poxi3

sahm | writer for funsies

[poxi3]

Hi everyone! I’m going to make a little introduction post and pin it 🤗 my name is poxi3, I’m a 33 yr old stay at home mom, and live in the United States. My hobbies include, but are not limited to: writing (duh), video games, painting, reading, and crochet. Irl I’m pretty introverted, but tend to be a little bit more extroverted online, like most people lol. Anyway, if you read my stuff I hope you like it! If not, that’s okay, come hang out anyway!

My ao3

or if you would rather read them on here:

Teachers Pet (Complete overall, will be posting a new chapter every few days)

In Every Life (Complete, one shot)

Bloodwedded (Complete, will begin posting once Teachers Pet is done)

[poxi3]

Teachers Pet - ch. 17 of 20 Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley Rating: E Status: Complete Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again. He was wrong. Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated. Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn

“I think you’ve also known that it’s mutual for a while, too. Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know. But I do know that you don’t get to do that. I’m not letting you hide behind…” he gestured vaguely towards Sebastian. “That, because you don’t want to voice your feelings.” 

When he looked at Sebastian, his face was stern, but his eyes pleaded. The pit in Sebastian’s stomach dropped out completely. 

“But if you already know, and I already know—“ 

Garreth shook his head. “No. We’ve danced around the truth for too long. I don’t want to avoid it anymore. I’m tired.” 

Sebastian didn’t see Garreth until Monday during lunch. He was sitting at the teachers table with Rosie when Garreth walked in. Sebastian ignored how his stomach dipped at the sight, and tried not to stare too hard. He immediately knew something was off when, after they made eye contact, the only type of greeting Sebastian got was a small, polite smile. Garreth did not come up to talk to Sebastian or even Rosie. He just sat down, ate, then left. The encounter, or lack thereof, left Sebastian feeling a bit deflated. He knew he had messed up, but a small part of him hoped that a few days apart would have helped. The rest of the week dragged on, painfully slow. Sebastian tried—and almost failed a few times—to give Garreth space. He busied himself with his teaching, putting extra care and attention into his students in the hopes that seeing them succeed would lighten his mental load. His attempt had been successful, until the last class filed out and he was by himself in his classroom on Friday afternoon. The lack of chatting students left room for his melancholy mood to seep back in. His eyes were absently fixed on the wardrobe that held a boggart when he suddenly got flashes of when he was a student in that same classroom. 

He remembered one day, Professor Hecat was having them duel, she had paired up Sebastian with Garreth—hindsight told him she did it on purpose. Regardless, the memory replayed in bits and pieces: Garreth fixing his inhumanly green eyes on Sebastian, his defiant smirk after a well-timed shield, and how his Gryffindor cronies congratulated him even though he didn’t win. Sebastian remembers being annoyed how Garreth was friends with everyone. How can someone get along with everyone? Something unsettling rose in his chest, why was he remembering that? A random day when they were sixteen and still hated each other. At the question, the same nagging voice from all the other times told him that wasn’t what it was. That he knew what it was, how long this had been in the making. The voice urged him to reexamine the memories in a different light. Sebastian grumbled internally and turned off the light, having no desire to hear the same tired piece of information. 

Even so, with his eyes mentally screwed shut and his hands over his ears, Sebastian knew he had to fix this. Just as soon as he accepted that, a nauseating dread crept in: what if Garreth flat out rejected him? Said he had no interest in talking? Sebastian sighed heavily and rubbed the heel of his hands against his eyes. Only one way to find out. He exhaled a resigned breath, and went to close up everything in the classroom. Once the main door was locked, he made his way down to the dungeons. On the way, he kept his attention focused on the path as he tried to quell the storm of nerves he was feeling. However, as he reached the door to the classroom and saw it was empty, he frowned. Sebastian walked in and peeked into the store room, but found nothing. The dread he felt from earlier resurfaced at the thought that now he had to actually go find Garreth. He was most likely in his room, but it still unnerved him. Sebastian rubbed the side of his neck and left the empty room, forcing himself to just go. To suck it up, walk up to his door and—

Sebastian was suddenly facing Garreth’s door, thinking that he had never been more nervous to knock on a piece of wood before. He looked to make sure no one was around and knocked quietly. It felt like time had stopped as he waited, his hands were sweaty and his stomach was in knots. As soon as the door opened and he saw Garreth, he didn’t have time to register that the knots had loosened because he was pushing his way in, panicking as if someone was chasing him. 

“Where’s the fire?” Garreth asked as he stepped aside and closed the door behind Sebastian. 

“I’m sorry,” the words spilled out. “I’m so sorry, I was so stupid,” he frowned, annoyed at how he had apparently lost control of his voice, but he didn’t try to renege his apology. He meant it. And he hoped Garreth could see that. 

Garreth raised his eyebrows, and put his hands in his pockets. He tilted his head as he eyeballed Sebastian, and it only made Sebastian even more antsy. 

“What?” Sebastian asked, a touch more defensive than he had intended. 

“Nothing,” Garreth shook his head and crossed his arms. “I’m just surprised, is all.” 

“Why?” The defensiveness had been replaced by guilt. “You think I don’t mean it?” 

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… I don’t know. You don’t tend to actually say what you’re feeling.” 

The small wash of guilt grew larger at Garreth’s words. “I know. I’m… I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Garreth stepped forward and Sebastian reached out to pull Garreth's hands from where they were folded under his arms. He held them in his own and used them to pull him closer and kiss him, trying to ignore the small amount of lingering awkwardness he still felt. 

When they pulled apart, Garreth gave Sebastian’s hands a squeeze and let go, just a fraction of a second too quick for Sebastian’s liking. He brushed it aside and watched as Garreth walked over to his bed and sat down. 

“So,” Sebastian followed and kicked his shoes off before he sat across from Garreth with his legs crossed. “How was Easter?” There was a barely-there teasing tone to his voice, and he stifled a smile when Garreth rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Same as always. Annoying.” 

Sebastian studied Garreth for a moment before speaking. “Why do you keep going? If it’s always a bad or annoying visit?” 

“Because,” Garreth exhaled as if a heavy weight was being placed on him. “Not everyone in my family nags me. Some… are annoying in different ways.” 

“What does that mean?” Sebastian’s eyebrows stitched together, an odd feeling settling in him. 

“Nothing,” Garreth picked at his trousers, not looking at Sebastian. “Nothing important, anyway.” 

Something in the way Garreth answered didn’t sit right with Sebastian. “Did something happen?” 

“Barely. It’s nothing. Let’s not talk about that,” Garreth leaned his elbows on his knees and fixed his gaze on Sebastian. “How was your weekend?” 

“It was fine, boring. You know I don’t do anything except work and spend time with you and Ominis.” 

“How’s Ominis?” 

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “He’s fine. You don’t care about that,” Garreth started to reply but Sebastian cut him off. “Tell me what happened. It’s bothering you.” 

“It’s not—“ 

“Yes it is. I can tell. What happened?” 

Garreth heaved a big sigh and looked down at his hands in his lap. He glanced up at Sebastian then off to the side. “It’s nothing, really. Just my cousin being an idiot.” 

Sebastian raised his eyebrows and gestured for Garreth to continue. Garreth leaned back for a second before hunching back over. 

“Don’t be mad at me, I promise I didn’t do it on purpose. But… my mom knows that I’m… involved? Seeing? Someone. You. Specifically.” 

A distinct chill ran down Sebastian’s spine, he felt an overwhelming urge to hide. “How… how, uhm, did that happen?” 

Garreth grimaced. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to. She was nagging me and I was so annoyed and it just slipped out to get her to stop. I told her it was nothing,” Sebastian felt a stab in his stomach at the word. “Or, whatever. I don’t know. Anyway, my cousin overheard and he made some ignorant comment about you being a man.” Garreth’s voice was muffled from where it was covered by his hands. He slowly slid his hands down his face and peeked at Sebastian. 

“What did he say?” Sebastian asked, his eyes were fixed on Garreth.

“Just some stupid homophobic comment. He’s kind of known for being… like that. We don’t usually take what he says seriously. He’s got a big mouth.” 

“Don’t usually? Did you take it seriously?” 

“Well,” Garreth scratched at a spot on his arm idly, a frown appearing on his face. “Maybe? I don’t know. I just… reacted.” 

“Tell me exactly what happened,” Sebastian spoke firmly, his eyes still trained on Garreth. “Please,” he added hastily. 

Garreth pursed his lips, giving Sebastian one last hard look before he began to recount what happened. As he told Sebastian about the conversation with his mum, Sebastian noticed Garreth getting annoyed. His pulse kicked unevenly as he watched Garreth curiously. Then, when he heard Garreth’s voice get pitchy, and saw his irritation seep through as he told Sebastian what his cousin said, something in Sebastian finally settled. It was huge, and heavy, but inescapable. The thing he had been ignoring had finally had enough, it felt as though someone had gripped his face and pried his eyes open, making it impossible to look away. He had been so afraid of what he would see if he looked at it. Now that he was allowing himself to see, it threatened to topple the wall that he had perched himself on. And to his surprise, he wasn’t afraid of the fall. Sebastian blinked, suddenly seeing Garreth in a different, better light. Garreth must have noticed, because his speaking slowed for just a moment, his eyes snagged on Sebastian for barely a second, as if what just clicked for Sebastian clicked for him too. But it was over just as quickly as it started, Garreth was back to his story. 

“…I told him not to comment on the person—… the person I’m seeing, and to focus on his own failed relationships,” Garreth flushed at the word but continued on. “And then I just left. I knew if I stayed to hear what lame rebuttal he had, I probably would’ve said something a lot meaner that I would’ve regretted.” 

Sebastian felt stunned. Seeing how Garreth reacted by just telling him what happened struck him in a way he hadn’t expected. “Why?” 

Garreth looked confused. “Why what? I wasn’t going to sit there and just let him—” 

“No. Why did you defend me? We… weren’t in a good spot when you left.” 

The way Garreth stared at Sebastian was disarming and intense. When he spoke, it was quiet and measured. “You know why.” 

Another chill went down Sebastian’s spine, this time for an entirely different reason. His breath felt labored and he swore his heart skipped a beat in a weird and uncomfortable way. The desperate need to act, to do… something had returned. The same one from a few weeks ago, except this time it was deafening. He wouldn’t have been able to ignore it even if he wanted to. Sebastian leaned forward, bracing his hands on the bed and his eyes glued to Garreth. 

He wasn’t expecting Garreth to lean back and turn away at the action. And it made his heart sink. Sebastian slowly sat back, face etched with confusion as he looked at Garreth. He opened his mouth to speak, but Garreth spoke first. 

“You know why I did what I did,” Garreth swallowed thickly, his eyes flickering to Sebastian for a second. “You know I love you. I think you’ve known for longer than you realize.” 

Sebastian felt his heart thump in his chest at the admission, but it was dampened by a sense of trepidation of what was next. 

“I think you’ve also known that it’s mutual for a while, too. Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t know. But I do know that you don’t get to do that. I’m not letting you hide behind…” he gestured vaguely towards Sebastian. “That, because you don’t want to voice your feelings.” 

When he looked at Sebastian, his face was stern, but his eyes pleaded. The pit in Sebastian’s stomach dropped out completely. 

“But if you already know, and I already know—“ 

Garreth shook his head. “No. We’ve danced around the truth for too long. I don’t want to avoid it anymore. I’m tired.” 

Sebastian pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around the top. He should have known Garreth wouldn’t let him avoid this. He’s never let Sebastian hide behind his defenses for long. Even though he wanted to tell Garreth, when he thought about verbalizing it, the words felt too heavy on his tongue. He eventually lifted his head and looked up at Garreth. He tried to focus on all the things he liked—no, loved about Garreth. Maybe if he thought about them hard enough it would force the words from his mouth. As Sebastian studied Garreth’s face, he felt his heart swell. Affection pooled warmly in his gut and softened the anxiety that clouded his mind. His lips parted, and he sighed heavily as he forced himself to speak. 

“I love you.” 

As soon as the words left his mouth, it felt like they had lightened some of the weight he was holding. Sebastian’s eyebrows furrowed, and he opened his mouth again, curious. 

“I love you.” 

As he said it again, he felt something else clawing its way up. It put him on edge the smallest amount, he straightened out and looked at a spot behind Garreth. The heavy anxiety he had been feeling moments ago was rapidly lifting, but now he was starting to feel like he might float away. 

“….so much. I love you so much it’s… it freaks me out so bad,” Sebastian started to panic, his heart had taken control and clearly had no intention of relinquishing it. “I hate that you’ve, just—trampled all over all my defenses,” he huffed a shaky breath. “You’re all I think about. I constantly want to be with you, it’s overwhelming and confusing, but I don’t mind it at all. And I think… I think that’s what annoys me more than anything,” he made an exasperated face at the wall, and picked absently at his nails. “You fucked me up and have all this power over me a—“ 

Sebastian was stopped by a steady hand on his cheek. He looked over and was met with Garreth’s consistently patient look. This time, it didn’t annoy Sebastian or set him on edge, instead it smoothed out the edges of speech-inducing anxiety that boiled in him. 

“You’re so well spoken,” Garreth teased affectionately. 

A deep flush crept up Sebastian’s neck, and a nervous, pitchy laugh escaped as he looked away and then back again. “Fuck you.” 

Garreth laughed, and then hummed approvingly. “Yes… yes that is the plan.”

Sebastian waited a moment, to let the reality sink in, and when he leaned forward to kiss Garreth he put everything he could into it. And when he felt Garreth kiss back, his hands resting soundly on Sebastian’s waist, they were the only thing keeping him grounded. He couldn’t remember a time when he had felt that unburdened, and when he scooted himself into Garreth’s lap, arms snaking around his neck to pull them even closer, he thought to himself he wanted to make the most of it. 

[thecollectibles]

Bougie Cat & Ghost by Lane Brown

[poxi3]

Teachers Pet - ch. 16 of 20 Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley Rating: E Status: Complete Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again. He was wrong. Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated. Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn

Ominis wasn’t expecting an actual admission. Sebastian’s verbalizing only meant one of two things: his situation with Garreth was either really good, or really bad. Ominis had a gut feeling it was the latter. 

“What happened? Did he…?” 

“No,” Sebastian frowned. “Not yet, anyway.” 

“What did you do?” 

Sebastian began to argue, but hesitated. He hated that it was implied that he was at fault, but he couldn’t lie. It usually was his fault. 

“Same thing I always do,” Sebastian poked his food dejectedly. “Withhold. Hesitate. Deny…”

If someone were to look into the Weasley household from the outside, it would be the very picture of comfort and hospitality. However, Garreth felt neither of those things as he was interrogated by his mother for the umpteenth time. He avoided her relentless eye contact by playing with one of his baby nephews, only half-listening to her rambling as he played with the baby’s chubby little hands. 

“Garreth, honey,” his mom sighed, leaning across the table toward him. “I don’t know why you’re so against settling down. There’s nothing wrong with it.” 

“I’m not against it, mum,” he pulled his attention away from the baby for a moment to look at her. “I’m against your nagging about it.” 

She pursed her lips and watched him for a long moment. The longer she was quiet, the more anxious Garreth became. Extended silences were usually followed by particularly pointed lectures, littered with feeble attempts at setting him up with someone. He felt a sense of preparatory agitation grow more and more as time dragged on. By the time she spoke, he was trying not to go off on a tangent. 

“I just—… you’re almost thirty. You don’t think it’s time to start taking this seriously? All of your siblings have already married.” The sound of people chatting happily and kids laughing felt sharp and ragged against her desperate words and melancholy face. 

“Exactly. So why do you keep bothering me about it?” The words came out harsh. He kept his eyes down because he knew she would be hurt by the look on his face. 

“I just want you to be happy,” she reached out and laid a gentle hand over his arm. A moment later, his sister came and took her baby back, Garreth mouthing a cheerful, “Bye-bye!” As he handed the infant over. 

“I am happy,” he looked his mother straight in the eye, the smile he wore seconds before had vanished and was replaced with weariness. Garreth knew his face did not support his assurance otherwise. The frustration he felt at that moment was too strong. 

She eyed him suspiciously. “Are you?” 

At her question, he felt another wave of resentment surface. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, focusing on biting his tongue. “Yes, mother.” 

