[open] serve me the sky tonight

[alphaophiuchi]

WHO Draco Malfoy and OPEN.
WHAT Fantasy week takes its toll.
WHERE Hell House, the hostel, the streets...wherever, really.
WHEN Wednesday through Sunday. Please specify if you want a certain day.
WARNINGS Deathly Hallows spoilers? I'll edit as necessary

Comments

Sunday evening, perhaps? Draco's apartment

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto had noticed that something was wrong with Draco, which said a lot, because he wasn't normally down in the basement or around anywhere where Draco normally hung around. But he didn't fail to notice the bandage on his arm or the twitchiness of his normally calm and composed demeanor. And so Ianto decided that he had to do something about it, had to talk to the other man to find out what was wrong, and if there was anything that he could do to help, both as his boss, and his friend.

And so he found himself at the door to Draco's apartment, having had to look up where he'd lived on record. With a quick tug at his tie to calm his nerves, Ianto reached up and knocked on the door. "Draco?" he called out. "It's Ianto. Are you in?"

[ooc: sorry for the date change, just realized that ianto's already booked for saturday night, and since draco's got zero visiting on friday night, and i don't want to steal his thunder and send ianto thursday night, i'm hoping sunday night's okay? :'D /s-so complicated]

[alphaophiuchi]

He was indeed in. And despite the fact that he probably should have been more used to people knocking on his door, he had to clap one hand over his mouth in order to keep the yelp of nervous shock from reaching Ianto's ears. If nothing else, Draco was getting far better at that.

Well, that and actually hiding the sudden twinges of pain wracking his arm, as if his potions knife were being driven through it. Not that Draco would know what that felt like or anything.

Once his breathing was under control - it was only Ianto, not some seasoned serial killer; if a killer was with him, surely the other man would sound much more pained than he did - he managed to call back a quiet, wavering "It's open."

[ooc: fret not, m'dear - all is well. :D]

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto did make it a point to announce that it was him, so that there would be no question as to who it was at the door. The other inviting him to just walk in, though, well. He wasn't anticipating that. Nor was he anticipating just how meek Draco sounded in that moment. So he bit back whatever qualms he had about letting himself in on the first visit to the place and pulled open the door, looking around for Draco.

"I'm, ehm. I'm sorry if it's a bad time. I just. I wanted to check in on you."

[alphaophiuchi]

Draco had tried to convey as much self-confidence in his body language when he arranged himself onto the couch that sat just within view of the door; despite his attempts, his own appearance betrayed him: dark circles were prominent beneath his eyes, and he was paler than usual, if it were possible. Even though he'd done his best to ignore everything for the last few days and really get ahold of himself.

"I wasn't doing anything," he tried, inhaling a bit sharply to even his voice out. Even though his body was still for once, his eyes were still moving, darting to look past Ianto to make sure the other man was truly alone. "S- ...sorry I didn't get the door for you." Draco moved past his own brief stammer with only the barest of acknowledgements: an annoyed tic of the corner of his mouth.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto let himself in, taking in Draco's appearance where he sat on the sofa, noting how awful the younger man looked as he shut the door behind him. He shook his head at the apology. "No, it's alright," he said, quietly. "I know how to open a door myself."

He made his way across the room to stand closer to where Draco was sitting, pulling up a seat across from him. He sat forward, looking at the other man earnestly as he spoke up. "Draco, is..." No, but that was a silly question. Of course something was wrong. The question now remained, "What's wrong? You're not looking very well, and I've heard from a few people that you've been pretty distracted and absent at work this week."

[alphaophiuchi]

He'd never had a boss before, let alone one that checked up on him; the closest thing Draco had experienced had been Snape, catching him between classes in sixth year and all but slamming him into walls to get him to listen to reason. These were two very different situations, yet so similar. Ianto was definitely preferable, however.

Draco swallowed though, mouth twitching again at the mention of his absences. He'd done his best to be there all day, every day, but it had worn down on his patience; after yet another potion had blown up in his face, he just couldn't stand it. "Just dock it from my pay; I'll take care of it," he managed, pointedly avoiding Ianto's gaze for the moment.

[torchwoodteaboy]

"I'm not here to yell at you or to dock your pay about it, Draco," Ianto corrected the other man, looking at him earnestly from where he was sitting across from him. "I just want to know what the matter is? If there's anything myself or anyone else can do to help? Because something is obviously bothering you, but you don't seem like the type to come to anyone with any problem that arises, so. I'm coming to you."

He paused for a moment, before speaking up again. "Talk to me, Draco," he said, gently. "Maybe I can help. The least I can do is listen."

[alphaophiuchi]

He was torn between actually telling Ianto what had happened and telling him all was well. Possibly Obliviating him, too. Not that that was a particularly good option, but Draco couldn't exactly claim that he was in a right mind.

