Truth Will Out

TRUTH WILL OUT

TO HELL WITH IT

He looked to the kettle and realized that she had done nothing about making coffee, despite having enough time to at least put some water on. He'd just begun to berate her in his head when he caught himself and turned the rebuke on himself. For Ginny to not have made some effort she must have been really struggling with the situation. Guilt gnawed at his insides. It was his fault. If he'd just displayed a little willpower then Ginny wouldn't be feeling awkward. Draco continued to kick himself while he prepared a coffee tray. The moment he got in the sitting room he was going to apologize for being an arse and beg her to still be his friend -- it was the only thing he could think of to make the situation right again.

When everything was ready Draco double-checked the tray and then checked it again. He needed to get out there, but finding the courage to walk through the door was proving to be more difficult than it should have. After growing angry with himself, Draco snatched the tray off the bench and stalked to the door. It was Ginny out there, and she was hurting -- it was his job, as her best friend, to put things to rights and make her feel better. His feet stopped moving instantly and the contents of the tray rattled. Would the same apply if they were lovers?

"Draco? Are you all right?" Ginny called.

"Yeah, fine," Draco uttered. "I won't be long."

"Okay."

He closed his eyes and sighed. Courage was not something he possessed a lot of, unless his mother or Ginny were in danger. Somehow Draco had to find the strength to step through the door and carry on a conversation with her with some semblance of normalcy. It wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter either. After all, it was his idea initially. That thought got his feet moving again and before he could entertain any more horrifying notions he rushed through the door.

Startled by the sudden intrusion, Ginny jumped.

"Sorry," Draco murmured, noticing the squeak that escaped her.

"It's fine," Ginny said, dismissing his apology easily. "I was away with the fairies."

"Here, just the way you like it." Draco offered her a large steaming mug.

"I'm dying for this," Ginny muttered. "I was beginning to think you might have gone to Brazil for the beans."

"No, I--err--took a little trip with the fairies myself," Draco admitted as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch to Ginny.

Ginny smiled and nodded a little. "I guess there's a bit of that going around right now."

"We're stalling," Draco pointed out.

"I'm fine with it, if you are," Ginny replied lightheartedly.

"We need to do this, Ginny," Draco said somberly. "Otherwise, I'm going to lose my mind."

"All right," Ginny agreed quietly.

"We need to decide what we're going to do," Draco started in a businesslike fashion.

"I thought we might be together," Ginny said hesitantly. "We did admit--"

"Admitting how we feel and doing something about it are two very different things," Draco cut in.

"You don't want to--"

"Quite the opposite," Draco said quickly, cutting her off again. "Ginevra Weasley, I want very much to be with you. Like you, I was reluctant to put our friendship in jeopardy for something I didn't fully understand -- I really didn't realize I was in love with you until this week, but I've been in love with you all these years. My careless proposal a little while ago wasn't made without conviction. If we decide to pursue a relationship, I fully intend on proposing properly one day."

"You do?"

"Ginny, you of all people should know that I don't love easily. Besides my mother, you are the only other woman I have ever allowed to get close to me."

"This love thing isn't just a-- it's not just because we're friends, is it?" Ginny couldn't stop the pained expression on her face from showing. "You haven't confused our friendship for romantic love?"

Draco slid forward on the couch until he was mere inches away from her. "I assure you, I have not confused my feelings for you in any way. Don't forget, I was telling the truth when I said I'm in love you."

"I just needed to make sure."

"What about you?" Draco asked. "How do you feel?"

"I'm in love you," Ginny said simply.

"What do you want--"

"I want you," Ginny blurted. "I want to see if we can do this, but I'm afraid of losing you if it doesn't work out."

"If that's the case, we need to decide if it's worth the risk," Draco decided. "I think we both know that if we did enter into a relationship, and it didn't work out, it would be very messy."

"We know each other too well," Ginny whispered.

"Precisely," Draco concurred.

"I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't give us a go," Ginny said decisively. "I'd always wonder what I missed, or perhaps I'd end up settling for someone I don't feel as strongly about."

"You're positive?" Draco questioned.

