Scorpius stared at his new best friend, who had not moved an inch for a good two minutes. Albus was making him uncomfortable, and he began to fidget. "I told you you would not want the question answered," Scorpius muttered, extremely interested in his fingernails.

Albus coughed, and suddenly he was back to a fully moving life form. He backed away from the blonde and grinned. When he turned to face Scorpius, a well-played pout was illuminating his features. "And you turned me down when I offered to be your girlfriend." Scorpius spluttered as Albus laughed. Soon the laughter died, though, and the room was back to silence. Scorpius resumed his fidgeting.

"What about Suzy Conner?" Scorpius blurted, rushed and awkward.

Albus looked confused. "What about her?"

"She's all over you!"

The brunette cocked his head. "Is she?"

"Yes!"

Albus shrugged. "And why does this matter?"

"Why don't you go out with her?"

"Not my type."

"What is your type?" Scorpius asked, out of breath.

"Why are you asking?" Albus crawled closer to Scorpius again, his eyes serious and focused. "Why does it matter that I haven't dated her? Why do you care if I'm not dating a girl? Why aren't you rejoicing at the fact that I haven't dated girls? Why-"

"She's stereotypically perfect. You're an athletic, popular, rich boy. She's a rich girl with huge breasts and not a dot of acne marring her face. She's got bright eyes and freckles. She laughs at all your jokes and practically bows in your presence." Albus gritted his teeth, but did not move from Scorpius's personal space. "So my question is, Potter-"

"Albus."

"Albus," Scorpius corrected. "My question is why don't you at least try to date her?"

"I will answer your question if you tell me first why you want me to." Albus glared at Scorpius, and the blonde blushed, bending his head down to avoid his gaze. He twiddled his fingers in the sheets of Albus's bed.

"I don't know that I want you to," he began, defensively. "In fact, I don't really give a damn what you do. I just want to know why you haven't. Understanding people's actions, that's what I care about." He looked up again at Albus, who had backed slightly away. Albus's eyes flickered back and forth between both of Scorpuis's as the brunette studied the visitor. After a moment of unease for both of the boys, Albus grinned and backed away from Scorpius.

"I don't like freckles." Albus replied, quietly, looking at the ceiling. "And I have no sense of good humor. My jokes are terrible, and Suzy laughs at them. I don't like that." Albus chanced a passing glance at Scorpius from the corner of his eye and saw that the blonde was doing the same. They giggled when their eyes met. "I like quidditch. And DADA. And Honeydukes. And my Uncle's joke shop."

Scorpius sighed. "I like Honeydukes."

Albus's head whipped around. "You like me, too, it seems."

Scorpius shrugged and then grinned devilishly. "You're alright." Albus punched him on the arm. Scorpius frowned. "You're not like anyone I've ever met before."

"Well, to be fair, we're not exactly meeting people left and right these days." Albus smiled.

"You don't care that I'm, well, different. Other people, they may have been fine with it or supportive or whatever, but you act like it hasn't changed anything. And you asked who I like! My parents haven't even done that. No one would do that. But you did. And any other guy would have freaked out if I had told him that I … like him. But you didn't." Scorpius's eyes grew large. "What the hell's wrong with you?!" he playfully shouted.

"First off, I do care that you're different. I can't go around picking up normal best friends." Albus grimaced. "Think of what that would do to my image! And I asked you who you like because we were getting to know each other, remember, to be perfect happy best friends. And that's what perfect happy best friends do. And I didn't freak out when you told me because I'm pretty sure I already knew. And I didn't freak out about it beforehand because I respect you and I know that you're too much of a pussy to act on anything." He grinned at Scorpius. "So there," he finished, sticking his tongue out and squeezing his eyes shut.

A split second later, Albus was knocked half off the bed by the weight of Scorpius, who had wound his arms around Albus's torso and fitted his head next to Albus's neck. "Thanks Potter."

"Albus," he corrected, breathless.

"Albus," Scorpius whispered, nuzzling his cheek against Albus's neck and running his fingers through the other boy's black hair.

They lay hanging off the bed, upside down, Scorpius running his fingers through Albus's hair, every now and then tightening his arms around the other boy. Soon it was Albus's turn to fidget. His arms were bent uncomfortably in the air behind his head, and so he moved them so they were placed in front of him. When he realized his hands were holding Scorpius's waist, he moved them higher to Scorpius's back. When Albus's hands began to run up and down the other boy's back, he punished them by balling them into fists and securing them under his legs. This proved to strain Albus's upper body as he struggled not to fall off the bed, and he eventually sighed and gave up the whole institution, wrapping his arms around his friend, for, he told himself, convenience's sake. Scorpius hmm'ed with pleasure at the contact.

