Draco Lucius Malfoy (d_l_malfoy) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2016-09-18 08:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, !log, [plot] truth, ~25 points, ~~draco malfoy (d_l_malfoy), ~~sydney sage (sage_lily) |
WHO: Sydney Sage and Draco Malfoy
WHERE: At the college
WHEN: Friday at class and after
WHAT: The Truth Plot hits Draco and he confesses things he hadn’t meant
RATING: PG
STATUS: log; completed
The morning had not quite gone to Draco’s plan. He’d spent the morning before class at work dealing with shelving items. It had been quiet, but the physical labour had been tiring. Because he had been required to finish the boxes before leaving, he ended up running late. And running late had meant that he ended up without an opportunity to get a coffee before class with the world’s most boring professor. He had yet to digress from the monotone rehash of textbook they had all read. At this rate he’d been lucky to escape the afternoon without nodding off.
Sliding into the seat next to Sydney, as was his custom, Draco smirked at her in the moment before the professor began speaking.
***
Sydney wouldn’t have wanted to admit it, but she’d been worried when Draco hadn’t been in his seat. He was usually punctual to a fault, and when the hour of the class struck and he still wasn’t there, she wondered if he’d finally insulted the wrong person.
So when he did finally slip in, she didn’t give him her usual severe look when he smirked at her. Instead, she merely inclined her head and turned her attention to the professor. He may not be very exciting, but Sydney didn’t need exciting. What she did want was insight, and he didn’t provide any of that. Still, he was the teacher and she the student, so she kept quiet throughout the entire class, releasing her focus on the material only in the instances where she saw Draco starting to nod off, in which case she gave him a sharp kick under the table.
***
As the class ended, Draco was almost positive he had a large bruise on his shin where Sydney had continually kicked him. While he appreciated that she was helping him stay awake, he knew he might limp for the rest of the day at this rate. His grey eyes turned and appraised her as he gathered together his things.
“Is there a reason that you choose to kick me instead of a friendlier manner to keep me awake?” he asked, that single eyebrow raising in inquiry. “It hurts you know.”
What? He hadn’t meant to say that outloud. It certainly didn’t fit with the image that he carefully cultivated - that hard outer shell that never felt anything, least of all showed it to someone. Mentally he frowned as he helped her pick up her things, handing them to her while at the same time being careful not to touch her, despite his intense desire to do so.
***
“I wasn’t sure if anything less would get your attention,” Sydney told him. “And you don’t strike me as someone who’d be fine with missing most of the lecture, no matter how boring you claim it to be. I wanted to help.”
That last part was added as an afterthought, but Sydney hadn’t actually thought about saying it. It just slipped out. And it was true: she did want to help. Draco had shown enough interest in the material that she’d hate him to miss out and therefore be unable to discuss it with her afterwards.
***
Her admission about wanting to help him confused Draco. It did not seem to be par for the course of their relationship. His grey eyes looked her over carefully. She was not a person who practiced deception in the slightest so there had to be an important reason for the omission. Draco just couldn’t figure out what it was.
“I am not sure what else might have garnered my attention either - short of a rampaging blast ended skrewt,” Draco commented with a wry grin, putting his bag up on his shoulder. “So I appreciate the effort, but not the bruise.”
Then Draco felt compelled to add, “And you are correct - I do not want to miss the information he presents - as dull as it might be. However next time, perhaps you could opt for a different method that doesn’t leave a bruise.” He gave her a grin, enjoying their conversation and wanting her to know he appreciated it.
***
Sydney found herself smiling back, although she knew she shouldn't. There was nothing really funny about any of this, but somehow, his honour was infectious.
“Or,” she pointed out, “you could just not fall asleep in class. That would preclude me from giving you any bruises.”
***
“I will not fall asleep in glass when I receive the proper allotment of time to garner a cup of coffee,” Draco pointed out before adding, “Which I believe you addicted me to. Now I don’t feel that this class is appreciable without it.”
And then before he had any ability to censor himself, Draco added, “One of the many things that I’ve changed about myself because of you.”
Well Salazar take it, he hadn’t meant to say that outloud.
***
He’d mentioned changing for her before, and Sydney didn’t have any more of an answer to him now than she did then. She took a step back, flustered.
“I never asked you to change for me,” she said quickly. She’d never asked anyone to change for her. All her life, she’d been told to conform to someone else’s ideals. No one had changed to fit hers.
