To Be Loved

Chapter Huit

Draco stepped into the duelling room, absolutely petrified. Marvolo - The. Bloody. Dark Lord. - was going to duel him. Or, well, make a complete fool of him; Draco doubted there would be much actual duelling. Why oh why did Marvolo decide learning by doing was best?
"Ah, Dray, you are here," Marvolo said, motioning him forward.
He paused just before the designated duelling arena, unable to make himself move further.
"Come now, Draco; I will not harm you. Very much. This is training, after all."
Glaring half-heartedly, he stepped up to his side of the arena, taking deep calming breaths. It would be fine. Right?
"Now," Marvolo drawled, smirking. "Begin."
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Gasping for air, staring up at the ceiling with pure exhaustion, Draco decided he didn't want to learn. He was fine just as he is, thank you very much; if he dies, he dies! Who cares, it'd be easier than this torture.
"Well done, Draco," He murmured, giving His hand to help him up. "Much better; you lasted two minutes, even if it was mostly spent dodging."
Groaning, Draco flopped his hand into Marvolo's, wanting to sink into the floor and disappear. "We're done for today, yes?"
Marvolo pursed His lips. "Hm. I suppose you do need a break; it has been... Ah, three hours. Yes, how about we grab some tea?"
Draco choked back a sob. Three hours?! He's been beaten and tossed around and concussed and DYING for three hours?! "Yes, tea, please; anything but this torture!"
Chuckling, Marvolo led the way to their private sitting room. "It was not torture, you are fine. And, even better than that, you improved! Once you can last half an hour against me - and not just dodging - then you will be ready to prove your worth to the imbeciles I call my inner circle."
Draco snorted, amused to hear his relatives - including his father - called imbeciles. "How long can they last against you, Marvolo?"
"Hm... The worst, Rowle, can last three minutes. The best, Severus, can last fifteen."
Draco stopped, staring after Him as He kept walking. "And you want me to DOUBLE that?! Oh come on, please, no, twenty minutes is fine, yes? That still beats Sev."
Marvolo just shook His head. "No. Thirty minutes. No less."
Tossing his head back Draco bit his lip to keep his agonized scream in. Why, all things sacred, why? Why does his... person?... have to be an insane dark Lord?
"...Okay."
Marvolo glanced back as Draco caught up to Him. "I do this for your safety, mi amor; if you can best Severus by a wide margin, then most nobody will be able to hurt you. You will be one of the very best in our world, and people will fear you as they do me."
Draco smiled softly, warmed by the care in Marvolo's fairly blank voice. He paused Marvolo, putting a hand on His arm, and leaned up to give Him a gentle kiss. "Okay. I know you want all good things for me, even if I don't like them; I'll try to keep the whinging to a minimum."
Running His hand through Draco's hair, Marvolo kissed him just as softly. "I am glad you see that; I know I am not the best at showing my intentions and meanings."
Sighing, He pulled Draco up against Him. "I am... happy, you understand me so well."
With a shy smile, Draco hugged Marvolo as he pressed a kiss to His throat. "And I'm happy that you're happy."
They stood there for a minute, basking in their little bubble of happiness, before they heard a bang down the next hallway, making them jump apart.
Marvolo threw up His glamour as they hurried to the end of the hallway, concerned. They quickly turned the corner before pulling up short.
"...Harry," Draco sighed, exasperated. "Just what."
In the middle of the hallway lay Harry, covered by pieces of the ceiling. He slowly sat up, blinking around owlishly.
"Huh. Your ceilings are a little loose, your lordship, you might want to look into that. I mean, I just fell right through!"
Marvolo pinched the bridge of His nose, trying not to curse Harry to insanity. "And just why, were you in my ceiling?"
Harry beamed up at them. "To escape Rabastan, of course. He's very nit-picky, it's irritating."
Looking up to the gods for some strength, Marvolo quickly stalked away, so as to not kill Harry where he sat.
"HARRY! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU-!"
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Draco gently closed the door behind him, watching Marvolo make their teas. His heart warmed again, watching Him prepare both of their teas instead of just His own, in what seemed to be an unconscious act.
As Marvolo sat back on the couch, Draco walked over and sat in His lap. "Hi."
Smiling fondly, Marvolo ran His hand through Draco's hair. "Hello, mi amor."
"Are we training again today?"
Marvolo paused, considering. "No. You have worked very hard all week: lasting two minutes with no dodging yesterday, I was very pleased. No; today, we will go out."
Draco blinked, surprised. "Out? Where will we go?"
Humming, He nuzzled his jawline. "To Ireland, I think, to do some shopping. I would like to buy you more jewelry, perhaps a dagger, definitely some potions books. And then dinner; I will take you somewhere nice, we will have the finest food they offer."
Shocked, Draco stumbled over his words. "I- wha- what? You- Mar- no, no! That's too much, really!"
Marvolo frowned. "This is not a yes or no thing; I am buying you things, I am giving you the best of everything I can, I am spoiling you. No argument."
Blushing, Draco dipped his chin down, hiding his face in Marvolo's shoulder. "U-um, okay... thank you," he whispered, shy.
Gazing down at His darling softly, Marvolo pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Anything for you, mi amor."
Draco pulled back smiling shyly as he drank some tea to bolster himself. "When do we go?"
"As soon as you're done your tea."
Draco placed his tea in his lap, nodding. "Alright."
When ten minutes passed without Draco drinking his tea again, Marvolo quickly swiped it from his lax hand and drank its contents.
"Wha- hey! Cheat!"
Marvolo laughed, standing up and placing Draco on the ground. "And you are not? We are going out, darling, and I am spoiling you; you can not stop me."
Huffing, Draco shuffled after Marvolo, pouting at his loss.

A/N: I am so so so so sorry, I've been going through shit since I started this story and I kind of gave up on it; I really do hope to keep going with this, I just have to remember that each chapter is a step in that direction, and that I've got this💕 Sorry again! I hope you like this new chapter :)

(Also sorry it isn't very long; I don't want to leave it and forget to publish it)

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