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p4nkow · 5 years

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You take my breath away - Part I

As soon as this idea popped in my mind I couldn’t resist not to write it down. The title of course is inspired by a Queen song — which I suggest you listen if you still haven’t done it — but I need to clear some things out.

While reading this fic you need to pretend that Dominique was given much more space on the storyline, just like to the other love interests of the boys. Of course it is just fiction, even though I tried to make it as realistic as possible. The dates are pretty accurate, too, but I know it might seem a bit confusing so if you have any questions or if you’d like to let me know what you think of it just know that my DMs and Inbox are always open :)

This is a slowburn fic and I believe it’s really important to chronologically follow all the events of their story before diving into the present day drama. ;)

Summary: reader has always dreamt of being an actress and she gets the chance of a lifetime when she’s cast as Dominique Beyrand in the infamous biopic about the legend himself, Freddie Mercury. But what will happen when she gets to know better the man who plays his love interest in the movie, Roger Taylor? Will Ben and Y/N’s story be as lucky as the one of characters they portray or will they be starcrossed lovers? Because it happens that things might get complicated because of Ellie, Ben’s long-term girlfriend.

New York City - present day

“Y/N, over here!”

“Is it true? Is there going to be a Bohemian Rhapsody sequel?”

“Y/N! Hey, Y/N! Just a few questions!”

“Are you and Ben Hardy dating?”

All those flashing lights blinded you for a couple of seconds, forcing you to blink a frenetically. Your manager, a redhead named Callie, grabbed you firmly by your arm, leading you towards the entrance of the TV-studio. The fans were screaming your name and you couldn’t help but wave at them, causing them to cheer even louder. You hated the fact that they were forced to remain behind the fascinators, but it was for your own security. You apologetically smiled at them before following Callie inside the building. You let out a sigh as soon as the doors closed behind you, finally being able to breathe again and relax.

“You okay?” Callie gave you a quick look from above her shoulder but you noticed she was worried, so you nodded to reassure her.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” From where you were standing you could still hear the fans screaming your name and you turned towards the door to give a better look at the crowd. You’d never get used to it.

“The boys are already here. Look, over there.” Callie tapped on your shoulder and you turned around, looking at the spot she was pointing at. Her red hair caught the attention of those presents but she didn’t seem to care. “I’ll go take a look at the schedule. Please don’t disappear.”

As you watched her walking away you decided to join the boys, but not without taking a deep breath first. Joining the boys would’ve meant to meet Ben again, a concern which had kept you awake all night.

When you got the role of a lifetime in one of the most eagerly awaited movie of the year, you didn’t count the fact that you’d constantly be on the spotlight.

When you were young you dreamt of being an actress. Needless to say you annoyed your mother to death by performing movie dialogues and God knows how many soliloquies she was forced to hear.

You considered yourself lucky for succeeding in achieve your dream — your annoying monologues had led you to something greater. The day your manager called you to announce you’d been cast in a Hollywood movie you cried your eyes out. And the proud look in your mother’s eyes — oh man, you’d remember it ��till the day you died.

The infamous movie which had been your springboard to Hollywood was a biopic about Freddie Mercury called Bohemian Rhapsody. Of course you knew who Freddie Mercury was: you’d grown up blasting Bohemian Rhapsody in your bedroom, annoying the neighbours by doing so — who didn’t miss the chance to complain about it with your mom almost every day.

The idea of being cast as Dominique Beyrand, Roger Taylor’s first wife, made you feel ecstatic at first.

But then you realised the greatness of the situation and you freaked out.

What if you screwed it up?

What if you didn’t get along with your cast mates?

What if Dominique wouldn’t like your portrayal of her?

The idea of playing a living person terrified you, but all your fears slowly disappeared during the first week of filming.

You had the chance to meet your cast mates during the first table read, where you recognised some familiar faces. Even if that had been two years ago, you remembered that day as if it was yesterday.

London - September 7th, 2017

The room was filled with strangers, who were all chatting to each other. The table read was a perfect occasion to know better those who were going to be your cast mates and you were more than happy to recognise some of them.

You were thrilled by the fact that Rami Malek was going to play the legend himself, Freddie Mercury. You’d seen some of his works and you were a huge fan of Mr. Robot, the TV show in which he played the main character. You couldn’t wait to see him in action and for sure you just couldn’t ignore all the looks he was throwing to a blondie standing close to the window, chatting with another girl who you didn’t recognise. You could swear you’d seen the blondie somewhere but you really couldn’t recall.

You also recognised the man who played the Sgt Charlie Nelson in Midsomer Murders, Gwilym Lee. And it was a challenge for you not to fangirl over him — you and your mother were crazy about that show. You never missed an episode.

Among the other unknown face you spotted the guy who played one of the main characters in Downtown Abbey: Allen-something.

He was sitting right next to a man who had a familiar face to you, but given all the anxiety and enthusiasm of the moment you couldn’t really recognise him. His shirt read: “Dinosaurs are dino-mite!” And you couldn’t help but chuckle, but you couldn’t understand why he was wearing a hat.

As you gave a quick look at the rest of those presents your eye was been caught by a blonde, handsome guy. He was chatting with the dino-guy, who you later found out was going to play the bassist, John Deacon, but God, even his left side made you feel things.

You weren’t sure you’d seen any of his works but you were definitely willing to know him better, given that according to the sign placed right in front of him, he was the one who was going to play Roger Taylor, your love interest in the movie.

You were more than aware that to know better those people you had to actually have a conversation with them, but you were too nervous to do that so you were just leaning against the wall, casually sipping your cappuccino while giving a better look to the script. You were involved in reading your lines when you noticed someone approaching you.

The blonde Adonis slash the fake Roger Taylor was standing right in front of you, holding a bottle of water in one hand. Being this close to him gave you the chance to give him a better look. His features were delicate but his body... oh, his body. He was hot, a perfect representation of the greek god Apollo. You didn’t get the exact color of his eyes at first, it was a shade of green so clear that you found difficult just to look away.

“You must be Y/N.” His voice was deep and hoarse, very much different from what you expected and for sure very much different from Roger’s, too.

You shook his hand with a smile, managing to hold both the cup and the script with one hand only. His touch was nice and gentle and not sweaty and unpleasant at all. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“I’m Ben.”

Ben. Short and concise. He definitely had a ‘Ben’ kind of face.

“So, it seems that we’re gonna be a couple.” Probably it hadn’t been the best way to break the ice but he smiled anyways. He stuck his tongue out while doing it and you thought it was the hottest thing ever.

“It looks like that, yeah.” He lowered his gaze to the script before looking back at you. “Could I have seen you somewhere before? Your face looks familiar.”

“Unlikely. Uhm— that’s my first movie ever, actually. I’ve been doing theatre most of my life.” And you cleared your throat, trying to relax in his company. He wasn’t intimidating or anything, you just had to know him better. You had the feeling that you’d spend an incredible amount of time with him on set.

“Theatre?” He asked in an amazed tone. “Wait, is there any chance you were involved in the adaptation of Les Misérables?”

Was there any chance for him to be interested in theatre? You didn’t know anything about him so never say never. “If you’re talking about the one of the South London theatre then yes, I played Éponine.”

As his smile grew wider his green eyes seemed to light up. Aaand there it was again, that goddamn tongue. “That’s where I remember you from.”

His excitement was captivating and because of that you couldn’t help but smile back at him. “I don’t remember you in the company, though.”

“Oh no, no”, He hurried to say. “I haven’t done theatre since ages, but my girlfriend played the role of Cos... Cosette? Is that right?”

His girlfriend.

Of course he had a girlfriend, you shouldn’t even be surprised. You tried not to seem too caught off guard by hearing his words and you took a sip of your drink to temporise. “I vaguely remember her, yeah. Y’know, we didn’t have any scenes together”, You lied. You remembered her perfectly, to be honest. And she was very talented. And very lucky too, now that you knew she was dating Ben.

He nodded in understanding and you both turned towards the door as soon as you heard the voice of the director, who was calling the attention of those present. He genuinely smiled at you before going back to his seat.

You took yours too, which happened to be between the blondie — who grinned at you and introduced herself as Lucy Boynton — and Gwilym Lee. Ben’s seat was right in front of yours and you gave him a thankful smile when he grinned at you in sign of support.

You remember that the exact same day Dr. Brian May himself posted a picture on Instagram of the full cast taken right after the ending of the table read. You were standing between Priya, the girl who played Kashmira Bulsara — Freddie’s sister — and Gwilym, whose arm surrounded your shoulders. You were all smiling at the camera and it was one of your favorite memories.

