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"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." ― Oscar Wilde

The bell dings, the lift doors open... and Scorpius holds his breath. He knows who is coming through, and he acts nonchalant. Albus is going to have that casual look on his face, tired eyes, and a smirk. Scorpius is going to hate himself.

Albus gives him a quick mornin' nod and makes his way to his dad's office. Albus always checks in with his dad, Scorpius's boss, before he heads down to his own office.

"You're late," Scorpius hears Mr Potter say, before Albus closes the door behind him. It is always "Mr Potter" at work, even if it is Harry everywhere else.

Albus is always late. He's usually not in trouble for it, because he always stays late as well. Sure, his father is the top solicitor in the country, but he only thrives because his team is dedicated. Scorpius gets in early, usually around seven in the morning, and he stays until five o'clock. Albus rolls in around ten, but they all know if someone is going to stay late to meet deadlines, it's Albus. It's common knowledge Albus is not a morning person—and he only gets away with it because he's Harry Potter's son—but Scorpius knows, despite all his flaws, Albus is a hard worker.

Maybe that's why Scorpius finds him stupidly charming, even if he also kind of hates him (and himself).

"Long night?" Scorpius asks when Albus returns from Mr Potter's office and stops by his desk.

"You have no idea," Albus says while he picks up Scorpius's coffee cup and takes a sip. Unable to help himself, Scorpius watches as Albus finishes the last of his coffee, then licks his lower lip.

"Oh, how is this still good?" he asks. He always finishes the last of Scorpius's coffee—never bats an eyelash about it, even though everyone else around him thinks it's disgusting—and then offers to buy Scorpius a fresh cup after lunch.

"You're vile," Scorpius says and takes his empty cup back. He maybe likes to hold onto the cup after Albus leaves his desk and then run his thumb over where Albus's lips had been. Scorpius is pathetic; he knows this very well.

Scorpius is about to ask Albus about his night when Bradley Harrington walks by his desk. There have been rumours recently of Albus and Bradley snogging in the fourth floor broom closet, and Albus is always shamelessly flirting with him. Harry has continuously asked Albus to stop flirting with the staff, but Albus always just denies it. Still, whenever Scorpius sees them together, they're always standing in a corner giggling or blushing. If they aren't fooling around, Scorpius has no idea what else they could possibly be doing.

Then there's Sonja, Harry's other assistant. Her desk is across from Scorpius's, and almost every day she spends her lunch hour in Albus's office. Every day when she returns to her desk, she looks relieved. Scorpius doesn't even want to imagine what they do when they're alone in the office together. Albus always has a DO NOT DISTURB sign outside the door, and he claims to also put a Silencing Charm so even if someone knocks, they wouldn't be disturbed.

Surely, Harry must know about these things. It isn't Scorpius's place to say anything, but he never looks disturbed about it. When Mr Potter steps out of his office and requests Scorpius to find a file, he tends to ask, "Where's Sonja?"

"At lunch," Scorpius says, and Mr Potter simply walks back into his office. Scorpius has also shared his suspicions with his father, but he always just seems unperturbed by it. This annoys Scorpius more than it should.

0-0

All his life, Scorpius never thought he'd end up working in a solicitor's office. Initially he'd thought he'd either join his father in the family business of Imports/Exports or become a Potions Master, but during his sixth year at Hogwarts, Scorpius discovered he really loved the Law.

He liked rules and structure, studying the legal history of things, and in general, discussing ethics and policy. He never wanted to argue in the courts, so he opted for becoming a legal assistant. He does the research, files motions with the solicitors he's working with, and even meets with the clients.

After working at the Ministry for two years, Scorpius set out to find employment in the private sector. When he interviewed at Potter and Sons, he knew that's where he wanted to be.

His first interview with James Sirius and the Financial Officer had gone swimmingly, but when Albus had interviewed him with the rest of the Executive Board, it'd been terrible.

Scorpius had never liked Albus when they were in school together, and that animosity was obvious in the interview. Even though they were the same age, Albus had already become a well-known solicitor, with quite a lot of power within the firm. Scorpius was sure that his own battered pride at not being as successful as Albus, and their old rivalry—not to mention the familial tension—caused enough conflict during the meeting and there was no way he'd get the job.

Much to his surprise, Harry fire-called him at his flat the next day, and offered Scorpius the job. Whatever their personal feelings had been, the Potters and Scorpius managed to mostly have a very solid professional relationship. His personal relationship with them was mediocre at best, and that was really only because Scorpius was trying to be cordial for his father's sake.

0-0

"Scorpius, I can't find the Draker case file," Albus says as Scorpius is just about getting ready to go to his lunch.

"I put it on your desk last night before I left," Scorpius answers while checking his watch. He's taking a late lunch today for his date with Stuart, and he doesn't want to keep him waiting.

Albus raises an eyebrow. "Well, it's not there," he says, huffing.

Scorpius really can't stand how Albus at one moment, acts like you are the reason he gets up in the morning, and the second, acts as though your life means nothing to him.

"Maybe you moved it around when you were at lunch," Scorpius says and looks at Sonja who is just sitting around reading a romance novel.

"Sonja, did you see the Draker file on my desk today?" Albus turns to ask her.

"The who?" she says and returns to her book.

Brilliant.

