magic and mistakes (II/II)

[room9093]

magic and mistakes
For: kyudos2you
Rating: PG
Length: 10, 937 (total)
Summary: Kyungsoo is the head of Gryffindor House and his ultimate rival is the head of Slytherin - Luhan. They compete in practically everything, but perhaps something more, something unexpected, comes from their rivalry.

< PART I>

Strangely enough, the head of Hufflepuff did not return again that night. Once Kyungsoo had finished grading everything, he was able to sit in the comfortable silence his little office gave to him.

But then, these little ideas slowly started to form in his mind. Yixing had asked someone to go to the ball with him, and now that Kyungsoo was unoccupied, he could now figure out just who it was.

Hufflepuff was the opening game for Quidditch, but who exactly were they going to play? He
hadn’t the faintest idea, but maybe if he thought about what Yixing said, he could figure it out.

He had originally planned to ask either before or after the game. But before wouldn’t be good because they might get too excited. After wasn’t the best either because if their team had lost, they would be sad?

Which coworker acted like this during the games? Who could it possibly . . .

Oh. Oh, no. It wasn’t who he thought it was, was it? It couldn’t be. Yixing had barely even spoken with him. Then again, the only time Kyungsoo had spoken with him was a little jab - calling him princess and things like that.

Because they were rivals, after all.

Yixing wanted to ask Luhan to the ball?

Now Kyungsoo was just beyond confused. There was no way that Yixing liked Luhan. There was no way Yixing was going to ask Luhan to the ball. First of all, Yixing was kind and a little scattered, but had good intentions. Luhan was a brat. A stupid, Slytherin brat who used his good looks to get whatever he wanted. There was no way they would mix.

But . . . what if they did?

That night, Kyungsoo slept heavily but dreamt of nothing. Instead, he saw nothing but darkness and the lingering thoughts in his mind. Most of them concerned Luhan.

In fact, the next day, before any classes had started, Kyungsoo ran into the very same Slytherin professor while walking through the hallways. And though Luhan had given him his usual small smile - smirk, Kyungsoo groaned - Kyungsoo had at first just wanted to ignore him.

Instead, he turned right around and asked the other man, “So, have you found anyone to go to the ball with? Or are you scaring everyone away with your looks?”

Luhan huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he replied, “Doesn’t matter to you anyway. Maybe you’re asking me because you’re a lonely little sap who hasn’t found anyone yet. You have to nose into other people’s business to figure it out.”

Ouch. Harsh, short words - but of course, Kyungsoo had expected no less from Luhan.

“I’m taking that means you haven’t been asked yet,” Kyungsoo replied, giving him a knowing smile. The hallway was still empty, though someone could still come walking through at any time. Knowing Luhan, he wouldn’t want someone else to listen in on it. He’ll try and make it quick.
Luhan shifted a little bit, avoiding eye contact with Kyungsoo as he said, “No. It doesn’t mean anything. Why do you want to know, anyway?”

“Oh, no reason in particular,” Kyungsoo hummed. “You know, just making some conversation. We haven’t spoken much to each other in the last few weeks or so.”

Luhan sighed and his shoulders were slumped, as though he had relaxed just a little bit. He still didn’t uncross his arms, though, and he just said, “Well, we’re not students. We can’t hang around and talk.”

“Not like I’d want to hang out around you anyway. You’re a Slytherin, a slimy and stupid snake.”

Those words sounded a little harsh as they tumbled from Kyungsoo’s lips, but it was all right, he supposed. Their rivalry had always been like this. They would say some harsh words, compete back and forth and try to win the House Cup or have their team win at Quidditch. This year, getting a date to the ball had been added. Not much had really changed between them, had it?

Gryffindors and Slytherins were always going to fight, always going to get along just like Kyungsoo and Luhan were. In fact, Kyungsoo thought that sometimes - and he would never, ever admit this, especially not to Yixing - that they got along a little bit. There was, of course, a little banter here and there, but it didn’t seem like they really hated each other. They were rivals. Plain and simple.

