‘She’s really pretty, isn’t she?’
Hermione’s voice broke his gaze from the girl immediately as though it burned to look at her. The girl he had been staring at for a good five minutes, oblivious to Hermione’s eye rolls and sighs, was the only one sitting in the restaurant that night where Hermione worked.
The girl had masses of paper surrounding her and was scribbling away intently, probably finishing off some work for a boss, Draco thought. The flow of blonde hair hung off one shoulder and her heavily made up eyes stayed on the paper even when she picked up a fry and popped it into her mouth hungrily. She wore a pencil skirt and a white shirt with a button or two popped open from the top. Her blazer adorned the chair behind her and Draco noticed the nail polish on her fingers and the perfect make up, not too much but enough for it to be worth looking twice. Her hand closed around her drink and she sipped it, still looking at her work, when Hermione’s voice cut into Draco’s fantasy.
‘Jealous, Granger?’ Draco asked, smirking slightly and leaning towards his half-girlfriend – he really had no idea what to name their relationship – and brushed her hair behind her ear, smirking wider when Hermione looked defensive.
‘Jealous of a girl like that?’ Hermione asked, aggravatingly, counting out the money for the end of the day and expertly tying a rubber band around the cash before looking at the smirking blonde, ‘looks aren’t everything, Draco.’
‘It sure is the first noticeable feature, wouldn’t you say? You did fall for this face, didn’t you?’ Draco asked, running a hand over the slight stubble on his chin and cheeks.
‘Let me work in peace,’ Hermione rolled her eyes and looked at him, ‘I still have to go home and finish off my packing.’
‘Packing?’ Draco popped a grape into his mouth from the nearby plate and Hermione groaned slightly, moving the plate far away from him.
‘Yes, packing. We have a weekend on a boat and if you’re planning on wearing nothing all the way through the weekend, I suggest you go home and pack a few things to take with you,’ Hermione said, taking out the change box and carefully piling the cash into it.
‘I would wear nothing but I wouldn’t want girls swarming all over me. I’ve had enough of that,’ Draco winked at her. He reached across and got another grape, popping it into his mouth; he really loved teasing her and seeing the half annoyance, half amusement on her face.
‘Clearly. That girl hasn’t kept her eyes off of you,’ Hermione said, sarcasm dripping from every word as she looked over to the girl briefly and then put the change box away.
Draco looked at the girl again, reaching absent-mindedly for another one of the forbidden grapes. He popped the grape into his mouth and then licked it as he bit into it, tasting the juice. It was true that the girl hadn’t looked at him like girls usually did although it didn’t worry Draco. He had been kissing Hermione before the girl came in and ordered so it was obvious that it looked like Draco and Hermione were in a relationship. A girl would be stupid to try something on a guy who was already with someone.
‘I’ll pack for you,’ Hermione suggested.
‘Huh?’ Draco asked.
Hermione gave him a steely glare and then sighed, ‘if you stop imagining yourself with that girl, you’d know that I have, so very unselfishly, suggested to pack your clothes for you. Even though I have a lot of work to do, I’m willing to-‘
‘Remind me why I’m going on this boat ride with you?’ Draco asked, and then added, ‘I mean, I would have took my mother and it’d be no different.’
‘Did you just compare me to your mother?’
‘Yes.’
‘I hate you. Why don’t you take someone else to this stupid boat ride and maybe you’ll have more fun than going with someone who supposedly acts like your mother. I’ll stay at home with my daughter and-’
‘But I love you,’ Draco leaned forwards over the counter and looked at her, effectively shutting her up. Hermione’s eyes met his and she leaned over too, a smile flickering onto her red, lush lips. Draco looked into her eyes and then muttered, ‘plus, I’d like to get you into my bed and this seems like the perfect opportunity.’
‘You’re doing this for sex?’ Hermione asked. She didn’t have it in her to be annoyed since she knew that Draco truly cared for her but he did like to tease her at times.