"I'll help you look," Scorpius says and makes his way to Albus's office. He has no idea why Albus hates him so much. In truth, the way Albus treats everyone around them is really unprofessional. He steals Scorpius's coffee every morning, sure it's only a sip, and he does buy him a replacement at three o'clock every day, but he also openly flirts with Harrington, and puts up with Sonja's incompetence.

Scorpius has no idea why Mr Potter doesn't fire Sonja, either.

When Scorpius enters Albus's office, it's a mess. He nearly loses his footing at a giant pile of paper and scowls at Albus. For a supposedly competent solicitor, who's never lost a case, Albus is shockingly disorganised.

"Did you try to Accio it?" Scorpius asks, sneering.

"How do you think this whole mess started?" Albus asks, looking amused.

"You Potters don't pay me enough for this," Scorpius says and tackles the desk. He starts placing papers in four separate piles. Eventually, he notices a few folders under the desk and finally finds the bloody Draker file. It'd been under the desk the entire time. Now, not only has he wasted his lunch hour, not made it to his appointment, but also done all of Sonja's work for her.

"Oh, you're a life saver," Albus says, taking the files from Scorpius's hands and then patting his shoulder.

Brilliant. This is what he gets: a pat on the shoulder.

"Maybe you should move your important files aside before you shag your secretary on the desk," Scorpius says and starts to leave Albus's office.

"Wait. What?" Albus asks, sounding surprised.

"I'm just saying. No judgement, of course."

Albus's eyes widen slightly and he looks thoughtful for a moment. "Do you think others know—I mean, think that?"

Scorpius shrugs and heads back to his desk, feeling defeated. If he didn't love the actual job as much as he does, he would have left a long time ago. But besides Albus's sexual exploits and unprofessional behaviour, they actually do really good work at Potter and Sons. James Sirius won the solicitor of the year award last year, and Harry has done more public service work in ten years than all of the other Wizarding Advocates for International Development combined.

He just doesn't know when he'd developed this stupid crush on Albus, and why it bothers him so much.

Twenty minutes later, Albus brings him a caprese sandwich with bacon on the side, and a large caffè macchiato. Five minutes after that, Scorpius receives an owl with an angry message from Stuart.

Bugger.

"What is it?" Sonja asks, looking up from her book and Scorpius isn't sure if he'd actually just said that out loud.

"Stuart. He just broke it off."

"Oh, I didn't know you two were official," Sonja says.

How does Sonja even know who Stuart is? Scorpius doesn't want to know. "We weren't. But, we'd been trying to go on dates while he was in town. He's got some work travel coming up. He wanted to know if we could maybe get more serious but, I guess, since I was a no show for lunch—"

"You should really give Albus a piece of your mind," Sonja says, sounding slightly angry. Is she on Scorpius's side? That's a first.

"For what? Asking me to do my job?"

She shrugs and gets up off her chair. He has a feeling she wants to say more but doesn't. "Well, I'm off," she says, collecting her things.

"It's half four," Scorpius says, frustrated.

"Albus said I could leave early, and Mr Potter's out this week, so there's not much work."

There's plenty of work. Harry has left both of them with several projects. Scorpius knows that by the end of the week, he'll have everything finished and Sonja will come crying to him, asking for his help. Or worse, she'll make Albus do it.

0-0

It's Friday morning, and Scorpius is glad for it. He doesn't have to deal with Albus's hung over stumbling into the office for a few days, nor deal with Sonja's whining about how much she's behind. Harry returns on Monday so things can go back to being semi-normal again.

He's in a good mood and nothing is going to damper it.

Later, if he's up to it, he might even owl Stuart and ask him to come over. Sure, things aren't going to work out between them as boyfriends, but there's no reason they can't be friends. Scorpius really does need to unwind.

"Scorpius, I need the final notes for the Brown case," Albus says as he reaches Scorpius's desk at four forty-five. Without looking up, Scorpius hands him the file.

"Are these all the notes? Dad wants my final observations before we try the case on Tues—"

"Yes. And the Auror testimony," Scorpius says, handing Albus another blue file.

"Brilliant," Albus says and Scorpius still hasn't looked up. "Big plans this weekend?"

"Not as big as yours," Scorpius says, dryly. He's still marking off the final check-list of work Harry had left for him. "I'm sure."

"Hm," Albus says, sounding thoughtful, and finally Scorpius looks up.

"What?"

"There's a party at my friend Matteo's house tomorrow. Do you want to come along?"

"Me?" Scorpius asks, confused. "No, thanks."

"What? Why not?"

"I don't want to be part of the office gossip on Monday."

"Oh," Albus says and Scorpius thinks that he hears a hint of disappointment in his voice but then Albus chuckles and Scorpius knows he's wrong. "It's not like that. I owe you for the Draker file, and Sonja told me your boyfriend's all cross."

"He's not my boyfriend...well, anymore." Never mind.

"Well, all the better reason for you to come out then. Matteo's got nice friends, maybe you'll find someone to your fancy."

"Someone you haven't shagged first?"

Albus shrugs. "Maybe. It's possible. He's got lots of international friends, and there's bound to be someone new in the group I haven't met yet." He gives Scorpius his winning smile, and Scorpius only frowns at him. "It'll be fun. Sonja's going to be there."

Scorpius groans. "I thought you wanted me to attend?"

Albus laughs at Scorpius as if he weren't being serious. Then he schools his expression. "It'll be fun. Trust me."

