Chepe banged on the door, breathing heavily as he banged again a second later. He left no time to wait as he kept desperately hitting his fist against that door. That red door that would finally open when its occupant managed to limp his way to answer it.
There he was when his call was answered. In the glow of his candlelight, Gustavo Pinheiro stood before him in his pajamas, his crutch tucked underneath his elbow that helped him make the journey to his front door.
Any normal person would have a look of confusion at such an abrupt visit in the middle of the night, but not Gustavo. He only looked at his oldest friend standing there in the summer mist of the late night and sighed. “What happened now?” He asked.
“Him. Who else?” Chepe shoved past him and went to the kitchen to start pouring himself a drink. “Be a normal couple for one night…” he repeated to himself. “Motherfucker” he poured a glass but drank from the bottle.
Gustavo made his way to the kitchen to watch, and he leaned against the frame of the arch. “Easy on my whiskey. I need that for my pain.”
“Fuck you, Gustavo. You have no idea what pain is.” He downed the glass as well, slamming it down back on the counter. He panted, feeling himself sweating. “God, I almost lost it. I almost cried in front of him. I almost…”
Gustavo made his way over to him and put his hand on his shoulder as Chepe began to sob. He rubbed it softly…
“Go relax. I’ll make you some food, ceilo.”
WOAH WOAH WOAH!! Check this out! Another Fic by Rinnysega. A short one but is a part of a big au story.
“Jose!” The familiar call of his mother rang through the trees as both boys quit their giggling and bickering to listen.
“Oh. I have to go.” Jose pushed himself from the ground and wiped the dirt from his pants.
“Not yet! You just got here!” Chepe dropped the remains of his frog and stood up as Jose started back toward the trail. “Stay! Pretend you didn’t hear her calling you.”
“I’m going to get in trouble, Chepe.”
“So?”
“Jose!” She called again.
“Sorry, Chepe.” And he turned from him to leave.
Chepe held out a hand as he disappeared from sight, and slowly he lowered it…
—
“That made you cry?” Jose tried not to laugh as the two of them shared a bed. “Me having to go home for dinner made you cry?”
“I didn’t cry, idiot! I said it was upsetting!”
“So you cried.”
Chepe turned from him and pulled the bedsheet over his head. “Fucking idiot…I didn’t cry.”
Jose was quiet, on his back with his head sunk into the pillow while he looked from Chepe to the ceiling lit up in the moonlight.
Tag: Modern Au - Implied sexual content - Drunk sex - Plane - Post divorce - Alcohol
Summary:
“I don’t know. I’ve never been to Peru.” Kakashi says, pulling out his smartphone. “What’s your number?”
“We are really doing things in the wrong order,” Iruka chuckles before giving Kakashi his phone number. “But hey, I guess we’re going to need to stay linked for the next few days.”
“I could stay linked to you as much as you want.” Kakashi teased.
“Stop doing that, it’s very bad taste.”
“You weren’t saying that last night, honey,”
“Yesterday I was drunk,” Iruka corrects.
“So what? Are you going to throw me away?”
I love this sm!! Huge thanks again, Sweety ☺️ Check it out, its amazing!
Seeing things through another’s eyes often gives us a new appreciation for the things we hold dear. Interacting with Cho and Dean give Harry and Ginny a new appreciation for their lives after the war and each other.
Happy birthday to my very first fandom friend! @thisismegz
Meg, I can’t believe it’s been been five years and I’m so happy that you reached out and shared your ideas with me. You’re one of my favorite people and I hope your birthday is full of all the best things! I hope this little story makes your birthday just a little more special! Love you, darling!
Nexus
Chapter 1
Cho took a seat at the table while Stephen went to the bar to get them drinks. She and Stephen had decided on an unconventional honeymoon - three months traveling across the world while Stephen worked. Stephen was an international business consultant and had mapped out his next three months so the two of them could see a large chunk of the world. He’d called it time for her to heal, and heal she had. Steven made her laugh, made her want to live, to smile, to look forward to the future. And sitting at the hotel bar in San Francisco, Cho was happy.
