Stay With Me

Chapter 18

"You'll stay with me, right? When all of this is over and you've done your eighteen months. Promise me you'll stay?"

"Of course I'll stay with you, Harry. How could I leave you?"

***

It was quiet. Too quiet. That's what Harry noticed when the memories he was dreaming of melted away and he floated from the depths of sleep back into reality. His hearing had kicked in before his sight and he was picking up on the sounds of birds calling outside, the gush of air, the silence of an empty house.

When his mind had realised that these weren't the noises of dreams and were in fact, the dawn of a new day, he peeled his eyes open, staring out in a daze at the expanse of bedding beside him.

The entire left side was still made, tucked into the corners with not a single crease in the pillow. He stretched out his arm and caressed the bedding, soft to touch but so empty still. Pressing his cheek closer to the sheets, he searched for the scent, that familiar scent that spread through his lungs, soothing his soul.

As he rolled over, the familiarity of the room greeted him as it did every morning. Daylight beaming through the blinds at the large bay window, the chest of drawers to his left, littered with washing that was yet to be put away, bottles of half-used aftershave and books he'd been meaning to start but never got around to. He looked up at the ceiling and counted the five, six, seven dark wooden beams that stretched from the far wall to the window, including the silly little misshapen one that was tucked in by the alcove.

'Merlin, I miss him.'

He threw on a pair of socks that had been tossed over the rug and reached for his favourite woolly jumper - the dark green Slytherin jumper. It had seen better days, fraying at the wrists and looser around the hem with little elasticity left due to all the times he would pull it over his knees and curl up inside it. Draco's scent lingered between the fibres, and when Harry closed his eyes, inhaling at the neckline, he smiled inwardly and headed downstairs.

The kitchen was always cosy first thing in the morning thanks to the warming spells he kept on it. As he looked out of the window, he was greeted with the familiar view that he'd come to love so well. Crystal blue waves rolling in from a stretch of water as far as the eye could see. They would froth gently at the pebbly shore, nudging away at the land and slowly drawing back, rippling with ease as the glint of sunlight shimmered off the waves in the distance, like sparkling jewels upon the surface of the water.

When he looked back down, the kettle had been filled with water and placed onto boil, even though he had no recollection of doing so, the mornings had become so routine now even when he was still half asleep.

He was so transfixed on the view ahead that he barely noticed when the sound of the front door clicked shut, and footsteps grew louder from behind him.

Two hands slipped around his waist from behind, a warm body pressed into the curve of his back and a pair of lips kissed him softly at the nape of his neck. His spine arched a little at the touch, his skin prickled, melting into the warmth embracing him and he smiled inwardly, closing his eyes before dropping his head back against the pair of lips he craved so much.

"Making up for leaving me by myself this morning, are we?" Harry breathed, tilting his head to the side slightly, only to be met with another smiling kiss on the side of his jaw. His heart swelled.

"It's Sunday, darling, it's our tradition."

Harry turned around, his eyes blooming at the sight of his love. Draco pulled away from the embrace, holding up a small paper bag with 'Truffles Bakery' printed on the side.