The next day, luckily, was the beginning of Winter break, and neither of us were going anywhere. We spent a gloriously long morning in bed, but somewhere around eleven, hunger dragged us from the sheets.

"Wanna get brunch in Hogsmeade?" I suggested as I pulled on a gray long-sleeve thermal I'd prepared. Without looking up, I ushered a black sweater over the thermal, but when Harry didn't respond, I turned to look at him. He'd frozen, halfway to the floor for his socks, and was staring at me. "What?"

Slowly, he straightened. "You… Wanna go out in public with me?"

Trying not to feel the flush in my cheeks, I shrugged. "Gonna have to start somewhere, right?" Harry was just staring at me, and I cleared my throat as I resumed getting dressed.

"You… Do realize you're dating a celebrity, right? If… If we go out, and…"

"Harry!" With a frustrated growl, I stepped right up to him and took his shoulders in my hands. "I… Can't believe I'm saying this, but relax. It's just brunch."

"Yeah, brunch. An historically gay activity, a little more than a week after I've just come out."

Panic crept up my spine, and I frowned. "You don't want to?"

Harry's eyes flashed, and he gripped my wrists on his shoulders. "I do, but… Fuck, Draco. Are you ready?"

To be perfectly transparent, no. No I wasn't. Not in the slightest. I was terrified. But I didn't know if I would ever be ready, and I wanted to just be normal teenagers with Harry so badly it hurt. I wanted to go to brunch with my stupid boyfriend and eat stupid waffles and just exist. And since it was him, savior of the world… I slipped my hands off his shoulders to take his, and held them down between our stomachs as I laced our fingers together.

"I… I want to try."

A smile broke on Harry's face like the sunrise, and my stomach flipped. "You continue to surprise me."

A light snow was drifting through the still air as Draco and I walked side-by-side towards the nearest town. For a long while, there was no sound but our boots crunching on the snow, but eventually I cast him a sideways glance and cleared my throat.

"I… Think this is probably the most definitive proof I can imagine that you're nothing like your father."

He huffed a scoff that ghosted in the air before him, and returned my glance. "How do you figure?"

"Well… For one, Lucius is a fucking coward, and what you're doing… Is very brave." Draco said nothing, so I continued. "And for another, there's nothing redeemable about that miserable fuck, and I'm literally in love with you, so…"

His steps faltered, and my gut clenched. Too soon? Fuck, I hope he doesn't feel pressured to say it back. I just like saying it out loud. I paused, too, and hesitantly turned to study his face. His eyes were impossibly wide, like I'd just casually admitted to having a stash of bodies in my attic. Our intense eye contact broke, though, when a couple passed us on their way back to the school. I didn't miss the weird glances they stole at us, but they only hurried on their way, whispering fervently. Here we go.

"Sorry, I… N-nevermind." Draco brushed past me and continued down the path to Hogsmeade, and I loped a few steps to catch up to him. His cheeks, ears and nose were all flushed from the cold, but he wore the same expression he had when I'd first confessed to him, and I wanted so badly to snog the shit out of him, but I resisted.

I couldn't help but press him a little more, though. "I love you," I whispered, and he flashed a wide-eyed glance at me.

"Shut up," he croaked and cleared his throat, adjusting his scarf to wrap around his mouth. God, he's so adorable. My cheeks hurt from grinning.

"I sort of can't. You have no idea how good it feels to finally be able to say it out loud."

His long legs paced slightly faster, and I chuckled as I jogged to keep up with him. "Prick," he muttered, muffled by his scarf. But the next glance he sent my way was burning with the words he couldn't say, and my heart seized.

Eventually, we reached the town and Draco paused. Steeling himself. The roads were bustling with people, some of which cast lingering stares at the pair of us, but I just watched my boyfriend's face. He seemed to flinch from every glance, but a determined frown knit his brow as he purposefully turned down the road that led to the Hog's Head. And I followed.

