Sofia, Bulgaria

Viktor, unlike Hermione, took quite a long shower, using the time to think about how much had changed between him and Hermione ever since that small kiss that shouldn't have meant anything. Surely, the same effect wouldn't have taken place if it had been Molly or Parvati that kissed him like that, right? After what felt like hours, Viktor got out of the shower and dried himself off, grabbing a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants from his duffel to throw on before climbing into bed and trying to get some sleep, which proved to be quite difficult as thoughts continued to fill his mind, but he eventually did drift off to sleep, hoping that tomorrow things would be better, though he seriously doubted that.

Sometime during the night, Viktor thought he heard the faintest sound of his door opening. He ignored it at first, but after a while he sat up to see Hermione turning and leaving his room. His face fell as he watched his friend go, making no effort to stop her. By now, he knew that she was comfortable with sleeping with him, so if she had changed her mind for some reason, then he decided it would be best not to stop her. Especially considering that even he thought that the idea of them sleeping together now would be....Different. He frowned and rested his head back down on his pillow, trying to figure out whether Hermione had realized how off Viktor had been feeling lately, or if the reason for her turning back was because she felt the same way.

The next morning, Viktor woke up not feeling any better about the events that had happen the previous day. But he couldn't let any of that bother him because, well, it was Christmas and you can't be upset on Christmas, right? Right. So, he got up and decided to get ready for the day, seeing as he had woken up quite early and didn't expect anyone else to be awake at this time.

Hermione hasn't slept much at all, so she is awake and just waiting for the day to begin. She's already fully dressed and ready, she's had so much time to kill that she's even braided her hair and is sitting cross-legged in the centre of her bed, the Bulgarian History book open in her lap and her Bulgarian-English dictionary beside her. Her door is open, so she hears Viktor moving around. Hermione hesitates a moment, because she doesn't know if she can handle more awkwardness with her best friend right now, but it's Christmas, and if Hermione wants to be honest, she's missed not waking up with Viktor this morning. "Viktor?" she calls quietly, not wanting to disturb his parents if they're not awake.

Viktor paused and looked towards his door. Yep, that was Hermione who just called him. He walked out of his room and down the hall, stopping in the doorway to smile at Hermione, who he thought looked rather pretty with her hair braided. "Merry Christmas," he said softly, smiling as he stayed rested against the doorframe for a moment longer. He decided to try and just ignore any awkwardness and pretend that he didn't wake up last night when Hermione came in his room, and walked over to sit on the bed next to her.

Hermione smiles over at Viktor when he appears. "I thought maybe I'd heard you. Happy Christmas," she says softly, and when he sits next to her she twists her upper body so that she can give him a hug. That's what friends do on Christmas morning, right? It has nothing to do with the fact that she's missed Viktor's arms around her at all. It's Christmas. That's all.

Viktor smiled and hugged Hermione back tightly, not really caring that the hug was inappropriately long for people who are 'just friends.' When he finally broke away, he glanced down at the books on the mattress in hopes of using them as an excuse to not look at Hermione's face. After a hug like that, Viktor knew it'd be difficult to pull away from his friend and not want to kiss her. Normally when he was upset or confused, he went to Hermione, but he certaintly couldn't do that now. And then there was Molly...who was bak at Hogwarts. He could always write her a letter, but he had no intentions of spoiling her break with his little problems. He would wait until he got back to talk with his friend. "Your hair looks pretty," he commented after realizing that he hadn't been talking. They were the first words that came to his mind, and he felt sort of silly for saying that but they were words...He couldn't take them back now.

Molly is ready and waiting for BFF duty at any point, she would like Viktor to know.

Hermione flushes and touches a self-conscious hand to her long braid. It's odd, shes never been used to people commenting on her looks in a positive way, and then Luna came along and for some strange reason treated her like she was beautiful. Hermione could never figure out why, she knows she's nothing special and in all honesty, she's more focused on her mind than her body. With Viktor, thought, that persistent flutter stirs in her belly at the simple comment on her hair. It's ridiculous, Hermione tells herself firmly, and fiddles with the corner of one of her books. "Thank you. Erm, I know it's very early, but did you want to exchange our gifts now, or wait for your parents?" she asks shyly, in the wake of everything now completely unsure of her gift to Viktor.

