Work Text:
The first thing that really processes in my mind is the ringing. I can’t pinpoint where exactly it’s coming from, but it’s deafening.
Dimly, I recognize the sound of someone speaking to me, but my eyes won’t cooperate with my brain, remaining firmly closed, and the ringing is too loud for me to recognize the voice.
I feel my body being lifted, pressed against a firm chest, but I can’t make any of my limbs move. I feel my arms dangle uselessly, my head bobbing as whoever carries me moves, and I realize they’re running.
Everything is a blur as I feel myself being laid on a soft surface, my limbs rearranged carefully by someone as another, more shrill voice, demands to know what happened. Ah, so I must be in the infirmary.
I’m able to pick out words now, the ringing slowly dying into the background as someone pours a warm, bitter potion down my throat that tastes remarkably like dirt and lemons.
“-but something must have gone wrong because it exploded!”
Ah, I recognize that voice now.
My eyes still won’t open, but I listen carefully as Sebastian rants about the prank Garreth and I had been plotting against the third year Gryffindors. They had been spreading nasty rumors about my friend Poppy, and I had enlisted Garreth’s help in taking them down a peg.
Memories begin to filter back to me and I groan, cursing myself for our own stupidity.
Twenty minutes earlier…
“Garreth are you sure we can trust something Peeves gave you? Honestly, this sounds like such a bad idea.” I say, glancing around the Gryffindor hall nervously, as if expecting a professor to swoop down on us in a fury.
“Kaia, this was your idea.” he points out to me, shooting me an amused look.
“I said we should scare the little twats, not potentially injure them.” I grumble, adjusting my feet.
“Well, this will definitely scare them if it works.” he tells me with a blinding smile. I shake my head, feeling queasy.
“Remind me why we couldn’t just throw a dung bomb into their dorm?” I ask, sighing as I lean against the wall, wishing I had a stool.
“Because that’s not as fun. A stink bomb compared to a seed that conjures a burning bush out of thin air? They’ll think twice before they run their mouths again.” he says, peering around the corner for the umpteenth time.
“I don’t remember professor Garlick saying the fire seed could conjure a bush out of thin air… I’m not sure that’s how that-”
“Shh, here they come!” Garreth hisses, pulling the seed from his pocket as he leans forward eagerly.
According to Peeves, from what Garreth has told me, you’re supposed to just throw the seed and shoot confringo at it. Something about this strikes a memory within me but I can’t pull the memory forward.
“-think they’re going to have those sausages tonight at dinner? I heard they’re quite popular.” one of the students says, coming closer to where Garreth and I are hidden.
Suddenly, the memory that has been bothering me for the last hour resurfaces, but it’s too late.
I watch in horror as Garreth tosses the seed at the kids, his wand already halfway raised, spell on his lips when I force my legs to move.
I shoot around Garreth toward the third years, facing them with my arms stretched to my sides as if to corral them backwards as Garreth’s fire spell shoots from his wand, and I can’t see his face but I hear his sharp gasp as he realizes that I’ve moved, and I feel the heat and force of the explosion at my back, my body a shield for the third years.
Professor Garlick had once told us, in our sixth year, that while the seeds to a fire bush themselves are harmless, when they come in contact with an explosive spell such as confringo, they turn into miniature bombs.
My body is propelled forward into the three students I’m protecting, and I hear their shouts of fear clearly before the ringing in my ears begins. Everything is on fire. My back feels as though it’s being licked by flames, and I want to scream but my jaw won’t work, my throat is clogged, and there's something wet on my cheeks; maybe tears?
I can hear someone shouting my name, and I think it’s Garreth, but I can’t be sure of anything because my body is on fire.
Just before I feel my eyelids shut, I catch sight of a frantic looking brunette, and as my eyes close I witness the murderous glare he sends Garreth’s way, and for a split second, I wonder if Garreth will be lit on fire now, too.
***~~~~***
I’m in and out of consciousness the first few hours after I’ve been deposited into the infirmary, only vaguely taking notice of the people around me.
