A/N: While I really should be working on finishing two of my other stories, this just wouldn't leave my head so I have been writing it between updates of Falling Short. Originally intended as a one shot but I'm far too wordy for that so this will be a two shot of fun Rose/Scorpius interactions. I hope you enjoy!
February 2028
"Let's go out!" cried Emily over the sound of the music they had blaring in Rose's lounge room.
It was a Saturday night and one of rare occasions where Albus was actually home so they decided to have a party. Well, a gathering would be a more appropriate term. Enough drinks had been consumed that Rose and Emily had cranked the music up and were dancing chaotically in the lounge room while Albus, Scorpius and Damien were seated around the dining table, drinking and chatting.
"Yeah, then everyone can enjoy our sweet dance moves!" Rose laughed. It had been ages since they all went out to a pub or a club together, and even longer since Albus was able to join them.
"Is that a yes?" Emily asked.
"Yeah! Come on, let's try to convince the boys." Rose nodded her head in the direction of the dining table. Emily linked her arm with Rose's and they stood in front of the table, patiently waiting for the boys to notice them.
"Oh no, what is going on?" Asked Scorpius immediately.
"Why do you think anything is going on? Can't two girls just stand casually at the end of the table?" Emily replied.
"When you two are arm in arm, it can't mean anything good!" Scorpius laughed in return. "What is it this time?" he continued.
"We just thought it might be nice to all go out on the town together. It's only nine so there's plenty of time to head out, and we haven't done it in so long." Rose explained.
"Oh, is that it?" Scorpius replied, looking relieved.
"Well we just know that it can be a bit hard for Al to head out and not get into trouble so…" Emily added and trailed off looking expectantly at Albus.
"Hey I'm all for it! I've only had a handful of games in the Firsts team the last couple of years so who cares if I get caught. Not like I'm one of their headliners!" Albus replied.
Anyone who didn't know Albus well might think that what he said came from being bitter about not making it to the top level of Quidditch, but he was very content playing for the Reserves team. It already took enough time and dedication from his life that he didn't really want to be a permanent player in the Firsts which would have made him have to move to Wimborne rather than be allowed to still live in London and apparate to and from training all week. He also knew that he was a good player but there were other people who were much better and more dedicated than he was. For the first time in his life he was happy that he achieved something on his own merit and was at the appropriate place for his skill level. If he was a permanent fixture of the headlining team, he would know he was there because of his name and not because of what he was capable of.
"Well if you didn't want to get caught either way, we could head to the Leaky – Hannah would make sure the word didn't get out." Damien suggested.
"Yeah, or even a muggle place. Then no one would know who you were." Rose added.
With these suggestions, Rose glanced back at Emily who returned Rose's hopeful glance.
"Nah I reckon the Leaky, haven't seen it in ages, would love to see how it's changed." Albus decided.
"Ha, that place will never change!" Scorpius replied laughing.
Rose and Emily were just happy they got to dress up and go dancing. The Leaky Cauldron had two main sections; the pub and dining area on one side while the other section was relatively open plan containing a bar, various couches to lounge on (if you were lucky) and a dancefloor. It was fairly tame as far as a club went but they enjoyed attending the venue for nostalgia reasons.
"Rose, can I raid your wardrobe?" Emily asked excitedly.
"Go for it!" Rose replied while Emily was already in the doorway of her bedroom. "Pick something for me while you're at it!" she called out. Emily gave her a thumbs up.
The boys were laughing at the girls' interaction.
Scorpius turned to Albus excitedly.
"Hey Al, can I raid your wardrobe?" he asked with enthusiasm.
"Oh my god, of course you can Scor!" Albus replied, matching the enthusiasm.
"Great, can I choose your outfit too?" Damien joined in.
"Of course you can, make sure you choose something that shows a lot of skin!"
Rose just stuck up her middle finger at the boys while they laughed.
"Well I'm going to go and do my make up. Sure you don't want to join me?"
"Nah thanks, I'm beautiful enough without it. It might ruin my complexion." Albus said in mock seriousness.
"Fair enough. You sure you don't want to come and put on makeup with me Scor? I have a feeling you'd really enjoy it." Rose said with a smirk. Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her, almost in warning.
"Nah thanks, I'm set."
"Suit yourself." Rose smiled and turned towards the bathroom, knowing she had won this rather pointless mocking session.
Rose spent the next 15 minutes rushing around collecting what makeup she wanted to put on and started the application. She had gotten much better at it in the last two years and had come to love doing it manually rather than with magic. However, she was still terrible at eyeliner. Ever since Scorpius had done her makeup on that one occasion she found she wasn't a match for his steady hand. She was partway through her eyeshadow when she heard Emily calling her out of the bathroom.
"Rose Weasley, what on earth is this monstrosity?" Emily stood in her bedroom doorway, holding up a pink satin dress with a few too many frills and puffs. It was clearly too small for her.
"Oh God, why did that come with me here?" Rose said in surprise and just a tiny bit of disgust.
"That doesn't tell me what on earth it is Miss Weasley!" Emily grinned, still holding the dress aloft.
"I wore that when I was 12 to a cousin's naming day." Rose explained.
"Which cousin?" Emily asked.
"Does it matter?" Rose replied exasperatedly.
"Suppose not. What does matter is that it is hideous. I can't believe you wore this!"
"Okay okay, enough tearing apart the wardrobe I was forced to wear when I was 12 and more choosing tonight's outfits there Miss!"
"I think this should be your outfit, you know, a couple of enlargement charms –"
Rose laughed. "Don't you dare!"
"Well, you're no fun! But I've narrowed it down. I'll let you know when I have something sorted."
Rose quickly waved and returned to the bathroom.
Rose had no idea what was taking Emily so long but it was another 20 minutes before she called Rose to inspect her choices. In that time Rose was able to finish most of her makeup except her eyeliner and mascara.
"Okay Rose, come and choose!" Emily called out.
Rose exited the bathroom to find the boys had lined their dining chairs up in a row so that the back of the couch and the chairs almost looked like an aisle. Rose looked at the boys curiously.
"What on earth are you boys doing?"
"Just taking our seats for the fashion show." Damien answered.
"I hear Rose's wardrobe is all the rage in Italy this Winter." Albus added.
Scorpius just laughed and shook his head in response but was clearly still playing along.
"You're all insufferable." Rose mumbled. She ignored them yet again and turned to Emily. "What have you got for me?" she asked.
"Choice of two. This one for a bit of an edgy look – " she held up a form fitting black skirt paired with a looser black camisole. "- or for a more demure look, this one." She held up a navy blue mid length dress with lace trim.
"Not the blue one."
"Not the blue one."
Rose and Scorpius said together. Rose tried so hard not to look at Scorpius in this moment so she distracted herself by trying to explain herself.
"It's just more of a special occasion dress-" Rose berated herself internally. Why the hell did she have to say 'special occasion'? She hoped Scorpius wouldn't read anything into that comment.
"Fair point. I'll leave this one out for you." Emily indicated to the black outfit. Rose took the outfit from Emily and headed once more back to the bathroom, letting out a small sigh of relief the Emily didn't question her further.
Rose changed into her outfit, tucking the camisole into her skirt. She really did admire Emily's ability to make a good outfit out of anything. Rose quickly brushed some blush onto her cheeks and then picked up the eyeliner pen. She was about to make her own attempt at winged liner but knew she would be here for ages trying and retrying to get it right. She had a sudden idea. She pointed her wand at the showerhead and performed a modified aguamenti spell so there was water dripping from the tap.
She ducked her head out of the bathroom door.
"Hey Scor, I think the showerhead is leaking. Can you take a look at it and charm it or something? I don't want to come home to a flooded house!"
Scorpius looked up. "Can't you charm it yourself?" he asked, slightly baffled.
"Nah I need to finish my makeup. And after the air conditioner debacle, I don't let Al do any handiwork." Rose looked meaningfully at Scorpius and he got up from the chair and made his way over.
