Working Through the Rest

Still Not Valentine's Day

Scorpius and I arrange to meet in Great Hall after breakfast on Saturday morning. I haven't seen him yet – I assume that he got up early to eat and then went to get dressed. However, when he appears in the Entrance Hall, he mentions something about managing to miss breakfast. I suggest going down to the kitchens to find something, but he insists that he's fine.

Given that it's February, the weather is reasonable. It's cold, but the sun is shining, which makes a decent change from the rain. The grounds are reasonably quiet as most people are heading down to Hogsmeade, and we start to walk towards the lake.
"Did you work – this – out when I asked Rose out?" Scorpius asks quietly.
"Yeah," I nod. "Yeah. That night. I couldn't sleep and I was confused and that was the conclusion I ended up at. I didn't – I didn't try to accept it until November."

Scorpius nods, letting go of my hand and putting his arm around my shoulders. I smile, leaning into him and wrapping my arm around him. He's shivering slightly and I pull my hat off, standing on tiptoe to pull it onto his head. He giggles, helping me.

After, we keep walking and Scorpius stumbles a couple of times. The third time, I run forward, taking Scorpius with me. He laughs as we end up running down the grounds, stumbling and tripping with every other step.

When we stop running, we're both panting and giggling and smiling. Scorpius collapses onto the floor, pulling me with him. He wraps me in another hug and I lean into his shoulder, taking a deep breath.
"Your hair smells nice," I mumble, closing my eyes.
"Does it?"
"It smells like vanilla," I nod.
"I washed it."
"Is that why you missed breakfast?"
"No. I missed breakfast because I was panicking over what to wear."
"Well," I look at him, "I think you look beautiful."
"Thank you," he smiles.

We stay silent for a few minutes, staring up at the sky. I want to thank him for what he's done for me since we met. I want him to know how much he's done for me.
"Scorp," I say quietly.
"Yeah?"
"You're an angel."
"What?"
"You're an angel," I say again. "You've put up with me for so long and I'm so grateful that you have. I love you so much. You're an angel."
"Did you sleep last night?" Scorpius smiles awkwardly.
"Somehow I doubt you did."

I roll over, taking his hand as we both stare up at the sky. I am beyond grateful that doesn't. I understand that it's confusing and that is scary, and I'll be there the whole time. I'll be there for him.

And then I look at him, smiling at how peaceful he looks. His breathing is steady. He's smiling. He looks happy. I'm never going to stop being grateful that he's happy.
"Can I kiss you?" I whisper, the words spilling out before logic can stop them.
"What?" Scorpius freezes, looking at me.
"Nothing," I say quickly. "Nothing. Sorry."
"No," Scorpius squeezes my hand. "I heard."

He smiles awkwardly and I don't move as he leans towards me, planting a kiss on my cheek. I smile, reaching to cup his cheek with my hand, giggling slightly as his hair tickles my skin. He smiles and I pull him into a hug, tucking my head over his shoulder.
"Is it okay if we don't do more than that?" he mumbles.
"Of course," I assure him. "Of course it's okay. I love you."
"I love you too," he says slowly.

I hold on a little tighter as he kisses myforehead, and then I smile. I don't care about what anyone says. We deservethis. I deserve this. We deserve to be happy.