Author notes:

The idea for this multi-chapter fic got stuck in my head one day while I was reading up for another story I'm writing, and I had to write it down to get it out of my head. The first chapter is the shortest one, as I actually planned to write the whole story in form of a retrospective, but found that a bit too complicated (I still might do it...). The title comes from a song by the Scottish band Texas.

For the sake of the story, Draco, Hermione and their friends are somewhere between 27 and 30 years old, most of them working for the Ministry in some department, and have become friends through work. All Slytherins that show up in the story, Draco included, have been through a redemption program after the War that helped them get back into society's good graces. And no one has children yet, which simplifies the story greatly.

"That was so much fun!" Hermione said, still dusting her top and skirt off from using the Floo when she heard the characteristic crack of someone Apparating, though only one person besides herself was allowed to bypass the anti-Apparition wards guarding her flat. She was still laughing about the Sunday lunch they just had at the Burrow with the Weasleys and everyone they considered somewhat family.

"It definitely was. But you didn't have to call me 'insufferable git' so many times, you know?" Draco came closer, in the simple shirt and trousers she had convinced him to put on earlier, and helped her get the dust out of her hair. He loved doing that, though it meant he would basically bathe himself in the dust. "And they still don't suspect anything. How long have we been fooling them again?"

"You were constantly groping my arse, so yes, I had to call you 'insufferable git' that many times," she retorted, then closed her eyes for a moment when he started to massage her head, sending a very pleasant shiver down her spine. "A bit more than two years now. Hmm..."

"And they still think we're denying our feelings-"

"Well, we usually give them the show they want to see..." She turned around to face him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "And we really seem to have perfected it over time, I think."

"Yes, we have, my love." He was still massaging her head, but his hands were slowly wandering to the sides of her face.

"I really like hearing you call me that, you know. Definitely better than 'stuck-up bookworm'."

He smiled. "But what about 'sleazy ferret'? You seemed rather fond of that expression."

"I could call you 'sunshine of my life' next time just to see the faces, yours included," she replied with a smirk. "But you know you are exactly that, brightening up my days."

"Nah, I think I prefer 'ferret'..." He let his thumbs run over her cheeks, surprised about her soft skin like every time he did that. And he noticed that her hands had started to draw small circles up and down his back, something she knew he liked.

"How about 'my little ferret' then?" Her voice had turned into a whisper, even purring a little. Merlin, she loved the alone time between them after the loud affair of the Sunday lunch at the Burrow, especially since they only could affectionately touch each other in some short in-between moments or under the table. So she was happy to hold him tight as soon as they got home again, and she knew it was the same for him.

He was kissing her forehead gently now. "I might like that, but you'll be the only one ever I might allow to call me that." He let his soft kisses wander over her eyebrows, down her nose, to her cheeks.

"Could you finally kiss me properly? I've been wai-"

He did just that, placing a soft kiss on her lips, using the advantage of her already parted lips to let his tongue run along them. By Merlin, he had missed doing exactly that all morning, enjoying the touch of her lips, and especially enjoying her hands which now slowly pulled his shirt up.