Title: Pillow Talk, Save the Date

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies

Hermione shifted at the presence of somebody's weight dipping into the bed. She peeked open her eye and saw someone's bare, broad back sitting on the bed, facing the wall. She was lying on her usual side of the bed, her right side of the body facing towards the center of the bed, belly down. Although his identity was shielded by the darkness of the room, Hermione knew who it was. He had been working later and later recently and been coming home near midnight most nights. By then, Hermione would have already fallen asleep and woken up only in the middle of the night with a pair of arms wrapped around her. But this time, Hermione had woken up as Draco sat himself on the bed as he removed his watch and placed his wand on the nightstand. As he moved to swing his legs on the bed and underneath the covers he saw Hermione's eyes were open and staring back at him.

"Did I wake you?" he asked as he settled himself on his back and his head on his pillow.

Hermione silently shook her head yes. "But what else is new?" she smiled.

"As long as it's me, and not some other bloke," Draco smirked as he rolled Hermione over to the right side of her body, ignoring the rise of the hem of Hermione's coral silk nightie, and pulled her towards him so her back was nestled right up against his bare, toned chest. He wrapped his arms around hers and buried his face in the back of her neck. Hermione welcomed the embrace and had wondered how she had lasted so long without his arms around her years after having him visit her almost every night.

"How was work?" she asked, staring off at the wall.

"Long."

"Did you get what you needed done?"

"Yes. Now hush your inquiring mind," Draco requested as he mumbled into her hair.

"I miss you," Hermione admitted after a long pause.

"I'm right here."

"I know. You've just been working late nights a lot. I feel like I don't see you that often outside of the Ministry."

"I come home every night."

"I know," Hermione said. She sighed as her hands made lazy patterns on his arms.

After a pregnant pause, Draco braved to ask, "Is there something wrong?"

"No," Hermione assured him.

"You're lying," Draco raised his head off the pillow and turned Hermione around in his arms so he could take a good look into Hermione's eyes. It was much easier to read her when he could see her eyes.

"It's just…" Hermione began.

"Just?" Draco urged her.

"We haven't talked about where this is going," Hermione admitted hesitantly.

"What's this? You and me?" Draco asked shockingly.

Hermione nodded.

"You seriously don't know?" Draco asked raising his eyebrows, in disbelief that the brightest witch of their age didn't know where "this" was going. He supported his head on his right hand as his right arm propped him up on the bed.

"You say you love me," Hermione whispered.

"I do."

"For how long though?" she bit her lower lip.

"I'm not catching on, Hermione."

"Draco, we've lived together for a little over two years and I know your track record with girls and you tend to 'love 'em and leave 'em, so to speak," Hermione spoke softly.

A flash of anger appeared on Draco's face at hearing Hermione's confession, but it disappeared as he began to process Hermione's perception of how he viewed relationships and marriage.

His thoughts flashed back over the past two years and thought how almost every conversation they have had about marriage was not indicative of how Draco wanted to spend his life with Hermione.

"I don't think I'll ever get married. Well, I should take that back. I don't get think I'll get married for the reasons people are suppose to be getting married."

"Why would you be getting married?"

"To preserve the Malfoy bloodline and secure my heir," he stated in a superior, masculine tone.

"So it's been quite a while since you've been dating her. I'm sure she expects something after all the attention you've been giving her," she assumed.

"I suppose so," he replied nonchalantly flipping his newspaper.

"Don't lead her on, Draco. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," she warned from inside the closet.

"I told you what I think about marriage, Granger. She knows that love isn't involved," he assured her.

"Draco Malfoy. Is that what you want for yourself? To marry someone you don't love just because it's good for your image and society? You don't want to marry for love?" she angrily asked him.

"We've been over this, Granger. My parents did it. Their parents did it and their parents before that did it. It's the pureblood way."

Draco swallowed the lump in his throat. Hermione's eyes were staring back at his when realized that a long amount of silence passed between them.

Draco took a deep breath and settle his head down back on their shared pillow. "Hermione Granger, you have nothing to worry about. I know in the past, I've said some things about marriage and relationships that haven't come across as the best evidence that I want to spend the rest of my life with someone but please, please know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't want you to be with me thinking that I will grow bored and tired of our relationship because that's what's happened to me in the past. But that's the past. This? You and me? This is my future. And I foresee it being much more different and for the better. Because you'll be with me."

Hermione sniffed. "You sure do have a way with making speeches," she laughed swatting at his chest.

Draco let out a low chuckle as he squeezed her closer to his body.

"So, are you saying that this, you and me, is for the long haul?" she asked.

"Do you need a proposal?"

"I've already had one proposal that I said yes to and look how that turned out," she scoffed as she buried her head in his chest.

"So, no proposal?" Draco concluded as he felt Hermione swing her right leg over his and hook around.

Hermione shook her head.

"So how about we just set a date?" Draco asked.

"Set a date? To be married?"

"Yeah, how's tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Hermione exclaimed.

"What's wrong with tomorrow? You've already had a wedding, you've done the white dress, the flowers, and the decorations. You really want to go through that again?"

Hermione furiously shook her head no lifting up her face to look in his eyes. "Wouldn't everybody be mad? That we eloped? Your mother would be furious. Your father…I don't even want to think…"

"Do you care? Your wedding is about making yourself happy, not others. What would make me happy is a wedding vow ceremony with you and me. I could honestly care less if we had guests from 2 to 500. We can have a big party when we come back from wherever we go. Mother and Father will get over it. I imagine they would be upset, but you know what? Who cares? We'll face it together, side by side. I'm not here to make my parents happy. I want to make myself happy for once. And make you happy. And that involves being with you. We've talked about this, Hermione. Have you forgotten our discussion from that day already? Do what makes you happy," Draco stated as he ran his fingers through her hair. "So what would make you happy?"

Hermione let her fingers trace his pointed, yet devastatingly handsome features on his face. "You said it already. You and me. Saying our vows to each other. The only person that I care about hearing how much I love you and care for you is you. You're the only one that needs to know that I will promise to love you and be by your side until my dying breath and even beyond that. That's what matters to me," Hermione assured him.

"So do you want to set a date?"

"A date to elope?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded as he let his left arm wander down her side and leg that was wrapped around him.

"Do you want to wait? Do you think we should wait? After everything that's happened this past month? Are you ready to even–" Draco asked.

"Tomorrow's fine. Where are we going?" Hermione said as she leaned into him for a passionate kiss. She was excited to begin a life with Draco as soon as possible and anticipated for what would be a bright, happy future.

AN: Please leave a review. =) It seriously what keeps this story going.