6 YEARS LATER

It was no secret that from the moment everyone began their working day, they instantly looked forward to their lunch break. It didn't matter how much they claimed they loved their job, everyone unconsciously looked forward to their lunch hour. Merlin, it was certainly one of my first thoughts after I stepped into my office to begin the day. I would instantly look to the clock on my wall and begin the mental countdown towards lunch.

And whilst I didn't know why everyone else was looking forward to their break, probably because they were hungry, I looked forward to it because it meant that I got to see Theo. He was always out of the house far earlier than I was in the morning because he needed to see over the shipment of fresh ingredients that arrived every morning so that he could prepare them in time for the arrival of his first customers. No matter how much he complained about having to pull long hours, he adored his work.

"Nott!" the call of my surname, one that had only been changed recently, had me looking up from the paperwork I was supposed to be reading through.

Finding one of my colleagues standing in the doorway, I sent them an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I was looking over the newest legislation they're trying to pass through. Did you need something?"

"It's lunchtime," she said simply, gesturing towards the clock. "A bunch of us are heading out together, want to join us?"

"No thank you." Rising from my chair, I started to pack the papers away and grabbed my handbag. "I've got plans."

"You always have plans," she complained, watching as I accio'd my coat. "If you don't come with me, how in Merlin's am I supposed to put up with Kevin?"

"Maybe you should get into the habit of making plans too or even just learning to say no to people," I pointed out, doing a final check to make sure that I hadn't missed anything. "No one says that you need to go with them to – wherever it is that they're planning on getting lunch."

"Well," she thought for a short moment, leaving my office when I started to look it behind me, "can I come with you?"

"Another time," I promised with yet another apologetic smile. "I've got a date. One that I really need to be getting to. I'll see you in an hour."

And before she could say another word to convince me or to complain about Kevin, her rather persistent ex-boyfriend, I was walking down the corridor and towards the apparition point that had been newly set up at the end of the hallway. I joined the queue of people and waited until it was my turn to apparated away.

Emerging in the middle of a busy street, I knew better than the hang around for too long or else someone would come along and unknowingly bump into me. Walking quickly, I rounded the next corner and walked past the long line of people waiting to be let into the restaurant that looked packed to the. Continuing past the queue and reaching the door at the front, I headed straight inside and ignored the murmured grumbles about preferential treatment. Stepping inside the bustling restaurant, I smiled at the first waiter I passed before heading straight for the kitchen.

I didn't make it very far before Theo spied me, emerging from the wine cellar with two bottles of red in his hands. He spelled the bottles to take themselves to the kitchen and made his way towards me with a smile on his face that was much brighter than any he had ever given me whilst we'd been at school. It was amazing how much lighter sharing the burden of his childhood had made him.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," he said with an affectionate kiss to my forehead as he took me in his arms.

Returning his hug and squeezing him tight, I ran a hand through the hair at the back of his head. "I got held up for a bit."

"Oh well, you're here now." Releasing me from his hug, he looked down at me with a knowing smirk. "Hungry?"

"Starving."

"Come on then."

Taking me by the hand, Theo led me around the tables dotted throughout the room and towards the kitchen which was bustling thanks to the small army of chefs he had hired one after another. With enough people to run his kitchen for him, Theodore rarely ever set foot inside it because he was too busy being the face of the restaurant. I knew he missed cooking in the kitchen and that he secretly loved that my presence gave him the excuse to duck back into the kitchen.

And yet, I thought as I shrugged out of my coat, he would never set foot in our kitchen at home. Although maybe that was down to me chastising him from moving things from their correct place? I mean, it wasn't as if he was the only person who cooked at home and other people needed to find things too!

Making sure I was out of the way, I hopped onto the counter and sat watching all of the chefs as they moved around one another, working as a team to make sure that lunch service ran smoothly. Theodore was just on the outside, working on making me food and I couldn't have stopped the affectionate smile that bloomed on my face if I had tried. So maybe it was a good thing that I didn't try.

"Here," he declared, returning to my side with a plate of food that I was quick to accept. By the time I'd gotten a secure hold of it, Theo was holding out a spoon towards me so I could dig into the risotto he had just cooked for me. Or rather, that he had on standby and waiting for me. And, like he claimed he never did, Theodore remained standing over me and watching apprehensively as I took my first bite. My eyes flickered towards him, and although I was tempted to torture him for a little longer by withholding his validation for a while, I didn't.

"Beautiful," I announced with a pleased grin that had him smiling in response. Although, the sound of his worker's voices had the smile diminishing as Theo had often claimed that if he smiled too often, they wouldn't respect him. Really, he was just scared of being thought of as being soft. "It's perfect."

"Good," he said shortly and I stifled a smile, focusing on eating. It wouldn't take long for him to drop his tough man attitude. "Love?"

I hummed questioningly, mouth too full to speak. Glancing curiously at him, I raised an eyebrow and prompted him to speak.

"What plans have we got this weekend? I was thinking we could head out to visit your –"

"You've already got plans," I reminded him when I could speak again. "Plans that you can't get out of. Or use me as an excuse to get out of. You already promised your friends you would meet up with them."

Groaning in response, he let out a deep sigh, dropping his head to rest on my shoulder. "Do I have to?"

"You're the one that made these plans in the first place." He sighed again and I reached out to pat his cheek. "Have you been drinking the cooking wine?"

"Of course not," he grumbled.

"Well, is this your way of asking me to go with you?" I asked despite already knowing the answer. Even though Theo loved his friends – not that he would ever admit it – sometimes they were just too much for him. Understandably so.

"At least if you're there then I know that Blaise will be bothering you more than he'll bother me."

"Fine," I sighed. "Only because I love you. But be warned, if Zabini asks one more time when I'm going to pop out a kid for you, then I will hex him."

"And he'll have deserved it."