Flirt by xErised
Rogue
Hugo and Rose Weasley, with their ages slightly changed, make their debut here.
Need I say more?
It was a bright and breezy Sunday afternoon with the sunlight streaming brilliantly through the windows and the birds chirping oh-so-melodically and bloody Salazar in hell was that another owl already?!
Storming over to the window of his study, Draco yanked the latch open, grabbed the squawking owl by the scruff of its neck and tugged roughly at the couriered file held from its beak. The blond swore viciously when the bird nipped him painfully on the finger. Without even looking at the identity of the sender, Draco flung the owl out of his window and drew the curtains this time for good measure.
Normally Draco would have been blazing through the staggering pyramid of documents like it was child's play, only needing to spend half an hour, at the very most, to digest and fire off a suitable response to the most wordy and tedious proposal.
But this was seriously getting out of hand.
And who did Draco blame it on?
Stupid, stupid Potter, of course.
If Harry didn't bother coming into his life again in such an abrupt and blatant manner, he wouldn't even be faced with this lack of concentration! Hanging his head in frustration, Draco shuffled over to his table and slumped into his seat. He shook his head resolutely and steeled himself. Here he was, having spent the last hour with his head in the clouds and his thoughts ricocheting in… utterly inappropriate directions when Draco had very very important work that demanded his immediate attention, and now was not the time to waste any more thoughts on Potter!
It's all Potter's fault, Draco practically snarled while he whipped out a fresh piece of parchment and stabbed his quill into his ink-well. It was all Potter's fault for being so… good-looking and sexy and funny and attractive and charming and sexy oops, did I say sexy already-
And with the thought of a very sexy Harry lodged in his head, Draco giggled and sighed blissfully as he melted into a puddle of hot goo on the floor.
"I think I just saw your orgasm face-"
Ooh, you can give me an orgasm any time you want, Draco purred kittenishly in his head. With that, Draco gazed down dreamily at the parchment and realized that he had unknowingly doodled Harry's name all over.
It was as though someone had hurled ice-cold water in his face.
Letting out a dramatic high-pitched squeal, Draco quickly balled the poor, innocent piece of parchment up and tossed it murderously to the other end of the room, where it joined the other dozens of crumpled sheets of parchment lying sadly on the floor.
This would not do.
Admitting his defeat, Draco grabbed his coat and slung it over his shoulders. There was no way that he could start work like that, and the only solution that the blond could think of was to catch a glimpse of Harry. Just a really quick Floo to Harry's place and then you know, some easygoing, light chit-chat of the week's events to quell his thirst for the brunette, and absolutely no grabbing of Harry's arse, Draco!
Hope he didn't put any of those Floo alarms, Draco fretted as he marched to the Floo in his apartment. Within seconds, he was at Harry's home, biting his lip tentatively as he called out the ex-Gryffindor's name. Draco knew he was being terribly disrespectful here, barging into someone's house without prior notice, but-
His heart sank like a stone when he realized that Harry wasn't home.
Try the Weasleys', a small voice in Draco's head piped up, but the blond immediately squashed that idea down. His pride and aloofness was already disintegrating piece by shameful piece by simply Flooing over to Harry's place, and things would only be exacerbated if he actually went over to the Weasleys'! No, he had had enough of this frivolity. He was going to go back home, finish up his ever-increasing pile of work and then spend the rest of the day thinking more like fantasizing- about Harry-
Within ten seconds, a furiously blushing Draco found himself in the fireplace at the Weasleys'.
"Mom? Uncle Harry and Hugo's making a truckload of noise-" Rose Weasley started, but her sentence escalated into a yelp when she looked up from her textbook to see a stranger in her house.
The girl immediately jack-knifed to a sitting position on the sofa and snatched her wand up in a fluid motion. Although her clear blue eyes were fierce, the slight tremor in her hand gave her away. It was obvious that Rose had inherited her physical traits from her father, except for the nature of her hair; corkscrew, frizzy ringlets of dense red curls bounced slightly as she approached Draco guardedly, the tip of her wand pointed directly at the blond's neck.
"Who are you and what are you doing here? I'm not alone, so don't you dare try anything funny," Rose growled, throwing her shoulders back and straightening her spine, her wary eyes fixing Draco head-on with a level glare. The ex-Slytherin knew that this was a tactic to make herself seem physically bigger and thus more intimidating.
