{4161 words. Buckle up friends, you're in for an experience. I put a lot of hours into this chapter so I hope you all enjoy it. Lots of love, ~ J}
Harry woke up before Draco did, so he decided to surprise him. He whipped up some chocolate waffles, bacon, and fruit, and brought it up to the bedroom accompanied with some apple juice.
"Time to wake up sweetheart", Harry cooed.
"What time is it?", Draco whispered groggily.
"Half past 9."
Draco was wide awake now, quickly sitting upright.
"Oh shoot. I was supposed to be up an hour ago for you. We need to leave at 11 and I didn't go get breakfast-"
"I made breakfast for us, in bed. You've been doing a lot of planning, so it's the least I can do."
Draco beamed at the sight of Harry holding two trays of breakfast. Getting up, he grabbed one and flipped the covers so Harry could come back in.
"Merlin, I love you. It's your birthday weekend and you're taking care of me."
"It's just breakfast. You have the whole day."
"I have to petrify you to get you to do nothing don't I?
"Probably. I think if I try hard enough I could get out of it. Eat up and then we can get dressed and you can tell me where we're going."
"I'll just tell you now. I'm taking you to an amusement park. I've never been to one and I figured you hadn't either. I figured we could experience one together.
The pizza in this state is apparently to die for, but I guess we'll see. I do need your help with something though. Pansy got me this concealer foundation thing. I used it once before and it worked really well. Could you help me cover up the mark?"
"Of course I will."
"Thank you."
After breakfast, they got changed and Harry very tenderly covered up the mark, but not before kissing it.
"Why do you always do that? It's so awful and hideous."
"It's a part of who you are, and I accept that. Not every scar can be as cool as the one on my forehead you know", Harry joked.
"Yes because it's so sexy having the remnants of the killing curse embedded into your body forever."
"For the first half of my life I thought it came from a car accident. I'll take what I can get. If it bothers you though, I'll stop."
"It doesn't bother me at all, it's... nice... actually. I just thought it would bother you."
"If it bothered me I wouldn't do it at all. Now, let's get some sunscreen on that pretty face of yours shall we?"
With a smile, Harry carefully applied sunscreen to Draco's face.
"Absolutely stunning", he thought.
"You do remember I can hear you right?"
Harry cleared his throat and looked away.
"Of course I do. I was merely attempting to seduce you completely on purpose."
"Hold on, come here. There's something I've been meaning to try."
Placing a hand on Harry's shoulder that was covered by his shirt, Draco directly sent thoughts towards him. Harry had absolutely no clue what was going on.
"Did you get any of that?"
"Not a word."
"Okay so I was right. We can only share thoughts if it's skin on skin contact. That's strangely reassuring."
"We need to work on controlling it more. You're doing better than me."
"Until I get flustered."
"Progress is progress. Now, are we apparating there or what?"
"Down the block from the park there's a wizarding sweets shop that allows people to safely apparate in, as long as you buy something. We'll go there first."
"That must be wonderful for business", Harry replied with a laugh. "Do you think that concealer can cover up my scar? I usually do with a glamour but I don't want to use that much magical energy for the whole day."
With a soft smile, Draco brushed Harry's hair away from his forehead, and kissed Harry's scar, like Harry had done to his mark. The returned lopsided smile from Harry would make Draco do anything.
After making sure it was dried properly so Harry's hair didn't get stuck in the concealer, they linked arms and apparated to the amusement park. They bought a few sweets, Harry distracting the employee for enough time that Draco could go back to the house and drop them off so he wasn't carrying shrunken chocolates around the whole day.
When they stepped out onto the boardwalk, Draco took in Harry as Harry took in his surroundings. There were so many people around, but none paid him a second glance. It was absolutely fantastic.
Harry was thinking about how he should just marry Draco right there on the spot because it absolutely could not get better than this, when Draco softly grabbed his hand.
"We're in public, is this okay? This way if you need anything, I'll know."
