Closing the common room door behind him, Scorpius rested against it and smiled to himself. He didn't think that he was going to do that today. He had pictured so many different things in his head, so many different ways for it to play out. He was happy with how things went. His thoughts usually took it a bit further than a kiss, much further really, but that wasn't something he wanted to actually do until he knew exactly where he stood with the Slytherin.

Rationally, he knew that Albus wasn't the type to leave right after getting what he wanted, but Scorpius still held that fear. He knew that it was Albus who was asking for more time for them to spend together, Albus who had invited him to pumpkin caring and to a quidditch scrimmage. The evidence showed that Albus was there for the long run. Yet Scorpius still feared that this was a prank, feared that Albus was just trying to see how far he could go.

"Who is it?"

Scorpius looked up to see Juno Patil standing in front of him, arms crossed with a sharp glare on her face."What?"

"Who is it?" She said again, pausing in between words as her eyes scanned him over.

"Who is who?"

"Don't fucking play dumb with me Scorpius. You've been acting weird all week and today you leave dinner early, something you never do mind you, and come back to the common room like this!" She thrust out her arm to gesture to his face, "Flushed and soaking wet! Is it Davis again? I thought he stopped doing that shit second year! Why didn't you defend yourself!"

Realization dawned on him at that moment. How he came in must have worried her, resting against the door for a while. With a laugh he pushed himself off and shook his head. "Juno, you've got it all wrong."

"Don't you fucking defend them. Give me the name, Scor! I can make their life hell! Detention every week! I've just got to stage something."

"No, no, Juno, stop." Scorpius laughed more and rested a hand on her shoulder, pushing her out of the entryway. "I'm wet because I took a bath. I left early because I was meeting someone."

"You better explain better than that."

"I will, I will, just not with so many eavesdroppers," Scorpius scanned the room to make sure nobody was listening to them, "We can use one of the study rooms."

"Fine." She huffed and stopped resisting his pushing. Instead she grabbed him by the wrist and marched over to the study rooms in the back of the common room. As they got closer Scorpius realized that all of them were full, however, it didn't seem to be a problem to Juno as she walked straight into one that had a couple third years.

"Out."

The third years didn't waste any time gathering there things at her demand. The rushed out of the room, nearly knocking Scorpius over in their hurry.

"Well you didn't have to kick them out. We could have went up to my room."

"And have Davidson and Pent part of the conversation as well? I don't fucking think so. " She slammed the door to the study room shut, "You worried the shit out of me Scor!" She cast the muffling charm across the door and turned to glare at him with her hands on her hips "Now start explaining!"

"Okay so I've been..." Scorpius wondered just exactly how he was supposed to tell Juno that he had been taking baths with Albus Potter for almost a month now. He could feel his cheeks heating up as he thought about it. "Okay so it was a complete accident at first...er..."

"Just fucking say it Malfoy!"

The words tumbled out of his mouth at her demand, "I've been taking baths with Albus Potter."

This, apparently, wasn't something that Juno was expecting. He saw her open her mouth as if to yell at him, only to pause and think if she had heard them right. He saw her eyebrows pull together in confusion, "What the fuck?"

"Okay so after the quidditch game? Remember how I was freezing and said I was going to warm up with a bath," Scorpius started explaining, "well Albus was there and trying to drown himself. Not literally of course, but I walked in on him and instead of telling me to leave he saw I was soaking and said he needed suicide watch anyway so we just.. shared a bath..." Scorpius shrugged and started pulling at his sleeves, "And then he asked... well not really asked, more like challenged me to have another bath with him. Anyway we've had... This was our fourth bath together and I..." Scorpius grinned in spite of his embracement and glanced up at her, "I kissed him today."

"Scorpius fucking Malfoy."

"What?"

"Scorpius fucking Malfoy. " She shook her head at him, grinning, "Do you have any fucking idea how worried I was about you all week? Just to find out it was because you have the hots for fucking Potter?" she pulled him down to sit at the seats at the table, "Fucking Albus Potter! and You kissed him! Tell me everything!"

Scorpius laughed at her, shaking his head. "Everything?"

"After planning six different murders? I deserve to know everything!"

So Scorpius told her everything. He told her how Albus had teased him, how they had a splashing war and how he had lost. He told her how they had talked for hours already and were getting to know each other. He told her about how Albus had called him cute and how he kissed his hand, to which she called him a 'romantic git' but was smiling approvingly. He told her how Albus had already asked him to pumpkin carving, yet another bath, and a scrimmage and how that was what gave Scorpius the courage to ask for a kiss.

"You actually asked? Twice?!"

"Well, yeah," Scorpius didn't think that he could blush any harder or grin any wider at this point. "I mean, I don't actually know what he thinks of me, just that he want to spend more time with me."

"Oh my god Scor. He fucking likes you."

"Well I know that. What I don't know is how much, or why, or what we even are. I could easily be just a bath mate."

"Oh my fucking god Scorpius!" She threw her head back against the chair, starting up at the ceiling, "You are so... so... I don't even fucking know."

"Yes, thank you so much for your help."

"He likes you. You're not just someone he takes a bath with."

"And you know all that from what I just said? I mean, I know I'm not just a bath mate now... but what's going to happen tomorrow? Or Sunday or Monday? Do I just pretend that nothing happened until Tuesday when 'yes hello Slytherin table, Albus invited me to sit here this fine lunch'?"

"Well that's your own damn fault for not asking before leaving him."

"Again, thank you for your help. "

Juno rolled her eyes at him. "Just ask him tomorrow or the next time you see him then. It's not that fucking hard."

