Life With Draco

Chapter 4: The Long Walk Home

Harry could hardly see out the windows of his car because the rain was coming down heavily. He craned his neck to get a better view out of the driver's side window, squinting his alert eyes for any signs of the blond.

He had driven in the direction that everyone at the party had pointed. He remembers Seamus shouting, "Harry, Harry, he went left."

He had been driving for ten minutes and still didn't see Draco. How far could he have gotten, he thought.

Finally, Harry saw a figure walking swiftly on the side of the road. He pulled up next to the man and stuck his head of the window. "Draco."

Draco kept his eyes forward, not acknowledging the car driving along side of him. The rain was coming down harder, hitting his body with a fierce intensity. He was soaked to the bone and his dark clothes clung to him, outlining his thin physique. His hair, which was usually slicked back on his head, was now messily plastered to his face.

"Draco. Please get in the car." Harry's eyes fluttered from the road to his boyfriend and back again; he did not want to lose control of the car.

Draco kept up his fast stride, avoiding Harry's words.

"I'm sorry for everything that happened back there. I didn't mean for you to learn about that stuff the way you did."

The blond man did not answer, but continued walking.

Having almost driven into the curb twice, Harry was beginning to get overwhelmed by his frustration. His normally calm and soothing voice became cold. "Draco! Stop being stubborn and get in the damn car!" He winced as the words came out of his mouth.

Draco stopped walking and turned towards him. A flash of lightning rang out through the sky, illuminating the blond's face and his steely gray eyes as they stared at him. Thinking his partner had gotten tired of getting drenched, Harry reached over and unlocked the passenger side door.

But the other man did not climb into the vehicle; he remained unmoving on the sidewalk. "You really embarrassed me tonight," Draco began. "And now you want me to get in the car and pretend like nothing happened?"

"Listen, we can talk about all that stuff tomorrow morning. Just get in the car and out of the rain."

The blond crossed his arms tightly against his chest. "I don't want to wait until then, I want to discuss this now."

"We're in the middle of a thunderstorm, just in case you haven't noticed. Can't we wait till we get home?"

Draco sighed loudly and began to take off down the road once more.

"Okay, let's talk about it now. Whatever you want. Just don't walk off anymore."

The blond stopped and glared at him. "Is that why you wanted me to come to the party so badly? So I could hear the news."

Harry's eyebrows narrowed. "No. I didn't know any of this stuff was going to be brought up. I just wanted you to get out of the house and have a good time."

A cynical smirk spread on Draco's face. "Why would you ever think that I would have a good time with those people? Did it appear to you at anytime during the night that I was enjoying myself?"

Harry hung his head low, remembering how miserable his partner had look that evening.

"I came to the party to please you and look what you do to me. You embarrass me in front of your friends, making me a laughing stock."

Harry snapped his head up. "Embarrass you? I didn't do anything tonight. Yes, I'm sorry I dragged you hear tonight. I should have known you'd be miserable. But please don't blame me for the scene that took place back there."

Draco's mouth flew open. "But it was your lies and deceptions that caused the whole scene. If you had just told me the truth, none of this would have happened."

"But it was you who created the racket. I wanted to keep the issue private and between us, but you had to go and make a scene." The calm control Harry had over himself was now disappearing. "You're the one who decided to scream at the top of your lungs, drawing everyone's attention to us. And in front of Seamus. He's probably running to the Daily Prophet as we speak."

"If this ends up in the Daily Prophet, it'll be all your doing! Why did you have to open up your mouth to Ron? That was private information. How would you like it if I told everyone you liked to be spanked? I can't believe you've been lying to me for all these years."

"I didn't lie to you. I just left out some details."

"Like the truth? Why don't you go back to your little party? You and all your Gryffindor pals can have a good laugh at my expense." He started to walk down the sidewalk once more.

"Will you please get in the car? You're going to catch cold."

"What do you care if I get sick?"

"Draco I care about you."

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it."

"I'm really getting sick of arguing with you. Will you just get in?" Draco did not glance his way. "How would you feel if I just left you here?"

Draco stopped walking and crossed his arms against his chest. "I don't care. I'm capable of getting home on my own." He rocked on his heels and looked at Harry, daring him to make his move."

The two men stared at each other, trying to see which one was bluffing. Harry's foot hovered over the accelerator. Then he yelled, "Bye." He pressed down on the gas and jetted down the road.

**************

Draco shivered as he reached the front door. He struggled to get his key out of his skintight pants. But he didn't feel the cold because he was so angry. As he opened the door and walked in, all he could think of was how Harry left him.

He wasn't so angry as he was disappointed. If Harry had coaxed him a bit more, he would have gotten into the car, eventually.

He quickly went up the stairs, eager to get his hands around Harry's neck, whether to choke him or just hold him close, he hadn't decided yet.

**********

Harry was fast asleep, snoring softly, when he felt something cold land on his face. He opened one blurry eye to see a figure standing over him. He instantly opened up the other eye and was about to scream out loud, when he realized that the figure was Draco. The other man was hovering over him, his wet hair dripping on his face.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Draco's face was lit by the moonlight, and Harry could see his angry eyes staring down at him.

"You left me. I can't believe you left me. I had to catch a ride with some old lady."

Harry reached over and turned on the lamp. "Well, you told me to leave and I did just that. I was just trying to make you happy." He tossed the other man a sheepish smile.

His gaze traveled down to Draco's right hand, which was now completely healed. "Who fixed your hand? You finally decided to use magic after-"

"You were trying to make me happy? You actually thought I wanted to walk in the rain?" He leered down at the other man. Before Harry could respond, Draco grabbed his arm and began to pull him out of bed.

Harry's body lunged forward. "Draco! What are you doing?"

"Get out of my bed! I bought all the furniture in this room, so I want you out."

Harry desperately held onto the headboard with his free hand. But Draco pulled on him with such power that he flew out of bed, hitting his head on the nightstand. As he was sprawled on the floor, Draco grabbed his ankles and started dragging him towards the door.

"Draco stop! This has gone too far," Harry pleaded. But the other man kept dragging him until they were in the hallway. When his ankles were finally dropped, Harry scrambled to his feet and tried to force himself into the bedroom, but Draco slammed the door in his face.

Harry walked over to the hall closet and took out a pillow and blanket. His head started to ache as he walked downstairs. He ran his fingers across his forehead and felt a large bump forming.

He went to the kitchen to get some ice to reduce the swelling. His head throbbed again, and he winced in pain as he pressed the ice pack on the lump.

I really shouldn't have left him like that, he thought. I should have pleaded with him.

As he settled down on the couch for the night, he thought of how things would be better in the morning.