‘Of course,’ Draco rolled his eyes jokingly and leaned forwards to kiss her briefly, feeling the softness of her lips against his own and then sighing, ‘can’t you close the restaurant so we can go home?’
‘Should I just chuck that girl out? How dare she not be interested in you,’ Hermione joked and put a hand on his cheek, ‘but that’s okay because I’m interested in you.’
‘Well, I’d like someone hot,’ Draco rolled his eyes.
Hermione just sighed, ‘I should hate you for that.’
Draco just smiled and leaned forwards to kiss her again briefly, moving his own hand to her cheek and pulling her forwards slightly. His tongue barely touched hers when Draco pulled back and frowned.
‘I need a cigarette,’ Draco admitted, feeling the usual cravings coming back in what felt like no time at all.
Hermione looked at him for a moment, into those grey eyes, before pulling her hand away. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked like a disapproving mother as she said, ‘but you just had one like an hour ago.’
Draco couldn’t explain to her what the cravings felt like and he wondered if she had any cravings during her pregnancy or even when she was menstruating? He had heard of pregnant women craving very unusual things but Draco was sure that craving a cigarette had to be worse. He had tried to stop smoking when Eva told him but it didn’t work out too well.
Draco guessed that stress and a craving for a cigarette could be quite similar since it wasn’t a physical feeling and it was quite hard to pinpoint the exact location. It was just... there. He hated the feeling of wanting something so bad that he would go to extreme lengths just to get it and the brief period of time where he had tried to stop made him crazy since the craving just got worse and worse and worse...
‘Well, I need another one,’ Draco muttered briefly, not even bothering to explain to her since all he got was an annoyed expression as though she didn’t think it was as hard as he made it out to be.
Hermione started to give him that look and Draco turned away; he really didn’t want to have another conversation with her about this. He could almost feel Hermione’s mouth start to open but she must have closed it since all that followed next was silence. Draco sighed and watched as the girl finally started to pack up her paper and finish off her drink. A couple of minutes later, she was walking towards the door.
‘Thank you for the food,’ the girl smiled at Hermione as she walked by. She glanced briefly at Draco and then waved at them before leaving.
Hermione waved back at her and then looked at Draco, ‘let me just clean up and we’ll go.’
Draco nodded, knowing the procedure she usually went to. He glanced at the dirty dishes and sighed, wishing she could just use magic to clean them but Hermione always opted to go for the muggle way which always made Draco roll his eyes. He sighed loudly again as though trying to catch her attention but Hermione took no notice as she walked over to the door and changed the sign from Open to Closed.
Hermione then walked over to the table and picked up the empty plate, which had held the chips, and the glance in one hand. She balanced the glass on the plate and whipped out her cloth, swiftly wiping down the table. Draco licked his lips slightly as she reached over to make sure she got all of the table and her shirt rode up a bit. Hermione walked past him, without making eye contact, and went into the kitchen where she would wash the dishes... by hand... much to Draco’s annoyance.
Draco pushed himself off the counter where he was leaning on and then climbed over it to get into the kitchen through the swing door. He really had to hand it to Hermione that she could keep her kitchen as tidy as her house. Draco looked around the immaculate counter and the clean floor, chuckling slightly, before his eyes landed on Hermione doing the dishes. He smiled and walked over to her, slipping his hands onto her slim waist and kissing her neck.
‘Please say you’re nearly done?’ Draco half pleaded, pressing himself slightly against her as Hermione shut the tap off and reached for a cloth, starting to dry the dishes.
‘I’m nearly done,’ Hermione whispered quietly and then rolled her eyes as she added, ‘and you really shouldn’t be back here.’
‘No one will know, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes,’ Draco rolled his own eyes, pressing his lips to the side of her neck and feeling her laughter bubbling up her throat.
‘New nickname?’ Hermione chuckled softly as she put the dry plate on the counter and dried the glass quickly, wanting nothing more than to go home to Rose and get into bed with Draco.
‘Mmm,’ Draco mumbled against her neck and then pulled back slightly as Hermione turned to him after putting the glass down.
‘I love you,’ Hermione muttered softly, looking into his eyes.
