Quidditch, Romance, and Near Death Experiences (17/25)
Title: Quidditch, Romance, and Near Death Experiences
Author: thanku4urlove
Pairing: Yabu/Takaki, Yamada/Daiki, Yamada/Yuto, Hikaru/Keito
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: magic!
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, AU (Hogwarts)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: it's the wave of a wand, and dust blown off the cover of a spellbook. It's learning incantations and kicking off the ground on a broomstick. It's magic. It's a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, full of Quidditch, romance, and near death experiences.
A/N: Yuto's hot bye
Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
Yamada mulled over his feelings later that week, escaping his schoolwork and his friends in the common room to sit out on the grounds alone, leaning back against a hill dusted with frost. He let all of his feelings out into the open, raw and painful and exposed, and tried to piece them all together. He wanted to spend more time with Daiki. He wanted Daiki’s attention. Somehow, he had done something to get Daiki to more or less stop contacting him, and it made him so hurt that he’d left one of the most exciting events of the school year just to yell at the person he missed more than anything.
The result didn’t really surprise him, when he thought about it. He was in love with Daiki.
There had always been something there, he realized. He could still remember the first time they’d met, he and Keito hopelessly lost first years, trying to make sense of the dungeons and get to their Potions class. Daiki had come along and helped walk them to class, beaming at the “thank you”s he received, saying it was no problem before walking off. Keito hadn’t pointed out until afterwards that the student had to have ended up incredibly late for his own the class due to helping them, and Yamada had thought about the selfless gesture for a solid week. They’d seen him again a while later at breakfast, Keito insisting that they had to thank him again, sitting down with him to eat. Their fingers had touched when Daiki passed him a blueberry muffin, and it had made Yamada smile, though he hadn’t really known why, and they’d been friends after that.
They hadn’t really been friends though, not in the way friends were supposed to be. He’d never blushed heavily at a compliment from Yuto. He’d never pretended he was cold just so he could wear Keito’s jacket--though Keito had definitely offered up his jacket to Yamada a few times. He’d never really replayed any of he and Yuto’s conversations after he’d gotten in bed and turned off the lights, his face stuffed in his pillow in an attempt to stifle giggles or pretend he wasn’t smiling. He’d never thought about kissing Keito. Those were all Daiki things.
He wanted to kiss Daiki. He wanted to walk around campus holding Daiki’s hand, and go to the tea shop in Hogsmeade together, and do all of the other stereotypical and disgustingly cheesy things that he and Yuto were doing. He’d wanted to go to the Yule Ball with Daiki, not really realizing until Keito brought it up that he’d have to go exclusively with Yuto. What he hadn’t counted on was Daiki asking Keito to go with him instead of just simply attending, and he had a feeling that when he’d asked Daiki about it, that the one Daiki had implied actually wanting to ask to the dance was him. He’d told himself at the time not to think like that, the idea making him feel self centered and slightly narcissistic, but he couldn’t help it.
He didn’t want to date Yuto any longer. Yuto wasn’t bad to him, not by any means; Yuto was wonderful. Yuto was one of his best friends, and they were so comfortable together that it wasn’t even as though the hand holding or other physical contact made him feel weird. It didn’t. He just knew he wouldn’t be able to act on any feelings he had about Daiki with Yuto being there, and he didn’t want to hold out anymore. Daiki hadn’t approached him to talk since the Second Task, and Yamada didn’t think he could take much more of his silence.
On the other hand though, he didn’t want Yuto to get hurt. He was afraid that his suitors and otherwise interested classmates would return at full force once he was out of the picture, and they hadn’t taken enough Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to fend off heartbroken teenagers. He was the one that had agreed to date Yuto, and backing out of it would just make him feel bad. The Nakajima Kento debacle was still fresh in his mind, and Yuto had privately confessed to him later how helpless and incapable it had made him feel; putting Yuto in a situation like that again was the last thing he wanted.
Yamada let out a long sigh, watching his cold breath through the air, hearing a similar sigh next to him. The noise was startling, turning his head sharply to see Chinen sitting there, just barely behind him, his knees pulled up to his chest and his chin resting on them. He had on a fluffy winter cap and mittens, staring out over the grounds with a forlorn expression that matched how Yamada was feeling. He didn’t know when Chinen had come and sat next to him, or why.
“Are… Are you alright?” He asked hesitantly. Chinen pointed straight ahead, in the direction Yamada had been aimlessly looking in while he had been thinking, Yamada realizing for the first time that his eyes had been on the Groundskeeper’s Hut the entire time. There was smoke coming from the fireplace, Professor Ohno doubtlessly home, and Yamada turned to Chinen again, wondering what on earth he meant.
“So, you like him too?” Chinen asked, and Yamada could do nothing but stare. Chinen sighed again. “Another rival…”
Then he got to his feet, walking back in the direction of the castle, and Yamada watched him go, quite unsure of how to feel.
