''Hi, you.'' Isla snuck up behind Theodore as he sat at the kitchen table, flipping through the newspaper, ''Did you sleep well?''

He smiled at her arms being wrapped around him, her face nestled against his neck, ''Hi, you, and I did.''

There was something in his voice that caused her to squeeze her arms around him harder, hold onto him a bit tighter.

The low drop in his vocals calmed her to her core. She didn't want to be anywhere else than right there, with her arms crossing his shoulders and her face buried to his neck.

''Did you sleep well?'' He asked her, his hands dropped the paper to the table, and he let his palms stroke over her arms, ''You snored again.''

''Theo! I did not snore—'' She let go of him with a bitter frown, ready to slip down next to him, but he was faster, and he dragged her around his chair instead, ''What—''

Theodore didn't let go until she was squeezed in between his chest and the table, seated solidly on his lap with her legs on each side of him.

He smiled at her, wrapping his arms around her morning warm body, ''You did, but I'm not complaining.''

''I didn't.'' Isla tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and she tipped her head as she watched his smile broadening, ''You're just being mean.''

''Oh, am I being mean for being honest?'' His cheeks took on a feverish color as he looked at her, seeing the pillow prints on her skin, the marks of both his and Draco's lips over her collarbones where his shirt had slipped down. She was wearing his shirt again, always his old and worn shirt.

He loved her a little bit more in it.

''You're lying,'' Isla draped his shoulders with her arms, pressing her forehead to his, ''I don't snore.''

''Yes, you do. I had to stop Malfoy from waking you up—''

Isla's eyes widened, and she pushed her palm over his mouth. The embarrassment grew within her, tugging at her nerves like never before, ''Stop it. I don't snore. Let me believe that.''

He slightly bit down her fingers, and she let go of his mouth with a whine, ''What are you— don't bite me, Theo.''

''I like to bite you...'' His hands gripped her waist, and he inched her nearer over his lap, ''I like it when you bite me—''

Isla cleared her throat, and she pushed herself back a bit. She looked away from him.

Something dropped in Theo's chest. Something else cracked. It felt like a string of pain reached his wrists as she tried to distance herself from him.

He hated when she did that, and she did it far too often these days.

''Isla, what just happened—''

''So,'' She forced a smile, trying to turn around to look at the newspaper on the table, ''How are you today?''

She couldn't see the fallen look on his face. She couldn't see how hard he had to lock his jaw and how he had to look away too. She felt it. She felt his body stiffening underneath hers. His hands turned cold on her waist as he let go of her.

''I'm fine.'' He said, and his voice wasn't warm anymore, ''You?''

That had her head snapping back to his, and her eyes roamed over him, seeing how his skin had paled and how he didn't look at her.

''Theo—''

''I have to—'' He pushed his chair back, and he gestured for her to step off him, ''I have somewhere to be.''

Scowling, she stayed put on his lap, ''What? Where? You said I could come with you—''

''The hospital. I need to go get my results.'' Theodore still didn't look at her, and his jaw was as gritted as ever, ''And I'd love to take you, but not even my mother is allowed to come today, so if you don't mind—''

''I do mind,'' Isla reached for his hands, and she settled them back around her. She inched herself closer, ''What's wrong?''

There was a slight moment of silence where she took her hand to his chin, and she tried to aim his face to level hers. He didn't follow.

Theodore yanked his head away, and he used his grip on her waist to lift her off of him. Standing up himself, he folded the newspaper back together, and he pushed his chair back against the table.

''Theo, what's wrong?''

He didn't answer. He completely ignored her question. Instead, he took his coffee mug to the sink, and he wiped the countertop clean.

Isla began to panic. She didn't like this at all. She hated when he shut her out. Not realizing she was the one who did it first.

''Theo—''

''I'll be back later tonight. I have to help my mother with something in London when I'm done at the hospital.'' He still refused to look at her, and he moved towards the doorway with a hand combing through his messy curls, ''I think Malfoy is here the whole day, and when Leo wakes up, you can—''

''Can you stop?'' Isla marched towards him, and she slipped between him and the doorway to stop him from leaving, ''What happened, Theo? Why won't you talk to me—''

''Talk to you?'' He snapped, finally looking down at her as she blocked his way.

