The game and love

62

Three years had passed since Draco had agreed to re-sign with the Seahawks, it had been the right decision. The team was young, but Draco helped them to grow together. They had won two superbowls in a row, his mystique, if not already overstated was disgustingly overblown as he stood just hours away from what he had decided would be his last game as a professional. He hadn't told anyone yet, not even Harry, but he was sure he was done. At 40, his body was harder to keep in shape, his arm had diminished in strength and he recovered less quickily from physically tough games, his teamates jeered him about his age, it would have been a joke, but he felt it, father time had said it was the end. Draco found himself unable to argue this fact.

~~~~~~

The story of this game is perhaps the most well repeated. Draco Malfoy makes his third triumphant return to the biggest game in pro sports, his third straight and fifth in his famed and glory filled 19 years. You fans know the story, the most wins by any QB only one losing season as a starter in 17 tries. 12 straight playoff berths and 4 total big game rings. He's a sure hall of famer, but the question on everyone's mind is how close is he to being done with football? Draco Malfoy has said on several occasions that it would likely come down to him not being physically able to play, despite not being in his prime, he still wins, you can't bottle what he does on the field. The team that brought him into the league tried to replace him, but failed miserably.

"It was just determination, the young guys were great these last 3 seasons, I hope to give them 3 rings."

Those are his words. We all know the adversity he's had to overcome with some of the media. He's defended his personal life from all kinds of attacks in the media and even from some of his own fans, but for the most part, this 40-year-old veteran seems no worse for wear. Draco Malfoy is still ever the charmer. This reporter had the rare opportunity to sit down with Draco and his husband Harry Potter for an exclusive interview about the last 19 years.

"19 seasons is a long time to play football, how did you keep going?"

"I think, really, it was passion that carried me through the first 16 or so, then I had help from the fans. Harry was also instrumental in getting me to sign this last deal, I almost retired." Draco replies with a smile.

"Harry, how have you managed to stay together with Draco considering you're very public lives?"

"I think, the fact that we were so busy with our own lives kept us together, as strange as that might seem. Draco and I, we are very similar in our drives for success, I think I would have been unhappy staying at home all the time." Harry smiles shly. Draco takes his hand.

"Do you look forward to when he is retired from the game of football?"

"Yes, but there is no rush." Harry says cheekily.

"Do you know what you'll do after?"

"Probably travel when our son is out of school." Draco looks at Harry. "We always wanted to go to Australia together." He says softly.


"Do you think that you should be appriciated for the fact that you are the first openly gay player in football?"

"That's a strange question." Says Draco, squinting his eyes and scrunching up his nose. "I didn't choose to reveal my personal life, so I guess I don't want credit for something I didn't actually do." Draco sighs.

"How do you want people to remember Draco?"

Harry looks around as if thinking of some great math problem. "Determined, driven, the best. Lots of things." Harry shrugs.

"How would you like to be remembered Draco?"

Draco's answer was swift and quick. "Worth the money I paid to watch him play." The interview ends on those famous last words.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco took his warm up tosses an hour before the game. He always liked having his arm lose well before the game so he could work a little more on his other stuff like leg workouts and scramble drills where he needed to get moving inside the pocket. This was not his usual warm up of the last 19 years however, he had convinced Harry to catch his passes. He didn't know why, but he had decided to ask Harry to stand on the sideline for this game, then he asked him to catch his warm up tosses. He smiled as a ball sailed just wide of Harry's hands.

Harry had wowed some of the players with his footwork and even got whoops of amazement from Draco when he made a jumping one handed catch, to a smattering of applause. Harry couldn't help but feel sheepish at their praise, but also a little cocky, knowing he could still run a 4.46 40 yard dash. Harry looked like a wide reciever, he didn't weigh more than 160 and his body was some what muscular. The white tee-shirt with Gray-black sweets and nike athletic shoes made him seem rugged when combined with his 5 O'clock shadow of a beard.

"Sorry, my fault." Draco said as a ball sailed over Harry's head and to one of the ball boys who retrieved it and put it in a bag. Draco picked up another ball. "Harry, go deep." Draco watched as Harry gracfully ran along the right sideline. He almost lost himself watching Harry's smooth motion. Once he though Harry was deep enough, he threw the ball as hard as he could. Harry's head spun around the instant the ball took flight, as if the ball screamed it's sudden flight to him. He spun his body around so now he was falling back against his heels as the ball came in.

