Swimming Lessons
Harry woke up bit by bit, not exactly comprehending where he was. The bed was so soft, so nice to just lay in. Of course, the weight in his arms began to wriggle, and then he remembered that he was currently in Draco Malfoy's bed, holding Draco Malfoy in his arms.
Damn. This wasn't a situation he'd ever seen himself waking up in.
Light filtered in through the windows, dancing across the sharp angles of Malfoy's jaw and caressing the curve of his neck. Something in Harry's chest seized up at the image: it was so soft, so quiet and peaceful. It was nothing that he had ever thought he'd be able to experience. Especially not here, not with Draco.
Love had once seemed so far away, like a star, unreachable. Ginny and Cho were nice, but it had been a struggle just to get their attention, and once he did...
Well, Cho had never been able to stop crying, and now Ginny was dating Luna. So.
But here, with Draco, love seemed almost tangible. It hung heavy in the air around them, practically daring Harry to reach out and grab it. He knew he could, if he wanted, but he also knew that love wasn't meant to be rushed. Especially this. They weren't in love yet, but they could be. They would be, if Harry had any say in it.
Overcome by his inner realization, Harry leaned down and gently kissed Draco, barely more than a brush against his lips. The other stirred underneath him once again, mumbling something not quite tangible. Another brush of the lips and Draco was yawning into Harry's mouth, making the other chuckle and pull away. "Gross," he murmured fondly, unable to take his eyes off of Draco's sparkling ones as they blinked open.
"If you think I'm so gross, you're perfectly welcome to leave," Draco announced haughtily, although as he said so he curled into the dark-haired wizard and nuzzled into his neck, so the statement didn't hold much weight. Harry simply laughed again, running his fingers through Draco's platinum hair and down to the nape of his neck. "That tickles," the other complained, but did absolutely nothing to stop Harry.
Sleepy Draco seemed to be very cuddly, pulling Harry closer and whining in compliant every time he tried to get up. Eventually they both grew hungry, and Harry managed to coax the other out of bed with the promise of fresh, greasy bacon. Draco sighed but surrendered, standing up and rearranging his hair in a way that made Harry's heart flip-flop in his chest. Damn.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," the blonde smirked, and Harry rushed out of the bedroom, cheeks turning pink. Shadow accosted them as soon as they stepped into the hallway, whining and jumping around to be let out again. Draco rolled his eyes but let him out, and Harry made bacon. It was their second breakfast, just as this was the second time they'd both woken up that morning.
"I wish all mornings could be like this," Draco mumbled around a mouthful of bacon, and Harry's neck almost hurt with how quickly he turned to look at the other. That was such a vulnerable statement, so... Un-Malfoy.
"They can be," he replied carefully, trying not to break the dreamlike quality of the morning.
Draco's lips formed a tight line and he shook his head, eyes hardening. "No. They can't."
The words were like a punch in the gut, but Harry turned away. It wasn't worth it to argue the point right now. And so what if Draco didn't return his feelings? He was moving much too fast anyways. There was no way that they could be in love already.
It was ridiculous to think that.
But he couldn't seem to stop himself.
Draco read the way he reacted too easily, as he always seemed to do, and sighed. "Hey. It's not your fault, Harry. Just... Let's do something fun today, alright? We can go swimming? I'll teach you, it's not that hard, and maybe if you know how you won't have to be saved by handsome strangers with dogs anymore."
Harry hated himself for being so easily swayed, but the idea did sound fun, so he threw a quick smile over his shoulder at Draco and nodded. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. Surely the way the blond's eyes had narrowed and the way his voice had sharpened didn't really mean anything. Who cared, anyways?
After they finished the bacon, they walked to the river where they'd first been reunited. Draco seemed to be relaxing around Harry, as he began to talk.
And talk.
And talk.
