A/N: Welcome to my countdown! I hope you are excited as I am! This is DAY 1 and it was prompted by the wonderful xxDustNight88.

Title: Earn Your Hot Cocoa
Rating: K
Pairing: Theo and Hermione
Summary: A special little treat for their anniversary that doesn't quite go as planned.

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the plot of this story. I do not write for profit. Thank you to J. K. Rowling for all the wonderful characters that we love to write about!

If you enjoy the story, please remember to review! Reviews make me want to continue writing. Some of these are my first attempts at a pairing, so please keep that in mind!

Love always,
~starr


"C'mon, Theo! It would be so much fun," Hermione begged.

Theo was busy cooking dinner as she sat on a stool at the island in the kitchen of their small flat. He was doing his best to ignore the innocent batting of eyes that she kept doing in front of him so that he would cave to her every wish and desire.

"Why do you want to go skiing, Mione?" he sighed as he looked up from the vegetables he was cutting to throw in the stew. It wasn't that he didn't want to hit the slopes with his own adorable snowbunny, it was just that he had this sneaking suspicion that they wouldn't get much skiing done if they were actually able to get a way for a couple of days all on their own to a log cabin ski lodge with fireplaces in each room along with a big comfy bed for them to share.

"Because I think it would be fun! We can spend the day hitting the slopes and then come inside and warm up by the fire at night. Drink hot chocolate and snuggle in close under a big fluffy blanket to bring the heat back to our frozen bodies," she pleaded with a big smile on her face.

Theo just shook his head and laughed. He knew there was no use in trying to convince her otherwise. He would give her anything that she wanted, she just had to ask. He finished chopping up the last of the vegetables and added them to the soup before he gave her an answer.

"Please, Theo. I'll make it worth your while," she hummed as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her fingers splayed just above his hardening member that started coming to life when she promised to make the trip worth his while. Slowly he turned around and placed his arms around her neck and pulled her in tight for a hug.

With a quick kiss to the top of her head, he tried to hide his smile before he answered her begging. He wanted to play this out as long as she would let him.

"What do you mean make it worth my while?" he asked leaning back looking her in the eyes. She chewed on her bottom lip as she searched his eyes for a clue as to what his answer would be.

"Is that a yes?" she asked as she stood on her tiptoes to try and get a better view of his eyes. The excited spark in her eyes growing brighter brought a big smile to his face as he nodded his head.

"Really?" she squealed excitedly.

"Yes really, love. Anything you want," Theo laughed.

Hermione slammed her lips into his as she slid her hands down to cup his arse and gave it a squeeze. He smiled as he leaned further into the kiss as he cradled the back of her head with his right hand and slipped his left hand down to her waist. His tongue began to wrestle with hers briefly before she pulled away.

"Thank you, Theo! I can't wait! I'm gonna go pack!" she giggled as she placed one more quick kiss on his lips before she let him go, "Call me when dinner's ready!"

The day had finally arrived and Hermione had barely slept a wink that night. She practically shoved Theo out of bed that morning after she returned to bed from her shower. He groaned when he felt the bed shift under him when she had jumped in.

"Good morning, Theo," she cooed as she showered his cheek in a mad flurry of soft kisses trying desperately to rouse him.

"Morning," he grumbled as he rolled onto his back slowly opening his eyes to see her smiling face just inches away from his. She placed a soft tentative kiss on his lips and escaped before he could pull her in for a deeper kiss.

"Time to get up, lazy bum. I let you have a lie in while I got ready. Now it's your turn!" she cheered as she began making the bed that he was still lying in. He let out a huff as he sat up and watched her float around the room.

"Excited for something?" he asked her.

She nodded, "Get your lazy arse out of bed and into the shower. I wanna get up there by lunch time, so that we still have time to ski before it gets dark."

Theo laughed as he got out of bed, pulling the legs of his boxers back down after they had scrunched up during the night. Hermione watched him as he walked into the bathroom and was able to sneak a peek at his lazy arse as he stripped for a shower before he pushed the door shut, obstructing her view.

