"Oh, no," Harry frowned, turning slightly to look across his shoulder for a waiter, gesturing that they were ready to order when he caught a server's eyes. "I don't want to lie to any of them."
Harry once again turned to meet Draco's eyes. That was the only thing he was certain of; he didn't want to lie. Though lying seemed like the easiest way out of this situation, Harry didn't think there was anything to gain from it. Besides, it didn't feel fair for either of them.
"I, uh -" he instead started, turning his head slightly as the server approached their table. Because of that, the end of his sentence was spoken softer, leaning instinctively forward. "I was hoping we could figure out what to say together."
His words were accompanied by a careful, yet genuine, smile, before Harry straightened his posture, ready to address the young girl who was politely waiting to be spoken to. "I'll have what ever he's having and a beer, please."

Draco was overwhelmed by the entire situation and was more than a little relieved when their server approaches the table. He turned to her with a soft smile, happy to get to divert his attention for a moment and get a moment to think.
"That'll be two mushroom stuffed ravioli in pesto then, and a glass of white wine for me. The house wine should do," he stated and handed the girl his menu, which she room quickly after scribbling down their order on her pad. Once she was off again, Draco reluctantly turned to Harry, trying to figure out what to make of the situation. Harry didn't want to lie, but it was hard to tell the truth, when you weeny actually sure what the truth even was anymore. He knew that he liked Harry, and a whole lot of that, he just didn't know if they were actually serious enough to move their relationship so far. It seemed like way too much way too early and it was hard for Draco to wrap his head around.
"Then comes the next heavy hitter," he said, trying to smile to lighten the mood a little, but his heart wasn't really in it. This was so important to their relationship and Draco couldn't believe that it was a conversation they were having at an Italian muggle restaurant. "What are we, Harry? It's gonna be fairly hard to tell Teddy and Ginny what we are if we don't even know ourselves."

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"I don't know," Harry admitted. It didn't take him much thought to reach that answer, as he had found himself thinking about it over the course of the last few days. His eyes were still on Draco and a slight shrug tugged at his shoulders. "But I don't want us to stop being it."
It was awkwardly phrased, and Harry was well aware of it the moment he had said it out loud. It made his nose crinkle slightly, and he restlessly adjusted his glasses.
"Actually, I would really like you to meet everybody," Harry continued softly, not sure if that was a lot to ask of Draco. "You know - I don't want you to be separated from the rest of my life any longer."

The response surprised Draco, even if it probably shouldn't. They had been seeing each other for quite a while, almost half a year by now, and yet it kept surprising Draco that Harry seemed to honestly want to be with him. It was overwhelming and for a moment Draco simply looked down at the table, softly tracing the pattern on the table cloth with the tip of his index finger, not sure if he could actually face Harry.
"Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting Harry to jump into anything he didn't honestly want. They still had all the time in the world and if Harry wanted more time, then he should honestly take that time. It would be better to wait, than to jump into something too fast. "You don't have to push this. I know we sorta got pushed into a situation a little too quick, but that doesn't mean we have to move faster than we otherwise would have," he stated, still just watching his finger following the pattern on the table.

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The corner of Harry's mouth briefly turned upwards. "Maybe not as much pushed as encouraged," Harry offered as an alternative interpretation of the situation, slowly leaning forwards across the table again.
"If you're not up for it at the moment, it's fine though. I can wait." It seemed like it was the first time Harry had been faced with that option, and after a silent moment of consideration, he nodded as to confirm the truth of the statement.
"The thing is," Harry started on a slightly different trail, as he shifted his position slightly. His eyes briefly flickered towards Draco's hands, before once again seeking to meet the other's eyes. "I really want you to properly meet and interact with Teddy; but I don't think I can do that without at least telling my family about you."

Draco nodded softly at that, trying to figure out a way to respond, but just was he thought he had found his word, the server came to their table with their drinks. He smiles softly at her and nodded softly to acknowledge her. However, his attention was mostly on Harry and as soon as the server left, he seemed to have lost the thread again. It was scary and overwhelming, but he wanted to be with Harry, one way or another.
"That's a lot," was all he could say, because that was honestly all he was thinking. No matter what the thing he and Harry had was, then it was most of all a lot. It wasn't a bad thing, but Draco found himself constantly overwhelmed by it. It felt like a huge step to him to possibly committing to Harry and he had to make sure it was for real.
He really wanted to say something else too, almost anything really, but he couldn't get himself to utter another word. It was just a whole lot to take in and he wasn't sure how to wrap his head around it.

