Chapter Seven: Giving In

Later on that night, Cho was resting her head on Draco's lap. She felt quite relaxed with his finger brushing through her hair, the crackling fire, and the ease of finally releasing her deepest secret to someone else. She felt free, almost. And she would have fallen asleep in that moment, if his voice had not stirred her thoughts.

"Cho?"

"Hmm?" she said without moving.

"Can I ask you something?"

She then turned to look up at him. "Sure."

He seemed flustered for some reason; apprehensive. Letting out a deep breath, eyes darting everywhere across the room. This was not the Draco she knew.

"Is it that bad?" she teased.

"How... how do you... who am I to you?"

She quirked an eye brow at him. "Um... you're Draco Malfoy."

He smiled. "But what am I? To you? How do you... feel about me?" He locked her gaze, searching for an honest answer.

Cho swallowed deep before answering. "Well... I don't know." she said as she shyly looked away.

"All I'm looking for is an honest answer." he said gently. When she sat up, he was relieved that she didn't pull away, but she still hadn't answered his question.

Cho hemmed and hawed for a moment. "I mean... how do I... do I have to answer this now?"

Draco chuckled before cupping her face tenderly. "I need to know. If I'm going to stay in this house, if I'm going to continue living here with you, for my own sanity, I need to know how you feel about me."

She could feel emotions stirring in her chest, feel her mouth suppressing the word that she knew he wanted to hear, feel the tears that were threatening to spill, but she couldn't do it. "You're asking me to say things that you haven't said to me, Draco. How can you expect me to..."

Her voice trailed off in fear, but Draco only smiled. His thumb moved over her bottom lip and she knew then that he intended to kiss her. "Just show me, Cho."

And she did.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers urgently. She wanted to say it; she desperately wanted to say the words he wanted to hear. They were so fresh in her mind, so full in her heart, but they couldn't form on her lips. So she tried to tell him in ways that words could never express that she did in fact love him. That she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, just like this, playing husband and wife.

She felt his arms around her waist, pulling her in closer for a deeper kiss. She fervently responded, entangling her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. She moved onto his lap, straddling his stomach and pressing her own body against his. His kisses were taking her breath away, but she didn't care. The pleasure that followed was worth it. The feel of his hands on her skin, his breath on her mouth... she didn't ever want it to end.

In fact, she wanted more.

Just then, Draco's lips moved away from her mouth, down to her neck, causing a raptured sigh to escape her mouth. She pulled his head closer to her body, and let out a harsh whisper. "Draco..."

He pulled away then, and rested his forehead on hers. "I'm sorry, Cho." he said breathlessly. "What you do to me... I don't know what I'm doing anymore..."

"Oh yes, you do." Cho said with a mischievous grin, pulling him to his feet. She tugged his shirt over his head and pulled him back down for a kiss as they headed down the hallway towards the bedroom. Draco almost stumbled as he blindly did away with the buttons of Cho's shirt, letting his hands feel the softness of her porcelain skin. In the next moments, she was laying on his bed, and he on top of her.

He kissed her hungrily, and she responded with equal strength, equal desire. She wanted nothing more than this, she thought as they began shedding clothes. She finally admitted it to herself that she'd wanted him like this from the moment she saw him, that night in the bar. All his playful teasing and tender kisses only fed the fire, and now he was offering. She was accepting. "Oh, Draco..." she moaned.

Suddenly, his kisses stopped, all movement ceased. He pulled back to look at her and he let out a shaky breath, resting his head on her chest.

"Cho, I... I don't want to make you... You don't have to..."

She only "Shhh"ed him, placing a finger on his mouth. "I want this, Draco. I want you."she gently brushed her fingers against his face, looking up at him tenderly before she spoke softly, "I love you."

Draco was taken aback, and he didn't say anything. He only smiled at her adoringly before kissing her softly on the mouth. That erupted into the unrestrained passion that had been moments before only barely restrained. The flood gates had been opened. There was no going back now.

His mouth found the sensitive spot of her neck, and it caused Cho's breathing to be rough and shallow. Her hands moved over the width of his back, holding his body closer to her. Enjoying the rough feel of his lips on her skin, the sweat that was beading on his back, the power of his arms around her. She arched her back, wanting more. The desire that was growing inside her would not be stopped now.

"Please, Draco." she whimpered.

It started slow. Cho felt so beautiful, the way he was literally making love to her. He worshiped her body with kisses and touches, sending her senses whirling with his tenderness. She wanted it to last, she wanted every feeling, every emotion, every physical attribute to be ingrained in her mind forever, the sheer beauty of the moment. But as the passion grew, she wanted more. If she couldn't have this one moment forever, then maybe she could have him forever...

