Draco leans against the ledge of the terrace and stares at the moon, which is in the third quarter phase today, but still giant from this part of town.
"Draco," Harry realizes he has followed Draco outside but has no idea what to say to him. He stares at the emerald chain glimmering in the moonlight, hanging beautifully around Draco's pale neck. "I don't know what to say." He admits to his omega. His. Draco is going to be his. Harry wishes his metabolism would allow him to get drunk faster because this is too much to handle.
"I am sorry." Draco means it too. "I am just not prepared for this."
"Being tied to a stranger for the rest of your life?" Harry leans against the ledge and stares at the hotel gardens, which are illuminated by the moonlight. "Yeah, I don't think anyone is ready for that."
"Except," Draco laughs a little, "I know you, Harry. I know you well. I have known you for the better part of a decade."
"That is an exaggeration." Harry takes off his suit jacket and wraps it around Draco who gives him an appreciative look. "I don't think we know each other at all, Draco."
"I know that you are smart, and noble and care about doing the right thing more than you care about anything else." Draco can't help but sniff the jacket collar. Harry smells good. The scent makes Draco feel warm and safe, something he hasn't felt in years.
"Draco," Harry misses his drink already. "Is it possible what you call noble is what the rest of the world calls common decency?"
"No," Draco shakes his head vehemently. His moral compass is shaky but he knows what good is, despite not having seen much of it in his parents or anyone else he associates with. "You are a good person, Harry." Too good for Draco, that's for sure.
Draco looks like an angel in the moonlight. It makes Harry want to do something stupid, like kissing him. He is definitely drunker than he thought. However, Harry is not planning on touching Draco before or after their wedding night. After that is a life of platonic intimacy that will keep them alive enough to enjoy the mundane realities of life.
"I thought," Draco feels stupid saying this considering how bad his parents' marriage is, but something about Harry's expression compels him to be honest. "I thought alpha-omega pairs are soul mates."
"Oh," Harry runs a hand through his wind tousled hair, making it worse. "Well, the biology behind it is…"
Draco groans, ready for a lecture.
Harry frowns and keeps it short. "That physical compatibility drives the bonding process."
"Meaning…?"
"We will have healthy children together because our bodies are made for each other and complement each other." Harry blushes, it's obvious in the moonlight.
Draco smirks, grabbing Harry's wrist and pulling him closer. "So, you are saying the fucking will be amazing?"
"Draco!" Harry whispers harshly, knowing that their families are close by. "Language."
"What?" Draco is as tall as Harry, but a lot leaner. Harry isn't overly muscled but his alpha body is stronger, as evidenced by the fact that the arm which wraps around Draco's waist feels like a band of steel. "We are stuck in this situation, might as well enjoy it. Serves you right."
"Why?" Harry cannot think critically right now. He understands where the caveman description for alphas comes from because Draco's pheromones are starting to get to him. He was never one of those alphas who lost control around omegas but considering this is his omega, his brain is telling him to make a move on Draco.
"I propositioned you in third year," Draco grabs Harry's tie, admiring the silk of it. "You turned me down."
"What?" Harry blinks, trying to shake off the spell Draco has him in. "You did not. I would have remembered that."
"Yes, I did." Draco clearly remembers asking Harry to come back to his room, and the TA had rolled his eyes and went back to his thick textbook. "You are kind of stupid for a smart man."
"I…" Harry tries to remember when something like that would have happened. "Draco," He reaches for his glasses but forgets he hadn't worn them for some reason. "Is this a joke? Are you messing with me?" Draco can be quite manipulative and gaslighting comes naturally to Malfoys. Despite his angelic appearance, Harry knows what Draco can accomplish when he gets into his mean-girl phase.
"No," Draco pulls away from Harry, "I tried to get you to come home with me, and you refused. You clearly don't get sexual signals."