“Are you sure? Do you remember Stephanie? Miller? Her daughter—“ 

“Seriously?!” He snapped at her, eyes flying open and shooting her an incredulous look. 

“Okay, sorry! What about that boy—“ 

“Mum! Stop!” 

“Why?” Her voice raised, matching the angry energy that was radiating off of Garreth at her renewed insistence on setting him up. 

“I don’t—“ he started, but was cut off. 

“Why can’t you just give it a chance?! Why is that so—“ 

Her words made the anger inside him boil over, clouding his judgement. He rubbed a hand over his face, putting all his mental capacity into not blurting something out. And yet, as she continued on in her frantic rambling, he felt himself losing that battle. The words left his mouth before he had any chance of stopping them. 

“Because I’m already seeing someone!” Garreth felt the faint sting of regret at the confession. He and Sebastian hadn’t even remotely broached the subject of their relationship, and Garreth knew for a fact that Sebastian would not want him telling his mother. 

Nonetheless, the words had been said, and they hung between Garreth and his mom like a boulder being held up by a string. She stared at him, wide-eyed, her lips tucked in to hide the smile on her face. Garreth rubbed the side of his neck and grimaced as he looked away. 

“It’s not—it’s nothing. Really,” he offered pathetically. He picked nervously at the table and thought the room had become louder, somehow. He didn’t notice his cousin, Steven, had walked up right when Garreth had told his mom, and was now watching curiously from the doorway. 

His mom nodded and cleared her throat. “Can I—what’s their name?” 

Garreth did not meet her gaze, thinking that maybe if he ignored everything, it would go away. 

“Okay, I’m sorry. You don’t—“ 

“Sebastian,” Garreth mumbled. He glanced up at her for a second, noticing how her eyebrows furrowed at the name. She knew who Sebastian was. Garreth had complained about him enough during their school days, but he wondered if she would make the connection. 

“Sallow?” Apparently she did make the connection, and Garreth groaned internally. 

He nodded, and was about to respond when Steven spoke up, surprising both Garreth and his mom. 

“A man?” Steven asked the question with a shocked laugh. “You’re seeing a man?” 

Garreth frowned at him. He knew Steven could be abrasive, and he didn’t want to know where he intended on taking this. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this was something that concerned you.” Garreth’s tone was biting and sarcastic, hoping it would shut him up. It didn’t. 

“I don’t care, mate,” Steven raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. “Just surprised you couldn’t manage to find a woman. Guess you had to resort to some fairy instead. You sure his name isn’t Molly?” 

The insult caused Garreth to tense up instantly, an intense and sudden need to retaliate washed over him. He folded his hands together on the tabletop to keep them from twitching from the swift mood change, and fixed his cousin with a piercing stare.

“Last I checked, you sent your last, what? Two? Girlfriends scampering away with your foul behavior. So, maybe keep your ignorant comments about the person I lo—“ Garreth stuttered for a split second, and recentered himself. “The person I’m with, and focus on your own failed relationships, mate.” 

Garreth pushed up from the table and strode out of the room, shoving past his cousin. He ignored his mothers questioning look and went outside to the garden. The sun peeked out from the clouds above, as if trying to coax Garreth from his bad mood. The wind offered a nice breeze, but it annoyed Garreth. He went and sat on an old tree stump and leaned his elbows on his knees, face in his hands. Why did he tell his mom about Sebastian? Then, to add insult to injury, he almost revealed something he had barely admitted to himself. Before, Garreth had been eager to get back to Hogwarts, despite how he had left things with Sebastian. But now, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. He wasn’t sure if he could hide this from Sebastian. Garreth knew he couldn’t; he had to tell him what happened. It was only fair. But the thought of telling him made an overwhelmingly wide pit open in his gut. A forlorn sigh escaped as he lifted his head and stared sadly out at the blooming flowers in the garden. As he mulled over his situation, an even worse thought occurred: after how Sebastian hesitated the other day in his classroom, maybe this would be the thing that finally drove him away for good. Garreth groaned and curled in on himself. He could not tell Sebastian about this. 

The sound of the back door closing made Garreth look up. His mom was walking towards him, motioning for him to scoot over. They squished next to each other, perched awkwardly on the huge old stump. A few minutes passed and she didn’t say anything, but brought a soothing warmth that made Garreth realize how much he had missed her. 

“Don’t worry about Steven,” she spoke softly, yet firmly. “I’m pretty sure he was dropped on his head more than once as a baby.” 

Garreth snorted quietly in response. 

“I’m sorry, for being so pushy. I never wanted to upset you.” 

“I know,” Garreth sighed. And he did. He knew she meant well. “You’re just so… stubborn.” 

“So are you,” she teased. “I wonder where you get it from.” She chuckled softly and snaked her arm around Garreth’s waist. “I won’t lie though—Sebastian? You two hated each other as kids.” 

“Trust me,” he ran a hand through his hair, and wrapped his arm around his moms shoulders. “I expected it even less.” 

There was another long silence between them. Distant bird calls and the wind rustling the trees were the only sounds. Garreth thought about how things had changed with Sebastian, and hoped he hadn’t fucked everything up. 

“I won’t make a big deal about it. Obviously it’s still new,” as she spoke, Garreth wondered if she could somehow read his mind. “I have to admit, though… I’ve never seen you get so defensive about someone before.” 

Her tone was a little too knowing for Garreth’s liking. He stiffened slightly, then heaved a deep breath and leaned his head against hers. 

“Neither have I.” 

“I’m happy that you’re happy. That’s all I ever wanted,” she leaned further against Garreth and hugged her other arm around his waist. “You deserve someone who makes you happy. And eventually, depending on how things go…” she spoke carefully, not wanting to upset the calm that had settled around them. “I look forward to meeting him and putting him through the ringer.” 

“Mum…” Garreth sighed a tired laugh, his mother giggled mischievously next to him. Garreth reached his other arm around her and hugged her tightly. 

“This is uncomfortable,” he mumbled against her hair as he shifted his weight on the stump.

“It is,” she laughed, hugging him just as tight. 

~

“So,” Ominis wiped his mouth with his napkin and laid it next to his plate. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Or do you intend to make me force it out of you?” 

Sebastian exhaled slowly and tapped his fork against the table. He shot Ominis a calculating look and worried the dry spot on his lip. “I’m fine.” 

“I see. We’re feeling stubborn today,” he took a sip from his drink as he waited for Sebastian to respond. When he didn’t, Ominis raised an eyebrow. “How are things…?” He didn’t bother finishing the question. Sebastian knew what he meant. 

“There are no ‘things’,” Sebastian said petulantly. 

“Right, right… of course. Your exceptionally good mood, minus today, and general lack of Garreth complaining are just coincidence… of course. My mistake.” 

“They’re fine,” Sebastian grumbled, barely audible. 

Ominis wasn’t expecting an actual admission. Sebastian’s verbalizing only meant one of two things: his situation with Garreth was either really good, or really bad. Ominis had a gut feeling it was the latter. 

“What happened? Did he…?” 

“No,” Sebastian frowned. “Not yet, anyway.” 

“What did you do?” 

Sebastian began to argue, but hesitated. He hated that it was implied that he was at fault, but he couldn’t lie. It usually was his fault. 

“Same thing I always do,” Sebastian poked his food dejectedly. “Withhold. Hesitate. Deny…” 

Ominis’ shoulders slumped. He never liked hearing Sebastian like that. Down, and unsure. It was so unlike him. “Why do you say ‘not yet’?” 

“Well, he went home for Easter, but… we didn’t part in a good place,” Sebastian let out a miserable breath and leaned his forehead against his hands. “I don’t want to go into detail, but he asked me a question, and I gave the wrong answer.” 

The weight of Sebastian’s situation began to settle in for Ominis; this was clearly more than just a random fling. “I’ve never seen you so upset over what you claim is ‘nothing’.”

“It is nothing, that’s why it’s so upsetting. Why am I sitting here… feeling like this over something so dumb?” 

“Because—and I’m just guessing here—the thing may be nothing to you, but the person it involves is not,” Sebastian began to interrupt, but Ominis spoke over him. “Don’t try to sit there and tell me I’m wrong. You know I’m not wrong. This means more than you’re willing to admit. I don’t know why you’re so against it. Having someone is nice.”

“Says the guy who keeps everyone at arms length,” Sebastian mumbled. 

“Exactly. So don’t you think if I’m telling you that, maybe there’s something for it? I won’t say it, but you know where this is headed. I know you know.” 

Sebastian scowled at Ominis, then down at his lunch. There was that same nagging, annoying voice in his head saying that yes, Ominis was right. But Sebastian cut it off before it could finish. The last thing he needed was some forced epiphany that he refused to acknowledge. No matter how many people he had in his ear telling him otherwise. The rest of the weekend went by in a daze. Sebastian was unable to focus on any type of work, his insides were a jumbled mess of nerves and remorse. He wanted nothing more than to apologize for his slip up, though he was slightly bothered by how much he wanted to reconcile. The night after he had seen Ominis, he hardly got any sleep. Then the night after that wasn’t any better. 

Despite how fervently he denied it, deep down he knew what had happened. Sebastian knew exactly why this was bothering him so much. Why all he could think of was Sunday afternoon when Garreth was supposed to come back. However, as much as he (begrudgingly) knew this to be true, he couldn’t seem to shake his instinct to retreat. The two sides of himself were at odds. One side wanted to run and pretend none of this ever happened. To go back behind the sky high walls that had been built, where it was safe and he knew what to expect. The other side of him was taking a battering ram to the walls, desperate to expose what lay on the other side. It was exhausting. He wished someone would come along and just tell him what to do. And then do it for him. 

By the time the weekend was dwindling to a close, Sebastian was pretty sure he had worn a path into the rug from all the pacing. He felt incredibly restless, the pent up anxious energy in him leaking through his collected façade. He watched the clock anxiously. Garreth didn’t say when exactly on Sunday he would be coming back, and Sebastian didn’t know if he could handle trying to find him only to end up unsuccessful. So he waited to see if Garreth would come by. However, by the time eleven p.m. rolled around, he conceded and trudged into bed. 

Hours later, when the sun had risen again and shone through his window, Sebastian felt worse than he had in a very long time. 

[vampyrahhh]

Carmilla & Laura

art by: maena.paillet

[poxi3]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Thank you to everyone who’s been reading so far here’s chapter 8!! Hope you like it thank you love you!! 💖💖

[poxi3]

Teachers Pet - ch. 15 of 20 Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley Rating: E Status: Complete Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again. He was wrong. Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated. Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn

“Why do you seem so… unbothered?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow and adjusted his weight, arms crossed over his chest. 

“She’s a baby, not a troll. But to actually answer your question, there’s a lot of babies in my family,” Sarah was currently smacking her fat little fingers against Garreth’s cheek, giggling merrily. Garreth didn’t even blink at her. “I have four nieces and nephews, and then… three? Baby cousins. All under a year old.” He finally looked down at Sarah, then back to Sebastian. “Are you just going to stand there and let her beat me up?” 

Sebastian didn’t hate babies, he just felt incredibly awkward around them. He never knew what to say, and they were so squirmy and unpredictable. It was always odd to see someone his age without kids be comfortable around a baby. So, imagine his surprise, when he saw Rosie talking to Garreth with a baby in his arms. There were several things about the scene that were unnerving to Sebastian. The mere existence of someone who wasn’t a student or a teacher at Hogwarts, for one. Then, the fact that Garreth seemed to be completely at ease holding the chubby infant. He was just talking to Rosie, the baby babbling away with her little hand wrapped around Garreth’s index finger. The unexpected dip in his stomach made him slow in his steps, but he steeled his expression and walked up anyway. 

“I never took you for a kidnapper, Weasley,” Sebastian stood in front of them, glancing at the baby before making eye contact with Garreth. 

Garreth rolled his eyes. “How kind of you,” he aimed the smile that tried to show itself down at the baby in his arms while animatedly saying hi. 

Sebastian's thoughts were clamoring to be heard, so he turned his attention to Rosie as a distraction. However, she was already looking at Sebastian, a suspicious glint in her eyes. 

“Whose baby is that?” Sebastian asked Rosie. 

“That’s my niece, Sarah. My brother came to say hi, but he’s currently being held up by the headmistress,” she sighed, an amused expression on her face. “He’s a freelance curse-breaker, so naturally she’s interrogating him about it. As most people do.” 

Sebastian simply nodded, the urge to address Garreth becoming a bigger nuisance despite his insistence to ignore it. His resolve to remain uninterested buckled for a moment as his eyes landed on Garreth. 

“Why do you seem so… unbothered?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow and adjusted his weight, arms crossed over his chest. 

“She’s a baby, not a troll. But to actually answer your question, there’s a lot of babies in my family,” Sarah was currently smacking her fat little fingers against Garreth’s cheek, giggling merrily. Garreth didn’t even blink at her. “I have four nieces and nephews, and then… three? Baby cousins. All under a year old.” He finally looked down at Sarah, then back to Sebastian. “Are you just going to stand there and let her beat me up?” 

Sebastian pursed his lips to force the corners of his mouth into a neutral position, a deadpan look on his face. He started to reply, but he could feel Rosie gawking at him and Garreth. They both picked up on her scrutiny at the same time and awkwardly looked away from each other. 

“I mean—I figure it’s about time someone put you in your place,” Sebastian tried not to grimace at the pathetic delivery of the insult. His eyes darted to Garreth, who was clearly disguising a laugh as he played with Sarah. 

Rosie didn’t say anything for what felt like much too long. She finally straightened herself out, and turned to face Garreth. “I should’ve known. You are a Weasley, after all.” 

For the rest of the conversation, Sebastian could not shake the feeling that Rosie had picked up on something. However, he added this suspicion to the cache of things he had been desperately trying to ignore. 

~

Despite what his past partners may have thought, Garreth was not a very physical person. When it came to his significant others, he did not default to hand holding, hugging, or cuddling. He found that no one was ever comfortable enough, their hands got sweaty, or he simply did not want to stay still for that long. So, when he realized that Sebastian was his opposite, he was worried at first. However, he quickly realized that he didn’t actually want to reject his advances. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Sebastian was taking longer than most to become physical, or maybe it was because of something else that Garreth had not allowed himself to examine. Regardless, Garreth was pleasantly surprised to find that his hand did not feel sweaty, Sebastian was quite comfortable, and even Garreth’s usual restlessness was easy to ignore. This isn’t to say they were all over each other, because they weren’t. But during the times they did allow some physical affection, it was easy. That afternoon after Rosie had brought her niece around, Sebastian came to his room as was their usual routine. Garreth was sitting on his bed reading, and Sebastian had fallen asleep while laying across Garreth’s lap, and he had no intention of moving any time soon. 

The setting sun cast a warm, orange light in through the window and it gave everything an almost ethereal glow, including Sebastian who was currently snoring quietly on Garreth’s lap. Maybe it was the encounter with Rosie’s niece that had Garreth in a softer, more reflective mood, but as he admired Sebastian’s sleeping form, he found himself thinking of all the ways their… whatever this was, had surprised him. There were many things that he had not expected about Sebastian. His wit, his thoughtfulness, his quiet affection. The acceptance and lack of judgement Sebastian displayed lowered Garreth’s defenses effortlessly, as if he was made to do it. The result being not only did Garreth welcome his physicality, he would seek it out. The simplest of touches would send a shock through his system, the sensation remaining long after they had separated.

If Garreth hadn’t been so taken, he’d be alarmed by how effortless everything felt. Acceptance was unhindered, any anxieties he’d had were quickly squashed, and his thoughts were frequently consumed by Sebastian. As Garreth gazed down at Sebastian, his fingers gently carding through his hair, freckles highlighted by the setting sun, he thought about how he never— 

Garreth paused. His fingers faltered for a second, eyebrows furrowed just barely, and his breath hitched in a way that made him stop and consider the weight of his situation. The realization of what he had been feeling washed over him gently, but indisputable. Everything made so much sense now. Why it all felt so easy, everything was a welcome change or surprise. This was more than just simple attraction. 

Of course it wouldn’t be that straightforward. 

