The winter holidays were just around the corner, and Harry and Draco had managed to come to an understanding. Their relationship was slowly strengthening despite their setbacks, which is all either man could have asked for. Their deeper feelings for each other had not yet been discussed again, but they knew it was only a matter of time before they were brought up.

"Have you decided what you're doing?," Harry asked, watching Draco work on his painting.

"I'm going," Draco replied with a heavy sigh. "I don't think I can stay here without you, and it's not like I have any other options."

"Draco, you could come and stay with me. I thought that was implied."

"After our fight it's hard to know where we stand, you know? Besides, I need to go and face the music at some point. I can't keep avoiding them, no matter how much I want to. You've taught me that I have to face my problems head on."

"So, are you bringing your boyfriend with you to meet your parents Pumpkin?"

"Fuck off Scarhead," Draco hissed, cheeks reddening.

Laughing, Harry summoned his guitar.

"That song reminds me of you, you know?"

"What song?"

"Face the Music. Actually, it reminds me of us."

"Good and bad and right and wrong
A story's made up when we're young to scare us
Love and hate are in-between
Depends on your reality to see them

I just wanna stay in the moment
The rest of my life

So, one more night
I'm gonna choose
I don't wanna face the music
But I still wanna dance with you
Let's buy some time
Oh, we shouldn't do
I don't wanna face the music
But I still wanna dance with you
I still wanna dance with—

Close your eyes and count to ten
If you're standin' on the edge of fallin'
Open up and looking down
Everythin' the night is is forgotten

I just wanna stay in the moment
The rest of my life

So, one more night
I'm gonna choose
I don't wanna face the music
But I still wanna dance with you
Let's buy some time
Oh, we shouldn't do
I don't wanna face the music
But I still wanna dance with you
I still wanna dance with—

Oh
Oh
Oh

So, one more night
I'm gonna choose
I don't wanna face the music
But I still wanna dance with you
Let's buy some time
Oh, we shouldn't do
I don't wanna face the music
But I still wanna dance with you
I still wanna dance with—"

"You can't even dance," Draco replied with a quiet laugh.

"You'll have to teach me."

"I could," Draco mused. "I've had lessons practically since I could walk. It was a nice song. I like when you play for me."

"You still didn't answer my question though. Do you want me to come? Do you want to stay with me?"

"We have some Christmas traditions Mother needs to do. It's her way of trying to heal. To pretend like nothing has changed, but everything has changed. I've changed, and I can't go back to pretending that I don't feel anything."

"Let me come with you Draco," Harry pleaded, grabbing Draco's hands.

"I don't know why you would ever want to step foot in there again. The things that happened there. The things that I had to do."

"Us wrestling for the wands was pretty hot, you know," Harry teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You're such a prick!"

"There's so much I still have to tell you Pumpkin. You don't even know the half of it, and I don't know if you'd feel better or worse if you did know."

"It gets worse than orphaned house elf Harry Potter who died?"

"It does. There's so many scars, inside and out that I don't even know where to begin."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Harry laughed, burying his face in Draco's neck.

"Merlin you're so perfect."

Pressing a kiss to Draco's neck, Harry pulled back and started to unbutton his shirt.

"It's not pretty," Harry warned, looking down.

"Harry you don't have to-"

"No actually, I do. These are a part of me. You need to understand what you're getting into with me while there's still time to get out."

"I'm not going anywhere. Say hello to Draco 2.0. The feeling that I had when I thought I lost you Harry, it is some of the worst loss that I've experienced. I'm not doing that again. I know that I'm mental because I'm actually considering accepting your offer and having you come with me."

"You don't have to decide now. Sleep on it."

Taking a deep breath, Harry exhaled and dropped the shirt from his shoulders. Draco stared, being careful to keep his face neutral.

"Can I?," he asked, fingers twitching in his lap, itching to touch.

"Yeah," Harry whispered on a breath, trying to remain relaxed.