I wake up once to a brown head of hair laying on my arm, Sebastian’s soft snores reaching my ears as if through a tunnel. When my fingers begin carding through his hair he jolts, and lifts his head.
I watch his lips move, but I’m still too out of it to really hear him, so the only thing I’m able to do is sigh happily, giving him a weak smile before the blackness takes me away.
I wake again a few hours later, and this time it’s Garreth that sits at my side, staring at my hand with the most heartbreaking look.
“Gar-th?” I mumble, trying to bring myself around to figure out why he looks so defeated. His head snaps up and he jolts forward, taking my hand in between his own.
“Kaia, oh I’m so sorry, I should have listened to you! I didn’t know fire seeds reacted like that when they’re blown up, I swear I didn’t! You were right, I shouldn’t have trusted Peeves. And now you’re in here, and it’s all my fault.”
My mind struggles to keep up with him, and after I think I’ve processed the entirety of his rant, I give him a weak smile. “It was partly my fault, too. I didn’t like the idea; I should have worked harder at putting an end to the prank.”
It’s the first sentence I’ve uttered since before the explosion, and it’s not perfect- my words are severely choppy and my voice is croaky, but I think he understands.
“It’s still my fault.” he says, ever the stubborn Gryffindor.
“What punishment did we get?” I sigh, not looking forward to the answer. Garreth grimaces, looking at my feet.
“Aunt Matilda was beside herself when she found out; I’ve never seen her so angry. She screamed at me for like an hour. Said we could have killed those students, and you almost were killed. At first she threatened expulsion, but after she cooled down a bit she told me we’re to serve a month's detention with her. And she warned that it won’t be fun.”
“Could be worse, I suppose.” I croak, chuckling a little. When he gives me a look that clearly questions my sanity I explain, “I suppose we succeeded in scaring the wits out of those third years.”
He chokes on a bark of surprised laughter, shaking his head at my comment. “I swear, sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t be afraid of you.”
My eyes catch on movement behind him and I bite my lip, a memory resurfacing. “You shouldn’t be afraid of me, but he might be another story entirely.” I say, pointing to the new addition standing behind him.
Garreth looks around and I watch as he pales slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he suddenly looks nervous. “S-sebastian! Fancy seeing you here.”
Sebastian levels him with a glare so icy it even chills me a little. Garreth shoots to his feet, looking at me, mumbling, “I’ll give you two some privacy, thanks, sorry again, see you later,” and all but sprints from the room.
Sighing, I turn my gaze back to Sebastian, who is already looking at me.
“You look so much like Ominis right now, it’s ridiculous.” I joke, trying to lighten the mood a little. His frown deepens to a glower, and he sits down heavily where Garreth just was.
“Kaia, is it any use to tell you that I literally watched you almost die? That I rounded the corner of the faculty tower at just the wrong moment to watch a mini explosion send you flying? What would have happened if I hadn’t been there? Garreth was too beside himself with panic to do anything, all the students standing around were in an uproar. And then there you were. Laying facedown, your back a bloody mess, little fires still lit all over your robes. I almost had a heart attack. Forget the students you tried to scare; they were traumatized beyond belief. Ominis says their parents wrote to demand both you and Garreth’s expulsion, but Professor Black told them the situation was being handled. If those students were pure-bloods he probably would have expelled you.” Sebastian rants, glaring at me.
Shame roils in my stomach and I’m suddenly nauseous, looking around frantically for something to hurl in. Sebastian’s glare turns to worry as he realizes my need, snatching a pot from the end of my bed to thrust at me as I dry heave into it, tears cascading down my cheeks as my stomach struggles to empty what’s not there.
Sebastian runs his fingers gently up my spine, apologizing for being so harsh when I’m still recovering. “Really though, I’m nothing compared to what Ominis has waiting for you.”
Cue more dry heaving.
Nurse Blainey releases me the next day, satisfied that my burns are fully healed before I’m let loose upon the hallways once again. Stares follow me as I walk to my common room, but after fifth year I’m used to it. Though admittedly these stares are a little more judgmental than they were after I defeated Ranrok.
