Summary: Harry's working at a motel for the summer. Unexpectedly, Draco appears and rents a room. Harry is filled with questions. Why is he there? What is he hiding from? And, probably the most important question of all, why is the need to be close to him so strong? This takes place somewhere between year five and year six.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters mentioned in the Harry Potter series. I will not be profiting off this story.


Harry.

His own name rang in his ears as Harry glided the muggle pool cleaner across the water's surface. A debris of dry grass and dead bugs gathered in the mesh. Work like this had become automatic for him, so it gave more than enough time to reflect on the day before. After his odd encounter with Draco, he spent the rest of the time working (as usual) then went back to Privet Drive (again, as usual). He was, however, nagged by constant daydreams of pale hands on his chest and warm, wet lips on his neck throughout the day (not as usual).

What had gotten into him? Why had he made such an obvious pass at Malfoy? How did he get the idea in his head to kiss him? Oh Merlin, why was he thinking of kissing Malfoy again? Harry thought he was just allowing some weird friendship truce happen between them. After all, how else was he supposed find out the reason Malfoy was there? Apparently, that odd gravitational pull he experienced was much more than a platonic attachment.

Just thinking about it gave him chills. He kept remembering the way Draco's tongue felt against his or the moans Draco emanated when he wasn't calling Harry's name. He had to shake his head a few times to rid himself of the memories, but that proved rather difficult when fantasies of the future popped right up after them.

It was much too sudden. The whole situation. How long had it been since Draco had come to the Motel? He counted the fingers on his hands. Six. Today was the sixth day since he'd arrived. This was ridiculous. Even if they had known each other since they were eleven, this kind of relationship they were developing was remarkably out of character. They'd hated each other since day one, always having fighting matches and yelling at each other over the dining hall in Hogwarts. They constantly glared at each other as long as they were in the same vicinity. Their minds seemed to always be on each other, wondering what the other boy would do next. Malfoy constantly talked to his father about him, just as Harry constantly wondered about Draco to Hermione and Ron. Never mind the fact that they never let anything go, constantly holding on to the simplest bits of information just to mock the other… To get their attention… Harry groaned. Looking back at all of that made it look uncannily like a primary school crush.

Pausing his work to rub his cheek, trying to physically push the embarrassment away from his face, he glanced up at the balcony. Draco was there, leaning on the railing and looking at Harry. They locked eyes and, to Harry's surprise, Draco didn't flush at being caught staring. Instead, he simply held the others gaze before lazily straightening and disappearing into his room. Harry blinked, nonplussed.

Maybe, Harry thought, these "new" feelings aren't the real problem here. And as he continued to clean the pool, he couldn't help shaking the feeling that something much more complicated was coming.


Draco didn't flinch when he heard the knock at the door. He was expecting it. He gave a little sigh before murmuring, "Come in." Harry cautiously entered, balancing clean, folded bed sheets in one hand.

"Hey," Harry said after a beat and gestured to the sheets, "Gotta change these…"

Draco nodded, standing stiffly near the wall with his arms crossed. He watched Harry strip the dirty blankets and fit the clean material over the mattress. The room felt tight as their breathing became more and more noticeable with the ongoing silence. Draco licked his lips, preparing for what he was about to say.

"I'm sorry."

Draco blinked at Harry's words.

"What?" Draco replied, slightly irritated that the other beat him to the punch.

"I'm realizing that it might not have been…. er, the most appropriate to do that to you yesterday." Harry avoided eye contact, slowly switching out one of the pillow cases for a new one.

Draco's stomach dropped, but he maintained his indifferent expression, even throwing in a subtle smile for good measure. "You're apologizing? The brave gryffindor that acts before thinking? Never thought I'd see the day."

Harry's head snapped up, making Draco take a small step back in surprise, "I'm being serious. It was stupid of me to kiss you like that."

Draco was about to flare up in anger, but stopped in his tracks. "Kiss me?"

"Yeah." Harry cocked an eyebrow at him, almost amused, yet still had an air of irritation to him. "You do realize that's what we were doing, right?"

