Grateful (H/D, PG)

[sesheta66]

Title: Grateful
Author: sesheta_66
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~ 655
Pairing/Characters: Harry/Draco, Ruby (OC).
Giftee: For rubytuesday5681 who loves her job. It also fits the current hd_fluff prompt #32, "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday," and my GJ 100_prompts table #099 - "Forgotten."
Summary: Harry finally convinces Draco to volunteer some time at the local daycare centre for orphaned children.
Disclaimer: The author is not responsible for underage readers. Please observe the ratings, warnings, and age of legal consent for your country. The characters contained herein are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.



"My name is Ruby. What's yours? Harry heard the little girl ask Draco.

"Draco."

"That's kind of a funny name, isn't it?" she asked, but without malice.

"Actually, it means dragon. Did you know that there is a constellation - that's a group of stars - up in the sky in the shape of a dragon that is named Draco?"

"Wow!" she said, truly in awe. Harry grinned as he continued to build a LEGO castle with a few of the other children at the centre. "I wish I had a constipation named after me too."

Harry snorted despite himself. He couldn't help it. The girl had been talking non-stop since Draco sat down, and Harry had watched his boyfriend's expression go from trepidation to fright to resignation to tolerance to exasperation to amusement all in the span of ten minutes. His boyfriend had argued vehemently that the orphanage's daycare centre was Harry's domain, and that he had no interest whatsoever in going there himself.

"But the children learn so much there. And you could help teach them, Draco. You don't need to work, but you can't just do nothing. Volunteering your time would be perfect for you. You've been bored for so long, just give it a try, yeah? For me?" He had leaned in and given him a kiss, with a not-so-subtle pressing together of their bodies at that point. "I'm sure I will be very grateful" - he wriggled his groin against Draco's - "when we come back home," he had whispered in Draco's ear, nibbling on his lobe, which he knew drove the Slytherin mad.

"Fine," Draco had relented. "But just this once. And be prepared to be extremely grateful, Potter."

Now, as they were sitting in the daycare centre and Ruby was talking his ear off, Draco was putty in her hands. Harry knew it would happen, although he had figured on another of the children, one of the more shy ones, to get to Draco. But it was this cheerful, full-of-life little girl that had won him over. Harry was positively bubbling over with pride, and it warmed his heart to see the little girl so happy.

"What's your favourite colour?" Ruby continued.

"Green," he replied with no hesitation, sounding amused.

"My favourite colour is purple!" the girl told Draco. "But I like yellow, too." She frowned as though deep in thought, but before Draco had a chance to interject a comment, she was off again. "What do you think love is, Draco? My sister Noelle says that love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

Harry was barely able to control his laughter at the horrified look on Draco's face. "Well, Ruby, I don't think it's necessary to give up cleanliness just because you love someone. In fact, I should think the gentleman in question would want to present a clean self if he really loved you." Draco left no room for argument, nodding his head for emphasis.

Ruby looked pensive for a moment, clearly trying to process this new information. Draco took advantage of the brief lull in the conversation. "I tell you what, Ruby. Why don't you go over and get us some of your favourite colours of paint, and we can paint a picture. How does that sound?"

"Perfect!" she said, jumping up and giving Draco a hug, previous conversation forgotten. "Don't you go anywhere! I'll be right back!" she said happily.

Draco stood up to get an easel, and his eyes met Harry's. They exchanged a smile and a knowing look. "Very well, Potter, you win. I shall return with you."

Harry smiled broadly at him. "I'm sure Ruby will be very grateful to have you in her life."

"Yes, well ..." Draco said slyly. He leaned in to whisper in Harry's ear. "I haven't forgotten, Potter. Tonight it had better be you that is grateful. Very grateful."

.

Comments

[prettyhairs.livejournal.com]

"I wish I had a constipation named after me too."!!!=)

Soo lovely!:)

[draco-pet.livejournal.com]

♥

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Hee - that was my favourite line. I don't know why I found it sooo funny, but I was giggling for the longest time afterwards. I could totally picture this wide-eyed girl saying it to Draco, and Harry in the background snorting - all the while Draco maintaining his Malfoy composure.

