A Telling Article (Part 1 of 2) (H/D, PG-13)
Title: A Telling Article (Part 1 of 2)
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1100
Pairing/Characters: Harry/Draco
Challenge: For shadowpryde's birthday prompt of "First kiss and/or marriage." It also fits my GJ 100_prompts table entry #52 - "Taboo" and slythindor100's prompt #22 - "Love".
Summary: As they are about to wed, Draco recalls his and Harry's first kiss.
Warning: Extreme fluff (but not quite schmoopy).
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
Draco sat in his room, preparing for his wedding. Blaise had just dragged Pansy out of the room, thankfully, to give him some much-needed peace before the ceremony.
Looking into the mirror, he thought back to three years ago, and the lead-up to their very first kiss.
~*~*~
He was a pureblood; Harry was a half-blood. He was a Death Eater; Harry was the saviour. He was a Slytherin; Harry was a Gryffindor. They knew that their relationship was taboo. Yet they worked. Somehow they just ... worked.
A few weeks after the final battle, Harry had come to return Draco's wand, and to thank Narcissa and Draco for their help during the war. After protesting his role, Draco eventually conceded to Harry that perhaps he had helped in some small way. Narcissa had insisted that Harry stay for tea, then for dinner. At some point she had left the two men alone to talk, and by the end of the evening a friendship of sorts had started to form.
They met weekly after that, at first always at either the Manor or Grimmauld Place, for the public wasn't nearly as forgiving as the officials had been. Lucius was serving ten years in Azkaban, and Draco and Narcissa had been cleared, in large part due to Harry's testimony.
Eventually Harry wore him down, convincing Draco that he needed to start standing up to people sometime, and certainly it would be easier if he started doing so with Harry in his company. They met in various wizarding pubs and restaurants, Draco always enduring stares of the negative sort en route, Harry enduring swooning fans of all varieties. Once they were together, however, people either ignored them both or stared boldly as if they couldn't imagine a stranger sight.
One morning a few months into their new friendship, Narcissa greeted Draco with a cheeky grin.
"Well, this is unexpected, Draco. Why didn't you tell me?"
Not a morning person, Draco was not in the mood for guessing games before breakfast and his much needed caffeine. "What are you on about, Mother?"
"You and Harry."
"What about me and Harry? I told you we met in London yesterday. Did you forget?"
She smiled widely at Draco, poured him a cup of coffee and slid it over to his spot. "Sit down, dear. Let's talk."
Confused about her behaviour, but in need of caffeine, he acquiesced. He took a long sip of coffee, put the cup down, then turned to ask, "Now, what are you talking about?"
She slid the Daily Prophet across the table, on which was a front-page spread, complete with photograph of the two wizards. The picture was captioned, "Hearts Breaking Around the World". Draco stared at it open-mouthed, before pulling the newspaper into his hands and reading the article.
Our photographer caught Harry Potter, wizarding saviour, with Draco Malfoy, local bad boy and son of convicted Death Eater Lucius Malfoy, as they spent the afternoon in London. The two took in some sights before having a meal at a local Muggle restaurant.
Of particular interest is the timing of this picture. The obviously smitten Mr Potter seems about to kiss Mr Malfoy here. Certainly Mr Malfoy looks pleased with the idea as well. We presume only the fact that they were in public stopped this display of affection.
Draco watched the image of Harry and him, and he could see how someone might read more into it than there was. He hadn't noticed the way Harry had looked at him, nor to his horror, the way he gazed back at Harry.
When asked for comment, several passers-by indicated that they had seen the men together in town on many occasions of late, so it seems that they have been dating for some time.
Dating for some time?! We're not dating. Oh, God, Harry must be livid!
"Mother, I've got to go --"
"Do say hi to Harry for me, dear," she said, then winked mischievously at him.
"Mother! The article isn't true!" he argued.
"You know what they say dear, a picture is worth a thousand words." Sometimes Narcissa really pissed Draco off. He rolled his eyes at her sappy smile and stormed off in a huff.