Luhan was probably used to the comments like those from Kyungsoo. But then, if that was the case, why did his shoulders stiffen?

Maybe Kyungsoo had said something a little too far. Maybe. But he was certain he had something like that before and Luhan had just scoffed and replied with something like, “Well you’re a stupid lion with a tiny brain.” Right?

Instead, he received the classic Luhan-eyeroll as he walked briskly past Kyungsoo, murmuring, “Whatever. You’re just a loser Gryffindor anyway.” His footsteps echoed through the empty hallway until Kyungsoo could no longer hear them. Perhaps Luhan had left to go to one of his classes - did Luhan even have a class to teach that morning?

Then again, Kyungsoo didn’t know when Yixing taught either. He only knew when he was free, because that was when he would usually drop by Kyungsoo’s office.

In fact, just after Kyungsoo had arrived to his office in the afternoon, there was a little knock on the door. As usual, Kyungsoo said nothing and as usual, Yixing came walking in and made himself right at home, taking a seat in the chair across from his desk.

“So did you ask that person to the ball?” Kyungsoo asked. He didn’t look up from what he was doing - he was almost finished, though! There were just a couple of things left to organize and then everything would be placed just where he wanted it to be.

Yixing didn’t say anything for a moment; he just looked up at the ceiling before he finally said, “Ah, about that . . . hey, can I talk to you about something?”

He sounded serious, so Kyungsoo said that of course he could. He wasn’t going to tell Yixing he couldn’t, after all.

“You see, I was walking through the hallways to ask that person. I had gotten a little lost and took a wrong turn somewhere down by the great hall and well, I found someone there. And it was very unexpected.”

A dramatic pause, and just as Kyungsoo was about to ask if there was anything else to his story, Yixing continued, “You see, this area is a dead end. No one would really go there except to be by themselves. And well, I found Luhan there sitting all by himself. I was going to go up to him and talk to him, see how his day was going and everything, but I stopped. Do you want to know why?”

Yixing stopped his story again, waiting for Kyungsoo to show some sign that he was interested. And Kyungsoo had to admit, he was slightly intrigued. Yixing seemed to want to tell him what he had seen and with his little dramatic pauses, it only piqued his interest even more.

“Anyway, I was going to talk to him. You know, because I don’t have that stupid rivalry to deal with,” Yixing added the last sentence with a short sigh and Kyungsoo just opted to ignore it,

“Anyway, I was walking up to him to talk to him and he was kinda looking down, like he was sad. He must have heard me coming towards him because he looked up. And Kyungsoo, he was crying.”

Now there was something interesting. Luhan, the great Slytherin and little brat, was crying. Kyungsoo was most definitely listening to what Yixing was saying now, only there was something forming in his heart that he couldn’t really describe. It was a twisting feeling and it made him feel a little bit like a child - because he wanted nothing more than to duck away and hide and pretend like this feeling that was bubbling up wasn’t happening. It wasn’t. Because he was feeling a number of different things. Luhan never cried. Why would he be crying? Did someone make him upset? Oh, he shouldn’t be this worried about it.

And then there was a feeling Kyungsoo had felt sometimes . . . guilt. Maybe this was his fault? How could it have been, though?

“Not like I’d want to hang out around you any. You’re a Slytherin, a slimy and stupid snake.”

Oh. Right. Maybe that was it?

“Anyway, I went up to him and asked him if everything was okay. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because he glared at me and told me to ‘shove off, stupid Hufflepuff.’ So I left, but I mean, that was weird. Luhan can be brash and stubborn and kind of rude sometimes and so of course he might get stuff like that back at him. But he was obviously really upset by it. What could have happened?”

Now Kyungsoo felt like he was suddenly in an interrogation room - Yixing’s gaze came to land on him, as though he somehow knew that it probably had to do with Kyungsoo. No, Yixing, stop looking! Too much pressure, too much guilt. Kyungsoo never liked the feeling of guilt at all; it felt like a weight had been pressed on his entire being. But it wasn’t even his fault, was it?

