Disclaimer: I only own the plot.
A/N: Thanking all my readers and especially Muffin-DanishFreak, ch4rm3ds3c0nds, and reptarrocks42 for their reviews that made me incredibly happy. I guess you could say this chapter is very much rated M but it's more of a tease for my beloved readers :D Reviews make my world go round~~~~ ^.^
Harry had completely forgotten to speak to Hermione about his birthday dinner with her and Ron. But, he had just had one with Draco, so did he really need a second? These were his best friends so he probably should. Draco was…his lover. The mere thought of that put a smile on Harry's face as he sat in his kitchen, idly stirring his tea, his chin resting in his palm as he stared wistfully into the distance. That is, until a rather angry redhead fell through the fireplace. Ron didn't even bother dusting himself off and he was in muggle clothes. And he came at Harry like a battering ram. Tensing for any impact, Harry was shocked when he merely got held up by the collar of his shirt. Ron was taller than Harry, so it lifted Harry off his feet a little.
"Am I hearing right? Are you spending even your free time with Malfoy? Is that true?" Ron spat angrily, his face turning an unsightly shade of puce that Uncle Vernon would have been proud of. Harry was a bit taken off guard by this and was silent for a little until Ron shook him.
"I…yes." He answered finally, after his teeth rattled a bit.
"Why? He's a slimy little git, I thought we both agreed on that! I can understand you spending the time with him that you were supposed to but this is…this is more than going above and beyond for someone." Ron hissed and released Harry so suddenly that the smaller man fell back and into his chair, which almost tipped over. Harry chewed his lip uncertainly for a moment, debating with himself whether he should tell Ron about his relationship with Draco or not. Ron would find out eventually, so why not tell him while it's still a fresh relationship and get the unpleasantness over with? Harry cleared his throat and Ron stopped his pacing and fuming to glare at his best friend.
"Why…? Because he isn't a slimy little git. He's a good man, Ron. I know you don't approve and I know Hermione doesn't either, but I control my life and what I want to do with it and who I want in it. And I want Draco to be a part of my life. He's important to me and I want to help him…"
"That's just your hero complex talking." Ron interjected and Harry stood up, giving his friend a hard look.
"I do not have a hero complex and it has nothing to do with me wanting to be a hero! I like him, and he likes me. And he wants me and he makes me happy, he makes me feel good. I haven't felt so…giddy in such a long time." Harry rambled and Ron's expression went from confusion to near disgust as Harry's words sank in. Ron crossed his arms and glared at the floor.
"You're gay? You're gay and you never told me. Why wouldn't you tell me?" He asked tightly and Harry tried to remember why it was he had not told Ron. He remembered telling Hermione and he could swear Ron was there. And then it clicked. He HAD told Ron. But Ron had been in such denial that he had probably suppressed the memory.
"I did tell you. It was three years ago when you, me, and Hermione went out for my birthday. I told you both then. You just didn't want to hear it so you didn't listen. Draco likes me and he accepts me for who and what I am." He said softly, looking down at his shuffling feet. Ron became so quiet that Harry thought he had left, so he looked up to see Ron staring blankly at the steam rising from Harry's tea cup.
"I'm sorry, Harry. You being gay I could handle, but you're telling me you're Draco's partner. That's going to take some time to get used to. I'm not…I'm not ending our friendship over something like this but I'm saying that I'm going to take some time to get used to this, watch from afar to see how things progress with you and Malfoy. If I see you're getting serious with him, we'll all sit down and I will attempt to be nice." Ron finally said and Harry nodded, thinking it was probably for the best anyway. He knew Ron wouldn't stay mad at him forever, if he was even mad at him to begin with, and he was happy to give his best friend some space. Ron silently took his leave of Harry's kitchen through the floo.
Later that day, Harry was with Draco, at his normal visiting hour. Except that Draco had caught on immediately that something was bothering Harry. As soon as Harry stepped out of the floo and looked at Draco, he saw the pain in his lover's eyes. He used his cane to help get him out of the chair, bad weather seemed to make his leg hurt more. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to completely fix it. The way it had healed in Azkaban made it nearly impossible. So, Draco was fine with the cane. Harry had told him it added to his look and made him look more…something. Draco had been too mesmerized by how Harry's lips had been moving to really hear what he had said.
"What has happened?" Draco asked as he made his way to Harry, putting his hand behind Harry's neck and guiding him to lean his forehead on his shoulder. Harry sighed heavily, clutching the front of Draco's shirt.
"Ron and I had a bit of a falling out. He said he needs time to get used to the fact that you and I are together." Harry explained, giving Draco the short version. Draco didn't need to know that Ron had gotten rough with him at first. That would just make a bigger mess of things. It had come to Harry's attention that Draco was very protective of what he considered his.
