For fading daylight

I don't own anything

My first fic for this pairing

Draco/Astoria

~x~

He gets every single girl he wants, no question about it, and then casts them to one side as soon as he's done with them. They're all the same in every club he goes into, gorgeously pretty – of course – with long legs and asses that make him interested in them for about three seconds before a newer model comes along. They all buy him drinks, shots and whiskies, all dying to know about how it is to be so famous, all wanting to be the one on the arm of Draco Malfoy (because he's all that).

"Draco, over here!" one of the girls he recognises from the other night – he thinks he told her he'd call her later but never did – tries to get him to join her and the gaggle of girls around her, yet he dodges her with an ease well practised. He does this every night, this club and pub crawl, aiming to find someone to fill the growing need in him for the night before moving on, not wanting to get tied down.

He knows inside himself that this bachelor attitude has to stop sometime – he's twenty five now and he needs to find someone to carry on the family name with him, someone who intrigues him enough to marry for the rest of their lives. Yet why bother with that now when every damned single girl is the same, only wanting to know him because of his wealth and to get in his bed?

"Whiskey," he points at the bartender who already got the bottle out for his most frequent customer and pours a hefty quantity into the glass. Swigging it back in one go, he motions for another and then another, wanting to feel more than slightly drunk before he leaves the bar.

"You know you're going to get really drunk and do something that you regret," a low, sultry voice informs him in what seems an almost bored tone. Looking up, Draco realises that she's staring right at him, her eyes brighter than any he has ever seen before, almost teasing. He gives her a cursory glance up and down, taking note of her shining brown hair with the full fringe, the way she evidently is loaded to have such expensive looking clothing, before he looks into her face properly.

Needless to say, the shock of seeing Astoria Greengrass again almost has him falling off his chair.

"That's not the reaction I normally get," she laughs slightly, showing off her perfect white teeth as she relays her humour to him.

"Yeah, that's because you're a witch and spend more time in Muggle clubs than you do wizarding," he reminds her, insinuating that she uses magic to get the guys she flaunts continually in the magazines.

"Just because you've not gotten laid in a long time doesn't mean that you have to take it out on me," she leans back against the bar-top, resting her elbows on it as she arches her back to show off her assets. "Good to see you too, Draco."

"Firstly, that's none of your business," he snaps a little harsher than he intended, a little wounded that she could insinuate that he's losing his touch with the ladies. "Secondly, I guess it's good to see you again as well. So, tell me, how is spending your entire social life with vermin?" he continues, softening his tone – after all, she's the sister of his old friend Daphne, so he can't exactly be a bastard to her, can he?

She laughs again, the vivid red of her lipstick standing out against the pallor of her skin. "They're alright, I suppose…I just feel like a bit of a change with a nice wizard," she grins this time, managing to make this almost sexy as her eyes begin to roam the room for a handsome wizard.

"Well, I speak for myself, but we are the best kind of guys in the world," he boasts, contemplating something in the back of his mind that's bolstered by the whiskey. He's been with nearly all of the girls in here, yet Astoria is different. She's bolshy, something he can tell from seeing her for three minutes after seven years, and has opinions about things – not to mention she's hot.

Her eyebrows rise as she looks across at him again, wondering if he's actually offering her this or if she's simply reading too far into the situation. "You mean…?" she trails off, allowing him to fill in the blanks.

He's damned gorgeous, she admits, with the chiselled appearance of his face downright sexy. He can dress himself well, which is always a bonus, and he could be good for a one night stand to blow off some steam before setting out on her Muggle hunting the night after.

"Wanna come with me?" he stands up and offers her his hand, moving things quicker than he has done before, for the first time with someone he actually knows.

She smiles, this time it being more sultry and appealing, before taking his hand and hopping off the stool lightly, clacking her heels on the floor as they walk hastily through the club.

~x~

They head back to his flat straight away and don't bother with talk of how nice it is too see one another again, how they're probably going to do something stupid but they can stop – instead, they get straight on with it.