Apparently when Draco wanted to he could blabber on for literally hours. There was no shortage of things to talk about: the way the flowers were growing now, how he thought Harry would look nice with a beard, his favorite type of bird that they saw flying overhead, all the things that he missed now that he was living alone (mainly his servants and the ability to complain to people, although apparently Shadow was a good listener). The other wizard literally couldn't get a word in edgewise.
But it wasn't that bad. Harry found himself actually listening to what Draco was saying, nodding along to his stories and laughing at his jokes. He was surprised at some of the little things pointed out to him ("Look! That little rock is shaped just like the astrology tower at Hogwarts. I always think about it when I walk by here,") and the way that Draco seemed to think about nature in general ("I think those two birds are in love. Don't they just seem like they're in love?").
There was only one thing that Draco wouldn't talk about, and it was rather surprising, as it used to be what he'd talk about all the time.
His father.
Harry knew that Lucius Malfoy was in Azkaban. Hell, he'd testified at the man's trial. He'd testified for Draco too, but in Draco's case he hadn't wanted him to go to the dementors. He could still picture how scared the boy had been that day, how skinny and pale he'd looked surrounded by guards, so out of place. Harry couldn't help but feel bad for him.
The other Malfoy he hadn't felt anything for. That bastard deserved every single year of the life sentence he'd received.
But Harry hadn't expected the prison sentence to affect Draco like this. Sometimes he tripped over his words, starting out with "my f-" and then scrambling to recover with "a book I read once says" or "Professor Flitwick always thought" to cover up what he was going to say.
It was curious. Why wouldn't Draco just mention Lucius? Was he afraid?
Shadow padded alongside them as they strolled through the forest, sniffing at various plants and panting happily. When they reached the river, the dog threw himself in, splashing Draco and making the wizard laugh.
It was so different, Draco like this. Harry found himself loving the easy smiles and constant chatter. It didn't annoy him at all, in fact, he was hanging on to every word the blond spoke. It all revealed a little bit more of the man, and Harry wanted to know everything. He wanted to know Draco's thoughts, his feelings, what made the other tick.
And of course, he was focusing on that when the asshole pushed him into the river.
Harry landed on his butt, spluttering, water pooling around his waist. It wasn't very deep here, only a few inches, and Draco laughed as he stripped off his shirt. "Oh, you're laughing now," Harry called out, but couldn't help but grin himself. "Just wait until I get you in here."
They spent the afternoon in the water, Draco leading Harry into the deeper bits carefully. There was a fair amount of splashing, and a lot of nonsense that resulted in wet hair and a pouting Malfoy. Shadow seemed to enjoy it too, what with all the swimming around he did. Still, it was fun, and educational. Harry managed to learn the basics of dog-paddling, and was taught how to float on his back. It would probably save him if he was ever stranded in the ocean.
("But Draco, why wouldn't I just apparate out of the water?"
"Maybe you're unconscious, idiot."
"Well if I'm unconscious I can't swim. Or even float."
"Alright, fine, maybe you're too drunk to apparate."
"Why would I be drunk?"
"Listen, you didn't think of just apparating out of the river when you fell in, did you?"
Harry had no good answer for that one.)
After a few hours they emerged from the river and collapsed onto the bank, both breathing heavily, wearing matching grins. "I'm exhausted," Draco panted, and let out a squeak when Harry rolled over to capture his lips in a burning kiss.
"I'm in this for the long run, Draco Malfoy," the dark haired man said, and the seriousness of his tone left no room for doubt. Draco softened under his gaze and kissed him once, twice, each time gentle and soft.
"I know," he murmured, and there were too many emotions trapped in those two simple words for Harry to comprehend.
He flopped back onto the grass and sighed contentedly, looking up at the sky. This was so beautiful.
Who cared what Draco thought? Fuck it, every day could always be like this.
A bark rang out behind them, and Harry was suddenly proved completely wrong, as he twisted around to see something--well, something he'd never thought he'd see.
Shadow was beginning to transform.