Chapter Twenty

What the Future Holds

Harry threw open the doors of their bedroom, zeroing in on Draco standing in the center, pacing the edges of the area rug there.

Harry took a deep breath and removed the little bottle from his robes, holding it up as if to inspect it. Such a little amount of liquid and yet it could have an irreversible affect on his body and on his life. He uncorked and held it up to his nose to smell it and heard a sharp intake of breath from across the room.

"I'm not going to drink it, if that's what you think." Harry looked up at the worry written so plainly across Draco's face, who was apparently so distraught he had lost any semblance at stoicism.

"Besides, if I had decided to drink it against your wishes I wouldn't have done it in front of you, in the hopes that you would fuck me without knowing it and then I'd be pregnant… and you'd have to deal with it. But, no, here I stand with the potion in the bottle instead of in my blood stream and why? Because I want this to be a decision we make as a couple, not one that I take out of your hands and decide for myself."

Harry gestured with his hands from him to Draco, "that's how these crazy things called partnerships work."

Draco narrowed his eyes, "Sarcasm is not necessary."

"Look, Harry, I'm sorry, but have you thought this through? Believe me when I say that I have, a lot, and the genetic makeup of this child has the potential to be so incredibly screwed up. She could be human, or vampire, or immortal...I don't know. How are we going to explain to her that we never die, that she may never die, that she won't ever age past her twenties, that she will watch all her human friends age and die or that at some point she will grow older then her parents and we will have to watch her age and die or any number of very complicated possibilities. Are you thinking about this past the idea of finally having a family? Because believe it or not, there is nothing I want more than a big happy life with you Harry, children or no, but I need to make sure you understand the big complicated picture."

Harry crossed his arms, "Are you done?"

Draco crossed his arms, "for now, yeah."

"I will admit that I haven't thought about all of those things. But, I'm not saying that I'm ready to rush into this decision now that I know it's a possibility. I'm not as irrational as you seem to think. All I want you to understand for now, is that this is something that we need to talk about and be open to, together. You should have never kept it from me."

"I know... it's just that... I know that you love me and that you care for me, but I just don't think you understand the over-powering need to protect that overcomes me when I think of you; it's inside of me all of the time pushing me to shelter you from all possible physical and emotional harm. I can't turn it off, even when I know that what I'm doing maybe isn't the best thing for our relationship." Draco took a step forward towards Harry.

Harry took a step back, his posture still stiff, "you can't keep treating me like this and expect me to just forgive and forget. You need to start showing me that this is a fifty, fifty relationship."

Draco took another forward step, "Look, I'm sorry, a thousand times, just please let me near you, please let me touch you."

Harry sighed and stepped forward, uncrossing his arms, slipping the vial of potion back into this robe pocket as Draco practically leaped across the bedroom.

Draco took in a deep breath, one hand slipping into Harry's, the other sliding around his waist, "I hate it when you get mad at me, especially when it's my fault. I was so afraid that you would leave, give up on us, try to break the bond; I would lose the will to live if you ever left me."

Harry turned his face to nuzzle the side of Draco's neck. "I need you to understand that I'm in this for the long haul, but you have to treat me as an equal, not as something fragile and weak willed."

Draco nodded his head once with a grim, determined look on his face, that soon softened, "Will you come to bed with me now?"

Harry looked up and flashed a half wicked, half exasperated grin, "Are you hungry again?"

Draco let his voice drop to that rich, sultry voice Harry loved so much, "in more ways than one."

Harry laughed and slid off his outer robes, tossing them on a chair, confident that the potion vial in his pocket was shatter proof.

Draco smiled when he saw that Harry had on simple slacks and a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He kept insisting that he preferred not to wear full robes, because it felt like wearing a dress.

As the vampire allowed his eyes to roam over the figure in front of him he thought he agreed, at least in the sense that Harry now looked like a yummy school boy. Draco was running his hands through Harry's hair and down his back, the warm scent of his companion filling his head. It would have only taken them a few seconds to make it over to the bed, but Draco decided that could wait. He was usually very skilled at controlling the hunger and the need, but maybe his frazzled nerves had had enough discipline for the night.

