Running (Harry Potter/ Nico Di Angelo)

Conclusion.

Nico didn't end up back at Grimmauld Place until 3am, full of spirits yet not feeling any better. He crashed on to the living room couch in true blackout drunk fashion, hoping and praying that he could do the night all over again.

~

Nico wasn't awake at six when Harry got a phone call from the office. Nico wasn't awake at 6:20 when Harry discovered Nico passed out on the couch. Nico wasn't awake at 6:22 when Harry brought him a blanket and hid the flask he was carrying. And Nico definitely wasn't awake at 6:48 when Harry gave him a kiss on the forehead as he hurried to work.

Nico wasn't even awake at 7, 7:11, 7:18, and 7:24 when Hazel, Jason, and Hazel and Jason again tried to Iris Message him.  They were met each time with his violent sleeping that they couldn't seem to wake him from. After two tries each, they eventually gave up trying.

Nico eventually woke up around 11 to a massive hangover and lots of regrets. The main one being the drinking, naturally.

He attempted to roll over in bed, hoping to cuddle closer to Harry, but instead found out the hard way that he had actually fallen asleep on the couch and there was nothing stopping him from rolling on to the dusty carpet below. He also forgot about the coffee table with the large overhang, which he promptly banged his forehead on. This morning was going perfectly.

After very carefully manoeuvring out from underneath the table and back to sitting on the couch, he cradled his very sore head in his hands and just let everything clear for a moment. After debating whether or not vomiting was the right option, he finally looked around to see a familiar potion and note sitting on the coffee table.

Nico,
Got called in early again and didn't want to wake you up. Here's the pepper-up potion and water as always. I'll be back as soon as I can— we've got a lot to talk about.

-Harry

"Oh great," Nico breathed to himself, gladly downing the potion and water afterwards. The hangover began to lift instantly, though it took its time doing so. He was very tempted to say screw it all and pull a hair of the dog method, but couldn't find his flask anywhere. Wasn't buried in the couch, in his jacket anywhere, or even somewhere between the foyer and the living room. Either he'd left it back at the bar (unlikely) or Harry had taken it from him again (much more likely). Guess the only way would be to pop somewhere else and get a drink, but he was wary of doing so since he didn't know when Harry was getting home. Which just left him to skulking around the house, waiting for Harry to come back and tell his verdict.

~

Harry returned to Grimmauld Place at 5:12 in the afternoon, feeling worn out from both the urgent riot he'd broken up and the restless night of sleep he'd gotten. Loosening his tie and ruffling his hair, Harry stepped into the living room to try and locate Nico.

Nico was at that moment perusing one of his favourite pastimes in the Black family home: messing with the old stuff in it. While he had no wand to perform any proper spells, many of the death-eater-centric trinkets responded very well to some well placed shadows and drops in temperature courtesy of the Ghost King. He'd been messing with a painting of some weird castle when he heard Harry come in, and froze up in panic. Should he meet him in the living room or pretend like he didn't hear him come in? Should he confront him about the news or avoid it entirely?

Fortunately, Harry had made those decisions somewhat for him.

"There you are. Are you messing with Hogwarts again?" Harry asked as he stepped into the parlour Nico was housed in.

Nico chuckled nervously, something that felt very out of place and that he never wanted to do again. Clearing his throat to try and cover it up, "Yeah, it's a fun time. How was work?"

Harry sighed, "Our informant warned us too late which forced us to spend all day breaking up a few fights. Same old, I suppose," Harry kept his eyes on the painting as he felt Nico staring into him, "How's your hangover?"

Nico's eyes darted to the floor, "I wasn't—"

"Don't try that. You still had the flask in your hand this morning." Harry snapped harsher than he meant to, causing Nico to recoil.

"You're right, I'm sorry. My coping skills come in a bottle at this point, and I know I need to get help, it's just that last night—"

"You thought I was mad at you?" Harry finished his sentence, finally properly turning towards his partner. Nico nodded silently, prompting Harry to take his shoulders, "Hey, Nico, I promise I'm not mad. I was just in shock, and didn't know how to process it. Truthfully, I spent my lunch break at the library researching the Greek Gods so I wouldn't look like a complete idiot."

Nico's face broke into a smile, "You did? Really?"

Harry shrugged, "Of course, it's a big part of your life. Besides, you should've seen the look you gave me when I asked if you were dead."

Nico sneered slightly, "It's a common misconception, I'll give you that much." He paused a second and dropped his smile, "So does that mean you're fine now? No big questions or anything?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Yes I'm fine now. And I'm sure I'll have a million questions, but for right now I'm starving."

Nico was momentarily stunned at the simplicity of the statement: sure they had some things to work out, but that could be worked out later. He smiled at his partner, letting his feelings properly hit for once. Finally, Nico just chuckled at him and agreed, "Food sounds great."

~~

Shorter chapter, I know, but I honestly forgot that I hadn't finished this story 😬 sorry y'all.

Anyway, please leave feedback and I hope you enjoyed!