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Entering the tent they called home, Hermione stopped short at the music that was blaring off an old record player. Marcus was seated at the table, working his way through an impressive-sized stack of books, looking for all intents and purposes like he wasn’t paying a lick of attention to the music. Hermione knew better; he seemed to concentrate better when he could block out background noises. Without the music playing, he tended to hyper-fixate on the slightest sounds. Whether it was just Hermione moving through the other room or a wild animal calling out into the night. Marcus was so caught up in whatever he was reading that he hadn’t noticed her arrival.
Setting her bag down on the armchair she passed on her way to the table, Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing when Marcus jumped at the contact. Recognizing her mere nanoseconds later, he relaxed into her hold.
“Sorry, love. Wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” Hermione hummed as she rested her head on his shoulder. Content just to stand there and hold him. Marcus didn’t seem to mind as he threaded their fingers together and brought her hand up to press a kiss to her skin.
“It’s alright.” Her voice was soft as she glanced at the book he had set to the side, her face scrunching up in disinterest. “Ugh, you can have that one.” Marcus laughed softly before loosening her hold on him and turning around to face her. Still seated on the bench, he pulled her into his lap.
“Miss me?” Her tone was teasing, but his eyes spoke the truth that they wouldn’t say. They’d long ago stopped saying they missed each other. They’d stopped saying goodbye as well. It felt like they would risk jinxing things. Things had been going so well lately; in all honesty, Hermione was waiting for the other shoe to drop any day now. Instead of answering her, Marcus pressed a kiss into the side of her neck before breathing in her scent. “Ugh, don’t do that. I desperately need a shower.” Marcus laughed, not bothering to loosen his hold on her. It was then that Hermione realized the record had started over. More than once if the stack of papers and books Marcus was going through were anything to go by.
“Just how long have you been repeatedly listening to Duran Duran?” Hermione’s tone was teasing as she picked at a stack of papers that had Marcus’ neat scrawl all the way across the page. “Please tell me you have at least changed songs.” At Marcus’s raised eyebrow, Hermione laughed. “You haven’t. You’ve been listening to Hungry Like the Wolf for days now. Why do you get like this when I have to go away?” Marcus laughed, even as he pulled her closer to him.
“Like you don’t have weird coping mechanisms when I’m not here.” Marcus merely raised an eyebrow, delighted when Hermione’s face flushed red. “Exactly. So unless you want me to start poking holes in your coping mechanisms…”
“Could we at least change the song?” Hermione’s eyes were pleading, although Marcus could see the playfulness that shone in them. Marcus flicked his wand toward their ancient record player, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when the song swapped over. What she was not expecting, however, was for Marcus to stand up suddenly. Squealing, Hermione latched on, wrapping her legs around his waist and interlocking her fingers around his neck.
“Marcus! Really! You could have warned…” Her words were cut off as Marcus latched onto her lips, stealing her bottom lip between his teeth before giving her a proper kiss. Hermione melted into his hold, even as she suddenly found herself slammed up against the nearest solid wall. When Marcus finally pulled back to catch his breath, he couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face.
“I missed you.” He nuzzled into her neck and gently nipped at her skin before kissing the red-tinged area to soothe it. Hermione sighed under his ministrations before a yawn worked its way out of her body.
“I’m sorry, love, but I’m exhausted.” The expression on her face was sheepish as Marcus smirked before carefully lowering her to the floor. “You don’t look much better.” Hermione’s words hit home as Marcus winced before he gave her a shy smile.
“You know I don’t sleep well without you here.” They’d gotten so used to being there for each other; that when they were apart, they tended to struggle. “Come on then.” Waving his wand in the general vicinity of the record player, Marcus threaded his hand into hers before gently pulling. Hermione willingly followed him, climbing the stairs to the second floor before she shrugged off her jacket. Shucking her jeans off, she pulled her t-shirt over her head before she felt Marcus’s hands come to rest on her hips. He pressed a kiss into the side of her neck before breathing in her scent.
“You’re beautiful.” He carefully guided her backward until they both collapsed onto the bed from the wrong end, tearing a laugh from Hermione’s throat. Shifting so she was laying correctly and not half hanging off the bed, Hermione sighed as Marcus’ arm came around her body, pulling her flush against him. His hand drew a path from the tips of her shoulders down to mid-thigh, heavy enough not to entice but light enough to be sensual in its own way.
“We’ll have to move soon. I can’t be sure they didn’t follow me back; I did my best to lose them around Cock-In-The-Wall, but…” Hermione let her sentence trail off. They’d done this often enough that it was that rare that they suddenly had to move.
“Muggle or….” Hermione sighed, turning to face him, even as Marcus’ had continued his ministrations on the newly exposed side of her body.
“I think they were muggle, but I can’t be one hundred percent sure.” Marcus nodded, pressing a kiss to her eyelids as Hermione sighed.
“We’ll be fine, love. Won’t be the first time this has happened, and it’s doubtful it will be the last.” Hermione sighed, relaxing into his hypnotic touch as she let sleep finally claim her.
They would be okay.
They had to be.