Chapter Text
Draco’s breath hitched, as a ripple traversed the taut landscape of his abdomen. His hand instinctively flattened against the swell. Twenty-two weeks. Each day of pregnancy brought a new, peculiar sensation. Today, however, offered a novelty he hadn't anticipated.
“POTTER!”
The yell, sharp and sudden, ricocheted from the living room to the kitchen. Harry froze.
“What is it?” Harry’s voice, a low rumble, answered through the archway. He wiped his hands on a nearby towel, already moving.
“My bellybutton just popped out,” Draco announced with the gravitas of a national crisis, his voice now a low growl of pure indignation. “Come over and see.”
Harry rounded the corner, his gaze sweeping the room. Draco lay propped against a mound of cushions, his dressing gown gaping slightly. His eyes wide, fixed on Harry. A single, accusing finger pointed downwards.
Harry approached cautiously, his own eyes dropping to the specified area. The gown shifted, revealing the pale, stretched skin of Draco’s abdomen. And there it was. A small, firm protrusion where a concave hollow had always been. Harry blinked. Then again. A slow, incredulous smile stretched his lips.
“Well, I’ll be,” Harry murmured, his voice thick with wonder. He knelt beside the settee, his gaze fixed on the small, round button. It truly had popped. It looked like a tiny, perfect mushroom cap, pale and smooth against the stretched skin.
Draco scoffed, a tight, exasperated sound. “Don’t look at it like that, Potter. It’s grotesque. It’s an outie.” His tone made the word a curse.
Harry reached out, his fingers hovering inches above Draco’s belly. “It’s… remarkable.” He carefully, gently, traced the air around the small mound. “Never seen one of those before. Not on you, anyway.”
“Of course, you haven’t!” Draco snapped, his eyes flashing. “I’ve had a perfectly respectable innie my entire life. A deep, dignified cavity. Now it’s… this.” He gestured vaguely, as if the offending button might infect the very air. “This vulgar protrusion.”
“Vulgar?” Harry chuckled, the sound soft and warm. “It’s hardly vulgar, Draco. It’s… a sign.”
“A sign of what? That my body is betraying me in new and humiliating ways?” Draco shifted, trying to angle himself so the light wouldn't catch the offending button quite so starkly. “I’m growing a human being, not a topographical map of Mount Vesuvius.”
Harry’s fingers finally made contact, a feather-light touch against the skin surrounding the button. Draco flinched, not from pain, but from the sheer unexpectedness of the sensation. A shiver ran through him.
“It feels… different,” Harry whispered, his thumb brushing over the taut skin. His touch was reverent, almost scientific. “Firmer.”
“It’s bulging, Harry! It’s not supposed to bulge. It’s supposed to be tucked away, discreet.” Draco’s voice rose, a whine of genuine distress. “What if it stays like this? What if I’m permanently disfigured? I’ll look like some kind of… sea anemone.”
Harry leaned in, his breath warm against Draco’s skin. “You’ll look like the most beautiful sea anemone I’ve ever seen.” He pressed a soft kiss just above the popped button. “And it won’t stay like this forever. It’ll go back.”
“How do you know?” Draco’s voice was muffled, his exasperation warring with a strange, unfamiliar flutter in his stomach. Not the baby, not exactly. Something else. Harry’s touch.
“Heard about it,” Harry admitted, his gaze still fixed on the button. “It’s a common thing. Just… pressure.”
“Pressure?” Draco repeated, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Is that what we’re calling it now? Not ‘the relentless expansion of a tiny human’s living quarters’?”
Harry’s lips twitched. He moved his hand, sliding it lower, cupping the full curve of Draco’s sixth-month pregnant belly. The skin felt warm and alive under his palm. A faint tremor passed through him. “He’s certainly making his presence known, isn’t he?”
“He’s making his presence known by redecorating my anatomy,” Draco grumbled, though a faint blush crept up his neck. Harry’s hand felt surprisingly comforting against the stretched skin. The indignity of the popped button faded slightly beneath the warmth of that contact. “It’s terribly undignified.”
