Camping. Why had he agreed to this? Malfoy’s don’t camp! But then again, Malfoy’s usually didn’t associate with ‘lesser’ wizards, and yet Draco had been friends with Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, and Neville Longbottom for his entire school career. In fact, they were the reason he had needed to borrow a tent, something he was setting up with a flick of his wand. His friends has assured him that it would be fun, and that they had to do SOMETHING to celebrate graduating from Hogwarts.

This was how Draco found himself sitting in a wet bed, water dripping in from where his tent apparently had holes that he hadn’t been warned about. Most would simply charm the tent to keep the rain out, but he had never been camping in his life and had no idea what spells were needed.

“It’ll be fun, Draco, they said. You can’t miss out on this, they said. Last big get together before we get jobs and become adults, they said,” Draco muttered to himself, feeling his bottom lip begin to quiver as he frowned at the scene around him. For a moment he considered simply moving his bed away from the dribbles, but before he could even get out from under the blankets, a full size hole ripped in the canvas of his tent, completely drenching the blonde. Draco let out a startled shout and scrambled to his feet, now shivering hard enough that he struggled to grip his wand.

“Stupid tent… stupid storm… stupid friends and their stupid camping…” he continued to mutter as he stomped out of his tent and headed for the nearest available warm space - Neville’s tent. As soon as he stepped through the flap, he felt a comfortable warmth surround him and sighed softly, wiggling his fingers so he could properly grip his wand. A quick spell to dry his pajamas - a pair of black, silk pants and a black tanktop - was cast before he invited himself into Neville’s bed. Granted, it was really only made for one person, but the blonde pressed himself close none the less.

“Nnn? What…? Whossat?” Neville frowned as he felt the other body pressing against his own, frowning in the darkness as he tried to make out who was in his bed. A flash of lightning lit the tent long enough for him to make out blonde hair, and he let out a heavy sigh and settled back against his pillow.

“Draco? What’s going on?”

“My tent sprung a leak,” Draco told him, still shivering just a little. His minor tremors made Neville frown, the larger boy pulling Draco’s body closer and rubbing a hand against his ribs.

“Why didn’t you just charm the tent?” he asked, somewhat bothered by the coolness of Draco’s body.

“I’m a Malfoy,” the blonde huffed. “Malfoy’s don’t camp. I don’t know the spells.” Neville sighed in response, shuffling himself into a more comfortable position, one arm worming itself under Draco’s head while the other rested gently on the other male’s slender waist.

“Being a Malfoy seems like a pain in the ass.”

“You’re telling me,” Draco sighed, moving his feet forward and shoving them between Neville’s, causing the other boy to shout and try and pull away.

“Oi! You’re feet are like ice! Jerk!” Neville grumbled but allowed his long time friend to move closer none the less.

“You guys all have these awesome plans for the future,” Draco continued. “Potter is going to play Quidditch, Weasley showed a surprising talent for business and gets to open a second location of his brothers’ joke shop. And you…”

“And me? I’m just working towards a mastery of Herbology, Draco. It’s nothing impressive, or important,” Neville chuckled. “I’m hoping I’ll get to open my own shop, or take over one that’s already established, but I have a long ways to go.”

“But you got to choose your path… I didn’t. I’ll be going into Ministry work, like every Malfoy male before me. It’s the way things are. Malfoy’s don’t get to do anything considered ‘menial’ or ‘beneath’ them, or a job that doesn’t grant a Malfoy power over others.”

“And you don’t want to go into Ministry work?”

“Merlin, no. I don’t want to be a stuffy Ministry worker,” Draco snorted. “But I’m a Malfoy, and this is what Malfoy’s do. We have a reputation to uphold. A name to live up to.”

“Then I think you need a new last name,” Neville said simply, shrugging his shoulders. Another flash of lightning briefly lit up the tent and Draco could see the soft, caring smile Neville had on his face. It was the same smile he always had, calm and kind, and always supportive. Draco wiggled his toes a little, pressing them against Neville’s warm skin as he considered what had been said.

“Are you asking me to marry you?” Draco asked softly, closing that gap between him as he pressed his forehead against Neville’s chest. He could feel Neville’s breathing increase, and as he rested a hand against Neville’s firm chest, he could feel his heart beating quickly. The two laid together quietly for several minutes, Draco closing his eyes and breathing in Neville’s scent.

