Let Me Stumble Into Your Arms

Chapter 1

Present Day

Draco returns from work in a sordid state, fringe plastered down his forehead. His family, the Malfoys always held high positions either as aurors, members of the Minister's Cabinet and even within the Death Eaters they had impressive titles to match their charisma. And here he is, a drone in the Ministry - a single cog in a vast expanse of machinery. He's a boring accountant. 

Arriving home he rips off his tie. All he wants is to go little. He can feel his headspace coming on the second he's closed the front door behind him, comfort washing over him in this cosy apartment shared with his Daddy Hari. 

"Welcome back, Bachcha," Hari wanders in from the kitchen, tenderly kissing Draco's head. "Someone looks sleepy, did you work hard today?" 

"Uh-huh Daddy," Draco noms on his fingernails as he falls deeper into his headspace. Hari begins to undress him. 

"Let's get these work clothes off! These are not comfy, are they now?" Hari cooes, stroking Draco's hair and fixing it gently into place. His voice makes his Babyboy smile and a tiny, pure giggle escapes his lips. Hari redresses Draco into his headspace clothing, a deep sea green onesie adorned with lime green snakes. It's Draco's favourite. 

Hari pops Draco's pacci into his mouth. "Now, I think someone needs a nap," taking Draco's hand, he leads the whining little into his bedroom. 

"Nu Da! No nap!" he starts to whimper. 

"Now now, it's okay Babu. You're very sleepy and you need your energy for tonight," Hari admonishes, stopping in the centre of Draco's toddler-themed nursery. Soft animals line the walls and Draco's sturdy adult crib. A spell placed on his mobile means it always turns, playing  lullaby version of the Hogwarts choir tunes. "Ron and Hermione are coming to visit tonight and I can't have a sleepy baby when they're here," 

"B-Bu'..." Draco tears up slightly, looking down in a sad pout. Ron and Hermione have never liked him, Ron especially. Hari has tried to explain to them that Draco is a different person now than he was then. Especially in headspace when he's just as innocent as a child. Unfortunately that wouldn't help even if they thought he'd actually had a change of heart. Neither of them endorse their lifestyle. 

But that's okay. Daddy is here and he'll help Draco through it. 

Once Draco is down for his nap, Hari prepares everything for Ron and Hermione. Snacks, a movie that they'll like but won't traumatise Draco... he smiles to himself as Draco comes to mind. Thinking of that pale blonde hair and those sky blue eyes gives him a warm, tingling feeling in his heart. Hari is ace but he's also panromantic and thinks of (adult) Draco as his romantic partner more often than not. But Draco is ace and aro, so he wouldn't be interested in that. 

Draco is less groggy after his nap. He plays quietly though, lacking his usual vivacious littlespace energy. Draco is a quiet little by nature partly due to how young his headspace is. By the time Ron and Hermione arrive he's playing quietly on the floor on his playmat. It's jungle themed and he's mostly tracing the animals with his fingers, babbling to them like best friends. 

"Hi Hari!" Hermione kisses him on the cheek, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Her husband lets go of her to hug Hari too, handing him a bottle of wine as a 'thank you' for dinner. Their effervescence decreases slightly when they go into the living room and little Draco is there playing. 

Dinner goes by without a hitch -  though Hari doesn't escape the awkward tension in the room when he bottle feeds baby Draco. Whatever, if they're going to be in his house they can accept his Bachcha or fuck off. Respectively. Draco always gets sleepy after bottle feeds so Hari holds him close on his lap, petting his hair as Ron and Hermione talk about their marriage, their issues with finding a house and Hermione's stacking responsibilities as a high member of the Ministry for Magic, which is taking away her time with Ron. 

"So we haven't had our honeymoon yet," Hermione sighs tiredly, draining the remainder of her glass. "I think we'll need to postpone it to next year at the least," 

"Be careful - next year we might not be able to travel round Europe," Hari reminds. Ron rolls his eyes for political talk between Hari and Hermione always drags for so long, so boring to listen to. To avoid being the third wheel to a global issues conference he quickly changes the subject. 

"What about you Hari? When Draco's big, are you gonna get married?" 

"Married?  But we aren't even together like that," Hari frowns, knowing it's a lost cause to explain. Ron is straight and Hermione is bi, neither are ace or aro and neither have researched it. He knows they don't understand his relationship and reject it to some extent. It's just so ludicrous to them. 

"C'mon Hari, you've lived together for two years! And I know you like him," Hermione pushes. Hari doesn't have a defence for that one. "And being married would mean you're hitched forever. It won't be just two people living together like... like roommates," 

Hermione and Ron wrinkle their nose at that. Of course, they think it's like roommates. People can't be intimate unless they're romantic or sexually involved, right? He sighs. As if the universe is favouring him, Draco whimpers a little and starts to sniffle on his lap. 

"Oh - someone needs changing," He looks up at Ron and Hermione. "Look - we'll talk soon alright?" 

"Just think about it mate," Ron urges just as they're escorted out the door by a very flustered Hari. Thankfully with Draco being wet neither are interested in staying. 

"Did you do that on purpose, Bachcha?" Hari chuckles down at Draco who smiles at him innocently and babbles. "Alright, let's go get you changed!" 

After changing Draco, Hari sits with him in a rocking chair. He softly hums the Gudiya Rani, Bitiya Rani, a lullaby inspired by the 1991 Bollywood film Lamhe. It's one of his favourites for soothing Draco. But his humming is stiff and strained, he can't escape the idea in his head that unless he and Draco get married their relationships will never be accepted - even by those he is closest to.