Shoulder Pillow

Chapter 15: In Two Hours, Early

 Light from the rising sun filtered through the curtains surrounding Harry's bed, casting a red-hued haze over Draco's vision. The smaller boy had been awake for nearly an hour, just listening to the sound of Harry's breathing and studying the texture of the curtains. They had shifted sometime after Draco had fallen asleep. The pale, bare skin of his back was pressed into the warmth of Harry's chest, with his boyfriend's arms enveloping him, keeping him close. Draco had tossed away his shirt sometime in the night, Harry had been more than enough to keep him warm. Their legs had tangled together underneath the worn sheets. With his head tucked under Harry's chin, Draco curled perfectly against Harry's body.

Memories from the previous night swirled in Draco's thoughts. He couldn't stop thinking about what Harry had endured, what he'd been subjected to in place of a childhood. But through the hours of sleeplessness, Draco had come to realize that the scars on his back didn't only exist as painful memories. They were reminders that he had come through. Harry had survived and he'd found a way to live again. He'd fought for years to be the person he'd become. The boy that he'd fallen completely in love with.

What he'd learned, the insights he'd gained, the twisting pain and grief he'd felt for Harry—it all made his heart drop to his stomach. It made him feel sick just thinking about it, it made the pressure build behind his eyes until they glistened with held-back tears.

But nothing Draco had been told could have made him love Harry any less. No, Draco had made a promise to himself—he would be there for Harry. (He didn't have the exact words to explain what he felt in his head. Or in his heart, for that matter. It was like the parts of Harry that had confused him before, suddenly made sense. Harry hadn't changed. He hadn't deceived Draco or tricked him into thinking he was someone he wasn't. It was... another piece of the puzzle that was Harry Potter. Draco would always wish that those years of abuse and torment had never happened—but he couldn't change that. He could only offer Harry his heart, and stay by his side through the nightmares)

"You're thinking too hard," Harry muttered in a sleep-deepened voice, "I can feel it." The vibrations of his voice sent a pleasant tingle down Draco's spine.

"Sorry, just let me drop a few IQ points and get on your level."

"Ouch." The arms around Draco's waist tightened. "You wound me, kitten."

A gentle smile graced Draco's lips, a hum resounded in the back of his throat as a response. Stretching his stiff limbs, he swiftly turned over himself to face the other boy. Harry's raven hair was ruffled against his pillow, his green eyes heavy-lidded with the remnants of sleep, the corners of his lips were upturned in the beginnings of a tired smile. His fingers began tracing the lines of Draco's ribs, caressing the divot of his spine, stroking up and down the skin on his chest and stomach. Every touch sent a burst of warmth through Draco, flowing through his veins.

Looking at Harry, Draco ran his hands up the other boy's deliciously brown chest, marveling at the smoothness of his skin. One hand came to rest against his face while the other tangled in his hair, lightly scratching and massaging his scalp. He bumped his nose against Harry's and threw his leg over his hip, drawing his body closer to the taller boy's. Their stomachs pressed together and Harry's arms circled closer around Draco's waist and hips. The tips of his fingers rested just above the waistband of his sweatpants—well, more accurately, Harry's sweatpants that Draco had borrowed. The smaller boy leaned up to press his forehead against Harry's. He tried to absorb the warmth that exuded from him, the same warmth that had filled his bones every time he was near his boyfriend. It wrapped around him like a blanket, comforting and... safe.

"It's okay," Draco murmured back, tugging ever so slightly on Harry's hair. "I have more than enough brains for both of us."

"Wow, thanks. That makes me feel so much better."