"I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm just looking for Harry," Draco explained hastily, his arms raised and palms facing Rose to show that he meant no threat. Even with that, Rose studied Draco narrowly with a penetrating gaze for a few moments before deigning to lower her wand and smiling slightly.
"So you're the guy that my mom punched during her third year of Hogwarts?"
…
Was this some sort of legendary tale that was going to be passed down from generation to generation of Weasleys?! Would Draco never be able to lift his head high up again whenever the tricky issue of The Punch was brought up?! Do they laugh and mock Draco across the dinner table, that little story purely meant for comic value?!
"Hey, there's no need to look so embarrassed. Dad brings it up only when Uncle Harry goes on and on about you like you're Merlin's gift from Heaven, that sort of thing," Rose grinned and returned her wand to the table.
"Does Harry, by any chance, lecture your father whenever he mentions it?" Draco asked casually, feeling rather eager to know the answer. Does Harry show his faithful devotion and affection and play the part of the perfect gentleman to defend Draco's honor by punching that Weasley squarely in the nose?!
"Nah, Uncle Harry laughs about it along with the rest of us, actually."
…
So much for being gentlemanly, Draco scoffed inwardly and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Sorry if I was a bit scary just now. Mom warned us about a frequent spate of robberies in the area, so I had to be more cautious," Rose winced and shrugged her shoulders apologetically, packing up her textbooks and studying paraphernalia.
Oh, great. Now I'm being told that I look like a bloody mugger, and add that along with The Punch, I'm practically a laughing stock!
"Mom's told Uncle Harry about the burglaries and to be extra attentive these days, but does he listen?! Nooooooo he doesn't! Merlin, if you were actually a robber, I could be dead right now and he wouldn't even know! Off playing with Hugo all the time, blasting music so loud, completely oblivious of the fact that I've got an important Charms test tomorrow that I simply have got to get a perfect score on it if I want to maintain my grades," Rose rambled darkly, cursing suddenly when a stack of notes fell from her arms.
Draco bent down and retrieved it for her, his sharp eyes instantly noticing the scrupulously neat handwriting, complete with perfectly dotted i's and crossed t's. Some sentences and key words were circled, along with colorful little tags that stuck out from between the well-thumbed pages. Draco could infer that Rose took after her mother very much in terms of studying habits.
Rose thanked Draco politely before she disappeared momentarily into her room to dump her things on her study table. After that, the redhead crossed over to the room beside hers and smirked in front of the slightly ajar door.
"May I now present to you the magnificent dancing duo of Harry Potter and Hugo Weasley!" Rose trilled softly and opened the door with a flourish.
Draco's eyes widened in wonder and he clamped his hands against his mouth, stifling his bubble of laughter. Beside him, Rose's lips quirked up in a sly grin, knowing that she definitely was going to get an earful from Harry for releasing this unglamorous sight of him to his dear beloved.
But it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT, YOU LIKE TO-" Harry bellowed mightily, thrashing his arms inelegantly like a crazed ape. His eyes shut tight, the brunette shook disconcertingly from side to side and whooped maniacally. He struck a manly pose before letting Hugo take over.
"MOVE IT!" the young boy hollered zealously, his short chubby legs kicking delightfully up in the air and his tiny hands gripping fistfuls of Harry's hair. Hugo's small body swayed as he perched on top of Harry's shoulders and flashed a gooey grin. Harry held onto Hugo's feet, tickling the little rolls of fat on his ankles, causing Hugo to giggle. Their backs were facing the door, so when Harry heard Draco's voice, he was so shocked that he almost dropped Hugo.
"Well, well, Harry. Rather decent attempt, but I doubt you'll be winning any dance competitions in the near future," the blond drawled smoothly, his arms crossed and his slim build leaning against the wall. Harry was immediately enveloped in a full-body blush oh God, how much did he see- and he shot a wounded glare in the direction of a snickering Rose.
"Think about it in this way, Uncle Harry. You did a real good job of entertaining our guest," Rose joked.
"W-Who's that?" Hugo piped up timidly from his position behind Harry's legs, his fingers holding tightly onto the backs of Harry's bare knees. Hugo's hair wasn't as red as his sister's, having a coppery-brown hue to it, reminiscent of Hermione. But a light smattering of freckles adorned his cheeks, which were flushed red from the excitement and activity earlier.
