I can't believe that I was so excited to post last week that I totally forgot to name my beta. Like, how dare I? Anyway, this piece would not have been nearly as polished as it was if it weren't for NuclearNik and her killer beta skills. She and Frumpologist encouraged me all the way through my self-doubt, which there was a chunk of that to work through.

Thank you for reading! I know I said I would update Friday, but I am uploading a special chapter of The Best of Me that day and wanted to stagger my updates!

Potter doesn't touch him in the days that follow, and for what it's worth, Draco gives him space. Not that it means anything, he figures, since all they're doing is delaying the ache that's going to return whenever they reopen the wound. It's bad enough that Harry doesn't touch him—not even to reassure him as he seemed to do constantly when he noticed something was wrong.

He thinks it'd be easier if that's all it is, but every time they meet, Potter flinches at the sight of him at first.

It guts Draco.

At this point, all he can think about is knocking on her door—he knows where she lives, of course, and maybe he's already driven by a few times—and asking her just what in the bloody fuck is her problem.

It's probably him. Even if it doesn't make sense given the time they'd spent dancing, it's still the only thing that can be the piece they're missing.

Potter is certainly not the issue.

"I can't stop thinking about it." He stretches across the bed, and runs his fingers along Draco's bicep.

It's so unexpected, though fully welcomed, that Draco jumps. He lifts his gaze, finding that dark strands have fallen into his face as Harry shuffles closer to him. Moonlight cuts across the bed and he still slides even closer. "I know."

"I just don't understand." He slips against Draco, and Harry throws his leg over Draco's. "She won't reply to my messages. I've called and I've texted, but..." If anything is going to twist the knife a little deeper, it's being forced to see the way Harry's face crumbles. "I wouldn't be angry if she changed her mind."

Draco sincerely doubts that's happened, but there is the irritating fact that he doesn't know what happened that night in the manor. Granger had been there one moment, her body pressed to his as she slid off the sofa, and then she'd been gone. The moment has been running through his mind in double time ever since.

"I just don't want to lose her as my friend too." His voice hitches.

Swallowing, Draco drags a hand down his face. "It'd be my fault if you did." He can't say it hasn't crossed his mind as well.

Warmth spreads over his skin as Harry peppers kisses across his collarbone, calloused fingers running up the length of his forearms as he straddles Draco's waist. "I would never blame you."

It's what he hopes is true, but Draco can't shake the suspicion that it might change if Granger says that's exactly why. "You don't have to promise me anything."

Potter tugs at his joggers, and shifts to the side to shove them all the way down awkwardly as he climbs back into Draco's lap. "Maybe not, but I don't blame you." The words come in a laboured breath as he snakes his hands up Draco's sides, threading their fingers together, pushing them up until they knock against the headboard.

And it's all Draco can think; it's on the tip of his tongue as they press against one another.

I love you.

Things change after that night but only slightly, and it's nowhere near enough.

Harry doesn't flinch anymore, and he doesn't shy away from physical intimacy. But, Draco knows that something has undeniably shifted between them, and there is no going back. Suddenly, where there's always been an air of nonchalance—though apparently, that had been Draco's denial—their relationship locks together.

There's something missing, and while he hasn't spoken it out loud for fear Harry will shut down again, Draco knows something has to give. Either way, however, they need to confront the situation. It would be easier if Granger wasn't hiding.

Swallowing as he steps out of his car, Draco kicks the door shut. By the time Potter figures out where he's actually gone, he's likely to be furious, but Draco can't bring himself to feel guilty.

Either they're willing to split open, or they stay in this terrible fucking limbo until the tension ebbs, and that could take—

Suffice to say, Draco's not willing to wait.

He reminds himself of the way her body felt pressed to him while they danced in the middle of the night as he climbs the iron stairs leading up. Each step is slow, and he has more than enough time to change his mind, but he ignores those whispering thoughts.

