The Come And Go Room

Pansy smiled at him in an almost devious little way when he suggested that. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but you'll never know, will you? And either way I get what I want, whether it's warmth or cuddling, so it's effective at least." She tightened her arm around his side, realizing as she did so that she probably tickled him a little. She quickly looked up at him to clarify. "That, by the way, was not the initiation of the start of a tickling war, just so you know."

Draco had just lifted his fingers off her side in anticipation of a tickle attack when she spoke. He sighed and put them back down, cuddling her a little l closer anyway. "Damn, I was so ready for it." He chuckled and relaxed back into the soft cushions, manipulating the room and requiring them absolutely perfect. "This is nice, just being here alone with you, not having to worry about parents or teachers or nosy students."

"Oh, I know you are, that's why I spoke up so quickly so that we didn't end up with you pinning me to the ground tickling me again." She smiled up at him as if to say that by stopping him from doing so, she won this non-existent tickle war. She put her head back on his chest again, just relaxing and enjoying the moment while they had it. "Yeah, as much fun as sneaking off with you is, I wish it wasn't so complicated."

Draco ran a hand over her arm and sighed, "Me too. Then again if I got everything I wanted the world would be a very different place right now and you would be naked." He couldn't help but start to wonder if it would be so bad if some of their closer friends knew about them, people were thinking about it anyway and he was certain that Dee and Scorp had probably guessed by now. He continued slowly stroking her arm and looking at the flames, internally debating whether or not now was the time to bring up something like that.

Pansy leaned comfortably into him as his hand ran over her arm, and as nice and perfect as this room was, she sort of missed the dungeons. The walls changed a little as she thought about that, replicating the stone of the walls down there, but it still wasn't quite the same. "Want to head back down to the common room? We should probably start packing up for Christmas holidays anyway. We're leaving in a week or so, and I know how long it takes you to pack your things." She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek, getting up and depositing the blanket off to the side as she held her hands out to him.

Draco chuckled and mock glared at her, her movement pulling him from his thoughts. "Yeah I guess we should." He looked around as he took her hands and stood up, "You changed all the walls. I like them better this way but I think the heat is deceptive, it feels wrong with all the stone." He shrugged and pulled her in for one last kiss then walked to the door and held it open for her, "After you kitten."

Pansy smiled, taking a glance around. She did rather like the stone look, but he was right, it looked like a place that should be cold, not the toasty comfy room that it was. She changed the walls again before they left, draping them completely in curtains so it looked like an enormous tent. She shook her head lightly at his nickname for her, and though she loved it she would never admit such a thing, she walked out before him and headed back down to the common room where I will now go post.

Draco let her lead him along to the room of requirement and followed her in after she summoned the room. As he walked in he made himself comfy, kicking off his shoes, taking off his jacket, undoing his cuffs and rolling up his sleeves. His tie was the last thing to go and he dropped onto the couch, relaxing back into it. "Mmm, this is perfect."

Pansy dropped her shoes by the door and followed him toward the couch, sitting down in front of the couch to stretch out her legs toward the roaring fireplace. She leaned back against his legs, resting her head back on his knees. "A much better option than staying in the hallway or going back into the dance. Though I do almost feel bad for leaving Marco there by himself." Her last sentence was only muttered very softly, so Draco would not necessarily hear unless he were really listening. She did feel bad about it, but she wouldn't have done anything else. She'd have left anyone for Draco, that's just how it was. He was her number one, always had been, and she knew he always would be, no matter who she'd end up married to.

Draco did not hear that last bit fortunately because he was stretching. His hand moved down to stroke her hair slightly and he looked into the fire. After a few moments of silence he turned to lie on the sofa with his hand still stroking her hair. "So what have you been doing? Quality time with your mother while we were all gone?" No matter how mad time with Muffy sounded it still seemed like a much better christmas option. Though Oldemort could probably use her closet as some sort of torture chamber. Even the most hardened Death Eaters would break down screaming.

"I don't know if you could really call it 'quality time', but I haven't been able to escape her. I think because you were gone, and she knew I was upset about it, she was going to try and make up for it by keeping me busy with her. Little did she realize, I'd sooner have been left in my room to stare out the window the whole time you were gone." Pansy pouted slightly, though it wasn't completely genuine. She couldn't pout too much, not when Draco was running his hand over her hair. She'd thought about cutting it at one point, but talked herself out of it for one reason: Draco might not play with it as much if it were short again.

Pansy was right with that thinking, cutting it short would make it far less appealing to play with, not that that would stop him. Draco couldn't see her pout but he could hear it in her voice and he chuckled, his fingers still running through her hair. "So sorry for leaving you in her clutches. It must have been awful for you. What can I do to make it up to you?" He had some ideas and was curious to see what she would come up with.

Pansy smiled a little as he apologized for leaving, though it wasn't his fault and she was sure that his week had probably been worse than hers. Regardless, it was sort of nice that he was making it seem the other way around. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, offering him a little half smile. "Oh, it was bloody terrible. But I'm sure you could think of some way to cheer me up about it." Sure, she could suggest something maybe, but it was far more fun to watch the plans forming in his eyes, that little mischievous smirk forming on his lips.

Draco looked at her, his head sideways on the sofa, and smirked, "Are you sure you want me coming up with the plans? That gives us... What is it now? A 50/50 chance of you getting injured?" His plans had always been the more exciting and by far the stupider. Must be that damn y-chromosome. After a moment Draco realized they were in the worst positions ever for anything so he decided to test the room's limits and required her on the sofa with him.

