Day Twenty-Nine

Hermione was alone in the bed when she woke up on the four week anniversary of their marriage. It was a surprise. Curious to know where Rabastan wandered off to that was more important than right next to her, she got up to search. She thought maybe he was already in the shower preparing for what was sure to be another busy day downstairs. When she found the bathroom door open and no one inside, she knew she was wrong. He wasn't in the kitchen making them breakfast or playing with the sleeping Buzz whose basket was right next to the fireplace.

It was odd that he wasn't in the flat that early in the morning, but she didn't think there was anything sinister about it. One to trust her instincts, she didn't think there was any need to worry. Nothing felt off, just odd. To prevent her mind from going down dark and twisty paths where she imagined all manner of terrible fates for the man, she chose to get in the shower and get ready for the day. Maybe he would be back when she was out.

A little more than half an hour later when she was emerging from the bathroom fully dressed, the exterior door to the flat opened. Hermione rushed to the kitchen to see what he had been up to. In his hands he carried a bag of pastries from the Rowles' teashop and two cups of hot tea. The moment he stepped inside he placed his purchases on the kitchen table to start unpacking their breakfast.

"I was wondering where you were."

Rabastan gave her a tight smile for half a second before turning his full attention to his task.

"I got up a little early. Trouble sleeping again. Thought I'd pop in to see Thorfinn. He and his wife are always up early baking. She's lovely. Don't know how she ended up with Rowle, but they seem like they're in love. Maybe we should have them over for dinner."

She could feel her brow furrow more and more in confusion with each word he uttered. Crossing the short distance between them, she touched his arm to make him look at her again.

"You're being weird. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"You promised you would never lie to me."

Rabastan's response was a heavy sigh dripping with frustration and maybe a little bit of anger. Knowing he wouldn't be able to push her easily away, he turned his entire body towards her to give her a quick kiss good morning. It was almost a little disappointing in how little emotion there seemed to be in it. She took his hand when he tried to turn away again to make him focus on her.

"You're starting to scare me, Rabastan. What's happened?"

The parts of his face that weren't covered in the beard he promised he would keep flushed a light pink. Was he embarrassed?

"I couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind. I rolled over on my side and I saw you sleeping so peacefully and I just…"

He sighed again. Why couldn't he look at her? What was so dreadful that he was that agitated and upset? She started to forget all of her earlier thoughts that nothing was wrong. Was it something terrible?

"Fuck, love, I wanted to wake you up, tear those horrible pajamas off of your body, and spend the next week making you scream."

No longer the least bit worried that something was really wrong, Hermione actually laughed.

"You had me scared that something awful happened all because you're randy?"

"I am far past that. Knowing that the thirty days is up tomorrow is driving me mad. I couldn't trust myself in bed next to you. I took a cold shower. Didn't help. When I went back in the bedroom, you moved and the blanket slipped. I could see your… and I wanted to…"

Another sigh.

"I went for a walk. Saw the light on in the teashop. That's the truth. All of it."

She laughed and tried to kiss him again. Immediately his hands were up to carefully push her away.

"No, you can't touch me today. I can't be trusted."

With his tea in one hand and a scone in the other, Rabastan took a seat at his regular spot at the table. One glance at the top of the table appeared to bring back memories of the night she was laid out on it like a snack for him to devour. He jumped back to his feet.

"Fuck, I can't sit here."

He could be adorably neurotic, but she understood where he was coming from. They were so close to the end of their agreement that it would be too easy to just say 'close enough' and break it too early. She knew he had a sort of pride about making it to the end, of fulfilling his complete promise. Leaned up against the counter avoiding all glances at the wooden table was how he spent the rest of his breakfast.

"What was on your mind that you couldn't sleep?"

Yet again that morning he seemed reluctant to tell her what was on his mind. It took him a few moments to speak.

"I was thinking about tomorrow and what if you decided at the last minute that you didn't really want to stay with me, that you'd rather annul the marriage than activate the bonding spell."

