hokay, i was hit by some inspiration and felt like writing this. enjoy!

and yes, i am having fun with these chapter titles.

Chapter 5--Ode to Chinese Food

The next morning, Ginny and Draco walked into the small coffee shop that was two streets over from their apartment building. Ginny laughed when Draco opened the door for her with a flourish and said, "After you, m'lady."

They found a table in the back corner, and Draco went up to the counter to order their drinks. When he came back with his cappuccino and Ginny's spiced chai, she frowned. "Draco?" she asked.

If he was surprised at her use of his given name, he didn't show it. "Yes?" he responded as he sat down.

"Where's my scone?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "What?"

"My scone, Draco, my scone! How do you expect me to drink this," she gestured towards her cup, "without a bloody scone?!"

People were looking over at the commotion Ginny was making and Draco hastily hushed her up. "Honestly, Weasley. I asked you out for coffee, not scones."

Ginny smiled innocently. "Oh, I know, I was just kidding around." She stared at him for a second before saying, "And yes, you did, technically, ask me out, so why can't you at least call me something other than 'Weasley'? I'm starting to feel like Ron," she shuddered.

Draco chuckled. "At least you don't look too much like him. Then we would have a problem."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Is that a compliment?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, I'm secretly attracted to your oaf of a brother," he said sarcastically.

"Hey, that's not right." At his questioning glance, she said, "He's more of an ogre," before laughing at her own joke.

Draco laughed. "Can't disagree with that." He took a sip of his cappuccino. "So, what happened with Darien yesterday?"

Ginny sighed. "Well, you know how Luna was watching him yesterday." Draco started to snicker, so she smacked him on the arm, playfully. "Anyways, they were watching Superman, you know that Muggle movie about the guy who can fly? So, Darien decides that he wants to try flying and proceeded to dive off the coffee table and into the fireplace. Head first, of course." Ginny shook her head and looked at Draco.

Currently, Draco was trying very hard to maintain a straight face. "That's just unfortunate, now isn't it?" he said with a strained voice.

Ginny huffed in annoyance. "Fine, just laugh it up, why don't you." After he got it out of his system, she said, "And since you laughed at that, you have to go buy me a scone. Now," she glared at him.

Draco rolled his eyes but got up and made his way towards the front counter, once again. When he came back, Ginny saw that her scone was half-eaten. She gave Draco a 'you-better-explain-this-now-or-there-will-be-pain-in-your-immediate-future' look and he laughed. "You never said that we couldn't just share the scone. I decided that a scone sounded good, so I had a bite. Or two."

"Or five," Ginny snapped, jokingly.

"Well, hey, it's probably the best I've eaten all week. You should be happy for me."

"And why should I be happy that you've decided to take it upon yourself to mutilate my scone?" Ginny crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. She looks very Slytherin right now, Draco thought to himself.

"Let's just say that Hong Kong's Chinese is number one on my speed dial. I have about twenty containers of their food in my fridge."

"What?!" Ginny exclaimed. "You've been living off of dog food for Merlin knows how long?!"

"Keep it down, Ginny, jeez!" His eyes widened slightly as he realized that he had subconsciously said her name, and he looked up to see her with a semi-smug look on her face. "Anyway, yes I have been living off of Chinese food for the past week, or so. I can't cook, I don't have a woman to cook for me, and Chinese food is just so good." He had started to get this dreamy look on his face.

Ginny looked disgusted. "Of all the take out places there are in London, you have to go to the most disgusting one. And that stuff is very unhealthy. It's all full of sodium and," she shuddered.

"No, no, no. It's wonderful. I love the smell of new chopsticks as they pick up the sticky white rice, each grain bonded to the other. And the little cherries and pineapple pieces they put it in the sweet and sour chicken, it's like candy. And the lo mein with the tender noodles and little pink pieces of pork, that just brighten up the earthy toned ensemble of noodle and vegetable. And the--"

Ginny cut him off. "Okay, we can continue with 'Ode to Chinese Food,' or we can talk about something else."

Draco sighed, looking slightly put out. "Like what?"

"Like how you're coming to my place tonight and I'm going to cook you a real meal," she smiled at him. "But that was actually quite poetic. I think I might write it down," she laughed.

