Rivaling Affections

Authors Note: Many thanks to my lovely beta Robert, who worked his magic on my magic (or my writing anyway). And now the chapter you have all been waiting for. I hope you enjoy!!

Chapter 16 Sweet Whipped Topping

Draco paced the living room feeling immensely better. After taking his potion and a quick three-hour nap, he felt fit as a fiddle. Now he was ready to fight for Harry’s affections, starting with the man who was standing on the front step with him right then.

They had been chatting outside for almost an hour from when Draco had woken up and – no matter what angle Draco tried – he couldn’t see the face of Harry’s date. The man was inconveniently blocked from view at every window Draco looked through, but what he could clearly see was how careless Harry’s smile was as he talked to the other man as well as hear the abandon with which he laughed.

“I’m too late,” Draco groaned to himself, near to smacking his own face for his poor timing. He might have done just that had not Harry walked in at that very moment, leading his date in behind him.

And here Draco thought Harry had these high and mighty morals that kept him from sleeping with someone until they had been dating awhile. But then maybe they had been dating awhile – Draco had been out of the loop for weeks. In fact, he had noticed Harry disappearing in the evenings lately. Had Harry been dating this other man the whole time without Draco’s knowledge?

He cleared his throat and both men turned to face him.

“Draco, what are you doing up?” Harry asked worriedly upon catching sight of the blonde. “You’re sick.”

“I’m feeling better now,” Draco admitted, and realized it was the truth when he saw who the other man was. “Longbottom, good to see you again.”

Harry looked quizzically between the two men and shook his head in confusion. “I’ll see you later if it’s alright, Nev.”

Neville smiled warmly and patted his friend on the back before waving to Draco and leaving. When the door clicked softly shut, Harry rounded on the smug man.

“Were you spying on me?” he demanded with a slight hint of anger.

“I thought you were on a date and wanted to see who with,” Draco replied, growling slightly without realizing it.

“That doesn’t excuse it,” Harry countered, “and I’m not your property so stop acting like I am.”

“I wasn’t saying that you were,” Draco placated, attempting to soothe the brunette, “and you’re right: I was wrong. It’s just that, well, I was curious to see who my competition was. However, it was only Longbottom, so there’s no need to worry after all.”

It didn’t work.

“How do you know I wasn’t on a date with Neville?” Harry protested.

“Because he’d married to your ex, and you’d never date a married man. Besides, despite Longbottom’s affinity for flashy clothes and that all he talks about is flowers, he’s not gay,” Draco responded matter-of-factly. “Obviously, he’s no competition.”

“You don’t have any competition, Draco, because you’ve removed yourself from my options,” Harry told him bitterly.

“I-“ Draco began, but Harry cut him off with a shake of his head.

“It appears you’re feeling better, so I’m going to bed,” he announced and padded off toward the back of the house.

“Wait,” Draco called, feeling something rise up in his chest. “I want to be an option! I want to be the only option!”

Harry paused mid-stride and slowly turned to face the blonde again—his face was an impassive mask “What?”

Draco rushed over to where Harry stood and grabbed his hands, trying to pull him closer but his reluctant paramour wouldn’t allow it. “I’m an idiot,” he confessed to the other man.

With pursed lips, Harry nodded curtly and narrowed his eyes. “Go on.”

“I should have told you this ages ago, but late is better than never right?” Draco asked.

“Sometimes,” Harry replied, not yet moving his hands away, but not holding on to Draco’s either.

“Right well, best just say it then, I suppose.” Draco muttered to himself as Harry gave him a deadly ‘get on with it’ look. “I’m in love with you, Harry.”

Harry blinked several times, clearly not expecting Draco’s words. A vibrant blush spread across his cheeks and his fingers went rigid in Draco’s palm. “Are you trying to play a joke on me, because if so-“ he began but Draco cut him off with a kiss.

Harry yielded to Draco’s lips at once, using their twined hands to pull the man closer as they wound together in breathless passion. When they broke apart, Harry just stared: unable to form words; fortunately Draco had plenty.

“I’ve been daft when I should have agreed to a date months ago. You’re brilliant, Harry and I don’t deserve it, but I’m going to ask anyhow. Will you have dinner with me?” he asked shyly.

“You want to date me?” Harry asked shakily as Draco nodded.

“A proper date where we’re seen in public together and hold hands and kiss goodnight,” Draco clarified.

Harry chuckled and nodded and pulled Draco against him for another kiss, hovering inches away from the blonde’s face. “Yes,” he whispered against Draco’s welcoming lips before capturing them with his own.