His being so vulnerable with her meant a great deal to Hermione. Most people in his situation would be more likely to keep their feelings close instead of opening themselves up so much to someone who had the power to hurt them. Of course she understood why he was so nervous. She felt the same way and she didn't have the added pressure of worrying about going back to Azkaban if the marriage didn't work out. Was it any wonder he couldn't sleep and a part of him was anxious to activate the bonding spell for more reasons than just his physical desire? Ignoring his protests that she not get too close to him, she put her arms around his neck and made him look in her eyes.

"I've fallen in love with you and I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with you, Rabastan. You can stop worrying about me running away. I'm not. I'm staying right here with you and some time tomorrow I'm going to rip every stitch of clothing you're wearing off of your body, climb on top of you, shove my amazing tits in your mouth, and fuck you until neither of us can walk a straight line for a month."

The small smile that crept up onto his face quickly morphed into full blown laughter.

"Not bad after just one lesson. I can't wait to see how filthy your mouth gets the longer you know me."

Feeling much calmer, he took his time to give her the proper good morning kiss she desired. The tension that was between them that morning became non-existent. Just speaking their concerns out loud did the trick.

All day long the shop was busy. Though he was considerably better than he was when he woke up that morning, Rabastan still seemed to find it easier to distract himself with work away from Hermione. It was amusing how he always seemed to find a task to complete on the opposite side of the shop from where she was standing. If it kept him calm, she wouldn't care.

It was hard to believe that four weeks had already passed since the morning she stepped in that tiny boat to cross the North Sea to Azkaban. The change in him was remarkable as well. Sometimes it seemed like he had always been in her flat with her, that life didn't exist before that day.

A large shipment of new books arrived that afternoon. Wanting very much to be useful, Rodolphus took it upon himself to help Hermione unpack the crates and arrange them on the shelves where they belonged. More than once he caught her staring at his brother across the shop or Rabastan staring at her. Each time it happened he chuckled with a big grin on his face. Catching him doing it once, Hermione was curious what had her brother-in-law in such a good mood.

"I've never seen my little brother smile like he does when you are in the same room."

Suddenly she felt a little shy, but loved it.

"Really?"

"He's been smitten with you since you were just a dream on paper but now? He's got it bad for you, my dear."

Rodolphus chuckled again. Feeling nervous, she blurted out her thoughts, not worried that the wizard would judge her poorly for them.

"I hope I can meet his expectations, that I won't disappoint him."

"I'd say that was impossible. As long as you keep loving him, that's all that really matters."

"I do, you know."

His face split into a wide grin.

"I know you do. It's written all over your face when you look at him."

She had no idea she was being so obvious with her feelings. Or maybe it was just because Rodolphus knew his brother better than anyone. He seemed to be a very perceptive man. Knowing that they had reached a new point in their friendship, she felt like she could ask him a question that was personal.

"And what about you and Andromeda? Do you love each other too?"

The smile on his face turned a little sad.

"In our own way, we do. There's a sad history between us full of regrets and idiocy, mostly on my part. She's too good for me, but I plan on spending every moment for the rest of my life trying to be worthy of her."

"That's seems like an admirable goal."

"I hope so."

When the shop was closed for the evening, Rabastan seemed a little calmer, more like himself. He still insisted, however, that they spend the rest of the evening in Muggle London having dinner in a very public restaurant and then in the cinema where there were at least one hundred other people in the same room with them at every moment. She could see the logic in spending as little time alone in the flat as necessary in order to avoid temptation.

Though they had been worried about leaving little Buzz alone while they were out, the sleepy kitten hardly seemed to even notice he had been left at all when they got home. He happily received some pets and scratches from both of them and then settling back into his basket for more sleep. It appeared that the mere act of being a kitten was exhausting.

Standing inside their bedroom alone again, Hermione wondered if they were just tempting fate at that point. Would it be better if they spent the final night in separate bedrooms like they had when he first moved in? Rabastan didn't care for that plan at all. Considering it for half a second, he decided it wasn't necessary.

"No, that mattress is bloody awful. I never want to sleep on it again. Save it as a punishment for when I inevitably do something wrong in the future. It'll teach me not to do it again."

She promised.