Chapter 26
They landed and Hermione looked around her parents living room. She clung to Draco's arm, not knowing where to go or what to think despite the familiarity of the surroundings, and when she looked at him, she saw that his jaw was set, his eyes wild. He was clearly furious. A feeling of dread settled in her gut.
"You're angry," she stated the obvious, with the hope that it would get him talking.
He whipped his head around to look at her. "Of course I am," he snapped, "aren't you?"
"Well, I- maybe?" She said tentatively. Truth be told she was finding it difficult to get a handle on how she felt other than blindsided. "Why are you angry?" She asked even as she was terrified of his answer.
"I wouldn't do that to you!" He blurted, releasing her to pace in front of the sofa.
She missed him immediately, but she didn't go after him, just watched as he worked himself up even further while she tried to make sense of his words. "Do what to me?" She finally asked.
"Have sex with you in a broom cupboard, or someplace else where we had to sneak about like we were doing something deserve better than that, you deserve something special. And I just wouldn't do that to you, I don't know how my mother could think that I would!"
She almost choked on her inappropriate laughter at the relief she felt and that this was what he chose to be concerned about after everything that had just happened. Even as her heart broke that his parents had apparently sewn such doubt in him.
"It never occurred to me that you would enter a broom cupboard for any reason, Draco," she said absentmindedly as she tried to sort everything she wanted to say to him in her mind.
Because the fact was that sometimes it scared her how much she loved him. Sometimes it felt like it was more than her body could contain. He certainly hadn't been part of her plan. And she'd had a plan, ever since she was a little girl. It had changed once she'd found out she was a witch, of course, but only slightly. She would still go to school, be top of her class, and get the scores to either further her education or start a great career. And from there she would change the world, now that world would just include magic. She wanted a boyfriend, and then later a family, but she'd thought that would all come later, and it had only been a vague wish anyway. One she had intended tackle once the rest of it was taken care of.
Draco had blown that all out of the water. School and career were still important, but they were both journeys she would take alongside him now. She sometimes thought she was too young to have already decided that, but she didn't feel too young - most girls her age were still consumed by silly crushes, or at most, had been part of an innocent relationship. Meanwhile, she fully intended to be with Draco forever.
And then, just a few minutes ago, Narcissa had all but confirmed what she'd known in her heart for a long time. There was something special about her relationship with Draco. Narcissa could actually see it. It was extraordinary, and as much as she hated the way the information had come out, and was not pleased that it had been kept from them all this time, she was mostly thrilled. But Draco hadn't seemed to be, and that scared her. But if he was just upset about the accusations that had been leveled against them, well, she could handle that as long as it meant he wasn't angry about the knowledge of their connection.
She did, of course, resent the way that her physical relationship with Draco had been dragged into the spotlight and that Narcissa had turned it into an issue. It should have been something they discussed privately and in their own time. And she especially resented that the Malfoys had so easily believed that she and Draco would abuse the trust that had been placed in them. But she knew that she and Draco could get through that.
She noticed that Draco had stopped pacing and looked up at him. He was just staring at her. "Are you calling me a snob?"
She frowned as she tried to remember what she'd just said and then froze when she realized she may have just made things much worse. She scrambled for a way to backtrack. Because Draco could be sensitive, and he didn't always take it well when she pointed out instances where she felt he was casually taking his family's wealth for granted. That wasn't a fight she wanted to have right now.
She opened her mouth. Nothing came out. And then he began to smirk.
She marched over to him and whacked him on the arm. "You prat, I really thought you were mad!"
He grabbed her and hugged her tight, pinning her arms to her sides and preventing her from punishing him any further with her quick hands.
"You are a snob," she pouted into his chest, but she let her lips caress the area just over his heart.
"I'm not sure that wanting a little privacy and an actual bed when we have sex for the first time qualifies me as a snob," he grumbled, suddenly serious again.
She raised her face to his. "With everything that's happened in the past couple of days, is that really what's bothering you? That they accused us of sneaking around?"
"Yes," he shut his mouth with an almost theatrical snap. "No," he admitted after a few moments, "at least, it's not the only thing. But the general lack of respect she thought I'd shown you. And that we had shown them. And that she didn't even give us a chance to explain. Yes, those things really bother me."
