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.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Bokuto was waving his arms at them as he stood by a tree across the street.

Hermione tried to ignore the odd sense of déjà vu that washed over her. It would be different, this time. Instead of Tetsurou by her side, she had Teddy and the gnawing emptiness that came with Tetsurou's absence. The zoo would be much more enjoyable for Teddy than Tetsurou's room, though, and safer since Tetsurou would be experimenting. Carefully, she muted her emotions across the bond, trying to help his focus.

The light for pedestrians began to flash, and Hermione pushed the pram across the busy intersection. She'd had to buy a pram on the way since apparently wizards didn't use them, which Hermione thought was ridiculous. Teddy seemed to be having fun, at least, as he was bouncing in his seat and constantly waving his hands and shouting "gar!" at all the vehicles.

She breathed a sigh of relief when they crossed the street and she didn't have to worry about Teddy trying to get closer to any of the 'gars.' She wouldn't put it past the boy, and accidental magic was a thing to be feared, especially in public like this.

"Thank you for joining us, Bokuto. And for the suggestion." She tucked a piece of hair nervously behind her ear. She honestly wasn't sure what to expect, as this would be her first time spending time with Bokuto without Tetsurou or Akaashi around.

"No problem!" Bokuto grinned and gave her a thumbs up before crouching down in front of Teddy. "Hey, hey, hey, little man! I'm Uncle Bokuto, nice to meet you!"

Teddy blinked.

His hair slowly morphed under the headband, now containing silver highlights, though it kept Tetsurou's style. Hermione bit her lip and wondered how long it would take for Teddy to become less enamored with her soulmate's hair.

"Woah!" Bokuto's eyes widened. "That's really awesome! You like silver, huh? You want to see a silver owl? It's the coolest!"

"Ow?" Teddy was frowning now.

Bokuto hooted. "Owls hoot!" He hooted again.

Teddy started giggling, then copied Bokuto, letting out a squeaky hoot.

"There you go!" Bokuto grinned, "Hoot, hoot!"

Hermione groaned, "Please don't turn him into an owl maniac, Bokuto."

"But owls are the best! Right, Teddy?"

"Whooo, whoooo!" Teddy waved his arms around as he imitated the older boy.

Hermione shook her head in amusement, "How many do you even own, Bokuto?" As a wizard, Hermione was sure that he had at least one.

She pushed the pram toward the line at the ticket stand, and the other boy fell into step beside her. "I have three!" His grin was blinding. "They're the best. A great horned owl named Ace, a, etooo…. russet backed pygmy owl named Chibi and…" his voice trailed off. "GAH! I know this English name!" His face scrunched up in concentration, "Oh! A rufous-legged owl! It's named Hoshi."

Three. He had three owls. In a densely packed muggle city. "Your poor parents. What do your neighbors think?"

"Well, I only have Chibi at home. The other two stay with Akaashi since he has more land."

"And Akaashi's fine with this?" At least Bokuto was being somewhat practical, though.

"Totally! Hoshi is actually both of ours, we got him together on our first anniversary. And Akaashi got me Ace when we were younger." Bokuto gave her a big grin, "'Kaashi admitted years later that it was because he wanted to make sure that I came over all the time because he was lonely at his house."

Hermione blinked. That was… really sweet. And if Akaashi's home was anything like pureblood mansions back in England, she could understand his being lonely. "Doesn't he have a large family, though?"

"Yeah, but none of them liked to play with him because he's the heir and all. They see him as an authority figure, which is lame."

"How many tickets?" A gruff voice interrupted their conversation.

Tickets? Oh. Hermione looked over and realized they were at the ticket window. Before she could respond, though, Bokuto was handing enough money to the employee for three tickets.

"Bokuto! I can pay for ours!"

"Nah, it's cool." Another grin. "I'm the one that suggested we come here; we could've gone to a free park or something, so I'll pay for the tickets." He passed her one of the wristbands he received, putting his own on with practiced ease before bending down with Teddy's.

"You ready to go see the owls, Teddy, my man?"

"Whoo! Whoo!"

Bokuto grinned and ruffled Teddy's hair, thankfully not displacing the headband. "Exactly! Just like that!" He let out a boisterous laugh.

Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed the pram forward. "Lead the way, Bokuto."

"Of course! And I can push the pram for a while, Granger!"

That would probably be fine… Hermione bent over to make eye contact with Teddy, "Is it ok if Bokuto pushes you for a bit, Teddy-bear?"

Two affirmative hoots answered her. Well, she thought they were affirmative. Hermione shrugged, "Go ahead, Bokuto. If you get tired I can take over again, though, alright?"

"Sure!" Another blinding grin and he set off, already setting a fast pace. Hermione quickly lengthened her stride to keep up.

"You're doing ok, right?" Bokuto glanced over at her.

Doing ok? Oh, the bond. "It… it's uncomfortable, but not painful. It's like there's something missing, like there's this constant hum at the back of my head, reminding me that something's not right."

Bokuto nodded, "Yeah! I get that! That's how Akaashi and I were at first! The feeling's still there, honest, but like… dull or something? I don't notice it anymore unless I think about it. Like white noise." Bokuto nudged her shoulder with one hand, "Looks like your bond is starting to settle down and be more like normal!"

Normal. Hermione hadn't been called normal for so long… first she was the odd bookworm, then part of the 'golden trio', then a war heroine, then a foreigner…. And now, now she was being called normal. She wanted to laugh.

"Man, you and Kuroo are so lucky." Bokuto's voice was wistful.