Yeah, that'll be the day.

0-0

On Saturday evening, right after dinner, Scorpius meets Albus outside of Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley. Then they Apparate to Matteo's flat in the West End. By the time they arrive, the flat is full of people. There's barely any room to stand and someone is standing in a kitchen corner passing down bottles of beer. Albus grabs two and hands one off to Scorpius.

Scorpius nods his thanks and turns to take the whole room in. In the corner, he sees a woman, who sort of reminds him of Sonja, sitting in some bloke's lap and they're snogging. When the kissing couple take a break, the woman looks around and Scorpius realises it is Sonja.

Scorpius isn't sure what to make of that. He thought she was with Albus, or was it a casual thing and they didn't care to take it outside the office? Did they only shag during lunch and then they were free to do whatever they wanted?

"Come on, I'll introduce you to some people," Albus says, snaking his arm around Scorpius's waist and pulling him away the door.

Did Albus even see Sonja? Scorpius concentrates on that question and doesn't think about the warmth of Albus's body next to his and the clean and man scent that is nearly intoxicating.

Scorpius recognises some of the people from when they were in Hogwarts together. Blossom Nott, Sheila Thomas, and Dahlia Corner. Funny how all of Albus's friends from Hogwarts are women.

When Albus talks of his friends and his nights out, he barely mentions his friends' names and Scorpius just assumed they were men. Now, he's surrounded by all these girls, and they are recounting adventures that sound all too familiar. He isn't sure what to make of that, but he files it away for later.

Of all the people Scorpius has met at the party, he likes Dahlia the most. She also works as a public servant for a different solicitor's group and shares the same sort of passions as Scorpius.

When Scorpius looks around the room again, not looking for Albus, he finds Albus standing in the far corner of the room chatting with a man with dark brown hair. The man has his arm around Albus and they look like they're sharing a secret. Albus says something, and the man laughs. He slaps Albus's shoulder, pulls him in for a hug, and then walks away.

Scorpius is jealous. He quickly looks away when he realises if Albus turns in that moment, he'll see Scorpius.

"So, your boyfriend doesn't mind you being here tonight?" Dahlia asks, giving Scorpius a start. He'd nearly forgotten she was still standing there.

"My what?" Scorpius says, confused. "I don't—I don't have a boyfriend." How did she even know he is gay?

"Oh. I thought Albus told me—never mind."

"What did Albus tell you?" Scorpius asks. He controls his voice, making sure not to sound angry or even curious. It's the sort of an empty, monotonous voice he uses when he's discussing cases with his clients. No judgement, with just a hint of polite interest.

"Not much," she says, drawling, as if she's contemplating whether or not she should say anything.

"Please," Scorpius says, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I won't tell anyone."

"Like I said, not much. Just that you two flirt a lot in the office, but your boyfriend makes it difficult for you both. He's sort of preventing you two from being together—you know—and you're so right and prop—"

"Hey!" Albus's voice reaches them before he does, and both Dahlia and Scorpius straighten up.

Scorpius reckons he's heard enough.

"Hi. I think I should be going," Scorpius says. He looks at Dahlia and nods, she looks slightly worried, and then Scorpius turns towards Albus and smiles.

"Already? But we just got here," Albus says. He doesn't sound concerned, and Scorpius wonders why he's asking if he doesn't even care whether Scorpius stays or not. "Come on, let's get another beer."

"No, I should really go," Scorpius says and moves away from the crowd.

He has no idea what he's supposed to do now. He just wants some fresh air. Scorpius dedicates his life fighting for the truth, helping people. He started working for Potter and Sons because he thought they stood for the same thing. Tonight, everything he's thought about Albus has come crashing down.

In the office, he seems to be shagging Sonja, but she's here with some other bloke. In the office, he's the biggest charmer around, and that's true at this party too, but he's mostly charming women he's not even interested in. The more he's seen Albus interact, the more confused Scorpius feels. He knows Albus hasn't slept with any of the women here. He can tell. As for the men, he talks to them, but he hasn't shown one ounce of the flirtatious interest Scorpius is used to. What Dahlia told him, on top of everything else, leaves him utterly bewildered.

Sure, Scorpius can admit, to himself at least, he has a crush on Albus, and due to professional integrity, he hasn't done anything about it. Well that, and the fact that Albus always acts as if he's shagging a different man (or woman) every week. But he tells his friends they flirt, and Scorpius has a boyfriend, and that's why they can't be together? They can't be together?. Does Albus want to be with Scorpius?

When was the last time Albus had been honest?

Probably the lunch hour he spends hiding away with Sonja. Does he win his cases based on lies and deceit, too? Surely, it couldn't be true. Mr Potter wouldn't allow it.

"Scor—"

Scorpius is out of the building and is on a busy street corner when Albus pulls on his arm. "Where are you going?"

"I told you, I'm leaving," Scorpius says, keeping his anger in control.

"Why? I thought we were having a good time."

"A good time?" Scorpius scoffs. "I'm just tired. I'll see you Monday, Al—"

"What happened?" Albus's hold on Scorpius tightens, and Scorpius tries to yank his arm away.

"I don't want to keep my boyfriend waiting," Scorpius spits out. "You know, given how you and I flirt so much. I don't want him to be worried. Since I'm so proper, and I wouldn't cheat..."

