Expensive Disaster

Authors Note: I'm back!! Okay, so here is the chapter after that terrible cliffhanger I left you all with. Many thanks as always to my favorite beta Alexandra. Also, if you have not already seen, I posted the first chapter of my newest story titled Rivaling Affections, please check it out and let me know what you think of it.

Chapter 9 The Good Life

Harry ran his fingertips along his swollen lips, feeling the gentle tingling that still emanated from them.

Kissing Draco had been maddening.

So many pent up years of anger toward the boy just melted away under the press of his lips, the soft caress of his hand and the penetrating compassion in his gaze.

It had been light and chaste at first, each of the boys relearning the way around the other’s mouth. It had been just as good as Harry remembered – better even. In spite of his inner turmoil, Harry had enjoyed it thoroughly.

Now that he was alone in his room, staring up at the ceiling and seeing only Draco’s face, he wondered if it was a mistake.

This was the boy who had abandoned him, the boy who had caused his family to move away, who created an upheaval in Harry’s life that could never be matched.

He was, however, nearly certain that Draco’s feelings were genuine, and that, if given the opportunity, Harry could regain his previous trust and love for the boy. Draco had promised him that they could take things slowly; he didn’t want to rush Harry into any hasty decisions and just wanted to spend time with him.

Harry could give him that much at least.

He thought about all the time they would be spending together soon as he drifted into a peaceful sleep, clinging to his extra pillow and wishing it were Draco he were holding.

--

Draco woke up in the best mood he had been in since – well, he couldn’t even remember when. And the more he thought about it, the less certain he was that he had ever been so happy.

Harry took him back, mostly at least. He was going to be the perfect boyfriend and treat Harry with all the love and respect he deserved. Though, they hadn’t actually discussed anything that far, and technically Draco was getting ahead of himself by even calling Harry his boyfriend. Still, he would be soon enough he was certain. He had admitted his feelings the previous night, and the reasons for his distrust, and he’d let Draco explain, even seemed accepting.

It would all work out.

He left his room, wearing simple tight dark gray denim trousers and a green and silver studded Affliction tee and walked down the hall to Harry’s room. The door was ajar, but he knocked anyhow.

Harry came to the door at once and beamed at him, but then a look of concern crossed his face and it took Draco a moment to realize why.

Tristan was there.

Draco tried to reel in his sudden fury and jealousy at seeing Harry’s ex-lover in his room so early in the morning. Surely he had just arrived and nothing unseemly had happened.

He offered his hand and was relieved Harry took it and smiled softly. Harry leaned in and placed a small kiss on the edge of his mouth, his expressive green eyes looked as if they were trying to send him some silent message.

He pulled Draco inside his room and stood facing Tristan, his look of cheer faltering slightly. “Tristan, this is Draco,” Harry said.

Tristan’s mouth fell open slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. “So this is the infamous heartbreaker? Funny, I thought he’d be… more impressive,” he mused.

Draco cringed at his words and hoped desperately that Harry wasn’t rethinking things. Harry only shrugged though. “He and I are working through things.”

He squeezed Harry’s hand and shot him a look of hope and relief. “I plan to make it all up to him,” he said softly, more for Harry’s benefit than Tristan’s.

“He hurt you, Harry. I remember only too well the condition you were in when I found you,” Tristan said, his voice was comforting, but held an edge of possessiveness that Draco didn’t like.

“I think I would remember best of all, Tristan. I appreciate your concern, but I know what I’m doing,” Harry replied.

Tristan glared at Draco silently but nodded once to Harry and left the room. Harry sighed with relief as soon as he was gone and Draco pulled him close.

He fanned his fingers through Harry’s raven locks. “He really cares about you, huh?” he asked grudgingly.

Harry shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He was… he wasn’t you.”

Draco’s heart swelled at his words. “Well, you have me now,” he whispered softly against Harry’s ear. “Speaking of, I meant to ask, are we… er, dating or what?”