''Yes,'' Folding her arms over her chest, she stood her ground in front of him, ''Why won't you talk to me? I don't understand what just happened? One second we're fine, and the next I can't be close to you—''

''Isla, you barely let me touch you anymore.'' He cut her short, and he watched the confusion bloom on her face, ''I can't even speak to you like I used to without it getting strange and awkward.''

She blinked quickly, and she felt the exact same drop in her chest that he'd done. It ached throughout her. It had her eyes pinched shut and her breaths shallow.

''Theo, I—''

''I have to go,'' He muttered, and he looked away again, ''I'll be back tonight.''

''No—'' Isla reached for his hand, and she snatched it, ''Don't, please. Don't go like this. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I did something to upset you. I didn't mean—''

''Isla,'' He untangled their fingers, and he took his hand to the back of her head. Pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, he whispered, ''I'll see you tonight.''

She stopped.

Isla let her body cave into his. He held her close for an aching minute until he let go, and he stormed off without another word.

She hated this.

Isla hated this more than anything else. She hated when she failed to communicate with Theodore. She hated when they didn't speak to each other. She hated that she'd acted wrong, and he blamed it on himself.

In ways, she knew what he meant as he left her on that threshold, balancing not only herself, but her heart and mind.

She had been acting differently. She didn't let him touch her in an intimate way anymore. Not because she didn't want to, oh how she wanted his hands on her body and his lips pressed to hers.

There wasn't anything she longed for as much as she longed for his body to praise hers. She missed having him that way. She missed everything about them when they loved each other a bit more, tangled and twined in his sheets.

Shaking her head, she felt tears burn in the brim of her eyes.

Isla missed him so much. She missed everything they used to be, and she hated herself for ruining it.

She didn't just miss the intimate parts, but the way they used to have fun with each other, how they could joke and laugh and be immature around another.

Feeling as if she'd ruined it, feeling as if she'd ruined them, she inhaled shakily.

She just didn't dare to.

It was so hard for her, trying to act normal around him when she knew his secret, when she knew what he'd gone through, and when she didn't know how to help him. All she did was worry, constantly, and she didn't even realize that she'd been pushing him away.

Isla wanted to do something for him, something to show him that he was still so much more than his disease to her because she knew that was his gravest fear — that she would see him as the curse that flooded through his veins.

He'd told her that. Theodore had told her how terrified he was of becoming nothing more than his illness to her, that she would forget him in all the worrying for how he was doing. Everyone else did, and Isla was the last person he expected to do so.

She didn't even notice it.

She hated herself as she stood there with tears rolling down her skin, huffing silently to herself at how stupid she felt.

He'd been through enough. He didn't need her to add to it.

Combing her fingers through her hair, she sighed at the look of the kitchen in front of her, and she let her gaze drag across it, all the way to the window and the trees standing outside it.

Isla straightened her spine, and she squinted at the nature outside.

It had her thinking.

It had her thinking so hard that a slight smile formed on her lips, and she wiped her streaming tears away.

Isla turned around with something less breaking inside her, and she marched upstairs.

_____

''Morning,'' Isla smiled cheekily as she stopped in the doorway to Theo's bedroom, ''What are you doing?''

Draco dropped his book down to his bare chest as he gave her a suspicious glare, ''No,'' He said sternly before picking the book back up.

''No?'' Isla frowned to herself, ''What do you mean no? I was just asking—''

''Whatever you're about to ask me, the answer is no,'' Draco muttered harshly from behind his book, not even looking at her as she sighed heavily from the entrance of the room.

Isla rolled her eyes, and she walked into the bedroom, flopping down at the edge of the mattress, ''You don't even know that I was going to ask you for something.''

''For starters,'' Draco turned a page in his novel, ''You never ask what I'm doing. Usually, you just barge in, and you take whatever I'm holding, and you replace it with yourself.''

''I don't do that,'' Isla mumbled, twisting her upper body a bit.

''Yes, you do,'' He turned another page, ''So you coming in here and asking what I'm doing is a bit suspicious if you ask me.''

