Everyone was sleeping soundly, Hadrian's scar on his forehead unmasked by the concealer. He was cuddled into Draco sleeping warmly, and without a dream. It was peaceful, quiet, lovely. Draco smiled in his sleep content and happy.
In another room Blaise was tossing and turning. The young Italian dreaming of the worst night of his life. The reason why he was such a fickle man, why he could never stay with one woman, why his type was always blonde with blue eyes, but the eyes were never the ones he'd been searching for.
He was just twelve living with his mother, and on this day she was late for work. It was supper time, with Blaise sitting alone, hungry, and alone at the kitchen table. His mother was never really home. He heard the door creak as it came open, he heard his mother's giggling.
"Mum?" Blaise asked, and she came bursting into the kitchen with the hugest smile on her pale skin, her fair hair a complete opposite of Blaise's.
"Oh Blaise he's asked me to marry him!" The boy pretended to be excited for his mom, but this was already her fourth marriage. Suddenly the door opened again, and Blaise peered around his mother to see a small scrawny boy with to big hands, and huge blue eyes.
Blaise rolled over in his sleep getting closer to the edge of the bed.
"His name is Zacharias…" She said but Blaise didn't really hear her, he was to occupied with looking at this little boy that looked years younger than him, but he knew he was his own age. Zacharias tried to step in to the kitchen, but there was a little step, and he stumbled, completely unable to save himself. He feel with a fleshy smacking sound as his face connected to the hard wood floor.
Blaise was pushing his mother out of the way rushing to the boy before she even registered what had happened.
"Are you okay!" Blaise asked feeling completely anxious. So worried for the boy still lying on the floor.
The Italian man's brows were drawn together as he dreamed. His hand twitching like he wanted to hold someone.
"Zacharias…" he whispered aloud in his sleep.
"Come on, you're okay." Blaise whispered pulling the boy up. Zacharias was wide-eyed completely stunned with embarrassed shock. Then the blood trickled down from his forehead, and he began to cry. Big shoulder shaking sobs.
"Oh make him stop Blaise. Go take him to clean up." His mother said, she could never stand crying. Blaise picked the boy up taking him to the bathroom.
"Don't worry about her, she's not very motherly, but she's okay." Blaise said pulling out rubbing alcohol and band aids. Zacharias just stared at Blaise. His hair a much, much lighter blonde then. Longer too falling in his eyes. He was so small, weak, and clumsy with his limbs to long. He had a lot of growing up to do to fill out his body.
'I have to protect him..' Was the first thought that drifted through Blaise's twelve year old mind. It was around then that Blaise realized that he fell in love with that gawky little boy.
He sat up in bed breathing hard. Just a year after that Blaise had confessed, kissing the other boy. It had blew up in his face. Zacharias had ran away nearly in tears. And just a month after that his father divorced Blaise's mother, and they didn't see each other until they were both eighteen. Even then it took forever before it wasn't awkward, but Blaise wanted it to work so bad, He needed to be near Zacharias. Even if he would only let them be friends.
It was always hard for Blaise to sleep when he visited Zacharias. All the things he wanted, but couldn't have haunted him. It was like torture, but he always came back for more. He couldn't resist it. Seeing the boy he had been in love with since he was twelve was like giving water to a dying man.
The Italian didn't feel like he could sleep anymore. He wanted to wake up Zacharias and confess all over again, like he wanted to do every night he was staying with Zacharias, and every day.
Zacharias woke again. The third time that night. He knew that Blaise was stressed at having to be here. Having to be around Zacharias when he had so horribly rejected him. How many times after that day he wanted to go straight to Blaise and tell him that he loved him to, that he only ran away that day because he was afraid. Afraid of the new feelings Blaise made him feel.
He knew that Blaise still liked him, but how could he just go to him and tell him that he actually did love the Italian and that all these years that they had been awkwardly going about each others lives could have been spent together?
