Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count: 1916
Space Invader (I Like You Close)
"Really. An explosion?" Kingsley arched his eyebrow at Harry. "That's all you've got?"
"I was concentrating on not dying," Harry pointed out, rolling his eyes. "There was a lot going on, so yeah, Kingsley, there was an explosion."
"And now you're stuck together."
"It would certainly seem that way," Draco replied. "I certainly wouldn't have Potter invading my space quite so closely if there was any other option."
"It's not exactly a picnic for me either," Harry muttered. He looked back at Kingsley. "Any ideas?"
"The healer said it was presenting as a relatively simple binding spell," Kingsley replied after a moment, glancing down at the report. "So you'll not be able to be more than a few feet away from each other. They usually wear off within twenty four hours, so I think, for now, you're just going to have to make the best of it. We'll revisit the situation this time tomorrow, if you're not unstuck."
"And you can't just reverse it because..?"
"Because he didn't cast it, idiot," Draco snapped.
"Relax," Harry said, frowning.
"Well, don't ask stupid questions and I won't have to snap at you, will I?"
"I don't think—"
"Then you shouldn't talk."
Harry took a deep breath and ran his hand through his messy hair. Looking at Kingsley, he snorted. "This is going to be the longest twenty four hours of my life."
…
They left the office together—not that they had a choice—and were fine until they got to the end of the corridor and tried to walk in opposite directions.
"Where are you going?" Draco asked, brow furrowing.
"I was going to drop by the cafeteria and grab something to eat," Harry said, shrugging. "I'm starving."
Rolling his eyes, Draco said, "You can't even wait until the end of our shift?"
"You got a lunch break," Harry pointed out. "I didn't. So I'm going for food."
He turned and walked away, ignoring Draco's complaining as he stumbled behind him, the spell forcing him to follow closely.
Harry couldn't quite work out what Draco's problem was. Sure, it was a sucky situation, but they'd been partners for months now and they worked well together. Why Draco was being such a child about this, Harry had no idea.
At the moment though, he was too hungry to care, so he let the man pout. He'd either get over it or the spell would end, but either way it was only a day.
They'd manage.
He hoped.
…
Or not.
"What's your problem—" Harry started, only to be interrupted by Draco throwing his hands up in the air and catching Harry's ear.
They'd made it back to the office without either of them blowing up, but Harry should have known that was too good to last.
"You! You're my problem!"
"Is there a reason you're being so rage-y about this?" Harry asked, completely confused. "Draco, this isn't a terrible outcome. We could have died today."
Draco growled under his breath. "That's the goddamn problem, Potter! I'm tired of you jumping into dangerous situations with no regard whatsoever for your life!"
Harry blinked. "You're mad because you were… worried about me?"
Draco groaned and sat down on the edge of the desk. The anger seemed to have evaporated from him in a rush, leaving him exhausted. "I am so over today."
Harry just nodded his agreement, leaning back in the chair. The 'bind' between them was stretched to its full capacity and Harry could feel it tugging on him until he moved his arm a touch closer to Draco's leg.
"I'm sorry I worried you," he said after a moment, closing his eyes. "I guess I don't always think about how it looks to you when I throw myself into things, but I always think it out first, you know? I take reasonable, thought out risks."
He could feel Draco's eyes on him for a few minutes before he heard a deep sigh. "Yeah, okay, Potter. Sorry for snapping at you."
Harry just nodded. When he opened his eyes, he smirked at Draco. "Will I ever have a normal day?"
Draco laughed. "Define normal. With you around, I'm never sure."
…
Their next obstacle was where they were going to sleep, but that was fairly easily solved when they decided to rock, paper, scissors for it, and Harry won with a wide grin.
It was too easy. Draco always chose rock.
Of course, Harry realised he'd made a tactical error by winning, when he saw Draco taking in everything in Harry's flat with a curious look in his eyes.
Suddenly, Draco choosing rock seemed a lot more Slytherin than Harry had realised.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the TV in the corner.
Harry blinked and had a sudden flashback to Ron asking the same question the first time he'd visited. He'd never tell either man that, of course. That just wouldn't end well for him.
Despite teenage rivalries being long over, the Weasleys and the Malfoys would never see eye to eye. On anything. Ever.
"A television. It's sort of like wizard photos, but longer and with sound."
Draco frowned. "Can we look at it?"
"Sure," Harry shrugged. "Just lemme feed Merlin and sort some food out for us, and we can watch a movie."
"Merlin?"
Harry was saved from answering when a little black cat appeared at their feet, his green eyes peering up at Harry almost accusingly. Harry bent down to scoop him up.
"I know, I know, I'm a terrible owner," he murmured, stroking the cat's head with gentle fingers.
Draco started laughing, and when Harry looked at him, he was looking at the cat with clear mirth in his features.
"What's funny?" Harry asked, as they moved into the kitchen.
"You literally got the cat version of you," Draco said, shaking his head. He reached out to take Merlin from Harry so that Harry could dish up the food, and lifted the cat up in front of him.
"He's even got a little white patch, exactly where your scar is," Draco pointed out.
