Author's Notes: I've been in a writing mood recently, so here's another one-shot. I hope you enjoy it!
Without A Trace
By heeha
It had been five years since Harry last saw that two-faced bastard. Five years since that bastard had said, "I love you," then up and left Harry with no note informing Harry of his whereabouts and plans.
At the time, once Harry had discovered Tom's disappearance, it had not bothered Harry in the slightest. Harry knew that his boyfriend had a tendency to wander off to pursue his varied interests, and could be gone for weeks. But as weeks passed, then months, Harry grew worried for his boyfriend. He'd tried calling Tom on his cellphone, but his calls were never answered. He'd tried e-mailing Tom, but again, Tom never replied back. Tom had, all of a sudden, cut Harry out of his life. And after nine months had passed with no word from Tom, Harry started to feel sorrowful at the loss of his boyfriend. He'd gone through three-month's-worth of ice cream before he finally came to terms with Tom's disappearance and moved on.
Harry had been doing fairly well without Tom when he read the news. A new school had recently opened in the city. It was called Voldemort Academy, a school for the brightest and most gifted students in Britain. However, it was not the school itself that made Harry spit out his coffee upon hearing about the school. Rather, it was the headmaster of the school that had induced Harry, upon reading his name, to spray his coffee all over his newspaper.
The headmaster of Voldemort Academy was none other than Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Five years, Harry thought angrily, five years with no word because of some bloody school! As great as Tom's achievement was, Harry could hardly find the heart to be happy for Tom when he, himself, had been neglected and left behind as a result of such an achievement.
So when his doorbell rang one day and he opened the door to find Tom standing at his door step, looking immaculate in a black suit and tie, Harry could hardly be scolded for slamming his door shut in Tom's face and locking the door.
There was a moment of silence before the lock clicked and the door opened to reveal Tom, holding up his key with a triumphant smirk upon his lips.
"It's nice to see you too, Harry," Tom said pleasantly, entering the house and closing the door behind him. Harry scowled at Tom and crossed his arms, five-years-worth of anger surfacing upon his face.
"What are you doing here?" Harry spat, glaring menacingly at Tom.
"Last time I checked, I live here," Tom said innocently.
"NOT FOR FIVE YEARS, YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry roared, his voice echoing throughout the house.
"Now, now, Harry, there's no need to shout," chided Tom, holding his hands up in a placating gesture.
"FIVE YEARS, TOM!" shouted Harry, paying no mind to Tom's words. "FIVE YEARS WITH NO WORD FROM YOU! FOR FIVE YEARS YOU LEFT ME ALONE WITH NO EXPLANATION! FIVE YEARS, TOM! FIVE YEARS!"
"I'm well aware of how long it's been, Harry," Tom replied smoothly, unfazed by Harry's anger. "And I'm sorry for being gone for so long, but I had business to attend to."
"No business merits disappearing without a trace for five years," said Harry angrily. "Not even business as important and prestigious as Voldemort Academy."
"Ah, so you've heard about my school then," said Tom. "What do you think of it? The greatest and brightest minds in Britain, all under one roof! I'm quite pleased with the school myself."
"An achievement fitting for someone as great as you," Harry sneered. "And of course, it would have killed you to find time to contact me while you were building such a great school."
"Killed me? No. But one thing lead to another, and soon all of my time was occupied by the school's affairs," said Tom. "I'm sorry, Harry," Tom repeated. "I never meant to hurt you or neglect you as I did."
"But you did," said Harry indignantly. "You did hurt me and you did neglect me, Tom. For months I tried to contact you, but you never spared a minute to answer me. Not one minute!"
"I can spare you all the time in the world now, Harry," said Tom. "The school is up and running, and has been a great success so far. We have all the time in the world now to continue where we left off."
"Now?" said Harry. "You want to continue where we left off now? As if you haven't been gone for five years with no explanation? I don't think so, Tom. I don't think so."
Tom sighed wearily and moved towards Harry until he was standing in front of him. He looked deeply into Harry's furious eyes and murmured, "What will it take for you to forgive me?" He attempted to grasp Harry's chin with his fingers, but Harry stepped away from him, leaving Tom's fingers to grasp thin air.
"A whole lot of alcohol," said Harry sarcastically.
"Then I'll get the wine from the fridge," said Tom, unfazed, and he started to make his way towards the kitchen before Harry stopped him with a touch on his shoulder.
"Stop it, Tom," said Harry. "Just leave."
Tom stilled for several moments before he whirled around and slammed Harry against the wall.
"Leave?" hissed Tom. "This is my home just as much as it is yours, Harry. Five years hasn't changed the place I call home." He leaned in closer to Harry until their lips were almost touching. "Five years hasn't changed who I call home with." And Tom closed the gap between their lips, kissing Harry softly.
At first, Harry resisted Tom's kiss, pressing his lips tightly together to stop Tom's tongue from entering his mouth. But after several seconds of enduring Tom's soft lips and coaxing tongue, Harry finally relented, letting Tom enter his mouth and their tongues to dance in a passionate kiss.
When they finally broke away from each other, both men were breathing heavily, their eyes heavy-lidded with desire. Tom was the first to compose himself to speak.
"Forgive me?" he whispered, brushing his thumb against Harry's lips. Harry sighed and wrapped his arms around Tom, pressing a kiss to Tom's right cheek.
"Forgiven," said Harry. "But the next time you leave without a trace, I'm ditching you for good."
"There won't be a next time," said Tom. "I'll never leave you like that again." And Tom, for his part, kept his word and never left Harry ever again without at least telling him his whereabouts.