Albus loosens his grip and Scorpius walks away without looking back. When he finds a quiet alley about five minutes away from the main street, he Apparates home.

0-0

Scorpius figures he probably only has two options. One, he can owl the office and tell Mr Potter he has wizard flu, and he will be out all week. Or two, he can go into work and pretend as though nothing had happened on Saturday.

Well, since he isn't the professional liar at Potter and Sons, he decides to go with option two. He dresses for work per usual, and drinks his coffee at home. If Albus is going to waltz in and be his usual charming self, Scorpius isn't going to give him the satisfaction of drinking his coffee.

When he arrives at his desk, he's surprised to see Sonja already there. Sonja is usually the last person to arrive right before Albus. He gives her a curious look but when she smiles at him, also an odd gesture, he quickly looks away and starts sorting his projects for the day. He has two client meetings, then has to update James with their progress, before organising the snacks and drinks for the all-staff meeting at four o'clock.

Mr Potter walks into the office at nine o'clock, smiling and looking relaxed. As much as Scorpius has missed him, he's glad Harry got to take the holiday he'd been looking forward to for months.

Scorpius's first client meeting which was set up for ten o'clock arrives twenty minutes early, and he's glad for it. He doesn't want to deal with Albus when he comes in at ten.

At twelve thirty, Scorpius is surprised when James also joins the meeting. He nods politely at him before he introduces himself to the client, Chase Shaw.

He's a man is in his late twenties who was caught by the DMLE for allegedly selling an illegal substance. He claims the potion he sold was not harmful in any way, because it was not a drug, and if anything, it was a variation of the Veritaserum which isn't illegal.

"Where were you caught selling the serum?" Scorpius asks, as James asked him to take the lead in the investigation.

"Jus' in Diagon," Chase says, his arms flailing about. "I have a shop set up on one of the street corners. You know there are always vendors doing tricks, selling love potions, and all that. If I'd sold my stuff through the Weasley brothers, nobody would have a problem with it. I'm justa poor man trying to make my way into this worl—"

"Who filed the complaint against you?" Scorpius doesn't have time for the theatrics.

"I don't know. Some disgruntled husband, I s'pose. I get wives buying my potions all the time. They want to know if their husbands are tellin' the truth. My potion, TSSYF, doesn't taste fowl if you sip it with tea; it keeps you honest for up to three days. It's not illegal."

"So why do you think the Ministry confiscate your supply?"

The man looks around the room before meeting Scorpius's eyes.

"Shall we try the potion on you?" James asks, sounding amused.

"I might'a asked this girl if she was happy wi'h 'er boyfriend, so I had 'im take the potion an' confess; turns out he'd been two timin' her. Then he found out what I'd done and he tried to start a fight wi'h me. I beat him, fair and square." He looks proud before he speaks again, "Turns out, he's the Minister's nephew." He shrugs as if it were no big deal and that he started fights with high profile people all the time.

"Look, I came 'ere because it's Potter's firm. He's a right man. A fair man," Chase says. "I just want what's rightfully mine. Nothin' more."

"And the girl?" James asks, "just out of curiosity."

Chase gives a huge grin. "She's havin' dinner with me tomorrow night. I'm goina take 'er to Chez Henri, and everythin'."

"So the damper in your sales haven't affected your financial situation much?" Scorpius asks.

"I make an 'onest living. Literally." He laughs at his own joke. "I had savings, an' I knew one day or another I'd come into trouble. Now, I just want my business back. I don't like the Ministry controlling what I can and cannot do. If I was doin' something illegal, I wouldn't be at Diagon. I'd be somewhere more dodgy."

"Excellent," Scorpius says, and hands a piece of parchment to Chase. "Why don't you look that over and sign it? Then, we'll file a motion of grievance with the Ministry and take it from there. I'll owl you the details as soon as I have more information."

"That's brilliant," Chase says excitedly. "Here." He reaches in his pockets and brings out two phials of greenish liquid. "I brought ya samples. It's the stuff the Ministry don't know 'bout." He hands one phial to Scorpius and the other to James. "Have some fun."

James and Scorpius look at each other in confusion.

Scorpius puts the phial in his pocket. "All right, I'll just file that under evidence," he mumbles to himself and when he looks at James, Scorpius is worried.

James has a sinister look in his eyes, and he doesn't even have to say it. Scorpius knows exactly what he's going to do.

0-0

"So that was an interesting meeting," James says when they are walking out of the conference room and towards the lifts.

"Indeed," Scorpius replies, shaking his head. "I don't think we'll have too much trouble with the Wizengamot. The case will be thrown out if we can prove there's a conflict of interest."

"Agreed," James says and they enter the lift.

"So what are you going to do with your phial of truth?"

Scorpius thinks it over. "File it, of course."

"Come on, we can all use a little bit of TSSYF in our lives," James teases.

TSSYF. Truth Shall Set You Free. Scorpius shakes his head again in disbelief. Chase Shaw is possibly the most trite person he's ever met. At least he's not a liar like Albus.

"You're going to put it in his coffee, aren't you?" Scorpius says. James is Albus's brother. If anyone knows Albus is a pathological liar, it'd be him.

James frowns. "Albus hates coffee." The lift doors open and James walks out.

Scorpius stands stunned. Albus hates coffee?

