He placed his hands on Draco’s arms, and pushed him away firmly, forcing him to relinquish his hold on Harry until they could look into one another’s eyes. Harry tried to speak, but it took two aborted attempts at a breath in before he could finally get the words out, "I think we do," he said, his voice as small as he felt, "I don’t need you to say anything that you’re not ready to say... but we both know what my patronus means, don’t we?" a muscle in Draco’s jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth together; he nodded, "I know... I know this isn’t as simple for you as it is for me," he said carefully, raising a tentative hand to Draco’s cheek and stroking his fingers against his skin. Harry froze when Draco snatched his wrist in his hand, convinced he was about to be forced away, but Draco only pressed his cheek into Harry’s palm, and sighed shakily, his eyes fluttering shut, "I - I know that," Harry stuttered, "and that’s okay. But Draco... Draco, I love you," Draco gasped at his pained deceleration, "I love you so much, and I have done for a while now, I think.