Author's note: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.
Dedication: Gift fic for Aya
Hogwarts: Assignment #4, Forestry: Famous Forest, Task #1 Write about someone in the LGBTQ+ community
Warnings: Teenagers discussing their sexualities; references to transphobia, acephobia, and homophobia; mentions characters getting (and recovering from) fights; coming out; anxiety about coming out
Bruises For the World to See
"Hold still," Scorpius said, rubbing the balm over the right side of Al's face. He moved his fingers in small circles.
"Be gentle," Al said with a hiss of pain.
"I'm being as gentle as I can without compromising the Bruise Removal Paste's effectiveness," Scorpius said. "It really has to get into your pores—you know this. I wouldn't have to be gentle or use this paste if you hadn't gotten into another fight."
"I don't want to talk about this again," Al grumbled. Their bright green eyes met Scorpius' eyes. "Someone has to protect the tiny third year lesbians from bullies and I'm happy for it to be me. I'm serious, Scorp."
"I'm serious too," Scorpius said. They were stinking up their dorm in Ravenclaw tower with the smell of healing potions again, but this beat going down to the Infirmary and having to explain everything to Madam Pomfrey. Hopefully their other roommates would understand. After seven years in the castle, they had to be used to it.
"Fine," Al said. They looked grumpy and it was resentfully that they opened their mouth again to say, "thank you for helping."
"You're welcome," Scorpius said. "But seriously, could you please try to avoid fighting for at least a week? I know people are the worst, Al, but you can walk away from some of them, you know."
"I'll give it a go if you stop avoiding my cousin." Al said, shrugging. They arched an eyebrow and gave Scorpius a look. The piercing embedded next to their eye moved with the sassy look.
Scorpius' hand froze inches away from the worrying shade of blue Al's bruise was turning to.
"What do you mean?" he asked innocently—even if he was a terrible liar.
Al scoffed. They pursed their lips, painted over with dark lipstick today.
"Seriously?"
"Do you want to put this stuff on yourself?" Scorpius said. "Because if I remember from last October, you're really bad at it."
"I just meant it's obvious that you're avoiding Rose—like, really obvious. So obvious that she cornered me after Quidditch practise to ask me," Al said. "Which is alarming because Rose cares so very little about Quidditch and you know how hard Chang works to keep the Ravenclaw Quidditch practise schedule a secret."
Scorpius kept rubbing. "Tilt your head to the right… I need to get a good coating on your cheekbone."
Al complied..
"So," Al said. "Why are you avoiding my cousin?"
"I'm not," Scorpius said. "That much."
"That's not a real answer," Al said. "She's not upset with you, you know. Just worried."
"I'm fine," Scorpius said.
"You're not acting fine," Al said. "To be fair, that's because your baseline is quite high. You know, boy-next-door awkward adorable sweetness who holds doors open and makes flashcards at Madam Puddifoot's for date night and helps Rose carry her massive book piles when things get out of hand at the library."
"We've been dating… a while," Scorpius said.
"The best four months of your life, so I hear," Al said.
"It's been long enough for, you know… things to… for certain things to come up that I… you know, at certain stages..." Scorpius chewed on his lip.
"Is this about sex?" Al asked in that no-nonsense, deadpan way they always seemed to broach the things Scorpius had the least interest in talking about.
Scorpius' mouth hung open for a second and then closed.
"You had your I don't want to hear, know, or think about sex look on," Al explained.
"You don't want to hear about your cousin's sex life," Scorpius said, feeling himself blush.
"I really, really don't," Al happily agreed. "But I'm also pretty sure she doesn't have one if she's dating you."
"That's… that's the thing, she…" Scorpius cleared his throat and wiped his fingers against his school uniform.
"She doesn't know?" Al asked. "Scorpius, what are you… why? How could you not..? She has to know you're asexual, Scorp. You can't have a relationship without being honest."
"You've never had a relationship," Scorpius scoffed.
"Because I'm a piece of shit who gets in fights, yeah," Al said. He took the jar of paste from Scorpius' hands and closed it up before looking up at Scorpius. "First, know thyself, and all that. But I know enough to know that Rose needs to know."