Harry laughed and it was light a musical to his ears. “I don’t know. I don’t remember you asking me out. Did I miss it?” he asked coyly.

“How silly of me. Well, maybe I should start with this,” he laughed. “Harry, would you go to the dance with me?”

Harry grinned and nodded. “I need a costume though,” he responded.

“So do I, we can go look for one together,” Draco added brightly. His heart was beating ninety miles an hour at Harry’s acceptance.

“What are you doing today?” Harry asked.

“Spending time with you,” Draco responded with a smile.

“Perfect, I’ll drive us into town and we can start looking today,” he said. Then he abruptly let go of Draco’s hand and began shoving him out the door. “I need to get ready.”

“But you look perfect to me,” Draco replied, trying to use his weight to keep Harry from making him leave. He didn’t want to waste a second away from him.

Harry groaned and rolled his eyes. “I need to shower and change, I’ll come get you in a few,” he responded with one final push that sent Draco over the threshold and the door promptly closed in his face.

Draco huffed lightly and turned to walk back to his own room, only to be blindsided and shoved roughly and pinned against the wall a moment later. A face as pale as his own hovered in front of him.

“If you really cared about Harry you would leave him alone,” Tristan growled.

“Sod off, Tristan. He wants me, he always has, and I’ll make him happy,” he replied, trying to free his shoulders of Tristan’s grip.

“I’m better for him, I helped him through the depression that you put him in. You don’t deserve him,” Tristan spat.

Draco winced. No, he really didn’t deserve him. He had hurt him before, what was to say he wasn’t capable of being just as weak again? He relaxed slightly in Tristan’s hold and sagged against the wall, feeling the truth of his words like a hot poker in his gut.

Tristan seemed to understand Draco reaction and let him go. “It’s for the best,” he said lightly. “I’ll take good care of him, I promise.”

Draco nodded lightly and caught a familiar scent in the air. He looked up angrily and grabbed Tristan by the collar, throwing him roughly to the ground. “You’ll take care of him like you did Theo last night?”

Tristan blanched. “How did-“

“I can smell him on you. I used to date him you know?” Draco spat. “For someone who was so focused on winning Harry back, you certainly went for the first shag you had available.”

“If you know him so well, then you’ll also realize he’s hard to resist,” Tristan countered.

Draco shrugged. “I never had a problem with resisting. I always knew I’d be with Harry one day, and I wasn’t going to sully myself with someone else in the meantime.”

A slow smirk formed on Tristan’s lips. “Then you’ll be disappointed that he didn’t wait for you, in fact I took his virginity away quite some time ago,” he sneered.

Draco sighed. “I know, and I regret that more than anything. You may have taken his virginity, but I’ll have his heart, and out of the two, that’s what I would prefer to have,” he finished quietly and walked to his own dorm, closing the door roughly behind him.

--

“So, where’s your car?” Draco asked as he made his way out to the parking lot with Harry. He had arrived at Draco’s door a few minutes before wearing black jeans and a dark blue Ed Hardy tee and his usual Doc’s. “You really need to get another pair of shoes,” he commented.

Harry blanched. “I love these. Mom bought them for me,” he replied, a twinge of a frown on his lips.

Draco nodded quickly. “Right. I understand. Forget I said anything.” He felt like an arse even bringing it up, of course Harry would cling to every last thing that reminded him of his parents. Draco had adored Lily and James, and was heartbroken when he heard they’d died in that car accident.

Harry nudged him lightly with his shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s been months, I can even talk about them without sobbing now,” he said jokingly.

“Do you want to? Because if you do, I’ll listen,” he whispered, his voice breaking slightly. Harry might be able to talk about his parents without crying, but Draco still felt guilty. Part of Harry had been right before. If Harry’s parents had never pulled him out of private school and moved away, they would never have been in their car in that place and time.

Harry smiled at him and placed a delicate kiss on his cheek. “You’re sweet, but today, let’s just have fun, okay?”

