Farmers Market (Draco Malfoy x f!reader)
"Darling, what exactly are we doing here?" he questioned as his grey eyes roamed over the tables lined up beneath the mismatched canopies.
She grinned brightly as she gently squeezed their entwined fingers. "I love the farmers market! I've been visiting this one every fall since I was a toddler."
"Except the years we were at school," he mused, still glancing warily at the large crowd of muggles moving throughout the stalls.
"Except the years we were at school," she agreed. “It would be hard to visit the farmers market from across the Atlantic.” Then she dropped his hand and hurried excitedly over to the stall selling hot apple cider, leaving him to wait in the middle of the aisle. Draco froze where she left him, the crowds parting around him as he waited for her.
She returned quickly, with two large cups and a bright smile, and the sight had his stoic hesitation slowly melting into loving confusion as he took the cup she offered.
"I still can't see how you find this enjoyable."
"Think of it like Diagon Alley but most of the goods are homemade or consumable."
"With a lot more muggles."
"With a lot more muggles," she agreed but pressed on. "That aren't going to bother you."
He nodded and extended his free hand slightly, which she slipped into her own and grinned brightly at him, the happiness dancing in her eyes enough to pull a small smile across his pale face, despite the unease unfurling in his chest at the crowd.
“What else did you want to try?”
She grinned and yanked him back into the crowd toward the little stall dedicated to sweaters made by a kind looking woman with curly white hair. Draco milled about looking at them but couldn’t help but flinch every time someone passed behind him in the crowded booth. It wasn’t until his grip tightened to a vice around her hand that she noticed he was more stoic than typical for him.
Stopping quickly, she turned back to look at him. Noticing his discomfort, she pulled him gently toward a less crowded section of the market.
“I’m sorry, Draco,” she cooed, “are you okay?”
He looked away from her worried eyes. “I’m fine, darling, we can continue your shopping.”
“Draco,” she drawled. “You’re doing it again.”
He sighed and looked back at her, the girl who deserved openness. The girl who gave him kindness when he knew he didn’t deserve it. The girl who made him want to live. And though it took much more willpower than he thought he possessed, he knew he owed her honesty.
“The crowds are just a bit… much for me.”
Without hesitation she stepped closer to him, past the walls he’d so meticulously built. Looking into his stormy eyes, she reached up and gently cupped his pale cheek with her hand.
“Thank you for trying this with me, but I’d like to go home now.”
“No you wouldn’t,” he spat, “I’ve just ruined the morning enough to make us leave.”
A smile ghosted across her face. “You haven’t ruined anything. You made my entire day trying this with me and I don’t have to be here all day to appreciate the time or effort you’ve given today.”
Draco stared at her, not knowing what to say, as the swell of affection at her unyielding understanding washed through him.
Her smile widened, the depths of love in her eyes a sight Draco never wanted to forget. “I’d like you to take me home please, Draco.”
When she looked at him like that, he would take her anywhere.