Scorpius walks back to his desk as if he'd been struck with a lightning bolt. He takes a seat on his chair and starts filing. He has no idea what he's doing, but he needs to keep busy. Maybe he should have just owled in sick, because now he's feeling worse than he had when he'd woken up today.

Albus stops by his desk and he looks up at him. Not really registering that he's there.

"Scor—"

"I don't have time, Potter," Scorpius says.

"I brought you a macchiato," Albus says.

"Thanks," Scorpius takes it off his hand and throws it in the rubbish bin.

"I—uh—"

"What?" Scorpius's anger bursts out of him, and he can tell that everyone around them has stopped whatever they are doing and staring at them. "I mean, how can I help you, Mr Potter? I apologise for my outburst. I'm having a rather unpleasant day."

"Scor—"

"Mr Potter," Scorpius says, and then Harry's door swiftly opens.

"I've only been back for half a day, Albus. Can't you go and bother someone else's assistant?" His eyes pin Albus where he stands, and eventually he takes a step back.

"I heard James was looking for me, so I'll just go and—"

"Yeah, you should do that," Harry says.

Scorpius's eyes widen. If Albus goes and sees James, then he's going to drink TSSYF and then— who knows what, then? Maybe Albus will tell the truth for a change.

After Albus leaves, Harry asks if Scorpius is doing all right. Scorpius asks if he can leave for the day. "I'm feeling a bit under the weather, sir."

"Certainly," Mr Potter says and gives Scorpius a knowing smile. "As long as Dahlia Corner isn't going to steal you away from us."

How does he even know that Scorpius has met her? The less you know about how the Potters operate, the better. His father's words echo in his head.

0-0

Scorpius wakes up to a banging at the front door of his flat. He casts a Tempus Charm to see it's nearly one o'clock . Who is at the door this late at night?

He finds a pair of cotton trousers to put on, and a t-shirt he pulls over his head before he answers the door. It's Albus.

"What are you doing here?"

Albus whines but doesn't say anything.

"What?" Scorpius asks.

"I had to see you," Albus says. Before Scorpius can react, he asks, "Can I come in?"

Scorpius moves out of the way and lets Albus enter. "Are you—"

"Don't ask me any questions," Albus says.

"Okay..." Scorpius closes his flat door and turns to look at Albus. He has no idea what to do. "Well, I am going to get some water. Why don't you tell me whatever you have to tell me when you're ready?"

He walks away from Albus and enters his kitchen. Why he hasn't just kicked Albus out, he has no idea. Maybe because, technically, Albus is his employer, and if he did something to upset his employer, he might get sacked.

Although, Dahlia Corner might be looking to employ Scorpius, so that's always a possibility.

"James put something in my drink tonight," Albus says, following Scorpius.

Scorpius turns to give Albus a glass of water and goes into the sitting room.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Albus asks.

Scorpius shrugs. "Mr Shaw provided us with phials of his serum. I filed mine in evidence. I suppose James used his."

Albus groans and sits on the sofa next to Scorpius. "Why me?" He rests his head back and closes his eyes.

Scorpius can't help but stare at Albus, the perfect specimen on his sofa. The pathological liar in his flat.

"Why are you here, Albus?" Scorpius asks, even though Albus told him to not ask any questions.

"I didn't know where else to go. You make things better," Albus says, and then visibly cringes at his own words.

"I'm not your secretary," Scorpius says, struggling to not feel warmed by Albus's words. If he's under TSSYF, then obviously he's being honest.

"It isn't why I'm here," Albus says, sounding frustrated. He takes in a deep breath, and then runs a hand through his hair.

"I don't have a cure for the truth serum. Is that what you think?"

"I know. I just—I think it's more than just something that makes you tell the truth. I think it makes me want to come clean..."

"Clean about what?"

Albus shrugs. "I told my friends you flirt with me and you have a boyfriend."

"Why did you say that?"

He shrugs again. "Because I couldn't tell them the truth."

"Which is..."

"I liked you. I like you. You make me nervous and if I'm not lying when I'm around you, I don't know how to act. I'll end up just being pathetic. Like now."

"You're not being pathetic. Being honest is a good thing."

Albus doesn't look convinced.

"Do you want me to set up the Floo to take you to your place?"

Albus shakes his head. "No, I want to stay here."

Well, at least it's the truth. "We have work tomorrow," Scorpius says. He didn't take a truth serum. He can act like he doesn't want this.

"I'll sleep on the sofa. I just—I can't go home right now," Albus says, and there's something about the way he says it that Scorpius knows he shouldn't push. He's Harry's son after all, and after working so closely with him for so long, Scorpius has learned when it is and isn't a good idea to push a Potter.

Scorpius walks into the other room to grab a blanket and a pillow and hands it to Albus.

"I get up at five o'clock, so I might wake you when I'm in the kitchen." He walks away without looking back.

In the privacy of his bedroom, Scorpius has trouble sleeping. Albus is right outside this door. On the sofa, and probably naked. Scorpius stirs slightly. He can feel himself getting turned on by the idea of a naked Albus just outside. His hand travels down on its own accord and he strokes himself lightly.

This is so wrong in so many ways, but Scorpius can't help himself. Merlin, just to have Albus there with him, pressed against him...He would have done anything for it. Part of him knows this fantasy wouldn't really be that hard to fulfil. Still, he doesn't want Albus that way.