"Well, I'm sorry, I can't speak for you parents, or take back what your mother said." Her heart was so heavy for him, he regarded his parents with something close to reverence, especially his mother and this had to be killing him. "But I know that you wouldn't do that. So don't worry. You wouldn't hurt me, or push me into something I'm not ready for. Hurting me would hurt you. I know, because I feel the same way," she finished softly, feeling shy at expressing the thought out loud.
"Good," he breathed a sigh of relief and kissed her forehead. "I'm still mad at them, but I guess in the end it only matters that you know that." He held her for a few moments before beginning to speak again. "But aren't you angry with them? You said 'maybe' before and, if anything, they- or Mother, at least- were crueler to you."
"I'm-" she huffed in exasperation when she was unable to find a suitable word. "I'm confused," she eventually settled on. And then she asked him the only question she really cared to know the answer to. "What do you think about what your mother said, you know, about our connection?" She felt herself color and couldn't quite meet his eyes, and she hated herself for her cowardice. She told Draco everything, she should be able to have this discussion with him without blushing.
"I think she should mind her own business," he snarled.
"Oh," she said, dipping her head to hide her hurt. That wasn't exactly the resounding agreement she'd been hoping for.
"Oh?"
"But you didn't react to the veela," she argued quietly. "At the World Cup," she clarified, when he didn't say anything.
"I knew what you meant, Hermione. I just don't know what that has to do with what we were talking about."
"Well it's because of me, right? That they didn't affect you?"
"Of course it is."
She snapped her head up at the bite in his voice and saw that he looked wholey affronted; she sighed. "I know, I didn't mean that to be a question exactly. I just thought the fact that your feelings for me prevented you from being affected by veela might have lent credence to what your mother said."
"You've lost me again."
"We're fourteen, Draco," she huffed in frustration. "This is like the height of puberty, our hormones are basically on a rampage. But we're committed enough to each other that beings that are designed to appeal to your most base sexual instincts had no effect on you. You don't think that demonstrates that there might be a special connection between us? Above and beyond even what most people who love each other have?"
His jaw dropped and he blinked at her, the very picture of astonishment. She quickly looked away and tried to blink back her tears. He grabbed her chin and forced her face back up to his. "What are you talking about, of course we have a special connection."
"Then why did you seem so upset about it? Why should your mother mind her own business?"
"Because she had no right to try and hide it from us! To invade our privacy by using her little talent to basically spy on us."
"It doesn't sound like she can help it."
"Then she sure as hell should have told us!"
Hermione didn't have a response to that, she felt the same way. "So, you feel it too?"
Again, he froze. "Yeah. I didn't know what 'it' was until she explained, but I don't doubt it for a second. My magic literally reaches for you. I felt it last night, more than ever. And the things we're capable of... Hermione, were you really worried about that?"
She shrugged helplessly.
"Mother didn't tell me anything this morning that I didn't already know." The expression on her face must have been something to behold, because he actually threw his head back and laughed. "Okay, so she actually said a lot that I didn't already know," he admitted when he calmed down. "But I've felt that this thing between us was extraordinary, pretty much since always. I just didn't consciously know it, and I certainly didn't know that it's apparently on my mother's visual spectrum," he finished wryly.
She fisted his shirt- an automatic reflex- and grinned to herself. "It's the same for me," she admitted, "I didn't know, but I knew." She lifted her eyes to his and then they were grinning at each other.
"I love you," they said simultaneously, and their grins got bigger and stupider.
Hermione tore her eyes away from his after many long moments in an attempt to bring her thoughts back to the matter at hand. But, in the meantime, she absently noted that Draco was dressed almost muggle. Not completely- out of respect for his parents, she was sure given that they'd begun the day at the Manor- but enough that they could take a stroll through her neighborhood without sticking out. He'd adapted so well, had even begun appreciating many things from her parents world; it warmed her heart. "So, we're not ready now but...one day? And in a bed, not a broom cupboard?" She smiled at him mischievously, but with a great deal of hope.
This time he caught on immediately, taking her face between his hands. "Yeah, definitely, did you not think so?"
"Yes." She swallowed thickly. "I just wanted to be sure. Like I said, last night and this morning have been confusing."
"Let's sit," he finally said, taking her hand and pulling her onto the sofa beside him. "Have you noticed that the elves have started calling you 'mistress?'"
Her breath caught. She had noticed, and she'd known it was significant. How had she forgotten? "Yes," she answered simply.