"And I just like to hold your hand", his thoughts betrayed him.
"It's perfectly fine, but you don't need an excuse to hold my hand. You have my permission to hold it anytime you want."
"Good. Now let's go see how long until these rides make me cry."
If Harry loved the amusement park rides, Draco absolutely lived for them. Whereas Harry would go on the rides with a smile on his face, Draco would laugh and scream and cuddle up into Harry pretending to be scared. Harry played his part right and would just wrap his arm around Draco, holding him close.
They went on all of the rides, even the children's ones when they would get away with it. Draco got a little too overzealous on the bumper cars though, and Harry walked away with a stiff neck.
"Remind me to never let you steer my car again. You are a menace to society."
"Hey, I did very well with your car, thank you very much! I'm going to the bathroom and then we can get some pizza? We've been riding for hours and I could go for some food."
"Sounds good sweetheart, I'll wait for you here on this bench."
Draco hadn't even been gone for five minutes when he came back to see a group of girls surrounding Harry. His Harry. He couldn't help the sneer that overcame his face, and he took a few seconds to collect himself before strutting over.
Walking through the group of girls, he grabbed Harry's hand, effectively pulling him up to his feet. Harry was a bit confused at the intensity of his expression, but it made sense just a few seconds later.
Draco was working very hard to control his thoughts, so all Harry got were bits and pieces. "Disgusting girls".... "My Harry..."
A jealous Draco was an even sexier Draco, and Harry took a moment to commit his face to memory, completely forgetting that in doing so Draco would know exactly what he was doing.
"Sorry girls, I have to go. I hope you have fun on your trip to London though! Come along sweetheart", Harry finished with a smirk, dragging a slightly more pale Draco away.
Harry being as kind as he was, left Draco and his embarrassment alone. It's not like Harry didn't have a reason to be embarrassed either.
No, Draco had caught on to why Harry had been thinking of him for so long. He just didn't know how to approach it and he most certainly didn't want to expose himself, so he left it alone for now.
The two men ordered two slices of pizza each, being completely blown away by the size of the slices once they were placed before them.
"I don't think I'll be able to eat both of these."
Harry took a bite of the slice, closing his eyes in enjoyment.
"I'll eat whatever you don't finish. This is the best pizza I've ever eaten."
Thinking he was exaggerating, Draco took a bite and was shocked.
"Pizza from anywhere else is not going to taste as good. I'm going to come here whenever I want pizza."
"You better bring me back with you."
"That was a given. You are my favorite accessory."
"You only love me for my looks", Harry sighed dramatically.
"Of course not! You also now pay for my streaming services."
Laughing, Harry just stuck his tongue out at Draco. After they finished up their pizza, with Draco feeding the rest of his to Harry because "I have to leave room for ice cream Potter", they intertwined their fingers again and took a stroll down the boardwalk.
"Draco, there's a photobooth, can we take some pictures?"
Throughout their time, they had taken some photos with Draco's camera, but Harry always loved photobooths. You could choose the border and it was a lot of fun. Naturally, Draco insisted they tried them all.
Once they were done taking photos and returned to walking on the boardwalk, Harry was quiet, just taking in his surroundings, relishing in the feel of Draco's hand in his, carefully hiding away his thoughts.
"You're hiding from me. What are you thinking?"
"Is it crazy that I just want to stay here? With you, us, it's just brilliant. I never thought I would be able to go out somewhere and just be ever again, but you gave me that back. That's the best gift anyone could have ever given me."
"I'm glad you're happy Harry, that's really all I've wanted. Anytime you want to get away and be someone else, you let me know and I'll take you anywhere that you want to be."
"I just want to be anywhere that you are."
Squeezing Harry's hand, Draco's heart fluttered. One thing was for certain, this was not a simple crush and it would not be going away.
"Can we go in the arcade?", Harry asked with a gasp.
"Of course we can!"
With a grin, Harry tugged Draco into the arcade.
