Hermione spent a questionable amount of time that morning fretting about an outfit. Not the sensible pair of trousers, blouse, and blazer she'd selected for work. No, it was the outfit she'd painstakingly combed her closet for, and then folded so there would be no obvious wrinkles, before tucking it into a small satchel alongside her emergency make up kit.

Yet, despite the agonizing amount of time she'd spent waffling between the plain black v-neck and the floral button down blouse, she was suddenly regretting her rather bold decision to opt for a dress instead of jeans.

Jeans were her comfort zone. If she could get away with wearing them to work, she was certain her wardrobe would only consist of dark wash denim.

But she was here, in front of a playground absolutely brimming with children, wearing a maroon long sleeve shirt dress, a plaid black and cream scarf (which may or may not actually belong to Ginny), and a pair of ankle booties. At the time, she'd thought it was casually adorable. But now? Well, now she felt rather over dressed for a fucking date at a park—with a kid.

Walking down the path now.

What are you wearing?

Clothes.

Are you always this difficult? Or is this a rare treat reserved for me?

My mother always did say I was a sassy child.

You clearly never outgrew that.

But you clearly enjoy it, seeing as you came back.

I refuse to confirm nor deny that.

Uh huh. ::wink emoji::

Sarcasm.

Her second language.

Truth be told, she didn't even realize how dry her humor was anymore. At first it was part of her defense mechanism when it came to navigating life. But now it seemed innate, like she possessed no other way of operating beyond barbed words and dark humor.

Shifting her weight between her feet, her left hip popped out as she lifted her eyes from her phone to scan the park around her nervously, hoping to catch sight of a bright pop of blond hair in the sea of people around her.

For a Friday afternoon, the place was far busier than she'd expected. It had been a number of months since she'd taken Teddy here, and she definitely did not remember there being this many fucking people meandering about. A quick (and possibly unfair) assessment felt like it was mainly fathers—perhaps single dads spending a nice fall evening with their kids. If that was her sort of thing (which in all fairness, it was beginning to look like it might be), this park would appear to be a proverbial hunting ground.

Had she not already been juggling two men, she might've made a note to revisit, but thoughts of adding a third man to her line up were nowhere near her consciousness. Unless, of course, one of these handsome devils also happened to be British… in which case, she couldn't very well pass up the opportunity for some ear candy, now could she?

Her phone buzzed beneath her fingers, pulling her attention away from scanning the crowd and back down to the device clutched in her right hand.

You should wear dresses more often.

You've got great legs.

Her cheeks heated as a toothy smile lifted her lips and, like the school-girl she clearly still was (because honestly, who still blushed like an idiot at a compliment?), she began to chew on her bottom lip as she fired off her reply.

I'll keep that in mind for our next date.

So I'll get a third?

If you're lucky.

"Minnie?"

Her brow furrowed, head snapping up as the familiar voice carried over the ambient noise of the park, cutting right through the flurry of giddy that had filled her at the prospect of seeing Draco.

"Minnie!"

The butterflies that had just begun to tickle up her esophagus fell away as if they'd transformed into lead and dropped into the pit of her stomach. A cold trickle of what she could only assume was fear snaked down her spine as she looked around for the source of the noise.

There were only two little boys on this entire planet who called her by that nickname. Two little boys who got away with using it because lord only knew she absolutely hated nicknames and only one of them was old enough to no longer possess a speech impediment.

"Minnie! Over here!"

Once adorable, the name now sounded like nails on a chalkboard. This wasn't happening—it couldn't be happening. She knew Friday nights were Theo's nights with Eli, which meant she wasn't going to find the adorable little four-year-old accompanied by a tall, leggy blonde. For the first time ever, Hermione wished that wasn't the fucking case. She would take E.M. in this situation right now over Theo, because at least she could explain away what she was doing without needing to lie.

Her eyes flicked from child to child as excuses for why she was here roved through her mind.

She felt like a walk.

She had a thing for monkey-bars.

She just really liked the dulcet tones of screaming children.

Each one that she came up with felt more stupid than the last. There was no socially acceptable reason for a grown adult without children to be at the park, let alone one dressed in a date night outfit.

Though, she didn't need an excuse, did she?

She wasn't exactly dating Theo.

Fucking? Yes.

But he'd never pursued her as anything more which meant she was free to meet up with anyone she so chose and he couldn't say a damn thing about because she was single and… Well, he'd made it very clear he wasn't interested in more.

