It was so nice to wake up in Draco's arms that Harry couldn't help but snuggle impossibly closer into his embrace.

"Good morning darling."

"It always is when I wake up with you," Harry admitted with a happy sigh as Draco's hands ran absentmindedly through his hair.

"I need to shower before work, I should get going soon."

"Shower here and stay for breakfast?"

"How about, you get some more sleep, I'll shower at home and pick up some breakfast for us instead? You've got a busy day today Harry."

"Okay. 2 more minutes?," Harry pleaded, looking up at Draco through his eyelashes.

"I'm putty in your hands," Draco replied with a sigh, holding Harry closer and kissing his forehead, right over his scar.

"As if I'm not equally, or even more, gone than you are," Harry retorted with a snort, burying his face in Draco's chest.

Draco waited until he was asleep before he went back to his home, taking Harry's flowers from last night with him. Really, Draco should pack a bag with his essentials and leave it at Harry's. He spent enough time over there anyway. With a flick of his wrist, he packed an emergency overnight bag, complete with an extra set of his healer robes. Just in case.

After a quick shower, and Draco did actually mean quick in this case, he stopped by his favorite bakery before arriving back at Harry's. He prepared the breakfast spread, draped his robes on the back of his chair, yes it was his chair he sat in it every time he was over, and went to wake up Harry.

"Harry darling, I'm back."

"Hi love," Harry replied with a sleepy smile, resting his head on his arm to look up at Draco.

"I've got breakfast. I fear I went a tad overboard, but that means that you can bring the rest for lunch."

"I'm glad I decided to keep you around," Harry teased, reaching out for Draco.

"It's my turn to domesticate you now."

"I'm tempted to lie and say you need more work so that you won't leave."

"We both have to leave for work today."

"What if I pull the savior card and tell them I needed personal attention?"

Draco huffed out a laugh, pulling Harry out of bed, who dramatically threw his arms around Draco's neck.

"Come on you. Let's have breakfast now. I refuse to be late because of you Potter."

"As soon as you hug me back."

"Merlin, you're needy," Draco joked, playfully rolling his eyes.

Draco felt as Harry's body tensed up, and Harry gently pushed him away.

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Go to work."

"Harry?"

"Have a good day," he replied, not turning around as he rifled through his clothing drawer.

Approaching carefully, Draco gently placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and cursed as Harry flinched away from him.

"Harry, come here," Draco spoke softly, turning Harry by the shoulders to face him.

He wouldn't look at his face, instead staring at the wall over his shoulder. Draco cupped his cheek, gently turning his head to face him.

"I'm sorry. What I said was insensitive, even if I meant it as a joke. I love having you around. I love that you feel comfortable enough with me to seek the physical touch that you need. I don't want you ever thinking that I don't reciprocate."

"I'm being overly sensitive-"

"No. Don't apologize for the way that you feel, Harry. You're allowed to be hurt even if that wasn't my intention. I won't make jokes about things of that nature, I should have known better with what you've shared about your past with me."

"Thank you, for apologizing."

"I need you to tell me when I say or do something that upsets you Harry. Please don't shut me out."

"I'll try."

"That's all I ask. I'll do the same for you."

"Okay," Harry replied, exhaling as he relaxed into Draco's embrace. 

"Come on darling, we're going to cuddle on the couch while we have breakfast," Draco promised, kissing the top of his head.

Harry was still quiet during breakfast, but Draco left him alone with his thoughts.

"I hope that today goes well for you Harry."

"I hope so too," he responded with a sigh.

"Are we okay?"

"Of course we are," Harry replied with a frown. "You didn't mean anything by your comment, I'm just stressed out. I can't see today going well for me."

"If anyone disrespects you, you send them to me."

"Aren't you sweet?," Harry snorted, shaking his head.

Harry watched as Draco slid his Healer robes on, admiring how the color complimented him.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you look in your healer robes?"