"He'll come around. Like he said, he just needs to adjust. It's a big change for everyone. Give him time." Draco said softly, gently caressing Harry's back to calm him. He didn't like seeing his Harry so upset. It hurt him when Harry hurt. He wasn't sure why he had such a deep connection with the man, the only thing he's come up with was that Harry is the only one who had not forsaken Draco even though they had been enemies in school and after. Harry has been a shining light in the darkness that surrounded Draco. Harry was the strength Draco needed to keep himself from accepting Pansy's offer of this strange power she was going on about. The woman sent him an owl every other day. It really was annoying.
"Is there anything new going on that I need to be made aware of?" Harry asked softly, poking Draco's chest when the blond chuckled.
"No, just letters from Pansy but I haven't owl ordered anything. My outgoing mail is monitored." He said with laughter swimming in his eyes. He tugged Harry toward the stairs. Harry immediately started blushing, knowing what Draco wanted. They had done it only once so far and it had been awkward but pleasurable. He wasn't sure he could handle another awkward time with Draco. He tugged back on his hand, successfully stopping their progress up the stairs. Draco turned and gave Harry a confused look.
"I…It's not that I don't want to, Draco, but, I…" Harry trailed, blushing brightly. Draco seemed shocked at first but then gave a reassuring smile, tugging back on Harry's arm.
"Then we won't do anything. Just lay with me. Stay the night, Harry. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up with you there. Just this once. I know you can't do it all the time because of your job, but I need this, just once." He said softly, almost pleadingly. Harry stared at him with wide eyes before nodding in agreement. They got to Draco's rooms and Draco let Harry take a shower first and then got him into one of his pajama sets. After his own shower, Draco got into his big bed and curled himself around Harry, who snuggled against Draco almost like a kitten. For the first time in so long, Draco fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Harry woke up, squinting as the sun shone on his face. But it wasn't that that had woken him up. It had been the rumbling chuckle near his ear, the chest vibrating against his cheek. He opened his eyes and gave Draco a playful glare. They ended up getting into a bit of a tickle wrestling match. Draco had been elated to find out that Harry was very sensitive when being tickled…and when being made love to. He had to be careful, though, because he knew Harry was still uncomfortable with making love and tickling could easily become something more erotic. Once Harry let out one strangled moan, Draco backed off, chuckling as he called for a house elf with breakfast.
"Why did you stop?" Harry asked softly, sitting on Draco's messed up bed, Draco's too large pajama shirt falling off Harry's one shoulder. The man looked absolutely ravishing. It made Draco's body react to a rather painful point.
"You weren't comfortable with being intimate with me last night, so I assumed that you felt the same way this morning. Am I wrong?" He asked in confusion and Harry tilted his head to the side. He looked so innocent when he did that. It made Draco's body stir more, nearly bringing him to his knees. Harry scrunched his nose up, his glasses lying on the bedside table where he had left them the night before.
"I think I'm alright now. Unless you don't want to…" Harry trailed, blushing beautifully. With a gentle smile, Draco got back on the bed and pushed Harry down while kissing him deeply, savoring the taste of his lover, memorizing every crevice of Harry's sweet mouth. The man must eat a lot of sweets to taste so good.
Draco's hands caressed up Harry's sides, pushing the shirt up at the same time, until he got to Harry's nipples. He pushed his finger against the hard nub, tweaking it and making Harry arch his back and cry out softly. Draco groaned against the soft flesh of Harry's neck, where he had moved his feasting lips to nip at the sensitive skin. Harry's fingers dug into Draco's back, leaving faint scratches from shoulders to ribs. Draco hissed but didn't mind that Harry was, in a sense, marking him. Draco was doing the same with the love bites he was leaving on Harry's neck.
Draco reached down between then and grasped Harry's hard member, stroking it firmly but gently, rubbing his finger against the weeping tip. Harry arched again, digging his nails into Draco's back. Both Harry and Draco were so painfully ready to make love but, as their luck would have it, the house elf Draco had called for earlier popped in with a loud crack. In an understandable reaction to the sound, Harry had pushed Draco off him, maybe a bit too hard since the blond fell off the bed with a grunt. Harry scrambled under the blankets and hid under there until Draco tugged them off, grinning down at him.
"In the mood for breakfast?" he snickered and Harry glared and crossed his arms almost like a petulant child.
"What's on the menu?" He snapped, Draco's eyes twinkling in amusement over his lover's reaction.
"Sausage." He said and then pounced on Harry with a laugh.