She found Eli moving down the footpath towards her, his little legs already broken into a full sprint. His dark green eyes were wide with unrepressed happiness, dimpled cheeks already pink from the combination of nippy weather and his exertion. His dirty blond hair flounced with each hurried footfall, little black and white converse slapping the pavement as he drew closer. He only narrowly avoided running over other children in his mission to make it to her. "Miiiinnie!"

Hermione began moving towards the boy, unable to help the smile that quirked the corner of her lips as she knelt low to scoop up Eli as soon as he was within arm's reach. "Eli! What are you doing here, Bub?" Her lips pressed into his cheek, leaving just a hint of lip-gloss coating his pink skin as she propped him on her hip. "Where's your dad?"

His thin arms looped around her neck, little fingers already toying with the broken ends of her curls as they hung loosely against her shoulders. She had yet to break him of that habit—not that she ever would. Teddy still did the same damn thing after three years. "Daddy's at work." Lifting a hand, Eli shielded his brow with his palm as he looked back over his shoulder. "I'm here with Mylo. We're meeting a new friend!"

Mylo? What the fuck was a Mylo?

His arm extended, pointer finger guiding a path directly across the area she'd met Eli and towards the footpath where a tall, platinum blond man stood scanning the crowd with a heavy set brow and a frown that screamed 'Oh shit, I just lost my kid'.

"Oh fuck."

Draco.

Her world came to a halt, and for about ten seconds, the entire noise of the park was drowned out by the sound of her pulse thumping in her ears. Except this sudden heart palpitation wasn't the result of cupid's arrow or some other bullshit.

No, god no.

It was because, if her life wasn't already fucking complicated enough, the fact that the man she was crushing on, the same handsome stranger on a three month vacation who hadn't left her mind since they'd begun talking two short weeks ago, was also her fuck-buddy's long term boyfriend.

It was because in an area of seven million people—seven fucking million souls—she'd managed to not only find, but also fuck, two of the most emotionally unavailable men on the planet.

If this wasn't some sort of sick joke on behalf of whatever deity ruled the heavens, she didn't know what was.

Just as quickly as the world narrowed on Draco and the inadvertent connection they held beyond a chance meeting at Supercuts, it opened back up with a rush and a loud, raucous burst of laughter. It burst from her depths and broke forth into the atmosphere.

This was absolutely one of those 'if I don't laugh, I might fucking cry' moments, and truthfully, she didn't think that was out of the question.

"Elijah?" Draco's frown lines deepened as he searched the crowd with growing anxiety and that seemed to be enough for Eli to wiggle down from Hermione's hold.

His little hand found hers and he threaded their fingers together. "Come on!" He tugged her after him with a surprising amount of strength, navigating her through the crowd towards his guardian for the evening. "You'll meet Da and our new friend!" He navigated them across the seating area and called out to Draco as they drew close.

Gray eyes softened at the sight of Eli, but the relief was short lived, because the moment they traveled to her, a deep, consuming wave of confusion colored his storm cloud eyes. Draco was casual today, opting for a pair of light wash jeans, a plaid button down, and a rather smart looking windbreaker that appeared to be monogrammed with some sort of crest. He was definitely going for 'young father' chic and pulling it off rather well. "Uh… Elijah what are—"

"Mylo, this is Minnie!" Eli proudly tugged Hermione closer so he could put his head on her hip. "She's Daddy's friend—and my friend, too! We play games and sometimes she stays the night, but usually leaves before the sun says good morning."

Oh god.

Oh god.

Oh god.

She was going to puke.

She was going to puke on a small, adorable four-year-old.

Draco nodded slowly, his hand curling noticeably tighter around the Eli-sized jacket he was clutching and she watched his adam's apple run the column of this throat. The confusion that clouded his eyes began to lift, and she watched the wheels within his mind churn and whizz as everything began to snap together just as it had for her a mere moment ago.

She could sense incoming panic—and perhaps a bit of disbelief—but instead of bursting into unexplainable laughter as she had, Draco's face began to drain of color and the frown that had tugged his lips lifted into an apathetic line.

There were two things she could do: fight or flight. The basic human instincts weighed on her mind as if on opposite sides of Lady Justice's scale. On one hand, she could give Draco an out, come up with some excuse to run away and never ever text him again. She could delete his number and pretend like none of this happened and continue on about her life.

But that would be far too easy.

Something Hermione was one hundred percent not, unless she considered it in the bedroom sort of sense, in which case, yes, she did fuck on the first date—thank you very much.

