Bitter Chocolate - (A 'Veronica Weasley' sequel) || Draco Malfoy

44 - His Ronnie

"My... my son?"

Draco's pale face somehow whitened further. He looked utterly terrified.

"Here, Draco," I said, nudging the baby towards him, urging him to hold his child.

"I don't know how," he murmured, his voice a trembling whisper, "I- I've never held a..."

"It's okay, you won't hurt him. Hold your son, Draco, please,"

Slowly, he lifted his shaking hands and awkwardly took him from me, eventually managing to cradle him delicately in his arms.

"Ronnie," he trembled, looking up at me with pain and regret in his eyes. And he shuddered as he let out an involuntary sob, resulting in a single tear to roll down his cheek. "I had no idea."

"I'm sorry." I said shaking my head as tears fell down my own face. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I-"

"No, it's okay," he interrupted quickly. "I put you through hell, I'll never forgive myself for that. I'm just so glad you decided to come back. I mean... are you back?"

I looked at him, nodding through my tears. "If you'll have me. I mean... us."

He inhaled a sharp intake of breath, before swiftly removing one arm from under our child and wrapping it around me, pulling me to him.

"For fuck's sake, Weasley, it's all I want." He growled, pressing his lips fiercely against my forehead.

I closed my eyes in bliss, bringing my own arms around him, our son snuggled between us. And it felt so right, feeling him beneath my touch again, inhaling his familiar scent and hearing the steady pounding of his heart.

I'd missed him so much.

"Does he have a name?" Draco asked, as we both gazed adoringly down at the funny little scrunched up human that was a piece of him and a piece of me.

I shook my head. "The second he was born, all I wanted to do was get back to you." I whispered. "I didn't want to do this without you anymore. Including naming him."

"Shit, I- I haven't ever thought about a name." He murmured, tightening his arm around me. "I never expected this. I'm a bit overwhelmed. First you walking into the office, and now... this."

He beckoned down to our son as another tear fell down his face.

"I obviously didn't kick your balls hard enough." I murmured. "Sorry."

"What?" Draco gave a short incredulous bark of laughter, pulling away slightly to look down at me in bemusement. "Where did that come from?"

"That time you dragged me off of Crabbe's face; I kicked your balls, remember? And you said it didn't matter because you never wanted kids anyway. So-" I shrugged beckoning back down to the tiny baby in his arms, "-sorry about that."

"Ronnie, I was a sixteen year old boy in the middle of a war; I honestly thought I wasn't even going to see out the rest of the year. Of course the idea of ever having kids was ludicrous to me."

"But now?" I asked hesitantly. "I mean if you weren't already holding a child right now, how would you feel about it?"

"I... I-" Draco paused as if trying to figure out what to say. "Well let's put it this way, Weasley, if you had come back into this office just then and said 'Draco, I can't possibly live without your godly good looks in my life any longer, please marry me and let me have your babies,' do you know what I would've said?"

"That doesn't sound the fuck like me at all, Draco." I scowled.

"I would've said yes in a heartbeat," he chuckled. "I love you Ronnie, I've loved you ever since you turned up to that ball wearing that god awful hags dress."

"You called me a blood traitor and left me lying on the ground outside."

"Hey, I never said I was perfect." He shrugged, his silver eyes flashing amusedly into mine.

And in that moment I felt winded, because he could not be more wrong.

"I love you, Draco," I said suddenly, needing so desperately for him to know. "And I do want all of that. Because actually you are; to me, right now; Draco Malfoy, you are perfect."

He drew in a sharp breath as he stared into my eyes, searching them as if to see the truth. And then he bent down, catching my lips in his, kissing me in a way that caused a rush of giddying emotions to swoop the entire length of my body in the sweet familiarity of him.

The sudden grizzling sounds of the baby between us made us break apart.

"What does he need?" Draco asked, staring perplexedly down at him as if he could work it out just by looking at him.

"I think he might need feeding," I frowned, taking the baby back off of him, "or changing. Oh, I don't fucking know." I added exasperatedly. "I have been a parent for barely forty eight hours and I have no idea what I'm doing. I haven't even given it a name - oh god, I'm such a shit mother already!"

I suddenly felt extremely panicked, the reality of being a parent hitting me quite terrifyingly hard. I had no idea what this baby wanted of me. I felt like sinking down to the floor and just wailing.

"Hey," Draco murmured gently, clutching a hand to the back of my head as he soothingly pressed his lips against my brow. "Just wait right there a second, don't move."

He let go of me, striding over to the door that Luna had disappeared through earlier and thrust it open.

"Lovegood, I'm leaving you to hold the fort." He barked authoritatively into the depths of the kitchen. "Ronnie and I are going to take our son home."

I raised my eyebrows inquisitively over at him.

"Of course, take all the time you need," Luna answered casually from out of sight, seemingly completely unperturbed by this new development.

He swiftly shut the door, crossing the room back to me.

"Draco, what-?"

"We're in this together now, Weasley," he growled softly, pulling me to him. "You're not on your own, we'll figure out this parenting malarkey together. So come home with me, and let's start our life as a family; you, me, our son and whatever else comes along on the way. What do you say, Weasley?"

I looked up into the hopeful silver grey eyes of my white-blond haired Slytherin Prince, and I felt my heart swell with complete and utter love.

"Of course I will, Draco." I answered without hesitation, tenderly touching my fingers to his cheek. "It's what I came back for; to come home to you."

His face softened, filling with such love and adoration as he gazed down at me.

"Ronnie," he exhaled, relief flooding his voice as he pressed his forehead down upon mine. "My Ronnie."

And, holding me and our child tightly in his arms, he finally took us home.

*****