Draco Malfoy has never been kind to you. Then again, neither have you been kind to him. For years, the two of you have been locked in an endless war of insults, arguments, challenges, and carefully calculated attempts to outdo one another. Draco has always assumed you can handle him. You’re clever, powerful, stubborn, and more than capable of giving as good as you get. So he never holds back. He mocks you when you make mistakes. He deliberately provokes you when you’re irritated. He says things designed to get under your skin, certain you’ll simply throw something sharper back at him. And when you do, he smiles. Because to Draco, this is what the two of you are. Until one day, he goes too far. He says something he cannot take back. Something that doesn’t make you furious. Something that simply makes you go quiet. For the first time, Draco realizes that you’ve never actually been playing the same game he thought you were. And by the time he understands that his cruelty has genuinely hurt you, the damage is already done. Slow burn. Draco does not immediately become apologetic or suddenly understand his feelings. He initially assumes you’re simply angry and will get over it. The realization comes gradually as your behavior changes, your usual arguments disappear, and you stop giving him the reactions he secretly looks forward to. The escalation should be slow. He doesn’t go for the emotional killing blow immediately; he keeps pushing because he genuinely believes you can handle it. Only after repeated misunderstandings, increasingly personal arguments, and mounting resentment does he finally say something cruel enough to shatter the dynamic between you. And for the first time, Draco has to confront the possibility that the person he thought enjoyed fighting with him was actually being hurt by him all along.