Whatever the reason, Draco was suddenly zeroed in on Harry's neck; who, bless him, had left quite a few buttons at the top of his shirt undone. Draco fisted Harry's hair at the base of his head and yanked back and to the side, baring the brunette's throat. With a growl he sunk his fangs into his Sang Offrande's neck and drank deeply, barley noticing Harry's gasp of shock or his scream when Draco's teeth pierced the delicate skin.

Harry couldn't see, he wasn't sure if his eyes were even opened or closed. All he knew was that there were flames consuming his body and lights flashing and popping in his mind. He seemed to have lost control of his limbs, but he still knew he was in Draco's arms and he wasn't afraid.

Confused, a little, and melting with each pull he felt at his neck. He moaned, usually Draco's bites were slow builds; he took his time. But what was usually a slow building pulse of desire was now a crashing, hectic wave of passion and heat. Why was Draco being so aggressive? Harry realized as he finally felt Draco's tongue stroke over his bite to close it, that this new sensation, while more painful, merited some experimenting with.

Harry was about to voice his feelings on the matter when he suddenly realized he couldn't talk, in fact his whole body had gone slack in Draco's arms. He could barely open his eyes, so he tried for a more intimate communication.

What was that all about, I thought that the bond prevented blood loss?

It does, I just got a little impatient and caught you unawares… I think I over taxed you.

Think?! I can't move!

Well, you don't have to move for what I plan on doing the rest of the night…

Harry didn't appreciate the way his body shivered at the mental images in Draco's mind, he had never really been passive in bed… or incapacitated for that matter. His mental voice was rather sarcastic when he replied to Draco.

What? I just get to lie on my back and think of England!

Draco smirked, the bastard… something like that.

Draco? Harry blinked as he felt his clothes being removed. Getting a little impatient every once in a while wouldn't be so bad.

Draco laughed low in his ear as he removed the rest of their clothing and lay Harry on the bed before joining him.

Harry had regained enough of his senses by then to run a hand through his hair and reach up to run a hand through Draco's hair, who was leaning over him. Draco drew circles on Harry's chest with his finger and looked out from under lashes with a sheepish look.

Harry narrowed his eyes, "what?"

"I'm still hungry."

"What! You just practically ripped my throat out!"

Draco smiled, "don't be melodramatic and pretend that you didn't like it."

The blond lowered his voice, "I could be rough again if you like?" He followed this statement up by digging his nails into Harry's hip.

Draco smiled as Harry's eyes slipped closed and a moan escaped his lips. Merlin, he was delicious and fiery and Draco had him all to himself.

Harry opened his eyes again and Draco saw that he had already won the victory, "I suppose my never ending supply of blood comes in handy since you seem to be so bloody hungry all the time."

"Oh, I promise you'll like it." Draco's face looked almost ferocious for a second and his fangs gleamed in the dull light, "after all, we have yet to cover all the points on the body from which I can drink."

Harry brought Draco down in a deep kiss, "I'm just warning you that if you take too much blood I may not have the energy to get it up."

"I highly doubt that, but I think it's just blood tonight, the bond seems to need reassurance after our fight. That would explain why I'm so hungry."

Harry nodded, but even as his body became eager to see where Draco had in mind to bite, his mind reminded him about his need for sleep. Draco seemed to catch on to his weariness.

"It's ok Harry, just relax, go to sleep if you want."

Harry felt a pair of hands urging him onto his stomach and a pair of lips trailing kisses between his shoulder blades and down his back. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his arse and that familiar sultry pull of his life's essence leaving his body to flow into Draco's. Harry amusedly thought before he drifted off to sleep that he might not be able to sit down tomorrow.

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"There is absolutely nothing in these books that is going to really help us. You know that, I know that, we all know that." Harry tossed the book he was reading onto the couch.