True to his word, Ominis is ready to pounce the moment I enter the seating area closest to the underwater windows, his gaze remarkably close to meeting mine when I spot him. By the way the room suddenly goes quiet, he can clearly guess who’s just entered the room.
“Of all the hairbrained, idiotic, mind-numbingly stupid things you could have done, you had to go with something given to Garreth by Peeves?!” he screeches, fists balled at his sides.
Sebastian’s sister Anne puts a hand on his arm and murmurs, “this might not be the time or place for this conversation…”
Ominis doesn’t listen to her for once, though, and continues shouting at me for being so irresponsible. I can feel the eyes of our fellow Slytherin’s bouncing between us, watching us intently as though we’re characters in a play.
I can feel my anxiety start to rise at the sheer amount of attention we’re attracting, on top of the shame and left-over fear from what happened start to well up inside of me and I feel tears begin to pool in my eyes. My legs won’t move, and I’m rooted to the spot, staring at Ominis as I feel myself begin to hyperventilate.
Suddenly there’s a presence behind me and I flinch violently when I feel a hand settle on my shoulder, and I’m ashamed to say I think I whimper a little in fear.
Sebastian cuts Ominis off with a curt, “Ominis.” and I can feel my body begin to shake. Desperately I try to reign it in, taking several steps backward from the situation, feeling the room begin to spin. My fight or flight response kicks in and I pivot on my heel, tearing back the way I came, nowhere in particular in mind as I race through the hallways, desperate to escape the stares, the shouting, the humiliation.
I find myself standing on the dock to the Black Lake just down the hill from the caretaker’s hut, bent over as my lungs heave for air. I haven’t reacted like this since Professor Fig’s death. The memories bring a sob to my throat and I fall to my knees, bent over as I cry into the wood beneath me, my arms wrapped around my stomach as if trying to keep my organs from spilling out. My heart aches so deeply I feel as if something is squeezing it, and my lungs burn from the sheer force of my sobs.
I don’t hear the footsteps, but when I hear my name spoken with such care, such tenderness, I cry harder, wishing I could just get a fucking grip.
I feel my new companion kneel beside me, and his hands are oh so careful as they snake around my back, gently pulling me until I practically throw myself into Sebastian’s arms, my own locking around his neck so tight I might be choking him a little.
He rocks me back and forth as I sob into his robes, too agonized to care much for the mess I’m creating all over his clean clothes.
When my tears finally subside and my sobs turn to sniffles, I let my body sag into his, letting myself bask in the warmth and strength of my best friend. Sebastian isn’t a touchy person, and while I myself am not either, I find myself daydreaming of the times that we do touch, and I know this will forever be imprinted in my mind.
“Sometimes I forget that underneath that hard mask of yours, you’re still just a girl with feelings like all the rest of us.” he finally murmurs, still rocking us back and forth. I sniffle, shaking my head. “I didn’t know all the rest of you were girls, too.”
With a snort, he rests his chin on my head. “Glad you’re feeling better. I’m sorry Ominis laid into you like that. In the common room, no less. Anne began shouting at him almost as soon as you ran away.”
I shake my head, sighing as I feel his hand begin carding gently through my hair. “It’s nothing I didn’t deserve. He was right. It was an idiotic idea that almost got people killed. We probably should have been expelled.”
Sebastian’s hand falters and he pulls back slightly, looking down at me with a severe frown. “Expelling you would have been the worst thing they could have done. And in your seventh year, no less. It was an accident; and you protected them from getting hurt when you realized the danger. Besides, I’d have lost my mind if I had to finish the school year without you. Stuck with only Ominis and Anne? I’d have gone to pieces.”
I press my face back into his chest with a snort. “You survived with just the two of them before she became cursed; before I came around. You could do it again.”
“Doesn’t mean I want to.” I can’t be sure, because he said it so softly, but I think that’s what he said. Butterflies begin swooping around my stomach and I’m immediately grateful that he can’t see the redness of my face right now.
