#scorpius .

Scorpius had never liked Declan.

Rune had introduced them two weeks after they’d started seeing each other. He never quite got the full story of how they met, but he could tell just by watching her how infatuated she was with the blue haired man. Not quite stars in her eyes, but a fascination that he’d never seen her direct at a person before. Declan didn’t look at her the same way.

It didn’t sit right with Scorpius, but he supposed it was still a new relationship. Or perhaps Declan simply showed his affections differently. As long as Rune was happy, it wasn’t his place to judge. At least, not out loud. He’d keep quiet until she voiced her frustrations and then he would step in.

But the more he saw of Declan over the next few months, the more he disliked the man. It started with little things, like Declan always needing to pull Rune away when he was talking to his cousin, or how Declan always managed to sit between them. Innocuous things, easily written off, but not with the frequency they did.It had stopped being accidental after the fourth time in a row, and he started to see the pleasure in his smirk whenever he interrupted them. 

He was trying to come between them and it was working. 

Rune denied it when Scorpius confronted her about it. He made the mistake of putting her on the defensive from the start, but he was scared. Scared of losing the only bit of family he’d thought he’d have forever. But he’d started it wrong, and Rune fought back, glares and hisses and how dare he. 

It was the worst fight they’d ever had.

Things weren’t the same between them after that. In some ways, Scor felt like he’d driven away his best friend. The one person he had thought would always be there, that he trusted more than anyone in the world, had all but left. They talked, they passed in the hall, but it was different. Colder. Ruined. 

He threw himself into his final work for university, into his relationship with Ellie (who admittedly loved the extra time, for all she too was worried over Rune), anything to fill the hole of what he’d lost. It wasn’t the same, nothing ever would be, but it was enough for the moment, enough to get him by. 

And then, a month later, as he returned late from an evening at the pub with his classmates, he found her sitting on the floor at the base of his bed. His cousin was beautiful, even he’d admit it, but she looked absolutely terrible at that moment. Her hair was a mess, there were bags under her eyes, and he just stood there, both staring at the other for a moment.

“…Rune.”

“Scor…”

And then he’d swept her up in a hug and buried his face in her shoulder and she clung to him and it was like those two months had never happened. There was no need for a verbal apology, it was something they’d both understood. It was just a passing fight. They were ok. They still had each other and nothing could or would ever change that.

That was a late night for Scorpius. They’d settled on his bed to talk, to work through everything that had happened, but there were cracks in the small smile Rune wore. Cracks that grew larger the longer they talked. It took less than ten minutes for the mask to fall entirely and for Rune to break down in front of him. When was the last time he’d seen Rune cry? Years at least, and yet here she was, bawling her eyes out.

He only got the full story once she’d calmed a bit. How she’d fallen head over heels for Declan, and how she’d thought he’d felt the same. How they’d trained together for Pokemon battles - him for the league challenge, her to defend it. How he’d wanted all of her attention, and how she’d let him take it. At the cost of everyone else, Scorpius had interjected, and Rune had simply gone quiet, miserable, before trying to continue.

The battle in the gym, the old bylaw, the week of trying to pretend it was fine, how he broke up with her for not being ok with everything that had happened. “He said I should be happy for him,” she said, bitterly, furious and heartbroken and defeated all at once, and Scorpius just held her tighter, angry for her.

There was more talk after she talked her heart out, more crying, even a little from Scorpius himself. But it would stay between them, just as their secrets and weaknesses always had. The trust between them hadn’t been broken.

It was a week before their grandfather was home, and Rune had to tell him about the gym badge that had been handed out. He couldn’t blame Rune for the archaic rule that had won the badge on a technicality, but there was disappointment in his voice, and Scorpius could tell Rune felt it to her core. 

It took Rune two weeks to get out of her own head enough to leave her room. Scorpius would sit with her, they’d talk, but his cousin hadn’t quite returned in one piece. He couldn’t blame her.

It took a month before he saw her smile again. Admittedly, he hadn’t done the best job of trying to cheer her up, as he had wanted to give her time to think things though, but one stupid joke and one little smile had changed that line of thought.


It was another two months before Rune could even bear to look at her own tattoo. The gym badge she had been so proud of inheriting was inked into the skin at her hip bone, and he’d seen her go back to one piece bathing suits in an effort to not have to see it when they went down to the river.

