Chapter 2
Pansy,
I’m leaving for America with Thorfinn this evening. My time with you has been more than I could ever ask for but when I return it cannot continue. My past is not something I wish to burden you with, whether publicly or just between the two of us.
You have so much of your life left to live Pchelka, do it well,
Antonin Dolohov
She dropped the note onto her kitchen counter and ripped the cabinet open, pulling out a bottle of wine and shoving it into the bag on her shoulder. Slipping her wand out of the pocket of her large leather jacket she left her apartment with a pop.
Opening her eyes she stood in the entry foyer to Malfoy manner, the dark walls making her feel tiny in comparison. Heavy footsteps ran down the stairs and a head of blonde hair came rushing around the corner. The tall blonde came to a skittering halt when he saw the short woman with a bottle of red wine held out toward him. He stepped closer to her and pulled it from her hand, turning it over to read the label
“Exquisite choice,” Draco said, leading her down the hall to the sitting room. She took a seat and watched him open the bottle of elf-made wine, pouring two glasses. He crossed the room and sat across from her on the couch, passing one glass to her as he took the first sip.
“He left,” she mumbled, catching the blonde sitting straight up in shock. “Said he left for America with that stupid Viking,” she took a long sip of her wine, feeling the warmth beginning to pool in her stomach.
Draco set his glass down on the table next to him and scooted closer to her. “He never even deserved a moment of your time, Pans, I told you this months ago,” he said reaching out to place a cold hand on her thigh, just below the hem of her skirt. “What else did he say?” he asked, gray eyes communicating his sympathy.
Finishing off her glass he stood to refill it, watching her kick off her stilettos and curl up on the ornate couch. “Said something about not wanting to burden me with his past and that I had too much of my life ahead of me to let him drag me down.” he returned with her refilled glass, and she gave him her thanks as he settled back on the couch next to her. “It was only meant to be sex; granted, it was the best sex of my life, but I don’t know where he got the idea I wanted more than that,” she muttered, her green eyes flicking across the room to see various painting of the blonde’s ancestors.
He gave a short laugh, drawing her attention back to him. “Pansy, love, I think he was the one who wanted more,” he said. She threw her head back with a laugh, the short bob of black hair shifting around as she did so.
“There is no way in hell Antonin Dolohov would ever settle down with anyone, that man is a lone wolf,” she told him, taking a sip from her glass. A blush had started to creep up her cheeks, the thought of last night's endeavors flooding her inebriated head.
“Well, how about you join Theo and I at the bar this weekend, I’m sure another man of your liking will be worthy of sharing your bed.” he jabbed, earning a roll of green eyes in return as she finished off her second glass.
Months later, Pansy stood in Malfoy manor again, this time being greeted by an overly ecstatic Theodore Nott. Under her loose leather jacket was a dark green satin dress with a halter top and high stilettos that clacked on the old wooden floors as she moved to greet him.
“Merlin Pansy, you look exquisite,” he said, pulling her in for a tight hug. She mumbled a thank you before pulling away to try and fix her hair in the large ornate mirror beside them. Her green eyes looked exhausted from the past few sleepless nights, the copious amounts of alcohol were not helping on top of the days she had poured herself into her work at the ministry.
“Ready to go?” Draco called as he rounded the corner of the hallway. The two nodded, and he took their hands, apparating them into an alleyway in Muggle London. “You look beautiful, love,” he said as the three of them entered the bustling streets, headed toward a bright neon sign a few blocks down.
“Thank you,” Theo and Pansy said at the same time. The blonde just rolled his eyes and tugged the sleeves of his leather jacket to cover his hands. “I am so ready to get on that floor,” Theo whooped, raising his hand into the air. Pansy chuckled at his antics, trying to keep the cold breeze of winter out of her jacket.
As they neared the sign they had their sights set on, Theo threw the door open, the sound of heavy music thrumming through their veins as they stepped inside. The bouncer nodded his head at them, knowing them from the past five years they had been coming. The tall brunette man bounded toward the bar, pushing past the women who had tried to approach him. Draco wrapped his arm around Pansy's shoulders, leading her over to a secluded corner of the crowded bar. Just as they took a seat, he returned with three shots in his hands, a smile spread wide across his face. “Who’s ready to get absolutely WASTED!” Pansy rolled her eyes as she took one of the shots from him, immediately throwing it back with a hum at the taste of the burn.
“Potter said he’d meet me here in,” Draco started, looking down at the watch on his wrist. “Any minute now, actually,” he said with a wide smile. Theo held his hand out to Pansy, who gladly accepted. He pulled her onto the dance floor just as a new song was starting, a familiar riff from Nirvana filling her ears.
She missed the nights the three of them would spend in muggle London, they would start at one bar then stumble upon a place to get takeaway and bring it back to her apartment. About a year ago they stumbled into a bar just in the center of London coming upon two familiar faces or brown and blonde hair. She knew when she gazed into his blue eyes that the man she had been told to stay far away from had changed. During the war, she barely saw his face, but he never once wore a smile, his lips never even twitched. But now walking towards him she saw it, and though it was beneath the neat beard he had grown she could still see the dimples peek through.
Theo’s hand on her shoulder pulled her back from her wandering thoughts, the heavy thrum of the music beating her heart rapidly. “Let’s get you another drink!” He called. She nodded, leading him to the bar across the room, weaving her small body through the people. Nearing the crowded counter Pansy leans her elbow on an open spot, drawing the attention of the blonde bartender. As he stepped up to greet her his piercing blue eyes made her pause her words. His hair was pulled back into a bun and he had grown his beard out in the past few months.
