Must Have Done Something Right / Scorbus

Chapter 50 / Defining Awkward

Chapter 50
Defining Awkward

A large orange poster was staring Scorpius in the face, and the Quidditch player it depicted winked at him every time he flew past. Scorpius cringed when he did.
"Why is it so ... orange?" he asked Albus disconcertingly, who was carefully placing all their shopping bags on the floor of his room. "It's not a very subtle colour, is it?" Orange had never been a favourite hue of his. In a near-silent mutter, he added, "You wouldn't catch me dead wearing orange."
Albus turned his head to see what Scorpius was referring to and smirked. "It's the Cannons, Scorp. Their team colour is orange," he said dryly, relaying information that apparently everyone should know.
"Sorry, the Cannons?"
Albus stared at him in shock, as if trying to decide whether or not Scorpius' ignorance was sincere. When he realised Scorpius wasn't pulling his leg, he said, "Merlin, I keep forgetting you're a total Quidditch novice. The Chudley Cannons," he repeated. "It my dad and uncle's favourite team, so naturally, we all go for them. That's Buchanan, their Seeker." Then Albus paused and opined, "Not a very good one actually. He hasn't caught the Snitch in their last five matches."
"And you think you could do a better job," Scorpius stated with a smirk.
Albus grinned. "I didn't say that. But yeah, I reckon I could."
"So when will you tell your parents that the chances of you playing against Buchanan are actually quite high?" he asked, referring to the still undiscussed issue of Albus' invitation to play professional with Puddlemere.
"Tonight?" Albus said. "I didn't want to do it before you got here, because I figured you're the one who made it possible in the first place, so you should be there when I tell my parents." Scruffing his already messy hair, Albus shrugged and said, "I know I've already said thanks, but really, thanks a lot. If it weren't for you—"
"My words wouldn't have made a difference if you weren't a brilliant player. Give credit where it's due, Al. You are a phenomenal Seeker," Scorpius finished with a smile meaning every word.
The moment of silence between them ended soon after.
"ALBUS!" his mother yelled from downstairs. "Dinner!"
Albus sighed with a smile toying at his mouth. "Hungry?"
"A little," Scorpius nodded.
"Just a word of advice; ignore everything my brother may say to you. And I apologise in advance for any humiliating things my dad might mention," Albus said, looking apprehensive toward the door of his room, as if expecting his family to barge in.
Scorpius worried his bottom lip with his teeth. "I just hope I don't embarrass myself."
"Are you kidding? Scorp, you're perfect. They love you already; it'll be fine." Albus blew out a large breath of air and ran a hand through his hand. "Well ... to the dining room," he announced apprehensively.
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"So boys, when did you become friends?"
Albus inwardly groaned at his mother's stupid inquisitive question. As if she needed to know! It didn't matter when they became friends! They just did! Deal with it, mum!
"Half way through September," Scorpius answered dutifully after carefully dabbing at his mouth with a napkin. Albus was grateful at least one of them wasn't on a homicidal rampage to murder every Potter in existence. "It was a shock, to say the least," Scorpius added with a smile that cooled Albus' temper down a few degrees.
"I'll bet it was," his dad said, cutting out a piece of his roast beef. "A Potter and a Malfoy, eh?" Then he leaned in a little closer and turned to Scorpius to ask jokingly, "Scorpius, what on earth convinced you to become Albus' friend?"
Albus' anger flared up again. What the hell kind of question's that, dad? His father's attempt at a joke was entirely unappreciated at this stage, as Albus' nerves were on edge and he didn't enjoy the slight against him. He stabbed his fork into his mashed potato.
Once more, Scorpius answered perfectly. He chuckled and joked along, "It baffles even me. And I can assure you that half of Hogwarts were looking at us like we were something to be found in a museum."
The Potters chuckled along at Scorpius' light-hearted quip and Albus marvelled at the grace with which Scorpius handled himself in front of them. He had never been an overly brave or outspoken person, but he appeared to be comfortable in this setting and Albus was enthralled by him. Whatever Scorpius' concerns were about meeting his family, they were null now. Albus was convinced his parents would easily adopt Scorpius and abandon Albus at the drop of a hat. Why couldn't he be the same way around Scorp's dad, too?