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Harry was trying to get his hair to flatten – and failing miserably – when there was a knock at the front door. He wandered curiously to the living room and peeked out, smiling to himself when he saw Draco standing out front looking delicious and holding a bouquet of wild flowers seemingly clipped from Harry’s own was amusing that Draco had actually taken it upon himself to leave the cottage just to come back and pick Harry up.

He opened the door and leaned against the doorjamb. “What are you doing out here?” he asked.

“Proper date,” the blonde reminded Harry with a smirk.

Harry laughed and moved aside. “Would you like to come in?”

“How kind,” Draco teased. “These are for you,” he added, handing the flowers over to Harry.

“Are these from my garden?” he asked, eyeing them carefully as he pecked Draco on the cheek and went into the kitchen to grab a vase.

Draco blushed slightly and followed him into the other room. “I thought they were nicer than anything I saw at the market,” Draco admitted.

“That’s very thoughtful, thank you. And my, aren’t you looking very dapper,” he admired. “Where are we going for dinner?”

“It’s a surprise, and you’re looking very handsome yourself,” Draco added, fidgeting slightly.

Harry thought it was adorable that Draco was so nervous and, after placing the flowers in water, they left the cottage through the back, grabbing their brooms on the way.

The sun was setting on the horizon bathing them in vivid pink and purple light as they expertly whirled through the air on their matching brooms. Harry let Draco take the lead since he had no idea where he was going, but never let him get ahead by much. He kept showing off by doing barrel rolls around where Draco hovered and looping around him as if they were chasing the snitch.

When Draco made to land outside the castle entrance, Harry looked over at him curiously. “We’re having dinner at Hogwarts?”

“Sort of,” Draco replied casually, taking Harry’s hand and leading him through the front doors.

They bypassed the Great Hall – just as well, since dinner would have been long over – and headed up to the Gryffindor tower. Draco led Harry up to the same empty dorm where they had once stared at the moon together. The room was as empty as it had been before except for a small table for two beside the open window where the last bits of sunlight streamed in, competing with the candle in the center of the table.

Fairy lights were strung across the rafters and emanated a soft yellow glow that covered everything. Harry beamed over at his date, who was looking rather cautious. “Do you like it?” Draco asked him warily.

“I love it,” Harry whispered.

“Just so there’s no confusion this time, I planned this,” the blonde teased, pulling out Harry’s seat for him.

“Good to know,” Harry laughed, remembering the fiasco of the garden dinner and glad that such a romantic gesture did actually lurk under the Slytherin’s cool exterior.

A bottle of Pinot Noir sat on the table between them and Harry chuckled lightly while Draco poured them each a glass. They sat in slightly awkward – though not uncomfortable –silence while sipping their wine. Harry was unsure what to talk about now that things were official; spending time with Draco had been so easy and natural before, but now he wasn’t entirely sure what to say or do.

Draco cleared his throat and rummaged under the table for a minute before pulling out a small package and handing it to Harry with a shy smile. “I got this for you.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Harry noted, wondering if Draco was always this way on dates or if it had simply been awhile since he’d been on one.

“It’s nothing big, I just found it last week and thought you should have it,” Draco replied, a slight flush to his cheeks.

Harry tore gently at the glittering silver paper and gasped as he revealed its contents. A small tattered book with a stuffed rabbit on the cover stared back at him. With shaking hands he cracked it open, wondering if he would find what he hoped on the inside cover.

There, in sharp relief on the weathered white page, was the soft black script that Harry had spent years of his childhood memorizing.

‘To my dearest Lily, may the world bestow upon you the most precious of life’s gifts, and one day you can pass this along to your little one.

Your loving mother,

Rose’

Harry blinked back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes and looked up at his date. “Where did you find it?” he whispered, unable to keep his voice from shaking with emotion. Even though he could never stop himself from picking up copy after copy of the ‘Velveteen Rabbit’, he always held little hope that he would ever find the exact book he wanted.

Draco looked down at his empty place setting and muttered something unintelligible.

“Pardon?” Harry said, hoping Draco would repeat himself.

“Don’t be mad,” he started. “Promise me you won’t get angry.”

Harry chuckled and shook his head. “You act as if you killed someone for it.”

“Nearly,” Draco replied and then shook his head to ward off Harry’s look of shock. “I didn’t though. They weren’t even hurt.”

“Who?” Harry asked warily.

Draco sighed. “Just remember that you asked,” he said before starting his story at Harry’s insistence. “I went to your Aunt and Uncle to see if they remembered where they had taken the book to give myself a starting place at least.”

“You went to the Dursley’s?” Harry asked incredulously.

“A couple of useless lumps, they are,” Draco muttered. “At first they told me to sod off, but then I showed them my wand and the fat one grew pasty and the woman got angry. I wasn’t even threatening them – yet – I was just trying to prove that I knew you.”