0-0

When Scorpius wakes up in the morning, he's surprised to see Albus has already left. Since Albus claims to not be a morning person, Scorpius is amazed the blanket is nicely folded and coffee is already made.

Maybe it's because Albus didn't go out the night before that he isn't hung over and is actually productive in the morning?

Scorpius grabs a cup of coffee for himself and settles into his morning ritual. He'll worry about Albus when he gets to work.

At work, Scorpius runs into James in the lift.

"Morning," James says smiling, and Scorpius simply nods and keeps his gaze straight ahead. He's not going to ask James about what he did to Albus. He's not going to ask.

"So..." James says.

"What did you do to Albus?" Scorpius snaps, and then he's internally groaning for giving a shit. He's supposed to be detached. He'd made the decision, sort of, that he was going to keep his head down and work, and when things settle, look for another job.

James laughs to himself. Scorpius can tell it isn't anything vindictive, he's just having a good time. He seriously needs a hobby or a girlfriend. Scorpius should find out if Dahlia Corner is single.

"We were out getting drinks and Albus talked about how he was going on this date, when I know for a fact that he's been pining after you for years. He's a good liar, my brother, I just decided he needs a kick in the arse."

"What date?" Scorpius asks, annoyed.

James shakes his head as if he's laughing at some inside joke Scorpius knows nothing about. "There was no date. That's the bloody point. You know he's liked you forever," he says.

"No, I didn't know. Because that's not true. He hated me in school, you both did, and when I interviewed here—"

The lift doors open and Albus is standing there gaping at Scorpius and James.

"Excuse me," Scorpius says, and brushes past Albus.

"I'm going to kill you!" Scorpius hears Albus say and James laughs as the doors close again, and Scorpius makes it to his desk in one piece. He collapses on his chair and covers his face with his hands. He has no idea what is going on in the office and why he's in the middle of it. If he's actually in the middle of it. Albus is a pathological liar, James thinks it's totally okay to just announce that Albus used to have a "thing" for Scorpius — whatever that means — and he still has a huge pile of paperwork he has to go through.

At least, there's always work.

0-0

After lunch, Mr Potter comes out of his office and hands Scorpius another file. "Can you drop this off on Albus's desk and find the Cooper file for me. I need to review the closing arguments before Albus heads over to the Ministry High Court.

Scorpius slightly hesitates.

"What's the matter?" Mr Potter asks.

"Are you sure you want to drop off the file on Albus's desk. I mean, it could get lost. The Jenner case is quite time sensitive."

Mr Potter raises an eyebrow. "Albus has never lost a file, why are you so reluctant about it? I know he's meeting with a client at their office. He'll have what you need on his desk."

"I—uh—"

"What is the problem, Mr Malfoy?"

Mr Malfoy. Harry hasn't called Scorpius that unless he's in trouble, and he hasn't been in trouble in a very long time. "No problem, sir. I'll get on it right away."

Scorpius picks up the paperwork he needs to drop off at Albus's office and heads there. The door is closed but the room is dark, so Scorpius opens the door slowly to go inside the office. The room is enchanted to sense a presence and brightens up.

What Scorpius sees is not what he'd expected. Unlike the week before, Albus's desk is in immaculate shape. All the files are neatly stacked, the stationary is placed in an organised fashion, and there isn't anything floating about on the desk or the floor or mid-air. This does not look like the disaster office Scorpius had walked in on last week. This couldn't possibly be Albus Potter's office.

He steps out to check the name on the door. It says: Albus Severus Potter. Scorpius is sure he's dreaming.

He closes the door behind him and walks deeper into the room. He looks through the neatly stacked files and realises they are alphabetical. He sees Barron, Borman, Cooper, Davies...and so on.

He takes the Cooper one out and then files the Jenner after Ichabod, and before Jonas.

Who organised Albus's office?

His gaze lingers on the framed photos on Albus's desk. Albus is in almost all of them—with Harry and Scorpius's dad, one with Mrs Granger-Weasley and Rose, and the last one with James and their sister Lily. Albus is laughing, and goofing around in almost every picture. In the one with James, they've both picked up their sister and are swinging her. Albus looks around fifteen in that one.

There's a click and the door opens when Scorpius immediately stands up off the chair. When had he sat down?

"Oh," Albus says, walking in.

"Who did you pay to clean the office?" Scorpius asks immediately.

Albus looks reluctant to answer and he runs a hand through his hair. Right. He cannot tell a lie. Scorpius folds his arms and waits. It's easy to pretend he is the boss, or at least it's fun to try.

"I like order," Albus says.

"You could have fooled me," Scorpius replies with a snort.

"It's part of the bloody serum," Albus says huffing. He sits on the chair opposite Scorpius, usually where the clients would sit, so Scorpius takes a seat on Albus's chair. "It doesn't just always make you tell the truth, it forces you to be your true self."

"Meaning..."

"When I'm in here alone, my office is organised. I make it a mess because of you."

"I—I don't understand."

"I pretend to lose files so you will come and find them. You get on your hands and knees and—" Albus gets a sly smirk on his face and then bites his lower lip.

"Wait. You're actually like this? Clean and organised?" Scorpius asks, unable to hide the shock in his voice. "So you do what you do for attention? From me?"

Albus shrugs. "You're Dad's assistant. I can't call on you to help me unless there's an emergency."