Draco glared at him, "I'm aware. Thank you, Ha- Potter. What's troubling me is that you think you kissed me."

"Uhm, because I did?" He smirked at Draco's slip up. Draco ignored him.

"No, I was definitely the one to initiate."

Harry laughed, "What? That is not what happened."

"Ugh, leave it to you to think you're the cause of everything," Draco lifted his arms in exasperation before sitting on the freshly made bed.

Harry made an irritated clicking sound with his tongue and walked around the mattress to face Draco. "But I was the one to initiate!"

Draco cocked his head to the side in annoyance, "In what universe?"

Harry flushed, his voice rising, "Unfortunately, the one you live in! I know I was the one to kiss you because you said my n-name and then- I just- Ugh! Why else would I be apologizing?"

"I don't bloody know! Maybe for allowing it to continue? Merlin, you were probably feeling stupid for doing that with me-"

"Oh, that's utter bullshit, Draco! You know full well I don't do shit I don't want to."

"That's not true! You do plenty you don't want-"

"Yeah, okay, but that's in very different circumstances! All those times I was being forced or something, but no one was forcing anything yesterday!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU APOLOGIZING FOR KISSING ME?" Draco bellowed, jumping up to come face to face with Harry.

Harry visibly resisted taking a step back, shock flitting across his face. He paused, and for a second Draco thought he had him, before Harry grinned, "So we're agreeing I kissed you?"

Draco groaned and fell backwards onto the bed, covering his face with his arm. "Forget it. This is the last thing that should be on my mind right now."

He could hear the mattress squeaking under Harry's added weight as he sat next to Draco. "What should be on your mind, then?" He murmured after a moment.

Draco shook his head, biting his lip.

"Draco, come on." He tried to pull Draco's arm away from his face, but Draco wouldn't budge. He was afraid of revealing his expression: all scared and vulnerable. Despite what they'd been through the last week, Harry was the last person he wanted to open up to.

"Hey," Harry said gently. "Draco, I just want to help you. Come on. Tell me why you're here."

Draco took a deep breath and removed his arm, trying his best to keep a calm face. His emotions must have shown through, however, because Harry looked surprised for a moment.

"Okay… Okay," Draco sat up, trying to make his face look as serious as possible. "But you- just try to be understanding. Please?" Harry seemed unsure, but eventually reciprocated Draco's expression and nodded.

Draco looked down at his hands and bit his lip. "I'm running from my parents… But it's not because they're being terrible or anything. They want me- No, it's not that they want me to do this, but if I don't… They'll be hurt. I'm pretty sure they will," Draco paused, still looking at his hands. When Harry said nothing he continued, "See, I heard them talking in my dad's office. I couldn't understand everything, but I knew the- the basics. That I would… That I'd have to-"

Draco's throat went dry and he noticed his hands were shaking. Harry slowly reached out to take them in his. "You'd have to…?" He whispered. Draco had an odd feeling that he already knew.

"I'd have to become a Death Eater. I'd have to get a dark mark." His voice cracked at "dark mark". He still didn't look up, but he could hear Harry's sharp intake of breath. He cringed when Harry's hands tightened around his.

"Wh-" Harry started, but stopped. He seemed to be gathering his words, organizing them with care. In another situation, Draco would have scoffed at how hard he was thinking, but he appreciated it at the moment.

"So, what are you going to do?"

Draco's head snapped up at that question. His previous appreciation vanished. "What am I going to do? Really? This, you idiot! This is what I'm doing!" He gestured around the room. "I've been switching muggle motels every bloody week or so. Sometimes I'll switch every three days if I feel suspicious."

Harry recoiled at first, but then straightened in indignation. "So you're just going to run?"

"Of course! We can't all be as brave as you, Potter." Draco snapped at him.

"Why doesn't your family just fight against it? Wait, I know why: you're all cowards. That's how you probably got on with Voldemort in the first place. Merlin, you're all so Slytherin-" Harry stopped in his tracks. Draco glared at him and he could feel the prickle of tears forming around his eyes.

"You know it's not as simple as that, Harry." His voice was surprising level, completely opposite to how he was feeling. "It's not as simple as just fighting against it. As fighting against him."

