Warning: Mentions of past abuse in this chapter. Nothing too graphic I don't think? But if you would rather skip those parts, it starts when Fionn tells Harry how many years he was with the Djinn. And ends in that same paragraph.

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Harry lay sprawled across the bed on his stomach, too tired to want to even think about moving. He had just gotten out of the shower after yet another training session with Ash. Fire was coming more easily to his call, and he could mostly douse it on command now, but some of the other things Ash thought he needed to know were just... weird. Why did he have to know how to call a ring of Fire on the ground? Or making his wings covered in Fire, reminding him of Phoenix flames? Today she had him concentrating on making gauntlets of Fire. And when he asked her why he'd need to be able to do any of these strange things, she would either just smile secretly at him, or tell him flat out that she wasn't going to tell him until later. Because he might be tempted to do something stupid.

His hair was dripping onto the pillow, and he hadn't bothered to get clothes before getting into the shower. So he was still wearing a towel around his waist. But he couldn't muster up the energy to care, maybe he'd just take a nap... Fred and George were out getting their claiming studs put in, and then they had a training session with Laric and Gideon. So neither one would be popping in to bug him anytime soon. As his eyes fell shut, he thought he heard the bedroom door open and then close again, but it was so quiet he wasn't sure. And then the bed dipped as someone settled down next to his hip.

A feather-light touch on his bare back made Harry open his eyes. Fionn glanced at his face and smiled shyly before looking back at the expanse of exposed skin before him. Harry felt a brief flash of hesitance along their bond, and then his eyes fluttered shut as Fionn's hands skimmed along his back, from his waist to his neck. The Fae lightly dragged his nails down Harry's spine, raising gooseflesh. And then he began to knead along Harry's shoulders and neck.

It felt incredible. He had known Fionn had talented hands, but he had no idea the Fae was so good at giving massages. Harry felt himself melting into the bed, his muscles warming and turning to goo. Places he hadn't even realized were tense from his training session relaxed and he let his mind drift. He couldn't help the occasional moan when Fionn found and removed a knot, and then, after what felt like hours but was probably a lot less, the hands were removed from his back.

"That... was wonderful. How do you always know what I need? Even when I don't even know?"

Fionn licked his lips and ducked his head shyly. "You liked it then?"

Harry turned over onto his side, and then dragged Fionn down onto the bed beside him. "I loved it. Thank you." Gently claiming the Fae's lips, he drew back after a moment. "Fi? What were you like... before? You don't have to answer, it's just... sometimes you seem like two different people." Harry paused, he knew what he wanted to say, he just didn't know how to phrase it. He was grateful the Courtship Bond was working now, there were so many little things that he hadn't realized the Fae needed before, and that he could now feel through their bond. But at the same time, now he could feel how Fionn struggled with himself daily.

Fionn tensed in his arms, and turned his face away before forcing himself to relax against Harry again. "Does it matter? I can't be that person anymore. I'm not strong enough, I can't remember how." His voice was whisper-soft. "You deserve so much more than I can give you. But I'm not strong enough to let you go either." A single tear trickled down his cheek and fell to the comforter below them.

Harry pulled Fionn closer, rested the Fae's head over his heart the way he woke up to him most mornings, and carded his fingers through the white-blonde locks. "You're wrong you know? You are one of the strongest people I know. I don't know what happened to you, but it must have been bad, judging from how you acted when I first brought you here. But you've come so far in only a few months. You refused to talk to a Mind-Healer, and while I don't blame you, I just thought... it might help to talk to someone. I didn't mean to upset you." He pressed a kiss to the top of Fionn's head.

Fionn's body still held a trace of tension, Harry could feel it in the way the Fae wasn't sinking into him the way he usually did. He could also almost see the struggle of emotions going through Fionn's head. He couldn't read anything off the bond besides a tangled mess, and he didn't want to focus to hard and make Fionn feel like he was trying to force the issue. So he just lay there and played with the Fae's hair in silence, waiting to see what decision was being made.

Finally Fionn spoke, his voice was still soft, but it sounded like he had bled all the emotion out of it. "I was with him for two years. Two years where he trained me to act how and when he wished me to. First he made me ask for permission for everything. Anything. Then later when he started to grow bored, I wasn't allowed to speak at all." His eyes were closed, voice distant as though he was reading from a book, or telling a story that was so far removed from reality that it didn't matter. "If I wasn't perfect the first time, and every time, he would hit me. Sometimes it was just with his hand. But as he grew bored of me, he would use... other things." His body gave a slight shudder. "His skin was blue. Sometimes he would entertain himself by trying to make my skin the same color. I never went out, was never allowed beyond the inner most rooms in his home. For most of those two years, I didn't even get to see the sun..." His voice wavered on the last word, and finally stopped. He was all-over tense again, as though he was waiting for a blow.

It made Harry's heart hurt, and tears trembled on the ends of his lashes. Pulling Fionn even closer he held the trembling form against him and ran soothing hands along the Fae's spine, the silk of the dress shirt Fionn always wore was cold and soft beneath his finger tips. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Fi. But you're free now. You have me and Ash, and the twins, and none of us would ever, ever let anything happen to you like that again. Merlin. Can you picture what Fred and George would do if anyone even looked at you wrong? You're already part of the family."

A watery laugh was his only response for a moment, even if it was weak-sounding, Harry was relieved. "You don't think I'm too damaged then? You won't break the Courtship now that you know?"

"Oh Fi..." Harry rolled them over, so Fionn was beneath him and he could look into those golden eyes. "I can't think of a single thing that would make me break the Courtship. Not now that I know you, and don't have that bloody brand suppressing me." He gently wiped the tears from Fionn's eyes, before leaning down and kissing him. Fionn melted into the kiss, wrapping both his arms around Harry's neck as the tension finally bled out of him.

Harry had meant it to be a gentle kiss, one that showed how much he cared about the Fae. But Fionn didn't seem to have the same idea. The Fae pulled him down until there was scarcely any space between them, deepening the kiss as he did so. Harry could feel Fionn doing something behind his head, but couldn't figure out what until the Fae slid his arms down and started unbuttoning the front of his dress shirt. Harry pulled back, his eyes widening slightly as he saw that the cuffs had already been undone. As each button slid out of the hole, and more golden skin appeared, Harry's mouth went dry. It took him a long moment before he was able to drag his eyes back up to Fionn's face.

The Fae's golden eyes glinted with silent laughter, and after the final button was undone, he raised his right hand to caress Harry's face. "Some people may think we're going fast, with the Courtship happening so soon. But, I love you Harry. Even though we've only known each other a few months, I know that in here." He lightly touched the skin over his own heart.

Harry could feel the prickle of tears in the back of his eyes again. He could feel the sincerity of Fionn's words. And while he was still completely inexperienced when it came to this sort of thing, he did know one thing. What he felt for the Fae, and what he was feeling from Fionn right that second, were too similar for him to not be able to tell what it was. "I love you too Fi."

AN:

I am SO sorry it took so long to get this written and posted! Work is still made of evil things, and we've been getting a lot of bad thunderstorms here as well. Also, I'm not comfortable writing lemons. Therefore you get none, and I will leave to your imagination what happened after the chapter ended. *grins* Review replies are being written now, and will be in the forum soon. The forum link can be found in my profile. Thank you to everyone who is following and commenting on this fic, I never expected it to be anywhere near this popular!