Baby, I've been here before

Of course he'd ended up back at the school. Shylock had spent the day trying to convince himself that he wasn't going to do this, which was more or less a give-away that he actually would. And then, he had, because his self control was delicate and fragile and would be better off saved up for preventing him doing other things.

It had nothing to do with wanting to snog his boyfriend's face off. Like, at all.

Besides, it was too early for that. Judging by how many kids were still out in the halls, it wasn't even dinner time yet. Selwyn was sensitive about the kids. Or, Shylock supposed, he was sensitive about their parents. Either way, he didn't want them figuring out their relationship. Personally, Shylock thought that was ridiculous, since Pierson's relationship was common knowledge, but it wasn't worth getting into an argument over.

So with all this in mind, Shylock started making his way up to Selwyn's rooms.

As soon as he left Kaiden's office, everything was pulled into focus and Selwyn was suddenly a lot less sure of himself.

He strode up to the sixth floor, eyes trained on the floor as he replayed everything that had just happened in his mind. He was confident he didn't need to watch his step; he knew the castle like the back of his hand and not many people were willing to cross paths with an angry veela.

It was just typical that one of the people who was would be in this corridor.

Unfortunately, the first he knew of it was when a pair of arms looped round his midsection and pulled him into the alcove created by two buttresses.

When Selwyn looked up into Shylock's eyes, he was surprised - because he hadn't been expecting him - and not - because who else would do that?

"Let me go."

Okay, maybe his self control wouldn't be preserved by being here.

He laced his fingers together behind Selwyn's back, no longer precisely holding him, but not letting go, either.

"I will when you calm down," he said. "You're scaring everyone."

And that was unlike him. Shylock had told Selwyn enough times that he loved him for himself, not for what he was. But after a while, Shylock had stopped, because it was obvious that no matter what he said, Selwyn's brain wasn't going to let him stop feeling guilty. So what could make him not care about exposing a school full of children to the fright of their lives?

"Is Christian okay?" he asked.

"That's the idea."

He was much less averse to people being afraid of him than he was to their attraction.  At least people who were afraid were mostly smart enough to keep away.  Mostly.

Nevertheless, he took a moment to clamp down on his irritation until it would be indistinguishable from the rest of Hogwarts' background magic.

"No, Christian's fine.  It's - "

It was Addie, and Kaiden, and more importantly Oliver, who Shylock didn't even know about yet.

"It's something else," he finished, reaching behind himself to tug Shylock's wrist loose.

"Come on, I can't just blurt it out in the middle of the hall."

That was astonishingly easy. Suspiciously easy. Shylock had expected more resistance. Getting information out of Selwyn when he didn't want to share was like getting gold out of Gringotts without a key.

As he was dragged down the hallway, Shylock wondered whether Selwyn was just playing for time so they could have a proper row out of everyone's hearing. And if not, well, that prospect made him more nervous.

"You don't have to pull my arm out of the socket," he complained as they walked through Selwyn's office to the sleeping quarters beyond.

Shylock had always thought - well, for the last year had thought, since he hadn't known or cared before then - that the setup for the Hogwarts staff's personal rooms was entirely inadequate. He flopped onto Selwyn's bed and looked around at the inadequate furnishings. Even the Deputy Headmaster didn't get his own kitchenette? How unfair.

"So, what's news?" he asked, trying to sound a lot more carefree than he felt.

What's news? Probably the least helpful question right now.  Selwyn wondered which bit of news he ought to tell Shylock about first.

He perched on the edge of the bed, with one leg tucked beneath him and the other trailing over the side.  At least Shylock couldn't complain about him being angry any more.

"You know Kaiden?" he said. "Did you know he has a twin?"

Shylock rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I think we can safely say that-"

He cut himself off as Selwyn finished his second sentence and settled for giving him an very cool stare.

"So do I," he said. "I have four, so I think I win."

Shylock knew where this was going.  It was the wizarding world's very own version of The Parent Trap.  Except instead of parents, they'd trapped lovers.

"What was he?  Their man in the iron mask?  I don't suppose he has a name?" he asked bitterly.

Selwyn bit his lip and dropped his gaze to the duvet. He felt himself flush as he imagined being in Shylock's position. It was all too easy to do. Monroe might be excessively formal, but Selwyn was certain that with the right motivation he'd have little trouble imitating Shylock.

His mind raced to the next link in that causal chain and he actually felt a chill run up his spine. He thought that only happened in books. Badly written books, at that. How could Shylock be so calm about this?

"Oliver," he said, looking up. "His name's Oliver."

"Kaiden didn't say where they kept him before. He probably doesn't know. I don't think he's lying about the memory thing."

"I don't remember him from school, but I only remember Kaiden because I didn't like him," Selwyn shrugged.

"He might not even have gone to school with us," Shylock said. "He could have gone to Durmstrang or anywhere."

And it wasn't like he'd have noticed. Conversation hadn't been a large part of their relationship. Shylock had never liked thinking of it as a relationship.

"Oliver," he said, trying the name on his tongue. "It's too nice a name for someone like that."

"People called Oliver are supposed to be solid, trustworthy types. The ones who'll deck you for breaking their sister's heart on principle, but then they'll shout you a beer after 'cause all's fair in love and war."

He caught Selwyn's gaze.

"I'm rambling. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be. It was nothing."

"It's fine."

It was not nothing, and Shylock was clearly not as calm as he was trying to act, but Selwyn didn't know what to do about it.  Shylock was good at managing other people's emotions and terrible at coping with his own.  When things got difficult, he tended to withdraw, and Selwyn didn't think he could cope with that right now.

"I was talking to Kaiden because Addie was here," he changed the topic. "I asked her to move out."