I Promise It Will Suck
It was the third time Dracoâs phone had beeped in the last hour. He wasnât going to answer it. He knew what it would say.
Hi Draco, do you fancy a drink tonight? Some of us are going down the pub. Would be nice to see you again. H
Draco, donât know if you got my last message. Come down to the pub - Ronâs band is playing and Pansy says youâre not doing anything. H
Draco, are you okay? :(
Dracoooo. CMON. PLease donât make me come get you, Iâm in no state. xxxx :D
After the first four, Harry would only be drunker and less able to keep his little âxâs to himself. And if went down to the pub and watched Weasleyâs ridiculous band play, Harry also wouldnât be able to keep his hands to himself. Or his mouth. Or his opinion about what that should lead to. Draco learned that last time. And he wasnât in any mood to get caught up in Harryâs drunkenly affectionate whirlwind and have to extricate himself again. The possibility of humiliation was too great.
The Glorious Saint Potter is popular, as expected, with all manner of witches, wizards and everyone inbetween. Heâs probably dated half the professional Seekers in the European League, as well as a handful of models, actors and a single physiotherapist that Draco was stupid enough to introduce him to. Draco has dated his ex-wife, and made out with Harry. Once. And thatâs it. Which is why heâs not going anywhere near the pub until Harryâs over whatever temporary fascination heâs having with Draco right now. If he plans on being friends with him for any length of time â and their lives are so entwined now â then thereâs only one way to avoid the mortification of being found inadequate and then reminded of it for the rest of eternity. Dracoâs going to keep his legs tightly crossed and his lips firmly sealed and his anti-apparition wards expertly deployed.
Which is why Harry, instead, tumbles through his Floo.
PASS-IT-ON @l0vegl0wsinthedark
Draco jumps - literally bounces in his seat - where heâs sitting in his favourite armchair, his mouth falling open as he watches Harry get to his feet.
It takes a minute. Harry is so drunk he is unable to find his centre of gravity and has to balance on both hands before slowly straightening up and pushing his glasses back up his nose.
He grins at Draco. âYouâre alive!â he says.
Draco regards him warily, letting his book fall shut and setting it aside. It knocks against his wine glass and Harryâs eyes fly to it. He sways on the spot and licks his lips, clearly tempted to dash over and throw the rest of Dracoâs wine back.
Draco sighs and dramatically pinches the bridge of his nose. âWhat are you doing here?â
Harryâs face falls a bit. âYou never replied to my messages. I got worried.â
âYou got worried,â repeated Draco dryly. âWorried that Iâd died, I assume?â
He grins. âNo, I was just joking about that,â he says earnestly, waving a hand and shaking his head. Draco half expects him to explain the joke. Then: âDid you not check your phone this evening?â
Draco deliberates for a few beats, then says, âNo, I did. I saw your messages.â
Harry looks crestfallen now. âAndâŚyou didnât think to reply? Even if you didnât want to come?â
âNo.â
âWhy didnât you want to come?â
âWeasleyâs band is terrible. I donât know how you stand it.â
Harry scowls. âIs that your only excuse?â
âExcuse? Iâd think thatâs a perfectly legitimate reason not to go lounge around in a pitiful little pub.â
âPitiful little pub? You loved the chips there last time.â
âWell, almost anyone can fry up a decent batch of chips, Potter.â
âDonât call me that.â
âPotter?â
âYes.â
âWhy?â Draco is smirking a bit; he canât help himself. He wants to see how Harry might babble about how they should let bygones be bygones and call each other by their given names.
âBecause thatâs not what you called me after we stuck our tongues down each otherâs throats,â Harry says with no finesse or dignity whatsoever and Dracoâs face heats up so fast heâs a bit worried he might pass out or something.
âHave you no sense of tact?â
This time, Harry smirks and Draco is suddenly worried.
Harry - ripped jeans, Weasleyâs band name on a t-shirt, solid black boots - struts forward. Draco is very, very worried.
Harry bends over Draco and places his hands on either side of him on the armrests, their faces so, so close. He reeks of beer. Draco wants to believe that itâs gross and unappealing; that Harry is unappealing.
