Chapter 1: :Draco:
Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring.
A pale hand stretched outwards, swatting in the direction of the bedside table. Upon finding said table, the hand fumbled across the surface.
Ring-ring.
The hand grasped the small cellphone and yanked it back towards the warmth of the blankets, which were covering a pale body to match the pale hand. Sleepy eyes squinted in the harshness of the sudden light. A groan and a sigh later and the phone was finally answered.
"Hello, Harry. And what is it that I can do for you at," tired eyes searched for the clock, "ah, two-thirty in the morning?"
"Look, I'm really sorry for calling you this late, but I'm feeling lonely. Was wonderin' if maybe I could come over?" Silence followed, the sound of breathing on either end of the line. "Draco?" The man in question furrowed his brows, feeling confused.
"I feel lonely, too. But honestly, Harry, isn't your wife lying in bed next to you? Spoon her or something, don't bring this on me right now." Draco heard Harry let out a sigh of frustration on the other end. Then he heard some shuffling around, and the sound of a door closing. "Guess I'll see you in twenty minutes then." Then the line went dead.
Draco slowly sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes harshly, trying to remove the sleepiness from them. He stood out of bed, his bare torso shining slightly from the moonlight that cascaded through the window in front of him. He groaned, asking himself why he even bothered to allow Harry to tread his way over at such times. Deciding it better to not question such things, he walked out into the kitchen area of his studio apartment and started a pot of coffee.
"Should I shower?" Draco wondered. "Pht. Why should I? I've just been woken up at this ungodly hour and for what? So Potter can get off because he's feeling lonely. Like hell I'm going to be presentable for him." The blonde haired man shrugged his shoulders to himself, and tried to ignore the new desire to actually go bathe. Even if he tried to convince himself that he didn't need to look good for Harry, he knew deep down that he'd only feel self conscious about it if he didn't.
He looked back at the clock. 2:36 AM the red numbers told him. He had maybe fifteen minutes until his company arrived, might as well make some use out of it. So he trudged towards the bathroom area, pulling a towel from the stand that sat right outside the door. He absolutely hated having a cluttered space, therefore his towels would have to take permanent residency outside of his already-small bathroom.
He decided against closing the door to the bathroom, feeling rather confident that no one would see him in the nude, considering he lived with no one, and he was almost sure that there were no ghosts following him around.
The tile on the floor was cold against his bare feet, making him curl his toes as he padded into the room. Seconds after stepping across the threshold, his pants were gone from his body, and the bath started, the water already warming to a steam. He waved a hand under the pouring water, testing the temperature and deciding it lived up to his standards.
His shower was short, but not short enough to make him have to wait for Harry to arrive at his place. In fact, he timed it so well, that he had just gotten out of the shower, dressed, and made two cups of coffee when there was a sharp knock on his apartment door. Draco smiled to himself, his time management skills were still on point, perks of working as an assistant with a rather particular boss for almost five years.
Draco took his time before opening the door, he didn't want the other man to think that he had been waiting for the moment he arrived. So, he first set the two coffee cups on the small table that was placed in the center of his studio, a two seater, black leather couch placed accordingly to the table. Draco looked around the rooms, checking to make sure there was no sign of a mess. He hated being seen as a disorderly person. He was a Malfoy, after all. He prided himself on his cleanliness and organization.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Draco rolled his eyes at the sound. "What an impatient idiot." He made his way over to the door, pulling it open and being pushed out of the way by his visitor.
"Were you planning on making me stand out there all night?" Harry rasped at him. Draco furrowed his brows, twisting his face ever so slightly to show distaste. "What are you looking at me like that for?"
"Are you sick?" the blonde asked, taking multiple steps away from Harry.
"No." Harry answered sharply. "If you are referring to my lack of voice, that would be due to the fight Ginny and I had a few hours ago." Draco raised a suspicious eyebrow, but saw how troubled Harry actually looked. Draco motioned towards the couch, seeing the look of relief in Harry's eyes upon seeing the steaming cups of coffee waiting for them.