"I don't know how these places work. Here", Draco gave Harry some money and he went to the counter to change it into arcade tokens.
"Let's play skeeball!"
"What in Merlin's name is skeeball?"
"It's basically a bludger that you roll up a ramp into a hole. Each hole is worth different points."
"I suppose I can give it a try."
10 US dollars later, Draco had a newfound appreciation for muggle "sports" as he called them.
"What's this one with the hoops?"
"Basketball. It's essentially like throwing a quaffle through the hoop."
"Let's try that one!"
Draco ended up being so good at basketball that he had drawn a small crowd of onlookers. He was beaming at Harry, only noticing everyone else once they started clapping for him.
"Oh, erm, thank you."
With a grin, Harry collected all of Draco's tickets, and looped his arm through Draco's.
"You would've made a brilliant Chaser."
"You think so?"
"I know so. You didn't miss a single shot!"
"Father wanted me to be a seeker. I was alright at it. Not like you."
"The next time we play you should totally play as Chaser."
"I'll think about it."
Draco really did not want to think about his father right now.
"Harry, look at the stuffed penguins! Aren't they cute?"
"I'll win you one."
"You don't have to-"
"Shh. Watch and learn."
Biting his lip in concentration, Harry was able to grab the penguin from the claw machine on the second try.
"You got it!", Draco cheered.
"For you sweetheart."
"Thank you darling", he replied, kissing Harry on the cheek.
It made Harry's smile just that much brighter. They continued playing games, and Draco didn't think he'd ever been happier. Now, they were walking down the boardwalk once again, hand in hand. Harry had an armful of prizes, and the sky was slowly beginning to darken.
"Oh my gosh Harry look! We can get matching shirts, we have to get them!"
"Anything you want."
Harry should not have said that. Amongst other matching clothes, Harry now had a "I'm with sexy" shirt, while Draco's said "I'm sexy".
"You're too much, do you know that?"
"No I'm sexy, do keep up."
"We have shirts so you'll never let me forget now."
They also got cheesy shirts that said "best friend" with arrows pointing to each other. Harry was hoping the next time they came they could get shirts that said something else with arrows.
Harry was just thankful to have a bag to put all of the prizes in now. The sky was getting darker still, and Harry was wondering if it was going to rain soon.
"I want to do something, I'll meet you at the ice cream place in 20 minutes? It's right next door."
"Oh okay. That's fine then."
Harry wandered into another store, and decided to buy himself a hoodie. He got one that was two sizes too big with "Jersey Shore" written on the front with a decal of the pier, the year across the back with a crown decal, and then "Harry" on the left sleeve and "Draco" on the right.
He told the shopkeeper that he would come back to pick it up in about 15 minutes, and then he wandered back to the arcade. He had spotted the most adorable light green dragon with two hearts on it that he wanted to win for Draco. It took $5, but he got it and walked back into the shop to pick up the hoodie smiling.
He hid that bag inside of the other ones, and then walked back to meet Draco. He showed up a few minutes later, a bag tucked into his own hand.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm here. Let's get some ice cream before it pours shall we?"
"We shall."
Hand in hand once again, they stood in line to get ice cream.
"Do you want to split something?", Draco asked.
"I'm fine with that."
"Any particular flavor preference?"
"Surprise me."
"Darling it's your birthday, you choose."
"Even if I want maraschino cherries?", Harry asked, batting his eyelashes.
The smile quickly faded from Draco's face.
"I'm teasing you sweetheart. How does chocolate ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough sound?"
"As long as there are no cherries."
Draco put the order in, and as they received their ice cream, the first crack of thunder was heard.
"Apparate home?"
Harry nodded, and they found a secluded spot on the pier to apparate back. The storm was heading their way, as the sky here was lighter and there was no thunder. They sat on the beach together, Harry's thoughts crashing through his mind like the waves on the shore.
