Seasons Change (A Drarry FanFiction)

A Splash In The Mud

   Draco loved the orchard of Malfoy Manor. Autumn time was the best, when the leaves began to turn and the fruit began to blossom, leaving acres of gnarled trees all organised in rows to stroll along, a riot of colour to get lost amongst.

The evening air still clung to a hint of summer, and Draco felt comfortable as he entered the copse in his silk shirt and crisp, pressed trousers. He smiled up at the burnt orange and mahogany leaves as they rustled in the light breeze, feeling a deep contentment that soothed away his nerves. This was going to be fine, he had nothing to worry about.

The old wooden bench wasn't far from the orchard's entrance, and it felt a little out in the open as he looked up to catch sight of Harry waiting for him. Draco was used to seeing him all over the farm these past couple of months, but always in the jeans and vests he wore as work-wear. The sight that greeted him now stole Draco's breath away,

Harry smiled as he rose to meet him. He was clad, much like Draco, in black formal trousers, polished shoes and a white cotton shirt with the top two buttons undone. Silver cufflinks with delicate emeralds caught the evening sun; a birthday present from Draco that he'd not seen put to use until now. And to top it off, glasses with slim black frames had replaced Harry's usual contact lenses, adding to a slick, angular impression that had Draco weak at the knees.

"Fuck," he couldn't help but breath on his approach. "You look gorgeous."

Harry rolled his eyes and pulled him into a hug, Draco's skin igniting through the purple shirt he'd spent half an hour deciding on. "I feel like an idiot," Harry growled, lacing kisses along Draco's jaw line. He sighed. Harry's words had no bite to them, but they'd had this discussion enough times in the last week that Draco knew he genuinely felt all this fuss was unnecessary.

"They're my parents," he said in resignation. "They have certain expectations. If we're going to have dinner with them, you need to look a certain way or they won't get past it to see the real you."

Harry swayed them back and forth a bit, peering over his glasses into Draco's eyes. "They know who I am," he said firmly but kindly. "They hired me. I've been working here for almost three months."

"And they just found out you've been shagging their son for the last two," Draco pointed out. "You can't deny that changes things."

"Does it?" Harry asked, and Draco was upset to detect a hint of apprehension in the question.

He shook his head. "Not between us," he said without missing a beat. "But for them, I want them to be okay with this." He grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "Not that it hasn't been fun, all this sneaking around, but it might be nice to actually go to sleep after you've had your wicked way with me, you know, in a normal bed, like normal people."

As part of his job contract, Harry got a place in the staff quarters in the building a hundred feet or so away from the Manor. But rather than it making it easier for them, having their own rooms within easy access, it had actually made it tortuously difficult, because the risk of getting caught in such busy communal areas was so high. So privacy had been a bit of an issue in the past several weeks as they had been forced to come up with more and more inventive rendezvous points so as to avoid getting caught by family and staff alike.

Last week Draco had snapped under the pressure and told his mother, in so many words, that he was seeing someone. Someone from the staff. Someone who was also male.

He'd started with his mother for obvious reasons, as she was by far the more sympathetic and open-minded of his parents. Even so, she had had a shocking lack of surprise in her reaction. Apparently, she had suspected Draco's sexual orientation for a while, and it hadn't taken a genius to guess from his recent behaviour that he was seeing someone. Draco hadn't planned on divulging Harry's identity without consulting him first, but she had been so accepting Draco had just blurted it out, and that's when plans for dinner had been made.