Not So Different (DraMione)

Hermione comes home expecting an empty house (Fluff/Humor)

Hermione came home after a long day at work and slipped her shoes off at the door. There was a rustling in the kitchen than quickened her heart rate. She lived alone and living through a war still made her think of awful possibilities. Breathing shallow, she followed it, padding across the carpet.

In the middle of the kitchen, a blonde had his back turned to her as he struggled with a bag.

"Draco?" she asked. Her heart beat was already starting to calm.

He jumped and the contents of the bag scattered across the floor in a rattling shower. One rolled towards her and bumped her bare foot.

"How did you get into my apartment?" she asked, trying not to laugh as he stood sheepishly in the middle of puddle of kernels.

He set the now empty bag onto her stove top and turned towards her with a sigh. "Aren't you supposed to be at a business dinner?" he asked with a slightly annoyed tone, folding his arms.

She shrugged and pulled off her suit jacket, trying not to get annoyed too. "I canceled it."

He raised an eyebrow. "How are you going to discuss your agenda for the bill?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and hopped up onto the counter. She swallowed down the irritation the rose when she thought of the meeting. "I told him I'd send another delegate." She rested her head against one of the cabinets and closed her eyes. "Congratulations, you get to negotiate with him after all."

"That not why I told you not to do it. What made you do it?"

Eyes still closed, she shrugged again. "The third time he squeezed my thigh," she muttered.

"He did what?" Draco's voice spiked in volume and pitch.

Hermione yawned and hoped he would let it go.

"Oi," –he poked her shoulder- "tell me you punched him."

She pried one eye open and smiled a little. "Thought about it, but we do need our additions on the bill."

He frowned and clenched his hands.

She slid down off the counter, her skirt bunching up a little, and then reached to hold his wrists above his fists. "You aren't allowed to hit him either."

He sighed and leaned down to press his forehead against hers. She pressed against him and enjoyed the comfort the contact brought. "I knew he was a wanker," he said.

She pressed her finger against his lips. "None of that."

His lips twitched against her hand, sending a little jolt down her arm. "Want popcorn?"

She glanced down at the mess on the floor. "You don't open the bag until after you put it in the microwave. Didn't you read the directions?"

He pouted a little. "The corn never made a popping noise."

"Did you turn on the microwave?"

At his blank face she smiled. "Nevermind." She vanished the kernels on the floor. "How did you get into my apartment?" she asked as she tried to slide past him.

He caught her and pulled her backwards until he had her back hugged against him. His arms pressed firmly against her stomach and for the first time that day she felt safe. "You looked like today had run you over like the Hogwarts express. Then you were going to have a meeting with that wa-"

Hermione cleared her throat.

"Harry says this is how muggles relax."

Hermione tried to turn her head to see his face. "What?"

"Popcorn and a movie. He didn't look so happy when I told him I wanted to do it for you."

"But he helped anyway." Harry would've wanted her happy even if it was 'because of the ferret.'

"Mmm," his voice rumbled against the back of her head. "He had a weirdly evil look when he gave me the movie though. Something about a train called Thomas..."

Hermione snorted. "Oh, we should watch it," she said innocently.

She showed him how to properly operate the microwave and he frowned as it lit up and started rotating the bag around. "Tricky muggle contraptions," he muttered.

Hermione smiled. "You think you can follow the rest of the instructions?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes as she went to her bedroom to change. He had the popcorn in a bowl and was waiting on the couch when she came back out. He ran a critical eye over her sweats.

"No pajamas?"

"You wish." She started the movie and sat down next to him. Instead of watching the movie, she watched Draco's face. At first he was sitting forward and staring intently but as the movie continued he frowned slightly and his eyebrow quirked. He glanced over to her, narrowed his eyes, and then returned to the screen.

"So?" Hermione asked, trying to keep the laugh out of her voice.

"Erm..." Draco grimaced. "Muggles like this sort of thing?"

She leaned towards him and said with a straight face and raised eyebrows, "You don't?"

He couldn't seem to erase the panicked grimace as he met her eyes. "Erm..."

Hermione laughed into his face.

He froze for a startled second and then narrowed his eyes at her. "So Harry really does hate me."

She tried to ease the wrinkle between his eyebrows. "You're here, aren't you?"

He glanced back to the animated train on screen. "Then you hate me?" he asked with quirked eyebrow.

Her eyes slid down to his lips. "Not quite." She muted the television. "You know what else muggles do to relax?" She slid onto his lap.

His hands automatically braced her sides. "I know what wizards do."

She leaned forward so that their lips were close. "Well, they aren't so different, you know."

One of his hands slid up into her hair and pulled her down for a kiss. "I sure hope not," he muttered against her lips.

She twisted closer to him and they didn't talk for a long time afterwards.

A/N: This was written when I just needed something low stress to help me cope with the tension of an exam. Enjoy some fluff ;)

Look out for a few more oneshots in the next few weeks