A/N: This chapter and the next were my favorites to write and I hope you love them as much as I do!
FIVE
He didn't show up to Elysium on Wednesday. She had waited an hour in the room for him, kneeling on the floor with her mask on before she decided to take her leave. She refused to cry that night, but on Friday night when she faced the same rejection, she couldn't hold back any longer. She hadn't even bothered going to Elysium on Saturday. Instead, she drank herself into a stupor and continued to do so until Monday when she had to go to work.
She didn't return there the following weekend either, marking two weeks since she had last seen Kratos. She was angry at herself for having messed it all up by breaching anonymity and outing herself to Malfoy.
Then there was the mortifying prospect of the fact that she might have been wrong. The idea that Malfoy wasn't Kratos after all and she had just called her childhood bully Master for no reason was unsettling.
She found herself going back and forth between the two extremes, wishing she had a Time Turner so she could go back and make sure she didn't talk to Malfoy that night. Realistically she knew his rejection was because he was Kratos. It made more sense as to why Kratos had stopped showing up. If it wasn't Malfoy, whoever Kratos was wouldn't have any reason to not come to the club.
And if it was Malfoy, then she wasn't sure she wanted to see him again because she didn't think she could stomach the reality of looking into his eyes again and seeing all the things they had done to one another in the privacy of their room at Elysium. Just thinking about it made her equally sick with anxiety and turned on.
Saturday evening, Hermione was sifting through takeout menus debating which one she wanted this time when a knock sounded at her door. Only a handful of people used the front door as opposed to her Floo. The main one being Harry as the same customs of growing up Muggle she couldn't break resided in him as well. With a huff, she stalked towards the door, intent on refusing his invitation to the Burrow this weekend one last time before hexing him into oblivion.
"Look, I've already told you I'm not- Oh."
She went still at the sight of Malfoy on her front stoop. His gaze raked over her so fiercely that it nearly stole her breath away. She met his gaze and held it for a brief moment before turning away, heat rising to her face.
"May I come in?" he asked.
"Uh, sure," she said, stepping back to let him in. She shut the door slowly behind him and leaned her forehead against it for a moment before turning back towards him, arms crossed over her chest and eyes cast to the floor.
"Were you…expecting company?"
She barked out a laugh and shook her head. "No. I thought you were Harry. He's been trying to-" She stopped and dared a glance up. Upon seeing him eyeing her curiously, she cast her eyes down again. "Not important. What are you doing here, Malfoy?"
"I came to take you to dinner."
She brought her gaze to his again and forced it to stay there. This was her house. Hermione's. She wasn't at Elysium. She wasn't Hedone. "No thanks, I'm not hungry."
Her body betrayed her by grumbling quite audibly, quirking his lips into a smirk. "Get dressed," he demanded, his voice boarding on the tone that he used as Kratos. "Wear something nice."
She scoffed. "You can't just order me around, Malfoy."
"Oh no?" he asked, taking a half step towards her, straightening his spine to show that he wasn't playing games. "I seem to recall quite clearly that I can. Should I recount one of my memories for you?"
It was all she could do not to drop down on her knees right now and open her mouth for him. She swallowed hard and shifted on her feet, forcing herself to remain upright. "Where were you?"
"Dinner first."
"Malfoy, I'm sorry, but I-"
"Granger, having dinner with me was not a request. You were the one that broke the anonymity of the club by letting me know who you were. If you didn't think something would come of it, then you're not as smart as everyone seems to think, myself included. Which is highly disappointing. Either you go to dinner with me right now so we can discuss this properly afterwards or I leave and that's it. No more Malfoy. No more Kratos."
"What if-"
"After. Dinner," he said, the tone of his voice harsh with finality. "Any questions you're thinking of, discussions you want to have, the club; it all goes away. Everything, and I mean everything goes with me, Granger, if you let me walk out of your flat alone."
Her mind went into overdrive as she contemplated his offer. She didn't want her time with Kratos to be over. But he wasn't Kratos anymore; he was Draco Malfoy. Did she want things to continue knowing that? Did she want to risk never knowing if she could continue what they had despite his identity?
