There's an irritating beeping from somewhere near my ear that drags me from on of the best nights' sleep I've had in a long time. I groan, and am about to roll over to smash whatever it is that's making the noise when I feel a weight against my side shift, and a sharp finger digs into my ribs.

'Weasley,' grumbles a drawling voice, thick with sleep and irritation. 'Your watch is screaming.'

I look down, and a slight smile tugs at my lips as I take in the look Draco is giving me. His narrowed eyes and lowered eyebrows should tell me that he's angry, but his mussed hair and pink cheeks soften the effect. I can resist kissing his forehead, and murmur, 'So cute.'

He snorts, then rolls away from me to sit up on the edge of the bed. I fumble with my watch, pushing every button until it stops making that damn noise. When it's finally quiet, my eyes slide back to him. He's stretching, and I watch the plates of his shoulderblades slide under the pale skin of his back. He looks back over his shoulder at me, and tilts his chin in the direction of my wrist.

'What was the alarm for?'

'I've got to go into the office today.' I rub my eyes and groan at the prospect. I feel the mattress ease as he stands, and look up again to watch him shuffle around the side of the bed. He bends over a set of drawers on the wall opposite me, and turns back, a thick green towel clutched in his hand.

'You can use my shower, if you like.'

'Don't you want to join me?' I flash him a winning smile, and my stomach tightens slightly at the blush that creeps down his neck.

'Behave yourself,' he sniffs, though the corners of his lips curl up slightly as he throws the towel at me. I chuckle as I get up and head into the bathroom, leaving him standing in the bedroom behind me.

His bathroom is just as well designed as the rest of his flat. The whole room is decorated in chromes and dark grey stone-effect tiles. The shower cubicle is large, and when I switch on the shower the hot water thunders down on my skin. I groan as the pressurised water eases the stiffness in my muscles, and take my time washing myself, using that intoxicating shampoo and lathering it through my hair.

Finally I'm clean, and I step out of the shower and head back into the bedroom, the towel wrapped around my hips. I chuckle when I notice that he's folded my clothes in a pile on the edge of the neatly-made bed, and as I pull my shirt over my head I can smell that he's cast some sort of freshening charm over the articles.

Once dressed, I hang the towel on the rack in the bathroom, then head back to the bed and tug on the covers, removing the creases my clothes had made. I wonder vaguely how much it would get on my nerves if I had to constantly live up to these standards.

I leave the bedroom and follow the sounds of pots and pans, and find him in the kitchen, his body wrapped in a silky silver dressing gown that reaches his knees. I cross my arms and lean against the doorframe, watching. He's whirling round the room, making tea, shuffling a pan over the heat, buttering a thick white breadroll. He looks up, and sees me grinning at him.

'Don't just stand there, you're making the place look untidy.' His eyes glitter with amusement as I chuckle, and I make my way to the kitchen table, turning one of the chairs out so I can watch him as I sit. He moves gracefully around the kitchen for a few more minutes, then deposits a mug of tea and a bacon and egg sandwich in front of me. It smells divine, but I wait for him to sit before I pick it up. He only has a cup of tea in front of him.

'You're not eating?'

'I'll eat later,' he says dismissively, then sips his tea as I devour the sandwich. It tastes fantastic, and I groan around my mouthful. His face is pleased as I polish it off, then drain my tea.

'That was excellent.'

'Glad you liked it.' He's up again, and the dish and mug are gone. He heads for the kitchen sink, rolls up his sleeves, and begins to wash the crockery and pans that he used to make the breakfast. Without looking back he says, 'What time do you have to be at work?'

'Not til 9.' The lines of his back are quite distractingly obvious as the material of his dressing gown clings to his hips, his arse. It's like a siren call, and I get up silently from my chair and use my Auror training to sneak up behind him.

'You'll need to be leaving shortly then, if you don't want to be - ' His voice falters as I press my body against him, my hands coming up to grip the counter on either side of his hips.

'I've got time.' I lower my head to kiss the space between his shoulder and his neck, and he moans lightly, his head rolling subconsciously to the side to give me more access. I take advantage and run my tongue and teeth up the side of his throat, grinding my hips against his arse. He gasps as he feels how my body is reacting to the contact.

'Weasley.' That warning tone again. It does nothing to put me off. Instead, I raise one hand and slip it into the front of his robe. He gasps again, his wet hands dropping the cup he'd been holding back into the sink, and he also grips the counter edge. I run my rough palm over his soft skin, skimming over already hardening nipples, then sinking down, down -

'Well,' I purr in his ear as my hand meets his hot, naked hardness. 'Now I definitely can't leave yet.' He shivers in respose to my tone, to my exploring fingers. I raise both hands and fumble slightly with the tie around his waist, unfastening his robe. It falls open, and I splay my palms against his naked chest and stomach, pulling his body back against mine and grinding my hips again. 'That's very naughty of you, Draco, to be walking around the house with nothing on under your robe.'

'It's m-my house, Weasley,' he pants, but he's whimpering as one of my hands plays across his nipples, pinching, twisting, while the other slides down his stomach again, over his hips, and finally comes to rest in a loose grip around his hard cock. I slide my fingers up and down his length, my thumb gliding over the already slick slit at his tip with each pass. He presses his arse back into me, and I growl and nip at his neck.

'Tell me what you want.'

'P-please ... Ron ... ' His breathless tone is too much, and I don't even wait for him to finish begging. My hand tightens around him and I start pumping him in my fist. He cries out, his hands clamping down on the counter until his knuckles turn white. His head falls back against my shoulder and I grip his hip, holding him tighter to stop him squirming against me. I feel him throbbing in my hand as I stroke him, hard and fast, and his breaths are coming out in little pants now.

