It was chaos. There were boxes all over the place, and Hermione was tired, irritable, and starting to wonder if this had been a huge mistake. If she needed further proof that this just didn’t work, all she had to do was stare at the large television currently occupying far too much space in the sitting room.

Instead of admiring the far too handsome man that was currently leaning against the television, she glared at the ugly monstrosity. Well, there was a bit of an ogle as Adrian had lost his shirt during the move and was currently wearing just a pair of faded blue jeans that were riding low on his hips and his hair was falling across his forehead and nearly in his eyes from where he’d just let it dry after his shower that morning instead of spending a ridiculous amount of time making it look sexily disheveled. It was far more sexy like it was now, she thought, before she scolded her hormones for being distracted by him.

“My bookshelves are supposed to go there,” she said tightly as she indicated the space against the wall where his huge television was presently sitting.

“We have to find somewhere else for them because this is the only place where the telly fits, Kitten,” he told her with just a hint of impatience as he rubbed the back of his neck and stretched in a way that indicated he, too, was tired and possibly cranky.

“There isn’t anywhere else,” she pointed out as she looked around the sitting room. It was a decent size flat, not small but not overly large either. It was a good size for a couple’s first shared space, which is why they’d chosen it. Well, Adrian had also liked the tiny cloakroom that he planned to convert into a dark room, and she loved the window seat that looked out over a pretty garden in the back that was a perfect area for reading.

Of course, she hadn’t realized that Adrian’s television would take up most of the sitting room. It was one of his few possessions that wasn’t clothing or photography equipment, but it was just ridiculous in size. No one needed a television that big, especially when he actually didn’t use it that often. A fascination with Muggle programs was not an excuse for being a stubborn prat about getting something smaller that fit somewhere other than the one wall where her bookshelves were supposed to go.

“You’re just trying to find something to fight about,” he muttered as he ran his fingers through his caramel colored hair and sighed.

Adrian was usually good-natured and friendly, a natural flirt to anyone with a pulse in a casual way that charmed most people, and he’d rarely gotten angry in the three years she’d known him and certainly not towards her in the two years they’d been involved. She’d been on the receiving end of his seduction quite a few times, when he got serious and focused and intense in a way that aroused her completely, and she’d seen him moody, upset, hurt, and even sad. Today, however, he was starting to get cross and she felt a bit lost.

“I am not,” she denied as she crossed her arms and glared at the television that was causing all the problems. Perhaps this was a sign that they didn’t need to move in together, she wondered again.

He wasn’t really her type at all, not like the very few men who had ever particularly noticed her, and maybe it didn’t matter that they somehow made sense when it came right down to it. After all, she’d had difficulty in the early part of their relationship accepting that someone like Adrian, who was good looking, charming, and popular amongst those who knew him, had any real interest in her.

He was more than just a pretty face, though, and she’d gotten to know him in a way no one else really did because he let her in. She got to see who he really was, to see that he was more than the friendly handsome man who made old women blush with a wink and always seemed more carefree than he really was. She’d fallen in love with him, after he’d fallen for her as he playfully reminded her sometimes, and they’d been together for a little over two years now.

There was talk of marriage eventually and probably kids when they were older and ready for that sort of responsibility. Nothing formal had been decided, but she doubted it would be much longer before they decided to make things legal. She could easily see a future with Adrian and had thought about what their children would be like. Now, though, she wondered if this wasn’t an indication that they didn’t have a future regardless of loving each other and having a relationship that really made sense contrary to what people seemed to think.

“Hermione,” Adrian said softly. She looked up from the television and found that he’d moved towards her. He raised her chin so their gazes met and smiled as his thumb brushed across her jaw. “I’m scared, too.”

“I’m not---“ She started to say before she smiled sheepishly. “Okay, maybe it is a little scary. It’s just, what if it’s a mistake, Ade?”

“What if it’s not, Kitten?” he asked as he pulled her closer. She’d hated that nickname when he’d first used it, having no tolerance for sickening pet names that people used, but she was used to it now and knew it was something special that he’d never used for anyone else.

“You’re not supposed to answer a question with a question,” she reminded him as she reached up to brush his hair off his forehead.

“You ask too many questions,” he pointed out as his hand slid down to rest on the small of her back. “Sometimes you just can’t have all the answers. Isn’t it a Gryffindor trait to be brave and take risks?”

“Hmm…just like it’s a Slytherin trait to be manipulative and cunning,” she said with a slight smile as he looked at her innocently. “I’m not buying that look, Mister Pucey. You’re a sneaky man.”

“A devastatingly handsome one, though,” he added with a wink before he lowered his head and brushed a light kiss against her lips. He looked at her seriously and she saw the vulnerability, insecurity, and fear that was probably reflected in her own gaze. “We’ll figure this out, Hermione. You’re more important than a bloody television.”

“I think I can put most of the bookshelves above the television and possibly put the others near the top of the wall by the dining table,” she finally decided. He smiled at her suggestion and she had to kiss him because, really, he was just too tempting. Her hands slid down his bare back as the kiss deepened and she realized that some times, when something important was at stake, compromise was necessary.

The End