"Hey, Al?"
"Mm?"
"Are you asleep?"
"Almost…. Why?"
"The Sorting Hat almost put me in Slytherin."
"In a dream or in real life?"
"Real life."
"Well…you are Pureblood. And your parents were in Slytherin. That adds up, right?"
"I didn't think that was for me. And…I was pretty sure you were going to be a Gryffindor. Everyone knew you would be. I wanted a friend. But now…. I think I should've been in Slytherin."
"Why?"
"I'm not a good person, Al…."
Frowning, Albus turned to face Scorpius. In the dark, he could just make out the pale outline of his face. He couldn't, obviously, read the expression on his friend's face but he could guess. Whenever Scorpius overthought, he almost looked pissed off. It was when he looked the most like his father – sullen and above everyone else. "Where is this coming from, Scor?" he asked gently, nuzzling into Scorpius' shoulder in an attempt to instill comfort.
Scorpius' fingers were in Albus' hair a moment later, lovingly combing out snarls. A typical distraction from his own, nervous energy. "I know you've been thinking it. I see the way you walk on eggshells around me. "
"You're stressed with studying. I get that," Albus lied. He couldn't really deny that Scorpius had been especially gruff with him since that kiss at the Quidditch pitch. Part of that could be attributed to studying. To trying to ensure his future so he could make good out of the Malfoy family name. There was an intense pressure there, especially after sorting into Gryffindor.
But most of the blame probably laid with Albus. It laid with how he had handled ending them so carelessly. It laid with kissing Scorpius when he wasn't available. It laid with his still-desperate need for intimacy from someone who had very clearly expressed the need to move on.
Knowing he was very much to blame for the mood, Albus found he could get past it. He could overlook the snaps and outbursts – those he knew how to deal with. He knew how to calm his friend. And he overlooked the blatant jealousy and territorial biting – honestly those seemed like good omens to what their future held.
"Scorpius," Albus whispered when he received nothing but silence, "you're one of the best people I know. You're driven and loyal and smart and unafraid to speak your mind. Honestly, you could have landed in any one of those houses at Hogwarts and done just fine.
"But I do believe you were meant to be in Gryffindor. Just like you were meant to meet me. And we were meant to be best friends and fall in love…." He trailed off, the words leaving a bitter aftertaste on his tongue. "You're a good person," he added hastily to cover the awkward quiet. "I think you're a good person."
The clock on the nightstand ticked uncomfortably loud in the still night. Outside a horn honked and someone shouted something incoherent. Even though it felt like their room and their space was frozen, the world around them still went on as normal. Oblivious to the tension.
He'd already overstepped his bounds. He'd already called attention to too many of the things they'd been avoiding talking about over the last few months. With that heavy fact in mind, he felt like an absolute barbarian for even thinking of kissing Scorpius. Really kissing him. Caging him with his limbs and drawing him into a deep and thorough snog. He so badly wanted to leave him breathless and worriless, physically showing him how he thought the world of him. He wanted to take it all away…. His intentions were honest, but those actions could only be deemed savage.
In the end, Albus opted for searching for Scorpius' hand under the blanket. He linked their fingers together and gave a reassuring squeeze before whispering one more time, "You are a good person, Scor," knowing, in that moment, he had to be a much better person than Albus.