Title: Scratch
Rating: T
Pairing: Fred/Hermione
Prompt: 10hugs - Crazy.
Summary: Hermione isn't giving Fred all the attention he needs, so he begins doubting her feelings for him.

I've got a secret I can't keep
I've got my eyes on something sweet
It feels like my heart's pounding through my chest
- "I Wanna Get To Ya", Billy Gilman

o O o

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

All the scratching was making Fred want to bust his own eardrums. The sound of quill against parchment, for three straight hours, sun almost setting--

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Fred could feel a vein in his temple popping.

"Hermione, love, it's almost six. You've been writing too long. Let's do something fun, yeah?" Fred called out hopefully. Hermione merely grunted and waved a hand. He had just been dismissed.

Fred was up to his neck by now. He knew this couldn't go on.

First, Hermione asked him if she could stay at his place for the day because Ginny's kids were being their usual bratty selves back in their shared flat, and she really needed to get her paperwork for the Ministry done by tomorrow.

Fred agreed, of course, although not because he was playing the role of good and supportive boyfriend. He thought this was his chance. All those months of nothing but snogs and cuddling--finally, they were going to do "it"!

So Hermione arrived around noon, the two of them having had their usual Sunday lunch at the Burrow. When she said that she was going to go back to her place to get some stuff, he thought she was going to get prepared for their "activities".

However, Fred's expectant heart was crushed when Hermione arrived with a stack of books, folders, an inkwell, and a quill. The quill that was making all the scratch, scratch, scratch. She thanked him for letting her stay. She even went as far as to give him a minute-long snog, but that was it. She spent the rest of the afternoon in front of his desk, pouring over papers and whatnot.

Fred was nearly seething. Hermione couldn't just skip into his flat in her summer dress and ignore him all day. What kind of cruel girl was she? How could she not do something about the strain in his pants?

Fred and Hermione were all alone in his flat, no one to disturb them. It was a peaceful afternoon...now evening. Anybody who saw Hermione enter the flat would think that something would have happened by now. Except nothing was happening--not what they were expecting, at least.

The situation was excruciating. Fred couldn't take it anymore, so he pushed off from the bed and quietly stalked over to the desk. He placed his hands around Hermione's shoulders, hugged her (she didn't even seem to notice), and breathed in deeply.

Hermione's faint fruity cologne invaded Fred's nostrils, setting his senses on fire, and triggering his thoughts of her during night to play in his mind. His pants were definitely too constricting. It was time something was done about that.

Fred kissed her cheek, and he nearly jumped for joy when she finally set down her quill, stopping the scratch, scratch, scratch. She didn't do anything else, though.

"Hermione, George is on some island with Verity. You and I are alone in this flat, and you've been here for a few hours now." Fred cupped her chin and turned her face towards his. He held her gaze, which was one of curiosity and patience. Weird.

"Fred--"

"Do I have to ask? Come on, love, you're driving me crazy," Fred whispered as he bent down to kiss Hermione's neck. He felt her shiver, and he inwardly smiled. "We've been together for so long. Just once, let me. I promise it'll be great." He licked a patch of skin below her ear. His other hand traveled down her arm and on her leg where it gently caressed, up and down, teasing the skin near the hem of her skirt.

"But Fred." Hermione struggled to suppress her moan. "It's almost seven. I have to get back home." She placed her hands on his chest and softly pushed him back.

What the bloody hell?

Had Hermione looked at Fred's face as she pushed him, she would have seen hurt and confusion. She stood up and smoothed down her skirt, which rode up earlier. Then she hurriedly gathered her things in her arms and made her way to the door.

Fred silently followed Hermione, his head hung low, speechless. He opened the door for her and she kissed his cheek before bidding him goodbye and promising to make it up to him someday. Then he closed the door and leaned against it.

Hermione was never as enthusiastic as Fred when it came to romance. She seemed to resist him sometimes, especially when the situation got a bit too heated. She would push him off and make up some lame excuse such as forgetting to owl the Minister or leaving the lights on in the bathroom.

Fred tried to understand. Hermione was no Ginny, who had been exposed to such things at an early age. Hermione must still be uncomfortable about getting intimate with a guy, what with the incoherent Viktor Krum and the bumbling baby brother Ron as her only experience. Fred doubted either guys had gone far with her.

Still, Fred thought Hermione's coldness was far too much. Did she even like him? The question plagued him everytime he was met with her expressionless face when he tried hitting on her, or when she would stay unswayed even as he begged for just "one night of pure bliss". She never relented.

"She doesn't care for me one bit," Fred whispered to his empty room. The world suddenly felt so unfair.

Fred was about to kick the wall when the door opened again. Hermione peeked in. "By the way, Fred," she said in her softest tone. He looked back at her innocent face. "I brought dinner for you. It's in the box on your table. Eat it, okay? You don't really eat much sometimes."

Fred froze. His insides seemed to have imploded.

"That's all. Bye." Hermione closed the door softly behind her.

Fred swallowed the great lump in his throat. Hermione never cooked for anyone. In fact, she never cooked at all before. So that must mean she would never cook for just anyone, right?

At that thought, Fred knew everything in the world was right again.

o O o

AN: I'm not sure if this is the end of this fic, with UST and all. If the other prompts fit, I might make a sequel. Or a prequel. But I'm not promising anything.

A beta hasn't touched this, by the way. So anyone interested? And for my upcoming FHr fics, too?