Harry had seen many things in his life, had done many things in his life, but somehow his boyfriend still managed to constantly surprise him.
Case in point- the cooling body of what seemed to be (from the back, at least, Harry was still too frozen in place to try and roll… it over.) Bartemius Crouch Jr., the sick fuck who had been Harry’s ex-boyfriend. He glanced up at Tom’s smug smile and quirked a brow in question.
“He deserved it, darling, after what he did to you.” Tom said, lightly kicking the corpse with one steel-toed motorcycle boot. “And I wanted to make sure there was nothing in the way of my plans for tonight.”
“Tonight?” Harry asked, sceptically. “We’re supposed to be going to the opening of my sister’s restaurant tonight, Thomas Marvolo Riddle. You are not flaking out on me to deal with any of that turf war bullshit, not tonight.”
Tom laughed softly, wrapping one arm around Harry’s shoulders even as he nodded to two of his men to collect the body that still lay face-down on the concrete. “Don’t worry, my dear. I fully remembered, and have already ordered our suits to be pressed and ready for the occasion. We’ll be having the driver drop us off just before our 6 o’clock reservation, since I’m sure you’d rather not take the bikes when wearing our finery for Heather’s big debut.”
“Hmm.” Harry leaned back into his boyfriend’s chest with a soft smile. “I’m so happy for her, and everything she’s accomplished.” He turned and lifted his face for a kiss, then sighed contentedly as they watched the Lestrange twins toss Barty’s still form into the back of their truck. “I will never be able to thank you enough for the loan you gave her when she first finished culinary school. Without you… Well.”
“Your sister is almost as smart and capable as you are, my darling, I believe she could do anything.” They started walking back to the bikes and Tom gently helped Harry with his helmet, even as the younger man’s eyes rolled playfully at the gesture. “Now, I have us going to lunch at your favourite sandwich shop at 1:00, a spa visit booked for you at 3:15, and then we’ll return to the house to get ready by 5:30.”
“That sounds lovely, but why all the fuss?”
Tom shrugged nonchalantly as he buckled his own helmet on and swung a leg over the back of his bike. “You deserve it, Harry. You deserve so much more than I could ever give you, I just hope this shows that for now.”
Harry laughed as he revved the engine on his motorcycle, then nodded to Tom before yelling over the noise, “Sap!” He pulled away quickly, leaving a trail of dust in his wake that had Tom grinning sharp enough to cut glass and tearing after him in quick pursuit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night, as they were led to their secluded table in the back of his sister’s restaurant, Harry couldn’t help but notice that Tom seemed a bit preoccupied. He tried to brush it off at first, knowing that they had spent the entire day together, and Tom might just be distracted. However, as their meal progressed, and his partner didn’t even comment on the rather shitty wine that the server had suggested they pair with their herb crusted lamb and asparagus, he began to wonder if there was something else going on.
“Tom?”
“Hm?” The answering hum was distracted, as Tom seemed to be fiddling with something below the table.
“Are you alright, love? You seem distracted.”
“I am perfectly fine, my darling, just finishing up something really quick… and… there.” He placed his phone back on the table, face down, and smiled at Harry. “Now, what were you saying?”
Harry’s stomach sank as he realised that Tom had been texting someone during their date, and had been ignoring him for that person. Now, Harry wasn’t one to mistrust Tom, or even begin to think the man would cheat, but… The sudden pampering? Killing his shitty ex? Texting someone else? Hiding his phone screen? He almost felt sick, but he managed to choke it down by convincing himself it wasn’t an elaborate plan to get away with being unfaithful. After Barty, Harry had a hard time believing that anyone would be willing to be faithful to him, but Tom had always seemed so loyal, so possessive and obsessed, that Harry had never suspected… Well, until now.
“Anything interesting, love?” Harry asked with practised calm, keeping his voice light and face clear.
“Nothing important, just a work call,” Tom lied smoothly.
“Alright, then.”
They continued eating, and Harry watched as Tom got more and more restless the closer they got to dessert, until finally, as their table was cleared of their main dishes, he motioned over a waitress and said, “I had put in a special request with Heather, for Thomas Riddle. Please let her know we are ready for dessert.”
After the waitress had agreed and left, Harry frowned. “Special request?”
“Unimportant, just something special to celebrate our four year anniversary.”
Harry flushed, eyes widening as he started chewing his lip anxiously. “That was tonight? Oh, Tom, I’m so sorry, I completely lost track of time! I-”
Tom interrupted smoothly, “It’s no fault of yours, my love. I know we did not do anything exorbitant for any of our previous anniversaries.” He noted Heather walking towards them with a fanciful golden cloche, and stood. Gracefully, he lowered himself to one knee in front of a slowly understanding Harry, then smiled the most genuine smile Harry had ever seen from him. “This one is just… a bit more than an anniversary.”
Heather set the cloche down and skillfully removed the top, revealing a beautifully decorated miniature cake, iced in shimmering gold and covered in a fine dusting of edible glitter to make it glow under the candlelight. Harry’s eyes filled with tears as he noticed the brilliant square cut emerald, set in a ring of bright gold, placed in a spot of honour atop the cake.
“Tom, I-”
“Harold James Potter,” Tom cut in, eyes shining with amusement and adoration, “Will you make me the luckiest man in the world, and marry me?”
A camera flashed in the background as he gently removed the ring from the cake, and (after wiping it gently on a napkin, which, Why did anyone decide that was romantic, anyway, Harry wondered) slid it onto Harry’s finger with a sigh of relief. Harry nodded frantically, eyes burning with unshed tears as he leaned down and placed a loving kiss on his fiance’s lips.
“Of course I will, love. You- You’re so amazing, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.” He pulled Tom up and hugged him close, both standing in an embrace as the patrons around them clapped politely, and the photographer continued taking as many pictures as he could.
“Good, because I already booked a lunch date at Francini’s with your parents tomorrow to tell them the news.” Tom confessed, face alight with evil glee.
“Of course you did.” Harry sighed playfully. “Well, if you’re going to be sneaky, I call dibs on the cake.”
“Hey, wait!”