What hurts the most
Is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing
What could have been
And not seeing that loving you
Is what I was trying to do

What Hurts the Most ~ Rascal Flatts

Stepping into the familiar cabin, Harry was accosted by the scents and the memories they brought back. The cabin itself was exactly as he remembered it, tucked away from the world, deep in the wilderness. The foyer in which he stood was decorated with various hunting trophies, none of which had been earned by the cabin's current owner. Two dragon-hide chairs sat in front of an immaculate fireplace. The scene caused Harry to smile with fondness. This was the home of his happiest memories.

Moving further into the room, he called out. His heart sunk when he got no response. He didn't want to wait. He wanted to feel his lover's embrace. A year was long enough to wait.

Sighing deeply, he began to pace. At first, he was merely anxious to see his lover, but soon his excitement was tainted with worry. What if he wasn't coming? What if he finally decided the risk wasn't worth the payoff? What if he decided Harry wasn't worth it?

True panic seized him and he grasped the wall for support. His breathing turned to ragged gasps. Was this the end? Besides his children, this was the only thing in his life that brought him happiness. Sometimes thinking about his time in this cabin was the only thing that got him through the long days and the even longer nights.

He was so lost in bleak thoughts that he didn't hear the quiet pop behind him, announcing the arrival he so desperately craved. When strong hands grabbed him from behind, he jumped. Before he could utter a single word, he'd been turned to face the other man, his mouth covered by his lips. His tension and fear melted away with the passion of the kiss.

"You're late," Harry scolded when they broke apart for air.

"I'm sorry," Draco replied, brushing his lips against Harry's neck. "Astoria decided this afternoon that she needed a vacation in the tropics this week. I had to get Scorpius settled with my parents."

Of course, Harry understood the importance of being a father. He had two boys of his own to think about. Still he couldn't stop himself from being a bit of a prat about it.

"I thought you weren't coming," he sulked.

That comment got Draco's attention. Deep grey eyes pierced green as if they could see into Harry's soul. Then Draco pulled him close, embracing him so tightly it hurt. The pain meant nothing to Harry. He was simply happy to be in those arms again.

"I'll always come to you, Harry," he whispered. "Always."

Their lips met again, but this time the contact was fierce. This was no mere hello snog. Their teeth smashed together as they bit and jostled for dominance. Harry could taste blood in his mouth, but he didn't care. The taste was even welcome. Maybe Draco was turning him into a vampire. He found he didn't care about that either, as long as they could spend eternity together.

Pushing roughly at Harry, Draco led them to the bedroom. Harry could already feel the silk sheets against his naked body as he and Draco truly reunited.

As they fell onto the bed, Harry started fighting with Draco's robes, trying to get the prize beneath. Draco's musical laughter surrounded them as he pushed Harry's greedy hands away.

"These robes were expensive," he chided lightly. "Have you forgotten that you're a wizard? Use your wand, you prat."

Ignoring the jibe, Harry followed the advice and their game continued.

Hours later, still naked in bed, Harry laughed as Draco devoured a giant sandwich with an enthusiasm he was only accustomed to seeing from Ron. His laughter only increased when large chunks of lettuce fell onto the bed.

"I'm sure your mother would appreciate your manners," he teased.

Draco snorted. "Harry, if Mother could see me now, manners would be the least of her concerns."

The truth of his words sent Harry off on another round of giggles. Sighing, Draco left him to his tittering and finished his sandwich. For whatever reason, Harry didn't share his post-sex appetite and often enjoyed tormenting him about it.

When the sandwich was gone, Draco turned to the still laughing Harry, "Are you about done with your hyena impersonation?" he asked with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Nodding, Harry composed himself, struggling to breathe normally. Finally, he rested his head on Draco's bare chest, simply enjoying the familiar scent. When he felt Draco's fingers in his hair, he sighed with contentment. If only he could have this happiness all year.

For a long time they didn't talk, just laid together in the comfortable silence that was only achieved by two lovers. They'd never needed words to express their feelings. Still Draco chose to break the silence.

"You know our sons will be in the same year at Hogwarts."

"Unless one of them turns out to be a squib," Harry joked.

"You're not funny," Draco declared, pinging his forehead gently.

Harry laughed at the strange gesture.

"Really," Draco went on. "What do you think it'll be like for them? There's no war. No prejudices to keep them apart. Do you think they'll be friends or will they end up as rivals?"

"Maybe they'll end up like us," Harry said absently with a yawn.

"Merlin, I hope not."

"Oh really," Harry cried, pushing away from Draco and sitting up. He glared at the other man, with what he hoped was a look of pure rage. In truth, the words hurt him. "Well, if you're so disgusted by being with me, why do you come here every year?"

Looking away, Harry felt fear replace his anger and hurt. He'd never meant to ask that - to challenge Draco. What if this was it? What if Draco told him he didn't want to do this anymore?

