Chapter 12: Breakfast

Hermione awoke to a number of different sensations, the first of which was wondering why her pillow had acquired a heartbeat. Groggily she raised her head and found herself staring into a pair of amused brown eyes. George gave her a smile that made her melt into a puddle. It was then that she realized to her horror that she was practically lying on top of him. Apparently she had shifted in her sleep so as not to fall off the couch.

Her cheeks turned a color that would do any Weasley proud and she almost did fall off the couch in her haste to get up. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't realize--"

George stood up in one graceful movement and followed her retreating form into the kitchen. "Hermione, Hermione wait." George caught her hand as she was reaching for the refrigerator and turned her to face him. Her cheeks were still a decided shade of pink. "Hermione, listen to me. I didn't mind your sleeping on me last night. If I did, I would have woken you."

"Promise?" she asked, staring intently at the floor.

"Promise," George replied emphatically. She smiled at him and he squeezed her hand once before releasing it. "So, waffles or omelets?"

She looked nonplussed for a moment. "What?"

"Waffles or omelets," he repeated. "For breakfast. I can cook, you know."

"Oh, um, omelets, I guess."

"Omelets it is." George pulled out a chair and commanded her to sit down before turning to the fridge and pulling out all the necessary ingredients. Hermione offered to help several times, but each time she was turned down. Finally accepting the inevitable, she fixed herself a cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table.

"So you're sure you didn't mind being used as a pillow?" she asked once more, just to make sure.

He turned from the counter where he had been cracking eggs into a bowl and locked eyes with her. "No," he replied warmly. "I didn't mind in the least."

Her face softened, despite the rosy blush that was creeping over her cheeks. Then movement in his hand caught her eye. The egg that had been poised over the bowl in his hand had just glopped onto the floor without his noticing. "Um, Sparky?" She pointed at the offending egg and stifled a giggle when he spun back around to clean it up.

Breakfast was finished with no further mishaps and soon they each had a full plate in front of them. "This is really good, Sparky." Hermione commented partway through.

George laughed. "You sound surprised."

She joined him. "Maybe a little. More impressed than anything, though."

"You should be. Men who can cook are a rare find these days." George came to an awkward halt. "I mean, um--" he stopped again and took a deep breath, pushing his plate aside in the process. Sensing that he had something important to say, Hermione pushed her plate aside as well.

"Listen, Hermione, I have something I wanted to – well, these last several days I've spent with you have been really great and I was wondering – that is, I wanted to ask you if, um – do you think there might be something here worth pursuing?"

She blinked. "You mean between us?"

He nodded. "I know you probably get asked out all the time by guys, but – "

"George, are you asking me out?" Hermione asked, her face unreadable.

"I, um, yes." George stared intently at his hands, otherwise he would have seen her expression go from shock to a full-blown grin. She was around the table in less than a second and threw her arms around his neck. Before George had more than a second to register her movement, she kissed him full on the mouth. His arms came around her of their own accord and it was several seconds before either of them surfaced for air.

"That was a yes, by the way," Hermione commented when she had her breath back.

He grinned and snaked his arm around her waist again. "I kind of figured that out, yeah."

She giggled and pulled his face back down for another kiss.


a/n: awww. So cute! Hee hee. Anyway, this chapter gets a special dedication to all of you, my adoring fans. I've received over 100 reviews and wanted to celebrate, and what better way to do that than with an update? And besides, I'm off on vacation for the next week so I wanted to get this in now while I had time. Toodles!