They ate their ice cream in silence, Draco growing increasingly more worried for Harry. Even when Harry wasn't comfortable speaking to him, the silence never felt quite this loud.
"If something was wrong, you would tell me, right Potter?"
"Of course I would. Why?"
"You've just been a bit standoffish since the end of the night."
"I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."
Harry was really trying to come to terms with his growing feelings. He had been trying to convince himself that he and Draco were only friends, but Harry knew they had moved past that weeks ago. Now, it was time for Harry to figure out what he wanted, which was a very strange concept indeed.
"Do you want me to give you some time to yourself?", Draco asked gently. "I don't mind."
"A few minutes, please."
"That's perfectly alright. Take your time."
Harry watched Draco walk away, and then he laid back on the beach towel, staring at the darkening sky. Taking a deep breath, he decided to do what he did when he was normally stressed out and needed someone to talk to, ignoring the rumble of the thunder.
"Hi mum, dad, Remus, Sirius. As you can see, I've gotten myself into a bit of a situation once again. I don't know what to do. I like Draco, Merlin. I really, really like him. But I'm sure I'm the last to realize that. It's nice to say it out loud and be honest with myself for once.
Sirius, I'm sure you're laughing at me up there. Thanks for yelling at him for me mum. Remus, I'm sure you're just as surprised as I am, based off of how we were back at Hogwarts. Dad, I don't really know how you're feeling. I'm sure it's something along the lines of 'how could you fall for a Malfoy?' I know none of you care, really, as long as I'm happy.
He makes me so insanely happy. There were times when I was ready to give up, and then he comes back into my life, and I really feel like things are going to be okay. I just don't want to mess everything up. If you could give me some sort of sign that I'm doing the right thing, that would be nice, because I really want to tell him."
At the moment, lightning struck over the ocean, and Harry just shook his head, wondering how to interpret that.
As Harry was talking with his family, Draco was pacing the living room, replaying the whole day, wondering what he possibly could have done to push Harry into this kind of mood. He was debating whether or not he should go and check on Harry when seemingly out of nowhere thunder shook the house, and a present he was saving to give Harry on the last day of their trip fell off the shelf where he had been hiding it.
Raising an eyebrow, he picked up the box. When he went to put it back, there was another rumble of thunder.
"Okay universe, if I'm meant to give this to Harry right now, let me see some lightning."
Draco opened the door and looked outside to check on Harry, only to be greeted with a flash of lightning.
"I hope you're right about this."
Slowly, Draco made his way outside to Harry, hoping he wouldn't disturb him.
"Hey Scarhead", he greeted timidly. "I don't mean to be clingy, but I got this feeling that I should come back out to give you something. It was the absolute strangest thing. I was pacing in the living room, and there was this crazy rumble of thunder that knocked one of your gifts to the ground. It's not fragile or anything so don't worry, but I was going to put it back when there was even louder thunder.
At that point I thought maybe it was some kind of sign or something. I don't know, I suppose it may sound kind of stupid to say out loud, but I asked for some lightning if I should give this to you now. Low and behold, lightning, so here you go."
"You asked for a sign and you got one?", Harry asked in shock, almost falling over.
"It sounds stupid I know, but I figured it couldn't hurt."
"It doesn't sound stupid at all!"
"Here", Draco replied quietly, handing him the small box, a slight shake present in his hand.
Harry moved closer to him, leaning his head on Draco's shoulder. WIth trembling fingers of his own, Harry opened the box to see a handheld bell and a key.
"The bell is a portkey I had made for you. The key is for the front door. If you ever need an escape or want to relive what will hopefully be more happy memories, you're always welcome to come here, with or without me. Just in case, I thought it would be nice to have somewhere to go if you ever needed a place where no one else would know where you were."
Draco finished speaking and looked away, hoping he hadn't crossed some kind of boundary.
"I can head back in now if you want-"
"Stay. I think I got the message loud and clear."
"Message? What are you on about Scarhead?"