We sit like that for a while, soaking in the view of the sun setting below the lake, and the sounds of the water lapping up onto the shoreline. When the breeze becomes chilly I shiver, pulling slightly away from Sebastian’s warmth with great reluctance.
“We should probably go back in. I don’t know what time it is, but we might have missed dinner.” I say, wondering if we’d get away with nipping some food from the kitchens.
Sebastian grunts, his arms tightening around me for a moment before he lets go, helping me to my feet once he gets to his own, stretching out like an overgrown cat.
I look up at the castle, then bite my lip. Maybe it’s best if I hide away tonight…
Sebastian notices my turmoil and nudges me gently. “He won’t bother you. Anne and I will make sure he leaves you alone.”
My smile is flimsy at best; even I know that. Regardless of his assurances, I tell him I’m going to use the ladies room, assuring him that he needn’t wait up for me. When I’m confident it’s been long enough, I re-route toward the Astronomy tower, aiming toward the Room of Requirement.
It’s not the first time I’ve slept in here since I created my space. I’ve fallen asleep countless times studying for exams and writing papers. Throughout all the years I’ve been here I haven’t told a soul that it exists. No one will be able to find me tonight, and that’s just what I need.
The Room seems to know what I need as I walk through the wrought iron door. I spot a new doorway that I’ve never seen before on the opposite wall from me, and I discover a large four poster bed with silver and green bedding standing proudly in the middle of the room. A small dresser with a water basin stands in the corner of the room, along with a small table full of soft white towels. Where was this when I crashed here all those previous times when I slept on the couch or in my chair?
I barely pause to strip, almost ripping my robes from my body as I strip down to my underclothes, falling face first into the bed, groaning as the soft fabrics wrap around me. This is exactly what I need. A safe, comfortable space where no one can find or disturb me.
Though a small voice whispers still, it would be nice if Sebastian could join us…
Pushing that errant thought away, I let myself drift off to sleep.
***~~~~***
“Where the hell have you been?”
I flinch away from the sudden shout instinctively, my head swiveling around as I look for the shouter. My eyes land on Anne and I hang my head guiltily. I spent the entire day yesterday hiding away in the Room of Requirement, catching up on assignments and just enjoying the time alone since it was Sunday and technically I had no classes to attend.
I knew I wasn’t going to be let off the hook for literally disappearing into thin air, but a girl can dream.
“I was locked away doing homework.” I mumble, skirting around the fact that the reason they couldn’t find me is because they would have never found the door to my hiding hole.
“Where?” She asks, her tone a stone’s throw away from being awe-struck. “We searched literally everywhere for you. Sebastian even looked in the little storage area in the Astronomy tower.
Biting my lip, I think of how I can word this without telling her where I was. “There’s a room in the castle that Professor Weasley showed me when I first began, but no one knows about it. She asked me not to tell anyone about it, and sometimes I need a place where no one can find me to just recharge.”
Technically, Professor Weasley never told me not to speak of the room, but she also didn’t tell me that I could.
“You mean like the undercroft?” she asks, her head tilting to the side in confusion. I feel horrible for hiding something like this from my friends, when they all trusted me with their secret sanctuary.
“Sort of, but not quite.” I hedge. “It’s just- somewhere I can hide when everything gets to be too much and I just want to go off the grid.” I say, looking away so I won’t have to see the hurt that she probably feels.
“I understand.” she says, and my head snaps back to her in surprise.
“You do?”
“Of course. Believe me, sometimes I wish there was somewhere other than the undercroft I could go to get away from Sebastian and Ominis. Always hovering over me like concerned parents. It gets exhausting. So yeah, I completely understand you needing your own sanctuary. And hey, if you know of any others that I could use, show me.”
We walk to class together, catching up on what happened while I was away. Anne apparently went off on Ominis, and when Sebastian told them about how he found me, Ominis felt horrible.
