Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter and/or any other characters used in this fic. They are all property of J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Today I just really didn't want to study for my final so I went and read this really good Seamus/Dean fic and I thought I might give it a whirl :)
Seamus was a shameless flirt. He spent most of his time flirting with all the inhabitants of Gryffindor Tower, both male and female. He had no overall preference. He hit on everyone no matter what gender.
His flirting wasn't even kept to his own House. He flirted with Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, even Slytherins. It didn't matter to him. He could be found at all hours of the day or night laughing with some unsuspecting person of any House.
The reason Seamus found it so easy to talk to everyone had to be his easy-going personality. He was laid back and liked pretty much everyone. His mind was open and he allowed everyone to try his temper.
This didn't bother most people. Most people thought it was quite an endearing quality of Seamus'. They thought it amusing that he was always a little closer than necessary, whispering jokes in their ears. They knew it wasn't all serious. Seamus was a flirt. He wasn't being serious.
To one person, though, Seamus' flirting seemed to get on his nerves. Dean Thomas, Seamus' best friend, had to endure day after day of shameless teasing and attention given to other people. It wasn't that Dean wanted Seamus' attention. He had plenty of that. But seeing it so easily bestowed on others seemed to grate on his nerves.
Dean supposed this was because he wasn't as outgoing as Seamus and didn't trust quite as easily. He wouldn't be able to interact with so many people as easily as Seamus did.
Seamus and Dean spent most of their time together, but it was rarely just the two of them. For the most part it would be Dean, Seamus, and Seamus' latest "crush". They weren't real crushes, per say, but Seamus flirted with them all.
It was on one of these occasions that Dean's nerves broke. He and Seamus were sitting outside on the lawn, lazing against a tree and watching as the Giant Squid attempted to pull in unsuspecting first years into the lake.
They were having a pleasant conversation involving the Gryffindor Quidditch team's chances for the Cup this year when a new victim came along for Seamus. It was a 6th year girl by the name of Lyn.
She was walking past, flipping her pretty blond hair over her shoulder, when Seamus spotted her.
He grinned at Dean, who sighed but pretended to be enthusiastic by sending a smile his way.
"Hey, Lyn!" Seamus called.
The girl stopped and looked 'round for who had called her. She spotted Seamus and Dean under a large tree and smiled shyly at him. Flipping her hair back again, she made her way to them.
"Hi, Seamus," she greeted him shyly. "Dean."
Dean merely nodded. He didn't know Lyn very well, except that she was a Ravenclaw and Seamus seemed to like her. Then again, Seamus seemed to like everyone. Just the other day, he'd been shamelessly hitting on Harry.
"So, Lyn," Seamus said casually, slipping an arm around her shoulder. Dean just rolled his eyes. Seamus had always been a very touchy-feely kind of person. He enjoyed being close to people. "How has your day been going? I heard there was a little fiasco in the Ravenclaw dorms earlier."
"Oh, um," Lyn stuttered, taken in by Seamus' hand around her shoulder. "Some Slytherin released a bunch of snakes in the 5th year's dormatories."
"Yeah, those snakes can be tricky," Seamus said with a wink. Lyn blushed.
Dean scoffed and they both looked at him. He quickly turned it into a cough until they looked away.
"I suppose so," Lyn finally choked out.
Seamus shifted a little closer and leaned into Lyn's ear. Her blush deepened as his breath ghosted over her ear. Dean watched this with an air of disapproval.
"You know," Seamus whispered, though Dean could hear him quite clearly from beside him, "I'm quite the snake-catcher if you're ever in need of help."
Dean could have sworn the girl's entire face would stay permanently scarlet at Seamus' words. He rolled his eyes, unseen by the pair. He hated how Seamus could be so casual when dropping those hints.
He knew Seamus better than anyone, and he knew that he wasn't half the slut everyone thought he was. Everyone thought he slept with everyone else, which wasn't true. Yes, he had slept with several people over the past few years, most notable Parvati Patil, Blaise Zabini, and his tryst with Michael Corner that had ended up with him crying into Dean's shoulder for the better part of a week.
Dean wondered why he never seemed to care what kind of reputation he was making for himself by suggesting such things to everyone.
He was brought out of his musings by a loud giggle. He looked over to see Lyn practically in Seamus' lap. He was grinning and she was giggling girlishly. It took all Dean had not to shudder.
Instead, he stood up abruptly. Seamus looked up at him from his position on the ground. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to do homework," Dean replied coldly and walked away quickly.
He kept his eyes resolutely forward as he stalked up the lawn to the castle. He didn't want to see Seamus and that girl acting like newlyweds. He bypassed the Great Hall where it was lunchtime, and instead went up to the Tower, not stopping to greet anyone.