The pressure was increasing, the demand for release too strong. He was working in her like mad man, but she was enjoying every minute of it. His hands were holding her above her head, his mouth spreading magic all over her body. She knew he was close, as was she, but she wanted him to feel loved. She wanted him to know what it was like to be loved. She returned his kiss ardently, wanting him to know real affection, real love. But he pulled away from her kiss and closed his eyes. Then, they both met their fall together.

Many blissful minutes later, she looked up at Draco. His fingers were wandering aimlessly over the skin on her stomach and she enjoyed it immensely, but the looks on his face told him that something was wrong. She felt her heart sink. If he regretted what had happened between them...

"Is something wrong?" she asked quietly, watching him carefully.

Her voice shook him from her thoughts, and he looked down at her with an endearing smile. He kissed her nose and shook his head. "Nothing in the world is wrong, Angel."

She smiled at the sound of her nickname and rested her head once more on his bare chest. His fingers suddenly stopped tracing nothing on her skin, and instead he placed a hand on her hip and pulled her body closer as he snuggled down with her.

He smiled simply and kissed her mouth quickly. Then he looked into her eyes a moment before speaking. "I love you, you know."

Cho smiled, and ignored the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I wanted you to say it first because I wanted you to know that it is love. It's real. I knew it from the moment that I saw you sitting down in the kitchen. I couldn't help but love you. And I wanted so desperately for you to find something in me to love. I was such a broken mess when you found me, I wasn't sure of anything. But right now, I could do anything. As long as I know that I can have your love with me."

Cho nodded tearfully, taking his hand in her own and holding it against her face. "Yes, Draco. You will always have me. I will always love you. Always."

And then she kissed him, trying to put out any foolish doubts he may have had. She loved him so desperately, so entirely, nothing could ever stand in it's way. She wanted to pass on that surety to him somehow.

Draco pulled away from their kiss, and gathered her into his arms. Then as if to read her mind, he assured her, "Shh, it's all right. I know. You love me. And I love you. So just sleep. Sleep knowing that all is right in the world."

Any cloud that may have been hanging over her head was gone. Everything seemed so immeasurable, here in Draco's arms. Nothing could begin to penetrate the blissful perfection she had found with him, and she never wanted to leave it.

---

Many hours later, Draco was still awake. He couldn't sleep. He still couldn't believe he'd found it. There was this amazing woman he didn't even deserve, his beautiful Angel Cho, who loved him. Love, the one thing he had been deprived of his entire life. He had finally found it, and from a good woman who wanted nothing else but him. How could a man be so lucky in life? After having a wicked and utterly hateful life, how could he possibly be so happy now?

He looked down at her, sleeping so beautifully, so peacefully. His heart began to race just looking at her. She smiled contentedly and let out a happy sigh, snuggling closer to his bare chest. He smiled at himself, amazed that she loved him so completely, faults, sins and all. His heart was full. Of love, appreciation and thankfulness.

Cho had changed him. She had waltzed into his life, demanding a change, practically demanding his love, as well. But she had offered him something else. She'd helped forgive himself, let go of his past. Long enough to see what a bright future he could have. With an amazing woman like Cho at his side, he felt like he really could do anything. As long as he had her love.

His heart had nearly stopped beating the moment she'd said those words. Hearing 'I love you' was sweeter than anything he'd ever heard. They had been hollow words from his parents, unspoken words from friends. But with Cho, it had been full of meaning, and he knew that she was sincere. She had broken the barrier between them. She had said the words he had waited his whole life to hear, and now he would never let go of her. Never.

Kissing her gently on the head, he cuddled closer to her, and contentedly fell into a peaceful sleep with a smile on his face that he decided would never go away.

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A/N: This chapter has been edited to remove graphic sex. 08/01/2007

Hi all. It's been a really long time since I've been here, or even thought about these old fics of mine. But after reading Deathly Hallows and getting back into my HP groove, I figured I would give you (and Draco/Cho) some closure. I should say now that there will not be any "Daring Destiny." At least not right now. I don't have the time or the thought process to write up what I had in mind. Maybe later on in life... but the amazing ending Jo Rowling had for the HP series put my idea to shame, so I'm not going to be putting that out any time soon. Not to mention I haven't written any fanfics for a long time, and I wouldn't want to embarrass myself any further. As for me and my writing, you should expect one or two more chapters to complete this story, just to finish it up. But after that, I'll be gone for a while. So just... enjoy while you can. :)