The next week passed by in a blur for Draco, and soon enough it was Friday. He hadn't been able to see Harry at all outside of classes, and he was really missing him and his company. When Draco wasn't being harassed by his father about the upcoming match, he had his ASMR videos playing constantly through his earbuds, working to achieve some semblance of peace.

When it came time for the match, he did his best to give the team a meaningful pep talk. Honestly, all he wanted was to watch stupid movies with Harry wrapped up in blankets, staying up way too late.

It took a lot of effort to push Harry out of his mind. When they had left for school the next morning, Harry had left his hoodie behind. When Draco was feeling stressed, he would put it on, and only then did he begin to feel safe.

Shaking his head, it was time to focus on the match. He finished doing his stretches, and out the team ran.

Draco eyed up the crowd as usual, immediately locating his parents. Another look over made his jaw drop. Seated next to Ron Weasley and his girlfriend was Harry. He watched Ron elbow Harry, who turned, then grinned and waved when he saw Draco.

The fluttering in his chest only grew when he saw that Harry had his jersey number on his cheek.

"Good luck," Harry mouthed.

"For you," Draco replied, turning back to his team with a determined glint in his eyes.

Knowing that Harry had skipped work just to watch him play made Draco even more determined to win.

By the end of the match, Draco was drenched in sweat, but he had never felt more alive. Watching Harry cheer for him made him feel invigorated. If Draco was showing off a little bit, that didn't matter. It was all in the name of the game. Not because he wanted to impress Harry.

After Draco was lowered from his teammates's shoulders, he immediately tried to seek out Harry, who was walking down the bleachers towards him. Draco was stopped multiple times along the way, his smile slowly shrinking the longer it took to get to Harry.

Finally, Harry made it onto the field. He hugged Draco quickly despite his protests.

"You were amazing Draco! I have to get to work now, but I wanted to tell you how great you are."

"You came," Draco replied, a goofy smile on his face. "And you're wearing my number."

"Of course I came. Good surprise?"

"The best surprise. I played for you."

"And you won because you're extremely talented. I've never been so invested in a match before."

"It means everything to me that you came."

"I'll always support you Draco, as much as I possibly can."

"Boys, let me take a picture," Narcissa called.

They obliged, and with one last quick hug, Harry was jogging after Ron and Hermione to get to work.

"That was very sweet of Harry."

"Wasn't it?," Draco replied airily.

He was soon swept up in conversation with his father and a uni scout, trying to hold on to that last bit of happiness from Harry.

If only it lasted.

Draco had thought that the conversation with the scout went well. He handled himself properly and enthusiastically responded to all of the questions asked of him. He had even won the match, leading the team to a landslide victory, where they had scored 6 more points than the other team.

Lucius thought the other team shouldn't have scored at all, and somehow, this became Draco's fault. It didn't matter that the scout was impressed with him, Draco should've done more. He was never good enough, was he?

Emotionless, Draco listened to his father berate him for hours. Even his mother was useless against the tirade Lucius decided to go on. Finally, he was done, reminding Draco once more that he was a disappointment, and any future slip ups would result in him losing his inheritance.

Narcissa tried to comfort Draco, but he brushed her off.

"I love you Mother, but I need to be alone."

Draco hadn't even been able to eat anything, and the thought of food made him feel ill all over again. Not even his favorite ASMR videos were helping again.

Evan began doing a livestream while Draco was having a breakdown and pacing his room.

"Hello loves, and welcome to my channel. I hope that you have a wonderful day, and if not? I hope that things begin looking up for you soon because you deserve it, you deserve it, you deserve it.

I've had some requests for some rambling videos, I guess you all miss me talking to myself huh? I thought I would do a livestream and then post it to the channel.

How was my day? It was good, thank you for asking. Work was tiring of course, but I watched my best friend play a killer match of footie before my shift. Carried the whole game, and I'm so insanely proud of them.

They work so hard and I know they doubt themselves sometimes, I can see it, but they have so much to be proud of. I'm very glad that I, quite literally, bumped into them."

That was enough for Draco to hear. Grabbing a bag, he started packing some of his things. Two bags later, he waited until he knew the house was quiet before sneaking out.

He drove around aimlessly for a while, connecting his phone to his Bluetooth, and allowing what he believed to be Harry's voice travel throughout his car. If it wasn't for Harry, he didn't know where he would be.

