Pairing: Draco/Neville.

Rating: PG-13.

Summary: Draco corners Neville in the library for a "study" session.

Dedication: For Krissy: Fabulous Friend, Fellow Fangirl, and Draco/Neville shipper extraordinare. Love ya!

Author's Notes: Well, Krissy's gone and converted me to a Draco/Neville fan... And while writing the better portion of this fic, I listened to "Don't Look Down," by The Sugarplastic. It's not a songfic, but I used two words from the lyric "My nerves are thinly threaded / My spirit I confess is in distress." Man, that just said Neville to me. :D So there's the title. It's my first solo attempt at this pairing and while it doesn't tell you how Draco and Neville came to be together, it does let you know that they haven't been together for long, because they're still working out a few problems.

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns 'em; I just own their leashes.

//...// equals thought
*...* equals emphasis

"Malfoy!" His voice came out a scared chirp. "Don't s-sneak up on me like that!"

Draco just looked amused. "Are you hiding from me, Neville?"

Neville bit his lip. "No..."

"Are you sure? I've been looking for you all evening."

Strolling towards him, Draco ran fingers along the spines of musty old books lining the shelves Neville was hidden by. He casually selected one and acted as if he were interested in its contents. Neville knew he wasn't.

"Did I scare you earlier?" he asked casually, as if asking for the time.

Neville shrank back a little, shaking his head and experiencing flashbacks of the rather naughty sentiments Draco had been dropping in his ear all day, of how he wanted to do this, touch this, lick something else entirely, and many other things that nearly sent Neville into convulsions.

"No? That really wasn't my intention, I promise you." Draco put the book back and turned towards Neville again, moving sinuously like a panther on the prowl.

Neville coughed and backed up a little again, wishing Draco could understand such a thing as having a healthy fear of completely klutzing up such a simple act like a kiss (or one of the much more x-rated things Draco had been putting in his mind).

"I - really - I just wasn't exp--"

Draco was quickly at his side and he was cut off with a tiny brushing of lips against his. Neville's eyes fluttered closed.

"Neville," said Draco, and Neville blinked his eyes open again, the taste and feel of Draco lingering and disappearing all at once. "I won't hurt you."

"Draco, I-"

Neville found that words were no use with Draco, who simply smothered them beneath lips that belonged to some cherubic Renaissance painting. All he could do was allow Draco to kiss him stupid.

Draco deepened the kiss nearly drunkenly, feeling Neville's smaller fingers curling themselves into the hair at the back of his neck. Neville's mouth was receptive, sweet and hot, beautiful. The tiniest, most desperate noises were soon coaxed from his throat as Draco ran gentle fingers over Neville's shoulders, feeling his form through his robe.

//Not this time,// he pleaded internally. //Don't shy away from me. It's torture... I want to touch you so badly.//

He coaxed Neville's tongue into play; shivers crawled over his neck when Neville's grasp on his hair tightened. The innocence Neville's mouth tasted of, the inexperience of his kisses; it was all delicious to Draco, who suddenly realized that he was the first ever to claim these lips in such a way. He even loved the feel of Neville's teeth beneath his tongue as he explored thoroughly.

When the kiss broke, Neville gasped and panted, startled by Draco's urgency.

"Dra... Draco," he managed, blinking up at Draco's handsome flushed face. Draco was not breathing too lightly himself, wisps of hair sticking in his eyelashes. He lowered his eyes a little, suddenly rather embarrassed.

"I'm - sorry, Neville."

Neville let out a whoosh of air, cheeks adorably red. Truth be told, he had enjoyed the kiss probably more than Draco had. Draco's hair was like silk on his hand, and he stroked it in small, tentative strokes, wondering if Draco minded, or even if he maybe liked it.

"Should we really be doing this in... the library?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting out of Draco's arms, nor wanting to make Draco uncomfortable about the sudden passion he'd expressed.

Draco glanced up at their surroundings, smiling slightly. "Who besides you ever comes to the herbology section of the library, anyway?"

Neville frowned at him, protesting weakly, "Anyone who has a herbology essay due?"

Draco toyed with the clasp on Neville's robe, running white fingertips over the red and golden Gryffindor design over Neville's chest. "Is that why you're here?"