"Hey Rose, about the dress-"
Now Rose was concerned he had indeed read too much into her dress comment so she cut him off.
"Never mind that bloody dress, I need your help with my eyeliner!"
"What about the showerhead?"
"It's fine!" she waved her wand at the shower and it stopped dripping.
"So the shower is fine. And you don't want to yell at me for the dress comment?"
She brandished the eyeliner pen at him and rushed her next words.
"Makeup! Chop chop, before someone comes in!"
Scorpius suddenly jolted into action. He was about to open his mouth but Rose anticipated his question and answered before he could vocalise anything.
"Wing, same as last time. Hurry up!"
Scorpius shifted her to the left so the lighting was better and Rose closed her eyes. She felt him tilt her head up and start to draw on her lid.
"So I get to do all the work and you get the credit?" He asked.
"Yep. Unless you want me to tell everyone about your secret talent?"
"No, no, that's fine. I'll let you take all the credit. Now stop talking or the lines will be wonky."
September 2028
Over the past two years it had become a tradition for Rose to cook up a roast and fancy dessert for Scorpius and Emily on the first Friday of the month. The usual British custom would be to have a Sunday roast but it suited the three (and occasionally four if Albus was home) much better on the Friday night, namely because if they ended up having a big drinking session they had the rest of the weekend to nurse their hangovers. Tonight was different though as for the second month in a row, Emily was absent, having broken up with Scorpius in July. Rose and Scorpius had never discussed whether they would continue their tradition with just the two of them. In August, Scorpius simply showed up on Rose's doorstep with a bottle of wine and Rose had automatically cooked up a feast so they had sat down and ate their meals while both trying to ignore the obvious absence of the usual third party. Tonight however, Rose could not help but notice that she had cooked far too much food for two people and that there was an empty spot next to Scorpius which was usually filled with laughter, noise and chatter. Rose had tried hard to participate in the conversation Scorpius had started but her eyes continued to drift to the empty chair beside him. She didn't even realise she was doing it until she heard a sigh.
"Are you even listening Rose?" Scorpius asked.
"Yeah, of course." She replied, returning her gaze to her food once more. "Go on."
Scorpius stared at her a few moments longer, noticing that Rose's gaze had once again turned to the seat next to him.
"So as I was saying, I took a little holiday to the Greek Islands where I went for a swim in the frozen waters, because as you know Greece is so cold and I met a mermaid at the bottom of the sea and you know what Rose? I knocked her up." Scorpius had started discussing utter nonsense to test whether Rose was actually listening.
"Hm." She replied, clearly not listening to him at all.
Scorpius clicked his fingers in front of Rose's face.
"I tell you I swam in the frozen waters of Greece and knocked up a mermaid and all you can say is 'hm'?"
"What on Earth are you on about? Greece is hot!"
Scorpius glared at her.
"You were talking about work, what were you blithering about Greece for?"
Scorpius sighed. "Because you've had your chair stare going this entire time. To be honest, the chair would make better company."
"Well I'm sorry, I just –" Rose began but stopped herself. Scorpius was the one who had the right to be upset, not her. As usual, Scorpius seemed to intuitively know what she was thinking anyway.
"You're allowed to miss her you know." He offered.
Rose didn't trust herself to speak, so Scorpius continued.
"Have you heard from her?" he asked, trying to sound casual but the fact he was rubbing at his neck gave away that he was uncomfortable or nervous to ask.
"Only the once, when she was in Belgium." Rose replied, conveniently missing out the part that Emily had been drunk and in tears when she had wand called her, upset about the break up.
Scorpius nodded but didn't say anything. Rose worked up the courage to ask him what she had been wanting to ask from the beginning.
"What on earth happened Scor? You guys were so good together. Hell, she even wanted to marry you!"
Scorpius rubbed at his neck again. "I know."
Rose continued on her train of thought, as though she hadn't really heard him. "I mean, I was going to be a bridesmaid and I had the cake all planned out and –"
"Like hell you'd be a bridesmaid, you'd be standing on my side of the aisle as a groomsman. Or would that make you a grooms-woman?"
Rose paused in her babbling and almost laughed at Scorpius' emphatic comment. "So you wanted to marry her too?"
Scorpius sighed. "Yeah, suppose I did."
"Then what on earth went wrong?" she asked.
"Emily didn't tell you?"
Rose shook her head.
"You pretty much just said why."
Rose looked confused. "What, that she wanted to marry you?"
Scorpius nodded. "Wanted to marry me, just not all the baggage that comes along with it."
Rose looked concerned but Scorpius continued anyway.
"I wouldn't leave my stupid family home to go live with her, she didn't want to move in there with me, quite rightly really. Then there's the fact that I work for Dad too and that I couldn't take time off to travel with her because Dad was having a bit of a meltdown at the time so I had to keep everything running. So yeah, she wanted to marry me but didn't really want to be a Malfoy. We couldn't find any middle ground so she went travelling and I stayed here."
Rose felt the familiar hot prickle of tears behind her eyes. She knew that many of Scorpius' decisions stemmed from trying to make his dad happy. He was the only family his dad had left so Scorpius often did as much as he could to make his dad feel less lonely. Not everyone understood why Scorpius did this – even his dad got frustrated at him for making decisions to help the family unit before thinking of himself. Rose felt a bit silly for not seeing this as the cause of their breakup sooner.
"Oh Scor, I'm so sorry."
Scorpius shrugged. "Not your fault. Bound to happen at some point, just didn't think it would be this soon."
There was a pause as Rose tried not to show that she was upset so she started to clear her cutlery and plate off the table. Before she could get off her chair Scorpius spoke.
"You don't have to stop being friends with her."
Rose laughed shortly. "You of all people know that it's too hard to stay friends after a break up."
Scorpius laughed. He actually laughed at her.
"I was under the impression that I was the one in a relationship with her, not you."
Rose finally stood up. "Yeah but I was the annoying third wheel wasn't I? I think it's only fair to keep my allegiance with only one of you. Too awkward otherwise."
With that comment, Rose took her empty plate to the sink. She busied herself by filling the sink with water and detergent in preparation for the dishes. As was her usual style, Rose liked a hybrid approach to daily tasks so she would do portions of a task the muggle way and then finish the job with magic. Rose stood at the sink, occupying the silence by submersing her plate and cutlery in the water. She never heard Scorpius get up from the table so it was a complete shock when he stood slightly behind her and handed her his own plate. The silence before was comfortable but now it felt loaded somehow. Rose figured it must have been some energy rolling off Scorpius in that moment as he stood a few metres back from her.
He cleared his throat. "Rose?"
She turned around, happy for that strange moment to have passed. "Yeah?"
"Are you sure that you made the right choice?"
Rose looked at him, confused. She eyed off the leftover dinner that was sitting on the bench, wondering if he meant the food.
"Not the food," he jumped in quickly. He seemed nervous. "I meant the fact that you chose me over Emily. To still be friends with I mean."
Rose was shocked into silence yet again. She couldn't believe he would even ask this. They had been friends for so long. Predictably, Scorpius was avoiding eye contact and rubbing at his neck.
"You just seem upset, I mean really upset so I just wondered whether you made the right choice. Pledged your allegiance to the wrong side, so to speak."
Rose just blinked at him in complete disbelief.
"I just mean – "
"Oh shut up! I know what you mean you daft prick!" Rose said with exasperation. She noticed he was about to say something else so cut him off again. "Oh sweetie, if you think I'm upset because of Emily, I'd be absolutely distraught if I wasn't friends with you."
Scorpius whipped his head up to look at her. "Really?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Of course! I can't believe you would even ask me that, your self doubt really is off the charts sometimes isn't it sweetie?"
"Okay, I get it! I was being silly, stop 'sweetie-ing' me."
