AN: Here is the Cedric/Harry oneshot I promised. Sorry if it's a little late. I made up the plot for this when I was listening to one of my country's local bands, and one of my favourite song of theirs started playing. Anyway, thank you all for your support for me and my stories thus far, and I hope you enjoy this one.
True Worth
Cedric sighed as he entered his flat in London. He had just returned from a month of travelling around the country with his team, the Falmouth Falcons, for matches against other teams. Suffice it to say that Cedric needed a drink. It wasn't a good month for the Falcons, losing their first match of the month to Puddlemere United, followed by a loss to the Holyhead Harpies. They managed a win against the Chudley Cannons, but it was a close one. It wasn't that the Falcons were bad; they were an excellent team, which managed to get to the finals of the national cup the previous season. The problem was that they recently had to switch coaches and it was hard for the players to adjust since their previous coach was with them since Cedric started five years ago.
After downing his first glass of Firewhiskey, Cedric poured himself another and moved to sit on his sofa. He reached for the large stack of mail on the side-table. He skimmed through them and sighed. As always, majority of his mail were from fans. He immediately chucked those into the bin, along with the ones from papers asking for interviews. After the clutter was gone, he was left with a letter from his mother, updating him on her and his father's trip to America, and a few letters from his friends.
He was about to head to the bathroom to get ready for bed when there was a knock on his door. He was a little confused since the only people who knew he was getting back to London tonight were his parents. He opened the door, and was surprised to find a smiling, green-eyed raven with a paper bag.
"Harry, what're you doing here?" Cedric asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked back. "You said we were going to have dinner when you get back, and I knew you wouldn't want to go out after getting back, so I got some take out from the Chinese place a few blocks down."
"Oh right." Cedric said, letting Harry in. "Sorry, it's been a tough few weeks."
"That's an understatement." Harry said with a smirk as he moved towards the kitchen.
Cedric rolled his eyes, but smiled, and followed Harry. He stood at the doorway and watched as the younger male manoeuvre around his kitchen with ease, bringing out plates and utensils. Ever since Cedric's graduated, his competitive relationship with Harry had turned into one of mutual respect, and they had grown really close. He even owled Harry several times, giving him advice about being a team captain. He even got together with Harry during summers to do random things. When Harry graduated and began working for the Aurors, they found new ways to spend time together, one of which was they'd have dinner every Friday and just talk.
He watched as Harry stood on his toes, trying to reach a bowl, and chuckled. Harry turned to glare at him, but that just made the brunette want to laugh more. Since they both lived in muggle flats, Harry and Cedric didn't do magic at home. It was fine until They spent time in Cedric's apartment and the raven would need something on a high shelf.
"You could just ask instead of straining yourself." Cedric said with an amused look.
"And you know that you can just move things one shelf down, knowing how much time I spend here." Harry returned with a pout, looking at the bowl that eluded his grasp.
Cedric moved to stand behind Harry, retrieved the bowl, and gave it to Harry when the other male turned around. Harry mumbled a quick thank you, his tanned cheeks turning a faint pink, and Cedrc's smile widened. Harry was the only person who could make him smile this much with doing so little. Even on his worse days, Harry could make him feel better just by sending an owl.
Why is that? It's because Cedric was in love with him. He knew he was gay by his fourth year in Hogwarts, but he never expected to fall for Harry. Looking at it now, Cedric conceded that it would've been impossible not to fall for him. His gorgeous green eyes, wild black hair, and slightly tanned complexion would make anyone swoon. Being an auror, Harry was fit, but very lean. There were too many nights that Cedric dreamt of doing things to the younger male; touching and kissing him in places that would elicit the most delicious sounds. But Cedric's attraction to Harry wasn't just physical or sexual. He was kind, caring, brave, generous, and just fun to be around with. As he carried the tray with their glasses and followed Harry back into the lounge, Cedric sighed, pushing all his previous thoughts away.
"So, how are you and Michael?" Cedric asked.
Michael was another auror Harry started dating when he came out to all of them. Cedric was brokenhearted when he found out, since he wasn't in the country at the time, but he smiled and congratulated the two.
They seemed happy, so Cedric tried not to pay much mind to the two and focused on his work. He wondered why instead of excitedly talking about his boyfriend, Harry looked down sadly at the floor.
"We broke up." Harry said softly.
Cedric immediately pulled Harry into a hug, and the younger male hugged back and buried his face in the brunette's chest.
"When did it happen?" Cedric asked.
"About two weeks ago." Harry answered. "He said that it was just too hard dating another auror. We both had busy schedules, and we couldn't be partners on the same cases since our judgement would get clouded."