Either way, the time limit on his offer was beginning to expire as he shrugged his shoulders and made his way to her door. When his hand began to lift to the handle, a strangled cry escaped her throat and she surged forward to lay her hand over his. "Okay, okay!" she hissed. "Please, just… Wait here. I'll get dressed."
He smirked in triumph and she scowled back at him, almost regretting her decision instantly. "There's my good little, Hedone."
She shuddered and looked away, heat rising to her face again. "Not outside the club," she ground out.
"We're in the privacy of your own home, Granger, relax."
"I'm serious, Malfoy. Nobody knows that I-"
"And you think they know what I get up to in my spare time?" he fired back. He glared at her for a long moment before he sighed and stepped back. "Go get dressed."
She rolled her eyes and turned towards the hall for her bedroom. "I hope you weren't thinking anywhere fancy. I'm not getting all dolled up for you."
"It won't be. Besides, I prefer you without a stitch on anyway," he said, his candid tone making her pause mid-step. "You're much more…amenable that way."
She turned towards him sharply, scowling again at the amusement dancing in his eyes. "Are you going to be like this the whole time we're out?"
"No," he said, raising his hands in a mock surrender. "I'll stop."
"Thank you."
"Thank you, what?"
Her lips parted to ream him a new one, but he only chuckled and waved at her dismissively.
"Sorry, last one. I promise. Go get dressed."
She glared at him for another moment and then stomped towards the bedroom, slamming her door once inside and then leaning back onto it. She was going to need all the inner strength she could summon if she was going make it through the next few hours. As she dressed, she wondered if she hadn't made a mistake; if she shouldn't have just let him walk out of her flat and let that be that.
But then she thought back to every moment she had had with him as Kratos. As time had progressed, she had grown attached to him. How many nights had she spent wishing she knew who he was on the outside? How many times she looked for clues as to his identity? How often she had wanted to broach the subject of more, but was held back in fear of rejection.
She had the chance now and, Draco Malfoy or not, she was going to make the most of it. So long as she could make it through dinner without strangling him or dying of embarrassment, that is.
After spending far too much time agonizing over what to wear, charming make up onto her face, and scraping her hair into a messy pony, she ventured back to the living room. Draco was standing in front of her bookcase, perusing the shelves when she stepped into view. "I thought you'd have more books," he said, smirking at her.
"Maybe you shouldn't assume so much about people."
He snorted and let his gaze sweep leisurely over her. "Oh trust me, I think I've learned that lesson rather well recently."
She blushed and cleared her throat. "Shall we?"
She stepped towards the door after gesturing towards it, but when she went to open it, she found herself pressed against it. Malfoy had turned her so that her front was flush against his and he had her face cupped between both of his hands, thumbs pressing on her jaw to tilt it upwards. His gaze bore into hers for a few breaths and then his lips were closing over hers.
Her body melted against his, molding together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His tongue forced its way past her lips, not even pausing to consider the fact that she would have granted him access to her mouth readily. His tongue chased hers as he tasted her, pressing himself into her even further, to the point where she thought the door might break and they would fall through it and crash in a heap on her stoop.
Her entire body was flush with desire as his kiss brought back a flood of memories. Of the way his tongue was flicking at hers the same way it did at her clit. Of her way her hands stroked his back like she would the length of his cock. She moaned loudly into his mouth and he moved one of his hands to the back of her head. She felt him tug at her hair and realized that he was undoing her ponytail, tossing the band somewhere on the floor behind him.
He pulled his mouth away abruptly and let his forehead rest against hers while they caught their breath. "I hate when you wear your hair up."
She cleared her throat and shifted her head to the side, forcing him to pull his head back a little. "What was that for?"
He shrugged and dragged a knuckle across her jaw. The action made her shudder and shifted her into a position where she could feel his arousal pressing into her hip. His eyes darkened from the movement, but he smirked. "Because I needed to be sure," he breathed, leaning in to brush his lips lightly over hers once more.
He pulled back, his body leaving hers completely, and she tried not to whine at the sudden loss of contact. Instead, she straightened her clothes and watched him do the same. "Are you?" she asked.
