Open Your Heart. (Draco/Oc) (potassiumboron/Severu

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Neville watched her, knowing she wouldn't be able to work.
She was just kidding herself, really.

Sighing, Neville stood. "Fine, come on then."
He didn't really care for Draco, but he knew Karina wouldn't let up.
​
 
"Draco," Karina began quietly, having pulled Neville across the Department to the kitchen area, where the blonde was busy trying to work the kettle - not entirely easy when every few seconds his hands were shaking and he felt like crying. "...Are... are you alright? You've been off work for ages, and..."

"I'm fine. I... thanks anyway, Karina, Longbott-- Neville," he replied, silently cursing himself for old habits. Hell, only a few months back he would easily treat Neville badly-- but he was trying, desperately so, to be nice to people. If he was trying on his marriage, he could make an effort to work on his behaviour in general. "...Have I missed anything, then? In the workplace?"

"Not really. Oh-- Benjamin set fire to a lot of files. His wand malfunctioned or something-- I just think he was hungover." Karina grinned, not wanting to really make too much of a reference to his upset state. If he wanted to talk, he would. If not, that had to be respected. "Neville, like the superhero he is, sorted it all out though, didn't you~?"​
 
Neville followed Karina over to Draco, and watched him with pity.
Obviously something had happened again with his wife.
They seemed to always be having issues.

Neville laughed when Karina referred to the accident.
"I try my best."
He smiled and crossed his arms, watching Draco quietly.

"Draco, maybe you should let one of us make the tea..." He told him.​
 
"I... I can make the tea myself, I... maybe you can work the kettle, that'd help," he admitted, deciding that it took a lot more to admit to needing help rather than dismiss it.

It was more than about tea right now - he needed help just to be able to keep himself together right now.

"I... really am okay, you know," he mumbled quietly, "it's just... some bad stuff has happened that's given me cause to concern, that's all. It's nothing... how's Jude? I... I'll come see him soon."

"He's alright-- he needs you when you're in a better state than this, okay? Don't worry about it for now." Karina smiled, reaching up for the sugar. "You've made a great effort lately..."​
 
Neville nodded, taking the kettle from Draco and filling it with water before setting it down to heat up.
Turning to face both Draco and Karina, he crossed his arms, listening as they spoke.

They spoke of Jude, and Neville felt the familiar pang in his chest. He actually missed the little guy.
He wouldn't put that out there in front of Draco though. But he was thinking of asking Karina if he could see him, too.

"Draco, maybe you should sit down. We can bring you your tea..."' Neville said, trailing off.
Draco looked terrible- awfully pale.
​
 
"I'm alright, Neville, I really am," he tried to weakly counter, though took a seat obediently all the same - hell, he must look awful if even Neville and Karina were worried about him, after all the abuse he had given them in recent weeks.

"...Atropa and I... I thought we were getting along," he began to quietly sigh - if she went to Adrian to release some pent up stuff, then he saw this as an opportunity to get advice from outsiders too. Offer an outside perspective on things. "I booked a vacation, I... I stopped the divorce, we... hell, we made love and cuddled and talked like a proper couple! I thought-- I was naive, so idiotic. I thought she was okay, but she... she was contemplating... stuff today. Bad stuff, a-and I feel helpless. I... I ought to help my wife, and I'm at work trying to be normal! I... I make myself feel sick, I ought to be with her, r-right?"​
 
Neville took the steaming kettle off the heat and poured it into the cup, handing it to Draco.
He took a seat next to him and sighed.
"Did she want you to go to work? If she told you to, then no, that's not terrible. Maybe she needed time to gather herself."
Neville felt odd, being involved in Draco's personal life.

​
 
"W-Well, she told me to go," he began tiredly, rubbing his temple with one hand as the other gratefully took the tea from him with a gracious smile to match, "and Adrian is there with her too, which is comforting to know, that she isn't alone, but... I still feel to blame, and I still feel I ought to be there with her too-- she won't want me panicking like this, I just need to... throw myself back into work, I s'pose."

"...If Adrian is there, she's bound to be fine. He's a very nice man and a great friend to her." Karina smiled comfortingly, sitting opposite her ex-lover who at least had stopped his sniffling and vulnerable looks. That was at least a small relief. "Atropa is strong, isn't she? Always was in school when she had to put up with your sense of superiority and pretentiousness~"​
 
"Oh, he is?" Neville asked, getting a weird feeling about it.
Everyone knew Adrian liked Atropa, and then being alone...
But no, Atropa wouldn't cheat on Draco.