Glad you liked it.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

:o)

[lire-casander.livejournal.com]

Ruby sounds so like me that's scary! But Draco has a lot of patience, and this was so cute!

[nillaskye.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure Harry's gonna show Draco a lot of gratitude! *winks*
Cute story!

[kaykayen.livejournal.com]

*ROTFLMAO* Draco has a constipation named after him *flails*

Harry knows how to appeal to Draco's, er, hornyphilanthropic side

[prettyhairs.livejournal.com]

*does cookie-dance* I was glad that I was alone at home and no one heard me laughing like a nutter;)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

O.o

Cool cookie dance!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I picture Draco denying his inner cuteness, but as soon as a child captures his attention, he's a goner! *g*

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

No doubt. ;)

Thanks.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Hee ... my favourite part.

Absolutely. *nods*

[piratesmile331.livejournal.com]

So glad to know that Draco will be well-compensated for his services...

[lijahlover.livejournal.com]

Wonderful.I loved the cutness.Thanks!

[winter-june.livejournal.com]

So cute!!
And I don't think Draco is going to come back just because of a thankful boyfriend (he just says that to keep his Slytherin façade)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Well-compensated indeed. ;)

Awww ... doesn't he look so happy in your icon? *squishes him*

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :o)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. And Harry knows it too. *nods*

[piratesmile331.livejournal.com]

What you can't see in the icon is Harry down below blowing him.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

*cracks up*

But ... but ... isn't he eleven in that picture?! I'll just presume he's the age of consent in his country of residence.

[piratesmile331.livejournal.com]

Haven't you ever heard of glamours?
They're just pretending to have kinky, underage sex.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Excellent. A de-aging glamour, so they're plenty old enough. As long as you say so, that's good enough for me.

[anathema91.livejournal.com]

Still giggling about constipation.

*is 12 years old*

XD

[takhen.livejournal.com]

"I wish I had a constipation named after me too." Oh god I laughed so hard. Well it does kind of sum up Draco as a child.

Best line I have read in I don't know how long.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

I giggled like a 12-year-old while I was writing it too. :D

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Hee! It was definitely my favourite line.

Well it does kind of sum up Draco as a child.

*snorts* Aww ... poor Draco. *pets him* *giggles some more*

[thrnbrooke.livejournal.com]

Fantastic! I love this!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I enjoyed writing about Draco falling for a little girl and her charm. *pets him for being so cute*

I suspect he'll milk this for all it's worth from Harry. *g*

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

That's adorable!

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Thanks. *beams*

[lackofmendacity.livejournal.com]

"My sister Noelle says that love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

Ahahahah, I can totally see Draco's horrified expression, and I love his brisk and no-nonsense response. *giggles*

Thanks for all the laughs! :D

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

That prompt was just too good to pass up, and I immediately pictured the horror on Draco's face if he heard it. *g* So glad you enjoyed that part too.

You are quite welcome for the laughs. ♥

[rubytuesday5681]

"I'm sure Ruby will be very grateful to have you in her life."

and i am so happy to have draco in my life!!!

this is absolutely perfect. i love it! ;)

[alaana-fair.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's great! I absolutely adore sweet Draco in this. (Good that he has his priorities straight though.)

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so glad. I just know that you love your job and you love kids, and what more fitting fic than that? *squishes sweet Draco*

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

I sooooooo knew you would love Draco in this one. Yup, I did! ;)

[erikdesoir.livejournal.com]

*gasps and points* Where did you get that line about wearing the shirt??? I got an email about what kids say love is and that was one of them! I've been writing stories about them and that's the one I'm working on right now! OMG! This is so bizarre!

[erikdesoir.livejournal.com]

*laughs at self* Also, the fic is to die for! I love it when kids get the best of Draco and drag it out of him.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

That line was one of the prompts I was using when writing it (I didn't come up with that one). I also read it in an email, and suspect the mod did too.

[sesheta-66.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed the fic. It was certainly fun to write.