Draco scowled. "Oh, shut it, will you?" Then he brightened a bit. "And I'll take you up on your offer. But I have one question: Can you cook?"

Ginny looked scandalized. "Hello? Weasley!" she said, gesturing to herself.

"Meaning?"

Ginny sighed in exasperation. "Meaning that the two things that Weasleys are best at are cooking and eating."

Draco looked surprised. "Really? I thought they were overpopulating the wizarding world and being poor," he meant to say playfully, but it must have come out wrong, because Ginny lashed out at him.

"Oh, and I bet the two things the Malfoys are best at are killing innocent people and being absolute arseholes," she snarled.

Draco was about to fire up again when he decided to take a deep breath. "Okay, we can keep throwing insults at each other here, or be the mature adults that we are and talk about something...intelligent."

Ginny snorted. "Oh please, you're just saying that so I'll still make you dinner." She then looked a bit uncomfortable. "Sorry about what I said, heat of the moment, you know?"

Draco waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. And my apologies as well. I really meant to joke around, but I guess I went over the line."

Ginny smiled at him. "Wow. Draco Malfoy just apologized for making fun of the Weasleys."

Draco grinned. "Well, I guess I've revoked my old ways a bit." They heard the bell chime over the door, signaling that someone was walking in, and both subconsciously turned to see who walked in. "Oh, Merlin..." Draco groaned. He tried to hide himself, but his efforts were futile, because Blaise Zabini strolled over to their table and sat down.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully.

"Honestly, Zabini, don't you have anything better to do?" Draco said wearily.

"Well, good morning to you, too!" He heard a giggle and looked at Ginny, whose eyes were sparkling with mirth. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Ginny Weasley." She continued to look at him curiously, so he held out a hand. "Blaise, Blaise Zabini. Or I guess you would say 'Zebra-beanie,'" he said, chuckling.

Ginny then glared at Draco. "You told him that?"

Draco smirked. "What? I figured he had a right to know." He turned to Blaise. "So, what are you doing here?"

"You see, I was walking by this quaint little coffee shop, when something was reflecting the lamp light in here, and it temporarily blinded me. I thought it was somebody playing with a spoon in the light or something, when I realized it was your head. That thing is bright!"

Ginny laughed outright, earning a smirk from Blaise and a glare from Draco. "You seriously thought that was funny?" he asked her.

She tried to suppress her laughter, but to no avail. "That," she gasped, pointing to Blaise, "was funny!"

Draco self-consciously ran a hand through his hair and glared at the two of them. "Well, if you two are going to start ganging up on me, I might as well leave." He started to get out of his chair when they both protested.

"Draco, don't leave, it wasn't all that funny, really. I just felt bad for him because of his lame joke, and thought that I should laugh," Ginny said, smiling innocently.

Blaise was about to tell Draco the same, when he looked at Ginny, incredulous. "Really, woman. That was low," he said in mock hurt. Then he sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll leave, and pick up the pieces of my shattered ego which are currently strewn across the floor, here." He looked at Ginny, feigning hurt, with a hand over his heart. "You cut me deep."

Ginny smiled at him. "Well, if it's any consolation, I think you're bloody handsome," she said truthfully, as she took in his chocolate skin and high cheekbones.

She ignored Draco's look of incredulity when Blaise instantly brightened and grabbed Ginny's hand, before pressing it to his lips. "Why, thank you, madame. It is most unfortunate that we part now, but I swear by the moon that we will see each other again."

"Oh, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon!" she continued dramatically.

Draco stood up. "Okay, okay, enough! Honestly, the two of you seriously make me suicidal."

Blaise and Ginny laughed once more before Blaise bade them farewell.

"I like him," Ginny told Draco after Blaise had left. "He's funny."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I suppose he has that effect on people. Bloody twit," he muttered. They made their way to the exit.

Ginny tried to brighten his mood. "But, you see, I'm not making him a homemade meal, now am I?"

Draco grinned despite himself. "So, what time should I be at your flat later?" He paused. "Wait, I don't even know which flat is yours."

"Well, my flat is #9B. And does around seven sound good?"

He nodded. "Yeah, sounds great. Is Darien going to be there?"

"Yeah, why?"