"Well you deserve it, you dickhead. Come here." She demanded him to come closer so she could hug him. She felt him relax as soon as her arms were around him so she held him tighter and buried her face into his shoulder. She tried to put all of her love and comfort into the hug while also enjoying his warmth and solid embrace. They stood like that in the kitchen for at a few minutes, neither of them talking. Scorpius' head was now tilted so it leant against hers and his hands had started a pattern of moving up and down slightly where they rested on her back. Rose was also very relaxed now, despite the extra heat that she felt was now coming from the area where his hands were moving. There was also an extra level of comfort and perhaps excitement when she heard Scorpius talk, his low voice vibrating through his shoulder as he spoke lazily.
"Just out of curiosity, what cake were you making for my wedding?"
Rose smiled and buried her head further into his neck unconsciously. She started tracing her fingers along the collar of his shirt as she spoke, enjoying the thrill it gave her to feel the fabric between her fingers. They usually didn't hug, perhaps this was why.
"Well, the bottom layer was going to be a traditional wedding cake."
"Fruit cake?"
"Naturally. It keeps well and you can slowly eat it or save it for an anniversary. Then the second tier was going to be white chocolate and raspberry mud cake."
"Ah, the people pleasing layer."
"Mmhm. And then the top tier was going to be a butterscotch mud cake."
"The one you add Bailey's in?"
"The very same."
"Well that is my favourite."
"I know. But now you're not getting married so you can't have any."
"To be fair, we weren't actually getting married, we just thought we would eventually."
"Well, now you have to find someone else to get married to."
"Bugger getting married. Can't I just keep you and you can make it for me whenever I want?"
Rose paused her hand in its path along his collar. She had been enjoying their banter. She wasn't sure if it was just her interpretation or whether there was indeed a more flirtatious tone to their conversation, but she certainly didn't mind.
Rose lifted her head and looked up at Scorpius through her lashes. Definitely flirty.
"You know that's not how it works."
Scorpius looked down at her with a small smirk on his face. Both their sets of hands appeared to have ceased their movements.
"Maybe it should be."
So many thoughts were going through Rose's mind. The fact that he was so damn warm. That they were friends and hadn't broken that boundary for years now. The fact that he smelt amazing where she was nestled against him – a heady mix of light cologne and something so identifiably him. The fact he had only broken up with Emily two months ago. The fact that she hadn't slept with someone in far longer. The fact that this was probably a very bad idea. The fact that every time his hands were on her back it sent something so comforting but yet so arousing shooting down her spine. She decided that maybe they should vow never to hug as hugging always seemed to get them into some sort of trouble. They were still staring at each other, the gap between them seemingly reducing. Rose was about to mention that this was indeed a bad idea but Scorpius spoke first.
"I think I should go." He said but didn't move.
In the far recesses of Rose's mind she felt a pang of disappointment but it was hard to focus on this when they kept inching closer to one another.
"You probably should." She eventually replied quietly. Their noses were almost touching.
"Bad idea." Scorpius said, full of mock concern.
"Yeah, friends and all that." Rose replied absently as his lips were almost on hers but he stopped suddenly as she spoke. Rose wasn't sure if it was what she said or whether Scorpius had his own internal debate happening but he suddenly pulled away from her and his hands slipped down her back and off her hips as he stepped away from her. Rose let out a breath as her hands lowered suddenly after no longer having a place on Scorpius' neck. She felt cold all of a sudden.
He stood a few metres away from her, looking jittery and with real concern on his face now. That damned hand was back on his neck again.
"Sorry, I should um, go." He said and not waiting for a response, he turned around and quickly exited the flat.
Rose was dumbstruck. She stood in the exact same position, hands still slightly suspended in mid air as if reaching for him and her breath was coming in short sharp bursts. She wasn't sure if it was from the aftershock of their closeness or the beginnings of a breakdown. She never had time to figure out which one as the door burst open again. Scorpius stood there, hand still rubbing at his neck as he took a breath in – then said nothing. He tried again, raising his hand as if about to make a point but lowered it almost as quickly. Rose still hadn't figured out what she was feeling, so there was no chance of her understanding what on earth was happening in her friend's head. He eventually spoke.
"You ah, forgot to finish the dishes." He eventually said, rather lamely. Rose just blinked at him. Scorpius' gaze shifted from her to the sink behind her and he sent a spell at the dishes and they were now accompanied by the sound of the scrubbing brush against a plate. Scorpius didn't move. Rose took her eyes off him and turned to the sink. He had indeed stormed back in here and had done the dishes. She turned again and stared at him once more. He appeared to be doing the jig of a person battling a major internal war, weight dancing from one foot to the other, forwards and then back towards the door..
"Okay, that's it That's definitely all.. I'll go again now. Um, bye!" and with that, he shot out the door again.
Strangely, it was him leaving again which sent her heart into a flutter. There was no way he had come back because she had forgotten to finish the dishes. Rose moved for the first time in minutes and walked steadily over to her door. She pressed up against it and looked through the peep-hole. Rose was mesmerised as she saw Scorpius pace backwards and forwards on the landing, occasionally turning to the door and reaching for the handle but pulling it back at the last moment. Rose watched this exchange with interest, her blood now rushing in her ears as she realised he must have been feeling very similar to how she was – conflicted with concern for their friendship if they were to go through with this but more importantly, unadulterated desire. Rose cringed at the word 'desire' but 'lust' also felt terribly embarrassing. She worked up some internal courage she didn't know she possessed and as she saw his hand reach for the door handle and pulled away yet again, she opened the door. Rose was struck by the irony that her parents had faced certain death on numerous occasions in their youth, and yet she thought it was courageous for her to open a bloody door. They now stood face to face and were waged in yet another staring contest.
"Homenum revelio?" he asked absently, wondering how she knew he was still there.
"Peep hole." Rose replied breathlessly, pointing at the door.
Scorpius nodded then took a step forward and kissed her. This was the longest bloody lead up to a kiss that Rose had ever experienced so the relief that flooded through her as his mouth came crashing down on hers was overwhelming. She leaned into him, pressing harder as his hands finally returned their warmth to her lower back. Scorpius pulled away every few seconds to talk, his words punctuated with fast and hard kisses.
"This is – definitely – a bad – idea." He said, convincing neither himself nor Rose of his words, particularly as his hands now inched under her shirt.
"I should – go." He continued, again very unconvincingly. Rose's only response was to kiss him harder and to inch him backwards so she could slam the door behind him, blocking any attempt at another exit.
It was her turn to speak.
"You definitely – should go." She said as she returned to the familiar pattern of tracing his collar, only this time tracing along the inside so her fingers grazed his neck. She got a small thrill when she felt a muscle twitch in his neck at the movement of her hand. This reaction spurred her on. Their kiss heated further, a combination of closed fast kisses and longer open mouth kisses with teasing tongues. Rose's enthusiasm had pushed Scorpius back into the door, their bodies now tightly flush against each other but it was not enough. Rose's hands trailed down off his neck, struggling with the top button of his shirt as they were pressed together so hard that there wasn't much room for her hands to move. She eventually succeeded with the top button and attempted the second, struggling yet again. She let out a huff of annoyance, the sound muffled by Scorpius' eager lips. She eventually got the button undone but her frustration was enough to separate from him for a moment.
"These bloody buttons!" she exclaimed.
"Don't worry about it," Scorpius mumbled, his hands reaching for the hemline. Rose realised what he was going to do and his hands hastily returned to her back while she took over, lifting his shirt from the bottom and sliding it up in an attempt to pull it over his head. As there were only two buttons undone it was a tight fit over his head and it very nearly got stuck, but Rose tugged up as hard as she dared and his head was eventually freed, the tousle causing his hair to become delightfully disheveled. As soon as he was free, Scorpius recaptured Rose's lips with a new sense of urgency. His arms flapped wildly in order to rid himself of his shirt sleeves and once he had achieved this task, his hands returned to their teasing movements under her top, the warmth once again making a trail up and down her back. Returning his enthusiasm, Rose's hands had tangled themselves in his hair as they kissed and she tugged on the strands in a command to move. They awkwardly made their way over to the couch, stumbling and tripping a couple of times as they refused to become unglued from one another. As Rose felt the edge of the couch hit her legs, she swiftly spun Scorpius around and put pressure on his shoulders indicating him to sit down. He didn't need to be told twice.