“So you didn’t ask the person you were going to ask to the ball?” Kyungsoo asked, trying to change the subject. Maybe if he changed the subject, it would calm him down. Then he could forget about the fact that Luhan was upset and that it upset him. Yeah! Good plan, Kyungsoo.

Yixing didn’t say anything at first, giving him an incredulous look with wide eyes before he quietly said, “Luhan was the person I was going to ask.”

So . . . so the person Yixing was going to ask was . . . it was Luhan? It really was going to be him? Even though Kyungsoo had reached that conclusion himself, he was still surprised to hear Yixing actually say it - actually confirm his suspicions.

Kyungsoo must have looked surprised because he heard Yixing chuckle before he said, “You’re surprised. Did you think Luhan and I didn’t get along?”

“Well, maybe not that,” Kyungsoo muttered, suddenly very interested in something sitting on his desk. There wasn’t much sitting on his desk, because he had just cleaned it, but he suddenly felt like he couldn’t make eye contact with Yixing. The entire situation was feeling awkward, though it didn’t really have much to do with his friend. Yixing was always smiling and always making the best of a situation, so he still seemed pretty relaxed and positive.

No, it was because Kyungsoo himself was feeling awkward. He was feeling more than a little guilty because maybe he really had been the one to make him cry. After all, he never meant for their rivalry to be that upsetting. They just made stupid little comments back and forth to each other and tried to win at everything.

Yixing was still looking at him with that little smile on his face. Yixing was stupid, Kyungsoo decided; he knew that smile. He didn’t show it often but when he did, it was a sign that he knew the situation well. For example, when a few of the other professors had accidentally stolen a student’s textbooks. They had screamed that they didn’t do it, but Yixing just gave them that smile and told them to check again. It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head - stupid Hufflepuff; he probably knew everything.

Which means, he knew that Kyungsoo was upset at the idea of Yixing asking Luhan to the ball. He probably even knew why he was so upset and Kyungsoo hadn’t quite worked his way through it.

“There’s something else though,” Yixing said, that stupid smile still on his face, “I think you’ll figure it out.”

It seemed like he was going to say something more, but just outside of Kyungsoo’s office, there was the sound of muffled banging noises and students yelling and giggling loudly. Obviously some kind of commotion was happening and though Kyungsoo had stood up to go and see what was up, Yixing beat him to it. The Hufflepuff professor motioned for him to sit back down as he said, “You stay here. I’ll take care of it. They don’t sound like they’re going too crazy, so it shouldn’t take that long.” And before Kyungsoo could even protest Yixing was gone. As the door to his office opened he saw something zoom right by him - perhaps the students were hexing something. Either way, it was apparently none of Kyungsoo’s business.

Now that Yixing was gone, Kyungsoo’s office was silent once again. He was left only to his thoughts and they didn’t seem to want to cool down. Luhan had been upset. Yixing wanted to ask Luhan to the ball. Kyungsoo was apparently upset about that. What was it called? Oh, right.

Jealousy.

But then came the next question; why exactly was Kyungsoo jealous? Luhan was his rival. Luhan was a Slytherin. Kyungsoo was a Gryffindor. They were rivals! Did he mention they weren’t supposed to like each other?

Well . . . actually, Kyungsoo wasn’t so sure anymore. It was known by many people that Gryffindor and Slytherin were rivals. They sometimes got along, but it was a little different for them. It was something that just happened. They just happened to hate each other or constantly try and be better than the other. Something like that, right?

Kyungsoo knew that when he had started his little rivalry with Luhan, he had kind of enjoyed it. He liked being able to see the reactions Luhan would make to his comments. He liked being able to cherish a victory over Slytherin and a victory over Luhan.

But if he was feeling jealous, then somewhere along the line, Kyungsoo’s feelings had changed. How had he not noticed? Was it just something that wasn’t all too obvious?

Either way, he was jealous. Because he wanted to ask Luhan to the ball. Because apparently, they had progressed beyond being just rivals . . . Kyungsoo had fallen for Luhan.