Which was good, because she’d just seen someone she thought the sight of might pull out every terrible and awful memory in her.
Harry Potter stood at the bar.
Thankfully the sight of him didn’t up-end her happiness, which was a relief. It was then she realized he was talking to a woman, a blonde woman.
Hadn’t Harry been with Ginny?
Cho watched as the blonde woman batted her eyes at Harry, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Harry could do better than a woman who was just attracted to his accent and the fact that he was from a different country. Then again, if he’d let Ginny get away maybe he didn’t deserve better.
“Here, love.” Stephen slid into his seat and set her drink down with a kiss on her cheek. Then he caught her eye. “Everything alright?”
“Yes, I just know him.” She gestured towards Harry.
“From where?” Stephen linked their hands.
“School.” Cho shrugged and let out a long breath. That word brought more pain than seeing Harry did.
Stephen shifted his chair to be able to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “Was the woman at your school too?”
Cho went to say no, but a bright streak of red caught her eye, a streak that threw her right back to Quidditch matches and trying to out maneuver one of the best Seekers she’d ever flown against.
“Yeah.” Cho smiled as Ginny slid into Harry’s arms and the blonde woman quickly retreated. Harry whispered something in Ginny’s ear and they both laughed. His lips brushed hers briefly as his arms kept her close.
“Do you want to say hello?” Stephen’s arms tightened against her, holding her up both literally and figuratively.
Cho watched as Ginny and Harry talked easily at the bar, and caught sight of the ring on Ginny’s hand as she linked her wrists behind Harry’s neck. They were happy, and if she knew anyone who deserved to be happy, it was Harry and Ginny.
“No, I don’t want to intrude.” Cho rested her head against Stephen’s shoulder. “Besides, it’s our honeymoon, and tomorrow you promised to take me to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory.”
“Then you should finish your drink so we can head upstairs.” Stephen smirked at her as he picked up his glass. “Big day after all. We’ll need plenty of rest.”
Cho laughed and within a few minutes let Stephen lead her up to their room.
Harry watched them go and smiled.
“I’m glad Cho seems happy.” Ginny threaded her fingers with his.
“Me too, she deserves to be happy after the hell we all went through.” Harry leant against the bar and pulled Ginny flush against him.
“You do too, Harry.” Ginny kissed him lightly before pulling back.
Harry gave her arm a sharp tug to pull her back, shifting his hands to cradle her face and allow him to deepen the kiss.
“I’m happy with you.” He murmured before losing himself in her flowery intoxicating scent again.
“Maybe we should…” Ginny fisted his shirt in her hands and pulled him forward.
Harry smirked against her before pulling away to lead them up to their room, only running into the wall three times in the journey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 2
Dean took a deep breath as he looked at the door to the tent in front of him.
“It’ll be fun, mate.” Seamus put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
That was easy for him to say. He’s kept contact with everyone over the years, especially Harry and Ginny. Dean was honestly shocked to have received the invite at all, let alone a spot in the VIP section and boxed seats. Sure he’d been a part of Dumbledore’s Army, but after the battle he’d cut ties with everyone but Seamus. He hitched rides across the world and spent five years working through the trauma and chaos in his brain as he saw countries he’d only ever read about. The last two of those five years had been the ones that counted though.
Those two had included Valeria.
He’d met her in Mexico City and after six months of her showing him around her home country, she’d decided she was going to follow him to the next one, and the one after that. And then somewhere along the way, they were setting up homes in Mexico and England and Dean let his past go in order to embrace this amazing life that he’d created with Valeria.
But being here now, this was his past coming back, and Dean didn’t know if he was ready.
“Dean?” Valeria took his hand.
“Right, sorry.”
“Todo estará bien.” She squeezed his hand and he took strength in her words as he followed Seamus and his wife, Maeve, forward.