"I have had my fair of sexual signals." Harry huffs. He is attractive, and now that he is a doctor, he gets more attention than ever. He doesn't want any of it. He is married to his work.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco crosses his arms and cocks his head to the side. Omegas definitely have a universal angry pose because Harry has seen Remus do this to Sirius many times.
"I…" Harry recognizes that look on Draco's face well and knows better than to piss off his (he will never get used to thinking of Draco as his) omega any further. "Nevermind."
"Go on," Draco narrows his eyes, and Harry can see hints of Draco from their undergraduate days. Despite his soft, alluring appearance, Draco is still very much himself. Harry finds the fiery attitude attractive. He tries not to delve into why. His mother was a very strong omega, and so is Remus. Harry would be very disappointed if he got stuck with a docile, mindless creature. "Who sent you these signals? Was it Weasley?"
"Uh," Harry stammers. Ginny is, was, Harry corrects himself because she is the past now, as boring as Harry. She sent no signals and Harry was happy to not receive any. "No."
"Who sent you these signals?" Draco's voice drops dangerously low. "Have you been with other submissives?"
Harry never was a good liar. Considering he is going to bond with Draco, and their minds are going to be linked, he needs to practice being open to his soon-to-be mate. "Yes."
Draco stares at Harry disbelievingly. "Who?"
"You cannot possibly stand here and judge me," Harry responds just as disbelievingly. "You slept with half our graduating class."
"Who was it?" Draco is physically weaker than Harry but the alpha feels fear nonetheless.
"Cedric," Harry responds and immediately winces considering the thunderous expression on Draco's face.
"That slut!" Draco declares and starts to walk away from Harry. "I will have him killed."
"No, you will not." Harry rushes and grabs his omega by the waist again. "Draco, he was dying."
"He is dead?" Draco isn't proud of how hopeful he sounds, but he is aware of it, and that self-awareness has taken him considerable time to accomplish. He considers it personal growth.
"He found his mate," Harry remembers Cedric in the hospital during his first year of medical school., Being the only unmated alpha on the ward, Harry had to comfort him through it while the Diggory family did a final, desperate search for Cedric's mate. All of Harry's fellow doctors (and some nurses) had congratulated him on bedding such a beautiful omega. Cedric himself had thanked Harry and so had Cho. It still felt wrong and Harry can't help but think these archaic mating rituals need to be done away with.
Draco looks defeated all of a sudden. "Was there anyone else?"
"No," Harry promises. "I haven't been going around, deflowering omegas, Draco. Surgery doesn't leave a lot of time for that."
"So," Draco's chest heaves as he tries to calm himself down. "You had sex with Cedric for medical reasons." Omegas die without finding their alphas all the time. Alphas go on to live without meeting their omegas and learn to accept the pain. Medicine tries to intervene, but unfortunately, this is a reality for many dominants and submissives.
"Yes," Harry says, suddenly feeling intensely guilty and bad. It's an icky feeling and he has a strong suspicion that Draco's forgiveness will absolve him of this emotional pain. "It was before I knew you were my mate. I honestly never thought I would find my omega."
"Did you look?" Lucius turned heavens and earth apart looking for Draco's mate. It seemed like a one-sided search to Draco.
"No." Harry bows his head in shame.
"Why not?" Draco blinks, suddenly finding himself teary-eyed. "You knew I would die without you. Why didn't you care?"
"I was committed to Ginny," Harry had resigned himself to a painful, boring life with a beta by his side. He liked his boring life quite honestly. "And I didn't know what I would find."
"Me," A tear falls down Draco's face but he doesn't care. "You were afraid you would find someone like me. Someone you don't want."
"Yes," Harry admits, much to Draco's horror. "I never would have picked you as my mate."
Draco nods, "You can be free Harry." He removes the emerald necklace around his neck with care and hands it to Harry. "Go save as many omegas as you want." He pulls away from Harry and starts walking away. Harry doesn't follow, partly because he doesn't want to and partly because Snape won't let him.