him. "So cute!"

Rose went on, telling Nick about the baby and the happy parents, and Nick listened quietly, nodding at the right parts, until she mentioned that Molly had been inquiring about Rose and Nick.

"…You told her about me?" Nick asked mutedly.

Rose glanced at him and saw the small frown between his brows. She hesitated. "Um. Yes? I didn't know I shouldn't?" It wasn't like they had been keeping their relationship a secret in front of Scarlett either. Or Nick's friends, who had been undoubtedly aware that Nick had asked Rose on a date back when they had been at one of James's games.

Nick gave her a quick look, before shaking his head. "No, no. It's not that. It's just…" He said and looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"What?" Rose asked sharply, not really liking the look on his face.

Nick sighed and trailed a hand through his hair. "James. He… well, I had a chat with him," he said tightly.

They arrived to the restaurant, and Nick opened the door for her. "He wasn't overly happy about it. About us."

Rose gaped at him. "What?!" She asked, her voice rising. They were forced to walk inside as they were blocking other people's way.

When Nick merely gave her a small shake of his head, evidently not wanting to discuss it further in front of everyone, they let the waiter guide them to their table. Rose wondered what the hell had James said to Nick, and thought, bristling, that James Potter didn't have any say in the matter, and she would personally hang him by his bollocks, if he had messed things up for her.

"What did he say?" Rose asked quietly, a demanding tone in her voice, as soon as they were left alone at their table.

Nick grimaced. "It doesn't matter, Rose. I just didn't know we were telling everyone that we're dating," he said, and at Rose's surprised look, he quickly continued, "Which I'm fine with, honestly."

Rose huffed. "Well, I didn't tell everyone. It was Albus, actually…and it was my cousins he decided to share the information with."

Nick gave her a quick nod. "And I'm okay with that. It just took me by surprise." He then cleared his throat and picked up the menu. "What's good in here?" He asked, the topic evidently brushed away.

Rose felt something between bewildered and hesitant. Was Nick actually bothered, or was he just taken by surprise, like he had said?

She decided to let it slide, for now, and instead enjoy the night with him. They ordered their meals – pumpkin ravioli for her, and meaty lasagne for him – and chatted a bit about Nick's week as they ate, since he had already heard the highlights of Rose's. The food was delicious, like it had been the last time Rose had been in the restaurant, and their conversation flowed again as easily as before.

As Nick told her about an incident at his apprenticeship, Rose's thoughts flickered to the previous day, to her own unexpected incident, and to the bit of information she had left unmentioned to Nick. She knew that explaining to Nick that she had seen Scorpius and sat down with him for a while, would make it seem like it had meant more than it did. She was rather certain that she didn't want to make it into anything more than distant acquaintances having a short chat.

And what had even been Scorpius's visit's purpose? Why had he popped by to see her? Was he trying to patch things up with her? Was he trying to – to get Rose back, now that she was with someone he knew? Rose frowned at the table as her mind went spiralling with different options.

"..Rose?" Nick asked, giving her an inquiring look.

Rose's head whirled upwards to look at him, and she realised that she hadn't really listened to him.

"I'm boring you, aren't I?" Nick asked with an amused quirk on his lips.

Rose hastily shook her head. "Oh! No! Sorry, just, thinking of – um. Work." She blushed and cleared her throat. "You were saying?" She asked with a small cringe.

Nick gave her an understanding smile. "Never mind. Let's talk about something else than my tiresome working hours, shall we?" He asked with a smirk.

Rose nodded slowly. There was a short silence.

"So… Do I have a sudden need to strangle my cousin?" She asked, lifting her brows. "Because don't think I won't. I mean –" she continued with a subtle smirk – "I do know a future solicitor."

Nick snorted. "A solicitor who wouldn't be able to represent you, considering he's best friends with the injured party, never mind the fact that his field definitely wouldn't cover non-fatal or fatal offences – depending what your goal is," he said simply, the corners of his mouth curving upwards.

Rose laughed.

"However tempting strangling your cousin sounds, no," he continued with a grin, and then sobered somewhat. "James will come around."

When Rose gave him a doubtful look, he continued, "I've known him for a long time. I know how he works. He'll overreact, and then –" Nick said and shrugged. "Then he'll come around."

Rose pursed her lips. "I suppose you're right… And, well, I'm his cousin, so I don't even see him having any right to meddle into my personal life," She said wryly. "I mean, it's not like he has that right when it comes to his sister either, although I'm sure he thinks he does…"

Nick grinned. "Not arguing here… How is Lily, by the way?" He asked, and something in his voice made Rose narrow her eyes at him.

"For the love of Merlin, don't tell me you have had anything to do with Lily?" Rose asked, a hint of dread flickering into the bottom of her stomach. She knew Nick had been dating many different girls during his Hogwarts years, and presumably after Hogwarts, but if Lily had somehow been involved with him – even though it seemed doubtful, considering their four-year age difference – Rose wasn't sure if she was going to be comfortable with that. Lily was her friend, one of the closest relatives she had…

Nick laughed. "Didn't we just establish that James would do his nut if I'd had anything to do with his sister?"