"I think I would've remembered that," Draco replied, a blush coloring his face as he gathered his things.

"I can tell you now while you're off the clock. Go save some lives Draco."

"Go save yourself Harry," were his parting words.

Yes, Harry would continue to do just that.

The first thing he did when he got to work was drop his things off in his office, for one of the last times. He slid on his Auror robes, and stared at himself long and hard in the mirror before making his way to see Head Auror Robards.

"Good morning Auror Potter."

"Head Auror Robards. I'm ready."

"I'll do an all call for your team. Meet in conference room 1. Would you like me to be present for the meeting?"

"No, not yet. I'd like to speak with them alone first."

"As you wish."

Everyone was confused to see Harry back as they all knew his vacation time hadn't ended yet. His, soon to be former, team were talking amongst themselves, and Harry sat back and watched the interactions. Once everyone had arrived he closed the door and cast the proper privacy charms.

"I've called you all in here because I've resigned, effective immediately."

Immediately the room broke out into chaos.

"You can't do that! Can he do that?"

"Of course I can do that. It's just a job," Harry replied with an eye roll, holding a hand up for silence. "One at a time."

"Who's our new lead Auror?"

"You're going to be divided up amongst the current teams until further notice."

"But who's going to protect us?"

"You're going to get hit and you're going to have to learn to deal with it or quit," Harry said harshly. "Know that you're the reason as to why I'm quitting. If I had a team who had my back as much as I've had all of yours, maybe things would be better. If you get hit with a stunner, it's not my fault, it's your fault. I'm there to lead you, not take all of your damage so you can be stupid.

Tell me. Which one of you has ever jumped in front of a spell or hex for me? Who has cast protective charms at me? Pulled me away from a dangerous situation? Who's brought me potions or sent me get well chocolate frogs while I'm laid up in Saint Mungo's? Brought in food or snacks after a particularly hard mission? Offered to help with any of many of the incident reports I've had to stay late to complete while you all get to go home?

Who even wished me a happy birthday?! It's a bloody holiday for Merlin's sake you all know the date. I would die for all of you, but none of you would even take a papercut for me. It wouldn't surprise me if the majority of you quit the force in the upcoming weeks. Prove me wrong."

The team was stunned into silence, guilty looks being exchanged.

"I'll be working on your reassignments but Head Auror Robards will have the final say. For the last time, you're all dismissed."

No one dared to exchange any further words with Harry. They all left the meeting room, which Harry quickly locked behind them all. He was startled when he looked up to see Ron standing there, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ron? What are you- How?"

He held up the invisibility cloak, and Harry was truly taken aback.

"The simple answer is Malfoy. He talked some real sense into me yesterday. He said if I didn't believe what you had tried to share with me that I should sneak into your meeting and see first-hand what you had to say, as well as how your team reacted."

"And?"

"I'm sorry that it took me this long to come around. I'm sorry in general. I treated you so unfairly, and you didn't deserve that Harry. Not from anyone, but especially not from me."

"Sit. I need more of an explanation before I even think about forgiving you."

"Your team always sang your praises so highly. I felt inferior. I know what they say about me and it's nothing nearly as nice as what they say about you. I didn't realize that it was because you practically get yourself killed every mission to keep them all safe.

You're a great Auror Harry, but you could be an even greater something else. You deserve to figure that out more than anyone else. I didn't listen before, but I'm listening now. Hell, I'm thinking about putting in for some vacation time myself now.

After the war, I felt like if we, if I stopped, that everyone would have died in vain. I'm projecting, I know, but I need to come to terms that there will also be evil out there, and that we can't save everyone. No matter how many lives I save, it won't bring back Fred.

What I said to you was inexcusable. I'm hot-headed and I've only gotten worse with age, but you are my brother Harry. Even if you end up marrying Malfoy and making him my brother-in-law," Ron finished, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

Harry laughed wetly, wiping tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry to tell you that he will eventually become your brother-in-law. I only see a future with him in it. He makes me want to be a better person."