''Fine,'' Isla stood back up, and she marched to the closet where her clothes were hanging.

Draco rose a brow, looking after her as she aggressively changed into a dress, ''Clarke, where the hell are you—''

''Well, you're not planning to come, so I don't have to tell you,'' Isla had so much frustration looping through her vocals that it caused a grin to grow on Malfoy's lips, ''I'm going out. I'll see you later—''

''No, you're not going anywhere,'' Draco snapped his fingers, and the door slammed shut in her face, ''You're not leaving this room until you tell me where you're going.''

Isla tried to yank at the handle, but he had bored it shut with his magic. Throwing her head back, she groaned loudly to herself.

''You're acting like a spoiled child,'' He braced himself up on his elbows, ''Where the hell do you have to be anyway? I thought you were waiting for that friend of yours to wake up.''

''He has a name,'' Isla spun around to face him with an annoyed grimace, ''And he won't be up for hours, which you'd know if you actually paid some attention to anyone but yourself.''

Malfoy rolled his tongue over his bottom lip, and he smirked at her, ''I pay a hell of a lot more attention to you than I do to myself. So much that there's no more attention to be paid to anyone else.''

She let her sight wander, and it stuck to his bare, flexing chest. Her eyes rolled again, ''You don't have to do that.''

''Do what?''

She pointed her finger at his outlined muscles, ''You don't have to try and look like that.''

Draco grinned, biting his lower lip as he dragged a hand through his blond strands before he fell flat down onto the bed again, ''This is nothing I have to do, Clarke. I look this handsome without trying.''

''Oh, you're so full of yourself,'' She impatiently stamped her foot to the floor, ''Can you open the door now, please.''

''Please?'' Draco mimicked her with something smug sweeping over his face, ''That's a fucking first.''

''Can you just—'' Isla glared at him now, ''Can you come with me, or open the door? I don't care which one, just—''

''You're in an awful mood today, aren't you? Did Nott turn you down this morning—''

Isla's face fell, and she looked away quickly.

He hit a nerve, something she didn't want him to reach, not when it came to Theodore, not when she couldn't tell Draco what Theodore had gone through.

He noticed.

Draco always noticed.

She loved him so much for noticing.

''Clarke—''

''Just open the door—''

''Shut the fuck up,'' Draco pushed himself off the bed, and he used long strands up to her.

He didn't stop until he held her shaking jaws in the palms of his hands, ''I don't understand you two right now. I don't know what the hell is happening between you. I don't get it, Clarke. One day we're all okay, and the next, you can't even hear his name without wanting to cry. If you don't tell me, I have to look—''

''No!'' Isla pushed her palms against his chest, and she shoved him away, ''I swear, Draco. I swear that if you look, I will never speak to you again. You promised. You promised me that you wouldn't—''

His jaw fixed sharply, and he turned his face away from her, ''I don't understand,'' His voice slithered deeper, dropping in notes for each word, ''Did he hurt you, Clarke? Is that it? Did he do something to hurt you? I don't care if you love him, and I don't bother for the fact that he's my best friend because if he hurt you, I will kill him.''

She shook her head, her hands snuck up to cup her face, and it became overwhelming again. The idea of Draco even thinking that Theo had caused her pain made her feel sick, nauseous. If she only was allowed to tell him the truth.

Isla drew a breath, dropping her hands from her face, and she tried to gather herself, ''He didn't hurt me. Theo would rather hurt himself than cause me any pain—''

''Then what the hell is going on?'' Draco narrowed ice into her, pinning her down with his penetrating stare, ''What the fuck is happening, Clarke? You don't tell me, and you threaten me when I say that I want to see it for myself—''

He was growing upset. She could see it on the way his jaw tensed, and his veins popped from his neck.

''I want to know if he hurt you, Clarke. I want to know if he did anything—''

''Listen to me,'' Isla's voice softened at the spiraling volume in his, but he still looked away, ''Draco, listen to me, please.''

He pushed his lips tight, looking down at her as she came closer again. Her hands found his bare chest, and she ran her fingers across his muscles.