*SMACK!*

The ball struck Harry dead in the chest. The players watching on the sideline gasped as Harry crumpled to a fetal position, devoid of any air to push out his colasped chest. In a split second both Draco and the team doctor were at Harry's side, kneeling at his crumpled form, attempting to asses any damge.

"Harry, are you ok?" Draco asked, looking guilty at the fish out of water gasps Harry was making that seemed to not help. Suddenly, just as the doctor was reaching for a mask, Harry's body jerked and he took in such a large breath that Draco could have sworn he felt the air leave from around his own face. Harry coughed and took more deep breaths as the doctor helped him sit up.

"Are you alright son?" The doctor asked as Harry continued to breath heavily. Harry nodded and looked up at Draco and rolled his eyes. Draco and the doc helped Harry over to a bench and sat him down. Draco left and then brought him some gatorade to drink, which Harry eagerly gulped down.

"Sorry about that Harry." Draco clapped him on the shoulder. Harry shook his head as he tipped up the cup for the last drops to drink, crushed it and threw it down.

"Wasn't your fault, I should have got my arms out farther from my chest." Harry breathed out. "I'm a little rusty I guess." Harry smiled. Draco laughed. They continued to chat privately for a few minutes before being approached by one of Draco's teamates. Damien wade came over, the 6'4" 210 wide reciever was Draco's go to guy, the same way Lee and Ron had been earlier in his career. He was a dark rich musclular man with a youngish face. He smiled broadly and extended his hand.

"That was a sick catch man!" Damien said in an excited tone.

"Thanks." Harry said and blushed slightly.

"Listen, if you got some time, I wonder if you might show me those routes you were running." Damien stated his request and Draco and Harry looked up at him in shock. "What? If anyone knows this man's head," Damien pointed to Draco. "it's you, right?" He looked at Harry, expectant. Harry smiled and blushed more, then nodded. "Good, let's get to work, we only have twenty minutes before we have to start putting our gear on."

Draco wasn't really sure what had happened as he watched Harry and Damien work and talk. He watched in amazement as Harry seemed to open up and talk to Damien as he showed him his footwork and how he used his hands. He smiled, this had been a good decision after all.

~~~~~~~~

As Draco strapped up his equipment, he was surprised at how fast time was moving. He felt like he could blink and ten minutes passed by. Harry was in the lockeroom changing out of his sweats and shirt into his street clothes. He had several players near him and Draco would have been concerned had he not seen the happy expression on the man's face. He shook his head as he bent down to tie his shoes.

Harry was enjoying the flattery of the players as he signed autographs for them. Apparently some had wives that were fans, though, secretly, Harry thought some of the players were fans of his themselves and just too embaressed to say so. He signed a jock, which he couldn't stop chuckling about, but soon that died down as the team got ready to walk out of the tunnel. Harry knew he didn't need to speak to Draco now, he was already in the zone from the look in his eye. Harry thought this was a great opportunity to finally see what Draco was like as a pro. He wasn't shocked to find out that his husband was the same way now that he had been back in highschool.

~~~~~~~

Draco took the field as his name was yelled by the PA announcer. He was ready for this all to be over. He ran down the line of his teamates and held out his hands for highfives. He felt strange in the sense that he didn't feel nervous yet, he'd almost always been nervous before games. Harry watched along the sideline as Draco and the rest of the team made it to the bench. Draco went out as the team captain for offense and called the coin toss which they won.

"So here it is, the biggest game of the year, a true classic. The superbowl is the pinnacle of any sporting profession. We also have the bonus of watching perhaps the greatest quarterback of this generation in Draco Malfoy, number thirteen, the man with ice water in his veins. You know the stats, you know that when it comes to pressure, he's never turned and run, if it comes down to the last play of the game, you want the ball in his hands. The kickoff is made and the game begins!"

Draco snapped on his helment and began his short jog onto the field as his team took the ball first. He huddled his men up, he missed Lee, Ron, and Jay, however, this group of young guys seemed to energize him just enough sometimes to push him through the game. He looked over each of them in the huddle.