They had just let things get so bad. Bad enough that they made themselves think that they couldn't be together. It was the stupidest thing in the world.
Hadrian woke for no reason, he just felt incredibly sad. It was strange. He could feel the sadness from out side of him not inside. Like it was drifting from some where else and infecting him. He stretched and slid from the bed feeling like someone, some force was asking him to do something. Hadrian realized it was himself, Harry who wanted this, who observed from inside him, and saw something that needed to be helped, that Hadrian himself didn't realize. His body lead him to Zacharias' door. A small marred hand pushing it open.
"Zacharias, its me." The words came out of Hadrian's mouth but he couldn't be sure who me was. At least this time Hadrian was conscious of Harry slipping through, perhaps that meant that their merging was closer.
Zacharias was sitting with his hands in his hands, and nearly fell off the edge of the bed when Hadrian startled him. The child moved into the room to stand besides him, touching his wet cheek.
"There is no room for tears my friend." Hadrian said gently, his Scottish accent more pronounced as he tried to talk quietly with out whispering. There was a surprise in Zacharias' eyes as he saw the uncovered lightening bolt scar. Who Hadrian was suddenly clicking.
"Shh. I am your friend no matter who I am. Let me talk to you, help you with this. I can see a mate bond from a mile away now, and even though you haven't made the connection with him yet, I see it clear as day. You see a lot once you know what to look for, and only have the ability to observe." Zacharias' mouth opened and shut like he was trying to say something, but finally shut his eyes and sighed.
"I don't know what to do. You see it don't you Lille? How this effects him, how I'm hurting him?" He said miserably, his hand taking the one at his cheek. Cupping it in both hands gaining all the comfort from it he could.
"He causes himself pain, that twit, both of you cause yourselves pain." Hadrian chose to speak from his own thought pattern, using his other hand to stroke Zacharias' hair soothingly. "You love him you're supposed to be with him. Why wont you go to him?"
"Its been years of us avoiding this. How can I possibly tell him now that I really do love him and the time I ran from his confession was because I was afraid?" The man asked miserably.
"You walk into his room, apologize and let everything out. The only thing stopping you is fear of rejection, but he wont reject you. That Italian can be stubborn but he loves you, ever woman he has been with has looked like you, he could never get over you. Now go to him, then both of you get some sleep, you're making me keep the child awake, he needs to rest." Harry said from inside of Hadrian. The boy letting it happen with out a struggle, he was getting tired from this though. His need for sleep shutting him inside of himself.
"I'm tiring him out talking like this, take him to see the adult dragon's tomorrow. I'm curious to see what he does with them." Harry smiled feeling lighter than he had in years, feeling the merge between two personalities, coming closer to the time when they would be one, and things could be better. A new start, a second chance.
"Go to bed." Zacharias said sweetly releasing the boy to leave. Hadrian took one look back at the man realizing that he looked stronger than he had before, and it made a difference. He hoped that Blaise would look better in the morning as well. He needed some bettering.
Hadrian slipped into sleep as Harry lulled them back, laying close to Draco who still slept peacefully. He smiled as he curled up to a lovely dream of happy friends, and yummy breakfasts.
Blaise was re folding his trousers unable to sleep when he heard the quiet hesitant knock at his door. His had froze mid fold and let it crumple into the open drawer. Something in him tugged, and he knew exactly who was there.
He walked to the door, pausing to wipe his nervous hands on his pajama pants. Taking the extra moment to run a hand through his bed head. When he finally opened the door, Zacharias jumped half turned away like he was leaving. He probably thought that Blaise had been sleeping. How wrong he was.
"Hello." Blaise whispered having to look slightly upwards to get a view of those wonderful deep blue eyes. How they reversed! It used to be little Zacharias looking up to Blaise, now it was the other way around. Zacharias had grown so much, but he could still be that small weak child. Like he looked now. Defenseless, scared, and drawn inward.