"Why didn't you tell me immediately?" Cedric asked.
"I guessed that you were stressed enough as it is, given that your month hadn't been going well either." Harry explained. "I didn't want you to start worrying about me when you needed to focus on more important things."
Cedric nodded and the two of them stayed in that position for a few more minutes and they finished their meal in silence. Once they cleaned up, they sat back down on the couch and began surfing the channels on the telly.
"Are you ok?" Cedric asked when they settled on a channel showing a rom-com.
"Yes, I'll be fine." Harry said. "I think what I most sad about is that after three months together, Michael only saw me as the co-worker he was dating, and not his boyfriend."
"Forget about him." Cedric said with a little hint of anger. "If that's all he saw you as, then he didn't deserve you."
"Then, who do you think deserves me?" Harry asked, resting his head on Cedric's shoulders.
"I don't know." Cedric mumbled. "Someone who makes you a priority, who listens to your problems and offers help or advice, someone who will let you cry on their shoulder and comfort you. They shouldn't expect you to be the person the papers are making you out to be, they should understand that you're just another person. They should also be someone you're completely comfortable to be yourself with, a person who'll see all the good and bad things about you, and still love you. More importantly, that person should see that you're worth more than anything on this planet."
It took a few seconds for Cedric to realise what he had just said.
Harry just broke up with his boyfriend two weeks ago, and now you're this close to proposing to him. He chastised himself.
He was about to excuse himself to get a glass of Firewhiskey, but felt Harry's hand wrap around his. Cedric looked down at the raven, who was staring up at him with those gorgeous green eyes. And that pushed Cedric off the edge. Taking Harry's chin in his fingers, he lowered his face to the raven's until there was no space between them.
The kiss was short snd chaste, but it sent jolts of electricity through Cedric, making him feel like he had just downed ten cups of coffee.
"Ced?" Harry asked when they parted, his breathing was slightly audible and his eyes were half-lidded.
"Harry." Cedric began, gathering as much courage he could muster. "I love you. I've loved you for the longest time. I know you may not want to get into a new relationship so soon after-"
Cedric was unable to finish his sentence since Harry pressed their lips together again, not that Cedric was complaining. This kiss lasted a little longer and had more emotion poured into it. He was so overwhelmed that Cedric didn't notice Harry climb onto his lap.
"Ced…I love you too." Harry said a little nervously. "I've actually felt this way for a long time now."
"Since when?" Cedric asked, gently placing his hands on Harry's hips, steadying the raven.
"Since…I…graduated." Harry admitted slowly and Cedric's eyes widened.
"If you felt this way, then why didn't you tell me?" Cedric asked, moving one of his hands to gently cup Harry's cheek. "Why did you get into a relationship with Michael? Why did you stay in it for so long?"
"I didn't tell you because I didn't think you felt the same way, and how could I find out? You were gone every other week for a match or a training session with another team." Harry said. "And I got together with Michael because I thought that being in a relationship with him would make me forget about my feelings for you or I might be able to transfer my feelings for you to him."
"Were you able to?" Cedric asked.
"No. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't stop loving you, Ced." Harry admitted while looking down at the floor. "And I doubt I could. You see me in a way that only you can, in a way that not even Hermione or Ron does. To the public I'm Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, Saviour of the Wizarding World, and all that other shite. To my co-workers, I'm the one who's eventually going to become Head Auror. To Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys and my other friends, I'm Harry, but they sometimes see me as this fragile person that might break at any time." This time, Harry looked directly into Cedric's eyes, surprising the brunette with the intensity he held in his gaze. "But you Ced, you just see me as Harry, not the Saviour, not someone fragile. You just see me as Harry, and that's all I ever wanted from other people."
"To me you're Harry, the person who I love more than anyone." Cedric said, and Harry smiled. "My number one priority, and who's worth more to me than all the galleons in Gringotts."
"Maybe I should have told you weeks ago." Harry said.
"I'm kind of glad you didn't. At least I can end this month on a high note." Cedric said with a smile. "Shall we finish the movie?"
"We could." Harry said, a cheeky grin replacing the raven's sweet smile. "I also had other things in mind that would cheer you up."
"Are you sure you weren't meant for Slytherin?" Cedric asked, but let Harry lead him by the hand towards the bedroom. "Who knew that the one hiding behind the sweet and kind Golden Boy was this horny young man?"
"Shut up." Harry said, pressing against Cedric when the brunette shut the door behind him. "You know you love it." Cedric simply smiled at the comment and the two proceeded to make up for lost time.