𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐆𝐨

𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈

I shushed him. I whispered in his ear. I rubbed his back and played with his hair.

He cried for a long, long time. It could've been an hour. It could've been two for all I know, but I held him anyways.

Despite his tears and his quiet little sobs, I couldn't help but feel slightly joyous. Why? I don't know. He was freezing cold, but he felt warm in my arms. It made me feel warm too.

I couldn't pin exactly why he was so upset. It could be that he was just so lonely with no one to talk to while I was away, maybe he finally got a letter from his mom, but it wasn't the words he wanted to hear?

I would've asked him, and I may have already, but no matter what, he was inconsolable.

The shoulder of my jumper was soaking wet now, but I didn't even notice with the way his arms were clutched around my neck.

Thankfully, he started to calm down after a little while longer.

"What's wrong?" I tried asking.

He shook his head in my shoulder, still holding on as if I were his lifeline.

"Draco?"

A shaky breath came out from his nose. That made me feel even warmer.

"Nothing," he said quietly, his voice cracking.

"Nothing? You just cried for like an hour. People don't do that for nothing."

He breathed in this time.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Please?" I asked as I continued to rub my palm across his back, up his shoulders and through his hair.

I felt his face nuzzle farther into my neck, so far that I wondered if he could still breathe.

After a moment of me waiting for him to give me some sort of response, I heard him whisper something that I couldn't hear.

"What was that?" I whispered back, "You need to speak louder."

"I missed you." I heard him this time.

The three words rung in my ears for a long time. I didn't say anything, I couldn't think of anything with them playing over and over agin like a broken record.

A broken record that I didn't want to fix.

"I missed you too," I said once I thought I could. "But is that really what's bothering you?"

He shook his head no, but it was hesitant, like he didn't quite want to.

"What is it then?" 

I heard him let out one last sob into my neck.

"I just want to go home," he said helplessly.

Home? I didn't want to be rude, but he didn't have a very nice home, and I didn't think that that was exactly what he meant.

"Home?" I said softly, "You really want to go home?"

"No... no," he shook his head again. "I just don't want to be here."

"What do you mean?"