A/N: Terribly sorry about the length of time between updates. I know, I know it's too long but real life is hitting me like a tonne of bricks.
Concentrating on what Hermione was actually saying was proving a difficult task for Draco. He sat across from her at their usual table in front of the coffee stand in the Ministry atrium, watching her open her third sugar stick to put in her coffee, and could only concentrate on the movement of her lips, not what was coming out of them. He noticed her look up from her drink and stop talking and realised she must have asked him a question. "Yes," he answered, sure that it would suffice.
"Right, then I'll expect the money in my bank by tomorrow."
"Wait, what?" Draco asked in confusion and furrowed his brows, not caring that he'd blown his cover of pretending he was listening to her.
Hermione rolled her eyes and scoffed a laugh. "You just agreed to give me all of the galleons in your bank. You know, Malfoy, I thought you were intelligent enough to listen to what I was staying, not just stare at me like a mindless baboon."
Draco chuckled. He should have known she would have seen right through him the moment his eyes drifted to her mouth. When in private over the last week, if his eyes made that journey down to the curve of her lips, it always ended up in a thorough snogging session, leaving her in a flushed state and babbling on about nonsense afterwards to distract herself while he sat back with a rather satisfied smile on his face. "You should take it as a compliment, Granger," he drawled.
"I'd rather capture your attention with what I'm actually saying," she joked but blushed nonetheless as she caught onto his meaning. Since he visited her home the previous week and the two had officially commenced their relationship, they had started to meet up much more regularly, always having coffee breaks together every day and he had visited her home every second day. Hermione still stayed adamant in taking it slow for their physical relationship, and since that one night last week, she'd kept her clothes firmly on (but was rather adept at unbuttoning his work shirts at lightening speed when she got very involved in kissing him — he would not complain). It had continued to surprise him just how alright he was with not having sex. His previous relationships had sex involved from the get go and he began to realise maybe that's why they had never worked out like he thought they would have, but that was purely him.
"I like to think of relationships as a pyramid," Hermione started to explain to him after he asked curiously why she wanted to go slow and, thankfully, she hadn't taken it as pressure from him which is not what he'd been implying in the first place. "At the bottom is getting to know each other, the very basis. It's what keeps the pyramid strong," she told him. He stared at her face and the corner of his lip curled up slightly as he noticed her cheeks were more red than usual, most likely due to the few glasses of wine that she'd been drinking while he had beer. "The base of a pyramid is the most important part since it forms the whole structure of everything. Getting to know each other when you start a relationship should be the founding blocks of it all. Well, for me it is," she said.
"I never thought of it that way," Draco said.
"Mm," she hummed. "To me, the bottom is most important, and learning what makes up the other person seems crucial to me if I'm going to be in a relationship with them. And as the pyramid grows thinner at the top, the very pinnacle, to me, is the physical aspect." He noticed that her flush turned deeper and she gave him an embarrassed smile.
"The sex," he stated and she laughed with a nod.
"Yes, the sex. And I think if any relationship I'm in starts off with sex, it just flips the whole pyramid upside down," she said and made a triangle shape with her thumbs and forefingers and flipped it so the tip of her fingers pointed downwards. "And an upside down pyramid is an unstable pyramid," she said and untangled her fingers and looked up at him. "And I don't really want our relationship to be more unstable than it has the potential to be." She looked up at him with that statement and he smiled and agreed. Their fiery personalities still clashed and even though they now were in a relationship didn't change the fact that they got into petty fights every now and then — and he still made a face when watching her make herself a coffee which always made her scoff and argue with him.
"I like your thinking, Granger," Draco said. "Though I never thought of it that way myself and I've never put that into practice, I do think that it's a good idea."
"I know it is. That's why I told you," she smiled smugly and took another sip of her wine.
"So what was it that you were saying?" Draco asked her, knowing he should pay her the proper attention now.
Hermione laughed lightly and the corner of his lips curled slightly into a smile. "I was asking you if you'd figured out your free dates for our trip to France," she told him again.
Their trip to meet with the French Minister of Education and Beauxbatons' headmistress was becoming a planned prospect for the two of them instead of a passing 'that may be a good idea' thought. "I have a list up in my office. Come with me when we're finished here."
Hermione nodded and they sat in peaceful silence for a few minutes. He looked out at the atrium, watching people rush around, some take their time, some stop and talk to each other, everyone on their own mission to get somewhere or do something. He turned back to her when she spoke, "People are getting suspicious about us."