He let the revelation settle within him, and it did so as if there was a spot already waiting. Nestled in comfortably with all the other bits of information that he regarded as fact. Garreth tried to figure out when he had crossed into this new, more profound territory. But he found that he didn’t really care about the specifics, and maybe it was the cloud of emotions that made his usual worries quiet. As the last strands of thread were sewn in, embedding that final piece of information, he stifled a smile, sighed deeply, and resumed the quiet movement that became second nature. 

Not long after the realization, Garreth was drifting closer to sleep when he felt Sebastian tense up. Garreth thought maybe he’d had a bad dream and woke up. Instead, all that happened was that Sebastian rolled off of his lap after a moment, and curled up on his side, facing away from Garreth. 

~

The newfound knowledge of the depth of his feelings had proven difficult for Garreth to contain. He wasn’t bursting at the seams wanting to write sonnets or recite Shakespeare, but he was having a hard time maintaining the same level of muted affection from before. It was like there was a new source of restless energy just dying to be expelled. Maybe it was because of his new perspective, but it felt like since that day, there had been increasing moments where it appeared that Sebastian was pulling back. They were small, and could be nothing, but they didn’t feel like nothing. Garreth supposed that was one downside to being in love: even minute slights stung with a pain that was difficult to ignore. Sometimes Sebastian would pull his hand away just a little too quickly, or his response to a compliment would be a touch harsher than his usual grumpy acceptance. In these moments, he would change from endearingly cranky, to distant and unfamiliar. Even so, Garreth pretended he didn’t notice. He had just entered a new part of his life that was wonderful, and he was worried that if he asked the obvious question, the answer would be something he did not want to hear. So, when Rosie approached him a week later while he was in one of the greenhouses, a knowing edge in her eye, he acted as though there wasn’t a little, negative voice clawing at the back of his mind. 

“Hello, Garreth,” Rosie spoke in a sing-song voice as she walked up to him. 

He turned from the wormwood plant he was tending and shot her an expectant look, her tone implying that she had sought him out for a specific reason. 

“Hello, Rosie. Can I help you?” He turned his attention back to the shrub as she leaned against the bench he was standing at. 

Rosie didn’t say anything for a moment, instead she shifted her weight, crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow at him. A smirk appeared behind her pursed lips. “Maybe. Depends on how honest you’re feeling today.” 

The comment piqued Garreth’s interest. He placed the pruning shears in his hand down on the surface of the table and fully turned toward her. “Honest about what?” 

“Are you, or are you not currently involved with someone?” 

Garreth tried to hide his surprise at the question by quickly turning back to the plant and pretending to inspect some of the leaves by leaning forward and squinting at them. “Hm? What was that?”

“Now, Garreth, don’t play coy. What would the Headmistress say about such deceitful behavior?” 

“Ew,” he couldn’t help the grimace that showed up. “Dont bring my aunt into this.” 

Rosie giggled, but leaned in closer. “Come on, you’re seeing someone, aren’t you?” 

Garreth hesitated and frowned while he stared at her for a moment, trying to see if maybe she was bluffing. He eventually sighed and gave in when no such thing happened. “Fine. Maybe.” 

“That’s what I thought,” she replied smugly. “And is this person you’re involved with maybe a certain coworker of ours? Grumpy, sarcastic… but secretly a big softie?” 

The flush that crept up his neck to his cheeks was something he couldn’t blot out. He cleared his throat, resigning to own up to the accusation, and straightened himself out before muttering another, “Maybe.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a wide grin spread across Rosie’s face. He closed his eyes, thinking that maybe if he wished for it hard enough, she wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. Alas, when he faced her again, she was brimming with an erratic, giddy energy. 

“Please don’t make a big deal out of it. You know how he is,” Garreth pleaded, which resulted in a dramatic pout from Rosie. It only lasted for a moment though, before she turned thoughtful. 

“I know, but he can’t ignore it forever. He’ll come around, and when he does, you two are going to hate me,” she beamed with her promise, and Garreth just groaned, unsure if he wanted to know what that even meant. “Don’t worry,” she added on. “I won’t say anything. I just wanted to know I was right.” 

She gave him a happy little pat on his arm and walked away with such a bounce in her step she may as well have been skipping. 

~

Rosie stood in front of Sebastian’s desk, hands on her hips and a teasing smirk on her face. She stared at him for a long while, studying him, as if she was trying to figure out what was going on in his head. He raised an eyebrow at her and looked at her pointedly. She didn’t reply. Her silent scrutiny continued on until his bored anticipation turned to irritation. 

Sebastian fidgeted. “What?” 

“What? Me? No. What’s going on with you?” 

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Sebastian crossed his arms and attempted to dodge the piercing look being shot at him. “Since you apparently already have an idea.” 

An exasperated laugh tumbled from Rosie. “Something—no, someone is throwing you off your game,” she pointed a finger at him. “And I have an idea of who that might be.” 

“Oh? Who?” He tensed at her statement, his grip on the parchment in his hands tightened and a muscle ticked in his cheek. Sebastian didn’t know why he asked. He already knew the answer. Apparently Rosie agreed with the unspoken sentiment. 

“You’re going to make me say it? Really?” 

Sebastian scratched at a spot behind his ear, his eyes didn’t seem to know where to land, and he kept sighing.

“I guess so, because I wasn’t aware I was being thrown off of anything,” he became even more unsettled at the fact that he clearly didn’t know when to shut up. 

She took a step forward and leaned her hands on his desk, her hazel eyes peered at him in a deeply disconcerting way. “Garreth.” 

Sebastian quickly turned back down to the stack of paper on his desk, his cheeks tinged pink and he ran a hand through his hair. His clear display of panic and distress softened Rosie a bit. She wasn’t trying to put him on the spot, but sometimes it was necessary with someone like him. 

“You know, no one would judge you,” her face went from teasing and defiant, to open and understanding. “If you had a change of heart.”

Her comment rang a bell in his head. Echoing something he had heard not too long ago and it made his skin crawl. “Everyone keeps telling me that.” 

“Hm. Maybe we’re on to something,” Rosie commented. Her tauntingly wise expression put him on edge in a way that made him want to bolt from the room and hide. Deep down, he knew she was right, but everything in him fought against it with a fervor that annoyed him more than anything. 

~

Sebastian closed the door to Garreth’s classroom behind him and walked quickly up to where he was sitting at his desk. Garreth raised his head at the noise and gave Sebastian a small smile that faltered when he saw how alarmed Sebastian was. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked as he watched Sebastian pace back and forth in front of him. 

“Rosie knows,” he sounded almost winded. “About… this,” he gestured between the two of them. 

Garreth raised an eyebrow at Sebastian. “Yeah, I know. Did she corner you too?” 

“She talked to you about it?!” Sebastian’s pacing stopped as he stared at Garreth incredulously. 

“Yeah…? What’s the big deal? It’s just Rosie,” Garreth furrowed his eyebrows and leaned forward on his elbows.

“What if someone else finds out? She knows!” Sebastian’s voice cracked slightly, his panic seeping out. 

“What? Are you embarrassed of me?” Garreth joked.

Sebastian opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. The seconds dragged on, and the longer he went without saying something, he felt the pit in his stomach grow bigger. Sebastian saw a second too late how his silence said more than he ever could. Garreth leaned back and nodded slowly as his face fell.

“Okay. Noted,” Garreth’s face flashed with a recognition that made something pull tight in Sebastian. 

A different type of panic rapidly settled in, regret sweeping over him. He took a step towards Garreth, trying to force himself to say something, anything to get rid of the expression of utter hurt on Garreth’s face. He fidgeted anxiously, vaguely wondering how he always found a way to fuck things up. 

“Garreth, I—“ 

“It’s okay,” Garreth shook his head slightly, and fixed his attention on the work in front of him. “I need to get these taken care of before I leave.” 

Surely the floor would be kind enough to open up and swallow him whole at this point. He felt like he was being pulled apart, torn between running away and going to Garreth to try and fix his mistake. Garreth did not look up at him, and when Sebastian realized that he wasn’t going to, his shoulders slumped in defeat. 

“Right, that’s right. You’re leaving tomorrow…” Garreth still did not meet Sebastian’s gaze, he simply hummed in response. His lack of reply sent Sebastian back into a spiral. Would Garreth even want to see him when he came back?

Maybe the brief time apart would help mend the rip that Sebastian had just caused. Though he doubted it. Whenever Garreth went home to his family, he didn’t exactly come back in a good mood. Sebastian sighed and wiped his hands down the front of his sweater. He did not say anything as he pivoted and trudged out of the room. 

[poxi3]

Teachers Pet - ch. 14 of 20 Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley Rating: E Status: Complete Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again. He was wrong. Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated. Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn

“Are you going to do my work for me?” He asked sardonically. 

“Maybe. How hard can it be?” 

Garreth raised his eyebrows and walked over. He stood right next to Sebastian and looked down at him, his head tilted to the side as he regarded him thoughtfully. Fucking hell. Sebastian felt himself itching to reach out for him, so he did. 

He lifted one hand and gently trailed his fingers down the side of Garreth’s forearm, the same one that had been nagging him all day. His eyes dropped to watch his hand slide down along the freckled skin and he swore he saw goosebumps emerge. Garreth didn’t say anything, or pull away, but he did raise an eyebrow at the action. 

He took the silence as permission and let his hand slip into Garreth’s.

Sebastian had never been good at displays of emotions. When he was a child, he was very openly expressive of how he felt, whether good or bad. One day, when he was about six years old, he had been inconsolable about another little boy that had picked on him. The reason had been long forgotten, but his mother’s words stuck with him even now. She hugged him in her lap and spoke in dulcet tones. 

“My love, you feel things very deeply. This is not bad, but not everyone is like this. So, there is a chance you may react more strongly to things than others.” 

He knew she meant well, but her words played on repeat into his adolescence. Unfortunately, after her untimely passing, it only became worse. For a long while, he would fly off the handle at the simplest of things. Eventually, it evened out, as the passage of time tends to allow, until he had his first “relationship” at thirteen. It was with Samantha Dale, and he was smitten, but it didn’t end well. One day, he had decided to do something for her that, in his mind, had been a simple display of affection. He gave her some flowers he thought were nice during lunch one day. The way she looked at him cut a wound that affected him so profoundly that he buried that moment deep within the darkest parts of his mind. From that day on, he resorted to guarding his emotions like his life depended on it. Not wanting to feel that intense, stabbing refusal again, and he thought the best way to accomplish that was to ignore any type of emotion that might leave him vulnerable. He had kept to that promise for nearly fourteen years, and rarely ever came close to breaking it. Even in adulthood, when he entered relationships with people he genuinely liked, hiding had become so hardwired into his psyche that he found it incredibly difficult to open up. 

So, imagine his surprise when, over a decade later, those impossibly high walls had begun to be dismantled by the very person he never—never would have suspected. Granted, the walls were still high. But Sebastian recognized the cracks in the foundation, and he attempted to fix them, but it was in vain. As if he were trying to carry water in his hands. Another thing that had caught him off guard, even though by this point it really shouldn’t have, was that being in a space where Garreth’s entire existence was undeniable, it felt easier to test his limits. Although, as time went on, he found his limits were further away than he imagined. For example, Garreth’s compliments didn’t make him want to rip his hair out. So, when he finally vocalized that he did, in fact, like that sweater on Sebastian, not only was Sebastian pleased that he had been correct, he also felt a sense of flattery instead of pure embarrassment. Moments when Sebastian reached for Garreth, his hands acting of their own accord, the urge to hesitate was only a quiet voice, whereas before it was an alarm blaring in his head. 

There were even times when he let himself watch Garreth just… exist. Silently cataloging all the things that he found amusing, or interesting. Like how when he was planning the week's lessons, if he wrote something, but didn’t like how it looked, he would vanish the ink and rewrite it. However, though meticulous in his lesson planning, the small table next to his bed was a cluttered mess. The most random objects littered the top: a half empty glass of water, something called a baseball, his watch (that he almost never wore), a bezoar, for some bizarre reason. Garreth was the definition of a walking contradiction. This side of Sebastian only existed in Garreth’s space, though. As soon as he walked out of said space, he went back behind the weakened wall. So, a month after going to Garreth’s room for the first time, as he sat next to Rosie with Garreth on her other side, he was not obvious about the fact that he was fully listening in on their conversation. 

“You know how to shoot a gun?” Rosie asked incredulously. Sebastian felt as surprised as she sounded, but he kept his gaze on the house tables in front of them. 

Garreth nodded. “Yeah, a friend of mine's wife is a Muggle. Her family showed him, and I happened to be there, so I learned, too.” 

“Is it difficult?” She had turned to face him, her back to Sebastian. Not that it mattered, they hadn’t been talking anyway. Plus, with her facing away, it was easier to sneak glances at Garreth. 

“No, but it’s intense at first. They’re really loud, and when you actually pull the trigger, it jerks back against your shoulder so you have to learn to brace against it,” Garreth sounded like he was talking about the weather, not using a Muggle weapon that had been known to kill people. “I learned that the hard way. The first time I shot one, I swear I nearly dislocated my shoulder.” 

Rosie’s jaw dropped slightly. “How big are they that they can do that?” 

“The ones my friend has are rifles, they’re bigger, about this long,” he held his hands out to show the rough length. Then proceeded to pretend he was holding one as he described the motions. “You have to place the end of it here, and use both hands to hold it, like this,” Sebastian looked over and saw Garreth in a halfway stance as an example. 

Just then, the mental image of Garreth focused, intent, and shooting forced its way into his mind. It was accompanied by a stirring low in his gut. The fact that Garreth had his sleeves rolled up to expose his (surprisingly) toned forearms absolutely did not help. Sebastian cursed the bad timing and desperately tried to force the mental images that attempted to overtake his mind into the furthest corners where they belonged. He looked away back to the house tables, he tried to think about something, anything else, but it felt like the harder he tried to squash them, the harder they tried to be seen. The grip on his knife tightened and he took a deep breath in an effort to recenter himself. It worked long enough for him to get up and leave before he could hear anything more about Garreth doing… that. Much to Sebastian’s dismay, and irritation, the images of Garreth using a rifle did not let up throughout the rest of the day. It felt as though as soon as he managed to quiet the voice, he would see or hear something that would make the thoughts reappear, the voice becoming louder every time. 

So, by the time that evening had rolled around, and Sebastian had slipped into Garreth’s room after making sure no one was lingering in the corridor, he was just about at his wits end. Garreth looked up from where he was standing near his wardrobe when he heard Sebastian walk in. 

“Hello,” he said pleasantly, as if he hadn’t been tormenting Sebastian all day. 

“Hi,” Sebastian replied, sounding calm but wanting to scream because Garreth was just standing there, sleeves still rolled up, top button undone, that stupid, defense-lowering look on his face. As much as he wanted to walk over there and do… something, he abstained. 

Instead, he strolled over toward Garreth’s desk and sat himself down in the chair. He leaned back, hands folded in his lap, and watched Garreth finish hanging up his sweater he wore that day. When he turned around and saw Sebastian, his eyebrows furrowed for a split second. 

“Are you going to do my work for me?” He asked sardonically. 

“Maybe. How hard can it be?” 

Garreth raised his eyebrows and walked over. He stood right next to Sebastian and looked down at him, his head tilted to the side as he regarded him thoughtfully. Fucking hell. Sebastian felt himself itching to reach out for him, so he did. 

He lifted one hand and gently trailed his fingers down the side of Garreth’s forearm, the same one that had been nagging him all day. His eyes dropped to watch his hand slide down along the freckled skin and he swore he saw goosebumps emerge. Garreth didn’t say anything, or pull away, but he did raise an eyebrow at the action. 

He took the silence as permission and let his hand slip into Garreth’s. Sebastian looked back up at Garreth who was watching him curiously. Sebastian’s fingers wrapped tighter, and stalled for a brief moment before he tugged on Garreth’s hand as a silent invitation. Sebastian could hear Garreth’s breath catch before he slowly, but surely stepped closer and straddled Sebastian. 

The weight of Garreth settling in his lap made his head swim. His lip briefly pulled between his teeth as his other hand went to rest on Garreth’s thigh. The proximity made Sebastian’s breaths come heavier, and the low heat that had begun to pool in his abdomen shifted. Sebastian then pulled his hand from Garreth’s and reached up to delicately brush his hair to the side. His eyes darted from his hand in Garreth’s hair, to his eyes, then his mouth. 