"I know she needs to know," Scorpius said. "I just… this isn't what she signed up for, you know? What if it's important to her?"
"Don't ask me that, I have no idea," Al said. "But you should figure that out, as her boyfriend. Or she should at least know what it means to you."
Scorpius exhaled.
"I'm not like you," Scorpius said.
"I know, you flinched when I said 'shit,'" Al said. "It's real cute."
"I mean that the world doesn't see me right away like they see you," Scorpius said. "My… my haircut isn't cool. I don't paint my fingernails fun colours. I don't play Quidditch or participate in clubs where people can see me. When people say things that hurt me, I don't say anything or fight back. I don't stand up when other people are getting harrassed. I don't talk back and I'm not as witty and bold as you are."
"What do you mean?" Al said. "You're my best friend—I think you're witty and fun."
"Okay," Scorpius said. "But what I mean is… look, you put yourself into the world so much and you've learned not to take anything from anyone who sees you out there. And I'm… I'm not like that. I'm quiet so nobody has anything to say about me. And I worry that…"
"That if you tell Rose you're asexual she might react to it," Al said. "That people might hear and talk and…"
"And you might end up looking like me?" Al said. "A tragedy, when blue's really not your colour."
Scorpius nodded. He exhaled, thankful that he hadn't had to say the words but blushed to himself. He hated that he was like this, shy and clumsy and uncomfortable, even to his best friend.
"Look, Rose is a good one," Al said. "When I came out at home, she helped explain to my grandparents what was going on. I know people are unpredictable so it's hard to tell, but she's good okay?"
"I know she is," Scorpius said. "That's why I hate this. And I… I know that other people might not be good."
Al nodded along and got up to throw the Bruise Removal Paste into their side table drawer, where they kept a stash of other first aid supplies. Also plenty of chocolate; they retrieved a chocolate frog and checked on the card. They found a Harry Potter card, tossed it away with a grimace, and tossed the chocolate in Scorpius' direction before coming back to sit on the bed.
"I don't look like I do and act like I do and use the pronouns I do because I'm better or bolder than you are," Al said. "I mean, I kind of have to be bold, because it's not easy."
They motioned to their bruised face with a wave of their hand.
"But I do those things because I feel one hundred percent better and truer and more like me," Al said. "I think about it every now and then, how much easier things might be if I was still in the closet. You know, when the fights get bad enough that McGonagall writes home and worries my parents, or when I have to ask Madam Malkin for a boy or girl's uniform... But I don't think I'd have made it this far if I was just a lie wrapped in a lie. Trust me, Scorp. If you can come out, it's better on the other side."
They bit off a piece of chocolate frog and passed it over to Scorpius. He took a bite before passing it back.
"You don't have to tell Rose if you don't want to," Al said. "But it's bothering you and worrying your girlfriend. So I think you might feel better."
Scorpius chewed on his lip.
"Scorpius…" Al said, handing over the chocolate bar again. "I have bruises for all the world to see because I'm a troublemaker and I'm rowdy and a nightmare. Not because I'm visibly queer. Not because things have to be this way."
He took a deep breath.
"Well that's good. Because there's not enough Bruise Removal Paste for the both of us," Scorpius said.
"You can't fight," Al grinned. "You're too soft. You wouldn't even duel."
"I could learn," Scorpius said.
"You're vegetarian," Al laughed.
"That has nothing to do with anything!" Scorpius laughed too. He took another piece of chocolate for himself and tossed the chocolate frog back to Al, who finished it off.
"Do you think I'd be happier with a few bruises of my own?" Scorpius asked.
"I think I've got your back," Al said. "So you'll be fine."
Stacked with: MC4A; Hogwarts
Individual Challenge(s): Convocation (Y); Ravenclaw MC (x2); Seeds; Times to Come; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Friendship); Themes & Things B (Risk); Themes & Things D (Chocolate); Themes & Things E (Table); Themes & Things (Honesty); Ethnic & Present; Rian-Russo Inversion; Flags & Ribbons; Letter of the Day; Gender? Who That?; Rowl in Her Grave; Hold the Mayo; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux
Word Count: 1496