We can't just stay here all day."
"And why is that?"
"We have things to do!" Rose pointed out to Scorpius, giving him a bossy frown. "You haven't even started your training yet!" Frustratingly, Scorpius didn't seem to think he would need completely finish the Auror training workout.
"That'll take ten minutes, tops."
"Well, we don't have a spare ten minutes thanks to this." Rose raised her eyebrows meaningfully and felt herself blush hopelessly again. It felt like her cheeks had been pink for so long now that they had decided that they would remain that color. She had her eyes trained on Scorpius's face because looking anywhere else would just make it worse.
"By this," he said slowly, "do you mean this argument or us having sex?"
"What do you think?" Rose mumbled, unable to meet his eyes. The memory of it was still so fresh but it still didn't seem like she had actually gone through with it. They were still lying in the bed, steadily realizing that they had actually just had sex. With each other. Together. Now, with the air still smelling like the both of them, something she never considered would happen, they were left with a very awkward situation. So, naturally, they had started arguing about it. When it took Scorpius a bit too long to reply, Rose lifted her gaze to see him looking at her with a serious expression.
"Do you regret this?"
"Of course not," she said automatically.
Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "But…"
"It was just a little… abrupt," she confessed The proud look in Scorpius's eyes faded, and she was left with a slightly darkened look.
"Really?" he repeated, sounding a little too close to heartbroken for Rose's liking.
"We've been living together a week," she told him, watching her fingers play with the edge of the duvet. "Isn't this a little too soon."
"I think its a little delayed."
She gave him an angry poke, being careful to keep herself covered. "Just cover-up."
"You're not changing the subject that easily. "Rose sighed. The only way they were ever going to get out of that bed as if she took charge of the situation.
"Scorpius, your t-shirt is right there!" she said matter-of-factly, pointing to the green t-shirt at the end of her bed. "My clothes are on the other side of the room. It makes more sense if you get out first."
"My t-shirt may be there but my boxers are on the other side of the bed to my jeans," Scorpius pointed. Rose glared at him before having a look around and seeing that his clothes were indeed more spread out than hers. How they had managed to pretty much cover her room in clothing was beyond her. They continued trying to convince the other to get up first using gradually more desperate tactics. Scorpius worked out an easy route for Rose to take to gather up her clothes but she refused on the basis that, at one point in his grand plan, she had to jump over the bed for some reason.
"You started this!" He eventually exclaimed after Rose had said that it was his fault that they were in this predicament.
"What?"
"You were the one that started undressing me first!"
"But you kissed me!"
Scorpius laughed. "And that made you take my clothes off against your will, did it?" The answer to that question was, of course, yes but nothing on Earth was going to make her admit it.
"This is ridiculous," she snapped. "Just get dressed so we can finish tidying up and get back to your house."
"You get dressed first!"
She gave him her fiercest look and tried to remember that this was one of the most special moments of her life and she was likely to remember it forever.
"I am not getting out of this bed," Rose growled.
"Why?"
"Because," she said, "I am naked!" The room was filled with her furious breaths for a couple of seconds while they both absorbed the reality they both already knew but hadn't really accepted until then. The whole thing just seemed so unreal, almost as if she had just woken up in her bedroom next to Scorpius Malfoy. While you could argue that it was a dream come true, the truth was that they had to deal with the aftermath and be able to look at each other in the face after witnessing the other one completely undressed.
Scorpius looked thoughtful. "That sounds like an argument for you getting out of this bed." He visibly flinched under the look he gave her. "I'm naked too!" he stated defensively.
"But you're male," Rose pointed out. "You should be used to running around with your bits out."
Scorpius snickered. "What exactly do you think went on inside the boy's dormitory at Hogwarts?"
"Just get dressed!"
"Not until you do," Scorpius stated, and she could see that he was trying not to smile. "Besides, its nothing that I haven't seen."
"That isn't the point!" she huffed, blushing once more. "You can cover yourself up with one hand and get dressed with the other!" Scorpius fell silent. Confused, Rose tried to work out why he suddenly seemed so offended when she realized what he was referring to. She sighed and laced her fingers through his on top of the covers.
"Well, you have big hands." Even though he tried to act like her comment off as no big deal, Scorpius smiled a little.