The Potter’s tent was enormous inside, obviously picked out specifically to be the place to host their old group. Dean felt the guilt hit fast as he saw faces he hadn’t seen in sixteen years.
And then he saw Ginny.
The guilt hit harder there. He wished he’d been better to her. They had been teenagers and he could look back and appreciate where they’d both made bad decisions, but he still felt guilty for how miserable they’d made each other.
“Dean! Seamus! Maeve!” Ginny ran over with a smile he couldn’t ever remember seeing on her face. “I’m so glad you made it.” She then pulled Maeve into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you! Why did you move all the way to Ireland?”
Maeve laughed. “Ireland pays their Quidditch coaches better. And we’re closer to family.”
Ginny gave a huff before turning back to Dean. “And who is this beautiful lady?”
“This is my wife, Valeria.” Dean kicked himself for being not only out of it, but rude also. “Valeria, this is Ginny Potter.”
Valeria shook Ginny’s hand. “It’s so nice of you to invite us. This has been a wonderful experience.”
Ginny went to answer when Harry stepped up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. “We’re glad you could come. I’m Harry, Ginny’s husband. Mucho gusto de conocerle, Valeria.”
Ginny’s smile increased further and something Dean had never realized seemed to dawn on him in that moment. She hadn’t been happy with him because he wasn’t Harry. Just like he hadn’t been happy with her because she wasn’t Valeria. They hadn’t been right for each other, though at sixteen he couldn’t see that. But the realization pulled the drain on all the residual guilt he’d held, and for the first time since he had arrived in Argentina, Dean felt like he could breathe.
He also realized he’d completely missed what his wife and the Finnigan’s had been saying to the Potter’s.
“We’re glad we could come too.” Dean smiled as he shook Harry’s hand. “It’s been too long.”
Ginny nodded and gestured around the tent. “That’s why we decided to do this. We needed a good reason to bring us all back together.”
“Hannah and Neville have created some drinks for the occasion too,” Harry gestured to one side of the tent where Dean saw a small group of people he’d once felt as close to as his half-siblings. “Go say hi and grab something to drink and enjoy the afternoon. We’ll head over to the boxes about thirty minutes before the match starts.”
“Now we’re talking,” Seamus pulled their little group forward and Ginny laughed and waved them forward.
“I honestly didn’t think he’d come.” She leant back into Harry as she watched the gorgeous Valeria whisper to Dean as they walked away. He was smiling again, looking down at her like she was everything.
The way Ginny knew Harry looked at her.
“I told Seamus to work his magic, and it helped that Dean and Valeria were in Mexico already.” Harry kissed her temple and Ginny closed her eyes as she leant into it.
“Maybe we could take the kids to Mexico, ask Dean and Valeria for good places to visit.”
“I think they’d enjoy that. Why not invite Dean and Valeria and their kids along?”
“I don’t want to scare them away. This is the first contact they’ve had with anyone from school outside of Seamus and Maeve.” Ginny watched Dean slowly settle in. “I worry it’s me that’s kept him from the rest of his friends.”
Harry pulled her flush against him. “You know that isn’t true. Dean is too good for that. And so are you.” His lips touched her cheek and Ginny smiled.
“You’re right. I just want us all to be happy. We deserve to be happy.”
“You deserve to be happy.” Harry slowly spun her around and kissed her. Ginny melted into his kiss and was just realizing that they should probably ease up when…
“Ew! Dad! Mom! Not again!” Ginny laughed as Harry pulled away.
“Jamie, do you want to meet Victor Krum?”
“Well, yes, but-”
“Then kindly stop shouting at your mother and me.”
Jamie grumbled but dutifully quieted, though their guests were already laughing at the display.
“We’ll pick that up later, yeah?” Harry spoke against the shell of her ear.
Ginny indulged herself and turned to kiss him further. Everyone was already laughing with them, and with all their old friends around them, Ginny couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate.
Marlene and Sirius are working to get James and Lily together, but there might be some other benefits waiting in the shadows. Blackinnon Muggle AU.