"Well, that's that then," Ron replied, standing up. "I have to do a debrief with my team."

"Hey Ron?"

"Yes Harry?"

"Stop by my office for lunch. We have some catching up to do."

Ron grinned, pulling Harry up into a bone crushing hug.

"I've missed you mate. I'm going to order Malfoy one of those posh little wine, cheese, and fruit platters."

Laughing, Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder.

"Bring it Saturday. I'm putting in a pool and having some people over. You and Mione, Neville and Luna. I haven't sent out invitations yet but The Burrow can expect a general one."

"We'll be there mate, I'll see you at lunch."

Harry walked down the halls to his office with a lightness he never thought he would feel, and he owed it all to Draco Malfoy. His Draco was truly something else.

Once Harry clocked out of work, he was practically skipping out of the office. It was Tuesday, which meant Draco was working late tonight. After grabbing a quick snack, Harry headed over to Draco's home. He had always admired how meticulously the other man kept his home, and that was to Harry's advantage. Draco's fridge was littered with to-do lists, filled out in order of most to least important tasks.

Harry began with the grocery list, going shopping for Draco as well as buying what he needed to make dinner. He did the dishes, folded and put away laundry, and hung up some things Draco had never gotten around to. Once the house was in order, he began dinner before making his way outside. Everything needed to be perfect for when Draco came home. Tonight was the night.

Draco had had one of the longest shifts of his life. It seemed that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. His robes had been ruined more than three times, he had simply stopped counting, and some older people had been aggressive towards him for being assigned as his healer. He was going to stop for dinner on his way home when he realized he didn't have enough muggle money on him. Cereal it is then.

As soon as he entered his home, he could tell something was... off. For starters, he could feel a magic that wasn't his own in the air, and his house looked, cleaned? He took off his robes and immediately threw them into the washing machine, noticing that his pile of laundry was down to nothing. Eyebrow raised, he walked into the kitchen where he was met with the sight of Harry Potter, looking absolutely adorable in an apron.

"Harry?"

"Hi love, how was work?"

"It was the day from hell, and I'm so fortunate to have tomorrow off. What are you doing here?," he asked, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck.

"I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see you. We have lots to talk about, but for now, there's a bath waiting upstairs for you."

"You're absolutely perfect, do you know that?"

"Only for you. Go on, dinner will be done once you're out."

Eyes closed, head resting against the back of the tub, Draco wondered if today was the day Harry Potter would officially be his. If Harry didn't make his move tonight, Draco would take things into his own hands. Absolutely nothing about this was platonic, and Draco needed to kiss Harry like he needed oxygen to breathe.

Draco took care in picking out a comfortable, yet nice looking outfit. He did his skincare, fixed his hair but left it down, and made his way back to the kitchen.

"Should I set the table?"

"Already done. You can just sit here and look pretty. How was your day?"

"A disaster. Hopefully yours went better than mine."

Harry listened as Draco told him about his very eventful day. He followed Harry from room to room, helping set the food on the table. He sat as Harry pulled out his chair and pushed him close to the table, and Draco did the same for him using his wand. He continued his rant, not realizing how much he had been talking until dinner was over.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much I had to say. How was your day?"

"I love listening to you talk. You're a great story teller, very expressive. I'm sorry you didn't have a good day."

"You've more than made up for it, I promise," Draco said sincerely, grabbing Harry's hand across the table.

"Let me clean up and then I'll tell you about my day."

"I can-"

"Nope. You can clean when you plan our next date. I'm taking care of you today. You've done so much for me Draco, I need you to know how much I appreciate you."

"I know. You didn't have to do my laundry though."

"You've been spending a lot of time at mine, I wanted to take care of your to-do lists."

"Well, now you can spend the night at mine? If you want?"

"I'd like that. There, all done. Put on your shoes, come on."

"Where are we going?," Draco asked with a laugh, shaking his head in amusement.