''He didn't hurt me, Draco.'' She spoke gently, yet her voice was filled with force. Isla needed him to understand, to grasp what she was saying without actually speaking it, ''He would never hurt me, and I think you know that. This has... it has nothing to do with him in that way. It's me, and I'm...''

His tightened jaw slightly loosened as she spoke. His eyes flickered all across her.

''I know that you care and that you're worried, and I... I can't explain how much that means to me that you care, Draco. It means the world to me, but you need to trust me with this, alright? You need to trust me, and you need to let this go. Can you do that for me?''

''I don't like this.'' Draco gave a pained grimace, then his face softened, ''I don't like seeing you like this. I don't like when you're hurting. It's hurting me too.''

Her fingers brushed over his jaw, down to the base of his neck, ''You make it better,'' She forced a bitter smile, ''I know you don't believe me when I say it, but you make it all so much better, Draco.''

His hand moved to the back of her head, and he pulled her in. He didn't stop until her face was buried against his chest, kissing the top of her head, ''You are beautiful, Clarke, and it breaks me when you're sad.''

''You're handsome,'' She whispered, stroking her fingers over his bare spine.

Draco dragged a hand through her hair, twining his fingers into the strands of it, and he angled her head back, ''I don't like this. I don't like the idea of you keeping things from me.''

''I can't tell you, Draco. It's not my place to tell.'' She started into something that felt like his soul, ''When he's ready, he'll tell you.''

''You think so?''

''I know so.''

He nodded slowly before he dipped down, and he caught her quivering lips in a soft kiss. Isla melted right into it, her hands splayed out over his chest, and she let him hold her.

Their movements turned harder. Their kisses shifted wet, hot, wild.

''Sweet girl...'' He groaned, pulling away, ''You can't kiss me like that right now. I can't control myself around you.''

A chuckle fled her throat, and she nodded towards his clothes resting on the armchair in the corner of the room, ''Will you join me then?''

His eyes rolled, and he clicked his tongue at her as she smiled sweetly, ''The fucking chokehold you have me in is getting a bit old.''

Isla stretched up on her toes again, and she placed a gentle kiss in his mouth, ''But you love it, don't you?''

I love you. I love you. I love you.

That was all he wished to say as his lips parted, but he pushed them to shut just as fast.

''I sure love something,'' He grumbled, turning away from her to get dressed.

Isla scowled at him as his spine faced her, ''What?''

''Nothing,'' He sighed, shaking his head at himself, ''Let's just go do whatever you want to do, so we can get back here and pay some needed attention to your very attention-seeking friend.''

_____

Isla apparated them to a place she'd read about in a newspaper over a year ago, not knowing if it was still in business.

It was a miracle that she even remembered it. She didn't pay attention to it at all. She didn't think she had to, and she never believed it could come in handy as it'd done now.

Draco groaned as she kept their fingers tangled, and she led him towards what looked to be some sort of shelter. He complained and cursed to himself at the smell of it, how it stank, how filthy it looked.

''What the hell is this muggle place?'' Draco scrunched his nose, watching Isla grab the handle of the door, ''I enjoy sleeping with you, Clarke. It's nice, and all that, but I never signed up for being dragged into shit like this—''

''Oh, shut it.'' Isla rolled her eyes, and she leaned forward to grip him by his arm, ''I didn't sign up to be assigned to a big baby either.''

Draco's lips parted, ''A big baby? What the fuck—''

She let out something that sounded like a peel of amused laughter.

''You speak a lot for someone who climbs trees and uses whipped cream in bed.''

Isla stopped, freezing in her movements just to look at him. Shock splayed out on her face as he began chuckling at her.

''Idiot,'' She shoved him back, creating distance between them to open the door they were standing outside of, ''Do I have to use whipped cream with you too for you to let this go?''

A smirk tugged in the corners of his mouth, and he placed his hand on the handle, opening it for her to enter, ''Don't give me any ideas, Clarke.''

She gave her eyes a spin, rolling them annoyingly at him as they walked through the darkened hallway.

It didn't take long until they reached a desk, with a man seated behind it. Isla unhesitatingly strode up to it, settling her hands on the wood to gain the man's attention.

''What—oh?'' The man blinked at the girl standing in front of him. He dragged a lazy hand through his long hair, ''And what can I do for you, miss?''

