"Stop it. No, Scorpius, I'm being serious, please – ARGH GET OFF! Oh my god when did you get so fucking heavy. Off! Now!"

"No! Not until you answer my very important question!"

"You are such a bloody child. You're 15; don't you think you're a bit old to use jumping on people as a tactic to get what you want?"

"I'll have you know that this is a fine tuned art form. Only those of us who have trained in the delicate art of manipulation for many years can ever hope to understand. But I see what you're doing Potter, trying to distract me from the matter at hand! BUT TOUGH LUCK, I'm far too cunning and – and – witty to fall for such a ploy –"

"And modest, apparently."

"Shush, shhhhh shut up, I'm in the middle of torturing you!"

"Torturing me? By slowly squashing me to death?"

"That's just the beginning of it. I forgot to brush my teeth today so see how you like this!" Scorpius exclaimed, jerking closer to Al to breathe all over his face.

"Eugh! Stop it! You're so gross! It's…actually it's not that bad, you know. Just kind of smells like banana."

"What? Really? 'Cos I forgot to brush them yesterday too." With a confused look on his pointed face, Scorpius shifted his weight onto his right arm. He cupped his left hand and exhaled into it, trying to test the smell of his own breathe.

"Fucks sake, you're right. I just smell like the pudding I had earlier. Which was absolutely delightful, did you have it? No, of course not, you had the chocolate - Wait! I don't care if you had it! I don't care if I had it! Well, actually I do care a bit that I had it – but that's neither here nor there. You! Albus Potter!" Scorpius sat back on his haunches, allowing Albus to prop himself up on his elbows as he gazed in confusion at his hyperactive friend.

"Yeah? What have I done?"

"It's not about what you've done, it's about what you WILL do. Is it true that you, being of sound mind and body, plan to go to Hogsmeade with Marsha Wigson next weekend?"

Albus blinked at his friend. "Marsha Wigson? Who the hell is Marsha Wigson?"

Scorpius flapped his hands impatiently. It was a rather odd gesture that Al had never seen anyone else use, yet Scorpius liked to employ it whenever he felt even mildly frustrated. But then, Scorpius was a rather odd boy.

"You know! Hair down to here. Legs up to here. Boobs out to there … no, no more like there… you know I think it changes with which bra she's wearing. You should ask her about that when you go out with her. Wait! Don't distract me. Yes, Marsha Wigson. Bright blonde hair."

"Like yours?"

"Absolutely nothing like mine. It's fake and yellowy. She hangs around with your cousin."

"Which cousin?"

"Lily."

"Lily's my sister."

"Yeah I know, I said Rose."

"No, you said –"

"Stop being so argumentative. Yes, friends with Rose." He nodded authoritatively.

"There is not a single person in this entire school, possible the entire world, called Marsha Wigson."

"There is! You fancy her!"

"Wait, wait. Do you mean Martha Wilson? She's friends with Rose and has blonde hair."

"Martha Wilson? Who in the wizarding world is she?"

"I'm pretty sure she's the girl you think I fancy."

"Oh. Perhaps. Though Marsha Wigson is a far better name. I heard her telling another girl that she wanted to go with you."

"Really? I don't know her very well. I guess she is pretty hot. What do you reckon? Should I do it?"

"Mm you could. Though if you do, you must tell me how her boobs feel. They look incredibly springy, I was thinking that earlier when I saw her. It's your duty, as my friend, to let me know the truth. "

"Springy boobs, hm?" Al flopped back and gazed up at the canopy of his bed, his right hand reaching up to fiddle with a piece of dry skin on his lower lip. "I suppose springy is good, yes?"

"Dunno really. Jess has not got very springy boobs. They're quite hard really, toned. Rather small. I think you might have bigger boobs than her." He leaned forward and pocked Al's chest. "Not quite. I thought you had more muscle than that. You have failed. Failed the test of manliness. You might as well move the girl's dormitories Ali, you've let yourself and all of us here down. What is the point in all those hours spent training for quidditch if you come out of it with such meagre pecs? Sad, very sad indeed."

"I'm bigger than you. And taller. Guess you'll have to move with me."

"You're only, like, 2 inches taller than me. Anyway I'm a different kind of man." He moved his face down to hover right over Albus'. "I'm a…a lover you see. Like in Alric and Cynwise. Alric is poetic and…lithe. He's lithe but still manly. Like me."

