Ineffable. [D. Malfoy]

thirty-two.

He's watching her from the corner of his eye, and she catches his gaze almost before he has the chance to look away. "You're staring."

His lips turn upwards, a smirk falling lazily over his lips. "Obscene observation."

She shakes her head, and her head falls back down to the book in her lap. Tucking her feet underneath her. Esme continues to dive back into the book- hoping it will divert her attention from the man who can't seem to take his eyes away from her. 

From the corner of her eye, she notices him clenching his left forearm in pain, and when she turns her head back up to look up at him, he masks it behind a facade behind his eyes.

"Alright?" she questions. Her eyes are now trailing over the entirety of Draco's figure to see the cause of the pain. He mumbles with a short nod before turning back away from her to look out at the sun setting just below the horizon. They sit in comfortable silence until his voice brings her out of a dazed image of reality from her novel. "We can be alone together". He paused, "Just me and you."

She thinks he's joking, but his face is grave, with no hidden amusement. "Aren't we already?" His eyebrows raise as he contemplates this, and she wonders why he's decided to bring up a strange topic. He was never one to talk about emotions, and when he did, it was rare. "And will this." he waved around at the estate, the garden, and the outside of his balcony. "Will all this be enough for you?"

 Then her voice rose barely above a whisper. "You are enough for me, and that's all I need."

"And you will always be mine.". 

Esme gives him a small smile. "If that's what you wish."

Draco ends up being the one to close the distance between the two. His lips are soft and welcoming, and she wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. After they pull away, his head drops tiredly on her chest. Her fingers trail into his hair, massaging his scalp and the smell of him is an essence of time. 

She feels his unspoken words are being formatted into his actions. She is curious to know what he's hiding from her. But instead of prying, she remains silent, fingers continuing their adventure in his hair. 

Moments later, his eyes are shut, and the sound of his breathing brings her peace. She looks down at him, her heart swelling in her chest. Without a doubt, he's come and feels the safest when with him. Only him.

-------

He apparates in his bedroom, and her head snaps up from the bed. Instead of calling for her, he calls for Nolly before meeting her stare. He's clutching his left forearm again, and his skin is deathly pale. His eyes are swollen, and a purplish bruise flourishes underneath his eyes. His lips are dry and chapped, and there's a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. Draco walks to her. "What happened?'

"Long day at work, just got a bad spell on the arm." His eyes aren't meeting hers. Instead, he's looking past her across the room at the balcony. She gulps and nods her head as he presses a kiss on her forehead. 

When he turns to walk away, she knows he's lying. And she begins to put the missing puzzle pieces together. Esme is asleep long before he retires to bed. She feels his figure shift next to her, pulling her waist into him. 

Her body relaxes into his , and Esme breathes his scent in as he buries his face into her curls. She wants to say something, and her mouth opens to speak in the hope to discover answers. Instead, her eyes fall in exhaustion, and from the way his breathing is changed, he's already fallen asleep, and she loses the attempt to speak to him.