Sebastian let his hand drop to Garreth’s neck, his fingers wrapping around the back. He swallowed heavily, his mouth suddenly felt very dry. A buzzing had appeared alongside the increasing heat in him, and it spurred him on. Sebastian slowly pulled him down and brushed his lips against Garreth’s, more of a question than an answer. When he wasn’t met with resistance he tilted his head and deepened the kiss. 

His hands went to Garreth’s waist and he gently pulled him closer so they were pressed flush against each other. Their mouths moved slowly and deliberately, but increased in intensity as the seconds went on. Sebastian’s tongue trailed along Garreth’s bottom lip, coaxing its way in, and he angled his face up against Garreth’s, the steadily growing desire for more taking over his actions. 

The urge to be even closer was abrupt and overbearing. Their current position suddenly not feeling like enough, so Sebastian pulled away and motioned for Garreth to stand up. Sebastian stood up as well and immediately pulled Garreth back in, mouth landing firmly on his as Sebastian's arms wrapped around his neck. Their kiss became more heated, edging into needy territory, and they made their way to the bed. Garreth eased Sebastian down on his back and positioned himself between his legs. He looked down at Sebastian, quickly and silently checking in. 

Garreth looked at him in a way that made it hard to focus. He reached up and pulled Garreth back down, their lips meeting once more. There was no way he was stopping now, he wasn’t sure if he could if he wanted to. Sebastian’s hands moved from Garreth’s neck down to his chest, his fingers curling in the fabric of his shirt when their hips pressed together. 

A quiet moan was swallowed by the kiss, and his legs fell open to accommodate Garreth. Sebastian felt like he was slowly being burned alive with how constant Garreth’s hands were on his body, he vaguely noted how he had never been this affected by something as simple as this. If he weren’t so aroused, he might be worried by the intensity. His need to feel Garreth against every inch of his body was overwhelming, and he desperately wanted to give in to it.

The heat that had stirred in his gut flared up when Garreth pulled back and latched on to Sebastian’s neck. His mouth felt hot against his skin, and Sebastian’s head fell back to expose the area. He was just about to start untucking Garreth’s shirt when a loud bang came from the window. 

Sebastian almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden noise, both of their heads whipped around to see what the source was, but saw nothing. Sebastian’s heart hammered in his chest, the almost instantaneous switch from aroused to startled sent a shock through his system. 

Garreth got up and went to look through the window, his eyebrows furrowed when he didn’t see anything. He turned back to Sebastian and shrugged, and as he walked back over to his bed, Sebastian rubbed his hands over his face and chuckled. He was still coming down from the scare, and apparently his body decided the best way to do that was to laugh. It was a breathy, anxious sound. The kind that came from an overflow of nerves and not amusement. Whatever state he was in before was retreating rapidly, and by the time Garreth settled back down next to him, he had unfortunately been pulled completely out of the moment they were having. There was a tiny flicker of disappointment at how quickly Sebastian had been ripped from his mood, but he was too busy recovering to dwell on it. 

The space between them had calmed down back into the comfortable silence they both had grown used to, Sebastian relaxed against the bed and turned to look at Garreth. He held eye contact for a moment, then noticed Garreth’s attention dip to his neck, a very slight grimace formed on his face. 

Sebastian reached up to feel the spot where Garreth had been attached minutes prior. “Did you leave a mark?” He asked accusingly. 

A sheepish look crept over his face. “Sorry,” he flipped over onto his stomach and laid his head on his folded arms, his eyes peeking out from where his face was nestled in the crook of his elbow. “Don’t be mad.”

As much as he wanted to be annoyed, he couldn’t be. Which was irritating in its own way. Instead, he playfully shoved Garreth and scowled. “You better be good at healing bruises.” 

The corners of Garreth’s eyes wrinkled as he smiled. “What if I wasn’t?” 

“Then this will be the first and last time I let you give me a hickey like some stupid teenager.” 

Garreth’s laugh was muffled, he lifted his head and propped his chin on his arm. “Damn, whatever will I do now?” His tone was sarcastic and teasing.

Sebastian just rolled his eyes and turned on to his side to face Garreth. A faint awkwardness swept over him, he suddenly felt like he didn’t know what to say or do, and it made him feel fidgety. He looked down at the blanket under them, absentmindedly scratching the fabric as he tried to think of something to say. 

Minutes dragged on, neither of them said anything, and Sebastian only felt more and more tense. He glanced up at Garreth and saw he was staring at some point behind Sebastian, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. 

“Is there anything you’re super nitpicky about?” 

Sebastian raised an eyebrow, and thought for a moment before answering. “Not that I can think of. Why? Is there something for you?” 

Garreth hummed, he looked at Sebastian and hesitated before speaking. “Yeah…”

Sebastian prompted Garreth to continue with his hand. 

“When I was little, I used to have a lot of nightmares. When I woke up, I would go to my parents room and sleep in their bed for the rest of the night,” he sounded a little distant, as if he were reliving the story and just happened to be narrating it. “My mum would scratch my back until I fell asleep, but she did it in such a specific way. I loved when she would do it, but no one's ever been able to do it the same way. She would have her hand under my shirt, and just barely drag her nails over my back. I would get goosebumps from it, but not in a ticklish or itchy way. It was calming, and it always put me to sleep so quickly.” 

A weird sort of fluttering feeling cropped up in Sebastian’s stomach as he listened to Garreth talk. He wondered what Garreth was like as a child, but he pushed the question aside for now. Sebastian smirked slightly and raised his eyebrows. “Okay, princess.” 

Garreth laughed. “One person tried, and when it wasn’t right, I had tried to explain it but they just looked at me like I was crazy—“ 

“You are.” 

Garreth looked at him deadpan and pursed his lips. “Whatever. I’m just saying, no one has ever been able to do it right.” 

Sebastian smirked and huffed a quiet laugh as he stored this new piece of information away into a part of his mind that was quickly becoming a bit too crowded.

[poxi3]

Hello! I am fully aware no one asked for this, but I apparently don’t have an off switch. SO, here are my female OC retainer girlfriends/wives 😬

I CANNOT draw, so I did the next best thing and made them in the sims lmao. I have little like, identification “cards” for each one below the pictures.

While I do love them all equally, I’m afraid I might have a favorite 🫣 regardless, I’m obsessed with them 💖💖

Lmk who your favorite is!! If you have one lol

Name: Janie Stephens (top left)

Height: 5’8” (172 cm)

Nationality: American

Magical Status: Witch

Occupation: Runs the family farm

Key Personality Traits: Quick-witted, kind, hardworking

Interests/hobbies: gardening, reading, swimming in the lake by the farm

Best Quality: Accepting

Worst Habit: Avoids confrontation

Partner: Sebastian Sallow

How they Met: A bar… 😒

Favorite Quality: He’s intense

Least Favorite Quality: He’s intense

Favorite part of the relationship: Watching him talk to the plants when he thinks no one is looking

Name: Lucille “Lucy” Malfoy (top right)

Height: 5’4” (163 cm)

Nationality: English

Magical Status: Victorian AU: Witch // Modern AU: Muggle

Occupation: Victorian AU: Freelance Private Investigator // Modern AU: Cybersecurity Specialist & Freelance P.I.

Key Personality Traits: Outgoing, cheerful, secretly scary

Interests/hobbies: Coding, being nosy, collecting obnoxious jewelry

Best Quality: Disarming

Worst Habit: Believes optimism and determination can fix almost anything

Partner: Ominis Gaunt

How they Met: First time was through Anne at University 😍, second time, the law firm he works for hired me to track down a witness 🕵🏼‍♀️

Favorite Quality: Takes me seriously 🫵🏻

Least Favorite Quality: Moody 😒

Favorite part of the relationship: Flirting with him until he pretends to be annoyed 😘

Name: Anike Idowu (bottom left)

Height: 5’5” (165 cm)

Nationality: Nigerian

Magical Status: Witch

Occupation: Magizoologist

Key Personality Traits: Dreamy, eccentric, surprisingly level-headed

Interests/hobbies: Befriending as many animals as possible, Astrology/Astronomy, painting

Best Quality: Forgiving

Worst Habit: People Pleaser

Partner: Garreth Weasley

How they Met: He asked me three separate times how to pronounce my name when we were fourteen

Favorite Quality: Open-minded

Least Favorite Quality: Can’t keep a secret to save his life

Favorite part of the relationship: Blaming his bad moods on the planets and watching him short-circuit 😌

Name: Cora Prewett (bottom right)

Height: 5’2” (157 cm)

Nationality: American

Magical Status: Muggle

Occupation: Social Reform Activist

Key Personality Traits: Self-assured, patient, empathetic

Interests/hobbies: Proving people wrong, cooking, and piano

Best Quality: Socially adept

Worst Habit: Defensive

Partner: Leander Prewett

How they Met: He was being loud and wrong, and I corrected him 😇

Favorite Quality: Secretly a huge softie

Least Favorite Quality: Defensive

Favorite part of the relationship: Watching him slowly realize I was right the whole time and then pretend that he agreed with me from the beginning

[poxi3]

Teachers Pet - ch. 13 of 20 Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley Rating: E Status: Complete Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again. He was wrong. Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated. Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn

“You seem distracted tonight.” 

“I am,” he dragged his teeth over his lip, and picked at his nails. He could feel Garreth staring at him, and even though Sebastian knew Garreth was looking at him like that, he risked a glance anyway. He immediately regretted it. 

Garreth had this annoying trait of being able to see right through Sebastian. The unintentional depth of his gaze always set him on edge. Before everything changed, it made anger and annoyance boil in him, but now, it just made his stomach do flips.

Even though the whole situation with Garreth was new, strange, and sometimes uncomfortable, one thing that Sebastian was now easily able to admit was that he liked watching Garreth work. Whether he was grading papers, or practicing a brew, Sebastian could just sit and observe, perfectly content. He’s not entirely sure why that was, but he figured it most likely had something to do with Garreth’s lack of a poker face. Three weeks after he gave Garreth the dittany, and Sebastian had become trained in noticing when Garreth was confused, annoyed, or amused because his expression would always change. When he read something confusing a student wrote, his eyebrows would stitch together and he would squint as he reread the words, trying to decipher what they meant. Or he’d frown when something didn’t go the way he had planned while brewing a potion. Sometimes seeing a reaction from Garreth would trigger a train of thought that derailed into something unrelated to watching him work, and he would get lost in his musings. So much so that if Garreth tried talking to him, he didn’t immediately register it. 

Sebastian frowned and looked at Garreth when he felt a rough nudge against his calf. “What?” 

“I said,” Garreth’s mouth pulled to one side, his hands folded on the desk as he looked at Sebastian with raised eyebrows. “I have to go down to the lake and harvest some fluxweed. I know it’s getting late, but would you like to come with?” 

“Oh, uh,” Sebastian swallowed and fidgeted awkwardly. “Sure, why not?” 

“Okay,” Garreth smiled and put the stack of papers in his bag before standing and grabbing his coat. 

The daze that Sebastian had been in before Garreth’s interruption still lingered. Moments where he found himself standing on the edge of truly giving in to his feelings had become more common. He knew what was happening, he wasn’t stupid. It was just… daunting. In the brief and fleeting times he allowed himself to think about it, he might describe it similar to going into a tunnel without knowing when he would approach the other end, if at all. The closer they got to the lake, the more painfully aware of this fact Sebastian became. He didn’t know what caused the sudden switch in attitude, that night had been like any other so far. Quiet, unassuming, comfortable. All things Sebastian had grown familiar with. And yet, there he was, feeling stiff and awkward as they approached the shore. 

He was grateful for the distraction when they arrived. Garreth walked over to where some fluxweed bushes grew, and began picking leaves. Sebastian busied himself with doing the same, forcing his thoughts to remain on the task. A few minutes later, he had a handful of stems and leaves, and was about to shove them in his pocket when he paused to look for Garreth. 

“Can I put these in my pocket? Or do they need to be stored a certain way?”

Garreth looked up from where he was crouching in front of a bush, smiling briefly before standing up to walk over. He held out a jar for Sebastian to put the plants in. 

“This is why you were always rubbish at potions,” he tsked and chuckled quietly. “Disrespecting the plants.” 

“Like you were any better. Half of the stuff you made blew up.” 

“Eh,” Garreth shrugged. “Semantics.” 

Sebastian rolled his eyes and went back to looking for more shrubs to harvest. They continued on in silence until the jar was full. Unfortunately, as Sebastian gently pressed the last of the stems into the container, the persistent tension from earlier returned, determined to be acknowledged. Sebastian cleared his throat and looked over at the lake. He grumbled internally how it seemed every part of him was stubborn, even the parts he wanted to ignore. He sighed and walked over to a fallen tree on the shore, and sat down. The sound of the small waves lapping at the shore, and the light from the moon did little to quiet the noise that blared in his mind. 

“You okay?” Garreth asked as he sat down next to Sebastian. He thumbed the lid of the jar as he looked over. 

“Yeah…” Sebastian trailed off, not wanting to look at Garreth. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he did, so he stared at the water in front of them instead. 

“You seem distracted tonight.” 

“I am,” he dragged his teeth over his lip, and picked at his nails. He could feel Garreth staring at him, and even though Sebastian knew Garreth was looking at him like that, he risked a glance anyway. He immediately regretted it. 

Garreth had this annoying trait of being able to see right through Sebastian. The unintentional depth of his gaze always set him on edge. Before everything changed, it made anger and annoyance boil in him, but now, it just made his stomach do flips. He hated it. Luckily, though, Garreth did not ask Sebastian to explain. He guessed one plus side to being seen through, was that Garreth knew when Sebastian didn’t want to talk about things, and he would graciously just leave it be. Instead, he quietly sat next to Sebastian, his body heat emanated off of him in waves much like the ones in front of them. Calm and slow. Sebastian looked down at his hands in his lap, his eyes darted over to Garreth’s and he reached out. As their hands nestled together, he thought about how unexpectedly quick he had grown to like the contact. He blamed it for his diminishing ability to ignore certain parts of himself. 

His eyes crept up to look at Garreth, now that he had looked away, it felt safer. Sebastian let himself study the way Garreth looked in this lighting, and noted how it suited him. The glow from above shone down like a gentle spotlight, highlighting the endless freckles, his ridiculously long eyelashes, the shape of his nose, his mouth… Something dropped in his stomach, sudden and jarring. It urged him to act, forcing his attention to remain on Garreth’s profile. When he tried to allow himself to examine the feeling a little closer, he spoke the first thought that came to mind. 

“I’ve always loved how bright full moons are,” his voice was barely above a whisper, like he was scared to say it. 

Garreth looked over, his eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch and a smile teased at the corners of his mouth. “You’re not even looking at the moon.” 

“So?” 

Even in the subdued moonlight, Sebastian could see the flush that appeared on Garreth’s face. How he looked away in a feeble attempt to hide it. The display of bashfulness made his insides wrench tighter. Sebastian blinked and looked down at his lap, his thumb slowly stroking the back of Garreth’s hand. When he looked back up, Garreth was looking at him again, this time something in his expression had changed. The shyness from moments before was replaced with a look that was new to Sebastian. If he had to try and name it, he would say maybe… apprehensive curiosity? It was a very nuanced look, Sebastian knew that much. Before he could stop himself, Sebastian had pulled his hand away from Garreth’s and reached up to gently brush a piece of hair back from his forehead. His hair was always falling out of place. It was quite unruly. But it felt soft against the pads of his fingers as he slowly dragged through the strands. Sebastian felt his nerves suddenly spike from his gut up into his chest, as if his body had decided to ignore his brain. His hand drifted down the side of Garreth’s face, trailing along his cheek, before settling on the side of his neck. Sebastian’s thumb rested lightly against Garreth’s jaw, and his skin felt hot under Sebastian’s hand. Probably due to the deeply pink blush that was making its way back up to Garreth’s face. 

