Learn to Love » Draco Malfoy x Reader

XXVIII

"Don't stress. You've done this a million times," Draco whispered into my ear as I snuggled in closer to him. His arm that was around my waist tightened to provide some comfort for me which I was so desperately aching for.

"That doesn't make it any easier."

"At least exams are over, and you aced them all," he smiled. "You should be proud of yourself; I know I am."

"Coming from the man who got to skip half of his finals because his grades were so high, that means a lot," I sarcastically replied, earning a chuckle from him.

"Very funny, y/n, they're our parents. How many times have we faced them?"

"Yeah, but not together. Not like this anyway."

He sighed, knowing I was right. He looked out the window of the train, taking in the sights to perhaps calm himself down too. My eyes followed his, landing on giant masses of white snow that all blurred into just one moving picture. I found little comfort in the fast moving vision of white and decided that my attention would be better suited to Draco.

"It's not like they'd be upset. If anything they'll be happy that it's worked out this way between us."

"Happy for themselves, you mean. More so happy that it worked out for their arrangement."

"Don't say that, y/n. Try to have a positive outlook on the situation and just be happy that we're together after all this."

I stayed silent, but wanted to bring up the fact that we weren't necessarily "together". Sure, we were married, but we could be married and hate each other like we did before. We haven't talked about our feelings for each other, despite how we physically displayed it through kisses and contact, we hadn't had the conversation about what was going on.

It was strange, really. It was essentially dating someone you're forced to be with forever. Whether or not it works out doesn't matter; you're stuck with them.

It was the experimental period of whether we were compatible.

I didn't want to confess to our parents we were seeing each other. "Seeing" was a stupid word considering our marriage, but I didn't know what else to call it. I feared that if I told my parents that we were romantically interested in each other, they'd pat themselves on the back and claim the arranged marriage was a huge success. Next thing I knew, all of our other friends would be thrown in arranged marriages that would be doomed to implode.

If it didn't work out, I'd be screwed there, too. Especially if I told them that we were seeing each other, they'd be even more upset if I somehow ran crying to my mother about how Draco and I weren't meant for each other. There'd be no solution; he'd still be my husband at the end of the day, regardless of how we felt about each other.

"We told our friends about us," Draco prompted, trying to lighten the mood. "They were thrilled, weren't they?"

He ran his cold fingertips up and down the exposed skin of my arm, leaving it feeling like it was tingling with each touch. It was a strangely sensual feeling; the intimacy of the comforting feeling was one I wasn't used to from him. I smiled small, but found not much solace in it.

"I suppose, but that's different. They didn't force us into this. It just happened."

"Try not to let it trouble you, darling. I can't bear to see you upset about anything."

He repositioned his arms so that they wrapped more securely around my waist before he pressed a kiss to my temple.

I breathed out, trying to settle my nerves. His touch was calming, at least.