the happy ending [DISCONTINUED]

chapter seventeen

If Draco was being honest, he didn't miss the hecticness of the Wizarding world. It was a different kind of chaos, one he would've never minded until he saw the muggle world. Staring at the pile of unmarked test papers weighing down his molding desk, Draco lets out a loud sigh. His eyes then drifted to the newspaper that was sprawled across the second half of his table. The random scribbles he had left all over it from calling the real estate agents. It was all he was fixated on. This meant that he wasn't marking the papers like he should be and it was adding on more to the stress.

"You look rough." Blaise teases as he walks through the door. "Here is a ham sandwich and some milk tea like you asked. I haven't seen you in a little over 2 weeks and you already look like you've hit rock bottom." He sighs, pouring out the herbal liquid from his flask.

"Thanks for coming over, Blaise." Draco accepts the mug he's been handed and takes a sip of his tea. "How's the shop?"

"It's going good. Business has been a little slow this week but the tutoring's still steady." Blaise smiles as he unwraps a sandwich and hands it to Draco. "I see you've been kept busy. What about lover boy?" He sits himself down and reads through the newspaper.

"Potter? He's alright. He's an Auror, what more can I say?" Draco shrugs, throwing himself further back into his chair. "You got any nice places we could rent out?" Draco asks softly.

"We? You and lover boy? So soon?" Blaise gasps, slamming down the newspaper. "Are you sure about this, Draco? You've never even really slept over at my house and sharing a dorm with me and Greg was absolute hell for you."

"I know, I know.. But this is different, you know? We're adults now and I'm sure we will make it work." Draco replies hesitantly. Blaise was his best friend since day 1 and even he is questioning this. It's out of concern but.. does Draco really want this?

"You.. Of course you'll make it work! You're Draco bloody Malfoy, you'll get anything you want." Blaise forces a smile. Draco might seem cold and strong and independent, and that's what everyone including him painted himself as but in reality.. Draco was dependent, validation-needy and extremely insecure. He never knew what he wanted for himself and this was a big step just saying he wants something. He can't even speak for himself, he still uses 'we'. "There's a small place downtown that's nice. It's uh.. cozy and a little run down but it has nice access to the roads and it's close to town center."

"Oh? How do you know about it?" Draco immediately pays attention to Blaise.

"I know a friend." Blaise softens, relieved that his old mate's back. Draco was changing and changing quite fast, was it because they graduated and now they're adults or was it because of Potter? Either way, he was happy because Draco's actually fighting for what he wants now, even if he doesn't realise it yet.

"Give me the address and the contact details." "A little demanding chap, aren't ya?" Blaise hums, grabbing a pen off of Draco's desk as he begins to scribble down onto the newspaper.

"What are you going to do this week?" Blaise asks, beginning to chow down on his own food. Draco shrugs, tearing off the bit that Blaise had written down on. "Not much, I suppose. I've got to catch up with marking stuff."

"Well, if you have the time we should definitely go into town. I heard a new café's opened up recently." Blaise smiles. Draco looked over at his friend, his dark brown eyes were warm and caring. It truly has been a while since they've spoken, let alone hung out.

"How does this Wednesday sound? I think I might be able to fit you in then." Draco responds in a mocking tone.

"Oh why, thank you sir Malfoy. I think that suits me as well." Blaise replies, returning the theatrical tone. Draco chuckles, it's nice to have someone to mess around with. He wonders what Harry's doing at the moment.