Golden
Blaise opened his eyes to the early morning dormitory, sun still barely peeking over the horizon. There was a sort of early morning tranquility, as if he had risen when everyone in the world was still peacefully slumbering, yet to wake up for early morning bustle.
Blaise blinked the sleep out of his eyes and began to dress into some clothes. He was feeling rather well rested and he felt the need spend his morning by himself, with his own thoughts somewhere secluded.
The place for that, he decided, was the grassy area close to the greenhouses. It was a nice area to watch the sun rise and get lost in contemplation.
Once he was dressed in his clothes, Blaise left the Slytherin common room and walked through the silent halls of Hogwarts.
As it was so early, there were only a few students wandering around the castle. He probably didn't have to worry about any of the students being Neville or any of his Gryffindor friends, as Blaise had never seen them this early in the day. He would know, since he would frequently wander the castle when he was unable to stay asleep.
Blaise passed under the large doorway of the castle and walked across the cobbled walkway. His shoes made a click-clacking noise as he progressed, creating a comforting rhythm for him to latch on to.
Even after last night's rest, his thoughts were still a swirling mess of useless insecurities and questions that would never be answered.
He stood on the grass for a moment, taking in the chilly morning air and focused on his mind.
Why were his thoughts dominated by Neville? His mind had never been like this in the past, always lingering on his studies or planning out schemes on how to win over some girl that he had taken an interest to, but never on Neville. They had shared classes for the past years, passing each other in the halls and maybe even sharing glances (he sort of doubted that).
It puzzled Blaise how Neville was able to almost completely take over all of his thoughts after one simple conversation that they had shared on that day of being partnered in herbology, leaving him not quite the same as he was before. After they had started to share each other's company more often, Blaise found himself seeking the boy's attention more and more, and it concerned him.
It concerned him how Neville would react if he were to ever find out about Blaise's feelings.
Neville wouldn't be disgusted. He was too kind, too caring for that. At least, if he was disgusted, he would never openly show that to Blaise.
He probably didn't risk losing whatever friendship they had if Neville were to find out. Neville supported Draco and Potter, so he would be fine with Blaise being gay (gay? Blaise really didn't know if that was the right term for him, as he had also liked girls before, just never in the way that he liked Neville). He was also just an overall nice person, so when he didn't return his feelings, he would still be on friendly terms with Blaise (hopefully).
Confessing would be hopeless. He wasn't good enough for Neville. Neville was so kind and full of innocence. Blaise would probably ruin that for him. His past reputation would probably bother Neville, making him undesirable, as Neville would most likely think that Blaise was simply playing games with him, and not looking for a committed relationship.
Blaise really didn't deserve to be with Neville, let alone be in a romantic relationship with him. He had played around with people, fully knowing that they felt for him. Even worse, Blaise had never even thought to do anything about the others in his house bullying Neville. He had always just allowed it to happen.
Despite all of that, Blaise smiled at the thought of how Neville made him feel. Everytime Blaise saw his blush, it was as if the sun was rising. Every smile made Blaise just want to melt into the ground. Neville simply made Blaise want to prove himself to him. He made him want to show the Gryffindor that we was worthy of his attention and that he was deserving of his attention.
"B-Blaise?" A voice called behind him, and he felt a hesitant tug on his shirt from behind.
Blaise knew who it was before he turned around to see the freckled face and timid smile. He should have known better to pick a spot that wasn't so close to the greenhouses.
"Hey, Longbottom," Blaise greeted, noting that the sun was starting to extend it's rays above the hills.
"B-Blaise," Neville said, "what are you doing here this early?"
He wanted to deflect the question by asking what the other was doing out here at this time anyway, but decided against it. Neville wouldn't appreciate a snarky remark anyway.
"Just thinking," he replied, staying vague. Salazar knows how awkward that would get if Neville got even the smallest hint of what was creeping in his mind. He wasn't stupid.
"Oh," Neville said, and stepped right next to him and looked towards the rising sun.
"It's really beautiful..." he breathed as Blaise stood rigid next to him.
The light from the sun was casting a golden glow around the shorter boy's face, making his eyelashes golden and adding a sparkle to his eyes. It really wasn't helping that his mouth was slightly open in awe.
His heart was beating so fast and loud in his own ears, Neville could probably hear it from where he was standing next to him. Flustered, Blaise swallowed with effort and dragged his gaze back to the rising sun, Neville's beautiful face still burned into his eyes.
Their hands were almost brushing, sending a tingle up his arm. It was really too much for him, and he couldn't give himself away, so he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Blaise?" Neville said softly, turning towards him.
"Yeah?" Blaise asked, turning to Neville, hands clenching in his pockets as he tried to avoid focusing on his beating heart.
"I...I never thanked you, y-you know for the- for the Hogsmeade Trip," Neville shyly murmered, eyes searching Blaise's face for what, he wasn't sure.
All he knew was that his chest was soaring. Heat rushed up his neck as he tried to tell himself that it wasn't a big deal that Neville was thanking him for their Hogsmeade trip. All they did was buy sweets for each other, yes, but that was sort of not a big deal for him. At all. And now, here Neville was, thanking him for it. He had seeked Blaise out to tell him that he wanted to thank him for their Trip.
He wanted to say something flirty, like 'oh, the pleasure was all mine', or 'I should be thanking you'.
Instead, he ended up mumbling a bunch of nonsense as he tried to keep himself together.
"I...um, well, y-you- er, thanks," Blaise mumbled, looking anywhere but at Neville's searching gaze. He wouldn't really have minded if he melted into the grass at that very moment.
It would have been clever if he had asked Neville if he would have liked to go on another Hogsmeade trip with him. But no, he had to become completely undone.
Undone?! When had this ever happened to him? Where was the smooth Blaise Zabini, the flirty and desireable Slytherin that got whoever he wanted?
Not here, apparently.
Blaise tried to keep his cool as he looked into Neville's eyes.
That was when Blaise knew he was screwed.
They were so close to one each other, not exactly chest to chest, but definitely close to it. Certainly close enough for Blaise to skitter his stare around the Gryffindor's face. His cheeks were flushed a bright red, making Blaise's stomach swoop dangerously. Then, he made the mistake of glancing down at his lips.
Neville had his lips slightly pinched together, as if nervous. Looking at them was a very bad decision, because now Blaise couldn't help his breath catching in his throat at the thought of placing soft, delicate kisses along his mouth. As a result, he started to lean closer to him, in a slight daze of warmth and wanting.
Their breaths we're now mingling in the air, Blaise's shallow and quick, and as he noticed with a skip of the heart, was Neville's. His hands were itching to just grab Neville's, but they were stuck in his pockets, and it would be too much work to do anything other than kiss Neville.
Blaise's stare flicked to his eyes, and he was immediately snapped out of his foolishness. Neville's eyes held a spark to them that was unfamiliar to him. He had no idea what it meant.
All he knew was that he had almost kissed Neville.
"I- erm," Blaise said, coughing a little as he took a few steps back. "I have to...er I need to go."
He then started to walk off to the safety of the Slytherin common room with the knowledge of what he had just done.
The image of Neville's lips were stuck in his mind. The idea of his own lips pressing against the other boy's was simply impossible to ignore.
There was no forgetting what had just happened, at least, not for him.