11. Barefoot
Harry'd never seen Draco with a single hair, a single button out of place.
It was fucking hot, if Harry was being honest, which why wouldn't he be? At least in the privacy of his own head.
Draco was always posh, always pristine; tailored robes and tailored suits, shoes always shined, platinum hair in a perfectly coiffed undercut. It drove Harry wild; desperate to muss him up a bit.
And nothing. Absolutely nothing could have prepared him for what he was currently seeing.
Draco Malfoy was standing by the pool, a strand of (silky, soft) hair hanging over his eye, shirt unbuttoned halfway down his (ridiculously toned) chest, his linen trousers rolled up to expose his (unfairly delicate) ankles. And he was barefoot.
Godric. Harry didn't have a thing for feet but something about seeing Draco's made him want to fall to the ground at his feet and never move. They were very pretty, honestly; delicate, long, slender, with graceful high arches. And it made him look strangely vulnerable.
Harry ached with it.
"Potter," Draco said, long fingers snapping at him.
His eyes snapped up to Draco's face to find the other man smiling at him in that peculiar way he did sometimes. All exasperated fondness, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Mmm?" he managed inelegantly.
"How drunk are you? It's like you were staring through me into all of time and space," he chuckled as he planted himself beside Harry on the edge of the pool and dipped his feet into the water.
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"Very," Harry lied because he couldn't very well admit that he'd just been staring longingly at Draco's feet.
Draco tilted his head toward the drink in Harry's hand, "What do you spike sparkling water with?"
Harry blinked over at him, he always forgot how bloody observant the other man was. "Vodka," he lied quickly.
The corner of Draco's mouth curved up and he took a breath but then seemed to think better of it. "Everyone's around the fire pit," he commented.
"Yes," he agreed.
"Except you."
He hummed, not sure what response Draco was looking for from him.
"And me," he added.
Harry turned his head so he could look at him properly.
"Are you actually drunk, Harry?"
He swallowed, wondering what his answer should be, wondering what Draco wanted him to say. "Why?" is what came out of his mouth a few seconds later.
"Because you're even more forthcoming when you're drunk than usual."
It was his turn to smile at the other man, "What are you hoping I'll say?"
Draco stared at him for a long moment before wrapping his lips around the mouth of his beer bottle and finishing it in one long pull.
He couldn't help but watch the way his neck muscles worked as he swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing. The urge to lean in, to lick, to suck, to nibble on the other man's long neck was almost overpowering.
Then, when he'd finished his beer he stood up and Harry shifted back on his hands so he could see what he was doing.
Draco's fingers went to the buttons on his shirt and Harry's mouth went dry, his own fingers tingling with desire. He made quick work of them before pulling his shirt off, and Harry was met with the sight of a lightly muscled chest, and two petal pink nipples. Harry's mouth had dropped open but he didn't really think there was anything he could possibly do to stop it.
When he finally managed to draw his eyes upward, Draco was smirking at him, one eyebrow raised. "I'm going to go for a swim," he said, and his hands moved to his trousers, unbuttoning and unzipping before hooking his thumbs in the waistband and pulling them off. He stood there for one moment, in nothing but a pair of very tight boxers that left little to the imagination, before saying, "join me?" and jumping into the pool.
Harry sat there stunned, uncertain if he was hallucinating (it wouldn't be the first time he'd accidentally eaten a hallucinogen at Luna's), and feeling like he must be losing his entire mind.
But what a way to go, he couldn't help but think as Draco resurfaced and finger combed his hair back out of his eyes. He watched as a drop of water rolled down his high cheek bone, then down his neck, sluicing along his clavicle, before dripping into the pool. He tread water and stared at Harry, waiting.
"Are you serious?" he asked.
A look of hurt flashed in his eyes before he covered it, so quickly that if Harry hadn't spent decades of his life watching Draco, he would have missed it.
"I mean," he swallowed, might as well at this point, "you're not just fucking with me?"
"How would this be fucking with you?" Draco asked, spreading his arms wide.
He pulled his shirt off over his head and stood to yank down his shorts before jumping in after Draco. When he popped his head back above the water, Draco was only a few feet away, watching him with a little smile at the corner of his mouth. "You should know," he said conversationally, "that I am not a terribly good swimmer."
Draco was at his side a heartbeat later, hands bracketing Harry's ribs as he buoyed him to the surface a bit, treading and keeping himself afloat with only his legs. "I'm a very good swimmer," he murmured, his voice low and a bit rough.
