the cat cafe ✞ dramione

three; the thick-headed trio.

warning: depictions and discussions of drug use.

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he didn't listen to her, of course. over the next fortnight hermione would start her shift and malfoy was already at his corner table, browsing through the menu or reading the newspaper. she knew exactly how he liked his earl grey but noticed how he began to branch out and try new things recently; sweet frappuccinos, lattes and even the odd espresso. he certainly favoured his beverages to be tooth-rotting sweet and the effects of having two dentists for parents showed when she'd send him looks when he'd add more than enough sugar to his drinks. if he noticed, he never once mentioned it.

sometimes he'd spend his time staring at her as she went about her usual tasks or he'd enjoy the company of sugar - their most popular cat, the one many customers asked to see during their stay. however, the cat had taken an unlikely attachment to the blond and would already be weaving through his feet before he even sat down then proceeded to lay on his lap the entire time he was there. even megan and georgia waited for him to show, always having the box of earl grey tea bags on hand and a tray of milk and sugar ready to go. they teased hermione relentlessly about it, always making some joke along the lines of 'your blond boyfriend is waiting'. sometimes they'd switch it up and replace 'blond' with 'pretty' or any of its synonyms, which never failed to gain a reaction from the bushy-haired girl.

"he's not my boyfriend," she'd hiss over georgia's laughter. "he's just - an annoying arsehole."

no matter how hard hermione tried to stop the two women's teasing, it would never work. in fact, it only made them work even harder and to the point hermione considered quitting. if this wasn't the only job she could get then she might've even done it to avoid malfoy and his stupid staring. however, it seemed like he'd kept his mouth shut as no one had even indicated to her position as a feline waitress, something she could begrudgingly respect him for. parkinson would surely humiliate her in every way she could think of if the slytherin knew.

on a random saturday, hermione was delivering malfoy his order of the day; a chicken wrap, a caramel latte and a slice of victoria sponge for dessert. she ignored the smile he directed at her as sugar sat comfortably in his lap, light purrs that indicated sleep reaching her ears and almost forcing a smile onto her lips too. however, with malfoy eyeing her the way he typically did, she decided against it. if he began to think she enjoyed his company here then it might make him more insistent and that was the last thing she wanted.

"anything else, sir?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as he ignored the food. he wrapped his hand around the mug, uncaring of the heat apparently. hermione noticed his eyes were red again and wondered why they were as such - surely he hadn't been crying, right? she couldn't even remember the last time she saw him sad, if she ever has really.

malfoy leaned in closer, his free hand elevated to hold his chin. any closer and she'd be accused of sexual harassment (even if it was the blond's fault) but she was determined to stand her ground, to show malfoy how unafraid she was of him. his smirk didn't abate as his swollen eyes stared directly at her nose - or the drawn on whiskers, she couldn't quite tell. "i like it when you call me sir," he drawled lowly, his smirk now almost dopey.

hermione bristled as she felt a flush rise. she was eternally thankful for her darker skin as it hid her reaction from malfoy's intense gaze but it didn't change how much she hated that he managed to pull such a thing out of her. instead of gracing his smug face with a response, hermione swivelled on her feet and barged right into the kitchen, aiming for the stack of water bottle cases before yanking one out and untwisting the lid like a madwoman.