For the amazing HazzaP! I hope you enjoy this little story! Love you, darling!
(This is 1970s muggle au mostly because I wanted Marlene to have a fringed leather jacket, and I was feeling self-serving.)
Penumbra
Marlene slid into the booth and frowned when Lily sat across from her.
“What are you doing?”
Lily looked toward the restaurant door before looking down at the table. “Trying to take your advice?”
“Oh my gosh, really?” Marlene almost bounced in her seat.
“Well don’t make it weird!” Lily hissed. “For all you know one of our other friends might end up sitting next to me.”
“It’s just us tonight, remember? Everyone bailed except you, me, James and Sirius. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure Sirius gives the two of you plenty of space.”
“Please don’t be obvious about it!” Lily looked back at the door as James and Sirius walked in.
“Trust me, Lils.”
“What’s Lily trusting you with?” James laughed as he and Sirius approached their booth.
“The pizza order,” Marlene stood up. “Black, help a girl out and carry drinks?”
Sirius gave her an amused smile. “Always a pleasure to help a lady, McKinnon.”
“Brilliant,” she snagged his leather jacket by the arm and tugged him away.
“To give you the heads up,” Sirius’ hand slid across her waist, his fingers dipping just beneath her leather jacket. “I’m going to make James sit next to Lily.”
“Great minds, Black,” Marlene let him think her smile was only for his plan lining up with hers and not for the way his fingers lit her up like a Christmas tree. She definitely needed to find someone to keep touching her like that at some point, but tonight was about Lily and James. Then she could look into finding Mr. Right, or even just Mr. Right Now. Why should Lily be the only one enjoying herself? “I will be pulling us away for the same reason.”
“No one I’d rather work with.” They came to the queue to order and Sirius looped one of her loose curls around his finger. “Are you opposed to leaving early if the occasion arises?”
Marlene smirked up at him. “If it gets Lily and James together then I’ll leave with you right now.”
“Patience, Marls,” he dropped the curl and stepped back. “Keep your wits about you, yeah? They might need an extra push here or there.”
“Same to you,” she pulled her wallet from the pocket in her jacket.
“I’ve got this one,” Sirius pushed her hand into her chest. “In celebration of James and Lily figuring themselves out.”
“Let me pitch in,” Marlene opened her wallet and handed him two tenners. “They haven’t figured themselves out yet.”
“Are you a betting woman?” He swatted her bills away, snagging the fringe of her leather jacket in the process.
“Are you really this juvenile?”
“If James and Lily aren’t cozying up and wishing for us to bail in the next hour then I’ll take your twenty quid.”
“Betting means that you would give me twenty quid if it takes more than one hour.” She bit her lip and grinned at him.
“I believe it does.” He stepped closer, linking their pinkies together. “So, Marls, do we have a bet?”
“Is it really a bet if I want you to win?” She curled her fingers so the backs of their hands were pressed against each other.
“You were going to pitch in for the food and drinks anyway.” He leant closer and Marlene had to focus on breathing. It had definitely been too long. She needed to get out and have a good snog as soon as Lily and James were safely off on the road to happily ever after. Her body was suggesting dangerous things with someone she was friends with first and foremost.
“You have yourself a deal.”
Sirius’ smirk went softer as he smiled down at her and she felt her breathing grow shallow.
“Are you two ready to order?”
Sirius turned from her, breaking the contact of their hands, and Marlene barely managed to keep from gasping as he moved to the cashier. “Alright McKinnon, what’re we ordering?”
Marlene forced herself to laugh and join him at the counter. They placed their order and took their drinks and a stack of plates back to their booth.
Where both Marlene and Sirius nearly murdered their best friends.
“James, you are in my seat.” She glared at him.
“What?” James’ hand went straight for his hair. “I thought you’d like to sit next to Lily.”
“Come on, James, don’t rile McKinnon up. Just move so I can set these drinks down.” Sirius gave an annoyed huff and Marlene bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
“Er, right,” James stood and looked at Lily. “I guess we’re sharing this side of the booth tonight.”
