"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Draco stood in the doorway of his kitchen, slightly stunned at the sight of his unanticipated guest. She was currently kneading a lump of bread dough on the counter before her, flour all over the front of her dark tank top. He wasn't by any means displeased to see her, but was rather surprised, as he hadn't been expecting company.
Hermione glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled sheepishly, glancing him up and down for a moment. He had unbuttoned the top three or four buttons of his shirt, and his toned chest was visible. His hair was a mess and he had one shoe on, the other removed as if he had been kicking them off in the doorway just moments prior, frozen at the realization of her presence.
"I wanted to surprise you!" She smiled sheepishly at him, pulling her floury hands out of the dough and moving to the sink to rinse them. "I'm making dinner for us tonight," she pulled her hands out of the water, shutting it off and grabbing a towel that was hanging beside the sink. "Is alfredo okay?" Draco raised his eyebrows suspiciously.
"What exactly is all this about?" He inquired, kicking off his other shoe and moving them out of the middle of the doorway with his foot. He strode towards her, undoing the last of the buttons on his shirt and pulling it off, setting it on the island and grabbing the damp towel out of her hands.
"I just wanted to do something nice," she murmured, standing up on her tippy toes to kiss his lips softly before pulling away. "Don't worry, I didn't use magic for anything, cross my heart," She motioned an "x" over her chest solemnly before continuing, "the back was unlocked, and I put my wand over there, as soon as got here so I wouldn't forget." She waved towards the island, where he noticed her wand partially visible underneath his shirt. Draco smiled and pet her hair, kissing her forehead and moving to seat himself at the island so she could continue her cooking.
The last month had been the most comfortable Draco had been in the longest time. Even though they only got together for scenes, Hermione's presence before and after was a blessing. Doing dishes and humming to herself idly, making pots of coffee the morning after, and making the most delicious meals he'd ever tasted after they had cleaned up and settled down... Every little thing she did filled him with an appreciation he had never felt for anyone else before.
"I'm using a bread recipe my mom taught me before she passed," Hermione said, smiling over at him. "You'll love it, I promise."
"Your mom passed?" Draco inquired, his voice low and somber. He hadn't heard anything about it before now. Hermione nodded, dropping the dough onto a flat pan and avoiding his gaze as she went about her cooking.
"Both of my parents actually. A while back," She opened the oven, sliding the pan with the rounded dough inside and shutting the door. "After I used obliviate and set them on track for their new life, they were so well hidden from the-" she halted, taking a breath to steady herself. "From the death eaters, even I had issues finding them. By the time I finally did, I found that my mom had gotten very sick and passed, and my dad had killed himself shortly after because of the pain from the loss."
She had moved to wipe down the counter she had been kneading the dough on. Her normally relaxed expression was still in place, but undeniably faltering. Draco stood from his seat at the island and paced over to her, pulling the wet rag out of her hands and setting it on the marble counter behind her before wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione," he pressed his face into her hair, holding her close. "If I could go back and change everything, I would." Hermione pulled away, shaking her head and sniffling. Her face was flush and her eyes were watering as she fought back tears. I've already coped with this once. No sense in sinking into that rut again, she scolded herself sternly.
"You couldn't have changed anything, Draco. Whatever part you played was minuscule, the rest still would have happened. You know that better than anyone I'm sure," she took a deep breath, leaning her floury palms against the cool counter behind her and recollecting herself. Draco reached up and brushed loose curl behind her ear, pressing his cool lips to her forehead gently. Pulling away, he placed his palms on her cheeks and tilted her face up towards him.
"How can I help with dinner?" His voice was warm, and a small smile graced his pale lips as he tried to cheer her up. Hermione hesitated momentarily, but smiled back at him and nodded curtly, turned away and opening the fridge, pulling out a container of parmesan cheese and a gallon of milk.
"Do you have any more flour? I think I used the last of what was left in the jar on the counter for the bread," she admitted sheepishly. Draco chuckled and walked past her, patting her hair as he moved around her.
"That's alright, little one. There's some more in here I think," he responded, pulling open the pantry door beside the fridge and stepping inside to rummage around. He emerged moments later with a new bag of flour and a smile. Hermione squealed and grasped it out of his hands, eagerly setting it on the island and beginning to pull out a pot and other seasonings.
Draco seated himself back at the island, watching as she began to run water in a pot at the sink. His eyes drifted to her plump backside. She was wearing a pair of short jean cutoffs that accentuated her curvaceous cheeks, and a form-fitting tank top that narrowed at the thinnest point of her torso. Her long, shapely legs were bare and still-tanned from the late-summer afternoons in the sunlight. It had been a crisp autumn, but today had been the perfect weather for summer-clothing with record-breaking highs for the season.