"I hope you didn't get any trouble because of it," his mum said with a careless laugh, not knowing just how close to the truth her statement really was.
Albus swallowed as a brief flash of memories filtered through his mind of all the occasions he and Scorp had been bullied. He looked to his left at Scorpius, who must have been thinking the same thing. If he was however, he wasn't showing it. Instead he smiled along and answered, "Well, eventually everyone became accustomed to seeing the two of us always with each other." Then his eyes widened a fraction and he hurried to blurt, "As friends, I mean," obviously realising what he could have been implying without the addendum.
Albus caught the tail-end of a curious look on his father's face, who quickly wiped it clean and replaced it with a smile. "And what does your dad think of all this?" he asked.
Oh boy, more questions, Albus groaned, shovelling peas into his mouth to stop him from badmouthing his dad.
Scorpius chuckled politely. "I think he was the most shocked of them all!" He quickly glanced to his right to Albus and shot him a mischievous little grin that Albus knew held a second meaning. He knew what it was when Scorpius added, "But he met Albus at the train station for a brief moment and he was later telling me how nice it was to finally meet him, and that Albus is an absolute delight."
What a lying little minx! Albus thought, while he inwardly laughed at the deliberate fib.
"This Albus?" James butted in with a dubious voice, jerking his thumb at Albus. "My brother? A delight? He must need his eyes and ears checked."
"Piss off," Albus said.
"Albus!" his mother chided.
"He insulted me first, mum!" Albus mentioned.
She glared at him shrilly. "Not at the table."
Albus huffed and sat back in his chair, but remained quiet, uncomfortably aware that Scorp had just seen him get scolded by his mum. James, meanwhile, leered at him.
His dad coughed. "So, Scorpius; Albus tells me that you enjoy schoolwork," he said casually. Albus gave him an exasperated look that begged him, Why the hell are you asking such awkward questions?
Scorpius placed his water glass down on the table and nodded courteously. "Yes, I do. I thoroughly enjoy Arithmancy and Potions."
"And your marks are ..." His father trailed off, waiting for Scorpius to fill in the blank.
Albus would happily have slammed his forehead against his mashed potato in humiliation. Did no one understand the meaning of EMBARRASSING?
Scorpius looked a little hesitant, and rightfully so. The question was so absurd to be brought up at a dinner table. "Uh ... they're fine.\" He paused, looking as if he was deciding whether or not this was enough information. He quickly added, "I try to always keep up with my work."
Lily jumped in the conversation. "From what I hear, he's always at the top of the class."
The blush on Scorp's face deepened and he hastened to correct Lily. "You're being far too kind. That's not necessarily true."
There was a pause on the conversation while everyone took in a bite of food.
His father smiled. "And what do you like to do in your spare time, Scorpius?"
When did this turn into a bloody interrogation? Albus yelled inside his head. While Scorpius was looking mightily uncomfortable with the question posed, Albus quickly answered for him. "What does it matter, dad?"
"I just want to get to know him, is all," he answered innocently. Then, talking as if Scorpius wasn't even there, he said, "I know next to nothing about him. And it's taken you three short months to become such close friends." He paused and his face suddenly took on an inquisitive look—the same kind he wears when he does his Auror business. He casually added, "I can only imagine where the two of you would be in another three months!"
Albus paused. What the hell does that mean?
And because Albus had a habit of occasionally speaking his mind, he blurted, "What the hell does that mean?"
Suddenly, everyone sitting at the table became monumentally uncomfortable; as if something that was universally known among them was being deliberately hidden. It didn't taken Wandless Magic to realise it had to do with his relationship with Scorpius.
Beside him, Scorpius remained still, obviously waiting to see how Albus would respond. It was Albus' family after all, and Scorpius hadn't anticipated that conversation would turn so awkward.
"Oh, nothing," his dad answered far too cautiously and far too carelessly that his overcompensated nonchalance was actually painful to behold. "I just made an observation. It's ... er ..." he paused in a quest to find the right word; "... nice to see you boys so ... er ... close."