The noises just outside his office had silenced and Yixing came back in then, that same little smile on his face. He didn’t say anything about what had transpired outside, instead asking, “So did you figure it out?”

“Figure what out . . . oh come on, you really already knew?”

Yixing blinked, changing his expression to a confused one as he asked, “Already knew about what? I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’m just, as you put it, a stupid Hufflepuff. Explain it to me.” Sarcasm dripped in his voice, though he still seemed happy.

“You know I don’t think Hufflepuffs are stupid.”

“Stop trying to distract me. What did I already know about? Come on, it’ll be a lot better if you just go on ahead and say it.”

Kyungsoo let out a heavy sigh before he quietly murmured, “I think I like Luhan.”

“Come again? I’m sorry, you’re going to have to speak up. You see, those kids were making little explosions and fireworks with their wands. That hurt my ears.”

“I think I like Luhan,” Kyungsoo repeated, voice louder. However, Yixing made that same expectant face, only this time, he brought his hand to cup his ear - speak louder, his stance spoke.

If Yixing wanted him to speak louder, then Kyungsoo was most definitely going to speak louder. Whatever.

“I LIKE LUHAN!”

Yixing grinned at him, “There we go. That wasn’t too hard to admit, was it? You’re pretty stubborn. Now, what are you going to do about it? I think at this point you should apologize.”

After that, things sort of became a blur. The ball was coming up and he really should have gone up to Luhan to talk to him, but instead, he did something else entirely. He avoided Luhan.

If he thought Luhan was going to be anywhere, he made sure not to go there. The guilt from potentially making him cry was eating at him and it didn’t help, REALLY didn’t help, that he had suddenly realized his feelings for the Slytherin professor.

He graded his essays sloppily, his classes weren’t going as well as they should - not that the students cared. They were also excited about the upcoming ball and so they appreciated the less intense classes from a very intense professor. And Kyungsoo couldn’t bring himself to care either way.

He needed to talk to Luhan. He needed to apologize to him and needed to tell him how he felt. If he didn’t soon, then he’d have to tell him at the ball.

. . . But apparently that was much easier said than done, because the day of the ball, he had done absolutely nothing. He had gotten dress robes done, gloated about Gryffindor’s victory in Quidditch - they had beaten Ravenclaw; Slytherin’s match was a little bit later.

Yixing was laughing at him when he found out, saying things like, “Man, for being in a house that’s all about bravely, you’re being a bit of a wimp. Come on, just let him know. Maybe the ball is even the best place to do it.”

After that, Kyungsoo told Yixing to go and eat his wand and Yixing had left, laughing down the hallway. Yixing . . . was probably right. Students were squealing about the ball, talking about their dates and the robes and the dresses and just how romantic it was going to be. Some had even talked about the love potions they had smuggled in, just for the occasion. Kyungsoo opted to ignore that. Though love potions weren’t allowed on campus, he couldn’t find himself to care enough about something bringing fake love when he himself had fallen a little too deeply in real love. Or something like that. He didn’t really know anymore; his brain felt a little jumbled when he thought about Luhan.

So the ball had come - students were gleefully dancing, the live wizard band was playing their music, candles and cute trinkets were floating in the air, and everything seemed perfectly in place.

Kyungsoo felt like his dress robes were a little stiff - it fit snug around his neck and he found himself pulling on it, but perhaps it was because he was nervous. Luhan hadn’t arrived yet, and when he got there, Kyungsoo planned on telling him everything. Deep breath, Kyungsoo.

About half an hour into the ball - and about halfway through Kyungsoo’s drink - Luhan had arrived. He was dressed in pale green dress robes, and his blond hair was flat against his face.

Luhan was a new professor. And sometimes, Kyungsoo seemed to forget that. However, when seeing the professor looking so young like he did for the ball, the thoughts came bubbling up to the surface of his mind.

“Luhan,” Kyungsoo called. At first, it seemed the professor didn’t quite know who had called his name, but once he discovered it was Kyungsoo, his expression went through several transformations - first, he looked upset, and then his face hardened as though annoyed.