As Rose stood before him she allowed any doubts still residing within her to dissipate as his hands confidently reached for her and set her down on his lap. She gave into the sensations he caused as his hands traced that familiar path down her bare back and she attempted to reciprocate by trailing her own hands down his shoulders and torso, grasping him harder when his mouth or hands created a new wave of goosebumps or fire in their movements. While he was still tall and lean, he had lost his 'scrawny' appearance as he had called it during their first time together. He was by no means muscly or bulky but had lost the sinewy thinness that he possessed from growing tall very quickly in his adolescence and now had a layer on top of his bones which made him more inviting to press into. Rose had let her thoughts carry her away so it was a complete shock when his hands sneaked under her bra – she didn't even know when he had undone it. Rose ceased all thoughts when she felt his thumb graze over her nipple, the teasing movement causing a shock of desire directed straight to her core. She let out a whimper and then a moan as his thumb continued its movement and then pinched lightly. Her desire intensified creating an invisible force between them as she felt a very primal need to shuffle forward on his lap. This time her moan was accompanied by a low growl from Scorpius, their hips shifting to allow the right amount of friction. Rose couldn't bring herself to be embarrassed at the small noises coming from her throat as she naturally rocked against him, reveling in the hardness she felt beneath her. She loved that men had such an obvious response to pleasure, it never failed to make her feel incredibly sexy that someone would respond to her in this way but there was something even more thrilling and almost forbidden in knowing she had caused this reaction in her friend.
She refused to overthink the fact that it was him beneath her and just focussed on the sensations that were coursing through her as they moved together. There was no chance of them being interrupted this time and she knew where this was leading. To be fair, she had known this was where it was leading from the moment he stepped back into the flat the first time.
Scorpius' mouth was now at her neck – kissing, licking and nipping his way down until the neck of her shirt hindered his path downwards. Rose couldn't stand the fact that his lips were no longer on her skin so she lifted her arms up for him to rid her of the fabric. Scorpius had already coordinated his movements with hers and her shirt was already baring her chest as her arms extended above her head. There was a moment where they stared at each other as if acknowledging the absurdity of the situation – Rose even nearly burst out laughing but it quickly passed as he pulled her into him once more with a heated kiss before returning his kisses to the base of her neck which was no longer interrupted by fabric. A new fire ignited within her as skin met skin and barely present stubble on his chin grazed a path downwards. She leant back slightly in anticipation of his next move, while her hips unconsciously returned to writhing against him. Every light touch of his skin against her nipples sent an aching jolt through her, teasing her in a way that she wasn't sure whether she wanted him to prolong the experience or just jump straight to the point. His mouth was only enclosed around the pink bud of her nipple for a few seconds when she felt his hands hastily grip her hips to halt her movements. He leant back against the couch and let out another low growl.
"Rose, if you don't stop moving like that, I can't guarantee this will last long."
Rose simply smirked at him, reveling in his breathlessness and slight desperation. She leant into him, placing one hand against his jaw as she drew him towards her for a slow, languid kiss.
"That's fine by me. Maybe we should at least get off this couch though." She responded, having pulled ever so slightly away from Scorpius who's eyes had barely opened after their last kiss. Rose's stomach filled with butterflies as she looked at him, anticipating his response.
His hands gripped her tighter and then he rather unexpectedly stood up, hoisting Rose up with him so she had to wrap her legs around his waist so she didn't fall. He gave her a quick kiss.
"Don't need to tell me twice!" he said cheerfully as he carried her to her bedroom. Rose was impressed with how his strength appeared to have improved since their last attempt at this action in the library all those years ago. He was much more sure footed too. As they moved through the bedroom door and made their way over to the bed, Rose expressed these thoughts to him between kisses.
"You're – much stronger – than last – time." She managed.
"Hm," he replied, "that's not the only thing I've gotten better at." He said cheekily as he attempted to lay her down on the bed but lost his footing and fell on top of her. Rose let out a laugh.
"I see balance and coordination are not among these improvements?"
"We'll see," he mumbled against her bare shoulder as he lifted himself up slightly, moving above her as she shuffled back to lay against the pillow. When she was comfortable, he leant down and captured her lips again, nibbling at her bottom lip and gently coaxing her mouth open. The kiss continued and deepened, their breaths starting to come out in sharp bursts whenever they briefly parted. Rose's hands reached between them as they moved, seeking to undo the fastenings of his jeans. When she was successful in her mission she slid her hand under the fabric and ran her hand along his hard length which caused him to moan into their kiss and grip her hair tighter. This appeared to be the tipping point they were waiting for as their kisses became desperate, his hips lifted to encourage her to finally rid him of the last of his confines. Rose could barely contain herself as Scorpius started kissing his way down her neck and chest again, detouring to briefly tease each breast as he kissed his way down her stomach. He paused at the waistband of her leggings, hooking his fingers beneath the band and slowly dragging them down her legs, his mouth leaving a trail of kisses along the same path that his hands took. He seemed to be kissing her everywhere except where she desperately wanted him to.
When she was finally naked in front of him, he kissed his way back up her legs, her stomach, her chest until he captured her lips again.
"Fuck, you're beautiful." Scorpius mumbled absently which fell mostly on deaf ears.
By this stage Rose was writhing beneath him, wanting every part of her to be in contact with him. His hands trailed a path downwards with the clear intention of touching her exactly where she ached but she stopped him, having made up her mind that she couldn't stand the build up any longer.
"Don't worry about it," she almost whined. Scorpius pulled back, looking at her in what she could only interpret as confusion.
"I'd rather just – I mean, I want –" For the first time during their entire interaction, Rose suddenly felt very self-conscious and couldn't bring herself to say exactly what she wanted from him. She was mortified at telling her friend exactly what she liked and what she needed from him, as if saying it out loud would overstep the line of friendship which was admittedly already very blurry. She huffed in frustration and tried to ignore his look of concern and her own sudden embarrassment by wrapping her legs firmly around him and pulling his body into hers, exactly where she wanted him.
"Oh," he muttered, acknowledging her request.
"Mhm," she replied, distracting herself by kissing him again. She felt him pull back slightly as if he was going to say something.
"If you ask if I'm sure I will throttle you!" she growled at him.
Needing no further encouragement, Scorpius adjusted himself and finally entered her. Rose let out a moan, almost out of relief to finally get to this stage as it was out of pleasure. She didn't want to wait, filled with the primal urge to move and continue the waves of heat and energy that were coursing through her, no longer self conscious and just wanting to fulfil her own needs. Scorpius, however had paused, apparently needing a moment to collect himself. Whether this was due to doubt, pleasure or complicated emotions Rose didn't know and didn't care – she just needed him to move. He didn't take much convincing as Rose hadn't stopped her movements below him and she had teased him with kisses and long strokes of her fingers down his back.
They moved together, lost in the sensations and rhythm they had created. It was definitely an improvement from their first time together Rose let Scorpius take the lead, enjoying how well he took note of her responses when his fingers, mouth or teeth found the right spot. Rose was impressed with how well in tune he was to her this time around which was likely down to experience but small thought in the back of Rose's mind also told her to take credit as she was the one to give him 'the talk' a few years prior - he had definitely been paying attention. As he shifted slightly and picked up the pace once more, Rose let out a whimper. He very appropriately took this as encouragement as he continued the same action over and over, causing a familiar feeling intensifying low in her belly. She was already aware of how her breath was coming out in ragged bursts, mingled with small moans but as his hand slid between putting light pressure exactly where she needed it, she didn't even care that it was her own voice filling up the room as she felt the pressure build until she finally went rigid, her staccato movements welcoming the release she had sought. Scorpius continued to move above her, his hot breath and regular moans tickling her neck and ear, punctuated by the occasional kiss while Rose came down from her high as he was building to his.
