The game and love

47

It was mid January. Harry was excited. This was the NFC championship game. Draco had finally led his team there. It was an enormus burden off his shoulders and Harry could tell it was, because Draco had been a different man since Ron had come to the team. Although Ron wasn't a big play tightend in the normal sense, it was his ability to give Draco confidence that had changed Harry's opinion on his game. Harry saw him relax and not try to be absolutely perfect. Football was simple to him again.

Ron had grown into his role as the second option for Draco, as he almost always looked for Lee Scott first. He couldn't complain though, his stats read of a brilliant season, the best of his career. He'd only played 10 games with Draco and he'd caught 72 passes for 876 yards and nine touchdowns. He was a probowler again, but more than that, he was playing in this game for a chance to go to the big game. He smiled in amazement at the 68,000 people who where in the stands at Qwest Field. In Tennesee, he'd never played for a crowd this large ever. He was bristling with pride, hoping for a few chances to show off. His smile never faded even when Draco suprised him on the sideline as he looked out over the field.

"You ready old friend?" Draco grinned, slapping his shoulder pad in an affectionate way.

Ron turned to him, still a big huge smile on his face and said, "I'm not that old, you twit." He returned the gentle tap of the shoulder pad. He watched as Draco went out for the coin toss. He was really pumped, he thought 'if the game doesn't start soon I may just launch out of my shoes.

Harry sat up in his usual suite. In the recent past when he'd been here, he'd been alone, but this game was big and everyone close to Draco was there. Draco had also insisted that Harry invite his dad and Sirius to come along as well. With them, there was maybe fifteen people here. Including, Tim, Mrs. Malfoy, Liz and Hermione with her daughter. Harry had even brought little Lucius along, just to keep himself from becoming too horrible with things he might yell if the game was going badly. Sirius, who looked perhaps even older than when Harry had scene him months ago, seemed warm, yet a little bit distant. It didn't stop him from being instantly drawn to the baby in Harry's arms.

"Oh, he is very handsome like his father." Sirius stated to no one in particular. Harry nodded. These words would have bothered him before, but at some point in the last three and a half months, Harry stopped worrying about the biological ownership of the child.

"He really does." Harry agreed watching the baby yawn and make it perfectly known that he wanted absolute silence. "He's got his awful personality traits too." Harry continued as he sat the boy up and placed him against his left shoulder. It had become like a second home to the little one. Harry had discovered it during one of the boy's moody fits where Harry could not discover the source of the distress. He had picked him up to feed him when all of the sudden the boy's crying fit stopped as quickly as it had begun. It was one of those moments, where special connections are made that only parents share with their children.

The coin toss was won by the Eagles and they had elected to recieve the ball. Draco didn't even think about the defense. Lofa and Cruz had that all sewn up. They had been the best defense in the league this year and on their ten game winning streak, the defense had recorded four shutouts. The news on the Espn talk shows were, of course, best defense ever comparisons. Cruz and Lofa had made their eighth consecutive probowls and as Draco watched them line up, he wondered if it even mattered what he did. This defense could probably win all by it's self.

The volume of the crowd drown out the annoucer for the home team. It was not to tough, having performed with this noise almost every home game, but the playoffs just added that extra spark of enthusiasim. As Draco took the field he cleared his mind of all thought other than the game. His eyes wild with determination, his face a steel curtian of emotional cold. He was ready. There was only the winning to do now.

"Ok, look, this is the big one." Draco grinned as he looked around. He couldn't remember feeling anymore confident before. He couldn't contain his adrenaline for very long. "We go, split right, 54 left, 32 spot. Ready? Break!" His head was clear once he got to the line. He pointed out the blitz pickups for his linemen and sent the slot reciever in motion. Draco smiled even bigger as he got down and barked out the snap count. "RED 82, RED 82, set, hut hut, hike!" He jerked the ball from the center and Handed it to the runner, Jay Bennet and watched as he gained four yards on a run. It was started, it was all here for the taking. The blaze of glory shone bright in his eyes.

Harry stood up and carried Lucius to the window and pointed out the window. "Look Lu, that's your daddy." He grinned at his son's wide eyes. "Yay, daddy's gonna win, huh?" Harry said in a gentle tone. He took the boy's arm and waived it. "Hi daddy!" Harry smiled as the boy giggled in response.

"Let's see here, who wants the ball?" Draco asked huffing his breath from having to run out of bounds on the previous play. Ron was franticaly pointing to himself like an idiot. Everyone in the huddle rolled their eyes in mock disgust. They had grown to appriciate Draco and Ron's chemistry and their abilities to make plays happen from nowhere. Draco smiled. "It's the redzone guys, let's go with 34, y, slippy." He chuckled as he called for a break of the huddle and lined everyone up just right. The redzone, the final twenty yards to score was where Draco felt the least bit of nerves, even though you had less field to work with, Draco liked tighter spaces, he took less chances and his eyes never stayed in one place too long.