The caption read: “We’re making a movie !! It’s finally official. These great guys are already living and breathing their roles as us in our youthful prime. The Bo Rhap ship is now sailing under her own steam. Bon Voyage to all who sail in her ! So proud to see this fabulous team go forward. Honoured! Bri.” It was a very special picture and now, almost two years later, you had it framed.

After the table read it took the crew only two days to list the shooting schedule but you started filming only two weeks later, when the director had finally taken all the shots needed to recreate the infamous Live Aid.

And that’s how you met Ben Hardy.

London - September 27th, 2017

It was the fourth time Rachael politely asked you to stay still but doing it while having a conversation with Joe — also known as Dino-boy — was a difficult challenge. Maybe pissing off the hair stylist during your very first week on set wasn’t the best was to start that journey.

You heard a loud ‘chop’ as another strand of your hair fell on the ground. Moreover, that day you finally understood why Joe was wearing a hat during the table read: he had a bloody perm, which made him look like a mushroom. A very big one.

“So what is it about?” He was really interested in understanding the dynamics of ‘Love Island’ and you couldn’t believe he’d never watched a single episode of it.

“I already told you, Joe!” Rachael gave you a death stare through the mirror when you turned towards him, clearly amused by his words. You murmured an apology to her before focusing back on Joe. “A group of people—”

“Singles?” You were about to nod at his question but you knew that would’ve pissed Rachael off, so you replied “Yeah. They live in this beautiful villa in Mallorca, constantly under video surveillance.”

You heard another ‘chop’ and then one more. You tried not to think about your hair, focusing on Rachael’s gentle hands stroking what was left of it. Joe took a sip of his Coca-Cola, his eyes narrowed as he was thinking. “Basically it’s another version of the Big Brother.”

He was really involved in your explanation and you could see it by the look on his face. His brows were narrowed as he tried to understand, but you couldn’t take him seriously with that perm of his. “Nope, ‘cause they’re coupled up with someone and at the end the only couple left wins lots of money. I can’t believe you never heard of it!”

And the following hour was spent explaining the dynamics of the show to Joe under the amused but focused look of Rachael. When she was finally done with your hair you slipped your fingers through it. It was way much shorter than before but Dominique had it like that back in those days. You could’ve definitely grown used to it.

“You’re lucky, y’know?” Joe looked at you with the corner of his eye while you were heading to the set. You raised your gaze from the script just to give him a questioning look. “Huh?”

It was weird seeing him in the typical 80s clothes but that was exactly what you were wearing, too. The delicate fabric of your dress caressed your legs as you walked on the grass. “At least Dominique didn’t have a perm.”

His exasperated look made you chuckle while he threw his arms in the air. You moved a strand of hair off your face as he opened the door of the building for you. “Oh, c’mon. Don’t be such a drama queen. You’ll cut it sooner or later.”

As soon as you stepped in heard loud noises of hammering and shouted commands — they were still building the set, which happened to be the Taylor’s house.

“Oh, yeah. But I’m afraid to know what’ll come next.”

“Nothing can be worse than that perm.” You giggled at the sight of his funny face and in that moment you spotted Ben in one of the corners, accompanied by a blonde. “I had forgotten Ellie was coming to set today.”

Joe gave you a questioning look before keep checking the shooting schedule. You nodded towards the pair, who was standing not so far away from you, and Joe followed your indication. “Ben’s girlfriend”, You clarified.

You lowered your gaze to the script you were holding, giving a last look to your lines as Joe asked you “D’ya know her?”

“Barely”, You lied, but luckily Joe didn’t know that. The two of you approached them and you genuinely smiled.

“Hey man” Joe said in a cheerful tone and Ben gave him the biggest smile while Ellie, who was giving her back to you, turned around.

“Hey buddy, Y/N. That’s Ellie.” He placed a hand on her back as she extended her hand towards Joe first, murmuring “Nice to meet you”, and then at you. Her face lit up when she finally recognised you. “Y/N, what a surprise!”

You shook her hand and smiled at her but then your gaze fell on Ben. He was wearing a wig, a very short one, but it looked good on him. The shirt he was wearing was a blue one with a tartan pattern, matched with a pair of very tight blue jeans and Adidas shoes. The perfect 80s style.

“Ellie, hey. It’s nice to see you again.” She wrinkled her nose as she smiled at you and Ben seemed really happy about the two of you meeting again. When you met his green eyes his smile widened and you felt his gaze studying your face.

“Your hair’s shorter.” You were flattered by the fact he noticed the change and you shyly smiled at him, voluntarily ignoring Ellie’s look.

You murmured a soft “Yeah” but Joe came in rescue, surrounding your shoulders with his arm and playfully squeezing your arm. “She wants to catch the essence of Dominique.”

“I can’t wait to see you in action”, Ellie said and you thanked her with a smile.

The truth was, you were nervous as hell. You were about to shoot your first scene ever and you were terrified you’d screw it up.

Ben, Ellie and Joe started a conversation about the building of the set when your phone rang, announcing a new message. It was from your best friend Laura, so you immediately unlocked the phone to read it.

‘Today is the day! Kick their asses, girl. Break a leg and please, not Ellie’s. Luv ya :) X’

You genuinely smiled at her words and you shook your head, amused by her insinuations. She knew all the story behind Ben and Ellie and to be honest you barely knew him, so there was nothing to be jealous of. So Ellie’s legs were just fine.

You put away your phone and tried to follow their conversation when the director called you and Ben to reach him. It was showtime.

Ben placed a kiss on Ellie’s lips before reaching you and starting to walk by your side. “I love this new hairstyle, it looks good on you.” You were caught off guard and you didn’t even had the chance to thank him because you were now in front of the director. You noticed, however, that he seemed pleased by the effect his words had on you.

“Okay, guys. I know this is your first scene together and you still need to get along, but try your best. I wanna feel all the frustration and despair of the situation. Y/N, if needed, don’t hesitate to improv. Give me goosebumps, ‘right?” And when you nodded in agreement you turned towards Ben, just to find out that he was already staring at you.

“If you’re gonna improv please don’t punch me.” His playful tone made you giggle as you both placed in your predefined spots. You were just a few inches away from him and by the way the was tapping his hand on his thigh you knew he was nervous, too. Despite that he didn’t miss the chance to reassure you. “You’ve got this.”

Ellie was standing right next to the director’s chair, her eyes fixed on Ben as the crew got ready to shoot the scene. Joe was standing on her side and he showed his thumbs up in sign of support.

You cleared your throat and you raised your chin to meet Ben’s blue eyes. The director was shouting commands through his megaphone and you narrowed your brows in a hurt expression just before he shouted “Action!”

And with the most dramatic tone you knew, you exclaimed “Roger, how could you?”

London - October 10th, 2017

As far as you could remember, Ellie was always around when it came for you and Ben to shoot scenes together. Not to mention all the embarrassment when you had to shoot a love scene, under Ellie’s observatory gaze.

“You nervous?” Ben must’ve noticed the way you were nervously tapping your feet on the floor. You bit your lower lip and slowly nodded, turning towards him. The wig he was wearing was a bit longer than the previous ones, perfectly nailing Roger’s look in the late 70s. He was wearing a half-unbuttoned black shirt and a grey jacket, which you remembered seeing in some old pictures of those days. You wondered if it was the original one, courtesy of Roger himself, or if it was an exact reproduction of it.

The dress you were wearing, on the other hand, came directly from Dominique’s wardrobe. It was a nice sensation feeling the silk against your skin.

“A bit”, You replied. There was no point in lying. It was your very first love scene for the cameras and having not only Ellie but also Roger and Dominique to witness it made you incredibly nervous. The warmth of Ben’s green eyes hit you like a running train when you met his gaze.

“Don’t mind them.” His words were nothing but a whisper now that he had come closer to you. “Pretend it’s just you and me.”

“It doesn’t help at all.” You grinned at him and immediately relaxed when he placed his hands on your shoulders, gently squeezing them.

“Guys?” The two of you turned towards Roger who, with the phone in hand, was standing right next to Dominique. You couldn’t even imagine how they’d be feeling at the moment, given that they were seeing someone portray a younger version of themselves. We were their alter-ego’s.

“Yeah?” Ben let go of your shoulders and you both turned towards them. Dominique’s friendly smile helped you not to overthink about the scene you were about to film, so you tried to avoid Ellie’s burning gaze and focus on her only.