“He didn’t mean to make you that upset. I don’t think he really thought about it, to be honest. You’re always so strong, we forget sometimes that your feelings can be hurt, too.” she says. My responding sigh draws her eyebrows up in confusion.
“That’s basically what your brother told me. He said sometimes he forgets I’m a girl with feelings behind my hard mask.”
She shrugs, holding the door to potions open for me to step through first. “That’s how it is. You’re the pillar we all lean on. Sometimes we forget you can crumble, too.”
“Kaia!”
I’m suddenly engulfed as Garreth’s arms wrap around me, lifting me off the floor. I feel my spine pop in several places, and I’m pretty sure my ribs might snap if he doesn’t stop squeezing me like a basilisk.
“Air!” I wheeze, gasping in relief when he drops me, apologies spewing from his mouth.
“Sorry, sorry! I’m just so glad to see you’re alright. They said you got released on Saturday, but no one saw you yesterday, I was worried something happened. But welcome back!” he says, beaming at me.
There was once a time where I favored Garreth over anyone else. When he stares at me like he is now, his green eyes practically sparkling at me, I’m reminded why. But then my gaze shifts to Sebastian, and the bond we’ve made after everything we’ve been through shudders inside of me, and I’m reminded who it is my heart belongs to.
After assuring Garreth that I’m fine, I follow Anne to our station by Sebastian and Ominis, getting my book out. I can see Ominis fidgeting beside me, and I sigh. “I’m not going to bite you, Ominis.”
He jerks at the sound of my voice directed at him and blushes, ducking his head. “I’m sorry for how I acted on Saturday. It was not my intention to upset you in such a way.”
I tap his hand softly with mine, waiting for him to flip it over, and I weave our fingers together, squeezing gently before taking my hand back, and I know by the relieved smile that he understands. That’s my favorite thing about Ominis. We can read each other’s body language and know what the other feels without words. Probably a thing all introverts share. Like twins, maybe.
Finally, I let my gaze fall on Sebastian and I’m surprised to see a look of hurt cross his features before he looks down at his cauldron. Of course I hurt him. I basically tricked him into leaving me alone and ran off to hide in a corner like a coward while they all searched frantically for me.
I want to say something but I’m cut off as Professor Sharp begins speaking, and I don’t get the opportunity again.
***~~~~***
“No.”
“I’m going, Sebastian, and you can’t stop me.”
My world turns upside down as he crouches, then drapes me over his shoulder.
“Sebastian Sallow! Put me down right now!”
“No.”
“For fucks sake- it’s just the Forbidden Forest! I’ve been in there loads of times over the last two years, and I’m not even going in that deep!” I shout, beating at his back as he strolls through the Dark Arts Tower with me slung over his shoulders like a rucksack.
Students stare as we pass, but right now I’m too appalled by his audacity to care.
“No. You’ve almost died once already for Weasley’s errands, I’m not letting you go galavanting through the Forbidden Fucking Forest for some acromantula venom!”
“The aforementioned errand you speak of was actually my idea, thank you, that wasn’t Garreth’s errand. And acromantula venom isn’t that hard to get, I just have to kill one and milk it.” I say, trying to reason with him, knowing I’m not going to win.
For a second I think he’s going to take me to the undercroft, but then I realize that with all these eyes on us that might not be the smartest thing. When he turns abruptly and begins walking in the direction of the Grand Staircase, I realize he’s going to carry me all the way down to the common room.
“This is ridiculous.” I huff, giving in, letting myself hang there limply as he descends the staircase, his arm firm around my legs.
“You know all I have to do is wait for you to go to sleep tonight and I can sneak out, right?” I say, poking him hard in the ribs. He grunts, but doesn’t waver in his steps.
“Oh I know you will. Which is why I’m going to lock you in my dorm with us tonight.”
“You’re going to what?!” I gasp, wiggling in earnest now.
His arm tightens and he begins the descent into our common room, ignoring my shrieks as he carries me through the open atrium, up the stairs toward where the seventh year boys sleep. If any of our fellow Slytherin’s have anything to say about it, they wisely keep their mouths shut.