Draco nodded and followed him blindly to his car.

When they arrived beside the sleek automobile, Draco’s eyes went wide. “That… that… this is your car?”

Harry smiled, looking pleased with himself for having impressed Draco. “Yeah, Sirius gave it to me,” he said meekly.

“I always did like your crazy uncle,” Draco whispered, walking circles around the car, reaching out to stroke the curvy lines.

“You mean your crazy uncle,” Harry said with a smile. Draco was fully aware that Sirius was not Harry’s uncle, and was in fact his uncle, but Draco had only met Sirius when he went to Harry’s house for the first time. The man ignored his mother Narcissa, because their parents had disowned Sirius, much the same way Draco’s father had recently done to him. Though when Sirius’s brother tragically died, Sirius still inherited everything because his parents hadn’t bothered changing the wills.

Draco groaned to himself at the thought, he would be virtually penniless when he graduated because of the rift he had caused with his father.

“Can I drive?” he asked suddenly.

Harry laughed. “No way, you must be feverish to even ask,” he said, playfully laying the back of his hand against Draco’s forehead.

Draco pouted petulantly. “It doesn’t work that way, you have to kiss it to be able to tell if I have a fever,” he said, trying to stifle a grin.

Harry smiled softly and stood on his toes, laying a gentle kiss on his forehead. Draco sighed and captured Harry’s lips, not intending to let go. He loved kissing Harry, his lips were full and pliant and he tasted of chocolate and salt, which was a surprisingly delicious combination.

When they did finally break apart, Harry sighed and leaned into him, wrapping his small arms round Draco’s waist. “I could get used to this,” he murmured.

“Well you should,” Draco whispered into his pitch-black hair. “Because I never intend to stop.”

Harry sighed again and then pulled away reluctantly. “We have costumes to buy,” he said.

Draco nodded his head and got into Harry’s car without another word. He marveled at the silence with which it started and the grace with which it pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

“Muse?” Draco asked, commenting on the song playing.

Harry nodded and grinned. “Do you like them?”

Draco nodded in response. “Are you going to sing for me again?” he teased.

Harry shook his head and blushed. “No, I think I’ll be watching very closely that my door is locked from now on.”

“You really shouldn’t worry about it. You have a beautiful voice,” he mused. “However, when I come back to your room, you might want to ensure it’s locked… just with me on the inside,” he said, his voice dropping to a low whisper.

Harry’s face went brighter than before and he stole a glance at Draco. “You know… when that does happen… I mean… it’s not going to be anytime soon. You know that right?”

Draco nodded and smiled. “I’ve waited for you this long, I can wait as long as you like.”

Harry’s mouth fell open slightly. “You mean… you and Theo didn’t… or anyone else?”

It was Draco’s turn to blush. He hadn’t meant to say so much, or for Harry to know about his virginity. “No. I never have.”

“I feel like such an arse,” Harry muttered. “I had assumed… well, it doesn’t really matter, but I’m sorry. I wish…” his voice trailed off and Draco didn’t press him. He was uncomfortable talking about his lack of experience. Everyone, including his old boyfriends, had thought he was some lothario and expected him to sleep with them, but he had refused each and every one.

“It should be on your terms then,” Harry blurted. “Not mine. It should be special, and exactly what you want,” he said quietly.

Draco blushed again, not even sure of what he did want. Part of him was happy that Harry wanted to wait, so that he didn’t have to put too much thought into it. “Being here with you is enough for now,” Draco said quietly and Harry beamed at him.

“I lo-…” Harry started, but quickly shook his head and looked embarrassed. “Never mind.”

Draco looked at him curiously for a moment, wondering if the boy had been about to say what Draco thought he was. He smiled and pressed a kiss into his cheek and then sat back contentedly, listening to the music playing, and to Harry’s soft breathing beside him and watching the landscape whip by in a fuzzy green blur.

Life was good.

Authors Note: I love reviews! Please send them. ;)