But he still walked over to Kyungsoo and said, “Look, I don’t want to deal with you tonight. It’s supposed to be a fun night and all you’re going to do is make fun of me. You’ll say something about my robes or my hair or my stupid little face. I don’t want to put up with that tonight.”

“Luhan, please listen to me,” Kyungsoo said, desperation in his voice. Luhan had turned around as though to leave, and Kyungsoo had reached forward on instinct to grab Luhan’s wrist. It wasn’t a strong grip, but it was enough to get the other professor’s attention.

Luhan turned around, an unreadable expression on his face as he snapped, “What do you want!? Do you want to ruin this day too by telling me I’m a slimy Slytherin?”

“Luhan, I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo said quickly, staring into Luhan’s brown eyes. He pulled every ounce of sincerity from his body into that statement, and Luhan’s stern expression seemed to soften. “Yixing told me that you were upset, and I’m pretty sure it was my fault. I’m really sorry. We’re rivals, but I didn’t mean to take it too far and hurt you like that. That was . . . I was really dumb.”

There was a little giggle from Luhan before he replied, “Well, I guess so. But we are rivals. I probably took it too far a couple of times too. I mean, but at least I didn’t hex you or put a charm on you or something. I wouldn’t want to stoop that low. That might hurt you.”

“I already feel really bad about it, don’t add to it,” Kyungsoo said, teeth tightly clenched. The guilt was nearly overriding the nerves in his system, because he was about to . . . well, he was going to get to his next point and now he was really going to have to be brave.

“I wanted to talk to you about being rivals, too,” Kyungsoo continued, staring into Luhan’s eyes again. They were truly . . . exhilarating? Breathtaking. That was a better word. He was really beautiful. No wonder he got his way with everything because Kyungsoo wasn’t sure he could say no to Luhan at this point.

Luhan seemed confused and cocked his head to the side. “What about it?”

“I don’t want to be rivals anymore.”

Luhan’s expression was crestfallen. He seemed extremely disappointed as he looked down to the ground as he murmured, “Oh, all right.”

Damn it, Kyungsoo! He was screwing it up, so perhaps it would be better to just go on ahead and say it outright.

“Because I don’t know if we could be rivals when I’ve fallen for you.”

There! Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?

Luhan’s face shot up; he was staring right at Kyungsoo with wide eyes - was there even the beginnings of a faint, pink little blush on his cheeks? That was rather . . . well, endearing. Suddenly, he was seeing so many different things about Luhan that he had never noticed before. It was kind of nice, and it was something he really wanted to explore. He was going to see all sides of Luhan - the rival, the professor, the man, the cuter side of him . . . everything. He was a person, someone he hadn’t truly seen before.

Luhan opened his mouth to say something but for a while, he seemed to just stammer. Eventually, he said, “You, you’re not playing a prank on me, are you? And someone didn’t give you a love potion?”

“No, nothing like that. I don’t know, I just . . . started to realize that at one point, I wanted to be something other than rivals. I want to get to know you. On a more personal level. Are you all right with that?”

Luhan gave him a strange look, as though he was skeptical. “I don’t know,” he said, looking Kyungsoo up and down, as though analyzing what exactly he was wearing. “First you hate me, then you’re my rival. I don’t know what to feel. It just . . . it doesn’t . . . I don’t know. It’s stupid. How am I supposed to even be convinced?”

Kyungsoo supposed Luhan was right. It felt rather strange to even be admitting it out loud. No wonder Luhan thought he was given a love potion. They were rivals, and then Kyungsoo made Luhan cry, and then now suddenly he was supposed to believe that Kyungsoo really liked him and had fallen for him? That only worked in those silly television shows muggles watched.

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo admitted, suddenly bringing his gaze away from Luhan. This was so much harder than he expected it to be, “I mean, I know it’s sudden. It’s probably weird. I even went and made you cry. I was being stupid to you and . . . ugh, this is really hard to even explain.”

