Another installment. Am I slowly regaining your trust?

Many heartfelt thanks to the sexy Lexi for betaing this not once but twice.

Enjoy.

Chapter 10: Right from hot to cold

Draco nearly flung himself at the door when Callum finally arrived at Harry's flat where Draco had been imprisoned for nearly five weeks.

"What happened? How did it go?" Draco demanded to know before he even had the door fully open. Callum had an extremely important meeting scheduled today to consult with representatives from a firm that, if they signed up to the company, could bring a massive influx of income; a big fish, as they called it. Callum had always attended these kinds of business meetings, but only as Draco's wingman; he'd never chaired one himself.

"Yes, hello," Callum smirked. "Am I going to be allowed inside at all?"

"Just tell me it went great so I can calm the fuck down," Draco pleaded. He'd been jumpy all day waiting to hear from Callum about the outcome of the meeting.

"Okay, it went great."

"You're not just saying that because I asked you too, right? I mean, it actually went great, right?" Draco asked excitedly, practically bouncing behind Callum as the tanned Australian let himself into the lounge room.

Callum turned to face Draco with a grin that stretched from one ear to the other. "It went great," he laughed and Draco squealed, practically flinging himself at Callum.

"Oh my God! This is fantastic! What did Jared say? Was he happy?" Draco spoke so quickly that Callum wouldn't have understood a word had they not been best friends for the last ten years.

"He's happy about the deal, but he barely talks about anything but you these days," Callum admitted, the smile falling from his face. "He's worried he'll never see you again. I know we thought the 'witness protection' story was the best angle, but he's been researching all the processes for witness protection and he's completely freaking out that they're going to give you a new life. I only just managed to talk him out of booking a flight here; he keeps saying he'll protect you himself. I'm running out of reasons why he shouldn't come, this is the seventh time now."

"Does he know you've been able to visit me?" Draco asked anxiously.

"No! Could you imagine if I told him that?" Callum scoffed. "He'd be over here on the Concorde in two fucking hours!"

Draco laughed a little nervously; he had been a bit on edge about Jared lately and didn't like talking to Callum about him. He knew he should tell Jared everything; he was as close to him as he was to Callum, but he still wasn't sure.

The truth was Callum had been doing extremely well acting in Draco's position and Kate, the woman who'd taken over Callum's position, was doing well too. The fact is it was looking like they didn't really need Draco at all. Don't get the wrong idea, Draco wasn't upset about this, in fact it was the best possible solution given that it was likely Draco wouldn't be able to fill the position for much longer anyway, if ever again, but it did open up a world of opportunities. It was something Draco had been thinking about for years, incorporating the Wizarding world into the enterprise, a branch he could easily establish and run himself. They could access new avenues for trade and he knew Jared would go for it for sure. There was only one problem… Harry.

They'd been living together for five weeks now and things had been … tense, to say the least. They hadn't had a proper conversation for nearly a week; these days they only spoke in harsh whispers, banshee-like screams or sharp snaps. Draco was starting to think that their union wasn't a very good idea after all. He loved Harry, he was absolutely sure about that, but love isn't enough to make a relationship work.

The possibility of losing Harry seemed more likely every day and it pushed a lot of difficult questions into Draco's head. Should he come back to the world of magic if Harry wasn't there to share it with him? Could he face his past alone? Was he doing this for himself because it was the right thing to do, or for Harry?

He couldn't answer any of these questions just yet. He simply didn't know if he could do this alone or if he even wanted to; why would he bother if Harry wouldn't be his lifetime reward for his efforts? He really didn't know where his future lay anymore.

"How's everything else going?" Draco asked after a while. "The office and everything… Are you treating Julie well? Nobody's filed sexual harassment claims against you, have they?"

"Hey! I resent that!" Callum exclaimed, frowning as he pretended to be offended. "Everything is going well, in fact, I think they all like me better than you."

"Yeah, right!" Draco laughed, but stopped abruptly when he saw Callum looking behind him at the door. He turned to find Harry staring at him with glassy eyes.