"Have you ever asked someone if they liked you? Have you ever asked someone what exactly your relationship was? I mean, what if he's just trying to see how far he can take things with me? What if it's all for a laugh"

"If you're going to think this hard then at least do it on something that actually requires thought. It doesn't sound like it's for a laugh, it sounds like he actually cares."

"Fine, whatever," Scorpius said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I can't think about this anymore anyway."

.:.:.:.

Scorpius thought about the kiss and what exactly he was going to do or say to Albus the next time he saw him for most of the next morning. His stomach was bubbling up so much that he opted out of breakfast and stayed in the common room working on homework until his stomach started growling and the time for lunch came.

It wouldn't be a big deal, he told himself. He could easily get through this weekend like he had gotten through the past week. Just glances at Albus and focusing on his work. If he focused on his homework then he wouldn't even have to think about Albus. He wouldn't have to think about the kiss, or how he was supposed to carve pumpkins with Albus and his sister, or how every time he caught eyes with Albus his stomach jumped. No, he could focus on the top hundred medical advances of the twenty-first century.

Taking his book and bag with him down to the Great Hall, Scorpius couldn't help but scan the tabled for Albus. He wasn't there. This makes it easier, Scorpius thought as he sat down with his back to the Slytherin table. If Albus wasn't here then he wouldn't have to think about what was going through the other boy's mind. He could just eat and read.

He was halfway through his sandwich and fully engrossed in the history of wolfsbane when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Albus Potter was standing behind him, shifting slightly from foot to foot. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Oh, no, no," Scorpius closed his book and moved his bag off the bench to clear a space next to him.

"Good because I've already told Bev I wasn't sitting with her today and it would be really awkward if I had to go back," Albus explained as he sat down next to him. "I hope I didn't interrupt any breakthroughs."

"Oh, no, just reading to... keep occupied."

Albus grinned and started making himself a sandwich. "Any certain things you're keeping occupied from?"

"Um..." Scorpius could feel himself going red, "Not, not anything in particular."

"Then I'm the only one that stayed up into the late of night because he couldn't sleep?"

Scorpius looked quizzically at Albus, who was very pointedly not looking at him. "You couldn't sleep?"

"Not a wink until the sun rose. I actually just woke up, so I'm glad I booked the pitch for after lunch today and not before it."

"Why?"

"Well I would have slept through practice then wouldn't I?"

"No, no," Scorpius shook his head, "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"A number of reasons," Albus said, taking a large bite out of his sandwich. "One of them is sitting right next to me."

"I was the reason you couldn't sleep?" Scorpius found that hard to believe. There wasn't any way that Albus could have stayed up all night thinking about him.

Albus laughed and finished off his sandwich. "Don't act so surprised." He started to make another sandwich, "I've made it very clear about how I feel about you yet I've got no clue what you think of me."

"But I'm the one who kissed you," Scorpius said incredulously, looking over Albus again, "And you have not made it 'very clear' at all. You've just asked me to hang out with you."

"Is that what you think?" Albus grinned at him, "I suppose I have to spell it out for you then?"

"I'd like that, yes" Scorpius nodded, feeling rather silly as he crossed his arms.

"Well then, I, Albus Potter, the buff quidditch captain of the great Slytherin team, like Scorpius Malfoy, the cute Ravenclaw prefect, and would like to spend more time with him and would definitely like to kiss him more."

"Right, well," Scorpius nodded, "That certainly does spell it out then doesn't it?"

Albus bent over in a fit of laughter at his words. Scorpius' stomach dropped. This was it, this was where Albus told him that it was all a joke or a dare, that he wasn't actually going to go that far. This was where his fears were proven right and he wasn't going pumpkin carving and thank Merlin he hadn't already asked Rodger if he could sit in on the scrimmage.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Albus gasped out, still laughing, "This is exactly what I meant when I said I've got no clue how you feel about me." He shook his head and grabbed Scorpius' hand, "Let me try again then. I like you and would like to see you outside of the prefects bath on a regular basis. I'd like to do homework with you and have lunch with you and Hogsmeade. In short, I'd like to date you."

"Oh, well," Scorpius' face was hot and Albus was looking at him expectantly. This wasn't a prank, Albus actually meant it. Scorpius opened his mouth but no sounds came out. He saw Albus' smile falter. He was pulling away.

"Yeah, " Scorpius finally managed to force out of his throat, his hand tightening around Albus' to make sure the he didn't go anywhere. "I mean, yes, I'd like to date you as well."

"Well good." Albus smiled at him then pulled away to finish his food.

Scorpius stared at him for a while, watching him as he stuffed chips in to his mouth and drank lemonade. Was he really serious? Was this all it took to date someone, to just agree and to do so and then go about business as normal? Was he really not going to take it back and say it was a Halloween joke?

"I thought we already agreed I wasn't something for you to study?"

"Right," Scorpius looked away and picked at the rest of his food.

"Scorpius?"

"Hmmm?"

"You do want this right?"

Scorpius looked up again at Albus. He saw the tenseness in his shoulders, the worry in his eyes, the faltering smile. No, this wasn't a prank. Albus wasn't going to take it all back. He wasn't going to cover him in pumpkin guts, or at least not with cruel intent if he was. Albus really wanted to date him.

"Yes, I do. I'm just... Do you?"

He saw Albus visibly relax at his words, "If I could sit right here and explain to you until you understand that I do want to date you I would, but I've got to go have practice." Albus leaned forward and placed his lips against Scorpius' briefly. "I'll see you later Scor."