"Yeah, she dealt with you quite nicely in school." Neville replied, laughing.
He smiled at Draco, feeling bad for the man.​
 
"She always reprimanded me whenever I had a word to say about you, or Potter, or anyone else. She never did enjoy my humour or my behaviour back then, nor now, but-- anyway, I don't want to come across like a depressed attention-seeker. I... I just needed a little cheer up, and I truly do appreciate it. I'm sure Atropa will be fine." Draco smiled, mostly to convince himself and his doubt, and in conjunction with Neville and Karina, did begin to believe that everything would be aright.

He just had to get through the day, then he could return home and spend a few hours tending to and being with his wife.

Even though, despite it all, there was a niggling thought in his mind, gnawing away at any chance of that belief - a thought that Atropa wouldn't be okay, and never could be. And if so, he could only really blame himself and what he had done to her, at least what he felt he had done to her, anyway.

"A-Ah... so... are you guys dating again then? I've already heard the old office rumours about you both..."​
 
Neville laughed and shook his head when Draco asked if he and Karina were dating.
"No, not at the moment. We're just friends." He said, looking over at her.
He wanted to ask her out on a date, honestly, but he hadn't yet- too worried she would turn him down or something.

-----

Back at home, Adrian had calmed Atropa down, by telling her that it had only happened once- and they wouldn't sleep together again.
He assured her that she loved Draco and that what they'd done didn't matter- and that by only doing it once, it wasn't worth it telling him.
Atropa sighed and listened, eventually agreeing.

But then Adrian took her hand and told her everything was going to be alright, and they slept together again.
In the bed she shared with her husband.
After that, Adrian left, and Atropa stayed in bed all day.​
 
As per usual, by the time the working day ended, it was usually Neville and Karina that were the last to leave. The former obviously worked hard, he was infamous for it, but the latter's late presence usually fell down to the fact her constant chatting all day left her falling behind with work, and so staying behind half an hour had become common for her in order to catch up with her workload.

Though it wasn't torturous - she enjoyed spending that time with Neville, even if currently things were rather marred. Draco's saddened presence all day had upset her, and his comment of the two dating... it did depress her a tad, because she wished she had had the confidence to ask Neville out. Apparently, however, she lacked it. She had been awful to him before, so why on earth would he agree to go out with her again? Perhaps friendship was the furthest their relationship could go.

"Hey, do you want to grab some dinner after this?" She suddenly pied up, feeling no reservations in asking him because it had been something that usually did, as friends. "Nothing heavy, just a sandwich or something..."

----------

Draco had, after work, decided to walk home rather than apparate. It would take him a few seconds if he wished to, but walking took at least half an hour... but it helped greatly to clear his head.

And when remembering that Atropa was at home, he had popped into the local shop to collect a fe things: her favourite wine, some bits and pieces to make dinner for her and some chocolate. Typically comforting things to show that he was supportive and helping her, unlike his disrespect the last time she had gone through something like this.

"Atropa? You, uh... where's Adrian? Did he go?" He murmured once entering the bedroom, at least thankful the house was warm. "I bought some stuff to make dinner, I figured you guys wouldn't order anything in. How are you feeling?" He sighed, flopping down onto the bed and running a hand through her hair fondly. "...Better?"​
 
It seemed that he and Karina were always the last ones to leave work as of late.
Neville didn't really mind, honestly. He liked spending time with her, and it was definitely better than being home alone.
Neville always worked extra before, but he'd been doing it to stay with her lately.
He would never admit it, but that was the truth.

Sitting back in his chair, Neville put his hands behind his head and leaned back, yawning.
"Yeah, dinner sounds good. I want a burger, though." He told her, smiling.
Standing, Neville stretched and grabbed his jacket, waiting for Karina.

---------------------------------

Atropa had been lying in bed since Adrian left. Well, not the whole time. She'd changed the bedding, making sure to wash the other, before getting back into the bed.
Draco returned home exactly on time, and Atropa sat up, propping herself up with some pillows behind her.
"He had some work to finish. I told him I was fine, so he left."
She shrugged, yawning.

Smiling up at him, Atropa nodded. "Yes, much better, thanks. I'll be going back to work tomorrow."
She kissed his cheek softly, feeling that she was getting better at lying.
Of course, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
​
 
Karina grinned at her friend, leaning to place a platonic kiss on her cheek once having gathered her coat and scarf, and headed to her friend's side.

She hadn't exactly told her cousin that she would be staying late, but given how usual it had become, she figured he had come to expect her arriving home late-- and he was brilliant at handling Jude, so she really didn't have any worries about her son that much. Edward had always been great with kids.

"Burgers sound great, actually," she beamed, intertwining their arms instantaneously - being close to him had become a habit in recent weeks. "There's a great little place downtown?"

----------

"Are you sure?" He murmured, easing up closer to her after placing the chocolates down on her lap with an affectionate smile gracing his face. He had undoubtedly been miserable all day, and did recognise the fact that his one moment of breaking that moodiness was being able to return home and see his wife.

