"And the arms of the ocean are carrying me
And all this devotion was rushing out of me
In the crushes of heaven for a sinner like me
But the arms of the ocean delivered me
Though the pressure's hard to take
It's the only way I can escape"
~ Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine
Draco groaned as he was awoken by the sound of a stir in the far right corner of his room near the door. He looked at the clock and frowned when he saw that it was four o'clock in the morning. It was still dark outside, the window enchanted into their tent showed him as much. There were fireflies out though. He liked that. It was a simple thing that he wouldn't admit to liking aloud, but he would indeed do it internally.
The grogginess began to dissipate, and then he realized exactly who was in the corner of his room. He pulled himself up, walking slowly in case that he was dreaming. He wanted to assess the situation, to see if she was real at all. The shadow figure was shaped like Granger; the wild hair gave it away, and the petite stance. The darkness made the features he had grown to need impossible to see.
Once he was in arm's length from her, he cautiously outstretched his arm and placed a gentle yet firm hand on her cheek and stroked her jawbone. He felt her jaw drop slightly at this touch, parting her lips the way that she always did when he caressed her that way. After a moment, she pushed his hand away. He furrowed his brow in confusion despite the fact that she couldn't see his features anyway.
"You didn't even leave a note" she said weakly. His stomach lurched at the hurt in her voice. "You - you didn't even say goodbye. You didn't tell me you were going to go! You just left me there".
He was quite sure that she was crying. He would have comforted her, hugged her, but he felt this was not the appropriate thing to do for comfort when he created the pain in the first place. "I didn't think it would be necessary, Granger. I didn't think - I thought with your mind you'd be able to put two and two together".
"Just because I can put it together doesn't mean I don't want you to say goodbye to me!" her voice was becoming louder and higher pitched, the way it always did when she was about to begin sobbing. "Especially after you told me you loved me! S-Some fucking way to show it! You left me without a w-word! Pansy had to comfort me for h-hours! I know that you d-didn't mean it! You didn't have to say it!"
Draco winced. "I meant it, Granger".
"But -
"Don't fucking 'but' me" he snapped. He lit a candle with a lazy flick of his wand so that she could see his features; see his honesty. "Do you think that I would have gone through all this just because? Do you think that I would go to you for an easy lay? Hell, you're anything but easy. Anything but easy. Do you honestly believe that I would tell someone I love them just because? Shit, Hermione! I've loved you for months now, way longer than I've cared to admit! I wouldn't just fucking say that! I'm anything but a cuddly teddy bear, and you of all people should know that".
He looked as her as though she was insane when she began to giggle uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, but the words cuddly teddy bear even coming out of your mouth is too much" she managed to say through her giggling. He attempted to scowl, but it ended up being a grin.
After she stopped laughing, he spoke again. "Do you believe me?"
Hermione bit her lip before nodding tensely. "I do - I do believe you. It just hurt me so much that you would say that - that you would say that and just walk away like it never happened".
"It was for the good of both of us" he murmured.
He met her honey colored eyes that were illuminated by the only small light in the room and Merlin he had missed them. He approached her apprehensively, unsure whether she would shove him away. He didn't want her to. He wanted her. He could go as far as say he needed her in that moment. To his pleasure, she stepped into him this time and feathered a light kiss on the corner of his mouth, resting her forehead on his. She felt his erratic breaths against her skin, and she heard her own. It was amazing how intimate such a simple gesture could be, and he felt as close as ever to her in that moment.
YOU ARE READING
The Grey In His Eyes! Dramoine Story (Draco & Hermione)
RomanceWhen Draco is forced to collaborate with Hermione in order to defeat the Death Eaters, he finds that he and the girl he thought was his opposite have a lot more in common than he thought. Rating M for sexual situations.