“D’ya mind smiling at the camera?” Dominique asked pointing at Roger, who was smiling behind his phone.

“‘f course”, You replied with a smile and you moved closer to Ben. You remembered seeing a picture of a young Roger and Dominique wearing those exact same clothes hung in the costume fitting trailer, so shortly before Roger took the pic, you pretended to put a finger on Ben’s nose who, immediately understanding your intentions, parted his lips in a surprised look. Dominique bursted into laughter and you could be wrong but you noticed her eyes becoming glossy.

Not long after it was time to start filming and by taking a deep breath you reached your spot. Ben was standing not so far away from you and you noticed him grinning at Ellie before turning towards you. His smile grew wider and you tried to focus only on him when the director started to shout orders.

“Just relax”, He mouthed and Fletcher finally said “Action!”

It was like you were leaving your skin just to empathise with Dominique — and to be honest, that was the best part of being an actress.

You threw your arms in the air in sign of frustration as you thought about your next line. “I can’t believe I had to know it from John!”

Ben — or rather, Roger — took a step towards you, his green eyes so different from Roger’s yet so mesmerising were fixed on yours. “I was gonna tell you, love. I was just waiting for the right moment.”

You could feel Ellie’s gaze on you as you took a step towards him, your eyes narrowing in — fake — anger. “The right moment? There may not have been the right moment, Roger! For God’s—”

And Ben’s lips crushed on yours. They were incredibly soft and... kissable, of course. His touch made you feel things you didn’t want to feel, firstly because he was dating someone and his girlfriend was right there, watching the two of you kissing, and secondly, you barely knew him. But you’d be a liar if you denied the fact that you were attracted by him.

His hands cupped your cheeks as he started to gently move his lips on yours and you threw your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to you. You heard the director murmuring orders from his chair behind the screen while you kissed Ben back.

“Lift her up”, you heard him say and Ben’s hands moved from your face to your body, gently caressing the curves of your body. You were still kissing him back, almost breathless, when he lifted you up by grabbing the back of your thighs.

You surrounded his hips with your bare legs and he placed a hand on your back to hold you. Your body was so pressed against his that you could easily feel his muscles under the shirt.

“Y/N, the jacket.” You followed Fletcher’s order and you backed away from his lips just the time to slip your hands under his jacket and quickly taking it off. It fell on the ground and Ben avoided it while recoiling towards the bed, just as Fletcher ordered.

His hands gently caressed your bare thighs and his touch gave you goosebumps. You could feel the corns in his hands due to the constant practicing on the drums so that he could properly prepare for the role.

Your hands gently caressed his neck while his hands moved to the zip of your dress, which easily opened before leaning you on the mattress.

“Look at her in the eyes”, Fletcher said, but there was no need because his eyes were already fixed on yours. And you hoped he was a terrific actor, even more than you thought, because if it wasn’t so Ellie wouldn’t have liked the look on his face while he was looking at you.

As you opened further your legs so that he could be comfy between them, his clothed hips pressed against yours. It took you all the strength you had in your body not to blush hard at the feeling of his crotch pressed against your right thigh.

Ben noticed the look in your eyes and he gave you an amused grin when the director shouted through his megaphone “And... cut!”

“Sorry”, He murmured while moving off you, sitting on the mattress right next to you. He offered you a hand which you gratefully accepted and you sat down. Fletcher stood up from his chair and while he walked towards you, you vaguely gestures towards your back and asked Ben “Could you gimme a hand?”

“‘f course.” You turned your back to him and his touch sent shivers down your spine while he lifted the zip of the dress.

“Amazing. Simply amazing.” The director started gesturing as he took off his headphones, his face lit up by a big, excited smile. “There’s no need to do a second shot. It’s perfect. Love your chemistry, by the way.”

If a look could kill, you’d be already dead by the hand of Ellie.

Later that night you were finally taking some rest in your trailer when you heard your phone buzzing. By unlocking it with a groan you found out that Roger had posted a picture on Instagram in which you were tagged. The pic in question was the one he had taken that afternoon on set — you were looking at the camera with the biggest smile while pretending to put a finger on Ben’s nose, but his gaze was on you. He was looking at you with the brightest smile you’d ever seen, his lips parted in a fake shocked reaction.

You genuinely smiled while reading the caption: “The talented @benhardy and @y/n doing me and Dom on the forthcoming Bio-Epic — Bohemian Rhapsody the Movie. Now this is cool!”

You immediately reposted it, not knowing that the web would’ve freaked out for days for that photo.

And the situation has stayed the same for another month or so, in which you’d grown closer to almost every cast member. Lucy was now like a sister to you and she was for sure one of the people who knew you better in the world.

But everything suddenly changed in November.

London - November 3rd, 2017

“Bloody weather”, You heard Lucy murmur as the two of you hurried to get back to your trailers before it started to rain. You went shopping for the upcoming Queen gig you’d been invited to that night and saying you were excited was nowhere near the truth. You were bloody ecstatic.

“Are you coming home for Christmas, auntie?” You looked at Lucy with the corner of your eye as the voice of your little nephew through the phone made your heart sank.

“Hopefully yes, lovie. D’you miss me?” Lucy gave you a nod when you finally got to her trailer and you waved her goodbye before rushing to reach yours before it started to pour.

“Yeah, so much. What’s my Christmas gift?” You let out a laugh as you closed the door behind you, sighing in relief for succeeding in avoiding the rain.

“What’d you like to get, Fra?” Your nephew — Francis — seemed to think about your question and you smiled just at the thought of him. You missed your family more than anything but thankfully you’d be seeing them in a month thanks to the Christmas break.

“Do I really have to choose?” His words made you giggle as you laid on your bed, eyes to the ceiling. “Would you like for it to be a surprise?”

“Yes, auntie.” But you were barely listening to him, given that someone was knocking on the door.

“I’ll call you later, love. I gotta go. Say hi to mommy for me.” After saying him goodbye you hung off the phone, placing it on the desk near the bed as you got up to get the door. The knocking was now louder and more persistent, a change which made you worry,

But you weren’t expecting what you saw after opening it. Ben was standing under the pouring rain, wet from head to toe. “Can I... Can I come in?” His voice was shaky and at first you thought it was because of the rain but as you moved aside to let him in, murmuring a soft “Yeah, ‘f course”, you noticed that he looked devastated.

You closed the door behind him and by doing so you moved closer to him, which allowed you to give a better look at his face.

His features were tensed and his brows had never been so narrowed. Wet strands of hair had fallen on his forehead but despite that you could easily see his green eyes. But their typical light had faded: they were incredibly red, full of sadness, and the look he gave you made you fear the worst.

“What happened?”, You asked in a whisper while placing a hand on his harm, trying to reassure him.

“I...” He rubbed his eyes while taking a deep breath and you raised a hand to drive the blond strands off his face. When his gaze met yours again you felt a sudden knot in your throat. “We’ve broken up, Y/N. Ellie and I just broke up.”

There will be a part 2 so if you wanna be added in the taglist just tell me :)

#ben hardy #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy fic #Bo Rhap #bohemian rhapsody #borhap imagine #borhap fic #borhap #roger taylor #roger taylor fic #roger taylor x reader

221 notes · View notes

elenatria · 5 years

Note

I cant get this out of my mind. The soldiers get drunk and talk about the best sex they had, someone teases Pavel about it and he says nothing because doesnt want to admit he is a virgin and cant stop thinking he will very likely die a virgin at a young age, due to the radiations. VodkaDad!Bacho comes to rescue his sad theymademekillpuppies!boy, comfort + sweet,possessive first time sex Bacho's style follows. Garo sleeps in another tent because he is done with everyone. My job is done. Peace.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20407543/chapters/48548756

When Pavel returned to the bonfire tucking his shirt into his pants, torn between creeping into the safety of his tent and going back to the midnight bustle just to get one more glimpse of Bacho’s eyes lit by the dying flames, a deck of cards and an admirable collection of lewd first-time stories had been brought out as the perfect reminder that this was a proper “boys’ night out”. Bacho was giggling and sharing a joint with four other men, his eyelids heavier than usual, his voice dragging lazily from sentence to sentence blurting out sex stories, one spicier than the other. Pavel crinkled his noise, quickly turning away as Bacho glared back at him, his hashish-induced bleary-eyed glee melting rapidly into a frown.

Shit.

