Albus Potter and the Crush on His Best Friend | Scorbus Fanfic

Chapter 4: Heaven Smells Like Citrus

When Albus awoke again, it was dark. Al had always liked nighttime in the castle. Everything was quiet, and peaceful; the portraits were all asleep, and the common room fire was warm. The Slytherin common room, as it was in the dungeons, always had a quiet drip, drip, drip in the background. If you listened closely enough, it sounded soothingly like rain.

He sat up, eyes adjusting slowly. Merlin, it was hot. The Hospital Wing's pajamas were made of thick flannel and were extremely itchy. Al undid the buttons of his pinstripe pajama top and pulled it off in one smooth motion, dropping it at the end of his bed. That was better. He pulled back the curtain, reaching for the glass of water he knew was on the bedside table-

Merlin. Someone was asleep in the chair by his bed. Someone who's platinum blond hair glinted in the moonlight. Someone who....fuck. It all came back to him. The embarrassing moment in the Great Hall, and then later with James and Scorpius...Merlin. Al had no idea what to do. Slowly, as if moving around a dangerous animal, he grabbed the glass of water, and then receded back into his bed. He pulled the curtain back quickly, but he could still hear Scorpius' deep breathing. Sipping the water, heart thudding, he tried to collect himself. There was no way around it. He had to open the curtain again to put the glass of water back.

Trepidatiously, Al pulled back the curtain once more, reaching for the bedside table. He was concentrating so hard on not making any noise when-

"Albus!" A quiet surprise from a voice thick with sleep. Al, wide eyed, realized how he was basically in Scorpius' lap, shirtless. He wanted to explain, protest maybe, "Iit's the glass of water's fault!" but he couldn't.

"Look, Al. I'm really sorry. And I know that I've basically ruined our...our friendship. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I'll go..."

Scorpius made no move to leave, however. Possibly because he couldn't, with the shirtless Al in his lap.

Merlin.

The day in Potions Class came back to him. How Scorp had been so nice, so distracting....(wait, what?) And he tried not to think about how soft Scorp's jumper was on his bare skin, or how Scorp smelled wonderfully nice, like something citrusy. Or how Al was totally freaking out being this close to him, and hyper-aware of it all. It hit him like a Knockback Jinx. He liked Scorpius. He liked Scorpius. And maybe just not liked...Merlin. Oh, and Scorpius liked him back.

He swallowed hard, readying himself. Because Al knew when to give up, to stop resisting, unlike his Father. To stop denying. He knew he was screwed. All he could think about was how suddenly years of moments were making a horrible sort of sense. Snippets of memories flashed behind his eyes:

Scorpius, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, "All I ever wanted was to go to Hogwarts and have a mate to get up to mayhem with. Just like Harry Potter. And I got his son. How crazily fortunate is that?"

"But I'm nothing like my dad." All Albus did was stare into Scorp's confident eyes. "You're better. You're my best friend Albus."

Scorpius whispering quietly in the dark, "I didn't like my life much without you in it either."

Scorpius smiling, Scorpius laughing, Scorpius-

"Don't."

"Don't what?" Scorpius drew a sharp intake of breath, and Albus felt it.

"Don't go. Please."

Scorpius' brow furrowed, and Albus could feel his heartbeat getting faster and faster. Or maybe that was his own.