Late Nights

Part 4

The next day, Draco went to work as normal. Merlin knew he couldn't stay at the manor with his mother fussing over him all day. It was all in vain, however; Blaise was on him the second he walked into his shop. Blaise always had the ability to see when something was wrong.

"What did Potter do this time?" he asked.Draco shook his head. Blaise stared at him with narrowed eyes and then said, "Okay." Then, he went to walk out of the shop.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked.

"To find Potter so I can punch him in the nose," Blaise said matter-of-factly. Draco reached his hand out to grab his arm and pull him back.

"Blaise, you can't just punch people in the face to solve every problem," Draco admonished. Blaise stopped fighting Draco's grasp and gave him a hard stare.

"You were so excited yesterday for your anniversary. It was the first time I've seen you truly happy in a long time, Draco. I know how hard it is for you - being in a relationship with someone who works so much. Yesterday, I thought maybe things would turn around for you. Apparently, the opposite has happened," Blaise explained.

Draco stared at his feet and replied, "I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. You're right, it's been bad for a long time now." With that, he turned to make his way behind the register. The shop was opening soon.

Blaise's eyes were on him, but he ignored him by re-stacking the cups on the counter. When he was finished, he could still feel Blaise's stare on him. He un-stacked and re-stacked the cups again. After doing this three more times, he chanced a peek up. Blaise was no longer staring at him, but outside instead.

"Er-" he started, but before he could finish, the door to the shop burst open. Harry stood there in the doorway. Draco sighed as Harry looked at him with an intense look in his eyes.

"Can we talk?" he asked. Despite knowing that he should say no, Draco found himself nodding in agreement. He walked out from behind the counter and into his office, silently urging Harry to follow. When Harry entered the tiny space, Draco closed the door and casted a silencing charm.

"I'm working," Draco grumbled. "What do you want?"

"You," Harry professed. Draco had vowed to keep a strong resolve, but Harry was making it a challenge with his seemingly honest words and fierce stare. Those green eyes seemed to tell Draco everything he wanted to hear. But it was just fantasy. When you want something desperately enough, you see it everywhere, but it's not there. It was a mirage in a desert.

With that thought in mind, Draco took a sharp inhale and said, "I can't do this, Harry." His voice cracked at the end, but he took a few calming breaths. Now wasn't the time to break down. He needed to be resolute.

"I'm sorry. About everything. I've been a terrible boyfriend to you, I know. You did not deserve to be treated that way. I've been working to much and that'snot fair to you," Harry admitted. As he was talking, he took a few steps forward so him and Draco were less than a foot away from each other. Draco was determinedly looking away at the wall. If he looked at Harry, he knew he would break.

"I don't know if an apology would do much good, right now," Draco divulged. Harry nodded.

When Draco didn't say anything else, Harry continued, "I know this can't fix everything. From now on, I'll spend every day trying to fix this. For now, however, you should know that I quit my job," Harry confessed. Finally, Draco looked up and stared at Harry with wide eyes.

"You... what?" he asked incredulously. A look of hope came over Harry's face.

"After last night, I thought I'd go to work to get it out of my head. When I got there, I realized I didn't want to get it out of my head. I wanted to make it better. You are more important than any job I could ever have," Harry confessed. He brought his hand up to slide Draco's hair behind his ear. "I love you." Draco stared at him for a moment.

"You- I can't believe you did that," Draco whispered. His resolve was slipping away, but he knew he couldn't let Harry get away with everything so easily. "You put another relationship before ours," he protested, halfheartedly pushing Harry away.

"I know; I'm so sorry," Harry said in a pained voice.

"You forgot our anniversary," Draco said with a broken voice. Harry's face fell as he took in Draco's pained expression.

"Yeah, I did. That was unforgivable. There's nothing I can say to explain that. All I can say is that I won't do it again. And I promise I'll never forget our wedding anniversary," Harry murmured. At Draco's confused expression, Harry got down on one knee. He reached into his jacket coat to bring out a small box. When he opened it, a sleek gold band was revealed.

"Wha-" Draco started but stopped at Harry's passionate stare.

"I know that I've messed up more times than I can count, but I want the opportunity to make it up to you every day for the rest of my life. Draco Lucius Malfoy, will you marry me?"