Draco moved closer to him on the bed, placing Harry's guitar down safely, before gently tracing a scar on his arm.

"My aunt hit me with a hot pain when I burned dinner once. I didn't get to eat that night."

"My father hit my hand with his cane. The snake teeth sunk into my hand and scarred. He could've prevented the scarring, but he wanted me to have a reminder," Draco said darkly.

He continued to run his hands across every single one of Harry's scars, and Harry was like putty under his touch.

"I'm so proud of you Harry."

"For what?," Harry asked in confusion, turning his head to look at Draco who was tracing the scars on his back.

"Look how much you've survived and overcome. You lived, despite all odds. You've had so much shit thrown at you, but you're still here. You're doing so well, and all of these scars prove you're a fighter. Look at you," Draco praised.

Harry shivered under the praise, arching into Draco's touch. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he liked it.

"You're so beautiful, do you know that darling?"

The pet name easily fell from Draco's lips, and he didn't regret it. Harry rolled over, pulling Draco into his arms. One of his hands stroked Harry's back, while the other was in his hair working through the strands.

"Come home with me for a few days of the holiday?," Draco asked, praying he wasn't making a mistake.

"Draco, it doesn't feel like home if you're not there. Let me know when you want me there, and I will be there for you, with you."

"So good for me darling."

"Draco," Harry whined, burying his face into Draco's neck.

"I love how you react to me. So perfect Harry."

"Stop it."

"I will, for now. I'm going to do this properly. In the meantime, I said I would show you mine, didn't I?"

"I need a minute," Harry muttered, carefully moving his lower half away from Draco.

As if Draco really needed his ego stroked right now. He had to withhold further playfulness because he didn't want Harry to feel embarrassed.

"Are you familiar with any wizarding Christmas traditions?," Draco asked instead.

"I'm not sure what of what the Weasley's do is considered a wizarding tradition."

Draco began telling Harry about the traditions, continuing to run his fingers across his body.

"You really only decorate your tree the day before Christmas Eve? That seems so late."

"It was originally to give family time to get back home before the holidays. It stays up well into the month of January. I used to love Christmas. I have a small tree back in my room. I would change the decorations for each holiday."

"I would love to help you with that."

"I'll save it for you. I don't know whether to ask if you can come or to just have you show up."

"Technically I'm already invited. I think I should just show up. You're worried about them acting differently, we won't give them any time to plan anything."

"You're so smart."

"You're being suspiciously nice to me."

"It's so much easier when it's just us. This is me trying to show you that I'm more open. If you don't like it-"

"I like it a little too much," Harry stressed.

"Nothing wrong with that," Draco promised, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Harry's head. "I suppose it's only fair I show you my scars now."

"Did I... when we... sixth year..."

Harry couldn't figure out how to ask.

"Not as badly as I thought. Promise me that you won't think less of me."

"Draco this was my fault, why would I think less of you? You should hate me."

"Shut up, you haven't seen them yet. There aren't many, Severus was able to heal most of them. The worst of it is the center, the cuts there were deeper because that's where you hit me first."

At Draco's glare, Harry bit back the apologies that were prepared to tumble out of his mouth. He exhaled in relief that the damage wasn't as bad as he thought.

"Do you feel better now?"

"In my nightmares, it's always so much worse. I'm so sorry that I did this to you Draco. I'll spend every day for the rest of our lives proving to you how sorry I am."

"Harry, I forgave you a long time ago. You don't have to prove anything to me."

"Can I touch them?"

"I suppose it's only fair."

In reality, who could say no to a shirtless Potter? Draco would say yes to just about anything that Harry asked him.

Harry brushed against a sensitive spot on Draco's side, and Draco let out a soft giggle before biting his lip.

"Oh?," Harry asked teasingly, lightly brushing over the spot again.

"Potter I swear to Merlin!," Draco began to threaten, before he fell into a fit of giggles at the hands of Harry.