***
“I didn’t say that you asked me to change,” Draco pointed out and then added, “but that doesn’t mean that I am not willing to change. Or that I shouldn’t change.” Again the truth was pulled from Draco like taffy being stretched after a bite. None of this confession was of his own volition.
“But I want you to spend time with me so that necessitates some willingness to change,” Draco commented, looking at Sydney.
“Why are you so surprised that someone would change in order to spend time with you?” he asked, frowning slightly, assuming that she was bombarded with interest from the male population back home.
***
But Sydney shook her head. “People don’t want to be with me,” she said simply. “And anyways, I don’t have time for that. I have an important job back home, one that takes up my time and energy. I don’t have time for a boyfriend.”
She was speaking the truth here, at least the truth as she knew it. Her job as Alchemist precluded any kinds of attachments that would get in the way of her duty.
***
“People don’t want to be with you?” Draco echoed, rather appalled at the statement. That made no sense in his mind. Of course, Draco realised he did not see Sydney the same way that others did - or even the same way that Sydney saw herself. She considered herself only a tool to do the bidding of others and Draco did not particularly care for that thought process she clung to.
Draco raised a hand to forestall further discussion or statements. He knew her well enough now that she was going to argue with him as much as possible.
“But you are no longer there, you are here. Which means you are not doing that job and therefore, you deserve the right to have a boyfriend.” And how the grin widened enough further. “So you can spend time with me and I’ll be your boyfriend.” Such an ego filled statement.
***
It was such a bald and preposterous statement Sydney could only stand there and sputter at him for a moment.
“That makes no sense!” she protested. “Just because I’m not there doesn’t mean I don’t still have a job to do, and even if I didn’t, I could be doing other things with my time. I don’t have to get a boyfriend. And you’re just...you’re…”
At a loss for words, she just gestured wildly at him.
***
“Handsome, sexy, intelligent, interesting,” Draco immediately ticked off, filling in her blank with an ego filled grin. The truth spell clearly had no impact on his ego. If anything, it merely brought it to the front.
“But if you’re not doing me,” Draco smirked at the double entendre of the words, “then what are you doing with your time?”
He stopped and put his hands on his hips and looked at her seriously. “What is so wrong with doing something you might want instead of anything else?” He leaned into her. “What are you so afraid of with having me as a boyfriend?”
***
He wasn't wrong about all his attributes, but she leaned away from him anyway when he leaned in. There was something about him that made her fluttery and unsettled and nervous - something that had nothing to do with his magic.
“You're assuming I’d go out with you if I wasn't so focused on my job,” she told him. “But what if I'm interested in someone else? Or not interested in dating at all?”
***
“Are you interested in someone else?” Draco asked, the whisper of violence threading through the words. He couldn’t help it. What in the name of Salzaar was he up to? Why did he suddenly feel violent about the mere idea of her being with someone else? He was supposed to be indifferent to her… wasn’t he?!
He took a deep breath and tried to get himself back under control. “Tell you what. If you aren’t interested in dating me, prove it.” The smirk curved up his lips, confidence back and threats of violence fading away.
***
“What? No!” Sydney had just thrown that out as a possibility. There were a lot of good-looking people in Madison, she supposed, but she had no interest in any of them. She didn't have any interest in anyone, but she'd found herself thinking of Draco much more than he warranted. It must be because he kept popping up when she didn't expect it.
“I don't have to prove I'm not interested in you,” she said, a little more nervously than she would've liked. It made her sound unsure of herself. “How would I even do that?”
***
“How would you prove you’re not interested?” Draco asked, smirking slightly. Now he felt like he was winning. He was far more used to being on the top of these discussions so it buoyed his ego immensely. And an ego filled Draco would do whatever it took to get what he wanted.
“Well, that, love, is easy.” He leaned further into her personal space. “Kiss me.”
***
Sydney sucked in a breath. He was suddenly so close she could well imagine that the air she’d just breathe had come straight from his lungs. It was a strangely intimate thought, and one that made her heart start hammering.
Choosing to believe it was due to feeling threatened rather than interested, Sydney backed away. “I’ll do nothing of the sort,” she told him. “I have to go.”
***
More than willing to let her go at the moment, Draco knew that there would be another opportunity for things. He grinned at her. “Go then. But the conversation is not over.”
Oh yes, this was not the last time for this discussion and next time it would end in his preference.