Once the stream ended, he showed up at Harry's apartment. At this time, it was well after midnight, and Draco needed something.

Draco: Are you awake?

Harry: I am, are you okay?

Draco: Not at all. Can I come in?

Harry quickly got out of bed and buzzed Draco in, mussing up his hair so it didn't look like Draco had woken him up. He hadn't, Harry had just finished a stream, but Draco didn't know that.

Draco's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked paler than usual.

"Oh Draco, come here," Harry greeted softly, opening his arms for his friend.

Draco all but collapsed in Harry's arms, and Harry easily supported him.

"Have you had anything to drink recently?," Harry asked gently.

Draco shook his head, and Harry carefully placed some distance between them.

"I'm going to get you a glass of water okay? You need to stay hydrated love. I'll be right back. Go take your shoes off so that you can be more comfortable."

Nodding, Draco did as told.

"I'm sorry-"

"Shhh love, there's nothing to apologize for. I'm glad that you came to see me. Have some water and we'll go to my room yeah?"

After making sure he took a few sips of water, Harry grabbed Draco's hand, hit the lights, and then lead him into his bedroom.

"Sorry that's it a little bit messy. Can you sleep in those clothes or do you want something comfier? I'm not sure what I have in your size to be honest."

Looking through his drawers, Harry pulled out a few older items of his that were clean. He had outgrown them when he began working out.

"You might have to roll up the waistband of the trousers, but I think they're okay."

Harry turned his back to Draco so he could change, and began tidying up.

"Alright," Draco said quietly.

"Get into bed yeah?"

Once Draco had done so, Harry turned off the overhead lights, then clicked on the lamp next to his bed. Climbing into bed, he pulled Draco into his lap, then wrapped a blanket around the both of them, before pulling Draco into a hug.

"Talk to me love, what's wrong?," Harry murmured in his ear, combing his fingers through Draco's hair.

Draco felt goosebumps form and travel up his arms at the feeling.

"It's my father."

"Talk whenever you're ready," Harry encouraged.

"I thought the match had gone well you know? I didn't think I had ever played better, and the scout there pretty much said the same thing. I did everything that I was supposed to. I said everything that I was supposed to, and yet he's still not happy," Draco began with a sniffle.

"No matter what I do, it isn't good enough for him. I try so hard. I take all of the classes he tells me to take. I implement all of the strategies he tells me to use. I hold extra practices and training sessions. I eat what he tells me to eat and wear what he tells me to wear. I speak how he wants me to speak and befriend who he wants me to.

The only thing that he has no control over is you, and believe me he's tried. You're the only good thing I have and I- I can't- I can't lose you," Draco choked out, voice cracking as he buried his face in the crook of Harry's neck.

"I promise you that you won't lose me Draco," Harry whispered soothingly, running his arms up and down Draco's back. "You can stay with me as long as you need to. I told you that I would protect you and I meant it. What's mine is yours."

Harry's soothing words calmed Draco down enough so that he could start talking again.

"He told me that I was a disappointment, and any further slip-ups meant that I would lose out on my inheritance. I don't want to feel indebted to him for the rest of my life. I want to build something for myself.

I played footie because it was something I enjoyed. Before the mention of scouts, my father never attended any of my matches. He thought I was wasting time I should've been spending on my studies. When he learned there might be a pay off and good publicity, he started to view me as one of his investments.

I felt so dirty and used, I didn't even want to play anymore. But then I saw that you changed your work schedule for me so that you could be there. You didn't have to come, you wanted to, and you made time for me because I matter to you. I've never felt valued like that before.

I played for you. I played for younger me who used to love this sport. An old spark was reignited while I was out on that field, and my father extinguished it yet again.

I can only play my best and train my teammates to play to their best. I can't help it if Smith isn't always the best goalie. The alternates are much worse. I can't just focus on him and his training. He's a good goalie, but he will never meet the greatness my father expects, and somehow that's also my fault.

The things that my father said to me... I know that he meant them all. He'll be furious that I'm gone. I'll be called a coward, a little boy, a waste of space. He'll call me a girl for even crying. Real men don't run from their problems. Maybe I am all of those things and everything else he said, but at least right now, I'm somewhere safe, and I don't have to be someone that I'm not."