"45 Texas, 34 Jet." "READY!" "Break!" Draco barked and walked up to the line of scrimmage. Harry was watching on the sideline as Draco stepped up under the center and put his hands under the man to grab the ball, for a split second Harry thought back to their days in highschool. He smiled in rememberance and watched Draco intently.

"Hut! HUt! HIKE!" Draco yelled and on the snap he surveyed the field and saw where the ball needed to go. Damien had run the perfect route and that had made it so Chris Clark could get open. Draco put all he had into the throw for a nice 12 yard pass. Draco's mind got passed the first throw and now he was locked in, he was in the zone, his smile was broad he had this game.

Draco moved them down field with ease. He completed 5 out of 6 passes for 42 yards and it was capped off by a 8 yard TD throw to Damien Wade by the right sideline. Draco smiled boyishly as his partner in crime smacked his helment and they jogged to the sideline, the kicker made the extra point, the Seahawks lead was 7-0. Draco sat on the bench and watched his defense dominate the game as he had the last three seasons, in awe of their skills. The other team went three downs and out. Draco strapped up his helment once again and missed Harry looking at him as he did so.

Harry watched as Draco moved the ball again. He was amazed at how well Draco still moved, his step back, the way he squared his shoulders up before making a throw, Harry thought of him much like a dancer. Draco was so focused on the field that he tensed up on the second offensive drive in the opponents 30-yard-line, missed a throw to Chris Clark, who was wide open and now it was third down.

"Listen," Draco hissed in the huddle. "We're in field goal range, don't lose focus. You know you're assignments, now let's go!" Ready?! BREAK!" Draco lined everyone up and made his adjustments as he looked out over the defense. He shouted the calls and then the ball snapped and the play started. Draco held the ball, looking, looking, he ran to his left to buy more time. He knew the defense would have guys on him any second, he had to throw the ball away, no one had come open to throw a pass to, so he did the safe thing and threw it out of bounds.

Harry watched the play unravel and he hoped Draco would get rid of the ball as he was about to be hit from behind. He watched Draco scramble to his left and throw the ball out of bounds. Harry's eyes went wide as the ball sailed towards him and he started to back up.

"I got it!" He called, stepping back more and more, knowing the bench was somewhere behind. He extended his hands and made a fantastic one handed grab just to his right. The sideline and the crowd erupted into cheers. Draco, who was now coming to the bench so his team could kick a field goal, was laughing hysterically. Damien was again by his side.

"That's a first down!" Damien shouted with laughter of his own, giving the referee's usual forward arm signal. He clapped Harry on the shoulder again. "Showoff." He grinned and Harry blushed a deep shade of red. They all turned to watch as the kicker made a field goal and brought the score to 10-0 Seahawks. The game seemed to be going great.

The defense again dominated the other team. This time however, the offense was not able to score and had to kick it back. A defensive game had broken out as the two offenses struggled to score and Harry could see Draco's frustration build. Draco was soon surrounded by coaches who gave advice and Draco barked at them in kind, Harry couldn't hear what was being said, but he could tell from the redness in his husband's face, it wasn't anything repeatable. Harry stayed within comfortable distance, but he did not want to disturb Draco since he wasn't playing with him.

When the halftime gun sounded, the score was 10-7 in favor of the Seahawks. Harry looked around the lockeroom and from the looks on the players, he'd have assumed they were losing. He listened to the coach speaking about adjustments and some diffrent schemes, he kept his eyes on Draco who remained seated on a bench hunched over his knees, driving his hands through his long blonde/White hair. He shook his head a little bit. Draco had never changed that one nervous habit since he'd known him.

Harry was amazed at how solemnly the team took the field in the second half. No one seemed to make a noise at they walked out from the tunnel and out on to the field. Draco was very aware that that had been his last halftime. He didn't realize how much the decision to retire began to hit him until he went into the lockeroom, heard that last speech and planned his last second half. Draco felt heavier than he ever remembered feeling and he was overwhelmed by all the stuff his mind seemed to be pointing out, that he would never get to do again.

As the game progressed Draco was still unable to crack the opposing defense. He cursed violently on the sideline and nearly missed running into Harry, who scrambled quickily to get out of the way. Harry was worried, but he knew he couldn't do anything, despite being this close instead of trapped in a suite, he was no better off. Harry started to feel just as bad as Draco did.

