Author's note: again, terribly sorry about the delay in this, a lot of stuff happened. Please enjoy~!

“Daesung!”

A pair of arms sneak around his shoulders as someone clings to his back, making him stumble into Youngbae, hitting their heads together. The older Hufflepuff is of no help, bursting into laughter and leaning back as they both rub their foreheads with a hand as Daesung tries shaking the offender off.

“Seungri! Off!”

His ears pick up the familiar barking laughter as the weight leaves his back. Daesung huffs and straightens up, pretending to be angry and failing like usual. Seungri is just grinning at him with a smug expression but whatever he’s about to say gets cut off by another laugh as he looks him up and down.

“What are you wearing?”

The apprentice blinks, uncrossing his arms and looking down at himself, flushing slightly. Alright, so maybe he had gone a bit overboard with his Holyhead Harpies shirt and the little flags and the face paint and the hat… but he’s so excited! It’s been forever since he’s been to a Quidditch match and this one involves his favourite team! Seungri is still laughing so he playfully shoves at the Gryffindor before locking his head with an arm and dragging him along.

Their way to the meeting point is filled with whiny protest and laughter as the two Hufflepuffs casually talk about the post-New Year’s usual craziness. St. Mungo’s is as packed with people suffering from festive spells gone wrong as back during Christmas and Ollivanders is picking up after a weeklong lull in customers. Seungri keeps complaining and swatting at his arms but Daesung is happy to ignore him – at least until a pair of fine robes catches his eyes.

“Seunghyun!”

Finally letting his friend go he almost skips over as the two purebloods turn at their group almost in synch, smiling and narrowing their eyes in happiness at the same time. He claps Jiyong on the shoulder, smiling back, before slipping both his arms over his boyfriend’s shoulders. Seunghyun chuckles, kissing his cheek and resting both hands at the small of his back. From the corner of his eye he spies the Ravenclaw’s slight flushing face as he squeezes his own boyfriend’s hands and he tries to hide his laughter at the nervous awkwardness of it all, so similar to their earlier interactions.

“Don’t I get a hug?”

Their moment is interrupted by Youngbae’s playful scowl, making them all exchange glances quickly before pouncing on him. The tackle-hug is a bit too strong since he’s the shortest and they all sway together dangerously before straightening themselves, laughing. He ends up in the middle of them as they try to make their way into the stadium, liking arms with Daesung and Jiyong.

The young Hufflepuff had thought the Ministry was packed during the Yuletide event but that was nothing compared with how many people are around the area. Magical tents are set up everywhere, some of the spectators already red faced and drunk, some already fired up and ready to start fighting, others singing and jumping around. Seungri insists on stopping to get some sweets and butterbeers. Eventually they reach the stairs that lead into the highest part of the stadium, the Top Box, right between the goal posts.

Daesung and Youngbae have always watched from the stands and usually they would have refused tickets to the box on account of how limited and expensive they were but both purebloods had insisted on it as Christmas gifts and not having to worry about being elbowed by other people was tempting enough. There are about twenty seats inside and more than enough room for them – two people are already there, the game’s commentator and the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

Bit of a mouthful, Daesung thinks, but keeps it to himself as Seunghyun introduces all of them to the Ministry’s employee since they already know each other. He’s a nice enough man, probably in his fifties, and gestures for them to sit after chatting casually for a few minutes, telling them to get ready for the game. More people fill in after they take their seats – Youngbae sill in the middle of them all – and most of them are clearly either purebloods, rich, or both.

It would make him feel a bit uncomfortable if he wasn’t excited for the match or sitting with his friend or if Seunghyun’s thumb didn’t keep brushing against his knuckles in soothing, rhythmic motions. Seungri passes along the drinks and the candy while they wait for the match to start, rambling about something this player will do or that team was planning, things he isn’t supposed to know but does anyway, like usual.

The referee finally comes out and the crowd immediately starts cheering, their chants growing louder and louder as both the Harpies and Puddlemere teams enter the field and mount up, facing each other. Daesung and Youngbae clasp their hands together and raise them up in a familiar gesture, despite cheering on opposite teams. It doesn’t even matter who wins to them, although they did make a better and the loser will have to wear the other team’s jersey for a week.