‘I love you too,’ Draco said, looking into the opposite, brown eyes. He added, ‘now, come on. Let’s go home!’
Hermione smiled, ‘wait for me outside. I’ll just put these away and close up.’
‘Already ordering me around, Granger,’ Draco stated jokingly but started for the kitchen door to go outside. He looked around the empty restaurant and sighed before leaving through the front door that jingled when he opened it to the cold air.
Draco leaned against the window and pulled out his cigarette, taking one of them between his lips. He put the cigarette packet away and lit one up before taking a long drag, feeling the stress like craving fade off slowly as the air entered into his lungs. Blowing a ring of smoke into the vast night air, he saw the lights of the shop turning off and then Hermione came out, buttoning up her coat. She took Draco’s hand and looked at him, looking briefly at the cigarette.
‘Finish that off. I don’t want Rose to see you smoke,’ Hermione said, pulling him so that they could walk and warm up.
Draco walked with her, holding the cigarette away from her since he knew she hated the fact that he smoked. He glanced at Hermione, once again thinking that she looked quite radiant and beautiful. He had no idea why anyone would want to break up with a beauty like her.
‘I’ll pack for you,’ Hermione decided after a few minutes of silence, ‘early morning, just before we leave-’
‘No,’ Draco frowned and shook his head, ‘you’ll just get the clothes that you like. I’ll pack by myself.’
Hermione looked at him, ‘fine but you have to wake up earlier than you usually do.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Draco pretended to salute her as Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
Draco took the last drag off his cigarette and then used his thumb and forefinger to flick the cigarette onto the ground, crushing it with his heel. Hermione frowned at him, a huge rant to say that he shouldn’t litter was at the tip of her tongue but she refrained. The last thing she needed was for Draco to claim she acted like his mother again...
Draco tightened his grip on her hand and glanced around, making sure no one was looking before closing his eyes and apparating them straight into Hermione’s apartment. Hermione, unaware that they were apparating, stumbled slightly when they reached her apartment and a strong pair of hands caught her.
‘Sorry,’ Draco chuckled as he helped her.
‘Mummy!’ Rose flung her arms around Hermione’s legs before she was picked up by her mother and hugged tight.
‘Mrs Granger,’ Draco nodded when he saw Hermione’s mother come out of the kitchen, mentally thanking God that she hadn’t seen them apparate in.
Mrs Granger’s eyes went to Draco and she looked him up and down as she walked over to them. Hermione glanced at Draco, worried since she hadn’t told her mother about the two of them although she had cried over the phone when Michael broke up with her. The words left Mrs Granger’s mouth in an accusatory tone, ‘I smell smoke.’
‘Mum, did Rose eat dinner? I left her some in the fridge,’ Hermione said, trying to move her mother’s eyes away from Draco.
Mrs Granger looked at her daughter and nodded, ‘yes and I gave her a bath. I should be off, dear.’
Draco watched as Hermione hugged her mother and asked how her father was and all of the other details that Draco didn’t really care about. Five minutes later, she was waving her mother goodbye and locking the front door before looking at her daughter who was drawing at the table.
‘Come on, sweetie, bedtime,’ Hermione smiled at Rose.
Rose shook her head, about to argue that she wanted to stay up later even though Hermione had caught her yawning before. Draco raised his eyebrows at Rose, ‘I’ll put you to bed. Come on, Rosie.’
Rose then smiled and stood up.
‘Thank you,’ Hermione beamed at Draco, so thankful to have him here for her since she knew that sometimes Rose could win with her tantrums.
Draco kissed her cheek, ‘no problem, Granger.’
Hermione watched Rose tell Draco about everything she had done at school today as they went into the bedroom. With a smile on her face, she started to tidy up the mess in her house. Hermione was blissfully unaware of the charm placed on the door of her apartment so that the person standing outside could hear everything. Every single word.
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A/N - Yes, I updated! But they probably won't be regular updates so don't get excited. I'm on christmas holidays so I thought I should.
Who do you think the person is? ;)