Meddle.

It could have been a month or,
It could have been a year,
But I, I gave up long before,
Long before you cared.

CHAPTER 1: INSIGNIFICANT DOMINOES

A single, seemingly insignificant day can change a whole life.

All change starts with seemingly insignificant things. The first domino piece slowly knocking over the intricately set up dominoes. A chain of events, all interconnected, interrelated.

The very first domino piece was knocked down on a Tuesday. A quick, fleeting interaction.

There was a blond man. He was walking. And then there was a man with jet black hair, with green eyes, and with a peculiar scar on his forehead. The man - the brunet - walked past the ordinary day. He was content with it. He had had his fair share of extraordinary days, and he was long past those. It was a beautiful day, albeit an ordinary one. Every day that passed was more beautiful than the last, because every day that passed was more unlikely than the last. He was walking, staring at the sky, at buildings, at things. At anything, at everything.

A bad idea, considering he was walking through one of the most crowded areas in London.

He bumped into the blond man, and managed to spill the contents of the cup in his hand. Coffee spilled all over the clothes of the blond man. The brunet, the distracted brunet dropped the cup. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice slightly panicked, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to - I'll pay for the clothes."

He was met with a look of shock. Shock quickly turned to annoyance. And then to surprise. " ... Potter?"

Harry looked up at the mention of his name. He squinted, before taking a step back. "Malfoy."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes."

Harry scratched his head. He looked to the side, almost hesitant. He then looked at Draco's coffee-stained clothes, and started cursing under his breath. "I'll..." He sighed. He didn't need to offer to pay for it. Magic would take care of it almost instantly. He bit his lip. "I'm sorry."

Draco looked at him, silent. He was thinking, scrutinizing the moment. "Whatever. It's all right."

The brunet felt awkward under Draco's gaze. He bit his lip, his answer surprising him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." He replied. "It's fine."

Harry stared up at Draco. Draco was staring back at him. It had been four years since the war. Four years since Hogwarts. Four years since the last time they saw each other. Harry honestly expected Draco to hate him, and Draco expected the same of Harry. There was mutual fear of each other, and for good reason.

There was silence, and an unwillingness to leave. Both of them wanted to leave, there was no doubt about that. But neither of them would leave. Neither of them would break the silence, or the locked gaze.

It was strange.

"Well, I've... I've got to make this up to you somehow." Harry said, breaking the silence. He wasn't sure why he offered. His hand was in his pocket, clutching his wand. Just in case.

Draco shook his head. "No, it's all right. I caused you to spill your coffee, Potter." He told him. "I'm the one who has to make it up to you. There's a coffee shop at the end of this block. Follow me." He spilled out, speaking and walking faster than he could think about what he was doing. Harry stared at him for a few moments, confused. He followed after him, thinking it would be rude not to. He still kept his hand in his pocket.

Draco led him to the coffee shop. The façade was an old, closed-up bookstore. It was small. There was an old, battered sign that had 'BOOKS' written on it. Draco knocked on it thrice, before turning the knob. He stepped inside, and Harry followed. Inside was a coffee shop, much larger than the space outside would possibly let it have. It was filled with wizards, witches. It was comfortable, and dry, and smelled of homely things. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with all sorts of magical books. There were two fireplaces: one for fire, one for traveling. Draco took off his jacket and cast a spell on it, drying and cleaning it. Harry watched, still silent. The whole situation was confusing.

"Sit," he told him.

Harry sat down. Draco sat opposite him, putting his jacket back on. Harry looked at him, before finally asking him what he wanted to. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but..." He bit his lip, and looked up at Draco. "What were you doing? I didn't... I didn't expect to run into you. And in muggle clothes, of all things."

Draco smirked. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, Potter?"

"It has." Harry admitted.

A woman came to take their orders. She raised an eyebrow, eying their clothing. She shrugged, and then widened her eyes when she saw the scar. She bit her lip, immediately correcting the attitude. It had been a long time, but nothing had changed. Harry smiled at her. Draco rolled his eyes. He gave her his order, and Harry did the same.

After a few moments of silence, Draco repeated his answer. "It's been a long time."

Harry looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"A lot's changed since then." Draco told him, simply. "There's nothing more to it."

The brunet looked at him. He was trying to think, trying to analyze. He didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say, and he didn't know how to address everything he wanted to. So he asked him what he would ask anyone else, what he asked everyone else. "How's life?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he bit his lip. "How are you?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

"I'm well."

"Are you?"

Draco smirked. "What about you, Potter?"

Harry smiled. "I'm good."

"Are you?"

Harry grinned. "How long has it been?"

"Four years." Draco said. "But who's counting?"

Their coffee arrived. Harry took his, keeping it close to him. Draco took his, quickly finishing it. Harry looked at Draco, too distracted to drink his coffee. He bit his lip. "Did I... Were you busy?"

Draco thought for a moment. "A little."

Harry bit his lip. "I'm sorry. Thank you for the coffee."

Draco shook his head. "It was no problem, Potter." He said. "... it was nice to see you."

"It was nice to see you too, Malfoy."

Draco stood up. He walked out of the coffee shop. Harry watched him walk away, a billion thoughts running through his head. He had no way to contact Draco, and there was very little chance that they would meet again soon. He didn't know why he wanted to. He didn't know why he was so desperate to see him, so desperate to see him again.

The first piece wobbled, and fell down.