Pleased by Cass’ almost immediate reaction to his question, Vincent hummed. He nodded even as the blonde trailed off. He remembered clearly; it was a defining moment in both their lives and not one he’d soon forget. Since that day in fact, Vincent’s life had grown a little bit brighter. That was the day, really, he attributed to the sun shining upon him. Still, he continued on without further comment to bare his soul, just the tiniest bit. It was clever, in a way, to do so by attributing it to the sonnet. Vincent could feel his heart pounding rapidly in his chest even as he spoke, appraising Cass’ reactions all the while. He half wished the big Gryffindor would just catch on already, while the self-preservative portion of his brain continued to talk in deniable riddles.

Finally, Vincent paused. He tucked his hands under his cheek to keep from touching Cass again, instead eyeing him with all the intensity of one waiting for the final judgement. When the words ’I know you do’ fell from Cass’ lips, Vincent almost sat up abruptly. Instead, he sucked in a held a breath. How could Cassian know all this time? Vince’s mind supplied. He couldn’t possibly, not really. And, as if to confirm the negative little voice in the back of Vince’s head, the blonde dropped the word brother into a following sentence and Vincent felt all the air push out of lungs.

He felt as if someone had slapped him.

Blinking green hues at the other, Vince tried to keep the frown that threatened to darken his features at bay. He couldn’t be upset without revealing to Cass the reason why, and yet… he struggled to school his features. A forced laugh escaped the Slytherin and Vince rolled over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. Outside, the rain had begun to pour harder.

Well that was certainly not what he had been expecting, but he shouldn’t be surprised perhaps. It was so obvious in the way Cass was that he didn’t feel the same. Vincent had been kidding himself for a second there that he might. Still, the niggling little feeling in the pit of his gut dared him to push the boundary anyway. What was the worst that could happen? Cass could certainly reject him, but was it really in the Gyffindor’s nature to be nasty about it? Vince scrunched his nose at the thought. He didn’t think so, not at least to him, but… Maybe he was blinded by these heavy, rose-colored glasses he carried around where the other was concerned. Self-preservation was a booming instinct, one that Vince had learned early on.

Turning back to gaze at the blonde, he debated just shoving Cass over playfully and changing the subject. Green eyes made the mistake of flicking back over his friend’s face however and Vincent caught himself sinking. He could hear his own heart pounding in his ears; it was deafening in a way that was unfamiliar to the Slytherin and frankly, quite disconcerting. Cass just looked so… vulnerable, so openly honest. Vince raised a hand to touch him again, hovering just above the Gryffindor’s shoulder. He could shove and sit up, and this would all be over. Instead, Vincent decided to take a leap of faith.

He didn’t know what possessed him to do so, maybe something in the honestly behind Cass’ gentle blue gaze, but in the next moment Vincent felt his hand settle on the blonde’s face rather than his arm. It was a feather-light touch, barely there, and he let out a shallow breath as he did so. He debated saying something along the lines of I don’t want to be a brother but that felt too brazen, even for this particular moment. Once those words slipped from his lips, there was no way to plausibly deny them anyhow. No, Vince was not so bold as to say much of anything. Instead, he sucked in a deep breath - heart still pounding in his eardrums - and pressed forward, carefully finding Cass’ lips with his own. As soon as he did so, the hand on the other’s cheek moved to hook around his neck almost automatically and Vincent shut his green eyes quickly to keep from having to see the aftermath. He didn’t pull away.

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   Cassian Valenduris