"Tell me why we're swimming together," he blurted.
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, head tilting to the side like he was really trying to understand the puzzle that Harry was.
"Not to me," he replied.
Draco re-angled his body a bit and pushed Harry backward, swimming until Harry's back hit the side of the pool and then pressing their bodies together. "Luna had a drink," he said.
Harry, whose head was very much elsewhere, attempting to catalogue the hard planes of Draco's body pressed against his own, made a vague "Oh?" sound.
He nodded, "Had a bit of felix in it, apparently."
"And-" Harry started, his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for Draco to continue.
"It led me to you," he murmured. "And honestly?"
He nodded, trying not to let his mind race to improbable conclusions.
"I've fancied you for ages."
"You have?" he blurted, looking between Draco's eyes, trying to discern any semblance of an untruth.
"I have," he murmured, bending forward so that his lips brushed over Harry's jaw. "The only question is whether you feel the same."
"How is that a question?" he asked, tipping his head back to allow Draco's mouth to brush tantalizingly over his skin. "Of course I do."
"Do you?" he asked, voice just a little afraid, "or is it the alcohol?"
"I'm not drunk," he said, cupping Draco's cheek and drawing him back far enough that they could look at each other. "I had one beer, two hours ago."
"So it wouldn't be taking advantage if I kissed you?"
Harry didn't think, didn't say another word, he just wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and pulled him in closer so their lips could touch.
The other man's body surged against his, kissing him deep and slow in a way that made Harry feel like he was floating through the universe, the only thing tethering him was the hard wall of the pool against his back.
Merlin only knew how long they might have gone on kissing if it weren't for the sound of merrymakers coming up from the fire pit. But as it was, Draco pulled back and said, "I really don't particularly want to see anyone else."
"Me either," he replied, glancing over his shoulder.
"Come back to mine?" he offered. "We don't have to-"
He leaned in and kissed him again, giddy with the possibility of more time together, of more kisses. "Yes," he murmured against Draco's lips. "Let's just figure out the rest once we get there."
"You're sure?"
Harry laughed, "I've never been more sure of anything in my life.
And it wasn't until the sun was peaking through the blinds in Draco's living room the next morning that either of them remembered they'd left their clothes lying on the deck by the pool.
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Read more of my gentle July ficlets
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On the stormiest night of the year, when winds and rain pound across the windows, the house shaking as lightning rattles the red rock, Nesta clutches at her swollen stomach gasping in pain.
Cassian quickly moves to his mate. Concern is painted on his face, but none of the others seem to take in the seriousness of the situation. Feyre only sets her hands on her hips.
“You’re pregnant?” Feyre gasps.
“And you didn’t tell us!” Mor rages.
"Why are you all here?” Azriel questions, carrying a basket of what Cassian knows is full of warm towels. He’s been here from the start and Cassian would be lying if he said, his brother’s presence didn’t calm him slightly.
Perhaps it’s because Nesta seems relieved to see him too. She grasps his hands as he holds one out to her and Cassian once more tries to urge Nesta to go lie down where the House has already turned down the sheets.
“What were you going to do? Show up with a baby in your arms and tell us you picked it up in the forest?”
Cassian rolls his eyes at the dramatic tone of Rhys’s voice and one quick look at Nesta confirms she’s glaring at him too. But Nesta doesn’t chastise or complain, instead she straightens, her face blooming red as if it pains her to stand.
Cassian rubs at her back, ready to scoop her up and have her rest until he can find the priestess who’s been most helpful with the pregnancy. Cauldron forbid one of them call Madja.
“Should we call for Madja?” Elain questions, her eyes blinking widely.
“Absolutely no one call Madja,” Cassian says, rubbing sweetly down Nesta’s back in what he hopes feels appeasing. “Madja doesn’t step foot here.”
The others nod at his threatening tone.
“And why are you here? It’s pouring outside... and where’s Nyx?”
“Amren’s watching him,” Feyre says as if it’s obvious and pointedly looks to Nesta, “we were worried when you wouldn’t answer us.”
“I hate when you talk in my head,” Nesta answers through gritted teeth.
“And lo and behold... you’re fucking pregnant!”
“You’re having a baby,” Mor says, motioning to Nesta’s stomach.
“Babies,” Nesta huffs out. “We’re having three.”
“Three!” They shout all at once.
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