Thanking my dear LadyRhi for her help brushing up this chapter for you.
Thanking also all my dear readers who took the time to give me their honest opinion about the progression of this story. Your input is invaluable. I heard you all.
But to those who expect Southampton on short notice, I'm sorry to disappoint. We have 37 days and 12 ports ahead, and the biggest portion of you enjoys this little travel story as it is. Discovering other countries through Draco and Hermione's eyes. Yet, I will not dedicate a single chapter to a sea day, any longer (except for today's chapter). I might skip a day altogether or describe multiple sea days in one episode.
Below, I'm sharing with you the destinations ahead. I remain faithful to the itinerary of P&O's 99 days cruise around the world (Jan-March '19, 23 ports) an essential element for this story. Dream ahead and if you want, hit me up with details I should know about or use, if fits the narrative.
Besides, who told you this fic would end when they arrive home? Not me for sure... :D
Day Sixty-Two
Draco mused as he sipped his Sex on the Beach cocktail. From the entire list of drinks he could choose from, this vodka, peach and orange cocktail was the one he ordered the most often. Hermione followed him with her eyes, the corners of her mouth curling into a knowing smile. By now, she knew Draco was a creature of habit, only testing new foods or drinks if she poked him into it. In fact, he prefered to sample from her plate or glass instead of choosing what was on the next line on the menu, as she did.
This cocktail, however, did not undergo the same procedure. She remembered the first time he ordered it at the pool bar as if it was yesterday. It had been after Aruba, coincidentally. While perusing the drinks menu to choose something other than the usual beer, he'd nudged her with an elbow. "We can order sex on the beach?!" He'd beamed like a teenager telling his friends he'd found his father's porn collection, Draco's grey-blueish eyes glowing a brighter blue than usual with mischief. "It reminds me of our little twist at the beach, you know? When we swam deep enough for me to show my swot how a quick shag should be?" Draco's eyebrows had cocked at her with that devilish slant she'd come to know so well.
Nowadays, he ordered it regularly without the teenagey blush on his cheeks. As he sat down on his pool bed. "I wonder if Blaise knows this one," Draco remarked loudly.
Hermione pushed her cap closer down over her face, skimming with her eyes left and right to see if anyone had reacted to his words. Hermione snorted, relieved to see his snark had gone unnoticed. She threw him the side-eye, determined to give as good as she got. "Are you going to tell him you love sex on the beach?"
The blond nodded lazily with suggestively-raised eyebrows.
His nonchalance made her chuckle, and then she snorted again as an idea came to her. "Tell Blaise about it when your father can hear you. To make it perfect, first, you ride with your brand new quad over the gardens chasing Lucius's precious peacocks, and then you tell Blaise you had sex on the beach." The more of her wicked plan she described, the wider his grin grew.
"Will you watch me?" Picturing how red his father would become, Draco burst into laughter. His fit of the chuckles forced the wizard to sit straight on his seat and set the glass down to avoid any spilling accidents. "Merlin's beard, I don't know if my mother will skin me for this or join in the fun."
Still laughing, Draco nudged Hermione's knee with his own, relishing the intimacy. "Let's go for a swim."
-oOo-
Later, the couple stretched out on their lounge beds on the balcony, enjoying the quiet day before their next adventure.
"Hermione, have you taken a look at the excursions book about Hong Kong?"
"Yes, of course. Don't you know me by now?" Hermione giggled. "We must do the night sky trip and watch the Symphony of Lights, but during the day I can't decide on which option to choose." She frowned, tormented. "It is my favourite excursion from the entire selection. On the other hand, I'm certain that the one you're hoping to do includes a cable car and the picture on the book is already giving me nightmares."
"The cable car with the glass bottom is giving you nightmares already?" Sure enough, the prospect of riding a cable car again thrilled him. The possibility of a repeat of the Scenic Cableway in Sydney was exciting to him beyond words. Though, the ride on the perpendicular train was hard to beat. The pictures on their book advertised spectacular views, and he longed for more action than their latest low-key excursions, hopping from one place to the other by bus.
"Exactly. You can see yourself inside of one already, don't you?" The brunette shook her head at his boyish enthusiasm, excited for some adventure. "You know what? We agreed to go on separated trips if something wasn't to our shared tastes. I'll go for the historical tour." Her voice didn't sound so overjoyed, given the plan meant they wouldn't be spending any time together during the day, but she didn't want to spoil his fun. "And I expect a description of the amazing views. Write me a three-foot parchment review or something," she teased, trying to make the most of things. "Plus, don't forget to take plenty of pictures! I'll bring a brochure to show you what I discovered in my excursion, as an exchange."
He browsed through the book, coming to the page about her historical trip. "Wait, the historical tour, you say? Will you be happy to visit a history museum AND a heritage museum AND a temple on the same journey?" Draco looked at her askance. Even Hermione Granger couldn't want to visit that many museums in one day. "My love, one museum sounds interesting, adding a temple to the trip is still within my tolerance, but two museums and a temple? That's the perfect choice for the grandpas, one excursion as lethargic as a history lesson from Professor Binns." He tapped a finger on the page, stressing his conviction.
Hermione couldn't protest, no matter how much she wanted to wipe away his sardonic grin. She threw her arms in the air, "The other option is to stay inside this ship until you return." The witch stared into the distance, lost in thought, chin supported by her hand. "I'm scared of sitting on one of those cable cars where I can see the ground through the floor."