“Pansy, what can I get you,” he smiled. She rolled her eyes and felt Theo grip her waist tightly. “Let me guess, a strawberry daiquiri?” He asked, raising a brow at the woman. She nodded curtly, taking a step back for the brunette behind her to order.
She pointed her head to the table and he nodded, letting her weave back through the crowd. Approaching the table there was a head of raven black hair, accompanied by flaming red hair and another head of white blonde. Slipping into the booth next to Draco she leaned in close to his ear. “They’re back,” she whispered, earning raised eyebrows in response. As she was about to elaborate Theo set her drink down in front of her and squeezed into the booth next to Luna, pulling her into a hug.
Letting the night drag on she threw back a few more shots, on request of Theo and Ginny. With each shot, she couldn’t help but think about the man behind the counter, Thorfinn Rowle, the damn Viking was back. If Thorfinn was back, so was he, and Merlin did she crave him. Her skin grew cold at the thought of his calloused hands gripping her waist and slipping between her thighs.
“I think it’s best we head home,” Harry said, his arm wrapped tightly around Draco’s shoulders to hold him up. Pansy stood from her seat and joined the two in their goodbyes.
Theo sauntered up to her and pulled her into his chest, mumbling something incoherent into her hair. When he pulled away she was held at arm's length and the brunette looked her over with a scowl. “I’m taking you to breakfast tomorrow,” he said and she tried to argue that she wanted to sleep in but he brushed her off. “Nope, we’re going, and I’ll come over in the morning and wake you up.” She rolled her eyes at his insistence knowing there was no way she was getting out of the plans.
Once everyone had said goodbye she helped Harry drag the blonde through the still crowded bar and into the alleyway a few buildings down. Givingthe two a kiss on the cheek she disapparated, landing in the alleyway behind her apartment building. Pulling her leather jacket tightly around her she walked around front, pulling her key out to unlock the front door.
Her heels clicked up the wooden stairs, coming to a stop when she saw a dark figure standing in front of her door. Taking another weary step the person turned their head and her heart stopped. There was no way in hell this was real, it was definitely the tequila shots making her imagine him standing in front of her apartment door. His hair and beard had grown out in the past few months, a few stray strands fell over his face, casting a shadow over his eyes.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she bit, continuing to walk towards her door in the center of the hallway. She grabbed the key and nudged him out of the way, unlocking the peeling red door.
“I wanted to apologize,” he said.
She pushed her door open and spun around pointing a blood-red nail straight at his chest. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me when you returned, yet here you are at my door, either explain why you decided to grace me with your unwanted presence or leave,” Her voice was like venom spitting out at him.
“Please, Pchelka, just let me in,” he whispered, trying to grab at her wrist. She pulled it back sharply, her eyes narrowing like a cat’s.
“You are not stepping foot inside this apartment Antonin, you made that decision yourself,” her arms were crossed over her chest, keeping the edges of her jacket closed.
He ran his hand over her face with a sigh, crossing his arms similar to hers before taking a shaky breath. “I thought I would be able to stay away, that those months in America would make me forget, but you are like poison, Pchelka, I haven’t stopped thinking about you,” he said, his eyes pleading to her to take mercy on him, but instead she only rolled her eyes and his heart sunk.
“Sweet words, but they’re not getting you into my bed.” She backed into her apartment, leaving a few feet between them. She moved to close the door but he reached out a hand and stopped her, crossing the threshold with one swift movement.
“I’m not looking to slither my way back into your bed,” he started, his voice was low, sending heat pooling in her stomach. “I just want you to hear me out,” he said, raking his eyes across her face, looking for any signs of her mask starting to break. “Please, Pansy,” his voice was barely above a whisper, something she had never heard outside of the bedroom.
She let go of the door and stepped out of the way, letting him waltz his way back into her life. When she had read the note she promised herself to do the same as he had, leave whatever they had behind and hopefully never have to think about him agian. But, she was proved sorely wrong when the fist man she brought home stood no chance against him.
The door clicked closed behind him and she walked down the hallway to the kitchen, pulling the fridge open to grab a bottle of wine she had opened yesterday. She held it up to him but he shook his head, prompting her to only grab one glass, filling it to the brim with the last bit of the red alcohol. He stuck his hands in his pockets, casting his head down to stare at the dark brown boots he wore under his slacks, trying to muster up the words to try and win her back.
“I was afraid of hurting you, alienating you from your friends if they ever found out about us, and to be honest I took the coward's way out. Even though I’ve come a long way since I was released from Azkaban I still fear the person I was before, I want to be better, but I’m a man who is easily angered, I won’t lie. I’m a man who has killed and tortured innocent people, in the name of something I lost faith in. I’m a man twice your age, and yet you seemed to care about none of this.” she had finished about half the glass by the time he looked up at her, her cheeks flushed a light pink. “The weeks before I left I felt myself developing feelings and I was terrified. Not once in my forty-five years have I ever felt this way about anyone, so instead of facing it I fled, and after thinking about it every day for the past few months, along with Thorfinn nagging and lecturing me, I’ve decided I needed to at least apologize to you, Pansy. I never should have left, I’m sorry.” His last words were nothing but a whisper, but she heard them all the same.
Finishing the last of her glass she set it down on the counter next to the empty bottle, her hands shaking as she took a step forward, kicking her heels off behind her. “You are an idiot Antonin Dolohov, a blithering idiot,” she muttered, standing only a few inches away from him. Tilting her head up her green eyes met his blue and he could smell the alcohol on her breath as she rose up on her toes, her lips hovering next to his ear. “But you’re my idiot,” she whispered, letting her teeth graze his earlobe. His breath paused, he felt as though he was about to pass out at the sound of her voice and the things it did to him.