Author's Note: The Madam and Otterly thank you kindly for your support for this story. We are in complete agreeance that a tattooed, firefighting, romantic Malfoy is sex on legs.
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Draco had everything all set up and ready to go for the open house. His duties were to show off the engine to the neighborhood children. He had never given much thought to children, but he felt confident that he could entertain them enough between the lights, sirens and gadgets to kill a few hours.
He had tried so hard not to think of Hermione Granger as he worked alongside his fellow firefighters to prepare the station for their day. Thoughts of the bright, angelically vibrant sight of her was stirring something deep within him. Many things, if he were honest—a longing for true love and affection; deep, bitter remorse at the fact that he had been such a prick to her earlier in life; a feral, sexual desire that, try as they might, none of the muggles in Winthrop's Wharf had been able to satisfy completely.
His every waking moment was being filled with thoughts of the way her mass of brown curls glinted in the sun; the soft warmth of her large, inquisitive eyes; the delicate shade of her skin as a blush rose to her cheeks. He fantasized more often than he cared to admit about the way those curls would feel tangled around his fingers as he kissed her fiercely, passionately. Flashes of the way that blush would creep up her neck as she was moaning and keening beneath him. He could almost hear soft, declaring whispers of mutual love if he fantasized long enough. His soul was crying out to be near her again, his heart relentlessly pounding out of his chest almost painfully.
Draco still held out hope that Granger would show up to the open house. He'd invited her in an off-handed manner, but it was a sincere invite and he hoped that she would accept. He had gone through vast changes since the War ended, first and foremost living as a muggle for the most part. He was eager to show her that he was every bit as driven and focused a muggle as he was a wizard. Draco held an admirable, noble position within his community—he saved lives, didn't he? He finally felt like he'd made some headway in his penance for his past indiscretions. And he felt Granger could truly appreciate his efforts, coming from a muggle background and continuing interactions with her parents.
Angus was in charge of the barbeque and ensuring all of their guests were well fed. Draco had his area set up and ready to accept children, the doors all turned out and his turn-out gear set alongside it, so he moseyed to where the chief worked. "You invite that bird from Main Street?" he asked casually, noticing Draco's distracted disposition.
Draco leaned back against Angus' work table and crossed his arms, adjusting the strap where his dispatch radio sat. "Yes. I'm not sure if she'll show up, however. We don't have the best history."
Angus raised an eyebrow at him, tossing more meat onto the barbeque. "Huh. You not get along with a female? Doesn't seem likely."
"I was a complete wanker."
Angus let out a barking laugh and nodded. "The way you were looking at her, it was almost as though you were seeing her for the first time—awestruck and smitten within seconds."
"Let's just say her looks have vastly improved over the years," Draco admitted with a snort of laughter.
The first of their guests began to arrive and Draco recognized them all—in such a small town, everyone knew everyone. He ambled back to the fire engine and smiled welcomingly at their neighbors. A few children came running up to where he was and he grinned at the little people. They had inflated one hundred balloons earlier that morning, so he began pulling them out one by one to hand to each child along with plastic fire helmets.
"Who wants to hop in and start the siren?" he asked, his voice dripping with excitement to try and get the kids excited.
A pair of twins began bouncing on their feet and Draco lifted the pair into the driver's seat. The other children gathered around and he flipped on the flashing lights. He knew the lights were blue, and he thought to the color card burning a hole in his pocket. Blue. What a glorious color. He wished he could see it.
The children were excitable and all talking over one another as they wound the siren up and let it whine into the air. He explained, in basic terms, the function of many different knobs and levers. It was endearing, watching their innocence faces alight with curiosity. The children ate it up and his heart felt at peace for the first time in days.
That was until he turned around to set the twins down firmly on the ground. Granger was there, giving him the strangest look. Her eyebrow was quirked up toward her hairline, her head tilted to the side, a small but bemused smile tugging at her lips. Draco gave her his most dashing grin, trying to put forth a façade so she wouldn't see how bloody nervous her presence had suddenly made him.
