Obviously, I own none of the rights to either of these series. Those belong to J.K. Rowling and Haruichi Furudate, along with whatever publishers, producers, etc., are involved with both series.

Hermione swirled the tea around her cup, sitting alone on the Tsukishima's kitchen counter. She could feel Tetsurou tossing and turning outside in the tent, trying to get back to sleep. She closed their mental link, hoping it would help him some what. Neither one of them had been getting good sleep since the torture.

She sighed. 4 a.m. Three more hours before the house started to stir. She took a small sip of the tea.

The castle had been fun, but being back in a fight-or-flight scenario had definitely brought up some unpleasant memories.

There was the scuff of a foot against the wooden floor around the corner, and Hermione's wand was immediately out, pointing at the figure that entered the kitchen.

The figure that immediately froze, eyes wide with fear.

Kei.

Hermione quickly holstered her wand. "Gomen!"

Kei closed his eyes, his breathing shallow.

"I'm sorry, Kei." Hermione bit her lip. She wasn't sure what to do. She would hug him but given how Bellatrix had immobilized him and manhandled him, that probably wasn't a good idea. Maybe keep talking? "It's ok. You're home. You're safe. I won't hurt you. I would never hurt you."

Kei's breathing was slowly steadying he opened his eyes wearily. "That's a lie. You've given me a bloody nose several times."

Hermione gave him a wry smile, "I'll never hurt you while I'm awake. That better?"

He nodded, then slowly walked into the kitchen, still watching her wand arm warily. "I'd ask why you're down here, but I assume you had bad dreams, too?"

Hermione sighed. How she wished he didn't have to add the 'too' to that sentence. "Hai."

"And Kuroo-senpai's not here to help distract you?"

"Your parents don't want him inside at night. We try to respect that."

Kei snorted. "They trust you, it's just a propriety thing. They wouldn't mind if he came into the kitchen and the two of you talked over tea."

"It's not like we have to be in proximity to talk…" Hermione shrugged. "It really isn't that big of a deal, Kei-kun. We're fine. He's trying to go back to sleep at the moment."

Kei poured himself a cup of tea. Hermione frowned. His hand was still shaking slightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but he gave her an annoyed look, so she shut her mouth. He clearly didn't want to talk about it—either his dream or the fact that she scared him. She looked down into her tea, frustrated.

He leaned against the counter next to her, sighing softly. "I've missed this."

Hermione looked up at him sharply, confused. This?

"Being able to talk with you without Kuroo-senpai or someone else around."

Hermione blinked. Was it really that bad? She tried to think of the last time she had spoken alone with Kei…and came up blank. Even if they had a few moments alone, Tetsurou would eventually arrive. It was just been a side-effect of their inability to be far from each other until the bond finished developing. "Gomen." She hadn't even realized.

Kei shrugged. "It's no big deal, really."

"Kei-kun…" Hermione watched him as he sipped his tea, clearly exhausted. She wondered if he would ever have even mentioned it if she hadn't caught him half-asleep like this. She sighed again.

"It's obviously bothered you, though."

Silence.

"We used to just read together and talk. I'm selfish, that's all. It's not like we're doing anything different."

Hermione smiled softly. "Next time Tetsurou needs to brew something, let's read in a different room together."

Golden eyes turned to evaluate her expression.

"You don't have to."

"I'm told sibling bonding time is important."

He blinked. "We're not actually siblings."

"You're the one that said we were good enough-as. You're stuck with me now." Hermione finished off her tea as Kei continued to stare at her.

Finally he closed his eyes and sighed, tilting his head back until it touched the cabinets. "Arigatou."

She smiled at him. "Do me a favor? If something's bothering you, next time don't wait to tell me until you're half exhausted at 4 am to finally admit something."

He shrugged. "It's not like it's really bothering me."

"Mmhmm." Hermione rolled her eyes, smiling indulgently at her cousin. "Whatever you say, Kei-kun."

A/N: Sorry this ch. Is so short. I wrote Blessings mid-semester, so some weeks I only had enough time to write quick scenes instead of combining multiple scenes into a ch.

As always, feedback is much appreciated! Y'all's reviews always make me so happy.

BrownEyesAngel: I promise there will be some Hermione/Kuroo in the next ch! Hermione and Tsukki needed some time together