Well sweet holy jeebus guys, I did not expect that response. Sheesh! You Scorose shippers are well and truly out in force aren't you? Thanks for the love for part one (especially all you folks who favourited after just the first installment – I love your enthusiasm and faith!), and apologies for the delay with part two. Life etc. etc… This one here starts getting a bit more into the fluff but there's still some old-fashioned smut thrown in for good measure ;) Also, I hope the length of this one makes up for it's lateness – I actually had to cut a section out of this to put it in somewhere else coz this was turning into a fair monster.

Also, as a bit of forewarning, there is mention of a cousin fancying another cousin (not on Rose's side) – if this is likely to trigger anything please don't read. Also be advised that it's not explicit. Please see end notes for further details if you need it.

Anyways, as always your reviews and follows/favourites are loved and appreciated, not to mention down right inspiring. I'll shut up now and get on with the story shall I? Yeah, I shall.

Disclaimer: Anything held within that is recognizable from the marvelous works of J. K. Rowling are clearly not my own, I just like borrowing them and taking them out for a spin from time to time.

Part 2: Lovers

Otherwise known as: when shit gets real (let's all pretend it just doesn't)

"More of a...zebra print onesie."

"What about broomsticks?" Scorpius asks from where he's brushing his teeth in the ensuite, naked.

"Are you being metaphorical or literal?" Rose calls from bed, also naked, but she is not going to get out of bed before 9am on a Saturday morning just to brush her teeth. No sir.

"Riterawl," he says around a mouthful of toothpaste, "Schex mid-arh un a boomschtick." He spits some of the frothing paste, "It would be awesome."

"It would be physically impossible."

"If there's any two people who could find a way," he gestures proudly between them with his toothbrush, "it would be us."

"I don't know, it sounds uncomfortable," all Rose can think is splinters in places that splinters should never, EVER be while Scoprius goes back to scrubbing his teeth meticulously, "How about we settle for sex in Quidditch robes?"

He contemplates for a moment and spits out his toothpaste before nodding, "You've got yourself a deal. Quidditch robe sex it is," he comes and crawls back into bed, "As long as we're allowed to use blatant Quidditch-related innuendo and flirting as well."

She shifts so she's sitting in his lap with a grin that would rival the Cheshire cat, "You mean I can tell you how much I love riding your broomstick."

"Precisely! And I can tell you to save your broom stick, ride me instead."

"Deal!"

They don't get out of bed before lunch. It's not until they're sitting out in the terrace of a small café near her house that she realizes Scorpius slept over. She can't remember when that started happening. It's slightly concerning

When he pulls her down a little cobblestone alleyway between shops to snog her senseless in the shadows she decides not to care.

She bumps into him on the way to work and for reasons unknown there's something in the pit of her stomach that stirs at the sight of him. No, stir isn't the right word. 'Dances' is more appropriate. There's something deep in the pit of her stomach that starts twirling and leaping to its own little happy song as soon as she spies his mop of blonde hair across the street, and it begins to cartwheel when she sees him turn and see her, his face lighting up at the sight of her as a smile spreads across his face. He crosses the road quickly and she stops to meet him.

"Rosie," he says happily and she doesn't even mind that insipid nickname she hasn't let people call her since she was eleven, "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Me? You're ambushing me on my way to work," she can't help but smile back at him, and surprises herself by not flinching when he embraces her in a loose, one-armed hug before kissing her chastely on the cheek. It's intimate – almost, dare she say, coupley – but he looks so damn happy that she can't make herself feel worried about the action. Instead she lets him kiss her cheek and smiles back at him as he pulls back (she doesn't have to force herself to smile up at him). They fall in step beside each other and start discussing what they have planned for the day (work) and then what they plan to do for the evening, which somehow kind of ends up with them sort of making plans to have dinner together (she doesn't know how it happened but it did and she will need to eat and so will he so it seems only logical to do it together).

Conversation is pleasant and Rose is enjoying her walk to work for the first time in a long time. She stops suddenly at a familiar sight through the window of what used to be her favourite coffee shop that she now never attends. But this morning, for reasons unknown, she really, really feels like a hot drink. She takes hold of Scorpius' hand to stop him walking on past and tugs him towards the door of the café. He raises an eyebrow at her, before looking inside and spying someone familiar at the front counter.

"Is that your hot beverage engineer?" he asks delightedly, a conniving smile filling his features. She immediately knows that he's had the same thought she has.

"It is," she responds, reaching the front door with a smile that matches his own.

"What a pleasant coincidence," he says as he holds the door open for her (it's a charming, very Scorpius-like gesture, but she misses the warmth of his hand), "I believe I feel the need for a hot beverage!"

"As do I!" she exclaims happily as she walks through the door. Gideon looks up at her as she approaches the counter. He smiles at her from beneath a hat she's sure he thinks is fashionable (its not, and she knows its just hiding greasy hair), and winks as he finishes making someone's latte.

"Rose!" he calls happily, setting the finished drink on the counter as he comes to take her order, "I haven't seen you in the longest time! How have you been, love?"

She doesn't like how he calls her love. Which only makes what she's about to do all the sweeter.

"It has been a while, hasn't it!" she exclaims with enthusiasm, "Not since the house-warming right?"

His smile falters a little but not for too long.

"Yeah," he says, before plastering a dramatic pout across his lips, "I was beginning to think you'd found someone else. You know, to make your coffee."

Rose is sickened with herself for ever finding this kind of banter charming.

Scorpius could not have chosen a more perfect time to materialize at her side. She feels his body come up beside her, his arm wrapping around her waist in a way that looks and feels so natural she's sure everyone (Gideon included) thinks it happens regularly.

"Hey the hot beverage engineer!" Scorpius says loudly with a wide smile. He's a smartass and Rose kind of loves that, "How are you….Gordon?"

"Gideon," the barista reiterates a little angrily and ignores the question. Rose doesn't miss how his gaze shifts to where Scorpius' hand rests on her hip. Excellent. This of course doesn't stop Gideon – who totally isn't pulling off that eyeliner as well as he thinks he is – from blatantly flirting with her.

"So, just a skinny latte with a shot of vanilla and three sugars, Rose love?" he looks her up and down with a smug kind of a smile as he moves to begin making the coffee, "And a picture on top of course."

Before Rose can say anything, Scorpius steps in.

"Coffee?" he looks slightly affronted, "Merlin no – not Rose! A large English breakfast, just a drop of cream and one sugar. And I'll have a long black, straight up. Both to go, thanks."

Gideon looks like he's about to make some dumbass comment about memorizing her order when Rose cuts him off. She looks up at Scorpius and places a hand on his chest to draw his gaze to her. The twist in her body allows him to pull her closer. She doesn't mind.

