Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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Thoma cleared his throat nervously, subconsciously fiddling with his fingers. His palms were sweaty, his heart racing. He cleared his throat again, taking a deep breath before blurting the words out.

“Hey, um, Ayato.. W-wanna go to the Yule ball with me next month?”

With the words finally out, Thoma waited nervously, heart racing.

…

…

“Dude. Even a house-elf would have to hesitate before accepting that kind of request.”

Thoma turned his head, glaring at the person who just spoke. Tomo lay on his bed, lazily eating a chocolate frog while looking through the latest edition of Seeker Weekly. Tama, his white feline companion, was lounging next to him in a position similar to her owner, daintily licking her paws as she watched the two, unimpressed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping me?” Thoma frowned, crossing his arms. “What happened to guiding me with, in your words, The Mysteries of Love and Romance?”

Tomo tossed his magazine to the side and lifted his legs, using the momentum to snap himself up to a seated position. Show-off. Tama hissed at the sudden jerking of the bed, displeased. “Whoops, sorry Tama.” Tomo chuckled, giving the cat a placating scratch to her ears before facing Thoma. “Just giving you the honest truth there, buddy. Ayato’s gonna have the entire cohort queuing for a chance to ask him out to the ball, a nervous question like that won’t make an impression on him, man. You gotta sweep him off his feet! Show him that you’re serious about it!”

Thoma sighed, collapsing onto his bed next to Tomo’s, lifting his arm to press on his eyes in frustration. “Ayato’s not Kazuha, ok? Kazuha’d would eat up any ridiculous thing you do, as long as it’s you. That’s always been the case even before you asked him out. Ayato has standards, I can’t just let loose one of the Weasley’s Wildfire Whiz-bangs in the middle of the Great Hall while screaming for him to go to the ball with me, ok? You know he hates the extra attention. Besides, he’s the Head Boy, he’s obliged to dock our house points and send me for detention.”

“Hmm, that’s true. Kazu’s a real gem, huh?” Tomo’s voice turned honey-sweet, his eyes gaining a faraway look. “You know, he’s been wanting to go to Honeydukes for our date to Hogsmeade tomorrow? Something about buying more sugar quills for his sweet-tooth. He also bought us matching sweaters as it’s getting cold lately, what did I do to deserve- Oof!”

Tomo was interrupted by Thoma’s pillow that was hurled directly towards his face.

“Shut up, shut up,” Thoma groaned. “I don’t need to be reminded of your perfect romance with Kazuha. Some people are trying to confess here, hello? Why is this so hard? I should just give up on trying to ask him to the ball at this point. Can’t I just wait for his birthday next year?”

Tomo pushed the pillow to the side, face taking up a more serious expression.

“Look, my dude. You and Ayato are practically attached at the hips, but with this ridiculous ‘bro’ thing you guys have going on, nothing’s going to change unless you do something, what with how busy the guy is. You’ve been pining after him for a year, man! Besides, the Yule ball being announced as a yearly thing now is the best opportunity for you to finally ask him out. As the Head Boy, he would have to attend, so there’s no excuse there, yeah?”

Two days ago at breakfast, the Headmistress of Hogwarts, Professor Ei, had announced in a deadpan voice that the Yule ball, an event that used to occur only with every Triwizard tournament, would now be held every year right before the Christmas break. Shortly after, it had become the buzz of the town, everyone discussing their dates for the ball. It wasn’t a surprise that Tomo, in true Tomo fashion, had to make his dramatic invitation at breakfast the very next morning, even though he and Kazuha had already been going out since the start of the year.

Thoma moaned dramatically. “Why must you keep bringing up the “bro” thing? I swear, it was just one time, and it slipped out when I was nervous, ok?”

Tomo flung his hands up in mock surrender.

“Welp, you do you, man. But time’s a-ticking, and Ayato won’t stay single and available for long.”

--

Thoma had been crushing on Ayato for more than a year. Honestly, it was probably longer than that, but Thoma was only able to put a name on that fluttering, hard to breathe feeling whenever he was around the man awhile back.

They met when they were first years, the two of them ending up next to each other by coincidence while waiting for their turns to be sorted into their respective houses. Thoma was nervous and fresh-faced, having just moved alone to the city to live with his aunt so that he could attend the magical institution. The day he received his letter was a surprise to his large, all-Muggle family, but they were delighted and supportive of this discovery. Their family wasn’t very well-off, and Thoma’s parents did their best to scrape up enough funds to send him to live with his aunt. Thoma was grateful, as he knew it wasn’t an easy feat for them, what with having 5 children to raise. But with this knowledge came the added pressure to do well, to not mess up and embarrass himself in this new and unfamiliar world he had been thrust into.

Thoma glanced nervously at the boy standing next to him. Unlike Thoma’s nervous fidgeting, the boy was perfectly poised, the picture of calm and elegance. Though he was dressed in the standard issue robes like everyone else, it looked almost royal on him, draped perfectly across his frame and accentuating his sharp features. His hair was a silvery blue, swept neatly into a ponytail. Thoma could hear the girls in front of them giggling, turning around to steal glances at the boy every so often. He could make out the snide remarks made by a group of rowdy boys to the back of the line, making fun of a kid who was still clutching on to a soft toy for comfort.

Thoma slouched further into himself. At the age of 13, he had still not had his major growth spurt, and he felt like a tiny bundle of nerves as the vice-headmistress, Professor Kujou Sara, continued to call out names before placing a worn, beaten-down and honestly nasty looking hat on the first years’ heads.

At his movement, the boy standing next to him turned his head, meeting his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

Man, even his voice sounded like a prince’s.

“Y-yeah,” Thoma stuttered, scratching the back of his head nervously. “Um, it’s my first time here. Just a little nervous, that's all, haha.”

He immediately wanted to slap himself. Idiot! They were all first years, it was everyone’s first time here, duh! Right before he could dig himself a hole in the ground, the boy chuckled gently, a small smile on his face.

“Everyone here is new to all this, regardless of whether they have a magical background. You’ll be fine. Besides,” he whispered, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. “There’s lots to look forward to here.”

Before Thoma could ask him what he meant, a small crack sounded from the back of the line, followed by a few yelps. Whipping his head back, Thoma spotted the rowdy group at the back clutching their heads as soft fluffy ears, not unlike a soft doll’s, sprouted from their heads. Professor Kujou merely glanced up from her list of names, glancing over at them disinterestedly before returning her attention to the list.

Thoma stared incredulously at the boy next to him. In lieu of an explanation, he smiled and stretched out a pale hand. “My name is Kamisato Ayato. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Ayato was sorted into Slytherin.

Thoma, to his great scepticism, was placed into Gryffindor by the gruff and frankly bad smelling sorting hat.

But despite all his anxiousness at the start, Thoma soon started to thrive in Hogwarts, having warmed up enough to start being his usual sociable self. He formed a tight-knit group with his fellow housemates Tomo and Yoimiya, while knowing almost everyone else on a first-name basis. However, he would never forget the intriguing and elegant boy he met on his first day at Hogwarts, admiring him from afar in Slytherin and Gryffindor’s shared potions classes. It was only in his second year, when Yoimiya dragged her new friend Ayaka into the group, who in turn introduced her older brother to the group, did Thoma and Ayato start to get closer.

The rest, from there, was history.

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