Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the related characters, plots, places, or creatures. I also have no rights to the song 'As Any Fool Can See' which was written by Paul Nelson and Kenny Beard and sung by Tracy Lawrence.
Warnings: Slash, HP/DM, unbetaed.
Author's Note: I swore I would never write a songfic, but I seem to be doing a lot of things I swore never to do these days. I wrote this a while ago actually, but figured I might as well post it. Enjoy.
As Any Fool Can See
Lately she's been picking fights
dropping hints and just last night
I caught a tear as she slipped off to sleep
"Where the hell have you been?" Harry said as soon as I stepped into the door. I shrugged off my coat and hung it by the door before I turned to him.
"I was at work," I replied simply, "like I am every day."
"It's 11 o'clock. You couldn't have flooed to tell me you'd be working late? Jesus Draco, I was worried sick! This is the fifth time this month! Is it that bloody hard to clue me in?"
I sighed, "I got caught up and lost track of time. Why were you worried? I'm always at work, where else would I be?"
"Are you?" Harry snapped. "Or were you out at a bar again? Honestly, I think you spend more time at bars than with me. Maybe I should get a job at one so I can see you once in a while."
"God damn it Harry! I work hard all day, and I deserve to have fun every now and then! So what if I go to a bar and have a few drinks before I come home? You act like my bloody mother! Get off my back for God's sake!"
"Excuse me for being concerned about you! That's what people generally do when they care about someone."
"This isn't care," I scoffed, "it's being controlling. Back off."
"Well maybe I should. Back out of your life!" Harry shouted before turning and stomping to the bedroom.
I sighed and let him go. He wouldn't leave; he was just being silly again. In the morning he'd apologize for yelling at me and things would go back to normal. I poured myself a scotch and sat down in the kitchen thinking about our relationship. We'd been together three years and I remembered how his friends had baulked in the beginning. It had made me feel so good to hear him defend me and cast their words aside. It had been something I'd longed to hear from him for years. It had taken the war and lots of death to change both of us and bring us together, but it had been a wonderful few years. We were happy, well mostly. We'd been fighting a lot lately, but I was sure it was just another phase in our relationship we'd get through. Harry would learn to stop being so controlling and we would move on. I finished my scotch and went to change for bed. As I crawled in I noticed tear tracks on his cheeks. I felt a little badly for some of my harsh words and kissed him gently on the forehead, promising myself that I'd make up for it in the morning.
She's not here, but she's not gone
I guess she must be waitin' on
The kind of man I promised her I'd be
I woke up in the morning to a cold and empty bed. I looked around, but didn't see or hear Harry anywhere. His stuff was still here though, so I knew he'd probably just left to go blow off some more steam. Sometimes he could hold a grudge for a while, before realizing he was being stupid. I let it go and got ready for work figuring I would see him later and we would have wonderful make up sex then.
As any fool can see
She's gonna cross that line
She's got leavin' on her mind
And it's too late
But what keeps killin' me
Is knowin' I've been blind
As any fool can see
"I don't know what to do Neville," Harry said softly sitting across from his friend in a brightly lit café.
When Harry and Draco had first gotten together Hermione and the Weasley's had thrown a major fit. After three years they tolerated Draco now, but were never supportive. Neville on the other hand had been supportive of Harry, but otherwise ambivalent. He believed it was Harry's life and that Harry knew Draco best and if he believed he's changed then who was Neville to say otherwise?
"He keeps coming home late. He says he's working, but I've smelled alcohol on his breath more than once. He never calls or floos. I'm left sitting at home waiting for him like a chump. I can't take much more of this. We've always had our share of problems, but he's always promised to be better and to change. It's been years though and I'm no longer sure if he can change."
Neville sighed, "It sounds like he's just not taking you seriously. You could try to leave just to shock him into it and then go back to him. Sometimes people just don't know what they have until they have lost it."
Harry was shaking his head though before Neville even finished speaking. "I can't do that. If I leave, it's for good. I need someone who knows what they have when they have it. I deserve at least that much. Plus, I don't know if I could even believe him. He's told me so many times that he's going to change and be better for me. He does it too, but only for a little while, and then everything goes back to the way it was. I don't know if I have it in me anymore to believe that he actually will change."
A sad look passed across Neville's face, "It sounds like you know what you have to do then. I'm sorry it's come down to this Harry. You should come stay with Luna and I for a few days. It might be better than staying with others."
Harry nodded picturing the smug looks of the Weasley's if he broke up with Draco. "I will if it comes to that. I have to give it another chance and more time though. I'm gonna try until I know that I absolutely can't give it anymore. I love him that much that I have to try at least once more."
Neville nodded and stood up, "I understand, and for your sake I hope it can work. If not, you know where to find me."