"You know how I like my tea?" she can't help but sound awed and it makes him beam a little brighter.

"Of course I do, Rosie," he shrugs as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. And it would have been incredibly sweet had he left it at that.

But they weren't aiming for sweet. They were here to be arrogant and flaunt their non-relationship in the hot beverage engineer's face.

So Scorpius simply couldn't resist adding, "I make it for you every other morning, after all."

It takes every inch of self-control to not laugh out loud. Instead she just beams at him a little brighter.

There's a voice in the back of her head somewhere that murmurs quietly in it's sing-songy way "This. This is why you lo…"

The rather obnoxious sound of milk being steamed drowns out her own thoughts, for which she's happy because she's not sure she's able to hear the end of that sentence just yet. Or ever.

They collect their respectful hot beverages, Rose bids Gideon good-bye with a wave of her hand, Scorpius dismisses him with a 'Catchya Giddy!', and they walk out hand in hand. He doesn't let go of her hand until they're at the front of her work. She doesn't stop him when he kisses her good-bye, this time on the lips. In public. Where anyone could see them. He doesn't stop her when she greets him the same way at dinner.

Neither of them say anything, but they both know things have changed.

They're joint denial of the changing nature of their non-relationship-thing comes under pressure about two and a half months later in the form of a family-sized bomb.

They're reclining on the couch together, Scorpius leaning back against the arm rest and the back of the couch, Rose lying back against his chest, his legs framing her body. She's reading a book of some description and Scorpius is trying very hard to appear as if he's actually reading the Quidditch magazine he's holding in one hand. He glances down at Rose and finally works up the courage to talk to her about the event that he's been supposed to have invited her to three weeks ago. He clears his throat.

"My parents are having this dinner thing tonight."

There is absolutely no emotion in her voice when she responds, "Fascinating."

"Yeah. I'm really not looking forward to it," there's a beat of silence and Rose just knows what he's going to say before he actually voices it, "Wanna come with me?"

"To this event you yourself don't even want to go to?"

"Yup."

"Noooope." She pops the 'p' because for some reason that makes it seem more definitive.

"Please Rose," he takes her book away from her and starts meandering his hands over her shoulders and down her arms, "My sanity rests in your very lovely hands."

"Very lovely?" she asks over her shoulder with a smirk.

"Stunningly beautiful," he kisses her cheek before murmuring playfully, "And damn talented too."

Rose screws up her face, "I feel like talking about my talented hands when discussing dinner at your parents' place is just wrong."

He kisses her neck and his hands grasp hers, "I'll let you use them on me under the table…"

"Scorpius!!"

She feels him smirk against her skin, "I'll use my talented hands under the table?"

"So I can orgasm in front of your folks?" Rose snorts, rolls her eyes, and tries not to notice how damn good his lips feel when they do that thing to her neck, "Gee, that sounds as sexy as cutting Uncle Percy's toe nails with my teeth."

He groans in the non-sexy way (which, lets be honest, still sounds a bit sexy when it comes from Scorpius) "Ok, that's a visual I could have happily lived my life without."

She knows by the way he starts rubbing his pelvis against her and the way he's suckling at that spot that she really likes that he's after something. And the bastard is using sex as a way to get it.

Bloody Slytherin Git.

"Come on, Rosie…" his voice has dropped an octave. The bastard using his entire sex arsenal. She might not stand a chance.

"I don't know…" she pauses to moan when his hand slips under her shirt and trickles across her skin tantilisingly slowly, "Meeting your folks seems kind of…official?"

He hums in a negative kind of way as his tongue caresses her skin. His mouth moves up and he captures her earlobe between his lips to suck on it before biting softly. Rose gasps, her eyes closing, and her hand suddenly finds itself in his hair, tugging him closer. He just smirks against her skin, as his hand climbs higher, caressing her breasts over her bra while he rocks against her, his crotch rubbing against the crux of her ass.

Dear Merlin help her, she's sinking.

"Come on Rose," his lips run lightly over her ear and next before he whispers so very softly and lowly that she thinks it really shouldn't be legal, "I'll give you free reign of my ties for a month."

"You ties?" even in the hot and bothered state she's in currently she knows that's a ridiculous offer, "And what am I supposed to do with your ties?"

He smirks against her skin as one of his hands slides down into the front of her shorts, outside of her undies, to grind the heal of his hand right where she wants it. She can't stop her hips from rolling against him at the unexpected pressure, just like she can't stop her eyes from fluttering closed and her hands digging further into his hair while the other grips the back of the couch as if it's the only thing that will keep her from floating to the ceiling in ecstasy.

"That's the point, love," he whispers again, each of his words punctuated by a knead of his hand, "Any. Thing. You. Want."

She cracks an eyelid to look at him over her shoulder and make sure he's not lying just to get what he wants (which she doesn't put past him – he was Slytherin House Captain after all, and that's not an honour you get from being, strictly speaking, honest).

"You mean…?"

"Yup," he kisses her chastely then sets about wiggling his fingers against her and she squeaks at the beautiful intensity of it all, "Tie me up and have your wicked way with me. Blindfold me. All of the above. Or let me do it to you. Absolutely anything, love."

There's a coil in her stomach that wraps itself tighter when he delves one finger under her underwear and inside her. She gasps and moans when he adds another and applies more force as he works her. He pumps his fingers in and out in unison to how his hips rock against her. Rose is just about over the edge when he pulls back slightly, his mouth against her ear once more.

"Come to dinner with me."

"Mmmm…" Coherent words are beyond her.

"Rosie…" his voice is teasing and his fingers are doing damn terrible things to her, "I promise it will be worth your while."

"I...I" he flicks his finger, just once, and sends her nerves into overdrive, "Ah!"

Then he stops. Ass.

"Well?"

Curse him and his damn fingers to fiery hell! This was cruel and unusual punishment!

She really doesn't want to, but right now she is completely under his control.

"Yes!" she growls, shifting her hips against his fingers to try to alleviate the delicious ache, "Fine I'll come to dinner with your stupid parents! Just please..oh!"

His hands begin their thrusting again, his hips continue to roll against her and he sucks on her neck hard and deliriously perfectly. The hand still under her shirt works its way under her bra and when he tweaks her nipple every nerve in Rose body cries out in unison at the beauty of it all. Her toes curl and her hands clench as she gasps loud and long, finally rolling over the edge and right into O-Town.

Sweet, sweet O-Town that she loves so much.

It's in the few blissful moments afterwards that Scorpius spends resting his head atop hers while he traces random patterns across his skin and she tries to catch her breath that she finally realizes what just happened.

"Did you just blackmail me into dinner with your parents using sex?" she sounds incredulous. Scorpius doesn't stop his gentle exploration of skin.