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Harry instinctively gripped the pint, though he was far too caught up with trying to read Draco's expression to actually have a drink.
"Is it too much?" Harry had to ask, frowning slightly as he spoke. He had absolutely no idea what was going through Draco's mind, and Harry didn't know in which direction the conversation was going to go.
Realistically, Harry couldn't blame Draco for being hesitant about it all. Harry was well aware of the fact that it was going to stir things up with the Weasley's if he told them he was seeing Draco Malfoy - but how unbothered Ginny had so far gave Harry some reason to be carefully optimistic.

"No?" Draco said, but it ended up sounding more like a question than a statement. It shouldn't feel so hard to get further entangled in Harry's life, seeing as he wanted to spend more time with him and really honestly did like his company. It was really only Draco himself who was holding him back, but he didn't know how to let himself go and trust Harry fully. It seemed too daring somehow, even if Harry had never given him anything to mistrust.
"I don't know. I haven't done this in ages," he said, referring to daring in general. His last serious boyfriend had been Blaise and that had been back at Hogwarts, before the war broke out. It was impossible to tell what was expected of him, especially in a situation as complicated as the one he was in with Harry. "And even if I had, it still wouldn't have helped," he added, not a lot more helpfully than his first comment. He wanted to be with Harry, that much was easy to settle, but it was the rest that followed that was hers to swallow.
"I know that I want to be south you, but the rest, Teddy and the rest of your friends and family, it's just a whole lot to take in and I'm not sure how well I'm going to be handling that. I really want to tho."

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"No, yeah. I get that it's a lot," Harry instinctively backtracked upon realising the direction Draco's response was going. Softly, Harry shook his head, partially looking like he had regretted even bringing it up - as if the whole point of this lunch wasn't to address it.
After a pause, that seemed to last too long, Harry finally gathered the courage to continue. "I'm going to be on your side in all of it, you know that, right?" The topic was fairly delicate, and Harry spoke in a soft voice. Everything felt too out in the open for their surroundings, and in that moment, he was genuinely glad that he had muffled their conversation to the surrounding tables.
"Draco, I really -" there was a slightly stutter which made Harry briefly glance down "- like you. If possible, I want you to be a part of my life. If you don't want to be, then that's fine, but don't let them spook you. They'll be nice," Harry promised, as he finally met Draco's eyes.

Even if it shouldn't come as a surprise to him, the words still felt overwhelming to him. He liked Harry so terribly much and knowing that Harry felt the same was a lot for him to take in. He looked up at Harry with a soft expression, trying to figure out exactly how to express exactly how he felt for Harry.
"I like you too," he said, not certain if it was a good idea for them to have this conversation in public, but he figured that that was what the muffling charm was for. "A lot," he added after a while, not quite sure what else he was supposed to be saying.
"Don't get me wrong. I really do want to do this, but it's also very overwhelming," he stated, looking down at the table once more, seeing as actually looking at Harry made it all feel that more intense. "I want to be part of your life, even if it means getting introduced to your family and friends."

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An indescribable feeling of relief went through Harry upon hearing Draco say that. He was unable to keep a smile off of his face, and he felt like he needed to straighten his posture.
"Yeah?" Harry asked, wanting to make sure he had understood Draco correctly. Suddenly feeling filled with energy, Harry gripped his cuff button, inattentively fidgeting with it. The smile lingered upon Harry's lips as he silently watched Draco, unable to believe that this was actually happening.
"I don't expect it to happen all at once," Harry had to clarify, once again leaning forward. His right hand remained on his left cuff, watching Draco attentively. "That'll also give you time to decide if you're up for seeing somebody with a kid."
The addition was spoken with a crooked grin, but stemmed out of genuine worry. Harry could not express how much he hoped Teddy wasn't going to intimidate Draco. Harry had early in the process told Draco about Teddy, but hearing about him and meeting him were two very different things.

Draco nodded softly, willing to take this slow and see where it was going to take them. He honestly did want to be a part of Harry's life and to be with him, even if it was scary to have a child involved as well. He had never pictured himself being with someone who had a kid, but somehow he knew that Harry was going to be worth it, or at least worth the struggle.
Their server came to their table with their food and she was gracious enough not to comment on the tension, which she could most definitely feel. She just smiled at them and told them to enjoy, which Draco could appreciate.
He still wasn't looking directly at Harry, it simply seemed too daring to stare at him directly. Once the server was completely away, Draco cleared his throat and took a sip from his wine, needing to calm him nerves a little. "I really do want to see you," he said in a soft voice, wanting to reach out and touch Harry, but he refrained from doing this. "Kid or no kid. I really like you and I really do want to keep seeing you."