Kill me now.
Albus decided the subject drastically needed to change.
"I'm gonna be playing for Puddlemere United!" he blurted loudly.
James, naturally, reacted first.
"WHAT?"
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"What is wrong with my family?" Albus moaned, shutting his bedroom door behind him, relieved that they had performed their duty and were now separated from the rest of them.
Dinner hadn't lasted much longer after Albus' abrupt declaration. After quickly recounting the circumstances under which they had met Mr Ipsworth and explaining the offer to join Puddlemere's reserve team, there had been a round of 'congratulations' and 'Well done, Albus!'. Albus was just glad that conversation had been effectively—at least, temporarily—steered out of highly awkward and uncomfortable territory. His dad immediately jumped in with approval and told Albus that of course, he would sign the form. At least one thing worked out okay, even if James was ready to hex his balls off during the entire ordeal. His older brother didn't take well to the idea that Albus had been offered the position and not he. Seeing his face had been a victoriously smug moment for Albus.
After the topic of Quidditch had been firmly exhausted, however, the atmosphere began to shift back into what it was before, and Albus' skin had begun to crawl. Enduring through dessert was the last thing Albus had wanted to do, but a quick look from Scorpius had told him that it was expected they remain.
"They're just a little uncomfortable with me," Scorpius replied, sitting down on Albus' bed with a shrug.
Albus turned to him. "No, it's not you. It's them and their stupid, embarrassing questions!"
"It was fine, Al," Scorpius placated. "We got through it okay."
"If it weren't for you, I would have punched my dad in the face after the first question," Albus admitted, releasing a large breath of air to calm himself down.
Scorpius chuckled. Well I'm glad I could keep the domestic violence to a minimum."
Perching down next to his friend, Albus swivelled his head to look at him, aware that he had just brought their faces in very close proximity. The closeness didn't faze him. Albus was beginning to think he couldn't function normally without Scorpius near to him. "How do you know what to say in situations like that? I mean, you answered every question perfectly, and half the time I was struggling to hold in my anger."
Scorpius cast his glance around the room briefly as if in search of an answer. "I suppose it's just the way I've been brought up. I was taught from a young age how to deal with people older than me and the way I must talk to them." He shrugged. "I'm a Malfoy. Social cues are practically inbred in my family."
"That's handy."
"It's good and bad. Good because I can avoid making a total fool of myself—" He grinned cheekily at Albus at that, to which Albus replied by sticking out his tongue in play "—but bad because it means I'm constantly checking myself on how I'm supposed to speak and act, and that can be very debilitating. I'm not as 'free' as you or your siblings. Sometimes I wish I could speak my mind."
Albus grinned at him. "Then we complement each other, in a way."
Scorpius returned the smile warmly and nudged him gently on the shoulder with his own. "Yeah, we do."
Their eyes locked and suddenly both their smiles faded. Something changed. The air became charged, like a wire fence buzzing with electricity. In that moment, the atmosphere between them transformed and Albus became completely entranced by the face before him. All his troubles and humiliations from ten minutes ago became things that didn't—that couldn't—matter anymore, because all that was left was the two of them. In his room. Alone.
And Albus was filled with the overwhelming desire to kiss Scorpius.
He studied Scorp's face; studied it in incredible detail; because he knew there was no way he would forget this moment. Everything would be filed into his memory; from the way Scorpius' incredible silver eyes were wide with a mixture of curiosity and delight, to the way his lips were slightly opened and shimmering with something he had put on earlier. In the light of his lamp, they shone, capturing Albus' attention like nothing else could, to the point where Albus wanted to know what his lip gloss tasted like.
No, he wanted to know what Scorpius tasted like...
He needed to kiss Scorpius.
And from the looks of it, Scorpius wasn't about to complain.
Albus leaned in—
Knock, knock.
—and pulled away quickly, startled by the noise. He inwardly groaned at the intruder. They had to come in now?
"Albus?" came his father's voice.
Albus dropped his forehead into his cupped palm and breathed out a loud gush of air in frustration. Hissing so only Scorpius could hear, he said, "What could he possibly want now?"