Pavel didn’t mean to be seen – or to judge him. He couldn’t possibly know what that man had been through, and the innocent pet confessions they had shared a few days ago in the darkness of their tent were nothing more than just the tip of Bacho’s deep suffering. Still, it didn’t feel right. Somehow it felt as if he was losing the only man whom he dared call his friend to a cloud of smoke meant to make people forget they had been sent there to kill.

(and die)

Pavel could taste the bitter mixture of worry and loneliness in his mouth; he definitely wasn’t ready to forget, contrary to what his comrades were trying to do with endless card games, vodka and joints. He hadn’t made his peace yet with what they were there for. It was all sinking into him still, every bullet he shot, every furry corpse he hurled into the truck. Every single memory of the past few days was staining his soul drop by unbearable drop and he knew that if he didn’t mourn all those deaths he’d go mad.

Only a hardened man like Bacho wouldn’t go mad, he realized, and the reason was easy to guess: killing was what he was good at.

He filled his lungs with as much air as he could and with a few unexpectedly emboldened strides he reached the noisy crowd and sat across Bacho, scowling; the olive-skinned man took one last drag on his joint, his brown almond eyes like daggers into the depths of Pavel’s soul, before dropping the butt to the ground, crushing it beneath his heel.

“What the fuck are you doing, brother?” protested the yellow-haired man next to him. “It was my turn.”

“Fuck you, Janek, the joint was finished,” Bacho slurred, his nostrils flaring with contempt, his gaze not moving one inch from Pavel’s face.

He tilted his head and raised his brows questioningly, waiting for Pavel’s reaction.

“Happy?”

Entranced by the joint’s unceremonious fate and the manly boot over it, Pavel nodded in approval despite himself. Bacho’s response, a faint content smile, was a clear indication Pavel wasn’t good at disguising his feelings.

The young man’s cheeks were heating up and he knew it wasn’t just the fire.

“Says who?” Janek complained making Bacho flinch with an almost pained expression, as if he had been rudely awakened from a sweet and comfortable dream.

“Says I,” the Georgian barked at him, “and I’m not your brother, you smelly cocksucking Pole.”

The Russians and the Ukrainians sitting around the fire grabbed their bellies and slapped their knees laughing while the Poles booed gesturing vividly, nudging each other as Bacho reached for another bottle of vodka.

“Yeah, as if you’ve never sucked a cock yourself,” someone mumbled from across the fire.

Bacho slowly turned to face the man with the big mouth and the short life expectancy.

The Armenian hadn’t moved an inch from his seat as he kept licking a cigarette paper, oblivious to Bacho’s ominous stare.

“What did you say?…” Bacho snarled.

“You heard me,” was Garo’s indifferent answer as he rolled his smoke with taunting calmness.

Bacho jumped on his feet turning the vodka bottle upside down and five soldiers rushed on his side, blocking his view.

“C’mon, Bacho, he’s not worth prison, let it go,” a pale man with a thick moustache tried to calm him. “He’s drunk.”

“Not as drunk as I am…” Bacho threatened, measuring Garo with a deadly glower.

“Alexei is right, not worth it, instead tell us about that time you hid in that brothel in Kabul,” another soldier urged him exchanging behind his back worried glances with the man with the moustache.

“No…” Bacho growled, his chest heaving with boiling anger, “I told that story a thousand times before…”

“Then tell us about the American girl,” Alexei suggested.

“What American girl?” Janek jumped in. “That’s all bullshit, he never fucked an American.“

“And you’ve never fucked a female,” Bacho clapped back, “unless she was hairy and bleating.”

The soldiers cracked up patting Bacho on the shoulder and Pavel sighed with relief seeing the weathered face of his mentor soften. Everyone was breathing again knowing damn well they had just dodged a bullet.

“Well I know who I was fucking before I came to this hell with you assholes,” Janek ignored the insult with a grin full of wretched teeth.

“Who?” Alexei asked.

“My violin teacher,” Janek bragged. “She’s forty-five, twice my age, and it takes two hands to grab just one of her tits.”

“What a load of crap, what’s the use of big boobs if a woman can’t fuck you properly?” Bacho scoffed.

The soldiers ooh’ed and aah’ed, and some of them giggled knowingly.

“I thought it was us fucking them…” said a young Ukrainian with red hair.

“Then you haven’t met a real woman,” Bacho gloated. “A proper female will suck you dry and ride you ‘til morning. And if she’s a doctor, like mine was, she will know all the right spots to stimulate you.”

“Oh look, Bacho the intellectual,” someone teased.

“Well,” Alexei began, “I had a friend once, he knew a girl who invited us over to her place. She brought us drinks, we had a few laughs, and then she said she wanted to blow us all. I tell you, we were staring at each other like idiots. She said we’d have to wait in line though, in a separate room, like waiting for a medical appointment. The anticipation and the excited talks we had with the other lads… it was all such sweet torture. Sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced.”

“You guys talk too much,” Janek cut him off, “let’s have a newcomer talk this once, hey Pavel, what’s your story?”

Pavel froze as he heard his name cried out so casually; his breath hitched for a second that felt like a century.

“S-story…?” he stuttered, sweat breaking behind his ears.

“Yeah, man, what’s your story?” Janek insisted. “The greatest fuck you’ve ever had. The most mind-blowing, hair-rising, pants-dampening bang of your life.”

Pavel took another gulp and let his trembling mouth drop. “I’m… Actually I… I don’t—”

“Don’t have any good stories to share?” Alexei finished his sentence. “It’s okay, we’ll settle with the worst sex that you’ve ever had, can’t have been that rare…” he added cockily nudging Janek. They held their ribs howling so loudly that Pavel couldn’t hear his own thoughts anymore.

“No it’s just that I… I…” he muttered as a flush of embarrassment rose to his cheeks.

“What, you’ve never had sex before?” Janek teased him.

Pavel fell silent. He wasn’t shaking anymore. His lips closed tightly stifling words that would make him look like a complete and total failure and kept his palms on his knees taking shallow breaths with eyes fixed to the ground.

Bacho, with a hundred storms raging behind his dark gaze, took a small step toward him, his fists clenching against his thighs. The distance between them was still too big, a distance he didn’t seem willing to close.

Janek’s smug smile faded away. “You can’t be serious…” he told the boy, bewildered. “How old are you anyway?”

Pavel’s lips were quivering now. “T-twenty… twenty three.”

“No way,” Janek exclaimed slapping his knee. “And you’re still a virgin? What the fuck!”

“Shut the fuck up, Janek, not everyone is a slut like you,” Bacho intervened shoving a hand against the man’s chest.

“You need to calm down, Bacho, when was the last time you fucked?” Janek provoked him, ready to fight.

Bacho pinned him with granite eyes, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him so close to his face that their noses were touching, so close that Janek could feel the scorching heat of fury in his breath.

“Careful or you might be next on my to-fuck list,” Bacho hissed bearing wolf-like teeth. “And you don’t want to be on my to-fuck list, blondie…”

He held him up on his toes.

Janek slipped from Bacho’s deadly grip as the Georgian, in a merciful gesture, fanned out his fingers, his open palms still alarmingly close to the Pole’s throat. Janek readjusted his collar and quickly averted his eyes taking a step back like a beaten animal.

“Alright!” Alexei yelled clapping his hands. “Who’s up for a game of Durak?”

“Not me, I’m tired…” Bacho slurred rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm. “I’m leaving you losers drink yourselves to death, I’m outta here.”

He handed his half-empty bottle to a speechless Alexei and dragged his steps away from the fire, taking a beat as his eyes met with Pavel’s.

The boy wasn’t crouching anymore; he was sitting up straight, sweaty hands still glued on his knees, but there was something in his lost expression that wasn’t there before. Pavel hoped Bacho could see it even if he’d never dare put his thoughts and desires into words - not in front of his quick-tempered mentor, not if he threatened him with a thousand push-ups and knee-bends in the radioactive rain. And maybe Bacho was too drunk or too indifferent to notice it anyway.

It was gratitude.

The older man considered Pavel’s face for a few good seconds, soft eyes shifting from his sapphire gaze to the plumpness of his lips, to the cleft of his exposed collarbone, the only part of the young man’s skin he was allowed to see. He nodded slowly in complicit silence before walking away, leaving him lost in confusing, forbidden thoughts.

Pavel closed his eyes taking a deep breath. He was wrong about Bacho after all; perhaps even a menacing thick-skinned veteran like him knew a clear blue-eyed “thank you” when he saw one.