"It's been a while since I've heard you laugh," the Auror said sadly from across the room, he was coming home from work still dressed in his Auror robes. Draco just shrugged at him, not knowing what else to do or say; Harry already knew he was unhappy here. Harry walked over to Draco and kissed him firmly on his temple, trying to convey his passion behind the simple kiss, but Draco didn't feel it. "I'm going to get changed," he told them, nodding a hello to Callum before leaving the room.

"Wow," Callum gasped awkwardly. "Things just went right from hot to cold between you two, didn't they?"

"Yeah, well, he just doesn't understand what it's like to be trapped here," Draco complained. "He keeps saying I should enjoy having some time off from work to just be lazy, but I haven't been lazy my whole life, it's driving me insane and he doesn't care!"

"I'm sure he cares, Leo," Callum chastised him. "I mean, Draco, sorry."

"It's okay, I've gotten as used to being called Leo as you are to calling me that," Draco said smiling weakly at his friend. "I know he cares, it's just I've asked him to find me somewhere else to stay and he says he can't, that there is nowhere else."

"What? Do all the people he protects come and stay here?" Callum asked sarcastically, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Draco agreed with a deep sigh. "I just don't know what to do."

"Hang in there, Mate," Callum tried to comfort him. "I brought some Johnnie Walker Classic if that'll make you feel better?"

"Much better," Draco smiled and Callum cracked open the bottle of Scotch whisky.

Harry's flat was a typical tiny London flat that the Auror was reluctant to magically resize given that he lived in a muggle apartment building. Draco hadn't been outside once since he arrived and Harry even got upset when he opened the window to lean out and get some fresh air. He hadn't been able to exercise properly either, there's only so much a man can do in a small space before he just needs to go for a nice long run.

As such, Draco had been watching lots of television since it was the only company he had, particularly now that Harry wasn't really talking to him.

"Harry, I can't find the remote," Draco whined from the lounge room one night. "My show is going to be on in two minutes!"

"What?" Harry asked, frowning as he walked out of the bathroom with his wand in hand; he had been spelling his teeth clean just before he went to bed.

"My show, Harry!" Draco exclaimed, frantically searching through the cushions on the couch. "I can't find the remote, I can't change the channel."

"Use the buttons on the TV," Harry suggested, rolling his eyes as he returned to the bathroom.

"I don't know how! I've always used the remote!" Draco shouted, frustrated at Harry's lack of empathy at his predicament. "What did you do with it?"

"What did I do with it?" Harry scoffed. "I didn't do anything with it; I don't even watch TV, Draco. I don't like it."

"You do watch TV, you watch that investigation show with me, where they solve mysteries that look impossible," Draco huffed.

"Jonathan Creek?" Harry replied. "Oh yeah, I do love that show."

"So, where's the remote?"

"One show? I watch one show a week and suddenly I'm the one that lost the TV remote?" Harry asked in disbelief; he shook his head disappointedly and walked out of the room.

"Oh right," Draco drawled sarcastically. "Because that's all I do, isn't it? I just sit on your couch like a lazy prick and watch the telly all day! That's what you think of me isn't it?"

"No!" Harry snapped as he stormed back into the room. "I know you're cooped up here with nothing to do, I just wish you wouldn't blame me for every little thing that goes wrong in this house!"

"Maybe I blame you because it's your fucking fault that I'm stuck here!" Draco hissed and he stormed past where Harry stood in the entryway of the lounge to his own room that Harry had set up for him.

"Great," Harry sighed to himself once he heard Draco's bedroom door slam, the sound ringing in his ears.

Callum came to visit him over the weekend and sometimes during the week to keep him company and he always looked forward to it, but Hermione was with him even more frequently, re-teaching him all his forgotten magicks. She usually came over three times a week and always brought little Rosie along with her.

"You're just swishing your wand a little too much, Draco," Hermione instructed him gently. "Try again."

