This is the Way I Fall

Author's note--With regard to the time frame between the last chapter and this one...Draco woke up around 4am, went out to the couch, and he and Harry cuddled for a while without speaking (hence why Harry was dozing when Draco finally mustered up the courage to start apologizing) so when the time suddenly jumps, make sure you take into account that they just laid there, taking comfort from each other for a while.

Any guesses on what the title means before you read the chapter? LOL This chapter is dedicated to Roozette because I think she's about to kill me and to Lilith who asked for an update 'soon'. *wink* AND NOW WE GET TO THE PART THAT I'VE BEEN DYING TO TELL YOU ABOUT!!! I know I said "a chapter a day" but I just couldn't wait!!! ENJOY and OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of the fast reviews!!! You guys are the BEST!!!

This is the Way I Fall by Graballz

Chapter 8

Airport Surprise

Harry shifted, taking control as he rolled Draco onto his back, not allowing their lips to separate as he prepared to go down on his lover, catching a glimpse of the clock.

“Oh, fuck!” His eyes popped wide as he looked from the clock to Draco in horror, his arousal forgotten. “Shit, Draco, it’s five-thirty! Our plane is supposed to leave in an hour and a half! We were supposed to be at the airport an hour ago!”

They flew out of bed in a panic; their make-up sex would have to wait. Harry pulled his clothes on, dumping out the suitcase he had piled everything in, wishing he HAD gone ahead and packed it last night. He began to fold hurriedly, jamming everything in, and went around the room, picking up the leftover stuff. Draco got dressed in record time as well and went straight to the closet, grabbing the clothes from Harry’s side that he intended to pack for the Gryffindor. He set them on the bed and went to grab their toiletries from the bathroom while Harry’s folding steadily got worse.

“FUCK! This won’t fit!” Harry raged, and Draco called to him from the other room.

“Use a bit of wandless magic, love!”

“Oh, of course!” Harry snorted at his own stupidity, waving his hand. Neither he nor Draco could do very powerful wandless magic, especially since they hadn’t kept up with the regular casting, with the exception of minor charms that didn’t require much concentration or ability anyway, such as lubrication charms or the packing incantation.

Draco fudged a bit and shrank several items so that he could fit all of his clothing, shoes, and products into two suitcases, combined with enough outfits for Harry. They managed to get the luggage zipped, and Harry loaded them into the car while Draco gathered up their important documentation, passports, flight information, hotel paperwork, and packed it all into Harry’s backpack. He flew down the stairs, locked the door, and Harry drove like a maniac to get them there on time.

**********

All in all, it had taken them about twenty minutes to pack, and the entire way to the airport, Harry muttered under his breath about missing their flight and how he could have been so stupid while Draco mentally reviewed everything he had packed, vocalizing an item feared to have been left behind, only to sigh with relief when Harry confirmed seeing it somewhere in the suitcase. Once he was assured that they had packed everything necessary, he tried to helpfully point out what Harry was doing wrong while driving.

“Draco! Merlin! Stop that! I know how to drive!”

“I’m sorry, Harry, I know you know—hey! Wasn’t that our exit? It said ‘airport’!”

“No, love, that was for cargo. I know where I’m going,” Harry’s voice had taken an edge. “Our exit for the airport terminal is coming up.”

“Okay, okay…Harry, you’re a little close to the white line over here.”

“Draco, I swear to Merlin, I love you very much, but if you don’t shut that gorgeous mouth of yours, I’m going to leave you on the side of this highway and go to Brazil without you!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Draco could tell that Harry was (mostly) kidding, but he played along. “I’ll just grab onto the back of the car! Hey, THAT sign said ‘airport terminal’!”

“Not if I run you over first,” Harry groaned. “Yes, it did, but I just realized that we need to park the car.”

“Well, it also said ‘airport parking’, Mister ‘I Know Where I’m Going’!”

“It did? Are you sure?” Harry peered in the rearview mirror as if he could somehow read the sign.

“Uh-huh,” Draco crossed his arms triumphantly.

“Well, fuck!” Harry put his blinker on to take the next exit, and they tried to backtrack. The smile was wiped from Draco’s face when he realized that regardless of whether he had been right or not, they still hadn’t gotten to the airport any faster. “I DO know where I’m going!”

“Riiiiiiiiiiiight,” Draco drawled out the word, and they both burst out laughing. It had been a right comedy of errors that morning, but in spite of their recent problems, they had pulled together to make it work.

**********

Harry stopped next to the curb, and Draco jumped out, shouldering Harry’s backpack. He grabbed their suitcases out of the backseat and made a beeline for the ticket counter while Harry accidentally squealed the tires going to park. They had made it just in the nick of time, but the ticket agent lectured Draco something fierce as she checked their luggage. The blonde rolled his eyes, thanked the woman, and hightailed it to the security line, where he was about three people from going through the metal detector when Harry ran up, face flushed from sprinting.

