Part Three
"So," Harry says, moving a piece of egg around with his fork, "You said your father was named Lucius; has anyone ever tried to call him Lucy?"
Harry is sitting across from him in a second-rate café - far too many overhead lamps, not nearly enough windows, and a strange mixture of incense and coffee beans. Draco has a coffee nestled in his hands, his fingers tracing the rim of the cup. The corners of Draco's mouth turn up at the sheer improbability of the idea as soon as Harry says it. He doesn't even think he's heard anyone but his mother call his father by his first name, let alone anyone daring to call him by a nickname. The sheer absurdity of it all almost made him want to laugh.
"No. No one who's lived to tell the tale, at least. My father isn't the most... welcoming of men."
"And yet his son seems to be pleasant enough," Harry says with a smile, making Draco look down at his coffee, almost bashfully. This man is starting to make him feel like an awkward teenage boy again and he doesn't know if he likes it or not.
"You can thank my mother for that. She was always the sociable one."
A beat of silence. Draco takes the much-too-small spoon and stirs his coffee for the tenth time since he'd gotten it, simply to avoid drinking it. The coffee was terrible, you see. Absolutely terrible. In every way possible. Burnt, too thick, too sweet. Just an all-around disaster. He can't believe that this place is still open, what with the subpar coffee and the very noticeable crack in the ceiling, but it was the only coffee shop close to the metro station, and, well, for the man across from him, Draco would endure it (not without complaining, but endure it nonetheless).
Draco clears his throat, looking up at Harry. "Did you know that Lucius was Seneca's given name? It's quite fitting, actually, now that I think about it."
To say his father was a Stoic would be a complement, really, but Draco wasn't about to divulge his entire life's story to a guy on the first (date?) - meeting - whatever.
Harry gives him another one of his smiles that make Draco's stomach flip in a decidedly undignified way and Draco decides that he's very grateful he's not sixteen anymore. Sixteen-year-old Draco would have almost spilled his coffee. This Draco, however, settles for a much more appropriate reaction - a small internal panic, quite akin to the squeal of a little girl.
He said appropriate, not dignified.
"No, I can't say I did." Harry pops another piece of egg in his mouth. Draco makes the small sacrifice of taking a sip of his coffee, suppressing a grimace. Something drops in the kitchen.
"How did you know it was... you know... safe to ask me to coffee? I mean, it could've ended poorly. You didn't even know I was interested in men," Draco asks offhandedly (or at least that's how he was trying to sound) while setting his coffee back on the small saucer.
"You're interested in men?"
Draco almost does spill his coffee all over himself at that. Jesus fucking Christ, either he's a complete idiot or I've horribly misread this entire situation... which is honestly something I wouldn't put past myself. Would it be bad to run out of the cafe? Rude, obviously. Embarrassing, clearly. Undignified. I haven't even paid yet. Oh, this is all Megan's fault. Her and her bleeding hedgehogs.
"I mean - I - this - I'm - I completely - I'm so sorry - " He fumbles as he takes out his wallet to leave money for his cup of petrol, coffee beans, and tears.
Well, I'm never going out in public ever again.
Harry's eyes widen and he starts to shake his head, and Draco could swear he was almost smiling.
Bastard. Even attractive when he's laughing at me. Who even gave him the right to walk among the general population with eyes like that? Indecent, that's what that is.
"No, no." A small laugh. " No, sorry. No, don't leave, please. Let me rephrase. I'm happy you confirmed that you're interested in men, because so am I."
Draco freezes, and the image of beating the infuriatingly attractive man over the head with one of Megan's hedgehogs flashes through his mind. He sits down, locking eyes with an obviously embarrassed (and less obviously blushing) Harry Potter.
"Do not ever do that again! You gave me a stroke! I thought - and after my question, too, I -!" Draco groans in frustration.
"I'm sorry, I'm not very good at these things." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "And to answer your question, well, would you believe me if I told you I just had a feeling?"
"Absolutely not," Draco says, folding his arms over his chest, leaning back slightly in his chair. He gave Harry a knowing smile, making him laugh. He's had enough people try to set him up with women to know that people don't automatically guess his sexuality when they look at him. Or that he's much too attractive and people can't accept that he's not available to half the population. Either way.
And that's enough arrogance for today.
Harry sighs, but the smile is still playing on his lips. He's finished his eggs by now, and has started on his coffee. Draco feels a small shot of validation when Harry cringes after the first sip. "Ok, you're right. It was more than that. Well, first of all, it was a public place, so the chances of you attacking me were slim, and I could handle a slur or a look of disgust. And - well..."
The smile Harry was wearing grew wider, and with it, so did Draco's curiosity.
"Well...?"
The grin Harry gave him should not have been that attractive. Not in the slightest. Draco's mouth went dry to the point that it almost made him want to take another sip of his coffee. Almost. He wasn't that desperate yet - but it was only eight in the morning, so.
"Well, a few weeks ago, I noticed you staring at me from across the train."
Welp, looks like he needs the coffee after all.
"You - You what?"
"Yeah, you were leaning against the wall while these..." Harry shakes his head. "Persistent young women were telling me about how absolutely lovely their granddaughters were."
After taking another sip of the coffee (and Draco smiling again at Harry's cringe when he does), Harry finally calls over a waiter and asks for two glasses of water (thank the Heavens). When his attention is back on Draco, Draco can't help but smirk.
"Telling you about their lovely granddaughters, were they? Yet it seems you were more interested in the mysterious blond gentleman on the other side of the car."
"More like the mysterious blond gentleman seemed to be rather interested in me," Harry answers without hesitation, giving Draco a smirk of his own.
Draco blushes as the two glasses of water are placed on their table.
"And then, I tried to see if I could catch you the next day - " Harry begins, but Draco promptly cuts him off.
"But you never did - "
"Because you take an earlier train. But - " Another smile. "Look at my luck. I found you today."
Draco takes a sip of his water and gives Harry a grin over the rim of the glass. "So you did."
---
Draco walks through the library quickly, opening the door to the staff room only a touch too excitedly, seeing Megan drinking her usual coffee-late-espresso-thing and looking at hedgehogs on Instagram.
"Megan, bless you and your ridiculous hedgehogs!"