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Once their food was served Harry felt like he had no appetite at all, and, without thinking, he pushed the plate slightly forward in order to once again make room for his elbows to rest upon the table.
"I'd like to keep seeing you, too," Harry answered, a soft smile remaining on his lips. He knew he had said it before, but it felt important that there was no room for doubt or misinterpretation. "I really do."
Yet again, a silence fell around their table; but his time, Harry sat behind with little to no fear. Draco had said he wanted to keep seeing Harry, and that practically all he needed to know. However, one question remained unanswered.
"We never answered the heavy hitter," Harry started carefully. "What do you want me to introduce you to Teddy as?"

It was a very hard question to answer, especially considering what he and Harry had already been through. They hasn't exactly had the easiest run so far and this wasn't making it any easier. Teddy's involvement only caused further confusion to Draco, because he didn't want to promise anything he couldn't keep, but he wouldn't be able to bear not actually seeing Harry. They had tried being friends, but he already knew that it wouldn't be working for them. It was impossible to back down.
"That's really up to you," he said, not daring to even imply that they were anything more than simply dating. Nothing about this was straight forward and he didn't want to cause any confusion to Teddy. "It's not like we're super set on a label for ourselves, so I think you need to judge what is going to cause the least confusion to Teddy."

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Harry took a moment to consider Draco's words because, after all, he wasn't wrong, and Harry had tried to take that into accounting. Teddy was a smart kid, but there was some things that were bound to be new to him.
"I'd like to introduce you as my boyfriend," Harry finally said. He had been deep in thought, yet his voice sounded as calm as casual af if he was just now oderring lunch.
"Not for Teddy's sake, though," Harry needed to clarify, and a soft smile gradually lit up his features. "But because I want you to be."

Unable to stop it, Draco felt a broad grin spread in his lips, feeling happier than he had for a long time. He really wanted this and it felt so good to actually hear Harry say the word, even if he would have been unable to say it himself. It was also terrifying to actually have a label for what they are, seeing as it would be impossible to back down or to downplay what they were. They were boyfriends, clean and simple.
"I'd like that," he said with a warm smile, reaching out to take a hold of Harry's hand, needing the confirmation through the touch. Harry really was sitting in front of him and asking him to be his boyfriend. It was almost too good to be true. "I'd love to be your boyfriend and for you to be mine."

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It was absolutely amazing that this was happening, and Harry could barely believe it. It left like the last few years seemed to have gone by in a blur, and in that moment, Harry sat grinning like a giddy teenager. His heart felt like it was about to burst, and he so deeply wanted to express that out loud.
A chill went down Harry's spine upon hearing Draco say the word love and in an instinctive gesture, he tightened his grip around the other's hand. For a moment fearing he might say something that he would regret (though he very genuinely ment) Harry stood. He pushed his chair backwards, and with Draco's hand still in his, he lent across the table to kiss Draco.

Draco grinned happily into the kiss, grin almost too broad to actually return the kiss, but he couldn't help it. He was happy to finally have a label and for him to finally feel safe in his relationship with Harry.
It felt like a dream and Draco had no desire to wake up. Had he known that this lunch would end like this he would have had no reason to fear it. He was the happiest he had been for a very long time.
Draco gently broke the kiss, not wanting to be inappropriate in public, but he was still grinning up at Harry. Unable to stop it.

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Harry still held onto Draco's hand for dear life, as he took a moment to just admire Draco. Harry could not remember ever having seen him so beautiful. Again fearing he might say the wrong, three words, Harry planted a second, brief kiss on Draco's lips before getting back into his chair.
"Alright," Harry breathed, leaning back into his chair like he was done for the day, despite not having touched any of the food n front of him. The smile lingered upon his lips and he was certain that it would remain there for he rest of the week. "Then that's settled."

It seemed like a way too mundane way to end this conversation, but there really was nothing more to say about it. Harry was his boyfriend and he was Harry's. It was overwhelming and amazing. It was almost too good to be true.
"It's settled," he confirmed, grin still wide on his lips. It felt like a huge relief, but he knew that the stress of the situation was going to hit him later. For now though, he was going to enjoy the moment and not overthink it. He could not overthink for at least a lunch.
"For now, we should eat our lunch, before it gets cold," he said, even if he didn't have much of an appetite anymore. All he wanted to do was to look at Harry, but he knew that that would be creepy, even if they were boyfriends now.

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