title: sorting
rating: pg-13 (?) (slight mentions of alcohol, pda)
words: 2124
summary: domon wonders if the sorting hat was right. ichinose helps him confirm it was
notes: yoooo harry potter au!! seems all i ever finish is ichido. here take this gay thing
The dining hall erupted in cheers as the proud first year stood up from his seat, a wide grin on his face. The brunette took the hat off and set it on the stool, starting for the Gryffindor table. “Congrats, Kazuya!” Another boy called, gesturing to him and patting the empty seat next to him.
The boy sat down with a grin, wondering who would be called up next.
His grin widened. His best friend was about to get sorted. He crossed his fingers under the table as the other went up to the stool the hat sat on, hoping he’d get sorted into the same house.
The pureblood wiped a bead of nervous sweat from his brow and swallowed his fear, going up and sitting down on the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on his head and he squeezed his eyes shut, almost in fear of what the hat would announce.
It took a bit. The hat seemed to contemplate it’s choices, but soon burst out with a loud yell of “Gryffindor!”
The hall once again erupted in cheers, the tall, nervous boy standing up and taking the hat off, starting for the Gryffindor table. Was the hat right? Maybe he was better off in Ravenclaw or something.. Wasn’t Gryffindor the house for the brave at heart?
Those thoughts soon faded away, however, when he saw Ichinose’s wide grin as he jumped up from the table and startled the other with a quick, tight hug, pulling him to sit down at the table.
Maybe he was just overthinking things. Maybe Gryffindor was the house for him. Either way, he was stuck here. Might as well get used to it.
It was three years later, and Domon was still having his doubts. Gryffindor was the house of heroes, the house of strong willed, courageous students who didn’t back down from a challenge. He really didn’t fit in here. He sighed, hunching over his work. He had to study for a big test tomorrow, and the information just wasn’t sinking in. He couldn’t help but worry about his sorting, about how he felt so out of place here. He never told anyone, though, Ichinose seemed so happy to have him in the same house that he never even dared to bring up his doubts.
The door to the dorm room was thrown open and an elated Ichinose started in, Mark and Dylan by his side “Hey, Domon!!” He called, going over to him “Studying for that Potions test tomorrow?” The other just nodded, trying to immerse himself in his work.
The brunette wasn’t letting up, however “We just went and visited Aki and Nishigaki, found them wandering around by the Hufflepuff dorm room and figured we’d catch up after not seeing eachother for awhile. Man, being in separate houses from your friends is tough..” He wandered over to his bed and flopped down on it, giving an exasperated sigh.
That only worsened Domon’s anxiety about the whole house thing. Mark and Dylan decided they were gonna go wander around for awhile and left, the dorm empty except for Domon and Ichinose. Ichinose stood up from his bed and went over to where Domon sat by the fire, taking the empty seat next to him “Can I study with you?? Lost my notes, I’m kinda screwed for this test if ya don’t let me.” He chuckled lightly, giving a small grin.
Domon smiled back “Of course you can. I don’t want you to fail Potions class or anything.”
The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, looking over the notes for the test. Domon couldn’t focus, however, and he suspected that Ichinose noticed this.
The brunette put an arm around the taller boy’s shoulders “Hey, you alright? You look kinda spacey.” Domon just sighed lightly, leaning into him a bit “Yeah, I’m.. I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.”
Ichinose sighed a bit “Aw, c’mon, I’ve known you all my life. That’s not the face of a happy Domon.” He just chuckled lightly “Mm, guess you’re right. I’m kinda troubled right now, I wouldn’t wanna bother you with my problems.”
“Domon, c’mon.. You can tell me anything, you know that.”
“Alright, alright, fine, I’ll tell you. It’s.. something that has been bothering me for awhile. Since we got into Hogwarts, even.”
He sighed, taking a moment to steel his nerves “I guess.. I feel that I don’t fit in in Gryffindor. Gryffindor is the house of bravery and courage, it’s for those strong of will and.. I don’t fit that. I haven’t done anything special, why did the Sorting Hat put me in here? I think I’d fit in more in, I dunno, Ravenclaw or something. They’re wise, right? I didn’t wanna voice my frustrations since you seemed so happy to be in the same house as me, and I figured the feeling would subside soon after being sorted, but it didn’t..” He stopped talking, not entirely sure what to say next. He looked up at Ichinose to find a concerned look on his friend’s face, almost as if he was thinking hard.
He was about to say something, possibly bring the brunette back to reality before the other moved to take his hands in his, still looking at him intently “Domon. You belong here, trust me. Mark, Dylan, anyone else could tell you those exact same words.”
“No buts, Domon. Now, I need you to believe me here. You. Belong. In. Gryffindor. I can’t think of anyone else who fits in better. Well, other than Endou, but that’s besides the point.” He chuckled a bit, smiling sheepishly as his facial expression softened “You belong here. You know me, I don’t lie about this kind of thing.”
The other just sighed lightly again, looking down at their hands as Ichinose ran a thumb over the back of his. “But… But how would you know that?”
Ichinose just gave him a concerned look as he looked up from their hands, a stern expression on his face.
“How can you say that when I’m the one who’s always been just your shadow all your life?”
The brunette paused, eyes wide, giving him a look of complete and utter surprise.
