THE ELF PRINCE'S MATE

AUTHOR: fantasylover12001

RATING: R

DISCLAIMER: I'm American and I'm a college student worrying about cash; obviously this means I'm not JKR or the WB so therefore I don't own Harry Potter and any of it's characters. I just love and obsess about them a little too much.

PAIRING: Draco/Harry, also Ron/Hermione, now past Lucius/Narcissa, Seamus/Dean, Pansy/Ginny, and many others.

SUMMARY: Draco and Ron continue their journey to Voldemort's castle with Harry in tow. Draco tries to warm up to his husband but continues to get the cold shoulder.

AUTHORS NOTES: Yes, I know this is very late. Midterms and projects are just some of my excuses. That and being drawn to the lure of other fandoms and plot bunnies. Fear not though, I shall not give up this fic until it is completely finished. If you would like a better explanation of why this is late or are just plain bored you can read my LJ. Link is on my author profile under the homepage link.

CHAPTER 17: MARITAL SPATS

The next morning Draco vaguely wondered if he had dreamt the whole scene with Harry. That vanished the minute he felt his nose and saw his husband picking up his bedroll and muttering to himself under his breath about stubborn elves and the male species in general.

Draco frowned when he saw Harry head towards the saddle on the ground and got up to go help him but was stopped by Ron.

"I wouldn't do that, mate," the redhead said firmly.

The blonde scowled at his friend. "He shouldn't be lifting heavy things. He's pregnant!"

"I know, I'll take care of it. If you go over there, you'll likely get your head chopped off."

Draco frowned. "What makes you say that?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Hello, I'm married to Hermione. We've had more arguments then I care to remember. Trust me when I say, going over there is a bad idea."

The King frowned further but turned away. He let out a sigh of relief when Harry agreed to let Ron help him saddle his horse.

dmHPdm

From the journal of Harry Potter:

December 5th,

I really wish Draco would stop looking at me like that. It makes it harder for me to turn a blind eye. Damn those eyes of his. But I have to remain firm. If I just forgive him just like that, he'll think he can get away with stuff like this in the future. I know it sounds like I'm trying to raise a spoiled child or something but in many ways, Draco is a child.

He's far from spoiled but he keeps doing things his own way without thinking about how his actions might affect others. Doesn't he realize how much it would hurt me to lose him in battle? How much it would hurt our child to grow up with out both his (or her) parents? It's not completely his fault, he's just learned to rely on himself. It's how his father taught him according to Narcissa.

Relying on yourself is all well and good but sometimes you need to let others know things. Like for instance that you're planning on risking your neck and rushing off to fight some dark overlord. God, what is he thinking? Well I know one thing, if he thinks I'm going to stay behind like a good little mate, he has another thing coming. Our wedding vows state for better or for worse. Well, this is obviously one of those for worse things. I'm going to make sure nothing happens to my husband. Whether he likes it or not.

dmHPdm

By the fifth day of travel it was obvious that Harry wasn't going to relent and go home where he was safe. It was also obvious that Draco was still in what Ron had dubbed 'the husband prison' where he was assured all husbands went when they did something wrong.

The blonde had followed Ron's advice for once, figuring the redhead had more experience in marital spats then he did. He left Harry alone for the first few days. It wasn't easy and the king sorely missed his mate at night but it was better then getting matching black eyes to go with his nose which was now looking slightly crooked. He was pretty sure it was broken and couldn't help but grudgingly admire his mate's right hook.

But staying away finally got to be too much and he tried to talk to Harry. Each time he tried he was answered with monosyllabic words or just ignored. He didn't like it one bit. By now, his frustration had reached it's bare limits and he was sure he was going to snap soon. Contrary to what was believed, he did have some control over his temper but that control was now starting to slip.

With two of the three person group mad at each other the traveling atmosphere was quite tense. Ron tried to ease it by talking to the two to no avail. Draco, who normally wasn't sociable while traveling anyway, ignored him. Harry talked to him, but it was half heartedly. The man got tired a lot quicker then normal due to his pregnancy so he tried not to use much energy. Because of this, they took breaks more often then usual.

