A/N: Guys! There is so much fluff and sweetness in this chapter! The idea that this ENTIRE story came from is in this chapter! See if you can spot where my brain went...

I do not own Harry Potter or any of JKR's amazing characters. (Dramione forever!)

For anyone concerned - there will be a bit of PG rated steaminess. I really like reading sweet love stories without the smut - this story will contain no smut. FYI Enjoy!

"Granger, wait!"

"No, Draco. I'm so sorry to come here like this. I shouldn't have…"

"Stop. Granger, please." He was behind her now, both of them facing the door, with one hand gripping her elbow and the other palm on the door, pushing it closed.

She closed her eyes for a moment, just appreciating the nearness of him and the pleading sweetness of his voice before turning to face him.

His eyes were boring into hers, searching for something as he asked her softly, "Do you or do you not want me to stop calling you darling?" Draco had to fight the tug on the corner of his lips because somewhere, deep down, he thought - he hoped - he already knew the answer.

Not trusting her voice, Hermione could only look at him, biting her lower lip, and shaking her head in reply.

He smiled and held her hand in his. "Come on. I'll make us some tea. I have something I need to tell you…"

Releasing the door knob, she allowed herself to be led by Draco into the kitchen. Once depositing her on a tall stool at the island, he began opening cupboards and filling up the kettle, talking over his shoulder as he moved about the room.

"Do you remember, about three years ago, shortly after we started working together, there was that wretched project manager...oh, what was his name…" He snapped his fingers as he thought, looking up as if the name would come to him from the ceiling.

"Malfoy, I don't…" Hermione didn't see why a long-since-gone terrible coworker was of any importance.

"Simmons!" Draco all but shouted, pointing at her excitedly before placing the kettle on the stove. Hermione smiled at him and shook her head, he was making tea the muggle way.

"Do you remember how much grief he gave you for working with me?" He was smiling genuinely now as he brought out mugs and tea bags and an open box of biscuits and set them on the counter before her. "He was always making those snide comments about me and that one day you snapped at him - I thought the bloke was done for! - what was is that you said to him?"

"Malfoy, I honestly don't know what this has to do with…"

He cut her off. "It has everything to do with what we're talking about. I promise. Do you remember what you told him?" He paused in his tea preparations leaning on the counter to look at her and wait for an answer.

"Y-yes...I told him I trusted you. Because I knew all of your garbage."

"Yes!" He chuckled. "Only you called it...something about skeletons and cupboards or some such nonsense…."

Hermione laughed. She loved it when Draco mixed up muggle phrases. "It's closet, you dolt. I knew you didn't have any skeletons in the closet."

Ordinarily Draco does not enjoy being laughed at, but in this case he would definitely make an exception - he would do damn near anything to make her smile.

" I meant that you didn't have any secrets from me - I was there for all of it…" her voice trailed off. She was there for so much of the darkness that had consumed his past. He had apologised so long ago for all of it that it sometimes felt as if it had been someone else, in another lifetime - that old Malfoy who had tormented her was long gone. She blushed and shook her head at the memory of that conversation and how their friendship had blossomed from there.

"Precisely." He smiled at her warmly before walking slowly toward her. "But I have to confess something, Granger: I have one secret I haven't told you."

Hermione sat in silence with wide eyes, bracing herself for what it could be that he had been hiding from her. He approached her cautiously, standing right in front of her, grasping her upper arms gently before gently unwinding her tightly-crossed arms. "And I'm afraid it's a rather big one." At those words, she raised her eyes to his face, but his eyes were on the hand he now held in both of his own.

"Do you see this?" he looked in her eyes now, but she wrinkled her brow in confusion. Holding her hand in one of his own, he used his other to open her palm and bring it to his cheek. Hermione sat, holding her breath, watching it happen as if it weren't her own hand resting on that handsome face. She felt the faint stubble on his jaw with her fingers just before he turned and pressed a warm kiss to the center of her palm. He brought her hand back between them again and pointed to it as if they were supposed to now see something there. "Do you see?" he began again before closing her fist over where his kiss had just landed. "This is me. Right here. In this hand." He spoke softly, looking her intently in the eyes again, allowing his words to sink in. "My heart has been residing in that hand for three years now. The day you told me that you trusted me, I… I lost all will and ability to walk away from you." His cheeks now flushed with emotion.