Draco tried to slip his hands out of Harry's, but the other held them tight, "I know, I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

Draco looked away, "Yes, you did."

Harry sighed, "Okay, I did a bit, but I-"

"I asked you to be understanding." Draco hoped his voice wasn't cracking. He was too focused on keeping his tears from falling. However, one escaped and trickled down his cheek. He could feel Harry's pulse quicken on his hands and guessed he noticed it.

"I am. I am. Just- Explain it to me, please. Why won't you do anything against this? What will he do to you?" Harry scooted closer and freed one of Draco's hands to wipe away the wetness from his eyes. Draco closed his eyes at the touch and sighed, his eyebrows crinkling together slightly.

"We can't, Harry. If we don't obey him, they'll be killed… I'm sure he'll kill them. I'm sure he'd kill me." It took Draco everything he had to keep from shaking.

"... What does he want you to do?" Harry asked, resting his hand on Draco's cheek. Draco looked at him and gave a small shake. "You don't know? Or you won't tell me?"

"Doesn't matter which, Harry. I'm not telling."

"You've told me this much, why-?"

"And I'm still figuring out whether that was a mistake."

"Draco-"

"Drop it."

Harry sighed and let his hand fall to Draco's lap. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both looking at their hands loosely holding each other.

"Draco?" They both looked up. Harry visibly gulped. "I know you said you didn't think you should be worrying about it right now… But I am sorry about kissing you."

Draco sighed, his stomach dropping again. Leave it to Harry to make a bad situation worse. "Yeah, I got that, thanks-"

"I think I like you."

His stomach swiftly came back up to meet his throat.

"But I think it was dumb that I had to realize that by kissing you."

Draco blinked, "H-how else would you realize it?"

Harry shrugged then smiled at him sheepishly, "Probably any other time we interacted."

Draco blushed, "Huh?"

"Think about it: every time we talked it was like primary school kids who had crushes on each other. All we did was try to get each others attention. I mean-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Draco waved his hands in front of him, urging Harry to stop, a fiery red growing on his cheeks. He rubbed his brow and cringed, "I guess… I can see that." Okay, that was an understatement. He had seen it since third year (although it was one sided in his mind). Not that he would ever admit that to the Chosen One.

Harry chuckled, "I just wanted you to know."

Draco nodded, looking down to try to hide his face. Harry was silent, no doubt amused that he was making Draco look like a complete idiot. He heard him clear his throat and lifted his head to see Harry self-consciously pulling at his hair. "So… ah, I guess I should go back to work… Uhm. I'll let you think about it and all that-"

"What?"

Harry looked at him and Draco realized the git was blushing just as much as he was. Oh, he doesn't know I like him back.

"Well, I don't want to make you reply to me right now. I mean you probably need ti- Hey, stop laughing!" Harry flushed even more at Draco's cackles.

"Merlin, you really are an idiot…" Draco said, shaking his head. He smiled at Harry as he pulled at his collar, effectively bringing the idiot towards him. He saw Harry's eyes widen before closing his own and brushing their lips together. Harry leaned in, tilting his head so they fit better. The warmth from his mouth expanded and licked at Draco's skin, so that soon his whole body was hot. Harry cupped his cheeks as Draco grabbed at his shirt, willing them to be closer. They parted for air, but Draco went back to softly kiss at Harry's jaw and neck. Every touch of skin made him feel warmer and warmer. He sighed as Harry made circles with his thumb behind his ear, holding him against his chest. If Draco still wasn't so scared of being found, he might have stayed in that Motel room forever, hoping that he'd eventually just melt at Harry's touch.


Harry couldn't help the dreamy smile that showed on his face. All he could think about was Draco and how they spent their time just a few hours previous. Sometimes his thoughts wandered to less than desired questions, like "why did Voldemort want Draco's help?" and "would his parents really make him do something dangerous?", but his head was too focused on pink lips to pay them any mind. He started imagining what would have happened if he stayed just a bit longer in that room when Mr. Jameson sauntered in. Harry straightened at the front desk and pretended to organize files.