"That's Mister Draco Malfoy," Rose said before going over and swooping her gurgling younger brother up in her arms.
"Mister Draco Malfoy?! The man that Mommy punched when-"
"Yes we went over that a few minutes ago," Rose hurriedly interrupted in a rush, noting the thunderous expression on Draco's face.
"And you're the one that Uncle Harry likes so much! Isn't he, Rosie?!" Hugo clapped his hands, his face erupting into an electric smile. "Uncle Harry talks so much about you!"
"I don't talk about him that much," Harry protested meekly. A triumphant smirk was splashed across Draco's face, and he licked his lips unconsciously while his hungry grey eyes clocked every delicious detail of Harry's body. Rose smiled, one side of her mouth hiking up in an upwards arch as she wagged a finger admonishingly. Hugo looked at his sister and promptly followed suit, shaking his own finger at Harry.
"You moon and simper over him all the time, Uncle Harry!"
"Do not!" Harry flailed, but his denials faltered when both Weasleys stared at him owlishly like a pair of professors.
"I mean, maybe, you know, just a bit. A little bit, only, mind you!" Harry conceded eventually, his face having gone all pink. Draco, on the other hand, was gaping openly at Harry's chest, which was clad in a thin white shirt.
Sweet Salazar, were those his… nipples?!
Draco tried to rein in his imagination that was running wild and turning inside out. The blond quickly averted his gaze and gulped, choosing to stare steadfastly at the floor instead, trying as hard as he could to rearrange his thoughts in a way that didn't involve Harry without his clothes.
"I'll see you outside, Draco? Please do make yourself comfortable. Need to sort these two out first," Harry said as he reached over and pinched both Rose and Hugo's cheeks affectionately.
The blond nodded and wandered outside aimlessly. He found himself back in the hall and looking at the clock that attracted his attention last week. This time, the arrows of Hugo and Rose were pointed towards 'Home', while Ron and Hermione's were indicating 'Fun!!!'. Should be out on a date, Draco surmised, his eyebrows raised speculatively.
Draco hesitated for a bit before settling himself stiffly on the very edge of the couch, his knees jammed uncomfortably together. The blond frowned when he saw a sheet of parchment lying discarded below the table. It appeared to be one of Rose's notes. Leaning his elbow on one of the cushions, Draco was reaching over to pick the paper up for her-
And then he heard a very ominous-sounding crack.
Draco closed one eye and slowly peeked under the cushion, suspicious of what he'd find underneath. If it's anything expensive, I can probably buy a new one-
He fished out a soft toy in the shape of a little yellow mouse with two pointy black ears and a pair of obscenely red cheeks, along with a frizzy, lightning-shaped tail. It had obviously been bought a long time ago, judging by the tail that was twisted until it was out of shape and the little bite marks on its ears. A tiny stretch of the seams were coming apart, and Draco could see clumps of stuffing leaking out.
His lower lip curled in disgust, Draco held as little of the toy as he could with his thumb and his forefinger gingerly, wondering what on earth could have created the cracking sound, and hoping that he could rectify it before anyone discovered.
But it was too late; Draco already heard light, skipping footsteps and childish laughter coming from the hallway.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Draco. I think we can-" Harry started, then stopped short when he saw what Draco was holding. Hugo jumped and zoomed merrily towards the astonished blond.
"Pikachu! You found my Pikachu! I was wondering whether it had gone to! You're brilliant, Mister Malfoy!" Hugo cheered loudly and cuddled his precious toy to his face. With that, the little boy beamed happily and poked the mouse in the stomach with his thumb, waiting expectantly for something.
Nothing happened.
A droplet of sweat trickled down the side of Draco's face.
A little scowl marring his angelic face, Hugo impatiently prodded the toy again with more force. This time, the Pokemon dutifully croaked out a distorted warbling sound, before emitting a horrendous screeching shriek that sounded like a chicken being slaughtered.
"Mister Malfoy, did you… did you spoil it?" Hugo whispered in shock, his voice and his lower lip trembling.
"I didn't mean to! I didn't see it!" Draco demurred, shaking his head and his hands wildly.
"Just b-because my mommy p-punched you-"
Oh for Merlin's bloody, sodding sake!
"I'll buy you a new one! It's so old and ratty anyway!" Draco said out loud without thinking, then immediately wished that he could take it back when he saw Hugo's aghast expression.