Lily gave him a soft smile. “I don’t mind.”
Marlene helped Sirius set down the drinks and shared an eye roll with him. She really didn’t want to win their bet. She wanted to stop hearing Lily pine for a man that obviously wanted her.
“What pizza did you order?” Lily asked once everyone was settled.
“Anchovies and pineapple,” Marlene teased.
“And don’t forget the green olives,” Sirius smirked.
“Why do we put up with these two?” James looked at Lily.
She laughed and leant closer to him. “I don’t know but we should definitely unionize and go on strike.”
“I completely agree,” James slung his arm around Lily’s shoulders and Lily wasted no time in scooting closer to him. “We are on strike as best friends until you get us good pizza toppings.”
Marlene could hardly keep from bouncing. “I guess we’ll have to make due.” She smirked at Sirius.
He winked at her. “If they’re unionizing aren’t we supposed to come down hard? Fire them for lack of work or something like that?”
“That sounds like effort,” Marlene pouted. “Can’t we just let them strike until they’re bored of it?”
Sirius’ hand bumped the side of her thigh and he leant close again. “Brilliant. We’ll just wait them out.”
He was so close. Marlene could see the different shades of gray in his eyes, the way his midnight hair fell perfectly around his face, and smell the leather of his jacket mixing with her own. She wanted to be closer. She wanted to see what would happen. She was never good at thinking before acting. And before she had really processed it, she was sliding her hand against his.
Sirius’ eyes darkened, the gray fading away to black. His hand shifted to hers, fingers intertwining and grasping hers in an almost possessive way. Marlene felt her breath leave her entirely.
“We can wait.” James brought her attention back from the feeling of Sirius’ hand wrapped around hers and the way it made her want to feel his hand against more of her skin. “Pizza toppings are no light matter.”
Sirius didn’t let go of her hand as he turned back to James. “I think we could come to agreeable terms, but it might cut into your benefits.”
“What does that even mean?” Lily laughed.
“He’s trying to use his posh vocabulary to confuse us.” James faux whispered. “Don’t worry, I speak BS as well as he does.” He turned back to Sirius. “You know that cutting benefits will only turn us to explore other options. You could lose everything because you weren’t willing to work together on this.”
Marlene scoffed and Sirius squeezed her hand.
“But you’re assuming that we don’t have other options lined up. Marlene and I are desirable people. There are always openings.”
Marlene’s heart skipped a beat at him calling her desirable.
“You wouldn’t make it two weeks without us.” Lily laughed.
“Yes,” James nodded, “Lily’s right. You rely on us too much to lose us. We demand fair pizza toppings.”
Marlene leant closer to Sirius and faux whispered. “Is this the part where we laugh at them and tell them we’re teasing?”
“Don’t ruin the fun, Marls.” He squeezed her hand. “Jamesie and I are enjoying making fun of our upbringings.”
“Have fun then,” Marlene grinned and looked back at Lily. “So how was your day?”
Lily bit her lip and glanced at James who was now pressed completely against her side. “It’s going pretty good. What about you?”
Marlene forced her eyes to stay on her friend and not mimic the glance at the man sitting next to her. “Good, I snuck out of work early.”
“I think the girls are tired of the game.” James sighed.
“Eh, I get bored when you’re not in top form anyway.” Sirius shrugged and sat back.
James sputtered but Marlene didn’t give it much notice. She was too focused on Sirius’ thumb as it slid against hers.
She looked up at him, hoping to decipher what was happening between them. Sirius winked at her but his attention focused on their friends.
“What’s on the pizza then?” Lily asked. “And please don’t tease this time.”
Marlene chuckled and tried to keep her mind on the conversation and less on what was or wasn’t happening between her and Sirius. “The one the four of us like, but everyone else has something against it; pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and black olives.”
“That’s the only benefit of everyone bailing tonight.” James chuckled. “We get the pizza we like.”
As if summoned by magic, their number was called and Sirius let go of her hand. “I shall return with food.”
