Harry's POV:
I played with the metallic fork idly, flipping it back and forth so that it would be parallel to the knife and spoon that rested on the table before I would purposefully shift it so that it wasn't parallel at all. I could tell that this bugged Draco, since he had his dining wear completely parallel to not only himself but also his napkin.
We had made it out of the school after getting permission from McGonagall and Snape. I had to get Draco away for a little while, before we began our journey into the muggle world. So of course, I took him to Hogsmeade for a little date.
Draco and I were both seated in a booth, looking over the menus. I ran my finger down the page and stopped at roast chicken and mashed potatoes. It sounded pretty delicious and I tapped it, making a small sound of approval.
Draco dropped his menu onto the table as I peeked over the top of my own. He gave a small smile and I reached across the table to grab his hand. With small, slowing strokes, I rubbed circles into his smooth flesh.
"What are you having, Dray?" I asked as I lay down my own menu. The look of slight agitation on his face humoured me as I moved my fork ever so slightly diagonal. "Pork and applesauce, with roasted carrots and potatoes." He tapped his free hand against the table lightly and I felt his leg jolt against mine. Earlier in the day, I had picked up on Draco's OCD habit when I shifted things around and he would shift them back.
Anytime I shifted the fork so that it wasn't parallel, I could visibly see Draco furrow his brows and pointedly look away. It was the most adorably awkward trait I had ever had the opportunity to witness. So of course, I took advantage of it. Calmly, I left the fork crooked and leaned on my elbow on the table with my chin in my palm as I flicked my gaze upwards to look at the beauty sitting before me.
The frustration was plain on his face, and Draco just glared back silently. It was priceless. I tilted my head and blinked innocently.
"Something the matter, Dray?" I couldn't keep the smirk off my face as I stared at him. His eyes slid over to the fork and I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried not to freak out about the misplaced fork.
"Harry..." He gave me a warning look but I just continued to stare at him indifferently.
Playing coy, I gave a small shrug of. The shoulders. "What? What did I do?"
"You know exactly what you did! I just watched you do it!" Draco seemed to be a bit aggravated so I chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Did what? Does having my elbow on the table bug you? I didn't realize you were a stickler for manners!" I huffed and sat back before slouching in my chair, my lips twitching upwards slightly. I had never been one for manners or anything like that. It was hard to learn manners when you live with the people I lived with. Especially with their attitudes and such.
"N- No! The fork thingy!"
I stared at Draco before laughter bubbled up from my throat and out of my mouth. Draco was obviously so frustrated that I was having difficulties even coming up with words and articulating what he was trying to say. I could only think of one word. Adorable.
"Fork thingy? Come on Draco, use your words; is it a fork or a thingy?"
He looked ready to reach across the table and slap me or explode in in rage or embarrassment as his face turned slightly red. I quickly figured out that it was indeed anger that was boiling inside of him as he leaned across the table and whispered angrily at me. It was slightly unnerving when someone who wanted to yell at you suddenly switched to whispering and I just stared at him.
"Harry, what the hell is wrong with you? Why do you enjoy tormenting me so much?" The blonde haired beauty before me huffed angrily before he reached across the table to fix my fork AND my plate so that they were parallel before leaning back into his chair. I just blinked before giving him a look.
"Really Dray? It bugs you that much?" I chuckled and leaned my head back into my hand as I casually reached across the table and looped my fingers through Draco's.
"Yes, it does. And you know how I feel about those sorts of things." Hastily, Draco pulled his hand from mine, or, tried to. I gripped tighter and began rubbing small circles into the flesh.
"Hey, hey! Look, I was just teasing babe. I didn't mean too, okay?" Draco stopped trying to pull his hand away and sat rigid, with his back straight. On a second note, I added "Look boo, I brought you on this date because we'll be really busy over the next few days tracking down Emmery Ricci. And I wanted to spend some time with you. You know I just like to have a little fun. I'm sorry."
Something flickered in Draco's eyes and I furrowed my brow a little bit. What was that? "I- I know. I'm sorry too. I overreacted and I shouldn't have. It was just a stupid thing." He flicked his blonde hair free from his face with his other hand.
"I was just messing around with you, baby. Don't be sorry. Let's just forget it and have a goodnight, okay?" I tapped my fingers against my chin and stroked Draco's hand with my thumb. I just want a nice, easy night. It's been a bit rough the last week to say the least.
"Okay. Yeah. That sounds good." Five words spilled from Draco's slightly plump lips and I relaxed into my chair. Good, good.
Draco's hands were small and delicate in contrast to my own. But I sort of already knew that from plenty of experience. What I hadn't though about were the implications of such a thing as having small hands. I also really needed to stop thinking about it now before any unwanted tents were pitched in my pants.