Giving Eli's hand a gentle squeeze, Hermione pulled the rambunctious little blond's attention back to her before she knelt down, bare knee digging into the cement pad. "Hey, can you do me a favor, Bub?" She smoothed out the collar of his little navy polo against his collarbone before tugging the hem of his shirt down.

Eli's little face scrunched, nose wrinkling. "What?"

"Can you give Mylo and I a moment to talk?" Looking up from her kneel, she motioned to the jacket, snapping and pointing at Draco's hand until the dumb-struck man was pulled back to reality. She took the jacket from him and slipped it onto Eli's shoulders. "Grown up stuff, ya know? Boring stuff." Threading the zipper, she pulled it up until it sat in the center of his chest. "You can try the rock wall. I've heard you're getting pretty good at it."

"I am! I can reach the top now, you know?"

"What? No way!" Hermione slapped her hands against her thighs, giving the little boy a small head shake in disbelief, hoping goading him into showing off would afford her enough time to enact the slow-forming plan in her mind. "There's no way you're big enough."

"Yeah-huh! Mama showed me how." His little chest puffed out with pride. "Watch!"

And just like that, he was off, little legs carrying him as quickly as they could across the busy playground towards the small rock wall that was congregated with children a good couple years ahead of Eli.

"Hermione I—"

She lifted a finger to silence Draco, watching, waiting, until Eli was very much out of ear shot before she stood up, hands brushing the bits of rubble from her knee. She didn't lift her eyes or turn towards him, nor demand an explanation. She didn't snap or freak out. No. Hermione did the one thing that was probably inadvisable considering how fucking absurd her life was presently.

She withdrew her iPhone from her purse.

"How do you—"

"Just a second."

"Hermione I—"

"Seriously, shh!"

Scrolling through her phonebook, she glanced out of the corner of her eye, watching as Draco nervously ran his hand across the back of his neck like some boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar—or in this case, his dick.

Her thumb swept across her screen, past Ginny, Harry, and E.M. It swept past the programmed numbers for her parents she couldn't quite bring herself to delete, even years later, and even past the number for her OBGYN.

Draco huffed—actually fucking huffed—like an upset little boy, his growing anxiety lifting his tone. "What are you—"

"You're really not good at waiting, are you?"

"I'm not good? I believe you're the one who—"

Opening the contact, she quickly jammed her thumb over the FaceTime button before lifting up her phone, purposefully cutting off Draco with the admittedly rude gesture. The distinct chime emanated from her phone softly over the ambient noise of screaming children. Pressing her thumb against the side button, she raised the volume past the socially acceptable level as she waited.

Her image burst to life on her camera, each trill of rings making her heart rate increase a little as she began to rethink her plan. She pressed her lips into a line, shifting nervously between her feet, and tucked her hair behind her ears, silently thanking God that at least today was a good hair day.

"Hey, Granger. I can't really talk right now. What's up? Everything alright?"

Theo's image filled her screen, dark hair quaffed into perfection, still dressed in a suit. Based on the pristinely packed bookshelf behind him, he was at work, which clearly explained why Draco had Eli. He didn't even bother glancing up from his laptop. He'd likely opened the application on his MacBook mid-revision on whatever contract Netflix was having him draft that day.

"Oh, yeah! Everything's fine!" Her voice was saccharine, possibly too so, and she cleared her throat in an attempt to level out the bubbling anxiety and tension that had built inside. "It's just… Well… Look who I just ran into!"

She shifted around, spinning in front of the awkwardly quiet Draco until he appeared just over her shoulder in the frame. Theo's dark eyes flicked across his screen and he did a literal double-take at her image. Snatching his readers off his face, they dropped off camera as he pulled the laptop closer in one fluid motion.

"Draco?" His brow set, eyes narrowing on the box, and she could hear him double click the trackpad to expand the video call on his screen.

"And Eli. But he's a bit tied up on the rock wall at the moment."

"Ah, of course. Is he showing you he can make it to the top without help?"

Hermione nodded and she looked past her phone to the climbing structure in question to make sure Eli hadn't fallen off the four foot wall. "Yep. He was very eager to show off."

"Ella-Mae thinks it's good for him—never mind the fact the climb wall clearly states it's for ages six and up."

"Ehh. He'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

"A sprained wrist. A concussion. A broken arm. The possibilities are literally endless."

"Eh, flesh wounds are no big deal."

"Says the woman who cried over a skinned knee."