"Yes, I'm positive." Ginny smiled. "I love you, and I want us to be together -- to be more than friends."

"Thank Merlin," Draco breathed more than articulated. "I was afraid you were going to-- Well, never mind. You want to and that's all that matters."

"You thought that I didn't want to get involved?"

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. If forced to tell the truth, he may have had to admit that the thought of her not wanting him terrified him just a little more than the prospect of entering into a real adult relationship with her. "Now that we've decided that we will be together, we need to decide how we're going to move forward."

"Do we have to?"

"I think it would be good for us to know where the other stands on certain issues."

"Can't we just let everything simply happen when it feels right?"

"We could, but it we want different things at different times, then that might create a problem."

"What exactly do you want to plan?"

"Firstly, there's telling everyone," Draco started.

"I'm not looking forward to that," Ginny groaned.

"It's not exactly going to be the highlight of my future either, but we do need to tell our families."

"Can't we just let them find out on their own?"

"Ginny, that would hardly be fair."

"Fine." Ginny sighed heavily. She could imagine Lucius' reaction now and it wasn't pretty. "When?"

"Your family is having their usual lunch tomorrow, aren't they?"

Ginny stared at him in disbelief. "You want to come to lunch?"

Draco drew in a deep breath. He desperately wanted to say no, but he had to face them at some point and he figured the sooner the better, because they'd be more likely to torture him if they hid their relationship or that was the theory anyway. "I will come to lunch tomorrow, if you're willing to have your family know about us."

"All right, but you do realize that there's only so much I can do to protect you from my brothers. They will endeavor to get you alone at some point--"

"Ginny, love, I expect nothing less." Draco's hands grasped hers gently. "I'd be disappointed if they simply let me waltz in and steal their sister's heart, without making some token protest."

"Just as long as you know."

"If I survive lunch with your family, we can have dinner with my parents on Wednesday night."

"Is your father going to be there?"

"I don't know."

"I hope not," Ginny muttered under her breath.

Draco chuckled. "I'm sure you'll manage, even if he is there."

"If I giggle at the table it's not my fault," Ginny said.

"Okay. If you start giggling, I will be the first to admonish Father for glaring at you," Draco promised.

"All right," Ginny agreed reluctantly.

"It'll be fine," Draco assured her. "Mother is going to be so excited that Father won't have a chance to be horrid."

Ginny nodded. Her excitement about finally having her feelings known was being overshadowed by thoughts of what everyone else will say about their relationship. Plus, there was the fact that Draco had pulled away from her twice now. It really wasn't a big thing, considering they'd only just worked out how they feel about each other and what they were willing to do about it, but it still irked her a little.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes, everything is fine," Ginny lied.

"I thought you might be happier than you appear."

"I am happy." She cringed at the sound of her own voice -- she sounded anything but happy. "I'm just worried."

"There's nothing to worry about," Draco crooned.

"Then why do you keep pulling away from me?" Ginny blurted, before she could engage her brain.

"I haven't," Draco refuted.

"You have, and you keep saying you want to take things slow."

"Ginny, I just don't want to do anything we might regret -- something we can't find our way back from," Draco stressed. "Believe me when I say I want you -- I want you bad."

"You do?"

"Merlin yes! If I've pulled away from you, it's because I can feel myself getting too worked up," Draco told her. "I don't want to mess things up with you."

"I feel the same... I mean getting worked up--" Ginny paused as her thoughts and words began to become confused.

"It's all right, I understand," Draco said sympathetically. "We just need to keep our wits about, so we don't end up--"

"In bed?" Ginny interrupted.

"Well, yes I suppose that's precisely what we need to avoid."

"Why?" Color rose in Ginny's cheeks when she realized that her innocent question had come out of her mouth as more of a demand. "I mean, we will eventually reach the point where a physical relationship will strengthen what we have."

"I'm getting the distinct feeling that you're opposed to taking things slowly," Draco observed.

"I--err--I'm not--umm--"

"Ginevra?"

