Put Your Curse In Reverse [Part 2]

Chapter 4 - Curse

There were probably three separate versions of Scorpius, too. And to Scorpius's utmost surprise—this was one of them. This was one that Albus was meeting for the very first time. And he couldn't worry about whether or not Albus would like it, because...well, he certainly seemed to be. Scorpius didn't know where he'd borrowed the guts from. He didn't know where he'd borrowed the knowledge from. It was possible that he had neither of those and was simply exploding from repressed arousal. But he was snogging his boyfriend and nothing about it felt alien. He was snogging his boyfriend...and if the sudden leg hooked over his and the fingers fisted in his hair meant anything...he was doing a good job.

It looked repulsive when anybody else was doing it. But he couldn't find anything gross about the taste of Albus's mouth. He couldn't feel any pain in the occasional nose-bump. And there was nothing uncomfortable at all about their bodies pressed together. What there was, though, was intensity—and Scorpius didn't want it to overwhelm him. He was afraid to lose control of himself. He was afraid to open a door he wasn't planning on opening yet (even if his body and mind might've been a little bit combative over that differing opinion). And yet...Albus's hand had untucked his shirt, had slid beneath the buttons and the fabric. He could feel the skin of Albus's palm radiating warmth along his belly. It seemed like such a good idea, because he wanted Albus to feel the same tingles he'd felt when skin met skin, so he fumbled with Albus's shirt and slid his hands up it. His heart was near to bursting now, his palms brushing along Albus's skin, and Albus broke his mouth away from Scorpius's to let out a little breathy noise—

"Ah!" Albus flinched wildly and darted back from Scorpius, nearly tumbling right off the edge of the bed. He flailed widely and then reached forward, grasping at Scorpius's reaching hand. Scorpius dragged him back beside him, bewildered, embarrassed.

"Er...is that too much? Is that not okay? I'm sorry. I should've...I just..."

Albus's cheeks felt warm when he leaned in to kiss Scorpius's mouth.

"Fine. It's just..." he seemed reluctant to say something. Scorpius thought he knew what he meant.

"It's okay. Me too, obviously...I..." say it. You can do it, Malfoy. Malfoy the Unanxious. Malfoy the Socially Unanxious. In some universe, maybe. "Don't mind. Not even...a little bit. Actually...I, er, would be...really okay with..."

Maybe it was Scorpius's imagination, but Albus seemed to be radiating more body heat than usual.

"Oh," he said, his voice high. "No. That's not what—well, of course that—what I mean to say is..."

Communicate more efficiently. That was one of their new goals. Albus seemed to remember that.

"...I'm ticklish," he whispered.

Scorpius didn't move for a beat.

"You're ticklish."

"...yeah. Just a bit. Over my ribs, you know..."

"That was...not what I expected," Scorpius admitted. His trunk was looking cozier and cozier as a place to spend the rest of term. He tried to find something to say to salvage the embarrassing miscommunication, but Albus seemed to decide there was no need for it. His lips pressed back to Scorpius's after a brief moment, and well. That was that. He didn't seem embarrassed.

They overshot. It was a problem.

"What do we do?" Scorpius breathed.

Albus seemed afraid to move. They listened with baited breath as their dorm mates conversed, shoes dropped to the floor, trunks slammed and opened, and covers were pulled back. They'd planned on going their separate ways before their dorm mates returned (it was one thing for them to know they were in a relationship...it was another for them to know they'd been snogging in bed together. Both Albus and Scorpius felt that was one of the things that should remain private). Unfortunately, they'd been wrapped up in each other until the door opened, and now they were stuck.