Draco watched in agony as half of the fourth qaurter disappeared. His offense had only seen the field for nine or so minutes, which meant Draco had to stew on the bench. In the last five minutes of the game, the other team scored and left Draco with a hallow feeling in the pit of his stomach, his team trailed 14-10 now.

"Well, here it is folks, the moment that has defined Draco Malfoy's career. The comeback is an art form and Malfoy is perhaps it's greatest master. Over his career he has engineered 41 comebacks on the final drive of games. Will he be able to do it this time? We'll have to wait and see."

Draco watched intently as the other team prepared to kickoff with four minutes and change left. He smashed his hands through his hair again. Then, he felt his heart might explode as he saw the worst thing that could happen to him. The other team's kicker kicked an onside kick and the Seahawks lost the ball in surprise. Draco's face flushed and he thought he might throw up.

"Oh my goodness folks. The Ravens don't want to take the chance with Draco Malfoy, they pull a risky play of an onside kick and it works! Incredible and gutsy is the coach. We can see the shock on the Seattle sideline as most of the players are now hanging their heads in defeat. Draco Malfoy may never get the chance to make his magic."

Draco was sweating, he was crushed, he wanted to scream in absolute agony. He worked to force the knot from his chest, he crushed his hands together his lap. He swore angrily under his breath. Harry was just angry on the other hand. He had thoughts of his own on the Ravens head coach and they were things that would make a serial killer scared.

The defense played valiantly, but it looked like the ravens would score with just a mintue left, they would lose. Draco looked up at the sky, he couldn't believe that this is how it would all come to an end, part of him, for just a split second, considered changing his mind and coming back one more year. Draco had to swallow that idea, the way his body felt, he knew there was no way to do it.

He watched as with 47 seconds left the Ravens lined up for a 51-yard field goal. He let his eyes fall to his hands in his lap. He couldn't watch.

"And it looks like the ravens will kick a field goal to make it a seven point game. Draco Malfoy would then have 43 seconds to lead his team down the field to tie it with a touchdown. Here it is, the snap, NO WAIT, IT's A POCH KICK AND THE BALL SAILS OUT OF BOUNDS AT THE ONE YARD LINE OF THE SEAHAWKS. It seems they didn't want to risk missing the 51 yard kick and giving the seahawks the short field. Draco Malfoy now has no time outs and 40 seconds left to win the game for his team. The task is only to go 99 yards to do it. wow folks, it's a classic impossible scenerio that has seemed to find Malfoy his entire career. I don't even want to call these next plays, I just want to watch. Don't worry fans, I'll do my job."

Draco snapped his helment on and got focused quickly, running through all the possibilites he could on how to move the ball down the field in a short time. He wasn't nervous despite being trapped in his own endzone.

Draco called the play in the huddle and didn't make any small talk, it was time to focus. He stepped up and looked over the defense, he couldn't make any mistakes now, he was in his own endzone, back to the absolute wall as he looked over the field.

"HUT! HUT! GREEN 18 HUT! HIKE!" Draco stepped back and knew instantly that the play had failed to develop properly. He did not waste any time as he threw the ball away to his teams sideline. 34 seconds left. He tried again, the same result. 31 seconds left. On third down, he did the same thing. Fans booed him as he huddled up his guys with 27 seconds to go. It was 4th down, it was all or nothing. He spoke in the huddle.

"Listen guys, we've got one more play, it's all we need. Now let's trash these assholes and go home." Draco said, breathing heavily.

"Drake man, listen, I can get up behind their defense, how deep can you get me the ball? Damien asked just as Draco was about to break the huddle.

"As deep as I need to." Draco replied coldly. He was deepily focused as his eyes stared at Damien's

"Then I'm your man." Damien said serious and then the huddle was broken. Draco stepped up to the line and barked his calls and pointed out the defense, it was all smoke an mirrors, he knew where he would throw. He set himself undercenter and yelled the snap count. He watched the eye's of the defenders, they looked afraid. Draco smiled.

"HIKE!" Draco yelled. As if it were a gun shot every player moved with it. Draco looked and looked, he knew he had to get rid of the ball. He stepped up and squared his shoulders and put everything he had into his throw. He felt his shoulder pop with agony and then he felt a defender slam into him, crushing him to the ground.

