Chapter 33

~~Under the Neon Lights~~

Draco took Hermione to the same taqueria that he had visited with Altair recently, their food really was excellent, despite the somewhat garish décor. The host sat them at a booth in the back corner, the dimly lit space illuminated by a small tea candle and neon signs for beer and tequila. Hermione seemed engrossed in her menu, while Draco made a show of peering at the polaroids of people in large sombreros stapled over the wall. Neither had spoken since Hermione had instructed him what name to use on the sidewalk.

Risking a glance at her, with her head bent over trying to read the plastic pages in the low light, Draco was reminded of a time when he came upon her in the library. They had both been out of the dorms after hours, he had been looking for a quiet spot to study. Over the years, he had found being "Draco Malfoy" often took more effort than it was worth, as his public persona couldn't be seen putting in the time required to keep up with his school work. At first, he had been irritated, Granger, always studying, always showing how smart she was, Granger getting in his way. But as he watched her, he had been captivated. Hermione's skin glowed softly in the light of a lantern, a delicate hand kept pushing errant curls behind her ear, the tip of her tongue occasionally darting out to lick her lips. Draco couldn't remember how long he watched her, but he remembered how much he had wanted to go sit with her, to just be free to study with someone that might understand. Instead he turned and left. Mrs. Norris had been sniffing the library door, and instead of waiting for Filtch to arrive and catch the Gryffindor, Draco kicked the miserable cat and took off down the hall, leading it on a chase far away from where the girl was studying in peace. He had found the Room of Requirements that night as he rounded a corner out of breath, convinced that he was about to be caught by Filtch and subjected to another dreary lesson on the price of failure from Snape.

Hermione looked up and caught his eye. She raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't break the silence.

Draco felt his heart speed up, but he forced a smirk onto his face. "See something you like, Books?"

He couldn't tell in the light, but he imagined a flush creeping up the pale skin of her neck. His smirk deepened into a pleased smile. "If you like, I could make some recommendations, or order for the table. Their fish tacos are amazing."

"Uhm, sure," Hermione responded. Draco definitely didn't imagine it this time, he had made her blush.

"Mijo!" An elderly Latina moved with surprising speed from a swinging door in the corner to their table. She hugged Draco to her plush breast before he could respond or even rise from his chair. Draco could feel his own blush begin, perhaps he hadn't thought this out well. "¿Por qué no me dijiste que estabas trayendo una cita esta noche? Hubiera empezado el pollo. No importa, te arreglaré algo delicioso. Ella es muy hermosa. Estás en tu mejor comportamiento, sé encantador, yo me encargaré del resto."

When Maria finally released him, Draco took a deep breath. He hadn't considered that she would be here tonight. When he first moved to Austin, the small taqueria was the first restaurant he had stumbled into on his own. He had quickly discovered that they were open late, and didn't mind him bringing his books and studying under a small lamp at one end of the bar. Over the past few months, Maria had begun treating him as one of her own, and just a few weeks ago, when the building owner had tried to evict all the tenants so he could demolish the small strip mall and build condos, Draco had bought the building instead. He had established a co-op, and put Maria in charge of the board. In his mind, it was completely worth it to keep his favorite study location unmolested; but Maria had in the short time taken an even greater interest in him, and doted on him like a grandmother. "Gracias, Maria. Pero ella es solo una vieja amiga. Lo que sea que tenga estoy Seguro sera maravilloso, su comida siempre lo es. No quiero ser una molestia. Ademas, Podemos tener dos horchatas y agua por favor?"

The woman nodded, smiling knowingly and retreated to the kitchen. When Draco looked back, he caught Hermione staring at him, her eyes seemed considering. He quickly pondered how he could play off Maria's attention, he didn't really feel like explaining himself tonight. He was shocked at her next question, "So, what's with the shirt Duck?"