"Get in here." He pulled the blonde man in to the room by his hand. Trying to let it go once the door was closed, but Zacharias's grip tightened. He looked to the floor shoulders hunched like he had something to say, but just didn't know how.
"Come on Zach, say what you have to, and go to bed. I don't need you falling to sleep in the dragon pin-"
"I love you!" Zacharias blurted startling Blaise, and cutting him off. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. He knew he had to say something with Zacharias looking at him like that. Like he would dye if Blaise didn't say anything and soon. There was just so many things that he wanted to say, that he always wanted to say.
'I love you too, I've always loved you, Glad you finally realized it.' nice things like that, but the first thing that finally managed to come out of his mouth wasn't exactly pleasant.
"Are you insane?" Zacharias released his hand like it was on fire. Taking a step back, mouth opening trying to tell him he was serious that he wasn't joking. He wanted to make Blaise understand, but years of hurt and surprise seemed to be making Blaise throw up a barrier.
"You think this is funny?" He ranted pacing back and forth unable to look at Blaise. "Couldn't sleep so you decided to pull one over on your old gay friend." The Italian stomped around for no reason, he was reacting exactly the opposite of how he really wanted, he just couldn't stop.
"I waited years for you to finally notice me. Wanted to be with you every moment of the day, to hold you and touch your hair, to see your big blue eyes light up when I made you laugh. There was so much I wanted but you would never give me you ran away! And I missed you so, so much-" suddenly arms were around him, and Blaise fell into them. He suddenly lost every thought he had, and felt that this is where he belonged.
"You shouldn't have had to wait that long. I'm so sorry Blaise, will you forgive me?" Zacharias said voice thick and deeper than usual. Blaise could only nod trying to hold back his tears. He could feel it now, that bond they had had as children, the mate bond. Of course he would forgive him. How could he not?
A heavy yawn escaped Blaise when he finally settled down, he could feel Zacharias sway on his feet too. Once they had concurred the cause for being plagued with sleepless night, their bodies seemed to want them to catch up on all the sleeps that were missed.
"Will you spend the night with me?" Blaise finally asked, being the bolder of the two.
"Of course. I feel completely stupid for not telling you this sooner. There was so much time that I wasted-" Blaise's lips silenced the words that Zacharias was planning to say. He really didn't want to hear anymore apologize. What's done was done so they could only move forward. He pulled Zacharias to the bed and pulled the covers back feeling completely exhausted. They climbed in cuddling in close, wanting the warmth of one another.
"Don't leave me again." Blaise said drifting into sleep lulled by the sound of Zacharias's heart beating steadily. Zacharias ran a hand up and down the other man's back comfortingly, ready to drift into dreams of happiness.
"I promise I wont ever leave." He whispered realizing that Blaise had fallen asleep. "I'd get bitten by a dragon before I willingly left you." He added before drifting of to sleep with his Mate.
Draco woke and realized it was already 11 o'clock. They already missed the breakfast served in the dinning hall. Hadrian was completely asleep, like a rock. He wouldn't even wake up when Draco lightly pushed him. Standing to stretch he started to leave to find Blaise and Zacharias, but Hadrian's little voice stopped him.
"You shouldn't wake them." He whispered his Scottish accent super pronounced while he was still half asleep. He slipped from the bed wobbling while trying to make his sleep addled brain move his limbs right.
"We did some talking, they did some talking, and now wouldn't you know it their Mates." Hadrian smiled taking Draco's hand.
"That's nice, so you said 'we' meaning?"
"Harry and I we did a little joint talking." Hadrian said simply Draco only nodded.
"Sounds like a weirdity that I should expect form you." He smiled down and Hadrian allowing himself to be dragged towards the kitchen, Hadrian obviously wanting some food to silence the grumble that just erupted from his belly.
Dragon time would just have to wait till later.
(Chapters are coming out slower than I'd like, but having to share a computer and Starting screen printing classes have made it difficult. So be patient I'm trying to be. Hope to have more chapters out in the next week. This ones also shorter than usual.)