“Sebastian, you can’t be serious! Girls aren’t allowed to sleep in the boys dorms! What will your roommates say?” I hiss, looking around nervously when he finally sets me down. I haven’t ever actually been in here, but I can immediately tell where Sebastian and Ominis sleep. The other two I’ve no clue.
Sebastian’s corner of the room is about as chaotic as he is. His trunk lays wide open at the end of his bed, clothes strewn about and hanging over the sides. His study desk is buried in books and parchment, some books open on top of other open books. Where he does his homework I have no idea, though if I had to hazard a guess I’d say he writes on top of the books.
His bed is made, but I suspect a house elf to be the reason for that.
Ominis is the complete opposite. His trunk is open, but packed neatly at the end of his bed. There is a stack of books and parchment on his study desk as well, but the books are neatly stacked to where he has plenty of desk space to comfortably write his essays.
The other two are mixtures of both Ominis and Sebastian, but I’m not sure who they are. Now that I think about it, I’ve never met the other seventh year Slytherin boys.
Sebastian ignores me, beginning to pick up the clothes littering the floor around his bed, tossing them into his trunk before kicking it closed with his toe. Then he just turns to me and stares me down, like some kind of parent that’s trying to be intimidating.
I cross my arms, very much like the scolded child he seems to think I am, and scowl up at him. When did he get so much taller than me? Asshole.
“So what’s your great plan, then, huh? You’re going to lock me in here? You’d need to lock me in forever. You can’t watch me forever, there will be plenty of opportunities another day for me to sneak off and go get the venom.”
He doesn’t say anything, just stares at me. It’s starting to unnerve me, actually. I begin fidgeting and his eyes flit down, knowing he’s got me.
“Where am I even going to sleep?” I ask, looking around. There are a couple sofas by the fire I suppose I could crash on. When he sees me eyeing the sofas he speaks finally.
“You’ll take my bed, I’ll take the sofa. Ominis won’t mind that you’re in here, and the other two won't care either. They don’t tend to care what Ominis and I do, as long as we’re quiet. And I know I can’t keep you locked in here forever. But Kaia, please think about this. There has to be somewhere else you can get acromantula venom. Hell I’ll go looking with you, but don’t go searching for one alone. They’re too dangerous, I can’t-”
He suddenly looks like he wants to tear his hair out by the roots, and I find myself unsure for the first time. “Sebastian, I’ve fought them before. Another one won’t kill me.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know what’s going to happen when you enter that forest. Anything can go wrong. I fully believe you’re capable of defending yourself against them, and I’m not worried that you couldn’t handle yourself. But Kaia, what happens if you get surprised? What will I do when you don’t come back? I couldn’t live with the aftermath if I went searching for you and found you dead.”
I can feel the energy tensing around us, and my lungs feel devoid of air. I feel as though the words I’ve been waiting two years to hear are hanging there between us and I can scarcely breathe for fear of them shriveling up inside him and remaining locked away forever.
“Sebastian…?” I ask, feeling small for the first time. My voice sounds foreign to my own ears, timid and frightened, but also so hopeful.
Then as if possessed, he lurches off the bed and begins pacing, running his fingers through his hair frustratedly. “I know you favor Weasley, I know you feel as though you need to do his bidding whenever he asks, but please think about this. You don’t need to go running off toward danger whenever he bats his eyes at you! You don’t have to put yourself in harms way to show him that you care about him! How he can stand to do that- it’s disgusting. How can he stand to call himself a man when he sends a girl off on her own to go gather some fucking spider venom? Why can’t he just leave you alone?!”
I don’t think he realizes that he’s shouting, but when he sees me flinch away from him slightly he drops to his knees, staring up at me. “I would never ask you to put yourself in danger for me.”
I can’t feel my legs. I’m screaming at them to move, at anything to move, but my body is ignoring me once again. I want to run to him, wrap him in my arms and bury my face in his hair. I want to strangle him for thinking I could ever care for someone other than him. I want to wrap ourselves in his blanket and never leave its warmth.