@fmasha-l @boisinberryjamarama @shark-from-the-park (fandoms and interests come and go so you guys let me know if you ever want to be added/removed from the tags, thanks bye. )

#chernobyl #hbo #chernobyl fanfiction #pacho #pacho fanfiction #pavel #bacho #the boy #ao3 #alpha #chapter 3 #bonfire #virginity #best sex talk

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gayandtransboy123 · 5 years

Text

Rufus and Luke ch.1 The premier

Note: I DO NOT SHIP THESE PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE. I just had this idea and had to get it out of my head. it’s just for fun. You can also find this story on Archieve of Our Own, my username is Brandon_p.

Luke Deacon was out of place. He didn't know anyone there except for Brian, Roger, and Freddie of course. He also had met Joe Mazzello a few times but he didn't really know him. Luke had felt out of place his entire life, at school and in the real world. Being too weird, or people not understanding his jokes.

The one person he did know was Delilah Mercury (Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton's daughter) and she isn't here yet, running late. So the only thing left to do was find a place to sit and wait. He was at the after-party at the premiere of Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic. It was loud and there was a lot of lights, everything Luke hated. So he pulled out his phone.

The Gay brother (Cameron Deacon)

Luke: Cam

Luke: CAMMMMM

Cameron: what

Luke:I’m bored

Cameron: How's the premier?

Luke: BORRIINNGGG

Cameron: How can it be boring??

Luke: I don't know anyone

Cameron: where’s delilah?

Luke: She’s late

Luke: Wait she’s texting me, hold on

Girl who’s named after a cat (Delilah Mercury)

Delilah: I’m coming

Luke: HURRRYYYY

Delilah: okay chill bro

Luke: no chill, never chill, i’m never chilly

Delilah: I’m outside

Luke: YAY

Luke started walking outside to see Delilah, but first, he had to get through the crowd. He was almost there when he bumped into Luke started walking outside to see Delilah, but first, he had to get through the crowd. He was almost there when he bumped into someone. “Sorry” He had long blond hair, and big blue eyes, probably one of the Taylor kids but he was too focused on getting to Delilah that he ignored him.

“Get yo ass over here” Luke yelled as he saw Delilah’s car pull up.

“Sup long legs,” Delilah said before pulling Luke into a hug. She was wearing a long floral dress and her long brown hair was pulled into a braid.

“Why you leave me” Luke complained like a child as Delilah pulled him inside.

“I left something at home” and that was all the explanation she gave him.

“Can we ditch the party?”.

“No, my dad wants us to be here and you need to make new friends” and they entered the building.

“Okay Mom” and they started walking through the crowd.

“RUFUS” Delilah practically yelled, almost bursting Luke’s eardrums.

“DELI,” The guy, named Rufus said and pulled Delilah into a hug.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce you two,” Delilah said pointing to Luke and Rufus.” Luke this is Rufus Taylor” Luke recognized the man, it was the same pretty boy who bumped into him. “Rufus this is Luke Deacon”.

“We know each other,” both boys said in unison and they both let out a little giggle.

“Really how?” Delilah asked.

“He punched me,” Luke said innocently.

“I did not,” rufes said.

“Rufus why did you do that to your brother” aka mother Delilah.

“Get him, mom,” Luke said and Rufus laughed, Usually people would just stare at Luke funny if he made a joke like that but he seemed to get it.

“Is there a bar?” Delilah asked.

“Can you even drink?” Luke asked and received a punch in the shoulder.

“I’m 22, I’m not that short” and they all made their way over to the bar.

“I’m gonna go find my dad but Luke orders me a beer” and she hurried off, leaving Luke and Rufus. Luke made a mental note to punch her cause she knew he was bad with meeting new people.

“I’ll have a sprite” Luke ordered.

“I’ll have whiskey” Rufus ordered. Luke made a note of that ့ Likes Whiskey.

“Whiskey, wow” Luke commented.

“Being a good boy and ordering a soda I see”.

“Keep it pure for Jesus” Rufus shot him a million dollar smile. Luke pulled open twitter. Writing “This bitch ordered whiskey while I’m over here drinking my apple juice” and pressed tweet.

“What are you doing?” and he looked over at Luke’s phone.

“Tweeting about you,” He said smiling at his phone.

“Let me see” and Luke handed over his phone and went into laughing.”Your twitter is weird” he commented as he gave Luke back his phone.

“I just write what I think, I think a lot of weird things” and he nodded his head.

“Your honest, I like that” Holy shit was Rufus fucking Taylor flirting with him.

“You wanna bitch this place?” he asked.

“Yep,” He said instantly without thought and downed his whiskey. They didn't even think of Delilah, who was probably gonna be pissed tomorrow. They were close to the exit but Rufus ran into his sister.

“Where are you going?” asked Tiger Lily Taylor as she almost blocked the exit.

“Ditching” Rufus replied, trying to get around her.

“I’m telling dad” she sounded like she was 5.

“I’ll pay you 20$”.

“Fine, also who’s your friend” and she pointed straight at Luke.

“Luke Deacon this is my” and he wrapped his arms around Lily “My lovely sister Tiger Lily” and Luke gave a little wave before they left.

As they left Luke snapped a quick pic of the back of Rufus's head, which was now free of the tight bun he had before. He posted it on his Instagram story and captioned it “Blondie Bitch”.

“Where you wanna go?” Rufus asked as they headed towards his car.

“I Don’t know” Luke replied as they approached a car that was probably worth more than his life.

“Wanna get pizza?” he suggested.

“I could eat” and they drove to just a casual pizza place down the road. They were dressed up but they didn't really care.

“Pineapple on pizza?” going straight in with the good questions.

“Hell yeah,” and they got one large pizza and ate in the restaurant.

“This is the best pizza I’ve ever had” Rufus was the kind of person to make a pizza taco, Luke noted that.

“Same here, and I eat a lot of pizza”. It doesn't seem real, going to a movie premiere and then hanging out with your uncle's attractive son. Eating pizza with Rufus Taylor. “I want avocado's” Luke blurted out.

“I love avocados” They looked at each other like they had just found their soul mates.

“I almost chopped my finger off while chopping one” him and Rufus both laughed. “Wouldn’t have been good seeing I play the guitar”.

“You're a musician?” Rufus asked, Luke never mentioned it.

“Yeah, I majored in drama in college but I play guitar and bass” and he grabbed another piece of pizza.

“I play drums, I play with Queen and my other band” Rufus replied.

“I do some solo music but I’m part of a band, I play and also sing”.

“Can I hear something?” and Luke pulled up his band's music (young limbs) on SoundCloud while they shared a pair of earbuds. Rufus was swaying back and forth while he listened. “You have a calming voice, it’s relaxing”.

“You like it?” he was surprised.

“Yah, I love it, it has a nice vibe” he sounded like such a hippie.

“What band do you play in?” Luke asked.

“It's called The Darkness, I play drums, I can’t sing” and they both chuckled.

They stayed in that pizza parlor for about 2 hours talking about anything and everything. It didn’t feel like two hours for Luke or Rufus. They finally snapped out of it when the parlor was closing. It was at 1 AM.

“Crap, it’s late I have to go,” Luke said, getting up

“Me too,” Luke said and was silent for a second “Can I have your phone?” he asked and Luke handed it over. “This is my number, call or text me okay” Luke nodded.

“Bye Rufus” Luke said leaving.

“Bye Luke,” he said with a smile as he left too and saw Luke step into a cab before he could even offer a ride home.

Luke woke up to about 20 different text messages, mostly from Delilah and Cameron.

The Gay brother (Cameron Deacon)

Cameron: LUKE DEACON

Cameron: RESPOND

Luke: Good Morning to you too

Cameron: why u no respond

Luke: I had an interesting night ;)

Cameron: WAS IT WITH THE BLOND BITCH

Cameron: I WANT ANSWERS

Cameron: WHO WAS IT

Luke: Rufus Taylor

Cameron: WHAT HAPPENED

Luke: Delilah introduced us and we got to talking

Cameron: DID YOU USE PROTECTION

Luke: I DID NOT SLEEP WITH HIM

Luke: anyway, we ditched the part and hung out in a pizza parlor all night

Cameron: how romantic ;)

Luke: SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU PERV

Cameron: my little boi making friends at kindergarten

Luke: shut up

Luke: Did dad call? I was supposed to call him but i forgot

Cameron: Yep, also he wants you over for breakfast

Luke: Okay, thanks dude

Girl who’s named after a cat (Delilah Mercury)

Delilah: YOU MOTHERFUCKER YOU DITCHED ME x(

Delilah:ANSWER HOE

Luke: Hi

Delilah: DON'T HI ME HOE

Luke: sorry

Delilah: DID YOU RUN OFF WITH RUFUS

Luke: maybe ;)

Delilah: ANSWERS. BITCH

Luke: we got pizza and talked all night

Delilah: FUCK THAT’S CUTE

Luke: SHUT IT

Delilah: I SHIP IT

Luke: STOP

Delilah: Okay i’ll stop

Luke: Thank you :)

Delilah: are you gonna tx him?

