Harry stifled a yawn as he glanced at the clock beside his bed. 6:58. As good a time as any I suppose he thought, lifting himself off of the bed carefully, as not to wake the sleeping man beside him. He looked at Draco and sighed. He looked peaceful when he slept, content and completely at ease. I wish he could stay like this all the time Harry thought, leaning over and gently pushing a lock of Draco's hair out of his face.
Because of their incident in the bathroom in their sixth year, everything had changed between them. Harry had felt incredibly guilty at the curse he had cast and taken it upon himself to apologize to the Slytherin that he had hurt so badly. Soon after Draco accepted his apology, they formed a tentative friendship, eventually opening up to each other about their roles in the war that was fast approaching. It wasn't long after that Harry learned of how Draco became a Death Eater, against his will. Harry also realized how similar he and Draco really were. They were both being condemned to a life that was already planned out for them, the only difference being that Harry was a force being used for good and Draco was being pressed into supporting an unstable dictator in order to keep his family alive. They talked for hours each night, meeting each other at the site of Dumbledore's unfortunate demise, learning everything about each other, finally putting past differences aside. It was during one of these nights, standing side by side overlooking the Hogwart's grounds that they shared their first, sweet kiss.
"H-Harry?" Draco had stammered, looking over at him with his shining, silver eyes. They were full of an emotion that Harry had never seen in them before: shame, mixed with worry. "You don't think that I- that I actually wanted to kill Dumbledore, do you?" Harry sighed and looked into the poor boy's troubled gaze. "Draco," he started, gently taking Draco's hand in his, "I knew from the moment I found you in that bathroom that you were nothing but good." It was then that Harry saw young tears announcing themselves in Draco's eyes, only one escaping from the safety of those soulful orbs of silver and running down his cheek. Suddenly all the doubt and loneliness in Harry fell away. It was at that moment that he realized he had found someone who understood him completely and who he empathized with, someone with whom he could share his fears and who he had never felt such an intense connection with before.
Harry gently brought his hand to Draco's cheek, wiping away his tear and resting his hand on the cool, pale, skin which was rapidly becoming warmer at his touch. Draco's eyes widened, the truth of Harry's gesture becoming clear to him. "Harry I-"
But Harry never let him finish. He placed his lips softly and tentatively on Draco's, revelling in his softness, praying to Merlin that he wasn't jeopardizing the relationship they already had. It wasn't until he felt Draco pressing back a few short moments later that he felt relief wash over him and let his emotions completely take control of his body, leading him to deepen the kiss. Harry wound his arms around Draco, one hand tangling itself in his hair and then other resting gently on the small of Draco's back. Draco responded by wrapping his arms timidly around Harry's neck, allowing himself to sink into the depths of Harry's warm, sweet mouth.
After a few minutes of newly discovered passion, Harry pulled himself away from Draco, smiling at the groan of protest that escaped from Draco's lips. They looked at each other tenderly for another moment and turned back to face the night's sky. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Draco quietly whispered, "Why?" Lacing Draco's fingers with his own and pressing his lips to the Slytherin's temple, he murmured, "Because this is the first time since I was told about my fate with Voldemort that I haven't felt completely and utterly alone."
Harry and Draco had stayed up in the Astronomy Tower all night, just enjoying each other's company. No words had needed to be spoken, their small touches had said everything for them; they had simply watched the stars play with the moon, until the sun had come up to put them all to rest for another day. "You know Harry; I don't think I've ever watched the sun rise before. It's quite beautiful."
"You're beautiful." Harry whispered shyly. Draco rolled his eyes and gave Harry a playful shove. "You're mental."
"I'm exhausted." He admitted.
"You deserve it for making us stay up all night."
"You enjoyed it." Harry teased.
"I enjoy you." They both smiled.
"I love Draco brought his finger up to Harry's mouth to silence him. "Not just yet Harry," he murmured tenderly. "Let's save it for another day, yeah?"
Harry only nodded and kissed the finger still pressed to his lips. Draco sighed and leaned into Harry. After a few minutes he suddenly stiffened and looked up at the raven-haired boy, eyes wide with alarm. "Harry…aren't you dating the She-Weasel?"
Shit.
Harry laughed at the memory, remembering the horrified look on Draco's face, absently thumbing his wedding band. That also reminded him of the permanent scar he had on his left knee from Ginny hexing him when he told her why they had to end things.
The two had been married for eleven years now, and although they were some of the best years of Harry's life, their marriage was constantly strained over one particular issue that made Draco unbearably upset and one that Harry couldn't have cared less about: work. After the war had ended, it was Harry who saved Draco and Narcissa from being sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban, testifying that they had indeed fought for the Light Side by helping him escape Voldemort's clutches twice.
His efforts however, were (somewhat) in vain, as the Malfoy family name was forever tarnished by their alliance with the Dark Lord. Even though their name was cleared, most of the Wizarding World still had problems accepting them as good wizards, making it difficult for them to regain a place in society. Draco had tried as hard as he could to find a respectable job, hoping that his exceptionally good marks would account for something. They didn't. Every time he sent in an application, he was faced with almost immediate rejection and Harry knew how hard he took it, especially after they had their three wonderful children Albus Severus, Scorpius Hyperion, and Lily Iris. During the first few years of marriage, they had been living off Draco and Harry's inheritances, while Harry completed his Auror training. Once the children were born however, they quickly realized that their parents' money was not going to be enough to live on for very long. Long, drawn out arguments were soon to follow.
The night before -
"Harry, our family needs to eat, needs clothes on their backs, you can't do everything alone. It's too much for you to handle, it's too much for anyone to handle." Draco said sharply, distancing himself from Harry and turning away from the brunet's burning emerald gaze.
"But I'm not just anyone am I, Draco?" Harry said slyly, moving closer to his husband.
"Harry stop, I'm serious." Draco snapped, pushing away the arms that were trying to embrace him.
"So am I, love." He said gently, giving up on having any physical contact with the irritated Slytherin.
Draco turned to Harry, incredulousness plastered all over his face. "What the bloody hell are you talking about, serious? You most certainly are not taking this seriously; you don't even think this is a problem!"
"That's what I mean; I'm serious when I say it's not serious. To be honest I don't understand why you think it's a problem whatsoever. I've talked to the Ministry and from what they've told me, we'll be well enough off, maybe the children won't be as impeccably dressed as you were but-"
"Well isn't that a tragedy in itself." Draco smiled bitterly. Harry wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to make Draco smile and replied with "Oh come on Draco love, I was never all that fashionable-"
"If that isn't the understatement of the century."
"-but I ended up with a pretty fit partner if I do say so myself."
"And you probably would have ended up with the bloke a lot sooner if you were." Harry's smile faltered only when he saw Draco scowl.
"MERLIN CAN'T YOU BE SERIOUS FOR ONE FUCKING MOMENT? Is that really too difficult for you? Did you ever think that maybe it's not just about the money? That it's also about how it looks? About how people see us?"
"I don't care about how it looks." Harry said quietly, not wanting to upset Draco any further.
"And there you are, making this all about you." Draco glared at Harry through narrowed eyes. And Harry saw red.
"You actually think I'm making this about myself? Do you even realize what you've been on about for the past few minutes? This is all you Draco! Your delusions, your problems, this really has NOTHING to do with me because all I've been trying to do is make you feel better! Sorry for caring!"
"Oh sod off, Potter." That was it. Draco only ever called Harry 'Potter' when he was on the verge of breaking down, or getting violent. Since Harry didn't wish to see either extreme present itself, he decided to back off. Little did he know that a tiny heroine was coming to save them, in the form of one Lily Potter-Malfoy.