When I don’t move, his head drops to his chest, and I’m horrified to see tears drip onto the carpet beneath him. This, finally, is enough to force my limbs to move.
He doesn’t move as I walk toward him, still looking at the floor as I drop to my knees before him. My fingers gently slide from his jaw to his chin, lifting his face to force his eyes to meet mine. My heart breaks as I’m faced with his shiny gaze, and I feel my own eyes fill with tears.
“Oh, Sebastian. After everything we’ve been through, you really think there’s any other man out there that I could love more than you?”
I watch as the words seep into his brain, and his eyes widen in realization slowly, then all of a sudden I’m jerked forward, and he’s shaking, tears soaking the neck of my robes.
My arms wind around his neck and I fuse myself to him, climbing into his lap to wrap my legs around him as well, completely entwining myself with him.
“I never let myself hope. How could someone as pure as you love someone as broken as me? After what we went through in fifth year? I was so close to making the worst decision of my life. If you and your keeper friends hadn’t come up with a solution for Anne, I would have ended up hurting someone. What if I killed someone? What if I’d killed you? I didn’t deserve you then, and I don’t deserve you now.”
“That’s my decision, Sebastian Sallow. I chose you then, and I’ll choose you until the day I quit breathing. You’ve destroyed any chance of any other man taking my heart from you. Even if I had left here without telling you how I felt, I’d have died alone before I took another man as my partner.”
He draws his head back and stares at me, his hand lifting to cup my cheek, eyes so full of wonder and love that my heart skips a beat, lodging in my throat. I close my eyes and press back into his hand, pressing a gentle kiss against his palm.
He inhales shakily, and I can feel his breath coming closer until it fans my face gently. With a surge of confidence, I close the distance and our mouths meet for the first time.
It’s like a dam breaks inside him, and I’m pulled under the current as his arm around my waist tightens, the hand on my cheek sliding to the base of my skull, holding my head securely as he turns his head, deepening the kiss with the passion of a man drowning.
Suddenly he’s rising to his feet and I squeak as I feel myself lifted off the ground, my legs tightening around his waist to keep from falling as he shuffles toward the bed, his lips never leaving mine as he lays me down on the soft mattress, climbing over me as he presses me into the sheets.
It’s like he was made to fit between my legs, my knees falling open slightly as I feel his hips press into mine, a small groan slipping from my lips as I feel his erection press against my core, heat filling me at an alarming rate.
His hand has just slipped into my now-open shirt and has almost made it all the way up to my breast when we hear the door open, and we both freeze.
Ominis walks into the room, his wand raised in front of him, and he suddenly comes to an abrupt halt, his wand pointed at Sebastian’s bed.
I watch, almost mesmerized, as a deep blush begins from his neck to his ears to his cheeks, and none of us say a word as he promptly turns on his heel, and walks back toward the door. The door is almost shut when I hear him grumble “bloody delinquents” and I burst into laughter.
Sebastian rolls off of me, laughing alongside me before he pulls me against him, curling around me as he presses his nose into my temple with a happy sigh, our previous high simmering to a slow boil as we simply lay together, basking in each other’s presence.
“I love you.” I sigh, filled with so much happiness that I can say that freely now. I feel his lips pull back with a grin, and I can tell he loves hearing it as much as I love saying it. “I love you, too. Always have, always will.” he responds simply.
We fall asleep like that, and when I wake next it’s pitch black in the room, but there are three other sets of breathing and I can tell that the rest of his roommates have returned. Ominis probably forced one of them to make sure we were clothed before he stepped foot in here.
I can just make out Sebastian’s profile beside me in the dark, and I smile softly as I soak in his face, slack with sleep. Everyone looks so much younger when they’re asleep, more vulnerable. But Sebastian just looks softer. His hair juts in every direction, his mouth slightly ajar as his breaths tickle my throat, and I press a gentle kiss to his lips.