Hermione's eyes grew wide with hot tears threatening to fall any moment. She instinctively brought her closed fist toward her own heart and rested it there, as if fearing it may float away.

"Hermione, I want to be as much or as little to you as you will allow me to be. I've been afraid to say anything because I didn't want to mess things up between us." He paused, looking at the floor between them with uncertainty before raising his eyes again to search her face. "But believe me when I tell you... When I call you all those sweet, silly names...It may sound like I'm joking, but I mean it. I do. Every. Single. Time." He smiled as he reached up to tuck a rogue curl behind her ear and allowed his fingers to graze her cheek, causing a fierce blush to rise to her face.

Hermione was in complete and utter shock. She sat, mouth agape, looking at him as he watched her. His eyes were so unsure. He really had no idea how much she had wanted, needed something to fall into place between them. She never thought that he felt this way about her.

"I never knew…" Her words came out as a whisper. "Why didn't you... say anything?"

"You're too good for me." He smiled as she rolled her eyes and shook her head at him in protest. "Truly! You're brilliant - obviously - and good and fiercely loyal and kind and terribly stubborn and so, so pretty" he sighed and gazed at her before continuing " ….though you are a sodding mess when you're drunk."

Hermione laughed right out loud and Draco's heart warmed at the sound of it. They stood staring at each other as their smiles faded into sober admiration on both sides. After a moment, she finally ventured to ask the question that seemed to be hanging between them, "So...what does this mean? I mean, for us?"

Draco knew exactly how he felt and what he wanted, but he had confessed so much to her and still was not entirely sure how she felt about him. "You know how I feel, Hermione. I guess the question is really 'What do you want this to mean?' "

He waited, holding his breath, for her reply. She could only look at him and smile as the fierce blush seemed to come straight up her chest to her cheeks. She knew she cared about Draco - a lot - hadn't that been her 'plan' earlier when she talked with Ginny? To tell him exactly how she felt?

"Just...wow." Her addled brain could not currently handle vocabulary. "I really really like you. Like, a lot." Way to use that brain of yours, nitwit. She blushed at her ridiculous lack of ability to form a coherent sentence, but Draco was smiling sweetly at her now and holding both of her hands in his own, so all she could do was smile back.

"You know, that had been my grand plan in coming here tonight - to tell you that my feelings for you were more than platonic." She smiled at her own admission before shaking her head, "I was so afraid you didn't feel the same...it was easier for me to be mad at you."

He smiled warmly, "Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up." He looked down at their joined hands before glancing up again. "May I kiss you now?"

"I'd like that." Her response was an embarrassingly breathy whisper - she had hoped that he would, but for him to ask so politely was incredibly sweet.

He leaned in slowly, still holding her hands in his, and from her position on the stool, she only had to tilt her chin up the tiniest bit to brush his lips with hers. As far as first kisses go, it was soft and sweet and wonderfully intimate. She couldn't help but be amazed at the softness of his lips - he tasted of tea and minty toothpaste - and she couldn't help but want more.

Releasing his hands, she brought both of her hands to his chest, appreciating the softness of his shirt, the firmness of his body beneath it, and the thrumming of his heart she could feel with her fingertips.

Encouraged by her movement, Draco stepped closer and deepened their kiss, wrapping his arms around her fully and couldn't help but groan at the way she opened her mouth the slightest bit to capture his lower lip between hers. It was exhilarating and everything he ever hoped that kissing her would be.

When they separated briefly for air, he held her face with both of his hands before placing one chaste kiss on her lips before speaking. "I don't know if you've noticed, Granger, but I'm a bit taken with you."

She giggled (Draco decided that was one of the best sounds in the entire universe). "That's good - I'm quite taken with you as well, Malfoy."

More to come! I'll have one more chapter to finish this story... Draco saying that his heart was in her hand was something that came to me and I thought it was so sweet (and pretty cheesy, I know) but I had to let it play out. Another favorite of mine is Draco doing anything the muggle way and messing up the muggle phrase "skeletons in the closet" (which I believe came from Shakespeare...am I wrong?) Thanks for your comments!