When he knocks on the door, there are hurried footsteps on the other side and a muffled, "Hang on!" And when the door swings open, Draco shoves his foot forward so she can't slam the door in his face. "Fuck," falls from her lips and it sums up the situation so nicely it's comical.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Draco's voice climbs an octave, and a nosy neighbour cracks their window. "Potter might be willing to give you all the time in the world, but I assure you I am not going to do the same."

Red spreads across her cheeks and her hand slips down the door before eventually falling to her side. "Honestly, I'm more surprised it took you this long to show up." Granger's mutter isn't quiet enough to escape him, and she steps to the side. "If you're planning to yell, please come inside."

Her neighbour still hasn't stepped away.

"I don't want to yell at you."

She arches a brow as he steps over the threshold, and the door closes with a soft click as she flips the lock into place. "I find that hard to believe."

Her flat is sparsely decorated. In the corner, there's a stack of books because there's no room for them on the already overflowing shelves. Draco considers sitting down beside her when she sits on the sofa, but honestly, even now he can't help wanting to lean into her.

He perches on the edge of her coffee table instead and laces his fingers together as he rests his elbows on his knees. "Admittedly, I would have reacted badly had Potter not prevented me from coming here that same day."

"I wasn't here." Granger rolls her shoulder, and then stretches her head from side to side. She's nervous, and he's not sure what to make of it. "I, erm—I stayed with my parents that night. I assumed one or both of you would come here."

That bit of information only serves to increase his anger. "I expected you to do a lot of things—call him at the very least since he's your best friend—but hiding like a coward wasn't one of them."

She bristles at the accusation but doesn't deny it. How can she?

"I went back to grab my jacket," she says as she fidgets with a loose string of her jumper. "I saw the two of you and you were closer than I'd ever seen. It struck me then that involving myself could…"

His boot knocks against her foot. "Granger."

The utterance of her name spurs her on. "I don't want to come between the two of you. I could never forgive myself if I ruined what the two of you have."

His thoughts stop.

Draco's lips part and his mouth falls open as he stares at her. It's been fucking days. "You're—" He chokes. "Are you serious?"

"If you could manage not to laugh at this for just a minute, that would be great, Malfoy."

"You must be the daftest woman I've ever met." Draco's tongue slides along his lower lip, and he can't help the rasp that takes over his voice. "Granger, we were on the same page that night. I thought you understood that we—"

She shakes her head, unruly curls falling into her face. "It was selfish of me, and then," her fingers are trembling and she tightly laces them together, "I overheard you when you told him you loved him, and it made me stop to consider the fact that I would come between the two of you."

He can't bloody believe this is why.

This he could have fixed days ago, but instead, his two little fools had chosen to simper in silence without letting anyone else in.

"Granger," he pulls her hands apart and threads their fingers together.

She jumps a bit at that, not expecting the contact, but it's impossible to miss the way she melts into him within moments. "I would rather not destroy the relationship the two of you have. Before," Granger watches his thumb trace a path of her knuckles, "I thought that it might not be as serious as it was and that it would be easier for me to be with you—both of you—but it's not that way."

"It's exactly that way. Sure, it's terrifying. I realised I was on the outside of my emotions the night at the manor. What you heard was the first time I'd ever told Potter. Had I known it would spook you, I would have been blatantly clear with you the night before." He leans closer toward her, and her eyes dilate. "I just wanted to say it to him first."

"You don't owe me an explanation."

"Apparently I do since you were so worried that you decided ignoring us was the best option."

She squeezes his hand, and whether she means to or not, Granger rests her head on his shoulder. It's an uncomfortable position, he thinks, and Draco pulls her into his lap. As her legs bracket his, Granger squeaks and her head whips up. "This isn't—"

He rubs her back. "You don't have to be here if you don't want to. I'm never going to pressure you, I swear."

"You love him."

His eyes widen a bit. It's just so surreal hearing it from someone else when he's barely gotten used to it himself. "I do."

"Then—" Granger accidentally rubs against him, and she freezes. Draco wonders if she's about to fumble an apology, but then that's the last thing that comes out of her mouth. "You can't want this. Harry feels the same, and I'm a part that doesn't… fit. I can't be what you want."

