Stay With Me

Chapter 14

Draco pulled himself from the depths of another sleepless night and trudged down the stairs. He felt guilty for pushing Harry away, but he needed time to process everything that had happened in the last few weeks.

He wandered sleepily into the kitchen to make himself a tea but stopped in his tracks, seeing Harry still sitting at the table.

"Hey," Harry perked up, more enthusiastic than he wanted to be but still pleased to see him given the abnormal silence, "I made you a tea already, here," he nudged the mug forward and watched as Draco lit up a little more, sitting down in the seat beside him

"Why are you home? It's gone ten." Draco asked

"Study day," Harry said, nodding down at the mound of parchment that littered the kitchen table, "I've got Auror exams coming up soon, so you've got me here all day unfortunately." he chuffed, looking back down at his textbook.

Despite needing the space, it was a weight off of Draco's chest knowing that Harry would be home all day with him. The silence of the vast house alone forced his mind to wander to darker places, resulting in the painful memories resurfacing. With Harry here, hopefully the day would be easier to get through.

Draco sipped his tea slowly, his eyes closing at the comfort of the warmth enveloping his body. Harry reached for the tiny sugar pot, stirring another spoonful into his tea whilst keeping one eye on Draco from the corner of his vision, where he noticed the red mark on the side of his face,

"What's that, on your cheek?" he nodded towards the small reddened cut

"Oh, it's nothing," Draco waved the question away, praying Harry wouldn't probe

"Did your client do that to you?"

He thought for a moment, trying to come up with a suitable lie but something about Harry's genuine concern drew him to honesty, "Sort of," he shrugged, "He got angry when I told him I was no longer providing those services--"

"And he hit you?"

"No, he just... it doesn't matter." Draco uttered, acting as though the tea had suddenly become the most interesting thing he'd seen.

"Have you put any medicine on it?" Harry asked, placing his tea and quill firmly down on the table. Tending to Draco was now far more important. Draco shook his head, looking down at the mug hugged by his palms, and Harry immediately levitated the bottle of healing elixir over from the counter. "May I?"

"If you must," Draco nodded subtly, his heart beating in his chest. He watched as Harry placed three droplets into his fingertips and rubbed them together before moving closer on the seats until he was right in front of him. He could smell the familiar and comforting scent of Harry's soap that lingered on him.

Harry reached out his hand and Draco, nervous at first, tilted his head slightly, exposing the cut on his cheek. Like a spark of static, Draco felt something ignite inside his chest the moment Harry touched him and Harry let his fingers gently trace over Draco's soft skin, applying the liquid in soft circular motions over the break in the skin. Draco winced slightly at the sting of the medicine coming into contact with the broken skin.

Harry tried to keep his attention on the subtle cut under his fingertips, but his eyes kept flicking up to meet Draco's, stunning silver and filled with vulnerability. His lips were parted in concentration, shallow breaths caught in his throat feeling Draco under his touch, so close to him, aching for him.

Nerves suddenly flooded through his chest, his heart beating so hard, desperate not to say or do anything stupid that would upset Draco further.

"Does this feel alright?" Harry asked, rubbing the last of it into the skin which was drying rapidly from the cool air around them. Draco found it hard to get the words out, like being so close to Harry made him too nervous to speak. He smiled and looked down at the floor, feeling his heart blooming in his chest.