He kept his eyes closed as he waited for the nausea and dizziness to abate and his brain processed the familiarity of the grip around his wrist.
It felt too good to be true.
What if he was wrong? What if he opened his eyes and all his hopes came crashing down?
The fingers around his wrist vanished and the loss of them was the thing that forced his eyes open.
He stood there in front of him but this time, he was certain that this was his Tom… Not Lord Voldemort… Not the feared Dark Lord…
This was the Tom that had saved his life and nursed him back to health. This was the Tom that he'd fallen in love with.
Tom's lips curved up into a gentle inviting smile and that was all the invitation he needed. Harry's eyes watered rapidly, and he rushed forward to throw himself at him. Literally. He flung his arms around Tom's neck and screwed his eyes shut. He couldn't get close enough fast enough. Not even with his arms and legs wrapped around him was he anywhere as near as he wanted to be.
Tom steadied himself and let out a soft chuckle, quickly tightening his arms around his middle. He gave him a tight hug, and Harry almost broke. In the best ways. He just held onto him as if his life depended on it. He never wanted to let him out of his arms, out of his sight. Harry sniffled and buried his face in the warm, delicious-smelling curve of his neck. Harry croaked,
"This has been torture. I can't…not again…Please don't send me away again…Please, Tom…"
Tom stroked his back and kissed his shoulder,
"I know how hard this must have been for you."
Harry couldn't hold back the tears. Being with Tom made him realize what he had been missing and he felt like he wouldn't be able to breathe again if he let him go again. Tom gently whispered in his ear,
"Shhh, I've got you."
Tom kissed his temple and walked them to a chair,
"You've grown nearly weightless."
Harry was about to speak when Tom cut him off,
"It'll be a long time before I let you go."
He shuffled around a bit and loosened his legs, and then they dropped into a chair,
"There we go."
Tom hugged Harry impossibly harder and breathed him in and Harry couldn't help but speak,
"I missed you so much, Tom."
A whimper slipped out of his lips and he just couldn't hold himself together. Tom hummed and brushed back his hair.
Harry groaned as that gesture stirred a maelstrom of emotions in his chest,
"I don't want this to end. I don't ever want you to let me go, Tom."
He was in Tom's lap with his arms wrapped around his neck. Tom wiped away the leftover tears,
"I don't particularly enjoy it when you cry."
Tom's brown eyes were so full of sincerity that Harry was certain that he wouldn't cry for the rest of his life just to please Tom. Harry felt his lips tingling with need, he turned his head and fit their lips together. Tom sucked in a breath, pulled off Harry's glasses and cradling Harry's face with both hands, licked Harry's bottom lip before pushing his tongue inside and kissing him deeply. Harry made a small noise…a gasp needy enough to be embarrassing if embarrassment didn't seem so far away, somewhere on the other side of the thrumming of his blood and the firmness of Tom's body against his. He needed him. Needed to feel him. Craved it. Eventually they had to part to get some air in their starved lungs. When Tom had brought his breathing relatively under control, he inquired softly,
"What do you need?"
Harry snuggled his head into Tom's chest with a contented sigh. He didn't need anything anymore. Tom was here and that was all he needed,
"Nothing…Just you."
Tom brushed his fingers through his hair,
"You have not been taking care of yourself."
Harry considered lying but being dishonest to Tom seemed like an unforgivable sin,
"I just couldn't do it…"
Tom kissed the top of his head and Harry was just content to sit like this for the rest of his life. He loved Tom…loved his gentle touches, his soft kisses, his compassionate words. Loved how special Tom made him feel. Tom brushed his lips against the corner of his mouth,
"Get comfortable, Harry. I'm going to get you something to eat."
Harry didn't want anything to eat, he wanted Tom. Tom seemed to have listened to his thoughts because he slipped his glasses back on and chuckled,
"I saw the way you were playing with your food at dinner. You hardly took a bite. You need to eat, Harry. Everything else comes later."
Everything else…Harry rose to his feet slowly. He didn't enjoy parting with Tom's warmth. Tom had brought him back to his castle. He had no doubt, he'd done that so that they could have some privacy. He looked around the room and he recalled every single moment; he'd spent there with Tom. He took a shower and changed into the clothes Tom had laid out for him as quickly as possible. When he emerged from the bathroom, Tom was still seated on the chair but now he had his long legs stretched in front of him and crossed at the ankles. Tom rose to his feet at the sight of him and signalled him to sit down on the couch. Harry did. Tom sat down beside him and wrapped his arms around him. Harry instantly melted into the embrace. Harry finally murmured,
"I thought you'd changed your mind."
Tom held his shoulders and made him face him,
"Changed my mind about what?"
Harry closed his eyes and murmured,
"Me."
Tom cupped his face,
"You need to understand that I have a reputation to maintain."
Harry sighed softly,
"I understand…You want to take over the world and you need to be Lord Voldemort to do that."
Tom kissed Harry's cheek,
"That does not mean that you are not mine, Harry. What I did today was to ensure that I could keep you close… It will have its burden on you, but I know that you are more than capable of bearing it."
Harry could only nod because he couldn't reply to that. He knew Tom would never give up his ambitions so he would have to be the one to compromise. Tom tipped his head back to meet his gaze,
"Will you bear that burden for me?"
Harry held Tom's gaze and nodded,
"I'll do whatever you need me to do."
Tom patted him on the cheek as he conjured a tray laden with all manners of things that smelled exquisite and made his stomach grumble. Tom seemed pleased with that response because he picked up the knife and fork and spoke,
"Let me feed you."
He was all for that. After a delicious dinner, they moved to the bed. Harry sat back on the bed and Tom hovered over him, He noticed that Tom had a bowl of chocolate coated strawberries. He picked one and dangled it over Harry's lips. Harry craned his neck up and managed to touch it with his tongue. Tom smiled devilishly and raised it higher. Harry was about to get up when Tom tsked. Harry's neck strained but he loved the challenge in Tom's eyes. He attempted to reach it again but failed. Finally, Tom took pity on him and lowered it. Harry instantly bit it clean off the stem and chewed on it, savouring the sweetness. Tom's fingers were covered with chocolate and Harry licked his lips suggestively. Tom seemed to understand what Harry was asking silently and Harry saw the way his pupils dilate with lust. Harry was sure his eyes weren't any better. He was probably blushing too but he couldn't feel it.
Tom extended his fingers and Harry sealed his lips around a finger and closed his eyes. One finger after the other was licked and sucked, until Harry was licking at the slick palm. Harry drew his tongue from Tom's wrist up to the tip of his middle finger, and Harry's embarrassed flush began to fade, and he opened his eyes.
Tom pulled away his hand. The next thing he knew, they were kissing furiously, all tongue and teeth, hands in each other's hair, and it felt so good, and so addictive. Harry moaned into Tom's mouth and sucked on his tongue, pulling him closer, tighter, until he was on his back and Tom was on top of him, his heavy body pinning him down. Gasping, Tom hooked his leg around Harry's body and ground their erections together. Harry groaned against his mouth and kissed him harder.
Harry whimpered when they had to stop kissing to draw some much-needed air into their lungs. Tom looked at him with nothing but adoration in his brown eyes and Harry felt himself flush. Slowly, Tom pulled him into his arms and began rubbing soothing circles on his back. The silence was so comforting, so peaceful. Harry had never quite experienced bliss like he was experiencing it now. Tom dropped a kiss to the top of Harry's head before he started playing with the hair at the back of his neck. He softly murmured,
"I missed this, Harry."
Harry had his eyes closed and could only murmur back,
"I missed this too… Just don't make me go back again, please."