Rose huffed.

"No, Rose." Nick said seriously, leaning slightly forwards. "I haven't had any interest towards my best friend's sister. And I'm rather certain I never will," he said lightly. "I was just asking because you told me that you can't wait to see her during the holidays."

"Oh." Rose said, feeling slightly embarrassed, remembering her discussion with Nick. It had been that night at the Swingers. "Uh. She's doing okay. I think," she said, wondering when had been the last time she had written to Lily. She decided that it had been too long, and would write her first thing in the morning.

Nick nodded. "Okay."

Rose felt uncertain. Now that they had sort of opened the discussion, she knew she wanted to know if Nick had been romantically involved with any of her relatives. It wasn't that it would bother her – well, if it had been Lily, it would've – but it was more for her to be prepared than anything else.

"What is it?" Nick asked quietly, watching Rose with a studious look.

Rose chewed the inside of her cheek and then let out a huff. "All right. Since – since I brought up Lily..." She muttered and then cringed.

Nick looked amused. "You want to know if I've been with any of your friends or relatives?"

"Merlin, I can't believe we're having this discussion right now…" Rose muttered and gave him and apologising look.

"It's fine." Nick said easily. "Well, I've snogged Dominique a couple of times, I'm sure you know about that...?"

Rose nodded. Unfortunately, she knew. It had been during their fifth year – Nick's seventh – and Rose didn't know the whole picture, but apparently Nick and Dominique had hooked up a couple of times at their house parties during the spring. She wasn't sure if snogging was the only thing that had been going on, but she wasn't really interested to find out if there had been more. It wasn't like she had fancied Nick at the time, so it didn't really bother her. What had bothered her, however, had been Dominique's smug grin when she had heard that Rose was dating Nick.

Nick was watching her reaction carefully, before he continued. "And I've kissed Molly."

Rose nearly choked on her own saliva. "You WHAT?!" She nearly screeched, and then cringed at the loudness of her voice.

Many people around them had turned to watch them with disapproving and curious expressions.

Nick sniggered.

"Care to explain?" Rose asked sharply.

If Molly had been dating Nick, and doing Merlin knew what, and not even bothering to tell her that, when Molly had known about him – had known that Rose and Nick had had something going on for some time now – and Rose didn't even know how to feel about Molly's betrayal –

"Second year." Nick said, and bit his lip to suppress a grin. "It was seven minutes in heaven, and she slapped me after I kissed her." Nick said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Rose seethed, while she felt quite relieved. "You – you –"

Nick laughed. "I hope I'm not disappointing you."

"Merlin." Rose huffed, and then joined his laughter.

They continued the topic, and they both gave the other a brief recollection of their dating history. Nick was predictably very amused by Rose's bad dating experiences from the past months.

Later that night, they had gone back to Rose's and Scarlett's place, and after a surprisingly civil discussion with Scarlett in their sitting room, Rose and Nick had retreated to Rose's bedroom.

Rose sighed, feeling pleasant waves flickering down her body while Nick paid attention to her neck, sucking and kissing the tender skin under her jawline.

"Nick…" Rose whispered, taking his head gently between her hands and guiding his lips back to meet hers.

They had been at it for some time now, standing next to the closed door of Rose's bedroom, as they hadn't managed to move any further.

The moment they had stepped into the room and closed the door behind them, Nick had pressed her against the wall and had made all her thoughts vanish from her head as he had kissed her. And all she could think now, was the excitement and warmth spreading inside her when his lips caressed hers, and how smooth and hot his touch was, how feverish he made her feel.

"Yeah?" Nick breathed against her lips, before trailing his tongue against her parted mouth.

Rose let out a breathy sigh. "I need more…"

Nick pulled back, only slightly, keeping his fingers pressed against her hips. "Yeah?" He asked, licking his lips as he gazed at her, and Rose didn't even remember if she had ever seen anyone so… turned on.

Perhaps she had, but now was not the time to ponder over it. She gave him a small nod and then moved to the side, towards her bed. She took his hand and guided him to follow her.

Rose sat on the edge of her bed and then moved backwards, to sit in the middle of it. Nick followed her, and soon they were kissing again, lying on the bed, with Rose on her back and Nick partly on top of her, his hands against the mattress on both sides of Rose's head, their panting breaths and the wet and sucking sounds of their lips filling the silence in the room.

She let her hand smooth down the fabric of his shirt and felt him shiver slightly, while he never stopped kissing her. Her fingers finally found the buttons of his trousers, and when she quickly opened them, Nick let out a strained moan against her lips.

They were both worked up, fervent and in a desperate need of ridding the other one of their clothes, so that they would be able to finally feel the heated skin against the other.

And moments later, they did.

Afterwards, after an intense, steamy, urgent and exhilarating bliss, they were both drained, still breathing heavily while lying next to each other, trying to catch their breaths.

"Merlin…" Rose whispered, her head void of everything. All she could feel, was the deep satisfaction and emptiness in the bottom of her stomach and in the forefront of her mind. It had been too long, since she had been with anyone. The last time she had had sex, had been with Scorpius, at the end of their seventh year. Which was a year and a half ago.

"Nick's fine…" Nick mumbled next to her, his eyes still closed.

Rose rolled her eyes at him, but then let her gaze move up and down his body, admiring him. He was rather good looking: lean, a bit muscular, a trail of hair on his chest and under his belly button – the latter of which reached all the way to his sex, and for some reason, even looking at him there made her feel somewhat embarrassed.

She moved her gaze back to Nick's face, and saw him watching her with a curious expression. Rose's cheeks felt warm. Nick gave her a tired smirk. "Not really up for a rematch. Not yet, at least…"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him, and Nick chuckled before he proceeded to pull her close to him and place a soft kiss on her lips.

Nick pulled the comforter over them, and they stayed there for a while, with Rose lying close to him, using his shoulder as a pillow, while Nick's fingers trailed softly up and down her side.

"I have to go soon," Nick muttered against her hair after a short silence.

Rose pulled slightly back to look at him in the eye. She had been so comfortable, almost ready to fall asleep in his arms. But him suddenly leaving, when she had thought that he would be spending the night, had made her wide awake.

"Why?" She asked, a small frown forming between her brows.

Nick raised his hand and brushed his thumb against her bottom lip while staring into her eyes. "I have to work early in the morning."

Rose swallowed. "Oh. Of course." She said, feeling both disappointed and foolish. Of course he would want to go home if he was working the next day… But why had he come back to her place then? Why hadn't he mentioned before that he wouldn't be staying the night?

Perhaps, because their mouths had been otherwise occupied? Rose knew she was being silly, for feeling disappointed and misled.

After Rose had said her goodbyes to Nick in the hallway – goodbyes, that had really been a long and unhurried snog rather than something that was put into words – she made her way to the sitting room.

Scarlett was stretched on the sofa, her eyes glued to the telly. There was a flicker of a smirk on her lips.

Rose snorted. "Go on?" She said, knowing that her friend was bursting to say something. She walked up to the sofa and nudged Scarlett's feet away to make room for her.

Scarlett sniggered, eyeing Rose with a knowing look. "Had fun?" She asked innocently.

Rose suppressed a grin. "That… is for me to know, and you, to – well, speculate," she said simply, feeling smug.

She was rather certain Scarlett had a good assumption about what had transpired between Rose and Nick in Rose's bedroom, but there was no need to give Scarlett the confirmation.

"Oh, I was just being courteous," Scarlett said casually. "You didn't put up any silencing charms – so" she said with a shrug – "I'd speculate you enjoyed every minute of it." She finished with a straight face and nodded at the telly. "Fancy an episode of Chicago Fire?"

Rose groaned and covered her face with her hands. She felt a mix of embarrassment and frustration taking over her previously sated and giddy mood. She had had all the intentions of placing a silencing charm in her room, knowing how bloody thin their walls were. But in the midst of…everything…it had slipped her mind.

Scarlett chuckled and pressed play. Rose sighed and lowered her hands, opting to stay silent after reassuring herself that Scarlett evidently wasn't bothered by the events.

"Loverboy didn't stay for the night?" Scarlett asked, half absently, and before Rose could reply, she whirled towards Rose, a wide grin on her face, "Oh, wow. Loverboy actually has a new meaning now…"

Rose huffed in frustration. "Stop it, Scar," she said with a sharp look, before letting out a weary sigh and looking away from her friend. "No, he didn't."

Scarlett hummed thoughtfully. "And…you wanted him to stay?" She asked carefully.

Rose could feel her friend's scrutinising stare on the side of her face. She shrugged. "Yeah, I kind of did…He said he couldn't stay because he has to work tomorrow."

"Reasonable." Scarlett said slowly, giving an agreeing nod. "But… knowing you, I understand why you're bothered."

Rose frowned at her friend. "What does that mean? Wouldn't you be bothered?" She asked, feeling somewhat defensive.

Scarlett gave her a pointed look. "How many boyfriends have I had since you've known me?" She asked, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Why does that have anything to do with Nick not staying the night and me being bothered by it?" Rose asked, even though she kind of knew the answer already.

Scarlett sighed. "Please. You know we're different. You know that I know that you want the whole 'let's spend every minute of every day together' relationship," She said with an exaggerated sweetness in her tone while ignoring Rose's mild glare, "and you know that I couldn't stand that – that that's my worst nightmare, really," she said pointedly.

When Rose merely pursed her lips at her, Scarlett continued, "So yes, I do understand why you'd be bothered, as much as you'd understand that I wouldn't," she said simply. "But, perhaps there will be another time for a sleepover, and he simply wanted to have a good night's sleep before work, instead of having it off with you the whole night," she finished with a smirk.

Rose knew her friend had a point. She knew she shouldn't read into it too much, not yet. She had been seeing Nick only for a short period of time. Surely, there would be other nights, other opportunities. She sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Scarlett arched a brow at her. "Well, that's nothing new." She said with a huff, and when Rose opened her mouth to argue, she quickly continued, "Well, I mean, not necessarily right at that one time, when I told you your date with Tom would go splendidly," she said with a grimace.

They stared at each other for a stilled moment, before they both burst in laughter.