Scorpius looked him with a small smile so that two small dimples appeared alongside his very appealing lips. Merlin, can Scorpius look any more kissable? Albus was considering forgetting there was somebody at his door, and continuing his earlier mission. A few seconds passed by in blessed silence, and Albus was beginning to believe that there really wasn't anyone at his door.
"Albus...?" his dad called again—this time, his voice had a tinge of curiosity.
Forcing himself to snap out of staring at Scorpius, Albus looked to his door and rolled his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he spoke, but again his voice was soft so that his only audience was the boy beside him. "Just go away, dad." He hoped his dad would just give up when he got no answer.
"Uh ... Albus?" Scorpius said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Perhaps it's not such a good idea to remain quiet?" he suggested, casting a look at the door in nervousness.
"Why not? He might go away."
Scorpius winced. "Yes, but ... he knows we're in here."
Albus blinked at him. "And?"
"Alone. By ourselves," Scorpius insinuated.
"So?"
Scorpius sighed. "He might think we're ... you know ... doing stuff ..." he trailed his voice off as his cheeks bloomed into a pale pink. He immediately looked back to the door in worry and began to chew on his bottom lip and Albus wished he didn't because it made him want to kiss him all the more. Within a second, he was spellbound by the sight.
"Doing what?" he said stupidly, eyes locked on Scorpius' mouth.
Scorpius swivelled his head back to send him a pointed look, which immediately forced Albus to sit upright and focus. When he did, he realised what Scorpius had said and what he was alluding to.
"Albus?" his father said again. This time, there was a note of panic in his tone.
Albus jumped a little and his eyes went wide with alarm. "He thinks we're ..." he began to say, gesturing between Scorpius and him. He couldn't finish the sentence, because really, it was bloody embarrassing.
Scorpius nodded.
"But we're not!" Albus whispered loudly.
"Albus!" His father again.
"So say something!" Scorpius hissed.
"What, dad?" Albus yelled, entirely too loudly and too anxiously to be normal.
Ten seconds of silence passed in which both he and Scorpius waited worriedly to see what his dad would say.
"Can I come in?"
Albus and Scorpius exchanged a similar look. Naturally, they didn't want to let him in. But if they didn't, the consequences would probably be worse.
"Sure," Albus said, defeated, plastering a weak smile on his face when his dad walked in leaving the door wide open behind him.
Upon entering, his dad stopped short, looking at the two of them with ill-concealed apprehension. Albus belatedly realised it was because he and Scorpius were sitting extraordinarily close to each other on the bed.
Close enough to be kissing, Albus' mind added spitefully.
"Hello, Mr Potter," Scorpius said politely, once again reminding Albus that he really is completely perfect.
"Hi boys," he said in return, continuing to keep the uneasy expression in his face. Honestly! Albus sighed, it's almost like his dad half expected them to turn to each other and suddenly start making out! Albus didn't need to remind himself that if his dad hadn't walked in, that's probably what would have been happening. He groaned silently.
"Is there anything we can do for you, dad?" he asked, physically trying to keep his voice as calm as possible.
"No no," he hurried to answer. "Just wanted to make sure you two were alright. You rushed up here pretty quickly after dessert, so I wondered if something was wrong."
"Nope," Albus said, smiling falsely. "Nothing's wrong. We're just pretty knackered. Long day," he said, lying through his teeth. Albus decided it was justified—the man was a nuisance.
"So now you're going to ..." his dad said, his sentence trailing off, waiting for one of them to fill in the blank.
"Sleep," Albus finished, hoping to dash away his father's unwarranted suspicions.
He nodded. "Of course."
Silence.
Then: "And I suppose ... Albus, you'll be sleeping on the mattress, yes?"
Albus looked at his dad with bulging eyes. Did he really just ask that question? "Yes, dad, I'm sleeping on the mattress," he answered lucidly, staring deliberately at his father and waiting for him to leave.
He didn't leave, however. Instead, he asked, "James and I are about to watch some football on the telly. Not interested?"
