Ugh my naming convention has confused me, hopefully this is the right story? If it isnt somebody please let me know? I tried to figure it out but succeeded in confusing myself more. :( oh and again, I hope it makes sense, let me know if it doesnt.
Ron began spending more and more time with Hermione and Fleur, he was mostly there for Hermione, as they had a wedding to plan, however, Hermione seemed to have developed other ideas, and whenever they were unable to agree on an item or idea, Fleur was pulled in as the 'tie-breaker' though, with a look from Hermione, she would agree with her.
This had worked pretty well at first, but eventually Ron got tired of it, questioning, "Why do you always have to side with her? Is that some unwritten rule?"
Fleur froze for a moment while Hermione continued to innocently peruse a section on table runners. "No, just your ideas are all rubbish. If you had a good one, I might agree with you," Fleur quickly lied, hoping it didn't start a fight.
She just hoped 9 PM would come fast enough when he would of course, take his leave after a not so subtle hint from Hermione about the late hour and having work in the morning, a ritual that had fast become a habit. As soon as he was out the door, Hermione would once again become hers, as though he never existed. Their shared secret, a dangerous game to be playing where in the end, there would be a loser, and Fleur didn't want to think who it would be (her, always her, she had already lost).
"You know, I'm starting to think, it might as well be you two gettin' married for all the good you've listened to me," Ron joked as he removed the stack of papers from his lap and stood from the couch. Fleur refused to meet Hermione's gaze after that, feeling as though their secret was on display for the world. When Ron returned from his brief journey to the kitchen, a can of beer in his hand, Hermione looked over at Fleur, "Would you get me a glass of water?" she asked, her tone not giving any room for negotiation.
Fleur nodded, standing from her chair and dutifully fetched a glass of ice water for her love, ignoring Ron's questioning look. Hermione had been getting bolder in her actions, or was it careless? As Ron had spent more and more time with them, she'd noticed he'd began to pick up on the increasing frequency of these 'requests' as Fleur had become less like a friend and more like a live-in maid for Hermione.
Hermione, she'd observed, seemed to enjoy having that power over Fleur, and though neither witch had commented on Fleur's willingness to obey, she was sure that the younger woman had figured out her weakness. Though, she was at least subconsciously grateful that Hermione was at least still treating her like a person in front of others, something that wasn't always the case.
Fleur took her time in the kitchen, her thoughts filling her mind as she heard a hushed discussion from the other room. She returned to the other room upon hearing the door slam shut and saw Ron had left early for the night. She took her place as she had been instructed to, kneeling at Hermione's feet whenever they were alone.
Secretly, she enjoyed it, being controlled like she was, her actions and her thoughts could fade away, she had been raised to always be in control, always be poised, proper, never to show any insecurity, but here, alone with Hermione, she had no control, no authority.
She laid her head in the brunette's lap, and Hermione began to absentmindedly run her fingers through the long silvery-blonde locks, neither willing to break the comfortable silence that had fallen over them.
Fleur closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and comfort that she felt around her mate. Hermione finally began to speak, and Fleur would take whatever she was offered, "He's noticed you do whatever I tell you."
Fleur's heart skipped a beat, "Here it comes, the point where I finally have to vocalize it," she thought. She sat up straight, eyes searching, never breaking her gaze from Hermione.
More silence, followed by a quiet "Why?" Hermione gently cupping her cheek, tenderly, so unlike many of their more recent interactions.
"I do not 'ave a choice," she murmured, her voice breaking as she spoke, heart clenching in her chest, witnessing the hurt that appeared on Hermione's face.
"But you..." a look of realization flashed across Hermione's face, "It's because we..." she trailed off and Fleur just nodded, refusing to meet her eyes.
"Have I," she paused, her voice cracking, "made you do anything you didn't want?" The last part was barely audible, a gasp of air so unlike the usual force behind her. Fleur could feel her heart breaking for the other witch, could feel all the pain that she felt and wished to spare it, hoping that it wouldn't hurt her more in the future, she shook her head no. "Never," she whispered as she wiped the slowly forming tears of the brunette away. She couldn't cause her any more pain, not like that.
The rest of the night was spent in each others' arms, gently worshiping the other, tenderly, as though come morning they would never see each other again. And Fleur, she felt truly loved for the first time in her life, that despite all their issues, all the challenges they had faced, things would get better. And at least for that night, Fleur did not regret her decision, the promise of a new day shining in her mate's eyes.
Too bad those promises wouldn't be remembered when the sun rose the next day. That morning quickly differentiated itself from the rest as Ron wasn't there to wake them up, a habit that had accidentally developed ever since the first night they'd been together. Fleur wondered if it was a result of their disagreement from the previous night, still unsure as to what exactly had passed.
She was also unsure as to whether or not she really wanted to know the truth when she found herself sitting at the kitchen table, Hermione in her lap, leaning up against her, leaving a light trail of kisses down her neck. They'd barely managed to escape the bedroom that morning and Fleur knew she was going to be late for work, but there was no way she was leaving without at least one cup of coffee. So, while the coffee was brewing (did it really have to take so long?) Hermione had occupied herself with trying to convince Fleur to return to bed with her.
She had never envied Hermione's job more in her life. The younger witch was self employed, running a mail-order potions supply from her private lab. She could work (or not) whenever she wanted. Fleur, meanwhile, had a job she had to get to, which as Hermione's hands ran further over her body, she was starting to think she could do without.
Hermione had, for her part, been much more aware of how easily her sentences could be taken as commands and done her best to refrain from commanding Fleur to do anything that morning, though her restraint was waning as the blonde continued to try and resist her. She kissed her once more before growling "You should leave now before I refuse to let you go."
The blonde pulled her closer, squeezing their bodies together, kissing her deeply before she was able to remember herself and pulled away from Hermione, "I'll be home as soon as I can and we can finish this then." She disappeared with a slight pop, leaving a disheveled Hermione standing in the kitchen, her coffee forgotten.
She walked into work that morning with more of a pep in her step than she had in a long time, and Bill ever the nosy friend that he was, sidled up to her. "I take it something went well?"
Fleur could only smile in his direction.
"I only ask seeing as how Ron stopped by last night to ask about you. He'd noticed how you're doing everything Hermione asks, and she'd refused to tell him anything. He's concerned about you, you know. But if everything is good, then there's no worries right? You can tell me if something does go wrong though, I'm here for you."
"Everything is great Bill. I appreciate the sentiment but we talked last night, and I think now that she knows, things will go better, I don't think she meant to force me to do anything."
His eyes narrowed at that last part, his voice dropping "So she did force you to do things?"
Fleur paled, "No, no nothing like that, I swear, I just hadn't told her that as my mate she could control me. But it was only ever small things, like getting her a drink or stuff. I would have done it anyways."
Bill looked at her intently, searching her face for any hint of a lie, but after a briefly uncomfortable second, he looked away, content that she had given him the truth, "Anyways, we've got a meeting to get to, new curse to break or something." He shrugged and walked off, Fleur trailing behind him.