“I mean, you’ve always been better than me at everything.. I wouldn’t be surprised if you passed that Potions test tomorrow without studying, really. You always seem to be the center of attention. I can’t compete with that.”
Ichinose’s look turned to one of shock “Domon..”
Coming back to reality and realizing what he said, Domon pulled his hands away from Ichinose’s “Oh god,” He started, putting his face in his hands “I-I’m so sorry I didn’t really mean that..”
“Then why did you say it?..”
Domon paused, keeping his face hidden in his hands. Ichinose just reached out and hesitantly rested his hand on the other’s cheek, stroking it lightly.
“I had no idea you felt that way.. Domon, I can tell you right here right now, and if you give me the time I can prove it to you, that you aren’t just my shadow.”
Domon slowly moved to uncover his face, looking at him with a nervous glint in his eye “..How?”
He smiled a bit, softly “Gimme a minute, alright? I’m quite sure I can prove it. I mean, I know you better than anyone else here. Have faith in me, please.”
He lowered his hands to his lap, looking at Ichinose almost expectantly “..Okay, fine.”
The brunette’s smile turned into a slight grin and he moved to rest his other hand on Domon’s cheek, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.
It took him a few moments to process what was happening, and even once he did he had no idea what to do. Ichinose had kissed him once before, but that was when they were third years, out behind The Three Broomsticks, and Ichinose had drunk a bit too much butterbeer. Domon had brushed that off as the butterbeer’s fault and pushed it to the back of his head—though if he had to admit, he remembered it every now and then and almost regretted not reciprocating. He’d never admit it, however.
Ichinose had pulled away by the time he realized he should have kissed back (because, in all honesty, he kinda wanted to), just smiling lightly at Domon.
The taller boy paused, still frozen in place “…Did you get ahold of some butterbeer earlier or something?”
The brunette laughed, a light chuckle that reminded Domon even more of that day “No, of course not. The Hogsmeade excursion isn’t for a few days.”
“I figured it’d help. Get your mind of things, relax, you know.”
Domon just arched an eyebrow, a questioning look crossing his face “Can’t say I’m relaxed.”
He chuckled again, scooting himself a bit closer “Aw, c’mon, you can at least say that you aren’t focused on what you said earlier anymore?”
He sighed lightly, smiling a bit and shaking his head in near disbelief. This guy was a handful “Yeah, I see what you mean.”
Ichinose tilted his head a bit, his hands still on Domon’s cheeks. He glanced away, a sheepish smile on his face “Could I, maybe, you know.. Do that again?”
Domon paused, then nodded. Ichinose looked back to him and leaned in again, kissing him lightly and slipping his eyes closed. It took a few seconds, but Domon finally got his chance to reciprocate, closing his eyes and leaning into him, moving to drape an arm around the brunette’s shoulders.
He kept the kiss gentle, chaste. Soon pulling away, Ichinose just lightly stroked his cheek with one hand, smiling almost adoringly at Domon.
It made the other’s insides melt.
“I really don’t see why you think you’re less than me. If anything, you’re better.” He spoke, moving his hands to rest lightly on Domon’s shoulders.
Domon arched an eyebrow “Nah, you’re just saying that. I’m not better.”
“No way, man! You’re a Pureblood. Much better than some ol’ Muggleborn like me.”
He huffed a quiet sigh “Ichinose, putting yourself down isn’t going to help me here.”
He smiled sheepishly, glancing away a moment “I know, I know, just… Gimme a sec here. If it’s one thing I’m not good at, it’s helping people out with stuff like this.”
'You're doing a pretty damn good job.' Domon thought to himself as Ichinose leaned in again, giving him another small kiss.
This was working much better than any words could.
They kept at this for a bit, Ichinose giving him kisses and reassuring him of his greatness every time he pulled away. After awhile, Domon stopped arguing, finding himself enjoying the attention more and more with every word, every move of the other’s lips (that he also found himself wanting to capture in his own more and more, but that was almost besides the point). After a while, Ichinose pulled away and just rested his forehead on Domon’s, gazing into his eyes with a smile.
“Is that enough proof for you?”
“Aw, damn…” Ichinose muttered to himself as they got their Potions test back a day later, resting his chin in his hand “Flunked it.”
Domon arched an eyebrow, grinning slightly and leaning sideways to sneak a peek at the brunette’s grade “You sure you didn’t fail it on purpose to make me feel like I’m better than you at something?”
Ichinose met his gaze and grinned back “No, of course not. You were always better than me at Potions anyways. Remember that Amortenia accident earlier this year? Rika’s still stuck on me.”
“And besides,” He started, setting his test paper down and grinning a bit wider “We never finished studying.”
Domon chuckled lightly, glancing away and resting a hand on the back of his neck as a trace of color rose to his cheeks “Right.. We didn’t.”
His test was handed to him and he groaned “I didn’t do too well either.”
Ichinose just leaned over and looked at it “Hm, better than mine. See, you are better than me at something.” He looked to Domon with a slight grin, that same one that made Domon feel nervous butterflies but also feel really warm at the same time “Told you.”
Domon chuckled, his expression softening “Yeah.. Guess you really did prove it to me, huh.”
All the while, Rika was in the back of the class, audibly fawning over Ichinose. Domon mentally groaned. That was really beginning to get on his nerves, especially after the day previous. They’d have to find an antidote for the Amortenia soon.