"More or less," he replied. "I still feel like I'm in a daze. Like I'm either dreaming or in a nightmare. I can't decide which, but I know it's the moment right before I wake up."
She nodded and mustered up a small smile. "I know exactly how you feel."
He smiled at her and then reached for the doorknob, opening the door for her when she stepped aside. After she locked up, he held out his arm for her to take and she let him lead the way towards whatever place they were going.
They had gone to a Muggle restaurant which surprised her. From the way he ordered without even sparing a glance at the menu told her he had gone there before. They kept their conversation casual, most of it pertaining to work. She mentioned friends and family and was relieved when he didn't hesitate to speak of his own. She figured the least of her concern was hearing about his parents and their boring confinement to the Manor.
When they were done with dinner, they took their time getting back to her flat. As much as she wanted to bombard him with a thousand questions and figure everything out in one night, she wasn't sure she wanted to discuss any of this at home. She wasn't sure they would be able to talk once they were behind closed doors again. He was already sending her signals that he was game if she was and she was sure that she did the same.
As it was, they eventually found their way back to her flat and she brought out the Firewhiskey to smooth things over if necessary. Silence stretched over them for the longest time; so much so that, if she listened carefully, she could hear the clock ticking down the seconds in her bedroom down the hall.
"How did you know it was me?" he asked, finally putting an end to the torment that was the silence.
She swallowed hard and looked at him from across the couch. "Something you said to me when the cameras were approaching us."
He tipped his head to the side as if trying to recall and asking when he didn't. "What did I say?"
"You asked me if I could manage that," she said meekly. "It was the same line you had said to me the night before."
He cleared his throat and brought his hand to the back of his neck to rub it awkwardly. "Ah."
"And then again with the water. The last one being you asking if it was too much."
His cheeks turned rosy at that and he finished off the contents of his glass before pouring himself another shot. "I thought the masks altered our voices."
"They do. I mean, we've been…meeting…for almost two months and I never suspected it would be you of all people behind the mask." She took a drink from her own glass. "It was more of the words themselves and a feeling in my…gut."
He smirked at that and she felt her cheeks flame. "You sure it wasn't a little further south than your gut?"
She huffed and took another drink. "Anyway, I didn't recognize your voice. Even when I think back, I don't recognize it all. Sometimes I think I do, but it's more my mind putting that there than it is organic. Same goes for your hair. I would have definitely known who you were if I remembered seeing that color."
"What color did you see?"
She shrugged. "I've tried to remember, but I think it's part of the mask's glamour. Your hair is always there, but when I think back on it, I can't remember the length or the color. Just the way-" She stopped herself and looked down.
"Just the way, what?"
She swallowed, her throat dry. "The way it felt when you let me run my fingers through it," she said quickly and then finished off her glass.
He smirked and tipped his glass towards hers. "Same here. I can recall little things, but most of it's just the sense of touch. I can't remember details."
She worried at her bottom lip for a moment and let her eyes drop to his chest. "I remember the scar on your torso. I remember thinking it was strange that you didn't set your glamour to cover it." She let her gaze wander upwards to his. "Was that the one Harry gave you in Sixth Year?"
He nodded. "It doesn't bother me like the other scars."
She smiled sadly. She knew exactly which ones he referred to. "I'm sorry I broke the anonymity, Malfoy." She got to her feet and sent her glass to the sink with a wave of her hand. She sent a fleeting glance his way. "I've adjusted the wards so you can Apparate out, but-"
"Hey," he said, getting to his feet and taking her hands in his. "I'm sorry that I didn't come to the club to talk, but I didn't really think you would go back there either. And if you did go, I wasn't really sure what would come of it. I just needed time to think." He dropped one of her hands and cupped her face. "I should have come to you sooner; I just didn't know how you would feel if I did."
She nodded. "I don't know what would have happened either if you had shown up. I don't really imagine we could have just gone back to what we had. Pretending to forget it all would have been impossible. And the club wasn't really the best place to talk."
"And now that it's out there, do you think the club is something we can continue? That knowing Kratos is just me behind the mask is something you can handle."
