Everlasting (Draco Malfoy x Reader)

I Love You

Lying in the darkness underneath the duvet of Draco Malfoy's bed, sweating and panting, you proceeded to stare up at the upper tester of his bed. The wealth of his bed prevented you from seeing the ceiling, thus you stared at the next available option. Amongst the silence and darkness, you heard the faint breathing of Draco as, beside you, he also stared at the ceiling of the bed. Your breathing had mingled, matching in rhythm.

Draco would not touch you. He feared touching you. Thus, he remained on his back, on the other side of the bed. You, however, would not let him get away with this. Slowly, you twisted yourself onto your side, facing him, as you shuffled closer and gently placed your head on his chest. He kept his hands at his sides, shutting his eyes tightly at the feeling of you against him so calmly. Resist it, resist it. He repeated to himself, forcing back all his might from embracing you in his arms. However, as your head sunk into his chest, he could not help himself from lifting up his arm behind you and embracing you, gently trailing his fingers along your upper arm. You both continued to stare before yourselves in the darkness, however the darkness seemed much warmer and kinder now, within each other's arms. You'd lifted your leg over Draco's, pressing yourself against him tightly to feel his everlasting warmth. He used this opportunity to pull you even closer, still in awe at the occurrence between you and himself, as he lowered his lips to kiss the tip of your head before retreating to staring at the bed ceiling again.

"Stay the night," he finally whispered within the silencing darkness.

"I shouldn't."

"There's a lot of things you shouldn't ever have done," he continued.

"I'll stay the night," you also whispered, smiling as you sunk into his chest. "Let me take care of you."

"It's rotten work," he whispered back.

"Not to me. Not if it's you."

Slowly, you lifted up your arm before outstretching it to his other arm. You took a hold of his arm and, gently, trailed your fingers along the inside of the lower arm, down to his wrist. Upon it, you felt faintly rough skin, as though it'd been scratched harshly. The mere feeling of the roughness of his skin, you squeezed your eyes tightly, only assuming the pain.

"Don't do it," he whispered through the darkness, moving his arm away.

"It's okay," you said softly, bringing his arm back over to yourself and carefully holding that hand. "It's all okay."

All you could hear over the darkness was the faint sob of Draco, who now rolled over onto his side to face you, wrapping his entire arms around your body, surrounding you completely. He embraced you tightly, as you sunk into the feel of his chest and arms, hugging him back and softly kissing the chest you were buried into.

"But I don't deserve you," he whispered.

"You deserve more than someone like me."

At this, he broke down entirely. You could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks as you placed your hand on his cheek, gently wiping away his tears.

"Why do you cry?" You whispered, kissing his tears away.

"Because," he cleared his throat, "I'm so, so happy."

Your mind flashed back to the very moment in the fifth year, when you and Draco were filled with a youthful carelessness, enticed by your own love for each other. Yet, here you were, presented with issues in your being together. It was no longer a matter of family quarrels; today, as you lie in each other's arms, it was a matter of eternal choices. Duties and desires to be battled. There was more that pulled Draco away from you - not just your names - this time, there were legitimate fights for each other's love. One moment, you were convinced you ought to respect yourself and move on, for you deserved better. But when you truly broke down and felt the core of your feelings, you realised that never in your meek life would you accomplish true happiness and freedom without the love of Draco Malfoy.