"Oh. Ve could do that now," he said softly, feeling nervous about his gift after everything that's happened between them recently. He summoned the gifts from his room, and held them in his lap for a moment before passing them over to Hermione. "I hope you like them. I originally planned to get you some Bulgarian books...but..." He trailed off and smiled, gesturing to the Bulgaian books that he had bought for Hermione on their first day here.

In the gift bag:
http://www.rubberduckworld.com/bud-luxury-outback.html

Wrapped in the tiny box:

OHMYGOD!
~flails~

THAT IS SO PERFECT AND AWESOME!
*waves at Mya duck*

*logs Mione in*

Hehehehe *thought you might like the Mya duck*
<3

Hermione blushes. "Well, I couldn't resist," she says bashfully, although Viktor totally should have seen that coming. She unwraps the packages reverently, her face lighting up in amused delight at the rubber duck. "It's perfect," she says, admiring it from every angle before turning her attention to the smaller box. She opens the lid and gasps. "Viktor! I don't know what to say... it's lovely," she says, pulling the fine chain from the box and admiring the pendant. She hesitates a moment, considers asking him to help her fasten it about her neck, then decides to just do it herself even though it'll take a little longer. Finally, she reaches for the two packages on her pillow waiting for him and hands them over.
The first is this:


The second is a scrapbook, full of photos of Viktor and Hermione, pictures dating all the way back to the Yule Ball, with little mementos of their friendship also stuck between the pages. Hermione fiddles nervously with her new necklace as she waits for Viktor to open it, half tempted to wrench the package back from his hands because she feels strangely like it's inappropriate now.

Viktor watches nervously as Hermione opens her first gift, smiling happily when he sees that she likes it. When she gets to the second gift, he quietly watches her face, hoping that she'll like this one and not think it's weird or anything. He hadn't thought of it before, but it always seemed like boyfriends bought things like this for their girlfriends and after everything that had happened between them, it felt odd for him to be giving a necklace to Hermione. But when she had finally opened it, Viktor smiled and relaxed, successfully hiding the disappointment from his face when she put the necklace around her neck without his help. "It looks beautiful," he said softly, smiling at his best friend before taking the gifts from her to open. He opened the first one, grinning at it as he held the silver chain in his fingers. "Wow. This is...It's perfect," he said softly, because Luna loves silver way more than gold, and Viktor does too. He puts it around his neck before taking the other package in his hands, and slowly unwraps it. When he realizes what it is, he quietly goes through the pages without making any comments, a small smile appearing on his face every now and then as he looks at some of the pictures of them together. He knows he shouldn't do it, but he goes for it anyway as he leans over and kisses Hermione on the cheek, ignoring the jittery feeling in his stomach. "Thank you," he said softly, smiling at her then looking back down at the book. "I love it."

Hermione closes her eyes as Viktor leans over and softly kisses her cheek. She holds her breath, completely and utterly dumbstruck by the feelings brought on by the gentle brush of his lips on her skin. And all of a sudden, she knows. All the fluttery awkwardness between them finally has a name. This is the moment in which Hermione Granger realises that she is completely and irrevocably in love with Viktor Krum. She opens her eyes and smiles, although there's something sad about the curve of her mouth. Hermione wants to leave, to run home and never look back, because she's fallen in love with someone who could never love her back. Guilt courses though her. Viktor has been so good to her, the best friend she could've asked for, and this is how she repays him? It's ridiculous, she thinks. She should distance herself, withdraw as much as she can, but she can't tear herself away even though she knows she'll only hurt herself more in the end. "I'm glad you like them," she says quietly.

...*takes a deep breath*


OH MY GOD
*squeals and flails*

Viktor Krum wrote:...*takes a deep breath*


OH MY GOD
*squeals and flails*

IKR?

