This fanfic was made to celebrate the birthday of my dear friend Christina aka InnocentLittleDarkAngel which is TO-DAY. I hope you like the story, Christina. Inspiration came from this sweet destiel story I read called Now and Forever Always.

Our Little Darling

Instinct, or a becoming one, was the only explanation Harry could think of as to why he awoke in the middle of the night by a dream he was forgetting more and more of with each passing second, unable to go back to sleep. A strange instinct that caused him to untangle from his sleeping husband's arms, swing his legs over the bed, and reach for his discarded navy-blue bedrobe lying on the floor. A strange instinct that pulled him up on his feet, quietly slipping out of his warm room and walking down to the hall to another room.

A room he often visited whenever he wasn't quite ready to go back to sleep just yet, promoted by the occasional grim memories that twisted his dreams, a sudden bout of nausea that rocked his stomach like a tidal wave, or a gentle-sometimes even hard-nudging in his lower abdomen that reminded him this wasn't a dream. It was actually real.

His breath never failed to come out in a hushed gasp each time he entered the nursery, its pale yellow walls bringing a sense of brightness to the room even in the late hour. He remembered how long it had taken them to finally settle on a color. Since they both wanted the sex of the baby to be a surprise, they wanted a good neutral color scheme. Harry thought a nice mint-green and chocolate-brown were good colors to play with. Draco said they might as well fill the room with sweets since that'd be all the baby would think about living in such a room. He thought ice-blue and silver were the colors of a royal, saying they were the same color scheme used for his own nursery.

He didn't take too kindly to Harry eyeing him carefully, joking that those colors might have lead to his royal pratness attitude.

Yellow was a color Hermione actually suggested that they both thought was good, a pale shade of yellow like the earliest rays of the sun as it rose in the morning.

The room was as big as a master room and it was only to house the child for a year or so. Draco already showed him the suite their son or daughter live in once they were grown up. The floor was covered with a soft white carpet that made Harry feel like he was walking on a cloud as he crept into the room. In the center of the room was a dark chestnut crib with the softest foam mattress, light blue and white Egyptian-cotton sheets and blankets, piled with pillows and a small collection of toys. Hanging over the crib was a constellation of stars that played soft music as the stars spun around and around. By the left side of the room was the changing station already stocked with a good year's worth supply of diapers, baby wipes, and other things they would need. On the right side were shelves and shelves of toys, consisting mostly of different types of stuffed animals from bears, bunnies, even a few lions and dragons. Next to the crib was a rocking chair made from the same material but was smooth as butter, comfortable to sit in.

A good thing, too, since that was already a place Harry knew he'd already be spending most of his time as soon as the baby was born.

In less than a month, Harry thought as he sat down in the chair and ran his hands over his stomach that used to be toned and flat with muscle but was now plump to accommodate the little baby growing inside of him.

His baby. Harry still had trouble grasping the words. His baby. His child.

He had always known he wanted to have a big family of his own ever since he was little and he'd go to the park seeing families smile and laugh, showering each other with great affection he never received at home, wishing he could be a part of it. He knew he wanted to be a daddy when one of the mothers from the park allowed him to hold her baby, a fussy toddler that stilled as soon as she was placed in Harry's arms, nuzzling against his chest and smiling up at him.

Now years, he wasn't only gaining the family he always wanted but was carrying part of it inside him. To his complete shock. Harry may have become used to the wonders of the wizarding world, but his mind still functioned from what he learned in the Muggle-world where there were two ways same-sex couples gained children: adoption or via surrogate. Or sperm-donor for the women. In the wizarding world, though, men could just as easily conceive as women with the help of a potion. Or being mated to a handsy, half-Veela whose magical gene made it possible for his mate to be impregnated, regardless of gender.

Harry never forgot the smirk that glowed with pure triumph splashing onto Draco's face as the Healer delivered the news to them. The smirk quickly got knocked off as Harry dug his elbow deep into the prat's side.

Sadly Veela inheritance and magic didn't spare the carrier from the brutal but inevitable pregnancy side-effects: the rapid emotions that switched in a blink of an eye. One moment Harry could be fine, wondering how lucky he was to have a mate like Draco. The next he'd be fuming, eyes pooling with tears, as he walked away from his husband and his insensitive mouth that went perfectly well with his careless tongue. Severe cravings for crazy food-combinations that on sight could make a person gag but Harry happily ate by the pound. Intense nausea that didn't strike only in the morning, but practically every hour of the day, often sending Harry to the bathroom where he emptied the contents of his stomach.

