The airport was crowded and loud. I had never been on an airplane before, and stood by the nearest window, looking out at the planes. They were large machines with wheels bigger than my entire body.

I was scared.

You were off somewhere, the bathroom maybe. I could care less, honestly. All I could think about was that surely Harry and Ron were in New York by now. They were looking for their hotel, in a taxi or on the metro. They were taking in the sights, laughing with Lavender and pulling on their luggage.

I was alone and I wanted them here. I felt exposed in this large airport, my tiny body hid in a corner and my one small bag resting on the floor beside me. I sat down on the ledge and curled my feet up beneath me. I focused on the feeling of my legs stiffening and closed my eyes tight.

"Hermione."

My eyes flew open and I saw you kneeling down before me. You held out a cup with a straw and I took it reluctantly. I took a sip and the fizz settled in my stomach.

"Thanks."

You nodded and stood. I watched as you took my bag in your hand and held out the other hand to me.

"Time to go." You said.

I stood, grabbed my bag from you and headed in the direction of our gate. You could give me a drink, but that didn't make us friends. It didn't mean I needed you.

OOO

I could feel the plane taking off underneath us. The floor rattled and I tried my best to take deep breaths in and out. Why we couldn't have just apparated was beyond me, but I made a mental note to shake the crap out of Harry when I saw him again.

I looked over at you and saw that you were calm and composed, looking straight ahead at the seat in front of you.

How was it fair that I was sitting here, visions of dying exploding in my brain, and you-Draco Malfoy, someone who hated all things Muggle, looked like you could just fall asleep?

I covered my face with my hands and strangled a sob. I wanted this war to be over. I didn't want to have to go to Los Angeles where I knew nobody aside from you.

Calm down, I told myself. Be strong.

I uncovered my face and looked over at you again. You hadn't moved. Then there was a quick flash and I looked down. Your arm, which was resting on the armrest, overturned. Your hand unfurled like a question and I answered it by slipping my fingers between yours.

OOO

The room was spinning. Our plane had hit some bumps and fumbled around. Everyone was screaming, people jostling each other around. I could feel arms pulling me back, but I wasn't interested. I had to save her-I had to find her. A flash of auburn drifted in the corner of my eye and I chased it.

But the floor was unsteady and I was falling, my feet slipping and I hit the ground.

"Hermione!" someone was screaming. I couldn't get up. "Hermione!"

"Hermione! Wake up, we're landing!"

You were shaking my arm, a look of concern on your face.

"Alright, alright." I pulled form your grasp and rubbed my forehead.

"Last flight. We're finally here." You pointed out the window and I saw that indeed we had landed at the LAX.

It was magnificent; I'll never be able to deny that. In my lifetime I had hardly seen such beautiful architecture surrounded by floods of people. You and I pulled our bags from the overhead and walked out our gate.

"Ok." You took a piece of paper out of your pocket and opened it. "Our hotel is the Santa Monica. Right near the beach."

"Wow. How did we get the money for that?"

"Me. I'm paying for us."

I had no idea what to say. It was no secret that you were wealthy-that you had inherited your family's fortune when your father was murdered last year. But to think that this money was being used so that I could live in comfort was almost unfathomable.

"Thank you." I said quietly. It hurt deeply to continually be in your debt, but I was raised to be gracious, and I couldn't ignore his kindness forever.

We walked together in silence out of the airport. The heat hit me immediately and I regretted that I didn't own more than winter clothes.

You looked down at my frayed jeans and frowned.

"I suppose our first order of business should be heading to the airport, but after that we'll have to go to an outlet and buy you…appropriate apparel."

"I'm fine." I muttered.

Your hand moved to the nape of my neck and pushed away my curls. Wind hit my skin and sent shivers down my spine.

"You're sweating." You whispered in my ear and I felt my skin rise. I could smell the mint in your breath.

I shook my head and sent my curls back down my back. Stepping close to the street I hailed a cab and tried to calm my heart. I couldn't decide if I was furious or embarrassed. How had I come to be so dependent on you?

I wished more than ever that it were Harry or Ron getting into the cab with me, instead of you. But I could hear you squeak into the seat next to me, and the door shut. It was hot and stuffy in the cab, so we gave the driver the hotel name and sat in silence.

It's a funny thing, something I've never been able to figure out, but when I'm stressed I imagine the smell of oranges. I can bring the scent of citrus into my nose and let it wrap itself around my brain before my heart slows and everything is ok again.

Except the scent is strong this time, almost real. I take another whiff, for real this time, and realize you're peeling an orange, right there in the taxi.

"Where did you get that?"

"Airplane." You answer, and continue peeling.

I watched you, watched your hands. They moved almost musically, twisting and pulling away, leaving the fleshy white skin exposed.

He broke it in half and handed me one. It felt cool in my hands and I eagerly bit down into a slice. The juice dribbled down my chin a little and when I turned to thank you I saw that you were smiling.

"Why are you being like this Malfoy?"

"I told you, I understand what you're going through-"

"No."

I shook my head. Ate another piece of orange.

"You don't have to shut people out all the time Hermione. Just because it's war doesn't mean you can't make friends."

"I have friends."

"And they're not here. I am. We could be here a long time, you need me."

"I do not need you." It was practically a shriek.

"No? So you'll let yourself be completely alone? Indefinitely?" You sounded almost…sad. It threw me off.

"I'd rather be alone than with you."

Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw you wince and if I'm being truthful (which, what do I have to lose now by being honest?) I felt a bit bad for being so mean to you. I just didn't think this "being nice" act was genuine.

