Everything except the plot belongs to JK Rowling. Also thank you to those who have reviewed - I really appreciate it!
Chapter 13
Time passed quickly. Before Draco knew it, there were exactly two weeks until election night.
Draco awoke feeling suffocated, and no not emotionally. He was literally being suffocated. It felt as if someone were smothering him with a very hairy pillow. It took him a few moments to get his bearings, and realize the copious amounts of hair obstructing his breathing belonged to Hermione. He cleared his airway and stared at the sleeping Granger.
It wasn't often he got to see her like this, so calm and peaceful. Daytime Granger was nothing short of a hurricane of action and anxiety. It was only asleep that she showed any semblance of calm. He smiled, and realized that in spite of his near death experience, this was the happiest he had been on a Monday morning since he could remember.
He wanted to stay in bed and snuggle a while longer, but his full bladder protested. He gave Hermione a quick peck on the forehead and headed to the loo.
About twenty minutes later, Draco sat at the breakfast bar in Hermione's kitchen, steaming cup of coffee in hand. He sipped his drink, while contemplating how they had gotten where they are. Those thoughts inevitably evolved into ones of where they went from here, particularly after the election was through.
They hadn't spoken of what exactly was going on between them since their first night together. He wasn't great with all that emotional shite, but he had to admit to himself, this was the happiest and most content he had been since he was a child. He didn't want this to end after the election. He liked fighting with Granger during the day, watching her get all worked up over any given subject. He liked making love to her, and falling asleep with her in his arms. He loved waking up to her, even if her hair did try to kill him on occasion.
If he was honest with himself, he didn't really know if Granger wanted to continue this after the election. Maybe this was just a convenient shag for her. She was awfully busy with the campaign, and it would take a lot of time and effort to go out and find someone else. Maybe this had a deadline to her, and maybe that deadline was in two fucking weeks.
That thought made his heart twinge painfully. He couldn't have that. He would have to make her his permanently. He wouldn't settle for any less. If she wanted to end things after the election, that was just too fucking bad for her. He would find a way to make her want to keep him around permanently. He had lived life without Hermione Granger before, and he most definitely did not want to go back to that.
Two weeks from election night, Hermione woke to the sounds of Draco banging around in the kitchen. He really was quite loud in the mornings.
Despite the rude awakening, Hermione couldn't help but smile. It was nice hearing him up preparing breakfast. She had really gotten used to having him around all the time.
She lay in bed for a long while, contemplating how comfortable they had become with each other. It had only been a short time, but she had really grown quite attached to him. She couldn't wait until the election was over in a few weeks so they could do normal things like other couples do.
That thought stopped her happy thoughts dead in their tracks. Two weeks. Two weeks, and the election was over. They hadn't talked about what would happen when he was no longer her campaign manager. She had started thinking of them as a couple, but what if this was just a convenient shag for him? He surely didn't have time to go out and shag bimbos while he was working so much on the campaign. Maybe she was just an easy substitute. What if he didn't want to continue on with her after the campaign? She didn't want to think about it.
Should she talk to him about it? But what if she did and he said he said they were done with the end of the campaign? Then, not only would he know she wanted more, but she would put herself out there and get rejected. That was not something she thought she could handle. But could she handle the uncertainty of not knowing?
She decided she would just take each day as it comes. Better live with a little uncertainty than put herself out there and get ripped to pieces.