The ties that bind us part 2

XI

Wait," Potter said as he gripped Draco's wrist tighter and pushed his hand away. Draco would have complained if he wasn't busy yelping as Potter rose up a bit — choking, but obviously not caring about it — and swung his right foot over Draco's legs. Perplexed, Draco cringed as the desk in front of them tilted, wobbled on two legs for a moment and then tipped over with a resounding crash that had to have shaken the entire castle.

Potter didn't seem to notice, however, and Draco forgot about it soon enough. It was hard not to forget silly things like demolished classrooms when one had a lapful of Harry Potter. And a very pleased-looking Harry Potter, at that. Potter seemed quite happy about straddling Draco's lap, even though Draco's hugging arm forced them to sit tightly together. Their chests were touching and Draco was forced to look closely at Potter's tie. He had to lean his head back to look at Potter's face.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Potter bit his lip. "Um. You're my test subject. Well, I'm testing." To emphasize his point, Potter jumped a little as though he was testing to see whether Draco's lap was a sturdy, comfy place to sit on. He must have reached an affirmative conclusion because he did it again, slowly this time, rolling his hips and pressing down, relaxing his legs and letting himself sit with his full weight. Which was a very pleasant feeling. Potter was heavy, but Draco didn't plan to complain as long as Potter continued moving his hips because that part was not only pleasant, but absolutely brilliant. It made Draco wonder why Potter spent all those years sitting on chairs when he could have sat on Draco's lap to their mutual enjoyment. Granted, other people might have found that odd.

Merlin. Other people. What would other people say if they saw Potter sitting on Draco's lap? What would Pansy say, his friends, his parents? His mother? His mother's frown was suddenly clear in Draco's mind.

Really, Draco, have you no decency? his mother's voice asked and Draco cringed. What a fucking wrong time to think of his mother.

"Are you all right?" Potter asked, sounding worried. "I can get up . . ." Potter nearly did so, but Draco reacted quickly by grabbing Potter's tie and yanking him back to his lap. Potter all but fell on Draco's lips, which was convenient, but not very pleasant, since their teeth clanked together. Realistically, it should have stopped them from kissing, but it didn't. Potter made a small sound of relief and grabbed Draco's face again, kissing him soundly. It was completely unfair that even though Potter was trapped in Draco's embrace and on his bloody lap, he had the advantage of being temporarily taller, which made it easy for him to control the kiss. This time Potter demanded submission, holding the air captive until Draco surrendered, melted into the kiss, and let Potter ravage his mouth as he wished.

Draco wondered if Potter always kissed like that — pressing his palms to the other person's face, trapping their head so they couldn't move or run away. He wondered what it meant. When you grabbed something tightly, you did it because you were afraid it would disappear. He wished he knew whether Potter was always afraid that the other person would refuse to continue kissing him, or he was afraid that Draco would refuse him. Potter's thumbs caressed his cheeks gently, and Draco imagined that he was the only person Potter had ever kissed quite like that.

"Here, let me help," Potter said and Draco's eyes snapped open. He was surprised to find that the kiss had ended without him noticing — he could still feel the pressure of Potter's lips on his. "Er, you have to move your hand first," Potter added.

Draco blinked and let go of Potter's tie. He had apparently attempted to undo the knot, but failed to do so one-handed. Potter took off his tie and then slowly undid the buttons of his shirt, looking down, either because he was nervous or because he was simply concentrating on his task. He reached the ropes tied around his waist and stopped, toying with them slightly, possibly looking for a knot to untie.