Marlene watched him go, knowing that there was no reason she should follow him. They’d only ordered one pizza, she had brought the plates with their drinks, and so Sirius needed no help. But for a reason Marlene wasn’t ready to think about, she wanted to follow him.
And when he returned with pizza and sat back down, he didn’t grab her hand again. That brought up more feelings that Marlene really didn’t want to try and think about. Sirius was her friend. And while she was very capable of looking at him and pointing out all the reasons girls fell at his feet, she didn’t know if she wanted to give into her body and be one of them.
The conversation continued though as if Marlene wasn’t struggling to decide if these feelings surrounding Sirius were worth pursuing. So she did her best to keep pushing James and Lily together while trying to enjoy her dinner. They’d been at the restaurant forty-five minutes when Sirius tapped her knee with his.
“I’m grabbing a refill,” Sirius lifted his cup. “Hand them over.”
“I’ll help you.” Marlene didn’t miss a beat as she picked up hers and Lily’s cups.
“You got them last time.” Lily protested.
“Did you hear something?” Sirius grinned at Marlene as she scooted out of the booth.
“Not a thing,” Marlene laughed and followed him as Lily shouted after them. Something about being obnoxious.
Sirius moved to rest against the wall as they waited and jerked his head, beckoning her to join him.
“I think it’s going well.”
“Me too,” Marlene smiled up at him, “James hasn’t let her out from under his arm for most of the evening.”
“Ready to bail after we finish the pizza?”
“Really?”
“Did you bring Lily?”
“No, she drove this time.”
“Perfect, because James rode the tube and I came on my bike. He and Lily can go home together and I’ll drive you home.”
“Lily and I live together.” Marlene pointed out. “It doesn’t make sense for me to go home with you. How are we going to pull this off?”
“Marls, you’re brilliant!” Sirius grinned.
“What?”
“You said it didn’t make sense for you to come home with me, instead of me to take you home. That’s the answer! You come home with me.” His eyes were bright and his grin filled his face.
“Wait,” Marlene shook her head while pushing away the pesky feelings that there might be something there between her and Sirius if he wanted to take her home. “Are we going to make it look like we’re hooking up?”
He stopped looking at her as he stepped up to the counter and set down the drinks. “Exactly. It’s the perfect reason for them to be left on their own.”
“We’d have to sell them pretty hard on it.” Marlene set down her and Lily’s drinks and glanced back at where James and Lily were cozying up on the booth.
“Not that hard.”
Marlene gasped as Sirius stepped up against her, one hand coming to rest on her hip, the other gently tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. His gray eyes were nearly black as he looked down at her, and Marlene felt herself instinctively step into him, bringing her hand up to his chest to steady herself. He smirked and bent down to whisper in her ear.
“See? We’ve got this, Marls.”
She couldn’t think. He was too close. She was enveloped by Sirius, his touch, his scent, the way his breath wafted down her neck from her ear. “And what do we tell them tomorrow?”
“We’ll talk about that after we’re sure James and Lily are stuck going home together.” His lips brushed against the shell of her ear and Marlene felt the sensation from her ear all the way down her spine.
“Are you sure you’re just not trying to get out of our bet?”
He chuckled, his breath tickling her neck. “You know I never would have taken your money.”
She did. She wouldn’t have taken his either. Probably.
“So we’re making James and Lily think we’re hooking up?”
“And we’ll go from there,” the hand that had brushed away her hair ran the length of her arm, slipping along her hand before he intertwined their fingers.
Marlene would be lying if she didn’t admit she liked the possibilities that existed in the phrase ‘go from there.’
“Let’s get these drinks and then get out of here.” His fingers squeezed her waist, and Marlene gripped his leather jacket in her hand.
“Sirius-”
“Come on,” he cut her off, pulling away and picking up their drinks. “We’ve got this, Marls.”