"What's with you, boy? You've had that stupid grin on your face the whole day." Mr. Jameson said, the amusement clear in his voice.

"Nothing, sir. Just really enjoying the job."

"Mhm, right." Mr. Jameson chuckled and pushed Harry away. "I'd rather you hate it. Then you might actually do it correctly. I don't remember files beginning with the letter P going before the files beginning with M."

Harry bit back a smile and cleared his throat, "Er, sorry."

Mr. Jameson continued to reorganize the files, giving Harry a quick side glance. "So… You get to talk to your boy toy today?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, "'Boy toy'?"

"I'm assuming that's the type of relationship you two have. Unless he's your boyfriend?"

Harry looked down, heat rising at the back of his neck. They never had specified what they were to each other, except for once earlier in the week. "Well, if we're getting technical," He smirked at the memory, "he's my acquaintance."

Mr. Jameson rolled his eyes, "I didn't realize acquaintances shagged. Kids these days. Doesn't matter who it is, I guess."

"W-we weren't shagging!" Harry spluttered.

"Well, obviously. I interrupted you two." Mr. Jameson went on, ignoring Harry's noises of negation. "You're both too young for that kind of activity, anyways. Young people need to learn how to treat others with respect before they go around attacking the first person open for business-"

Harry subtly covered his face with his hands, groaning quietly as Mr. Jameson continued his lecture. This was the great and horrible part about his boss: he had such father-like tendencies. Well, if he was being honest, it was almost mother-like. Either way, it was embarrassing.

"Well, anyways, I hope you two actually had a proper conversation while you were ignoring your job. Again." Mr. Jameson finished.

Harry cringed, "Er, sorry, Mr. Jameson."

Mr. Jameson gave a throaty chuckle, "Ah, you do good work. I won't get on about that just yet. Watch yourself, though. Can't be hanging out with him during your work hours all the time."

Harry nodded, "Yes, sir."

They worked in silence for the rest of the time. Harry worked slowly, thinking about what Mr. Jameson said. He was right. He couldn't just spend time with Draco while he was on the job. Plus, he didn't want to. Harry felt slightly giddy at the thought of hanging out with Draco outside of work and school. Maybe he'd show him the muggle shops or the park he often took refuge at. It'd be like a… like a... da-

"Oh, great. Harry, I think your acquaintance had a run in with those damn kids in room 43." Mr. Jameson said, interrupting Harry's train of thought.

"What?" Harry looked up and saw a wobbly Draco attempting to climb the stairs leading to the upper level rooms. "Oh, shit. Mr. Jameson, can I-?"

Mr. Jameson just waved him off, already back to organizing the customer data in his notebook. "Go on, go on. Don't want him falling off the balcony."

Harry jogged through the glass doors and passed the pool, jumping every other step on the stairs to quickly grab Draco's arm. Draco flinched at Harry's touch, but looked relieved when he saw it was him.

"Harry!" He smiled, turning to grab at Harry's shirt, almost dragging them both to the ground. "I missed you! How's work?"

Harry sighed, straightening and pulling the blond back up, "Did those muggles offer you stuff to drink?"

"What? Why do you ask that?" Draco broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Because you are obviously drunk right now."

He tapped Harry on the nose with his slender finger, "You're so cute when you notice things."

Harry blushed slightly at that, but concentrated on getting Draco to his room. He had to heave the other over each remaining step and struggled with opening the door since Draco refused to give him the key. He was forced to dig through Draco's pockets (while Draco made many flirtatious comments) and hold him up by the collar as he one handedly unlocked the door. Eventually, he shoved the drunken idiot onto the bed, panting slightly.

Draco giggled some more as he flipped over and crawled to the top of the mattress. He grabbed the first pillow within his reach and hugged it. "These pillows are so soft," He purred.

Harry rolled his eyes and sat at the end of the bed, "You don't have soft things at your mansion?"

Draco huffed, "Of course we do. I just never expected muggle's to have such soft things."

"You do realize muggles aren't some exotic species, right? They're basically us without magic."

"Exactly, so what's the point of them?" Draco snapped. Then his voice softened, "Anyways, I don't wanna talk about muggles right now."