~*~*~
"Harry?" he called tentatively as he exited the Floo in Harry's sitting room. "Harry?"
"Draco?" he heard called from the kitchen. "Is that you?" Harry called as he walked into the room. Wearing only pajama pants. Looking positively edible.
"Um," Draco stammered while he tried not to drool. "Have you seen the paper?"
"Er, yeah," he replied, his cheeks going a light shade of pink. "You're not upset, are you?"
"No," Draco assured him. "I thought you might be, though."
"Surprisingly not, actually."
"Really?"
"Really." Harry took a step towards him. "I thought the article was their usual grasping at straws approach, but the picture ..." He closed the distance even more before continuing. "I thought the picture was rather telling."
Draco's throat went dry and he had difficulty swallowing. His hands were balled into fists at his sides as he struggled against the urge to touch Harry's bare chest. "Really?"
Harry chuckled. "Really," he repeated and brought his hand up to brush the hair from Draco's face. Cupping Draco's cheek in his hand, Harry leaned in to whisper, "I think I'd like to kiss you now, if that's alright with you."
Draco's eyes widened at Harry's words, and he gazed into lust-filled green orbs looking down at him. "I think I'd like that," he replied, his voice barely audible.
Harry smiled before bridging the gap between them and bringing their mouths together gently. He pressed feather-light kisses on Draco's lips before softly running his tongue along them. Draco's lips parted, and Harry eased his tongue in to meet Draco's. The kiss was sweet and gentle and ... loving. There was no other word for it. Draco felt his skin tingle and his toes curl as their tongues danced.
"Ready?" Draco's memory was broken with the return of Blaise.
"As I'll ever be," he replied, smiling at his best man.
~*~*~
As Draco stood before the gathered crowd, he looked into Harry's eyes and all nervousness faded. As always, the green pools calmed him, soothed him, drew him into their depths, making him feel overwhelmed yet safe all at once.
Draco smiled and mouthed, I love you, and when the gesture was returned and he saw the love in Harry's eyes, he knew that there was no place in the world for him but by Harry's side.
Part 2 - Not Such a Short Time
.
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1100
Pairing/Characters: Harry/Draco
Challenge: For shadowpryde's birthday prompt of "First kiss and/or marriage." It also fits my GJ 100_prompts table entry #52 - "Taboo" and slythindor100's prompt #22 - "Love".
Summary: As they are about to wed, Draco recalls his and Harry's first kiss.
Warning: Extreme fluff (but not quite schmoopy).
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
Draco sat in his room, preparing for his wedding. Blaise had just dragged Pansy out of the room, thankfully, to give him some much-needed peace before the ceremony.
Looking into the mirror, he thought back to three years ago, and the lead-up to their very first kiss.
~*~*~
He was a pureblood; Harry was a half-blood. He was a Death Eater; Harry was the saviour. He was a Slytherin; Harry was a Gryffindor. They knew that their relationship was taboo. Yet they worked. Somehow they just ... worked.
A few weeks after the final battle, Harry had come to return Draco's wand, and to thank Narcissa and Draco for their help during the war. After protesting his role, Draco eventually conceded to Harry that perhaps he had helped in some small way. Narcissa had insisted that Harry stay for tea, then for dinner. At some point she had left the two men alone to talk, and by the end of the evening a friendship of sorts had started to form.
They met weekly after that, at first always at either the Manor or Grimmauld Place, for the public wasn't nearly as forgiving as the officials had been. Lucius was serving ten years in Azkaban, and Draco and Narcissa had been cleared, in large part due to Harry's testimony.
Eventually Harry wore him down, convincing Draco that he needed to start standing up to people sometime, and certainly it would be easier if he started doing so with Harry in his company. They met in various wizarding pubs and restaurants, Draco always enduring stares of the negative sort en route, Harry enduring swooning fans of all varieties. Once they were together, however, people either ignored them both or stared boldly as if they couldn't imagine a stranger sight.
One morning a few months into their new friendship, Narcissa greeted Draco with a cheeky grin.