"Nooo," she can tell he's smiling by the tone in his voice, "I blackmailed you into dinner with my parents using a bloody great hand job."

"Scorpius."

"Now, now, you could have said no."

"That is all kinds of unfair. This is…it's...sexual exploitation!"

"I'm exploiting my own talents? No darling – that's called capitalizing."

"You're such a cad."

"Be as it may, I'm the cad that's taking you to dinner in two hours. Speaking of," he glances at the clock on the wall and nudges her, "You might want to start getting ready."

"Getting ready?" she raises an eyebrow at Scorpius as he slides out from behind her on the couch, a smirk lighting up his features. Rose falls back against the pillows and arm rest in a sated blob of exhaustion, "Exactly how fancy is this shindig?"

Scorpius shrugs, still with that shit-eating grin on his features, "Just your standard family dinner at the Manor."

Rose knows that he's withholding information. She looks down at her old tattered boxer shorts (which may have actually been Scorpius' originally. Whoops), and casual tank top she's currently sporting.

"Soooo can I wear this?"

The eyebrow shoots up over his shoulder, "Really Rose?"

She shrugs at her beloved shorts, "I'd wear this to a standard family dinner at The Burrow."

Scorpius shrugs and tries entirely too hard to sound nonchalant, "Maybe you should consider it more of a…neat casual type of affair."

"Neat casual?" Rose doesn't even know what that means.

"Yeah…" he trails off and refuses to look at her, "Or even, I don't know…semi-formal…"

"Semi-formal?" there's an edge to her tone that she doesn't bother to hide as she stands up from the couch (with effort because goddam even if he is a sneaky ass, the man has a talent), "Scorpius what exactly is going on tonight?"

"Rose!" Scorpius says with a smile and open arms, "Relax! It's nothing major – mother is just a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to these things. Yes – there will be candles. Yes – mother and father will be dressed in very smart robes. And yes – there will be more than one course. But trust me it's just a…dinner…thing."

Rose's arms have wrapped around his waist without her permission but she still scowls at him for good measure."

"A dinner thing?"

"A dinner thing," he nods with a wide smile, "That you might want to wear a dress to."

She sighs dramatically, "Why do I put up with you?"

Scorpius leans down close and rub his nose against hers (which he really shouldn't because whatever they are, Rose is pretty sure they're not the kind of people who should be rubbing noses but for some reason she doesn't stop and neither does he). "Because of my very talented hands."

She punches him in the stomach before going to take a much-needed shower.

Rose decides as soon as entrees are served (because apparently when the Malfoy's have dinner it's a five-course event prepared by private chefs. What tossers) that she is going to kill Scorpius. She's going to do it with the tiny excuse for a fork she's trying to eat her tiny prawns with. But not before she chops off his manhood with the teeny tiny, highly decorative teaspoon that's sitting next to the immaculate gold-encrusted bowl in front of her. Because when he said his parents were having a 'dinner thing', what he actually meant with 'they've invited you over for an intimate evening of fine dining with the Greengrass clan because they're under the entirely wrong impression that you're my girlfriend.'

What a dick.

The night was all kinds of disastrous. First of all, they were a solid 40 minutes late (because someone wouldn't let her shower by herself. Ass.), which meant that when they walked into the dining room (after walking through the foyer and western palour – who the fuck has a palour, let alone one that needs a specific direction attached to it because apparently there's more than one?), all eyes of the approximately 8 people sitting at the overly extravagant table turned and faced them. Had Scorpius not been holding her hand (which he probably shouldn't have been because they probably weren't the kind of people who did that sort of thing) she may have actually fainted. But he was. So thankfully, she stayed upright.

Scorpius had greeted them with complete nonchalance and introduced her simply as 'Rose', although she could tell by the varying expressions – which ranged from mild disinterest to blatant hostility – that they knew exactly who she, and her family, was. Scorpius pulled her chair out for her, which totally didn't win him any bonus points because he sprung a freaking family event on her and there's no way shit like that is just being swept under the carpet because he acts like a gentleman. Her seat is two down from the head of the table between Scorpius and a man she is told is Horrace Finklestink.

Rose considers it a great show of character that she doesn't even snigger when she hears his name.

She may not have opened her mouth for fear of spewing hysterical giggling all over the poor old fool like particularly disgusting vomit, but she didn't laugh and that's what matters.

No one else introduced themselves, which she thought was a little rude, and Scorpius didn't get a chance to introduce her either thanks to his father, The Draco Malfoy.

"You're late," the eldest Malfoy had admonished from his spot at the head of the table, to Scorpius' right.

"Sorry, father," Father? Seriously? "Lost track of time."

Scorpius didn't sound sorry in the slightest. Rose almost felt like she should apologise for him. But that would have entailed explaining that she had kept him preoccupied having sexy times in the shower.

Yeah, no. She wasn't saving his bacon this time.

"We set a specific time for a reason, Scorpius," he murmured darkly, eyes focused on his son and very pointedly not looking at Rose once, "We have all been kept waiting because you –"

"Oh Draco!" Astoria Malfoy, a strikingly beautiful women with upswept hair and a genuine smile scoffed at her husband, "They're here now – what's the matter with waiting a little while longer?" She didn't wait for a response before turning to Rose, full smile blooming across her features, "Rose, darling, we've been wanting to meet you for so long now!"

Astoria Malfoy had dived into an enthusiastic rant of how lovely it was that Scorpius had finally found a girl to be serious with.

Rose nearly stabbed Scorpius in the leg with her tiny little fork. He merely smirked and drank wine from his goblet – goblet! Who were these people?!

The next twenty minutes is spent with the opposite half of the table trying to talk about Rose and Scorpius without them hearing (they fail), Astoria complimenting Rose's bone structure and asking how many children she envisages having (Rose didn't spit her drink out her nose. She just has red-wine coloured boogers, that's all), and Scorpius and Draco talk business quietly.

So now Rose finds herself staring at her entrée, mentally exhausted from being bombarded with questions about fertility ('She's part Weasley, Astoria, I hardly doubt that will be a problem." "DRACO ABRAXAS! You apologise right this instant!") and more than ready to murder the man next to her while she tries to decipher which fucking fork to use. So Rose does the only thing that seems to make any sense.

She drinks wine.

She drinks a lot of wine.

The Main course passes much quicker than the first. In fact it's gone in a flash.