He kisses her as he pulls her through to his bedroom, unzipping her dress as she rips his shirt off before lying down on his bed, shivers running through her as she imagines how this'll be.

~x~

The next morning, she's up before dawn, planning on getting back to her life as per usual, as if the night before never happened. He's awake as well because it's his usual act as well, to disappear, yet he can't really leave his own apartment now, can he?

"Going somewhere?" he sits up and asks her dryly as she tries to sneak out of the room evidently without thinking she's woken him up.

Turning back, she looks a little sheepish but nods, knowing that she's not going to lie: it was a one night stand – no matter how amazing – for the pair of them and they're not going to ruin that, are they?

"I…I'm going home," she says, smiling ever so slightly. "But it was good."

"It was more than good," he tells her straight, not bothering to be subtle as he basically tells her he wants to do it again without even saying the words. "You know it was, so don't bother trying to play it down."

She shrugs, digging her mobile phone out of her pocket – Muggles do invent some good things – to check the time, leaving it in front of her face to make it less awkward. "I guess it was yeah."

He gets up and pulls some clothes on hastily, almost to simply continue his ritual every single night of the week, before walking over to her. "Come back tonight," he tells her simply, his eyes meeting hers to show that he wants this, he wants her.

She's the first girl he's ever felt like this about.

She smiles at him, realising the power she has over him, and nods, wondering why but knowing that she's got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Draco Malfoy is hot and rich and everything a girl could dream about, someone whom she could probably continue her present lifestyle with and he wouldn't give a toss because he'd be doing the same thing.

"Sure," she confirms verbally, not feeling the rushing of emotions everyone tells her she'll feel when she finds her true love but not caring because it's the start and nobody ever feels like from the beginning. "Sounds good, see you at seven."

And, with that, she walks out the room.

~x~

She returns that night and he's set out the room in the most romantic style he can, with candles everywhere and even some rose petals he scoured up from one of the packages his first one night stand sent him the day after.

She's wearing a dress that's even more flattering than the one before, but she's not going to let it come off now. Earlier, she made her mind up that she's getting old: she can't keep up with being a single girl forever and that she doesn't have the funds to do this – she needs a wealthy, hard working man to keep her and that's Draco.

"You look…wow," is all he can say, reaching out for her instantly and being confused when she moves away.

"Nu-uh," she crosses her arms and stares him down, her eyes narrowing as he tries to figure out what's going on. "I made up my mind, Draco. You want me, that's fine…marry me first."

He splutters, spilling his glass of whiskey down his front as he processes what she's said. "You, little miss promiscuous, want to get married?" he confirms, choking all the more when she nods her head innocently.

"I want a husband who'll provide for me and is more than slightly attractive," she explains as she sits down next to him. "I know you need a wife soon, as that's what your Mum was saying to mine when I overheard them the other week. They're going to be matchmakers sooner or later, so why don't we beat them to the punch, make them think that we're just geniuses for figuring this out?"

"And I bet then that they'd leave us be," he finishes slowly, calculating how he could have gone from having a one night stand last night – and finishing tonight – to having the idea of marriage thrown at him. then again, his mother has been pressing for a wedding to occur between some Pureblood girl and Astoria's as pure as they come – in the blood sense, at least - so why not utilise someone who is actually pretty hot?

He turns to face her and drops to one knee, thinking of the added benefits this marriage shall have other than the obvious get rid of the parents thing. "Astoria, will you marry me?" he asks her, meaning it more than he would if it were a Weasley yet still not wanting to get married.

She smiles slightly and sighs at the same time, having mastered two reactions at the same time. "Sure, why not?" she replies, not the usual response to a proposal but certainly not a rejection. "Come on then, husband-to-be, I'll show you why you're marrying me."

Grinning, she takes his hand and walks through to the bedroom, slamming the door shut as she goes.

~x~

In all honesty, it's not my best work but it's my first take on Draco/Astoria as I basically have no idea how to write them.

A review would be nice, thanks.

Vicky xx