“You’re growing a life, Draco. There’s nothing undignified about it.” Harry’s voice was low, laced with a wonder that always disarmed Draco, no matter how annoyed he felt. He leaned closer, his ear pressing gently against the belly. “Hello, little one. You’re causing quite a stir in here, aren’t you?”
A faint flutter, a soft bump, answered Harry’s silent question. Draco’s eyes widened.
“Did you feel that?” Harry straightened, his eyes bright. “He just kicked. Right where I was listening.”
Draco huffed. “Of course, he did. He’s showing off for you. He knows who the indulgent one is.”
“And who’s the one who complains about his belly button?” Harry teased, his smile widening. He nudged the popped button gently with his fingertip. “It’s quite cute, you know.”
“Cute? It’s a… a protuberance!” Draco sputtered, though the corner of his own mouth twitched. “It’s a sign of my complete loss of control over my own corporeal form.”
“It’s a sign of life, Draco,” Harry countered, his voice softening. He looked from the belly button to Draco’s face, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “And it’s a beautiful one.”
Draco averted his gaze, a faint flush spreading across his cheeks. “You’re just saying that because you’re biased.”
Harry reached out, his fingers tracing the outline of the popped button again, sending a strange, tingling sensation through Draco. “This is… ours.”
The simple declaration hung in the air, weighted with a quiet significance. Draco’s annoyance, so carefully cultivated, began to unravel at the edges. He looked down at his belly, at the small, unexpected mound. It still felt strange, an alien feature on his familiar landscape. But Harry’s touch, Harry’s gaze, imbued it with something else. A shared secret. A quiet miracle.
“It still feels odd,” Draco admitted, his voice softer now, devoid of its usual sharp edge. “Like a button that’s come undone. An unfastened garment.”
“Then we’ll just have to keep it fastened with kisses,” Harry murmured, and proceeded to do just that. His lips, warm and soft, pressed against the skin just above the belly button, then to its left, then its right, a gentle constellation of affection. Each kiss sent a shiver through Draco, a strange mix of ticklishness and profound tenderness.
Draco closed his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips. “You’re ridiculous, Potter.” But the words lacked their usual sting. He found his hand reaching out, tangling in Harry’s messy dark hair. His fingers gently massaged Harry’s scalp as the kisses continued, a silent acknowledgment of the comfort Harry offered.
“And you’re spectacular, Malfoy,” Harry whispered, his voice muffled against Draco’s skin. He finally pulled back, his eyes sparkling. “Even with your new… feature.” He winked.
Draco rolled his eyes, but a genuine smile, small and fleeting, touched his lips. “Don’t expect me to be parading it around, Potter. It’s for your eyes only.”
“My eyes are quite happy with the arrangement,” Harry said, his gaze lingering on the small, round bump. He reached out again, his index finger gently, slowly, tracing the curve of the popped button. “Does it… feel different?”
Draco considered this, his brow furrowed. “It’s… taut. Like a drum. And oddly sensitive. Not painful, just… aware. Like it’s suddenly a nerve ending all its own.” He watched Harry’s finger, mesmerized by the delicate exploration.
“Aware, huh?” Harry’s voice was a low murmur. He pressed slightly, just a fraction of an ounce of pressure.
Draco gasped, a sharp intake of breath. “Harry!” His eyes flew open, wide and startled. “Don’t do that!”
Harry immediately pulled his hand away, his face etched with concern. “Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry.”
“No, not hurt,” Draco clarified, a strange flush spreading across his face. “Just… a jolt. Like a tiny, unexpected electric shock. It’s… startling.” He pressed his own hand over the area, as if to soothe the lingering sensation.
Harry’s eyes, still wide, now held a new curiosity. “A jolt? Like… a pleasurable jolt?”
Draco scowled, though his cheeks flushed a deeper crimson. “Pleasurable is a strong word, Potter. It was… intense. Unexpected. Like something you shouldn’t be touching.”
Harry’s smile was slow, a wicked glint entering his eyes. “Something I shouldn’t be touching, you say?” He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “But I’m your partner. And this is… our baby’s little window to the world.” He reached out again, his touch even lighter this time, barely a whisper of skin against skin. He circled the popped button, a delicate exploration.
