He felt so comfortable, lying there in only his trousers, his chest bare and open to the full examination of his girlfriend. Not that he minded. There was something sensational when she ran her fingers across his exposed flesh, curling her delicate digits around the small forest of hair that grew there. It made him smile as she lay there, lazily tracing shapes that only she could see and he could only feel on his skin.

They had been lying there for a while, in near perfect silence, only punctuated by the occasional giggle that escaped her as he retaliated to her touch by rubbing her lower back, knowing that it was a sensitive spot that made her giggle and squirm with delight.

This was how life should be lived, curled up after a nice quiet dinner, a bit of television and then just lie there, peaceful and calm. Half asleep. Perfect.

It reminded him of the first time he had ever felt confident enough to open himself up to her, allow her to closely examine a body that he thought was in no way attractive. His girlfriend, of course, had proved him very wrong.

"You're very private aren't you?" He looked down at her, only his eyes conveying a confused look as he continued to stroke her hair. She normally did this, punctuating the deep silence with a bizarre question. You could almost say it kept him on his toes as he never knew what she could ask next.

"How do you mean?" She smiled slightly, her hands resting on his hips, just inside his trousers, toying with the lips of his boxers, clearly thinking as she did so. When they were together it was one of her favourite past times, fiddling with his clothing. Didn't matter if it was buttons or the collar of his shirt or something, she just had a thing about fiddling.

"Well, we've known each other for a couple of years and yet you are the only one of your brothers that I've not seen without his shirt off by accident. You're the only one that keeps your emotions at bay. One of your brothers has great difficulty doing that."

He raised an eyebrow. When had she seen his brothers without their shirts on? He could think of about 2 that would take a great deal of persuading in doing that, even if she was an unofficial member of the household and therefore usually around in the morning before breakfast.

"Do I want to know?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him, giggling as she did so. He didn't. She was pulling his leg. He smiled, pulling her just a little bit closer, kissing the top of her head as she ran her hand down his chest, tracing invisible lines again.

"I wanted to be special. For whoever decided they wanted to marry me." She looked up at him. He glanced down at her, half smiling at her upturned face. "I'm not as outgoing as people think. All that prankster stuff is just a front really, a persona. It's not who I am or who I want to be. Just like you. Only I get to see who you really are, what the real Hermione is like. She's funny, smart, delicate and beautiful. I feel special for being able to say only I get to see you in that light and make you giggle and squiggle in ways no one else does. Plus, only I get to hear you make those noises." She gently tapped his arm, grinning as she did so.

He had a point. Only she saw this side of George, the side that was private from the world, the part of George that was really him. She was special. She was allowed to see that side because he loved her.

"Did you just propose?" He grinned, rolling onto his stomach so he was lying next to her, his lips centimetres above hers.

"Would you say no if I were?" Her kiss was all he needed for an answer.