I haven't forgotten about The pet shop worker and the murderer. I just haven't been able to make myself write on it this week. I've posted some artwork for it on AO3 though. Speaking of AO3, I have a drabble series that is Tomarry/Harrymort if anyone's interested. It's the same 'verse as Bloody Valentine.
Tom Riddle was not the sort of person that got drunk. He was the sort of person that managed to drink one, maybe two glasses of his chosen poison, and be content with it for the rest of the evening. With that in mind, he had no idea how he found himself in his current position.
Abraxas and Orion had talked him into coming with them to a club, he knew at least that much. Sometime after that, he must have gotten the wrong order, because that was the only reasonable excuse that he could come up with. Otherwise, he would never have agreed when Orion suggested to vandalize the Weasleys' house.
The problem wasn't that they got caught in the act, or that they were quite obviously drunk. The problem was that Orion had taken them to the wrong house, and that the owner of the backyard was crying. Tom sobered up instantly, if only to make clear that he had nothing to do with the idiots that called themselves his friends.
"I apologize for my friends' behaviour. I tried to stop them, especially since they got the wrong house." Tom said, his usual charming facade in place. He sent Abraxas and Orion a glare that got them to stammer out apologies before promptly leaving. Tom would have left himself, if not for one problem. The backyard's owner was still crying.
"May I inquire to why you're crying? And perhaps, your name?" Tom asked and took a step closer. The porch light helped him see the stranger more clearly, and he was surprised to identify the person as male. He couldn't guess an age, as the person was quite petite. As the teary, big emerald eyes turned to him, his breath hitched. Had he been one to believe in fairytales, he would have insisted that the stranger was of the fae folk.
"I'm Harry." the boy - because surely, it couldn't be a man - answered. "Your… friends destroyed my mini garden."
Tom glanced behind him. There was a collection of big pots near the garden furniture, and several of them were overturned. He could see some elaborate miniature buildings, and what he assumed to be a castle was smashed on the ground. From what he could see of what was left, the mini garden had taken a lot of dedication. Each pot seemed to be out of a fairy tale. He almost reconsidered if the boy was fae folk or not, before pushing the thought away as it was far from him to think such illogical things. He turned back to the boy.
"A pleasure to meet you, Harry, although I wish the circumstances would have been better. My name is Tom." he answered, a small yet polite smile on his lips.
"Better circumstances indeed." Harry muttered with a bitter smile. "I don't assume you're gonna offer to pay for the damage your friends made?" he asked, and dried away the stubborn tears with the sleeve of his shirt.
"I really do apologize, not only for their behaviour, but for upsetting you." Tom said, and then paused. The easiest would be to give Harry some money and leave, but since when had he ever done things the easy way? "Perhaps I could help you fix your mini garden? Or at least save as much as possible… It's late, and it wouldn't feel right to leave you to do it on your own."
"Be my guest." Harry answered drily, and went to turn the pots right. Tom was quick to get into action and help.
Luckily, none of the pots had broken, although there was a quite obvious crack in one of them. They got them all back in place, so only a mess of earth, plants and the broken castle was left. There was likely some other decorative details there as well, but Tom hadn't seen the mini garden before so he couldn't know and it was hard to distinguish details when the porch light was the only lightsource. Together they started to sort out the castle pieces from the earth, since at least the earth could be scoped up and put back into a pot.
Tom glanced at Harry every now and then. The boy had dried tear tracks on his cheeks, and the emerald eyes were reddened, yet he didn't seem fragile. Harry shone of inner strength and determination. Tom found himself falling slightly in love, even if he didn't believe in such weak emotions. He never noticed that Harry glanced at him as well.
"You really didn't have to." Harry said a few hours laters, when their pants and hands were covered in dirt and the mini garden was as good as it could be during the night.
"I wanted to." Tom assured him, and took out his phone to check the time. The intense light from his screen made him squint until he made out 1:07 am. It was definitely later than he had expected, but he couldn't bring himself to regret helping Harry. His only regret was that they hadn't got the mini garden back to its former pride. The phone screen turned dark thanks to his inactivity, and he put it away.
"Thank you." Harry said softly, and looked away from him. Tom wasn't sure if the reddening to Harry's cheeks were from the work they had done or a trick of the light - because surely it couldn't be a blush.
"It was my fault to begin with, for not stopping it." Tom answered. "You have your work cut out for you, even if I helped."
Harry looked back towards the mini garden.
"I really do, don't I?" he asked rhetorically with a sigh. Tom smiled slightly. It was… cute.
"I could come back tomorrow." He offered, before he was consciously aware of the words coming out of his mouth. He didn't back on the offer though, even if he had surprised himself with it.
"I think I'd like that." Harry answered softly, and gave a small yet sincere smile. Tom fell slightly more in love at the sight.
"Tomorrow then." He said, meaning it as a farewell. Tom turned to leave, when a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned to look inquiringly at Harry.
Harry rose so he was balancing on his toes, and pecked the corner of Tom's mouth.
"Tomorrow." Harry agreed and sunk back down on his feet before stepping back.
Tom was halfway out of the backyard before he realized he didn't actually know the address and turned back. Harry was still standing under the porch light.
"I'm not sure I'll be able to find my way back tomorrow." He said sheepishly. Harry gave a laugh, and it sounded like pearls of water and bells chiming all at once.
"Grimmauld place no. 12. You won't miss it." Harry promised.
"I'll miss you." Tom answered before he could swallow the words. They were cheesy, and they would scare Harry away, and he almost wished he was still drunk so that he could have an excuse for them.
"I think I'll miss you too, but I can't possibly know if you don't leave." Harry said, and gave a short laugh again.
Tom smiled softly, and left without another word. Perhaps he would have to thank Abraxas and Orion… if not for their idiocy, he would never have met Harry.