SCORBUS // consider me yours.

03 | brooms are. . . difficult

Scorpius walked onto the field as Albus staggered behind him. They walked past students, forests, animals and very persuasive joke-supply sellers until they reached the Pitch. Tonight, the Pitch almost looked orange as the setting sun fell over the posts. The whole yard seemed as though it had gotten a tan, and Albus and Scorpius were simply walking through it.

"Tell me you at least know the basics," Scorpius smiled once they settled. Both of his arms were now at his side,
much to Albus' dismay. Scorpius yanked open a case, which held a Bludger, Quaffle and, of course, the Snitch. Albus shook his head, and his eyes almost widened as he saw the size of the balls.

Scorpius looked at the grass under his feet, trying to suppress a laugh, "You're lucky you're cute."

And there it was. Again.

Albus' heart pierced. Compliments like these made him feel empty, lonely, when they were supposed to make him feel quite the contrary. Still, Albus managed a chuckle, and waited as Scorpius set up the rest of the game.

Scorpius swayed his broom from side to side and mounted it quite quickly once he'd gotten finished setting up. He waited as Albus tried to do the same.

Albus set his leg over the end of his broom, but as soon and he sat down, the broom gave in and plummeted to the ground. It wasn't a hard fall, only about an inch from the ground was the broom before it'd fallen under Albus' weight. Still, he was embarrassed.

A smile tugged at Scorpius' lips, "Need help?"

Albus shook his head determinedly, but Scorpius made his way over to him anyway.

Without a second thought, Albus followed Scorpius' directions once he began sharing them. Albus nodded like an idiot as he spoke, although Scorpius' words went in one of his ears and out the other. Albus was too busy staring at Scorpius to listen anyway. He just loved how perfect his hair looked in the light as the wind swept it to the side.

"Sound good?" Scorpius asked quietly, without context. His whisper was enough to make Albus snap out of his gaze. Albus gave him an apologetic smile, as if to imply that it, in fact, did not sound good, because he hadn't been listening.

Scorpius laughed, somehow not annoyed. Albus was surprised that Scorpius didn't complain, but was even more surprised when he felt Scorpius' hand travel to his waist. Before Albus could say anything, Scorpius began to try and properly hoist him onto his broom.

Albus' breath hitched unnoticeably as Scorpius moved his hands higher to lift Albus up. Albus began to get so lost in the touch that he hadn't realized he'd gotten on his broom until Scorpius let go. Albus' eyes flickered to Scorpius' hands quickly, showing brief disappointment, before he smiled and thanked him.

Scorpius smiled back, "Of course. Now, are you ready to play?"

"Ready when you are," Albus sighed, holding his broom lightly. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about what had just happened.

Then with that, Scorpius whistled, and each ball flew away from their position on the grass. They flew into the air in different directions, and at different speeds.

As soon as the Snitch went up, so did Scorpius. Albus, on the other hand, was flying about two feet off the ground, and was somehow spinning insanely in circles.

Scorpius chased after the Snitch for about three seconds before realizing that Albus wasn't following him. Immediately, he went back down onto the ground and sighed.

"Can't fly?" Scorpius said simply. Albus stuck his tongue out without thinking. A reflex. Scorpius chuckled, waving a dismissive hand, "Well, that's okay. We can always use my broom."

"We have the same broom," Albus didn't understand, clearly.

"Well, that's not what I meant," Scorpius shook his head. "but good job for noticing!" He smirked.

"Piss off," Albus tried to conceal his smile. "What did you mean?"

"We can both ride my broom. It'll be easier for me to teach you how to fly that way." Scorpius presented, and gestured to his broom, which was floating vertically. Albus' heart fluttered, and he had so much positivity inside of him that he couldn't even convince himself that what Scorpius had done was simply a friendly gesture.

Albus nodded silently, got off his own broom - which wasn't difficult - and watched it teeter on its side. He laughed dryly, before moving towards Scorpius' broom, and feeling Scorpius' hands on his hips again.

He liked that feeling, for sure.

The broom rose slowly in the air, holding both Albus and Scorpius on it. Scorpius was sitting by the end of the stick, while Albus was sitting behind him, allowing Scorpius to steer. The sun began to set behind them, just barely, but it still lingered on for a little, as if waiting to see how the game would end.

"You see, all you have to do is angle the broom in the direction you want to go." Scorpius said, turning to look at him. Albus wasn't listening to what Scorpius was saying however, because all he could think about was that he was riding the same broom as Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy.

Still, Albus nodded like he had listened, and Scorpius continued on with his blabbing.

Halfway through his daydreaming and tuning-out-Scorpius, Albus felt Scorpius grab his hands and move them towards him. Albus immediately jerked, obviously startled by the movement.

"Sorry," Scorpius mumbled. "But I just told you, if you don't want to die, you're going to have to hold on."

Albus' face formed into a quizzical look, which was expected, since he hadn't been listening. Again though, Albus nodded like he had been, and allowed Scorpius to grab his hands for the second time.

Scorpius moved quickly so that the broom wouldn't drift downward, but Albus still felt like everything was moving in slow motion. Scorpius held onto Albus' wrists, pulling them closer to his waist, and before Albus knew it, he was holding onto Scorpius.

"All set?" Scorpius asked from in front, feeling Albus' hands hold him tightly.

"Guess so," Albus smiled, even though Scorpius couldn't see him.

"Good." Scorpius breathed, preparing the broom for a flip. "Hold on tight, cutie."

And Albus' heart fluttered again.