Author's Note- Prompt-Draco/Harry pairing with some romance thrown in.
The motel windows were smeared with grime- years of dirt no one had ever bothered to wash away. So little light found its way through that curtains weren't necessary, but they were still there, desperately clinging onto the railing.
Outside the sun was quickly fading, strips of pink and orange marred the darkening sky like gruesome scars. Not much could be seen in the redundant light; only a few cars were scattered around the motel's car park, many were shells of what they had once been, just like their owners.
A dagger-like wind cut through the air, attacking any visible skin. It was only the beginning of October, but the sun was weak and the temperature was brutal.
The motel itself was flawed in many ways, the exterior concrete walls were crumbling and several of the doors were just thin layers of splintered wood.
The inside of room 57 wasn't much better. Sour green wallpaper hung off the walls leaving vast grey gaps. A constant dripping sound came from the bathroom, and the once cream carpet was stained red and brown.
To make matters worse, the heat was out and with each breath a small cloud of mist was produced.
"Th-his is entirely your fault, Po-Potter." The words came out in small broken stutters. The room itself had only one bed upon which sat two shivering bodies. Every spare blanket and pillow surrounded them in an attempt to conserve heat. It wasn't working very well.
They hadn't meant to end up here, it had just kind of happened. The sequence of events that had led up to this had happened so fast that they blurred together in Harry's mind. It was only a week ago that he and Draco had been sat at their house tables in the Great Hall, occasionally throwing hateful glares at each other.
From there things had happened at an insanely fast pace. They had both been in one of the boys bathrooms when it began, a sudden sharp sensation in their chest, both at exactly the same moment. These sharp pangs only got worse the further apart the pair got. So after 3 days of suffering the quick stabbing pains it was decided that they would stick together, at least until they figured out what was happening.
It didn't take long for people to notice the change in their relationship; they were seen wandering around the school as if the years of hating each other had never happened. It only took half a day of this for people to conclude that something drastic had happened to create such a change in their attitudes.
It wasn't only the students that noticed; at the beginning of the second day the teachers began to watch them very closely. But it wasn't until Hermione approached Harry later the same day that the reason for all the staring became apparent. People didn't think that Harry and Draco had suddenly just become friends; they seemed to believe they had become more than that, that they were now dating.
Shortly after this revelation, Draco received a letter from his father stating that if this was true and he was dating Harry Potter, then he would be disowned as he wouldn't have the family name tarnished by a stupid child.
Things only got worse as people turned from shocked to outraged and angry at the idea of the pair being together. No one in the infirmary could help and no one else would listen to what they had to say.
They ended up in the muggle world by mistake- they had been trying to escape the vicious glares of their classmates and had ended up in a supply cupboard. Much to the pairs' shock they found that there was a portkey hidden amongst the rubbish and all it had taken was for them to stumble into it. Now they were stuck in a motel run by muggles with no way back to the wizarding world. Harry's stormy thoughts only seemed to lower the temperature further.
They huddled closer together, trying to reduce their shivering. If only they hadn't both dropped their wands in the cupboard. It was as if the world itself was trying to punish them for something they had no control over.
The room only got colder as time went on and it wasn't long before they both gave up the pretence of hating each other and moved closer together, eventually lying down and wrapping the covers and blankets around themselves as tightly as possible.
The pains in their chests were only dull echoes when they were this close, nothing more than slightly laboured beats of their heats. They had found that touching minimised the pain even further.
As the night dragged on Draco's breathing evened out and, it was clear he had fallen asleep. Harry found himself staring at the blond, wondering why he had ever hated him so strongly. Sure, he had a lot of different flaws, but that didn't mean he hadn't deserved a chance.
Although he was loath to admit it Harry had found himself slowly becoming more interested in the young Malfoy. It wasn't until the following morning that he realised Draco had begun to grow fonder of him as well.
They spent the majority of the next day under the covers on opposite sides of the bed, the room was still freezing and the temperature was no better outside. They didn't get too far apart, the pains had gotten even worse when they separated. Their hands remained interlocked between them as they lay there staring into each others eyes.
Without realising what he was doing, Harry found himself leaning forward and gently brushing his lips over Draco's. Expecting some sort of violent reaction to his advances, Harry pulled back quite quickly. But there was no anger visible on his face or in his eyes. He actually looked peaceful.
"You should know that if we do this, there's no going back. You won't be accepted by your family or your house anymore."
"I know, but I'm beginning to realise that I don't care."
It took the school a further three days to find the little motel in which the two boys had made their temporary home. This little trip to the muggle world was only the start of many adventures the two of them would share.
It had been 5 years since the start of their days in the muggle motel, and each year on this same day the two boys would take a picnic and head for a muggle park where they would eat enough food for a small army. They would then make their way to the same motel that it had all started in, not once letting go of the other's hand for the entire journey.
Sometimes happiness can be found in the most unusual places.