“I doubt they cared,” Harry muttered – more to himself than anyone else – entranced with Draco’s story.

“They didn’t,” Draco confirmed. “They were rather difficult, and didn’t respond to reason, or to kindness or even to magic.”

Harry narrowed his eyes and Draco put his hands up defensively. “I restrained myself,” he assured him. “I merely dangled them from the ceiling for a bit and conjured a few large spiders, strictly to scare them: not to bite them,” he quickly added.

Harry tried to suppress a laugh but couldn’t. The idea of his nasty relatives dangling in the air with giant spiders after them was too priceless an image. “So they eventually gave in did they?”

“No,” Draco muttered, clearly still upset over it. “After awhile they lost consciousness and I was just left there wondering what to do when another fat lard came into the house and started flipping out.

“Dudley,” Harry muttered, still smiling at Draco’s tale.

“Right. Well, he was actually nice enough once I explained I was a friend of yours, and he told me that your Aunt only pretended to get rid of the book. She’d kept it all along, the cunt. But anyhow, your cousin went up and got it for me, and voila,” he announced, gesturing to the book Harry held in his hands.

Harry smiled warmly and pulled Draco across the table into a deep kiss. He’d never had anyone go to so much trouble for him before, and it made his stomach flutter.

A sharp clearing of the throat made them break apart and Harry looked over to find Teddy standing in the doorway with a silver platter. “Sorry to interrupt but ew,” the boy teased.

Draco narrowed his eyes and Teddy hurried over with the platter of food. “Your dinner, sirs,” he announced in an overly-dramatic tone and set a plate in front of each man.

“Chicken Kiev with a wild mushroom demi-glaze,” Draco told Harry when he saw Harry poke at his chicken.

Harry smiled and thanked Teddy, who seemed eager to get out of their way, and then turned his attention to his date. “You’ve outdone yourself, Draco.”

The Slytherin professor blushed slightly and shrugged. “You deserve it after the prat I’ve been being.”

“Still,” Harry smiled. “This is really romantic.”

Draco smiled across the table at him as they sat with their fingers intertwined; moonlight streaming into their makeshift restaurant and making silvery light play on the side of the blonde’s pale face.

It was the perfect night.

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Draco insisted that they land in the front yard even though they kept their brooms in the closet by the back. “I want to make this a proper date, and proper dates end with a kiss on the front step,” he cited as the reason for his odd request.

Harry chuckled and followed his lead as they swooped and dove down the lane leading to the lovely cottage at the end. Draco let his broom fall where he landed and took Harry’s hand as he walked the brunette up to the door. The Gryffindor professor was obviously trying to suppress a snicker, but Draco was determined to do everything right, it was what Harry deserved, and he would make sure the man wanted for nothing.

His heart was beating erratically, and it seemed to matter very little how silly he knew it was to be nervous at this juncture. He and Harry had kissed several times before this point and never had Draco felt so fluttery before one of those, but as he tucked a lock of raven hair behind his date’s ear and pulled Harry close, he felt like he might buzz away like a hummingbird.

Harry’s arms were looped casually around his waist, a warm comforting weight on his torso, and his thumbs were making small circles on the small of Draco’s back. The touch sent shivers through him and he cupped Harry’s jaw and leaned in, pressing their lips together at last.

The kiss was sweet and unrushed, gentle and probing as they took their time exploring one another until they had no more room to breathe. It was perfect, heavenly, like pressing his lips to a cloud, sweet like candy and it made his toes curl up in his boots.

Harry moaned into his mouth and unlatched the door with a flick of his wand. “Would you like to come in?” he purred and Draco melted at the sound of Harry’s low seductive voice inviting him in.

“I shouldn’t,” he replied, intending to be a gentleman on this proper first date.

“But if you don’t then my carefully planned dessert will go to waste,” Harry whined.

“Well, it would be rude to ruin a perfectly good dessert I suppose,” Draco reasoned.

“It would,” Harry nodded and winked, pulling Draco roughly into the house and back toward his bedroom.

“I thought you said dessert,” Draco said warily as they approached Harry’s door and then gasped as he saw the elaborate arrangement inside.

In place of the massive bed that had been in the center of the room before, a deep tub resided, bubbles foaming up and over the edge. Only when Draco walked closer, mesmerized by the sight, did he realize they weren’t bubbles at all.

“Whipped cream?” he asked, dipping his finger into the frothy mixture to taste its sweetness.

“It will go great with these,” Harry announced, producing a large plate filled with succulent goodies perfect for dipping.