"I-It's not old! I-It's m-my toy and I love it! I-I thought you were nice, Mister Malfoy! I d-don't want my Uncle Harry going out with you anymore!" Hugo wailed, his starfish fingers still clutching at poor Pikachu.
A horrified Draco surreptitiously inched away.
Hugo's shoulders were shaking with increasing dismay, and his huge, baby seal eyes were becoming rounder and rounder and his breaths were becoming shorter and faster and his lips were quivering more and more with each passing second and like a volcano having the biggest explosion of all time, an utterly distraught Hugo Weasley swallowed a humungous gulp of air before promptly bursting into a roaring fountain of tears.
...
Holy shit.
Draco's eyes immediately latched onto Harry, pleading eloquently for rescue, but to his chagrin, Harry was nowhere to be seen. Only Rose remained, and she quickly rushed to Hugo, rubbing her brother's back soothingly. And the bloody boy was practically screaming in his face, that brat-
And where was his alleged knight in shining armor? How could Harry abandon him at this time of need, at this period of dire straits?! Probably ran off with no idea what to do, that good-for-nothing, Draco fumed silently. But before Draco could finish his internal tirade, Harry tore into the scene, armed with a pair of grape-flavored ice lollies, Hugo's favorite. Rose straightaway took the hint and accepted the lollies, thrusting one into Hugo's face and leading him gently away. True to his word, Harry heaved a sigh of relief when Hugo's ear-shattering sobs abated.
"What's his problem?!" Draco yelped, gesturing indignantly to Hugo's retreating back.
"Don't tell me you didn't have a soft toy when you were young too, Draco," Harry smiled and said calmly, an amused glint shining in his eyes when Draco fidgeted and looked away uneasily.
Hmmm, there's something off here…
"It's not as though I mentally scarred him for life," Draco huffed, glowering, but his features gradually softened. "Please convey my apologies to Granger and Weasley. I really didn't mean to spoil it. It was an accident, really. I'll get a new one for him-"
"Hey, it's alright. He'll recover easily. Don't worry about it, okay?" Harry said softly, squeezing Draco's arm tenderly and dropping a lovely kiss on the back of his hand. The blond stiffened, his eyes slowly moving up to meet Harry's. The air was thrumming sweetly with a low voltage fizzing sensation, and a shimmer of anticipation rippled addictively through Draco's body. He tried to still the tumult and chaos of sexual desire raging in his brain, but it simply refused to settle. Harry was giving him that potent gaze again, and the blond was losing himself in the dark, lush languor of the brunette's eyes, this shudder of longing reverberating all the way down to the hollows of his stomach-
"So what can I do for you?" Harry murmured, a fingernail drawing tiny little circles on Draco's wrist.
Have sex with me.
…
What?! No, Draco, nooooooo!
"Why are you dressed like this?" Draco blurted out unwittingly, dislodging his hand from Harry's grip and shifting away slightly.
Harry looked down at his attire and gestured to his shirt and shorts. "When I'm out with you, I tend to take more time to dress up. But when I'm at home or here, I don't really pay much attention to what I wear. I'm not a huge fan of ironed pants and collared shirts, frankly."
"Oh…" Draco's sentence petered out, and he suddenly felt like a schoolboy that had messed up his lines on stage. "I'm here because… um…" Think, Draco, think! What's been happening recently? "About your birthday! Yeah, you didn't give me any details!" Draco finished with satisfaction, glad that he had come up with a decent excuse in the nick of time.
"Next Friday," Harry rattled off the address of the bar where the party was being held. "Does this mean that you'll be there?" the ex-Gryffindor said, pleased.
"I'll have to check my schedule, but I think I can make it. Harry, I…I won't know anyone there. Wouldn't you rather… go out with me separately on another day instead?" Draco proposed, a confused whirlwind of emotions bombarding him. Half of him really wanted to be there with Harry, because he felt that it was rather selfish to make Harry choose between him and his friends, but the other part of him savored the cherished, uncomplicated warmth he's mine and I don't want to share- and intimacy that both men experienced.
"Then it won't be on my birthday, silly. How about this? You can come by later, I'll think of some excuse to leave early, and we can go out after that, just the two of us. Will that be better?"
"Yes, it would," Draco smiled at Harry, feeling a fluttery fairground feeling he's willing to… leave early because of… me- in his bones.