She shrugged and continued gathering the items they would need for the trip before she went to the kitchen to make some coffee. The wonderful aroma of the coffee began to fill the entire flat as the pot gurgled away.

After the pot beeped, Hermione grabbed two insulated cups and filled them to the brim before waltzing back to their bedroom. There she found a half dressed Theo getting ready to pull his jumper over his head with his back to her.

"I think you should go without the jumper," she said cheekily. He smirked at her as he turned around and took the coffee cup she extended towards him.

"Thank you for the coffee. I don't think I'd stay very warm on the slopes without the jumper," he chuckled as he placed a soft kiss on her cheek, "Ready to go?"

He looked her up and down. She was bundled up in an emerald green jumper and a pair of dark wash jeans and her fuzzy socks. She would be quite warm once she added her jacket and her favorite black boots he was sure she'd be wearing.

She nodded as she walked out of their bedroom towards the living room, "Just need my jacket and boots."

He followed her back out and grabbed both his boots and hers. He brought them over to where she stood. She smiled as she took her boots from him and moved over to the sofa to put them on. He sat down beside her and each of them laced up their boots. With one more quick kiss on the sofa and one by the door, the pair were on their way out the door and up to the lodge for the weekend.

The lodge was gorgeous. Fresh snow had fallen not long before Hermione and Theo had arrived. The extra sparkle in Hermione's eyes that had shown up when they pulled in at the lodge had not gone unnoticed. The smile on his face beamed bright as he watched her take in her surroundings.

They checked into their suite for the weekend. The view was gorgeous outside the balcony window. They could see all of the people on the slopes as they raced down from the top. Inside the room was even more beautiful. It was decorated for the holiday season and there was fresh firewood for the fireplace sitting in the corner opposite of the couch in the sitting area.

"Alright, Nott. Time to earn your hot cocoa," Hermione called as she grabbed the lift passes out of her bag with a big smile on her face. She was so excited to actually be here and getting her nose nipped by the cold outside on the slopes.

"Hold on," he said as he walked up to her and pulled her into his embrace. She snuggled in close inhaling the scent of his cologne. It was her favorite. The combination of sandalwood and cinnamon drove her wild.

He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, deeply inhaling the lavender scent of her shampoo mixed with the sweet vanilla of her perfume as he squeezed her tightly. Then he reached up and tipped her chin up to look at him with his hand and placed a chaste sweet kiss on her lips.

"I love you, Hermione. Happy Anniversary," Theo said sweetly as he placed another tender kiss on her lips as he held her. She melted into his arms when he kissed her, it was the best part of her day. Especially when he held her tight in his strong, muscular arms.

"Happy Anniversary, Theo. I love you too," she said with a smile as she snuggled into his chest one last time before squirming her way out of his arms.

"No more distractions. Time to hit the slopes," Hermione said walking towards the door with the lift passes in hand and a smile beaming from her face.

Theo laughed as he walked towards her. Slipping his fingers in between hers, he squeezed her hand tight and led the way out the door to the lift.

Theo carried her bridal style back in the door of their suite and sat her on the couch. Hermione was mumbling something he couldn't quite understand under her breath. She let out a huff as she slumped into the couch.

"You know, if you want me to understand what you are saying, then you need to quit mumbling under your breath," Theo joked as he straightened back up after setting her down.

Hermione glared at him. She didn't find her current situation very funny at all. She had barely made it down the slope when the front of her ski had gotten stuck in a mini snowbank as her other ski continued its forward motion causing her to fall forward and somersault a few feet in front of where she had gotten caught. The result of her somersault according to the lodge doctor was that she had broken her ankle. She was stuck on crutches for the remainder of the holiday season.

"I don't find this funny! How am I supposed to do anything I usually do for Christmas if I'm on crutches for the next six to eight weeks?" she sulked crossing her arms over her chest as he propped her ankle up on a pillow and pulled a blanket over her.

"With help. My help specifically," he told her before walking over to light the fireplace so that they could get nice and cozy for the reminder of their anniversary weekend. Hermione rolled her eyes at his nonchalant response, but she couldn't object to the view of his arse in front of her as he bent over to light the fire.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," Theo teased.

"How'd you..?" she stammered.