Draco took a deep breath and tried to concentrate as he pointed his wand again. "Feravierto!" he said, swishing his wand back and forth. The frog transfigured again into a slimy green goblet and he could have snapped his wand in half from the frustration.

"What's wrong, Draco?" Hermione sighed. "Yesterday you had this one every time."

Draco threw his wand carelessly on the table and slumped back in his chair. "We had another fight," he admitted reluctantly, touching his temples like he had the beginnings of a headache.

"Another one?" Hermione gasped.

"Yes, another one," Draco bit out a little harsher than he wanted to.

"Oh dear," she sighed, biting at her lip. "You better have a truffle." She smiled at him sympathetically as she passed over a small bowl of chocolate truffles. She declared when she had arrived earlier that day that she had felt creative last night after Rose had fallen to sleep and made him truffles to help his mood; apparently there were more until Ron found them for a midnight snack.

"This isn't working, Hermione," he whispered weakly; he was starting to fall into a depression from the hopelessness of his situation that, as of yet, had no end in sight. "It's been five weeks and we've argued at least once every day for the last two, sometimes more. Last weekend he went into work to do unpaid overtime, why do you think he did that?" Draco asked bitterly, making it obvious with his tone that he already suspected Harry was just trying to get away from him.

"You just have to be patient," Hermione sighed.

"Easier said than done," he huffed. "This relationship is going to be over before it has even begun. The best thing that's ever happened to me and I'm fucking it up."

"Harry understands it's not the best situation, I'm sure he does," Hermione tried to reassure him.

"Yeah, but what if he thinks this is like a flash of the future, what if he decides that we won't ever be able to last because we clearly can't live together?" Draco asked worriedly. He'd been having these thoughts for a while but he'd yet to get any of his anxieties off his chest. "And what if it's true?"

"Firstly, Harry thinks you're the best thing since sliced bread, so its going to take more than a few stupid little fights to get rid of him," Hermione reasoned. "And secondly, you are being way too hard on yourself. You've been trapped in this tiny flat for over a month; it'd drive anyone barmy, Draco."

"I have to get out," Draco decided. "I can't stay here anymore."

"You have to, just for a little while longer," she reminded him. "Ron is sure the Carrows will make another appearance soon and Harry's not going to let you go anywhere until he's sure it's safe for you."

"Yeah and when's that going to be?" Draco complained.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted and Draco slumped even further into the couch thinking he was going to be trapped in Harry's flat until he died of old age.

Rose Weasley always had impeccable timing, so naturally, just as Draco was starting to feel hopelessly confined to this desperately lonely flat; she waddled over to him with a small storybook clutched tightly in her fingers. Draco, it seemed, was a strong contender for Rose's affections and occasionally even won her from Harry; he suspected she liked his 'Angel hair'; she had a small porcelain angel in her room that she had named after him. She came to a stop at his feet and wobbled as she looked up into his face pleading with her eyes. "Way-way," she said; that was her name for him.

"You want me to read you a book?" he asked her.

Rose nodded fervently and thrust the book at Draco. "Baby book."

Hermione laughed. "She's fascinated with babies at the moment, she doesn't seem to realize she's still a baby herself; well, she's my baby anyway. Luna just had her first only a month ago and I took Rose over last week and she just stared at Lorcan and said 'gentle, gentle' whenever she touched him because I'd given her a 'you have to be gentle' lecture before we left."

Draco smiled softly, thinking Rose was probably the cutest little girl that ever lived. He pulled her up on to his lap and began reading a story about a little boy who had just gotten a baby sister and all the things he did to help his mother take care of her. For the three minutes he read with Rose, Draco's life didn't seem quite so bad.

"Hey Beautiful," Harry said casually, dropping a kiss on to Draco's forehead. "How did it go with Hermione today?" Draco was sitting in Harry's comfortable armchair reading a book; he'd decided the day before, after his fight with Harry, that TV was making him a little nuts.

