A/N: Guest, of course we can imagine whomsoever we want in this role but I went with the Chungking Express actor, Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城 武) circa 1994 for my imagining (I prefer him as he is now, but I couldn't help but find him really cute on this film). Check the cover the cover out. :D Both of your suggestions are good too, but I'm personally trying to get my fan girl moment out of my system so I can write a decent progress report on some academic thing that I still haven't started on. :p Enough of my rambling, thank you so much to SereniteRose and pianomouse for their wonderful words of encouragement. You guys are the best! PM me if you have any plot bunnies you want me to venture in.


They weren't partners at work anymore, Qiwu had recently been promoted to homicide, which meant better pay but with longer erratic hours if he and his team needs to work on a case and Hermione had a desk job specializing in women's cases. But it felt nice to eat together whenever they could. Catching the time to do this with their different working hours is difficult on weekdays but they really make the effort to spend what time they could together.

They were different people with different interests and one might think they wouldn't be compatible but that's where people would be wrong. Despite their differences, they actually mesh well together. As he watches basketball on TV, she would sit beside him reading, her legs atop his. He likes the fact that unlike most girls, she doesn't pester him so that they could watch some fashion show or romance film on the TV, Hermione actually preferred shows about construction or interior designing which he didn't mind so much. But watching TV makes Hermione sleepy, the best part of watching it with her is that after a while, she would start rubbing her eyes and start yawning, which is why she makes sure she's prepared for bed whenever they watch TV. As sleepy as she is, once they'd get to the bedroom, she doesn't mind him cuddling her and more.

There were many other things they do together. They would go on weekends to do their grocery shopping, fall in line to pay the bills while they make up stories about people passing by and they even clean the house together. It turns out Hermione didn't clean the house by magic, she prefers doing it the "muggle" way, whatever she meant by that. She is just an efficient cleaner, which was why she does things methodically and fast. He was impressed, he did mention that this had been his first clue that she's a witch which had her laughing at the absurdity of the idea.

There was some sense of belonging he felt whenever he sees their clothes are hung up in their closet, her books and his car magazines on the coffee table and when they buy a small object or another that doesn't belong exclusively to one or another but to both of them. He realized that he likes the feeling of belonging.


Hermione might not have been ready for sex when she was with Ron, whether it was her youth or her foreboding of doom for the relationship, she really didn't know which but it was easier with Qiwu. True to his word, he hadn't pressured her. He didn't even comment on it even though they have reached a year and a half into their relationship, had even moved in together and slept on the same bed at night. She did know that he found her attractive, desirable even, she can see and even feel proof of it every time they made out. She knew that he really loves her, he says it often enough and shows it in the way he constantly cared for her.

He asked for permission, whether verbal or not, on how far they can take things. It was always her lead. He wouldn't do anything she didn't want to and she knew, that despite the fact that they have not reached that point yet, he never strayed. It was as he said, if a man loves a woman, she'd be the only one for him. They did make out a lot, but he didn't try to go beyond that.

It was a gradual build up but as he does in everything, he was sweet and gentle. Hermione wanted him to be rougher but he insisted they'll have time to do that when she's better acclimatized to making love. After that though, he had been more blatant in his physical contact with her, sometimes even in public. Once she had to swat his hand away from her bottom as he casually placed it there. She also realized how much restraints he put in on himself as after they finally became lovers, he became near insatiable.


Thus, this result was inevitable. Despite being careful, passions can lead people to become careless. Hermione was tapping her feet impatiently; she was in the bathroom which was uncharacteristically locked. Qiwu started knocking frantically saying he has to pee. She let him in but didn't leave as she waited for something. In his rush to get to his business, he didn't comment that Hermione remained in the bathroom, particular as she was about privacy, not that he minded, it's not as if they haven't seen each other naked before. But she was silent and didn't even look at him. He was about to comment on Hermione wanting to take a peek at him when he saw her focusing her attention on a plastic stick resting on the countertop. He immediately stood behind her, held her against him and rested his head atop hers. "So, am I to be a daddy?" That shook Hermione out of her reverie. She showed him the stick and it prominently showed two lines.

He was grinning but his grin fell at her stony face. 'Wouldn't she want our baby? Will she keep it?' He couldn't help but ask himself. "I don't understand. We were well protected. I mean, I don't know what happened." Hermione started babbling. He was panicking; they never talked about having a baby before. What if she doesn't want to keep it? He took a deep breath, he couldn't understand what else she was saying. He felt angry at himself for wanting the baby desperately, not just any baby, her baby and at her for seemingly not wanting it. He will talk her into it if he has to. She can't kill her baby. "…I know we haven't talked about it but all I know is I want to keep it." Hermione finished her rant. "Please keep our baby." Qiwu begged her saying this at the same time she said what she wanted. Qiwu smiled. "I love you and I already love our baby, even if it's still really small." Hermione kissed him.