Draco hollowed his cheek, rolling his tongue on the inside of it at the way that man was staring Isla down.

It bothered him, and he stepped up behind her, nearly slamming his fist onto the desk with his chest pressed against her spine.

The man's sight flickered nervously, and he looked down at the books in front of him.

A shudder stabbed its way down Isla's back at how protective Draco was, but she was quick to shrug it off.

''Looking to adopt?'' He asked, fiddling with the folds of papers on his desk.

''Yes,'' Isla nodded, and she could feel how Draco tensed behind her. He didn't pay any attention to what the man said, but the way he was constantly looking up at Isla. His free hand gripped her waist, ''If you're still in business, of course.''

''We are,'' He gestured a hand towards the door to his left, ''In there. Feel free to look around and let me know if you find something that suits you.''

Isla gave a polite smile before she pushed her way past Draco, and she marched towards the door instead.

Malfoy stayed put for a minute, staring the man down.

''Draco,'' Isla snapped her fingers at him, standing in the doorway. Her feet balanced on the threshold, ''Are you coming?''

His jaw fixed sharply until he finally looked away from the man, and he pierced his stare onto his girl instead. Shoving his hands down his pockets, he followed her down the corridor, and he frowned at the sounds coming from the end of it.

''Clarke, what the fuck is this place?'' He asked, bothered.

Isla peered over her shoulder, looking up at him with a sweet smile, ''You'll see.''

Oh, Draco saw.

His eyes widened, and he stopped altogether as he did.

Staring, gawking, squinting at what he was looking at, his hand found her shoulder, and he yanked her back against him, ''Dogs?'' His voice was low over her ear, ''What the hell—''

''Yes,'' Isla spoke with confidence, not caring about the fact that he sounded more than displeased, ''Dogs, or... more like I'm getting one.''

''You're—'' Shaking his head, he felt how she slipped out of his grip, and she strolled around the cages, ''You're getting what now?''

Isla kneeled next to a cage, her head snapped to look up at the blond boy as he stood frozen and startled at the beginning of the room, ''I'm getting us a dog.''

''We're not getting a dog,'' Draco looked back at her with a frown, something disturbing smeared to his face, ''Are you out of your damn mind? A dog? Clarke? It's like getting a fucking child.''

Isla stood up again, and she stepped over to the next cage. Her spine faced him, ''A dog isn't a child.''

''Might as well be,'' He muttered, watching as she poked her hand in through the bars, ''I don't want a fucking dog, and neither do you. It's like getting a child, Clarke. I don't want it.''

''You don't want children?'' She peered over her shoulder with a nervous smile, standing tall on her feet again, ''I mean — we never talked about it, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's not my business.''

Draco's jaw tightened, and before she could even comprehend what he was doing, his hands wrapped around her waist, and his mouth was pushed against the back of her head. ''The only children I want to have is ours, so that is as much your business as it is mine.''

Her eyes pinched shut, and her fingers gripped the metal bars in front of her, ''You don't seem like someone who would want children if you don't want a dog.''

Draco groaned silently against the back of her head at her lack of understanding, ''I come inside you every time we fuck, Clarke. I don't know what you thought that meant?''

Scowling, she spun around in his arms, and she draped her own over his shoulders, ''But you always take it away?''

''Because you're young.'' He looked down at her, ''The world hasn't seen enough of you yet. Not that a child would stop you from ruling it, but because I think you need to find yourself in it first. I thought you wanted me to take it away since you complained about it the first time we slept together.''

Isla smiled, and her heart ached at what he was saying. The way Draco remembered details, every last one has her pulse stressed.

She loved that about him.

''If you want me to stop taking it away, I will. I don't mind the idea of you carrying my child, Clarke.'' He raised a brow at how her cheeks were burning, ''Perhaps you'll stop jumping off things when you're pregnant.''

''I don't mind the idea of carrying your children either, but... I want a dog,'' She pressed a kiss onto his mouth before she pointed her finger at one of the cages, ''I want that one.''

Draco followed the gesture her arm made, and he stared down at that fluffy little ball with a tale. His face uncomfortably twisted into disgust.