It was another minute until he came, finally collapsing his weight on top of her after he finished. They both lay there breathing hard, noses almost touching as their heads angled toward each other on the pillow while their bodies remained tangled. Rose thoroughly enjoyed his weight fully on top of her as her limbs lazily wrapped around him. Scorpius' eyes remained closed while Rose's were opened lazily, staring at him as their breathing eventually calmed down.
"That was –" She started but Scorpius interrupted her.
"Fucking amazing?"
Rose chuckled. "I was going to go with unexpected but we can use your words."
Scorpius smiled widely, his eyes still closed.
"Well, if we have just completely ruined our friendship at least we did it right."
Rose hit him on the shoulder then covered her face with her hand.
"Oh god, do you think we have?"
"What? Ruined our friendship or done it right?"
She hit him again. "You know exactly what I mean."
His eyes slowly opened. He didn't answer straight away.
"Nah, don't think we've ruined anything."
"Really?" Rose asked, needing further confirmation of his statement.
"Really. Just think we needed to – ah – get this out of our system so to speak."
Rose contemplated this. "Huh, okay, you may have a point there."
Scorpius nodded and slid off her, rolling to his side so they could be face to face, no longer having to contort their necks to see each other. Rose ignored the disappointment and loss of warmth that she felt as he shifted off her. They stared at each other for a short while, both lost in their own thoughts. Rose was suddenly very aware that they were both still naked. She subtly shifted her feet under the covers and then leant down slightly to pull the blankets over herself. Noticing her movements, Scorpius did the same.
"So, what now?" she asked,
"Ha! No idea!" Scorpius replied with a chuckle. Noticing Rose was starting to look concerned, he continued.
"Okay, how about this. We consider this a one time thing, just like last time."
"So it would be a secret between us with no plans to do this again?"
"Exactly. Consider this time a 'satisfying a curiosity' if you will."
"Right, now that we've done that we can move on and just be friends."
"Done. Shake on it?" Scorpius ended and held out his hand. Rose rolled her eyes at him but shook his extended hand anyway. Their hands shook for a fraction too long and they both laughed awkwardly and pulled their hands away at the same time. Scorpius then sat up and rubbed at his neck – Rose should have started taking a tally.
"I ah, should go then."
Silence met his statement. She took so long to say anything that he had started shuffling towards the edge of the bed. Rose wasn't sure why she hesitated in answering and she wasn't sure what was going to come out of her mouth until she said it.
"Well, you don't have to. You know, if you don't want to."
He paused at her response but didn't look back at her.
"I could stay on the couch." He offered. More extended silence.
"No, you could stay here. If you want." Yet again Rose's mouth had run away from her. It had been so long that she had even slept with someone, let alone woken up next to someone that it appeared she jumped at the chance to feel even the slightest bit less lonely.
His head turned to her this time. "I am rather tired."
She nodded, trying to convince herself this wasn't a bad idea.
"And it would be silly to set up the couch when you're already here."
"Hm." He replied and the bastard smiled! Rose glared and threw a pillow at him.
"Alright! Why don't you get into your pyjamas, I'll go get our clothes and wands and meet you back here in five?"
Rose tried not to feel disappointed at the thought of having to put on clothes, but that thought was stopped short when she realised Albus was supposed to be coming home tonight and what he would have said at the state of their lounge room.
"Oh my god, Albus!"
"Rose, if you are seriously mistaking me again for your cousin, we have problems bigger than the question mark hanging over our friendship."
"No you tosser!" she threw another pillow at the chucking man. "Albus is supposed to be coming home tonight! What if he saw our clothes out there?"
"Just means you brought someone home, he wouldn't know it was me."
Rose stared at him pointedly.
"Okay, yeah he would know for sure it was my stuff."
Rose quickly gestured for him to go and collect their things. As he left she covered her face in her hands and squealed quietly at the absurdity of the evening, then pulled herself together to find he pyjamas. She had only gotten her pants on when Scorpius came rushing back into the room, items piled high in his arms while he kicked the door shut behind him.
Rose's head shot up and her arms naturally went to cover her bare chest.
"Scor, what -?"
He dropped the clothes on the floor and made a shushing gesture which was clearly urgent but lost a little emphasis as he was still completely naked and leaning against the door, apparently trying to hear through the wood.
Rose took her opportunity as his back was turned to pull her shirt over her head and went to stand beside him.
"Holy crap, that was close!"
"Albus?" she asked in horror. Scorpius just nodded in response.
"Did he see you?"
"Nah, I heard him in the hallway and accio'd everything before he could open the door. Ha, and you were worried about him seeing our clothes!" he said with a whispered laugh.
Rose hit him on the shoulder. "Oh shut up, get some clothes on and come to bed."
Scorpius stared at her momentarily until it seemed something very important occurred to him.
"Oh shit, I'm still naked aren't I?"
Rose laughed at him and turned back to the bed.
They went to bed and fell asleep almost straight away. They both kept to their sides. There was no cuddling or pillow talk. Scorpius snuck out at 6am.
One week later, September 2028
Rose sat on the far end of the couch reading a new novel while Scorpius sat at the other end watching Game of Thrones. He had made it through to the sixth season over the years but his interest often ebbed and waned – partly because of the storylines and partly because he was a pureblood wizard who didn't grow up with the internet and bluray players, unlike Rose and Albus who had at least small exposures to the muggle world growing up. True to their word, they hadn't spoken of the events of the week before and had continued their lives and friendship as usual.
Rose was getting up to a very important part of her book when she heard Scorpius sigh.
"If you're bored, put something else on or go home." Rose said dully, trying to concentrate on what she was reading.
"But there's nothing else I want to watch. Why don't you have that 'Internetty-fix' thing with?"
Rose looked up from her book and quirked her eyebrow in question.
"You know, that thing where all the shows turn up on the screen rather than having to put a disc in."
Rose finally realised what he was taking about. "You mean Netflix. I don't even have the internet so it wouldn't work."
She returned to her book.
Scorpius nudged her with his foot.
"Why don't you have the internet?"
"Because I refuse to pay for something that I will barely use. I buy blurays when I want to watch something." She said, returning to her monotone voice and pushing his foot away.
"But how many times would you watch a movie that you bought? Isn't it better to pay for something that you can change what you watch rather than watch the same thing over and over?"
"No."
He nudged her with his foot again.
"Do you think I could get the internet at my place?"
Rose sighed and looked up. "At the Manor? Probably not. Too much magical interference."
"I think Dad would like the internet." Rose shook her head at him and returned once more to her book. There was silence again but this time Rose anticipated the giant foot nudging her thigh and grabbed it tight before he could pull it away again.
"Scor, you nudge me again I'll do something unspeakable with that ridiculous clown foot of yours!"
Scorpius grinned at her. "Well, you know what they say about big feet…"
Rose stared him down, face expressionless regardless of her internal battle not to laugh with him. "More foot to get stuck up your own arse because you won't let your friend read her bloody book?"
Scorpius moved his foot out of her grasp but had no reply. There was silence for a minimum of two minutes before he nudged her again. Rose closed her eyes and lifted her head back in exasperation.
"What's your book about?" he asked with faux innocence.
"It's about someone who murdered her beloved friend because he wouldn't stop annoying her and let her read her book."
"Sounds serious."
"It will become a bloody prophecy if you don't leave me alone soon."
"Righto, point taken."
Rose sighed in relief and hoped he would occupy himself or go home. She was at a crucial moment of the plot where the two protagonists were about to go into battle and they had finally declared their feelings for one another in case they never had another opportunity to do so. It so happened that she was up to a rather raunchy and long awaited section of the book while Scorpius was pestering her. She had finally read more than one paragraph uninterrupted when his voice interrupted her yet again.
"I'm going to make a cuppa, you want a cuppa?"
She did not want a cuppa, she wanted him to leave her alone. She agreed to get him to stop interrupting her.
"Fine, yes make me a cuppa." She said testily.
Scorpius left her alone on the couch to boil the kettle and Rose let out a sigh of relief. Her relief was short lived as she felt his presence close behind her a split second before she heard his loud voice pierce her ear.
