Sloth... The avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

Blaise stood in Hermione's kitchen, waiting on the coffee to brew. It was early, even for Hermione on a typical workday. As he waited for the coffee, he stared out the window and thought about the witch in the other room. After the week she'd had at work battling it out in court and other cases for the Magical Law Enforcement Department, Blaise knew she had to be exhausted.

Last night, she jokingly said she was taking the day off, but now he wondered if she would follow through with that. In all the time that he'd known her, she'd never taken a day off. Having been together for a few months now, Blaise had seen Hermione work through sickness and heartache. She worked late into the evening and even on weekends if she needed to. The witch needed a break.

Blaise, on the other hand, had found himself in a bit of a slump. After losing his mother and finding out he had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life, trying to find work or something to occupy his time outside of the manor was pushed to the back of his mind. In fact, he's become quite accustomed to spending his days lounging around in bed, reading or writing in his journal.

That is until Hermione took up residence in his heart. Now he had reason to get out of bed each day, even if it meant he was spending it alone at her flat. He patiently waited for her to return from work when he could listen to her talk, and they could make love well into the night. Eventually, he knew he'd have to find something to occupy his days, but for now, he enjoyed basking in the laziness of it all so long as he had Hermione to keep him company for most of it.

Blaise poured two mugs and fixed them just the way they liked before heading back toward the bedroom when the coffee was finished. If Hermione were going to head into the Ministry, she would have to wake up soon, or she'd be late. Part of him hoped she would stay home and spend the day wrapped in his embrace, but ultimately, the decision was up to Hermione.

"Hermione?" Blaise asked quietly as he entered Hermione's bedroom. It was still pretty dark, and the shades were drawn since the sun was just getting ready to rise. "Are you awake, love?"

There was a shuffling as Hermione shifted on the bed and then a muffled groan. "I'm awake, but just barely," Hermione complained from underneath the blanket.

Chuckling, Blaise said, "Love, I can hardly hear you under that thing. Care to come out from there and tell me about your plans for the day?" he waited patiently by the bed, watching as Hermione extricated herself from the fluffy obstacle.

"I just… I don't have the energy to go anywhere today, Blaise," she whispered, rolling onto her side and tugging the comforter closer to her chin. "Is that bad?"

Setting the two mugs of coffee on the night table, Blaise sat on the bed next to Hermione. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that," he said softly, reaching out to smooth her curls away from her face.

Tears leaked from Hermione's eyes as she listened to Blaise. "Are you sure? I feel like there's always so much work to be done, and I shouldn't be in bed, but I'm tired."

Taking a deep breath, Blaise pulled back the blanket and crawled underneath the comforter with his lover. Wrapping her in his arms, Blaise said, "Listen to me, Hermione. You have worked nearly nonstop since our Hogwarts days. Whether it was trying to be the best in every single class or trying to reach the top of your career, you've been keeping busy. You've earned a rest."

"I worry that people will think I'm being lazy if I take a day off," Hermione said, not quite meeting Blaise's eyes.

"You realise those sods at the Ministry take days off from work all the damn time, right?"

"What do you think people say about me?" Blaise asked, quirking an eyebrow in a playful challenge. "I've never worked a day in my life. I live off my inheritance from both my mother and father."

"It's different for you," Hermione said, frowning. "You're a pureblood wizard. I'm a muggleborn who has always had to work to be noticed. I don't want people to talk down about my work ethic."

"Fuck what other people think," Blaise told Hermione sternly. "If they can't see the amount of good you do and how much work you put into everything, then they're nothing but blind flobberworms. Take the time you need to relax and refresh yourself. Hell, if you need to take the entire week off, then so be it."

Hermione felt a rush of affection in her body at Blaise's kind words. Since they'd moved from friends to lovers, he'd been nothing but kind. She'd never had a lover as affectionate or caring as Blaise, and she couldn't imagine her life without him any longer.

"I- I love you, Blaise," Hermione whispered, wide eyes meeting his as she finally revealed how she felt for the wizard. They'd been skating around this relationship for far too long, and now she thought it was time to make it known how she truly felt.

A smile spread across Blaise's features, and he paused to kiss Hermione's forehead before replying. "I love you too, Hermione. Now, close your eyes and go back to sleep. It's early, and you deserve some rest."

Sighing in contentment, Hermione allowed herself to fall back to sleep. The comfort of knowing Blaise was there and supported her choice to take this needed time off was more than enough to offer her closure on several issues.

Blaise waited until Hermione fell asleep before allowing himself to rest. Life was crazy, but if you didn't occasionally take the time you needed to recuperate, then you were bound to dig your own grave. Blaise felt like the future wasn't as scary as it used to be with Hermione by his side. They would make their way through this life together, leaning on one another as needed.

Today, though, they deserved a break to be lazy, and there was nothing wrong with that.