At five months, Rune approached him about going to the United States for their Pokemon League challenge. Scorpius was surprised, as just the previous night at dinner their grandfather had mentioned considering retiring from everything and passing things along to them. But then he looked at her, really looked, and he understood. She wasn’t the confident young woman she’d been at this point last year. If she ever wanted to succeed their grandfather, she needed to find that again, to put Declan behind her.

So he gave her his blessing and helped her prepare. One month later he said goodbye as she left for the airport, and he saw a lightness in her heart that he hadn’t seen in months. She’d be ok, he was certain, but he was going to be calling her every day just to make sure.

They eventually settled on phone calls every three days, with texts and pictures in between. He got to watch her slowly return to the Rune he knew she could be, her pride and confidence growing with each week and every new badge.

Rune’s stop in Washington DC had been far more worthwhile than she had expected. It wasn’t just the same sort of brief meeting she’d had with Sirius the first time they’d bumped into each other, and it was more than the simple get to know dinner she’d hoped to have. 

She’d found Sirius attractive from the moment they’d met, but she hadn’t expected their relationship to take the turn it did. When she’d invited him out for dinner, she’d only wanted to hear more about him, to learn more about the man who had caught Kyogre. Their Pokemon seemed to call to each other, so they’d be seeing more of each other whether they wanted to or not. But she wanted.

Dinner had been planned, but the kiss afterward hadn’t. How he’d gotten under her skin enough was something she’d have to think about, but the evening had been fun. Fun and mostly satisfying. But she didn’t regret a second of it. No, that was a lie. She regretted stopping when he’d asked again, when they were already back at her AirBnB. She hadn’t wanted to risk ruining their friendship with a stupid drunken mistake.

But now she was sober and she still wanted him. Their dynamic had already changed, but it wasn’t a mistake. She was happy about it, even. As long as she got to kiss him like that again.

The texts at the airport had only made it worse. Her heart had skipped a beat when he said to ‘skip the airbnb next time’, and she hadn’t quite been able to convey just how badly she still wanted him. Though she’d been able to sleep through most of the flight, she found herself thinking of the kisses, of the text messages for the rest of it. He’d caught her attention.

There were more texts between them on the train ride to Nottingham, ones that were almost as teasing as their conversations were after dinner in DC. By the time he had to stop to participate at work, she was almost regretting making her flight. She’d have to work on getting him out of her system when they met next, she decided. As much as she’d enjoyed the night of kisses, she wanted more.

But she was going to have to wait. Patience.

The train ride felt even longer once Sirius was too busy to text. She finally made it to the Alcott manor around 11pm, which meant her familial greetings would have to wait until the next morning, as her family was most likely already asleep, being mostly early risers. Or so she thought, but as she walked past Scorpius’s rooms to her own, she noticed the light was still on from under his door. Immediately, she brightened, as her cousin was her favorite of her family members and the one she wished to see the most now that she was home.

As quietly as she could, she opened the door to his bedroom, stepping into a room that was as familiar as her own. Dark blues and soft silvers were draped across mahogany furniture, the room as tidy as it ever was, and her favorite person was laying in the middle of his bed. One arm was behind his head, his eyes focused on a small black box held in his free hand. 

Blue eyes immediately lit up as Rune realized just what was in the box. Only one piece of jewelry would be so small and yet have so much of Scorpius’s attention, so much that he hadn’t realized his door was open or that she’d made it home. And that latter point meant she had to tease him for his inattention as much as possible.

“Do you have a plan for that, cousin?” she asked with a smirk, shutting the door behind her as she made her way to his bed. Scorpius, for his part, immediately slammed the box shut, sitting up with a frown as he stuffed it under his pillows.

“It seems your time in America has ruined your manners. Ladies knock.” Rune rolled her eyes. “I have not knocked on your door in my life, Scorpius.”

He glared at her, gold eyes sharp, before breaking into a small grin, scooting to the side to give her room next to him. Smirking back, she climbed up onto his bed, tucking herself into his side. And waited, before glaring at him as she realized he was going to pretend she hadn’t seen anything until she addressed it directly.

