I'd Rather Be With You, a harry potter fanfic

I'm not normally one to write fics, especially inspired by songs - but this song has a special connection to this pairing for me. The lyrics belong to Joshua Radin and I do not take credit for them. I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to review and leave any comments/criticisms, or PM me directly! Thanks!

Sitting here, on this lonely dock
Watch the rain play on the ocean top
All the things I feel I need to say
I can't explain in any other way

It had been three months; not nearly enough time to forget everything that had happened and barely enough time for the raw pain to begin to subside. The saltwater stung her eyes just like the war stung her heart.

She had only been to the beach once before and hardly knew anything about it or him, yet she felt this probably wasn't a place he enjoyed. Under normal circumstances, the light sand was everywhere: Your hair, your nails, between your toes. Now, even worse, there was rain drizzling down from the sky, causing everything to stick – sweat, saltwater, tears, but mostly sand. She felt it under her thighs especially as she sat on the dock and watched him approach.

I need to be bold
Need to jump in the cold water
Need to grow older with a girl like you
Finally see you are naturally
The one to make it so easy
When you show me the truth
Yeah, I'd rather be with you
Say you want the same thing too

It might've been a fling, it might've been a mistake – but he didn't care. He'd spent too much time caring; caring about the Dark Lord and his wishes, caring about his family, caring about surviving. There was so much energy spent and it hadn't been wasted, but he needed something easy. Something natural. And this just felt so uncomplicated, though it was probably anything but.

"Your hair's even worse than normal, Weasley, and that's saying something."

His greeting could've been taken incredibly differently if it had been said in passing; if it had been said with a sneer; if it'd been said with a different tone. But it was casual, his hair was no better, he wore only a weak smile, and there might've been tears on his cheeks not long ago, too.

"Look who's talking," she replied, the corners of her lips turning upward a bit as she lightly pushed his shoulder with hers as he sat. It was quiet for a moment, then she asked (because this situation couldn't be any more strange): "Why are you here?"

It was a reasonable question. She was on a beach an hour away from the nearest metropolitan area and there was no hint of a witch or wizard nearby. The nearest person was a half mile down the beach, nowhere near the dock. She supposed the rain had something to do with it, though this was summer rain and she might've loved it if not for her mood.

He paused, though he knew it didn't make sense why. Draco had already made the decision to come to her, to admit something to her simply because she was there and most importantly, he knew she felt the same. This wasn't an assumption – Draco Malfoy didn't make those. He tried to do everything in a calculated manner, even if it were easy. "The same reason you are," he said, gazing at the horizon like she was (though for some reason he yearned to study her face), and that was enough of an answer to satisfy her for now.

Now here's the sun, come to dry the rain
Warm my shoulders and relieve my pain
You're the one thing that I'm missing here
With you beside me I no longer fear

After that admission, they spoke for hours. They talked a great deal about the war, about the changes it brought and the ones it didn't. They talked about their families, things they wouldn't even discuss with close friends. They talked until dusk, until Ginny Weasley was briefly at a loss for words. Draco didn't mind this loss.

Even the silence, when it finally came, was meaningful. He admired features that he'd never noticed – never wanted to notice. He never desired to see her beauty in the soft curves of her face and body, but he saw them now. In him, she saw a kindness that she'd never imagined to and that she knew he didn't let others often see.

"Why'd you really stop?" Ginny asked, fearing the answer. Now it was late, and the sun sat at the edge of the ocean, almost completely dipped below the horizon. It was enough to see a flicker of delight and enthusiasm in his typically guarded eyes.

"To do this," Draco answered immediately, like he'd been waiting for her to ask again the whole time. Then he took her cheek in his hand and kissed her like he'd been meaning to since he stumbled upon her. And maybe he had.