~~Over chips & queso~~

Hermione fought to keep her lips from breaking into a smile. Draco Malfoy looked embarrassed, his hand plucked at one of the shirt's cuffs. His eyes were looked on the rich red and gold fabric, and Hermione could definitely see a pale blush cross his cheeks. When he looked up at her though, she had to fight from catching her breath. His eyes looked anything but embarrassed, they looked earnest, and somehow hungry. She felt she could look into them for quite a while and still not parse out all the layers of meaning that he was trying to impart. Hermione forced herself to break the gaze.

His chuckle was soft, "honestly? I am just not sure. I just played out some lines in my head, everything from dressing for the job you want, to telling you because it would look good on your floor. All utterly ridiculous. Grang…" He paused, "Hermione, I am honestly at a loss. Ginny has been magnanimous in her generosity, and attempts to rehabilitate my person. But you, well, you have even more reason to hate me, and I am sure finding yourself spending an evening with me is not what you were hoping for when you came to visit your cousin. So, lets call the shirt a peace offering. I will always be a Slytherin, and you Gryffindor, two houses, both alike in dignity. With ancient grudges, that found their latest mutiny in our generation, such blood has been spilled to make our hands unclean. So, if I wear this shirt, while it does not change my nature, it should show that I strive to make amends."

Hermione felt her head spin, he was throwing heavy allusions to Romeo and Juliet out. Was Draco Malfoy flirting with her? She was spared from answering, a waiter quietly set down a basket of crisps in front of them and bowls of richly colored sauce. Also, two glasses appeared in front of her, one obviously water, the other a hazy substance, that seem speckled with brown. She looked at it suspiciously.

Draco chuckled again. "Not poison." He raised a similarly filled glass to his lips and drank deeply. Hermione had to shake her head to stop from considering the curve of his lips as it met his glass. She couldn't understand why she kept having such a physical reaction to his presence. Must be pregnancy hormones.

She raised her glass and took a tentative sip. Hermione was surprised by the milky cinnamon flavor, and took a larger swallow. She smiled up at him, "Delicious." By mutual agreement, they seemed to steer away from discussions of their shared history. Instead, they got into a debate about the true authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Draco surprised her by not only holding his own, but one upping her with his knowledge about Shakespeare's reliance on George North's publication of "A Brief Discourse of Rebellion and Rebels." The food was amazing, and kept being brought out until she could eat no more.

By the time he lead her to the rickety soft serve machine in an alcove by the entrance, they had veered onto a discussion of modern literature and positing how the rise of urban fantasy had eerie similarities to the world in which they lived, with knowledge of magic in a world that seemed collectively blind to it. It seemed too soon when Draco paused their walk. She realized they were outside Anne's apartment complex. He smiled softly at her, and for a moment, Hermione could imagine a situation where they would be saying good night, and he may lean in, and her arms might find their way around his neck. Instead, she was brought back to reality by his soft voice, "Don't worry, they aren't at Anne's tonight, so you are safe to go in. No need to check for a sock on the door."

Hermione blushed, that's right, the whole reason she spent the even with Draco was because her cousin wanted alone time with her boyfriend. "Well, what about you? You could always come upstairs and hang out for a while, give them some more time." She hoped she didn't sound as eager as she was for him to say yes.

Draco shook his head in the negative. His eyes seemed regretful, "No, Books, I am afraid not. I have had a lovely evening, and I would hate to make an ass of myself by over extending it. For you and I both know, I am not a nice man, and our time tonight was borrowed. So, let me say goodnight till it be morrow. He bowed formally and walked quickly away before she could reply.

Hermione sighed and went into the building, unaware of Draco's eyes watching her from a dark corner across the street. She didn't hear his matching sigh as she disappeared from his sight.

a/n –Thank you lifelong . reader for the follow and favorite! (the formatting on the cite seems to have deleted your name last time). Thank you Manas Gogna for the follow! Thank you Irma for the comment, as always you inspire me! 2-25-18