He raised his eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee. "It was bound to happen, was it not? We've been doing this," he gestured his hand between them, "For quite some time. People are quite aware that we're not from the same department." At first he'd been quite wary of what people would think of Hermione and his extra time spent together as not many people knew the project they were working on. While quite a lot of people weren't nosy and couldn't care less about who they were and why they were spending time together, he knew that there was a fair share of people who would assume many incorrect things about them and spread rumours like wildfire. He wasn't too worried about the rumours now that himself and Hermione were actually in a relationship, but beforehand, he wouldn't have wanted those whispers surrounding them.
She chewed on her bottom lip and nodded, her finger dancing around the top of her coffee cup. "But what will people think?" She asked and looked up at him.
He bit his cheek to keep from getting angry, especially in this situation, but he knew by the way she sat up slightly straighter that she'd seen the flash in his eyes. "They'll think that we're two bloody adults in a relationship, Granger. No one gives a shit about what happened over ten years ago, I'll try not to ruin your reputation."
"Malfoy, you very well know that I wasn't talking about that," Hermione defended herself with an equally hard gaze. "Work relationships aren't looked upon nicely here, and you know that," she told him. He did in fact know that, as a couple that worked in his department had recently divorced and caused quite the ruckus between themselves, their clients, and the rest of their work peers. However, he and Hermione weren't married or anywhere near close to that.
"I'm sure if this ends then we can be mature about it," Draco said.
"I know, but…" Hermione trailed off and looked down at her coffee cup. He remembered that she'd acted similarly when she'd told him about Potter asking about them back at New Year's, and he scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Granger, we're close to being thirty years old. If your good buddies can't accept that you're in an adult relationship, then perhaps you've befriended the wrong people."
Hermione looked up at him then and he could see her frustration from being caught out. "It isn't that they won't accept it, they don't rule my life as much as you like to believe."
"Oh, I don't believe that they do, Granger," Draco drawled. "If they tried to exercise any control over your life, I'm positive that Potter wouldn't have been able to have those kids." He watched as her lips curled up into a tiny smile, betraying the stubborn persona she was trying to show. "Come on, Granger. If Potter and Weasley aren't happy with your decision to date me, then what's going to happen? Hell will open up to drag you into it?" He joked. "I think you're severely overestimating what they will think if they find out," he added in a less-joking manner. "I don't know what they said to you about your previous relationships and I don't really want to know either, but don't you think they've grown up since then? And if they're really that worked up about who you want to see, then I know I'd be concerned," he chuckled.
He hadn't looked at her until then and was pleased to see that she was smiling, but still looking down at her drink. "I know it's silly to think that, Malfoy," she admitted. "You're right though."
"I could hear that more than once," he drawled and stood up from his chair. "Get your arse up, Miss-Head-of-Your-Department. You've went five minutes over your break time, your employees could be causing a riot and you'd never know."
She snorted and stood up too. "I need to get your notes from your office first."
"Ah, maybe you'll be another five minutes late then," he smirked and they began walking to the lifts.
Hermione had a blush on her cheeks and shook her head as she walked besides him. "I'm getting the notes from your office and that's it," she whispered to him.
"Mm-hm," Draco continued to smirk and the doors to one lift opened when they got close and he walked inside with her. Several other people piled in and he and Hermione stood at the lift's back wall and he casually put his arm behind her and since they were packed so closely next to each other, no one would have even known. Especially because no one was actually turning to look at them. When a few other people started chatting to each other, he leaned down, his lips close to her ear. "I haven't kissed you in quite some time, Granger," he whispered and rest his hand on the small of her back. "And I'd like to remedy that problem quite soon."
She smiled and laughed quietly and turned her head to look up at him, her nose almost bumping into his jaw. "Maybe it is a good thing you have your own office then, hm?" She whispered back and he was surprised at how — even though there was no way anyone else in the lift would have heard them — she had said it. The lift stopped at the floor below where they would get out, and a couple of people filed out, then the elevator was on its way up once more. When it slowed at their desired floor, Hermione pushed off the back wall and as she did, let her hand graze down his side and in a rather bold move he hadn't been expecting, turned her hand and gave him a soft pinch on the bottom, politely said, "Excuse me," to the people in front of them, and strode out of the lift. Thank Merlin he'd managed to gain his senses back and was only two steps behind her as he left the lift too.
He caught up to her as she stopped at the door of his office, and he opened it with a flick of his wand and followed her inside. "You'll pay for that one," he smirked and closed the door as soon as she walked in too.
It was just their luck that he had always kept a silencing charm on his room as Hermione couldn't contain her laugh when he returned the pinch on her own bottom and put his hands on her waist to pull her in and try his hardest to snog the living daylights out of her.
A/N: I know it was short but I hope it was okay! I've got a few ideas of what to include in my next chapter, unfortunately this one had me stumped for quite some time before I smashed it out. Please review, gives me all the motivation in the world :)