“Show me.” With a sigh, Scorpius pulled the small box out form under his pillow again, offering it to her to open, which she did. The delicate ring inside was simple, a diamond flanked by amethysts, gemstones so reminiscent of his soon-to-be fiancee’s eyes. He’d obviously chosen it with care, and Rune couldn’t help but beam at it. “It is beautiful. Ellie will love it.” It was exactly her style: simple and elegant, almost understated.

“I should hope so, after the work I put into choosing it.” There was a note of pride and of relief in his voice at her approval; he’d obviously been a touch worried. He reached out to take the box back, though he didn’t shut it, staring at the ring inside instead. “I…had thought to ask this week, once you had gotten home.”

It was too important a moment to not have her there for. He didn’t have to say it, Rune understood. They were the closest family either of them had, and telling her over video chat just wouldn’t be the same. He wanted her there to celebrate with them, more than anyone else, even their grandparents. She was there for the week. It was the best time.

Rune’s next words were quiet, murmured, as she too turned her attention back to the ring. “She would be a fool not to say yes, Scor.” They were both aware that Eleanor Woods was no fool. She was smarter than both of them put together. It was part of what Scorpius loved about her.

Scorpius just nodded and pulled her closer, still looking at the ring. They fell asleep like that, side by side, just as they used to do when they were children. The maids found them like that the next morning, ushering Rune off to her room to be ready for the day as they giggled amongst themselves. ‘Some things never change.’

He proposed three days later, the day after Iseult’s birthday party, in the gardens behind the manor. The proposal itself was just the two of them, among the roses and peonies, while the rest of the family was taking a midday tea. When Eleanor returned with Scorpius at her side, she was smiling so happily that Rune knew she’d said yes, not that she’d ever doubted otherwise. The two had been a match made in heaven. Rune would have predicted this back in school.

The celebrations lasted through the evening, and planning began in earnest the next day. Rune had meant to tell Scorpius about Sirius and Braedon while she was home, but in light of all that transpired, that could wait until next time. It was such an eventful week that she even forgot to text Sirius, though she’d promised she would.

It was never a surprise to find a four year old Rune in four year old Scorpius’s overly large bed at nights. Tristan had long since given up trying to convince his daughter to pay more attention to the child. Rochelle was too caught up in her twin boys to see the potential and drive in the young girl. It suited him fine; he was already raising his grandson, and Scorpius and Rune were practically siblings as it was.

He would, however, have to find her a room of her own soon enough.

But for now, there were two energetic four year olds eagerly awaiting their traditional bedtime story. He had, admittedly, grown fond of the tradition over the years. It gave him something besides Iseult to come home to, not that he needed more of a reason.

“Story time, is it?”

The two children were practically squirming in excitement, wiggling under the blankets with big grins on their faces, trying so hard to keep quiet. Tristan looked at them for a few moments more before the requests started to pour in, the two unable to keep their excitement under wraps.

“Tell us about how you met Grandmother again!”

“Bleh, not again. That’s kissy stuff.”

“So? I like it.”

“I want one with dragons in it! Where they go whoosh through the sky and—”

“We always have ones with dragons in it!”

“’s better than the kissy stuff.”

“Enough, children.” Tristan cut them off before Scorpius was able to retort back. Scorpius settled for smothering Rune under a pillow instead, leaning on top of it so she couldn’t escape. “…Scorpius.”

“Yes, Grandfather?”

“Enough.”

The boy, though still learning manners and how to behave in polite society, knew better than to roll his eyes at his grandfather and instead let his cousin out to breathe. One gasping breath later, and the two were both giggle machines, causing Tristan to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Whatever Iseult had given them for a  bedtime snack would have to be exiled from the house permanently.

“If you do not hush, there will be no story.” Before he could finish the sentence, both children were back under the covers, the blankets pulled up to their chins, both actually attempting to smother their laughter. It was as good as Tristan was going to get.

The story was a generic one, a typical fairy tale with the dragons that Rune wanted so desperately and a true love’s kiss at the end for Scorpius. And by the time he finished, the two were curled up against each other, fast asleep.

There was a peacefulness, watching them sleep. Tristan never regretted taking in his grandchildren. His own children were grown and had flown the nest, and the large manor had begun to feel rather empty with just him and Iseult. Having the grandchildren was a blessing.

A hand, one stained with more blood than any could imagine, was beyond gentle as Tristan brushed the hair from their foreheads, leaning down to kiss each of them goodnight before he left.