He shrugged. "I was just wondering. Aren't you working today?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm taking time off for Darien's injury. Although I'm really just having coffee dates with a bunch of Slytherins," she smirked. Ginny looked at her watch. "Oh, he's going to be up in about ten minutes, I should get back."

"I'll walk you," Draco said, before he could stop himself. "Well, I'm not working today either, and I guess I should get back as well.

"Thanks, that would be nice," she responded.

They walked in silence to the apartment building, stopping only when they reached Draco's flat on the third floor. "So, I'll see you tonight at seven," she said.

"Okay, see you then," he responded before kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Bye."

"Bye," she smiled, and continued on her way all the way up to the ninth floor.

!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!

Just as Ginny was taking the Chicken Parmesan out of the oven, somebody knocked on the door. She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that it was already 7:05. Grinning, she opened the door and said, "You, Mr. Malfoy, are late."

Draco looked at his watch and cursed. "Damn, five minutes. I knew I shouldn't have bought you those flowers," he said, holding out a small bouquet of morning glories, her favorite.

Ginny looked perplexed. "How on earth did you know that was my favorite flower?"

He shrugged. "I guessed."

"Creep," she mumbled, then brightened. "Well, come on in, I just took the chicken out of the oven."

She took her apron off and hung it on a hook in the small kitchen of her flat. Draco took in her appearance as she bustled about, setting the table and such. She was wearing black slacks and an emerald green sweater. His gaze traveled to her feet and saw that she had on bright pink fluffy slippers. She was also wearing light make up and her hair fell naturally. "You look nice," he told her.

Ginny looked up at him and returned the compliment. He was dressed casually in jeans and a light blue button down shirt, and his hair was amazing, as usual.

"I especially like your slippers," he said, smirking.

Ginny laughed. "Damn, I forgot I was wearing them." She briefly contemplated changing her shoes to something more formal, but declined. "Ah, screw it. I'm wearing my slippers!"

"You do that," Draco said, clearly amused.

Ginny then noticed the brown paper bag he was holding in his hand. "What's in there?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Oh," Draco had obviously forgotten that he was holding anything. "Well, I picked up a bottle of wine. Do you drink wine?"

Ginny nodded. "On occasion. Not much of a drinker."

"Ah, neither am I, but I thought it would be nice, I guess." He reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of 2004 Da Vinci Chianti. He had never had it before, but Blaise swore by it. "Where's Darien? I picked up a little something for him, too."

Ginny looked surprised, then recovered. "Oh, he's in his room, reading."

"Reading?" Draco asked disbelievingly.

She laughed. "Yes, reading. I don't know, he's almost three and he can already read. There's something extraordinary about that child, I'm telling you. So, what did you get him?"

"A book, funnily enough. It's a little picture pop-up book about Hogwarts. I thought he might enjoy it."

Ginny's eyes sparkled. "Yes, he'll love that. Hold on, I'll bring him out here." She went down the hall and turned to a door on the right. Opening it, she asked Darien if he could come out and greet Draco.

Darien came out of his room and practically ran towards Draco. "Hello," he said, gazing up at him.

Draco squatted down to his level. "Hello there yourself." He grabbed the book. "Look, bud, I got you a little present. It's about Hogwarts, a magical place where you'll go someday to learn all about magic!"

Darien's eyes lit up and he took the proffered book. "Thank you Mr. Draco!"

"You can just call me 'Draco', bud."

Ginny watched the scene between Draco and Darien with amusement and admiration. She loved the way Draco described the book, as if he was a master in all things paternal. And Darien seemed really taken with him. She also liked how Draco already gave him a little nickname; 'bud.' It wasn't the most original, but it was still endearing all the same.

"Now listen, Darien. I heard what you did yesterday. You can't go off scaring your mother like that. Understand?" Draco said seriously. Ginny was shocked at how much of a father he was acting like.

Darien nodded. "Yes, yes I know. I think that Superman was stupid, anyway. I mean, he was a Muggle and an Alien!" At that, Ginny laughed while Draco looked bemused.

"This is what we were talking about yesterday," she filled in. "I explained how Superman was from another planet, so that's why he was a Muggle who could fly. Darien said he was an Alien." She turned her attention to her son. "Okay, Darien let's get you washed up for dinner."