"First off, that was not a skinned knee. It was fucking rug burn—which, I would like to point out, was entirely your fault, and it wasn't just my knees, asshole. You got it on my hands, too!" The punches were thrown, and based on the way Theo's eyes widened in momentary panic at her purposeful slip, she very much doubted he had divulged who she was to his partner. Well, that and the way Draco promptly stiffened.

"Heh… Right, uh… So, what are you doing at a park anyway?" Smooth. Change of subject. Yep, he was clearly on the same level of denial as her.

Hermione swept her tongue across her lips and glanced over her shoulder to look at Draco, whose cheeks began to tint pink in his awkward silence, before she looked back at the camera. "Meeting up with that one guy."

"That… one guy?" Theo repeated slowly, as if the words had turned to molasses on his tongue. "Like, from the other night?"

"Uh-huh."

"The... date one?"

"Yep."

"Oh, fuck."

"Funny enough, I said the exact same thing." Hermione clucked her tongue before her mouth pulled in an awkward grimace. If tension were physical, she could have scooped up the energy that flowed from both men. She watched their eyes meet on her phone screen, an unspoken conversation was being had, and she briefly wondered if she ought to have gone about this whole thing differently.

Seconds ticked by, with only the sound of children's screams of laughter filling the stiffening silence, and it was Draco who finally had enough courage to speak up. He cleared his throat, hand moving to rub the back of his neck. "Uh… I… I should… We really ought to… Oh, bugger." His eyes slammed shut and he moved his hand across his face, thumb and forefinger pressing into his eyes as he took a deep breath, clearly trying to compose himself. Even though she'd only known Draco for fourteen days, she had already gained the sense that he was not a man of few words. And, judging by the way Theo shifted nervously in his chair, Draco's sudden tongue-tie was very much out of character.

"I should probably take Elijah back to your place, Theodore." His hand dropped, falling lamely to his side.

"I'll leave work now. I can finish this contract review from home." Theo gave a tight-lipped nod, his hands steepling under his chin.

"Actually"—again, with the very bad, no-good-will-come-of-this ideas—"why don't you reach out to E.M. and see if she can watch Eli tonight so we can all sit down and… Oh, I don't know... talk about what happened?" Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug before she glanced over her shoulder for a quick peek at Draco.

He seemed almost taken aback, confusion sparkling in the silver lining of his irises and she had to physically stop herself from reaching out to touch his hand—to let him know that while, yes, this was absolutely fucking unbelievable, she wasn't mad, nor was she judging him—them—unfairly.

They were all adults.

She valued her friendship with Theo—and, you know, their bedroom activities, too.

She wasn't going to risk mucking that up over a small case of 'Hey, I accidentally slept with your boyfriend'. No, they were adults. They could discuss what happened like rational people and figure out how they could move forward from there.

Because clearly something needed to change—or end—or… something.

"Granger… Are you sure?"

"Absolutely not." If she was anything, she was honest. At least that was one truth that could be etched into her tombstone when she died of system shock. "But it seems like the adult thing to do." Forcing a smile, she let it brighten her eyes, trying to convey a calm, cool, and collected Hermione as opposed to the internally flailing mess she actually was. "Just come over and we'll talk… or drink. Probably both."

"I vote both." Draco lifted his brows, eyes falling to stare holes into the toes of his sneakers.

"A-alright. Give me like… two hours." Theo's fingers were in his hair, ruining his put-together image and his free hand was already working the knot of his tie loose.

"See ya then." Pressing the red button, Theo's image blinked from her screen and she tucked her phone back into her purse as she turned to face the blond who had yet to look directly at her since the initial surprise hit.

To say this threw a wrench into her plans was an understatement. She'd planned on having a good evening—albeit one without fantastic sex—but still, a good one. And now? Well, now it seemed instead of getting to know Draco and furthering their budding relationship, she might be ending it.

Hermione scanned the playground, finding Eli otherwise occupied with the other children surrounding the rock wall. Knowing he couldn't see them, she reached out and brushed her fingers across his, letting her fingertips trace the deep valleys of his palm. "Hey… It's alright." Was it? She honestly couldn't tell, but saying it felt like the right thing to do at the moment. "It's fine… honest."

Draco nodded, slowly lifting his eyes to lock with hers and the maelstrom of self-loathing, worry, and bashfulness nearly took her breath away. He was upset, but not for any of the reasons he should be. He was upset because his secret was out. He was upset because she knew he was in an open relationship with a man.

