Banana Pancakes
by Rice-Ball247
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or any affiliated characters. They belong to J.K. Rowling and I make no profit.
Rice-Ball247: There is no excuse for this. Happy New Year. OH! This is the short version (the one I had been intending to post in the first place), but somewhere along the way, I kept adding bits and pieces, and had a sort-of oneshot, but it went off on a tangent that I didn't want for this. That extended piece will be posted as a second chapter, as an optional read. Just some tidbits on how Draco and Harry met again, etc.
Warning: slash, unrepentant fluff, unbetaed, quick!fic
24.
The night air is crisp, cool and clear; the type of night sky that only happens after a perfectly cloudless day, stars twinkling merrily in their own eternal sort of way. Back in the house, there is a cacophony of noise from the kitchen – the younger children running around screaming and playing downstairs; the teenagers upstairs on the Playstation 3; Hermione and Ron bickering in the kitchen, in a way that was simply them. Someone left the radio on, and right now, the lazy strumming of Banana Pancakes thrummed in the background.
Harry Potter, no longer young (when had he ever?), but really just in the prime of his life, was curled up on the comfy swinging seat in the Grangers' garden. It was spacious, and always smelled sweet whenever he came by for a visit. After the war, Hermione and Ron had made a mutual decision to move, wanting to raise their children away from the prying eyes of the Wizarding public. So, after tracking down Hermione's parents in Sydney, Australia, the couple decided that they would settle there.
17.
"I haven't seen that look on your face in a while. What are you thinking of?" a voice came from somewhere to Harry's right, and the man glanced up into the face of his lover. Draco was levitating two mugs of hot chocolate, a habit they hadn't gotten rid of, despite Australia's warm Christmas season. A snugly, cornflower blue blanket was folded over one arm. Harry made space for him on the swing set, immediately fitting against Draco's side as the blond wrapped the blanket around the both of them. Good thing too, because the mosquitoes were starting to attack Harry's legs.
"Nothing. Everything," Harry answered softly after a few moments of silence. He sipped at his hot chocolate and breathed out in contentedness. He was staring up at the Southern Cross constellation in the sky, which twinkled down at them, clear and merry. Thus, he missed the look of absolute affection that crossed Draco's face in that instant.
"Dork," the blond murmured fondly, as he buried his nose into Harry's soft hair and simply breathed in. The people in the house were still chattering loudly, the kids still playing and someone (Harry suspected Ron), had left Banana Pancakes to play on repeat.
"Creep," Harry shot back, not even glancing at his lover as he finished off his mug, which Draco absently banished to the kitchen alongside his own. They sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, Harry's hand curled around the front of Draco's button-up shirt.
9.
Draco had started to push his feet against the paved ground beneath them, allowing the swing set to rock back and forth gently. Harry was starting to fall asleep to the soothing, lulling rhythm, but desperately tried to stay awake for the countdown, which would be happening soon. No one seemed to have noticed that the two lovebirds had disappeared. Or if they had, they merely left them to their own devices, not wanting to disrupt what was clearly a 'loving moment' (one of plenty, in the Malfoy-Potter household, and it was a rule made up by the children that these were not to be interrupted when they happened).
"'msleepy..." Harry mumbled against Draco's shoulder, followed by a yawn. It didn't help that Draco's hand was gently carding through his hair. "Don't wanna miss the- the- countdown," Harry slurred, the last word drawn out mid-yawn. Draco said nothing, except to hold his love and light a little tighter.
3.
"Draco," Harry said suddenly, suddenly awake after a few minutes of more silence. Somewhere in the distance, they could hear fireworks starting to pop and crackle, and the sky in the distance flashed briefly with an aura of colour before fading back to black. Draco grunted to show that he was listening. "This is our first New Year's celebration as a couple."
"We spent last New Year's together," Draco pointed out, his voice husky, as if he too were falling asleep in their lazy cocoon of warmth. His feet had, at some point, stopped moving, so now they were perfectly stationary.
"But we weren't a proper couple."
"Hnn..."
"Dracoooo."
"Yes?"
"If you laugh at me, I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day," Harry pouted, although Draco had his head tilted backwards, so he didn't see it. Sensing that there was more to come, Draco's eyes opened and he stared down at Harry blearily. Realising that Draco was now paying proper attention, Harry suddenly felt embarrassed by whatever he was thinking.
"I promise I won't laugh."
2.
It took Draco nearly a full minute to coerce Harry into telling him what was plaguing his thoughts.
1.
"I was on Facebook the other day. And there was a group..." Harry trailed off, as if suddenly realising how silly that sentence had sounded in the context of their conversation. Draco merely stared at him expectantly. Sucking in a breath, Harry continued, "Kissing the one you love on New Years, so you can start and end the year perfectly."
Draco blinked. Then he laughed.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for laughing," Draco flinched away as Harry huffed and smacked him across his bicep. "That hardly hurt." Harry sat, and merely stared up at him petulantly, his lower lip jutting out in a way that was just ridiculous(ly cute). Draco felt one of those moments coming along. Those sweetest, intimate instances where the world would suddenly fade, quiet, and they'd stare into one another's eyes. These moments always made his hair stand on end, his skin tingle, his heart race and it always ended in perfect, chaste kisses.
"10! 9! 8!"
"Countdown," Harry intoned softly, his hand curling around Draco's shoulder, whilst the other went to the back of Draco's neck.
"7! 6! 5!"
"Romantic sod," Draco mumbled, his hands automatically framing Harry's face, thumbs stroking across a lightly stubbled jaw, the soft curve of Harry's bottom lip. He pulled Harry forward until their foreheads rested against each other.
"4! 3! 2! 1!"
"Happy-"
Honestly, Draco didn't know why Harry bothered wishing him a 'Happy New Year' in that moment, if they were supposed to be doing something more important. Like snogging.
James, Albus, Scorpius and Lily embraced as soon as the clock hit midnight. Everyone was screaming and cheering, welcoming 2011 with open arms. Even the teenagers had come down for the countdown. Little Lily Luna, soon to be three, didn't really understand what all the fun and yelling was for. She glanced outside, seeing the silhouette of her daddy and papa, having a 'smoochie' in the garden. Behind them, the night sky was exploding with bright and pretty colours, all bleeding into each other with loud WHIZZs and CRACKLEs and POPpopPOPs! She didn't fully comprehend the meaning of kisses between her fathers, but the sight was something she would cherish for years, because even at a young age, she knew they were both irrevocably in love.
Rice-Ball247: Umm... hi, all. Great to see you again (hopefully). I know it's been pretty much a YEAR since I've updated, and wow, what a year it's been. The concept of writing has almost become foreign to me, and I hope that somewhere between my physics, mathematics and all other sciences, that I haven't forgotten how to write. In any case, this was written on a whim (hence, unbetaed) because I was out in my garden, snuggled under a blanket, stargazing on my own. And because I'm in Australia, yeah, it's 2011 haha (Yay, I'm from the future!). So HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone. I'm sorry I didn't write anything for Harry's 30th, or for Christmas. I really did have intentions (and half written fics to prove it), but all the fics I've written this year... well... let's just say, I've been attacked by plunnies, and never had time to get them fully formed.
New Year Resolution? Probably to update more frequently. We shall see...