He felt a strong pull in his chest, the weight of everything he was experiencing being dredged to the surface. It was almost overwhelming, the need to act had reared its head again, this time refusing to be ignored. He wanted to express these feelings in the only way he could think of, so he slowly leaned forward. However, as the distance between them shortened, he paused, hesitating. His eyes dropped from Garreth’s down to his mouth, then back up, and as he continued to close the distance, so did Garreth. When they met in the middle, the heat from Garreth’s lips on his own rippled down through his body, smoothing out the harsh edges of the discomfort he felt earlier. His hand curled tighter around the back of Garreth’s neck, gently pulling him even closer. The kiss started slow, and measured, but morphed into something far more intentional and deep. Sebastian felt Garreth’s hand on his thigh, and the contact sent a shock shooting up to his chest. He tilted his head, letting himself sink into the motions, his mind becoming muddled and foggy. 

When they did eventually pull apart, it was slowly, like neither of them really wanted to, but knew they had to at some point. Sebastian’s hand slipped down to Garreth’s chest, his lips pressed together as he opened his eyes to meet Garreth’s. Sebastian was sure he had the same satisfied, yet slightly disbelieving look on his face, and he couldn’t help but stifle a small chuckle at the thought of how young he felt at that moment. The only time he remembered feeling anything even remotely close to that was when he had his first kiss at fourteen. Except this one was far better in every way he could think of.

~

Garreth did not sleep well that night, or the following three. How could he? Between the dittany, the jumper, and then what happened at the lake Garreth thought he might blow a fuse from trying to process everything. He had never been involved with someone like Sebastian, and the differences made him feel uneasy in the best way. In the past, whenever a significant other got or did something for Garreth, it was always with the expectation of something more than a simple thank you. So having someone do these things and then act like they didn’t happen was highly unexpected and took some getting used to. He felt like he needed to return the favor, but he had an inkling that if tried, Sebastian would just shut him down. The jar of dittany sat on the shelf with the rest of his potions ingredients, but acted like it had a sign or flashing lights drawing attention because he didn’t get it himself. It was different. As much as Garreth wanted to be normal about it, he couldn’t help feeling like it was special dittany. 

In all the years he had known Sebastian, Garreth knew that he was hiding something. But he always assumed it was something more shallow than the thoughtfulness and unique form of affection that he’d be witnessing lately. Garreth questioned if something had happened to drive Sebastian to keep this side of him under such intense guard, or if he was just like that by default. Regardless, seeing this side of him slowly unfold had been like seeing a Phoenix. He tread carefully, not wanting to do anything that might send it back into hiding. Garreth felt the need to question how long this would last. A small, annoying voice in the back of his head warned him not to get too comfortable, but he tried to ignore it. Garreth was so lost in his thoughts even four days later that he didn’t realize Sebastian had walked into his classroom until he felt someone staring at him. He looked over to find Sebastian standing near his desk, arms crossed with a hip cocked to the side, and an amused look on his face as he watched Garreth stare down the shelf on his wall. 

“How long have you been standing there?” Garreth suddenly felt hyper aware of his body, like he didn’t know what to do. He tugged the sleeves of his sweater down over his hands and turned to face Sebastian. 

“Long enough to see you gazing longingly at those jars like some tragic romantic,” Sebastian smirked. 

“Well, maybe I am. Maybe you have some competition,” he nodded his head towards aforementioned jars and bit back a chuckle at the deep flush that appeared on Sebastian’s cheeks. 

Sebastian walked over and peered at the jars, a curious frown on his face. “I like my chances,” he looked at Garreth, a defiant glint in his eyes, before he slowly turned around and walked back to the desk. 

The look Sebastian gave him made something in him swell. He brushed it aside for now and followed Sebastian over to where they normally sat. Garreth looked down at the stacks of assignments, suddenly coming to an impromptu decision. 

“I was going to work in my room tonight,” Garreth said as he tried to ignore the anxiety that cropped up. “You’re welcome to come if you want to.” 

“You mean you’re actually going to leave your classroom?” Sebastian asked with a false sense of incredulity. 

Garreth rolled his eyes. “Yes. I do leave, you know. Every night, in fact.” He finished putting his things in his bag and finally looked up at Sebastian. 

“Okay, yeah. Let’s go. I want to see if you’re as neurotic about your room as you are about your classroom,” Sebastian teased. 

“I’m not,” Garreth chuckled, trying to ignore the knot forming. He moved toward the door and led them both to the faculty tower. The whole walk there, Garreth grew more and more nervous about having someone in his room. Well, not just someone, but Sebastian. Rosie had seen his room before and he wasn’t nearly as tense as he was at that moment. Garreth was curious if Sebastian could tell how anxious he was. 

As they reached his door, he pushed it open and headed straight for the desk on the far end. He wanted to say something, anything, to Sebastian. Tell him to make himself comfortable, something normal, but Garreth’s mouth seemed to have dried up during the walk there. Instead, he busied himself with setting the papers on the desk and ignoring how Sebastian was now slowly walking around his room, looking at everything, but not saying anything. He was currently standing in front of Garreth’s dresser looking at the small handful of pictures from his time in America. 

“Do you ever miss the States?” Sebastian asked as he squinted at a picture of Garreth and one of his friends from the country. 

“Sometimes, yeah,” he glanced up at Sebastian then back down at the desk. 

“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime,” Sebastian was inspecting a picture of Garreth and his old roommate, the corners of his mouth ticked up in a faint smile. 

“Okay, yeah.” 

He wasn’t sure what he was so worried about. Nothing in his room was weird or unusual, Garreth was a very average person. His hobbies and interests were ordinary. Just knowing that someone new was coming into his space, and he actually cared about their opinion overwhelmed him in a way that he hadn’t been in a very long time. It felt like forever had gone by since they came into the room. Garreth had settled in at his desk, and was able to halfway distract himself with some work while Sebastian looked around. After a little while, he let himself cautiously watch Sebastian. Garreth noticed how Sebastian’s attention seemed to snag on his bed and saw him shift his weight. Garreth’s face heated up so quickly at the observation that he felt a tinge dizzy. Garreth forced himself to focus on the work in front of him, and just waited for either Sebastian to be done, or make a comment. Really though, how long could somebody spend looking at stuff in a very boring room? It’s not like he had all these interesting things, he had only been to one other country. Maybe the most attention grabbing thing was the sheer amount of knitted blankets his mom forced on him—

“I like your room,” Sebastian commented as he stood next to Garreth’s desk, looking at the small plants on his windowsill. “It’s very… you.” 

“Oh, uh,” Garreth didn’t know what the hell Sebastian meant by that, but it sounded like a compliment so he took it as such. “Thank you.” 

A wave of relief washed over Garreth at the simple comment. Even more so when there was no hint of sarcasm or deception in Sebastian’s tone. Even though there were some lingering nerves, it was much more tolerable now that Sebastian appeared to be satisfied with what he saw, and had sat down in a chair near Garreth’s desk and began reading his book without another word. 

[poxi3]

Chapter 7!! Hope you guys have been enjoying it so far! Thank you for everyone who’s been following along. Love you 💖🫶🏻

[poxi3]

Teachers Pet - ch. 12 of 20 Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley Rating: E Status: Complete Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again. He was wrong. Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated. Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn

“I didn’t know someone could look so sad while holding an empty jar,” Sebastian teased as he leaned his elbow on the desk. 

“No,” Garreth sighed. “I ran out of dittany, and there’s a shop in Diagon Alley that grows very high quality plants,” Garreth put the jar back down and turned to face Sebastian, looking defeated. “But I hate going there. The owner is mean and weird and… I just don’t like dealing with her.”

Sebastian stared at the storefront for a moment while he recalled the conversation, he peered into the window to see if the owner was in there. He saw an old woman with glasses that made it look like she had bug eyes, he snorted quietly to himself before he went into the store. He walked back out ten minutes later with a container of dittany and a sour mood. Garreth wasn’t being dramatic, the owner was a menace.

Sebastian was standing in front of his wardrobe holding the jumper he wore two days ago. As he stared down at the fabric, he thought of how he caught Garreth practically gawking at him. The memory stirred a weird feeling of satisfaction in his stomach, and wondered if the sweater had anything to do with Garreth's reaction. It wasn’t uncommon to catch Garreth looking at him, he had grown used to it by that point. If pressed, he might reluctantly admit that it stroked his ego in a certain way that he hadn’t experienced before. Even still, the level of the intensity from that particular moment was difficult to forget. He figured, what was the harm in wearing it again? It wasn’t dirty, it had been cold, and he did like the sweater well enough. A fleeting look of resignation crossed his face as he pulled the piece of clothing over his head. He walked over to the mirror that hung on his wall and adjusted the collar and sleeves. A faint, quiet voice in the back of his head noted how the shade of red was the same as the Gryffindor colors, and how funny of a coincidence that was. Sebastian ignored the voice and walked out of his room.

As he walked down to the apparition point outside the castle gate, Sebastian felt a minuscule twinge of disappointment that he didn’t see Garreth and get to test his suspicion. He didn’t get too hung up on it, though, because he would get a chance later that evening. He reached the barrier and apparated to a small restaurant that he and Ominis went to sometimes on the weeks they met at the Ministry for their lunch. 

Normally, they would just go to the cafeteria at Ominis’ work, but Sebastian had received an owl that morning asking to meet out in the city. He didn’t bother asking why, he simply agreed. He figured he would find out why when they met, and he was right. As soon as he saw Ominis, he knew the reason most likely had something to do with one of his coworkers he didn’t get along with. Sebastian chuckled internally, sarcastically wondering if it was the same situation as him and Garreth. As he walked up, Ominis’ scowl did not falter. 

“Please tell me you have something interesting to talk about? I might explode if I have to spend another second thinking about Lawrence,” Ominis grumbled as he walked towards the front door and led them both inside. Sebastian waited until after they were seated to answer. 

“I don’t, sorry,” Sebastian replied as he leaned on his elbows on the table. They didn’t bother looking at the menu anymore, they both had been there so many times they had it memorized. 

Ominis sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “Seriously? Not even another dumb fight with Garreth?” 

Sebastian tensed up slightly at the mention of Garreth, he had somehow forgotten how direct Ominis could be sometimes. “No, I haven’t had the misfortune of seeing him lately. Maybe he finally got the hint and is avoiding me now.” 

A heavy silence formed between them. Ominis’ eyebrows knitted together, and he tilted his head to the side. “I find that hard to believe.”

“What? Why?”

“Call it intuition,” Ominis shrugged. “A hunch. Whatever you want, but this will be the… third? Fourth? Lunch in a row where you haven’t mentioned him within the first five minutes,” a knowing smirk appeared on his face. 

“And? I’m not allowed to talk about other stuff?” Sebastian’s instinctive defensiveness caused his voice to take on a harsh edge. 

“You are,” Ominis smiled, clearly amused. “You know, you are also allowed to change your opinion. No one would judge you for it. Especially not me, I hope you know that.” 

Sebastian didn’t answer for a while. He knew Ominis was right, but admitting what had changed just seemed too high of a mountain to climb. “I know.” 

“Now, speaking from a strictly hypothetical, objective standpoint, someone could do much worse than Garreth,” Ominis pretended to ponder what he was saying. Sebastian just looked off to the side, bored. “I know you don’t think much of him, but he’s smart, nice, easy to talk to, and surprisingly patient if he’s able to tolerate you.” 

As Ominis listed all the things that made Garreth attractive, Sebastian felt a very strange mixture of annoyance and… something bitter that made his jaw clench. He decided to ignore it and save that acknowledgment for another day. 

“Can we talk about something else? How’s Lawrence?” Sebastian raised his eyebrows, a mischievous tone in his question. 

“Seriously?” Ominis groaned and slumped against his chair. “That man has about as much competence as a bag of rocks. Truly nothing worth talking about.” 

Sebastian chuckled and listened raptly to Ominis’ ranting about his dimwitted coworker in an attempt to ignore the unwelcome feelings that his comments had stirred up. 

The rest of their lunch went on as usual, Ominis getting himself worked up as he complained about work, and Sebastian just sitting there listening. Once finished, Ominis reluctantly headed back to work and Sebastian had a free period for the first half of the afternoon so he decided to take the scenic route through London on his way back to the castle. He had to stop in Diagon Alley for some things he needed for work, and was standing in front of a small specialty potions shop when he recalled something Garreth had told him.

They were in Garreth’s classroom when Sebastian saw him staring at an empty jar with a forlorn look on his face. 

“I didn’t know someone could look so sad while holding an empty jar,” Sebastian teased as he leaned his elbow on the desk. 

“No,” Garreth sighed. “I ran out of dittany, and there’s a shop in Diagon Alley that grows very high quality plants,” Garreth put the jar back down and turned to face Sebastian, looking defeated. “But I hate going there. The owner is mean and weird and… I just don’t like dealing with her.”

Sebastian stared at the storefront for a moment while he recalled the conversation, he peered into the window to see if the owner was in there. He saw an old woman with glasses that made it look like she had bug eyes, he snorted quietly to himself before he went into the store. He walked back out ten minutes later with a container of dittany and a sour mood. Garreth wasn’t being dramatic, the owner was a menace. She interrogated him about why he needed dittany because she had never seen him before. Sebastian wasn’t sure why those two things had to be related, but bit his tongue and just made the transaction as quickly as possible so he could leave. 

That evening, when Garreth met Sebastian in his office, he ensured the dittany was on his desk in plain sight. Garreth didn’t tend to make a big deal about things, and Sebastian hoped this time wouldn’t be any different. Sebastian was sitting at his desk, focusing on the work in front of him, and only briefly glanced up when Garreth walked in. Sebastian could see Garreth sit down in the chair by his desk out of the corner of his eye, and waited. 

The sound of rustling papers stopped when Garreth noticed the container. 

“What is that?” He asked, as if he didn’t already know. 

Sebastian looked up, first at the jar, then at Garreth. “Oh, that. I stopped at Diagon Alley on my way back from meeting Ominis today and saw that store you were talking about. It’s for you,” Sebastian tried to sound unaffected. “You were right about that store owner though,” the quiet laugh that slipped out was a little more forced than he would have liked. 

“Oh,” Garreth stared at him, shocked with an undertone of something softer on his face. “Thank you, you didn’t have to do that.” 

“I know,” Sebastian went back to his work and didn’t say anything else. He could feel Garreth still staring at him, and hoped he didn’t look as exposed as he felt. 

A few long minutes went by, and Sebastian mentally noted that Garreth was staring again like he was the other day. The last time he wore the sweater he had on. 

“Didn’t you just wear that jumper the other day?” Garreth asked. 

Sebastian caught the tail end of Garreth quickly looking back down at his assignments. “Yeah, and?” 

Garreth shook his head, still not looking at Sebastian. “No reason. Just making an observation is all,” he reached up and scratched the side of his neck as he leafed through the papers on his lap. 

“Hm,” Sebastian hummed quietly and looked back down at his work, his chin propped in his hand to hide the satisfactory smile that crept up on his face. 

[poxi3]

Teachers Pet - ch. 11 of 20 Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley Rating: E Status: Complete Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again. He was wrong. Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated. Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn

Garreth shook his head a fraction, and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he sounded as confused as Sebastian. “Guess I just like your company.” 

The compliment had slipped out, Garreth froze and looked at Sebastian to gauge his reaction. Sebastian had also stilled, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks and an uncomfortable but not upset expression formed. He maintained eye contact for a second before he turned and began to slowly walk out of the room. He was a few steps away from the door when he looked back at Garreth. 

“Are we going or what?” As he spoke, a faint smile teased at his mouth.

Garreth stood in the broom closet for a few minutes after Sebastian left. If he didn’t have a class he needed to go teach, he probably would have stayed there for the next hour staring at the door like a halfwit. He spent the short walk down to his classroom trying to refocus himself, and managed just long enough to set a random assignment that would take the whole period and went to sit at his desk to let his mind wander. He was still trying to fully comprehend what happened. Garreth knew that Sebastian had been having a hard time processing everything, and was happy to give him space, but the last thing he expected was a physical manifestation of his struggles. Garreth wasn’t exactly complaining, but he wondered how much of it was because he needed an outlet versus he actually wanted to. 