"A fight, you say? What about, if I may ask?" Draco knew that fights between Ginny and Harry hardly ever happened, which is why he took it upon himself to nickname the two 'Golden Duo', a play on the nickname Harry and his friends had been given back in school. The 'Golden Trio', they had been called. The two men sat on the couch, facing each other, knees touching.
"Well, it's actually rather stupid, if you ask me," green eyes locked onto Dracos grey ones, "Ginny has been so moody lately. If I even look in the wrong direction, she goes absolutely mad!" Harry picked up his cup of coffee, sipped on the hot liquid and gave the other man a look of approval.
Draco tried finding a way to respond, failing to come up with anything helpful. Harry noticed, by the lack of sarcasm that was usually being spat at him.
"Are you okay, Draco?" Harry asked.
"Fine. Why do you ask?" Draco answered. Picking up his own coffee cup and sipping from it.
"Not sure, you just seem.. Down." this time Draco looked away from Harry, not really sure why the raven haired man would think that. "Draco, you're frowning."
It was then that Draco felt his face starting to cramp up, so he relaxed. Sure enough, he had been frowning. He wasn't exactly sure why. News of Harry and Ginny fighting would normally make him happy. Seeing as he may or may not have feelings for Harry. But the other man didn't need to be let in on that information.
Draco looked back to Harry and gave a small smile, "I guess I just don't like it when you're under stress," Draco lied. Well, partly lied. He didn't like it when there was stress on the other, but he couldn't lie about the fact that he wanted Ginny out of Harry's life. Call it his selfishness, if you please, but he spends so much time with the other man already, he just wished it could be a more permanent thing.
"Who would have thought Draco Malfoy would have an actual heart and would feel sorry for someone," Harry said, letting out a small laugh. Draco rolled his eyes at the comment. Of course he had a heart, he just decided a long time ago when the two became friends that it was best to hide any type of feelings beyond friendship. "Anyways, we fought, she yelled, I yelled, she went to bed angry, and here I am."
Draco raised a single eyebrow, wondering if he should push for more details, or just leave it as it was. But, boy, did hearing Harry complain about Ginny give him that giddy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What was the fight about this time?" he questioned.
Harry sighed, taking another sip of coffee. "Well, like I said, if I look in the wrong direction now and days, she gets so upset." Draco gave Harry a puzzled look.
"Why would looking in the wrong direction upset her so much?" He pushed.
"Women, Draco, women." Harry said, setting his coffee down. "Ginny gets mad if I look in the direction of other women. It's not even done in a romantic way! Literally if we're shopping and my eyes just happen to cross the paths of a woman, she gets mad! It's like she thinks that making eye contact with another woman is cheating!" Harry semi-shouted. Draco tried to hide the amusement on his face, but failed.
"She's worried that you're interested in other women?" Draco mused. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Well, yeah, something of the sort. Not that you would know, though. I haven't seen you with a girl since high school." Harry said, leaning back, letting his head rest of the back of the couch, his eyes studying the ceiling above him. "What's it been now? Six years?"
Draco mentally counted, realizing that it had indeed been six years since the two graduated high school. Two years since they had reconnected and become friends again. "Yeah, six years. But what's it to you?" Draco studied the curves of Harry's neck, watching his adam's apple bob up and down when he started speaking again.
"Not sure, just seems like you'd get very lonely. Not having anyone to share your time with, I mean." Harry looked at Draco from the corner of his eyes.
"Ha. That's why I have a studio apartment. It's small enough for just me to live in, and not so big that I feel the crushing weight of loneliness. Besides, you're usually here to keep me company." This made Harry smile. Draco's cheeks started to heat up, embarrassment hitting him at the realization of what he had just said. "Not that I only depend on you for company." He spat out, trying to cover what he had just stated.
"Yeah, yeah. Again, almost thought you had a heart there for a second." Draco felt relieved that the other man decided to pass off the comment with a joke. "So, Draco, what do you think is happening to me and Ginny?"