Draco glanced up from that book he was reading, "Patience was never really one of your redeeming qualities was it?"

He lay the book down on his chest that he had been perusing, "You've always been a fight the crowd, run head first into battle kind of person, and it's called a Hero Complex..."

Harry gave him the look, "yes, you used to remind me of it every day, sneering at me because you were the only one who hated my titles even more than I did."

"Just keeping you on your toes, Golden Boy."

Harry laughed, "It's not the same without that venom behind it."

Draco sighed, "Yeah, I was quite good at spouting venom. Turns out venom is what you have, when you don't have brains."

Harry smirked, "and that's what I tried to tell you for all those years."

Draco sent a pillow sailing in the direction of Harry's head, who laughed and caught it, "you better have fun now, because when I'm pregnant you won't be able to get rough with me."

Draco looked up startled, "urgh, that's another thing I don't know! What will the baby eat? What will I do if the pregnancy prevents me feeding?"

"Not to be the fa la la and hum de dum person here, but life is a risk; any pregnancy is a risk... why can't you just accept the risk at the cost of being happy!"

Draco threw the book down, "because the cost could be your life!"

Harry scrubbed his face with the palm of his hands, "you keep bringing that up over and over and over..."

Draco clenched his fists, "that's because, unlike my death and its apparent inability to concern you, I will waste away into nothing if you die!"

"Yes, I'll be just fine if you die, I'll just walk off into the sunset thinking oh, well the love of my LIFE is GONE, I think I'll take up knitting!" Harry turned to leave the library fed up after this, their third fight of the night.

"Wait."

Harry halted his movement, his shoulders still hunched a little, he knew he was being a bit sulky and immature... or they were both being immature.

He felt Draco behind him, even though he had been across the room a second ago, "I'm sorry."

Harry listened to Draco's steady breathing in and out and he matched the rhythm, in and out. His shoulders straightened out as Draco stepped up behind him his hands rising to grip Harry's shoulders.

Harry shivered at the sensations that Draco's touch always brought to his body, "you seem to be operating under the assumption that I want you less, care for you less, love you less, than you love me... and it's not true. And it certainly isn't fair to me for you to assume that. I would be devastated if you died, if you left me, and though I wouldn't have the luxury to just die if that happened, I may wish it so."

Harry felt the grip on his shoulders tighten for a minute as Draco digested these words, "I did not know that you had become that... that you had fallen... you told me that you loved me... but Alex always said it was the vampire who felt the bond the most."

"Well, he's right, I can't feel the actual bond like you can, but I know, I feel, tied to you. Like you need my blood, I need your touch. Like you need me, I need you. Why can't you believe that?"

"I believe you." Draco buried his nose in Harry's hair and inhaled his scent, "why can't we stop fighting about this?"

"Because we're both so stubborn."

"You're not giving in are you?"

Harry smiled and turned around in Draco's arms, "no."

Draco dropped his head on his stupid, idiotic, selfless consorts shoulder...

I can hear you, you know.

How?

You were projecting your thoughts to your stupid, idiotic, selfless consort. Harry smirked.

Well, you are. Draco reached up and ran his thumb across Harry's lips.

I'm not going to beg you to let me do this, and I'm not backing down. But, I won't do this without you beside me, without you sure that you're prepared, like I am, to face whatever consequences we must.

Draco leaned down and pressed his lips to Harry's, a chaste kiss.

Ok, if this is what you want then I'm going to hope with all my heart that it's worth the risk.

Draco smiled as Harry wrapped himself tightly around the blond vampire, deepening the kiss in appreciation. Draco moaned as he opened his mouth to Harry's exploring tongue. Merlin, may he never tire of making his partner happy. Draco smiled to himself; he knew even without the bond, at that moment, he would have felt the joy radiating off Harry from miles away.

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Isn't absolutely fab… I mean, I'm not being vain, I'm just glad that I'm back! Wonderful readers who have been sticking with me… I love you all!!