So, probably everybody has forgotten that this fic (and the outtakes thereof) even existed. But it's my bestie/beta/most awesome sounding board's birthday and we bonded over this story first. Weestarmeggie, I MIGHT manage to get this up before your birthday is over in my timezone.

Draco poured the egg mixture into the pan when he felt his wife apparate into the house. Omelets were one of the few dishes he knew how to make successfully- a product of Hermione's insatiable egg craving during her pregnancy with Scorpius. He was making her dinner tonight, not as a result of a craving, or because he was in trouble and needed to grovel, but because he wanted to do something special for his mate and he'd learned over the years that there was much to be said for creating something with his own two hands.

He felt Hermione's emotions become alarmed long before she entered the kitchen and he felt badly that he hadn't considered that beforehand. Their home was never this quiet, the silence must have been like an alarm bell to her.

"Where is everybody?" She asked, running through the doorway.

He turned away from the pan for just a moment and held out his free arm for her. "No need to worry. Scorpius and Leo are at the Potters' and Alcyone and Elara are with Mother and Father."

"Why?" She asked as she nuzzled against him.

"Because we needed some time alone. Especially because I know how you've been fretting about Carina being at Hogwarts."

Carina's departure for school had punctured a hole in their lives the likes of which neither of them had anticipated, which had been foolish. Draco was fully prepared to bring their daughter home at the slightest inclination, and he knew that Hermione felt the same way. But their little girl seemed deliriously happy in the castle, had settled well into Ravenclaw, and was conscientious enough to write home regularly.

Draco had been aware that his wife was struggling with her absence, on an emotional as well as a practical level as Carina had always been a huge help with her siblings. He had too, he was just better at hiding his emotions. So, he thought Hermoine had been getting used to the new state of things and so he'd allowed himself to be called away on business.

When he'd arrived home earlier than expected this evening after almost a week away his children had been home with the nanny, but Alcyone had wasted no time rushing towards him exclaiming about how happy she was that he was home to 'make Mummy feel better.' One glance at his sons and their shifty demeanors revealed that they understood exactly what their sister meant, but were old enough to want to avoid betraying their mother's confidence.

And that was when he realized the obvious: it was Halloween. Nothing good had ever happened to Hermione at Halloween while she was at Hogwarts. She was probably going out of her mind worrying over Carina.

It took mere minutes to arrange alternative childcare. Potter was obviously anxious for a distraction and practically kidnapped the boys, and his parents were always happy to watch his children, especially his sweet girls.

After that he'd set about preparing for a rare night alone with his mate.

He felt her arrive and braced himself against going to her. She generally liked a few minutes of time to decompress when she arrived home from work. This was not the day to interrupt that routine. But it was less than a minute before she entered the room and slumped against him.

"I missed you," Hermione said, her words muffled by the way she'd turned her face to press against his shoulder.

"I missed you too."

"I'm not necessarily complaining about having you to myself. But where are our children?"

"I'm sorry if I scared you," he began, before telling her the rest of the story.

"You really sent them away?"

She didn't feel upset, but neither did she seem pleased, her emotions were riotous, so he had to make certain that he wasn't misreading her. "I could get them back," he offered.

"No, I...Draco," she expelled his name on a long exhale. He turned off the stove and spun in her arms. "It feels selfish to want you all to myself."

"Be selfish." He began to nibble at her neck. "I'm sorry, I stupidly forgot how much Halloween can bother you and I really should have known that you would be worried about Carina."

"Not your fault. I'm just paranoid, that's why I didn't mention it."

"I did take a precaution."

She pulled away and frowned at him. "What's that?"

"Effie's following her around."

Hermione reared back in surprise. "What?"

"Not all the time, just for the night, to make sure that she's safe. I asked the Headmistress' permission."

She let out a long breath and he felt her emotions settle."Thank you," she responded.

He kept his arm around her but turned back around to add some cheese, ham, and scallions to the pan, and then folded the egg mixture with his free hand, letting it cook until it was perfect while she stood quietly leaning into his side with her arms around his waist.

Draco was shocked at first by her placidity, both in her behavior and her emotions. He expected her to ask a million questions, maybe run off to the floo to check on the younger children, given her usual need for information.