*is spinning on spinny chair and flailing*

Hermione Granger wrote:Hermione closes her eyes as Viktor leans over and softly kisses her cheek. She holds her breath, completely and utterly dumbstruck by the feelings brought on by the gentle brush of his lips on her skin. And all of a sudden, she knows. All the fluttery awkwardness between them finally has a name. This is the moment in which Hermione Granger realises that she is completely and irrevocably in love with Viktor Krum. She opens her eyes and smiles, although there's something sad about the curve of her mouth. Hermione wants to leave, to run home and never look back, because she's fallen in love with someone who could never love her back. Guilt courses though her. Viktor has been so good to her, the best friend she could've asked for, and this is how she repays him? It's ridiculous, she thinks. She should distance herself, withdraw as much as she can, but she can't tear herself away even though she knows she'll only hurt herself more in the end. "I'm glad you like them," she says quietly.

Viktor catches the sad look to Hermione's smile, but decides not to question it. All he can really think about is how confusing and strange everything is now. If...he had felt like this with a guy, then he would realize that he's fallen in love, but this isn't another guy. It's a girl, and not just any girl. This is Hermione, his best friend. Even if there was some crazy way that he wasn't gay...Well, it wouldn't change the fact that she's his best friend. Telling Hermione that he was about 100% positive that he was in love with her would ruin their friendship and probably scare her off completely. He smiled sadly and set the scrapbook down on the bed between them. "Should ve go downstairs now?" He asked quietly, feeling terrible about not wanting to be alone with Hermione anymore.

The room is strangely oppressive, Hermione feels like she's suffocating under these feelings, so she nods at once. "Yes, let's. Maybe your parents will be up," she says, grabbing a package she's carefully wrapped for Mr. and Mrs. Krum to deposit carefully under the tree. She couldn't come all the way to Bulgaria and have then welcome her into their home for Christmas without bringing at least a small token of her gratitude, after all. She walks down the stairs ahead of Viktor, her shoulders hunched slightly in tension, her long braid bouncing lightly on her back.

Viktor tries not to think about all these feelings as he walks downstairs with Hermione, but he can't stop. And the more he thinks about it, the more complicated it gets. First of all, there's Rolf. He may not be in love with Rolf, but they are in a relationship and he does like Rolf a lot. He knows that he can't just act like he's not there and he has to add him into the equation, as well. Then there's the fact that Hermione is his best friend, and he has to be especially careful with how he deals with all of this because he has no idea what he'd do if he lost her completely.

When Viktor's parents greet them both merrily, Viktor puts on his best smile and hugs both his parents. He certainly wouldn't let his mood ruin Christmas for everyone else.

"Merry Christmas, both of you. I made more Banitsa for breakfast," Sophia said with a wide grin, and yes Mya, this one has cheese in it. Yep. It's sitting on the counter so people can just help themselves whenever they'd like. Sophia is rather excited to give Hermione her special gift, though. <.<

Hermione smiles brightly at Viktor's parents, because they're lovely, and they've welcomed her into their home and treated her like one of their own, purely because Viktor calls her a friend. "Merry Christmas. Oh! I mean, Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo*," she says, pronouncing the Bulgarian words carefully. "Erm, this is just a little something for you both, because I'm so grateful for you inviting me to spend Christmas with you," she says, handing the brightly wrapped gift to Sophia to open. Inside is a small photo album that Hermione has put together on the sly, sneaking about and asking favours from people she barely knows, and going through old albums of her own. The photographs are all of Viktor and his life at Hogwarts, with what Hermione hopes is most, if not all his friends.
Hermione waits for the Krums to open their gift, too nervous even to contemplate eating the delicious-looking breakfast until she knows they like it.


*Merry Christmas

Sophia's eyes light up as Hermione wishes them a Merry Christmas, still surprised at how quickly she's been teaching herself. Bulgarian isn't an easy language after all. "Thank you," she says excitedly as she takes the gift from Hermione. She opens it up carefully and greams when she realizes what it is, taking a moment to look through some of the pages with Mr. Krum, who also smiles fondly at the pictures. "This is beautiful! Thank you, Her-my-oh-ne," she says, smiling as she gives Hermione another hug. Sophia sets the photo album down on a table and picks up a smallish package to hand to Hermione. "Here, ve hope you like it," Sophia says as she waits patiently for Hermione to open the gift, so they can see what she thinks of the Bulgarian cookbook they got her, along with Sophia's recipe cards for some of the meals she made last night that she slipped in between the pages. And it's even written in English too!