"Sweet Merlin Rose, you're reading a dirty book!"
Rose startled and jumped in shock.
"I am not!" she automatically defended.
"Like hell you're not, I read a line about heaving breasts and engorged members!" He was positively gleeful at having caught her reading a sex scene. She could have slapped him.
"It is not pornography, it's a sex scene in a book that otherwise has nothing to do with sex. There's actual plot, the whole thing isn't like this!"
"Ha, well we'll see about that." And with that comment he reached over the back of the couch and plucked the book from her hands.
"Hey!" Rose cried in outrage but Scorpius had retreated to the kitchen and began reading out lines from the book.
"He was aching for her –"
"Give that back!"
"His hardness straining against the fabric of his – "
"Scorpius Malfoy, give that back to me right now!" Rose yelled at him again, but he only laughed and jumped out of her reach when she launched off the couch and ran after him. Being much taller than her he was able to hold the book out of reach with both hands while still reading as she jumped up to try and grab the book.
"Stop behaving like a five year old and give it back!" She jumped again but to no avail.
"Blah blah blah, something about swooping and tingling, oh here we go! His hand travelled south, under the waistband of her underwear and he found she was – holy shit this is descriptive! No wonder you like reading so much."
Rose grabbed both his arms and was almost hanging off them in her effort to retrieve her book. Of course the only time he decided to annoy her incessantly while reading was during the only inappropriate scene in the whole book. Then something occurred to her. He never annoyed her when she was reading. He knew she hated to be distracted from a book and would usually wordlessly make her a cup of tea and leave it next to her while occupying himself. He had also never been the type to cheekily nudge her with his foot to get her attention as he would simply call her name or at the very most perhaps click his fingers in front of her to break her concentration enough to pay attention to him. He most certainly would have never snatched a book from her hands and ran about, playing a game of 'hard to reach'. Whether he realised it or not he was flirting with her. And as Rose had this sudden epiphany she realised that her own responses were rather damning too. She appeared to be taking the bait and flirting right back. Rose felt her cheeks redden slightly but at that moment she eyed his wand sticking out of his back pocket and had the idea to use her acknowledgement of their behaviour to her advantage.
Rose let out a huff and dropped her hands from Scorpius' arms. He looked positively gleeful that he had won the silly game he had started but his smile faltered when Rose stepped forward and reached a hand around his waist. Rose maintained eye contact with him almost in challenge as her hand slowly moved down towards his backside. She couldn't help but smirk at him when the smile completely fell off his face and she took the opportunity to swiftly grab his wand and point it at his very flustered face.
"You forget I grew up with a million cousins. I have some tricks up my sleeve."
Scorpius let out a chuckle. "Any you're forgetting that my wand is very loyal. Good luck getting it to do what you want!"
"I'll take that chance."
"You're going to have to catch me first!" and with that, Scorpius took off and ran into the living room, away from Rose's direct aim. Rose just laughed as the flat was so small that there was no way a few pieces of furniture was going to stop her.
She sent a sticking charm towards him as he neared the coffee table and his feet ceased their movements while his upper body was still in motion, causing him to brace himself against the table with his hands and almost losing grip of the book. To Rose's disappointment, his grip held fast and he righted himself with as much dignity as he could muster.
Rose slowly walked over to him, putting on a face of maniacal glee. She stood in front of him and spun his wand between her fingers.
"Not so loyal after all is it?" she said with a patronising tilt of her head.
"I was probably just too close, it must have gotten confused." Scorpius replied mock defensively.
"Oh sweetie." She replied predictably. She then stood up on top of the coffee table so she was now a few centimeters taller than him.
"I'll have that back now thanks." She said, indicating to the book in his left hand. Scorpius grinned and quickly lifted his hand above his head as far as he could stretch so the book was still just out of her grasp. Rose launched forward, grabbing at his arm once more and trying to reach the book but he was somehow still too tall.
"How the hell are your arms so long?" she muttered during her efforts. As she scrambled to retrieve the book she suddenly realised how close they had become. With her extra height they were pretty much nose to nose and barely any space separated their chests. Rose could feel her cheeks flush once again in embarrassment and she was about to step back and apologise but as she looked down, she realised Scorpius' smile had once again disappeared and was replaced by a slightly slack jawed expression accompanied by heavy lidded eyes. She saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, out of nervousness or desire she wasn't sure but the action was enough for her to feel the flush of her cheeks start to spread through the rest of her body. Her hand which was still gripping his arm began to lose it's force as his arm lowered while they remained close. Rose was at an impasse; she wanted to wrench herself away from him as fast as she could while simultaneously wanting to launch forward at him and close all the remaining space left between them. Although she had sent the sticking charm towards him, ironically it felt as though it were her feet that couldn't move. Unsure of what she actually wanted, Rose silently willed Scorpius to do something so she wouldn't have to make a decision. She didn't have to wait long. Scorpius' gaze flickered between her lips and her eyes, searching for something Rose wasn't quite sure of given her own internal conflict. He must have found what he was looking for because he closed the very small gap now left between them and pressed his lips against hers.
Rose felt relief flood through her. His lips felt as warm and inviting as a week ago, his practiced movements sent a tingle through her body. Here they were again making that line of friendship fade off into the distance – it was a dangerous task. Rose let out a small 'mmph' as Scorpius became more animated and pulled her into him and Rose followed his movements enthusiastically. Unfortunately for both of them they had forgotten that Scorpius' feet were still bound by the sticking charm. While he had attempted to step back carrying Rose with him, he lost balance and bent at the knees crashing to the floor while Rose fell awkwardly from the coffee table. Scorpius lay on the plush rug with his feet still planted solidly to the ground while and his knees bent and pointed to the ceiling while Rose lay sprawled across him having landed with her face towards the floor. Despite the unexpected and painful turn of events, Rose got a sense of twisted pleasure when she noticed her book (which must have been thrown during the debacle) had landed with a thud on Scorpius' head.
"Ow! Son of a – "
"Oh good, I'll take that back now!" Rose said chirpily, reveling in what she claimed to be her victory.
"Merlin almighty, take the bloody thing!" Scorpius replied, leaning up on his elbows and throwing the book so it landed next to Rose's head which was at a right angle to his own.
"Oh cheers!" Rose stated cheerfully as she grabbed the book and gingerly scooted backwards, trying to assess the damage she had sustained during the fall. Her knees and elbows appeared to take the brunt of the force and felt bruised, but everything else appeared in tact. She groaned.
"Oh my god, my knees and elbows are on fire!" she kept moving backwards so she was finally off Scorpius and sitting beside him.
"Are you hurt?" she asked him gently as she rubbed at her elbows.
"I ah, I don't know. I think I was lucky enough to be winded twice, once from the floor and then again when you fell on top of me, but I can't get up to be sure." He answered, staring pointedly at his feet.
"Oh, sorry." She replied, genuinely feeling bad. She looked around and found Scorpius' wand mere inches from where she sat. She performed the counter-spell and Scorpius was able to finally stretch out his legs. Rose watched intently as he checked himself over, stretching and flexing his ankles, wrists and fingers. She followed his hands as they smoothed over parts of his body checking for any injuries. Up until this point she had almost forgotten what had caused them to fall over in the first place. She winced along with him when his fingers touched a particularly sore spot on the back of his head.
"Ah, that smarts." He said, sucking in his breath. Rose scooted closer to him and gently removed his hand so she could take a look. Her fingers threaded through his hair and gently moved around until they found a bump which had formed on the back of his head. She absently ran her fingers over the spot and he winced.
"Sorry, does it hurt?" asked quietly.
"Mm." Was all he replied with.
"Well, it kind of serves you right for being so childish." She said, realising she was still running her fingers through his hair.
"Me being childish? What about you sticking my feet to the floor?"
"You started it by stealing my book."
"But then you chased after me."
"Well I wanted my book back!"
"Then you stole my wand."
"Well, yes but-"
"And you stuck my feet to the floor."