"They know things, you know."
She just nodded.
"I don't know if they see things similar to what my mother apparently sees," he said, bitterness coloring his tone, "but they definitely understand my intentions when it comes to you. I think they knew even before I did." He let go of her hand and put his arm around her. "I'll owl Father and have him draw up a betrothal contract right now, if that will make you feel better. He really can't argue, we're the same age he and Mother were when theirs was put in place. And I can't blame you if you're feeling insecure after what Mother said about...halfblood babies," he finished, his tone strained.
Hermione was surprised, out of everything said over breakfast the argument Narcissa had made about this not being a good time to bring a halfblood Malfoy into the world had bothered her the least. She didn't particularly like the reminder that she'd been born an outsider, and that until fairly recently the family she'd come to adore and view as her own had been blood purists, but she also hadn't taken it personally. Narcissa was not on her list of favorite people at the moment, but she believed that the older witch did love her. "I don't think she meant anything bad by that, just that it would be dangerous for all of us, for us to have children with the way things are right now. She has a point."
"I didn't like that she brought it up at all," he bit out. "When she said that I felt...almost violent."
Hermione considered that. "Do you want kids?" She wondered. For some reason she hadn't believed that was something he would have really thought about, it seemed beyond his years. Something that young girls commonly dreamt about, but not boys. Then again, hadn't they just established that they pushed the bounds of commonality?
"Yes," he answered immediately. She must have looked surprised because he chuckled. "I need an heir, you know that." She nodded. "But I want more than one, I was lucky to have Claire but I would have liked a sibling." He shrugged. "But I don't want kids for a long time," he quickly amended, "a long, long time. At least ten years. I intend to enjoy you fully before I have to share you."
He practically growled the last statement and she felt her face heat.
"Merlin Hermione, when did you become so shy? Where's my girlfriend, the Gryffindor?"
"I don't know!" She moaned, covering her face with one hand. "But we haven't talked about sex, not really, and to have it brought up by your parents like that. I feel like I've done something wrong, even though I know I haven't."
He jostled her playfully. "Talk to me then. I don't like when there are things between us."
"You're not going to like it," she warned.
"Can't be any worse than what my mother had to say." Every time he mentioned Narcissa he sounded more bitter. Hermione was coming to realize that it was going to be a long time before Draco truly forgave his mother for her comments. Lucius had warned her about the Black temper, but she thought that had been mostly in jest, she knew differently now, and she thought that it might go hand in hand with their ability to hold a grudge.
"I think we should wait, to go all the way, I mean," she said while resisting the urge to look away.
"Wait?" He asked, drawing the word out carefully.
She cringed. She very much doubted there was a teenage boy on the planet who would want to hear from his girlfriend what she was about to say to Draco. She had no doubt that he would respect her wishes, but that didn't mean he'd like it. "Until we get married," she admitted.
He sighed. "That's what I thought you were going to say. May I ask why? I didn't think that was important to you. Is this a muggle tradition I'm unaware of?"
She chuckled. "No, I mean there are certain sections of society and religions that advocate for waiting until marriage, but that's not something I or my family subscribe to. That is to say I didn't have this plan to save myself for marriage, and, well, it's going to be you and only you now anyway."
"That's a relief, at least," he said dryly.
She looked up sharply and met his eyes to see that they were filled with mirth. She rolled hers in his direction. "It's just that after this morning, I realized that it would feel terrible to sneak around with you. Because, you know that's what we'd have to do; steal time here, or at the Manor, or at Hogwarts, right? I don't think your parents or mine are just going to allow us to spend the night in each other's room." She took a deep breath. "And I suppose I assumed we'd marry right out of Hogwarts, like your parents did, and then we'd be free to be together however we like. I just don't want to sully anything between us with lies. Even just being accused of such a thing felt terrible."
"So this is my mother's fault?" He sounded angry but she was certain it wasn't directed at her. As annoyed and even betrayed as she felt, Hermione was also beginning to feel very sorry for Narcissa.
Hermione shook her head vigorously. "I didn't appreciate the way she went about it, but I'm grateful in a way that she brought it up. I would hate for us to do something that we regretted afterwards. Like you said, it should be special. And Draco, it's not hard for me to imagine us getting caught up in the moment and getting carried away one day. I trust you implicitly and I would never regret you, but that's not something I want to do on a whim. It's too important."