He quickly sat up and crawled over to Harry, resting his head on the others lap. Harry's heart quickened, not sure how to react, before Draco turned to look up at him. "How was work today?"

"It was… fine. Draco, how did you end up like this?" Harry questioned.

Draco blinked up at him before sighing, "I don't know… I guess my parents put a lot of pressure on me. I mean, I know I can be a prat, and I guess my thoughts on muggles aren't 'politically correct'," He made quotation marks in the air, "or whatever, but I have an image to uphold! Honestly, I can't think of a single reason why you like me-"

"What? No, Draco, why are you drunk?"

"Oh, they asked me if I wanted a drink and I hadn't tried any muggle stuff before. I've only really had Firewhiskey, which, by the way, isn't all that good anyways. I mean, I get how some people can like the burning, but really? How masochistic can you get. I much rather Butterbeer. Anyways, I went to their room and there were a lot of muggles our age. They were all acting like idiots and kept forcing different drinks on me. They didn't taste good, but it was calming down my head. I actually started panicking about telling you all that stuff today so I thought a good drink would help. Haha, it did the job, though! I feel sooo much better."

Harry had to bite his lip to keep from laughing while Draco went on and on about how odd muggles drinks were, why he felt vulnerable after talking to Harry, how he had trouble with his hair on most days, etc. Gradually, Draco's eyes started drooping and his words slurred.

"Draco," Harry said gently, interrupting a monologue about muggle clothes versus robes. "You should go to bed."

"What? Why?" Draco whined. He was fiddling with Harry's fingers and remained comfortably on his lap.

"Because it's midnight? And I have to go back now." Harry attempted to pull his fingers back, but Draco held to them tighter.

"Just stay with me." He reached to touch Harry's cheek with his free hand.

Harry flushed, but cleared his throat and grabbed Draco's hand, pulling it away from his face. "Maybe next time," He said.

Draco huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Harry chuckled and pushed him up, guiding him to the top of the mattress. He adjusted the sheets and pillows so that he was comfortable, ignoring Draco's complaints of "I don't need your help!" and "Fluff the pillow right, Potter".

"You sure talk a lot when you're drunk." Harry commented when Draco was all settled.

He shrugged and pulled the covers tighter around his neck, "Yeah, well, you barely talk when I'm drunk. Suits me jus' fine."

Harry grinned. Draco was also very honest when he was drunk. Suddenly, he got an idea. He felt a bit guilty, but there was no way Draco would give Harry a straight answer normally. Plus, he could always change his mind once he was sober.

"Draco, will you let me take you on a date this weekend? Tomorrow?"

Harry held his breath, watching Draco's expression change as he tried to decipher the question.

"... Really?" Draco asked tentatively.

"Yeah."

Draco's face spread out into a wide, sleepy grin, "Okay!"

Harry smiled, relief and warmth spreading across his body. "I'll hold you to that." He quickly swept down and planted a kiss on Draco's lips before standing up.

"Wait!" Draco grabbed Harry's hand. "Will you stay? Just until I fall asleep?"

Harry sighed, "Draco, I really-"

"Please, Harry." He practically whispered, "I'm so tired of being by myself."

Harry gulped. He felt a mixture of pain and understanding towards the slytherin. "Okay. Once you fall asleep, I'll go."

He slipped under the covers, wrapping his arms around Draco, who sighed contently.

"Thank you, Harry." Draco murmured. Harry smiled into the soft, blond locks. A warmth spread through him as Draco snuggled against his chest. They could just stay there forever, Harry thought. For a moment, Harry wished they didn't have school or work or have to run from anyone. He wished they could just lay in that Motel and slowly melt at each other's touch.


Wow, okay, so college is kicking my ass right now. I'm glad I got to finish such a big chapter! And I've finally planned out how this fic is going to play out. It's going to be waaay longer that I expected, so get ready for the plot to thicken and relationships to complicate :D

I hope I get to the next chapter soon! Again, thank you all SO MUCH for your reviews and follows and favorites. They honestly make my day.

-Bob