Rose picks up names here and there. Horrace Finklestink is the husband of the woman seated next to him – Daphne Finklestink, who is Astoria's older sister. Sitting across from them are two people, one male, one female, who are about the same age as Scorpius and herself. The male one has some of the most maginificent facial hair she's ever seen in her life, with a sandy-coloured moustache that curls right up under his eye sockets. He looks perpetually bored and speaks with a substantially nasal tone. She thinks his name is Henric. The girl spends the entire evening giving Rose the stink-eye. She's got a dark brown bob and severe fringe, with a nose that's pointier than Rose's favourite pair of stillettos. She wonders if she's ever taken some poor bloke's eye out when she snogged him. Rose isn't quite sure what her name is, but she thinks people keep calling her 'Silly', which is, in Rose's opinion, astoundingly appropriate.

The last two guests – a man at the head of the table, and the woman to his left – are, she assumes, Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass, Scorpius' maternal grandparents. They seem nice-ish, but remain pretty quiet most of the night. She suspects its due in no small part to her presence which she is sure is making them uncomfortable.

And oh, what a pity, Rose is all out of fucks to give.

They all get up and have a walk around the grounds before dessert is served because apparently that's what one does at these sorts of things. Rose tries not to be bored shitless by the plants they all seem enthused by. She's helped in her quest by Scorpius who does as promised and doesn't keep his very talented hands to himself, taking every possible opportunity available to grope her ass or pull her into his side. It's nice. Rose thinks she could get used to this.

A House Elf appears (Dear Merlin, her mother would have a fit!) and announces that dessert is ready. Rose runs – honest to god sprints – towards the house, ready to indulge in what she is sure is going to be some extremely decadent deliciousness that was probably crafted by angels.

She is disappointed beyond measure by what awaits them in the dining room.

Dessert is some kind of fruit platter and she can do nothing to hide the disappointed groan that escapes her mouth when it appears on the table.

"Our food not to your taste, Rose?" stiletto-nose asks harshly, stepping up to the table and picking up a tiny fork in a way Rose thinks she may be trying to make appear menacing. Rose might have been affronted had she consumed less wine. As it is, Rose just decides to be brutally honest.

"Nup," she says with a sigh, "I was hoping for chocolate."

She feels Scorpius appears beside her as the others stay outside a moment longer, admiring some apparently stunning orange plant thing just near the entranceway, "You can have my share. I won't fight you for it."

"Probably wise," the girl spears a piece of pineapple with a tiny fork probably worth more than Rose's house and gives her a sneer, "I'm sure I'd beat you."

It is the worst display of trash-talking she has ever witnessed. She almost felt sorry for the girl. It was just embarrassing. One can't exactly be imposing when wielding a fork less damaging than her nose.

And then the wine makes her do something really embarrassing.

She snorted.

Right there, at the most fancy dinner she had ever attended in her life.

But, as previously mentioned, she was all out of fucks to give.

"Honey, don't be mistaken – I'm letting you have that fruit because it doesn't interest me at all," she raises a condescending eyebrow because bitch started shit, "But trust me, you're challenging a girl who grew up fighting for food from some of the most powerful wizards and witches in the world, world-class Quidditch stars, and a bratty little brother that can gnaw a leg off a chair. I don't fight fair, I'm not above hair-pulling or biting, and I'd have you calling mercy before your pretty little finger got near that fork if I was forced to. This isn't a battle and you haven't won. Now I've been more than accommodating all night what with ignoring the way you've been glaring at me like I stole your favourite toy, and for that you should be thankful because trust me sweetie, I've fought girls for a lot less. And I never, ever lose. Now go eat you're pineapple before I decide to duel just for the hell of it."

Silly Stiletto-nose is stunned into silence, obediently sitting and eating her pineapple without another look at Rose. Everyone rejoins them and they all sit and eat their thoroughly boring fruit.

Except Rose. Rose just keeps drinking the wine. (Hey it's made from grapes – it counts!)

Following dessert, the dinner guests retire to the eastern palour (rooms with directions. Ridiculous) for some kind of card game that doesn't include any explosions, insults, or violence of any nature, and therefore Rose has precisely no clue how to play. Scorpius, thankfully, saves the day by informing everyone he intends to take Rose on a tour, seeing as it is the first time she has visited the estate. Rose would be lying if she said she wasn't a little scared. In fact she was down right terrified – she, personally, had never had any nasty experiences with any of the Malfoys, but this was The Manor, old stomping ground for the big V himself. It was hardly the kind of place that one would consider 'welcoming'.

All of Rose's fears are abolished when Scorpius leads her right across the other side of the manor and into a reasonably-sized, immaculately decorated study. He deems it 'The Sanctuary' from all his horrid relatives, pulls a hidden bottle of Firewhiskey out from within a well-loved book on the third bookcase, and they take it in turns swigging from the bottle. Rose kicks off her shoes too – there is absolutely no reason to be a lady anymore.

About the time Rose is lying on the floor staring at the ceiling trying to decipher if it's a face or asscrask she can make out in the sculpted architecture, Scorpius, who lounges above her on the couch, his shoes also abandoned, breaks the silence in the most peculiar way.

"She want's to sleep with me."

Before she can stop herself, there's a rush of hot, swift jealousy that runs through Rose's veins and infects all of her organs. She isn't sure why, she shouldn't be She blinks blankly at the ceiling.

"Who?"

Scorpius waves in the vague direction of the doorway, "Her…whatsherface…out there."

Well that was not enlightening in the slightest. "Who?"

"You know! Her!" he clicked his fingers a few times before finally remembering with a very loud snap, "Sildy!"

"Stilletto nose?" Rose's face screwed up in disgust completely without her control.

She looks up to see his head appear over the edge of the couch, his forehead creased with confusion in a way that really shouldn't be as adorable is it is, "Stiletto nose?"

"Yeah, whatshername," now it's Rose's turn to snap her fingers until another apt way of describing the girl without the use of expletives comes to her mind, "bob-girl."

"Yeah!" a smile breaks across his face and he nods definitively, "Cildy! Her."

"She wants to sleep with you?"

"Yup."

There's a beat of silence while Rose tries to understand what that means.

"But she's your cousin!" she exclaims incredulously. Scorpius nods and takes another swig of Firewhiskey from where it sits on the floor near the couch.

"Yes I'm well aware."

Rose doesn't have the words to describe how horrified she's feeling right now. So instead she just splutters inelegantly and gapes like a fish, "But that's…that's…"

"Disgusting," Scorpius supplies with entirely too little disgust for Rose's liking – he's much too nonchalant about all this, "the word you're looking for is 'disgusting'."

"Why would someone want to have sex with their cousin?!"

"Haven't the foggiest, why don't you ask Druisilda?"

"Druisilda?" Rose sits up (too quickly – oh man the head spin!) to be eye-level with him where he lies on the couch, "Her name is Druisilda?"

"Yes."

"No."

"What?"

"That's not a real name."

"I'm afraid it is."

"No it's not," Rose crosses her arms and sticks her nose skyward with an air of superiority (maybe the Malfoy-ness of the manor was rubbing off on her?), "That's just a whole bunch of letters that someone put together and decided to call a name."