"Well, this is unexpected, Draco. Why didn't you tell me?"
Not a morning person, Draco was not in the mood for guessing games before breakfast and his much needed caffeine. "What are you on about, Mother?"
"You and Harry."
"What about me and Harry? I told you we met in London yesterday. Did you forget?"
She smiled widely at Draco, poured him a cup of coffee and slid it over to his spot. "Sit down, dear. Let's talk."
Confused about her behaviour, but in need of caffeine, he acquiesced. He took a long sip of coffee, put the cup down, then turned to ask, "Now, what are you talking about?"
She slid the Daily Prophet across the table, on which was a front-page spread, complete with photograph of the two wizards. The picture was captioned, "Hearts Breaking Around the World". Draco stared at it open-mouthed, before pulling the newspaper into his hands and reading the article.
Our photographer caught Harry Potter, wizarding saviour, with Draco Malfoy, local bad boy and son of convicted Death Eater Lucius Malfoy, as they spent the afternoon in London. The two took in some sights before having a meal at a local Muggle restaurant.
Of particular interest is the timing of this picture. The obviously smitten Mr Potter seems about to kiss Mr Malfoy here. Certainly Mr Malfoy looks pleased with the idea as well. We presume only the fact that they were in public stopped this display of affection.
Draco watched the image of Harry and him, and he could see how someone might read more into it than there was. He hadn't noticed the way Harry had looked at him, nor to his horror, the way he gazed back at Harry.
When asked for comment, several passers-by indicated that they had seen the men together in town on many occasions of late, so it seems that they have been dating for some time.
Dating for some time?! We're not dating. Oh, God, Harry must be livid!
"Mother, I've got to go --"
"Do say hi to Harry for me, dear," she said, then winked mischievously at him.
"Mother! The article isn't true!" he argued.
"You know what they say dear, a picture is worth a thousand words." Sometimes Narcissa really pissed Draco off. He rolled his eyes at her sappy smile and stormed off in a huff.
~*~*~
"Harry?" he called tentatively as he exited the Floo in Harry's sitting room. "Harry?"
"Draco?" he heard called from the kitchen. "Is that you?" Harry called as he walked into the room. Wearing only pajama pants. Looking positively edible.
"Um," Draco stammered while he tried not to drool. "Have you seen the paper?"
"Er, yeah," he replied, his cheeks going a light shade of pink. "You're not upset, are you?"
"No," Draco assured him. "I thought you might be, though."
"Surprisingly not, actually."
"Really?"
"Really." Harry took a step towards him. "I thought the article was their usual grasping at straws approach, but the picture ..." He closed the distance even more before continuing. "I thought the picture was rather telling."
Draco's throat went dry and he had difficulty swallowing. His hands were balled into fists at his sides as he struggled against the urge to touch Harry's bare chest. "Really?"
Harry chuckled. "Really," he repeated and brought his hand up to brush the hair from Draco's face. Cupping Draco's cheek in his hand, Harry leaned in to whisper, "I think I'd like to kiss you now, if that's alright with you."
Draco's eyes widened at Harry's words, and he gazed into lust-filled green orbs looking down at him. "I think I'd like that," he replied, his voice barely audible.
Harry smiled before bridging the gap between them and bringing their mouths together gently. He pressed feather-light kisses on Draco's lips before softly running his tongue along them. Draco's lips parted, and Harry eased his tongue in to meet Draco's. The kiss was sweet and gentle and ... loving. There was no other word for it. Draco felt his skin tingle and his toes curl as their tongues danced.
"Ready?" Draco's memory was broken with the return of Blaise.
"As I'll ever be," he replied, smiling at his best man.
~*~*~
As Draco stood before the gathered crowd, he looked into Harry's eyes and all nervousness faded. As always, the green pools calmed him, soothed him, drew him into their depths, making him feel overwhelmed yet safe all at once.
Draco smiled and mouthed, I love you, and when the gesture was returned and he saw the love in Harry's eyes, he knew that there was no place in the world for him but by Harry's side.
Part 2 - Not Such a Short Time
.