"Only because-"
"Then you jumped on a table and kissed me."
"Hang on, no, you kissed me!"
"Hm and I wonder why?" Scorpius retorted with a smirk and a sideways glance at her hand which was still threaded through his hair. Rose stopped her hand suddenly and then slowly turned her head to look at him, feeling rather sheepish.
"You started it." She mumbled. He moved his head closer to hers so their foreheads were almost touching.
"You kept it going." He mumbled back. She leant into him, hand still placed on his head.
"And maybe this is where we stop?" Rose said, her actions not matching her words.
"Hm, maybe. But I did hit my head pretty hard, I may need you to kiss it better." He muttered, giving a quick teasing kiss to the corner of her mouth. Rose couldn't believe they were in this position again, but she would be lying if in that moment she said she didn't want this. She played along, hand moving on the back of his head again.
"Was it here?" she asked when she reached the bump again.
"More like – here." He replied, his hand finding hers and guiding it to his face and resting on his lips. Rose let out a snort.
"You're so fucking lame." She laughed and she felt him smile under her fingers.
"Worked though didn't it?"
Rose blushed, desperately wanting her answer to be 'no' but her actions defied her yet again and captured his lips in hers in response.
"One week, we only lasted one week!"
Rose and Scorpius lay on the plush rug of Rose's lounge room floor. They were only partially clothed. Most of their clothes lay haphazardly strewn about the lounge room but some garments remained on their bodies having not been bothered to be discarded during their urgency.
"We are so not good at this." Rose responded, hitting him lightly on the chest.
"Hey I'd say we're pretty bloody good at this actually."
She hit him again. "You know what I mean."
There was silence as their breathing calmed down, neither one of them bothering to move.
"Yeah, about that - I hope I'm not stepping over a line here but to be fair, we've stepped over a lot of lines lately." Scorpius started. Rose felt her stomach drop, not having a clue what he was going to say or whether she was going to like it. He sounded more serious than she was prepared for.
"Since our first time together, you and I have always – I don't know what to call it. I mean, we're only friends right, but then something will happen and for a split second there will just be this – thing between us." He trailed off. Rose's level of apprehension waned slightly, she knew what he was talking about.
"Moments. I call them moments." She offered.
He pointed his finger at her in agreement. "Yes! Moments! Well, we have these moments and I don't know about you but in these moments it's like you're not my friend anymore and you're this hot bird that I just wanna, well," he gestured to their mostly naked bodies. "But then we don't do anything and it passes and I don't think about it anymore you know?" he was rambling now. Rose knew he was becoming uneasy with the conversation.
"Until the next moment." Rose added, indicating she agreed completely.
"Yeah."
"I'm glad we agree but was there a point to mentioning this?" Rose asked.
"Sorry, I was just thinking that, because both of us had our first time together, I thought these moments were just curiosity now that we are both more experienced? A kind of 'what would it be like now?' type thing and that's why I thought after last week it would be over and done with and we could leave it at that."
He paused.
"But?" Rose prompted.
Scorpius cleared his throat. "Well, we, I mean I was able to forget about it but then when we were sitting at the couch before there was just – "
Rose took a steeling breath and finished for him. "There was another 'moment'."
"Yeah." Scorpius replied quietly.
Rose occupied herself by tapping a rhythm with her fingers on Scorpius' chest as she thought. She had two choices – she could wait for him to make the suggestion or she could man up and do it herself. When she thought hard enough about it, this entire situation was kind of her own doing in the first place as it was her who suggested for them to be together at his 18th birthday party.
"What if we made a deal?" Rose said, raising her head to make eye contact with him. If she was going to suggest this then she may as well commit.
Rose saw Scorpius' lips twitch ever so slightly but he did well to hide his response. He must have been thinking the same as her already.
"What kind of deal?"
Rose took a big breath in. "We're friends right? We're both single and we trust each other, and we are both good at keeping each others secrets."
Scorpius gasped in mock shock. "Are you suggesting we do this ongoing?" he asked which earned him another hit to the chest.
"You know that's exactly what I'm suggesting. But with a few rules."
"Such as?" he asked, becoming more serious.
"We don't plan it. We remain friends, business as usual but if we so happen to have one of these 'moments' then we can deal with it however we see fit."
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. And we keep it between us, no one else can know."
"Naturally. Ooh, and if one of us is interested in someone else we have to be honest and let the other person know. I don't want to be stepping on someone else's toes and I definitely don't want you to think that you can't find your next true love just because we're doing stupid things."
"I agree. That goes for you too."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Ha! I haven't had a boyfriend for years, I think that rule is more for your benefit."
"Ugh, can I make a rule about you not being a self deprecating tosser?" Scorpius added.
Rose laughed. "Nah, I don't make promises I can't keep."
"Well that is a shame." Scorpius replied. They were already settling back into their usual banter, all uncertainty and awkwardness gone for the moment.
"Excellent, that's settled. Now I'm going to have a shower because we need to be at Albus' game in about 20 minutes."
Scorpius rolled over and eyed the clock on the wall.
"Oh crap!"
Still September 2028
The next time they had a moment was rather unexpected for the both of them. There was a gathering at the burrow for Teddy and Victoire's engagement – not so much a party as just the usual gathering of the extended family which Scorpius had been welcomed into many years before. They had all gathered at the Burrow, Rose's grandparent's house, which had undergone numerous extensions and changes over the years to accommodate the ever growing brood. Rose was talking to her Uncle Percy about cauldron standards and regulations, a topic which would usually send any other member of the family into a bored stupor, but Rose was highly tolerant of her uncle's ramblings owing to her own fascination with similar projects she was working on in the research lab she worked at. She had been listening intently to her uncle's opinions while sipping her wine but a flash of familiar blonde hair caught her eye across the room. She locked eyes with Scorpius who raised his eyebrow in a silent question. He was asking her if she needed to be saved. Rose bit back a smile but gently shook her head, maintaining eye contact with him. Scorpius rolled his eyes then raised his hand, opening and closing it as if it were a mouth.
"Blah blah blah" she interpreted.
She raised her middle finger up at him subtly across the room so hopefully only he would notice.
He clutched his hands to his chest as if wounded.
Rose was losing battle to hold herself together and had stopped listening to Uncle Percy ever since she spotted her friend across the room, not that Percy had noticed as he was still droning on and on about his work from when he was a fresh face at the Ministry.
Rose drained her glass, still glancing at Scorpius who smugly sipped his own drink while looking in her direction. This gave her an excuse to remove herself from the now one sided conversation she was a part of.
"Sorry Uncle Perce, I'm just going to get another drink. I'll sit next to you at dinner so we can talk some more!"
"Oh yes, not a worry." Percy said and Rose was free.
She weaved her way between her family members, eyes never once straying from Scorpius'. An intense warmth and excitement rippled through her as she neared him. As she reached his position near the drinks table they could barely contain their smiles as Scorpius raised up, bottle of wine at the ready. They stood in charged silence while Scorpius filled her glass. They locked eyes again.
"You know, a guy could become incredibly offended by those gestures you were doing before." Scorpius broke the silence.
"Well, maybe said guy should not be so presumptuous to assume a lady always needs saving."
"That's not fair, I would offer to save anyone from your uncle."
"I happen to enjoy our conversations."
"You'd be the only one. Let me guess, cauldrons again?
Rose narrowed her eyes at him in response.
"How can I like you so much and yet find some parts about you so boring and dreadfully dull?"
"How can I like you so much and yet also find you at times blunt and rather obnoxious?" Rose replied, playing him at his own game. They seemed to be drifting closer to one another.
"Well is it obnoxious if I'm right? I bet you did want saving."
"Oh yeah? How do you figure that?"
"Because you're now over here talking to me instead."
Rose felt herself blush and she finally broke eye contact with him and took a sip of her drink.
"I was enjoying the conversation but perhaps something distracted me." She glanced up at him again. He seemed to have leant even closer.
"My word, what on Earth could have taken your attention away from such a riveting conversation?"