"And if you're wondering, I miss you too," Harry leaned forward, a cheeky whiplash grin on his face. His voice had dropped and turned smoky and deep with lust as the brunette moved closer, holding both of Draco's hands in his own.
"W-Who said that I missed you," Draco muttered, breaking up into slivers of shyness and awkwardness at being found out. His pale cheeks were touched slightly by scarlet and the blond looked at their entwined hands.
"I know we haven't been going out for a long time, but I definitely know that if you really wanted to settle such a trivial matter such as the next time that we're meeting, you would have owled me instead of dropping by yourself. That's why I know that you miss me, and I'm going to tell you again that I really, really miss you too," Harry repeated quietly, lacing his fingers around Draco's palms protectively.
Just the two of us.
With those words ringing pleasantly in his heart, Draco carefully reached up, pulled Harry closer and wrapped his arms around his neck.
They stayed like that for a long time.
Stupid, stupid Potter.
The blond stared incredulously at him.
"Not going to invite me in?" Harry said, throwing in one of his trademark winks.
"How did you get in?! And why are you here?! It's only Monday today!" Draco squawked, thinking that he sounded slightly hysterical. Merlin, was his hair alright? He knew he should have dropped by the loo to fix that stray curl of blond hair that kept poking him in the bloody eye-
"Don't make Millicent sound like some sort of guard dog," Harry smiled at Draco's flustered expression and the furtive way he was patting consciously at his slightly tousled fringe. "Just wanted to drop by and see you, and give you this." With that, Harry placed a bowl of piping hot soup in front of Draco, taking special care not to spill any onto the crisp documents that were scattered on Draco's office table.
But Draco was craning his head, his eyes widening in bewilderment when he saw a thrilled Millicent tucking into her own portion of soup, courtesy of Harry.
"Seems like I don't really need to make an appointment to see you, hmmm?" Harry said in a lilting tone, his lips quirking up into an impudent grin.
"But… but you're only allowed to see me once a week! You can't just bend the rules to your liking!" Draco spluttered, refusing to acknowledge how his heart was practically floating joyously on thin air upon seeing Harry.
"Someone went to the tremendous trouble of Flooing over to Ron's place yesterday simply because he wanted to see me. Seems like you made the first move in breaking the rules first, Mister Malfoy," Harry purred teasingly, those brilliant green eyes dancing cheekily.
"And this is for you too," Harry continued, pulling out a slim Muggle mobile phone and handing it to a stupefied Draco. "No one else has the number of this phone except me."
"What use would I have for this?" Draco knew what it was, of course, but he didn't understand why Harry was giving it to him as a gift. The blond frowned and turned it over curiously in his hands, the pads of his fingers exploring the sleek, foreign buttons of the device.
"I wanna call you and hear your voice every night before I go to sleep," Harry replied succinctly, loving how the other man immediately looked down to the floor, trying unsuccessfully to conceal the gentle blush on his cheeks.
"We're not going to be one of those lovey-dovey couples that talk on the phone for hours before spending half an hour saying goodnight to each other. So you can take it back because it's not going to happen," Draco said staunchly, replacing the mobile firmly on the table. A small part of Draco knew that that Harry would probably be all disappointed and downcast and then Draco wouldn't be able to say no and he'll end up taking the damn phone back anyway.
"I would be a fool if I had expected that. I think even someone as busy as you could actually spare five minutes for a man desperate for your affections every night, no?" Harry coaxed, pushing the phone towards Draco.
"Well… if you put it like that," Draco sniffed haughtily and pocketed the phone. What did he think he was playing at, huh? Harry turning up in his office unannounced was an unprecedented maneuver, and Draco felt uneasy at how Harry was manipulating the direction of this whole arrangement. And the way Harry had moved so close to him last week was downright disgraceful but it didn't seem as though you had any problems with it, hmmm… That was it! Draco was going to give the cocky brunette a proper lecture on what exactly was allowable conduct-
"Do you know how innocent you look when you blush? Do you know how much I love it when you tremble and shiver whenever I touch you? I know it's only been a day since I've last seen you, Draco, but I can't stop thinking about you," Harry whispered tantalizingly, the raw heat in his eyes rendering Draco silent. The ex-Gryffindor let his thumb lazily stroke the heated skin of Draco's cheeks for a few moments before stepping away reluctantly.