After a few minutes of gawking Draco stood quietly, making his way to where she stood at the stove whisking a hot pan of milk. Gently, he placed his hands on her hips, gripping them softly and burying his face in the auburn hair draping over the crook of her neck and down her back. Hermione's breath hitched and she reached abruptly for the plastic ladle on the stovetop, swatting one of his hands with it lightly.
Draco gripped his fingers around her hips tighter, growling frustratedly into her neck and pulling her plump backside roughly against the stiff member in the front of his jeans. Hermione groaned crossly, turning down the heat on the bubbling, thick sauce and turning to face him. Draco pulled away slightly to glance down at her, only to meet her glowering gaze. His brow furrowed deeply when she pressed her palms firmly to his chest, pushing him back towards the island.
"Not. While. I'm. Cooking ." Her voice was a feigned, cold tone, but there was a playful glimmer in her eyes and a smile tugged at the corner of her soft, pink lips. Draco rolled his eyes, moving close to her once again, his palms grasping her ass-cheeks firmly, pulling her in once again. Hermione groaned in annoyance once again. " Please? I promise we'll play afterward, I just want to make food for us and then I'll be whatever you want me to be." Her lips pursed into a pout as she stared up at him pleadingly. Draco raised an eyebrow at her.
" Whatever I want?" Hermione rolled her eyes, shoving him away once again.
" Within reason, " she muttered, turning back to the stove. Draco sighed dramatically, leaning back against the island counter on his palms.
"I knew there'd be a catch," he uttered sarcastically, shamelessly gazing at her backside as she poured a hearty amount of parmesan into the pot in front of her.
"It'll be worth it," she promised, bending over to open the oven and glance at the rising bread within. Draco gawked at her bent over, jean-clad ass, feeling his jeans become impossibly tighter in mere seconds.
" Better be," he spat impatiently, taking a moment while she was turned away to reach a hand in his pants, readjusting his growing erection. Overwhelmed by the thoughts going through his head, he nearly forgot about the food entirely. All he wanted was to lift her curvaceous backside onto the island and pound her into next week.
Hermione pulled on a pair of oven mitts, tugging the pan out of the oven by its edges and setting it onto the stovetop, and moving to pull two plates out of the cabinet. She placed one plate on the counter, using a pair of tongs to pile long noodles onto the one still in her hand. Ladling some alfredo sauce onto the noodles, she set the dish down and repeated the same actions for the other one, setting them both down on the island. After searching a few drawers for a knife, she carefully sliced some of the bread, placing them quickly on the plates and shaking her hands frantically at the heat they still held.
"Yeah, it just came out of the oven, genius," Draco rolled his eyes, grasping her hands in his own and pulling them towards his face to kiss their red fingertips. "You should have let it cool, baby girl. I could have waited." Hermione pouted and shook her head defiantly.
"No, you couldn't have. You want this booty too badly to wait," she taunted winking playfully and pulling away, seating herself at the island and eagerly digging into the food on the plate in front of her. Rolling his eyes, Draco seated himself at the island across from her, picking up his fork.
Much to Hermione's surprise, a hum of contented delight escaped from Draco as he finished his first bite. She smiled to herself, quickly looking away when his eyes met her own.
"For being vegetarian, you are a bloody good cook, Hermione," he admitted, shoving another sauce-drenched forkful of noodles into his mouth. Hermione rolled her eyes at his comment about her food preferences.
"People overthink the vegetarian thing. There are plenty of things you can still eat. Plenty of tasty things," she corrected herself. Draco nodded in agreement.
"Maybe I'll give it a try one of these days. For now, I'll stick to my chicken, bacon, and beef though," he winked at her and she feigned a gagging expression in his direction.
The two finished their meal, passing half-hearted insults back and forth as they did so. When they were done, Draco cleared the dishes from the island, placing them in the sink as Hermione grabbed a wet rag to wipe the island clean. She leaned over to scrub the opposite side of the counter, and Draco eagerly took the opportunity to grip her hips firmly, pressing himself against her backside and leaning to growl in her ear seductively.
"You promised me something if I do recall, princess," he murmured brusquely, brushing her hair aside and nipping her neck lightly.
"I believe I did ," Hermione purred agreeably, pushing her ass up against him and mewling softly as he returned the gesture, matching her eagerness with his own.
"Come, little one," he stood up straight, tugging her hips gently to suggest she do the same. "To the playroom Now."