Luke: Yah

Delilah: DO IT. DO IT.

Luke: I’m gonna do it

Delilah: GO GET HIM TIGER

Luke: SHUT UP

Blondie Bitch (Rufus Taylor)

Luke: Hey

Rufus: Hey

Luke: Delilah is pissed at us

Rufus: Yah, she sent me 20 text in all caps

Luke: all caps, that when you know it’s serious

Rufus: IKR

Rufus: Anyway, my band is having a show on sunday, do you wanna go?

Rufus: Delilah will be their

Luke: I’ll get back to you and see if i have anything on that day

Rufus: Okay, it will be good to see you there

Luke: and see you all sweaty

Rufus: playing drums is exhausting OKAY

Luke: We’ll see :)

Girl who’s named after a cat (Delilah Mercury)

Delilah: GET THAT DICK HOE

Luke: FUCK OFF

Luke buried his face in his pillow, he flirted with Rufus Taylor . FUCK. Then he remembered his dad and breakfast and quickly got up.

He wore his favorite comfy sweatshirt and jeans and headed off to his mother and father's house that was a little bit down the road. “Lukey” His mother greeted him with a smile, she was always a great mother.

“Hi, mommy” and he gave his mother a big bear hug and went into the house he grew up in. Same couch he threw up on when he got food poisoning and same carpet when he spilled noodles all over himself. Good times. “Hi Dad” he saw his father reading the paper at the dining table and gave him a hug.

“Morning Luke,” His father said giving him a big hug, he was a really good hugger. His father seemed to be in a good mood. Luke took his seat next to his father where breakfast was already set out in front of him.

“Dad I’m sorry I forgot to call you last night, I was so tired when I got home, I completely forgot”. His dad just nodded and gave a smile.

“It's fine Luke, did you have a good time?” his father asked.

“Yah, I saw uncle Brian, Roger, and Freddie, they said to say hi and that they miss you and you should give them a call”. His father said nothing to that. Freddie was still alive but John still retired in the ’90s and hasn't been in contact with any of them in a while. “I also met Joe, the guy who’s playing you, he’s really nice and looks a lot like you” and Luke took a sip of his tea.

“Meet anyone else?” he asked setting down his paper.

“I mostly hang out with Delilah (Lie) and Rufus (truth)” and his father's ears perked up when he mentioned Rufus.

“Rufus Taylor?” he asked and moved a little closer to Luke.

“Yah” he replied taking a bite of his eggs and his dad let out a little chuckle.

“The Taylor children are crazy, I wouldn’t hang around them if I were you” what the fuck was that supposed to mean? Luke didn't say anything. They talked for the next hour about anything, life and weird things that happened at bingo. Luke enjoyed spending time with his father, he came over every Sunday for dinner and his dad came over to his place often. He had a very close relationship with his father. Luke didn't know why his father had something against the Taylor children.

Luke left when he had band practice and gave his father a big hug before he left. Band practice was going well, they were writing music for the album they wanted to release next year. When they went for lunch Luke pulled out his phone.

Blondie Bitch (Rufus Taylor)

Luke: I don't have anything on Sunday

Luke: I can make it

Rufus: YAY, Delilah and me will pick you up around 7

Luke: Can’t wait

Rufus: Me neither :)

Holy shit this Taylor child was going to be the death of him.

Hope you liked this chapter. If you guys like it i’ll keep posting here on tumblr but I will be updating on Archieve of Our Own. Thank you for reading :)

-Brandon

#luke deacon #rufus taylor #roger taylor #cameron Deacon #queen band #queen fanfiction #fanfic #gay ship #not ments to be weird #its just for fun #enjoy

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littlerose13writes · 6 years

Text

Sweeter Than Fiction Chapter 12: Negative Nifflers

Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter have decided fifth year is going to be their year; the year everything works out for them, and if that means Scorpius keeping his huge crush on his best friend a secret, then that’s just what he’s going to have to do.

It’s just a crush. He can get over it well before fifth year is over, can’t he?

Chapter 12/27

Updates every Monday and Friday

Read on AO3

Scorpius completely forgot about Lily and her unicorn until a week into November when she was leaving a Charms lesson as the Slytherin fifth years were lining up outside. Professor Flitwick was setting them a practice test that day and the class’ different ways of preparing were something of a spectacle.

Thea was muttering to herself and flicking her wrist around in wand motions. Rose had a large textbook open in both hands and she was switching between glancing at it and also muttering to herself. They weren’t far apart, creating a strange pathway of muttered charms practice.

“Oh no!” Rose suddenly gasped and she swung her bag around in front of her, the textbook precariously balanced in one hand as she rooted around for something. She looked a bit frantic as she scrabbled around and she glanced up, catching Scorpius’ eye. “Hold this.”

“Um, okay.” Scorpius fumbled with the heavy textbook she foisted upon him without a second glance. He held it awkwardly in both hands.

Albus was groaning out loud and complaining about how he was sure the test would be on something they hadn’t learned yet, just to catch them out. He might not have been so negative about it, had it not been for Cole, who was encouraging his complaints with his own even more enthusiastic ones.

“Stop being such a Negative Niffler,” Scorpius blurted out after listening to Albus describe every time he’d managed to get the colour-changing charm wrong in the past week and conveniently forget about every time he was successful.

Albus burst out laughing. “A Negative Niffler? That’s a new one, Scor.”

“It’s what my mum always said,” Scorpius shrugged and adjusted Rose’s textbook in his arms as the third years filed out and past them. Lily and Poppy both stopped level with Scorpius and Albus.

“Hi, Scorpius,” they both chorused in unison, smiling angelically and each tossing their hair over their shoulder as they left, red hair bouncing beside blonde.

“Oops, forgot I was wearing this invisibility cloak,” Albus called sarcastically after her and turned to Scorpius incredulously. “I’m only her brother. What was that for?”

Scorpius had a shrewd suspicion that Lily didn’t entirely trust that he wasn’t going to tell anyone about the unicorn, which may have been fair as he still wasn’t sure it was something he should be keeping secret.

Albus slapped his hand to his head and groaned again. “Don’t tell me my sister has a crush on you.”

Scorpius felt himself turn scarlet. “She’s not… I don’t think…”

“Maybe Poppy does?” he suggested as the class began to file in.

Scorpius lowered his voice as they took their seats and the lesson start was delayed by Rose asking Flitwick a series of questions. Her textbook took up most of the space on Scorpius’ desk but he didn’t know if she wanted him to return it yet. “Apparently, Poppy has a crush on you.”

Albus blinked at him. “Does she? Why?”

Scorpius couldn’t help but snort with laughter at the confused and bewildered expression on his best friend’s face. It was such an Albus response, it was impossible not to laugh.

“I know it’s a hilarious concept, someone having a crush on me, but at least laugh behind my back.” Albus pulled his quill and parchment out with a grin.

“I wasn’t laughing at that, I was laughing at you asking why?”

“Well… why?”

“Albus, why not?” Scorpius busied himself with his own parchment as he quelled the list of reasons he could give Albus and tried to keep Malfoy the Platonic under control.

Flitwick finally shook Rose off at this point and hushed the class to explain the test so Albus couldn’t respond, but he definitely had a bit of a grin on his face as Flitwick set them a list of three charms he would be testing them on. Rose didn’t come back for the textbook, so Scorpius tucked it away in his own bag.

Thea caught up with them after the class and rifled through her bag, handing Albus a copy of Quidditch Weekly. “Here, Al. The article I was telling you about, check page eight.”

“Oh, thanks, I’ll read it now.” Albus flicked through the magazine as they walked to Transfiguration and Scorpius gently pulled him by the shoulder to stop him walking into a first year.

“Are you both coming to Slughorn’s November, er, thing? However you pronounce it.”

“A soirée,” Scorpius put in helpfully in an exaggerated French accent. “Yes, we are. What are they like? It’s our first time.”

Albus looked up for a second from the magazine and Scorpius could tell he was half-listening as he read.

