Reckless Abandon (Drarry)

Chapter 8

By Draco's third day away, Harry felt like climbing the walls. There were still so many questions, so many things from their past, their present, that Harry couldn't stop thinking about. Plus, his fantasies about Draco were keeping him up nights, images of long, deep kisses and touching each other everywhere.

Ron was still giving him concerned looks. "What is going on with you, Harry? I've never seen you like this."

Taking a deep breath, Harry quickly glanced around the cafe to make sure there wasn't anyone too close. He still leaned forward, and spoke in a quiet tone. "You know when I mentioned that I'd run into someone from the past?"

Ron nodded slowly.

Harry took a deep breath. How much could he tell Ron? "Um, well, it's all a bit confusing, partially because it's...um...a bloke." His voice almost gave out, his heart thumping in his chest.

Ron's eyebrows went up a little, and he leaned back to give Harry a long look. After a few moments, he just gave a little shrug and leaned forward again. "Like Charlie."

His second oldest brother had been briefly engaged to a woman, but they had split up and later Charlie had come out. It had been hard for the family to accept at first, but they now treated Charlie like they always had.

"So, I'm trying to figure a lot of stuff out right now. I wasn't sure if he liked me, that way, but it turns out he might." It had been killing Harry, not being able to share this with anyone.

Ron took a sip of his coffee, and gave Harry a friendly smile. He didn't seem to be treating Harry any differently than normal. "I haven't seen you this interested in anyone for ages. It's worth pursuing, just for that fact alone."

Grinning widely, Harry felt a spark of happiness at the idea. "He's away this week, visiting relatives, and I'm trying to give him some space. But I want to send him owls every hour telling him to rush back here. I really miss him."

Ron smirked. "You've got it bad, Harry. It's good to see you like this."

"Nuts?" Harry laughed, finishing off his drink.

"Human." Ron joked back. "Seriously, you have been so busy being 'Harry Potter', you haven't had time to just be a guy in his twenties. Dating, seeing friends, drinking too much...you know, living."

His old friend made a good point. He couldn't remember that last time he'd been drunk, or even taken a vacation. Plus, he really needed a distraction before he sent Draco a long, embarrassing letter.

"You are right. So, how about you and Hermione come over for dinner? I'll cook something special." Harry impulsively blurted.

Ron got up, pulling his auror robe back on. "Sure!".

They discussed the details as they took the lift back to the office, talking about the food they missed most from their Hogwarts days.

...

"Mmmmm something smells good." Clementine leaned against the doorway into the kitchen, and watched as Harry chopped up some herbs, and then stirred them into a pot on the stove.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Beef bourguignon." He pulled on some oven mitts, and pulled the fresh biscuits out of the oven.

She looked over at the table, and just shook her head. "I was kind of hoping you were doing all this banging around with pots and pans for a date, but I see there are three places set."

"It's just for Ron and Hermione." It was good that she considered him having a date. Sometimes it felt like people didn't expect him to want regular things like that in his life. He loved that she wasn't dazzled by his past at all. "Say, I've made way too much. Would you like to join us?"