Harry could tell it hadn't been the reply Draco had hoped to hear; Harry couldn't blame him, it wasn't even the reply he had wanted to give.<br/>It made Harry's heart break, truly believing there was no way out of this conversation that didn't end with them on bad terms - if any terms at all. Draco<br/>"There's no 'but'," Harry countered, finding that to be the easiest to address. Though he understood why Draco had heard a stipulation where there hadn't been one, Harry desperately needed for Draco to know that that hadn't been the case. "I'd love for us to continue like this."<br/>While truthful, Harry also knew that statement barely covered the surface. Harry knew it meant keeping<span style="font-style: italic">this</span>, each other, a secret, not only from the public but from close friends. It meant building their entire relationship in the confinement of Draco's apartment, and maybe that was precisely why Harry felt himself shy away from the concept of being in<span style="font-style: italic">a relationship</span>, at all. "I think this<span style="font-style: italic">works</span>."