Rose was struck with how bold they were being with one another, particularly considering the room, to house and entire property was filled with her relatives – someone was bound to notice.
"Maybe a certain blonde, blunt and obnoxious person drew my attention instead."
"Hm, that's quite the combination. Must be one hell of a guy." Scorpius replied smugly and took a sip of his own drink.
"Who said it was a guy? I was talking about Victoire." Rose jested, pointing to her cousin whose left hand was moving far more flamboyantly than needed for the average conversation which proved she was just trying to flash he ring about. Scorpius snorted into his drink as he laughed, splashing whisky over his face and spilling a bit onto his shirt. Scorpius coughed and then laughed as he wiped whisky off his chin.
"Well played."
"Why thank you." Rose dropped her gaze to the whisky marks now on his shirt. "We should really fix that." She said.
He looked down. "Oh yeah, got your wand? You can do the honours."
Rose looked at him pointedly. "I think I left it upstairs."
"Well that's silly of you, you know you need to be on your guard around your family."
Rose smiled at him and tilted her head in the most innocent way she could muster. Scorpius' eyes widened as realisation hit him.
"Oh!"
Rose decided to play it cool. She gave him another meaningful stare then lifted her glass to her lips as she walked away from him, once again weaving through her family members. She was halfway up the stairs before she felt Scorpius fall into step behind her. This made the nervous and excited energy she felt intensify. She had a sudden and very strong urge for any part of her to be in contact with him, so much so that her hands had become fidgety. Her hands were almost shaking as she reached the bathroom door. She looked around in what was sure to be a very unsubtle way – it was lucky the coast was indeed clear or they would have been found out straight away. Scorpius leaned closer to her as she opened the door, his front grazing against her back which only heightened her anticipation and need. Rose almost didn't want to step away from him but it was necessary as she needed for them to enter the bathroom, away from prying eyes. As she felt his breath on her neck, she finally came to and burst the door open, reaching back to drag Scorpius inside. As the door slammed shut behind them, they stood face to face, incredibly close but not touching. Rose found herself bouncing on the balls of her feet waiting for something to happen. It appeared that now they were alone, neither of them were prepared to make the first move. Rose moved her gazed from his eyes, down to his lips and then blazed a path from his neck to his shirt, the instigator of this particular rendezvous. Something about her look must have spurred him on as Scorpius suddenly closed the gap between them and captured her mouth with his, the need and desire flowing between them freely.
When Rose suggested heading upstairs she had thought they would definitely kiss and perhaps get to release some tension with a make-out session, not unlike what would happen often at Hogwarts among antsy students in broom cupboards. What she didn't anticipate was the relief, desire and wanton need for him she felt as they finally kissed. As appeared to be their forte when they were together, things escalated very quickly. So quickly that Rose's knickers still hung from one of her ankles and Scorpius' trousers had barely been pulled down by the time they had leant up against the bathroom vanity and were moving together, using their kisses to muffle the sounds of pleasure that was building up with each thrust.
Rose was very jovial at dinner that night. She sat next to her Uncle Percy and discussed cauldrons as she had promised. She drank wine and found herself blushing as her thoughts were drawn back to the bathroom upstairs every time she caught the eye of a particular blonde seated further down the table. She and Scorpius were certain that someone would pick what was going on but nothing was said. Instead, the evening remained all about the celebration for Teddy and Victoire and two friends got away with their secrets yet again.
October 2028
Since Rose and Scorpius had broken in their new agreement at her grandparents place it seemed that they were having far more 'moments' than either of them had quietly acknowledged in the past; in Rose's childhood cubby house, In Rose's parent's car when she had been attempting to teach Scorpius to drive, in the bathrooms at the Leaky Cauldron but most often when they were alone at Rose's flat. By the end of October Scorpius had sneakily stayed in Rose's room overnight numerous times. If Albus was home Scorpius would pretend to go home but sneak back once Rose sent a wand signal. He would stay the night then sneak out in the morning before Albus noticed anything. Sometimes he would exit the flat and then simply knock and re-enter under the guise of having breakfast with his friends which was not an uncommon occurrence even before he and Rose were sleeping together.
Any time Scorpius stayed over they would usually succumb to their urges, change into their pyjamas and then jump back into bed and fall asleep. No sweet nothings. No kisses. No snuggling. They treated their time together as fulfilling a need and then reverted straight back to the friendship that they had long since redefined the rules for.
One night after sneaking back into Rose's room Rose and Scorpius lay on their own sides of the bed. Rose was drifting off to sleep but her imminent slumber was interrupted by Scorpius' voice.
"I can't sleep." He said in a low voice as Rose heard him turn over to face her.
"Not my problem if you can't sleep," she replied sleepily.
"True that it's not your problem but maybe you could be a good friend and help me out?"
"Sorry, not that good a friend." Rose mumbled.
There was a silence as Scorpius thought for a moment. "Just tell me about your work, that is sure to put me to sleep!"
Rose hastily opened her eyes and nearly launched off the pillow. Scorpius just smirked at her.
"Knew that would wake you up."
Rose gathered her pillow up and him over the face with it. He was still smirking.
"Ugh fine. But I'll make you regret even asking!" she conceded while returning the pillow under her head. Scorpius hugged into his own pillow and gestured for her to proceed.
"We're halfway through the study for finding out the best combination of vessels and spells to use to make sure potion ingredients last freshest for longest –"
"You're still on that one study?" Scorpius groaned in response.
"Hush! Yes, people keep potion ingredients for years so the study must also go for years!"
Scorpius' eyes started to close. "Keep talking, it's working."
Rose belted him with her pillow again. He simply grinned with his eyes closed.
"Not that you'll care but I've also started working on trying to find a coating for fabrics and armour which is as tough as dragon hide."
Scorpius opened an eye in curiosity. "But dragon hide is the best protection around, why would you need something else?"
Rose grinned ever so slightly, if she could hold his attention it would pay him back for keeping her awake. It also happened that she was very passionate about her work.
"You are correct but dragon hide is much harder to come by now that many species are dying out and need to be protected. I mean, a huge dragon will make hundreds of gloves but there's a huge mismatch between supply and demand just here in the UK which means that for our magical population alone around 100 dragons are killed per year just to make supplies available. Combine that with how hard it is to actually catch and slay a dragon and that means the price of dragon hide gloves goes up dramatically. Oh and also, so many dragon tamers are not willing to kill a dragon anymore as their focus is more on relocation and breeding programs."
Both of Scorpius' eyes had shot open during Rose's rambling and he was looking at her in wonderment. "Rose, do you realise how amazing this is? If you find a way to make this work it could make a huge impact."
Rose looked nervously away. "Oh I'm well aware, that's why I'm so scared of failing."
"Hey, if you can spend years working on the one boring old potions bottle project, then you'll spend as long as it takes to get this one right."
"I hope so." Rose replied. "My job doesn't seem so boring now does it?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Pfft, the work still isn't exciting but maybe, just maybe the outcomes are worth it."
"And like your job is so exciting, you're just a glorified salesperson anyway!"
"Hey! I do more than sales! I negotiate important trade agreements and source potion supplies which is, well, boring but at least I'm aware of it and don't bang on about it with enthusiasm." Scorpius defended.
"Oh yes, because me doing a job I'm passionate about is the thing to ridicule here." She replied sarcastically. Her comment shut him up completely. It was no secret that Scorpius was only in his job to help out his dad but Rose wasn't sure what he would do if he wasn't working for the family business. After a few minutes silence, Rose's thoughts were interrupted by Scorpius' voice.
"Do you think anyone knows?" he asked, gesturing between them.
"Surely someone would have to! We're stealthy but not that stealthy."
There was a pause until Scorpius spoke again. "Does it bother you that people might know?"
"I don't think so." Rose replied.
"Yeah, me either."
And with that, they were left to their own thoughts and slowly drifted off to sleep.
A/N Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review if you are so inclined (particularly if you were one of the original readers of the story, I'd love to know if you are still here!)