Title: Draco and the Manly Stuffed!
Author: icicle33
Word count: ~700
Warnings: lots of fluff, adorableness, and humour
Summary: After a long trip, Harry surprises Draco by coming home early. The last thing he expected to find was his boyfriend fast asleep and cuddling a stuffed animal.
Author's note: This drabble was written for appleling, who requested Draco with a cute stuffed toy. Happy Birthday, love! However, I thought I would share this little ficlet with you all as well. = D

Also, a special thank you to my beta, ashiiblack, for the last minute beta job. As always, feedback makes my day and I always respond to my reviews (even if it takes a while).

Enjoy.

~Draco and the Manly Stuffed~

:::::::::::::::::

x x x

Harry had not seen Draco in three weeks and he missed him terribly. He had been away on Auror business and was so swamped, he hadn't even been able to fire-call his boyfriend. He knew that Draco would be furious, so he decided to come home a day early, hoping to surprise Draco and beg for his forgiveness.

"Draco?" Harry whispered as he tiptoed into their bedroom. He had expected to find Draco sprawled out on their bed like a lazy cat, taking up as much room as possible, or perhaps even passed out on top of his research. He certainly had not expected to find Draco Ophiuchus Abraxas Malfoy, former Slytherin bully, cuddled on Harry's side of the bed—one leg sticking out of their silk comforter and clutching a stuffed blue penguin in his arms.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the endearing sight in front of him. Draco always pretended to be so tough, so cool, yet here he was snuggling a fluffy penguin as if he were a five-year-old child rather than a grown man. It was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

"Draco?" he whispered again, this time leaning in close and placing a kiss on Draco's forehead.

"Mmmph...who's there? Don't wanna get up," Draco mumbled, his eyes still closed and arms still wrapped around the stuffed penguin.

"It's me."

"Har-ry?" Draco fluttered his eyes open and turned towards him—his hair ruffled and sticking up on the sides and his cheeks creased with sleep lines. "What are you? Why are you?"

"Shhh—" Harry leaned in and silenced his boyfriend with a kiss. "I missed you."

"Me too," Draco said with a yawn.

"It seems that way." Harry smirked and then joined Draco on the bed, wrapping his arms securely around his lover. "Mmmm, glad I'm back."

Harry paused for a second and stared at the ridiculous stuffed penguin. He knew he was going to regret this, but he just had to ask. "So...Draco...where did you get that penguin? It's adorable."

"What?"

"The penguin you were cuddling? Is it Teddy's?"

"I was NOT cuddling a penguin!"

Harry snorted and shook his head. "Yes, you were. It's right there. And it's so cute and fluffy." He motioned to the stuffed penguin Draco was now trying to hide underneath the covers.

"He is not an it! His name is Edgar!" Draco gasped and wriggled his way out of Harry's embrace. He placed a hand over his mouth and looked mortified.

"Edgar?"

"You did not just hear that!"

"Edgar the stuffed penguin..." Harry chuckled again, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

"He's an Emperor Penguin,Potter. They rule the Arctic with an iron fist!" Draco scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, looking even more like a petulant child.

"Ahh," Harry said in between sniggers, "my mistake. Emperor Edgar. And I think you mean iron flipper."

"Shut up, Potter."

"So...it's Potter now?"

"Yes, it's Potter." Draco turned away from him and pouted, once again picking up Edgar and cradling him. "You're an idiot, Potter. Edgar is a manly stuffed! A fierce Emperor Penguin...I tell you."

Up until now, Harry had managed to contain his laughter, but Draco was crossing the line. There was no way that Draco's fluffy, blue penguin was manly or even an Emperor Penguin. Tilting his head back, Harry let out a loud, deep chortle, his chest shaking and almost choking on his laughter.

"That is the cutest thing I have ever seen," Harry said, biting down on his lip. "Draco Malfoy sleeps with a stuffed!"

"Stop it, Potter! I'm warning you..."

"No, Malfoy, this is just too priceless. And there's no such thing as a manly stuffed."

Draco scrunched his forehead and narrowed his eyes. "I warned you, Potter." He leaned in closer to Harry, so close that at first Harry thought he was going to steal a kiss, but instead of kissing him, he smacked Harry right in the forehead and then shoved him off the bed.

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight, Potter. No blanket."

"No, Dray-co, I'm sorrrrry—it's cold on the couch."

"Too bad."

Harry sighed and rubbed his aching head. "Can I at least have Edgar then?"

~Fin

A/N Edit: I just want to add that I know that penguins don't live in the Arctic. They also don't have iron fists. I'm just adding that line for humour. Draco doesn't know a thing about penguins. Just clearing that up.

A/N: I know, I know...there was a lot of fluff, much more than I usually write, but it was cute, right? I'd love to hear your thoughts. And if you're interested in seeing a picture of Edgar the "Emperor Penguin"...you can see one on my live journal.

Also, I totally took liberties with Draco's name. I know that in Cannon Draco doesn't have a middle name or at least it's never given; however, It was Ashi's idea to give Draco a middle name, and I couldn't help but make it Ophiuchus, meaning Serpent Bearer.

http:/ icicle33 dot livejournal dot com/ 23407 dot html (The link to my lj is also on my profile if this one doesn't work.)

~Icicle