"It's okay love, I've got you. Let it all out. I have a spare key and I'll give you that in the morning hmm? If you need to cry, then cry. This is a safe space for you Draco. It's not good to bottle things up."

"I just want to be loved," Draco whispered hoarsely.

Harry gently wiped the tears off of Draco's face and held him tightly as he cried. Once Draco was done, Harry began talking with a determined tone of voice.

"My parents died in a home invasion. He tried to kill me too, but I survived with only a scar. I was just a baby. The family they took me too, they were abusive. They only took me in to save face and get money from the government that was seldom used for me.

Everything always went to my cousin. You've seen Cinderella? That was my life, but no one came to save me. I had to do that on my own. Mrs. Weasley was like my fairy godmother in a way. She had so many children to take care of, but I knocked on her door one day asking if she had any work to be done so that I could make some money to eat.

I told her everything, not knowing that what I was saying was wrong you know? I had no friends, I had no family. This was my normal. She set up an account for me to deposit my money into so it wouldn't be stolen. She helped me get a mobile in case of emergencies.

When I wasn't taking care of the house, I was instructed not to be home. So, I lied about my age, worked, and got paid under the table to survive. No one batted an eye, I took the jobs others didn't want.

I'm not trying to take away from your experiences and what you've shared with me. You shared something deeply personal with me, so I'm doing the same.

I know what it feels like, to live your life unloved. Thinking you serve no purpose on your own and that the world won't miss your absence. But it will.

You Draco Malfoy, are such a bright light, and I would hate to see you be snuffed out. It took me awhile, but I found one thing that I love to do that makes everything feel worth it for me.

Maybe for you it is footie, if you can find that passion again. Or, maybe it's something in the field of science. I see how your eyes light up when we're working on our project. How even when it's the middle of the night, you'll text me all of your thoughts and your ideas because you're so excited and bursting to share them with someone.

I'm glad that someone is me."

If Draco was unsure of his feelings before, he was definitely sure of them now. He should not be thinking of Harry this way, especially not now. Did he actually have feelings, or was he just latching onto the first person who showed him basic kindness?

But nothing about Harry was basic was it? He always went above and beyond for Draco, oftentimes going out of his way.

"I don't know what else to say besides thank you. Thank you for trusting me enough to share that with me, and thank you for being here and listening to me."

"Are you hungry?"

"Potter it's after 2 in the morning."

"That's never stopped me before."

"Well, I haven't eaten in hours..."

"Come on then, let's go."

"I seem to have forgotten that requires me getting up."

"Not necessarily," Harry replied with a grin, scooping Draco up and carrying him to the kitchen while Draco laughed.

"Don't you dare drop me Potter I mean it!"

"Wouldn't dream of it Malfoy," Harry teased back, spinning them around in a circle. "What do you want to eat? I make some mean pancakes. Or do you prefer waffles? Something tells me it's waffles."

"Why do you think that?"

"I think you like to fill the columns up with toppings."

"You know me so well," Draco replied with a sigh, leaning his head against Harry's shoulder.

"I do need to put you down to make the waffles."

"Do you have toppings?"

"Fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, various syrups, whipped cream. What's your pleasure?"

"Oooh so many options, you're too good to me. I'll chop the fruits?"

"Deal."

Placing his phone on the counter, Harry put a playlist on shuffle, immediately humming along to the music.

"You like A Rocket to the Moon?," Draco asked in surprise.

"I love them! They have songs for when you just need to feel something. The same with The Maine."

"We need to blend a Spotify playlist immediately. You have great taste."

"If there's one thing I'm confident in it's my taste in music."

The night had taken a wondrous turn for Draco, and he was earnestly talking to Harry about music. They chatted for hours, moving from the kitchen, to the couch, and eventually back to Harry's room.

"I can sleep on the couch if you want? My bed is a lot smaller than yours."

"Don't be ridiculous, I have no problem sharing. This is your flat, I'm a guest."

"For as long as you need to be. I'm serious about that. You don't have to be anywhere you don't want to be."

"The only positive is that my father won't get anyone else involved because it'll be bad publicity. I'm safe, for now."

"Get some sleep now yeah? The sun will be coming up soon."

"Thank you. Goodnight Harry," Draco whispered, quickly pressing a kiss to the other man's cheek.

Harry soon fell asleep, holding Draco, with a goofy grin present on his face.