Not that Ianto could really do anything about it. But perhaps if he offered some idea of it, he'd be able to disappear from work more easily. It all came down to the mental compartmentalisation that involved pro and con lists. Finally, he sighed in mild exasperation, running one hand through his hair. "It's a rather long story."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, motioning Draco on. "I've got the time to listen," he said, hoping Draco would continue. He seriously was concerned for the younger man there, especially since he did know some of the background of his life. If something was really bothering him, Ianto wanted to know about it so that he could know whether there was anything that he could do to help him.

[alphaophiuchi]

Draco looked on for another long moment, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. It was hard to figure out exactly where to start; maybe he could just skip over the unimportant bits of things. Finally inhaling and expelling it in a long, soft hiss, he nodded, eyes dropping back down.

"The war...I've mentioned that before," he started, "Well, it's no secret-" Though it really was. "-that I was on the wrong side. That..." Draco paused, swallowing deeply, and went on, describing the basic premise of Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and what they stood for, until he finally came to the notion of his Mark. Rolling his sleeve up nervously, fingers trembling, he continued on: "The Mark itself is how Death Eaters call the Dark Lord, and how he calls us.

"And it's been hurting all fucking week," he finally finished, voice shaky and nearly hysterical.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, taking in all the information that Draco was sharing with him, especially when he got to this part about the Mark branded on his arm. He noticed just how shaken the other man was by all of this, and realized how he'd probably been keeping it in to himself for days now, if it had been going on all week. He wished that he would have said something sooner, honestly, but he wasn't going to push Draco on that fact at all.

"Is there any other reason to believe that this Dark Lord of yours is in the city, then?" Ianto asked, his voice steady and calm, hoping that it would have a similar effect on Draco's nerves. "I mean, besides the fact that this Mark has been hurting you, has there been any other sign that that's what this is?"

[alphaophiuchi]

He'd been able to keep himself relatively calm during the explanation - as calm and objective as he could manage, at least - but as the topic began to slide back to his Mark, he'd begun to shake visibly again. He knew that it was of his own doing, that it was his decision to say anything at all, and that there was a few doses of a calming drought somewhere in his room. At the same time, he knew that it was good to have allies in this place, where people didn't see him just for the supposed injustices he'd performed upon people: Draco focused on that small point - that Ianto would defend him as long as he didn't do anything. That no matter what people said past this point, as long as Draco did nothing to jeopardise Ianto's trust, he would probably have it

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, taking in the information that Draco was giving him. "The other person in the city with this Mark. Have they been experiencing anything similar with it hurting? Have you spoken to them about it at all? Because if not, if it's only you..." He sighed.

"This city... It gets into your head. It can do things to you that are mad, make you think things that aren't real, aren't true. And unless you have proof that that's what there is going on here. That this... This Dark Lord of yours is truly within the city, then. That may be what it is." He paused for a moment, frowning. "Is there anything you might be able to take to help with the pain it's causing you, or is it not effective against this sort of magic?" he asked, softly.

[alphaophiuchi]

It hadn't occurred to him to go to Snape; the chances of him being put down as a pathetic child who couldn't handle the Mark were too great. Besides that, there were certain things he'd never been able to deal with well - being a Death Eater was one of them, and one he bore alone. Until now, it seemed.

Dracp swallowed thickly, furrowing his brow slightly as Ianto explained. Was he actually just going crazy? Was that it? The city getting to him on a grander scale than he initially anticipated, rather than Voldemort actually showing up and torturing him from afar? It would certainly explain away why there had been no actual sightings of him, though Draco had to admit that he'd thought he'd seen him out of the corner of his eye more than once.

"I've been...taking a few things," he finally murmured, looking positively ill at the idea that it was merely in his head, that he was beginning to see and feel things that weren't real. That was the first sign of his sanity going, after all.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto frowned at the look that the other man was getting, and decided that he needed to speak up with examples of how the city got to people, but it was the city, not Draco himself, that was doing this.

"A few months ago, before you came here, something happened. There was a mistake with someone trying to attempt to get out of here, and so rather than a window opening to your own world, the world you belonged in, people started to see windows to worlds where they had never existed. Worlds where everyone was better off without them. And only the person themself could see that window. But that doesn't mean that something's wrong with you. I saw a window myself, and you know me. Do I seem like an unstable man to you?"

[alphaophiuchi]

The window. Well, Draco remembered that. He had found it in nearly his first week of being there. It really hadn't done anything for his self-esteem, particularly since he hadn't known anyone until getting absolutely trashed down in some seedy looking bar; of course, he'd met Scott that night, lo and behold.

He swallowed again, nodding slowly. "Merlin's fault, wasn't that? They were...hard to deal with." To say the least. Considering he honestly didn't remember most of the incident, save for being sufficiently depressed. "I'd just arrived then."

Blinking himself firmly out of his own thoughts, Draco glanced back up to Ianto then, brow still furrowed. "You're far more grounded than most people here."