Draco sighed, he didn't really know the in's and out's of relationships. Harry wasn't wrong when he said Draco hadn't had a girlfriend since high school. In fact, Draco hadn't had anything since he graduated. His old girlfriend, Pansy, was going off to college some thousand miles away, so she dumped him, claiming that long distance was too hard for her. In reality, he knew she just wanted to be able to party it up in college without having to carry around guilt of not having Draco around with her. "I'm not really sure." Draco finally answered.
"Me either," Harry said, "Maybe she's just hormonal. Shit. Maybe she's pregnant." Draco paled. He looked at Harry, hoping that the next words out of his mouth would be, "Just kidding! I'm not interested in having babies! Ever!", but those words never came. In fact, the next words almost hurt Draco a little too much. "Draco, I think I need to go home and speak with Ginny." Harry started to get up from his spot on the sofa.
Draco felt slightly panicked now. Harry having a kid meant no more spending time together. No more moments like they had tonight. No more random phone calls throughout the week asking to go out for drinks, or to just watch something on the television. He felt his heartbeat rising. His palms started to sweat, and he felt like he was about to snap. "Breathe, Draco. He's not yours. He will never be yours. Smile and send him on his way with wishes of luck." Draco opened his mouth to say something friendly and nice, "Harry, don't go home."
Harry looked at Draco, his face contorting to that of a confused look. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I? Ginny, my girlfriend, might be pregnant! Draco, I might become a dad. Are you alright?"
Embarrassment had returned to Draco and his face was turning red, "Uh, yeah, I just meant maybe going home right now wouldn't be too good of an idea. Ginny's sleeping, right? No need to wake her up. This conversation could happen tomorrow, surely?" Draco felt like he was just reaching now. He wasn't sure what had come over him, and why he was desperately trying to prevent Harry from going home, but he had a feeling that if he did go home, and Ginny did confess to being pregnant, it would be the last time Draco got to see Harry for a while.
"Well, you may be right, but I'd really like to find this out as soon as possible!" Harry exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face. Draco plastered on a fake smile of happiness, but his eyes said otherwise. Sadness was evident in his eyes, but he was sure Harry was too happy to notice.
"Then off you go!" Draco said, walking towards the door and opening it. Harry smiled at him, walking right up to him. He put his hands on Dracos shoulders, making the blonde relax slightly.
"Draco, this could be really good news!" "Not likely." "I'm going to head home, talk to Ginny, and I'll call you first thing in the morning and let you know what happens!" "I'd rather not hear it, honestly." Draco felt the sadness sinking in even more. Travelling from his heart, down to his gut.
"Right, well then, go." Draco said softly, looking into Harry's eyes. Harry smiled again and pulled Draco into a hug. Draco froze for a second, realizing that this was his first hug with Harry since the two had become friends. He didn't know how to react.
"Are you going to hug me back, or not?" Harry whispered next to Draco's ear. This sent a small shudder down Draco's spine, making his cheeks go red.
Draco lifted his arms from beside his body, and slowly wrapped them around Harry, taking in the warmth and the softness that was his body. He breathed in deeply, but quietly, so the other man wouldn't hear. He loved the smell of Harry. It was almost sweet, yet masculine. Draco didn't want the hug to end, and it seemed like the Gods above heard him, because Harry showed no signs of letting go yet.
This is what Draco had been waiting for. A moment like this is wrap himself in forever. He was sure that after Harry let go of him and walked out that door, he'd still feel the warmth that was just consuming him. Harry's scent would be glued to him for the next few hours, surprising Draco everytime he caught a wiff of it.
While Draco was busy relishing in the moment, he hadn't had the time to notice the single tear that fell from Harry's eye and landed in a small drop on Draco's favorite dark grey shirt. Nor did he notice the sadness that covered Harry's normally happy face. The only thing Draco noticed was the click of the door as it closed, leaving him to himself once again. The loneliness yet again, taking over.
*Note that "quotes" done in italics is the characters inner dialogue.*
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. I do have plans for more chapters after this, so hopefully I'll receive a good turn out!
Happy readings!