The snort is ill-timed, and she does look a bit miffed that he's laughing at her. Draco rubs her hips, a slow path that he traces while watching her lips part. "I sincerely hope you're not about to tell me you know what I want more than I do."

"You love him."

"Granger," his fingers grip the sides of her waist, "I love you. We both do."

"You can't." But she's shuffled closer to him anyway, and she focuses on the buttons of his shirt. "Not because it's impossible to have a third person in a relationship—"

He wants to point out that he knows exactly what she means, but Draco hopes that her ramble might lead to something else.

She continues to babble, and all he really wants to do is slant his lips over hers in hopes that everything will miraculously fall into place.

"It's just that you can't love me. It's possible that Harry could—he's known me for so long, and it might make sense."

Draco returns to rubbing her back, and he's glad she doesn't shove his hands away.

Truthfully, he's worried that she might be having an anxiety attack as her cheeks turn red and she speaks faster than she ought to.

"But you?"

"Me?" Draco murmurs, and his tone is laced with offence.

She sinks her fingers into her hair and nibbles her bottom lip—which are all things he wants to do. "You barely know me."

That's the argument she's going with?

"I've known you for the same exact amount of time Potter has."

"Does it really count when—"

"I know that on your birthday, you still stay up until midnight because Ron is always the first one to call you. I know that when you were fourteen, you had a rather embarrassing moment with Krum due to your braces—"

Her eyes narrow. "You know that because you spread it around the school!"

Semantics. "You cry during nearly every documentary on animal wildlife there is, and you're so fiercely protective of those that can't defend themselves. I know you're favourite colour is green, but not a dark green because you're ridiculously particular about that as you are everything else."

Granger doesn't say anything. In fact, it barely looks like she's breathing.

Still, he wracks his brain for every bloody thing he's ever noticed about her because as Draco thinks about it, he's watched her for a long time. Longer than he'd ever admitted to himself. "Your favourite animals are otters and orcas. You can't decide which one you love more since you saw them on holiday with your parents while on a boat. And anytime it's mentioned that you could see them all the time in captivity if you wanted, you lose your shit."

"It isn't fair," she whispers. "But these are all things anyone could know about me, Draco."

"Maybe so, but are those things you would expect me to pay attention to if I didn't care? Granger, I'm not going to lie. Sure, I don't know a lot of things about you, but I'm certain that every time I see a bloody otter or an orca or anything that I can associate with you, I think of you."

Her fingers grip his forearms.

"And I have for a long time." There's a moment of silence, but he can't stop talking. "I'm not saying all of this in order to pressure you into saying three little words back to me. I would be worried if you did, truthfully, but I am asking you if this is what you want. If it's not, just fucking tell me so I can pick up what's left of my pride."

Granger cups his cheek, and he doesn't care that she watches as he nuzzles it when it might be the only chance he gets to do so. "I want both of you, but now that I've wasted time by running away…"

"Potter's feelings haven't changed."

Slowly, far too slowly for his liking, she nods.

He wants to kiss her still, but she doesn't lean in and he doesn't explain that he wants to wait until they're all on the same page. Still, Draco indulges himself by sitting there for several moments leading up to an hour with her sitting in his lap while rubbing her back and her breaths trickles across his throat.

When Potter walks through the door, muttering, "What's the fucking emergency? I had to cancel on Ron," he stops dead in his tracks. "Hermione?"

Draco's leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest. "Granger and I had a chat today. I figured your pub night could wait for this."

He nods dumbly but doesn't take a step forward like he can't quite wrap his head around the fact that she's there. "You two talked?"

Granger nods, brushing hair from her face. "Draco came to my flat."

"I told you to respect her privacy, you know." Potter tries to scowl, but it falls flat as Granger comes to stand in front of him. "You're here."

Cocking her head to the side, Granger smiles. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I thought I would be destroying your relationship if I involved myself."

"That's silly. I could have told you that a week ago."