Albus smirked up at his friend, his face so close that his eyes became slightly crossed as they looked into the light blue eyes above him. He licked his chapped lips. "Oh really?"

"Yes. You know it's true."

"Mhm…"

"I'll prove it," Scorpius answered in a hushed voice. He lowered his lips to kiss his friend. Al laughed into the kiss and brought his arms up, one hanging lazily over Scorpius' shoulder while the other lightly stroked his hair. Scorpius shifted his body so he was lying completely horizontally.

"Move your leg…"

"Like that?"

"Yeah…yeah like that...yeah" Scorpius lay with his left leg between Albus' and his right slightly bent at the knee as it rested over Al's left leg. The kissing became more heated as it always did, with Al reaching both hands up to massage Scorpius hair. Scorpius supported his weight on one hand while the other stroked Albus' face and jaw. Their tongues became acquainted once more.

Albus rolled them onto their sides, trying as his did to not break the kiss. He mostly succeeded, though they bumped noses slightly and their teeth lightly clacked against each other.

Scorpius broke away from the kiss, causing Al to move his mouth to the crook of his neck. "Hey…hey...remember at your house in Summer? When we were – ngh, that's so good - by the river and it started to rain? You know what we did? Let's do that again."

"What about Jess?" Al murmured against the pulse he had found in the curve of Scorpius' neck. He pushed his tongue to it, finding a thrill in the fast movement of Scorpius' blood.

"She's not here, it doesn't matter. It's not like that. It's only us, we know what it is, it's not like that. Come on…please…please Ali…"

Albus reached his hand down to stroke Scorpius thigh. Scorpius made a choked moaning sound in response.

"There? No, not there. I know, how about here? Is that good?" He pressed his palm against the tented fabric of Scorpius' pyjamas.

"Yeah. More. Just…more."

"You first." Scorpius' hand shot out and pushed itself down the front of Albus' pyjama bottoms.

"Fuuuck," Al hissed, all teasing forgotten as his hand plunged itself down Scorpius' trousers. They tugged and stroked each other, muttering directions and approvals as they went. It was sticky, awkward and over very quickly. When they were finished, Al reached under his bed and pulled out a box of tissues. He took a hand full and passed the box to Scorpius.

"This is so incredibly unattractive. Simon said you can you scourgify but can you imagine if it went wrong? I'd never feel comfortable pointing my wand at my dick."

"I know what you mean. I feel very undignified, which is odd for me as I am the model example of a dignified creature." Al snorted and Scorpius threw one of his used tissues at his face in response.

"ARGH! Don't do that, that's so rank."

"It's all over your hand, now is not the time to get precious Ali."

"Yeah but it's different. How would you like it if I smeared my cum all over your face?"

"I didn't smear it, I flung it. There is a difference."

"M'kay. If you say so."

"I do." Scorpius smiled contentedly, lay back and closed his eyes.

Albus propped himself up on his elbow and balanced his head in his hand. He looked at his friend for a few long moments. This was an odd situation. They never really spoke about it and he tried not to think about it, because if he did… it might change. Besides, he knew he could cope with it as it was. But what about Scorpius? His friend was the most ridiculous, overdramatic person he knew. He bounded around the castle often wrapped up in an internal (and sometimes external) monologue, barely noticing what was going on around him. Hyper was a word people often used to describe him. But Albus knew another side to him. One moment he would be as happy and carefree as a child and the next… it was like he couldn't cope with his own thoughts. He'd obsessively worry over the slightest things, letting them takeover his life. He wouldn't eat or sleep properly and would spend large amounts of time gazing into nothingness. It was unnerving how quickly the change would occur and Al barely knew what to do when it did. Sometimes he worried that he might trigger the change himself. While Al knew the …arrangement between them was casual, he wasn't so ignorant that he thought it didn't have to potential to damage their relationship. Was this what Scorpius wanted? What if it eventually became a burden to him, became another worry in his life that he couldn't escape?

Al frowned slightly. "Are you happy?"

Scorpius opened his eyes and a small smile slowly crept onto his face. He leant forward and kissed the dark haired boy softly on the lips before pulling away.

"You and me….it'll always be you and me, won't it? No matter how we are, what we do, who else is around, it'll stay the same."

"Of course. How else could it be? Always."

"Then I guess I'll always be happy, won't I?"

Albus smiled and released a breath of laughter. "I hope so."