Her responding smile was resplendent and he nearly fell out as she drew nearer to him, amusement evident on her face as he turned back to the children. "Do one of you want to try and lift this turn-out gear?" he asked, pointing to where his fireproof gear sat in a neat pile.
A couple of brave children tried to lift it by the handles on his boots, to no avail. One of the large kids could get it a few inches off the ground. "These boots, trousers and coat weight more than most of you—about eighty pounds total. And that's before we put on our oxygen," Draco explained, showing them the tank.
The children's "oohs" and "aahs" made him laugh as he put on each individual piece in turn, explaining the functions. Granger watched him with growing fascination until he was fully dressed as though he were getting ready to run into a burning building. "Sometimes, we get hurt and our fellow firefighters have to get us out. Why don't you see if you can drag me?" he asked, laying on the ground.
It took four children to drag him only a short distance. They huffed and puffed and talked over each other once more as he stood. He heard Granger's chiming laugh break through the air. He smiled and began pulling each piece off, ending his demonstration and answering their questions in turn.
Granger stood idly by, watching his every move until the group of children moved along with their parents to get food. A few more children came up and he played the part of dedicated, child-loving firefighter, all the while screaming internally for everyone to leave so he could talk to her.
After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was probably a couple of hours, the children had moved along to the ladder truck and Draco adjusted his leather radio strap once more, the dispatchers soft voice and radio traffic from the nearby town buzzing in his ear. He walked up to where Granger was sitting on the back of the engine, waiting for him.
"You're different," she told him, her tone almost accusatory.
"Or perhaps I am just as I always have been. I had a role to play and as a child, I didn't know how not to feel trapped in that role. But, surprise, Granger. I am a man now and I think for myself," he told her waving at the muggle vehicles and people all around him.
"I'm just…surprised is all," she replied, looking around once more as though she were seeing their surroundings for the first time. "I have no idea what we're doing here, Malfoy."
"This event is wrapping up. Would you like to take a ride around town with me in the engine? We could talk," he suggested.
"I'd like that," Granger told him, her smile now bashful.
"I need to help clean up. Can I pick you up in an hour?"
"Sure. I'm staying with my parents over on Hummingbird. 143," she told him, standing to walk back to her own car.
"143 Hummingbird. I'll be there. One hour."
Granger gave him a nod and he watched her walk away, his heart skipping a beat as she did. He felt himself being pulled to her like a moth to flame, his heart ablaze with fiery yearning. She was wearing a pair of summery trousers that fell just below the knee, a bright shade of blue with a lacy white shirt, cropped so her midsection showed just a bit. There was a sway in her hips that made him bite his lip and nearly groan with eager desire. If only he could have known she was his soulmate years ago. He would have had so much more time to get his heart in line with his soul and groin.
But didn't Granger pine for love and affection, just as he did? Was the ever-present fluttering in his chest his heart aligning with said soul and groin? He returned to where the last of the townspeople were thanking the men and lady of the station. He shook hands and spoke, though what he said, he could never be sure of. His actions were stiff and mechanical, his thoughts of nothing but Granger. He helped clean up the station's garden and got permission from Angus to take the engine for a ride.
"Want to impress your girl?" the chief laughed merrily.
"Something like that," Draco told him, grinning.
"Take it. But if we get a call, you respond. We'll meet you in the ladder."
Draco agreed and climbed into the rig. His hands shook as he made his way to Hummingbird Lane, but they weren't the only thing vibrating in anticipation. His magical core, intertwined with his soul, was dancing within him, aching to be united with hers.
He pulled in front of the home—a modern cottage surrounded by flowers. Granger was sitting on the front stair waiting for him. He hopped out and went around the truck to greet her at the fence. "Have you had a chance to visit more than just the bookstore?" he questioned teasingly.