She laughs, and Potter holds her face gently in his hands. "I have to admit, I'm rather nervous. I don't know where this goes next, though I know where I want it to go…"

Potter brushes his thumb against the bow of her lips. "We don't have to move too fast. We could grab dinner, or—"

Draco swallows his laugh, knowing that there's not a fucking chance Granger'is going for that when the two of them have been steeped in sexual tension—and frustration—over the last hour while waiting for Potter.

"I don't want dinner," she whispers and stretches up to kiss him lightly. "I want you, both of you. I rather think I'm tired of waiting. Aren't you?"

Harry grips her hips and picks her up, bringing his lips to hers. "So fucking tired." It's a growl as he carries her across the sitting room and into the bedroom, kicking the door open as he goes.

"Oh," Draco snorts. "After you."

She giggles and laces her fingers into black hair, tightening her legs around his waist.

Draco unbuttons his shirt while she makes quick work of her own, tossing it into the floor where it joins his oxford. Climbing onto the bed, Draco's back is to the headboard, and he groans at the sight before him.

Calloused hands close around her waist, and the bra she's wearing is a lacy green colour—a dark green, which he thinks is a treat meant for him. Harry lets her go as the mattress dips below his knee, and she crawls toward Draco.

"Hi," she whispers and reaches for him. "We've been here, haven't we?"

Pulling her to sit on his lap again, Draco kisses her roughly, and she eagerly returns it. It's all her nibbling his lower lip, dragging her nails down his chest—over his sensitive nipples—and his groan is met with a soft, little laugh that he's certain is going to be the fucking death of him.

Potter sits on his knees behind her and kisses a path from her shoulder to her throat, where he bits down until she cries out. He unclasps her bra, discarding it without a thought. "You're so bloody responsive, 'Mione."

She grinds down on Draco again, and his cock hardens through his jeans. Granger murmurs that she can't help it.

Her breasts are fucking gorgeous. Draco is pretty sure he tells her just that, but it's terribly hard to keep track of all the things running through his mind, so he chooses to act. Stroking one idly as he rolls her nipple softly between his fingers, Draco runs his tongue over the over.

Granger's hips stutter against his.

He sucks the pert tip into his mouth and watches her closely with each stroke of his tongue.

There's going to be marks on her throat in the morning from Potter, and it gives him a sense of triumph that she certainly won't be remembering Oliver fucking Wood after tonight.

Her eyes flutter closed as her back arches a bit, pressing her breasts toward him, and she leans up to kiss Potter. "Harry…" she moans.

She's trembling when Harry slips his hand in front of her, running it down her stomach until his fingers brush the edge of her bottoms. "Did you know that you're practically torturing poor Draco when you wear these?"

Her response is cut short as Harry's hand slides even further, under the stretchy material, and he presses his fingers to her clit. Granger jerks, digs her nails into Draco's shoulders, and keens. "I didn't—I didn't know. If—" She whimpers, and all he wants is to see exactly what Potter is doing to her. "If it's such a problem, we should take them off."

"Brilliant." Draco breathes. He misses the feel of her as she moves off of him, shoving the form-fitting bottoms down her legs. "Come sit against me. Back to my chest."

She does exactly that, and Harry's eyes darken at the sight of her nearly completely bare. He kneels in front of her, parting her legs while kissing a slow path down her abdomen, fingers flexing around the top of her thighs as she twitches. Granger breathes his name and twists against Draco.

Draco pinches her nipple lightly, rolling it between his fingers and watching her sink her hands into Potter's hair.

He drags his lips over her knickers, ignoring the soft whine she gives them, and takes his time kissing every inch of her legs. Up her calves and over her thighs, and Draco can see the elated grin that curves his lips.

"'Mione?" he breathes, hooking his fingers into either side of her knickers.

She nods, and really, it's a jerky motion, and her head falls back to Draco's shoulder. Granger's lips press to the hollow of his throat, tongue tracing his pulse as it quickens. "Harry, please."

With his cock hardening and her already rubbing against him, Draco leans down. He wraps her hair around his knuckles. "You heard her, Potter," he murmurs, his breath crawling across her neck. "It's impolite to keep a woman waiting."

