Bubbles / scorbus

BUBBLES

BUBBLES (1173 WORDS)

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Scorpius yanked the front door inward, mindful not to knock his toes in his enthusiasm. His socked feet rolled over the wooden boards of the porch. His mouth tugged with a grin as he gripped the railing of the stairs. His action was useless; he leapt down the few steps anyway. He minded his step as he wandered over the tiled pathway and into the drive. Butterflies whirled around the large, potent rose bushes lining the walkway of the vibrant, front garden.

He ensured to step carefully as he began to cross the driveway, as to not lower his socks into the soapy bubbles that pooled in the crevices of the dark tiles. The pavement warmed his feet. Rays of sunlight overhead caused his skin to adopt an unnatural warmth. He bit back a grin as he rounded the black vehicle parked in their drive, yet became largely unsuccessful when a cheery voice called out to him.

"Morning, love!"

Albus tipped his head around from the front bumper of the car, his curly hair coated in a thin layer of sparkling bubbles. He waved, a thick yellow sponge. Water glimmered like rivers along his forearms. The fabric of his shirt had darkened due to droplets of water, yet were fading due to the heat of the sun. Scorpius' stomach made threatening twists at the sight. He leaned back against the fence, crossing his arms over his chest. His cheeks burned, yet he wasn't certain he could blame the overhead sun. He prayed his face did not shine a deeper shade of crimson than the rose petals littering the lawn.

Scorpius cleared his throat. He rubbed his neck. "Pretend I'm not here. You just looked really handsome from the window upstairs, I wanted a closer look."

Albus' laughter began to float by his ears in the light breeze. Scorpius struggled to meet his husband's gaze and completely failed to bite back a grin.

"Is that right?" Albus snorted.

"You didn't tell me you were going to wash the car!" Scorpius hissed. He caught his reflection in the shiny, tinted windows of the car. The flush of his skin grew increasingly more apparent. Scorpius' shoulders began to rise to his ears.

"I didn't know you'd take such offence."

"Why even bother if I'm not here to watch?"

Albus smirked. He tossed his sponge into the bucket by his feet, and it disappeared into the foamy cap atop the water inside. He lifted the hose, which had been occupying the ground at his feet, and allowed water to rain over the windshield. A kaleidoscope of colouring polluted the air, dusting Scorpius' skin with minute droplets. He struggled to mind, delighted by the soapy scent lifting from the paintwork of the car.

"I can make it up to you—" Albus tried. He tossed the hose onto the bush by his side.

"By standing under the hose for a minute?"

Albus gaped at him. "Merlin! What is it with you today?"

"I can stop hitting on you, if you like—"

"I was going to ask you to wash the roof! I can't reach it, and I'd have to rewash the front of the car. Then you wouldn't have missed anything."

Scorpius laughed. He ran a hand through his hair and stepped forward. Albus slammed the sponge into his hand. Water splashed over Scorpius' socks, yet he was too preoccupied clapping Albus' cheek with the sponge in response. He grinned when the boy stumbled out of Scorpius' range, giggling. His wet, bare feet slapped across the tiles.

Scorpius lifted to his toes. He began to scrub at the dirty grains encrusted on the top of the car. The sponge moulded to the shape of his hand, and a thick lather developed over his fingertips. He squinted to protect his eyes from the glare of the sun, which reflected in the sparkly metalwork of the car. He wandered around the circumference of the vehicle, fulfilling his half of the promise as Albus settled himself on the thick, brick mailbox.

Scorpius, when finished, dropped the sponge back onto the hood. He turned to Albus with a puffed chest. He crouched to retrieve the nozzle of the hose, untangling his feet from the twisted green pipe. "Would you like me to rinse it off?"

"Do you even know how to use a hose?" Albus snarked.

Scorpius pointed the head in his husband's direction. He clamped his finger on the trigger. The hose recoiled, slightly, in his fingers. The stream caught Albus' chest, and Scorpius struggled not to choke on his laughter.

"CORY!" Albus called.

He lifted his hands to protect himself. It made little impact. He managed to jump from his post, yet shifted too slowly to escape the stream shooting in his direction. Scorpius continued to snort. Excitement bubbled in his chest as Albus yanked on the pipe, tugging the head from his fingers. Scorpius' socked feet slipped on the uneven surface as he attempted to retreat. In retrospect, he likely should have expected that Albus' turnaround time would be lesser than anticipated given his siblings.

Cool spray chilled his back as he leapt back across the tiles. He struggled to ensure his feet landed on the stones. Albus pursed him regardless. He veered from the porch, hesitant to put their papasan porch chairs in the line of fire. He hobbled drunkenly over the lawn, weak in the stomach due to delight, his throat aching due to giggles.

He cried, "You were returning my favour!"

"You really thought you'd get away with that?" Albus called. "Nice try!"

The stream stopped. Scorpius stilled, casting a glance over his shoulder to locate the source of the disturbance. He hardly had seconds to register that Albus' arms were around his waist until he laid, sprawled, over the petal-coated lawn. He struggled to catch his breath.

He flickered his eyes open to find emerald eyes approaching. He spread his fingers over Albus' cheeks, distantly aware of the pressure in his waist – the result of Albus' fingers tightening in the damp skin of his hip. When lips met his own, the breath returned to him. His internal temperament stilled to quietness once more. While he kissed Albus back for only a moment, he failed to remember the last instance when his chest had been so warm.

"I'm so glad I came outside," he laughed, dusting his fingers through Albus' curly fringe. He trailed his thumbs over freckled cheeks. The immersive green of Albus' eyes matched the shades of the rustling canopy overhead, the blue sky riddled with puffy white clouds and twirling butterflies.

Albus beamed. "I promise to tell you when I'm planning to wash the car, next time."

Scorpius tugged his husband's face down enough to kiss his nose. "Absolutely, you will."

- A / N -

Hi everyone! This is the second work in my 30 day otp challenge! This was a fluffy one to write and it's quite short. I do enjoy it, I hope you do as well. It's unedited so go easy on me :)

Love you all!!
Ashlyn xx