How long did I think she'd stand
For me to be the kind of man
That came and went just as I dang well pleased
I came home early that night with a big bunch of flowers and found Harry had already cooked a wonderfully romantic meal for us. We didn't discuss yesterday, but I knew all was forgiven as we enjoyed a passionate evening together.
For a few days everything was fine, but then I had a stressful day and decided to spend some time out at my favorite bar before heading home. After my third drink I forgot about our fight last week and fully enjoyed drinking away the stresses of my day. It was close to one in the morning before I stumbled through my door, very drunk. The site of Harry sitting on the couch staring at me in silence brought back my memory of our quarrel and I sighed.
"I suppose you're going to tell me you were at work," Harry said softly. It wasn't really a question, but I answered anyway.
"I was at work and I had a bad day so I decided to go to the pub and have a few."
"From the look of you, you had more than a few. Did you even think of calling me? Or perhaps that maybe you could feel better by coming home and talking to me about it instead of going to a pub and getting trashed?"
I frowned. This quiet and unhappy Harry was not what I had expected. When Harry was upset he was always very vocal. Usually yelling and screaming, sometimes even throwing stuff. I'd never seen him like this before. For some reason that made me very concerned and I sobered up a bit.
"I just wanted to have some fun. You never want to have fun anymore. You just want to sit around and talk. I wanted to go out and blow off some steam. Look I'm sorry I didn't call again. Next time I will."
Harry shook his head and stood up. "There won't be a next time Draco. I'm tired and I'm going to bed; alone in the guest room."
I watched him concerned and felt an uncomfortable weight settled in my stomach. Apparently I'd upset him more than usual, but in my drunk state, I couldn't think of anything to do about it. I went to bed determined to make it up to him in the morning.
While she sits at home alone
With fears and feelin's of her own
Lord knows goodbye would bring me to my knees
When I woke the next morning once again Harry was missing from the apartment. Once again I assured myself that all would be well. Remembering the lovely dinner and evening we had after our fight last week I was actually looking forward to our reunion later and happily went to work.
At lunch time, however, I was more concerned and decided to go home and surprise Harry with having a lunch with him at home. It had been a very long time since I'd done so, and I thought it would be just the thing to apologize for coming home drunk last night.
When I arrived home, however, Harry was not there. I did a brief search of the apartment, but he was nowhere to be found. His photo albums were missing from the living room coffee table, and I assumed he'd gone to visit the Weasley's for lunch and brought them with them. Quickly I returned to the office convincing myself that he'd be home tonight and we could talk then.
As any fool can see
She's gonna cross that line
She's got leavin' on her mind
And it's too late
But what keeps killin' me
Is knowin' I've been blind
As any fool can see
When I returned home later that evening the apartment looked exactly as it had at lunch. No sign of Harry, and the photo albums were still missing. I looked around for any sign of him and then went into the kitchen to make dinner. Harry always made dinner, but I figured it couldn't be that hard and it would certainly get me back in his good graces.
I went to pull out a pot to boil water for spaghetti to find that all the pots were gone. Confused I looked in the sink and all around the kitchen. The good dishes that my mother had given us for Christmas two years ago were in their cabinet, but Harry's copper pots that he loved so much were missing.
A ball of knots appeared in my stomach and worry began to eat at me. Quickly I went to our bedroom. Harry's nightstand looked normal with its clock and lamp still in place, but the photo of his parents was gone from the dresser and a quick search showed his drawers and his half of the closet were empty of clothes. In the bathroom his toothbrush and razor were missing. I was in disbelief. I sat on the bed and stared at the holes in the room that used to be filled with Harry. His stuff was gone. He was gone. Harry had left me.
She's gonna cross that line
She's got leavin' on her mind
And it's too late
But what keeps killin' me
Is knowin' I've been blind
As any fool can see
Harry crossed his legs in front of him as Luna passed him a cup of tea. "I really appreciate you guys letting me crash here. It'll just be for a few days I promise. I'm going to look for a new apartment, but I think I'm going to be leaving England. It will take me a few days to get the paperwork sorted, but I've always wanted to spend some time in the south of Italy and there is no better time than now.
Luna smiled at him as Neville nodded, "A break from here is just what you need. As long as you don't mind us coming to visit," he said.
"Of course not!" Harry exclaimed. "It will just be nice to have a change of scenery for a while. Maybe do some traveling. I've always wanted to see the States. It would help get my mind off of things here."
"And who knows," Luna added, "maybe you'll meet another nice young man."
"Maybe," Harry said and they settled into comfortable silence. It would take him a while to get over Draco, but maybe. Someday.
She's gonna cross that line
She's got leavin' on her mind
And it's too late
But what keeps killin' me
Is knowin' I've been blind
As any fool can see