"...You know what's best for yourself, I guess," he laughed quietly, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I... uh..."
​
 
Neville blushed slightly when Karina kissed his cheek. She didn't seem to realize that he still had feelings for her.
Smiling as she put her arm around his, Neville led them outside and pulled his coat tighter around him.
"Yeah, let's go!" He agreed, happy to just be spending time with her, honestly.

----

"Yes, I think that having an organized schedule and stuff will help a lot. I think staying in bed all day is bad for me."
Atropa smiled and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly.
"What's up?" She asked, at his trailing off.​
 
"You're so cute," she gushed quietly, beaming up at her friend the moment he sounded just as glad to hang out. She did often worry she was becoming a pain and a hassle with her constant desire to meet up and go to dinners with him, but it did mostly all originate from her want to simply be friends with him again.

And probably a little more than friends, but given her uncertainty over how he felt, she really didn't want to embarrass herself by asking.

"Can you believe Draco thought we were back together?" She murmured, locking the department door behind them - she couldn't really stop herself from at least referencing the possibility of them being back together. "Silly, huh...?"

----------

"Nothing! Nothing's the matter," he chuckled wearily, though that in itself completely indicated the opposite, especially when he was nervously nibbling on his lip.

"I... I don't want to keep bringing it up, and I know this isn't about me, I won't be selfish-- but today really scared me, Atropa," he revealed quietly, grabbing her hands to hold in his own protectively. "...You need to talk to me, tell me how you feel, however difficult. I want to be there for you."​
 
"Thanks." Neville replied, laughing. He didn't think anything of it, honestly.
Karina was always saying things like that to him.
Looking down at Karina, Neville shrugged, putting his hand into hers, squeezing it gently.

"Well, I mean, it could happen again.. Right?"

------------

"I know. I'm sorry." Atropa answered, shaking her head. Taking Draco's hand, she smiled at him, leaning forward to kiss him gently.
She couldn't possibly tell him she'd slept with Adrian.
Especially not twice.

"I'm so sorry you had to go to work worrying about me." She whispered, biting her lip.
She felt guilty, but at the same time, she couldn't tell him what had happened.​
 
"What could happen again - us? As a couple?" She clarified quietly, arching a brow and falling silent for a little while along their walk. In fact, it was a solid minute or two before she even responded.

"...Of course it could. I... I'd like it to happen, because I have missed you a lot, in a relationship context," she admitted finally, leaning to peck his cheek as a tester, at least, and when she blushed, it did confirm every feeling she had felt for the last few weeks.

----------

"No. No, don't fret about me, I just... I wish I could have helped you," he admitted tiredly, scooting up closer to increase their proximity, and sighed contentedly at how... content he felt, for once.

Rather than feeling nervous about upsetting her, or desperate to act like a happy couple, it appeared to thankfully come naturally as he relaxed close next to her.

"...Anyway, work was great today, at least. Neville and Karina were... actually pretty kind to me."​
 
Neville grew nervous when Karina didn't respond after clarifying that he'd meant them as a couple.
His heart raced in his chest and he wondered if he'd scared her into silence.

Just as he was about to laugh and tell her he hadn't meant it, she spoke up.
Smiling as she kissed his cheek, Neville turned to her, glad she'd been thinking the same thing.
"I'd like it to happen again too. I've missed you so much."


-----

"Oh?" Atropa asked, smiling up at Draco, opening the box of chocolates and taking one out.
After popping it into her mouth, she chewed and swallowed before speaking again.

"That's great. I'm glad you've got some real friends, love."
She smiled and kissed him, pushing his hair back, admiring how gorgeous he was.
She really wanted to make it work with Draco.​
 
"Edward always said that I ought to ask you out again, seeing as it was primarily my fault we broke up in the first place. He always said we were a cute couple," she smiled warmly, carefully entwining their fingers again.

"If... we're dating again, I really don't want to break up. It sucked last time, because I do really love you, I did back then too, so... this time, if we argue, we need to make up straight away," she decided, having learnt that going to bed on an argument was never a wise thing to do, and solving them beforehand was key. It was probably the one thing they had to work on.

---------

"I wouldn't say we're friends, really," he sighed, letting her play with his hair and sat still obediently for her to do so, fiddling with the blanket in his hands to pass his own time. "I've treated them both horrendously, so I suppose they wouldn't see me as a friend, but their help today means a lot so I'm open to the idea. I suppose I need to make a few friends."

Sighing at how soppy and pathetic he felt he sounded, he was happy to move off the topic, quickly.

"I'm going to see Jude tomorrow. I know it's not comfortable for you, so I'll take him out somewhere-- but afterwards, we can do whatever you want in the evening. Dinner, or a movie. Something romantic."​
 
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