"Thanks." They smiled shyly at each other, and both leaned in. It started as a kiss but soon her fingers were raking through his hair and he shuffled over the bed towards her, his hands searching for her.
"Wait!" she shuffled away from him. "It's just...I don't think we should do this again for a while." Scorpius's shoulders sagged and he waited for her to announce that she was joking, but she just looked at him apologetically.
"Wow, That is bad news."
She hadn't meant it to come out that way "No, listen-"
"Was it really that bad?" he asked dejectedly.
"No-" Rose went to put a placating hand on his arm but he shrugged it away. "Please listen to me," she pleaded. Scorpius gulped and looked as though he'd been told he had just been scolded by McGonagall. "It hasn't got anything to do with this," she said. "It's just- I think we rushed into this. I don't want our relationship to be based on this."
"What?" Scorpius said. He no longer seemed hurt but annoyed. "Whatever. I get it."
"No, you dont. I can see your expression," she pointed out. "I don't want to stop being friends."
His anger melted away into horror and Rose heard his breath catch in his throat. "You don't want us to be together?"
"No!" Rose gave up on words as they always seemed to end up being said in the wrong order or tone of voice and ruining everything. She leaned up and kissed Scorpius hard on the mouth and waited until she felt his body relax before she continued. "I want us to be together very much but I don't want it to affect our relationship. Even though we've dated for a long time, if we rush this, and something goes wrong, Merlin knows what our parents would say. Its already hanging on a thread with my dad, and I know your dad isn't exactly thrilled either."
Finally, her point seemed to have reached Scorpius. He looked past her, out of their bedroom window, and absorbed the problem that she was genuinely scared of.
"So even though we are ready for this," Scorpius sighed, "we have to hold back until your dad comes to terms?"
"I just think we should at least let them get used to us snogging each other before we do anything more."
"It's a bit late for that," He commented, glancing down at their bodies, still covered by the duvet.
"Well, this was an exception" Sensing he needed some reassurance, Rose shifted towards him. All of him was here, with her. His arm snaked around her shoulders and he looked down at her, his expression vulnerable and Hermione was tempted to kiss him again.
"You are always my exception, Rose" There was a long pause while Rose tried to everything that had happened. It made her realize that all she ever wanted was to be like her parents. But now, all she ever wants is him.
"And you are," Rose planted a kiss on his chest. "Everything I've wanted and more."
He sighed, looking awkward suddenly. "I just, I'm sorry."
"For what?" she asked curiously.
Scorpius blushed and looked away."Not making you...I mean-" he coughed. "For giving you a hard time." She looked at him. He was closer to perfection than she could've hoped for.
"Thank you." She whispered. He stared at her, as Rose felt herself tear up.
"I didn't do anything," Rose smiled at how wrong he was. He did everything. He loved her and all without trying to. And that was better than a thousand galleons.
"You did," she reassured him. "Now get up."
Scorpius sighed. "Fine. Don't peak."
Rose pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. "I have wanted to see your backside for two years. I make no promises." Scorpius rolled his eyes and slid out of the covers, cupping himself with one hand and went in search of his boxers. Rose watched him with a silly smile on her face. Watching him act nervous but trying to keep up a façade of confidence was one of the most heart-warming things she had ever seen. She snorted at the thought. What the world had come to? Scorpius Malfoy walking around her bedroom, naked, and she was allowed to watch. Scorpius turned around to see her watching him and his bashful face melted a little. His jaw dropped a fraction, enough so that his tongue could dart out to wet his top lip. He was looking at her with such honesty, as though he couldn't believe his luck. Rose felt her cheeks warm up again. Merlin, she had to stop blushing.
"You are beautiful. "He had moved his hand, revealing himself, but Rose kept her gaze on his face as he crossed the room and lay down on top of her, over the cover, and kissed her deeply. "You know what you said about not rushing?" he whispered against her lips while Rose tried to get her brain to functioning enough to understand words. "Well, I agree and, I mean, there's still loads to sort out with our parents and stuff but… can we start not rushing tomorrow?"
Once again, Rose Weasley found herself happily throwing common sense out of the window because Scorpius Malfoy was in her personal space. Nothing else seemed to matter.