(no subject)

[dragonofgrey]

Draco had a potion book hovering in front of him at a table in their rooms in the Guild, currently poring over a very complicated potion entry. Occasionally he did a slight wave of his hand to change pages and sipped his tea as he let a quick notes quill copy down notes on a piece of parchment. He had an idea for a new special edition potion order that he hoped would take off at Dragonlight. One that produced sparkling snowflakes on command.

Comments

[gorgonfondness]

In any other situation, Mia would be very eager to learn about this potion.

As it is, after her conversation with Tom, she's both too eager and not eager at all to approach the subject on her mind.

"Draco?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He was still distracted a bit with his reading so there was an idle, "Hmmm?" in response.

[gorgonfondness]

There's a pause and then she says those dreaded words. The words no one in a relationship wants to hear.

"I think we need to talk."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

The book fell with a thunk on the table, and knocked his quill and parchment over.

Draco immediately glanced over at her with surprise.

"What?"

[gorgonfondness]

"It's nothing too serious!" she says. "Or at least, I hope it doesn't get to be too serious. I'm just a little concerned about us."

She sits across from him.

"And I want you to know, before I say anything else, that I love you. That's why I want to talk to you about this."

She folds her hands on the table.

"I'm worried about...how much you need me."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco blinked at her with confusion, "And? I love you, isn't that part of the point?"

[gorgonfondness]

"I mean needing to physically be around me and fussing when that's apparently threatened. Like when we were in Reza. I couldn't even leave the bed to comfort Lily."

Next thing you know, she'll have to ask his permission before going to the bathroom.

"Do not misunderstand me. I can't think of anyone else I would rather spend my life with and I am so happy you feel the same way. But since being together, I'm having trouble finding some of the parts of your personality that drew me to you. I don't want our marriage to crush your identity."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco remarked, "Love, I'm fine. I'm not constantly around you. You have your duties, I have my shop and work."

[gorgonfondness]

"But we both need time to ourselves outside of work. And for a marriage to be a true marriage, we both need to be equals. I worry that we might not be."

She looks away for a moment.

"I miss the sarcasm you used to use with me. It was one of the reasons why I started finding myself so taken with you. It let me know that we were on even ground, that I wasn't something being worshiped the way the people in the Mia Ausa fan club treat me."

Beat.

"You don't have any Mia Ausa fan club things, do you?"

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"What? No of course not! Don't be ridiculous. And why would I be sarcastic to you now?"

[gorgonfondness]

"Well, it's hard to tell since you fawn just like them sometimes. And I expect you to be sarcastic to me because you're sarcastic to everyone."

Women marry men expecting they will change.

Except for Mia Ausa, who expected her husband to stay the same.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Oh for Merlin's sake, I'm not drooling and trying to pop out of the bushes at you. I just want to give you what you should be getting."

[gorgonfondness]

"But what about you? Your thoughts, your needs?"

She thinks for a moment.

"Tell me something, do the ends justify the means?"

Mia is a little more familiar with Machiavelli than she was when she insisted they don't.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"My needs are fine, and the end is the whole point. It's the goal. Who cares how you get there?"

[gorgonfondness]

"Thank goodness, we still think differently."

That is said with actual relief.

"But I still think this is a problem. To the point that I think we need to try a little time apart. Just a little. One day a week for us to sleep by ourselves and figure out who we are by ourselves instead of who we are with each other."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Why? Does it have to be even one night?"

[gorgonfondness]

"Yes, at least one night, and the more the better. Draco..."

She holds his hands.

There's no reason why they can't have some contact.

"This is important to me. Because you're important to me. And we got married in the middle of you trying to find yourself. I want you to keep looking, and while we can look together, it's important that you have some time to look by yourself."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

He frowned, "I have been looking by myself before, and that turned out horribly at times."

[gorgonfondness]

She rubs his knuckles.

"Still, if you can't be by yourself for one night a week, then there is some sort of problem."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco looked evenly back at her silently, worry in his expression.

[gorgonfondness]

"Trust me, dear, with how much that can be done, once a week will hardly feel like any time at all. Just the other night, Tom invited you over to the House of Arch. And you can catch up with your parents if you like. I know you miss them."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"A little. I do miss Tom, it's been too long."

[gorgonfondness]

"Now that's not right. He's your friend, your former boss, and the best man at our wedding."

A reassuring kiss to his knuckles.

"Why don't you go see him this coming Saturday, if not sooner? Then Sunday can be set aside for us and we can do something like that every weekend."

Until she's not quite so worried.

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco thought about it.

"All right, next weekend, I'll pop in at the House. My rooms there could use a good airing too."

[gorgonfondness]

"All right. Then we'll have to think of something to do on Sunday. I don't want you spending all of your Saturday planning out your time with me. Thinking about it, maybe, but not obsessing over details and such."

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

"Been too long since we've had a picnic."

[gorgonfondness]

"But it is getting awfully cold."

Oh no!

They'll have to resort to shared body heat!

[dragonofgrey.livejournal.com]

Draco smirked, "Mia darling? You know fire magic. I'm a wizard. It's not a concern."

[gorgonfondness]

"I thought the point of a picnic was to keep things simple."

She thinks.

"Oh, we could bring that lovely blanket Kyle and Jessica gave us at our wedding. It would be easier to enchant that ahead of time instead of worrying about it when it happens."

But drat! No shared body heat!