Dec 11: Remus/Draco
A day late with my apologies. Yesterday was just, well, it doesn't matter. But fic is here now.
Title: Different Kind
Pairing: Remus/Draco (you did know it was coming eventually, right?)
Rating: R (reference to sex)
Summary: Remus decides he and Draco should put their relationship on hold until Draco has more experience. Draco disagrees.
Time Period: Post-war
Warnings: none!
A/N: I have a huge inexplicable soft spot for this pairing, though this is my first time writing them. I hope you give them a try & enjoy :) Title comes from 'DIfferent Kind of Wonderful' by Fisher, which inspired this more or less.
“This isn’t exactly how I saw my life going,” Draco said one night over fettuccini. It had been a couple months since he and Remus had more-or-less officially over tea decided they might as well acknowledge what they were doing and call it by its name - a relationship. This was a couple weeks after they were sleeping together, a couple months after they had exchanged heated looks, and a couple years since Draco first started working as a spy for the Order with Remus as his contact.
“You and me both,” Remus said with a wry smile that Draco saw through instantly to the trepidation behind his eyes. “I’m not what you deserve,” Remus continued. Draco rolled his eyes. “I can’t give you what Pansy can, for example.”
“Yes, because I’m so anxious to have little brats running around.”
“I’m serious,” Remus said in that gentle tone that somehow made Draco restless, as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. He averted his eyes.
“Look, drop it. It was only an observation, not a… commentary on you.”
“I thought it was a commentary on you,” Remus remarked and took a sip of his red wine. Somehow the way his finger curled around the stem turned Draco on. Everything about this man turned Draco on, he was quickly beginning to realize.
“Maybe we should cool it for a little while,” Remus said and Draco felt something clench in his stomach. “Make sure this is what you want.”
“No, it is,” Draco insisted instantly, cringing at how needy he sounded. “Unless it’s not what you want?”
Remus smiled then, and Draco felt something warm pool between his legs. “Draco.” He took another drink of his red wine. “I’ve been around long enough to know when I’ve got something good. I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to. You, on the other hand, haven’t really been with that many others… I would really feel better if you went out, had some experiences, and were sure.”
“You think I’m inexperienced.”
“Stop twisting my words,” Remus said with a sigh. “I, as I’ve said on numerous occasions, do not mind your inexperience. I worry - and don’t interrupt me - that you’re with me because you think there’s nothing else for you out there.”
“This is the stupidest thing you’ve ever come up with, Lupin,” Draco said angrily, reverting to Remus’ surname as he did when they fought. “You want me to sleep with strangers in order for me to be sure that I want to continue sleeping with you?”
Remus didn’t reply but got up from the table and grabbed a quill and parchment. Draco watched, a knot of worry forming in his stomach as Remus wrote several lines on the parchment in the handwriting he still remembered from third year.
He handed Draco the parchment. “What is this?”
“The name of a few places where you might have experiences, sexual and otherwise.”
“Fine,” Draco said, clenching his jaw. “I’ll do this stupid exercise for you but that’s it. After this you can’t tell me I don’t deserve you or whatever shit you come up with. Okay?”
Remus nodded, a small smile of amusement forming on his lips. The man was infuriating.
Two days and four bars later, Draco found himself at a coffee shop. Coffee House, the shop advertised and Draco shrugged before going in and ordering a triple grande vanilla skim with whip latte. While he waited for his drink he looked around. There was a small stage set up near the front with a tall skinny thig in front of it and round tables, each with two chairs set up around the café. Draco chose a table near the door so he could exit readily if the need arose.
It was only a few moments before a skinny young man around Draco’s age got up on the stage holding a wooden contraption Draco recognized as a guitar. Remus had one that he wouldn’t play for Draco, saying that it had been too long. Draco had never actually seen one being played and so he watched with curiosity as the man tapped on the tall black thing and then strapped on the guitar thing and started to play. Draco watched his fingers move on the strings and thought how Remus’ hands would look on the guitar. He looked around, hoping no one noticed his sudden erection, even though it was hidden under the table, but all eyes were on the guitar player.
He was okay, Draco decided, but muggle music was nowhere near as decent as wizarding music. Sure, some wizards had rebelled and made muggle music and that stuff was okay but this was just one person and one instrument and Draco found himself bored.
“Fuck this,” he muttered quietly.
He glanced down at the parchment he had pulled from his pocket and mentally crossed off the coffee shop. Remus would say he hadn’t really tried but Draco reasoned that if he didn’t want to try, that should say something too. He stood, grabbed his jacket and left, coffee in his hand.
He felt butterflies in his stomach as he ducked in behind the alley to apparate to Remus’ small flat. What if Remus had also been trying new things and right now was shagging some young muggle? Draco shook his head, as if trying to physically throw the thought from his mind before furrowing his brow and apparating.
“Back so soon?” was the first thing Draco heard right before he flinched and spilled hot coffee all over himself. He swore and walked to the kitchen in long strides, Remus following behind him.
“Here,” Remus said softly and wrapped his hand in a cold towel. He took Draco’s coffee from his other hand but kept Draco’s sore hand in his. “I’m sorry I startled you,” he apologised.
“I’ll have you know I’m quite angry with you,” Draco said before pulling his hand out of Remus’ grasp.
“You should know better than to apparate with a coffee,” Remus admonished before sitting at his small round kitchen table.
“Not about the fucking coffee, Remus,” Draco spat. “I’m angry about this whole fucking exercise.”
“Find something you liked?” Remus asked quietly and it was all Draco could do not to hit him.
“No! But thanks to you I’ve had the worst blowjob of my life, had my arse grabbed more times than I care to recall and had to sit through a shitty performance with that, that thing you have. Guitar.”
Draco glanced up from tending to his hand to see Remus trying to hide a smile.
“Don’t you dare fucking laugh at me.”
Naturally Remus did, infuriating git, and Draco really couldn’t be held responsible for climbing onto his lap and asking Remus to remind him what a good blowjob was like.