bittersweet //scorbus//

chocolate milk

"Ginny, have you ever seen Albus cry this much?" Harry asked his wife as he walked down the stairs.

"No, I wonder what's been going on?" Ginny wondered.

Harry shrugged. He heard the sound of feet shuffling towards him.

"Daddy, is Albus crying?" she asked softly.

"Yes, darling, but don't say anything to him. Go on to bed." Ginny told her, stepping in front of Harry.

Lily Luna nodded and went upstairs to her room. 

It had been about an hour, and Ginny and Harry had gone to bed.

Scorpius looked up from the sketchbook he was doodling and saw that the clock read 12:43 a.m. 

"Al? I really want chocolate milk." 

Albus laughed and threw aside the tissue box he was holding. He opened the door before saying, "Well, come on then!" 

Scorpius and Albus crept down the stairs, careful to now wake anyone. The Christmas tree lights made the dark room look warm and golden and glowy. Albus opened the refrigerator and took out the jug of milk and chocolate and  a jar of liquid chocolate. 

As he was mixing the chocolate into two glasses of milk, Scorpius walked into the kitchen as well. They hung around the counter and drank the milk silently. Albus walked to the door frame after finishing his glass.

Scorpius set his glass in the sink and walked to the door frame, ready to head upstairs. He stopped when he got there, waiting for Albus to lead the on, but Albus stayed. He looked around himself, and then back at Scorpius.

"Mistletoe." he said softly, pointing above their heads.

Scorpius's heart stopped. He looked up, and sure enough, they were both standing over freshly cut mistletoe, where Harry and Ginny usually liked to stand and peck each other on the cheeks each morning.

"Yeah." Scorpius breathed.

Albus inched closer and Scorpius took a sharp intake of breath. 

"You know the rules." Scorpius said.

Albus intertwined his fingers with Scorpius's, leaning in even closer.

Scorpius ran a hand through Albus's wild hair and came closer and closer until they were less than an inch apart. 

Albus leaned in and pressed his lips onto Scorpius's. Scorpius kissed him back gently. They stood there, intertwined, kissing each other so gently you thought they were each made of glass. 

Albus had been kissed one time, it was Poppy Patil, and he hated it. Scorpius was kissed by Rose Granger-Weasly as an experiment. He didn't like it either.

But this was different. They both liked this. 

Scorpius took in how soft and warm Albus's lips were, and Albus tasted the chocolate milk that Scorpius had. 

They stood kissing each other for awhile, about five minutes, before Scorpius pulled back and smiled. Albus smiled too, and they both flushed pink. 

And they both looked so perfect standing there under the mistletoe with their rosy cheeks, the Christmas lights casting golden shadows on their skin.