“So, what do you say, Longbottom?” he asked, finally breaking the silence as he once more lifted his head to look in the general direction of his friend’s face. “Will you marry me?”

“Draco…”

“What? You told me I need a new last name, so I assume you’re offering to marry me. You’re offering to help me break free of my family’s name and give me a chance to live the life I’ve always wanted to live,” the blonde smiled, curling his fingers in the soft material of Neville’s pajama top and, giving the other boy no chance to respond, pressing his lips against Neville’s. He felt Neville inhale sharply but was pleasantly surprised when his friend simply pulled his slender body closer and deepened the kiss. The two remained pressed together, limbs entangled, lips pressed together, hands sliding over small bits of exposed skin.

It didn’t last long, and it didn’t progress past some deep kissing, but the two remained tangled around one another, Neville gently running his fingers through Draco’s hair. He felt Draco relax against him not too long after and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Draco’s head.

“You won’t remember this in the morning,” he whispered softly. “But just for tonight… I can pretend we’re a couple… I can pretend you’re mine… I can pretend that after all these years, my deepest dreams of having you as mine have finally come true.”

*****

Neville wasn’t surprised when he woke up alone the next morning, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head, leaning from side to side as he waited for his body to loosen up. Lazy fingers sought out a pair of socks before he stood and changed out of his pajamas and donned a pair of faded blue jeans and a t-shirt. Raking his fingers through his close cropped hair, Neville made his way out of his tent, squinting in the morning sun. He smiled as he saw Harry and Ron sitting around the fire, Harry making breakfast for the group. To one side he could see Draco’s tent, though it had completely collapsed and lay in a soaking wet heap on the ground.

“Where’s Draco?” he asked, frowning and reaching for his wand.

“We figured he went to get himself a new tent,” Harry shrugged. “He didn’t leave a note, so it’s also entirely possible that his prissy ass just went home.” Ron chuckled at the comment, nodding as he sipped his cup of coffee. It was a long running joke between the four of them that Draco Malfoy was simply too posh to withstand certain adventures, including but not limited to: playing Quidditch in the rain, traversing Muggle cities, and now, camping.

“Entirely possible,” Neville sighed, sitting down in his camp chair and accepting a cup of tea from Harry, followed by a plate of bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. The three chatted easily while eating, discussing plans for the future, attractive people, potential mates, and how despite being eager to become adults, the prospect was also somewhat terrifying.

They wondered how often they would be able to get together like this once they all had jobs, especially with Harry playing professional Quidditch, Ron managing the Hogsmeade location of WWW, and Neville studying under the Herbologist in Diagon Alley.

Breakfast was finished, dishes were cleaned, and the three simply enjoyed the sunshine, sitting around the campfire. Their conversation was interrupted by the well known crack of apparition, and all three were surprised to see Draco had returned to camp.

“Didn’t think you were coming back, mate,” Ron grinned, his tone teasing and light. “You warned us that camping wasn’t your thing, after all.” Draco ignored the red head, making his way to where Neville sat and straddling his hips with a gentle smile.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going, but I wanted to make last night official,” he told the larger male, settling himself on Neville’s lap and drawing a small, square box out of his pocket. Neville found his hands automatically resting on Draco’s hips, making sure the blonde didn’t fall backwards. He watched as Draco opened the box, revealing a simple, black ring nestled into the soft velvet laid inside. Beside it sat a nearly identical black ring, though this one was thinner.

“You’re not going back on your offer, are you?” Draco asked, stroking his fingers over the matching bands and letting his head tilt to one side.

“You… were serious…?” Neville was incredibly confused, but he was also elated, lifting one hand from Draco’s slender waist and resting it over the ring box.

“You started this,” Draco told him. “Make me a Longbottom. Change my life, change my fate.”

Neville could vaguely hear Harry and Ron peppering them with questions, but his focus was on Draco’s smiling face, and the feel of his soft fingers against Neville’s own calloused ones. No more words were shared between the two of them as Neville nodded, nudging Draco’s hand away so he could pluck the thinner of the two bands out of the box. Immediately, Draco offered out his left hand, watching as Neville placed the ring on it before the brunette pulled Draco’s hand towards his face and pressed a soft kiss where the ring now sat.

Turns out, some dreams do come true, and this very dream made the future a lot less scary.