Nowhere Else to Go

Chapter 13

Draco changed into the clothes Harry had offered him. He laid down in the bed and curled up a little. Every single movement hurt like hell. His ribs definitely got fucked up, his body ached, and more than anything, he felt unsafe. Being back in the flat was certainly better for him. He didn't plan on leaving again anytime soon.

Ten minutes passed, then thirty; Draco couldn't fall asleep for the life of him. He was incredibly exhausted, but much too shaken and far from relaxed. He slipped out of bed and winced in pain. Fucking hell. He'd been through this shit before, but every damn time it always seemed worse than he remembered. He made his way across the hall to Harry, gently pushing open his door to see if he was still awake.

Harry seemed to be sleeping soundly. Draco stood by the door for a moment before he walked over and carefully tugged the pillow out of Harry's hold, setting it aside. He laid down beside him facing away, and guided one of Harry's arms around himself. Harry brought him feelings of safety and hospitality. Harry was the closest thing he had to feeling like home.

Harry and safety were the same thing in Draco's book. He had never once felt worried or unsafe under Harry's roof. He was in good hands and he recognized that. Harry seemed to still be fast asleep, and Draco started nodding off as well, slipping into a deep sleep.

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Harry woke up a bit earlier than usual that morning. He wanted to go check on Draco and make him some breakfast. At least, that was until he realized Draco was already here beside him, in his arms. He flushed a soft pink and looked down at the blond. He was sleeping so peacefully. He wondered what the hell had gotten into Draco, leaving the house like that. And even having Draco come near him like this was a shock. The Draco he knew would have stayed closed off for a good week before even coming near Harry.

He let Draco stay with him for a little while longer before he got out of bed, careful not to disturb Draco's slumber. He went down to the kitchen and started on breakfast for the two of them. He was sure Draco was hungry as hell. Draco had likely gone far longer without food, but he wanted to get him back to a normal living situation as soon as he could.

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Draco woke up alone, in Harry's bed. His heart sunk. When did Harry leave? Did he get up and move somewhere else when Draco came in? He hoped he hadn't fucked anything up between them. It was just a momentary lapse in character; Draco was hurting and needed someone near him. He got up and went back to his own room, getting back in his own bed. He sunk into the covers, and tugged a pillow close, which oddly enough, smelled like Harry.

Harry finished making breakfast, and he brought Draco's plate upstairs with a large glass of water. He went into his own room, expecting to find Draco still asleep in his bed, but he was gone without a trace. He furrowed his brows and went across the hall to the guest room, where he found Draco laying under the duvet, falling back asleep. Harry smiled a little at that and walked over, setting the food down on the bedside table. "You didn't have to leave my room y'know" he mentioned, placing the water down too. "Eat something. I'm trying to keep you alive" he muttered, before turning and leaving the room to give Draco a bit of privacy.

He didn't know what had happened in the past two days, but Draco's lack of communication about it told him enough. He didn't want to overstep of course, and he didn't want to coddle Draco. He knew he could handle himself. At least, he had faith that he could. And he'd be there if Draco did need him.

He ate his own breakfast downstairs and drank his coffee. He had to admit, he slept much better last night than he typically did. He wondered if it was really true that sleeping near another person was beneficial. He always thought it was just another baited lie to make single people feel shitty about their lack of a relationship. He rolled his eyes at the thought. Most of his relationships were failed ones anyways. He couldn't go there with Draco. It would be asking for heartbreak.

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Draco ate his breakfast, somewhat reluctantly. Going two days straight with no food left him with not much of an appetite, but Potter was right, he needed to eat to stay alive.

When he finished eating, he stood up from his bed to take his dishes downstairs; but he was interrupted by Harry opening the door again.

"Oh good, you ate" he swiftly took the dishes from Draco's hands and gently pushed him to sit back down in the bed. "I have to replace your bandages. Then I'll be out of your hair" he said, holding up a small roll of gauze.

Draco huffed softly and rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Potter. Take your bandages elsewhere" he muttered with a wave of his hand in an attempt to dismiss Harry, who couldn't help but laugh.

"Shut up Malfoy, you don't get a choice, especially looking like you've just escaped Cerberus." he lifted Draco's shirt off and sat down on the side of the bed, unwrapping the old bandages carefully, as if Draco was as delicate as a butterfly with a broken wing. He looked over the cuts on his chest. They seemed to be healing alright. He tenderly cleaned them off a bit with a cloth, yet Draco still winced at his touch.

Between muttered apologies and several resting breaks for Draco to collect himself, Harry finished cleaning up his chest. He re-bandaged the wounds and shifted a little to get closer so he could clean Draco's face. Unfortunately, the only comfortable position was for him to practically straddle Draco, facing him. He leaned forward and gently cleaned off the cut across his cheek. Dracos entire face had wholly flushed a deep pink. He avoided eye contact at all costs, and allowed Harry clean off his face.

Harry was fixated on making sure he wasn't hurting Draco. It was only when he pulled back that he realized how flustered Draco had gotten. He raised an eyebrow. "What? It's not like we haven't been in this position before" he noted with a small smirk before getting out a band-aid and gently covering the wound on Draco's chin with it. Poor Draco was red in the face at this point. Harry couldn't help but be amused.

"Shut up Potter" he spat, clearly trying to cover up his flustered state. "Are you done yet?" He asked, shifting his eyes back up to meet Harry's, who smirked a little and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm done" he got off of Draco and picked up the dishes, leaving the half finished glass of water. "Drink up and get some rest. I'll be back in a few hours to check on you." He stated before leaving Draco to himself.