The intensity at the start of it made Garreth think it was just a form of release. However… the way Sebastian softened and leaned in was a clear indicator of the exact opposite. Garreth could still feel the warmth of his hands on his neck. How he had drawn closer to desperation before letting himself let go. Garreth wondered what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been interrupted. Sebastian clearly didn't mean it when he told Garreth not to let it go to his head. At least, that’s the impression he got, if the barely concealed smile was anything to go off of. Garreth felt torn. The kiss was hard evidence that Sebastian did feel something, and was okay with his feelings on some level. But the haphazard way it had started made Garreth question the sincerity of it. 

Ultimately, as much as he hated it, he knew he would just have to wait and see if anything changed. Garreth was a pretty patient man, but even he had his limits. So, the rest of the day, Garreth kept to himself. He did not try and find Sebastian, he wanted to respect the fact that Sebastian just… handled things differently than he did. Even though it didn’t make any sense to him. When classes ended the following afternoon, and Garreth had not heard from or seen Sebastian, he was beginning to get antsy. How long did someone need to process a weirdly initiated kiss? Garreth was trying to focus on grading some homework, but he wasn’t doing a very good job. He found himself repeatedly glancing at his door, thinking he’d see or hear Sebastian walking in. 

He had his arms folded on his desk, and was resting his head on top trying to convince himself to just calm down when he heard footsteps. Garreth looked up so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash, and he pressed his lips together to keep from smiling when he saw who the footsteps belonged to. Garreth quickly went back to looking at his work, not wanting to make Sebastian feel awkward with his weird staring. Though, as Sebastian entered the classroom, it became clear that he didn’t need any assistance from Garreth in feeling awkward. Despite his gaze being dutifully trained on the papers in front of him, Garreth could feel the tension that Sebastian brought with him. 

The hand that was holding his quill wasn’t moving, and his eyes were stuck on the same spot. Anyone who looked at Garreth for longer than a second could see that he wasn’t actually doing anything. It also didn’t help that as soon as he saw Sebastian, all he could think of was the way he changed during the kiss yesterday. How his hands felt sliding up his chest and onto his neck. The memory caused a pull that wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but then his thoughts were interrupted. 

“Uhm, hi,” Sebastian mumbled, not looking directly at Garreth. 

“Hello,” Garreth replied. 

Sebastian shifted his weight, Garreth noticed he was holding a book, but couldn’t tell what it was. He placed a hand on the back of the chair near Garreth’s desk. “May I?” 

Garreth simply nodded, and watched as Sebastian sat down, cracked open the book, and started reading without another word. This act alone wasn’t necessarily out of the ordinary. Ever since that day when Sebastian admitted there was something else at play, silence between them wasn’t anything weird or uncomfortable. However, there also hadn’t been the weight of a messy, seemingly compulsive kiss between them either. Sebastian didn’t seem to be interested in talking about what happened, so Garreth reluctantly held his tongue for now. He eventually dragged his eyes away from Sebastian and went back to work. Even though the ambiguity of their relationship hung over them, Garreth found that simply having Sebastian around made it easier to bear. 

Feelings and emotions had never been particularly difficult for Garreth to handle. Even with that being true, the rate in which Garreth found himself becoming attached to Sebastian was… maybe a tiny bit concerning. He tried to slow himself down, really, but whenever he saw Sebastian, his composure cracked. Every quiet laugh or restrained smile affected him in a way that he was almost embarrassed to admit. What was more difficult had been hiding these feelings. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Sebastian off. So Garreth kept his mouth shut during that time. Sebastian had come to him first, which again, wasn’t unusual at that point. But given their current situation, Garreth knew that was a good sign. He worked quietly, and did not try to initiate any conversation. He’s pretty sure if he did, Sebastian would short circuit because he wouldn’t know how to respond. 

About an hour had gone by, Sebastian still reading, Garreth still working. The only sounds in the room were the occasional rustle of papers or a sigh. Sebastian adjusted in his seat, and stretched out his legs, causing his feet to bump into Garreth’s. When he looked up, he saw Sebastian had tensed as he began to pull away. However, when they made eye contact, Sebastian relaxed and kept his feet there, resting against the side of Garreth’s leg. Sebastian’s eyes lowered a bit, landing on the desk, looking pensive. A long moment went by, Sebastian’s teeth caught on his bottom lip for a brief second, glanced at Garreth, then went back to his book. He didn’t move his feet, and they remained in that same spot for the rest of his visit.

~

Two days had gone by since that moment in the broom closet, and Sebastian had come to Garreth’s classroom on both days. Each time the same thing happened: he sat down, read his book, and stretched out his legs to let them rest against Garreth. It was minor, but Garreth had to stifle a smile every time. On the second day, Garreth wanted to take a break by going for a short walk. He wanted to ask Sebastian if he would come with, but wasn’t sure if he would be okay being seen with Garreth. Not by any students, but by Rosie. Or really any of the other teachers. So, when Garreth asked anyway, and Sebastian agreed, he was surprised. 

“Really?” Garreth blinked dumbly at Sebastian.

“Yeah, why not?” Sebastian stood up and stretched, his arms up above his head. 

“I figured you would be worried about Rosie or another teacher seeing us.” 

Sebastian smirked. “Then why did you ask?” 

Garreth shook his head a fraction, and shrugged. “I don’t know,” he sounded as confused as Sebastian. “Guess I just like your company.” 

The compliment had slipped out, Garreth froze and looked at Sebastian to gauge his reaction. Sebastian had also stilled, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks and an uncomfortable but not upset expression formed. He maintained eye contact for a second before he turned and began to slowly walk out of the room. He was a few steps away from the door when he looked back at Garreth. 

“Are we going or what?” As he spoke, a faint smile teased at his mouth. 

~

In his day to day life, Garreth’s way of thinking leaned more analytical. He liked to observe things, dissect them in his own way, and sometimes he would notice trends forming. Like the trend of how Sebastian had been doing small, subtle things, that showed he was warming up emotionally. At least, that was Garreth’s theory. He didn’t know if this was true; he hadn’t brought it up at all. Because if he was right, the last thing Sebastian needed was someone asking about his lowered defenses, that would just make them shoot right back up. And Garreth definitely did not want that to happen. 

So, he just sat and observed. However, one day roughly a month after the broom closet incident, something happened that pushed his theory very quickly into indisputable fact territory. One thing about Sebastian is that, when he wanted to be, he was a good listener. Garreth would get carried away talking about experimental potions ingredients or hypothetical brews, while most people’s eyes would glaze over and they’d default to noncommittal hums in response, Sebastian actually listened. Not in an active listening type of way, he didn’t ask questions or anything, but Garreth could tell Sebastian was mentally present even as he blathered about how someone claimed they made a Vampiric version of Wolfsbane. It was a nice change, but also a confusing one. Garreth knew Sebastian didn’t care about potions, so why was he content to listen to Garreth yammer on? No one else was willing to sit and listen to Garreth’s ramblings. Even though he would love to know why, he knew beggars couldn’t be choosers. So, he just accepted it. Garreth was in the middle of animatedly talking about the ingredients of said Vampiric Wolfsbane when he noticed that Sebastian was listening… differently, somehow. 

They were sitting at Garreth’s desk, it was a weekend so there were no lingering students or teachers on that day. Sebastian was in his usual chair, and was sitting on the same side of the desk, facing toward Garreth. His legs were outstretched, leaning against Garreth’s, as was the new normal. Sebastian’s head was propped up by his elbow on the desk, and his eyes seemed more open than usual. They had a look that was as soft as it was new. 

Garreth ignored it, and continued. Then, barely minutes later, Sebastian reached out towards Garreth. His hand was about halfway between them when he paused, only for a split second, and then kept going. He reached up and pushed a stray piece of hair that had fallen against Garreth’s forehead out of the way. The same piece of hair that Garreth had moved back himself about three times by that point. He tried to keep talking, his speaking had slowed down during the brief interaction. The words faltered as he swallowed a quiet gasp when Sebastian’s fingers just barely brushed Garreth’s cheek as he pulled his hand back. Still wanting to stick to his plan of not drawing attention to the change in Sebastian’s behaviors, Garreth acted as though nothing happened. Sebastian did the same. Sebastian leaned back into his chair, hands folded in his lap, and resumed his attentive listening. Even hours after that moment, when Garreth had gone up to his room for the night, the look on Sebastian’s face and the incredibly gentle, almost indiscernible brush of his fingers lingered in Garreth's mind until he finally fell asleep. 

~

Sebastian was already at the kneazle pen a week later when Garreth walked up. He was standing at the fence, hands resting on the railing. A quick glance was thrown in his direction before Sebastian turned back to the animals. He didn’t say anything when Garreth walked up. The now familiar and easy silence that often accompanied their meetings settled over them. Garreth didn’t want to disrupt it, so he stayed quiet. Once he reached the pen, he grabbed a handful of food from the bag that hung on the fence and offered it to the kneazles. One of them (they had decided her name was Molly II) came up and took the offering, letting Garreth pet her after. 

Garreth looked over at Sebastian and let himself admire him for a moment. His nose was tinged red from the cold and little clouds puffed out from his breaths. He was looking down at the kneazles, his expression was almost entirely calm, except for the way he worried his teeth on his bottom lip. One spot in particular, it was always the same spot. He let himself really look, Sebastian had gotten quite a bit taller since they graduated, almost reaching eye level with Garreth. He had maintained the same sturdy build from his youth, and his freckles had become more noticeable, if anything. Garreth glanced down and saw their hands lay inches apart on the railing, then his eyes drifted back to the animals in front of them. 

A few more minutes went by, and Garreth swore he felt something shift in the energy around them. He was trying to figure out how it had changed when he felt Sebastian’s hand on his own. Garreth’s chest clenched at the unexpected contact, and he allowed himself a very brief peek down at their hands. Sebastian had silently slipped his hand under Garreth’s, and wrapped his fingers around the edge of his hand. Garreth looked up at Sebastian to see he was staring down at their joined hands, he looked calm, and curious. He looked at the contact like he was studying something new and fascinating. The weight between them was relentless, and it only became more intense when Sebastian looked up at him. 

The same softness from the other day had returned, and this time it was unmistakable. Sebastian only held eye contact for a moment, before he turned back to the kneazle pen without ever saying a word. The warmth from Sebastian’s hand radiated up Garreth’s arm, and he let his fingers curl naturally around Sebastian’s hand, forcing himself not to take it any further. As the minutes dragged on, Sebastian did not pull his hand back, or move even an inch. It became easier to accept the moment for what it was, and Garreth was just happy it even happened at all. 

After that day at the kneazle pen, the change that occurred in Sebastian was a subtle, yet unmistakable indicator that sometimes the smallest thing can trigger something far bigger. Ever since their last meeting at the kneazle pen, Sebastian had quickly grown more physically affectionate. In the right setting, he no longer hesitated to reach for Garreth’s hand, or adjust a stray hair or crooked collar. Every time Sebastian found some small way to display his fondness, Garreth found himself watching Sebastian with an openness he didn’t bother trying to hide. Occasionally, Sebastian would catch Garreth looking at him that way, and the only response Garreth got was a faint blush and a shy, quickly stifled smile. Sebastian had his own way of showing his affection. It wasn’t anything blatantly romantic, and he always downplayed it, but Garreth had a strong feeling that it was never anything that occurred out of “convenience”, as Sebastian liked to claim. 

For instance, two weeks later they were in Sebastian’s office while he graded some essays. Garreth sat near his desk and was sorting through a box of hard candy that he liked to eat while he worked or read. He sat there, box in his lap, while he meticulously picked out a single flavor one by one and was putting them in a pile on the edge of the desk to get rid of later. He had been so focused on the task that he didn’t notice Sebastian had stopped working and was looking at him quizzically. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, a small smirk on his face. 

Garreth looked up, eyes wide with confusion for a second before he saw Sebastian glance at the pile of discarded candy. “Oh, I don’t like the orange ones. So I just pick them out so I don’t have to worry about them later.” 

Sebastian didn’t reply for a moment, but amusement glinted in his eyes. “Why don’t you just leave them in there and… I don’t know, not eat them?” 

“I don’t know,” Garreth felt a little exposed under Sebastian’s question for some reason. “This is easier for me. I don’t mind sorting through them.” 

“Huh…” Sebastian bit back a smile as he looked down at the box in Garreth’s lap, then back up. “Okay then.” He nodded vaguely and went back to his work. Garreth watched him for a moment longer and also went back to work. 

Then, about a week later, conveniently right after Garreth had run out of the candy, Sebastian gave him a box of it. 

“Ominis gave them to me, but I remember you saying you liked them so, here you go,” he spoke casually, as if he was lending a spare piece of parchment. Garreth smiled and accepted it, thanking him. However later that night when he opened the box, he quickly noticed all the orange ones had been picked out. The strange, weightless feeling that appeared in his abdomen stayed with him throughout his grading.

It was moments like this that made it harder for Garreth to keep their situation a secret from Leander. They had not discussed anything explicitly, definitely not the nature of their relationship, but Garreth knew that it was something Sebastian would much rather keep private, and Garreth agreed. While he was sure in his feelings for Sebastian, he would rather not deal with the knowing looks or comments from their coworkers. He would be lying, though, if he tried to say he wasn’t itching to tell the one person that Garreth trusted to keep it safe. So, that weekend after receiving the candy, he went to Leanders.

“About time you show up,” Leander teased as he opened his front door, stepping aside to let Garreth in. “I was about to report you as missing.” 

“I know, I’m sorry,” Garreth looked at Leander sheepishly as he entered the house. “But I’ve got a good reason.” 

“You better,” Leander sat down on one end of the couch in the living room, Garreth taking the opposite end. 

Leander raised his eyebrows at Garreth, who was sitting with his hands fidgeting in his lap, trying to figure out where to start. 

“So, remember how last time I realized… uh…” Garreth started to say the words, but they stalled. The sudden weight of vocalizing what was going on came into focus and it was more overwhelming than Garreth had anticipated. “That I… don’t actually hate Sebastian?” 

There was a moment of silence where Leander was staring pointedly at Garreth, and Garreth was unable to maintain any sort of eye contact for longer than a second at a time. 

“That,” Leander gestured toward Garreth with one hand. “Alone tells me everything I need to know.” He laughed as Garreth rubbed a hand over his face. “So, what happened?” 

Garreth sighed and looked down at his hands in his lap. He rolled his eyes at the shit-eating grin that was on Leander’s face, then proceeded to tell him everything. He started from that night after leaving Leander's house when Garreth ran into Sebastian in the faculty tower, all the way up to the messy first kiss.

“He’s come around more since then… but, yeah,” Garreth said as he pulled a face and looked at Leander, who was currently gaping at Garreth, mouth hanging open. 

“Bloody hell, mate,” Leander chuckled and leaned back against the couch. “You two can’t make anything simple, can you?” Leander huffed another laugh, and looked at Garreth. “How are you doing, dealing with all that? You don’t generally handle messy that well.” 

“It’s not even the mess that’s been difficult,” Garreth let out an exasperated chuckle. “It’s waiting for him to come around. He processes things a lot differently than I do, and it takes longer. So I just have to sit and wait. Which is fine, I don’t mind at all, but…” Garreth rubbed the side of his neck and grimaced. “I’m just impatient, is all.” 

“No you’re not,” Leander laughed. “You just like him a lot.” 

Garreth felt his face heat up and he turned to look at the fireplace. “It sounds so weird, to hear that. I haven’t even been able to say it out loud. I don’t know who I would say it to—you’re the first person I’ve told any of this to.” He paused for a moment, still staring at the fireplace, but then quickly turned to look Leander in the eye. “He cannot know I told you any of this.”

Leander opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off. “I know you don’t ever see him, but if you were to, for whatever reason, you cannot say anything,” Garreth was teetering on pleading, his eyes having an edge of urgency to them. 

“Okay, okay,” Leander held up his hands in defense. “Calm down, crazy. I won’t say anything.” 

Garreth sighed and leaned back. He picked at a thread that had come loose in the seam of the couch. A long few minutes went by, the only sound was the crackling of the fire and the ticking of the large grandfather clock near the hallway. He definitely felt better, being able to unload everything on to Leander, but it didn’t do much for the anxious, giddy energy that buzzed within him. 

