undeniable | scorbus

nine - albus

albus potter swears like a sailor, okay? he can't help it. he just does.

—

Albus shot right back up at Scorpius Malfoy's voice, ignoring his exhaustion and swearing at the sudden pain that ran through his arm. He grimaced, and slowly shifted himself up with his good side until he was leaning against the pillows at the head of his hospital bed.

"Son of a fucking - oh, Merlin. Ouch," Albus gasped, trying to keep a straight face, which was proving to be a challenging task.

"Wow." Scorpius was now standing at the foot of his bed, gaping at his giant sling, which was fortunately clear of blood.

If Scorpius has seen him when he arrived, Albus thought he would have passed out. He certainly seemed the sensitive type.

"Ow, fuck, sorry. My arm... just fucking hurts," Albus said, unable to push the grimace away.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius's concerned voice was nearly enough to distract him.

"Yeah, I... fucking hell."

He couldn't help it. His shoulder was throbbing with the sheer effort of trying to hold the weight of his arm up.

"Albus, lie back down."

"No, it's okay," Albus groaned, somewhat unconvincingly.

"Lie down, Albus! I mean it!" Scorpius said, louder than Albus had ever heard him speak before.

He was so taken aback that he obeyed, sinking back onto the fluffy pillows and letting his arm relax on his stomach.

He moaned again, and Scorpius looked worried. Despite the pain, this gave him a strange sense of joy. Scorpius Malfoy was worried about him. Who would've thought?

"I didn't know you had such a foul mouth. You must have traumatized the first year sitting a few beds down. She'll probably have nightmares until summer break. Do you need some water? Or pumpkin juice? I have a chocolate frog, too," Scorpius said, pulling a purple box out of his front pocket.

Albus noticed it was a habit of his to carry candy wherever he went.

"It's okay, cutting myself open usually makes me lose my appetite. Madam Pomfrey says I should be okay by tonight."

"Oh, that's good news! You weren't in class yesterday, I thought-" Scorpius trailed off, and Albus raised his eyebrow, one of the few bodily movements he could make that wouldn't cause him to cry out in pain.

"You thought what?" Albus felt a tinge of curiosity.

"I don't know, it sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but - I thought you were avoiding me."

Albus let out a breathy laugh. Scorpius really did worry about the most trivial things. It was almost cute, in Albus's opinion. Scorpius's anxious personality contrasted to his own so much that Albus wondered how on earth they'd even become friends in the first place.

"Why the fuck would I be avoiding you?" Albus asked, trying to reach for a water bottle.

"I don't know, the whole Rose thing, I guess. Lily said you avoided her for a week once," Scorpius replied with a shrug, grabbing the water bottle and handing it to Albus, who took it with his working hand.

"I had a good reason for that. And when did you talk to my baby sister?" He asked, grinning.

"She's hardly a baby! I'm surprised she didn't hex me," Scorpius said, gaping at him. "I ran into her at the library. And you might want to slow down with the water."