Harry woke on a Monday morning and rolled over in bed. His gaze falling on the man beside him. It had been two weeks since that weekend when they had introduced each other to their families and there had been scant nights where they had gone to sleep without one another.

Harry had loved these last few weeks, getting the time to simply do as he pleased. To spend as much time as he wanted with the people he loved and was coming to love.

He had spent nearly the entirety of that time in Blaise's company. Helping him with the restaurant and going on dates. He had helped Blaise conduct interviews for those remaining positions, Blaise insisting his presence was a good thing. If they couldn't conduct themselves around someone of a celebrity status then he didn't want them working there. The restaurant would cater quite often to high end clientele and the service needed to match that.

They had managed to find the extra wait staff Blaise wanted, but the sous chef and maître d positions were still open. There had been a couple of chefs that Harry had thought would be great but Blaise had said no for some reason.

Harry sighed heavily. These last few weeks had been amazing, even with the late nights. But it was all at an end. He was due back in the office today. Seamus had only floo called twice in his absence. Though, Harry supposed only one really counted, the first time Seamus had flooed him, he and Blaise had been in a very compromising position on the living room rug. Harry had forgotten to close the floo. Seamus' eyes had bulged before he let out a wicked cackle and told Harry he'd ask Kingsley instead.

Harry shifted in the bed and placed a series of light kisses along Blaise's jaw, gently waking him up before he settled on his lips.

"Morning," Harry mumbled.

Blaise hummed and pulled Harry against him, "Good morning."

"I have to go."

"Stay."

Harry chuckled.

"You know I can't do that, Head Auror's can't be late."

Blaise smirked, "Perks of being a chef at a dinner service only restaurant."

Harry shoved his shoulder lightly as he clambered out of the blankets.

"We can't all be so lucky."

Blaise hummed non-committedly as he watched Harry pull out fresh clothes and robes to get ready for the day.

"Shall I swing by for lunch?"

Harry grinned at him, "That would be great."

He made his way back to the bed and leant down for another kiss. Blaise fisted one hand in the back of Harry's robes and yanking him down. Pinning Harry beneath him for a passion filled kiss.

Harry's lips felt bruised when they finally broke apart and the feeling of not wanting to return to work intensified.

"I'll see you later then," he said quietly.

"Of course," whispered Blaise, ghosting his lips over Harry's once more before letting him up.

~*~*~*~*~ 💕 Harry&Blaise 💕 ~*~*~*~*~

Harry made it into the office with just enough time to spare. He greeted Emmanuella and she left to get him coffee, telling him Seamus wouldn't be there for another half hour as he had an early morning meeting with the Minister.

He sat down on the edge of his seat at his desk and rested his hands on the surface in front of him. Glancing around at the piles of paperwork. There were stacks of field reports to go through, Auror wand reports, case files that he needed to update himself on and to add to increasing sense of doom, it was almost time for the yearly reviews.

He sat there, staring at the piles and mounds of paperwork and wondering where he had ever found the passion for it. He looked up as Emma walked in, mug in hand and a file in the other.

"I can't do this," he blurted out to her.

She raised one slim eyebrow at him, "Do what Auror Potter?"

He blinked, comprehending the words he had just spoken. Feeling the certainty of them within him.

"This," he said as he stood, gesturing to the piles of paperwork.

"Your job?" she asked.

He nodded and looked up at her. "Yeah, my job. I'm going to quit."

He expected her to scowl at him, of huff. Or for her to demand an explanation of him. Instead, she granted him one of her rare and blinding smiles.

She came over and opened the file, placing it on his desk. Harry looked at the single sheet of parchment inside and realised she had taken the liberty of writing up his resignation letter. All it needed was his signature. He lifted his gaze to give her a confused but grateful smile.

"I've been waiting for you to come to your senses. You've never loved this job and you deserve to be happy Mr Potter. What will you do?"

Harry thought for a moment, before it came to him. Hitting him so profoundly that his face broke into a dazzling smile.

"I'm going to be a chef."