Scorpius smirks at her, "Isn't that technically what all names are?"

She lets out a groan and puts her head in her hands, "Merlin don't do the mind fuckery stuff with me now Scorpius, I've had too much wine."

"Sorry love." The bastard doesn't sound sorry. Like, at all. If she wasn't busy having another swig of Firewhiskey Rose would punch him. But not even punching Scorpius is reason enough to stop drinking this delicious nectar of the Gods.

Rose sets the bottle down and they sit in silence for a few moments while she tries to remember what she had been saying just moments before.

"What were we talking about?" she asks

"I'm not sure, it mustn't have been-"

"YOUR COUSIN! That's right! And how she wants to fuck you!" Rose screws up her nose and shakes her head, "My God that's wrong."

"Yes I know, I think we've covered this."

"It would be like me sleeping with-"

"Dear god don't finish that sentence."

"Albus or James," Scorpius watches as Rose's eyes widen to a dramatic (and hilarious) size as she realizes what she just said, "OH GOD THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

"Yes but you might want to keep your voice down – someone might hear-" Scorpius does his best to keep her calm and quiet.

He fails.

"AGAINST THE LAWS OF NATURE!" she's suddenly standing and pacing around the couch wildly.

"Darling, people will think I'm murdering you," he says with absolutely no conviction.

"MY MIND HAS BEEN VIOLATED!" she cries hysterically, collapsing onto the opposite end of the couch.

"Rose…"

"I CAN'T UNTHINK THAT!" she cries as she springs to her feet once more, her arms flailing wildly, "OH MERLIN'S LEFT TESTICLE WHAT A FESTERING-SACK OF TURD-GOBBLERS OF AN IDEA TO PLANT IN SOMEONE'S MIND!"

"I didn't plant it."

"SHE IS DERANGED!"

He shrugs, "Probably."

"SHE NEEDS PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTION!"

He takes a swig, "Most of my family do."

"SHE IS SERIOUSLY FUCKED UP!"

"Yes but she isn't deaf darling, so you might want to keep it down a bit."

Whether Rose actually hears what he says and acknowledges that she needs to keep her voice down, or she just loses energy and is overcome by alcohol he isn't sure, but Rose stops her tirade and collapses onto the couch again.

"…That's…" she pauses, staring off into space, "that's fucked up."

Scorpius nods vaguely, pulling her towards him, "I know."

"How did you find that out anyway?" she asks, raising an eyebrow but not resisting when he pulls her down so she's laying on top of him. He's comfortable like this. He could probably sleep like this right now.

"She cornered me at Christmas and propositioned me."

"You cousin propositioned you for sex at Christmas?!" Rose's eyebrows disappear into her hair as she stage-whispers at him.

"Yup."

The complete nonchalance with which he approaches this whole ordeal is unsettling and has her stunned for a moment.

"Well what did you say?" she finally manages to ask, unsure whether she should be confused or disgusted. Rose is also getting distracted by Scorpius' hands which have wandered quite a distance south of her waist and are now settled on her ass.

"Oh I said 'sounds good Druisilda darling, how bout a round on dad's desk?'"

"WHAT?!"

"Well what do you think I said, Rose?!" the incredulous tone of his voice is a complete contrast to the way his hands start to massage her ass, "I turned her down – forcefully – and then ran back into the main room and refused to leave mother's side the rest of the evening."

A smirk that resembles his far too closely creeps up her face (there's something deep within him that's preens proudly at the site – she's his girl), "You went crawling to mummy?"

He scoffs and raises an eyebrow at her. Had he been standing he would have put his hands on his hips (which, he realizes is a very Rose-like move. It makes sense though, she may be his girl, but he's also her man).

"Oh, and who would you run to if one of your cousins-" she cuts him off before he can finish.

"DON'T SAY IT!" She clamps both her hands over his mouth and he has to wait several moments before she seems sure that he won't finish the evil sentence of disgustingness.

"…Well?" Scorpius asks, getting a little distracted by the warmth under his hands. Well would you look at that, it seems he's gone and slipped his hands under her shirt. Whoops.

"Yeah…" Rose says, looking into the distance thoughtfully, "Mum would be my best bet."

"Precisely. Not that I need her to defend me anymore," he smiles brightly at her, "that's why I've got you here."

She snorts at him, "To fend off your horny cousin?"

"Yup. You're terrifying when you want to be."

"Only when I want to be?" that smirk slides up her cheek again as her hands start caressing the sides of his torso and its one of the sexiest goddam things he's ever seen in his life.

"Ok, almost always," he concedes as his fingers dance over the clasp of her bra, "She doesn't stand a chance against you."

"So I'm your bodyguard?" she looks too proud for it to be healthy. He forgives her because goddam that feels good.

"Pretty much."

"I feel so masculine."

"Let's be honest, you've always worn the pants in this relationship." His fingers run lightly up and down her back, causing him to smile when she arches against them and sucks in a breath. She's putty in his hands and they both know it.

"I never thought of our relationship as having pants," she gasps out, her hips shifting slightly against him in a way that is all kinds of distracting for both of them.

"No?"

"No."

"What did you imagine it as than?" Her hands sneak under his shirt and forgets how to breathe for a moment.

"More of a….zebra print onesie."

And just like that, the little bubble of sexual tension is broken by a great big rock of curiosity.

"A zebra print onesie?" He quirks his head to the side in a bird-like fashion, the surprise very clearly evident in his voice. His hands have stopped their caress and so have hers. All of a sudden they're just kinda sitting there cuddling, which is, funnily enough, just as nice as their not-so-innocent cuddling.

"Yeah," Rose shrugs with an easy smile, "Coz we're all kinds of wrong but oddly adorable all at once."

Scorpius considers this for a moment and nods slowly, recognizing how incredibly appropriate her choice is.

"A zebra print onesie," he agrees.

"A zebra print onesie," her smile is bright enough to burn him but Merlin help him he just wants more.

There's a moment of silence before Rose gets back to taking out Scorpius' cousin.

"I think I need to threaten her," Rose looks dreamily into the distance, "But be real subtle and graceful, you know? Cat like. Coz cat's are little conniving assholes and devious as fuck. Should I eyeball her? Stare her down across the room while I sharpen my knife?"

"What knife?"

"I don't know, but I could find one."

"I'm sure that won't be necessary love.," he rubs her thigh reassuringly, "Just make sure you don't leave my side so I'm never stranded with her, ok?"

"Ok," she smiles and leans down bring her face closer to his, "I'll protect you."

"Thank you, I am forever in your debt."

"You can make it up to me tonight," she winked at him and ran her hand down his shirt. Well, Scorpius thinks with a smile, things just got interesting.

