Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and characters belongs to J.K. Rowling, unfortunately not me.

A/N: Shoutout to Ern Estine 13624, Kigen Dawn, and Sarahamanda Klaine for faithfully reviewing and sharing their thoughts :)

Chapter 23

Draco sat in his study, sprawled out on the couch, drunker than he would like to admit. He had come home from dropping off Scorpius at the Hogwarts Express and felt himself drift into depression almost immediately. The only logical next step for him was to start drinking, as was his usual routine after dropping off his son ever since the divorce. The alcohol had the opposite of the desired effect, however, as all it did was make him contemplate just how alone he was. Not only was his son gone, but the situation with Harry was making him anxious. He knew that Harry planned on discussing the divorce with his wife once their kids were back at Hogwarts, but he didn't know when exactly. Was it today? A week from now? Three months from now? And what if when he brought it up to Ginny she convinced him to stay with her? They had so much history, how the bloody hell could Draco compete with that?

Draco sighed in frustration and raked his hands through his hair. He considered pouring himself another drink, but he was at the point where he had a feeling there was a higher chance that he would spill it than successfully pour it. Draco admitted to himself that it probably meant that he had had enough for the evening. It didn't stop him from debating inwardly about why he deserved another drink anyway. He was broken out of his very intoxicated thoughts by the sound of the Floo in the other room roaring to life.

Draco sat up quickly, feeling his head spin with the effort. He took a moment before standing up slowly to avoid more spinning. As he stumbled his way to the front hall, he cursed to himself that he didn't keep a sobering potion in the study. He had no idea who had dropped by without any notice, but he was pretty sure that they wouldn't want to see him this intoxicated. When he finally reached the foyer, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was standing there, obviously waiting for him. He was proud of himself for not falling over after his abrupt stop, but he did feel a blush rise to his already red cheeks as the stop was less than graceful. "Harry," he choked out quietly.

Harry gave him a small smile. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, only slurring slightly.

"Draco, are you drunk?" came Harry's response, blatantly ignoring the question.

Draco glared slightly before answering, although he was fairly certain that it came nowhere near the menace he wanted to convey. He sniffed haughtily before saying, "I may have had a few drinks." He annunciated each word slowly in hopes of sounding more sober.

"Scorpius?" Harry asked with a sympathetic smile. Draco nodded miserably, annoyed as he felt tears well in his eyes. He just barely kept himself from ranting about how utterly alone he was. "Here, I brought you something."

Draco bit his lip, trying his best to keep it together and peaked at Harry through the corner of his eye. Harry was holding out a small potions vial for him to take. He chuckled weakly. "Sobering potion?"

Harry nodded in response. "When it comes to the two of us, I figured it's better to be safe than sorry," he added with a wink and was surprised when Draco flung himself at him in an enthusiastic hug. "Alright, drunkie, let's go to the study, and you can tell me all about why you have apparently consumed an entire bottle of firewhisky."

Draco nodded into Harry's chest before leading them slowly to the study. He flopped down onto the couch one more time and swallowed the sobering potion in one gulp. When the potion kicked in, Draco felt himself flush in embarrassment. "Sorry about that," he mumbled, not wanting to meet Harry's eyes. "Dropping off Scorpius has always been hard for me...particularly after the divorce. This house is too damn big to be alone."

Harry laid a hand on Draco's arm. "About that…" he began awkwardly.

Draco raised one eyebrow in question. "Is this the part where you finally tell me why you're here?"

Harry nodded but didn't say anything. He simply chewed on his bottom lip. Draco could tell that Harry was anxious about something, and he vaguely acknowledged that there was a good chance that he should be anxious about what the other man was going to stay. Instead, all he could think about was how much he wanted to be the one biting Harry's bottom lip. This led to him imagining not only nipping at it but sucking on it and exploring the dark-haired man's gorgeous mouth with his tongue. Draco was thoroughly lost in his fantasy when Harry finally worked up enough nerve to talk. "So Ginny and I talked today…"

Draco's head snapped up from Harry's lips to his eyes. Draco could feel his heartbeat starting to speed up. "Well, Potter, she is your wife. I imagine you talk to her fairly often. Every day, even," he drawled in an attempt to cover up his insecurities, despite the fact that he knew exactly what Harry meant.

To Harry's credit, he didn't rise to the bait. Instead he responded with a chuckle. "Ha ha, Draco. Let me be more specific. Ginny and I discussed getting a divorce today."

Draco sucked in a deep breath, trying to slow his heart rate but was unsuccessful. "And?" he winced as he heard his voice crack in anticipation.

"Ginny knew what I wanted to say before I even said it. She then accused me of sleeping with someone else."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her the truth. I wasn't sleeping with someone, but there was someone I was interested in. She then demanded to know who it was."

Draco felt his throat start to close up in panic. "So what happened? She reminded you of all of the terrible things I did in my life and convinced you not to be with me, didn't she?" he couldn't help demanding.

Harry shook his head, and Draco felt himself relax the tiniest bit. "Pretty much the exact opposite. She burst out laughing and told me how much sense it made."

Draco gaped at him. "She laughed?" he asked in disbelief.

Harry nodded with a laugh of his own. "Yep, and then she told me she wanted a couple days to process everything before we make it public that we plan to divorce. She suggested I stay here in the meantime. So...can I stay here for a few days?" Harry gave him his most winningly hopeful smile.

"You're getting a divorce, and you want to stay here for a few days," Draco repeated slowly, not fully comprehending everything.

Harry began to bite his bottom lip once again, obviously nervous that Draco hadn't immediately said yes. When Draco finally processed what exactly Harry was asking him, he slid his hand to the back of the other man's neck and pulled him close, his lips meeting Harry's. The kiss was quick but full of promise. "So I'll take that as a yes?" Harry asked, somewhat breathlessly, only moving far enough back to be able to look Draco in the eye.

Draco nodded. "For as long as you need," he responded, the last word muffled as he pulled Harry back into a passionate kiss. When they finally pulled away several minutes later, it was only because they needed to come up for air. Draco's heart was bursting with happiness as he surveyed the man in front of him, the man, who if Draco had any say in the matter, would be his for the rest of their lives.

A/N: This might be the end. I haven't fully decided, but it seems like a natural place to stop. I'll at least write an epilogue. Tell me your thoughts! To continue or not to continue?