He slammed the dormitory door behind him and collapsed on his bed, letting out a loud sigh. He knew it shouldn't bother him as much as it did, but he couldn't stop feeling jealous and territorial when all those people hung off Seamus like he was a piece of meat.
He didn't raise his head as he heard the dormitory door open and close. He stayed on his bed, staring resolutely at the top of his four-poster.
"Dean?" A tentative voice filled the dorm, and Dean knew who it was. "Are you okay? You left pretty quick back there."
Seamus' head loomed above him, looking down at him concernedly.
"I'm fine," he said shortly, rolling onto his side and sitting up.
Seamus took a step back, but his face was still questioning. "Are you sure? I mean, Lyn and I weren't going to—"
"Were you planning on sleeping with her?" Dean asked suddenly, cutting Seamus off.
"I… not really."
"Then why do you do that?"
"Do what?" Seamus, asked, confused.
"Flirt with everyone!" Dean exclaimed, getting to his feet, and Seamus took another few steps back. Dean could be very imposing when he was angry.
"I don't know," Seamus said. "It's fun, I guess."
"Don't you care what everyone thinks about you?"
"Not really. It doesn't matter what they think." Seamus looked at Dean closely. "Dean, what's wrong with you? You've never said any of this before."
Dean ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I just want you to think, Seamus. You're getting this reputation because of what you do and with who."
"But you know it's not true."
"But they don't!" Dean asserted. "People talk, Seamus, they talk a lot. I can't defend you all the time."
Seamus paused, his expression wavering between confused and hurt. "You mean you're tired of telling people it's not true? So what are you going to do? Stop being my friend?"
"What? No," Dean said quickly. "But, Seamus, you have to stop!"
"Why?" he asked indignantly. "What's so bad about it? I'm not hurting anyone."
"Yes, you are! You're hurting me!"
Seamus was now completely confused. "Huh?!"
"Every time, Seamus! Every time I see you with someone else, touching them, whispering to them, just flirting with them, it hurts! Didn't you ever think about how your flirting affects other people?!"
"I… no," Seamus said slowly.
"Well, it does!" Dean exclaimed. "When you and Michael broke up and I stayed with you all night, that was amazing, but the next week it was back to the same thing. You go off and hit on everything that moves while I sit in the background playing the best-mate card. Well, it's not fun anymore! It hasn't been for a while."
"Are you saying that—"
"What do you think people say about you? They think you can't keep a relationship, or you don't want to. They think you're all about having fun and living in the moment, which you are, and that's great, but don't you ever think about the future and what's going to happen in it?"
"Wait, Dean," Seamus said, trying to slow down his friend and process all the information at the same time. "You mean you think you like me?"
"I don't know what the hell I think!" Dean exclaimed, throwing up his hands and starting to pace back and forth.
Seamus knew it had to be serious if Dean was cursing. Dean never cursed. Ever.
"But what are you saying?" he asked, trying to understand just what Dean meant.
"I'm saying that I don't fucking like it when you go out and flirt with every single person in this school, that's what I'm saying!" Dean was breathing hard and he was angrier than Seamus had ever seen him.
They were both silent for a moment as Dean paced in front of his bed and Seamus stood rooted to the floor. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was it true? Was Dean really saying what he thought he was saying?
All of a sudden, Dean stopped. He looked up at Seamus with something akin to shock and realization. "Oh, Seamus," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I have to go." He skirted around Seamus and out the door, barely missing colliding with Ron on his way down.
"What was that?" Ron asked.
"I have no idea," Seamus replied.
OoOoO
Dean groaned out loud, rubbing his face with his hands harshly. He was pacing once more, only this time he was away from prying eyes to break-down in peace.
He had always been cool and collected; the calm one of the group. He was the laid-back boy who would watch everyone else with their relationship problems while he had none. He would never lash out, break down, show that he was affected by anything.
But back in the dorm, with Seamus, he had finally let go. He had let slip that secret that he'd been keeping in for so long.
When Seamus and Michael had broken up, Dean had wanted to punch Michael, to force him to see what a great guy Seamus really was. But a part of him wanted Seamus to stay away from Michael.
Seamus had crawled into his bed that night, shoulders shaking and breaths coming in short gasps. Dean had slipped an arm around him and held him close while he cried himself to sleep. He didn't like seeing Seamus like that. He felt like he wanted to keep him safe forever.
When morning had come, and Seamus had left, Dean had felt empty and alone. He had thought it was just an emotional thing, spreading to him through Seamus. But when the feeling hadn't disappeared after two weeks, he had begun to wonder.