"And you drink my coffee every day," Scorpius says. He hasn't forgotten that. Albus hates coffee. James words are still ringing in his ear.

"It's the only way I can be close to you in the morning."

"This morning—"

"I just made you the coffee, I didn't drink it. I know how you like it, even if I don't like coffee."

"I don't know what to say," Scorpius says. He really doesn't. On the one hand, he's flattered at how much Albus likes him; on the other hand, he is slightly disturbed by it.

"I didn't mean for it to become this convoluted ball of lies," Albus says, yanking Scorpius out of his thoughts. "I know we had a weird time at Hogwarts, especially when my parents got divorced, and then our dads became friends, before..." He takes a deep breath and runs his hand through his hair. "I know, I'm pathetic."

"You're not pathetic," Scorpius says, struggling to sound sympathetic. He really just has no idea what to say. "You always made it seem like you didn't like me. You always had dates, and came in late because you were out — was that all a lie?"

Albus nodded. "Most of it. I didn't know how to make you give me attention, so I did what I do best."

"And what is that?"

"When my parents divorced, I think I was more upset about it than anyone else. James was older, and he claimed he'd seen it coming. Lily was too young. I was perfect Al. Mummy's good boy. Dad's pal. Al doesn't get sad. Al is always happy. So I had to lie, saying I understood. One lie turned into two, it turned into ten. Then, if I wanted anything, I had to lie. That's really why I became a solicitor, which is weird—"

"So you can lie?"

"No. That's the weird thing. The courtroom is the only place where I don't lie. It's where I feel free to pursue the truth. I promise. I dated girls, had sex with them, pretended I liked it. It was easier to do than to admit I was gay. Then I started shagging men, and that stopped when you started working here, because all I wanted was you. I didn't even know how to do that right, so I just made you work and spent time with you, because I was your boss and you had to listen to me—"

"That's not why I listen to you," Scorpius says. He looks down at his hands and notices the Cooper file. "I have to go. I need to get this to Harr—Mr Potter."

"Scorpius..."

"It's all right, Albus. I...I think I understand."

"You don't—you don't hate me, do you?"

Scorpius smiles and stands up with the file in his hand. He shakes his head. "I'm confused and now, sort of glad James gave you that truth serum, but no, I don't hate you. You're weird and a lot of other things, but...I just need some time."

Albus nods and stands up, as well.

As Scorpius reaches the door, Albus tugs on his arm.

"What?" Scorpius whispers.

"You know how I said the serum makes you stay true to yourself, and doesn't let you pretend," Albus said, pointing at his immaculate office.

"Yeah?" Scorpius says, swallowing.

"I can't let you go withou—I mean, there's something else."

"Wha—"

Scorpius doesn't have the chance to ask the question because Albus's lips are on his. Scorpius is so startled, he drops the file he is holding onto the floor and struggles to find balance against the wall.

The kiss is over as quickly as it had begun.

"Right. That," Albus says. "I've wanted to do that for a while, and I just couldn't—let you leave without it."

"I'm sure you could have resisted if you wanted to."

"Yeah, but I needed you to know how I feel. Before the influence wore off. I need you to know the truth."

Scorpius doesn't say anything. He bites his lower lip and his gaze falls on Albus's lips again. Except, Albus isn't looking at him, but at the file that's on the floor. He quickly bends down to pick it up and hands it to Scorpius. "Better get this to my dad before he comes looking for us."

"Right. I guess the DO NOT DISTURB sign is only reserved for Sonja," Scorpius says and leaves the office.

An hour later, a note gets dropped off at Scorpius's desk.

It's from Albus.

She's going through a bad break up—we chat about it every day, and I'm trying to be a supportive friend.

I'm really not that bad. - ASP

0-0

The next day at work, Scorpius not particularly surprised to see Albus arriving at half eight, instead of his usual ten o'clock. When he stops by Scorpius's desk, Scorpius hands him a cup.

"What is it?" Albus asks but Scorpius just shrugs. He takes a sip and then his eyes widen because clearly, he'd been expecting a macchiato. "It's—"

"Genmaicha. I know it's your favourite," Scorpius says, as he tries and fails to hide his grin. The right blend of the roasted rice tea was hard to find in Diagon Alley at seven in the morning, but Scorpius had been fortunate. He knew his father had a brew-master friend who owned a shop, so he tried his luck there.

"How did you know?"

Scorpius looks towards Sonja's empty desk and then looks back at Albus. "I have my ways." Albus seems to understand and doesn't say anything. "So how are you? Still...honest?"

"I don't know. Ask me something," Albus says. "I've just been going through the motions. I have yet to make any fraudulent claims."

"Well, it's not even nine o'clock yet, so you know, give it some time," Scorpius teases.

"So ask me something," Albus says impatiently.

Scorpius looks behind his desk and there's a bouquet of flowers there. "If I told you these are from Stuart, and he wants to try again. How do you feel about that?"

Scorpius watches as Albus's face reddens, and his grip on his tea cup tightens. "I'd pray you'd give them to me, so I could take them back to that bastard and shove them up his arse."

Scorpius can feel the blush on his face and his ears get hot.

"Still, since Mr Mahrs is actually a donor to one of our charities, I would simply wish him all the best in his pursuits. And all the best to you." Albus is still scowling.