Draco stiffened, his breath catching. His eyes fluttered closed. The sensation was indeed intense. A strange, unfamiliar tingling, spreading outwards from the tiny mound. It wasn’t overtly sexual, not in the way he usually understood it, but it was undeniably… stimulating. A heightened awareness, a throbbing warmth.
“Stop that,” Draco breathed, his voice barely audible.
Harry chuckled, a low, rumbling sound in his chest. “But you’re not really telling me to stop, are you?” His fingers continued their soft exploration, a feather-light dance around the periphery of the popped button.
Draco’s hips shifted restlessly on the settee. He felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to arch into the touch, to lean into the strange, new sensation. It was utterly baffling and utterly humiliating. “I am telling you to stop. It’s… it’s doing something peculiar.”
“Peculiar in a good way?” Harry pressed, his voice laced with amusement. He watched Draco’s face, the way his jaw tightened, the slight parting of his lips.
“Peculiar in an inconvenient way,” Draco corrected, though his voice was weak. He opened his eyes, glaring at Harry, but there was no real heat in it. Only a bewildered frustration. “It’s distracting. And it’s making me feel… floaty.”
Harry’s grin widened. “Floaty, huh? I like floaty.” He leaned down, placing another soft kiss on the very peak of the popped button. This time, Draco didn’t flinch. He just held his breath, a tremor running through him.
“You’re enjoying this entirely too much,” Draco accused, his voice a strained whisper.
“Perhaps,” Harry conceded, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Or perhaps I’m just enjoying discovering new ways to connect with you. And with him.” He paused, his gaze dropping to the swell of the belly. “He’s certainly making you… sensitive.”
“Sensitive is an understatement,” Draco muttered, his hand still tangled in Harry’s hair, though now it was gripping tighter. “I feel like a giant, exposed nerve ending. Everything is amplified. Every touch, every smell, every… popped belly button.”
Harry leaned his head against Draco’s belly once more, his ear pressed against the warm skin. “He’s just getting you ready, love. Getting you ready for all the wonderful, overwhelming sensations to come.”
Draco sighed, a long, drawn-out sound that was more resignation than annoyance. “More sensations? You mean there’s more than this? More than the heartburn, the swollen ankles, the incessant need to urinate, and now… the exhibitionist navel?”
Harry pulled back, a soft smile on his face. “Oh, much more. But they’re all part of the journey. And we’ll face them together.” He squeezed Draco’s hand, his grip firm and reassuring. “Even the belly button.”
Draco looked down at the offending button, then back at Harry’s earnest, supportive face. The initial shock and indignation had faded, replaced by a grudging acceptance, and a strange, almost tender curiosity. It was still odd, still an unexpected change. But Harry’s reactions, his wonder, his gentle teasing, had transformed it from a grotesque oddity into something… shared. Something uniquely theirs.
“Alright, Potter,” Draco finally conceded, a small, weary smile touching his lips. “But if this ‘journey’ involves any more anatomical surprises, I expect a full briefing. And perhaps a magical numbing charm for the area in question.” He pointed a finger at his belly button, a hint of his usual theatricality returning.
Harry laughed, a full, unrestrained sound that filled the room. “Consider it noted, Malfoy. Now, how about we get you something to eat? You’ve been through a lot of… belly button excitement.” He rose, pulling Draco gently into a sitting position.
Draco grumbled but allowed himself to be helped. As he sat up, his gaze once again fell to his belly. The popped button still protruded, a small, round testament to the life growing within him. He reached out, his own finger tentatively touching the firm, smooth skin. It was still strange. Still new. But perhaps, just perhaps, not entirely vulgar. Not when Harry looked at it with such wonder.
“A sandwich,” Draco declared, his voice regaining some of its usual imperious tone. “And make it a good one, Potter. All this… physiological upheaval… has made me ravenous.”
Harry just smiled, a knowing glint in his eyes. He knew this was Draco’s way of saying thank you. His way of saying, I’m okay. And thank you for being here. He leaned down, pressing one last kiss to the top of Draco’s head. “Coming right up, love.”
Draco swatted playfully at Harry’s arm, a genuine laugh escaping him. The sound, light and free, a testament to the strange, beautiful, and utterly peculiar journey they were on. The popped belly button, for now, was just another milestone.