It wasn't until he snuck a hand underneath the hem of her blouse and began to stroke the skin of her hip that he recognized that her behavior was born of a very different kind of need. She shuddered against him, moaned, and her arousal spiked so quickly he nearly dropped his spatula.

He turned his attention from the eggs, just for a moment to give her a hard kiss, but quickly turned away, ignoring the way she tried to follow him with her lips, because he knew exactly what would happen if he allowed that. And a quick hard fuck against their kitchen worktop just didn't seem like the thing either of them needed at the moment.

At least not before they'd eaten to keep up their strength.

When the omelet finished cooking- it was really only a matter of a few minutes, but given the building anticipation between them, it felt much longer- Draco plated it and then swung Hermione up in his arms to sit on the counter. He stepped between her thighs which she had eagerly parted for him, and pulled the plate towards them.

"Are you full?" He asked, after he'd finished feeding them alternative bites of the meal and she was sucking on his thumb and it was all he could do to keep his eyes from rolling back into his head. After all these years, such a small gesture still drove him wild. Then again, he'd been hard since she entered the kitchen. A week without her was practically a lifetime.

She chuckled knowingly. "I am not going to say something utterly cliche about how you're the thing that I really want to make me full of right now."

He let out a startled laugh.

"You're so perfect, definitely made for me," he didn't need to be looking at her to know that she was rolling her eyes. It was a major disagreement between them. Hermione called it the chicken or the egg debate.

Was he made for her, or she for him? She was determined that she had a leg up in their argument, given that she was eight months older than him. He maintained that the fates had just been making plans. He was a veela, after all.

Her gaze dropped and she smiled gently. "I've missed you."

"Can I take you to bed?"

"Please do."

They walked up the stairs hand in hand before Draco made a request: "let me be in control of your pleasure tonight, please?"

"I think I would like that very much, indeed."

He undressed them both efficiently once they'd reached their bedroom."Go, lay yourself out for me," he encouraged, when he was through, kissing her shoulder.

She grinned, throwing herself on the bed and spreading her legs. There had been a time when such a request would have left her feeling utterly exposed and she never would have agreed to it. Now it just left her feeling…liberated. He was on her in a moment, his wings encapsulating them, she let out a startled laugh, she hadn't even noticed him transforming.

"Okay?" He murmured and she nodded vigorously before he pressed into her.

"Draco," she gasped, cupping the nape of his neck.

He hadn't been out of town for that long, but she had missed him and she did not believe for a moment that it was a coincidence that he had come back to her on this night of all nights.

"Come for me, you sweet witch," he demanded as he moved within her. And she did, and then she looked up at Draco with something like confusion, because she could feel that he was still hard and ready inside of her. "Oh, my sweetheart, I'm simply not done with you yet."

Hermione, feeling a combination of languid and irritated at his smugness in his arms, shot him a glance that she hoped depicted the latter. "I'll kick you out of this bedroom right now."

He pulled her upright and cast a cleansing spell on them both, handed her a robe and grabbed one for himself. "We both know that you won't," he whispered in her ear.

"Let's go upstairs," he said.

"Upstairs?" She asked with an arched eyebrow. There was a high turret in their home that she and Draco didn't avoid, per se, but they didn't exactly visit regularly either, and their children had been warded out of the tower completely. Hermione was certain that she knew why, but she'd never pressed Draco on the issue.

She followed him willingly but she stopped him when he pushed her against one stone wall and began to kiss her roughly. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"You know that I am." She let out a long breath. "You're very annoying but I love you completely."

He chuckled. "Such is your lot in life."

She bit her lip. "I shall do my best to carry on," she murmured with as much dignity as she could muster.

"That's very good news." He turned her around and pressed her to the window ledge of the turret. "What do you see?"

"The moon and the stars."

"Exactly," he murmured against her neck, "they'll never leave you, just like we'll never leave you."

"We?'"

"Me. These incredible children we made together, named for the stars."

"That's quite a promise to make." Hermione gasped when his wings surrounded them and his aura encapsulated them. Even after more than a decade together she wondered if she would ever fully grasp the full extent of their bond. If either of them ever would It was an honor and a privilege and she still occasionally had a hard time accepting it. His devotion to her was sometimes a little overwhelming. But it was also unquestionable.

"I know."