But all Draco wants, as he stares first at the burning green gaze and then at the pink lips surrounded by dark stubble, is to kiss him.
Because heâs very appealing.
*
PASS-IT-ON @lazywonderlvnd
Appealing and fucking moronic, and definitely, absolutely not worth the inner turmoil and anguish and frankly the embarrassment heâll suffer if he gives into this pathetic attraction of his.
âDo you mind?â Draco drawls. He pushes Harryâs chest, forcing him away, and sidles out from beneath him so he can put some distance between them. âItâs called personal space, Potter. And you smell like a fucking brewery, by the way.â
âThatâs so weird,â Harry says, frowning. And then he pretends to light up. âOh, wait! I was just drinking beer. That must be it.â
âHa, ha.â
âWasnât a joke.â
âOut, Potter.â He points at the Floo. âGo. Iâm sick of you.â
âWell thatâs kind of rude.â
Draco, again, pinches the bridge of his nose. Sloshed Harry is actually worse than sober Harry, so thatâs saying something. Bit of an estimation of his own character, really, since heâs attracted to the idiot.
âWill you please leave?â Draco says finally, looking up again. âSeriously, youâre too drunk to be around.â
âCome on, Draco.â The sense of humourous irony is gone from Harryâs voice suddenly; he sounds drunk and frustrated now instead of drunk and sarcastic. Draco prefers the sarcasm, since at least itâs safe territory. âWhyâre you being so difficult, huh? I thought weâd, like ⌠moved past that, or whatever.â
âMoved past what?â Draco scoffs. âOur mutual loathing?â
âAgain, we recently stuck our tongues down each otherâs throats, so yes, Iâd say weâve moved past the loathing thing.â Harry lifts his arms, an open gesture of vulnerability that makes Draco sneer. Heâs so fucking superior. âDâyou need to insult me first or something? Go ahead. For real, it only turns me on when you insult me.â
PASS-IT-ON @dracoladon
âThen I shanât,â says Draco. âPotter, you rakishly handsome, terribly funny, deeply treasured friend of mine, please, fuck off.â
Harry laughs, and collapses onto one of Dracoâs (expensive, and now theyâre going to smell like stale beer) delicate leather and burnished gold tete-a-tetes. âIâm still into it,â he says. âMust be your voice.âÂ
âShut up,â Draco murmurs. Heâs always been terribly partial to a good flattering. Itâs not one of his better qualities. âShut all the way up.â
Harry frowns. âNot nice.â
âIâm not nice.â
âYou areââ
âAnd weâre not together. Weâve kissed once, Potter. You canât just disturb my evening at your leisure.â
âSo far,â he says. âWeâve kissed once so far.âÂ
âHow astute,â Draco says.
Harry leans over the s-bend of the seat and pats the other cushion. âCome sit.â
âYouâre pathetic.â
âCome sit next to me.âÂ
Draco scowls, and turns away. Drunk Harry looks all kind of wide-eyed and beseeching when he says those things, like a cartoon lamb. Fucking twit.Â
âPotter,â he says, slowly. âEven if the idea of us fucking, or snogging, or whatever it is you want were anything but hideously imprudent, it wouldnât happen. Youâre drunk. Please leave. Go trip over your own feet at the Weasley hovel, or something.âÂ
PASS-IT-ON @tackytigerfic
PASS-IT-ON @veelawings x
âBut I was drunk last time too,â Harry said, with all the seriousness of a man who thought that was the only mountain he had to climb in this argument. Then, with a smug tilt of his lips, he gestured left of the table actually holding Dracoâs wine glass and bragged, âYouâre just mad I had more fun drinking than you.â
Draco licked his teeth and crossed his arms. Unbelievable. âWell, Potter, seeing as how youâve drunk a barrel by yourself and I failed to finish my first glass before you interrupted my evening, I would say your assessment is fair.âÂ
He tried to ignore how brittle he felt because of course, Harry wouldnât expect them to both be sober for this to continue. Of course.