So she followed him. What else was she going to do? Marlene tried to reason with her warring emotions. Pointing out that Sirius could very well be Mr. Right Now. It would be fun, and if it didn’t go anywhere, then they’d laugh about it and just be friends. After all, it wasn’t until he’d run his hand along her waist that she’d actually thought that way about him. She pushed away the voice that told her she’d more than once admitted that if she were going to hook up with any of their friends she would choose Sirius, including when he’d been within earshot.
Whatever. They’d be fine. She’d be fine. It was going to be fine.
Then they sat down and Sirius slung his arm casually over her shoulders. Marlene looked up at him and he winked as he smirked down at her.
“Hey.”
Well, if they were putting on a show for James and Lily, Marlene figured she might as well make it a good one.
“Hey.” She pushed up against him, bringing her back flush with his chest.
Then she turned back to the budding couple across the table.
James’ eyebrows were creased down towards his nose while Lily’s mouth was slightly agape.
Marlene gave them a pleasant smile and picked up her drink.
“Lily, did you drive?” Sirius shifted his arm around her shoulders to be able to slide his finger under Marlene’s necklace, the choker sliding up with the action.
Marlene made a point of breathing out slowly.
“Er, yes.” Lily managed to pick her jaw up from the table. Marlene bit her lip. She was sure that Lily thought this all her doing, that she was leading Sirius along with no intention of following through.
But Marlene was quickly realizing as Sirius wound her up that she had every intent of following through.
“You two alright?” James’ brow furrowed further.
Marlene smirked. “Smashing, James.”
Sirius bent low to whisper against her ear. “Are you ready to bail?”
She turned, her lips so close to his cheek she could feel his five o'clock shadow against her face. “I am if you are.”
“More than.” He pulled her closer and looked over at James and Lily. “Have fun you two. We’ll see you later.”
“Seriously?” James sputtered again.
“It’s just Sirius, mate.” Sirius laughed. “Make sure he gets home, Lily. I don’t want to hear he took the tube home.”
Marlene winked at Lily, who was gaping at her again, and let Sirius pull them away and out the door.
Sirius kept her pressed against him as they approached his bike.
“Now,” he stopped them to lean back against his bike and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him so that she stood between his legs. “I’m going to tell you to call the next shot.”
Marlene let her arms come to rest around his neck, loosely linking her fingers under his hair. Her heart was hammering but she was relishing the feel of being this close to him. “The next shot for what?”
“You and me.” He leant in and Marlene thought he was going to kiss her but instead he rested his forehead against hers.
“So this is what you meant by we’ll go from there?” She gave into desire and leant closer, bringing her nose to nuzzle along his, their lips now mere centimeters apart.
His grip on her waist tightened and she had to take a half a step forward, leaving absolutely no space between her hips and his. “What do you say, Marls?”
“Are you willing to let this be something?” She shifted to let her lips brush his as she spoke.
“I’m planning on it, McKinnon.”
She could feel his smirk against her and deliberately licked her lips, the barest taste of pizza still there as her tongue brushed him. The sound that he responded with was guttural, primal, and she bit her lip as her stomach tightened.
“Me too,” Marlene murmured before finally, deliberately, bringing her lips to his.
Sirius wasted no time in deepening the kiss, sliding his tongue against hers while pushing his hands under her leather jacket. Marlene matched him, pushing her hands into his hair, sighing at its softness, pressing more of her against him, savoring this moment where she and Sirius crossed the line from friends to something different, something more, something decidedly better.
“Come on,” Sirius slowed their pace, “My flat is far more comfortable than balancing against my bike.”
“The bike is sexy, Black.” Marlene pulled his bottom lip between her teeth. “Don’t underestimate her.”
She felt Sirius’ chuckle against her chest more than she heard it. “Not to worry, love, I’ll make sure you don’t miss her too much.” He pulled away and climbed on, jerking his head for Marlene to follow suit.
Marlene pulled herself flush against him once she was on, and smiled when she felt Sirius’ hand wrap around hers over his middle and give it a firm squeeze.