“I’m here, love!” He dropped a quick kiss on Draco’s temple, taking his jacket, scarf, and backpack from his boyfriend. “We made it!”

“We’re not on the plane yet,” Draco cautioned, peeling his own jacket and scarf off and setting them in the security tray. He toed off his shoes and undid his belt, wincing as Harry emptied his pockets of all of the spare change, miscellaneous receipts, and wallet. It clattered into the small dish loudly, and Draco was sure that a herd of Hippogriffs would have been quieter. Harry, too, sent his jacket and scarf under the X-ray, along with his shoes and backpack.

Draco stepped through the security doorway and had just grabbed his belt, beginning to thread it back through when Harry’s voice made him freeze.

Harry smiled, checking out his boyfriend’s arse as the blonde went through security ahead of him, and then he was motioned through. As he looked around casually, just on the other side of the metal detector, a familiar head of hair drew his attention to the other side of the security barrier, where incoming passengers went the opposite direction to collect their luggage from the baggage claim.

“Ron?!”

**********

Ron Weasley’s head snapped up in the direction, and the two boys froze, staring at each other in shock.

“Harry?” Ron’s response was drowned out as Harry broke into a dead run, leaving all of his belongings, and Ron ignored the security personnel who tried to tell him that he couldn’t stop in the middle of the security walkway, running back around the barrier to meet Harry in a crushing hug.

Draco could NOT believe what was happening. As soon as Harry and Ron embraced, the blonde shook himself, looking away to give them a moment of ‘privacy’ and trying to quell his knee-jerk stream of jealousy. The people behind Draco who had been giving Harry and Ron happy ‘awww’ looks turned angry, frowning faces to Draco for holding up the line. He left his belt halfway on and slipped his shoes on quickly. He gathered up both of their jackets and scarves, hastily shoving all of Harry’s pocket change into his own pants pockets. He threw Harry’s backpack over his shoulder and picked up his boyfriend’s sneakers and got out of the way, glaring back at the people who glared at him.

Ron and Harry were just pulling back from each other, red-faced from embarrassment at such a public display, when Draco marched up. He handed Harry his shoes (smacking them into his chest a little harder than he intended) and reminded Harry that they still had a plane to catch, giving Ron a cool glance.

“Malfoy,” Ron said stiffly.

“Weasel-ey,” Draco replied, adding on the last syllable of Ron’s surname when Harry threw him an angry glance.

“Draco, will you go tell them that we need a later flight? Please?” Harry put his hand under Draco’s elbow and turned him toward their gate. Draco wrenched his arm out of Harry’s grip, furious at being dismissed, and flounced off. Harry winced, recognizing Draco’s angry stride. He turned back to Ron, who was also staring after Draco with a pinched look of disapproval.

“Knock that off right there,” Harry said angrily, regaining Ron’s attention. “Draco and I are together, and no amount of pulling faces on your part is going to change that. You made it perfectly clear that you wanted nothing to do with me, so why are you here, Ron?”

“Look, Harry,” Ron took a deep breath, and they simultaneously started walking slowly in the direction that Draco had gone to get away from the stream of people coming past them through security. “I’m sorry about all of that. I…It’s not fair of me to try to tell you who you should or shouldn’t be with. I really, really hate that it’s Malfoy, of all people, but I gotta tell you that I’ve really missed you, mate. So much, in fact, that I’m willing to put up with HIM in order to see you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Harry replied softly, which led to another round of hugging. When they pulled back for the second time, Harry automatically glanced over his shoulder to find Draco glowering at him from the gate counter. “I hope, now that some time has passed, maybe you and Draco can forget all of the old, bad stuff and at least TRY to get along? He’s not like you remember, Ron, and I’d be willing to bet that you’ve changed too.”

“Aye, mate,” Ron agreed, glowering back at Draco out of habit. “We can try, but I make no guarantees.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear,” Harry said happily, leading Ron over to where Draco was arguing with the airline agent. She, unfortunately, was taking the brunt of his scathing tongue.

“But, sir, we’ve already closed the gate, so you cannot board the plane,” she was saying as they walked up. “We will be more than happy to put out a notice for our Rio office to pull your luggage and hold it for you there until you arrive on a later flight. At no extra charge, of course.”

“When is the next flight out?” Harry cut in smoothly, giving Draco a broad smile, which the Slytherin didn’t return. He put his hand on the small of Draco’s back, cheering internally when he wasn’t rebuffed.

“It looks like the next flight to Rio de Janeiro that I can get you onto leaves in about three hours, sir,” the young lady replied, noticeably glad that Draco had fallen silent. “Would you like me to book you?”

“Wait, Harry, you were getting ready to fly to Brazil?” Ron’s voice interrupted, and Harry felt Draco tense under his hand. Harry opened his mouth to respond, but the blonde spun around, advancing on Ron, and beat him to it.

“Yes, Weasley, we WERE,” Draco spat, backing the redhead up. “Until you showed up and made us miss our plane, that is. What do you want, anyway? Why are you here?”