Unable to help it, Albus rolled his eyes, deciding that he couldn't be bothered to dignify his father with an answer. Scorpius, who seemed to be biting his inner cheeks to stop himself from laughing, jumped in and replied instead. "No thank you, sir. As much as I'd love to find out what a telly is, Albus and I really are quite tired. We were just going to change into our pyjamas and get into bed." Scorpius smiled courteously. "Separately," he blurted as an afterthought.
Now it was Albus' turn to bite the insides of his mouth.
His dad nodded. "Oh okay. That's fine. If you're tired, I suppose you should sleep."
Continuing to smile, Scorpius said, "But thank you for dinner tonight, it was lovely."
"I'll be sure to tell Albus' mum that." He paused for a minute, as if waiting for either Albus or Scorpius to say anything else to postpone his leaving the room. When nothing else was said, he simple shrugged and moved towards the door. "Alright, then ... goodnight," he bid, nervously performing a quick one-handed wave.
"Night, dad," Albus grounded out.
"Goodnight, Mr Potter."
Unsurprisingly, he didn't close the door when he left. By the time the sounds of his footsteps had vanished back down the stairs, Albus had stood and quickly shut his door, once again leaving the two of them alone.
After a moment, Scorpius began laughing, and Albus stared at him incredulously, trying to contemplate where the humour was to be found.
"I'm glad to see you're finding this funny," Albus remarked.
Attempting to reign in his mirth, Scorpius clutched his stomach and said through a giggle, "Oh but it was. Merlin, your dad's face!"
Albus cringed and long-sufferingly ran a hand through his hair. "What a disaster," he groaned. "I mean, does he realise he's just about the most embarrassing thing to ever walk on earth?"
"My dad's the same," Scorpius offered helpfully, still grinning.
"He can't be as bad as that," Albus replied, pointing in the direction of the door.
Scorpius shrugged while simultaneously lifting a hand to cover a large yawn. "Either way," he said when he retrieved his breath back, "Fathers always jump to conclusions."
"Really, really embarrassing ones," Albus agreed. Noticing that Scorpius was blinking more often than usual and shuffling around restlessly, he said, "I wasn't lying earlier. You are knackered."
"A little," Scorpius responded with a tired smile.
"We should get ready for bed then," Albus suggested.
Fifteen minutes later, they were both lying down in their respective beds and staring up at the ceiling of Albus' darkened room in silence. Albus was glad it was dark. Perhaps otherwise, Scorp would have noticed the distinct pink tinge to his cheeks. If Albus had thought sharing a room with Scorpius in his house would be no different than sharing a room in a dormitory, he had been sadly mistaken. Never mind the fact that they had both seen each other in various stages of undress over the five years of their schooling; a silent agreement had passed between them to turn away from each other while changing into their pyjamas, and Albus had to forcefully restrain himself from turning around and looking at Scorpius' side of the room to catch him unaware.
When he finally had looked around, he had been rewarded with a similar sight to the one he saw back at school in their bathroom in the dormitory: Scorpius in a jumper so large it could have belonged to Albus, and a pair of soft-looking cotton trousers. Needless to say, it was enough to make his heart beat faster. He swore Scorpius would look good in anything.
Watching Scorpius' face look at him, too, had been a pleasant experience; one that sent a spike of pride and pleasure to his core. Since turning fourteen, Albus had made a point to never cover his upper half while sleeping. He had the grace to acknowledge it was because fourteen had been the age when the muscles of his torso and arms were beginning to take definite shape, and Albus liked the idea of them on display, even if his roommates alone saw. It was a matter of pride, but Albus didn't care. In fact, Scorpius' awed expression while he had stared at Albus' chest convinced Albus that it had been a fantastic decision. Of course, Scorpius had seen him without a shirt on before. But this was different. This time, they weren't at school. This time, there was no one else around.
Now, staring up at the ceiling, Albus knew Scorpius was awake too. The air in the room was still buzzing with the tension between them, making it impossible to sleep.
An unfulfilled, unrelenting tension.
Fuelled by mutual desire.
But still unsatisfied.

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Next Chapter: Teddy arrives