Scorpius leaned closer to the mirror as he tried to get his hair just right. There was a careful balance between the amount of hair gel needed to get it to do what he wanted and an amount that would make others think he was trying too hard. He'd gotten it down to a science in the last year, but if he was even the smallest bit distracted, he could go too far without noticing until it was too late.

He turned his head to the right and grinned in satisfaction. Deciding that his hair was as good as he was going to get, he laid his platinum comb on the table, only to catch sight of Albus in the reflection of the mirror.

His eyes were on Scorpius, and his was mouth hanging slightly open. His eyes widened when he noticed that he'd been caught, and his gaze flickered away before Scorpius had twirled around to face him where he sat perched on his bed.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me like I'm about to burst into flames?" he asked, grinning as if his heart wasn't racing over the attention. "Would you like some tips?"

He motioned at Albus' messy hair that he refused to do anything with, no matter how many times Scorpius offered to take care of it for him. Anytime Scorpius came close to touching Albus' hair, Albus would blanch and squirm away from him.

"No," Albus said, reaching up to cover his hair with his hands and making it messier in the process. "I only zoned out waiting for you. It's been a million years, and I want breakfast."

He stood and headed for the door without seeing if Scorpius was following. Scorpius hurried after him, wondering what had gotten him grumpy when they'd only been awake for an hour.

Several days later, Scorpius had forgotten about catching Albus staring while he did his hair, but he was preoccupied by the various other strange behaviors his best friend was exhibiting. Over the years, Scorpius had accepted his position as the anxious one between the two of them. If there was something to panic about, Scorpius was sure to be panicking. Albus, on the other hand, could be dramatic when he wanted, but it was typically from anger or frustration, not fear.

That had changed for some reason, and Scorpius didn't understand why. The worst part of it all was that he seemed to be making Albus' anxiety worse whenever he was around, but he couldn't figure out what he'd done.

He entered their dormitory, still thinking about how Albus had stammered out excuses for not studying with him in the library. Heading for his bed, he noticed the hangings on Albus' bed were closed, and his heart stammered with the knowledge that Albus was inside. He'd tossed his bag onto his bed before he heard a sniffle from the other side of the curtains.

He paused, staring at Albus' hangings as if he'd manage to see through them and assess the situation without having to say anything. He took one hesitant step forward and glanced at the dormitory door before he decided that talking to his best friend was one thing he wasn't going to be nervous about. If Albus was upset, Scorpius had a responsibility to talk to him about it.

"Albus," he said hesitantly.

There was no reply, not even a sniffle. In fact, the room was suddenly too quiet, as if Albus was putting an unnatural amount of effort into not rustling the sheets.

"Albus, I know you're there."

Still no reply.

"If you're not there, I guess you wouldn't care if I opened the hangings," he said, pausing for a second to see if he'd get a response.

There still wasn't one, so Scorpius tugged open the hangings, his eyes meeting a scowling Albus laying on his bed. He wasn't too bothered, though. He was used to pouting Albus. If Albus had truly wanted to be left alone, he would have snapped at Scorpius to leave far earlier than when he was standing over him. This was an upset Albus who wanted Scorpius' attention but refused to ask for it.

What worried Scorpius more was that he still didn't understand why Albus was upset in the first place. Never before had Albus hesitated to tell him just what had him worked up.

"You know," Albus remarked, "when people close their hangings, it's usually because they want privacy."

"Tell me to go, and I will."

Albus was quiet, his eyes shifting to look at his blankets.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked.

They'd returned to silence in lieu of replies, and Scorpius sighed.

"Budge over," he said, motioning for Albus to scoot to the side of the bed.

Albus did so, though his cheeks began to turn red as as he went. Scorpius climbed beside him on the bed, letting the hangings fall shut behind him. Albus refused to make eye contact, and he'd begun bunching the robes he wore in his fist as a way of releasing his anxiety.

"Albus, you've got to tell me what's wrong. If there's something I can do, then I'll do it."

The words came out as more of a whine than Scorpius had intended, but that might have been what prompted Albus to let go of his robes, take a deep breath, and speak.

"You promise not to judge me?"

His voice wavered with uncertainty, and Scorpius had to resist an urge to scoot closer and wrap his arms around him.

"Of course I won't," he said. "You're my best friend. Unless you're about to tell me that you've been secretly plotting my murder since we met or something equally frightening, we'll be fine."

Albus' eyes met his, and Scorpius was careful to control his breathing when he met the intensity in them. He had been careful about giving Albus space when he joined him on the bed, but they felt unbelievably close when they were looking at each other. Scorpius could focus on little but the green of Albus' irises.

When Albus spoke, he had to force himself to focus on the words instead.

"Over the past few months, I've been...noticing more than I did before."

"What kind of things have you noticed?"

Something about the situation was oddly familiar, though Scorpius wasn't sure why. He watched Albus pull at a string on the duvet, and his heart raced with anticipation, though he tried to stay calm to save himself from disappointment if this was nothing more than one of Albus' usual moods.