Later that evening, Sebastian and Garreth were in Garreth’s classroom. They had been in there for about an hour, this time Sebastian had brought a stack of assignments he needed to work on. Garreth had been having a hard time focusing, for a couple different reasons. One of which was that something was different about Sebastian. Garreth had been sneaking glances at him all night, trying to pinpoint what had changed. There was nothing glaringly obvious, his hair was the same, face was the same, clothes were the—oh. The realization hit him suddenly: it wasn’t the type of clothing, it was the color. Sebastian was wearing a dark red jumper, and he didn’t think he had ever seen Sebastian in that color before. If he did, Garreth definitely didn’t notice. 

He knew he was staring, for much longer than was considered normal. Garreth knew he was bordering stalker territory, but he didn’t care. Not only did this particular color look very good on him, it was the same exact shade of red that was part of the Gryffindor colors. A connection that made Garreth wonder if this was an intentional choice, just to mess with him. 

Regardless, Sebastian looked up at Garreth after he had already been ogling him for a solid five minutes. Sebastian regarded the blatant staring happening, and when they made eye contact, Garreth felt his face warm with a deep flush and he quickly looked back down at the paper in front of him. Normally, he didn’t really mind being caught looking at Sebastian, but this time was different due to the sheer intensity. Garreth kept his head down, he knew Sebastian was still looking at him; he could feel it. What he did not see, though, was how Sebastian’s eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch at Garreth’s embarrassed reaction to being caught, or how the corners of his mouth had tugged up in a smirk. 

[poxi3]

Okay so, because I’m obsessive, I’ve created female OCs for Sebastian, Ominis, and Garreth. They’re not characters I’ve ever played in the game, just made up women I think would suit each of them. Right now, they’re mostly just on standby in case I ever write a story where one of them needs a girlfriend or wife.

HowEVER, each of them are fully fleshed out characters. Including their stories with each man. Obviously I would be HAPPY!! To explain each woman in more detail in case anyone was curious. But just like, right off the bat…. Which one speaks to you?? Lmao

I know which one I would want to write first, but I’m curious if others feel the same pull 💖💖

If I were to write one of these stories, which would you want to read?

Sebastian & Janie - sharp-witted Farmgirl

Ominis & Lucy - Penelope Garcia adjacent

Garreth & Anike - ethereal animal whisperer

Voting ended onJul 18

[thecollectibles]

Virgo by Artem Chebokha

[poxi3]

My Sebinis fic got 1,000 hits!! Yay!! 😭🥹💖

[poxi3]

Teachers Pet - ch. 10 of 20 Pairing: Sebastian Sallow/Garreth Weasley Rating: E Status: Complete Summary: Sebastian Sallow was under the impression he’d never have to see Garreth Weasley again. He was wrong. Now they’re both teaching at Hogwarts, both entirely insufferable, and somehow even worse around each other than they were at seventeen. Unfortunately, time has not made things simpler. If anything, it’s made them… complicated. Genre Tags: enemies-to-lovers, slow burn

Garreth didn’t reply for a long while, his gaze still trained on Sebastian. When he did finally say something, it was barely louder than a whisper. “You should show this side of you more often. I like it.” 

The comment was benign, but it caught Sebastian off guard. When he looked over at Garreth, his expression was startling. As harmless as his words had been, his face conveyed something much deeper and purposeful. The contrast and intensity made Sebastian feel fidgety, and want to look away, but he wasn’t sure he could even if he wanted to. The space between them had become heavy. Not uncomfortable. Just… heavy. Sebastian was finally able to tear his eyes away from Garreth. He tilted his head to the side in a feeble attempt to shield himself from the attention. 

“Don’t be weird,” Sebastian mumbled. He hoped Garreth couldn't see the faint heat he felt creep up his neck. 

Over the following three days after his lame attempt at an apology, Sebastian felt like he was constantly going between being in a daze, and being annoyed. He would catch himself thinking and feeling things that left him feeling exposed, despite the fact he had not voiced anything to anyone. Then get irritated that he had the thought at all to begin with. For instance, Sebastian was currently attempting to get some work done, but he kept thinking about how Garreth looked when he worked. Almost every day since that first time, Sebastian ended up in Garreth’s classroom with him. They didn’t talk a whole lot. There were bouts of conversation followed by stretches of comfortable silence. He could only name two people he had that type of dynamic with. 

Sebastian was sitting in his room, distracted by his thoughts, when there was a quiet knock immediately followed by the door being opened. Ominis stepped into the room, wand scanning the area before landing on Sebastian. 

He stood there, hands crossed at his hips, with an amused look on his face. “I can’t believe you tried to stand me up.” 

The sound of Ominis’ voice made him jump, he didn’t even hear the door open. He quickly regained composure once he realized it was only Ominis. “I couldn’t stand you up if I tried. You wouldn’t let me,” Sebastian said, turning in his chair to face Ominis.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he laughed. “Regardless, let’s go eat. I’m starving.” 

“You’re always hungry,” Sebastian replied as he stood up and walked over toward the door. 

“Yes, and?” 

“Nothing,” Sebastian chuckled as he held the door open. “Let’s go, you bottomless pit.” 

Ominis huffed out a laugh and they walked down to the Great Hall for lunch. They sat in their usual spot at the Slytherin table next to each other. Sebastian noticed Garreth up at the teachers table talking to Rosie. She was laughing at something he said, and—even though he would deny it tooth and nail—there was a tiny flicker of… something bitter and uncomfortable. So small he would’ve missed it if he wasn’t staring so hard at Garreth. He was startled, yet again, by Ominis speaking. 

“So, anything new?” He asked as he piled food onto his plate. 

“No. Nothing interesting, anyway,” Sebastian blinked a few times and turned back to get some food as well. “You?” 

“Not really. It’s been a rather boring week.” 

Sebastian hummed. He didn’t have much to say, partly because he kept getting distracted by Garreth and Rosie—has her laugh always been that loud? A few minutes went by, and neither Sebastian nor Ominis said anything to each other. It wasn’t uncommon for them to have quiet visits, but this time it felt different. 

“Are you okay?” Ominis asked. 

“Yeah, why?” Sebastian turned and saw that Ominis was doing that annoying thing where he managed to look at Sebastian despite not being able to see him. He hated it. 

“You’re awfully quiet…” he paused to think for a moment. ”And it’s been, what, twenty minutes? You haven’t mentioned Garreth once.” 

Sebastian tensed up. “Yeah, so?” His tone was sharper than he intended, but he didn’t try to take it back. 

Ominis raised his eyebrows. “For the last three and half months it’s been ‘Weasley this’ and ‘Weasley that’, and now you suddenly have nothing to say?” He took a bite of his food while he waited for Sebastian to come up with a lie. 

“I haven’t seen him lately,” Sebastian offered, maybe a touch too quickly. 

“I can hear him at the teachers table,” Ominis smirked as he sensed Sebastian grow more uncomfortable. After all these years, Ominis could tell when Sebastian was upset as easily as he could tell when it was raining. 

“Yeah, well…” Sebastian trailed off, becoming increasingly annoyed when he couldn’t think of anything to say back. 

“Sebastian,” Ominis said, bordering on accusatory. “Did something happen?” 

“No—…no,” he spoke louder than he wanted, he instantly shrunk into the corner he had backed himself into. 

Ominis’ face slowly lit up as the grimace on Sebastian’s grew more obvious. He waited, bit back a grin, and went back to his food. “Okay. Whatever you say.” 

Just then, Garreth and Rosie walked down from the front of the hall to Sebastian and Ominis, both sitting down on the other side of the table. 

“Hi, Ominis,” Garreth said, eyes staying ahead on Ominis, purposefully staying away from Sebastian. 

“Oh hello, Garreth,” Ominis was practically giddy as he spoke. “How are you today?” 

“Pretty good. Though I am going home tomorrow, so... that’ll be fun. I guess,” he replied sarcastically. 

Ominis and Rosie frowned, Sebastian was studying his lunch very closely, purposefully not engaging. 

“You don’t like your family?” Rosie asked. 

“No, it’s not that,” Garreth said, he pulled a face and looked to the side in thought. “It’s just… even though we don’t fall into most pureblood stereotypes, we still abide by a few. One of which is they’re always on my ass about when I’m going to get married and have kids,” he looked around awkwardly as he realized what he said. Again, deliberately avoiding Sebastian, who was silently choking on his spit. 

Ominis snorted. “Oh jeez, I’m sorry. My family gave up on that a long time ago.” 

“What? No women?—“ Rosie started. 

“—or men?” Ominis offered, smirking lightly. 

Garreth tried to hide the flush that crept up his face by pretending to cough, but Sebastian glanced up at that moment and saw, resulting in his own face heating up. 

“No. No… not right now anyway,” Garreth choked out. He sighed heavily and wiped his hands on his thighs. His gaze flickered to Sebastian despite himself. “You know,” he stood up, redirecting his eyes to Ominis. “I just remembered I have to get some last minute work done before I start packing. Sorry to leave so suddenly,” he turned to leave, not bothering to wait for Rosie. “It was nice seeing you Ominis, see you later!” He called over his shoulder as he walked away. 

Rosie sat there for a moment, a confused look on her face as she watched Garreth leave. Sebastian also snuck a glance at Garreth’s retreating form, simultaneously glad for his departure but also wondering why he felt the need to leave so suddenly. 

“He’s been so weird lately. I wonder what’s going on?” Rosie mused mostly to herself. 

Ominis just sat there smiling, and Sebastian looked like he would love it if the table swallowed him whole. “Who knows… could be anything,” Ominis said, the words jumbled with laughter as he went back to his food. 

She looked over at Ominis, then at Sebastian, and left with a quick good bye to them both a minute later. Once she was out of earshot, Ominis turned on Sebastian, not even trying to conceal the glee he was feeling. 

“Don’t—!” Sebastian started. Ominis held up his hands in surrender, still grinning. 

“One thing—one thing, then I’ll shut up.” 

Sebastian scowled, and rolled his eyes. “Yes, dear?” 

“About fucking time.” 

~ 

Garreth stared down at the folded jumper in his hands as he sat on his bed. His bag was next to him, halfway packed. Why did he have to bring that up? Surely Sebastian could see that Garreth didn’t share his family’s mindset, but still. It was so awkward. What if he did misread and now he thinks all Garreth wants to do is get married and have kids? Would he even care? Sebastian doesn’t seem like the type to want a bunch of kids… Garreth frowned at the observation. It literally did not even matter. He and Sebastian had just barely started to actually enjoy being around each other. If their… situation went in the direction of an actual relationship, it would be ages before they got to that point. 

“I’ve just never been very good at the whole relationsh—“

The thought was interrupted by a knock. He stared at the door for a moment before getting up. He tossed the jumper on to his open bag and turned the handle. Rosie was standing on the other side. 

“Hey,” Garreth stepped to the side to let Rosie in. She walked into the room and looked around.

“Hey,” her eyes scanned the area not sticking on anything in particular. He closed the door behind her, and waited.

“Did you… need something?” He asked, eyebrow cocked.

“Yeah… I want to know what’s going on with you and Sebastian,” she looked directly at him, even when his eyes widened and he quickly looked away, her gaze did not waver. “Something happened, right?” 

“No. Not really,” he turned around towards his bag and continued to pack halfheartedly. “Why, uh… why do you ask?” 

“You guys don’t fight anymore. Honestly, it’s weirder than when you did fight,” she crossed her arms and scrutinized him. 

“Oh, um. I hadn’t really noticed…” he threw a glance back at her for a second before returning to his bag. “Guess I got bored.” 

“Or…” Rosie started, she circled around the room and stood closer to Garreth. “You guys realized there was more going on and now you’re both in over your heads.”

Garreth felt his face heat up, and he tried to hide it but he knew it was too obvious. “It’s nothing, really.” 

Rosie’s face lit up. “Okay, I’ll leave it alone. For now,” she smiled and slowly made her way back to his door. “You go have your little visit home, but when you come back, just know,” she pointed two fingers at herself then turned them on him. “I’ll be watching.” 

“You’re creepy,” Garreth smirked at her as she left the room. Rosie just shrugged and closed the door behind her. 

Garreth sighed. He hadn’t wanted for her to find out, but apparently he lost the ability to lie. As Garreth continued packing his bag, he couldn’t help but worry what kind of consequences would surface from Rosie knowing that something happened. Even though nothing really happened, Garreth had a feeling Sebastian would definitely not want people knowing. 

~

It had only barely been over a week since Sebastian had finally accepted what was between him and Garreth. Yet, the week that Garreth was gone, Sebastian was annoyed to find that he was more bored than he had been in a while. He spent his days flip flopping between accepting and rejecting the situation, like usual. This time though, if he wasn’t bored, he was irritated by it. Garreth hadn’t told him how long he was going to be gone for, but Sebastian knew he had to be back by the day before classes resumed. So, when he trudged into the Great Hall on the last Friday morning of the break, and he saw Garreth talking to Rosie, he felt a lurch that was still very new and weird. The scowl that appeared was immediate, and only got worse as he got closer to the front of the room. He grumbled internally about how Garreth had set something off balance in him, and he hated all the new feelings that came with it. Sebastian sat down on one end of the table, avoiding eye contact with Garreth, and focused on his food. 

When he was about halfway done with eating, Sebastian looked up when he heard someone walk up towards the teachers sitting at the table. It was a student, Sebastian couldn’t remember her name, but it didn't matter. She wasn’t there for him. 

“Professor Weasley!” She called as she approached the table. “I hope you had a good Christmas.” She stood a couple feet away from Garreth, her hands clasped behind her back. 

“Good morning, Mary. I did, thank you,” Sebastian glanced over, it looked like Garreth was lying. “Did you?” 

“I did! I wanted to tell you I finally managed to brew a successful Swelling Solution,” she beamed as she told him. Sebastian frowned and looked back down at his plate, but was still listening in on the conversation. 

“You did? That’s great!” Garreth sounded genuinely pleased. He leaned forward a bit as Mary started telling him about how she made it, then used it on her grandmum. The sound of Garreth laughing stirred up something restless in Sebastian. It really wasn’t that funny. 

“Yeah,” Mary said sheepishly. “Mum scolded me pretty heavy, but you should’ve seen it—she got huge!” Garreth chuckled and leaned back in his chair. Sebastian couldn’t help the way his eyes drifted over and when he saw Garreth looking at her with that same patient yet amused look, a sharp feeling stabbed through him. He frowned and turned away. 

“While I can’t condone blowing up your grandparents,” Garreth laughed as he spoke. “I am happy that you were able to make something so advanced. That’s impressive,” he really did sound impressed. Sebastian didn’t think it was that admirable. 

“Thank you, Professor,” Sebastian’s gaze was drawn back to Mary. She had a slight blush on her cheeks and she was looking at Garreth funny. Sebastian’s grip on his fork tightened as he watched the student gush. 

As Sebastian stabbed his eggs with more force than needed, he stewed over why he even cared. Why was he so stuck on a student being excited they succeeded in doing something difficult? Sebastian’s had students do the same exact thing. They would seek him out to tell him they finally won a duel or cast a Patronus. It was perfectly normal. Then why did this particular instance make Sebastian want to claw his eyes out? He took one last sip of his drink, and got up to leave. He preferred not to dwell on the possible answer.

~

Sebastian was outside in the Transfiguration courtyard glaring at the snow when Garreth found him. He looked up when he heard Garreth approach, then went back to his brooding as Garreth sat down next to him. 

“Why are you out here? It’s freezing,” Garreth wrapped his arms tight around himself as he hunched over. He turned to Sebastian, and didn’t look away for what felt like too long. 

“It’s not that bad. I like the cold.” 

“Then why are you making that face?” Garreth smirked. 

“That’s just my face.” He sighed and let his eyes drift over to Garreth. He felt a tiny twinge in his chest at the sight that made his frown deepen. Garreth’s hair and eyes were vibrant against the white and gray that surrounded them. There were tiny snowflakes that had landed in his hair. Sebastian rubbed his hands together and looked away. 

“How was your family?” Sebastian scuffed his foot in the snow and looked up at the tree in front of them. 

“Awful. I don’t know why I bother anymore,” Garreth sighed, sounding very dejected. “It’s always the same… I got into a huge fight with my mum.” 

“About what?” 