“Okay.” Hikaru was grinning at him. “Are you actually ready this time?”
Keito smiled back in spite of himself, and Hikaru threw the giant body pillow--one of the ones they’d put in use for the Stunning spell practice--right at his head.
“Arresto momentum!” He exclaimed, waving his wand, and the small amount of speed the pillow had picked up by the force of Hikaru’s throw disappeared, the object falling harmlessly at Keito’s feet with a soft thump. ‘Arresto momentum’ was the spell they were working on that week, used to slow or stop the momentum of an object. Professor Kimura had started in class by throwing dodgeballs, but Keito wasn’t quite there yet; the pillows, though bigger, were much slower too, and he’d only been hit in the face a few times.
“I think you’ve got the hang of the pillows.” Hikaru declared, stepping forward to sit on the one he’d just thrown, Keito glancing down at him. He began looking around the room. “What do you want to try stopping next?”
“Uh… I don’t know.” Keito answered, and Hikaru leaned his head against Keito’s leg, looking up at him. They looked at each other for a moment before Keito felt himself beginning to blush, glancing away.
He and Hikaru had been dating. Well… Sort of. Their tutoring sessions were a little different now--though Hikaru had informed him in a very amused voice that he still blushed just about as much, assuring him that it was cute, though--and Keito would send Hikaru letters whenever Pablo was free to fly, something he could tell the old bird was not at all enjoying. Aside from that, they didn’t do much interacting. They snuck around more than anything, something Keito hadn’t known he was signing up for.
They went to Hogsmeade together the day Hikaru had asked him, Hikaru’s face turning red when Keito grabbed his hand. Maybe he should have seen Hikaru’s nervous glancing around as a sign, but when he asked about it Hikaru had just waved him off, letting go of his hand under the guise of taking off his Slytherin scarf and stuffing it inside his coat pocket, saying he was no longer cold. He looked cold though, but Keito was too afraid to ask about it, feeling as though Hikaru simply didn't want to hold his hand, which did hurt a little.
Any time they saw each other, it was in secret. Hikaru would occasionally pass notes to him through Pablo or even Chinen, always with a time and a place, and they would meet up for a few moments. Hikaru had asked him to be behind the Quidditch locker room after the Slytherin match against Ravenclaw, so he’d made up some excuse to his friends and slipped from the stands to wait.
It was a bit fun, he had to admit, and when Hikaru had shown up, snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes and his bangs, his eyes bright and happy from their win, Keito hadn’t been able to help himself, cupping Hikaru’s face with his gloved hands and pulling his head down for a kiss. Hikaru had stared at him once he drew away, looking completely stunned, Keito worried for a moment that his actions had been too over the line. But then Hikaru just smiled even more than before, his face pink all the way to his ears, pulling Keito in for a tight hug before kissing his cheek and slipping away again. The memory of the kiss had been enough to hold him over until their next tutoring session, catching himself smiling randomly during class, or when he was supposed to be doing his homework. In some ways the secrecy was exciting, but once they’d parted ways Keito always missed Hikaru immediately, wishing they could be more open. He knew he should ask about it, because he didn't really want to sneak around the castle like they were, but he was afraid of what Hikaru might do or say. Hikaru acted so different when they were alone, and Keito didn’t want to jeopardize those moments.
These moments, Hikaru pulling himself to his feet and standing next to Keito, nudging him with an elbow, a grin on his face.
“Well?” He asked again. “What do you want to practice with?”
Keito didn’t answer; he couldn’t, the blush on his face too heavy to pull his gaze up from his feet. Hikaru laughed, the affection in his tone making Keito smile.
“Come on, Keito!” He exclaimed, nudging him again. “At least look at me.”
Hikaru’s face was closer to his than he expected when he finally complied so Keito took that as an invitation, placing another kiss on Hikaru’s lips. He liked kissing Hikaru; he liked the soft and gentle touch, he liked the little jump it gave his heart, and he loved the way Hikaru would look at him, seemingly starstruck for a moment before his face would turn pink. He liked being the one that made Hikaru blush for once, instead of the other way around. This time, Hikaru covered his face with his hands, rubbing at his cheeks. Keito had to smile.
“Is there anything here that’s a good middle ground between a pillow and the dodgeballs?” Keito finally asked, in answer to Hikaru’s question, who had to think for a moment before coming up with an answer.
“Um… I think the professor has some editions of Witch Weekly in his office.” Hikaru straightened up, turning in that direction before he caught the doubtful expression on Keito’s face. “Oh, don’t look like that.” He said. “I think you can do it. I know you can! If you can affect my heart rate, you can affect the velocity of a magazine.”
Then he properly turned to get the magazine editions he had mentioned, Keito having to stand there and let the flirty--and, admittedly, quite terrible--line sink in, Hikaru looking abashed by the corny awfulness of what he had said when he returned. This was a Hikaru that Keito knew for a fact he would never, ever see in front of anyone else, and he finally let out the question that had nagged at him since Hogsmeade.
