sorry ive been gone so long guys ive been busy moving across the country and watching glee and thinking about stucky. heres ocs and doodles and 3 of my sonas because im what they call multifaceted
"But Harry, we just think you'd be so much happier if you-"
"Found someone to settle down with," Harry finished for Hermione. At this point he'd heard the lecture so many times he could recite it in his sleep.
She sighed, "We just worry-"
"That I'm lonely and miserable," Harry said. "I know."
"We love you, mate," Ron said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"I know," Harry said, and it was true he did know, otherwise he would have probably stopped being friends with them by this point. "I love you guys, too. But you have to stop setting me up on dates."
Hermione stared calculatingly at him, "Two weeks," she said. "I'll give you two weeks reprieve and if you've started dating someone by then we'll leave it."
-------
He was still stewing on this conundrum when he stopped in to pick up a cup of coffee and (hopefully) a pastry the following morning.
"Morning, Potter," Malfoy called over his shoulder without even looking up to see him.
"That's going to bite you in the arse someday," Harry said as he stepped up and rested his elbows on the counter.
"I've told you," Malfoy said, turning around and handing him a cup of coffee that Harry knew would be made perfectly and a pastry bag that had Harry's mouth already watering, "You have a very distinct magical aura. I know it's you."
Harry rolled his eyes, but he was secretly charmed. "When you say things like that I completely understand how you and Luna get on so well."
Malfoy rolled his eyes but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
It suddenly occurred to Harry that he got on pretty well with Malfoy, too. "Hey," Harry said, opening his mouth to speak in true Griffyndor fashion without hesitating to think. "You're single aren't you?"
(Read more below the cut)
Malfoy groaned, "Not you, too. My friends are always harping on me about dating. I'm perfectly fine-"
"Right, yeah. Of course you are," Harry hastened to add, "I am, too, obviously and that's the point."
"Potter drink your coffee, you're making even less sense than usual," Malfoy said.
"No, listen. Pretend to date me. Please, Malfoy, I'm literally begging. I will do anything to get my friends to stop setting me up on horrible dates."
Malfoy stared at him for a long moment, "That's an interesting idea, Potter."
"It's a fantastic idea," Harry assured him. "I promise to be the best fake boyfriend you've ever had."
"What would it involve?" Malfoy asked, slowly.
Harry thought for a minute, "We could go on 'dates' and just, you know, hang out; we can have dinner together, go to quidditch games, whatever you want. And then when we're out with friends we'll just sit together, maybe hold hands or something? I haven't thought it through yet but what do you say?"
Malfoy tilted his head to the side, "I'd say you're in luck, Potter, because I had a really bad date last night with a bloke that Pansy tried to set me up with. So, let's do it. Merlin knows I could use a break."
"Done," Harry said, grinning widely at the other man, "Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"
The corner of Malfoy's, Draco's, lips tilted up, "Sure. Where did you have in mind?"
"Do you like Italian?"
Draco nodded.
"Perfect. I get off at 4:00 today, do you want to meet here?"
"Sure," Draco replied with a little grin.
Harry smiled back, "Thanks for the coffee and the pastry. And I'm looking forward to see you tonight, sweetheart."
Draco laughed, "Disgusting. Get out of here you prat."
Harry placed a hand over his heart as he backed toward the door, "You have the sweetest way with words."
The other man shook his head but he was smiling as widely as Harry.
This was clearly the best idea that Harry had ever had.
--------
This was the worst idea Harry had ever had. Not because he and Draco didn't get on, but because they did.
Within two weeks Harry was spending more of his free time in Draco's company than out of it. They'd gone out to eat together eleven times (in thirteen days!), they'd taken Teddy to the park together, and Harry stopped by the coffee shop twice a day now and arrived half an hour early so he could spend time talking to Draco before he had to leave for work.
Yes, he was getting up early just so he could have more time to spend with Draco.
He was in so much trouble.
And it was only going to get worse since they were attending pub night tonight with all of their friends and they'd agreed that holding hands, casual touching, pet names, and the like were all acceptable for the evening.
Harry was standing outside the pub, waiting for Draco and trying to get himself under control, when the other man appeared.
"Ready?" Draco asked, giving him a small but genuine smile that had Harry's stomach doing back flips.
"Yeah," Harry said, nodding once to himself.
Draco held out his hand, wiggling his fingers for Harry to take.