“They’re alright, a bit lowkey, not like the big Christmas party. Mainly he brings a few important people to meet us, sometimes they’re Quidditch players. The food’s not bad either.” Thea shrugged. “I’m glad you two are going, there’s not many people from our year.”

“Where would you be without us?” Albus looked up from the magazine and gave Thea a glowing smile. “This is so helpful, by the way.”

“I thought so too! Although, you have to count on Ravenclaw’s Chasers having read it too so don’t trust it too much.” Thea adjusted her ponytail as she spoke.

Albus shrugged. “I’ll give it a try at training tonight.”

“When’s the next game?” Scorpius cut in.

“A week Saturday,” Albus replied. “Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff.”

“Gryffindor have it, without a doubt,” Thea said quickly. “Their Seeker’s crap this year. Your sister’s miles better, Al.”

Albus looked faintly proud of Lily and grinned. “Don’t let her hear you saying that.”

“She is.” Thea shrugged. “I don’t know how that Hufflepuff Seeker is still on the team.”

“Well when you’re captain of all four house teams, Thea, you can do something about it.” Albus spoke in a mock serious tone as he folded the magazine up and stuck it into his bag.

“Speaking of Hufflepuff and Quidditch, did you hear what happened at their last training session?”

Scorpius exchanged a look with Albus, pleased to see he looked just as blank as Scorpius probably did.

Thea shook her head. “That boy from sixth year, Montague, went to watch them train.” She looked triumphant, as if she’d just divulged the most shocking piece of information.

“Is that bad?” Scorpius asked uncertainly. “Or good?”

“It’s not bad or good. But it means Freya is definitely seeing him!”

“Who and what?” Albus looked completely lost.

“Freya Everfall, Hufflepuff Chaser, the blonde one. There have been rumours going around about her and Montague for weeks but this confirms they’re definitely a thing!” Thea seemed exasperated that they weren’t as excited as she apparently was.

“Does it?” Scorpius tried after a pause.

“Come on, I know it’s you two, but everyone knows you only go to Quidditch practice if you’re dating one of the players. It’s practically an admittance!”

Scorpius tried very hard to feel interested or excited that Freya Everfall was dating Montague but instead, all he could picture was a scenario where Albus was his boyfriend and Scorpius went to his Quidditch practices.

“I didn’t know that was a thing,” said Albus, sounding amused.

“It’s a thing.” Thea looked a bit disappointed that they weren’t as excited as her.

Scorpius’ imagination went into overdrive as he envisioned sitting in the stands and proudly watching his boyfriend Albus save goal after goal, cheering him on enthusiastically. Then he’d come flying down to the pitch and Scorpius would be there to greet him with a kiss, and they’d walk back to the common room together hand in hand.

“Scorpius!”

“Huh?” He blinked in fright at the sound of Rose’s voice jerking him back to reality.

“My textbook. You still have it.” She held her hand out for the textbook and he gingerly handed it over, feeling like he’d just woken up from a deep sleep.

Rose took the book suspiciously and left, following Thea who Scorpius hadn’t even noticed had gone. Albus looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Smooth,” he said, gently tugging on Scorpius’ elbow to guide him away and towards the Great Hall for lunch.

“What’s this thing again?” Cole lounged on his bed, one hand behind his head and the other swinging his beater’s bat gently at imaginary bludgers.

“One of Slughorn’s networking events,” Pucey replied in a bored voice as he put his shoes on. “They’re dull as anything. Mum says I have to go.”

“Are they really that bad?” Scorpius asked skeptically.

“Yeah,” he mumbled and left the dormitory with a mutter of see you both there over his shoulder.

“Don’t listen to him. I’m sure you’ll love it, Blondie,” Cole insisted, putting the bat down.

Scorpius had no idea if he would love it or not, but Albus was going too so it couldn’t be that bad. He wasn’t sure how to voice this to Cole so he settled for shrugging and grinning before ducking down to lace his shoes.

Albus emerged from the bathroom showered and fully dressed, his hair a fluffy mess where he’d clearly just dried it haphazardly with his wand. Scorpius straightened up and smiled at him and Albus smiled back; he was obviously looking forward to their first Slug Club event.

He turned to look in the mirror, wrinkled his nose up and started trying to tame the front of his hair with - Scorpius nearly choked - a hairbrush that definitely didn’t belong to him.

“Is that mine?” he practically squeaked.

Since when did they share hairbrushes? Was that a platonic thing to do?

Albus looked apologetic and stopped brushing his hair for a second. “Do you mind? Couldn’t find mine and yours was right there.”

“No, er, that’s fine.” Scorpius sunk down onto his bed and pretended to busy himself with his shoelaces again, tucking them in unnecessarily. There was something about Albus using his hairbrush so casually that was making him feel rather distant from Malfoy the Platonic.

He tried not to watch out of the corner of his eye as Albus brushed his hair in his own adorably inept way. It was obvious he wasn’t used to brushing it, because he was going in the wrong direction and completely missing the back altogether. Scorpius wanted to offer to brush Albus’ hair for him, but even with Cole sat there chatting away about rumours he’d heard about Slughorn’s Christmas party, it seemed a bit too intimate.

“That’ll do,” he said after a minute, placing Scorpius’ hairbrush down in front of the mirror and turning to look at Scorpius. “Ready?”

Scorpius took in his best friend in all his Albus-y handsomeness and momentarily couldn’t answer his question. “Yes, ready,” he eventually stuttered out.

“You have fun then. I’m going to eat dinner with the rest of us peasants who weren’t invited.” Cole joked as he left the dormitory.

Albus smiled at Scorpius and gestured towards the door. “Shall we?”

Scorpius hopped up and grinned at him. “Let’s sashay to the soirée.”

“Merlin, why are you like this?” Albus patted his cheek affectionately in a way he never had before and turned to leave.

Scorpius felt his heart rate increase a bit as he followed Albus from the dorm.

Slughorn’s November Soirée was about what Scorpius expected it to be. Lots of important witches and wizards circulated around and Slughorn himself managed to be in about five places at once, talking his students up to his invited guests. It wasn’t hard to spot several seventh years eager to make connections for post-Hogwarts careers.

Scorpius still wasn’t sure how he felt about the way Slughorn picked his favourites to give leg ups to. If he and Albus hadn’t found themselves front page news last year, he doubted they’d even be there now. Actually, Albus probably would still have eventually been invited when Slughorn could see that Harry Potter’s second son was a potions prodigy.

At least he could be sure that nobody could say being in the Slug Club would give him a better chance of getting into Healer school; the application process was based on pure talent only. That didn’t mean he wasn’t incredibly interested to talk to an experienced Healer about the possible path his career might take.

It had been during that terrible summer, before his third year, that he’d secured the ambition to become a Healer. Having spent more time than the average thirteen-year-old in a St Mungo’s ward, he found himself intrigued with all of the interesting procedures going on around him. None of it made him squeamish or uncomfortable; instead he was eager to find out more. The human body was an incredible thing, and when magic was added to the mix, it was something altogether fascinating.

“This is nice,” Scorpius said politely, leaning lightly against a small drinks table and trying to count how many people were there.

Thea swirled her drink around with a straw. “I wonder if there are any Quidditch players here.” She stood on tiptoe, peering round to look at who was there. “Where did Al go?”

“I’m not sure,” Scorpius shrugged. “He spotted somebody, I don’t know who.”

“I’m sure some of these people have known him since he was a baby.” Thea sighed slightly wistfully and Scorpius wondered if she had even noticed that Albus really didn’t enjoy the extra attention his family got.

“Maybe,” Scorpius muttered.

“Who are you hoping to talk to? You want to be a Healer don’t you?”

Scorpius nodded shyly. “One day, I’d love to.”

Before she could grill him further on his career ambitions, she was interrupted by Albus returning and looking altogether pleased with himself.

“Where were you?” Scorpius asked curiously.

Albus grinned and turned to their companion. “Thea, come and meet my mum. I was just telling her all about you.”

Thea’s eyes widened and she almost dropped her drink. “Al! You didn’t tell me… I can’t believe… as if your mum is here!”

Albus smiled at her excitement and started to pull her away. “Make sure to ask her about the time she accidentally locked me in the car.”

Thea started to smooth her hair down as they went to leave, and Scorpius wasn’t sure if he should follow or not. Albus saved him the trouble of worrying by turning back a few paces away and appraising him.

“You’re coming too, Scor. Mum wants to see you.”

Scorpius jumped and hurried to catch up with them. On the way to his two friends, he was waylaid by Slughorn who seemed to pop out of the ground and attach himself to Scorpius’ elbow. Albus shrugged and carried on without him.