"I need to do something before I lose the nerve to, but I really, really appreciate your gift. If I ever use the portkey, know it's because I want you to come and find me."
"Okay, but what do you want to do?"
Very slowly, Harry leaned closer to Draco, who froze, not knowing what to expect. Caressing Draco's face softly with the palm of his hand, Harry held Draco's face steady. The only thought going through Draco's head was "please", so Harry finally closed the distance between them. Draco completely melted against Harry, and returned the kiss, matching the lightness.
Breaking apart for air, Harry rested his forehead against Draco's, who was breathing just as heavily, his cheeks tinged with a light pink color.
"Hi", Harry whispered softly, not wanting to break the delicate atmosphere.
"Hello", Draco whispered back.
Now, Draco's mind was working a mile a minute, and Harry couldn't keep up with the other man's thoughts, so he pulled back a little bit to give Draco space.
"Do I need to apologize for that?"
"What? No, not at all, I'm just surprised. I didn't see that coming at all. If I had heard you thinking about kissing me, I most certainly would have initiated this first. The only thing you have to apologize for is not kissing me again."
Harry gave Draco that special lopsided grin of his, and pulled him in for another kiss, much more confidently this time. As their lips touched for the second time, the sky opened up and poured over the both of them. They laughed as they broke apart, and Harry quickly got to his feet, extending a hand to help up Draco.
With a quiet "thank you", said to the sky by Harry, the two men ran to the house. Entering the living room, Draco shivered at the change in air temperature, or maybe it was the fact that he had finally kissed Harry, well, more like Harry had kissed him. It still counted as far as he was concerned, and Draco was overjoyed that Harry shared some semblance of his feelings.
"I think we should shower, and then talk a bit?", Draco said cautiously, as he didn't want to scare Harry off.
"Yeah, I suppose we should."
As Harry was about to walk off, Draco caught his hand. Head tilted adorably in confusion, Harry allowed himself to be pulled back towards Draco and kissed for a third time. Harry showered with a small smile that never left his face.
He was pleasantly surprised to see that Draco had finished showering before him, and had prepared some tea for them both.
"Before we talk, I got you something earlier, hence why I left. It was cute and reminded me of you."
Draco presented Harry with a lion squishmallow with a rainbow mane, and two hearts on its chest. Harry graciously accepted the gift, and laughed when he handed Draco a pale green dragon with two hearts on its chest. The stupid smile couldn't be wiped off Draco's face even if you tried.
For Harry^
For Draco^
Leading Harry to the window seat so they could watch the storm, Draco sat in between Harry's legs and leaned back into his chest.
"Earlier, you asked about a message. It's either divine intervention or an incredible coincidence. When I get stressed out, I talk to my family. I just face the sky and say whatever is on my mind. I've been thinking about you and us more than usual these past few days, but today just took it to a whole other level.
I was worried that I was going to mess something up, so I asked for a sign that telling you how I was feeling was the right thing to do. I saw some lightning, and then there you were, with another wonderful present. If that's not a sign, I really don't know what is."
"The odds of that happening to both of us simultaneously are insanely low, you know that right? Your family is looking out for you darling, and I think that's really sweet.
For the record though, I was thinking about you a lot more today too. You're so easy to be around, and I think I've liked you for a long while. I didn't want to ruin our friendship though, but it was bound to happen with the mental connection."
"I was concerned for that group of girls", Harry teased him.
"I was hoping you didn't catch any of that."
"Just the important part, which was 'my Harry'. Your thoughts were all over the place."
"They still are. I need to sleep and process all of this. We can talk more tomorrow if that's alright?"
"I'm tired too, you read my mind."
Harry laughed at the accidental joke he made and Draco just rolled his eyes, wondering why he had to fall for such an idiot.
They got ready for bed, and Draco curled up next to Harry as usual. He fell asleep extremely quickly, leaving Harry to process his thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Summoning a quill and some parchment, Harry began to write.