He reached over and slid his fingers through Draco's, their hands fit perfectly together, and Harry thought he might be having a heart attack. Holding someone's hand shouldn't feel this good.
He was absolutely, entirely fucked.
"Alright?" Draco asked.
"Yeah," he answered but his voice came out all funny and breathless, and honestly, if he could have punched himself in the face he would have. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, fine," he said. "Let's go."
And as if holding Draco's hand hadn't been enough, once they got inside the pub, Draco sat next to him and rested his hand at the top of Harry's spine, his fingers trailing lightly over Harry's neck and wrapping around the curls at the base of his skull.
It was like he was in a bubble; conversations were happening all around him, people were laughing and joking, people were probably telling all sorts of stories but he didn't process a word.
Slowly, he forced himself to relax, leaning into Draco's side and letting his hand slip over to rest on Draco's knee.
The other man gave his neck a gentle squeeze in response as he continued his discussion with Luna.
"Harry," Hermione said, waving a hand to get his attention.
"Yeah?" he asked, perking up and trying to ignore the tingles racing up and down his spine as Draco's fingernails scratched lightly at his scalp.
"You were a bit lost there, mate," Ron said.
He smiled, "Sorry, just a bit out of it."
"That's alright," Hermione said, "I was just saying that you and Draco seem to be really good together."
"Yeah," Harry said weakly, glancing over at the other man who was quite engrossed in a conversation with Pansy and Luna. "Yeah," he repeated. "He's really something."
Hermione nodded, "You seem to be good for each other."
"Yeah," he said, feeling a bit sick because they did seem good for each other, they did somehow make sense. "Sorry, could you excuse me for a minute?" he asked as he stood up and fled the table, making his way quickly to the restroom.
He all but ran into a stall and locked it behind him, barely managing to stop himself from banging his head against the wall. This wasn't supposed to have happened. He wasn't supposed to have fallen for Draco Malfoy.
"Harry?" a voice called.
He held his breath, maybe if he just didn't make any noise Draco would go away and he could finish having his crisis in peace.
"I can see your shoes," the other man said as he knocked softly on the door. "Let me in?"
Reluctantly, Harry opened the stall and made room for Draco to slip in with him.
"Do you want to tell me why you've been acting like an insane person escaped from the psychiatric ward tonight?"
He winced, tried to think about what he could say, how he could deflect, but what came out was, "I don't want to pretend."
Draco's brow furrowed, "This was your idea," he said. "And if you wanted to stop all you had to do was say so."
"No," Harry said, reaching out to stop the other man from leaving. "That's not-" he huffed and entwined his fingers with Draco's. "I mean that I don't want this to be pretend."
Draco stared at him uncomprehendingly so Harry continued, "Holding hands with someone has never felt like this. Going on dates with someone has never been this much fun. I want to be around you all the time, even when you're making me crazy."
"I don't understand."
He sighed, "I can't pretend with you because none of this is pretend for me any more."
Draco blinked once, then he leaned forward and caught Harry's lips with his own. The hand not holding Harry's came up to cup his cheek and tip he head down so he could kiss him more easily and Harry's body lit up like a firework.
He pushed Draco back a step until his back hit the wall and pressed his body against the other man's. Harry's body had been made for this. Every neuron was firing away happily, every atom of his being singing with joy at the other man's proximity.
Draco's fingers threaded through Harry's hair as his tongue flicked over Harry's bottom lip. With a soft moan, Harry opened his mouth, his tongue reaching out tentatively to touch and twist with the other man's.
They might have continued on like that all night, were it not for the outer door to the restroom slamming open as a drunk man staggered in.
Draco pulled back, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. He put a finger over Harry's lips and pressed a kiss to his nose, and Harry wasn't quite sure how he hadn't simply melted into a puddle of goo yet.
Once the man left, Draco removed his finger and pressed one more gentle kiss to Harry's lips. "This isn't pretend for me either," he murmured.
Harry smiled, "No more pretending."
"Honesty about where we're at from here on out," Draco added with a smile.
And it was a promise they kept until the day they died. They both had to wear masks for the outside world but they never hid from one another.
In the train stations and the airports, he travels with his ghosts. He can throw away photographs, dispose of things, cast off old clothes – still his former lives are entwined with the present and he can hear his roots shriek, refusing to be sacrificed. They throb, connected, ripped from the fields of consciousness.