"Regardless of who plans it, I usually end up hurting myself. If it's not your idea leading to my injury, it'll be my own eventually." She smiled at him, but looked around a moment later, confused. She found herself sitting on the sofa now, rather, on top of Draco as he was still lying there, just sitting on his stomach, though she didn't remember moving at all. Last thing she'd known, she had been sitting on the floor in front of the couch. Let's just hope he doesn't require her in less clothes. She shrugged it off, as this was the Room of Requirement anyway, and often did strange things. She continued what she had been saying. "So your idea or mine, it'll probably end up at the same outcome eventually."

Draco grinned when she suddenly appeared on his stomach. Well that worked surprisingly well. Now he wanted to test the room more. First he required that the couch expand a little to give the seat more width then he pulled Pansy over to cuddle with him. "Well I'll try not to injure you tonight. Just don't roll off the couch and we should be fine." He wrapped his arm around her and the other tugged down the bottom of her dress for her.

Pansy laid down beside him, glad the couch quite magically had enough room for them both on it. She wrapped an arm around his middle, smiling at him as he tugged the hem of her dress back in place, something she was always making sure to do anyway. "Oh, well thank you kind sir. It's awfully nice of you to not injure me tonight." She smirked up at him, scooting closer to his warmth and resting her chin on his shoulder as she watched his face in silence, just enjoying being reunited with him, not sure how she'd ever survived being separated from him so much during the beginning of the school year.

Draco smirked at her, "Call it a new years present. Special for tonight." He smiled at her as they lay there peacefully, enjoying the calm he felt just by being here with her. He was almost glad now for all the bad things that had happened earlier in the year because it had better prepared them for all of this now and in the long run it has just brought them closer. He turned his face a little more toward her and softly kissed the side of her mouth. "I missed you."

"Just for tonight? I guess I should have brought a first aid kit, or should remember to bring one in the future anyway." She blinked and sitting on his stomach was a small box with the symbol for St. Mungo's on it. "Oh. Perfect. Hurt me all you want, apparently." She glanced back up at him with a smile, almost feeling a little shy in his gaze as he looked back at her. "I missed you too. I'd say don't leave again, but I know you'll just say you have to."

Draco chuckled and set the first aid kit off to the side, "Always best to have bandages ready around us." He held her close when she said something about him leaving again, "You know how it is, no matter how much I want to stay here with you I have to." He leaned his cheek against hers, snuggling up to her and taking all the physical comfort he could get.

Pansy rested her face against his, closing her eyes as he talked. "I know, I know." Her hand strayed up to the other side of his face, her fingers tracing lightly over his cheek. "How long do I have you back for, Draco? How long until you have to go again? Please tell me you won't be gone so long next time." She wanted desperately for him to tell her that it wouldn't be for a long time until he would have to go again, and it would only be an overnight trip and he'd tell her goodnight and then be back for dinner the next day. But she knew better than to hope for something like that, and she knew better than to bank on the fact that he would come back as unharmed as he had this time. The more meetings he went to, the more danger there was, and the more worried she was sure she would become.

Draco turned and kissed the palm of her hand, "It won't be any longer than a Friday to Sunday because of school and I don't know when the next will be, about a month I suppose. Maybe a little sooner." He shrugged a little, his fingers tracing circles on her back, "According to Bellatrix and what I heard at the meetings it's mostly training from now until getting marked, more of what I've been doing with my father only the teacher varies on your skill level." He knew his father had trained him well and it worried him, he might get placed with Voldemort himself.

Pansy cringed, and probably whimpered a little, when he mentioned getting Marked, something she didn't look forward to happening, something she liked to pretend wouldn't happen. She didn't want to imagine his arm with the snake on it, the skull with the hollow eyes, the tattoo her father had had as long as she could remember. The tattoo that always took him away from her, the tattoo that was now going to be taking Draco away from her. But Daddy it's time for dinner and I made your favorite. But Daddy it's nearly Christmas. But Daddy tomorrow is my birthday. It never made a difference in the end. It didn't matter what day it was, he had to go when he had to go because he had forfeited his life to another, surrendered completely to the will of someone else. Living as a slave or worse, that's how Pansy saw it. And she didn't want Draco to have to live a life like that, to have to leave his family at a moment's notice, to miss special dinners and birthday parties and telling his child goodnight. It wasn't fair and all Pansy could do was lay there quietly, knowing her words were useless with him.   

Draco felt her cringe and held her close, knowing that there was nothing he could say that would help. No matter what he was going to end up marked, end up in servitude to the Dark Lord and subject to all his whims. He knew that Pansy knew what it meant to a family and that no matter how much she hated it she would have to accept it. They lay there in silence for a while longer, his arms still around her, fiddling with the tips of her hair. Slowly one hand moved up to stroke the back of her head, gently moving to kiss her softly, still wanting that physical reminder of her there with him, that he was away from all those horrors and back at Hogwarts again.

Pansy buried her face in his shoulder when he held her closer, trying not to think about Draco as a Death Eater, trying not to think about all the things he'd have to miss because of it, the feelings she knew he'd shut down before too long. He'd never be the same, not that he was the same now that he'd been growing up. They had figured it out this far, and she just hoped they could keep figuring it out in the future. She closed her eyes, resting there beside him until she felt his lips on hers. She kissed him back lightly, her hand on his cheek pulling him closer to her. She knew he just needed her to be there, just needed to try and chase away the bad memories just like she'd always had to chase away his bad dreams.