Harryâs clumsy efforts to push himself off his seat and toddle over to the wall Draco was leaning against only reinforced their difference in mood.Â
âDraco, you donât have to play hard to get,â Harry said, placing a fist on the wall behind Dracoâs head. For balance more than seduction, probably, but it still sent him into a tizzy. âDonât you see â I already got you.â The warm hand that clutched his earlobe wouldâve been awkward on anyone else but Draco found it charming. He was fucked.Â
âYes, well.â Draco licked his dry lips. âI would appreciate it if you let me go. Iâm not one of your Golden Snitches.â
Without an ounce of tact in his body, Harry followed the path of Dracoâs tongue. Then leered up at him. âYeah? Cause your eyelashes, they do that fluttering thing like wings,â he said, oh so smoothly. Before he ruined it. âWhen you splash tea in your face because you lift up your cuppa too fast.â
âWhat the fuck, Potter?â PASS-IT-ON @p1013
âWhat the fuck, Potter?â Potter repeated in a whiney falsetto. âIâm trying to pay you a complimentâ Shifting close enough that Draco could feel the heat from Potterâs body all along his front, Potterâs eyes went half-lidded as he breathed in. âYou smell nice.â
âI bathe.â
âI didnât say you smell clean.â Potter exhaled, and Draco fought a shiver as the released breath brushed against the sensitive skin of his neck, just above his collar where his pulse raced. âI can tell youâve been out all day, doing⌠whatever it is you do. Iâd like to know what it is, if weâre going to keep kissing. But you⌠Thereâs something earthy about how you smell, like the Quidditch pitch after it rains or grass when itâs covered in dew.â
âI smell like dirt.â
âYou smell,â Potter said, and this time, he brushed his nose, then his lips, against Dracoâs skin, âlike something I want to put my hands on. Something I want to get dirty with.â
Gathering the tattered remains of his sanity, Draco stepped out of the partial prison of Potterâs body leaning against the wall. He hurried back to his wine, drinking a too-large sip of the shimmering red. The alcohol burned in his throat, but not nearly as hot as his blood through his veins.
âWhere are you going?â Potter asked, sounding petulant. âIâm starting to think you donât want me here.â
âI donât, you imbecile.â Draco rounded on him, wine sloshing dangerously in his glass. Potter still leaned against the wall, eyes dark and trousers slightly tented in the frontânot that Draco was looking. âI donât want anything to do with you.â
Potter followed after, his drunken gaze sharper than it had been at any other time that night. âThatâs not what you said last time.â
PASS-IT-ON @bonesliketambourines
âI was drunk last time, Potter,â Draco snaps, ignoring the flare of hurt in Potterâs eyes. Whatâs it to him if the Golden Boy gets his feelings hurt a little? Could do him good, to feel rejected for once. âAnd I most certainly am not drunk now. Unlike you. Iâd rather not be part of the oh-I-didnât-mean-it-this-was-such-a-mistake show youâre bound to put on as soon as you sober up; and more importantly, I donât sleep with drunk people when Iâm sober. I prefer my men consenting, thank you very much.â He turns his back firmly and takes a sip from his glass, willing the slight tremble from his hands. Bloody, fucking, Harry sodding Potter.
Potter is quiet behind him, and Draco shifts a bit, feeling his shoulders draw up defensively. He hates being stared at like this. âWhat is it,â he finally snaps.
âYou think Iâm only here because Iâve been drinking,â Potter observes, suddenly sounding far too coherent for a man who smelt as strongly of barmat as he did. âThatâs whatâs going on. You think Iâm drunk and thatâs the only reason Iâve come over. Iâd like to remind you, Malfoy, that I started texting you when I was sober. Youâre the one that didnât reply.â
âAnd you canât take a hint from that?â Draco is not going to turn around. Heâs not.
Harryâs too close behind him, and his hand is warm at the small of Dracoâs back. The hair on his arms stands up. âWhat can I do to convince you?â he asks softly.