"Damn it," he said softly, but he was nuzzling her hair. "I can't argue with that. I'd be a right prat if I did. But do you think we could put a pin in this discussion? Agree to talk about anything before we do it, but leave it open to changing our minds?"
"Yeah," she nodded, "that sounds fair."
She put her head on his shoulder and they relaxed against the cushions.
"I do have some good news," he eventually said, breaking the peaceful silence.
"What's that?"
"Have you ever heard of the Tri-Wizard Tournament?"
She adjusted her head on his shoulder so that she could see his face. "No, should I have?"
"I hadn't, I just thought you might have come across it in your reading."
"You read almost as much as I do, Draco."
"You're more interested in history," he countered. "Anyway, it's a tournament between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A few hundred years ago it occurred on a regular basis and the schools took turns hosting it. It hasn't been held in a couple of centuries, but it's coming to Hogwarts this year."
"Why hasn't it been held in so long, and why haven't either of us even heard of it?"
"It fell out of fashion," he snickered, "too many deaths among the participants."
"I'm sorry. You said this was good news?" She asked incredulously, pinching his side lightly to demonstrate that she did not appreciate his humor.
He just grabbed the offending hand. "Well I don't plan to be stupid enough to volunteer to participate. Anyway, they've changed the rules, you have to be of age, they think that'll make it safer."
"I'm still not excited about our school hosting a deadly tournament," she grumbled. Sometimes the magical world just seemed so odd to her.
"Nothing we can do about that," he shrugged. "But the good news is that Claire turns seventeen in October, she's coming along with the Beauxbatons contingent. Which means she'll be at Hogwarts most of the year!" He finished cheerily.
She just stared at him. "And you're not worried about Claire participating in a deadly tournament?" He loved Claire like a sister, would hex somebody for so much as looking at her askance. Hermione couldn't believe that he was so nonchalant about her putting herself in that kind of danger.
"Oh," he shrugged. "Well, only one champion is chosen from each school, and Claire doesn't seem to think there's any possibility that she'll be the one. She'll barely be of age. She's certain it'll be one of a few seventh years that she says are all very talented. She just wanted to use the opportunity to spend some time at Hogwarts."
"Huh," she considered that, thinking that it seemed awfully optimistic- very un-Malfoy like. She shook it off because she also knew Claire, there would be no talking her out of it, and she was about to be an of-age witch. "How are they chosen, anyway?" She asked instead of voicing her concerns.
"There's a magical goblet, you submit your name and it chooses the most worthy from each school."
Well, that certainly sounded like a fascinating magical artefact. "Is this what your parents were keeping from us?" She asked when she suddenly realized that this was probably the secret they'd been trying to discover all summer.
"Among other things," he snorted. "But yes, Claire wrote to tell me, and once she'd done so Mother and Father were willing to confirm it."
"Well," she said after a moment, "it will be nice to have her around."
He just nodded and they lapsed back into silence. And then after a few minutes their late night and long morning caught up with them and they fell asleep, still upright, leaning on each other.
They were still lounging on the sofa- though Dobby had made sure they were well fed and taken care of- when the Grangers returned home from work that evening.
"Hermione, Draco?" Helen came to a startled halt as she entered the living room and eyed them sitting side by side- Hermione's head on Draco's shoulder, where it had remained most of the day- both staring vacantly at the television.
"Hi Mum," Hermione responded, but she shifted only her eyes to look at her mother, the rest of her remained comfortingly propped against Draco.
"What are you doing here?" Her mother visibly shook herself. "Not that we aren't happy to see you, of course! Richard, come in here!" She called out.
He rushed into the room, his shirt halfway unbuttoned, he'd obviously already started to change out of his work clothes. "What's going on here?"
Hermione tugged on Draco's hand until they were both sitting up straighter. "Pull up a chair, we have a lot to tell you," she said soberly. It had sunk in over the course of the afternoon that they were going to have to tell her parents what had happened at the World Cup, and also this morning, which had led them to be here rather than still camping outside the stadium as planned, and neither was looking forward to it.
She slowly began to explain the last few days to her parents, with Draco chiming in here and there. When she reached the part about the Death Eater activities she saw her mother and father exchange a significant glance. She looked at Draco and knew that he'd seen it too. He gave her a subtle nod. They'd have to talk about that later.