Ginny sighed. There was no escaping the violent shade of red she'd turned during her stammering, and Draco knew her well enough to dismiss everything but the truth. "It's been a while, and I'm feeling more than a little eager. It's just a physical need."

Draco's hands tightened on hers just before a smirk crept across his face. "Ah... I see."

"It's not funny," Ginny claimed, trying to snatch her hands away. More than anything, she wanted not to see that trademark smirk of his right now.

"No, it's not," Draco said calmly. "It's been a while for me as well."

"Two weeks," Ginny replied pessimistically. "It's been a bit longer for me."

"Well, perhaps we can keep your mind otherwise occupied," Draco suggested.

"How?"

"Maybe a little of this." Draco leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Are you trying to drive me insane?"

"Perhaps." Draco kissed the other corner of her mouth. He knew this wasn't the solution to keeping her mind away from sex, but he really wanted to kiss her again -- in fact, he never wanted to stop kissing her.

"You're just going to get me all worked up again," Ginny said, while his lips tasted the edge of her mouth.

"There's nothing to get worked up about; it's just a little harmless kissing," Draco murmured against her cheek.

As he released her hands she reached out and began to explore his chest. The toned muscle felt wonderfully firm under her fingers. She delighted when his nipples turned to small pebbles under her touch.

His hands drifted up to cup her face. "What are you doing?"

"It's just a little harmless exploration," Ginny replied.

"I can tell you now that the reaction is not harmless," Draco hissed as she tweaked one of his nipples. In his mind, he already had her lying naked across his bed.

"No?" Ginny asked innocently.

"No," Draco ground out as her fingers found his other nipple.

"Okay. I won't do that again," Ginny said agreeably. "What about this?" she asked as she leaned down and pressed her lips against his bare chest.

Draco hissed with pleasure. He wanted to tell her to stop -- that it wasn't doing anything for his self-control -- but he couldn't find the right words. His hands ached to find her head again, to hold her against his chest, so the pleasure would last.

With no answer from Draco, Ginny kept pressing her mouth to his chest. She casually worked her way over to his left nipple, and then let her tongue come out to play.

"Oh, Ginny," Draco moaned thickly.

His fingers tangled in her hair -- his body making the decision to not fight the urge to touch her. Gooseflesh rose across his chest, sending tremors down his spine and heat into his groin. Everything about her felt right -- her mouth on his skin, her breath caressing his flesh, and her hair in his hands. He wanted her more than he'd ever wanted another woman -- wanted to show her how he loved her, to hear her scream his name in ecstasy... The heat he'd been feeling was unexpectedly replaced with a rush of icy cold alarm. "Ginny! Stop! We can't do this!"

All of a sudden his hands were pushing on her shoulders firmly and his voice had lost the aroused tenor it held just minutes ago. Ginny looked up at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"We can't rush into this," Draco responded, inching away from her.

Ginny released a frustrated growl. "We're not. We've known each other for years, and we've been in love--"

"I just don't want to push you into anything you might regret," Draco interrupted urgently. He desperately needed her to say no and mean it, otherwise his brain was going to stop functioning and he was going to take her right where they were.

"Isn't it up to me to decide what I might regret?"

"Yes, it is, and you need to see that we need--"

"We need to stop messing about and get on with it before I explode," Ginny finished in a sultry whisper.

"I--ah--" Draco stared up into her eyes. She'd moved when he wasn't paying attention and was now almost hovering over him. "Ginny, you don't--"

"Oh, but I do," Ginny purred. Her fingernail traced a line from the top of his chest to his blond treasure trail. "You see, this is for me more than you."

Draco snatched her hand away from his trousers. "Ginny."

"Yes," she whispered.

He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. It was so hard to concentrate when her breasts were heaving and calling attention to themselves. "We shouldn't."

"Since when have either of us done what we should?" Ginny posed with a seductive smile.

Draco dropped his head and groaned. "Men really don't stand a chance with you."

"Draco?" Ginny touched his chin lightly, drawing his head up. "I need you."

"You're trying to kill me," Draco moaned.

"Is it working?" Ginny inquired devilishly.

"I'll let you know," Draco uttered as he reached up to claim her mouth feverishly.

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