(n.) a vision seen in sleep;
a dream

THE MORTAL LIVED IN A LITTLE HOUSE, not too far off from the beach.

    The inside was warm and cozy, the setting sun bathing the room in a hazy, orange essence as the two of them made their way into the house. The sea-soaked Icarus sat at the table, hugging himself to keep warm, teeth chattering as the cooling droplets of water nipped at his skin on the way down. The mortal went to his room to look for clothes, coming out with a loose shirt and pants.

     The house was quiet, save for the occasional rustling as the Icarus pulled the clothing onto him in the next room over. He soon came back out while the mortal was preparing tea. He sat down timidly, taking a look around his surroundings. Funny how he had only been for merely half an hour and he has never felt more at home. Everything felt. . .comfortable, like nothing was going to hurt or bite him.

    A small mug of tea was set down in front of the Icarus before the mortal made his way to sit at the table. The Icarus took a sip. Lavender and chamomile. Swallowing, he asked, "Why are you being so kind to me?"

    The mortal raised a curious eyebrow at the inquiry. "What do you mean?"

    "You pulled me out of the ocean when you could've let me drown. But you didn't. Why? You don't know me, I could be a terrible person for all you know."

     The mortal looked at him with kind eyes, and simply answered with, "Because everyone deserves a second chance. Even you."

When he was finally satisfied with his writing, Louis brought himself back to bed and went to sleep. There, he began to dream.

He found himself in a room of sorts, antique furniture surrounded him, and he figured he was in an inn. That was until a head of platinum blond hair made its way into the corner of Louis's view. Even in sleep, he's managed to haunt every corner of his mind. 

"What are you doing here?" Louis asked, turning to fully face Draco.

"I could be asking you the same thing," Draco returned, "this is my home after all."

Louis took another look around where he was. He's never truly seen the interior of the Malfoy Manor (or has ever really seen it in general, if he were to be honest). Everything looked as though it hadn't been touched in ages, and yet not a speck of dust had stuck itself to the chairs or the couches. "Not exactly how I imagined the grand Malfoy Manor."

That comment threw Draco for a loop. "You've thought about what my house looked like before?"

Louis shrugged in nonchalance, still looking around. "I mean, I don't think I would ever find myself stepping foot into it, but I figured it would look nice. As it turns out, I was right."

There was a twinge of a smile breaching Draco's face at the response. "But what are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"You tell me."

Draco took a calm step forward, walking slowly until he was encroaching on Louis's personal space. It was a starry night and there was moonlight dazzling through the high windows. The house was empty save for a bedroom a little ways away, soon to be occupied by two young men. There was no staring contest going on, they were just simply withholding eye contact.

    "You've gotten really good at this," Louis commented, smiling softly. It took a bit, only because he was fighting it, but Draco was smiling, as well.

    "Shut up," Draco muttered, no bite to his tone but wondering how he managed to get himself roped into this. Louis leaned in, getting closer. It wasn't the first time they've done this, however, it was the first time they've done it in a more intimate location. Louis didn't know how it came to be, it just did. They'd sit and stare at the other until it either got uncomfortable or the air between and around them changed. It passed the point of discomfort when Louis laid a soft hand on Draco's face so now there was something heady going on between them, the air having changed.

     Draco nodded, his shaking hands making their way into hair and lingering under shirts as lips met in the middle before making their way down the neck and going back up to find itself where the jaw and the ear meet and nibbling at it, just the way he liked it. He was overwhelmed in the best way. "I want you."

    Louis woke up with a start.

With his luck, Louis ended up getting another letter from Draco later on in the day, almost as if he knew about the dream. After ripping open the envelope, he scanned the text, slowing down when he got to the part about Draco wanting to see him in person (at the Leaky Cauldron pub and inn, of all places). Unwillingly, his vision got fuzzy around the edges and he tried to keep from letting the sheet of parchment fall from his hands as he brought himself back to reality. He read that part once more, making sure that what he had read was real, and not some leftover of his imagination from the night before.

    Now that he's managed to read the entire letter, the fact began to sink in that Draco had asked to see him. After all this time being separated, it seemed that the two of them could feel the strong sense of yearning coming from the other. Even with everything that had happened that wretched night atop of the Astronomy Tower, the love was still there. The heartbeat, although quiet and murmuring, was still alive. It cinched Louis's breathing for a bit when the thought made its way to his head as he mulled over his decision. He knew on the one hand that it could change his life for the worse, meeting him out there like this. But he was also still very much lovesick, unfortunately—the lack of sleep and of food were more than enough to prove his point.

    He thought it best to go.

The night was warm as Louis made his way through the bustling crowd. It seemed odd, seeing people go about their lives as though there wasn't a war beginning to brew on the horizon. It made Louis re-think his decision for a little bit, seeing as he was one of those people making his way to the Leaky Cauldron. But he went about his trek, his heart thundering in his ears with every step. 

The sign and door were in Louis's line of sight at this point and he felt a small twinge of need to turn back but all of that melted away when he spotted a hint of platinum blond hair through the crowd. Draco was waiting for him. And now that it was all actually happening, Louis could feel his airway starting to tighten up, constricting his breathing as it all began to settle in. It was true that the two had been apart a shorter time than they've been together, however, the time away was just as—if not more—gut-wrenching as the breakup.