"See you on Friday, gorgeous," Harry murmured invitingly and shot Draco a coy, sexy look before slinking out of the room, not bothering to close the door behind him. Draco watched shamelessly, trying not to sigh dreamily when he gazed lustfully at Harry's cute bum sashaying as he strolled suavely down the hallway.
No, no, no, no! This was all wrong! It was Harry who was supposed to be losing control, not Draco! Groaning heavily to himself, Draco let his forehead fall onto the table, his mind failing to banish the risqué images of Harry's arse and body. Merlin, he was practically drooling at the man! This was completely uncalled for! The tables were turned and the fulcrum of this power play was shifting steadily towards Harry's favor.
And Draco wasn't sure whether he liked that at all.
"What's the meaning of this?!"
"It's… it's a letter, Potter. It's a letter from me telling you that I can't make it to your party tonight."
"And you didn't even have the guts to tell it to me straight to my face. You promised, Draco! And you're blowing it off simply because of a last-minute business trip!"
"My work always comes first. Besides, you'll just be missing one person if I don't go. Now if you'll excuse me-"
"Stop packing your damn files and listen to me! It won't be the same without you, please… I… really want to see you tonight. We never did go out properly-"
"I would appreciate it greatly if you moved out of my way, Potter."
"Sometimes I don't think you know how sodding irresponsible, irritating and… infuriating you can get-"
"Moving onto words starting with the letter J next, aren't we? Please don't expect me to waste any more time on this topic. My Portkey's already waiting for me. I expect an owl from you detailing a suitable arrangement for our next date, which will take place next week."
"… Fine. Fine. Thanks for the happy bloody birthday!"
"I hate how he thinks he's so superior, so goddamn proud and so downright snobbish all the damn time! It's as though I mean nothing to him!" Harry ranted, clenching his half-empty bottle of Firewhiskey tighter in his curled fist and taking a long swig from it.
They were sprawled on the steps outside the bar that Ron and Harry's co-workers had booked to celebrate Harry's birthday. Ron could still hear the faint bass beat of the club music raging on inside. Instead of holding a party at Harry's flat, they had decided to do things differently this year, mostly because of Harry's promotion to Head of the Unspeakables Department five months ago.
"There's no use getting so worked up over this," Ron pacified and gently pried the Firewhiskey from Harry's agitated grip, but Harry held onto it fast and shrugged Ron off roughly. The redhead sighed and leaned back, gazing at his best friend of sixteen years.
"Sometimes I'm just so confused, so tired of wondering what he's thinking all the time. I've done all that I can to show him how sincere I am, but it's so disheartening at times. Maybe I went a bit too far last week with the touching and everything, but he didn't seem to be mad about it! I wish I could know what's going on in that crazy mind of his, how I can understand him better… I just wish…" Harry hiccupped and brusquely wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He placed the bottle down on the dusty ground, his elbows slipping from his knees despondently and his green eyes lowered sadly. Harry looked deflated, as though all the fight and energy had gone out of him. The brunette's face was blemished with hurt and anger, disappointment churning around him like the thickest gloom.
"Am I… Am I not good enough for him? Sure, I don't sit in a cushy office the whole damn day and get featured in magazines and stuff, and I don't jet around the sodding world meeting all those rich people all the damn time, but… but I do my job well, don't I?" Harry muttered doubtfully in an alcohol-drenched voice as he glugged down his drink desperately.
"Harry! Listen to yourself getting so bloody hung up over Malfoy! You're one of the best Unspeakables in the Ministry! Do you remember all the times we've stuck our necks out for the sake of our jobs, Harry?! It's your birthday today, for sod's sake! Come on, get yourself together! You've been fine without him for the past twenty-seven years, haven't you? Why should this year be any different, eh?" Ron flared up indignantly, his lips pursed in disapproval while he grabbed Harry's arm and shook him to his senses.
A silent bolt of lightning roiled and burnt amongst the clouds, ripping the night sky into half. The wind, harsh, cold and biting, sliced the air like a sword. Harry scowled darkly and downed another mouthful of Firewhiskey.
"Damn right you are, Ron. I don't need him anyway. He's just a stupid, stupid… person!" Harry slurred, his words carelessly thought out and tumbling out in a mess under his haze of inebriation.
