"Merlin, you irritate me." The words were out of Ginny's mouth before she could stop them. For some reason, she wanted to fight.
Must have been the stress.
"Trying to pick a fight, Weasley?" She should have known better than to think he would bite. After all, wasn't she the one who always fell for his bait no matter how many times he set out the same lure?
Again and again and again.
She rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling so she wouldn't have to look at him. "Draco…"
"Oh, first names now?"
"Don't make this harder than it has to be."
"I think you made this hard enough for both of us when you came here for the first time, Weasley."
"Don't call me that." Ginny pressed her eyes together, feeling a traitorous tear slip out from beneath her lashes anyway.
"Hey." He cupped the side of her face, fingers sinking into her silky scarlet spirals. He tilted her head to the side gently, forcing her to meet his eyes. "It's going to be okay."
"No, it isn't. I've given up everything for you. For us. For this."
"And I haven't?"
"That's not what I'm saying." The bite of impatience was familiar and the nip of anger too much so.
He got to her too much.
But then again, wasn't that why they were in this position? Locked at an impasse, both having thrown everything away. All that was left now was for them to see if it would be worth it.
"Then spit out what you're saying." His tone was mild but she knew him well enough to detect the irritation masked by cool, emotionless words.
The man was too good with words, too good at masking his thoughts.
"If this doesn't work out…what am I going to do? I've sunk everything onto this. This doesn't work out and I'm done. I'll have lost my family, my friends, my job, my career. Everything."
"Scary, isn't it?"
"Aren't you afraid, Draco? Even a little?"
He shifted slightly, his weight sinking the mattress next to her. "Listen, Ginny. I want this to work every bit as much as you do. I do, really. Because if it doesn't, what do I have to come home to? An empty mansion full of things that remind me of people I don't want to ever think about and mounds of gold to do absolutely nothing with."
His tone was somber, more serious than she could ever remember hearing. For some reason, it calmed. Perhaps it was the fact that maybe she wasn't the only one here trapped in a whirlwind of confusion and emotion.
They were both so reckless, it was bound to get them killed.
Her lips twitched into a weak smile. "I guess I'll just have to stick around."
If she didn't, where could she possibly go anyway?
"You better, Weasley."
The words were playful but she didn't miss the seriousness behind them.
"So…what now, Draco? We just wait?"
"We wait. To see if we can live with each other. And…hopefully we can."
"And if not?"
He was silent for a while. "We'd just better hope we can."
Then he dipped his head down to kiss her and she knew it was worth it.
Even if she lost everything.
