1000 Days of Harry Potter

Day 624

"C'mon Draco, it's just one Sunday night," Brandon cajoles, giving him a coercive smile. "My mum really wants to meet you." 

Draco's stomach twists uncomfortably, and he rolls to his other side so that he's facing away from him. "I don't know, I shouldn't, it's part of our routine, and Teddy plans on it. On both of us being there. I can't just..."

"Skive off tonight. Just once." Brandon presses a trail of kisses along his bare shoulder, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine, and Draco can feel his resolve wavering. "I'll make it worth your while when we get back."

"Alright," Draco finally sighs. "Let me go call Harry."

As he pulls on some clothes and makes his way downstairs, Draco can already feel himself regretting saying yes. But Brandon has been having a hard time with his situation, with how much time Draco spends with Harry and Teddy and the fact that Draco hasn't let him meet either of them yet, and Draco knows that going with him tonight to meet his family will do a lot to assuage his discomfort. So he sets his resolve and makes the decision to follow through. It's just one Sunday dinner, it'll be fine.

Harry answers the Floo immediately. He has flour smeared across one cheek and a grin on his face. "Couldn't wait until tonight to see us?" He asks cheerfully. "I'm trying something new, one of my Gran's recipes from that stack I found with my dad's things, and I know how much you like spicy food so I think you're really going to...what?"

Draco's throat sticks. "I...I can't come tonight."

Harry immediately looks concerned. "Oh. Is something—?"

"Oh, no. Everything is fine. It's just, Brandon's mum invited us over for dinner, and he's been really wanting me to..."

Disappointment flashes over Harry's face, and something shutters in his eyes. "Oh. Right. Well, that's fine." Harry forces a weak smile. "Okay." 

"It's just this one time," Draco says quickly. "This won't become a regular thing, I swear."

"Okay." Harry repeats. He doesn't say it in a way that implies anything, his tone completely flat, but it still feels like a slap to the face and Draco has to force himself not to physically recoil.

"Do you, er, do you want me to tell Teddy?"

"No," Harry sighs. "He's still asleep. I'll tell him when he comes down for breakfast."

"Babe, where do you keep your sugar? Oh. Hello, you must be Harry."

Draco feels his cheeks heat. Brandon knows exactly where the sugar is; that's not why he's really here, hovering over Draco's shoulder, and they both know it.

The smile on Harry's face looks like every promotional photo of him that Draco has ever seen in the Daily Prophet. In other words, completely fake.

"Hello," he says carefully. "Brandon, right?"

"Right."

"Cupboard on the far left in the kitchen next to the stove," Draco says quickly.

"Thanks," Brandon kisses his cheek from behind and walks away.

"We'll just see you next week, okay?" Harry says in that same forced-neutral voice.

"Okay."

The Floo call ends, and Draco turns around to glare at his boyfriend. "What the hell was that?"

Brandon shrugs and folds his arms, leaning against the side of the kitchen table, a disdainful expression twisting his handsome face. "I just wanted to finally meet him. The Great Harry Potter himself. You're awfully protective when it comes to him. No, that's not the right word, is it? You're...defensive. There it is."

"I'm protective of Teddy," Draco defends, "and they're a package deal. Harry and I have a complicated history—"

Brandon raises an eyebrow, his eyes flashing.

"—of hating each other," Draco glares right back, his own temper rising, "that made things really hard for Teddy in the beginning. Our friendship is important for this to work, Brandon. So yes, I'm protective of it, to keep things steady for him. Don't make this into something that it isn't."

"Can I meet him?"

"You just did."

"Not Harry," Brandon sneers. "Teddy."

Draco swallows before answering. "When I'm ready. When I feel that Teddy is ready. I'm not going to rush anything."

"Fine," Brandon answers in a voice that tells Draco it's anything but fine. "I need to run into work for a few hours today before we go to my mum's. I'll be back at six and we can Apparate over together from here."

Something about the way he says it feels off, but Draco is too relieved that he's leaving to really notice or care. "Fine," Draco echoes. "That's fine."

He flops onto the sofa as soon as Brandon leaves, in a manner that would have earned him a thorough scolding at the Manor when he was a child, and covers his face with his hands.

Somehow, he's managed to fuck things up with both Harry and Brandon in one morning, and he hates that it's Harry's disappointed expression, quickly shuttered but impossible to miss, that keeps flickering into his mind and making his stomach roil with guilt. On impulse, Draco gets up and writes a quick note:

Save me some leftovers? I want to try your Gran's recipe. Sorry about today. It won't happen again.

--Draco

Harry responds within an hour of Draco sending his owl.

Of course! I'll bring some by the shop for you tomorrow on my lunch hour. Assuming it turns out as good as it sounds from the recipe and I don't muck it all up.

--Harry

Harry sounds normal, not angry or resentful or awkward at all, and Draco feels himself physically relax at the thought as he writes another short note to send back.

You won't. See you tomorrow.

--Draco

Draco tries not to dwell on how much it lifts his mood to make things right with Harry as his owl takes off out the window to carry his last message. He flops onto the sofa a second time and this time he thinks about how to make amends with Brandon and tries to mentally prepare himself to meet his boyfriend's mother in a few hours.

Everything will be fine.