“Then why are you even bothering?” Luhan snapped; he sounded a little bit angry but he sounded even more hurt. Kyungsoo realized that it had suddenly become a slippery situation and he would have to plan his next words very, very carefully.

Deep breath, and then Kyungsoo began, “Because I’m trying to show you that I’m being sincere. I know I’ve been a jerk sometimes. But I really enjoyed being your rival and having those little moments with you. When you were excited apparently that made me happy, though I didn’t realize it until later. In fact, I spent a good amount of time trying to decide when to apologize to you. So much time, I waited until now and decided there was no other choice but to do it now. And then after apologizing, I wanted to confess to you. That was probably a stupid idea because I can tell you’re upset but, well, better now than never?”

Luhan just scoffed, but returned his gaze to Kyungsoo, making direct eye contact. It was as if he wanted Kyungsoo to continue, so of course, he was going to do just that.

“This is really hard for me too, you know,” Kyungsoo added, “But I want you to know that I really want to make it work. Will you please just give me a chance to make this right? It might be a little bit of a bumpy road, but we can get through it. Hell, we’ve been at each other’s throats most of the time so this might be an adjustment. But please, give it a shot? Give me a shot?”

Luhan seemed to be stunned into silence at that moment. His eyebrows were furrowed, as though he was mulling over, trying to decide. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo thought his heart was going to come bursting out of his chest - this was a lot more pressure than he had thought it would be.

He thought Luhan would either reject him outright or . . . well, he wasn’t sure what would have happened if Luhan had accepted right away. He probably would have woken up and it would have been a dream. Something like that.

Either way, all he could do was just stand there, heart thrumming in his chest and nerves surging through his system, as he waited for some kind of reply from Luhan. And for a while, the Slytherin professor didn’t give him any sort of response. But after a while, it was trembling and though he didn’t quite notice it at first, Luhan nodded his head when he said, “Yeah. Let’s give it a shot.”

Did this . . . had this really just happened? Kyungsoo wasn’t dreaming it up or taking Luhan’s words and twisting it? Luhan had agreed to give Kyungsoo - give them - a chance? Oh, this was really happening and it felt . . . strange, but it felt rather good as well. The hammering in his chest wouldn’t slow down. One after another, his heart continued to race and Kyungsoo could feel heat rush through his entire body. It was a feeling he wasn’t sure he had ever really experienced before. But with his heart pounding and heat surging through his body - his ears felt particularly heated, surely a nice red shade by now - he understood Luhan and the meaning behind his words.

Kyungsoo smiled at Luhan, who was completely avoiding eye contact with the Gryffindor professor. “Just a shot,” Luhan specified, “Okay? You can’t blow it! Otherwise I’ll probably hate you.”

It was probably a bad idea; they were at the school ball, students were everywhere, but Kyungsoo couldn’t help it. He leaned forward and very gently pressed his lips against Luhan’s.

They were soft and warm, and though Luhan seemed surprised at first, he leaned into the kiss.

It seemed too fast, but they eventually parted. Luhan stammered out again, “Well, okay, that was good! You still can’t blow it though!”

Kyungsoo laughed again and replied, “I won’t. Don’t worry, you’re going to fall really hard for me.”
There was a small murmur of, “Too late, you stupid loser Gryffindor,” but Kyungsoo didn’t hear it.
“You’re going to fall really hard for me and when you do, I think you’ll even cheer for Gryffindor when they play Quidditch.”

Luhan scoffed and nearly screamed, “When that happens I’ll bury you six feet under!”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Kyungsoo said, reaching for one of Luhan’s hands to hold in his own; Luhan’s skin was warm and seemed to fit perfectly in his. The entire situation felt so perfect, “After all, I still have that one chance with you, don’t I?”

Luhan blushed again as he glanced down at Kyungsoo’s hand as he said, “Yeah. Let’s go dance or something? Before you come up with a stupid idea?”

Kyungsoo laughed as the Slytherin professor nearly dragged him over to the dance floor. Well, it would certainly be an interesting way to start the newest part of their relationship. From rivals to something much more, and Kyungsoo wouldn’t have it any other way.