Ron’s attention switched to Harry, who had come up behind Draco and gently tried to pull the blonde’s shoulders to get him to back off of Ron. Ron’s face fell and his voice cracked as he answered, speaking to Harry, not Draco.

“Mum’s taken sick,” he croaked, and both Harry and Draco froze. “The Healers don’t think she’s got much time left this time, and she’s asking for you, Harry. I told her I’d track you down and ask you to come back and see her one last time before she…before she…”

“Oh, Ron,” Harry breathed, crushed by the news. He moved in between the two of them and wrapped an arm around the taller redhead’s shoulders. Almost as an afterthought (or at least, that was how it seemed to Draco) Harry put his other arm around Draco’s shoulders, and the black haired Gryffindor maneuvered them back up to the counter where the girl waited nervously.

“There’s been a change of plans, miss,” Harry said quietly. “Cancel the flight to Rio and our hotel and all of it. I need the first empty seats back to England, please.”

**********

Author's note--*HAPPY DANCE ALL OVER THE PLACE* I COULDN'T WAIT!!! YAY FOR DOUBLE CHAPTER POSTING!!!! I had to get it to you guys relatively soon after Chapter 7!!! NOW YOU KNOW WHAT I'VE BEEN DYING TO TELL YOU!!! Honestly, I did NOT set out to write the installments like this. The intention was for "Pray" to be a oneshot, and even all the way through "Dance", I intended for them to remain separate from their old life in England.

Roozette's first review for "Dance" Don't you think it will be healthy for Harry to confront his former friends? Even if they never meet or become friends again, shouldn't Harry address such a serious issue from his past in order to achieve true resolution?

My response (at the time) I think that you're right that Harry needs to address his issues. As far as confronting Ron, Hermione, and Ginny...they had a falling-out, and they made it clear that they no longer value Harry's friendship because of his relationship with Draco. Of course, that hurt Harry and while he's not quite 'over' it, a confrontation (I don't think) would do much good because nothing's changed. They still don't like Draco or the fact that Harry is with Draco, and Harry's not going to break up with Draco...so it's just the status quo.

Also, Harry and Draco moved to America to get away from their past and start over.

Roozette's response I completely endorse your reasoning in regards to cutting out R/Hr/G from their lives. Even as I wrote my last comment I didn't think they would ever meet again.


And thus the seed was planted...just so you know, the whole 'Arthur raping Narcissa' thing came at me out of the blue, but after "Dance", I had started semi-planning for Molly to get sick and thus force Ron to seek Harry out and make peace. So blame (I mean, thank) Roo for that! *wink* Thanks, girl! I really, really think it made the story THAT much better for you to have inspired my muse as thus!

There are still some more surprises in store, but this was the big one for right now!!! (You're gonna LOVE their *awkward turtle* conversation in the next chapter, just so you guys know!) I hope this makes up for the short, angsty chapters as of late, but even though they're short, there IS a lot of content in them, right?

And just a quick reminder that Draco is sleep-deprived and coming off of a pretty emotional day. Plus his make-up sex with Harry just got interrupted, and we all know how bitchy Draco can get if he hasn't had sex in a while! *giggle* And THEN he's confronted with Ron on top of all that! (Poor thing needs more cuddles, I think!)

Also, I know it seems like Harry is pretty quick to forgive Ron, but I don't see him holding THAT much of a grudge. Remember, he really missed them and had pretty much resigned himself to never seeing them again, so when Ron comes to him and says "I was wrong", I think that would move Harry to compassion. It'll be explained a bit more in the next chapter if that makes you feel better. Plus there are STILL extenuating circumstances for Ron seeking Harry out and not just to say sorry, as you saw, so even if Harry HADN'T forgiven Ron immediately, he would've after hearing about Molly. Just in case you care!

Again, thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate them! And thank you for reading too!

Roozette *posts next chapter one-handed while holding an ice pack to her head* LOL THIS is what I'm doing to our boys! LOL No, seriously, THANK YOU for being one of my muses! *wails* I'm sorry!!! THIS is what I couldn't tell you because then it would've ruined the surprise!!! And I couldn't even tell you that you had hinted at it because you might've guessed! I'm sorry!!! (Hopefully it's a good enough surprise that you forgive me! *giggle*)

*happy moose dance* I'm so glad you could SEE it! That has been my ultimate goal with anything and everything, and to hear that it worked makes me SO happy!!! No more contract *smirk* and now you love me EVEN MORE, right? *wink* Hope you enjoyed! (and thank you again for the concern about my dad!)

Lilith I would've uploaded the chapter sooner except that I had to go get happy again after reading your songfic! (So I went and watched the end of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and felt better!) LOL No, seriously, that was a great story, and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for reviewing so quickly!!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And I really wanted to get it up and out to you guys RIGHT AWAY, so thanks for asking for it! Gave me an excuse!