"Look at me," Draco demanded, his voice hard and irritated.

"No."

Draco sighed and when he spoke again all the bite was gone from his voice. "How can you possibly be so insecure? You're bloody Harry Potter. You're a hero, a celebrity. You defeated the Dark Lord. Yet you still question your worth at every turn."

"Only when it's important," Harry whispered. "Only when it's you."

"Please, look at me, Harry." Fingers trailed through his unruly hair. "I really don't want to say this to the back of your head."

Harry wanted to continue sulking. He really did, but the sadness in Draco's voice was impossible for him to ignore. Besides, they had such little time together; it would be pure foolishness to waste it acting like a petulant child. He turned to face his lover.

A slight smile touched Draco's lips when their eyes met. Harry was consumed with an urge to kiss those lips, but he forced it away. He needed to hear what Draco had to say and his lover couldn't talk if his mouth was filled with Harry's tongue.

"Nothing about you disgusts me, Harry," Draco began. His smile faded into a much more serious expression. "The time I spend with you is the best thing in my life. This one week makes the rest of the year tolerable for me. But I stand by what I said; I don't wish this on our sons. They deserve more than one week of happiness out of the year."

Although he was touched by his lover's words, he still felt a tingle of old resentment. A tingle he couldn't seem to ignore. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"You're the one who wanted it this way for us."

Sighing, Draco ruffled Harry's hair. "You really are determined to row tonight, aren't you?"

"I'm not saying anything that isn't true."

"Yes, you are." Draco leaned into Harry, resting his head on his shoulder. "I didn't want this. I wanted to run-off with you, be with you forever, but for once in my life, I did the selfless thing. I gave-up the life I wanted because it was best for everyone else - for everyone we loved."

"It wasn't best for me," Harry allowed bitterness to enter his voice, but couldn't bring himself to move away from Draco.

"I think it was," Draco argued, "in the long run anyway. Harry, we got together only months after the final battle. We were both in bad shape. We worked because we could understand each other's pain. And then the sex helped to alleviate some of that pain. I never expected us to be more than that - more than casual sex partners."

"Thanks for that."

"Don't interrupt, Potter. It's rude."

Harry shot him a nasty look, but didn't say anything else.

"But we did become more than that. You became the most important person in my life. With the exception of my son, you're still that person, Harry. But we weren't the only ones broken after the war. My parents were destroyed. Granger and Weasley weren't much better. Your surrogate family was mourning the loss of one of their own. Andromeda was filled with grief and rage. Of the people I just mentioned, who do you think would've wished us well?"

"That's not the point."

"Who?"

"No one."

"And what if they did worse than disapprove? What if they cut us out of their lives? What if it was the breaking point for someone's damaged psyche? What if Andromeda took Teddy away from you? Could you have lived with any of that?"

"I don't know."

"You couldn't have," Draco insisted, taking his hand. "I know you. Any of those things would've destroyed you, especially then. I couldn't risk you. I couldn't risk my parents."

"So you got married?"

Draco nodded. "That's what my parents needed. Something new and happy to focus on. Besides, it was the only way to convince your arse to move on."

"Except you didn't want to move on. You wanted to start our yearly meetings."

"Because I couldn't let you go, not completely. I'm selfish at heart, you know that."

"I'm glad you couldn't," Harry replied, wrapping his arms around Draco.

"Can we stop talking about this now? We only have this week. I don't want to spend it talking about the past."

Harry realized that he no longer felt even a hint of annoyance. He couldn't even remember what convinced him to bring up this old topic. He was left feeling only love for Draco, and regret that he'd wasted any of their precious time on the past.

"Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" he taunted, moving so he could smile at Draco.

"No."

"Something you wanted to do, then?"

"You."

Before Harry could respond, Draco was on top of him, kissing him, touching him, filling him. Harry let all his thoughts leave his mind. He was with Draco. He could just be happy.

The rest of the week passed very much like the first night. They talked. They squabbled. Draco ate ludicrous amounts of food while Harry laughed at him. They made love. But most importantly, they were in love.

The mood remained the same right up until it was time to leave. They refused to waste a single second dreading their goodbye. But far too soon, goodbye was upon them and there was nothing they could do to hide from it. They had lives and responsibilities waiting for them at home.

Together they stood outside the cabin, staring into each other, neither of them wanted to Apparate away. Cold wind blew around them, but neither noticed. In that moment, they could only see each other.

Harry didn't know how long they stood like that. He could've stayed that way forever, but Draco broke the stare by pulling Harry into his arms, kissing him one last time. The kiss held more meaning than any words could.

"Same time next year?" Draco asked when he broke the kiss. He tried to conceal his emotions, but Harry saw his lip trembling.

As tears stung his eyes, Harry could only nod his agreement. He would always come for Draco, even if he could only have him for one week out of the year.

When Draco disappeared with a soft pop, Harry allowed his tears to flow.