"Malfoy looks, looks, has time, looks again and fires....DEEP DOWNFIELD FOR DAMIEN WADE, A BEAUTIFUL SPIRAL FLIES 71 YARDS DOWN FIELD DAMIEN MAKES A FANTASTIC CATCH OFF HIS SHOE TOPS! He's tackled by the ankle about 7 yards before a touchdown with 13 seconds left, I don't know if the Hawks can hurry fast enough to beat the....oh my...it looks as if they are waving medical personel onto the field. I can't tell who's hurt yet. It looks like it's Draco Malfoy, he did get absolutely crushed by a defender. His left tackle Mike Golic Jr. is bent over him talking to him and the medical doctors seem to be looking at his arm.

"Drake, we gotta move man." Mike shouted as he looked down at Draco's crumpled form.

"Mike, I can't feel my arm." Draco could barely breath. Mike instantly waved for medical doctors.

The doctors sat him up and started to do tests on his arm. The stadium was deathly quiet. Draco tried to control his breathing. He moaned as his whole arm suddenly returned to life, but felt as though there was fire mixed with glass just under the skin. He grabbed at it defensively. When the doctors knew he wouldn't let them do anymore, they helped him up and walked him to the sideline as the crowd applauded.

"Tell him I can go!" Draco barked once he sat on the bench. He was flexing his arm which still hurt like hell.

"I can't do that." The team doctor said, "You have a shoulder stinger Draco."

"Fuck that Doc, I can go!" Draco started to walk over to the coach. The doctor made to stop him. Harry stepped into their conversation.

"You better let him do it." Harry said simply, "it's not your career." The doctor looked at both men and relented. Draco ran to the coach.

"Listen have joe throw a pass out of bounds so I can get back in." Draco said quickly. "I can win this, I'm fine see?" He flexed his arm and hand. Careful to hide the intense pain from his face. The coach seemed eager to ablidge and sent in instructions to change the play again, with only 13 seconds left to go 8 yards, they had one or two chances. Draco was their best chance. "Thanks coach." Draco grinned like a ten-year-old. The back up QB did his job and Draco ran out to replace him.

"Amazing, here comes Draco Malfoy onto the field. I wonder how well that arm works after that big hit. It's all come down to this last play 8 seconds left. A touchdown wins, or you go home. Fans can't ask for more drama."

Draco called the play at the line, he didn't want to call a huddle, he was fighting intense pain right now. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as he hiked the ball. As he stepped back an prepared to throw, he knew from the pain that shot from his arm through the right side of his chest meant he'd never be able to make the throw. He cursed himself and tucked the ball into his chest and decided to run the last legs of this race. He avoided the firs two defenders easily, who looked deepily surprised to see him running. He next felt someone grab at his ankles and he was tripped up, halfway there, he was fighting, scratching. He looked to his left trying just a bit more to run harder, but he knew he couldn't beat this last guy, so he leaped. He stretched out his arm as far as he could and felt his body slam into the turf fully extended, knocking the wind out of him.

"What a scramble by Draco Malfoy but the officials are signaling that he was short, he did not get into the endzone. The clock has expired, the game is over."

Draco looked wide eyed as the refs signaled he was short. He didn't know what to say or do. He slumpped on his knees as Damien came over to him. He shook his head in pure disbelief. He was exhausted and in a lot of pain. Damien helped him to the sideline. He looked over and saw that the officials were all speaking to eachother.

"What are they talking about?" Draco spat bitterly.

"Don't know." Damien answered, sitting Draco down on the bench. He was once again surrounded by doctors. He heard the sound of the PA speaker pop and he strained through the doctors stupid questions to hear what might be said.

"The final play, is under review." The mic'd official called, to the shock of the crowd and Draco Malfoy.

Harry took a spot beside Draco, figuring now that the game was officially over, he could brave the storm that was likely to be Draco. Draco didn't feel like he'd made it, but who knew and he found himself with childish excitement as he thought of the refs changing the call. He was a wreck. Harry just held his hand in gentle support.

Draco knew that the announcement might take a few minutes, but his heart felt like it might burst any second. Then it got worse as the lead officail who was going to make the call seemed to take his own sweet time walking to mid-field. Draco squeezed Harry's hand in anticipation.