Draco’s eyes widened as Harry put the tray down and stalked toward him. Nimble fingers began to pry off buttons while Harry’s hot mouth trailed down Draco’s neck and chest, making him whimper and back up toward the unusual tub.

He felt a tug at his trousers and he dove for Harry’s mouth, sealing it with his own as he tore at Harry’s shirt and trousers as well. When they were both divested of all offending garments, Harry took a step back to appreciate the pale angelic body before him, and Draco did the same.

Harry was darkly handsome, sculpted muscle over a taught frame shadowed lightly by patches of obsidian hair. Harry was graceful in his movements as he stalked toward him once again and lightly shoved Draco into the waiting bath. A seductive chuckle escaped Harry’s perfectly kissed lips as the whipped cream splashed around the room and coated Draco from head to toe.

Draco beckoned Harry closer, but the Gryffindor shook his head coyly until Draco began to lick the whipped cream from his own fingers. After watching him with clearly growing passion Harry finally joined him in the sweet white bath.

“You know, most of the time a bath is meant to make you clean,” Draco noted.

“This one is to get you dirty,” Harry pointed out and Draco lost all self-control and pounced on the lovely raven-haired man, kissing along his jaw and lightly biting his bottom lip. The foamy bath around them was slightly cool, but mostly squishy and moist against their bodies, making them slip and slide against one another.

At some point Harry managed to move back to the tray and grabbed a large strawberry, dipped it into the cream and then held it to Draco’s lips. He took a generous bite and kissed Harry again once he had swallowed it down, letting the man taste the sweet fruit. They only repeated this a couple times before the plate was completely discarded and the whipped cream began to loose its whip, becoming more of a shallow sticky milk bath and exposing more of their flesh to the open air.

Harry fell on him then, tongue, teeth and hands all scrabbling for a hold on Draco’s pale flesh. Draco gasped when Harry’s fingers wrapped around his cock, and he automatically thrust forward into the fist he had created. Moaning at the feel of him, Harry stroked Draco’s length much too slowly, making Draco writhe beneath him and whimper for more. He’d never had a lover as in-control as Harry was, but then he’d never had a lover as sexy and powerful as Harry either.

The all-consuming pressure was building steadily in spite of Harry’s timely movements, and Draco judged by the glint in Harry’s green eyes that he knew exactly what he was doing. As soon as he felt a probing finger breach his entrance he knew Harry was fully aware of the affect he had and Draco cried out for him.

Another finger penetrated him and Draco was conflicted over whether to impale himself more fully on the fingers or thrust up into the hand around his prick. Harry didn’t let him think on it for long, however, because in the next moment he was moving both hands in synch and making every nerve ending Draco had fire off at once.

“Ah, I love you,” Draco groaned, taken over by the moment and Harry paused in his ministrations to lean closer and whisper in Draco’s ear.

“Say it again,” he asked seductively, his voice a deep purr that reverberated through his entire body.

Draco opened his eyes and gazed into Harry’s brilliant green ones. “I love you,” he repeated.

Harry shuddered against him and kissed Draco deeply before resuming his task of making Draco come. When he felt Draco tense up however, he shifted away and grinned at him.

Whimpering at the loss of touch, Draco tried to pull him against his body, but Harry only responded for a moment before angling himself against Draco’s entrance and pressing inside of him.

Draco inhaled sharply, trying not to fight against the intrusion. It had been a very long time since he’d slept with anyone, and usually he was the top. Harry had a way about him however, that made Draco weak in the knees, and he’d give the man anything in the end. Once Harry’s fingers wrapped around his cock again though, what pain there had been fuzzed out with the rest of the world and he found himself rocking into the movement of Harry’s large cock inside of him.

“I love you, too,” Harry returned as he moved inside of him slowly, building up pressure and pace until both were groaning in pleasure.

After a few short moments the build up became too much however and Draco felt it begin to spill over, a second later he was shouting Harry’s name and shuddering his orgasm over the man’s hand. Harry came just after, emptying his seed inside of Draco’s tight arse and digging his fingertips into his pale stomach.

They collapsed in an extra sticky heap, made worse by the slowly thawing whipped cream that clotted in their hair and clung to their skin. “Now it’s time for that other bath,” Harry sighed when he could breath to talk.

“What?” Draco asked, words not making the most sense to him at the moment.

“The bath you take to get clean,” Harry explained.

“Right,” Draco agreed. “We should maybe clean this up before it attracts the worlds largest ants,” he teased.

Harry laughed and tugged Draco to his feet. They made their way, slipping and laughing occasionally, to Harry’ s bathroom for a nice hot soak.

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Authors Note: Whipped cream bath anyone?