For a second, he thought Albus would chicken out and lie to him. Instead, he stiffened and looked into Scorpius' eyes again.

"How attractive you are," he said, prompting Scorpius' entire body to tingle with an excitement that was both familiar and stronger than anything he'd experienced before. "You've always kind of fascinated me, but it was only recently that I realized you were fascinating to look at. There's the way you chew on the inside of your cheek when you're focused on studying, or the way you always put the different food groups on the same spot on your plate so you can eat them clockwise and save the best ones for last."

"Those aren't physical traits," Scorpius couldn't resist pointing out, even though his voice was shaking.

Something about the comment boosted Albus' confidence. He laughed, but his gaze quickly turned serious. He stared at Scorpius, his mouth slightly open, and when his cheeks began turning pink, Scorpius didn't think the flush was from embarrassment.

"I don't know how to describe those without it being really embarrassing," Albus admitted in a whisper.

"Trust me," Scorpius said, keeping his own voice to a whisper too, "I don't think I could find it embarrassing."

He scooted closer to Albus, making the other boy's breath catch in his throat. Scorpius couldn't help but smirk. Reaching out, he brushed a strand of Albus' hair from his forehead. When Albus shivered at the touch, it took all of Scorpius' willpower not to immediately kiss him.

"You've always been gorgeous, Albus," he said, smirking when Albus' pupils dilated in response to the comment. "Is that surprising?" he asked. "I never thought I was good at hiding how attractive I think you are."

Albus swallowed and scooted closer. Scorpius could feel his body heat despite the layers of robes they both wore, and the effect Albus' proximity had on him made his hands shake with anticipation.

"I hadn't noticed a thing," Albus admitted. "Wish I had though. It would have saved me a lot of agony."

Scorpius hummed in agreement.

"But there's now," he said.

Albus gave a short, eager nod. They looked at each other for a moment, unsure what to do next, before they burst into giggles, unable to stop for several minutes before the desire in the air grabbed ahold of them again.

"Having you in my bed is a lot to process," Albus admitted.

The second the words were out, he squirmed, a frown wrinkling his forehead.

"Is that a weird thing to say?" he asked, eyes flickering away from Scorpius.

Scorpius hesitated for a second before propping himself up on one elbow and catching Albus' attention again.

"It's still January," he said, "so let's make a New Year's resolution together: This year, we tell each other everything we're thinking. Even if we're worried about what the other will say. Even if we think it'll sound stupid. We say it anyway."

Albus bit his lip, and Scorpius fought the urge to get started on the resolution right away by revealing just what the motion did to him.

"Do you really want to hear everything I think about you?" Albus asked. "Some of it's kind of… Well…"

Even without him finishing, Scorpius' imagination was able to take the idea and run with it. Contrary to what Albus may have thought, the idea of hearing Albus say those thoughts out loud was intoxicating.

"More than anything," he said. "I can start if you're nervous."

He leaned close to Albus' ear and began whispering the thoughts that had been running through his head since he'd joined Albus on the bed. The next time Albus squirmed, it wasn't from embarrassment.

When Scorpius woke the next morning, he was grinning before he could remember what he was grinning about. As his memories gained clarity, he soaked in the warmth of Albus' body against his, pushing closer without worrying about revealing any secret feelings.

His eyes fluttered open to find Albus asleep beside him. The hangings remained drawn, hiding them from any roommates who might have been curious about Scorpius' empty bed. They hadn't exactly thought to cover their tracks the night before, but at least the hangings had been closed.

Albus' mouth hung open as he slept, and a slight bit of drool had looked beside his mouth. Scorpius knew he should have been a little put off by the sight of the drool, but he wasn't. He was too far gone to care about anything except how wonderful it felt to be in Albus' bed with their legs tangled together under the sheets.

For years, he's dreamt of being in the exact same position, and he couldn't believe that Albus was really asleep against him. He reached out to run his hands through Albus' hair like he was often tempted to. He'd learned the previous day just how soft it was, and his smile widened as he tangled his fingers in it.

They hadn't gone very far physically. Both of them still wore most of their clothes, but the words that had been exchanged had been more intimate than any of the ways they could have touched each other. Scorpius hasn't thought he could feel more comfortable around Albus than he already had. But he had been wrong.

Albus exhaled, and Scorpius removed his hand from his hair, worried about waking him. Though it was late morning if the light coming through the hangings was any indication, Scorpius didn't like the idea of rousing Albus from his peaceful state.

He cuddled closer instead, laying his head against Albus' chest and counting the beats of his heart. Sleep overtook him a second time before he could make it far.

Prompts:

Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments

Seasonal - Birthstones: tanzanite - (dialogue) "Is there a reason you're staring at me like I'm about to burst into flames?"

Seasonal - Colour Prompts: platinum

Seasonal - Winter Prompts: (word) sniffle

Seasonal - Days of the Year: New Year's Day - Write about someone making a New Year's resolution.

HPFC

Favourite Character Boot Camp: Scorpius Malfoy - soft

Word count: 2,053