Harry nodded. "I know. He's cuter than me though."
Despite the opening, Draco didn't say anything. He simply put Merlin on the floor when Harry put the food tray down.
"Kay. Human food now," Harry said, opening his cupboards. "I'm no chef, but I can cook. What do you wanna eat?"
…
"That was really good," Draco said, his surprise at his enjoyment of the movie evident. "I wasn't expecting to like it."
Harry smiled slightly and then stretched out. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat. You ready for bed?"
A flush of colour brightened Draco's cheeks slightly but he nodded.
It was an awkward ten minutes of going to the bathroom and elbows brushing while they brushed their teeth. Harry was thanking everything he could for the fact that they were wizards and could change their clothes with a quick wave of their wands.
They climbed into Harry's bed and froze on their backs, their arms millimeters apart.
"This is weird, isn't it?" Harry asked after a moment.
Draco chuckled. "That's one word for it."
Shifting onto his side to face Draco, Harry curled an arm under his pillow. "Can we just agree for tonight that it's fine?"
"What's fine?"
"Anything's fine," Harry replied softly. "Because I'm really tired, but at some point during the night, I'm probably going to cuddle you, and I really don't want to be woken up by my ass hitting the floor."
Draco snorted. "Okay, Potter. If you cuddle me, I won't kick you outta bed. Might change your hair to pink, but I won't injure you."
Closing his eyes, Harry sighed. "I'll take it."
…
Harry blinked his eyes open. It was still dark in his room, but he could see a little bit. Enough to know that the head resting on his chest had platinum blond hair.
The events of the day before came rushing back, and Harry smiled slightly. Apparently he wasn't the one that needed to worry about cuddling after all. He was very tempted to turn Draco's hair pink, but he refrained, knowing that when he woke in the morning he didn't want to deal with the man throwing a tantrum.
Shifting slightly, Harry curled his arm around Draco's shoulder to pull him a little closer, and closed his eyes again.
The weight on his chest, against his side, was nice, and Harry smiled as sleep beckoned. He knew he couldn't get used to it, but he could enjoy it while it was happening.
…
When Harry woke again, the sky outside was brightening. Draco was still lying on his chest, but his fingers were tracing faint patterns on Harry's stomach, proving him already awake.
"Morning," Harry murmured, voice rough with sleep.
"Morning, Potter," Draco replied softly.
"Have you been awake long? You could have woken me up if you needed the toilet or anything."
"I went to the toilet," Draco replied.
Harry blamed the fact that he'd just woken up on why it took him so long to realise what Draco's words meant.
"The bind is broken?"
"Uh huh."
"Then why—"
"I woke up about half an hour ago with your arm wrapped around me and your heartbeat in my ear, and realised that I'd slept the whole way through the night for the first time since I was fourteen. No nightmares. No startling awake thinking that the war was still happening. No waking up wondering if I was going to survive the day."
Draco rolled off Harry's chest and onto his back beside him, looking up at the ceiling.
Harry followed, so he was lying on his side, his head propped up on his elbow so he could look down at Draco.
"You make me feel safe, Harry. Yesterday, when I was so mad, it was because I was worried about you, but it was more that… I was scared. You've somehow become my safety net."
"Draco—"
"I'm not telling you this to make you feel like you have to do anything or say anything. I just… I've been working really hard on not hiding important things, you know? And this seemed important."
Harry nodded, biting his bottom lip.
Cautiously, he leant down and pressed his lips to Draco's cheek before he pulled back and sat up. "Dinner, tonight. Pick a restaurant."
"Harry—"
"I'm not promising anything," Harry admitted. "But I like you. I've liked you since we became partners—alright, since about a month after we became partners when you stopped being a twerp—and I woke up in the middle of the night and liked having you pressed against me. If you feel the same… it's worth exploring. Okay?"
Draco eyed him critically for a minute before he nodded slowly. "Okay. Dinner."
Harry smiled. "Good. Now I need to take a whizz and feed Merlin. You wanna go make a start on breakfast since we're not attached at the hip?"
"Or we could get ready and go out for breakfast?" Draco suggested with a sheepish smile. "Because maybe you can cook, but I can't."
"Can you at least make coffee?" Harry asked.
"Coffee I can do."
"Then I won't kick you out just yet. Go put the coffee on."
Laughing, Draco hit him with a pillow before he got up. Harry watched him go, and his lips spread into a smile as he shook his head.
This was going to be an adventure.
Written for:
Bromance to Romance: 6. "What's your problem—" / "You! You are my problem!"
Written In The Stars: 19."I don't think - " "Then you shouldn't talk."
Angel's Archive: 14. Bound/Stuck to someone
Scamander's Case: 20. Rage
Film Festival: 1. Explosion
Forecast: 29. Starving
Geek Pride: PacMan - Prompt 2: "Don't ask stupid question."
Founder's Says: Godric Says: 3. "Will I ever have a normal day?" / "Define normal?"
365: 136. "I am so over today."
Fantastic Beasts: 108. Kappa: Write about someone having their personal space invaded