I will never forget you;

“Perfect! And if you’re blushing this hard, then the rumors must be true,” he says gleefully. “You do like to party.” In Wally’s mind, the other’s blushing cheeks confirmed every rumor he’s heard of Thomas’ weekend escapades into Hogsmeade. He’s not leaving until he’s done prying for all the juicy details.  “What’s the craziest party you’ve ever been to?” he asks. “Come on, indulge me! You’ll indulge a sheltered pureblood, won’t you?”

“Rumors?” Teddy hisses. More than one. Plural. Doesn’t anyone in this castle have anything better to do than gossip? Apparently not, he thinks rather bitterly. “I don’t do it so much anymore.” He defends. He hasn’t gone out for at least two weekends, which is a record in his reputation. He clutches at his book the second the boy sits down, looking a little defensive and guarded. “Sheltered pure-- do you know who you’re talking to?” A little on the snobby side, but oh well. He’s only a little offended. It takes him a minute to realize this kid just wasn’t leaving so he heaves a sigh. “... since I don’t think you’re going to let this go... do you want a recent story or a wild one...” 

“I do feel the same.” His confidence did a little jump as he brushed his lips against the boys’s hand and then his lips, a tiny smile threatening to show “Kiss me again, boy”

For a second, for a split second, his stomach dropped. The fond little smile on his lips fell and his whole image of calm threatened to shatter. Of course. Where did he ever get the idea Thomas felt the same-- that he wasn’t just another fun little thing like what was between him and Alec. 

He was so stupid. Merlin, he’s done it now. 

Teddy moves to pull away, to break contact and save his little bit of dignity that he was clinging to when Thomas tugs at his hand. 

“Wha...” He breaths and feels like he has a rather thorough case of whiplash. “You... do?” He did? It takes one second, two seconds before it clicks with the soft brush of lips against his hand, a feeling that causes goosebumps to erupt. 

“I...” And the smile that’s threatening to show through on Thomas’s face successfully makes its way to Teddy as the Slytherin gives a little laugh, still sounding a bit confused. “You do.” He did. He did! 

He’s never allowed himself to have feelings for another past a drunken flurry, he’s never felt safe enough to do so, but now that he’s here, on his own in a peaceful little townhouse, he’s able to feel everything he’s ever wanted to and Thomas returns every bit of it. Its impossible to keep the smile off his lips. 

another sigh falls from his lips when he finally turns to look at teddy once more. eyes focused and serious, something that was unusual for the great alec lee. 

“if thats what you want to believe then go ahead, but you and everyone knows thats not true. you’re not like your parents.” teddy even liked to remind everyone of that. alec didnt care, never had. he liked to see people for more then the name their parents carried. “i want to because thats just me, i like being everyone’s friend. call me crazy but thats just how i am”

He wanted to bite back at him. He wanted to retaliate and shout that he did know, he knew exactly why he acted the way he acted-- why he pushed people away so quickly. 

If only he did. 

And perhaps that’s what made him angry about Alec’s words. The little bit of fight that seeped from him is fired right back up. So even if it takes a bit of pushing for himself, he says it. He blurts it out for those waiting to hear. “You want to know why?” He hisses. “It’s because you’re easy.” 

Maybe it was the fact that Alec just wouldn’t leave him alone or maybe it was Teddy’s own walls he’s built up, his unsure reaction to someone actually wanting to befriend him when he’s so used to being shoved away just as much as he does it. It’s new and unfamiliar. 

“I can count on you when I’m blasted and can’t walk straight because you never turn me down. You’re just as easy as I am.” 

He was going to leave, he was ready and even turning to do so, but Alec just keeps talking.

     she nearly scoffs at his words, but keeps her face still aside from breaking eye contact. she didn’t like confrontation, and this was the exact example of why. there was nothing more she wanted to do right now than to simple turn and leave, but she needed that damn book.

     “why do you insist on tormenting me like this? making me ask…” she trails off, still refusing to look him in the eye. “you should know my classes, after all the time you spent studying my schedule,” her tone comes out more bitter than she intended, but what’s done was done. 

     “what is it with you?” her voice nearly raises to a shout at his threat. she knew him well enough (keyword: knew) that there was no way he cared about the subject. he was just doing this to mess with her for whatever fucking reason. god, why did they turn out this way.

     “do you want me to beg for it? is that really want you want?”

There’s something in Alice that brings out more in Teddy. Perhaps it’s the pang of familiarity, of times spent joking and being something more than most others see or it’s just the bitterness of her pulling away from that. It could be the household pettiness of the Mins that rears its ugly head at the memories of what once was and the reason they no longer. 

Be what it may, Teddy is different with Alice. “I’m just playing the part.” He answers. The bitter ex. Just a role. 

“I do. Which means I know you need this book.” He doesn’t think of days he would be waiting outside of her classrooms to walk her back to her common room or down to a nice little alcove where they could study together. He doesn’t. 