It was bound not to last. The boys found themselves slipping, and they both let out not-very-dignified yelps as the fell to the floor. Scorpius sighed sadly and Albus glared. "That was your fault," he accused. Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Had you not gone and attacked me, we wouldn't have fallen." He sniffed and raised his head.

Scorpius grinned. "Maybe I should have considered the physics involved," he conceded. "But you made me happy, and I thought I should show you."

Albus snorted, and then looked horrendously uncomfortable. "So, um, what was that?" he asked, trying to allude to the previous cuddling.

Scorpius turned to pull a blanket off the bed and crawled next to Albus. "That, Albus, was comfortable. Or would have been had we not been suspended in air. Would you like to try again?" Albus eyed the blanket dubiously. "Believe it or not, I do actually have a headache. I've found over time that cuddling with cute boys under blankets on wood floors happens to be the best remedy."

Albus lit up at the compliment, ignoring the incredibly odd situation. He was cute. Scorpius thought he was cute. "Well, when you put it that way," he started, "I wouldn't want to deny your needs." He held out his arm for part of the blanket and they were promptly covered, head to toe.

They lay on their sides staring at each other, not touching. While Albus tried to assess how the events of the past week had led him to this current state of affairs, Scorpius gathered what he thought to be courage. He failed miserably. "Do you ever watch muggle movies, Albus?"

Albus, who had at this point prepared himself for something related to an awkward advance from the blonde, was blown away by the question. "I've seen one. Once."

"It wasn't The Wizard of Oz by any chance?" Scorpius quizzed, looking away.

"No," Albus replied, completely thrown off. "It was a very very weird picture. With what muggles think goblins look like. And a goblin king, if you can imagine, named Jareth." Albus tilted his head again. "Why? Should I have seen this movie?"

"No," Scorpius sighed. "I was just wondering if you would catch the implication if I said I was the lion."

Albus laughed. "No, my dear Scorpius. You are as snakey as they come. Nowhere near a Gryffindor."

Scorpius glared. "And what are the characteristics of snakes?"

Albus shrugged. "Dad says that the Houses aren't really representative of anything anymore. But I think we fit in Slytherin well enough. You especially, what with your sexually-deviant secrets and all."

Scorpius snorted. "So Slytherins have secrets?" Albus nodded. "And what's your secret, then?"

Albus grinned. "I don't have any."

"Then what are you doing in Slytherin?"

Albus sighed. "Oh fine. If you must know, I do have a secret." Scorpius raised an eyebrow and Albus scooted closer. He placed one arm on Scorpius's side and the other propped his head up so that he could whisper into Scorpius's ear. "Secretly, Scorpius," Albus whispered, "I begged the hat to put me in Slytherin."

Scorpius sat still. "That's it? I'm gay and you beg a hat? Those are the deep secrets of Slytherin boys at Hogwarts?"

Albus used the arm around Scorpius to pull the blonde closer. He could hear the hitch in the other boy's breath. "I'm surprised it worked, really," Albus stated, ignoring Scorpius's questions.

"Why's that?" Scorpius asked, slightly off-tone.

"Because the hat sees everything in your head, you know. He saw why I wanted to be in Slytherin. I could have sworn he was going to put me in Gryffindor with the ridiculous amount of loyalty that I had toward you." Scorpius's eyes went wide with shock, and Albus smiled. "I begged the hat to put me with you. Even though I was terrified of being in Slytherin, I was more terrified of being without you. You were my only friend besides my family. And when I watched you get sorted into Slytherin, my silly eleven-year-old mind had made up itself. I had to choose between being with James," Albus wrinkled his nose, "or you. And since I see James all the time during the summer, I chose to be with you."

Scorpius was very quiet when he responded. "I knew that you did not want to go in Slytherin. That's why I asked to go there."

"What?" Albus froze, genuinely shocked.

Scorpius shrugged. "I didn't want to have those—these feelings. I wanted to be as far away from your universe as possible, a planet out of sight."

"Y-you knew you liked boys when you were eleven?"

