volumetwo | (no subject)

(no subject)

James Potter is completely aware of the fact that he's never exactly been the poster child for emotional openness or maturity. It's taken him a little while to come into his own - maybe a little longer than most - but he feels better about his place in life lately. He's finally reconciled that he can still be himself and a Potter, that the only standards that he has to live up to are his own.

That his family will love him, no matter who he chooses to be - or be with.

Can you stop by later? he'll text Scorpius. It's late on a Sunday afternoon, right in the middle of summer - Scorpius has been out of Hogwarts for a few weeks now, which is strange and strangely thrilling all at the same time. Not that he can admit that part out loud. We need to talk.

It's a good thing, really. James just never seems to realize that 'We need to talk' is the most fear-inducing thing a person can possibly say to someone else.

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"Well, I didn't just want to come out and say it like that, I didn't want to put you on the spot if you didn't want to do it--"

He's defensive, but it's all in a scattered rush. The purr in Scorpius's voice is reassuring, but he can hear the crying, too, and he has no idea how to parse it at all. "Look, just - shh, don't cry, we can talk about it later, okay?"

Scorpius scoots a little closer, bringing his good arm around James. Curling into him, he nods. "Later. Yes." And it's embarrassing that he's crying, but he really sort of thought James was being a huge prick to him and breaking up over text while seeing someone else, and it didn't even occur to Scorpius until now how much he really does love James.

How jealous and crazy it makes him to think of James with anyone else.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine. Really, I am. Bloody embarrassed, but fine."

"You scared the shit of me, you arsehole." It's whispered against the side of Scorpius's head, and he's finally starting to relax a little himself, his fingers catching the back of the other boy's shirt. Gripping it, trying to use that to put some weight into his words.

This is weird for him, weird to think that the boy he'd resented, the boy he'd barely been able to look at for so long had become so critically important to him, but here they were.

Despite himself, Scorpius smiles against James' shoulder. He's not exactly happy that he scared James, but the way James holds him, the clutch, the tremor in his voice. It's really been too long since they saw one another, surely. That's why Scorpius got so crazy with that text.

"Just so you know, without a doubt, there is no one else," he says quietly.

"Good. There better not be." It's scoffed, and the scorn is there to hide the way the flagging adrenaline is making him go hoarse. "I sort of came out of the closet to my family for you, you know." He lingers there for another moment, before gently trying to guide Scorpius to the couch. He wants to get them both cleaned up.

Scorpius goes a bit quiet, letting James help him to the couch and sitting there being fawned over until James realises Scorpius knows how to do healing spells better than him and he actually did a fairly decent job.

Feeling a little jittery after the annoyance of their fight and then the splinching, Scorpius just stays quiet and lets James look him over to his contentment.

"My da really likes you, you know," he murmurs, stroking his fingers through Scorpius's hair now that he's finally started to relax. "There's no way he'd let me be that much of a giant ass to you. And Albus would probably kill me, too."

Not that he'd been able to tell Albus yet.

"To be fair, I was planning to kill you first," Scorpius says, offering a slight smile as he looks up. James' fingers in his hair are calming and James' voice in general soothes him easily. "But really, James. We need to work on your texting etiquette. I barely use the Muggle thing except for you and even I know what not to put in there."

"Well, I typically expect you to tell me if I do something to bother you, not to - I don't know, pretend you'd rather spend time with someone else than me."

Now that he's sure that Scorpius really is and will be fine, he's settled into frowning a little bit again- though he doesn't quite loose his hold on the other boy.

"I was a bit too angry to think to want to talk to you about it," Scorpius grumbles, glancing away. But then he shrugs. "Though, point taken. I really am sorry."

"You were too angry because I said I wanted to talk."

He's trying to sound frustrated, but it's dissolving into relief now.

"What if I needed to tell you that I - I don't know, that I've got some magical wasting illness and I've only got ten days to live? That merits a 'we need to talk,' right?"

"Okay, if ever you've come down with a case of Dragon Fever, please don't text me to say we need to talk - just come to my sodding house and talk to me like a normal bloke."

But Scorpius is sort of too happy they aren't broken up to be upset in the least.

"-- no way. I'm terrified of your dad."

Words he has never actually admitted out loud before.

"I'd rather just die of the Dragon Fever."

At that, Scorpius laughs outright. He has to bite his lip from just getting hysterical on James. "I knew it! I bloody knew it! And you call me a prat for being afraid of your dad. Hypocrite."

But instead of being angry, Scorpius leans in and presses his lips to James'.

"My father's not a bad man, you know. He'd learn to love you, because I do."

"I doubt he'd go that far."

James can't help the little thrill he gets at the kiss, though, and he's chasing him down for another one.

"-- does he have a clue? About you and me."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he knows I'm bent," Scorpius says. "I mean, I've never come out or anything, but look at me." He laughs lightly, but it's true. He sort of fits the mold, as it were, of what people thought gay men were like. He'd only spent a little time as a young teen fighting that; now, he embraces it.

"But I...don't think he even knows your name, really." Scorpius admits this reluctantly. It's not a good sign when your father knows the name of your boyfriend's brother but not your boyfriend. "He calls all Potters Potter no matter."

"Well..." He takes a breath. "Gryffindor. Guess I'll have to right introduce myself at some point, huh." His own father had faced down Voldemort by the time he was James's age; surely he could face Scorpius's dad. "Better now than at the wedding, I guess." A hypothetical and thoughtless figure of speech - better sooner rather than later, he meant.

............................

Scorpius' eyes widen, beautiful cool blue in the dim light of James' apartment. Flabbergasted, he just sits there gaping for a second.

"...Sorry, did you just fuck up asking me to live with you and proposing marriage all in a single night?"

James's own face goes scarlet and he shoots an utterly startled look at Scorpius, before he sputters out: "That wasn't a proposal, it was a joke! You know what those are, right?!"

"I do, actually," Scorpius says, grinning. "That was one, about you proposing. Don't wet your knickers." He leans in, kissing him again. "But it's really quite cute that you panicked. Guess you're not the marrying sort."

Scorpius is just having too much fun with him now.

"I am, so!" He's scandalized now, if only playfully so. His entire family was pretty traditional, honestly; he had always assumed he'd be doing the marriage thing when the time was right, too. "You're just still, y'know, kind of a kid.... I didn't want to give you ideas." Said haughtily, as if he weren't barely older.

"Oh, right, good save there." Scorpius shoves him playfully, then grins as he crawls into his lap. "You know, I'm officially not a kid anymore. I can do magic outside of Hogwarts and everything." He lifted his wand and dragged it along James' chest. "I've heard there are some pretty fun spells I haven't ever got to try."

"Besides, it's not like I'd marry you in public. It's be a giant secret, but maybe you'd stop worrying that I'm about to dump you." He wraps his arm around Scorpius's waist, expression unimpressed. He gives him a little squeeze, eyes on the wand. "And what kinds of spells are those?"

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