~*~*~*~*~ 💕 Harry&Blaise 💕 ~*~*~*~*~

Harry stumbled out of the floo at Grimmauld. Quickly searching the house for Blaise. He was keyed up and jittery with excitement and the fluttering nerves inside his stomach that came from quitting your job and making a major life decision did not help at all.

The memory of Kingsley and Seamus' faces when he had interrupted their meeting to drop his immediate resignation on the Minister's desk was still fresh in his mind's eye.

He threw the box of things he had packed up from his office onto the couch and headed for the upper levels of his house.

"Blaise!" he called out as he thundered up the stairs.

He ducked his head into every room calling loudly before Kreacher popped up beside him.

"Mr Zabini is not here. He has gone out. Is Master needing something of Kreacher?" the old elf asked before muttering, "to be waking poor Kreacher so rudely."

"Oh, er- sorry Kreacher," Harry said sheepishly, "Do you know where he went? Did he go to the restaurant?"

"Kreacher does not know. Kreacher did not ask, as Kreacher was sleeping," the old elf said pointedly. Adding a glare for effect.

"Right, okay, sorry."

Harry headed back down the stairs and to the floo. The restaurant was the most likely place for Blaise to be after all.

He started walking through the greeting room as soon as his feet touched the ground. Ears alert and listening for signs of Blaise. He was likely in his office, now that all the furniture had arrived for it and he no longer had to use conjured tables.

Harry pushed open the door to see Blaise bent over a scroll of parchment. He looked up to see Harry, a smile immediately lighting up his face before he frowned in confusion.

"Harry! What are you doing here?"

Harry came over and planted his hands on the edge of Blaise's desk.

"I'm here to interview for the sous-chef position."

Blaise looked stunned.

"You are?"

"I know I don't have a lot of experience in a restaurant kitchen, but I'm a fantastic cook."

"You're also Head Auror." Blaise pointed out, though his lips were starting to pull into a smile.

"Not anymore," Harry replied, "I got into the office this morning, took one look at all of the boring reports on my desk and handed my resignation into Kingsley.

"Did you?" Blaise asked as he stood, making his way around the desk to stand next to Harry.

Harry twisted to meet him, "Yeah. I don't want a job I don't love. And I really think that doing this with you, would be the most rewarding thing I've ever done for myself."

"So, what you're saying," Blaise said with a smirk as he leant his hip against his desk, "Is that you want me for my restaurant."

Harry snorted, "No, you berk. I just, if you don't want me to, that's-,"

Harry broke off as he collected himself, he wanted this, but not because he didn't want to be an Auror anymore. Because it felt right. It felt like it was meant to happen.

"Look, do you remember when I told you that I wanted to own my own restaurant as a kid?"

Blaise nodded.

"I never told you why."

Harry pulled himself up to sit on the desk, needing to feel something solid.

"My Aunt and Uncle raised me to be their own personal slave. I used to do everything for them around the house. Cooked, cleaned, the gardening, you name it. And when I didn't do something to their satisfaction, I was punished for it. Either locked in my cupboard, or I went without food." Harry waved his hand in 'and so on' gesture. "But see the thing is, when I was in the kitchen -and once they knew I wouldn't burn it down- they let me do whatever I wanted and they left me alone. It was the one place I got to be myself. I was even allowed to tape cooking shows to watch when they all went to bed."

Harry sighed, "and I used to dream of having my kitchen, of cooking whatever I wanted, and to have people PAY me to do it. For people to enjoy it so much they come back time and time again." Harry reddened a little at his next thought but barrelled on, "and as a kid, and before discovering the, you know, whole gay thing, I thought that I could do it with a wife by my side and we'd be, you know, happy or whatever."

He stared at his knees for a moment as silence overtook them. But when he felt Blaise's hand on his, he looked up into his eyes.

"One of the reasons I've held off so long on a decision about my co-chef, is because I had that same dream as a kid. That I would run this place with someone I cared about."

"Yeah?" asked Harry.

Blaise nodded and stepped closer to Harry. A smile on his lips as he pressed them to Harry's.

"Yeah."