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Draco found it way too easy to fall in love with someone’s face and demeanour. From afar he could tell if someone was shy or outgoing just by the way they stood. All whilst he admired their features and clothes. It was his favourite way of doing things at ministry balls. Half the staff brought friends and family and it always ended up being more of a cluster of people than a dignified work event. So he’d pick out his favourite and fantasise about wooing them whilst he and Pansy made idle catch-up conversation.
Today’s lucky winner was Harry Potter. Even with the masquerade theme Draco could point out the boy-who-lived. After years of pining it would be pathetic if he couldn’t. His hair hadn’t been styled and his crimson and gold mask lay lopsided on his face. He was a mess but still remained stunning in the eyes of the Malfoy heir. It was a curse.
“You should talk to him, it’s been awhile since the divorce, he could use a rebound,” Pansy mused, her cat-like eyes darting between Harry and Draco, plotting.
Draco didn’t want to be the rebound. He wouldn’t survive being the throwaway. He wasn’t that naive. Not anymore. He wanted to be the lover, the long-lasting life partner. He would never settle for any less. It was all or nothing.
“I’ll wait.”
Pansy shook her head, her mask remaining perfectly in place, “You’re going to be dying and still waiting.That man will make you wait an eternity and won’t blink when he spots your gravestone in the corner of his eye.” She brought her wine glass up to her lips and took a dainty sip, “Make a move or let him go. You’ll ruin yourself if you don’t.”
How was he supposed to do that when Harry was always surrounded by people? People that would rather Draco was in a cell for mistakes he now regretted. He’d rather become long ribbons of ruin than force himself to suffer through humiliation from those who didn’t understand. He was willing to be cracked inside and remain intact on the outside for all to see with their beady eyes. They could stare all they wanted; he had already become stone.
With a flick of her wrist Pansy was off to see someone else. An old-school girlfriend probably, someone who would fall at her feet for the night and leave her bed in the morning. Draco wished he could be so frivolous. He was too hung up on a certain person to ever give into carnal desire, even for a night.
He continued to sneakily stare across the ballroom through his green and silver mask. All too predictable with his school house colours just as Harry had seemed to do. It was ironic considering the large periods of school he wanted to forget and discard. He’d give away his regrets in boxes with neat, little tied bows if it meant he could feel better. Though he knew nothing could change the past, not really.
“You look tired, Malfoy,” Draco jumped at the sound of the familiar voice, the second he spaced out Harry had made his way over to him, “The mask doesn’t seem to hide your need for a decent rest.”
“Polite as always, Potter.”
“Only for you, Malfoy.”
Only for me , Draco thought, the words swirling butterflies in his gut. He ignored the comment about his tired state, only because Harry wasn’t wrong. And, maybe, just because it was Harry.
"Honestly though, you should rest more, from what I’ve seen you’re in the habit of staying at the office until ungodly hours.”
Draco sighed, “I’ll try, though my work is immaculate so it’s not a problem that will affect the ministry or you for that matter.”
“It’s not the work I’m concerned with, Draco.”
Just hearing Harry say his name, his first name, made Draco’s inside turn to mush. And he despised that he succumbed so easily.
“What are you concerned with then? Because we both know that it isn’t me.”
He hated how quickly he switched back to being the snarky dick he was. Why couldn’t he be decent for a moment? No wonder he couldn’t woo Harry Potter, Harry Potter probably thought he had a ten foot pole up his arse.
“Merlin, Draco, for someone who did so well in school you sure are thick.”
Harry was looking at Draco, waiting for a response. And Draco was processing what was said. Why was he thick? What was he missing? A lot apparently. His face screwed up in confusion, his pale eyebrows knitted as he tried to form a reply.
All that came out was, “What?”
And it made Harry cheekily grin. Which only added to Draco’s immense lack of understanding
“You might act subtle but considering I was glancing at you as much as you were at me, it wasn’t hard to notice.”
Something burst inside Draco when he caught on. Harry Potter was looking at him too. This wasn’t completely one-sided. There was a chance and he was ready to take it, even if it cost him his sanity.
“Why were you looking at me?” Draco asked to confirm what he thought, he wasn’t becoming the fool.
“Why do you think?”
Draco didn’t need a mirror to know he was flushed. He could feel the heat on his face and on the tip of his ears. What did he think? That maybe Harry was enamoured with him just as he was with Harry. That this was the universe finally pulling them together, exactly how it was meant to be.
“Why were you looking at me?” Draco asked again, confidence backing up his voice.
“Because I wanted to,” Harry replied coyly. It made Draco want to strangle him or better yet pin him against the nearest wall and interrogate him whilst they had a staring match. He wasn’t opposed to being on the receiving end of either.
“And why did you want to?”
Harry grinned, his hand edging closer to Draco’s, “Because I find you unbelievably attractive in that suit.”
If Draco was a fire he would’ve burned the place down by now. Harry was fueling him like gasoline and it would only take a second for him to spark and burst.
Without another word Harry’s hand clasped around Draco’s wrist, suggestively tugging him towards the nearest exit. Draco didn’t protest as he followed the boy-who-lived out of the ballroom and down various corridors.
Harry stopped once he had pulled them both into a dimly lit study. Draco found himself sitting on the edge of the desk whilst Harry stood in front of him, the smile he grew earlier now a permanent feature on his face.
“Was my suit the only reason you were staring?” Draco asked.
“Of course not, your face has some redeeming qualities as well,” Harry moved closer to Draco so their lips were inches away from each other, “Your lips are especially enticing.”
“Are they now, Potter?”
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it, Malfoy.”
Harry pushed his lips against Draco’s and Draco reciprocated almost immediately. This was what he wanted, what he had waited for. And it didn’t disappoint.
The kiss was gentle and passionate, controlled in a way they would never have managed as teenagers. Draco’s hands were running through Harry’s messy, mop of hair whilst Harry’s hands were cupping either side of Draco’s face. It was pure bliss. The kind that you would let consume you without a second thought.
When they pulled apart they were almost breathless, cheeks red and eyes glossy. Still stuck on the adrenaline high you get from sneaking away from a work ball to snog in a random room.
“Your face and suit aren’t your only redeeming qualities,” Harry commented.
Draco laughed, “Bastard.”