Draco turns to stare at him in bewilderment before he can stop himself. âWhat?â
Harryâs looking at him steadily, eyes clear. âIâll respect your concerns,â he says with a small grin, and that doesnât clear anything up for Draco. âWhereâs your kitchen? Iâm going to make us some cheese toasties.â
âItâs just ahead, butâ Potter, what?â
Potter is already striding down the hall, and by the time Draco snaps out of it and hustles to follow him heâs rummaging through Dracoâs fridge. Draco definitely does not look at his arse as heâs bent over. âIâm making us food, and weâre going to eat and drink water and have polite conversation, and when Iâm sober, weâll try again,â he says, voice slightly muffled.
Dracoâs jaw drops and he barely is able to stop himself from squawking unappealingly. His knuckles are white around his wineglass.
Seriously, what?
passing it to @the-starryknight :) if youâre able to!
Wineglass still in hand, Draco followed Potter to the kitchen, watching indignantly as he set a small bottle of creamer and a packet of cheese on the counter and shut the fridge. Â
âDonât touch that,â Draco snapped, watching the way that Potterâs shirt rode up appealingly, revealing only the barest sliver of a sharp hipbone under his white button-up. It wasnât fair, parading into his kitchen like that, drunk and untouchable. And he wouldnât touch. Draco swallowed hard, pressing further into the room. He set the wine on the table and braced himself against the solid wood table, arms crossed.
âYou have an actual breadbox,â Potter said, putting his grimy Gryffindor hands on everything in sight. Draco scoffed, not deigning to answer. Of course he had a proper breadbox. What heathen left his loaf on the counter?
âDonât touch that,â Draco huffed as Potter reached for a pan, clicking the burner on with a tap of his wand. Draco certainly didnât let his gaze linger on the possessive curve of his fingers over the shaft of the wand.
âTouch what?â Potter asked, reaching for the cafetière in the back corner of the counter, sliding it out with a scrape over Dracoâs gorgeous granite countertops. Â
âThat!â Draco snapped, shoving past him to protect his little percolator. He pressed his hands over its smooth glass surface, glaring at Potter.  âAt least let me do it before you manage to destroy my entire kitchen.â
He grabbed the Taylorâs from the cabinet, spooning several heaping servings of coffee grounds into the pot. He sent a steaming Aguamenti into the pot at precisely the right temperature and let it sit to steep. He ran a hand through his neat hair, staring at the coffeemaker instead of at Potter, and thinking longingly of his abandoned book in the sitting room. Â
âAlright,â Potter said, and shifted out of the way, brandishing that wand again for a quick Accio to summon the spatula. He put a piece of toast in the pan, and raised an eyebrow at Draco. âAm I eating alone?â
PASS-IT-ON to @peachpety :)
Draco lifts his chin. The action distorts his reflection in the cafetièreâs stainless domed lid, elongating his perfectly patrician nose. âIâm not hungry.â
His stomach growls, the traitor.
Harry chuckles and adds far too many slices of cheese to the pan. He leans close to Draco, shoulder brushing shoulder, his hoppy stench diminished by the aroma of the toast. In the coffeemaker lid, his reflection is all teeth and messy hair.
âI promise it wonât suck,â he cajoles.
âOh, I assure you it will.âÂ
Harry scoffs. âIâll have you know Iâm a brilliant cook.â He catches a glob of liquefied cheese on a fingertip and delivers it to his mouth with a moan.Â
âYouâre a sloppy cook,â Draco says, cheeks warming at Harryâs continued groans and finger sucking. âAnd uncouth.â
Harry shivers a grin onto his lips. âBloody hell, Malfoy, keep talking.â
Draco shifts, a slow deliberate turn that brings them face-to-infuriatingly-gorgeous-face. Harryâs smile fades, and he stills. Theyâre so close, Draco can count the individual hairs in a small patch of dark stubble at the oil-glistening corner of Harryâs mouth.Â
The bread sizzles.Â
He can trace the whorls of the dirty fingerprints clouding the lens of Harryâs ridiculous glasses.
The cheese melts.
He can almost get lost in the gold flecks shining in Harryâs stupidly green eyes.Â
Almost.