The cyst of outrage lurking in Harry was taking root again, masking the bruising in his heart. He felt a gnawing hunger itching all over him relentlessly, eating away at him. Harry didn't get his proper weekly dosage of Draco this week, and he was pissed.
"Been doing fine up till now, haven't I? Who did I have before him? Joshua, wasn't it? I'mma have fun tonight, Ron, I'mma have so much fun tonight that I'll forget all about him!" Harry blustered, his breath hissing between his teeth testily and his lips welded together in furious resolve. Galvanized into action, the brunette tipped the whole bottle of Firewhiskey down his throat, licked his lips greedily, tossed the empty bottle carelessly on the floor and staggered back to where his party was held.
"Harry!" Ron called out, getting to his feet. A twinge of worry sparked in Ron. He knew that whenever Harry was under the influence of alcohol, he would get frisky, his hands going everywhere and anywhere. Add that fact together with the presence of Joshua tonight, who had been Harry's ex and was still working in the Ministry currently, the end result might be a bit… troubling.
But it was no one's fault that Malfoy refused to turn up! It was only right for the birthday boy to enjoy himself today, wasn't it? He doesn't need babysitting! I'll keep an eye on him, and when he does anything too much I'll be there to stop him, Ron promised himself gravely before following Harry back to the bar.
Draco hoped that Harry would like the present.
Pushing back a delinquent twirl of the ribbon with his finger, Draco smiled and increased his pace, eager to see Harry again. The blond had tried to wrap up things as fast as possible that evening when he had been away, and Millicent had been wonderful to volunteer to stay a bit longer alone to tie up some loose ends. With today's affairs settled, Draco's mind was finally at ease.
He didn't know why he felt so guilty and ashamed after the heated words that he had exchanged with Harry that afternoon. His work would always take precedence over his relationships, and it shouldn't have been an exception for Harry. Draco's performance and concentration had been less than stellar during the meeting, his inattentive mind drifting off to the frustrated and distressed expression cut into Harry's face.
The present had been something that he had picked up randomly at one of the gift shops at Portkey Central. Because of a few problems that had cropped up unexpectedly during work that week, the priority of getting Harry's birthday gift had been pushed to the back of his mind, and that negligence only made Draco feel worse. Maybe I'll take some time off work and get a really nice present for Harry to make it up to him, Draco thought, beaming.
It was already rather late, but Draco could still hear the music and rowdy guffaws in the bar still going on strong. The blond stood outside on the steps for a moment, his toes wriggling in his shoes, skewers of hesitation and apprehension climbing up his spine. He was quite sure that he wouldn't really know anyone there, but…
Just the two of us.
Draco hitched his back up straighter, squared his shoulders and stepped over the threshold into the mind-numbing cornucopia of smoke, alcohol, people and music so loud that it could make your heart palpitate.
Draco squinted and scanned the scene in front of him rapidly. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a very drunk and practically comatose Ron Weasley, his tall body draped languorously over a few stools at the counter. Granger was standing beside him, sighing in exasperation as she half-heartedly flicked droplets of cold water over her husband's face in a futile attempt to wake him.
When Hermione noticed Draco, her eyes went round with surprise. Nevertheless, she flashed the blond a friendly smile and waved at him. In reply, Draco blinked and nodded politely in her direction, but wasted no time in continuing his search for the brunette.
And then he saw him.
Immediately, as though it was a reflex action, Draco's fingers arched and clawed at the present, his nails unwittingly creating little tears on the wrapping paper when his gaze sharpened further and zoomed in on the exhibition happening at a darkened corner of the room.
The spectacle was tearing like barbed wire all the way into his eyes and his brain, and together with this droning sound that rang around his ears like a swarm of provoked bees, the feeling was unbearable. The echoing shock was fading, and raw anger, accompanied by a cold icicle of agony why does it hurt so much, I don't know- was rapidly materializing. There was a dull thump as the present which Draco had been so thrilled just seconds ago hit the floor forlornly like a broken dream.
and now my heart is breaking, breaking-
A painful sound, something that lingered in between a sob and a snarl, escaped from Draco's lips.
There stood Harry Potter, his grasping, squeezing hands moving, hot and fast, across a tanned, toned chest that didn't belong to Draco- and his tongue thrust wildly down his ex-boyfriend's throat.
/tbc
Finally, some trouble in paradise.
Review! (: