AN: I have no idea what Disney Land was like in the seventies. I don't know if there even was a Disney Land. Forgive me if this is totally inaccurate. Also, thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Your feedback is so encouraging! *grins* Please keep telling me what you think of this; I want it to be something people will enjoy.
Lucius Malfoy kicked lazily at the foot of the stairs, eyes downcast and clouded, as he waited for his unlabeled liaison with Severus Snape. He supposed it could be considered a date. After all, Severus had asked and he had answered and things ought to be as simple as they seemed. All the same, Lucius was uncertain of what to expect. He had only been on dates set up by his parents and the parents of other pureblood youths. Those sickly formal affairs always left him with an awkward wish to get as far away from everything vaguely feminine.
Well, I guess I won't have that problem tonight, Lucius thought wryly, shifting his legs uncomfortably in their faded muggle jeans. He was looked up to, if that was the right phrase, for his knowledge of the dark arts. Still, knowing how to cast a dozen deadly hexes hardly gave one experience in dating, and Lucius, for all his prestige and pureblood pride, couldn't help but feel a little more anxious than he ever had before.
Soft footsteps wrenched him from his growing hysteria and he looked up to find the slight form of Severus caught mid-step in front of him. Lucius scowled, unable to think of an appropriate expression for the occasion. Severus, also in muggle clothing, froze, watching the smaller boy with more than a hint of apprehension.
"You certainly took your time," Lucius remarked. Severus muttered an apology and continued down the staircase, feet falling heavily onto each step. "Would you stop clunking?" Lucius glared, very aware that whatever affectation he was meant to employ it certainly wasn't that of a nagging housewife. Severus slit his eyes but said nothing, moving with more grace until he reached his date's side.
Lucius looked down, suddenly embarrassed. "So, where are we going?" He asked meekly, glancing out from under his silvery lashes to look up at the dark haired boy.
Severus shifted, somewhat uneasily. "I thought we could go to Hogsmeade. Can you apparate?"
Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Apparating is illegal for anyone under eighteen," he stated. "And anyways, we can't apparate out of Hogwarts." Lucius crossed his arms, looking smug.
Severus glared. "I didn't ask you for your views on apparation, Lucius. I asked if you could apparate."
Lucius' countenance fell. Severus hated him. He could see it now; Severus would tell all his friends what a brat Lucius had been on their date, everyone would hate him and Severus would laugh at him and never speak to him again. "Yes, I can apparate." Lucius muttered, secretly glad that he could at least hold onto that small triumph.
Severus nodded, expression staying severe. "As I was saying, we can go to Hogwarts and then apparate to muggle California."
Lucius blinked. "Why on earth would be go there?" he asked.
Severus smiled prettily. "You'll see."
Lucius followed Severus out of the common rooms, quickening his pace to keep up with his companion's longer strides. "Can you slow up a bit?" Severus said nothing but complied, dropping back to Lucius' slower walk. Lucius could feel him watching from the corner of his eye.
Severus smiled. "You swish your hips when you walk," he declared, sounding positively exuberant. Lucius felt his skin go an unappealing shade of pink and dropped his silvery gaze, willing his body to cease all swishiness. "Oh, don't!" Severus cried, and Lucius looked up. This time it was Severus who colored in shame. "I mean, I didn't mean to imply it was a bad thing for you to walk like that," he offered timidly.
"I know," the shorter boy bluffed, smirking slightly and falling back into the hip-flicking swagger he felt most comfortable with. Severus paused, watching him go for a moment, before trotting to catch up.
"It's actually pretty cute." Grey eyes drilled into him again. Christ, couldn't he do anything right? He fumbled for his words. "Your walk, I mean."
"I know what you mean," Lucius said sharply. They were silent for a moment, walking along stiffly. Then Lucius smiled. "Thanks."
Severus blinked rapidly, confused. "You're welcome."
The rest of the walk to Hogsmeade was done in silence. Lucius would hum occasionally, unaware that he was doing so and Severus, who found the trait endearing, declined from pointing it out lest Lucius stop. When the small buildings and cobbled streets of Hogsmeade at noon came into view, both boys felt considerably more at ease.
"Picture a huge bathroom." Severus said. Lucius giggled, and Severus couldn't help smirking. "No, really. We need to apparate there. Oh forget it!" He grabbed the smaller boy's hand and a second later they were speeding through silver space. Lucius gasped, shocked into clinging to the taller boy at the sudden, rapid movement.
What could have been no more than a second later, Lucius found himself standing in a bathroom stall with his arms wound tightly around Severus' neck. Cheeks burning, he dropped his arms and pushed open the door, shooting his date a smile small. Severus, white face slightly surprised looking, shook himself and moved after Lucius.
"Where are we?" Lucius asked. The bathroom was, indeed, quite large. Row upon row of stalls ran along the wall, as well as at least two-dozen urinals. Some fancy date.
"Disney Land." Severus said. Lucius must have looked confused, because he rushed to explain. "It's a muggle place. No, not just the lavatory. Outside, there are lots of rides and food and all sorts of fun things to do."
Lucius eyed him warily. "We're going to a muggle park for our first date?"
Severus sighed. "I promise it won't be that bad. Just, try not to hex any of them." Lucius stared at him, incredulous. "And don't look at me like that." Severus took a few steps towards the exit and Lucius, unwilling to be left stranded in the less than appealing Muggle lavatory, hurried to keep up.
Outside the bathroom the world was immense. Sunlight seemed magnified, the heat radiating with no foliage to offer shade and shelter. Lucius blinked at the unbelievable world around him. Straight ahead a fake mountain loomed like a knife thrust at the burning sky, screams echoing from within its plastic depths. All around him muggles of all sorts milled. A glance to the side revealed metallic structures flying through the air, and perhaps most surprising, one shocked downward flick of his corpse grey eyes showed him what he'd already felt; Severus' hand entwined in his.
"Ready to get going?" Severus' voice dulled the searing sky, silenced the raging crowd only a little, and Lucius turned his head one more time to lock eyes with his date. He nodded, moving along as the taller boy began walking towards a particularly concentrated crowd of muggles standing in front of the mountain.
The "Matterhorn" proved to be quite a shock. Two wizards can dupe a crowd of muggles easily, and a line that should take two hours to move through passes in two minutes. Lucius let himself be lowered into the roller coaster's little cart, hand clenched tightly around Severus'. If the screams he'd heard earlier were any indication, this was going to be anything but boring.
Thirty seconds into the ride, cool and collected Lucius Malfoy was shrieking happily as the car raced haphazardly over drops and twists. Beside him, Severus Snape, the natural introvert, howled his lungs out as the vehicle twisted sharply round a corner and splashed up a mist of water. Lucius spluttered as his hair, suddenly damp from the splash, whipped back into his face as the vehicle began another torturous climb.
By the end of the day there was hardly a ride they hadn't gone on. 'Space Mountain', with its fake futuristic stars and darkness delighted Lucius to no end and he insisted on riding it three times before Severus managed to drag him away. 'Splash Mountain' left both boys utterly confused. The little singing animals were too much to endure and, even if the ending crash had been better than any trip through Gringott's vaults, there was no way either of the wizards were going to ride it again. The muggle references in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' were equally confounding. 'The Haunted Mansion' provided a huge laugh for both of them and 'It's A Small, Small World' sent Lucius into a fit of laughter so extreme that Severus, also chuckling, had to keep the smaller boy from falling off the boat.
It was midway through the submarine ride that Lucius became aware of Severus' watching him. They had held hands off and on throughout the day, neither speaking of it nor acknowledging the slight glares they received once or twice. However Severus had not, until then, looked at him with such concentration. Lucius felt his cheeks burning.
"What is it?" he asked, turning to Severus.
The taller boy blushed, dropping his gaze instantly. "Nothing. I was just thinking."
Lucius raised an eyebrow coolly, but returned to watching the scenery of the ride with a vague half smile and a whole new swarm of flying bugs in his stomach.
The sun was lost behind the 'Matterhorn' by the time Lucius and Severus returned, glasses of lemonade clutched in their hands. The bathrooms once again provided a safe apparating ground and the pair was soon standing in a considerably cooler Hogsmeade. Lucius shivered, the cold lemonade suddenly far less appealing than it had been back in sunny California. He dropped it.
"Don't litter." Severus said, matter of factly, and transfigured the cup into an arrangement of roses, plucking them from the ground to present to his shivering date.
Lucius smiled broadly, teeth clicking faintly. "Thanks." They started back to the castle in silence, Lucius half aware of the noises in the surrounding woods, and fully aware of the other boy's hand curled protectively around his own. He sighed slightly, feeling a little less chilly, and moved closer to the dark haired boy.
Severus, meanwhile, was terribly certain that everyone in Hogsmeade could hear his heart. It felt like it was going to burst out of his chest and devour him, which was an entirely unpleasant thought for what he'd heard was such a wonderful emotion. If this was what everyone was talking about. It was really too soon to tell.
In the back of his mind, Severus must have felt it when Lucius moved closer to him, but it wasn't until the shorter boy was all but leaning on him that Severus really became aware of his proximity. He swallowed thickly, suddenly unsure whether the left path at the upcoming fork led to the castle or certain death. He followed Lucius' lead, both in which path to take and in what to do with his body, leaning into the other boy slightly and wrapping an arm tentatively about the blond's shoulders.
It was a cold walk back to the school, but it was more enjoyable than either of the boys had anticipated, and it passed far more quickly than either would have guessed. By the time the brick and ivy of Hogwarts came into full view, Lucius was leaning affectionately against his date, one arm wrapped firmly about the taller boy's waist, and Severus was grinning, perhaps a little smugly, with his own arm slung about the other's shoulder, hand tangled in blond tresses.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Severus said, standing outside the fifth year dorm with Lucius' hands held in his own larger grasp. Lucius nodded tiredly, hair falling messily over his eyes. Severus reached down to push it to the side, fingers inadvertently brushing lips and then jumping back as though burnt. He swallowed, unsure of what to do.
"If you, I mean, if you like you can…" Lucius started babbling and then
ceased just as quickly, exhaling deeply and closing his eyes before standing
on his toes to reach his boyfriend's lips. Then, in a flash of silvery
hair and the slam of a door, he disappeared, leaving Severus standing outside,
blinking dazedly and smiling a little belatedly before wandering off to
bed in the sixth year dorms.