"After further review, the ruling on the field is overturned," The crowd roared with excitemnt. Harry thought he might lose his hand. "The football broke the plain of the endzone before the quartback's knee touched the ground. Therefore, the call on the field is a touchdown." Draco turned and hugged Harry tight. He'd done it, he'd won the game. He was crying hard and Harry was too surprised to even react. Eventually, they broke apart. Draco looked into Harry's eyes.

"I'm ready." Draco said, I mean, to be done, this was my last game." Harry's eyes widened. He crushed Draco in a hug then suddenly realizing he had been hurt, pulled back.

"Sorry." Harry said apologetic. They both smiled at eachother.

The next ten minutes before the trophy presentation was chaotic. Draco kept Harry by his side and even put his Seahawks: Superbowl Champions hat on Harry's head instead of his. The camera flashes were blinding and the occasional crazy teamate offering congrats or spraying them both with gatorade and water was very unsettling for Harry. He clinged to Draco's arm which was now in a sling.

When it was finally time for the trophy presentation Harry had thought he would stand somewhere off the stage. Draco however, insisted that Harry stand next to him by the podium. The trophy had symbolized all of Draco's success in life. He charished the fact that he had now won 4 of them on his own and been part of a fifth one. He stared at the silver a little blankly as it reflected the age of the last 19 years on the field.

"Draco Malfoy, as commisioner of the NFL, it is my pleasure to present you with the Superbowl MVP Trophy." The young thirty-something suit handed Draco the trophy and he shook the man's hand. "Also, thanks to your preformance, we may now also present you with your unprecidented third straight Lombardi trophy, show it with pride." Draco held up the trophy to the roar of the approving crowd as Harry watched from a little bit behind Draco.

"Now, if you have a few words for the fans here?" The commisioner directed him to the podium. Draco smiled as he walked up to the microphone.

"Thank you, I do indeed." Draco said, looking out over the crowd. "You know, a man couldn't ask for greater fans than all of you." Draco said, looking down at the MVP Trophy against his chest. "I have played 19 seasons of professional football and you have welcomed me despite my faults and loved me for my good traits. I couldn't not have asked to play in a better city than Seattle, the people there have always been behind me, even when I road the bench. It is you fans, who made this hard for me to say." Draco could feel the wetness in his eyes. "You all have seen my last game as football player." Draco smiled sadly as he heard some smattering of boos and shocked gasps. "It's time, I have had a great career, better than I ever dreamed. I think it's time I moved on before the boos are because I can't play anymore."

He looked at Harry behind him and beckoned him to come up beside him. Harry shook his head, he didn't want any attention. However, one of the players walked him up beside the podium. The crowd cheered.

"I have one last thing to say," Said Draco, never taking his eyes from Harry's now dropped and blushing face. "In all my years as a football player, I could have never asked for a more loyal partner in this amazing journey. Ever since day one, I always wanted to thank you Harry, to bring you up here and tell you how glad I was and am that you are with me. There has been no one in my life I have trusted more than you. I love you Harry, more than you will ever know and I want you to hold this trophy with me, because it's as much yours as it is mine."

Draco held out the silver trophy and Harry put his hands on it. It was cool to the touch and as he held it up, he had wetness in his eyes. He saw that Draco did too. They both waved to the crowd amazed at the loudness of the cheers they were getting. Finally Draco gave the trophy to the coach and turned and hugged Harry. They both understood that a new road lay ahead of them. Draco chuckled.

"Do you hear what they're chanting." Harry said wiping his eyes and smiling as he pulled away from the hug. Draco listened for a second and nodded. 63,000 people all chanted,

"WE LOVE YOU!"

"WE LOVE YOU!"

Draco and Harry turned smiled and waved to the people one last time as cheers and whistles rang out again. They both knew as long as they lived that nothing could equal the amazing events of this day.

End Chapter 62
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: So here we come. The final chapter is already in the works. I was bummed by your lack of intrest in what Harry's journal says. None of you had any guesses? None? :-( Anyway, I hope this was good. Please let me know if the story is still good with well thought out reviews. I love you all. It's been a long journey, but we've finally reached the end.

In the last chapter "Full Circle" death close to Draco brings both he and Harry back home to Fresno where they find themselves face to face with their past together.