Qiwu ran out of their bathroom and into their room, Hermione went out of the bathroom and stared at where he'd gone. He came out of their room with a small box. "I just don't want any misunderstanding. I actually got this a while back and was planning on giving it to you on our second anniversary. I was supposed to do the whole dinner thing and putting the ring in the wine glass or something but I don't want you to think that I'm only marrying you because of the baby. So do you want to get married?" He asked. Hermione felt tears prickling her eyes. "Yes, of course I'd want to marry you. I also don't want you to think that it's about the baby but I really do want to marry you.


Qiwu practically told everyone he encountered that he is about to become a father. His team congratulated him and even took him out for a round of drinks after their shift. His father was really happy about the news, got Hermione fresh vegetables so she can eat more healthy meals and rapped his son on the head about their eating habits before dragging him away so he can tell Qiwu to marry Hermione soon. Hermione's parents had also been happy about the news but pointedly asked them when the marriage would be. Hermione assured them that they plan on marrying within the month.

She didn't want a big wedding; she just wants to get married in the registry office and then have a nice meal out. This was exactly what they did. He Qiwu got his senior partner, Yau to be his witness while Hermione had Ginny portkey in from England. They then had dinner with their two witnesses and their parents.

Ginny found Qiwu to be a sweet guy (but warned him on the side that she'll hex his balls off if he cheats on or hurts Hermione), and said that at least they are getting along well. She snidely commented that Ron and Lavender are having problems given Ron's temper and Lavender's childishness. Hermione gave her a look and said. "Ginny, please, not now. It's my wedding day." She asked pleadingly. Ginny apologized for her comment, she shifted their topic of conversation and made Hermione promise that she'll be the child's godmother, which Hermione readily agreed to. Yau congratulated his partner on having a beautiful bride with so little expectations, seeing that he and his wife spent a lot on their own wedding. Yau knew that his partner loves his wife so much and that this wedding had little to do with Hermione's pregnancy but more on the fact that he'd wanted to marry his girlfriend for some time now.

Hermione's parents (who were wearing translation charm necklaces made by Hermione) enjoyed Qiwu's father's stories of Qiwu's childhood. They also told stories of how Hermione was as a child. Before the evening was up, Hermione's parents had been making arrangements to go on vacation here in Hong Kong with his father showing them around. Qiwu had been pleasantly surprised to see the in-laws getting along well. It seems Hermione was right with her assessment that his father could get along with practically everyone.

After the evening was over, his father and Yau went home and unbeknownst to them, Ginny and Hermione's parents took a portkey to London. Qiwu put his arm around his wife's shoulder. He looked at Hermione and smiled in realization of one thing. "I really like the Western idea of a wife taking on her husband's name. It's not traditionally done here but when we go to England for a vacation or something, you'd be known as Mrs. Hermione He and everyone will know you're my wife." Qiwu said proudly. Hermione smiled at his possessive tone and kissed him, halting all conversations for that night.


The pregnancy was strangely uneventful. He'd been half expecting she'd turn into a raging green eyed monster as the stories went about pregnant women but she didn't. She liked having dumplings more often and he took to dropping by her favorite dumpling stall after his shift to get her some of her favorite shrimp dumplings. He thought pregnant women were dumpy, fat and always angry; well that's how he sees many of them anyway, but she wasn't. Maybe it was because she's carrying his baby or because she's his Hermione but for him, his Hermione is the most beautiful pregnant woman in the world.

She gave birth to a son, the most beautiful baby he'd ever seen. He was overwhelmed by the emotions he felt, of pride, joy and love, that he couldn't help but weep as he held his son. His father and Hermione's parents were also bursting with joy, in fact Hermione's parents closed their clinic down for a week so they can spend time with Hermione and their son. His father had been known to flash pictures of his handsome grandson to everyone he knew and if his grandson is there with him, he'd taken to showing off his grandson and how clever he is.

They hired a stay-out nanny to take care of their son, but his father insisted that even if the baby has a nanny, he needs a relative who'll be there in case of an emergency. So they ended up leaving the baby and his help with Qiwu's father, and they just took care of Qiwu's father's groceries despite the old man's insistence that having two people for the day isn't much of a burden for him and his finances. That little boy is Qiwu's father's pride and joy, so much so that he placed a growth chart and marked the boy's growth on one of his walls while most empty wall spaces in his house now contained pictures of the boy.


They didn't have the romance pocketbook stories of how a cliché beautiful woman ends up with a rich guy even though they often fought on the way to their happy ending. They weren't perfectly beautiful people. The girl might be pretty but she is bossy, has a cleaning mania, and has a frizzy hair that her husband swears is alive. The guy is good looking but not conventionally handsome, he also has garlic breath at times, seeing that he places enough garlic to kill a village of vampire on his food, he sometimes pouts if he doesn't get his way and his own young son would often see him as immature. But they love each other and that is all that really matters in the end.