Three days to Voldemort's castle Draco watched his husband sleepily rub his eyes during dinner.

"You should get some rest," he said firmly.

Harry frowned at him from across the fire. It was the most the two of them had said to each other since Harry punched him. "I have first watch."

Draco sighed. "I'll take over for you."

Harry shook his head. "No, you need rest also. I'll be fine."

The king scowled at him in disapproval. "Harry, you are in your first month of pregnancy. You need rest. You should even be here but you are. So please at least take care of yourself."

"Fine," Harry spat out and stalked over to where he had laid his bedroll.

'At least he listened to me' Draco thought with a sigh.

"That went well," Ron commented as he sat down next to the king.

"Shut up," Draco muttered.

"No, really, it did. He listened to you. It means he's starting to warm up to you again."

"What would he have done if he wasn't warming up to me?"

"Call you several vulgar names and not listen to you just to spite you."

Draco snorted and raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "Just how many arguments have you and Hermione been through?"

Ron shrugged. "I lost count after the hundredth."

The blonde rolled his eyes. The sad part was that Ron was probably correct. The two elves had clashed since the moment they met up until and after their bonding. The two of them were just too stubborn to get along all the time.

dmHPdm

From the journal of Harry Potter:

December 10th,

I suppose Draco was right, I do need rest. But I'm still mad at him. You know he still hasn't apologized for just leaving? Stubborn elf probably still thinks he was right about leaving like that. I suppose it's just as well, I don't think he understands why I'm so angry about this. If he did apologize I wouldn't accept it because he doesn't know what he's apologizing for. Which means he'll go and do it all over again in the future.

Still, it's getting hard staying away from him. Especially at night. I miss him. Which is silly because he's right over there talking to Ron so in reality I can't miss him. But I do. I'm going to bed.

dmHPdm

The next morning, Ron disappeared to get breakfast and gave Draco a pointed look when he left. Obviously that meant he was supposed to try and make up with his husband. 'If he'll let me make up with him' the elf thought sardonically as he watched Harry get out the pots and pans.

"If I offer to help you, are you going to deck me?" Draco asked him.

Harry blinked and looked at him with a frown. Then his lips twitched as if he was trying not to smile. "No."

With a sigh of relief, the elf walked over and started to carry the heavy pieces to the fire.

"How's your nose?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Draco rubbed the nose in question. "Still stings a little when I touch it, but otherwise okay. Where'd you learn to punch like that?"

"Seamus."

Draco blinked and looked at Harry questionably. His husband smirked a little. "We didn't always get along, you know. In fact, those first few months he moved into Surrey I thought he was an irritating loudmouth. We got into quite a few fights. He usually won."

Fascinated about this peace of history that he didn't know, Draco asked, "Well then how on earth did you become best friends?"

"He saw Dudley and his gang picking on me one morning. While he didn't necessarily like me, he hated Dudley and his friends more and I felt the same. The two of us teamed up and managed to get away without major injuries. After that we called a truce and then soon we became friends."

The blonde couldn't help but smile at the mental image of a miniature Harry and Seamus teaming up in Surrey. "Bet the villagers wished the two of you stayed enemies after that."

"Probably," Harry said wistfully.

Draco hesitated and then asked, "Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?" Harry looked him quizzically.

"Surrey. Your old life."

Harry thought a few minutes and then shook his head. "No. I never really fit in there. I always wanted to go out, see places, do things. Life there never really suited me. Hogwarts is far more exciting and I have you now. Even though sometimes you act like an arrogant prick."

Draco chuckled and then looked at him seriously. "I am sorry for making you worry."

"I know. But I'm not just angry about that."

The king frowned. "Then what else are you angry about?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not going to just tell you, Draco. You'll have to figure it out. When you do; we'll talk."

Before Draco could say anything more Ron returned with breakfast.

AUTHORS NOTE: Okay, midterms are over so hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. Please review!