Stay With Me

Chapter 3

Harry exhaled and pinched his brow, cursing violently under his breath.

Was Malfoy bisexual? Was he dating men too? Why did Harry even care?

It shouldn't have bothered him, not that it would considering Harry was openly gay himself, but the idea had never crossed his mind. Malfoy came from such a conservative family, with old-fashioned views and values, he assumed that sort of thing passed down through the generations but clearly not.

For a moment, just a very tiny moment, Harry allowed his mind to drift to the idea that Malfoy was suddenly not just his old school enemy or a troubled boy relocated to his home, he was a boy with feelings and desires, just wanting to be loved and cared for like everybody else.

Maybe he and Malfoy weren't as different as he first thought they were.

***

Two weeks passed and they'd barely said a word to one another. They avoided each other as best they could. Malfoy would spend most evenings in his bedroom and would wait until the sound of Harry closing the front door behind him came before making his way down into the house in the mornings.

Harry didn't care. He was occupied with either work, friends or hook-ups, Malfoy was the least of his worries.

Draco didn't care either, he was still angry of course, and embarrassed that Harry had prodded his nose into his private life, but the silence between them was welcome.

Draco's mental well-being, however, took a turn for the worst.

All he could do was sleep, and when he wasn't sleeping he was barely functioning. Eating became more infrequent and the energy required to do even the simplest tasks became impossible. His clients handed over their cash and used him like a worthless object, tossing him aside when they'd got their kicks. Not one of them noticed that he'd lost weight or that the haze behind his eyes was growing thicker, as long as he provided his body that's all they needed.

The nights were the worst, particularly on three separate occasions. The first was when, through the walls, Draco could hear the sound of jovial chatter and laughter coming from the kitchen below where Harry had friends over from work, amplifying just how lonely he really was.

The other two occasions were late night hook-ups when Harry would come crashing through the front door drunk at near midnight. Stumbling footsteps would make their way up the stairs amongst the sound of excited cries and moans of pleasure. Harry was kind enough to put up silencing charms this time but it didn't stop Draco from visualising what was happening behind the walls.

But the isolation began to wear him thin, reminded of the countless days trapped in the vast emptiness of the Manor with no one to talk to. His parents were often too busy to take time for him and even when they were around, they viewed him as a child and would not engage in such activities. He came to the realisation that misery did in fact love company, and perhaps his loneliness might not hurt so much if he tried to speak to Harry.

Malfoy bit the bullet and emerged from his room early that evening, taking a seat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine, it was Harry's and it was expensive. He didn't care. Apparently they were touching each other's things now.

Harry was swinging cupboard doors open and slamming them shut, lost in thought before returning to the fridge, opening it, starting at the bare contents before closing it and slumping against the counter

"You know you actually have to go to the shops in order to have food?" Malfoy jabbed, smirking into his drink.

"Why haven't you been?" Harry bit