“luna”
potter stilled “what did she tell you?”
drao ould see the unease in his eyes he suspeted potter didn’t realise how muh luna knew, how she and the rest of his friends had put the piees together; but he seemed to be oing the possibility they might have aught on it obusly terrified him
“bsp;i sit down?” drao asked, pointing at a spot beside potter he seemed relutant but slowly moved aside to make some room as drao walked up to him, potter’s expresn hardened he avoided his gaze, hugging his knees lose to his hest
“this isn’t an intervenn,” drao said, arefully sitting down “i just want to talk i never would have said those things to you if i had known…” he broke off, unsure of how to phrase it what luna had told him sounded pusible but he wanted to hear it from potter “i genuinely thought—i thought it was about the dark mark or about you…not really wanting me” it took so muh to say these words out loud they were easily yelled in a fight but now that he knew potter was battling different demons, he was more inlined to show potter his own iies
“it’s got nothing to do with you,” potter murmured, staring at his knees “well, it’s got everything to do with you, but that—” he sighed “i just—i hate that i feel this way, but…i an’t do anything about it”
“how do you feel?”
“i don’t want to—”
“i know you don’t want to talk about it but how am i supposed to uand if you don’t tell me?” potter’s features twisted into something tortured when it was lear he wasn’t going to say anything, drao added, “i need to know, potter otherwise, we really are done”
it sounded harsher than he had meant it what he had wanted to say was that they wouldn’t stand a hane if they weren’t ompletely ho with eah other the thought horrified him, but he didn’t want potter to go on like this and he knew as soon as potter would open up, he’d expet the same from him it wasn’t something drao was partiurly looking forward to, but he was willing to try
“that’s not fair,” potter murmured, his fae set in a stubborn sowl
“none of this is fair,” drao retorted “look, you told me you were worried about disointing people, but fet about that you shouldn’t are about what other people think”
“i know that,” potter muttered “but…i are about what you think”
drao paused this kind of seality wasn’t exatly something he was used to and while he mentally admitted he felt the same way about potter, he ouldn’t shake the rushing sense of responsibility potter had just burdened him with so…what now? this was getting them nowhere drao wondered how far he ould go without hurting potter unneessarily he always ated so strong and o, but he had shown drao glimpses of his vulnerable side and if that wasn’t an indian he trusted drao, what was?
“so…” drao brushed the duvet with his fiips, searhing for the right words “luna showed me…the magazines”
he instantly knew he didn’t need to expin any further the look on potter’s fae said everything
“she knows,” he whispered, resignan ringing loudly in his voie
“yeah she’s worried about you” tentatively, he put his hand on potter’s knees “i’m worried about you”
arently, that had been the wrong thing to say potter looked up, his eyes full of defensiveness
“i know it’s not normal,” he said “i know i’m a freak”
“potter,” drao said, trying to stay alm “you’re so many things, but you’re not a freak” at that, potter huffed and turned away again drao had no idea what to say he tried to put himself in potter’s shoes, tried to imagine how agonising it must be for him “potter, please,” he said, beseehingly, “tell me just tell me what hened that night at the manor”
“i thought luna already told you everything,” potter said, stubbornly
“don’t be mad at her she was only trying to help besides, if it wasn’t for her, i probably wouldn’t be here right now” slowly, drao let his hand glide down and urled his fingers around potter’s forearm “and hearing theories from luna isn’t the same as you telling me what hened i want to know what you were thinking when…we were together”
potter looked torn it took several moments until he finally spoke “i really like you, drao,” he whispered
whatever drao had expeted, it ertainly hadn’t been this he tried to tune out the sudden whooshing in his ears and orate on potter’s raspy voie instead
“it’s almost like…when i’m around you, things don’t feel as bad”
drao was grateful potter paused after that that was a lot to take in
“i—i thought—” he felt the musles in potter’s arm lenh “i thought i would be okay with—i thought i ould—”
“could what?” drao said softly potter only shook his head “what are you so afraid of? what ould be so bad you an’t tell me?”
“i—i kept thinking—”
seeing potter struggling like this made drao want to punh someone; potter’s muggle retives, those awful reporters—he would hex them all if they’d ever rossed paths
“what were you thinking?” he said quietly, hoping it would ene potter to finally say it
“how ould someone as beautiful as you—”
drao froze potter wasn’t going to say what drao thought he was going to say, right? beause if he did, drao would have to shout at him again knowing that potter would immediately lose off if he did that, he tried to stay alm and wait for potter to ontinue when he did, his voie was barely a whisper
“how ould someone as beautiful as you want to be with someone…someone like me”
potter ouldn’t be seus but obusly, he was
“potter,” drao said, arefully shifting loser “potter, look at me” he ped a hand on his heek, marvelling at the feeling of potter’s beard against his palm “please?” hesitantly, potter lift