âAnd I promise,â Draco says silkily, âit will suck. You forgot the butter, you clod.â
Harryâs glazed eyes widen and flare evergreen. âShit!â He bumbles and bangs at the stovetop, and Draco smugly presses the plunger on the coffee with satisfying force.Â
Heâs still smiling to himself, so pleased is he with his wit and brilliance, that when he opens the cupboard to retrieve two coffee mugs, heâs forgotten about his novelty cups. Heâs amassed quite a collection because Pansy, the bint, insists on gifting Draco the mugs for every bloody eventâhis birthday, Christmas, a Tuesday.
Never mind that heâs only missing two cups to make his collection complete.
Tuesday canât come soon enough.
âIs thatâŚ?â Harry says from behind Dracoâs shoulder. âIs that my face on those cups?â
PASS IT ON to @cibeewastaken
Draco snapped the cupboard shut. âNo.â
Harry reached around and opened itâdespite Dracoâs attempt at stopping it, but the heat of the man pressing up against Draco was a tad distractingâand then he was holding one of the cups.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
âYou look better on the cups,â Draco snapped.
âBecause Iâm half-naked?â
Draco sputtered. âAs if! I was trying toâI didnât buy it! Pansy is theâI never used any!â Then, belatedly, âAt least, not the ones with your nipples out!â
Harry peered into the cup where his nipples were out. âThereâre coffee stains.â
âOh, shut it!â
And of course Harry decided to use that one, and picked another where Harry was flashing a charming smile for Draco.
The toasties were good, despite the late butter addition. Through his mouthful of cheese and bread, Harry said. âDo you remember the concert we went to?â
âWhich one? Weâve been to a lot. Do you mean the angry Russian piano or the teenage pop music?â
Harry grinned like heâd won. âHm. What about the museums and art galleries?â
âThe ones in England?â
Harry shrugged. âOr the ones in Italy, Egypt, France, Japanâbut do you see my point?â
âThat you have a shit memory?â
âThat I have always enjoyed spending time with you, even before we stuck our tongues down each otherâs throat, â Harry said. âAnd Iâm not going to stop enjoying your company.â
Draco took a sip of coffee. âThatâs grand.â
It was subtle, but Harryâs smile fell a little. âThat doesnât count as anything?â
It really didnât. Draco wasnât worried about that. He was worried that Harry would decideâafter Draco was in too deepâthat he didnât want Draco, after all.
PASS-IT-ON @pineau-noir <3
âNo, Potter, for your information, none of those counted.â Draco keeps his voice cool despite the swirling emotions in his gut.
âWhat about when we kissed?â Harryâs starting to sound more sober which does not bode well for Draco. Heâs also got a self-satisfied grin on his face and that wonât do. âI know we had both been drinking, but Draco, I felt the way you trembled in my arms.â
Draco letâs out a laugh, a true laugh, at that.
âPotter it was raining. I was soaked and cold.â He takes extreme satisfaction in the way the smile falls off Harryâs face.
âLook,â Draco starts, trying desperately to get Potter out of his kitchen, out of his life before he becomes necessary, âwill you leave if I concede friendship?â
Harry pouts and Draco does not find it charming.
âIâll leave if you go on a date with me.â He takes a bite out of his toastie and, like the heathen he is, says mid-chew, âA real date. Something we both agree on.â
âNo,â Draco responds. âI will not be blackmailed in my own kitchen.â
âYouâll be blackmailed somewhere else?â
Rolling his eyes, Draco lets out a frustrated huff. âI wonât be blackmailed anywhere, much less by someone as pissed as you currently are.â
âThen Iâll win you over with reason.â
âWhy do you want to win me over?â Draco shouts, finally losing his temper. âWeâre not mates! We, as you so crudely put it, stuck out tongues down each otherâs throats once. I do not understand why youâre so insistent.â
Harry throws his hands up in the air. âBecause I fancy you, you berk! Because you make me laugh and I enjoy spending time with you and I dream about your sexy fucking posh accent and you and Astoria split up but she only has nice things to say about you and Iâm not nearly as drunk as I was.â Harry takes a big gulp of coffee, wincing when it inevitably burns his mouth.
âAnd I think we could have somethingâŚâ he trails off. âNice.â
PASS-IT-ON @shealwaysreads
Update to ask @xanthippe74 to PASS-IT-ON instead â¤ď¸
âNice,â Draco repeated. âPotter, Iâm sure anything weâd have would be about as nice as two ill-tempered Kneazles shut in a box together. We get into an argument every time weâre in each otherâs company.â
âNot every time,â Harry protested earnestly.