Isla threaded herself out of his arms until she sunk down on her knees in front of that cage, ''Look at him, he's so tiny, and he looks so scared, Draco.''

Clicking his tongue, he threw his head back, ''No. We're not getting a dog.''

She shot the door a swift look, making sure that the man wasn't coming in anytime soon before she reached for the hinge of the cage, and she flipped it open.

Draco sighed as she took that fluffy little thing in her arms, and she walked towards him.

''No,'' He shook his head, ''That's not going to work, Clarke. It will leave things on my jacket, no—''

Isla ignored his every word, and she pushed that little heart against him, making him fold his arms around it and stare at it with so much fright in his eyes, ''Clarke, take it away from me.''

''I want to name him Golden.'' She said with a proud face.

Malfoy frowned, ''Golden? You can't name a dog Golden—''

Warmth flushed inside her, but she didn't tell him why. She didn't defend the name she had decided for when it came to that little heart.

It was Isaac.

Isaac was golden. Theodore described Isaac as golden. She wanted the next little heart in Theo's life to be just as golden as he was.

''I can, and I am going to.''

Draco stretched his arms out, holding the puppy in his grip as it licked the spine of his hand, ''Clarke, what the hell is it doing? Take it away, I don't—''

She looked at them. She looked at them with something so sad and happy coursing through her soul at the same time, something pained and beautiful.

Isla felt sorrow as it took over, a lingering feeling of how both her and Draco would've adored Isaac as much as Theo did, how they all could've been the perfect little family.

Isla liked the idea of that, no — she loved it.

She loved the idea of them being a family.

''Clarke, I said take it—''

''Home?''

His face fell into annoyance, and he glared at her, ''Not home, take it away from me.''

She didn't. Instead, Isla snuck up behind him, and she stretched up on her toes to place her chin on his shoulder, ''He's adorable, isn't he?''

Draco swallowed thickly, and he glowered at that little heart instead. The fluffy ears nearly hung over his eyes. His nose was round and indeed adorable. He was warm, so warm, and so calm to be in the hands of someone new.

Something hard inside him softened. He hated that it did.

''All of these... dogs,'' Draco cleared his throat, and he spun around to face Isla, ''Are they just here? What happens to them if no one picks them up?''

Isla gave the sign on the wall a glance, and so did Draco.

His insides twisted.

''Put down?'' He mumbled, and without thinking about it, he'd brought that little puppy in his arms so close to his chest, ''No, that's fucking unfair—''

''I thought you didn't like dogs?'' Isla's fingers tangled into the edges of her dress.

''I don't,'' He tightened his grip on the dog who would become his whole world, he just didn't know it yet.

He stared down at it, ''But that doesn't mean I'm a fucking monster who wants them to die.''

She stayed quiet, and her eyes dragged to the ground.

''Clarke,'' Draco spoke up, his hands held the dog in his arms secure, ''Why are we getting a dog?''

Isla stamped her foot a bit, and she sighed, ''It's for Theodore,'' She whispered, and she held herself from spilling too much, ''He's... He's been so kind to us, Draco, and I know it's crazy that I want to get him a dog, but I... I want to do something for him.''

''So... we're doing this for Nott?'' He asked, and that softening feeling in his heart turned to absolute mush. It poured through his veins, and it filled him with so much warmth that a smile was near to ghost over his lips.

A shy nod tipped her head, and his heart missed a complete beat.

''I would ask what he did to deserve you,'' Draco looked right at her, ''But you are exactly everything he deserves, and more.''

Isla stumbled forward. She slaved her arms around his neck, and she brought him down for her forehead to press against his.

''So are you,'' She whispered, her mouth barely moved as she spoke, ''You are everything he deserves, and more than I could ever wish for.''

He breathed her in, feeling the tiny ball of fluff nestle up between them.

He didn't like this.

Draco didn't like this at all, but he loved her, and he loved that she loved his best friend. There wasn't a thing he wouldn't do for them, not a thing he wouldn't do if she asked him to.

''Well...'' Draco managed to withdraw, his sight flickered between Isla and that little heart in his arms, their little heart, all three of theirs, ''I guess we're getting a fucking dog then.''

_____