Watchtowers and Spotlights

Disclaimer: I don't own HP.

A/N: This is for the Cross-Gen competition and it's my first Draco/Louis (M&MWP)! Thank you very much to MrsBates93 for betaing! Please enjoy and R and R!

Louis hid behind an arrogant and cocky façade and he hid well. As the youngest Seeker in Cannon history and as MVP of the season, he had to build up walls and protect himself against the people that only wanted him because he was either a talented rising star, a Weasley and related to the Golden Trio, or a very attractive Veela. Since he had built this façade he had to use it everyday outside of his inner circle because the people that came to him were sneaky and sly backstabbers hiding a sword behind their backs when they met him. If Louis hadn't learned at a young age that people had a hidden agenda most of the time and they needed to be watched with guard towers and golden probing spotlights and you that needed to be ready with guard dogs and wands at hand then he would have been hurt a long time ago, beyond repair.

He valued his heart too much to allow it to be mangled and beaten. Louis didn't care if that gave him an aloof appearance and if playboy or prick was playing hand-in-hand with his name on peoples' tongues so long as he was okay. He was ice; he was cold, stunning, and nowhere near approachable. Louis listened to the comments and sometimes they were cannon balls to his walls but he didn't let them stay in his head for long.

Louis was hiding behind a mask to protect himself and even though that meant he hadn't found anyone for his heart to skip a beat and he never felt comfortable in public, he accepted it what else could he do? He didn't want to give up Quidditch and he was already famous so he just had to deal with it. Louis didn't think there was another way for him to live. Not without wounds and battle scars like his father.

That was his philosophy: do everything you can so you don't get hurt. Louis probably would have kept living that way too but luckily for him, Draco turned his world upside down and taught him that wasn't the way to live.

Draco Abraxas Malfoy, former Death Eater and prick according to his uncles' stories, had come at his façade, his mask, with a hammer and everything came crumbling down. At first when they met at a Quidditch party with all the high profile celebrities they didn't get along at all. Words like "half-breed", "prick", "bastard", "ferret", and more were exchanged but unlike other encounters were insults flew and the other person left with anger boiling in their veins, Draco managed to calm him down (Draco had been close to talking about his fool-proof mask and Louis didn't want anyone to know and he panicked and raged at how a man that met him for only five seconds knew that and not many, not even some of his family even knew that, caused an explosion).

Draco and Louis actually managed to sit down and talk about very intense and deep things. Mostly, this occurred because Scor was his son and Louis' best friend and Draco was worried that Louis' arrogance and mask was going to become a part of him and soon he wouldn't know where the mask ended and he began. Draco had already had that happen to him and then he had to rebuild everything from scratch after the war. It hurt him, going down a path in an unwanted mask but not only did it hurt Draco but the people Draco cared about (despite the fact that he was doing it for them). Draco didn't want Scorpius to be hurt and he didn't want Louis to be hurt. The strange thing was that Draco genuinely meant it despite not really knowing him.

Slowly Louis began to trust Draco and the encounters between them grew more frequent and finally friendlier to the point that Draco knew things about Louis that even Scor didn't know. In the beginning it was weird to trust and like a man so much who was in his forties. He may not have been as old as his father but he was as old as his uncles and aunts. Besides he was his best friend's dad but slowly the awkwardness went away too.

And Draco is closer to Louis than anyone has ever been. Louis doesn't know how he did it but he did. He sneaked like a little ninja past the watchtowers and spotlights and managed to climb over the walls to Louis' heart. Louis may even-. No. No.

Louis may have let him (Oh who is he kidding? Draco seeped into his heart without permission and he didn't need it anyway.) in to his heart but he couldn't have it. Draco couldn't do what the Muggles did to the moon and stick a flag on it and declare it his. No. Just no. He didn't want to break it, or mangle it. To be honest he was a scared little boy and he knew Draco wouldn't hurt his heart but he was so afraid to let it go anyway. Did Draco even care about him that way or was it the Veela charm talking?

Louis felt sick. He hadn't thought about that until now. Could it be the Veela charm that kept him there? It was still strong despite the small percentage in his veins.

With those scary doubts howling and screeching in his mind he couldn't see Draco. He was even more scared than he had ever been before Draco. How could he even think that one word after only knowing Draco for nine months?

But Louis did. Louis loved Draco so much that the possibility that he only loved his looks hurt him like the Cruciatus Curse. He had tried so hard to stop this moment from happening. Louis had done everything minus cutting his heart out of his body and placing it in a chest.

Yet everything failed in the final hour. Everything turned into ash and just floated away with the breeze.

Louis couldn't stop love. He couldn't control everything and he was scared about what Draco would say when he voiced everything out including his insecurities. Louis couldn't lose Draco. He just couldn't.

Yet before he could worry too much Draco seemed to be on the same wavelength as him and managed to calm the nervous storm that was brewing inside Louis.

"Louis, I love you. I know it may be wrong as Scorpius' dad and because I'm older but I love you. I just want to give your heart a break. I don't want to hurt it like some of the other people in your life you've told me about have. We only have one life to live and I don't want to waste another minute of it without you by my side. I know you built that mask out of fear, and I know you kept everyone away but I promise you I don't want to hurt you."

Draco's confession shut everything down. There were no more moats or any other form of defense around Louis' heart. He gave the key to Draco and sealed their agreement with a kiss. No more hiding, no more fear, no more probing spotlights looking for intruders into a castle around Louis' heart. He was ready, he was safe, and he was everything Louis could possibly be in Draco's arms. So no, he didn't need the weapons of self-defense all he needed was Draco and Draco was willing to be there.