Title: An Unanswered Question

Author: maytimemagic

Pairing: Draco/Harry (implied)

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Warnings: Extreme angst. Not fluffy in any sense of the word.

Genre: Slash

Summary: Draco was always so fickle. He'd leave at the drop of a hat. So what happens when he finally asks Harry to marry him?

Author's Notes: I wrote this under the title Regret for a friend's literary journal and although it doesn't ever identify the people I can see it as Harry/Draco. Thanks to my friend Janice for reading this for me and making me realize what is clear to me is not always clear to everyone else.

An Unanswered Question

He's gone again. Normally this might not be such a big deal, but I think it's forever this time. I thought I'd be relieved but apparently I really do need him. Who would have thought I would end up needing someone so high maintenance like him. He can be such a little shit sometimes. Always demanding and heaven forbid something doesn't go his way. This is his solution actually. If it doesn't go his way he leaves. Usually he comes back after a few days smelling like sweat, alcohol, and cheap perfume. But this time his closet is empty and the key I gave him all those years ago is sitting on the kitchen counter.

This apartment always seemed so tiny. Maybe it was just the sheer amount of 'stuff' his aristocratic upbringing demanded he have. Like the ten pairs of black dress shoes, all exactly the same, or the bottles and bottles of hair products. I never thought I'd miss those things, but I do. Or maybe it was just the lack of places to hide when we had a row. After all there are only so many places to hide in a one bedroom apartment. Whatever the reason, it feels large and empty now. Looking around I finally realize how much of my life was him. Most of the pictures and silly gifts that have littered our shelves are gone now which just makes me realize how poignant his leaving is this time. I want to go after him, I really do. But I don't even know where to start looking. Would he go back to his manor? Does he have a place of his own that he always disappears to? But that's not how it works after all. He is the one who runs away, not me. In fact the one and only time I had enough and left, he found me a mere hour later. When I asked how, he just smiled and said I was way too predictable. He made me sleep on the couch that night as punishment. I'm not sure who suffered more for that decision.

By now you are probably wondering how on earth we ever managed to make this relationship work at all. I will be the first one to tell you I have no idea. We are so opposite in everything that it seems impossible. His leaving use to be an act of defiance. He told me once I would never be able to "keep" him and he use to leave just to prove his point. Then I think it turned into a safety measure. A way to protect himself when things started to get too intense. He was always so afraid of losing who he was. Especially after spending so much time defending his actions and views to everyone around him. But even when things were complete shit he always came back to me in the end.

This time I blew it though. He asked me to marry him. He finally over came his greatest fear and asked to share his life with me completely and I was so shocked I just stood there starring at him. He bared his soul to me and all I could say in return was 'Are you mad?' He didn't even yell this time. He just got up and silently disappeared into our bedroom. I think the silence hurt more than his disappearance. I think I was still in shock, but I made the horrible decision to go for a walk to clear my head. I returned to an empty apartment and that key. I think the key will haunt my dreams forever. Forever... that's how long we were suppose to be together... now it looks like how long we will be apart. If I could take back the last few hours, I would. But this isn't some fantasy where my fairy godmother will come to my rescue. This is real life and there is no magic way to make this better. So here I sit, alone in the dark, haunted by a key and a question unanswered.

The End