When Hermione finished her tale her mother actually chuckled.
"Really Mum?" She objected.
"I'm sorry darling, I know that you must have had an uncomfortable morning, I was simply wishing that Narcissa had consulted me before she made such an accusation. I could have assured her that your relationship hadn't progressed that far."
"Are you going to tell us that you have a secret magical talent as well?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
"Not a magical talent, just my eyes and a mother's intuition. I think perhaps her talent has made Narcissa a bit blind in this instance. She's usually so perceptive, but perhaps she's come to rely on it too much."
"You don't seem surprised to hear about my mother's ability. Or about our connection," Draco interjected. Hermione could tell that he was attempting to keep the accusation out of his voice, but he wasn't particularly successful, and he couldn't hide the tension in his body from her.
Helen cast a nervous glance at her husband, obviously taken aback by the animosity practically radiating off of their daughter's best friend.
"Your parents told us about it when the two of you first became friends. They used it to explain why we could trust them with Hermione," her father explained in his wife's stead, eyes narrowed in Draco's direction.
Hermione's heart sank and she felt Draco's hand curl into a fist where it was resting against her thigh.
Her parents had known and they hadn't said anything either.
"Why didn't anybody tell us?" She implored, trying not to sound whiny.
"Well I can't speak for Narcissa," her mother began slowly in response to the tension in the room, "but I know that I didn't say anything at first because I didn't want you to feel pressured to become a couple, or to even remain friends. I wanted to make sure that it was your choice and not the result of some kind of supposed magical predestination. And I haven't thought about it at all in a long time."
"I felt the same way," her father added solemnly. "I would also say that I didn't know Narcissa at the time, and I didn't know how much I believed what she was telling us. So, I certainly wasn't going to fill your head with her theories."
Those were actually reasonable explanations. At least it felt a lot less like her parents had actively been trying to keep them in the dark. She glanced at Draco and he just gave a small shrug.
"Okay," she said, "Draco and I were hoping to order Chinese for dinner, would that be okay?"
It was a blatant attempt to change the subject and she didn't care if they knew it, as long as they went along, because there was only so much she could deal with at a time, and she felt bone deep weary. She needed to talk to Draco, in private, but that would have to wait. Luckily for her, her parents had apparently also had their fill of serious conversation for the evening and they allowed their daughter her little subterfuge. They didn't say anything but rose- almost simultaneously- to go retrieve the takeaway menus from the kitchen.
The foursome ordered food, ate, and then settled for the evening in the living room and- quite un-characteristically for a family that usually thrived on discussion and debate- tuned into the telly for the hours before bed. They all seemed to need the mindless distraction. And despite being quite exhausted from everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours, by silent agreement Draco and Hermione both stayed awake and in the living room until her parents had gone to bed.
The moment she heard their bedroom door close she turned to Draco, the panic that had been simmering inside of her since the conversation earlier that evening- and maybe even since the night before- boiled over. "What if they try and separate us?" She whispered, unable to disguise the hysteria in her voice.
"Calm down," he said grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips. "Come here." He pulled and she scooted over until they were pressed against each other. She turned to face him, curling the leg nearest to him so that it was partially underneath her and partially cradled in his lap. He put an arm on the back of the sofa and they both rested their heads on it, foreheads touching. "I've been thinking about this."
She let out a breath, enormously relieved that they were on the same wavelength. "You have?"
He just nodded and his nose brushed hers. Out of the corner of her eye she saw his lips quirk and he tilted his head to give her a sweet kiss that she hadn't realized she desperately needed.
"What's your plan?" She asked when he had pulled away, though he didn't so much pull away as he just separated their lips, there was barely a hair's breadth between them.
"We need options. We need to have the freedom to make our own decisions if our parents start making ones for us that we can't live with. But it's tricky, because legally and magically we are still considered children for awhile yet."
It was her turn to nod.
"My parents kept me from you last night and while I understand why they did it, I will never agree with it. And then the moment they thought we'd done something that they didn't agree with, they turned on us. And then, of course, now we know for certain they're keeping secrets, who knows how many there are?"
Hermione opened her mouth to argue, to tell him that it was all very complicated, but found that she couldn't. Because in the end that was the point, it was complicated. Lucius and Narcissa would do what they considered to be best, so would her parents. But that wouldn't necessarily align with her desires, or Draco's. He was the only one she trusted completely.