"How bout I start making it up to you right here?"

"Here?" she sounds incredulous but the way she grasps his shirt suggests she not exactly opposed to the idea, "But what if someone walks in on us?"

He smiles at her and finds his eyes focused solely on her lips. So close.

"Well we'll just hope its Druisilda, won't we?"

The atmosphere shifts and Rose lets out a noise that something between a scoff and dry-retching.

"Aaaand you officially just murdered my libido. Good work."

"I can revive it," he shifts her on top of him so certain areas – namely of the pelvic variety – are lined up, "Promise."

"Nope," she shakes her head and sits up, her hands resting on his chest. He covers them with his own and she doesn't find it adorable. At all, "It's gone, completely ka-put. You killed it dead with fire. Ain't no way it's coming back."

"Rooooose," he says with a smirk and a shift of his hips, "Surely my very talented hands could…"

"Ahem."

There's an indignant clearing of a throat and a very unsubtle cough from the doorway, and Rose's head whips up at a record pace, almost giving her whiplash in the process. There, in the doorway, is a very unamused-looking Draco Malfoy. There's a crease across his forehead and he looks like he's biting back some kind of snarky remark. Rose tries to think up some kind of explanation for what's happening here but somehow all her brain can come up with is the truth, and she doesn't feel like she's mentally prepared to break the news of creepy stiletto-nose to Mr. Draco Malfoy or admit that her lady parts are getting reacquainted with Scorpius' manly parts. Nope. Not prepared for that at all.

Scorpius, in comparison, just cranes his head back to see his father in the doorway and gives a smile that is much to cheeky to be helping the situation.

"Father," he says happily – he sounds drunk, "Fancy seeing you here."

"It is my study."

Scorpius brought them to his father's study to get drunk and cuddle? Dick.

"Yes but aren't you supposed to be entertaining your lovely in-laws?"

Rose picks up on the teasing glint in Scorpius' eyes and notices how Draco takes a deep breath and looks the perfect point between defensive and annoyed. He sniffs and turns his nose up a little.

"I see you found my good Firewhiskey."

"Which you wouldn't have noticed had you been entertaining like you should be."

Rose takes the opportunity to slide off Scorpius' lap and onto the floor. It's not dignified, and slide may not be as appropriate a term as 'fall', but she feels more comfortable in a crumpled heap on the floor than she does straddling Scorpius in front of his dad. Draco Malfoy raises an eyebrow in her direction and Rose suddenly feels very, very small.

"As graceful as your father I see, Miss. Weasley," Rose doesn't miss the hint of venom in his tone but she honestly can't fault him there – her dad is about as graceful as a lame gazelle trying to run in a pool of jelly. She intends to just shrug it off when Scorpius intervenes with more seriousness than she thought him capable of given how much Firewhiskey they've both had.

"If you're going to bring up bullshit about her family I'll not only dob you in to mum, but I'll call the entire family in here right now and you'll have to listen to Henric drone on about his moustache moustourising cream. Again."

Draco appears a bit put out by his son's sudden hostility and the passion with which he defended Rose (Rose herself is a bit shocked by it all. And turned on. Which is sooooo inappropriate with his father in the room), and seems downright scared by the idea of spending the evening with Henric.

"Blackmailing your own father, Scorpius," Draco pulls another very fine bottle of Ogden's from his desk and begins to pour himself a glass, "I thought you were supposed to be noble like your mother?"

"Nah!" Rose jumps in with a smile, "Blackmail's his favourite – how do you think he managed to get me here?"

It was probably the wrong thing to say. And Rose should enlist in some more fucks to give because she has a feeling she should probably be giving one right now. Oh well, something to ponder later.

Draco seems stunned and more than a little impressed by her honesty, "You didn't want to dine with us, Miss. Weasley?"

"Given the option, I probably would have chosen to clean all the bird shit out of the London Owl Post for a year than sit and have dinner here at the Manor, Mr. Malfoy. No offense."

"And how was that not intended to be offensive?"

"Oh it's nothing personal," she shrugged, not seeing the way Scorpius was watching her like he couldn't decide whether to kiss her or banish her from existence, "Your house creeps me out a bit though, and I don't get why your rooms have to be categorized by directions, and as a general rule, I like to spend most of my weekends without pants on, so getting dressed up for this shindig was kind of a big deal. Plus I don't think your son and I are even dating and now I'm meeting his folks – and extended family? It's all waaaay out of my comfort zone, especially for a Saturday. But Scorpius blackmailed me into it, and here I am!"

She gestured to the room around them as if everyone had forgotten them were at The Manor. Draco raised another eyebrow at her but she could see the ghost of a smile playing at his lips. He turned his gaze to Scorpius.

"Not dating?" he asks with amusement, "Your mother will be so disappointed."

Scorpius glares at him a bit before Rose speaks, "Not as disappointed as she'll be when she finds out you sneak off to your study whenever her family's around just so you don't have to speak to them. "

The Senior Malfoy's gaze darts back to hers and he can't stop the look of surprise spreading across his features. Rose just smirks at him (it's the Scorpius smirk, which means it's the Malfoy smirk, and it almost horrifies Draco to see it on the face of a Weasley). She speaks with that same smirk, "Astoria seems lovely, though – I'm sure no one here wants to disappoint her."

There's a tense moment between the three of them as they all assess the situation and each other. After a few painful moments, Mr. Draco Malfoy himself openly smiles at Miss. Rose Weasley and Mr. Scorpius Malfoy almost dies of shock.

"Nicely played, Miss. Weasley," he concedes, his attention now turning to his son, "She's picking up some of your talents I see."

Scorpius nods proudly and smiles brightly, "She's learnt from the best."

"Tell me Miss. Weasley," the eldest Malfoy walks around his desk towards an antique chess table in the centre of the room, "How's your chess game?"

The rest of the evening is spent with Rose versing Draco (she loses quickly), then Draco versing Scorpius (Scorpius loses a little less quickly), then Rose and Scorpius versing Draco (they never finished that game – the bickering is too much), before the clock chimes for 12 midnight and they decide it would be best if they headed home. Rose somehow ends up telling Astoria they'll be back for dinner next month, for sure, and agrees to a rematch with Draco. It should bother her, but by the time they get home and into bed, Scorpius is wrapped around her and they're both much too tired and drunk to discuss it. She plans to bring it up at breakfast the next day.

She doesn't.

Scorpius watches Ruby Glastensow snatch the golden snitch after completely a faultless-dive and cheers happily. Rose is beside him, standing on her seat and screaming her praise as the Pride of Puddlemere anthem starts sounding throughout the stadium. Rose sings along tunelessly at the top of her lungs in Albus' general direction while her cousin simply sits with a sour look on his face and his arms crossed angrily.

