Harry’s waiting for him in the living room. He looks lost, standing there, like he an’t quite figure out what he’s doing or why he would be staill preparing for the &. Adrenaline highs an do that to you.
“Yht?” Drao wao him, but he also k ompany might not be welome, so he hung bak.
“Yeah.” Harry smiled, even though his eyes were still darting around the room. Drao had the feeling that this would be os where he woke up to the sound of f on twisted floorboards, where he would pretend not to know that Harry and about, heking the loks and the shadowed orners for intruders. “I’m sorry I made you worry.”
“Don’t think about me.” Drao dug his fihe b on the them down to the k’s easier to have oiohis whehing to hold onto. “You do whatever you have to.”
“Always do.”
Harry still looked lost, and now he looked a little bitter about the whole thing, sht it would be okay to irle the ouh ao him. He hesitates bef loser, but the and grabs Harry’s hand, swinging his arm bak and forth between them.
It draws Harry bak to the moment, a little. He still looks lost, but there’s somethi his expression when he raises his free hand tainst Drao’s heek, right over where the frosting was.
He’s probably just smearing it around, Drao thinks, biting down on his lip. This is not helping anything.
(Shit, it’s he ohrew the fit about hihan roommates, ai arse by getting all up in his fae.)
“I’m going to ome bak home, you knoers, and Drao wants to bak up. He also wants to i ihose light balls that Hermio her pe, beause a is so not helping. “Who’s going to take are of you if I’m not here?”
You doake are of me now, Drao thinks, but that’s a lie, so he amends it to I doo you, whih, depending on what way you look at it, is also a lie.
“Probably Luna.” Stop talkialk about the dam least kill the mood, will you? “She’ll adopt me, stik me in with the gnargles.”
Harry ughs, dukio hide his expressi his fae in Drao’s shoulder. Drao stiffens aand as still as he an, digs his fihe bak of Harry’s sweater uens up again. When he does, his fae is a lot almer, like the haos of the battle had finally bee of him.
“Yeah.” He’s letting go, stepping away, and Drao ull him bak. Kiss him, you idiot, weren’t you just thinking about all the things you wet to say if he didn’t ome home, but no, this was o make at four ihis time, there was no drinks to hide behind, no potio oear them apart. Here, now, it was ohem aioook would have very sting impressions. “Probably would.”
Harry is still waiting. Drao is still hopihe first to walk away, so that for one, Drao doeso look like a oward.
&.)
(Drao always the one who leaves. He does should haime soon.)
Chapter 21
Drao
Harry’s out saving the world, and this time Drao ahe thought of spending all night alohis ft, w what might be happening and having no , so he leaves, promisi he had a life befot aught up in all of Harry’s herois, and he had a right to have a life now. He had made ay here and wait like the worried wife, so he ould leave, damn it, go off and find his own fun sine Harry would him help, iming that it was too gerous, and he had all the people he needed.
It was a load of bullshit.
Drao ing beause he able, he ihey all still saw him as a liability, even Harry. They ao turn on his past loyalties, even though he’s tried to expihat there had been no loyalty about it. Just a sared little kid ay over his head.
“I just doable putting you in that situation.” Harry says, lookirying to avoid the situation blowing up in both of their faes. And really, Drao k have any right to be ahis is just ohose disappois that ame from findihe wrong side. His hoies (or k of them) were going to haunt him for the rest of his life. “What if it’s someone you know?”
Drao rotest, but he hears the rest of it. What are you going to do wheo fae with someo you used to be friends with as a hild, or had a oi you by a family friend? Are yoing to kill them? Are y them i ready to do whatever’s o win, but they are. And so are we.
& argue after his inal offer was shot down, even if his good bye tonight was a little older than normal, just a press of his fio Harry’s wrist before he walks out the dood, something that he hoped Harry was able to take as an apology and a warniime, a silent plea for him to ome bak home to him.
Still, that doesn’t mea angry, or that he’s fitieps and wathing the hallway for Harry to ome bak home like he had the past three times Harry weiing, bull shit, you don’t ome bak from meetiurn overed in blood) or sat to stake out a house. He didn’t knoas g he would be there, if it was gerous or just routine, if he was alone o