"Not too bad," Draco answered; things had gone much better once he'd been able to talk about some of the things that had been bothering him lately, he was glad Hermione thought his reactions were relatively normal. "She thinks I'm ready for some bigger spells now."

"Oh really?" Harry called from the kitchen as he made himself his usual after work cup of tea. "That sounds good; sounds like you're doing well."

"I am," Draco answered. "She thinks we'll need a bigger space though, we can't keep working here."

"Oh," Harry replied, his face falling almost immediately. "Draco, you know it's difficult for you to leave here. It's not safe."

"Come on, Harry, they aren't waiting at the front door to pounce the second I leave the house," Draco tried to reason. Harry had him under tight lock and key. "I'm going insane in here, you know I am, I fucking take it out on you often enough!"

"I can put up with that if it keeps you safe," Harry told him firmly.

"Yeah, but I can't," Draco stated. "I can't stay here for very much longer."

"I understand, I really do," Harry cooed, clearly trying to appease him. "But you're just going to have to wait."

"If you understood what this feels like, you wouldn't be asking me to keep waiting," Draco whispered dangerously before silently making his way to his room.

It had been getting worse and worse as each day passed; if they weren't fighting, they weren't talking. They hadn't exchanged a civil word to one another for longer than Draco cared to think about, and every time they tried it always turned sour. Draco could feel their relationship slipping away and he felt powerless to stop it even though it had been he who initiated every argument and he who walked away. He couldn't help but resent Harry for the decisions he'd made about Draco's life without consulting him; obeying his orders was the largest gesture of affection that he could manage right now, anything more than that was too emotionally draining.

Draco spent most of his time alone in his room when Harry was home, he tried to force himself to face him but it only ended in a fight most of the time and he wasn't sure how much more he could take of their arguments. They never fought about anything meaningful, it always started out as something ridiculous, like when Harry washed Draco's jumper without asking when apparently he wanted to wear it, but it always ended up the same – Harry had Draco caged and he was getting sick of it.

Knock. Knock.

The sound was delicate on his bedroom door, apprehensive almost.

"Draco, I bought us Chicken and Mushroom Risotto for dinner if you're hungry," Harry told him lightly, cracking the door open a little.

Draco sighed. He didn't want to see Harry, but he was hungry. "Okay, I'm coming out," he replied and Harry shut the door again. Draco climbed off his bed where he'd been reading and prepared for battle.

"Here you go," Harry said cheerfully –but not overly so in case it irritated Draco- as he placed the plate in front of his boyfriend. "Marco was at his finest tonight I think, it tastes wonderful, I've snuck a spoonful already."

Draco smiled at him warmly. He loved small moments like this where they seemed normal, just two men in love sharing a meal and a home. "Thank you," he said.

The meal was delicious, just as Harry had said, and they even managed some amusing small talk throughout. Apparently Harry had run into Pansy Parkinson again and, as usual, she had demanded to know why he had made no progress in locating her friend. Harry hilariously recounted his speechlessness and stuttering as he tried to answer Pansy, when all he could think about was how much progress he had really made and the fact that he knew exactly where Draco was, at his house, living there as his boyfriend.

"She's going to be furious with me when I finally face her," Draco chuckled, although he was being completely serious. "She'll probably slap me."

"And rightly so I'd say, I would have slapped you myself, but I was just so fucking relieved that I'd finally found you," Harry laughed.

"You were?" Draco asked surprised.

Draco tilted his head slightly looking perplexed and Harry thought he looked so cute he just wanted to kiss him senseless. This thought sobered Harry completely as he remembered that they hadn't properly kissed for a few days and he shouldn't push it if Draco was unwilling. He was so scared he was losing him. "Yes, I was."

Draco smiled. "How about some dessert? Hermione made me the most decadent truffles today and I think there's two left," he said as he cleared their plates. "One for you and one for me." He placed a tender kiss on the top of Harry's head savouring the feel of his ebony hair against his cheek; he hadn't been that close to him in a while. It was the first pleasant evening they'd shared in a long time. He couldn't see Harry's face, but if he could he would have seen the Auror's smile drop from his face faster than a stone fell through the air –he would have seen Harry swear silently to himself and scrunch up his face as though bracing himself for a painful onslaught.