After a long, tense moment of silence the balls are kicked off and the referee blows her whistle, signaling the beginning of the match. Daesung inches forward, bringing his omnioculars to his eyes and forgetting about the butterbeer and food and the other guests as the Harpies’ chasers immediately grab the quaffle and speed off. Pass, pass, dodge, interception and Puddlemere has the ball now – it’s such an incredibly fast sport and he can barely keep up.

The commentator is as excited as he is, shouting whenever something particularly riveting happens. It reminds him of listening to football matches with his parents and if he wasn’t so focused on what’s happening he’d marvel at how sports seem to invoke the same cheerful and competitive spirit in people regardless of what sport it is, regardless of whether it’s magical or not.

He bites down on a nail, seeing the chasers evading the Harpies’ defense. One of them stands on his broom, clutching to the quaffle, leaping off into the air and shooting it – “a Chelmondiston Charge!” the announcer shouts and Daesung stands up in his seat as the entire crowd hold their breaths in, sitting down in relief when the keeper rises up to the challenge, grabbing the ball and quickly throwing it to the other side of the field.

Dodge, pass, feint, pass, pass, oh that bludger was too close! Youngbae and him end up placing an arm over each other’s shoulders, gripping them tightly whenever a chaser approaches the goal posts. Seungri started out trying not to seem too interested in the game but is now making ridiculous outrageous faces whenever someone tries a riskier move and fails, jumping up and gesticulating and causing Jiyong to stare at him while laughing silently.

There’s a bit of the commotion in a corner of the field, both seekers trying to fool the other, that almost makes him miss the Harpies’s first goal. Daesung shouts with the rest of the crowd, standing lighting fast and cheering as loud as he can. With how quickly these matches go Puddlemere will score right afterwards but the first goal was by the Harpies! Yes!

He vaguely registers a bark of a laugh coming from the right and blinks, turning his head to find Seungri holding his stomach and Jiyong looking at him with too much amusement, like he’s about to burst into laughter too. Even Youngbae is staring with an eye smile, biting down on his lips. “What?” nobody answers. “What is it?”

The Ravenclaw’s eyes flicker somewhere else and he follows them to Seunghyun staring at him too, eyes comically wide and leaning back in his seat even as their hands remain clasped together. The expression on his face makes Daesung’s cheeks burn red as he sits back down, clearing his throat awkwardly and apologizing quickly. Maybe he should have made it clear how much of a Quidditch fan he is.

His hand is squeezed reassuringly and he looks up to see the look on his boyfriend’s face shift into something soft and gentle. His forming grin is wide enough to show dimples, eyes shining in amusement as he laughs just a little. Daesung rolls his eyes but smiles while bumping their shoulders together, squeezing the older man’s hand back. Seungri is still laughing at the other end of their seats and his weak glare is completely ineffective at making him stop.

Puddlemere scores right then, pulling all of his attention back to the match. Jiyong manages to be the calmest one amongst them, mostly sitting back and hiding his amused smiled behind a hand whenever one of them jumps up and shouts something; Seunghyun keeps holding Daesung’s hand throughout, looking as if he’s not understanding most of what’s going on; Seungri is the one who shouts and gesticulates dramatically the most despite neither team being his favourite; Youngbae keeps bouncing slightly in his chair, cheering even when the goals scored are against his team.

Puddlemere scores again, then the Harpies, Puddlemere, Harpies, Puddlemere – the game turns into a frenzy the longer it goes on, the beaters on both teams trying their hardest to make the chasers’ movements difficult. A roar on the right side of the stadium after a little over an hour gathers everyone’s attention as the seekers speed up, neck to neck. The entire crowd inhales sharply, eyes glued to the scene as the Puddlemere’s seeker takes a plunge and closes his fingers around the golden snitch, winning them the match.

The younger Hufflepuff groans as half the stadium stands up and cheers, but squeezes Youngbae’s shoulder and congratulates him, promising to wear the jersey during the next week. Seungri completely gives up any pretense of being aloof and steps up right to the edge of the box, raising both arms and shouting a loud “YEAH!” making the rest of them just burst into laughter, poking at him with their feet and teasingly complaining that his team isn’t even playing. The Gryffindor is not deterred at all, arms still stretched and index fingers pointing up as he keeps shouting.

Daesung twist a little in his seat to bury his face into Seunghyun’s shoulder, trying to muffle his laughter at their friend’s antics and carefree nature. An arm sneaks its way around his waist, a hand rests at his hip and he feels the rumble of the Slytherin’s chuckles shake his head slightly, making his heart threaten to burst with happiness.