Scorpius shook his head. "I knew I liked you. And even when we were that young, I knew that I wanted to be more than what we were, but I didn't know exactly what that would be. I knew I wanted…" Scorpius sucked in a big breath and shut his eyes. "I knew I wanted to kiss you. I knew I wanted to hug you and hold you. I knew that was different." Scorpius smiled. "It seems that I've gotten more than I could have asked for by going forward, but in reverse."

Albus looked confused. "You were trying to avoid me." Scorpius nodded. "Because you liked me, and you didn't want me or anyone else to know." The blonde nodded again. "But here I am, fully in the know, in spite of your best efforts." Another nod.

"That's what I meant by going forward in reverse. I suppose we've always been getting toward this, uh, point of understanding. I was just being stupid trying to avoid it. But what else could I have done?" Scorpius raised the pitch of his voice, becoming defensive.

Albus shook his head and pulled Scorpius tighter. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I get it. It's weird, but I get it."

Scorpius's head found its way back to Albus's neck, and soon Albus felt fingers twining through his hair again. Both understood what had happened, and neither would comment on the situation.

"Hey Scorpy," Albus grinned. Scorpius moaned in mock torture.

"Yes, Alice?"

"Have you ever been kissed?"

Scorpius spluttered. "Not exactly."

Albus laughed. "How can you not exactly be kissed?"

Scorpius sighed. "I'vekissedyouonce."

"Where was I for this?"

Scorpius laughed hysterically. "Um, you were, more or less, I mean, you were, well, you were asleep."

Albus did not know how to react to this piece of news. "And, was I any good?"

"Beyond words," Scorpius replied wistfully. Albus let out a snort of laughter. "Why do you ask?"

"Merlin, you're wild! You go around kissing boys in their sleep, forcing your deviancy on others-"

"Why do you ask, Albus?" Scorpius spat between his teeth.

Albus regarded the blonde for a moment, debating between responses. "Because, wild thing," he started slowly, "I think I love you." Scorpius choked. "But I wanna know for sure."

"Do you?" Scorpius squeaked.

Albus nodded. "I think I've just put quite a few things together. The thought of kissing you doesn't make me want to vomit-"

"Oh, words that make my heart sing."

Albus continued. "And ever since you've been here, I've felt like I was right on the edge of figuring something out that has been bothering me for a long time."

"And it is?"

"That I don't really don't like freckles."

Scorpius made it clear that he did not understand.

"And whether or not someone laughs at my jokes doesn't really matter." Scorpius recognized the earlier conversation and caught on. "It's the breasts that I don't like." Albus grinned. "Suzy has breasts!" he shouted in a high-pitch voice.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "That she does."

"And you don't!" Albus continued with the same cheerful tone.

"No, I do not."

"And I'm going to kiss you!"

"Wha-"

888

They were on the bed again, listening to the quieting music and voices from the last moments of Lily's birthday party. Scorpius, although the taller of the two, lay on top of Albus, who now took the liberty to play with the head of platinum blonde hair that sat on his chest. Scorpius wiggled his toes with delight.

"Where does this put us?" Scorpius asked, his eyes shut.

Albus rested his chin on the top of Scorpius's head. "This puts us smack in the middle of I think may be the biggest adventure of our lives."

"How very poetic."

"Mmm, but true. And adventure that lasts a lifetime is certainly large. We are only just setting forth into the wilderness of love! It's the point of no return for us, it is!"

Sensing the energy building up in Albus, Scorpius huffed and rolled off his new best boy friend. "Really?" he asked with a blank face.

"Oh yes! It's bound to be a dangerous trip. What with forests of sex toys and wild, heterosexually-crazed monsters!"

"Oh dear."

"Indeed! But fear not, my darling, and have courage! Together we can head to our destination."

"Which is?"

"Happiness! Pure happiness! A happy ending to last a lifetime! We'll struggle through the wild, with nothing but our feelings acting as our compass. We'll do what we know what's right. What we know makes us happy-"

"Maybe we should take it slow-"

"Our undying love with be our safety rope, tying us to each other and keeping us together no matter the mountainous strains we endure!"

"Maybe we should go back to being just perfect happy best friends." Scorpius murmured.

Albus gasped. "Oh no, Scorpius! No going back! Never!" The brunette calmed down. "Besides," he pouted, "happiness is only real when shared. Shared and stretched as much as possible."

"We can share happiness and not go adventuring through the wild at the same time," Scorpius pointed out.

"But what happiness is found in living life on the calm side?" Albus grinned and pressed his lips to Scorpius's. "True happiness is found on the wild side of life."