Luckily for us, it wasn't packed, and I led us between tables toward an empty one in the back. Usually, my making a public appearance would've started a riot, but I suppose, given who I had in tow, the sparse patrons just watched. I was grateful for it, honestly. I could only handle strangers' tears and gratitude and horror stories so many times. As we sat, Draco hesitantly shed his scarf and coat, laying them in the bench next to us, and I did the same. He wouldn't look at me, but he didn't have to. The stiffness of his movements told me all I needed to know about how he was feeling.

The one waiter the Hog's Head boasted stopped by to take our orders, and then hastily disappeared into the back. Just as I was leaning forward on my elbows to subtly peer up at Draco, he huffed a sigh.

"Easy. Brunch." He twitched a nervous smile at me and ran his hands over his lap a few times.

"Right. Normal."

He nodded in agreement. "Normal."

A snowflake had buried itself between two locks of his icy hair, and before I realized what I was doing, I reached up and delicately pulled it free. It melted between my fingers, but the movement was so natural for me, I didn't think about it beforehand.

"Sorry, I… Shit," I grimaced and sat on my hands before I could do anything else stupid. Draco was frozen in shock for a moment, but it was just then that the waiter returned with our coffees. With a sigh, I accepted my mug and pulled it towards me. It wasn't until I'd doctored it up with cream and two sugars from the caddy we'd been brought that Draco finally reached for his own. And cleared his throat.

"Why is this so fucking hard? It's not like we're braiding flowers into each other's hair and singing," he grumbled as he lifted his mug to his lips.

"Reckon it's the stares." He glanced sideways at me and I offered a wry smile. "Just try to ignore them. We're not doing anything wrong."

"Right." He huddled over his mug slightly as he set it down on the table, and I wracked my brain for a way to distract him. In a way that won't cause a scene, you filthy pervert.

"So," I cleared my throat. "Have you heard from your mum at all?"

This might've been the wrong thing to say, because the muscles around his eyes tightened slightly when he glanced up at me. "No, we… We haven't really… Spoken since everything…"

I took another sip of my coffee with a hum. I had a fair understanding of what his home life had been like with his parents to not be surprised by this, but it twisted at my heart to know he'd never had a support system. Even his friends that hadn't returned to Hogwarts were never his support system. The lack of love at home was familiar enough, but I never would've survived Hogwarts without Hermione and Ron. Surreptitiously, I touched my knee to his beneath the table.

"Sorry, I… I'm trying to make this more bearable for you, and I'm just bringing up painful shit, aren't I?"

He smirked at me, and my heart loosened somewhat. "You're fine. With everything you've told me, you can ask whatever you want."

My throat tightened, and I turned back to my coffee. Sure, it'd gotten easier opening up to him, but knowing my secrets lived in two hearts instead of just one was… Unsettling. He hasn't run yet, though. He even invited me to brunch.

"Well… Since you're being brave, is there anything you'd wanna tell your father if given the chance?" Real subtle.

"No," Draco answered reflexively. "There's nothing to say. I'm content to never think about him again, honestly."

The idea of him being free of his father even in his head spread my lips into a half-smile, and just then, our breakfast arrived. Healthy helpings of every kind of breakfast food one could want, and my stomach groaned at the sight.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, temporarily focused on shoving as much as possible down our throats, when the sudden realization that I'd never sucked Draco off had me choking on my mouthful. How the hell have we gone this long and I've never…? I coughed for several moments.

"You know you're supposed to chew first, right?"

Chasing my mouthful down with a healthy gulp of coffee, I scowled at him. Something about my face must've betrayed my thoughts, though, because he leaned forward on his elbow facing me, and when I'd finally quelled my coughing fit, he was smirking at me. My cheeks burned.

"Something you'd like to share with the class?"

"Piss off," I spat dispassionately as I returned to my meal. Draco just watched me expectantly, twirling his fork in his fingers. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction, though. Not in such a public place.

"Spoilsport," he teased after seeing I wouldn't fold. "Thought you were going to tell me everything."

His petulance was postured, but as he took another mouthful of sausage, my eyes were drawn to his lips. And of course, he caught me. I saw the pieces click together in his eyes, and his cheeks pinked slightly.

"Later."