undeniable | scorbus

twenty - albus

one word: fluff

———

The Astronomy tower was a huge, circular building with a wide, cone shaped roof. At the very back, directly opposite from the doorway, was a window. It wasn't small, but it wasn't huge either. Albus supposed this was because of the lack of glass windowpanes, although he'd never heard of anyone falling off the tower.

He stopped when they were right in front of it, and he shivered as the cool breeze surrounded them. Scorpius stopped as well, and Albus stepped back.

"Now you can open your eyes," Albus said softly.

He watched from the side as Scorpius took in the sight in front of him. The Astronomy tower provided the best view in all of Hogwarts, but he was probably the only one who knew that.

It directly overlooked the grounds, and the Forbidden Forest was visible in the distance. The pale moonlight danced on the glistening lake, which appeared as an almost black colour during the late hours of the night.

But the most beautiful thing, in Albus's opinion, was the sky. It looked just like a painting, with hues of dark blues and purples that held hundreds of tiny, glowing stars.

They'd never had astronomy class this late at night, so most people had never truly seen just how bright stars could be, even with the telescopes. Albus had watched the sky in wonder for at least an hour the first time he'd come up here.

"Wow," Scorpius breathed, and Albus realized he'd been watching the boy in front of him more than their breathtaking view.

Scorpius was staring as far as he could to either side without leaning out of the window. It was like he wanted to take in as much as he possibly could, as if it was going to disappear any second.

After a few minutes, Scorpius turned his head slightly so that he was looking at Albus.

"How come you brought me here?" He asked quietly. "This seems like... your place, or something. The kind you don't tell people about."

"It is, sort of. I've never told anyone that they keep the Astronomy tower unlocked after curfew, not even Rose. As far as I know, I'm the only one who comes up here this late."

"What about your friends? Do they know?" Scorpius asked curiously.

Albus shook his head, and Scorpius looked at him in awe.

"I'm the first person you've told?"

Albus stared at his feet. He couldn't explain why, but he felt nervous, almost afraid. Scorpius was looking at him like he was the most important thing in the world, and he didn't know what to do. He tried to bring back some of his usual assertive demeanour, usually coming as easily as breathing, but it seemed to be completely wiped away. He felt like he was grasping at loose strings.

After a minute, he spoke, forcing himself to look at Scorpius.

"I've never wanted to show anyone until now."

"Why?"

"I-" he started, and realized he had no idea how to continue. "-don't know."

"Oh." Scorpius looked back out the window, and his face seemed to fall the tiniest bit. It shouldn't have even been noticeable, but Albus noticed. He immediately wanted to take back his answer.

"I didn't mean it like - like I don't care or something," Albus said quickly. "I just... I wanted to make you feel better. Obviously I had no idea if it would work, but-"

"Albus," Scorpius interrupted, voice soft. "You don't have to explain yourself. It's okay."

"No, I do," Albus said, starting to grow frustrated. He was usually brilliant with words, but somehow he couldn't manage to find the right ones when he needed them most.

"I hate seeing you so - so... upset," he concluded lamely, wishing there was some sort of potion that would provide the user with a built in mental thesaurus. "It's just... I dunno, you're the last person who deserves to be upset."

Scorpius was looking at him with that same expression he'd worn before, the one that made Albus want to look away because he didn't want to ruin the moment. He quickly snapped his mouth shut and averted his gaze to the Hogwarts grounds again.

Scorpius seemed to be at a loss for words, so Albus continued talking.

"I come here when I'm stressed. Or pissed off. When I'm happy, too. I come here all the time, actually. It's the only place I can ever get some peace and quiet."

"I understand that," Scorpius said quietly. "Chaos seems to follow you wherever you go."

Albus let out a relieved laugh. "That it does."

Scorpius was looking at him again, and he felt a little bit jittery.

"Are you okay?" He asked, before he could stop himself. He felt like he would burst from anticipation if he didn't find out the answer.

To his surprise, Scorpius answered him immediately.

"Yeah. I think so."

Albus raised an eyebrow, and Scorpius sighed.

"I don't usually freak out like that. I was thinking of my mother, and you, and I just got a little overwhelmed, I guess."

"Me?"

"Huh?"

"You said you were thinking about me." Albus's heart was thudding. He felt like he'd run a marathon, and he couldn't even blame it on the enormous set of stairs he'd just climbed.

"Oh," Scorpius said, and Albus could see the realization dawning on his face. "Oh."

"What about your mother?" Albus asked hastily, as Scorpius seemed to grow more and more regretful.

"It's her birthday today. Or, the anniversary of it, I guess," Scorpius sighed, moving his gaze back to the scenery.

Albus froze. He didn't know what he could say that could possibly cheer him up from that. He opened his mouth, and promptly closed it again.

Scorpius turned back around, clearly sensing the obvious tension that had manifested itself in the room.

"Don't worry. You don't have to say anything," Scorpius said. "I know no one likes talking about these kinds of things."

"I'm sorry," Albus whispered, hating the fact that there was nothing he could do.

"It's okay. I miss her, of course, but I think I've been able to cope." Scorpius gave him a small smile, and Albus knew Scorpius was staying positive for his sake.

Albus didn't respond. There was no need, and Scorpius was smart enough to know that. They settled into a more comfortable silence, both of them choosing to enjoy the feeling of the cool breeze on their faces.

"Do you think we could come up here again sometime?" Scorpius asked after what felt like almost an hour. Albus startled at the sound of his voice, he'd been completely lost in his whirlwind of messy thoughts.

"Whenever you want," Albus insisted.

"Really?"

"Of course," he responded, and Scorpius beamed at him, looking happier than he'd been all day.

Albus thought he might be a little in love with him.

———

what can I say? wbk, albus. wbk.

i'm literally laughing bc when I started writing this, I told myself it was going to be less than 2000 words. lmfao.

- gxldensnitched <3