You turned away from me and looked out the window. Bits of sun came through the glass and made your hair luminescent. You were almost…beautiful, and I blushed as soon as the thought escaped my conscious mind.

"We're here." You said finally.

The taxi stopped and you opened the door. Heat barreled in and hit me like a tidal wave. I wanted nothing more than to get into a shower of cold water and never leave.

Our hotel room felt like a cool cave. The double doors opened to reveal a bedroom, a door leading to a bathroom…and a balcony. I put my bag down and walked out onto it. Below was a clear view of the beach.

I pressed my hands onto the scaffold and gripped it in my fingers. It was beautiful; almost like this were a vacation and not a death mission. I breathed in the air and tasted salt in my throat.

"Want to go out?" You asked.

"No, that's ok. I think I'm just going to shower."

I heard you leave but I stayed on the balcony for a while.

Grief finds you in the highest of places. You're a flower sitting on top of a stem, and someone steps on you. The ground is in your face, dirt in your lungs and your eyes.

I could see people running into the ocean and piling sand on each other, but it wasn't me. It would never be me.

Then there was cold shower water on my head, slicing down my back and under my feet. The only thing that broke my concentration was the noise of a door opening. The bathroom door.

"GET OUT!" I screamed and crammed myself into the corner of the shower, covering myself as much as I could. "MALFOY, GET OUT!"

"Calm your fucking tits, Hermione." Came your slow drawl. "I can't see anything through the curtain."

My heart was beating fast, part in anger and part from an unknown feeling that I didn't recognize. You had interrupted my grief, yet again, and I felt almost…grateful.

I listening for your steps out and then sank to the floor. I could feel the drops sink their teeth into my hair, too cold now, biting at my scalp. When I got out I saw that you had a fuzzy white towel folded on the toilet for me. I wrapped it around my waist and peeked out the door.

"I'm on the balcony. Clothes are on the bed for you."

I let the door swing open a little more and indeed there was a shopping bag in the middle of the mattress.

"How long was I in the shower?"

"A couple hours maybe."

I could feel the breeze from the balcony, raising goose bumps on my legs. My hair was a tangled mess and my skin was almost blue.

Inside the bag were a few shorts and some soft tanks and shirts. I pulled one shirt up and it felt almost like silk. It was a quarter sleeve, light blue with bits of green twisted around the buttons. I laid it out next to a pair of gray shorts. The outfit looked so normal…so different from the same clothes I had been wearing from the beginning of the war that I wanted to cry.

"Put that on. Let's go out to eat before it gets dark."

I turned my head and saw you staring. I gripped my towel tighter and frowned.

"I should put a bell around you, you're too quiet."

You smirked and touched my cheek. I pulled away.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"I-well, it's polite, which I know you're unfamiliar with, but still-"

"I'll make a proper entrance next time. Roll out a red carpet. Have someone announce my name."

"Good."

OOO

"Are there…big balls, hanging from the trees?"

"They're lanterns, Malfoy."

"Why are there lights? It's not Christmas."

"Decoration. It's cute."

"Why-"

"Can you stop asking questions? Jesus."

You fidgeted a bit with your napkin before placing it on your lap. You look at me and give me this look, like you're looking underneath my skin, at my veins and my blood.

"You look very nice in that color."

"I'm…exc-what?"

"That shirt looks lovely on you."

My cheeks burn. I have no idea what to say. Are you flirting with me?

"Thanks." I mumble and look down at my napkin.

"Can I take your order?" a young woman with straight blonde hair, pulled back in a braid holds a pad in her hand and a pen in the other.

You order a steak, medium rare. I order chicken breast and a side salad. As soon as the waitress walks away I catch you staring at her behind the counter, handing the order to the chef. You have a small smirk on your face and your eyes are filmy with a daydream.

"You like her?"

You turn and look at me. You blink a couple times and cough into your fist.

"I have a thing for blondes, yes."

"You should ask her out." I take a sip of my water and crush an ice cube in my teeth.

You shake your head and sip your water as well.

"No."

"Why not?" I force a smile. "Already have a lady?"

Your eyes flick up to mine and it feels like my face is on fire. How can you look so deeply at me like that?

"Something like that."

OOO

The first thing that I notice is the sun. It's peeping through my eyelids in a fiery orange color, and when I open my eyes it's actually more than that. Bits of pink and blue spread out on my sheet like a yawning cat.

I swing out of bed and see you sleeping on the armchair in the corner. There is only one bed and we've agreed to take turns sleeping in it. When my feet hit the floor there is a tiny creak and you shift a bit, your hand swiping at your mouth and then falling to the ground.

I take quiet steps out onto the balcony and see the ocean. It's a high tide and the water is the most beautiful color of gray. I wonder what it would be like to go under the waves and swim away. When I was little I used to pretend that I was a mermaid and lock my legs together as I swam. My Mom would frown and pull me out begging me to stop. She was afraid that I'd drown, but as soon as she turned her back I'd try again.

I knew that you were back on the chair sleeping, and I thought that it would be cruel to wake you. Sleeping was the only time that we got to stop existing in this world. The only time that there was no war, no breakable bones and crusty, tear stained faces. I would give anything to be able to sleep forever, but as I looked out at the ocean, my hands warm from the glow of the sun, I felt the first bit of hope that I had experienced in years. It finally felt like we were moving foreward.

A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I feel awful :/ The good news is that I'm going to make this an official story, not just a three chapter sequence! Yay? Reviews are appreciated, as always.