Draco placed the dirty plates on to the counter and moved to Harry's cooler where the remaining truffles had been stored; they were gone. He was sure he'd put them there. "Harry," he called. "Did you see my truffles?"

"I'm sorry," Harry answered quickly, wincing noticeably. "I didn't know, I didn't think."

"You ate them?" Draco asked, looking betrayed. Harry felt horrible.

"I'm sorry, I'll buy you some more," he assured his boyfriend.

"Buy more? They're homemade, Harry! You can't buy more! Hermione's not a shop!" Draco snapped. He couldn't believe such a wonderful evening had flopped so quickly.

"I'll buy you any kind of dessert you want," Harry promised, going to get his coat from the cupboard so he could go out in search of some kind of chocolate for Draco.

"How could you be so thoughtless?" Draco accused. "I don't have much in this house, but those truffles were mine and you just ate them without even asking!"

"I said I was sorry!"

Draco didn't reply, he just pursed his lips together and frowned as though he was thinking about something. "I can't stay here another second," he whispered, almost to himself, and he turned on his heel and stalked back to his room, not even bothering to close the door before beginning to pack his things into a backpack.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked shakily as he watched Draco gather his things from the doorway.

"I'm leaving," Draco stated simply.

"You can't leave," Harry stated trying to sound decisive and not scared, but not quite managing it. "It's too dangerous."

Draco stopped his frantic packing to stare up at Harry's frightened expression. "I don't care," he hissed. "I can't take this anymore."

"I'm sorry, Draco. I'm sorry!" Harry pleaded. "I'll buy you a whole store of truffles, a whole factory!"

"I don't want any fuckin' truffles!" Draco practically screamed, clenching his fists in frustration. Had Harry not listened to anything he'd said the last few weeks? Was his desperation, his fear, completely unheard? "I want you!"

"You have me," Harry replied, his voice cracking with emotion.

"No, I don't," he retorted shaking his head. "We don't do anything except fight; you won't touch me at all. It's been days since we even kissed properly."

"Come here then, I'll kiss you now." Harry held out his arms for Draco to slip into, but the blonde denied him. "Draco, please," he begged.

Draco zipped up the backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He was ready to go. "It's going to be okay," he said gently, letting his hand caress Harry's muscular arm. "It's been over a month now and you've had no sign of them. I promise I won't go back to my apartment; I'll go to a random hotel, okay? I'll pay plenty of cash and book in under Joe Bloggs or something, no one will know."

Harry's eyes were wide with fear and his bottom lip seemed to tremble without his permission. He looked so much younger in that moment, like a scared first year, rather than an experienced Auror; he seemed so vulnerable.

"I've done this before all by myself and I did just fine," Draco tried to soothe him.

"I won't be able to sleep," Harry whimpered. "Stay here, just for tonight; I'll make other arrangements tomorrow."

"What arrangements?" Draco asked skeptically.

"My options are limited," Harry replied evasively.

"I'm not staying with Weasley."

"Draco," Harry begged for his boyfriend to be reasonable.

"No," he replied defiantly. "I'm booking into a hotel and paying an obscene amount to stay for a week, you have that long to make other arrangements if you wish or I'm going back to my apartment. But, I will not live with your friends or anyone else. I will live alone, is that clear?"

"You're going to get yourself killed," Harry pleaded, his emotions threatening to spill over.

"You won't let that happen," Draco smiled softly. "I need my own space. I won't take any stupid risks, but I need my own space."

"Is there anything I can do or say to make you change your mind?" Harry asked, sounding defeated.

"No."

"You can sleep in my bed with me, we can do anything you like," Harry promised.