Hermione blinked in surprise. "Lucky?"

"Yeah!" One arm gestured wildly as he continued to push the pram. "First off, you've got this awesome bond, and I get that the reasons for it are shitty and all, but it's still awesome."

She supposed that made sense. It was really nice to be so close to someone. Especially to someone like Tetsurou.

"But like, that's not even all of it!" Bokuto was waving one arm, now. "Like, Akaashi and I know we're together, and you two do, but most don't, right? So people flirt with him all the freaking time. And he's gorgeous, so I don't blame them, but, like, he's mine? We're together! But I can't say anything." He pouted. "But you can!" He looked to the side and grinned at her, "And with your bond and everything, you two spend practically all your time together!" His smile turned softer, "Sometimes I feel like I only see 'Kaashi at practice, and weeks can go by without us getting time alone with each other. His family doesn't like to leave us unsupervised and all…" His voice trailed off and his pace slowed down. "I don't think they like me."

Hermione bit her lip. "I'm sure that's not true, Bokuto. You're a wonderful person. Who could dislike you?" Though she was sure the Akaashis were less exuberant than he was, surely they could tell he was a good person?

The bright grin returned. "Thanks, Granger! Seriously, though, I'm jealous. You and Kuroo are practically living together already! I can't wait until we're in college together and 'Kaashi and I get to be roommates. We're married, sure, but it never actually feels like that, you know?" He laughed, "Any day that I wake up with Akaashi nearby is such a good day! Just thinking about when it'll be like that every day makes me super happy!"

Bokuto thought that living together would make him feel more like he and Akaashi were married? But they already were, just like Tetsurou and her… and he thought she was already practically living with Tetsurou? It wasn't wrong, but…. "Bokuto-"

"Owls!" Bokuto began pushing the pram faster. "Owls, Teddy, my man!"

Hermione sighed and followed behind as Bokuto raced forward, Teddy squealing at the speed.

Bokuto thought marriage meant a couple living together. A couple being recognized by society.

But people could live together and not be married, even if they were in a relationship.

But she and Tetsurou had already done the whole 'promise to stay together' part. They'd sealed the bond. They'd done the paperwork.

Was the only thing left just… living together?

No.

No, when Tetsurou went to college, she couldn't imagine not living with him, somehow. In Japan it was normal even for people to live off-campus, so it wouldn't even be hard to manage.

Hermione bit her lip, watching Bokuto as he kneeled down to point out different owls to Teddy, the two hooting happily.

She was scared.

Scared of everyone non-magical's reaction to their being married.

But for Bokuto… that's what he was most jealous of. That she could claim Tetsurou as her husband, which he'd never be able to do with Akaashi. Not with the non-magical population or anyone besides close friends.

She was too young. People would think it was odd. She was scared of those reactions. But the people who mattered wouldn't care, would they?

Who mattered?

Friends.

Family.

People in positions of authority or influence.

Whoever would be on Tetsurou's college team.

The first group might be surprised, but wouldn't care. The second wouldn't care at all. The third… Hermione frowned. They shouldn't care about Hermione and Tetsurou's personal lives. Well, the British ones would, but they would approve. The last… might be a problem, but probably wouldn't care? Hopefully? Other than thinking it odd. But Tetsurou was charismatic enough that they would most likely look past it.

So why was she scared?

Hermione inhaled slowly, then exhaled.

She would be with Tetsurou for the rest of her live. She knew this.

Knowing that this situation would work out and feeling like it would work out were two different things.

Soulbonds weren't a guarantee that the relationship would be perfect. It would need work, but she and Tetsurou were both willing to work at it.

But… they were right. All of them. Akaashi was right. She wanted to be with Tetsurou, to be able to hug him in public and not care what people thought. Kei was right. And she wanted to do this for her sake, not her society's, like Kei had said. And… and Bokuto was right. She wanted to wake up next to Tetsurou. To tell everyone he was hers and she was his.

Hermione swallowed.

She… wanted to marry Tetsurou?

Like actually marry him? Not just the form?

She loved him.

It had only been three months, but she loved him.

Hermione sat down on the nearby bench, her thoughts whirling.

When…?

When had she fallen in love with him?

She'd decided to stay in Japan because it was the logical thing to do, but now…. Hermione couldn't imagine a life without him.

Without him… She hated this feeling, this horrible gnawing feeling.

It wasn't very painful anymore, not physically, but…

She hated it.

She wanted him here.

Why couldn't she stand being apart? It had just been an hour or so.

Why was she so weak? She'd always thought girls who constantly wanted to be with their boyfriends were foolish.

But now…. She hated it.

She wanted to spend every moment with him.

Just like Bokuto said.

She wanted to marry Tetsurou, even if it would mean stares.

She didn't know when this feeling had become love, but she loved him now. More than she had loved Ron, despite everything they'd been through. This was different. And… Hermione swallowed nervously. And she should probably tell Tetsurou that she loved him.

"Oi! Granger!" Hermione blinked and managed to focus on the figure of Bokuto waving at her, "Stop sitting there and come see the owls!"

Owls. Right.

Thoughts about her stray cat would have to wait a little longer, she had her godson to entertain.

A/N: I'm back! Sorry, I was gone a bit longer than I intended as I get back into the swing of things. Anyway, not sure what my update schedule will be yet, but I've got the next chapter mostly written, so I'll post that on sometime next week :D

Also, I've got a discord server now where we talk about my work, anime, and writing in general. I'll also post chapter previews there, as well. All new members are welcome! PM me for the link, I guess. won't let me post it :/