He shifts, humming lightly before his eyes blink open, looking at me through his sleepy haze before he lights up in a grin. “I had hoped that wasn’t a dream.” he whispers, pressing another small kiss to my lips before nuzzling into my neck, making me giggle quietly.
The next time I wake up, I’ve just fallen on the floor.
Apparently, Ominis had poked Sebastian hard in the rib, and he had yelped so loud that I jumped, causing me to flop onto the cold stone floor with a groan.
“Oh my- Kaia! Are you okay?” Sebastian cries, scrambling out of bed to help me up. “Why did you shout?” I whine, rubbing the back of my head petulantly.
“Ominis startled me; I didn’t mean to make you fall out of bed, I’m sorry.” he says, shooting a venomous glare at his friend, who had the decency to look a little sorry.
“My apologies. I had meant to be cruel to Sebastian for his lack of warning, not you.”
I huff a sigh and sit up, moving back to the bed. Sebastian raises to his full height and stretches, and I get a glorious peek at his stomach, biting my lip as the memory of him between my legs flits through my mind.
Sebastian seems to read my mind and his gaze darkens. Ominis apparently also reads the room and throws his hands up. “You two are incorrigible, I swear!” then he stomps out of the room in a huff.
When we’re alone once more, I reach my hand out and grip his robe, vaguely wondering if sleeping in that wasn’t uncomfortable, and I pull him toward me, my neck leant back all the way to look up at him.
He bends down, capturing my lips in a gentle kiss before his fingers brush a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Feel like skipping class today?” he murmurs, a wild gleam igniting in his gaze.
My hand raises to where his tie still hangs around his neck, bringing him down closer as I scoot up the bed, pulling him on top of me as he follows willingly. “I could think of a million things we could do today instead of attending class.” I purr, nibbling on his earlobe.
He groans, hips jerking slightly against mine as I let my mouth explore his neck and he attacks my mouth with a vicious desperation, groaning as my fingers thread into his hair, tugging lightly.
“Fuck, Kaia, I’d set myself on fire if you asked me to right now; anything to have you beneath me.” he groans, kissing any bare skin he can reach, hands making quick work of my shirt, tugging it open before flinging it to the floor.
We don’t get very far before Ominis knocks on the door.
“I know you two can hardly help yourselves, but please go somewhere else. I’d like to grab my things without listening to you two pawing at each other like newlyweds.”
Sebastian’s head falls to my chest and he growls. “One of these days, when he gets a girlfriend, I’m going to cockblock him so hard-”
“I know a place we can go. I’ve never told a soul about it; no one will find us there.” I say, thinking about the wonderfully plush bed that we could be laying in right now just floors above us. Sebastian’s eyes linger longingly on my chest for a moment before he tears himself away from me, yelling at Ominis that the coast is clear while I button my shirt back up.
We’re almost out the door when Ominis calls out, “oh Sebastian? Don’t forget to use that spell you told me about last year.”
Sebastian’s jaw drops and his mouth opens and closes like a fish, so I drag him away with a grin. “See you later!” I croon, imagining a look of disgust that probably crossed Ominis’s features and I giggle.
When we make it to the Room of Requirement I watch in satisfaction as Sebastian stares in awe as the door appears, looking around my sanctuary with amazement as I lead him through the main rooms, giving him a cursory tour.
“That’s where I keep the beasts I’ve saved. But I’ll show you them later; I believe we were in the middle of something?” I say, walking backward toward the door to my new bedroom, watching as his eyes darken, tracking my every step.
I’m just about to the bed when he pounces, stripping off my clothing with rough hands, vowing to fix the tears he makes in my skirt.
The next few hours are full of our mixed sighs and moans, only our names being uttered into the sweat filled air as we tangle ourselves up together, vowing to keep each other close for the rest of our lives.
I did end up getting that acromantula venom, eventually. Turns out all I had to do was fall to my knees and swallow Sebastian’s arguments down to convince him to just come with me, if he were so worried.
I didn’t tell Garreth that last part, though.