He stepped back and on cue, Ron had broken the linebackers ankles. He was good at that. Draco didn't even have to throw hard to get him the ball 17 yards for the touchdown. The roar of the crowd was incredible. It made talking futile. So the players had adapted some form of sign langauge to communicate things. They all knew it would only be louder.

Everyone in the suite errupted in whoops and highfives as the score was made 7-0 by the Seahawks. More importantly, a touchdown throw by Draco. This however didn't sit well with Lucius, who had finally just fallen asleep in his Papa's arms. He let out a loud wail and Harry gently shushed him with a kiss and some bouncing. He was a demanding boy, just like his father and Grandad. Harry grinned a teethy grin as he thought that, this baby had some learning to do. Most of the people had now died down their celebrations to excited whispers of conversation.

When it finally reached halftime, the Seahawks had a pretty good lead of 20-0. Draco was having a perfect game and his teamates were obivously feeding on that. The coach didn't even have much to say during the halftime speech because he wasn't sure what the team had done poorly. If it ain't broke don't fix it, was his obvious approach. Draco was all smiles still as he drank some gatorade and wiped sweat off of his forehead.

"It's just all there man." He said to Ron, who took a seat next to him, an IV in his arm to help with some cramping.

"That's good man." Ron replied swallowing a gulp of his drink. "Just one more half." He said after another drink.

"Yeah." Draco said, clearly on another plain of thought. Ron decided to leave him and go bother his arch enemy on the team, Cruz Corona.

The second half proved even less of a challenge than the first. Draco completed all his passes, the defense did it's job and by the end of the game the Seahawks had won. 41 to nothing. It was sureal. The superbowl was next, his first one since his rookie season and his first one since becoming the starting qaurterback. He was ecstatic and the media was all over him about it. The big story before this was, would he be the next Dan Marino. The best QB never to win a ring. Draco hated that comparison, because he felt he had a better team than Dan ever did. He'd just proved it. The eagles were clearly out matched. He'd recieved several congratulations from the opposing players and even some autograph requests, which he always found wierd how grown men could be such dorks about a signiture.

The celebration for winning the NFC championship was the first time Draco really let loose and cheered with the guys on stage as the trophy was handed to him.

"You look happy, maybe a little relieved mister star quarterback. What's this moment like for you." Howie long stuck a mic in Draco's face.

"This has been a longtime coming. For this city, for this team that has worked so hard." He held up the trophy. "THE WAIT IS OVER!" He yelled. Somewhere, he felt eyes on him, but not just any eyes. These were special. "I'd like to dedicate this trophy to the memory of my dad. Without him, I am not infront of all of you tonight. Wherever you are dad, I love you."

Harry wished more than anything that he could be with Draco now. He saw so many players with their wives or girlfriends, but he knew that it wasn't possible. He placed his free hand on the glass looking longingly across the field hoping Draco could feel him, somehow. The physical distance was a match for the pain in his heart at this very moment. Mrs. Malfoy approached him gently placing arm across his shoulders, seeming to sense his feelings.

"I'm sure he feels you too sweetie." She said kissing his temple.

It would be a few more hours before Draco could meet up with Harry. All the media had kept holding him up and he was also celebrating with his compatriots. He had changed out of his uniformm and into some nice dress clothes that didn't require a tie and went to find Harry. He had been so caught up that he had not realized that almost three hours had passed since the game ended. He decided to call Harry on his cellphone.

"Surrey I..tuke sew loong." He slurred as he talked to Harry.

"Have you been drinking love?" Harry asked concerned,

"unnley a lil bet." Draco tried to force himself to speak right.

"It's ok love, I'm just at the limo, do you want me to come get you?" Harry asked sweetly.

"Ummm, yes." Draco replied after a few seconds pause.

"You're at the gate right?" Harry asked very direct and specific.

"Yes." Came the reply. "Hurry ok?"

"Ok, I will be there in a minute alright?" Harry stated more than asked. "Alright see you in a sec."

Harry was smiling to himself. Luckily he thought to let Draco's mom come home with them so he could leave the baby in her care. He could only imagine what kind of condition Draco was in. He was an adorable drunk if you could keep him from getting himself into trouble, he just hoped the poor man hadn't done anything undignified already.

Harry grinned as he saw his lover leaning arms crossed on the gate. He couldn't help that the smile got wider and wider as he got closer to Draco. Draco quickly grabbed him up in a hug, a smile of his own plastered across his face.

"Hey, wha iss tha I see ther...ummm?" Draco asked, kissing Harry full on the lips. "It's a smile isn't it?" Harry could only blush in response. "Oh my god it is, Harry Potter is smiling." He kissed him again and this time Harry spoke.

"Come on you big idiot. Let's go home ok?" He finished speaking and swing Draco's left arm across his shoulders. Harry and Draco walked playfully back to the limo. It was going to be an intresting night.

End chapter 47

A/N: Think they're out of the woods yet? Don't be so sure. Next up, the biggest game of Draco's life and a pair of accusing eyes leaves Draco with burdens to bare all alone.