“Why don’t you want anyone to know about us?”
It wasn’t what Hikaru was expecting to hear, and his reaction was what Keito had feared. The mood completely faded as Hikaru’s face fell, letting the magazines in his hand go. They hit the floor together with a loud ‘slap’. After a painful stretch of silence, Keito gave a few of the reasons he’d had the time to think up, not wanting to look at Hikaru’s face.
“Are you embarrassed of me? Do you just… Not like me as much as I thought?”
“Keito, it’s not--”
“My sense of style is just as bad as Daiki's, and you can’t afford to be seen with me in public?”
The last one was meant to be a tension breaker, and though Hikaru did smile a bit, it wasn’t enough to make a difference.
"Of course not, Keito. That's ridiculous. I don't care in the slightest what clothes you wear. My fashion is too bad to judge anyone else either, I think I've had the same scarf for the past two years, and--"
He was stalling, now trying to avoid the question, and Keito could tell by the nervous tic in his hands, the way he was twirling his wand between his fingers.
"So what is it?" He prompted, bringing them back to the original question. Hikaru let out a breath, seemingly holding in some sort of wince.
"I just... I don't want other people to know, I guess."
"You are embarrassed of me." That had been the number one explanation Keito had working for him, and its affirmative answer was the scariest, the main reason he hadn't asked yet. It was exactly what he had been dreading to hear: Hikaru didn't want people to think of Keito as his boyfriend because something about him made Hikaru ashamed to associate.
"No!" Hikaru said quickly, hurrying forward in such haste that he nearly slipped on the magazines. "That's not it at all. It's not you."
"Not me?" Keito echoed. He didn't understand at all what Hikaru was trying to say, especially with how strangely apologetic he looked.
"It's... Well, it's me, I guess."
It's not you, it's me. The stereotypical phrase played over in Keito's head a few times, and he swallowed roughly.
"What do you mean?"
"You're a Gryffindor." Hikaru said, gesturing to him as though that explained everything. Keito just stared back at him.
"So?" He couldn't help but ask after a few moments of silence.
"You're a Gryffindor, and I'm... a Slytherin."
Hikaru said his house name quietly, almost as though it were an Unforgivable Curse, but Keito still didn't understand what he was getting at.
"How does that matter?" He asked. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Hikaru didn't answer his questions right away, just looking at Keito with incredibly soft eyes.
"See, this is part of what makes you so great." He said, and Keito didn't know what to say. He didn't need to say anything though, Hikaru continuing. "I guess you haven't really noticed it because you're in Gryffindor house, but... People still hate Slytherins, you know." He sat back down on the pillow, his legs crossed, and this time Keito sat down with him, tucking his legs under himself and resting his palms on his thighs. He had noticed--it was hard not to--but he still didn't understand what Hikaru was getting at.
"Why does that change anything?”
"Because we were on the wrong side in most of history, for one. You heard what Inoo said when they saw us at Honeydukes."
Keito did remember. It had been an offhand, joking phrase; I was wondering what a self-respecting Gryffindor was doing, hanging out with a Slytherin like you. He’d taken it as a jab at Hikaru’s troublemaking personality, not a reference to a lingering stigma and old prejudices. It was a stigma that Keito had never much understood and certainly didn't care for. People should be judged by their individual worth, not mistakes of the past.
"But... You're not...?"
"Of course I'm not!" Hikaru exclaimed quickly, his following apologetic expression showing that he had spoken louder than he had meant to. "I’m even a half blood, I don’t have any… Backwards ideas about people. But that doesn't matter; everyone just sees the Slytherin crest on my robes and makes their own assumptions. And you're from Gryffindor house. I'm just trying to protect you."
"Protect me?" Keito echoed.
"People would talk, with a Gryffindor and a Slytherin dating each other."
"You don't know that." Keito tried. Gryffindor and Slytherin house were often pitted against each other in history books and games young witches and wizards played as kids, but Keito didn't want to think it would carried any further than that. Hikaru however, shook his head, the conviction in his eyes surprising Keito when he spoke again.
"We would get harassed, Keito. And I don't want that for you, okay?"
"...okay." Keito finally said, and Hikaru looked apologetic, leaning in a bit to give him a kiss.
"Don't ever think I'm embarrassed of you, or any of that nonsense. I think you're wonderful."
"Okay." That was a bit easier to accept, Hikaru smiling at him until Keito smiled back. It was hard for him to see a happy expression on Hikaru's face and not respond in kind.
Hikaru reached over, stretching long to reach the magazines on the floor, Keito taking a quick glance at the tabloids as Hikaru stockpiled them in his lap before getting to his feet.
"Come on." He said, helping Keito up as well. "We have a spell to master, and I think you're almost there."