She pursed her lips. "A little."
"Well, climb on in and I'll take you to my favorite spot in town," he told her, holding out his hand so she had something to brace herself on as she climbed up into the truck in her dainty shoes.
She settled herself in the passenger seat, looking all around as he sat beside her. "This is really…odd," she commented, lowering her gaze to his. "You. A muggle firefighter. Living without magic…"
"Not completely without. But I wanted to settle somewhere where no one would know who I was. I searched for a longtime for the perfect spot. There was quite the adjustment period," he told her and she gripped the sides of her seat as he began to drive.
"I've never been this high up in a vehicle before," she said, by way of explanation.
"I'm the safest driver we have at the station," he told her, boasting only slightly.
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see. So, tell me, Granger, when will you be heading home?" he asked, carefully watching the road.
He knew that if he looked over at her beside him, he would lose all control of that monstrous engine. She shifted in her seat, looking over at him. "Tonight. I'll apparate back to my flat in London."
"Ah. London. Still working for the Ministry then?" he asked, and even he could hear the slight condescension in his tone.
She nodded. "Yes, I am. Is that a problem?" she sniffed.
He laughed. "Not at all. I always figured you go on to become the Minister for Magic. You must be well on your way by now."
"You don't read the Daily Prophet?" she asked curiously.
He shook his head. "I get the paper here locally. My mother fills me in on occasion about the goings on back home."
"I do all right for myself, I suppose. So you enjoy living here more than the wizarding world, then?"
Draco thought for a moment. He had many fantastic memories of his childhood in Wiltshire, his early teens at Hogwarts. But the darker times toward the end of his stay in the wizarding world cast a shadow over the good times. He nodded slowly. "I do. It's calm and quiet. I've got a routine here and the peace…I relish it. I can get on my motorcycle and ride along the coast, catch a football game a few towns over. I love being a firefighter, helping people."
"No women in your life? No pretty muggle girls striking your fancy?" she asked, and Draco could tell she was trying to be teasing but there was an underlying strain in her voice.
He let out a breathy laugh. "No. I've casually seen a few, but they tend to be dull, these small-town girls."
"You don't want someone routine to fit into your new routine life?"
Draco pulled the fire engine alongside the road and looked at her finally. "I want fire. One that burns so hot, it leaves you in a feverish frenzy when you part. All consuming. Ever smoldering."
"Spoken like a true firefighter," she smiled.
He shrugged and climbed down out of the rig. He went around to her side and helped her out. "Have you ever been here?" he asked, gesturing to their surroundings at the base of the cliffs.
She shook her head and he placed a hand on the small of her back to assist her down a worn path. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, setting shimmering lights to dance along the sea's swells. They walked along the cliff side path down to the beach and stopped a couple meters from the tide. "It's beautiful here," she commented, holding a hand on her chest as she stared out over the crashing waves.
"This is my favorite place in this world," he agreed. "It's the main reason I selected Winthrop's Wharf. Would you like to walk a little way? I can't stray too far from the truck."
Granger bent to slip off her shoes and walked forward to the water's edge. Draco ambled alongside her in the dry sand. He reached into his pocket and felt his color card. "I wanted to show you something," he said, retrieving it to display before her.
She raised an eyebrow and took it gently between her fingers. "But…I can see the colors on here."
Draco shrugged. "My mother gave this to me as a child. She always had these whimsical notions in her head. Of love. Of souls bonding. I never believed in any of it. Until I saw you."
"How can we see the colors on it?" she asked him, touching the crisp paper gingerly.
"My mother told me if I ever found my soulmate, our mingling magic would activate the card," he told her.
She touched the blue lightly. "That's it…that's the color that flecks in the greys of your eyes," she told him, smiling brightly up at him.
He grinned back. "Yours are brown," he said, pointing to it. "With little spots of gold."