"Your laugh is my favorite sound."

"I'm- go-going t-to kick you!," Draco threatened breathlessly, thrashing around.

His hand accidentally ran up Harry's thigh, causing the other man to turn red and stop.

"I hate you," Draco huffed, oblivious to what had happened, tugging his shirt back on.

"No you don't."

"For now pretend that I do."

"Sorry I'm beautiful and smart, you can't lie to me," Harry said smugly, putting his own shirt back on.

"I knew that would go to your head."

"And I'm not sorry about it Pumpkin."

"If you call me Pumpkin in front of my father, you might actually kill him."

"Is that supposed to convince me otherwise? Because you're only making this so much more enticing," Harry teased, wrapping his arms around Draco, sighing at the skin to skin contact.

"I've created a monster."

"Speaking of creating, you need to finish your painting. I need to pack a few of my things because if I don't do it now I'll forget."

"Are you busy on the 22nd?"

"I don't have plans over the break really. I need to see Andy and Teddy, and I have Christmas dinner at the Weasley's. Other than that, I was thinking about cleaning up Grimmauld Place. Kreacher will be back, and I think it's time."

"Are you staying with the Weasley's?"

"Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, but I don't want to impose, you know? It's harder, without Fred. Not to mention I haven't seen Ginny in awhile. I'm not sure how that's going to play out."

"Tell her you're seeing someone," Draco said simply.

"You want me to just announce to everyone at Christmas dinner that I'm seeing someone when I'm not?"

"Not yet. Like I said, I want to do this properly. Tell them you're interested in someone then."

"I wish you'd come there with me for a day."

"If that was what you really wanted, I would do that for you. I don't want to mess up your holiday though. You deserve a good one."

"Can I see you on New Year's Eve?"

"I'd really like that Scarhead."

"We'll find a place Pumpkin. Maybe I can plan a small get together at mine? Like a house warming of sorts."

"You want to plan a party?," Draco asked excitedly. "I always loved planning parties. The theme, the decor, the food, the guest list."

"I don't want to plan a party," Harry announced, wrinkling his nose as Draco's smile turned into a frown, "but it sounds like you do, so you're more than welcome to."

"Really? You'd trust me with that? Oh I have so many ideas already."

"I'd also like your help in redecorating, if you're up for it."

"Harry Potter you might as well be proposing to me. I'm absolutely over the moon right now," Draco gushed. "I've been wanting to redecorate that old house forever. It's going to be perfect when I'm done with it. I'm going to finish my painting, and then I have to start making lists! Oh there's so much to do, this is the best Christmas present ever," Draco continued on, paint splashing across his canvas.

Harry took it upon himself to start making said lists, while Draco chattered excitedly. His mind was racing, and soon enough Harry was writing two lists at once, a quill in each hand.

"I should not find you being ambidextrous attractive," Draco said with a snort.

"It's very useful," Harry retorted with a wink. "Are your parents picking you up from the platform?"

"Oh no absolutely not. That's practically a death sentence. I was thinking about just flooing there and skipping the train ride honestly."

"In that case, do you want to come to mine first day of the holiday? We can get some planning done and I can place some orders."

"I'll be there. Now I actually have something that I'm looking forward to. I was worried I wouldn't be able to see you," Draco confessed.

"You're not that lucky Pumpkin," Harry teased. "I'll write Andy and see when she's free for me to visit. Then we can plan out our holiday."

Draco still had some doubts at how successful this would be, but he loved the way "our" holiday rolled off of Harry's tongue.

"Just keep the 23rd free, I'd really like you to help me decorate the tree."

"Perfect. It's a date," Harry promised, beginning to write his letter to Andy.

Harry wouldn't be ready when Draco took him on a real date during the holiday. For now, Draco just smiled at Harry, who would be his soon enough.

{Song credits: Face the Music by Louis Tomlinson}