Despite it all, the need for bizarre food, the endless trips to the bathroom, the aches that had him cursing Draco to the deepest pits of hell, it was all worth it. It would all be worth it. In only seventeen days, he smiled, running his hands over his bulging stomach, feeling the baby respond with a nudge of their feet.

Draco would spoil their child rotten, Merlin help him. Then again, Harry couldn't play innocent and pretend that he wouldn't do the same.

I'll make sure you're loved. Harry pressed his index fingers against his lips and placed them on his stomach, stroking it gently. Every minute of every day, I'll make sure you know you're so loved.

Harry felt his presence before he heard his voice, a low whisper cutting through the silence. "I thought I'd find you here."

Harry could feel those thin lips curving into Draco's infamous smirk that was sometimes infuriating, most times endearing. He averted his gaze to the door. Draco leaned against the door frame, his gaze soft, smirk hanging off his lips. "I was just thinking."

"Thinking." Draco drawled. Harry nodded. Draco's smirk widened. "Which lead you to the baby's nursery?"

Without an ounce of embarrassment or a moment of hesitation, Harry nodded.

Draco nodded and stepped into the room. "Seems that you've been doing that a lot lately." An observation, not a question. "I'm not sure whether or not I should be touched or suspicious?"

"Why suspicious?" Harry asked.

Draco dropped to his knees as he approached Harry and ran his hands over his baby bump. "Because our child isn't even born yet and already has most of your attention."

Harry rolled his eyes halfheartedly.

"And while that is endearing, don't get me wrong," Draco continued. "A Harry-deprived husband can't help feeling a bit envious."

"A bit?" Harry teased.

Draco didn't even bother to deny it. "We purebloods can get easily jealous. Add that to the Veela genes and that jealously increases tenfold." Oh boy did Harry know that, witnessing the moment more than once, sympathizing with the unfortunate victim Draco was sure that was eyeing him inappropriately. Before he could remind him, Harry's breath came out in a hiss as one of Draco's hands drifted down from his stomach, caressing a spot that became more alert and tight with each teasing stroke. "And you know, sweet husband of mine, how particularly possessive I can be."

He leaned over and locked their lips together in an achingly-slow, deep kiss that promised to remind Harry of his possessiveness as soon as they were back in their room. Harry leaned in, wanting more until a strong kick caused him to break the lip-lock.

Chuckling as he looked down at the baby bump, caressing it to ease the kicking. "Seems that you're not the only jealous one."

"Well, the child is a Malfoy." Draco reminded.

"And a Potter," Harry emphasized. "Meaning they won't have an inflatable ego like someone people I know." He glared pointedly at him.

His husband returned the look with an innocent smile. Harry rolled his eyes, and strong kicking directed his attention back to his bump.

He imagined their baby curled up into a ball, a soft smile curling their lips as they listened to their Daddy and Papa talk, its excited kicking sighs of their laughter. "I bet our little prince or princess is going to be beautiful."

"Of course they will." Draco said. "With us as their parents, it's only inevitable."

"Our gorgeous, little angel," Harry mused. "With soft white-blonde hair and dove-gray eyes."

A breath of laughter escaped from Draco's lips before he placed a soft kiss on Harry's lips, then another to Harry's plump stomach, stroking it with his hands. "I was thinking more along the lines of a sweet, little raven. With ink-black hair and emerald-green eyes."

"That'd be nice too."

Draco hummed happily, laying his head carefully on the bump, closing his eyes, as if he was listening to the baby's heartbeat through layers of tissue and skin. "I do know one thing, though."

"Oh?" Harry combed his fingers through Draco's soft hair that was smooth as a baby's. He hoped their child would be blessed with that type of hair instead of Harry's untamable locks. "What's that?"

"Over my dead body will I allow our child, if it is a boy, to be named Albus."

Harry rolled his eyes. It was another argument the two have been having for months, more heated than the room decorum, going back and forth between Harry liking and Draco flat-out refusing, getting zero results. "Do I need to remind you that I'm the one carrying our child?"

"Yes and I greatly appreciate it, love," Draco kissed him softly. "And greatly adore you for it." Another kiss, this time to his collarbone. His lips lingered at a sensitive spot that had Harry almost purring, closing his eyes and tilting back his head to grant Draco more access. "But the fact remains. I'll sooner burn my entire wardrobe and replace them with those offending garments Muggle try to pass as clothing before allowing our child to be attached to such a horrible name."

Merlin help me, Harry thought with another eye-roll. That our child doesn't inherit their Papa's smart mouth.