OKAy so I was just thinking about drarry and thought like which one of them would use nicknames
On the one hand you have Draco, who has grown up being called darling and sweetheart by his mother and Pansy, but it somehow doesn’t feel right to call Harry that. Harry is not formalities and long words and he’s not precious or fragile - he doesn’t need to be coddled. So Draco thinks about it, and decides that maybe he should just call him ‘babe’.
Imagine, if you will, how shocked Harry would be. Dudley grew up with pet names and showered in love and Harry wasn’t.
So, when Draco shouts up from his place on the sofa going: “Babe, if you’re going up to the dorm can you bring me the book on the desk please?” Harry just stutters. The dirty cup he was holding shatters as it hits the wooden floor beneath him; his feet shuffle to a halt and he just blinks at the back of the sofa. Meanwhile, Draco feels his heart slide as there’s no response. Has he crossed a line? He shifts over so he can see Harry from over the tattered sofa. He notes how flushed Harry’s cheeks are, and how his eyes are glazed with something akin to tears and he just realises and immediately jumps off the sofa and hurries round to take Harry in his arms and hug him while Harry just buries himself in Draco’s chest and grips him tighter. Harry just keeps holding him, the one boy who loves him for him and is open enough to declare it and not be ashamed of loving him. His arms snake around Draco’s waist and he mutters very softly, “I love you”.
Draco stills; and then lifts Harry higher into his arms and says back, tears spilling from both their eyes: “I love you too”.
On the other hand, there’s Harry, who has just decided that post war, its time to be himself. Life is too short to not tell people what you really think. So, he waltzes down to breakfast with Ron and takes his place at the eighth year table next to Draco, who is having an animated discussion with Hermione about the advantages of using time altering spells on potions. He stretches his arms above his head and feels Draco tense up for a second before a familiar yet tentative hand comes to rest on Harry’s thigh. Harry smiles, and lets his own fall on top of it, giving a gentle squeeze. He takes a deep breath and then, with a hint of mischief says, “Babe, do you want to go to Hogsmeade today?, I need to get some more quills.”
Draco stills before he lights up, his eyes and body radiating happiness as he turns to his less-secret and about to be not-at-all secret boyfriend. He turns on the bench and meets Harry’s eyes which are also alight. The fellow eighth years are all still, some similing, some smirking and some outright shocked. Draco gazes at Harry, with his bright green eyes and messy hair and just can not help himself from kissing him. The whole hall might have been looking, but maybe no one even noticed. But they’re happy.