She nods breathlessly and sighs in relief when Potter finally peels her knickers down. "Oh!"

Draco chuckle is muffled against her skin when her nails dig into his thighs, and she presses herself closer to the man between her thighs. "You're so fucking gorgeous like this."

Her breath catches. "God."

He untangles his fingers from her hair—and if it weren't for the unbelievable situation he'd found himself in, it would have been comical how hard that was—and threads them into Potter's hair. Nudging him, Draco pulls lightly, bringing the man's mouth against her folds while holding him there.

A loud, keening moan falls from her, and Granger turns her head to the side before kissing him desperately. "Wanted this that night," she whispers.

"I know you did."

Potter pumps two fingers inside her and laps at her clit with broad strokes of his tongue. He holds eye contact with Draco, and fucking hell, Draco knows he's done for before anything truly gets started.

"I'm so sorry—" Granger starts.

He grips her chin and tilts it towards him. Draco kisses her roughly, smirking when her teeth close around his lower lip and she whimpers into his mouth. "He's good with his tongue, isn't he, sweetheart?"

A shiver makes her shake, and Draco puts that information away for later. So, she likes pet names.

He can work with that.

Her eyes flutter shut and her back arches. "So good." Her voice is weak, broken between two syllables. "Oh, God…"

"Perfect, you could say," Draco smiles.

"I'm so—" She moans, twisting into his chest, and draws a ragged breath.

Honestly, she's moved herself into an impossible angle, and Draco tries to adjust her but she cries out before he gets the chance.

A shriek blankets his flat and her thighs close around Harry's head, and Draco seizes the moment to kiss her, bracing his fingers against the nape of her neck. He swallows the wanton sounds for himself as her release crests and she whimpers.

Granger slumps against him while Harry crawls up the bed. Lips slant over his, and he can taste her on Harry's lips, on his tongue as it brushes his own. "Fuck," Draco groans.

She fumbles with the button of his trousers and tugs at them until he lifts his hips. Granger doesn't bother with pulling them off properly before stroking him through his boxers and then pulling them down.

A coy smile tilts her lips as she wraps her fingers around his length, but Granger keeps her gaze on him as she shifts onto her knees, leaning over. Her lips close around the tip, and her cheeks hollow when she takes him into her mouth.

His hips jerk and Potter presses a hand to his chest, holding him in place. He kisses him harder than he ever has before, and Draco's brain short circuits when he pulls away. Draco reaches for Harry, but his eyes widen as he watches the two of them settle on their knees.

Harry drags his tongue up the length of his cock while she sucks the tip into her pretty mouth, and he fondles Draco's sac gently.

He's never been so close to coming in his life.

The image of his release covering both of their faces doesn't do anything to help matters.

Draco's certain that he's the luckiest bloke alive when he watches them take turns sucking him. All that comes from him are muffled curses once he realises that Hermione Granger is a bloody little tease.

He's going to fuck her until she doesn't want to leave the bed for the entire weekend, he decides.

She climbs into his lap again and presses her lips to his in what must be the softest kiss of his life. "Is this okay?" Granger nibbles her lip prettily.

Is it okay?

Is she serious?

Draco holds onto her hips tightly as she sinks down onto him.

Granger feels like everything he's imagined and so much fucking more as he fills her. She moans his name and rocks against him.

Potter peppers kisses across her shoulders, whispering muted compliments of how goddamn pretty she is, how fucking good her cunt tastes.

She buries her face in his shoulder, leaving what are sure to be dark lovebites in the morning while she rides him.

"Oh, my fucking—" Draco chokes out a rasp when her cunt clenches around him and her arms tighten around his neck. She breaks apart as she moves against him, flashing him a bright smile as her lips part.

Draco follows soon after.

The mattress dips.

He cracks one eye open and freezes when a familiar groan pieces the air. Suddenly, Draco knows exactly why he'd woken up. He's greeted with the dark red of the alarm clock informing him it's only minutes past three, and the sight of Potter sliding into Hermione. Her legs are over his shoulders, pushed toward her chest as he leans over her, and he's got her wrists held over her head.

