The day of Hermione's birthday had finally arrived and funnily enough, Fred was more excited about the festivities than she was, especially with the surprise he had prepared for her later today.
He was currently in the kitchen with Veronica and Archie preparing breakfast in bed for his wife, which was his idea.
Finishing up, he told the teens to follow him up with their gifts, with Vegas tagging along. They didn't bother knocking the bedroom door, knowing she was most likely already awake, and just strolled right in.
"Happy Birthday!" Fred, Veronica and Archie cheered as they walked into the room with Vegas behind them. Archie had a huge bouquet of flowers in hand, while Veronica had a wrapped gift box in hers and Fred carried a breakfast tray.
The dog brushed past them all and jumped up onto the bed, making Hermione smile as she sat up.
The three of them followed the canine and joined the two of them with Fred placing her breakfast tray in front of her. She was still on edge and suspicious over his behaviour recently but she decided she wasn't going to let it ruin the day.
"You guys didn't have to do all of this!" She gushed as she moved over to make more space for them all
"Yes we did honey, it's your special day." Fred responded, earning a tense smile from Hermione, which he chose to ignore. Her behaviour towards him had been rather odd over the past week, he had definitely picked up on it.
Of course he hadn't come to the conclusion that she suspected he was cheating so many other scenarios behind Hermione's distance flew around his head, but today was her special day. Whatever issues that believed may have risen between them could wait for another occasion.
"These are beautiful!" She says as Archie hands her the flowers he had got for her. She brings them to her nose and deeply inhales the scent. "Thank you Archie." She places the flowers down next to her and moves onto Veronica's gift.
"Not to be bias, but I can promise you this is the best gift you'll receive today." Veronica brags as she watches her mother open the box
"We'll see about that." Archie jokingly snaps back, earning a concerning glare from Fred as he was the only other person who knew about what he had planned for her later.
She opened the box to find a charm bracelet with multiple charms attached around, including a love heart with the letter "V" attached.
She slowly pulled the piece of jewellery out and stared in awe, gaping at how beautiful it was.
"Oh Ronnie, this is gorgeous." She gushed before placing it around her wrist and lifting it up to get a better look at it. "How did you afford this? It must've cost you a fortune."
"I've been saving for a while, you deserve the best Mom." The young girl smiled before kissing her mother on the cheek. She and Hermione had always had a closer than close bond, and not that you could blame them. They were all each other had for a long while before she reconciled with Fred.
"So, no gift from my beloved husband?" Hermione points out, putting sarcastic emphasis on the word beloved which hadn't gone unnoticed by Fred.
He stammered as his mouth fell slightly agape and his eye widened, glaring into her direction.
"You'll have to wait until later." He says happily
She straightens her face and pulls a half frown, clearly unimpressed by his answer. "Right."
•••
Not being too big on celebrations, Fred and Hermione has organised a quiet dinner to celebrate, for the adults only, which is exactly how Hermione wanted it. All four parents had sent their beloved offspring to The Bijou.
Alice had remained huddled in a corner by herself. Drinking a larger than normal glass of wine while she quietly observed Fred and Hermione in the kitchen through door gap. Hermione hadn't said much since their last conversation.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by FP approaching her and tapping her shoulder lightly.
"Hey. So how are you doing?" He kindly asked, not wanting to overstep or make her feel uncomfortable in any way.
She removed the wine filled glass from her lips and shifted her ocean blue eyes up to meet his.
Honestly, she wasn't okay, and she wasn't normally one to spill her guts to others either, she found it to be a sign of weakness, but something about the way FP had approached her and delivered the question made her want to, as if she was obligated to. His words and attitude alone made her feel she could willingly open up to him without judgement.
"Not really." She sighs, running her finger along the edge of the glass in her other hand. "But day by day it gets better so, I'm just living in the moment." She said nonchalantly, with a hint of sadness in her voice before taking another sip and gulping it down.
"Well, crazier things have happened in this town. I guarantee you, next week this will all blow over and they'll be geeking out over something else."
Alice chuckles as she looks down at her glass, smiling into the red liquid that stared back at her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence and all but, trust me, I'm fine. I've been through worse."
He gave a supportive smile back before resting his hand on her shoulder, letting her know he was there for her, and to her surprise, it was beyond comforting. Knowing she had someone in her corner. She'd never had that in life before.
"FP?!" Hermione's voice called in a demanding way from the hall. The two snapped out of their trance and looked back at her.
His eyes widened and he poked his tongue in his cheek. "Yep?!"