They're attending a Quidditch match with the lads and their partners. And Scoprius just bought Rose along so he wouldn't be the odd one out. Him and Rose aren't, like, actually an item, or anything. He just knew she shared his love for Puddlemere and didn't want to be the proverbial third wheel in this group date. That was all. Nothing more.

TAKETHATSTUPIDLOOKOFFYOURFACEALBUS!

Rose continues to sing at the top of her lungs as they make the slow trek towards the apparation points outside the stadium, and Rose being Rose, she somehow manages to find several other slightly intoxicated fans to join in with her. So poor Albus finds himself being followed by a group of rowdy Puddlemere United fans, arms linked as they march and sing with pride. Scorpius would feel sorry for him had he not also been one of the group. Albus swears at them and sends a sly bat-boogey hex over his shoulder at them but Scorpius deflects it easily – he's been mates with the guy too long to be caught out by such a careless retaliation.

Rose bids her fellow Puddlemere patriots farewell (Scorpius has to step in and forcefully remove one dark-haired gentleman who smiles greasily at Rose and whose hands trail a little low on her back when he hugs her goodbye) and the group of them (Albus and his on-again-off-again partner Abigail, Tommy and his new beau Lee, Asher Freeburn and his long-time girlfriend Zelda Skeeman, and Scorpius and Rose) make their way to The Leaky Cauldron for a drink or six.

Somewhere around the fifth-drink mark, Rose slides up to him, something devious and delicious flashing in her blue eyes.

"So I was thinking," she begins as she leans against the wall he's propped himself against. His arm reaches out and wraps around his waist completely without his brain's permission to do so, and pulls her in close.

"A dangerous phenomenon," he comments with a sly grin. She quirks her eyebrow at him but otherwise ignores the comment, leaning in close so she's whispering in his ear. His arm wraps around her tighter.

"Maybe tonight we could try out that idea…" she kisses his earlobe softly and he has to stop himself from groaning, "…With the Quidditch Robes."

Any blood still circulating in Scorpius' head suddenly takes a vacation to its favourite holiday destination – down south in the party planet that is his reproductive region. Oh hey there penis, let's get this party started.

Rose can tell from the look in his eyes that he is up for the suggestion (he refuses to apologise for the pun) and begins to slowly make her way towards the exit. Scorpius goes to follow, then realizes that Albus is sitting at a table not six feet away from him and will probably wonder what he's getting up to. He thinks it only right to inform his friend that he won't be home this evening.

And also, maybe, perhaps, let him know that Rose and him have a….that is to say….maybe things aren't so not serious anymore.

Scorpius stands beside Albus, gaining his attention before saying quite unceremoniously, "I'm taking Rose home."

Albus doesn't seem phased in the slightest, "Ok."

"…I might not be back tonight."

"Ok."

"…I might not be home for a few days."

"Ok."

"…And this um…well…you know how I said this thing with Rose and I wasn't serious?"

"Yup."

"Yeah well…it might be a bit less not-serious now. Like, it might be, kinda serious."

Albus pauses for a moment to finish his drink but otherwise remains largely expressionless.

"I know."

Scorpius honest to god splutters.

"You know?"

"Yup."

"How?"

"You haven't slept in your own bed for the past month and she's wearing your shirt, mate. Give me some credit."

"Oh…so she is."

There's a silence between them that he isn't quite sure how to fill. Your cousin's a great fuck doesn't seem appropriate, but I think she is possibly the most beautiful witch I've ever encountered seems even less so. Scorpius feels like he should be saying more though. He just can't think of what it is. Albus, bless his cotton socks, fills the silence.

"You serious about this?"

"Yup." The answer comes out without any kind of real thought.

"Is she?"

This one's a little harder to answer, "I think so."

"Make sure mate, coz I'm obligated to pick family over friends and I don't wanna have to kick you out of the apartment if it all turns to shit."

"Roger."

Well, that seemed a good place to leave it. Yes, Scorpius was content with the conversation now. He nods and turns to leave.

"Oh and Scorpius?"

Scorpius turns back to face his friend again, "Yeah?"

Albus smiles into his glass as he responds with a stupid shit-eating grin.

"Don't have a June wedding – we have too many birthdays in June."

"Fuck you."

"I'm taken, thank you. If you're that keen for a lay you'll have to go see your girlfriend."

It's meant as a passing comment, a light dig at the two least relationship-y people in existence being together, but there's something about the term that hits Scorpius hard. It leaves him breathless and sets off an unsettling warmth in the pit of his stomach.

He has a girlfriend.

His girlfriend is Rose.

Rose is his girlfriend.

He's not sure how he feels about all this. Maybe it wasn't such a great plan. Don't get him wrong, he likes spending time with Rose. A lot. And he likes waking up with Rose. And he likes going to sleep with Rose. And he likes Rose's house because it feels like Rose. And he misses Rose when he hasn't seen her in a while. And the best parts of his day always seem to involve Rose.

But girlfriend? That just seems…so…

"You coming?" the familiar feminine voice belonging to the woman currently plaguing his thoughts calls out behind him. He turns and sees Rose Weasley, red uncontrollable hair curling out under her beanie, dressed in muggle jeans, well-loved brown knee-high boots, with her favourite ugly scarf wrapped around her neck wearing his shirt.

Scorpius is quite certain he's never seen anyone look so beautiful.

And it's with that thought that the seriousness of the situation hits him hard.

Merlin's saggy right bollock. I fucking love Rose fucking Weasley.

It's horrifying, completely unexpected and totally overwhelming all at once. But then she smiles at him and holds out her hand, and Scorpius forgets to give a shit. He takes her hand, wraps her up in his cloak and apparates them to her house so he can take her to bed.

He loves her, and he has a feeling he's going to for quite a while.

It just slipped out. She didn't mean to say it. She blamed tiredness and a stressful week and stupid Felicity Firethorn for making it impossible for her to do her job properly. Rose had owled Scorpius and told him how bad her day had been, how shit she felt, how long this week had been, and advised him that maybe it wasn't such a great idea for him to come over tonight because he'd only be caught in the crossfire. She may have shed a tear or two at that point too, because she was such an emotional fucking wreck.

So Rose, so angry she was crying with fury, had got so far as to take off her pants (because it was fucking Friday and she absolutely refused to put on pants for the next two days), take her hair out of it's infuriating braid, throw some disposable things at her wall, wail loudly in the middle of the hallway, find a bottle of wine, drop bottle of wine, swear at bottle for having the sheer audacity to fall out of her hands and shatter at a time like this, realize there is no more wine, fall to the floor in tears beause there is no more wine. Rose is at the point when she's seriously considering getting a straw and just sucking up the wine from the floor (her floor isn't that dirty. Like, she cleaned it just…last month…FUCK!) when there's a knock at her door.