Garreth sighed again, and waited for a moment before answering. He scrubbed a hand over his face as he spoke. “She desperately wants me to settle down, and for some reason she thinks guilt tripping me will work… it’s gone from kind of annoying to infuriating.” He paused and threw a sidelong look at Sebastian. “The second she starts talking I just want to leave. I’ve told her so many times that it’s not going to happen any time soon, but she keeps pushing me. So and so’s daughter is single, she’s nice. What about her?” 

“Does she… know?” Sebastian sounded unsure in his question, and Garreth was confused at first. Then they made eye contact and he knew what Sebastian was getting at. 

“Kind of. I’ve never explicitly told them, but they know. She wouldn’t care who I settled down with. She just wants it to happen.” Garreth was quiet for a while, and Sebastian didn’t try to fill the silence. It was the easiest part of their situation so far. “It’s just… with her constant hounding, it makes me even more reluctant to bring anyone home. Because I know exactly what would happen. I don’t want you to have to—uh, I mean…” 

Sebastian’s head snapped toward Garreth, he felt a strange flutter in his stomach that made him uneasy. Garreth’s face flushed deeply and he looked away. His hands fidgeted anxiously in his lap, and his knee started bouncing. “I don’t—it’s… you know what I mean, right?” 

A small, borderline mischievous smile found its way onto Sebastian’s face. “How considerate of you, Garreth.” His intention had been to poke slightly at him for his slip, but the second Sebastian said his name, something else settled in. Sebastian realized this was the first time he had actually called Garreth by his first name. 

It felt and sounded strange, but not inherently bad. Just another thing to add to the growing list of new things Sebastian was dealing with. Sebastian vaguely noted Garreth’s expression, he must have come to the same realization. Sebastian pressed his lips into a thin line and held eye contact for a moment, before it became too much for him to handle. He went back to watching the snow. The sense of peace Sebastian felt while watching the flakes fall was a stark contrast to the mess of feelings that were currently fighting within him. Each one desperate to be noticed. 

~

Four days had gone by since Garreth got back, classes picked up as normal, but every time Sebastian saw the girl from that day he was reminded of that morning. It wasn’t anything personal against her, she was a child. It was more like she was just a catalyst for the awkward memory of how Sebastian felt when he saw how Garreth talked to her. Much to the chagrin of Sebastian, ever since that day, he had become very attentive to who was talking to Garreth, and how he responded to them. Something inside him was very interested in finding out just how different Garreth was with other people. Sebastian was in Rosie’s classroom visiting her when Garreth walked in. He was holding a small book in one hand, and his footsteps slowed when he saw Sebastian. He looked between him and Rosie hesitantly, but kept going. 

“Hi Rosie. Here’s that book you let me borrow,” he walked up and handed her the novel. She looked up at Garreth, over to Sebastian, then once more to Garreth. 

Sebastian swears he saw a hint of a smile when Rosie noticed that neither of them were glaring at each other or had tried to immediately pick a fight. 

“Oh, thank you, Garreth. How kind of you to return it in a timely manner,” she spoke in a tone that made Sebastian cock his head slightly. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her reach out for the book, and her fingers reached a little too far, dragging along Garreth’s hand as she grabbed the book. 

Garreth didn’t seem to notice… or at least didn’t react to it. 

“Of course. It was really good,” he commented, smiling as he talked. Sebastian frowned, why wasn’t Garreth noticing how weird Rosie was acting? 

Then Rosie let out a giggle, and that same bothersome feeling returned. Rosie didn’t giggle. Well, she did, but not like that. 

“I know, right?” She was sitting on a desk, her feet swung back and forth as she leaned toward Garreth, a coy look on her face. Still, Garreth seemed unfazed. “I have a bunch more in my room. You’re welcome to come see what I have any time.” 

“Oh, uh, thank you. That’s nice of you,” Garreth replied, still smiling, and still looking directly at her. Sebastian crossed his arms and looked off to the side. How long does it take to return a book? 

“Of course. I’m happy to help out such a good friend,” Rosie replied sweetly and her eyes flickered over to Sebastian. He had never heard her speak like that before and, as he snuck a glance in their direction, he knows he’s never seen her bat her eyelashes either. Sebastian huffed and turned his attention away again. He definitely did not want to see how Garreth now seemed to be matching her energy in a strange, bothersome way.

Garreth looked at Sebastian, confusion flashing across his face when he saw him basically pouting. A tiny flicker of suspicion appeared, but Garreth ignored it. It wasn’t important.. for now. 

~

When Sebastian walked into the Great Hall on Sunday morning, he looked up and saw that the weather was clear. He was glad for it, he had wanted to do something that day he hadn’t done in a while. He took his usual spot at the professor's table, and when he was done eating, he went back to his room to grab his coat. PThe walk down to the Care of Magical Creatures classroom was nice. The weather had stayed consistently clear, and the sun was out. Even though the sunlight reflected off the snow blindingly white, it didn’t dampen his mood. More surprising, though, was when he approached the pens and saw Garreth standing by the fence, his mood still didn’t waver. Sebastian crossed his arms tightly around himself and walked up to stand next to Garreth. A tiny bit closer than he would have last week. 

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked, even though it was very clear what Garreth was doing. 

“Feeding the kneazles,” he replied. If he was surprised to see Sebastian, he did not look it. “What are you doing?” 

“Hm. Feeding the kneazles,” a quiet huff of laughter escaped. He immediately cleared his throat in a vain attempt to disguise it. 

Garreth simply nodded and crouched down, hand outstretched through the slats of the fence. A couple of the other kneazles in the pen came up to greet Sebastian, and he felt a faint sense of pride in the display of familiarity from the animals. There were a few minutes of silence between them. Garreth was still squatting, and Sebastian petted the kneazles that came to him. 

“Do you come down here a lot?” Garreth stood back up and put his hands in his pockets. 

“Normally, yes. I haven’t lately. I’ve been neglecting them,” he joked. 

“Yes, they seem very cross with you about your absence,” Garreth teased back. He watched as Sebastian scratched one of the animals behind their ear, a content look on its face. 

Sebastian didn’t reply. He let the space between them be filled with the quiet that had become comforting for him. As much as he would claim otherwise. He reached into the bag of food that was near Garreth’s feet and offered some to the creatures. 

“We actually used to have a pet kneazle,” Sebastian said. He didn’t look over at Garreth, his eyes remained on the kneazle in front of him. “Well, kind of. She lived near our house as children, and would come eat the vegetables in the garden. I was seven, and determined to get her to like me.” His tone was steady, and had a sense of nostalgia behind it. “So, I would spend hours trying to offer her random food I had snuck out. Eventually she came around. I named her Molly…” he suddenly sounded sad as he continued speaking. “I was so sad when she stopped coming round. I was worried something happened to her. My dad told me she probably just moved and forgot to say goodbye,” a wistful smile appeared, and then he shifted back into silence. 

Garreth didn’t reply for a long while, his gaze still trained on Sebastian. When he did finally say something, it was barely louder than a whisper. “You should show this side of you more often. I like it.” 

The comment was benign, but it caught Sebastian off guard. When he looked over at Garreth, his expression was startling. As harmless as his words had been, his face conveyed something much deeper and purposeful. The contrast and intensity made Sebastian feel fidgety, and want to look away, but he wasn’t sure he could even if he wanted to. The space between them had become heavy. Not uncomfortable. Just… heavy. Sebastian was finally able to tear his eyes away from Garreth. He tilted his head to the side in a feeble attempt to shield himself from the attention. 

“Don’t be weird,” Sebastian mumbled. He hoped Garreth couldn't see the faint heat he felt creep up his neck. 

~

Sebastian had found himself teetering on the edge of a stupor even three days after he saw Garreth at the kneazle pen. He wasn’t entirely sure why, he chalked it up to seeing the animals for the first time in a while. He really did enjoy feeding and spending time with them. Yet, Garreth’s voice was what floated through his mind throughout the day. During these moments, he would blink and feel the need to look away, as though someone was watching and had caught him. So, when Wednesday rolled around and Ominis showed up for their weekly lunch, the distraction was welcome. Sebastian was walking Ominis down to the apparition point when they ran into Garreth. 

“Hello, Ominis,” Garreth walked up to them and stopped, he didn’t look at Sebastian. 

“Oh, hi, Garreth. How are you? Have a good Christmas?” Ominis asked. Sebastian had kept walking but stopped about two steps ahead when he noticed Ominis wasn’t next to him anymore. He rolled his eyes and went back. He didn’t want to know what sly comments he would make this time. 

“I’m good. It was, um, tolerable,” Garreth looked to the side awkwardly. 

“Oh, that’s right. I remember what you said about your family. Sorry for bringing it up,” Ominis grimaced in apology. 

“It’s okay. I’m surprised you even remembered.” 

Sebastian eyed Garreth, why did he say it like that? Of course Ominis remembered. 

“I have been known to remember things sometimes,” Ominis chuckled. Garreth laughed too. Sebastian figured it was kind of funny. “You know, why don’t you just take the easy way out and marry one of your cousins? I’m sure you have plenty of those.” 

“Oh no, sorry, I’ll leave that to the professionals. Like you,” Garreth shot back, a teasing smirk on his face. 

Ominis laughed. “That’s funny,” he turned towards Sebastian. “He’s actually funny. Who knew!” 

Sebastian grumbled. Trying to ignore the uncomfortable tension pulling tighter within him, but it was proving more difficult by the second. “Yeah I guess,” he crossed his arms and looked away. Refusing to make eye contact with Garreth. “Don’t you have to get back to work, Ominis?” 

“Not really. Helen isn’t working, so there’s no one there to scold me for being a couple minutes late. Why? Trying to get rid of me?” Ominis smirked, a little too knowingly for Sebastian’s taste. 

Garreth gave Sebastian a once over, his attention lingering for a second on Sebastian’s scowl and crossed arms. He made a curious face, but kept quiet for now. 

“No,” Sebastian quickly answered as he awkwardly shifted his weight. “Just don’t want you to be late is all.” 

“Hm. I see,” Ominis bit back a smirk and turned back toward Garreth. “I may not have to get back to work, but I assume you both do. I’ll see you two later,” he started to walk to the castle gate, head tilted down as he left. “Sebastian, Garreth.” 

“Okay. Bye, Ominis,” Garreth watched him walk away then turned to Sebastian, who was still pouting. He didn’t look at Garreth, but he didn’t move to leave, either. Sebastian was currently deciding if he wanted to do anything about the huge pit that opened up in him. 

It tightened when Ominis started talking to Garreth, and only got worse as their conversation continued. Sebastian wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much, and didn’t want to examine it too closely, because he worried that the answer would be something he didn’t like. However, it was difficult to ignore the feeling when Garreth was standing there studying him. Sebastian’s jaw tightened, and he focused his attention toward the lake on his right. He finally turned and started walking back toward the castle without another word. 

Garreth frowned and followed him, unsure of the cause for the sudden cold shoulder. He didn’t say anything, or try to stop Sebastian. Instead he just resorted to walking a few feet behind him as he tried to figure out what was going on. He had an idea, but he didn’t want to assume. The closer Sebastian got to the castle, the most upset he became. His mind was stuck on the ease between Garreth and Ominis. Like they had been friends for years. It made him feel unsettled, and he hated it. Sebastian had just walked through the main doors, and despite his bad mood, he stopped and reluctantly held the door open for Garreth. He was surprised how close Garreth had been behind him. Stupid long legs. 

“Sebastian—“ Garreth started as they walked through the entrance. Most of the students had headed back to their common rooms before class started. 

“What,” Sebastian spat, he rounded on Garreth and glared at him. 

“What’s wrong? Why are you acting weird?” Garreth tried to keep his voice down, he looked around to make sure no one was lingering nearby. 

“I’m not… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sebastian paced closer towards the wall. 

Garreth narrowed his eyes and watched Sebastian pace. He tried to replay the conversation with Ominis in his head. Garreth had seen them walking down the path, and Sebastian had seemed fine, but obviously something changed at some point. Maybe he had a bad visit with Ominis? It seemed unlikely, they had been inseparable for as long as he could remember. It was still possible though. 

“Did I say, or do something wrong?” 

Sebastian glanced at him, his expression softened just barely for a second before going back to a scowl. “No.” 

“Okay… did.. Ominis do something?” 

He noticed Sebastian sigh heavily, and saw the muscles in his jaw contract. He walked back towards one side of the wall and looked away. 

“I might be way off base here, sorry if I am. But… are you… jea—“ 

Garreth didn’t get to finish his question, because Sebastian had stopped his pacing and tensed up, dread opening up in him as soon as Garreth spoke. He walked up and smacked Garreth on his arm in a desperate attempt to get him to stop talking. Garreth recoiled, and grabbed the spot where Sebastian had just hit him. 

“Ow! What the he—“ Garreth groaned, but was cut off again. Sebastian had looked around, realizing he had inadvertently backed himself into a literal corner. He saw a door next to them and prayed it was somewhere that would make this moment not as threatening. 

He opened the door and dragged them both in. It was a broom closet, and even though they were away from anyone who might stumble upon them, the close proximity only made what Sebastian was feeling even more unbearable and suffocating. His hands wrung in front of him, his eyes were wide and borderline frantic. The room was entirely too small, barely two feet were between him and Garreth, and Sebastian thought he might cry from the jagged energy that stormed inside him. 

“You don’t—“ Sebastian’s voice was shaky as he pointed his finger at Garreth. “No one— I don’t—…” words became harder to form the more he tried. It wasn’t working. His chest heaved as he stared at Garreth. His maddeningly patient and accepting eyes made Sebastian want to rip his hair out. Why did he have to be so accepting? 

Sebastian was moving before he could form a coherent thought, he just needed whatever was going on to stop. He closed the space between him and Garreth, his hands clutched the fabric of Garreth’s shirt and he pressed their mouths together forcefully, teeth clicking harshly. It was either that or fight him, and Sebastian didn’t want to fight. 

The force of the kiss caught them both off guard. Garreth’s hands were out at his sides, trying to steady himself as Sebastian moved aggressively against him. Garreth wasn’t sure what to make of this. Sebastian was kissing him but he acted like he wanted Garreth gone. Sebastian’s fingers were gripping his shirt and pulling him closer, but his mouth was pushing against him. 

Garreth thought it seemed like Sebastian needed to be grounded, more than anything, so he did what felt most natural: he brought his hands to rest on Sebastian’s arms and just laid them there. Gentle yet firm, and pushed back against Sebastian. Not trying to control, but just trying to match his energy. 

It seemed to register with Sebastian because as Garreth opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, his fingers wrapping around Sebastian arms and sliding up then back down, Sebastian’s own grip on Garreth loosened. 

His fingers slowly uncurled from Garreth’s shirt as he let himself accept what was happening. The overwhelming feelings in him were tamped down by Garreth’s presence. Sebastian exhaled through his nose, and his body relaxed. He gradually slowed his movements until the kiss turned from angry and messy, to controlled and intentional. 

The wrenching knot he felt in his gut was slowly replaced by something else. Something that made him want to sink into Garreth. Sebastian’s hands flattened out on Garreth’s chest, and then made their way up to his shoulders, then his neck, resting on the sides. When Garreth slid his hands down to Sebastian’s waist, it sent goosebumps down his sides and he gave in. 

Though Sebastian never would have admitted it, the only thing that stopped him were the bells that echoed through the castle to signal that class was starting soon. He pulled away suddenly, as if the sound shocked him. Sebastian’s hands lingered on Garreth for a fraction of a second before he pulled those away too. 

He stood with his back against the door, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. They made eye contact, but Sebastian couldn’t keep looking, it was like staring at the sun. Sebastian tried to take deeper breaths, to calm himself, because how the hell was he supposed to go teach now? 

Sebastian raised his hand, pointing at Garreth like he did only minutes ago, but this time it wasn’t out of jealous confusion. “Don’t,” Sebastian’s tone was firm, but he felt a smile tugging at his mouth despite himself. “Don’t let this go to your head.” 

Garreth looked dazed, his breathing was still uneven and a bit labored. When Sebastian spoke, Garreth seemed to be brought back to reality. He refocused and looked at Sebastian as if seeing him for the first time, then he noticed how Sebastian was fighting back a smile. Garreth smirked, but before he could reply, Sebastian had walked out the door and left.