When Draco came into Louis's view, the world seemed to have stopped for one, crucial moment. Breath was lost as the two looked on at the other, lost in what was now their own little world. The surging want to hit the ground running and scoop Draco into his arms overtook Louis, leaving him stuck in his place as he fought off the impending rush. Slowly, he walked over to the entrance, hands clammy and stuck to his sides as he made his way over. There was something in the way Draco looked as Louis got closer to him—he looked tired, a little more worse for wear than usual. And Louis could say the same about himself, the sleepless nights and insufferable mornings have gotten the best of both of them.

Draco, on the other hand, was quick to get up as soon as he saw that halo of cinnamon hair come into his peripheral, heart palpitating at an extremely concerning rate as he saw him again. His own little moon, he remembered. He was quick to take Louis into a bone-crushing hug and bury his nose into his shoulder. In this moment, he didn't care how desperate he looked, practically squeezing the life out of him but he was here, and he was real, and he wasn't just words on a sheet of parchment. When Draco finally let go, tears welled into his eyes as he really got with the actual realization that Louis was here and he didn't have to rely on his imagination anymore.

"You're here," Draco said, voice already thick with emotion, "you came."

"I thought about it, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to go. I've missed you, by the way. I've missed you a lot, actually." Louis lightly took Draco's hand into his, fiddling with fingers and swiftly kissing the tips, catching Draco by surprise from the loving act. Slowly, he pulled Draco towards him, leaning in until Draco interrupted him.

"I have a room here," Draco mentioned, coughing awkwardly, "we can talk there."

"Are you not staying at home?" Louis asked, raising his eyebrows slightly in curiosity as he pulled back, not entirely hurt by being stopped.

    Draco shrugged in response. "I can't really deal with everyhting that was going on over there. And even then, I just felt so alone without you."

    Louis couldn't help but soften at the sentiment as he let out a breath. "Oh. Feel free to lead the way, then."

    The two of them walked into the pub and inn, and Draco led them to his room. It almost resembled the one in Louis's dream, however much less antique-y and rather dusty. There sat a full-sized bed with a nightstand to its left (with a book atop of it), and Louis recognized the trunk that was open on the side of Draco's bed, already ravaged through as though Draco must have been looking for something.

    "It's no five-star hotel, but it'll do," Draco spoke up in a joking tone, taking in how in awe Louis was from just observing his surroundings.

    "I think it to be charming," Louis said, "it's quite quaint in a quiet library sort of way."

    "Try saying that five times fast."

    "Oh, so you do have a sense of humor. I was afraid I had been dating a statue the entire time."

    Draco gave Louis a light push, teetering him, laughing all the while. "Oh, shove off, Nox." However, Louis was quick to tug at Draco's wrist and pull him into his embrace, using his other hand to cup the side of his face and draw him into a kiss. It was slow and tentative at best as they relearned the other, retracing lines they made and steps they took that had begun to fade out but still lingered, still intact. Louis had both hands on the sides of Draco's face now, and Draco was sure he'd melt into the floor if Louis weren't holding him; it was so uniquely tender it nearly drove him insane.

    "I've missed you," Louis reiterated after pulling away, resting his forehead against the blond's.

    "You said that already."

     "I meant it."

     Draco huffed out a laugh and attempted to pull a curly strand of hair behind Louis's hair but he came to the realization that Louis had gotten a haircut and it was now too short to do such a thing. "Always the romantic."

     "I figured that's why you fell for me."

    "Right." It came out as a hush as their lips met in the middle once more, this time with more fervor and a simmering need. Draco shoved Louis's coat off of his shoulders and they slowly made their way over to the bed, Louis doing his best not to crush Draco as they both fell onto the mattress, the squeak taking the two of them by surprise and they laughed it off before resuming. They lay there for a while, just kissing and drinking the other in, untucking shirts to feel the skin beneath. The touch was at first a tad cold before slowly melting into a warm heat as they kept themselves there.

    Louis found himself messing with the buttons on Draco's shirt and pulled away before he could continue. "Are you sure?" He eyed him, waiting for a concise answer. Then, Draco nodded.

    "I'm sure."

    With that, the shirt was slowly undone button by button, falling open and away as Louis pushed the fabric off his shoulders. "This is one of the times I wished I could draw." Louis pressed an open kiss to his shoulder before getting to the base of his neck at a wretchedly slow pace.

     "You'd draw me?" Now it was Draco's turn to be taken aback by the sentiment. He fumbled a button on Louis's shirt and Louis laid his hands atop of his, smiling that endearing smile he had whenever he was truly happy—Draco could now count up to three times he had seen that smile; two of them were directed at him and the thought made his heart tick up.

    "I mean, I write about you. A visual couldn't hurt, I suppose."

     "Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right." Draco tugged on Louis's shirt, his hands still under the brunet's. "Can I take this off?"

      With a single breath, Louis answered, "Yes." He then let go of Draco's hands and let him, and then pulled him in to kiss him when he was done. He felt around for the button and zipper on Draco's pants and again waited for an answer. With another "Yes," Louis pulled the sheet around them and turned off the light.

Author's Note.
i'm not gonna write smut involving minors so don't ask and definitely don't tell me you felt like you got robbed bc then i'll just block you (and i can actually do it this time !)

now that that's out of the way, yay new chapter !! trudged through this chapter bc the outline for this chapter was longggg and i wanted to get it all in so i didn't feel like i was ripping you guys off
but i got 2000+ words out of it so i'm def not complaining

ne way, tell me what you thought !! anything you liked, anything confusing i can help clear up, anything that made you want to throw your phone into a wall bc it was just Too Much™‬, tell me all of it !
and a big big thank you for reading <33