So help her, if it's someone who will judge her for her lack of pants she will kill them. With fire.

Rose crawled through her kitchen and front lounge room to reach the front door, simply too exhausted and devastated to get to her feet. She holds onto the handle with all her might, sends a quick warning to Merlin that if this doorhandle breaks she will track down his magical, long-dead ass and tear him a new one so he better use all his magical power to make sure that doesn't happen, and pulls herself to standing. As she swings open the door, she briefly wonders what she is actually planning to say to whoever has decided they need to see her today or all days.

It's probably the fucking Grim Reaper. She wouldn't even fight him today; as long as wherever he was taking her had wine and no Felicity Firethorn she'd link arms and have him drag her away.

The door swings open to reveal Scorpius standing there still dressed in his robes from work, large brown bag in hand and small sympathetic smile on his face. At first she's angry – she specifically asked him not to come round today because she's a bloody wreck and she knows he doesn't deserve to have her yell at him if he uses the wrong fork to eat his noodles but she simply cannot guarantee that won't happen today. She doesn't want him to see her at her worst – she had taken specific precautions to ensure that didn't happen – and here he is still, with that same goofy smile, completely disregarding her request.

Next comes mortification – not about being pants-less (he's seen much more of her thn that so it really doesn't bother her) – because she knows he can tell she's been crying. She can feel the puffiness of her eyes, the way her breath is still catching in ugly sobs, the dry (and not so dry) boogies hanging out of her nose, the snail-trail of black mascara her tears have left down her cheeks – she knows she looks awful. And she doesn't want him to see her like this, doesn't want anyone to see her like this. This is the part of herself that is to remain hidden forever and always, and it's devastating to know that he's seen her being weak.

Her eyes well up and the boogies start their slow slide down out of their nosey home. Her bottom lip starts to tremble and she fears she can't keep it all in anymore.

"Oh, Rosie," his voice comes out softly and the smile turns from being sympathetic into pitying.

And that's what changes everything.

Rose Wealsey does not need anybody's pity. She's no longer embarrassed – she's furious.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME!" she screams at him on the doorstep, not missing how some of her neighbours that just so happen to be taking their evening walk turn and look at the commotion. (They must make a fine sight for the muggles too – Scorpius in bright green robes, Rose without pants screaming at him. My, my, how odd they'll say).

"I know," Scorpius steps past her and begins a leisurely stroll into the kitchen like he owns the place. The nerve of the man!

"THEN WHY ARE YOU FUCKING HERE?!" she stomps in after him after slamming the door shut. He gives a quick glance at the wine on the floor, sets down his large brown paper bag, flicks his wand at the mess to make it disappear (a spell no doubt found in the 101 Spells No Bachelor Can Live Without book her mother had gotten for Albus when they'd moved in together), and goes about sifting through his bag.

"Because you need me here," he says it simply but in a way that bades no question. Rose splutters indignantly as he starts humming to himself.

"I don't need you here!" she screeches it, even stomps her foot for good measure. Then drags her sleeve under her nose to catch some of the runaway boogies. Dear lord she's turning into Hugo. That's almost enough to make her start crying again.

"Yes you do," he says it without looking at her as he pulls out a punnet of strawberries and sets them on the counter before continuing to pull out various items from his bag, "And I wanted to be here with you, so here I am."

Rose begins to protest, but when he pulls out a very large bottle of her most favourite red wine and sets it on the counter she falters for a moment.

What the devil is going on here?

"I bought you some things," he says as he pulls out the biggest block of chocolate she has ever seen in her life (Honeydukes you beautiful place!), 10 chocolate frogs, a large tin of condensed milk, a packet of caramel popcorn, another bottle of wine, and what she is pretty sure is the newest series of some terribly trashy reality television series she always watches at Grandma and Grandpa Granger's place., "To cheer you up a bit. Thought we could have a quiet night in on the couch together."

Rose, for possibly the first time in her life, is stunned into silence. She looks at the array of her favourite things on the kitchen counter, at his warm smile and kind eyes, and took in just how great he looked in her kitchen. And that's when she did the really stupid thing.

"I love you," she said it simply, matter-of-factly, and without any flair or pazazz. She just…just…said it. And it's horrifying.

Her and Scorpius are friends with benefits. That was the unwritten, unspoken deal. They were each other's go-to for a quick shag. Fuck buddies! That's all. She was not, under any circumstances, supposed to tell him she loved him.

What made the whole thing momentously worse, was that it was actually true. She bloody loved him.

Oh Fuck.

She's about to apologise, about to say she doesn't mean it (even though she really fucking does – oh cock!), about to wish for forgiveness, and can they just pretend she never said that please? It's been a long week, she's talking garbage, and if he had just stayed away then this wouldn't have happened and they could have pretended it wasn't real and oh hell she's pretty sure she's going to start crying again.

Scorpius does something odd though. He simply pulls her into a hug, kisses her cheek and holds her tight.

"I love you too, Rose."

Five little words and not only is Rose speechless again, but she's had the wind completely knocked out of her. He loves her. Scorpius Malfoy loves her. He just told her so, right here in her kitchen. She wraps her arms around him tightly and tilts her head up so she can kiss him fair on the mouth.

After several moments of delicious kissing, something strikes Rose as peculiar.

"Wait," Rose pulled back and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, "You don't seem surprised."

He shrugs, "Of course I'm not surprised."

"But I'm surprised," Rose is confused beyond measure and she's sure it shows on her face, "how come you're not?"

Scorpius does this little sly smirk that really infuriates her sometimes (like now) and kisses the corner of her mouth before whispering, "You talk in your sleep, love."

"What?"

"You, almost every night for the past two months, have told me exactly the same thing."

Rose splutters and struggles to process the information.

"I...I have?"

"Yup," he nods and pops the 'p' before resting his forehead against hers. She feels loved, she feels safe, she feels like she's home. Rose snuggles into his chest and smiles despite herself.

"And what do you say?" she whispers, hands rubbing up and down his back absentmindedly.

"Exactly what I said just now" he pulls back a bit so he can kiss the tip of her nose and smile at her "I love you too Rose."

And we're done for part 2! Yay! I hope the cousin thing didn't freak anybody out too much. This is still designed to be a humour fic, not riddled with family issues and sexual abuse/harassment stuff, I just thought of those kind of old-school Pureblood families as being similar to the super-wealthy back in the day that would marry cousins off to keep it the wealth in the family and stuff (like Pride and Prejudice era type stuff). Anywho! Part 3 will no doubt take a bit to get finished (of all the parts it's the least constructed as yet) and will, at this point in time, be titled Soulmates.

Keep smiling lovelies!