Neville closed his eyes briefly, trying not to concentrate too much on the patterns Draco's fingers were tracing in their busy work upon his chest. With one easy slip, the clasp was undone, and the robes hung from him like a light jacket. "I - I was doing independent studying."

He swallowed heavily as Draco looked at what he wore underneath - a sky blue turtleneck and a pair of brown trousers - nothing escaped such a keen eye. He was very relieved none of his clothes had rips or noticeable mends in them that day.

"Well." Draco's hands undid his own clasp, revealing the white dress shirt and slacks beneath his Slytherin-adorned robes. Neville breathed in haltingly as Draco pressed himself near -- the edges of library books were now digging into his shoulder blades -- and leaned in close to his ear, whispering, "If Madam Pince wanders our way, we'll just tell her that I joined you in your independent study, hmmm?"

Without the robes in the way, the contact of Draco's chest to Neville's felt very intimate indeed, and Neville only gasped dazedly, pressing himself back against Draco, who wanted him so very badly, who felt so unreal and dangerous against him, who felt like everything he'd ever wanted. The satisfied grin that played with Draco's lips showed that he approved of - liked, even - Neville's response.

"But do you know what that means, Neville... my... innocent... one?"

Each of Draco's words was punctuated with a brush of Draco’s lips onto Neville's trembling jaw, wandering down his neck, where Draco had to pull the soft fabric of his turtleneck away from the sensitive heated flesh of his neck.

"Wh.. what?" Neville moaned softly, trying to tilt his head to give Draco more access, trying to keep Draco pressed against him in that way that set his belly on fire.

"You are going to have to be really... really... quiet."

Neville stifled a gasp as Draco's teeth edged out and nipped at his neck purposefully. Now, there was no way Neville could stop if he wanted to. He didn't know how far Draco wanted to carry this intimate encounter, but this was far more sensory stimulation than he was used to, and it was making him dizzy and irrational.

"Draco," he whispered, feeling Draco's hands slide into his robe and over his sides, feeling the heated small of his back.

"Mm," Draco very nearly growled, tongue tracing a path back up Neville's neck before capturing his open mouth. Now his tongue plunged in readily, desperate to taste and explore and claim. Neville found himself tasting back timidly, which Draco seemed to respond to more than anything Neville had done so far, urging him on with twists and turns of his own tongue. He felt encouraged, and dueled back to the best of his ability. Draco made low purring noises in the back of his throat that shot straight to Neville's groin - the kiss raged on and on - he never wanted it to stop - he wanted Draco's hands that were slowly untucking his shirt to touch him all over, and -

A cough sounding from behind them broke the two apart, panting and dizzy and startled, Draco taking a full step back from Neville, who was already backed up against a whole plethora of plant books.

Madam Pince looked away, her wand tapping into her palm rhythmically. "Let's break this little session up, boys."

Neville squeaked in horror, while Draco licked his lips and looked hazily in Madam Pince's direction.

"Malfoy, get out of my sights and I'll forget I ever saw this."

With that said, Madam Pince simply walked off, still tapping her wand with a mixture of amusement and threat.

Draco never could have fathomed the immense horror tugging at Neville's heart.

"Oh my god!" he broke in a high-pitched whisper. "She'll never look at me the same way again!"

Draco shot a sudden grin his way. "Neither will I."

Neville swallowed and blinked at Draco, noting the flush in his normally pale cheeks, the faraway glazed look to his eyes, the rise and fall of his chest.

The same cough came from Madam Pince, only a row away, and Draco laughed a free sort of laugh, backing away and walking in reverse towards the end of the shelf. "Neville, I'll do some more *studying* with you later... okay?"

Neville nodded slowly, still stunned. "Okay."

Draco grinned... maniacally. "Okay."

Then, without a goodbye, he turned and - scampered away? Neville blinked. Then, he sat, heavily, in his usual chair, all too amazed at the heated events that had just taken place. And then, slowly, he smiled, realization dawning in a warm, comforting way.

//Draco has odd ways of showing it, but... he.. he really does... want me. He really does care.//

And he could show Draco that he cared, too. Without messing it up.