'Gods, you're so cute like this, so desperate and needy at my touch. Are you going to cum for me, Draco?' He doesn't answer, so I raise my hand from his waist and pinch his nipple, hard. He grunts, his hips thrusting into my hand, his lip between his teeth. I snarl against his ear, 'I asked you a question.'

'Y-yes! Fuck, I - '

'That's right you are.' My fist speeds up again, and I wrap my arm around his chest as his knees weaken under him, holding him up, holding him against me. 'You're going to cum, right here, in your lovely, pristine kitchen. Come on, now, cum for me.'

He lets out a wail, a delicious little noise that I want to hear again and again, but he's cumming, thrusting erratically as he paints the cabinet in front of him with ropes of cum. And as he collapses back against me, I turn him gently in my arms and hold him, so that he's not leaning into the mess he's made, the mess we've made. I place gentle kisses against his neck and shoulder, waiting for his heart rate and breathing to slow. Finally he tilts his head back so that he can look up at me.

'Where did all that come from, Weasley?' His eyes are slightly heavy-lidded, but curiosity glints there.

'I honestly have no idea. I've always thought I might enjoy being a bit more ... in control, but that's the first time I've ever just gone with that feeling.' I pause, then pull back to look down at him, concerned. 'Was it too much?'

'Gods, no! It was just ... a bit of a surprise, I suppose. I didn't expect you to be so confident so soon.' I feel my cheeks flush, and he rolls his eyes as his usual Malfoy snark returns. 'Oh now he's shy.'

I nip his shoulder playfully once more before releasing him, then look at my watch. 'Shit, I've got to go.' I dip my head and press a quick but full kiss to his lips. As I release him and turn away, from the corner of my eye I see him raise his fingers to his mouth, his eyes a little wide. 'I'll send you an owl later, OK?'

'Sure. Have a good day!' His voice follows me out into the hall, and I grin to myself as I run down the stairs of his appartment building and out into the grey morning.

I decide not to Apparate to the office, as I've still got a little time, so I walk quickly through the streets. I realise that his flat is really quite close to Rita's cafe, and I briefly wonder how much time he's spent there, passing the day, watching the world go by. I use the Phone Box entrance and before long, I'm striding through the halls of the Ministry, heading for the Auror department.

It's unusually quiet when I arrive, with no-one in any of the little grey cubicles I pass. My stomach drops as I realise what this means, and I head for the de-briefing room. Sure enough, pretty much the whole department is squeezed in to the small space. I spot a tuft of messy black hair and weave my way through the press of bodies until I stand next to my best friend.

'Weasley.' Robards stands at the front of the room, eying me with slight irritation. From the corner of my eye I see Harry look up at me, a little surprised. 'Nice of you to join us.'

'Sorry, Sir.' He just huffs and turns back to the board behind him.

'As I was saying, we finally have a lead on where Macnair has been hiding.' I feel the blood drain from my face, and Harry tenses beside me. We've been working this case for months, trying to pinpoint where the sick fucker slunk off to in the chaos of the final battle. Robards looks at us, understanding on his face. 'Thanks to the excellent work put in by Potter and Weasley, we've been able to trace his movements, and now we're certain he's hiding in a small village in Cornwall.'

Hands clap Harry and I on the back, with murmured 'congratulations' floating through the air around us. Harry looks pretty pale as he tries to smile at the others.

'So, you boys are taking a team out, and we've got a mission plan prepared that means you'll all be back here in three days. Any questions?' He's looking at Harry and I again.

'No, Sir,' we say together, and Robards dismisses the meeting. Everyone files out, the excitement buzzing round at the prospect of finally catching one of the last remaining outliers of that central gang. I meet Harry's eyes, and he looks tired already.

'I'd better go cancel our table at Pictsi and owl Ginny,' he sighs. 'She'll be furious.'

'She'll understand,' I say quietly, and clap him on the shoulder as he nods glumly and turns away from me to head to his cubicle. I head to my own, pulling my overnight bag out of the magically enlarged bottom drawer of my desk and rifling through it, making sure I have everything that I might need for being away from home on a long mission. Plenty of clean underwear and socks, a few changes of clothing, toiletries, parchment, quills and ink, a few battered books - not that I'm likely to get the chance to read them. The inventory doesn't take long, and soon all I have left to do is wait for the team to be ready to go.

I sink into my chair, and finally let my thoughts turn to Draco. Robards said three days, but I know that could mean anything from three days to three weeks. And that means I wouldn't get the chance to see him for a long time.

I grab a piece of parchment and quickly scribble a message.

Draco,

Sorry for the short notice, but I'm going away on a last minute work mission, and I don't know how long I'll be gone. I'll try and keep in touch while I'm away, but it might be hard to send letters. We hope to be back by the weekend, but if we're not going to be then I'll let you know somehow.

Thanks again for last night. I really had a great time, and I'm sorry to have to wait to see you again.

~ Ron

I fold the parchment over and seal it shut along the edges, then make my way to the mail room. I pass the note to one of the Ministry owls, and watch it take off, soaring down the hall and up through the large hole in the roof that leads to a tube connecting to the street above.

'What was that?' I whip around to find Harry stood behind me, two letters clutched in his fingers.

'Just a last-minute memo.' His eyes narrow slightly, and I turn my eyes to his letters. 'What did you tell her?'

My distraction works as he pulls a face and makes his way to an owl. 'That I owe her 20 more dinners when I get back.'

I chuckle and follow him back towards the office, trying to ignore the twinge in my stomach as I imagine how my letter will be received.