"I just know," he responded smugly as he turned back around to look at her lying on the couch, "Would you like some hot cocoa?"

She nodded, "With cookies!"

Theo laughed, "Anything you want, darling."

She smiled as he called room service and placed their order before joining her on the couch. He lifted her legs up in the air, took the seat where they were lying, and placed her legs back across his lap. He took her hand and squeezed it tight as he smiled at her.

"Stop it, Theo. You did not fancy me in high school. You barely noticed me," she said as she prodded him in the stomach with her foot. She smiled as she felt his taut muscles through his shirt. She hid her smile by taking a sip of her hot cocoa.

"I think you have that the other way around. You didn't notice me in high school," Theo laughed as he placed a hand on her foot to stop her poking. She just shook her head.

She didn't believe a word he was saying. She was the quiet girl in high school who didn't have many friends. Her friends were the characters in the stories she read. They didn't tease her for having frizzy hair or always having her nose in a book. The kids in school always had something to say about the way she dressed or how smart she was. And if her memory served her correctly, which is almost always did, Theo had made a smart remark or two in their time there.

"Oh, no. If I remember correctly, you made fun of me a few times in high school," she remarked.

"Let me tell you something that you don't know about the remarks I believe you are referring to," Theo said as he reached over to pull her into his lap so he could hold her close while he talked.

"Comfy?" he asked. She snuggled into the nape of his neck as she nodded. He squeezed her tight as he began his story.

"So I was on the football team in high school and we were all congregated in the hallway in front of Oliver's locker after class one day. As usual, the cheerleaders were hanging around because they thought they had a chance with Oliver or Marcus, which as we know now they didn't stand a prayer, but they were there nonetheless. And they were doing what cheerleaders do best being bitchy and talking about the people they didn't like or in my opinion understand. One of the people they were talking about was you, only because you were walking our way."

She had lifted her head off his shoulder to look at him at this point in his story. She always loved when he told her stories no matter what they were about. This one was probably going to be her new favorite or at least that was her inkling suspicion. He had told her that Parvati was in the midst of making a snide remark as she got closer, and what she had heard was him repeating what she said but not hearing what he added afterwards. She rolled her eyes when she heard him speak and hurried her pace as she walked away that day.

"I had said, 'Stuck-up bookworm with no understanding of other people? Have you ever talked to her at all? She is one of the most caring people I have ever met and she is not in the slightest bit stuck up. Unlike you lot.' Well, Parvati didn't take to kindly to that and she slapped me, so I left them and went in search of you, but you basically told me to sod off and never talk to you again."

Theo looked her deep in the eyes as he continued, "I was heartbroken. It had taken me so long to work up the courage to come and talk to you, and then I got shot down. I had always thought you were cute and I wanted to ask you out, but I thought you weren't interested in me. So I just suppressed how I felt and dated someone I really didn't care about. And I watched you date Ron and Draco. I think when you dated Draco was when I realized I may have lost my chance with you. Then in college, you two broke up and we were able to reconnect. The rest of the story has brought us to now."

He kissed her cheek after he finished the story.

"So see, I was defending you back then. Not joining in the mockery. Does that make you feel better?" he asked as he pressed his forehead against hers.

She frowned as she spoke, "That makes me feel guilty! I was so mad at you that day. I had thought you were different because of how nice you were to me normally. Now to find out that you actually were defending me, just makes me feel bad for not talking to you after that!"

"No, no, no. Don't you feel bad," Theo said as he ran a hand up and down her back trying to calm her back down, "Had that scenario not played out the way that it did, we might not be together now. So I am okay with the fact that you were mad at me for no reason."

That caused her to smile sweetly. He smiled back at her and kissed her softly on the lips again.

"More hot cocoa?" he asked.

"As long as you promise to tell me some more stories, then I will sit cuddled up on this couch for hours on end drinking hot cocoa with you," she answered with a smile.

He placed one more kiss on her lips before he moved her legs to stand up and get some more hot cocoa for them and added a few more logs to the fire.

They spent the rest of the weekend cuddled up on the couch with hot cocoa sharing stories from their childhood and time in high school.