She'd known Theo's partner was closeted, but this… this shame that clouded his eyes… Well, that was more heartbreaking than anything else.

Biting her bottom lip, she felt a lump form in her throat as she watched what felt like years of self-loathing bubble to the surface. Far from the bold, charming man she'd met, before her stood a broken person, someone so clearly beat down by society that he'd rather hide this part of himself.

She'd never know if it was impulse, or perhaps her stupidity that made her do it, but before she could process exactly what it meant, she was on her tippy toes, a hand curled around his sharp jaw, and she was guiding his lips against hers in a gentle kiss.

He stiffened beneath her touch initially, as if afraid this was a trap, but the moment her mouth swept over his, he seemed to relax. His hands found her waist, fingers fanned wide around her hips in an almost possessive hold—like he was afraid to let go or else he'd drown in whatever waters of self-despair he'd created for himself.

Her nose gently nudged his before their foreheads met and she could feel each strained breath that filled his lungs. "It's going to be alright." Her thumb swept across his shaven cheek as she pressed kiss after gentle kiss against his perfectly pouted lips. "You're fine… I'm fine… Theo's… Well, maybe not fine, but he's at least sane."

His breath puffed against her mouth as he laughed, and she could feel a bit of the tension slip from his frame. His fingers flexed at her sides, and he guided her body closer until his arms could wrap around her as his face dropped to tuck in her neck.

Her arms moved around his shoulders, a hand smoothing over the back of his hair, petting down the impossibly soft locks as she held him against her in what appeared to be a much needed hug. Physical intimacy aside, it was clear Draco was not as put together as his outward appearance would suggest. If having some small bit of background on his and Theo's relationship was any indication, he was probably the most broken of the three of them—which was quiet a fucking feat considering she was an orphan and Theo was living a literal ocean away from his family by choice.

She pressed a kiss at his temple, eyes peeking over the top of his head to search out Eli, who was still surrounded by his new friends on the playground and appeared to be mid-way through a rather riveting game of dinosaur. "Okay." She patted his shoulder, gently dislodging herself from his embrace and she smiled up at him, fingers fixing the blond fringe that had fallen across his forehead. "I'm going to go. Give Eli ten more minutes, then take him through the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru on the way home—grilled nuggets and fruit. He'll tell you he wants the waffle fries but he won't eat them."

"H-how do you know?"

"Because I wasn't lying when I said I was good with kids, idiot." She smoothed her hand across her stomach as she took a step back, putting some much needed space between the two of them. If she didn't leave now, lord only knows she would stay wrapped in his arms until Ella-Mae or Theo showed up. "Tell him I'm sorry I didn't say bye and I'll… I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Draco nodded, gulping thickly as he watched her begin to back away, her hand already in her purse, searching out her keyfob. "Wait." He closed the distance once more, hand curling around her neck, fingers dipping into her curls as he pulled her back for one more desperate kiss. It felt as if he was trying to prove the feelings he held for her were genuine and not some farce.

She could feel her resolve melt under his demanding lips, and her fingers curled around his wrists lamely. How she'd managed to get herself in this mess was impressive—like she really ought to consider giving classes on 'Fuck Up Your Love Life 101' because it was in that moment that could finally name those pesky butterflies that burst to life inside of her.

It wasn't love—no, fuck that.

But she did like him.

Like-liked him. Like maybe possibly enough to consider trying the long-distance date thing.

And that would absolutely positively not work. He already had one long-distance partner.

Pulling back, Hermione gently eased his hands off her body and she smiled up at him nervously, her stomach twisting in knots. "Couple hours?"

"Yeah."

"Okay… Remember, fruit and grilled nuggets."

"He won't eat the chips." Draco parroted her earlier words with a small nod as he began to walk backwards towards the play structure. "I got it."

"Good." She took one final deep breath, holding it in her lungs as she spun on her heel to begin her escape. It was only once she was out of earshot, a few yards from the parking lot, that she let herself process the overwhelming emotions that built up over the course of the last twenty minutes. Her body trembled, fingers quivering around her keyfob, and she made it into the safety of her MINI before she let it wash over her.

Laughter or tears.

Laughter or tears.

It was always one or the other, and in that moment, it finally felt appropriate to let the latter fall.


Author's Note:

OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING!

okay, sorry. haha! I know some of you guess as to how this would all being to come together and for those who figured out the connection, good job! ;) Let's see what happens when they all finally end up in the room together!

until next time xx