Granger stopped walking and he came to rest in front of her. She held the card up to his tattooed arm, her mouth parting slightly as a fascinated look graced her features. She lifted a fingertip to touch his skin, hesitant. Draco swallowed hard, certain that she could hear his heart thumping just as loudly as he could over the waves, and lifted his arm so she could have unlimited access to it. She ran a fingertip over the silky skin, taking a moment longer over his masked Dark Mark. She circled her fingers around his wrist and turned his arm this way and that to inspect every inch. She pushed her tips up under his t-shirt sleeve. "Do they go all the way up?" she asked, looking up at his face.
Draco felt a smile play at his lips and he knew there would be a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he pulled his radio harness off and then pulled his station shirt up and over his head. Granger's eyes grew wide at the sight of him shirtless and he could see her internal battle as she fought to keep them only where color splashed over his flesh. His entire arm was covered and then up and over his shoulder and down onto one pectoral. She traced the outline of the rather fearsome looking dragon on his chest and shoulder and walked around his back to survey the way it wrapped his body. "Why so many?" she asked, not judging but genuinely curious.
"I started with one…and then, I thought of another…and another…and well, here I am," he shrugged as she completed her circling assessment of him.
"But you got them in color? How did you even know what colors would look decent?"
Draco laughed at her interrogation. "I told the artist that I'm colorblind and to use his best judgment."
"It's beautiful," she told him.
He smirked and put his shirt and harness back on. They stared at each other for another moment, assessing each other. Draco looked at the warm colors that made up her complexion, the different shades the sunset must have been igniting in her hair and eyes. "Yes, you are."
Her eyes shot up to his and he licked his lips, suddenly uncertain if he'd crossed a line. "Are we just going to ignore our history?" she asked, searching his face.
"It's called history for a reason. So that we learn from it and never repeat it again. I was wretched, and I know I could never make that up to you. But," he shifted on his feet anxiously, "I want to move forward with you. Try to make amends and clean the slate."
"You want it? Or your soul and magic want it?" she asked him skeptically.
Draco was silent a moment, considering her question. "I won't lie that the pull to you is undeniable. Right now, I can feel every nerve ending in my body standing at attention. Like the hairs on your arms when you're frightened, except it feels so fucking exhilarating. But there's more. Watching you today as you interacted with people, lighter and more carefree than you ever had the chance to be at Hogwarts…I want to know you."
Granger's face stained with that intoxicating shade of rose and she worried her lip between her teeth as she fought a grin. "You are different."
"Different good? Or different bad?" he teased.
"Definitely good," she replied with a laugh.
Draco's radio beeped in his ear and he nearly screamed in response, the moment lost. "Probie. Bring some spuds back with you. Devon's making homemade chips," Angus' voice said gruffly through the radio. "And hello to Draco's pretty lady friend."
Draco groaned and Granger laughed. "Let's head back, then," he said ruefully, pissed that Angus had ruined the magical moment.
They chatted a little more on the ride back to her house, but the tone of their meeting had changed. When Draco helped her out of the rig, he escorted her to the gate and she turned back to him. He felt sixteen again, walking Pansy to the door of the Slytherin girls' dorms after a date. If they had been allowed to continue their talk, unencumbered by his Chief, perhaps Draco could have gotten a kiss this evening.
But the shift in tone hampered that and he stood, leaning forward on the posts that made up her waist high gate. She pushed her hair behind her ear and looked at the ground between them. "I'll be back next weekend."
"You know where to find me," he told her.
Granger looked up at him, taking in his eyes once more before she nodded and turned to leave. Draco watched her go again, his entire being in a frenzy. He returned to the engine and climbed in. He put his forehead against the steering wheel and took in a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves and magic. He really needed to get started on that plan to woo her, because he didn't know how much longer his soul, his magic, or his mind would be able to live without her.
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A/N: Isn't Draco just the cutest? Let us know what you think! Keep in mind, this is just a sweet short story, so it is going to move right along.