It had taken her so long to come across someone like him. Someone that knew her body inside and out the way he did. Someone that could make her feel alive again while taking all the control away from her. She had already known that if anything ever happened and he disappeared, she would never have that feeling again.
"No, I don't think it can go back to the way it was before. Knowing it's you makes it different," she admitted with a heavy sigh. He nodded and she noticed the way his jaw clenched in disappointment.
"Do you want it to be over?" he asked, his eyes coming up to meet hers again. "Because I don't."
She wet her lips and shook her head briefly. "I don't want it to be over either," she whispered.
His grey eyes were alight with excitement at her words. "Then we don't need the club."
"No," she said. "I suppose we don't."
"We can carry on as we were, but in the privacy of our own space."
"Here?" she asked, eyes going wide in alarm as she stepped away from him. She shook her head and pushed her hair behind her ears despite the fact that it refused to stay there. "That won't work. Everyone just Floo's in without warning and if I lock it, they'll ask questions and I-"
"Woah, Granger, slow down. I didn't mean your flat."
Her eyes went even wider. "Well I'm certainly not going to the Manor!"
His jaw ticked with the urge to either laugh or snap at her. "I wasn't suggesting that either. I can get a flat somewhere no one will recognize us. A place that we can Apparate in and out of whenever we want."
"Oh," she whispered, shoulders slumping forward with relief. "That works."
"I'll get started on that right away and the moment I have one, I'll take you there so you know where to go."
She nodded. "I want to keep the same schedule. Friday and Saturday nights."
"One weekday."
She shook her head. "I can't do during the week. It's too hard with work."
"I'm sure you can figure it out."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's too hard for me to switch from Hedone to Hermione without a day of nothing; that day being Sunday," she said, her hand falling on her hip. "It's probably easy for you to switch it off, or tone it down, rather. It's not easy for me. I have to be in the right headspace to lose control the way I do. I can't do that if I'm pressed for time."
He stared at her for a moment and then inclined his head. "Fine, Friday and Saturday nights for now." He smirked when she bristled at his addition. "Should we have a contract like we did at Elysium?"
She worried at her bottom lip as she mulled over the pros and cons. "I think we should have something, but I don't know if we would need a full contract. Maybe a list of things we haven't tried yet? We can decide in the moment what works and what doesn't."
"How set are you on your chosen safe word?" he asked.
"Considering I have yet to use it, let's just leave it be."
"Have I ever made you consider it?"
There had been a few brief instances during their time together at the club where she had considered it, but it was mostly out of her immediate reaction to the taboo of it. When it was over, she was always glad she hadn't said it. "Not really, no," she replied and then narrowed her eyes again. "And that doesn't mean you should try and find stuff to make me say it."
He chuckled and picked up the bottle of Firewhiskey, chugging directly from it only to chuckle again at her reaction. "Please, I've licked every square inch of you a dozen times with this same tongue. You should be past worrying about my germs."
She balked and yanked the bottle from him. "I think we've discussed all we can for one night, Malfoy. You should go."
"Are you sure you want me to leave?" he asked, his hand shooting out to grab her wrist.
"Yes," she replied almost immediately. "You shouldn't come here again. We may not have anonymity anymore, but that doesn't mean I want others to find out about us. Nothing is happening until you have a flat we can meet at. We'll continue on as we were; acquaintances who hardly ever cross paths during the week and," she waved her free hand between them, "whatever this is on the weekends."
"Alright," he said, letting go of her and stepping back. "Then I'll owl you when I find a place and we can discuss meeting up then."
She nodded. "I mean it, Malfoy. When we meet again to do what we do, we won't have masks. We'll know who we really are. Other than that, everything else stays the same."
"I understand what I agreed to, Granger."
She stared at him for a moment and then nodded. "Goodnight, Malfoy."
He stepped forward, cupping her face with one hand again. "I'll be seeing you soon enough, my sweet Hedone. And when we're reunited, you will be punished accordingly for making us lose all that time." He kissed her soundly; long enough to make her head spin. "Goodnight, Granger," he added and by the time her mind refocused, he was gone.