"To the backyard."

"Just what have you been up to today Potter?"

"Come and find out Malfoy," Harry replied with a grin, throwing Draco over his shoulder.

"Harry!"

"Yes love?," he asked, spinning around with Draco on his shoulder.

"You're insane."

"Insane for you."

When Harry finally put a laughing Draco down, he kept one arm around his waist. With a flick of his wrist, all of the fairy lights in the backyard lit up. Draco gasped in awe, admiring how beautifully Harry's illuminated face looked.

"Come sit, I'll tell you about my day."

Draco moved to sit next to Harry, but instead, Harry pulled Draco to lay against his chest, Harry's back against the tree.

"I owe so much to you Draco," Harry began, caressing his cheek.

"Whatever you're talking about, you've done on your own, I'm sure."

"Somehow, you managed to completely upend my life in the best way possible. I put up such high walls and you've managed to knock down every single one. You've carved out a place for yourself in my life, and I can't imagine my life without you in it. You bring such a brightness with you, and you've helped me heal from things and share parts of my past that I swore I would keep hidden. Draco, you know me better than anyone else does. And what you did for me today... I don't even know how you got Ron to agree."

"I spoke calmly to him at first, and I finished by yelling at him. I told him that you have a lot of forgiveness in you, but not if he continues his pity party. He started complaining that it was too late and I told him that if you could forgive me, if you could learn to care for me, that there was hope for him. He needed to be the one to make the initiative because he was the problem, not you.

I grabbed the cloak and I told him that he needed to see the way your team treated you themselves. I gave him the details for your meeting that you shared with me. He got there early I presume and then he watched and got to see firsthand how everyone took advantage of your kindness."

"We talked some things out, and we had lunch together. I don't know if we can get back to where we were, but he said he and Mione will be over on Saturday, so we'll see how that goes. I can't thank you enough," Harry continued, looking deeply into Draco's eyes. 

It was now or never.

"You're just so wonderful Harry. You fill me up with such warmth, and you deserve to be around people who do the same for you. You give so much to the world, everyone close to you should be giving as much back to you. On days you can only give 5%, I want to give you my 95%."

"I want the same, but only with you Draco. I never thought I could have something like this. After the war, everyone became so distant, I thought the part of me that could be loved died that day and never came back."

"I'm proof that you're wrong, and I will prove you wrong every single day Harry. You are so loved. I'll love you, until the very end," Draco promised.

Harry let out a quiet laugh and shook his head as tears pooled in his eyes. Draco cupped his face, wiping away the tears.

"I need to tell you a story."

And so Harry told Draco the story of his final moments as they laid back on the picnic blanket Harry had put in the grass, Draco's head on Harry's chest.

"My father told me they would stay with me until the very end. I don't even know if it was real you know? Like my mum died to keep me alive and now she wants me to die. I like to believe that it's true when she said she never left me. The deathly hallows aren't to be messed with, and I trust the resurrection stone least of all. Just listening to the tale, it seems as if its purpose is to bring death more victims. I've never shared the whole story with anyone before."

"Why me?," Draco asked, sitting up to face Harry.

Harry sat up and pulled Draco into his lap, hands cupping his face. 

"Because Draco, I will also love you until the very end," Harry promised, pulling him in for a kiss.

Draco melted against Harry, pulling the other man impossibly closer. Whatever he had dreamed their first kiss would be like didn't even come close to what he was experiencing. Harry was so sweet, so gentle, treating Draco with a delicate reverence.

When they pulled back for air, they pressed their foreheads together, not wanting to lose the close contact.

"Was that okay?," Harry asked timidly.

"It was perfect. I've been waiting years for you to kiss me, I'd quite like you to do it again."

"I plan on kissing you for the rest of my life, love," Harry admitted.

"The rest of our lives starts now darling," Draco replied, closing the distance between them once more.

If Harry arrived late for his last day of work the next morning, it was no one's business but his own.