An hour later, two very stuffed adults and one sleeping toddler were sitting on the couch the small living area of Ginny's flat. "Ginny, that was probably the best Chicken Parmesan I've had in my life," Draco told her for the fifth time.

Ginny giggled. "Weasley," she said, as if it explained everything. She looked down at Darien who was curled up next to Draco on the couch, sleeping, and her heart melted. It was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. Looking at her watch, she noticed that it was 8:30 and Darien should be in his bed. "Draco," she whispered.

"Hm?"

"Can you help me get Darien to bed? Just pick him up, he's not heavy." Draco frowned at her. "Oh, for heaven's sake. He's obviously comfortable where he is, and if you leave his side he'll wake up, unless he's in his bed with his teddy. C'mon, just pick him up."

"Fine," he said. He put his right arm around Darien's back and brought the left around under Darien's knees. The toddler automatically adjusted to the new position, snuggling right up against Draco.

"Aw," Ginny said. "Okay, he's the first door on the right, yep, right here." She opened the door and led Draco over to where Darien's bed was. "Careful, now, he needs to be next to his teddy."

Draco carefully placed him on the bed and quickly put the teddy in his place. Darien automatically embraced the stuffed bear and continued with his slumber. Ginny tucked the boy in and kissed his forehead goodnight. After turning on his nightlight, she closed the door behind her.

"You know, Draco, you'd make a great father some day," she told him honestly.

Draco grimaced slightly, but he couldn't deny it. He was drawn to Darien and he knew the feelings were reciprocated. Him and Ginny retreated to the living room where they sat down on the sofa with their glasses of wine.

"Did I ever tell you why Harry and I divorced?" Ginny asked him.

Draco shook his head, slightly uncomfortable. "No."

"Do you care if I tell the story or not? I just haven't had anybody to talk to about it and it would really help to get off my chest," she told him truthfully.

"Wait, you've been divorced for over three years and you haven't talked about it with anyone?" She shook her head sadly. "Ginny that's just not healthy!"

"I know, I know. It's just, I couldn't talk about it with Ron, because it was his best friend, same with Hermione. My mom didn't want to believe that we were getting divorced, so she's pretty much shunned me. And it's not something that my other brothers would take lightly. And, I don't know, I guess I would just like to talk about it now because I can trust you," she shrugged.

"How do you know you can trust me?" he asked her.

She smiled weakly. "The way you are with Darien. That's reason enough for me." She sighed, then began to tell Draco about how Harry was incapable of producing children, how it had devastated them both and her family, and the brutal divorce that followed. She had half-expected for Draco to poke fun at Harry's disability, but she was very proud when he didn't.

At the end of her story she was almost in tears; she didn't know if it was because of the wine or if she was really that emotional at the moment. She sniffled a bit, but she didn't cry. Draco still hadn't spoken a word.

Finally, he broke the silence. "I always knew Potter was too proud and arrogant for his own good."

Ginny snorted. "Oh, look it's the pot calling the kettle black."

Draco sighed. "Yeah, well at least I grew out of it. And, if I had a wonderful woman in my life, I wouldn't let her go because of a little obstacle like that." After he realized what he said, he averted his gaze and determinedly counted the bricks on the fireplace.

"You mean that?" Ginny's voice was faint. "That I'm a wonderful person?"

Draco nodded and looked at her, before drawing her into a hug. He didn't know how long he held her, but she eventually drew back and told him that it was late.

Draco looked at his watch. "You're right." He sighed dramatically. "And I have such a long walk home, too."

Ginny smiled. "Well I'm sure you could get a cab or something so you won't have to walk all that way." She got up and escorted him to the door. As she was opening it, she told him, "We should do this again, sometime."

"Yeah," he nodded.

"On one condition: No Chinese."

He laughed before kissing her on the cheek again. "Good night, Ginny."

"'Night, Draco."

And with that, Ginny closed the door behind her, grinning to herself.

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A/N: wow i really don't know where i come up with this stuff.

so this is a pretty long chapter. weird.

also, the ode to chinese was written on the spot, i don't really write poetry about chinese food. i don't exactly like it all that much.

reviews are appreciated :D