Draco felt his body heat up. He'd been dying to touch Harry for weeks, the sexual tension between them was palpable and it was part of the reason things had escalated the way they had. Both boys were stressed, exhausted, and outrageously horny.

"No, we can't," Draco answered thickly. "You're bribing me and I don't want my first time with you to be like that.

Harry nodded. He didn't want it to be like that either, but he would have done anything to make Draco stay, aside from kidnapping him and physically tying him down somewhere. He knew this arrangement wasn't going to last much longer, it was a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. "I know, me either. At least stay within magic wards, stay at the Leaky or something," he suggested, trying to negotiate.

"I can't, I'd be recognized and I'm not ready for that yet," Draco sighed, wondering if he ever would be.

"We'll dress you up, disguise you," he suggested.

"My hair is like a Malfoy trademark, it won't work."

"I'll get you a wig."

"Harry," Draco groaned. "I've made my decision."

"Okay, fine," Harry conceded. "Just wait a minute." Harry disappeared into his own bedroom for few minutes while Draco waited awkwardly in the front entrance of the flat with his backpack still slung over his shoulder. When Harry finally immerged he handed Draco a Sickle wrapped in a handkerchief. "It's an emergency portkey," he explained. "It will take you straight back here after my work hours and to the Ministry when I'm working. Unfortunately I can't activate it to take you direct to my office, there are restrictions on that stuff, but it will take you to the lobby and I will feel it if you use it and I'll come straight to you."

"What if you're out on assignment?" Draco asked.

"I'll still feel it and I'll come right back or alert Kingsley and he'll take care of you," Harry assured him. "I have a direct link to Kings through my Auror mark."

Draco nodded, wrapping the Sickle up tightly and slipping it into his pocket. "Thanks," he said.

"Just make sure you have it on you all the time, don't leave it anywhere, always on you somewhere, okay?" Harry pressed, making sure Draco heard the determination in his voice; this was non-negotiable for Harry.

"On me always, I promise," he agreed. "I better go; you should go to bed soon."

"At least let me take you to the hotel so I know where you're staying," Harry requested.

Draco smiled. He was relieved Harry was going along with this; he thought Harry must have guessed that the arrangement wasn't working and couldn't last much longer. "Okay," he nodded in agreement.

Harry apparated them both out of his flat and into a narrow alleyway where they could appear unnoticed. From there the two began to walk towards a muggle hotel Draco had never heard of or been to before, it was clean and nice enough, but it wasn't five star, that's for sure. "It needs to be discrete," Harry told him when he eyed the establishment with a distasteful frown.

"If you say so," Draco teased, just glad to be out of Harry's flat. They booked Draco in for the week and took the elevator up to the third floor where Draco's room was located. Once Harry had investigated the room, the windows, closed the curtains, and secured the place with a few minor protection spells, Draco insisted he go home to bed. "I might take that proper kiss before you leave though," he requested shyly, feeling more like himself again already.

"I thought you'd never ask." Harry reached for Draco's hand to pull him closer before claiming his mouth in a soft kiss, but Draco wasn't having any of that. He pressed himself into Harry further and deepened the kiss with a needy moan. It was everything he'd been wanting from his boyfriend for weeks and it didn't disappoint.

"Is it weird that, after everything, I still feel like I'm going to miss you?" Draco whispered once they'd broken apart for air.

"No," Harry replied quietly, not wanting to end the moment. "I'm going to miss you, too."

"I'm sorry I've been such a shit lately," he apologized sincerely. "I think I went a bit loopy."

"I don't mind," Harry assured him, stealing one last kiss.

"Go home and go to bed," Draco instructed his boyfriend as Harry released a wide yawn. Draco knew Harry hadn't been sleeping well since he'd moved in.

Harry nodded and gazed at Draco one last time before disappearing into the hotel corridor. He walked silently to the elevator and took it down to the lobby.

"I'd like a room please," he asked the receptionist.

"Of course, how long will you be staying with us?" she asked.

"A week."

That wasn't too hateful was it? They made up at the end...

Show me love.