He noticed Seamus' flirting was bothering him more and more. It didn't matter who it was with, whether Ron, who was so straight you could have used him as a meter stick, or Harry, who happened to be dating perhaps the most territorial guy in the school, Malfoy. Dean would simply get a twisted feeling in his stomach whenever Seamus would lean over to someone, run a teasing finger down their arm, whisper in their ear, play with their hair. Even if it was completely platonic, Dean didn't like it.
He had finally come to his realization of his feelings just about a month ago. He'd walked in on Seamus and some girl going at it in a broom closet down stairs. Dean had wanted to curse the girl so that she wouldn't be able to see straight, let alone kiss Seamus.
Since then, he'd been getting quieter around Seamus. He would turn away whenever Seamus would turn on the charm. He just didn't want to see it anymore.
And tonight, he had accidentally revealed himself to Seamus. He didn't want to ruin their friendship. Just because he had feelings for his best friend didn't mean he had to act on them.
Dean sighed and fell back against the stone wall of the Astronomy Tower. Above him, the sky had turned dark and stars were peeking out through the night sky. Dean didn't want to go back to Gryffindor Tower where Seamus would undoubtedly be.
Instead, he slid down the wall to sit with his knees drawn up in front of him, gazing up at the star-strewn sky. Sitting there, he tried to convince himself that he didn't feel this way. Seamus was just his friend. He didn't feel anything more than friendly towards him.
He sighed again. He knew it was useless to suppress his feelings, but it wouldn't help to act on them either.
All was quiet as he stared at the stars twinkling above him. He wondered what was going to happen now. Finally, he let his head fall onto his knees and he closed his eyes, hoping everything might just go back to normal.
"What did you mean?"
Dean's eyes shot open and he stared at his knees as a voice sounded suddenly from the direction of the stairs. "Seamus?" he asked carefully.
"You didn't mean what?" Seamus' voice was strong and demanding, something Dean didn't hear from him often.
He lifted his head and struggled to his feet, turning to see Seamus standing in the doorway. Through the dark, he could see that Seamus was serious. His posture was straight and upright, not relaxed like usual.
"Seamus, what are you—"
"You didn't mean to tell me?" Seamus interrupted him. "You didn't mean to like me? You didn't mean that I should think about my best mate having feelings for me? What, Dean, just what did you mean back there?"
"It doesn't matter," Dean said dejectedly.
"Yes, it does," Seamus said assertively. "I want to know what you meant."
Dean sighed and took a second to pull himself together. "It means that I like you, and it bothers me when you do those things. And I know it's pointless and stupid, but I can't help it. And I-I just don't know what to do."
Seamus was silent for once in his life as he took a few steps closer to Dean. Dean was avoiding his gaze, staring at the dusty floor of the Tower.
"Dean… did you ever wonder why I flirt with so many people? I mean, I don't do it just for the attention."
Dean looked up, a puzzled look on his face but said nothing.
Seamus sighed and took another step forward, coming within reach of Dean. "It's because I was trying to distract myself. See, I wanted someone I couldn't have, so I thought by going out with other people, by trying to have fun with everyone, that I could forget about him. But it didn't really work."
Still, Dean said nothing, though he did notice the gap of space between him and Seamus growing noticeably smaller.
"You asked me today why I didn't care what people thought about me. Well, what I said, that I didn't care, it was kind of a lie. I do care, but it only matter what you think. I don't care about everyone else. They don't matter. Only your opinion matters." Seamus hesitated a second. "I'm tired of pretending. I… I like you, Dean, as in more than just a friend. I have for a while. And until today… Well, until today I thought you were straight and would never have an interest in me."
Dean let out a small laugh. "Until today, I tried to never let it bother me."
Seamus furrowed his eyebrows as he took one more step closer, placing his hands tentatively on Dean's hips, keeping his touch very light, like he was afraid he might scare him away otherwise. "Are you okay now?"
Dean paused, thinking. "I think so."
Seamus hesitated, then stood up on his toes slowly and pressed a careful kiss to Dean's lips. He felt Dean's hands come to his waist to steady him, pulling him in closer to his hard, warm body.
Seamus pulled away slowly, unsure if he ought to have done that or not. He was reassured when Dean leaned down and kissed him on the mouth, harder than he had done. Seamus opened his mouth and allowed the hot, wet tongue to slip inside, caressing his own tongue and running over his teeth.
He gave a soft moan and wrapped his arms around Dean's torso, loving the way Dean's body felt against his, long and lean and hard.
They finally broke apart and Seamus glanced up at Dean. "Did I ever mention that I am an excellent snake catcher?"
Dean laughed and hugged Seamus close. "I think you might have."
A/N: Please review! I don't usually write minor characters, but they can be fun. Did you like this pairing? Or should I try something else?