“Scorpius! I’ve been looking for you, want to introduce you to dear Hetty.” He lead Scorpius away and towards a formidable-looking woman who gave off a very Professor McGonagall-ish vibe.

“Hetty, my dear, I have an aspiring Healer for you to meet, one of my best students.” Scorpius smiled nervously, wondering when he’d ever before been classed as one of Slughorn’s best students. “This is Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius, this is Henrietta Fairchild. Hetty leads the Artefact Accidents department at St Mungo’s.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Scorpius shook her hand and she smiled kindly.

“It’s always a delight to meet one of Horace’s protégées, especially one who is interested in the noble profession of Healing.”

“I’ll leave the two of you to get acquainted.” Slughorn swept away with an excited squeal.

“How long have you been interested in Healing?” Henrietta Fairchild looked as if she was genuinely interested in Scorpius’ answer.

“I suppose two years now. My interest started because my mum was very ill one summer and I spent an awful lot of time at St Mungo’s visiting her. I spoke to Healer Dearborn a lot, he was her Healer, and he told me all about what he was doing and I just found it all so interesting.”

“Hector Dearborn? Specialises in blood curses and maledictions? Or his brother Monty over in Spell Damage?”

“Hector. She was… blood curse.” Scorpius tailed off and looked at his shoes.

“I’m sorry, dear. Nasty things, those.” She patted the top of his arm kindly. “That’s a good reason to go into Healing. Do you have a particular department in mind?”

Scorpius considered her question and realised he really didn’t have a particular department in mind. Whenever he’d pictured himself as a Healer, he’d just imagined doing Hector Dearborn’s job and hadn’t thought about the huge range of other departments the hospital contained.

He shook his head. “Not yet, I think I need to know a bit more about them first.”

She nodded in understanding. “That’s what Smash is for.”

“Sorry, Smash?” Scorpius was lost already.

“Healer school, St Mungo’s School of Healing Excellence, SMSHE, Smash.” She reeled off this list with a casual wave of her hand. “We all call it Smash.”

“Right, yes. I’d never heard it called that before.”

“Smash’ll sort you out. You spend your first two years circulating through the departments and getting a feel for each one, alongside your more general training of course. Your third year is spent almost entirely in the department you choose to specialise in, and that’s when you write your dissertation. Then the real work starts in your fourth year and beyond.”

Scorpius nodded enthusiastically, thinking of Victoire. “I know someone who’s in their third year now! She’s specialising in mental health magic.”

“Ah yes, one of our newer departments. They’re always adding new ones.”

“What’s your department like?”

“Varied. No two days are the same. I can start a morning attending to a simple broom crash and finish it removing shattered cauldron pieces from places I’d rather not mention. You’re not squeamish are you?”

Scorpius held back a snort of laughter. “No, not at all.”

“You’ll want to get some experience of course, sooner rather than later. Applications open next week for the seventh years who want to be Smash students, and I’ll tell you now that they won’t even look at you if you’ve not set foot in a hospital since the day you were born.”

“I was born at home,” Scorpius put in conversationally and Fairchild laughed.

“Drop me an owl when your OWLs are out of the way. I’ll give you a taste of what my department’s like. In the meantime, keep working hard in your classes. Smash is one of the only places who look at your OWLs as well as your NEWTs, don’t get caught out.”

“Thankyou, I will.”

They smiled at each other and she took a few steps away before she was accosted by a seventh year. Scorpius headed to where he thought Albus and Thea were but they weren’t there and instead, he saw James with his mum, their heads close together and speaking in whispered tones.

“No, Mum. That’s not how I want to do this,” James raised his voice and Ginny sighed and muttered something back. “I already told you, if it doesn’t happen for me this year, I’ll move out to Half Moon Bay and train with Millie for a year; she said she’d have me.”

“Of course she said that, but have you considered-“

Just as Scorpius was thinking he should change paths, Ginny spotted him and smiled warmly.

“There you are, Scorpius!” She left James looking cross and swept him up into another one of her comfortable, motherly hugs, patting his hair.

“Hi, hello, hi,” Scorpius awkwardly stuttered out a greeting to them both. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I thought Albus was over here.”

James still looked rather put-out. “Nah, he’s somewhere with Thea Jordan.” He waved a hand casually and the glint in his eye gave Scorpius such a strong feeling of deja vu and Lily at the Quidditch party. “I always thought he was more into blondes, but-“

“You shut up right now, James Sirius Potter,” Ginny interrupted and James laughed lightly. “Don’t listen to him, Scorpius. Any opportunity to tease his brother.”

Was this an opportunity?

“She’s a sweet girl isn’t she, this Thea? Albus said she’s been a good friend to you both. She certainly knows her Quidditch.” Ginny smiled fondly.

“That she does,” he replied, not sure how to proceed. “I think you might be her idol. She wants to be a Harpy.”

“Oh I know, she told me her plans in great detail.” Scorpius grinned because that sounded just like Thea.

“See you later, Mum,” James muttered, shuffling past Scorpius as if trying to get away.

“James!” She sounded annoyed and there was a pause.

“Er, thanks again for that letter, Mrs Potter.”

She pulled a face. “ I hope you don’t mind. I’m so glad you two made friends again.” She reached out and ruffled his hair, the way he’d seen her do to Albus so many times before.

“Oh yes, friends again.”

Ginny smiled knowingly, even though there was no way she could have known that Scorpius had more than friendly feelings for her son.

“Oh look, here comes another one of my offspring.”

She reached out and put an arm around Lily, who was looking bored. “Why did James make such a big deal out of being in the Slug Club? This is the most boring event I’ve ever been to.”

“Don’t hold back with the honesty, Lil.”

“By the way, Mum, James is hiding from you over there.” She pointed in the direction she’d just come from and Ginny sighed.

“Excuse me.” She left, following Lily’s tip off.

Lily pointedly looked in the other direction and sipped her drink.

“Um, hi,” Scorpius stuttered uncertainly.

“I know you’re going to ask me about it,” she said casually, still not looking at him. “About what you saw.”

“Honestly, Lily, I’m not. You’re allowed to have a secret.”

She turned to look at him in disbelief, noting his serious expression and bursting out with laughter. Scorpius felt confusion and worry bloom within him that he’d somehow said completely the wrong thing, but Lily’s laughter was kind and she gently touched his elbow. “You don’t have any brothers or sisters, do you?”

“Not unless my dad has a big surprise for me when I come home for Christmas,” Scorpius grinned and Lily laughed again. “I don’t understand what’s so funny.”

Lily wiped at her eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you, I promise. It’s just, the idea of being allowed to have a secret. If Al or James had seen me, they’d stop at nothing to find out what I was doing.”

“So you were doing something?” Scorpius teased.

“It’s a secret I’m allowed to have. If you want, you can put me in prefect detention. I’ve never been to that before but seeing as it’s my brother who runs it, I imagine it would be a laugh.”

Scorpius shook his head, smiling. “I’m not going to put you in detention, Lily.”

“If you insist,” Lily smiled. “Where’s my brother? You’re never normally far apart.”

Scorpius internally groaned before he answered, not wanting Lily to say what he knew she was going to say. “He’s with Thea.”

“Oh,” Lily shrugged, uninterested. “I like her, she said I was a good Seeker.”

It was an underwhelming reaction compared to her absolutely insistence they were kissing at the Quidditch party.

“That’s it? You’re not going to tease him about fancying her again?”

Lily shook her head. “No, snogging someone doesn’t always mean you fancy them.”

“It doesn’t?” Scorpius felt like his whole understanding up until this point had been completely wrong.

“No way, look at James!” Lily said like it was obvious. “Sure, Albus kissed Thea that one time, but they weren’t together the next day, were they? It only means something if they’re together the next day and it’s been weeks since that party.”

It only means something if they’re together the next day.

Scorpius felt butterflies in his stomach and a grin on his face as he considered her words and realised they were the logic he’d been looking for for weeks. She was right. Even if Albus had kissed Thea, they weren’t together or anything, were they? Maybe a bit flirty at times, but he would know by now if it was something more, wouldn’t he?

With a lighter feeling in his heart and a spring in his step, Scorpius skipped off to get more punch.

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#scorbus #Scorpius malfoy #Albus potter #Scorpius x Albus #Harry Potter and the Cursed Child fanfiction #Albus Severus potter #Albus x Scorpius #hpcc #ccsquad #Cursed Child #swflr12

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