Scorpius goes from being amused to being utterly confused. "Wait, is that a lie?"

"Well, it's a fib, which I suppose I can do if the serum isn't working. Still, I promised myself I wouldn't lie to you anymore. So, no, technically it isn't a lie. I don't like you having those flowers. And I probably won't annihilate Stuart with them, either. But—"

The lift bell dings and the doors open. Scorpius knows Mr Potter is about to come out of them. Albus suspects it, too, so he straightens up and takes a sip of his tea.

"Dad."

"Albus. You're here—on time."

"Well, it was bound to happen someday."

"Hm," Harry says and nods at Scorpius. "Family dinner this weekend?"

"Sounds good," Albus says.

"You too, Scor."

Mr Potter closes the door to his office and Scorpius feels like he can breathe again.

"I best get to work, then," Albus says and gives Scorpius a wink before he walks away.

Scorpius has been having a hard time dealing with all of this. At one hand, sure he should be flattered Albus likes him so much, on the other hand the fact that Albus is such a pathological liar is terrifying.

If he's honest with himself, Scorpius has always liked Albus. Even when he was going around Hogwarts dating girls left and right and through the few rumours about him sleeping with boys in his bed. Many times, Scorpius had wished he were one of those boys.

But his lying? Can he get over it? Forgive Albus? Trust him again?

It makes sense Albus struggled in dealing with his parents' divorce. Scorpius was an only child so the impact or him when his parents has split, had been different. He was just expected to accept it and move on. Be a Malfoy.

How he's expected to deal with this scenario? He has no idea.

He looks up from his desk and sees Sonja is actually working. He smiles at her and when she looks at him, she gives him a look of confusion.

"What?" she asks, as if she's just got caught stealing.

Then it hits him. Almost as if it were coming out of nowhere. He smirks, gets up off his chair, and approaches Sonja. "Ms Mills, I have a proposition for you."

0-0

During his lunch break, Scorpius walks up to Albus's office and gives it two knocks. Supposedly, it's Sonja's coded knock for Albus to know that it's her.

"Yes, Sonja. You can come in," Albus says and Scorpius opens the door slowly, grabs the DO NOT DISTURB sign and hangs it up. When he closes the door, he locks it.

Albus looks up at Scorpius with a smile then his expression turns into confusion. Scorpius looks around the office and it's still as pristine as ever. Messing up the office the way Albus had done it in the past, must have really bothered him, given how clean it is now.

"What are you doing here?" Albus asks, bemused.

"Do you not like seeing me here?" Scorpius asks, with a hint of flirtation.

"No. It's brilliant," Albus says, flustering and he hastily stands up. "I just thought—Sonja—"

Scorpius walks around Albus's desk and he runs his fingers through Albus's hair. Al, immediately leans into the touch. "I bought her a beauty package at the Serenity Day Spa that she can use during her lunch breaks."

"Breaks?" Al asks, pulling Scorpius closer.

"All week," Scorpius answers, and kisses Al. He licks Al's lower lip before he starts to suck on it. Al, almost immediately wraps his arms around Scorpius's waist and pulls him closer.

Scorpius is surprised to find that Al is already hard. He rubs his groin against Al's thigh and they kiss, and moan, and jerk their hips as if they've been waiting years for this chance.

"Scorp...we should...I can't...stop," Al pants out in midst of their kisses and his hands find their way under Scorpius's shirt.

"Don't stop," Scorpius says as he tugs on Al's shirt and frees them from his trousers. He's surprised to find himself wanting this. This morning, he'd really thought about his desires, and his priorities. It wasn't that hard to forgive Albus, especially if he promised to never lie to him again.

Everyone deserves a second chance. His father's words ring into Scorpius's mind again. His father had told him all about his past mistakes of the past and how, thanks to Harry, the wizarding world had given him a second chance.

Surely, he could give Al a second chance, too.

"Here?" Al asks, sounding more encouraged than hesitant.

"Yeah. Why not?" Scorpius says, pushing the files from the desk away and plops himself on top. "Oh, do you have an objection against actually shagging someone on the desk?" he teases.

"No. I just never thought you'd act out my biggest fantasy," Al says and kisses Scorpius again as Scorpius wraps his legs around Al's waist.

They move against each other, hands everywhere, lips refusing to part as Scorpius struggles with taking Al's clothes off. Al picks Scorpius up and turns him around.

"Biggest fantasy of shagging in your office?" Scorpius asks, as Al takes his shirt off and throws it on the floor.

Al's arm is wrapped around Scorpius's waist and his erection presses against Scorpius's arse. Scorpius nearly moans from the pleasure of feeling Al's hot skin against his cool back.

"No..." Al says, kissing the back of Scorpius's neck then turning him around to kiss him on the lips, then down his neck, until he tongues Scorpius's right nipple.

"Then, what?" Scorpius asks, his hips jerking up as his body wants to feel Al's erection against his skin. He starts to unbuckle his trousers and lets them fall on the floor, so he can be ready for the touch. Not that Al's licking and playing with his nipples is something he wants from stop happening, either.

"You and me, shagging in my office," Al breaths, and finally, Scorpius gets to feel all of Al against him. They push and pull, rub and kiss, until they're struggling to breathe, and the friction of it all is pushing Scorpius over the edge.

It's bloody brilliant. This is how he wanted Albus.

THE END