âYes, we do. And those trips you mentioned were all disasters. Donât you remember you threw your guide book at me in Cairo?â
âI threw it at the bathroom door. You spent two hours in there and we missed our Portkey to Giza.â
âI was applying sunblock potion. You know how easily someone of my complexion would burn in the desert.â
âYeah, well you stormed out on me the moment we arrived in Tokyo!â Harry countered, slamming down the mug with the picture of his half-naked self on it.
âBecause you accidentally booked us in a love hotel! A love hotel, Potter, where people go toââ Draco made a disgusted sound. âSee? Weâve been fighting from the moment you barged into my flat. And now my kitchenâs a mess.â
Draco stood to take his plate to the sink, relieved to turn his back on Harry and his remorseful expression.
âIâll clean up,â Harry said quietly. âAnd you got a cheese toasty out of it, didnât you?â
âI wasnât even hungry,â Draco grumbled.
Harryâs chair made an awful scraping sound as he pushed it back from the table. A pair of warm hands gripped Dracoâs hips.
âI offered you something else besides food, Draco, remember?â Harry murmured. He pressed the full length of his body against Dracoâs back. âIâm a bit more sober now. And I mean it. I really do fancy you.â
Draco inhaled sharply when Harry had the audacity to slide one buttery hand around to the front of Dracoâs trousers. Ugh, it was probably leaving grease stains on the fabric. Harry was obviously not as sober as he thought if he was still saying ridiculous things like that to Draco. Best stall a bit to let the coffee do its work.
âAll right,â Draco said, taking hold of Harryâs wrist to pull it away. âYou take care of the washing up, and then Iâm all yours. Donât forget to sweep all those crumbs off the floor and clean the table, too. Iâll be in the sitting room. If youâre still feeling amorous, that is.â
He slipped out of Harryâs reach and left the kitchen before Harry could say a word.
PASS-IT-ON to @glittering-git
Draco returned to the sitting room and picked up his book, a Muggle werewolf romance Pansy insisted he read. He was only 40 pages in and heâd already read the word moist more times than one person ought to in a lifetime. He sent a wistful thought to his wine glass sitting on the kitchen table, which usually made the reading more bearable, but there was no way heâd be going back for it. He needed space from Harry and his amorous behaviour.Â
He knew how easy it would be to get overwhelmed by arresting green eyes and a too-eager Harry fucking Potter. Especially once he was sober. He needed to put his defenses back upâhe couldnât let himself remember how soft Harryâs hair had felt when theyâd kissed or the way Harry always got pillow marks on his cheeks from sleeping on his stomach. He couldnât, not if he wanted to keep his heart intact.Â
And that was the crux of the matter, wasnât it? Itâd be as easy as breathing to give his heart away, but he couldnât be sure Harry wouldnât break it. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a year, but one day, he might look at Draco and find him wanting. And Draco wouldnât be able to bear itâit would crush him like nothing else before. So, itâd be best not to put himself in a position to be hurt in the first place.Â
Draco turned back to his book, intent upon letting thoughts of Harry Potter drift like waves of sand from the shore.Â
And it worked, until Harry cleared his throat and forced Draco to acknowledge him. Draco looked up from his book, swallowing as he met Harryâs intense, entirely sober gaze.Â
âIâm sober. The coffee and cheese toastie helped, but I cast a Sobering Charm just to be safe. I didnât want you to have any excuses. Donât you understand?â He looked at Draco like he was a puzzle to be solved. âHow I feel has nothing to do with whether or not Iâve had a few drinks. This is about youââhe emphasized this by pointing his index finger too close to Dracoâs faceââand me.â He pointed to his chest. âIâm sober and Iâm still feelingâŚhow did you put it? Oh right, amorous. So, you tell me, Draco, what does that mean?â
PASS-IT-ON @rockmarina (if you want to â¤)


































