Thank you - Drarry

Chapter 21

Harry had stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't know what to say or do as Draco's grey eyes bore into him. With a sigh, Draco pushed himself of the wall that he had been leaning on and made his way towards Harry. Without saying anything, he simply grabbed his boyfriends' hand and began dragging him towards an empty classroom. He pushed Harry inside and closed the door before casting privacy spells on the room. Harry realized that it was the same classroom that he had pushed Draco into the morning that they had shared their first kiss.

"What the hell happened last night?" Draco's voice was strained, and it was clear that he was trying to hide his anger. Harry scratched the back of his neck and avoided Draco's eyes.

"Nothing. I was just tired and I..."

"Bullshit!" Draco interrupted him halfway through his lame excuse. Harry shifted his weight and began picking at his nails. His eyes still avoiding Draco. He heard Draco let out a sigh and walk up to him. His pale hands grasped Harry's own gently.

"Babe, what's wrong?" His voice was soft and when Harry looked up, he was met with gentle eyes. No anger was visible in his face. He squeezed Draco's hands tight and took a breath, his eyes lowering again to escape those piercing grey eyes that seemed to gaze into his soul. Harry hated to be vulnerable. Lowering your guards always got you hurt. That was the one thing he had known for certain growing up. Yet, he knew that there was no other choice. So, he lowered his walls and prepared for the blow.

"I got jealous." He felt himself tense, getting ready for the harsh words or the laughter that he was sure would follow. But when none came, he looked up again to find that same look of love in his boyfriends' eyes. No sign of mocking.

"I know it's stupid, but I can't help what I feel. And watching you kiss someone else made me realize how scared I am and I just didn't want you to see that."

"What are you scared of?" Confusion was evident in Draco's face, yet his tone was still soft.

"Of losing you. I still don't even know why you want to be with me." His cheeks grew hot at the confession. He felt naked and vulnerable, but he needed to get this of his chest. Draco brought one of his hands up and kissed the back of it, his eyes never leaving Harry's. The gesture felt more intimate and loving than anything he had ever experience before, and he felt a warm feeling spread through his chest.

"Sweetheart! You have nothing to fear. I will not leave you unless you ask me to. And maybe not even then. I would miss you too much." Draco smiled absentmindedly, his thoughts deep within himself. He blinked slowly and planted another kiss on the back of Harry's hand.

"I would miss the smile you give me when I give you a compliment. I would miss the way you crunch up your nose when you burn your tongue on your coffee in the morning. I would miss your sleepy mumbles in the morning when you try to speak while still half asleep. I would miss how you stick your tongue out without even knowing it when you're really concentrating on something. And most importantly, I would miss your hand in mine and your presence by my side."

Tears were falling down Harry's face as Draco spoke. Never before had he felt so loved. And that was when it hit him. Every feeling known to him, all at once. With warmth in his chest and butterflies in his stomach, he knew.

"I love you."

Three simple words, yet it was words he had not said to many. But as he looked at the boy before him, he knew them to be true.

At first, Draco simply looked at him, frozen by his words. Then, just as Harry began to fear that he had spoken those three words too soon, a smile spread across Draco's face, and tears began falling from his eyes. He roughly pulled Harry closer and kissed him. The kiss was like no other they had shared before. There were so many emotions pressed into that kiss and Harry could feel it in his entire body. When Draco pulled away, he rested his forehead against Harrys' and let his eyes stay closed.

"I love you too, you idiot."

Harry let out a shaky laugh, tears still streaming down his face.

"Only you can manage to fit an insult into a declaration of love." Draco laughed with him, still holding him close.

In the years of his life that he could remember, there were only two people that had told Harry that they loved him. He knew that there were more than two who did. But only two had uttered the words. Ron and Hermione. His two best friends. Coming from them, those three words had meant the world, but they had held a different meaning.

Hearing them come from Draco, the man he loved, they felt bigger. For, with him, they meant a kind of love that Harry had feared he would never have. Yet, here he stood, and he was loved. He was in love, and he had never been so happy.

For the rest of the day they kept to themselves. After stopping by the Great Hall to pocket some food, they went to their corner in the library. There they stayed. They talked, they kissed and they laughed. And more times that he could count, they uttered those three words. They interrupted each other's sentences to say them. They mumbled them between kisses and they spoke them with their eyes. When the day came to an end, before Harry returned to his room and his bed, those words were the last thing he said and the last the he heard. When sleep finally took him, those were the words he dreamt.

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This one was a bit soppy, I know! But I just couldn't help myself! XD