"Uhm, Fred needs you in the kitchen." She informed him, pointing her thumb behind her.
"What for? I am not particularly the culinary type."
She clasped her hands together as she paused in her steps, trying to think of something on the spot.
"I don't know, why don't you go and see perhaps." She suggested before walking towards him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and slowly ushered him out, leaving her alone with Alice
The minute he was out of sight, her face turned to thunder, grabbing the first bottle of alcohol she could find at her and Fred's mini bar and drinking it straight from the bottle.
Alice watched on at her friends downward spiral in slight shock. She knew Hermione was going through some things but she didn't think it was this serious.
Hermione sighed deeply, breathing in her surroundings as she released the bottle from her moist lips and lowered it back into the table with a mild slam. She wiped the brown liquid from her mouth with the sleeve of her dress and looked back at Alice with defeat all over her face.
"Well that was......entertaining." Alice finally spoke before leaning against the table. "What's happened now?"
"He hasn't gotten me anything." Hermione announced before taking another swig of her bottle. "But not like it's a surprise, he probably forgot on the count of him fucking another woman!" She angrily whispered before lowering her head into her hands.
She slowly picked her head back up and moved her raven locks out of her face, wiping away the few tears from her face.
"Oh my God! You're not- you don't still think he's cheating do you?" Alice exasperates
"What am I supposed to think?!"
"Hermione, for the last time, you're overreacting. Maybe he-"
"Dinners ready ladies!" Fred informs them as he walks through to the living room where they were stood, interrupting their conversation as he did.
"Thanks, we'll be in in a minute." Alice smiled before gripping onto Hermione's hand. The two watched on as he stepped into the dining area.
Despite the idea of her husband sleeping with another woman still heavy on her mind, Hermione remained civil at the dinner table and the four enjoyed themselves all while engaging in an interesting discussion about their high school days.
"No but seriously, Hal even treated her like crap in High school, I don't why any of it came as a surprise to her." Fred mentioned before finishing his glass.
Alice scoffed before rolling her eyes. "Well she's had a problem with me since I came to town so I guess she was just looking for an excuse to come down on me harder, or least hate me more openly."
"But still, for Hal to do what he did and sit back and let you take the fall, it's fucked up." FP expresses as he leaned back into his chair.
"Well some men just can't be trusted can they?" Hermione interrupted snidely before taking a sip of her glass.
The other three looked between each other, sensing that Hermione clearly had some sort of issue that she wasn't addressing.
"Well uhm." Fred spoke as he clasped his hands together. "I've been waiting all day to share this with you and I figure this is the perfect time."
He stands up from his chair and walks over to the cabinet on the other side of the room, pulling out a large brown envelope and handing it to Hermione.
"Happy Birthday honey." He expresses.
She placed her glass down onto the table and furrowed her brows at him, confused as to what could be in this envelope of his.
"What's this?" She wondered, reluctantly taking it from his possession.
"Open it and find out."
She peeled back the envelope flap and pulled out a contract, for what she couldn't quite make out.
"A contract for property number 92837 in Downtown Riverdale?" She read out confused. "I don't- I don't understand."
"After saving for two years I finally managed to get you the store front you always wanted." Fred revealed proudly.
Hermione's eyes began to well up with tears as she turned her head towards him.
"Granted it needed a little, well actually a lot, of TLC, that's why I've been working late for all these weeks. FP, Arch and Jug has been giving me a hand." Fred explained
Her breath hitched in her throat before she burst into tears in front of them all.
Fred immediately rested his hand on her shoulder and concern ran all over his face. "Honey what's wrong?"
"I- I just can't believe-" Hermione cried. She was a blubbering mess at this point.
"She thought you were sticking your dick in another woman." Alice announced nonchalantly, earning a mild giggle from FP, which he tried to hide by covering his mouth with his napkin.
Fred's eyes widened in confusion and shock. "What?!" He turned back to Hermione, genuinely shocked at the thought of this.
"Well you were so distant and staying out late, what was I supposed to think."
"Hermione, I would never do that to you. I wouldn't even dream of it."
He tilted her head up towards him and rested his hand on her cheek. "You've been the love of my life since we were 15. And 20 years later nothing's changed, absolutely nothing."
Fred began to tear up himself as he went on with his speech, followed by Alice and FP who were at the table sniffling a little too. It was all a bit too emotional for them.
"I'm sorry. I guess I just overreacted. You know how I am." Hermione laughed before wiping a tear.
Fred chuckled before pulling her into a comforting and heartfelt hug. "And I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you Hermione."
"I love you too."