Instead, he wills himself to think of the fights and pettiness they put temselves through. Sure, that worked better. 

And maybe it did.

Teddy has kissed and certainly been kissed, some remembered and some just a bit too hazy. He’s found his way around, but he’d give it all up, return every second of it if Thomas would always look at him with such fondness. 

He probably looked like a sap himself, all sweet with affection and plain comfort, not that he minded. It was nice to have something he’s really only dreamed about-- a confidence that he could be himself, show his true colors and be accepted and cared for. 

What would he have ever done if he had never welcomed the other in. 

“It’s just...” He mumbles, but he’s already gone. He’s already in too deep because where Thomas started sweet, almost chaste in his actions, Teddy doesn’t play and really stakes a claim with a firm kiss, nothing more than a press of lips, but enough for it to really be something. 

“If I start...” Another mumble and he’s kissing him again, fingers threading through soft hair because he’s greedy and always wants a little more affection. “I honestly don’t think I’ll be able to stop.” 

And perhaps with the sheer will of might, he does manage to pause himself, lean back a little with searching eyes, just to make sure he’s not crossing any lines. 

“Does fucked up and shitfaced mean the same thing?” he murmurs, pressing a finger to his lips in thought. “Ah, well you get what I mean!” He takes a breath when the other mentions breaking family rules, but he’s determined to carry through with his plan despite how much it pains his Hufflepuff heart to do so. “The biggest rules are the stupidest ones,” he says. “These places you go to…are they like a Britney Spears music video? I-I want to dance on a table, if that’s not too much to ask. 

“Ah... yes?” Teddy answers a bit weakly. “For the most part...” Ah, so he was one of those guys. Although rather hesitant, he still nodded, dog-earing the page of his book and closing it reluctantly. He wasn’t going to be able to get back to it for a while. He just feels it. “While I agree with you-- oh, Merlin, no! I-I mean...” He quickly retracts his statment and glares at his hands for a moment. His face is burning all of a sudden and he can’t help but remember a rather wild night in a house down at Hogsmeade. (He’s still a little bitter about losing that shirt he was wearing. It was one of his favoites.)  Clearing his throat, Teddy corrects himself. “... maybe. If I can find us the right party. Sound... keen to you?” 

I guess I like you, he thought, again the blush covering his cheeks as he licked his lips and grinned, eyes forming perfect crescents as he did that. “I’m really happy to be here with you. To have someone to trust like that.”

“I didn’t though.” He insists, weakly. He didn’t at first. He just wanted an alternative route to continue on his downward spiral, but the second he welcomed Thomas into the possibility of being more than just an acquaintance-- that was when he desired change if only to be better for the other. 

He wants to try and ignore the too warm feeling, but it’s really useless at this point. It’s something Teddy is just starting to accept as a result of being around Thomas. 

If he was someone else, or even a remnant of his parents, he would scoff at the sentiment. But if there’so= one thing he’s glad he stood his ground on its never letting his horrible family legacy poison him so he takes it in stride. 

“Alright. If that’s what you think.” He hums, though it’s all fond and sweet in the way he speaks. It’s clear he still disagrees, but it’s something that they can both believe in their different ways. He’d be lying if he didn’t actually feel his heart flutter as Thomas’s smile. 

His smile always had a way of doing things to Teddy. 

“It’s... me too. I wouldn’t want to spend the holiday with anyone else.” He’s admitting a lot here, but it’s alright. It’s confidence in the fact that Thomas feels the same, that’s what’s letting him speak his feelings so freely. 

And honestly, he can’t help himself. He gives himself little time to think about it, a split second because it’s just all setting in-- Thomas here in his home, holding him and not having to worry about any prying eyes, any snitched looking to report back to parents and in his immediate thoughts, no repercussions. 

He wasn’t going to waste another second, he needed to let that out. Even though he might have been trying to steal the spotlight by bringing himself to Teddy’s house with his problems, that holiday was supposed to be theirs – and he had no intention to fail on that.

His home is nearly silent, save for the soft hum of some television show from upstairs and it’s easy to say that this is the most content he’s felt in years. If his parents could see him now. 

If they could see him content and warm and cared for just as he cares for Thomas, a Gryffindor of all houses, they would nearly blow their tops. He’s sure of it, but strangely, the longer he stands here in the other’s arms, the less he cares. 

And really, he’s so content he nearly doesn't register what Thomas is saying to him, but the second he gets it through his head... well, he really can't help the rush of slight embarrassment paired with... something more. 

Embarrassment coming with ever showing Thomas how weak he was and the warm waves of whatever due to just the thought of making the other proud in the first place, of knowing he’s changed for the good and it was all because of the other. 

“It’s...” He starts, ready to brush it off as nothing, an old habit, but stops himself. Instead, he prompts the other to lean back, he wants to look him in the eye so he knows. He wants Thomas to know.