"I saw the way your parents looked at each other when we were talking about last night, Hermione, I know you did too," he continued. "I don't blame them, my father is a Death Eater and Death Eaters did that. Death Eaters are a threat to you. I'm not even sure how I feel about my own father right now. I can't blame them for wanting to get you away from all that, but I also can't lose you."
"So what do we do?"
"If I've learned anything, as a Malfoy, it's that money gives you options. So, I was thinking it would be a good idea to move some into the muggle world. If the war escalates it will be easier to access that way. And if I do it slowly enough it won't raise any red flags. Would you help me with that? I don't know anything about muggle banks."
"Don't you need your parents permission to withdraw money?"
"No, I won't have access to the greater Malfoy fortune and certain portions of my inheritance until I come of age. But what's in my name already is mine alone. I've just always asked for permission before." He pursed his lips. "Out of respect," he clarified, his expression was hard but his eyes were troubled.
"Oh," she said quietly as the weight of what Draco was willing to do sunk in. "Yes, I can help. Maybe we can even invest some of it, let it grow on its own so you don't have to take out so much."
"Whatever you think." She thought there might have been some relief in his tone.
"And it would probably be good to establish your presence in the muggle world. If we need to-" she hesitated, "avoid or get away from the magical world it will be easier to do that way. We should look into getting you some muggle identification. We might have to fake it with magic, but I'm sure we can figure it out." She paused again. "Draco, are we planning to run away from home?" She asked it in a harsh and disbelieving whisper, surprised at her own willingness to go along with such a plan.
"We're giving ourselves options," he reiterated firmly. "I guess that's a possibility, but I'd only want to do it under the most dire of circumstances. I just want us to be free to make our own choices. And most important is this." He sat up and extended his pinky in her direction and she eyed it curiously and then looked up at him. His lips curled into that little grin that he reserved just for her.
"I thought we could make another one of your pinky promises."
Her expression shifted to one of disbelief. He'd been so dubious the first time she'd suggested that, almost exactly a year ago. Then again, many things had changed since then, hadn't they?
"The first one worked out pretty well didn't it?" He wiggled his pinky a bit in invitation, his confident expression never faltered. She met his eyes again, they were dark and intense and they held just a tiny bit of insecurity, and it was all she could do to stop herself from surging forward into his arms.
"Yeah," she said, and she didn't even care that it came out all breathless and dreamy and that Draco- who could read her like a book- would know exactly what that meant. As much as he had meant to her on the day they made that first pinky promise, as thrilled as she'd been that he wanted to try and be more than friends, it somehow paled in comparison to what she felt for him now. She could no longer imagine living without him by her side. And after the events of the past twenty four hours especially, he deserved to understand how much she adored him. She reached out and curled her pinky around his.
"We promise, no matter what else, that we put each other first. From now on. Always."
She held as gaze as she repeated, without hesitation: "Each other first, always."
They each leaned forward and kissed their respective hands to seal the promise, and then she tugged their jointed appendages down and out of the way. But she didn't kiss him, just pressed her forehead against his and raised her free hand to cup his face. Silently, he copied her actions.
She felt only a tiny twinge of conscience at the promise they'd just made, that she'd agreed to put him above even her own parents. But she knew that they were really just giving voice to something that had been true for awhile now. And wasn't that the way of the world anyway? She just expected to be older before she committed herself to another so completely. But Draco deserved to be her first priority. She would protect him from anything, whether they were wearing a Death Eater mask, or a set of Narcissa Malfoy's fine robes.
Author's Note: Y'all, THIS CHAPTER. It just did not want to be written. I knew exactly what I wanted to include so I wouldn't even call it writer's block, the words just wouldn't come out in a cogent manner. Between that and the fact that fourth year is a logistical nightmare and I've been getting all my ducks in a row, I know that it's been awhile since I updated. I'm not going to apologize for it both because this is a hobby and because I'm not willing to post anything that I'm unhappy with just for the sake of updating. But I did want to let you know what was going on. I am not losing interest in this story and have no plans to stop writing it, I work on it in some form daily.
So much love to Weestarmeggie (as always) she doesn't just beta read, she brainstorms with me for hours and is unendingly patient with my whining. If you haven't already I highly recommend you go check out her stuff! As always thanks for reading and leaving me your thoughts! You guys are great!