Together, We Can Soar (A Drarry FanFiction/"Falling" 2 of 3)

Chapter Seven

   "I just feel," Draco laughed with incredulity. "Actually, I never knew I could feel like this," he said, his voice catching on the last word. "I probably don't deserve to feel like this," he added, but carried on before Harry could interrupt. "No," he said firmly. "I did some bad things, I made some bad choices, and being with you doesn't erase that. But..." He bit his lip and took a shaky breath. "I like being with you a lot, and I'm really trying so hard to believe you like being with me too."

"I do," Harry said firmly, swallowing around the lump in his throat. "I do, I really do."

Draco nodded. "So that's that," he said. "People know now, it's real, and maybe I'll be able to believe it's real now it's out in the open."

Harry wrapped his arms around him in a crushing hug. "It's real, I promise you," he urged him. "I should have asked though before blurting it out like that, it wasn't fair to put that on you, I know this is scary." And it was. They weren't just coming out of the closet, they were opening themselves for a lot of criticism. The Boy-Who-Lived with a former Death Eater? That had scandal written all over it, but Harry didn't honestly care, he was used to it. All he cared about was how Draco felt, and that his friends understood. He hoped they would anyway; Seamus had been evidently on their side, but he hadn't seen Ron or Hermione yet.

"Those girls just made me so mad," he continued. "I saw red. But I'd wanted us to come out when we were ready?"

Draco bit his lip. "They were very persistent," he admitted, and the shadow of doubt Harry had been expecting flickered almost imperceptibly over his features. They would only have to face more people saying things along the same lines, probably a lot worse, but Draco was right. Harry was there to protect Draco, that was his job now, and good Godric he would do so ferociously.

"All those other people were so happy for us though," he said softly, rubbing Draco's back. "Once people get over the shock, we'll be okay, we will, I promise." He hoped he was right. They'd only been together a few weeks, and this was going to put a lot of extra pressure on them. He held Draco even tighter to him, and begged to whatever silent force might be listening that they would weather the storm.

He didn't know he could feel this complete until Draco had let him into his life. Yes, he found him attractive physically, but it was so much more than that. He was strong and clever and actually pretty funny, once he let his guard down. Harry liked the inside as much as the out, and he figured that was easier to defend and fight for than if he just thought he was pretty. He liked Draco mind, body and soul. Perhaps, he dared think, he more than 'liked'.

"How do you feel?" Harry asked. He'd found it was good sometimes to just ask Draco what he was thinking, to give him permission to own his feelings. He watched as he chewed his lip, lost in thought.

"If those girls hadn't pushed us," Draco admitted tentatively. "I might not...it might have taken me a very long time to believe I was ready to be honest about this. Us." He smiled shyly. "Maybe it was good they forced me to be brave, like you."

"You are brave," Harry insisted, and Draco shrugged. "It's a quiet sort of brave," Harry said, feeling the passion behind the words burn in his chest. "You don't quit, you stick at it, with dignity."

Draco rested their foreheads together. "It helps to have someone who's the noisy sort of brave on your side," he told him fondly.

Harry laughed. "Come on," he said, tugging on his hand. "Let's get out of here, I don't fancy dealing with anyone else today."