It's a bloody good sight, and Draco thinks he'd like to wake up to it every morning.

"We have an audience." Harry murmurs as he drives into her. "Seems you weren't as quiet as you said you'd be."

Draco rolls onto his side, blond hair dropping into his face as he closes his lips around her pert nipple. "She was perfectly quiet, which is a terrible shame."

"I, ah," she moans as he thrusts into her again, "I didn't want to wake you."

"Fucking wake me up next time," Draco snorts. He smooths his palm down her stomach, and his fingers find her clit.

She's bloody soaked. Granger's a keening mess from the way she lifts her hips to the way she arches her back and cries out both of their names. "Want you both…"

"We'll work up to that, sweetheart." Draco draws her nipple between his teeth before switching. "We have plenty of time." As Harry's pace quickens, Draco asks, "Do you like when he holds you down?"

Which, of course, she does. Potter would never do it otherwise.

But she nods eagerly, making a show of straining against Harry's grip. "She's bratty, Malfoy. I discovered that while you were asleep."

Granger looks like the cat that got the cream, however, and both men are putty in her hands. Somehow, he's pretty sure they'll have their hands full.

Fuck, it's a good thought.

He strokes her clit, the speed of his fingers quickening as she cries out that she's close, so close.

She's babbling, begging for Harry to go faster, and her hips lift off the bed.

His neighbours likely already hated him, Draco knows, but they certainly must after her scream rattles the flat. Granger curls up beside him, nuzzling his shoulder as Harry slips behind her and pulls the blanket over them.

Draco massages her wrists, peppering kisses over where fingers had been locked around them moments earlier. "You all right, Granger?"

She yawns and reaches blindly behind her for Harry. "You have to call me Hermione sometimes."

He smirks. "After you answer the question."

There's a pink blush that spans across her cheeks, and she opens one eye. "I'm great." A soft snore comes from behind them, and she giggles. "Does he always do that?"

"Unfortunately."

She taps her fingertips against his chest and tilts her head up. "Harry told me he loved me while you were asleep. That's why we were…" Hermione swallows. "It didn't make any sense when you told me you loved me yesterday, and I think if I dwell on it too much I might question it again, but I think I understand now."

All of his thoughts come to a hard stop. Draco's eyes widen when she kisses the corner of his mouth. "Hermione, you don't have to say anything."

"Well, I am." She slips her arm over his hip and rests in the pillow of his arm. "I love you, even if it doesn't make sense. I love you."

He can't ruddy think, and this woman is—

Draco blurts, "I love you so fucking much." He crushes his lips to hers and kisses her until neither of them can breathe. "All I want is you and Potter until you're sick of me."

"And if we're never sick of you?" she teases.

It sounds like heaven.

Hermione nips his earlobe. "Love you, Malfoy." She settles down and whispers for him to sleep since they have a long day ahead of them tomorrow. "I think it's only fair that I get to watch you and Harry since you watched us."

He makes a joke that this would have been easier to resolve if she'd admitted to being a voyeur earlier, but then she whispers it again.

Even when she drifts to sleep, she turns to where she can hold onto Harry as well, and Draco wraps an arm around her middle.

I love you.

I think I've always loved you.

That's a wrap on this little short story. I may write dramionarry again since this was so much fun for me. I am still working on a Draco/Hermione/Theo multichapter, and I am writing a short story Draco/Harry for NuclearNik. Which brings me to a request I have for you guys.

What can I improve? Writing slash is something that's always spooked me because it's extremely new to me. I'm writing a triad multichapter, with a lot of slash included it, as well as the drarry, and I don't want to fall on my face. Please message me privately if you don't mind (I'd love to open dialogue with someone about the do's and don't's) and you've noticed something I'm off kilter with. PM me here or you can email me via google mail. Mrsrenfanfiction and then add the domain name.

As always, I'd love to hear if you liked it as well!