I slowly slid my eyes over to observe as Draco idly played with our fingers and looked at them in comparison. He matched our palms up and promptly pouted when he saw that his hands were tinier than mine, however, his fingers were slender and long. Mine were a little shorter and kind of thick.
"Your hands are fat..." I smirked and looked at our compared appendages.
"No, yours are just incredibly small and thin. My hands are quite normal, thank you very much." I wiggled my fingers against Draco's and our fingertips tapped together.
"Funny." His eyes narrowed into tiny slits and he stared at me through them. "Besides, I was just stating facts. And my hands are small because of aristocratic bloodlines, thank you."
I watched as Draco bent his fingers so that they slid into the spaces between my own and held onto my hand like that. My fingers followed shortly after as I just stared at out interlocked hands for a moment. Hands were weird. Fingers were weird too; nice to have, but still incredibly weird.
"Hands are strange."
I blinked and stared at Draco as I voiced my own thought and grinned before shrugging. "Hmm maybe... But it is nice to hold them and stuff. It's nice to do a lot of things. Especially with you." I grinned at Draco across the table. It was nice and Draco's hands were incredibly warm to hold.
Our waiter cam over, just in time to ruin the moment with a tray holding our ordered food and we both pulled our hands away before looking down at our food as it was placed in front of us. My cheeks felt hot. God. I silently cursed my inability to not react to situations.
I looked at Draco out of the corner of my eye. He was grinning at the plate of food in front of him and I smiled. It was adorable.
The food was really good. Really good indeed. Draco also seemed to be enjoying his pork and applesauce, just more slowly and not as rapidly as I was enjoying my own food. If I was being completely honest and looking at myself from outside of my body, I would have to admit that I basically inhaled my food. Harry Potter the vacuum.
I still used my manners, as much as I has to begin with, and didn't spill food or act like a pig but, Draco wasn't even half done but the time I had already finished everything on my plate. My stomach was definitely satisfied and that was all I needed in this moment.
I met Draco's eyes and sat back against the booth as I stared at him. Honestly, Draco looked a little shocked, but mostly amused.
"Were you hungry or something? I could only roll roll my eyes and laugh a little at my fiancé.
"Yeah, a little. Besides, it was really good food. You though, you eat slowly." I nudged Draco's foot with my own and then rested my knee comfortably against his.
"Sorry, but aristocratic bloodlines. I was taught table manners from a young age. You, of all people, should know that. And I'm not a pig when it comes to food." Draco thought for a moment as he daintily placed a piece of pork into his mouth. "Not that you are a pig when you eat. No, I've never seen you eat like that before. You were like a vacuum thingy."
I looked at Draco and intended to say that same thing I had before but Draco beat me to it with a look. "Don't. Don't say that." He shook a finger at me as he placed another piece of pork into his mouth.
I held my hands up in surrender. "I wasn't going to say anything." I innocently blinked before lowering my hands. "Are you having a nice time, boo?"
"Yeah. This was good. Thank you for taking me out Harry. I really needed it. It's been a rough week and stuff." Draco took a last bite of his pork before laying his utensils parallel on his plate. "You said that before. 'Boo'. What is it?"
I looked into Draco's silver eyes before roaming over his features. His hair was perfectly in place, only it wasn't gelled up. I hadn't seen it gelled up since we first started dating. It was a good look for him. Especially those few blonde wisps that kept escaping. His prominent jawline moved with grace as he chewed.
"I don't really know. I just kind of thought of it. I guess it would be a new nickname for you." I gave Draco an airy smile and reached across the table to intertwine our fingers once again.
"It's cute. I like it."
"That's good. We have a big day tomorrow. Are you ready to head back to Hogwarts then?" I questioned as I pulled my hand from Draco's so I could grab my coat from besides me. I shrugged it on and Draco did the same with his.
"Yeah. I'm a little bit tired. Sleep would be good right about now. I'd like to cuddle a bit. I'm in a cuddling mood." I smiled and stood up from the table, shuffling out of the booth and linking hands with Draco.
"Cuddling it is then, babe."
X
Hi! Yes, it is I! I'm back. It's been nearly a week. And I've updated twice in only two weeks. Normally, you guys would have 10 updates by now. I'm sorry. I'm a lazy person. But I've had valid excuses... Or some... Anyway, I'm getting on a plane on Tuesday so the next update will be then. I'm writing on a plane.
Whoop! Hope you Gus enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it long to make up for the last short chapter. Though it's probably not even that long. I don't know. I can't really tell.
Don't be a ghostie! You know how I feel about that!