A/N: My obviously dirty mind will eventually lead me to re-write this piece with more adult contents in AO3 than allowed here. Why? I have a dirty mind.
They started out as friends with benefits, first strangers and then later just friends sleeping together as Hermione puts it. This was true in many ways. They eventually became friends in the course of the mad dash to remove their clothes after most, if not all of their encounters.
At the start, she was taciturn and it was often up to him to initiate conversations or even the most polite greetings. He initially thought that she didn't listen to him, but when he once mentioned that his favorite fruit are mangoes, she gave him a bag of it the next time they met up. It was this quiet attention that made him feel cared for.
His ex-girlfriend looked like a Japanese actress according to the proprietor of the food place he and Mei used to frequent after work. But Hermione looks like one of those actresses from blockbuster movies, even if she didn't find herself particularly beautiful or even pretty. Mei had only been too aware of her looks and often wished that he looks like a Japanese actor too, finding his looks too plain for her attractive visage. Hermione doesn't seem aware or care about her looks even as he sees her growing more beautiful by the day as she matured.
It turns out that she had only been 19 years old when they first met and from what little she'd tell him about it, her first boyfriend died when they've only been a week or so together. He can't help but feel guilty that he had inadvertently took advantage of her.
Despite the fact that they've been "hanging out" or sometimes even sleep over at each other's places, they remain as just "friends". Even if he'd accepted two months into their arrangement that he has developed feelings for her. He'd even placed a framed picture of the two of them on his desk at work.
How can he not develop feelings for her or delude himself into thinking they have a relationship when she takes such good care of him? She's there when he got sick, watching over him like a mother hen, tending over his ever needs and slapping his hands away when he tried to get something he wants. She relented giving into him only after he'd been cleared of his colds. She would cook for him from time to time and even clean his place every once in a while. Isn't that what girlfriends do?
What does bother him is her lack of interest in establishing commitment or putting a label to what they do have even after they've reached a year into their arrangement. She didn't even seem to have any emotion about it at all. At least she didn't react when some of his co-workers came upon them and started teasing him because all this while they'd thought his girlfriend was imaginary. They thought that he just took a picture with some pretty girl and pretended she's his girl. He was forced to introduce Hermione, not calling her directly his girlfriend and introduce his co-workers to her. They'd even complimented her that she looks even more beautiful in the flesh than in the picture.
He expected Hermione to deny their relationship outward or even just talk to him about it later. But she just had no reaction. She didn't note on his co-workers' presumption on their relationship or ask how they came upon it but just acted as if nothing happened. He now understood that the worst feeling you could get out of someone is not anger or hatred but apathy.
Hermione had taken to drinking dreamless draughts whenever Qiwu sleeps over. He Qiwu is her sweet, cute and courteous "not boyfriend".
The guy takes her out to "not dates"; movies, night markets and even if he didn't particularly enjoy it, museum and other historical sites. He massages her whenever she's overly stressed out and often tries to get her to laugh.
He is a nice guy, if only she'd met him when she was still whole. But then that would mean that Ron would still be alive and she wouldn't even dream of being here, away from everyone she knew.
About a year into their arrangement, after they finished with their amorous activities and laid naked in each other's, just when he thought she was asleep, he nuzzled into her nape and whispered. "I love you so much Hermione." He said before he gently tucked her into the covers and turned to his side to sleep.
Hermione felt tears prickling her eyes. She didn't know why she's crying. She didn't know if she was crying for him or for herself. But she knew that she felt so sad in that moment.
The only rule they have to this thing is that if either of them wanted to go out or sleep with someone else, they would inform the other before doing so or failing at that immediately after, effectively terminating their arrangement. She never asked him where he went and he couldn't ask her where she goes seeing that she didn't ask him about his business. It felt horrible.
Qiwu was just dragged into this bachelor's party given for one of his college friends who was finally settling down. As one of the sexy dancers gave him a lap dance, he felt hot and bothered. But as the girl was about to kiss him, he backed off, slightly pushing the girl off of him.
The girl was pretty enough, especially in this dimly lit place. He heard his friends jeering that she better not push her luck and just go for one of them seeing that Qiwu's girlfriend looks like an actress. The girl, undeterred, still continued her grinding. This had Qiwu standing up abruptly, almost causing the girl to fall off of his lap if it hadn't been for one of his friends who caught her her and placed her on his lap in turn
Qiwu muttered apologies to the groom-to-be while they teased the girl for getting Qiwu so hot and bothered that he had to get his girlfriend. The girl was still determined to have him only to have Qiwu half run out of the room.
They were right on one thing, he had to get to his "girlfriend" but his reasons were quite different. He needed Hermione to give him comfort and assurance, even if not in words as he knew she never would, that as temporary as whatever it is between them, she is there for him.
As he finished parking his car in her unoccupied parking slot, he realized that whatever the cause or whenever it might be, he'd be the one nursing a broken heart once this is over.
"You only have a month to move since somebody brought the apartment you're renting?" Hermione asked to confirm. Qiwu nodded sadly as he scoured through the apartments for rent ads again.
A year and a half into this arrangement, Qiwu already has half her cabinet space (he didn't know that most of her clothes are in her tiny purse), has toiletries in her bathroom and shoes in her rack and beddings in her linen cabinet. He was here more often than at his own home during his free time, only taking care to feed his dog.
"Why don't you move here? You have practically half of your stuff here and it's only just a few more things to move since you barely have things in your apartment." Hermione said practically as she went back to her paperwork.
Qiwu had been pleasantly surprised then remembered, "What about my dog, Googles? Wouldn't your cat have a problem with him?" He asked.
Hermione shrugged. "They'd just have to learn to live with each other." She replied without looking up.
Qiwu started smiling for some reason but Hermione didn't notice it as she was engrossed with what she's writing on her laptop.