Suddenly, Draco rose to his feet, startling the witch out of her maudlin reverie. He grabbed the phone, pressing the necessary buttons. "Prekins!" The wizard nearly shouted as the butler answered. "Do you know anything about this Ning Ping city's cable car?" The blond listened attentively, rolling his eyes at the sugary way the butler tried to demonstrate his knowledge. "Bloke…" He mouthed to Hermione what a tosser, making her stifle a laugh. "I know what a cable car is, Prekins." Hermione giggled at the intentional mispronunciation and his bared teeth. Draco continued, pacing back and forth while speaking with his thumb and forefinger pinching together, the other fingers stretched in the air in annoyance. He truly resembled a volcano about to burst out of impatience, reminding her of the explosive run-ins she and her friends had with their Slytherin classmate over the years. "Prekins, I only want to know one thing. This cable car, does it have sitting or standing accommodations? Ah, hmmm, yes, yes…" The blond wizard fixed his grey stare on Hermione. "See love, Pre...Perkins says you can sit inside the car, on the sides and not in the middle as in Australia. Thank you, Pre...Perkins. That will be all." The wizard only amended his name because Hermione had silently urged him to play nice with a meaningful look.
Draco hung up, the man on the other side still talking. "Despite how much he helped me to propose to you, I still don't like the beanstalk." He released a deep breath, as he sat again on the lounge bed, elbows perched on his knees. "The tosser told us you'll be sitting with your back against the window facing whoever is on the opposite side. It's different from the gondola in Sydney."
Determined not to lose Hermione's company to some moldy old exhibits, he offered up one more incentive as a last ditch effort at persuading his fiancée to join him, encouraged by seeing her interest rise. "We can take the car without the glass bottom if you feel safer this way."
It was doing the trick, winning a smile from the witch next to him, and Draco gladly turned his attention to the rest of the trip's itinerary.
Aside from travelling by cable car, they were going to visit a fishing village, then a monastery, and to cap things off, some big Buddha. The only downside to the entire plan was the meal, he thought. He was a wizard who enjoyed eating a decent piece of meat or the occasional fish, not to pick at rabbit food for lunch. At least, not voluntarily. But I won't die from this one time. He was getting Hermione to give on one thing, he could feel it, so he didn't want to push his luck by complaining about the food, too.
Hermione still sounded dubious, not yet entirely convinced, but valiantly looking for a silver lining. "That outdoor Buddha must be impressive, right?" If it wasn't for that cable car...
Draco nodded almost angelically, if it could be believed of him. He purposely mentioned the chronology of the excursion, wheedling for all he was worth. "The journey with the cable car will be downwards, it really should be the last thing on this part of the trip, according to the book."
Hermione nodded pensively, feeling herself starting to give in to his relentless campaign of persuasion.
Her walls were visibly breaking, and he didn't belong to the House of Slytherin just because of his love for the colour green. He leaned forward eagerly, sensing his victory. "And you can hold my hand." The wizard flashed a sweetly innocent smile, even adding a blink or two for good measure.
He cunningly opted for a change in tactics, seeing the witch continue to ponder. What was the Muggle term - reverse psychology?
"Listen, don't beat yourself up about it anymore. You mentioned the alternative already." He worked as much gentle understanding into his voice as he could manage. "We agreed to go on different trips if there was something we couldn't agree on. I'll do my cable car ride, you go wander through your museums, and when we're back on the ship we'll tell each other all about it."
Draco didn't care if he'd likely earned himself the title of a selfish tosser. From the start, he'd enjoyed partaking of these excursions with Hermione at his side. Her knowledge of several Muggle issues he was ignorant about had been priceless. Like Hell he was signing up for a lonely trip only because of a glass cage that travelled between two places, swaying on wires.
At this very moment, he didn't need to nudge her much harder, though. Hermione met his eyes. "Draco, I know it is the most interesting of the choices, aside from the Kowloon excursion we're doing the next day." She hesitated, biting her lip. "You promise that you'll not force me to look down?"
"Absolutely. I will not let you down. Don't you know that I'm your new knight in shining armour?" Draco answered calmly, though the wizard tucked his hands beneath his legs to avoid punching a victory fist in the air.
"Don't make me laugh." As Hermione stared at him with a knowing look, Draco realised she had figured him out. "I see your game, you sneaky snake," she confirmed with amusement.
"I'm a simple bloke with simple needs," he quipped, unrepentant. "This wizard loves to discover the world with the swotiest witch on earth. Imagine me returning from the trip and describing the huge Buddha, while you wandered between dusty knick-knacks and old bats all day long?"
A well-kept eyebrow shot up beneath the brown fringe, calling his bluff. "Are you so concerned about me becoming bored?"
"You always come in first place for me." He stared at her with his most serious face, humor briefly dropping for sincerity. Hermione smiled at that, noting how quickly Draco's mischievousness returned.
"So, if I call Perkins and book us for the historical excursion, you won't mind, right?" A true Slytherin never quit the field until victory was declared in his favor. Hermione dropped her book on the side, rose to her feet, entered the suite, and grabbed the red horn.
Draco rose, his eyes slowly flashing her a look of supreme gratification, bordering on smugness.
In return, Hermione flashed him her widest Cheshire Cat smile and made the call.
A.N.:
Next port is Hong Kong.
Followed by: Hoi An, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Colombo, Mumbai, Dubai, Muscat, Limassol, Haifa and Cadiz.
This cruise belongs in my bucket list, if I ever become a billionaire... lol.
Take care, the end is nearing. We can do this.