"Thank you," Hermione says, accepting the package and unwrapping it quickly. She pauses a moment when she unearths the cookbook and the hand-written recipes, her face going blank. Then she smiles. "This is wonderful! Thank you," she says again, leafing through the pages already. She tries not to panic, and hopes Viktor's mother understands that she's no good in the kitchen, and that she might make a right mess of things, but she'll try her best to try some of these recipes. The tiny taste she's had of Bulgarian food thus far has left her hungry for more.

Viktor thinks Hermione's gift for his parents is lovely, and so is the gift that they gave to her, but it's sort of hard to think about Christmas presents when you've spent a large part of your life being gay...And then realize that you're in love with your best friend. Viktor has always known that he loved Hermione, but being in love with her and wanting to kiss her suddenly is confusing him and he feels like he's coming out of the closet all over again. But he smiles and acts normal for everyone else, wondering why he had to go falling in love with a girl like Hermione because he knows that once he's done that, he'll never be able to happily be with anybody else.

Sophia grins when she sees Hermione likes the gift, and she waits for Viktor to go over to their lovely Christmas tree where he's left his presents for his parents before pulling a small envelope out of her pocket for Hermione. "Do not let Viktor know you have this," she whispers, winking at Hermione before joining the other two Krums over near the tree, where Hermione can join after she opens that envelope and looks at the picture of Viktor covered in flour on Mother's Day.

Hermione gives Sophia an odd look as she accepts the envelope. Then their dinner conversation the previous evening returns to her and she suddenly understands what it is. She grins cheekily. "I won't," she says, and is not game enough to look right at the moment, in case she can't control her laughter and gives the game away to Viktor. Besides, she doesn't want him to be upset with her, or his mother. It's all in good fun. She drifts closer, an expression of innocent expectation on her face as Viktor and his parents exchange gifts.

And all this gift giving is just lovely. Viktor gives his mother a scarf that he had knitted for her and his father gets something nice too, but I've been thinking all day and I just have no idea. And Viktor's parents gave him an engagement ring to put on Hermione's finger something cool, I am so uncreative...How about some stuff for his new apartment. I don't know what, but cool stuff. Is it important? Viktor loves it and everything is all good, and now it's time for breakfast. There's also a bunch of fruit, yogurt, and toast out so everyone can just help themselves, mhm.

"So, how did you sleep, Her-my-oh-nee?" asks Sophia once they're all situated around the table. "I hope the bed in the guest room vosn't too uncomfortable for you."

Hermione smiles reassuringly at Sophia. "The bed was very comfortable," she assures her, skirting around the question of how she slept because the honest answer would be 'horribly, I was up all night grappling with my feelings for my best friend- you know, your gay son who is gay and in a gay relationship'. She fills her plate with Banitsa, yogurt and fruit, and takes a sip of coffee. She looks between Viktor, his mother, and the new knitted scarf wound proudly around her neck. "That's a really pretty scarf. You did a great job with it," she tells Viktor bashfully.

SORRY, I WAS GONE LONGER THAN EXPECTED <3

"Thank you," Viktor replies softly, unable to ignore the feeling he gets just from a simple compliment from Hermione. He had stayed quiet as his mother asked Hermione about how she slept. He noticed how she avoided answering the actual question, only because of what had happened last night when she walked into his room, then left. Sophia, however, did not notice a thing and continued eating her breakfast happily.

"It really is beautiful," she commented as Hermione complimented the scarf. "I remember ven Viktor first learned to start knitting this summer. He has picked it up quite quickly," she said, smiling proudly at Viktor, who just smiled humbly (can you smile humbly? IDK) and continued eating his breakfast.