She hasn’t realized how good it could feel, moving a friendship forward like this, but as Sirius pushed off and they started down the road toward his flat, Marlene didn’t regret any of the evening.
And she didn’t regret it in the morning either when Sirius woke her with soft kisses against her neck and shoulders. She didn’t regret it when Lily was shocked that her going home with Sirius ended up not just being a plot to get Lily and James alone. She didn’t regret it when they realized they’d been together for a year. And she didn’t regret it while sitting next to Sirius at James and Lily’s wedding as the maid of honor and Sirius the best man.
“Ready for your big speech?” Marlene slid her fingers against his palm before interlacing their fingers as they waited for the plates to be cleared.
“Of course, I’ve been ready since the first day James met Lils.” He let go of her hand to trace her shoulder along the off the shoulder sleeve of her dress. “And I should tell you before I give it, I’d been planning to try and sweep you off your feet the night they figured themselves out.”
Marlene blinked. “What?”
Sirius kissed her. “You’d been driving me mad. It just worked out that James and Lily could be pushed in the same night. But I was bloody determined, love.”
Marlene kissed him, pulling her fingers through his hair as she laughed. “I’m glad you did. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Sirius ran a hand along her knee, his fingers caressing the skin exposed by the cut off her dress. Marlene caught his hand and interlaced their fingers. They had the entire night ahead of them.
“Why are you telling me this now?”
Sirius’ smirk hit his lips with lightning speed. “Couldn’t have you finding out in my speech could I?”
He kissed her cheek and then stood and held up his glass as he started his toast to James and Lily. He followed that immediately with his proposal to her.
Marlene didn’t think she could be any happier as he slid the ring on her finger and kissed her with abandon.
Ginny is used to the teasing, but Harry is always happy to help when the teasing gets to her. Post-War Ginny fluff.
Happy birthday Deadwoodpecker!!! I tried to be sneaky and found out your favorite trope, and wrote you a birthday story around it! Love you, darling!
Exclusory
Ginny shut her locker door and grabbed her bag.
“Heading out, Weasley?” Gwenog snagged her before she could escape through the door. Ginny realized she probably should have waited for her captain and Valmai and Cynthia to move away from the door before trying to slip away.
“Yep, I’ve got plans tonight.”
“Man plans,” Valmai snickered.
“If I were dating Harry Potter I’d have plans too.” Cynthia waggled her eyebrows and Ginny laughed. She was used to this kind of teasing now.
“Be honest with us, Ginny,” Valmai grinned, “Is he really better than anyone else in that area?”
Ginny paused, trying to decide how she wanted to answer the question. “Well, to me, yes, because he’s the only one I’ve ever been with.”
Her teammates went quiet.
Ginny took a deep breath and kept her back straight.
“Really?” Valmai’s mouth was down by her trainers.
“That’s so sweet!” Cynthia swooned. “You found your soulmate right away.”
Ginny decided she’d much rather focus on Cynthia right now. “We like to think that.”
“But, but,” Valmai stuttered, “you’ve never been with anyone else?”
“Like Cynthia said,” Ginny hiked her bag higher on her shoulder, “We found each other pretty much first thing.”
“But surely he-”
“Nope, it’s just the two of us.” Ginny silently counted to five to make sure her response wasn’t clipped. “But like I said, I’ve got plans. I’ll see you later.” She pushed out the door and moved to the Apparition point.
That certainly wasn’t the first time someone had been shell shocked, but even after being together for nearly two years post-war, it still got under her skin when someone was so surprised by her and Harry’s situation.
It wasn’t to say that she hadn’t thought about maybe letting it get that far before Harry, but it never felt right with the guys she dated, she never felt ready, and honestly, every poor bloke before Harry was being held to his measuring stick, and none of them could hope to live up to him. But when Harry kissed her after they’d won the Quidditch House Cup, she knew that was it. She didn’t want anyone else, ever. If he’d not come back to her after he’d left to destroy Voldemort she would have happily lived the rest of her life alone.
Ginny shook her head as she landed at Harry’s flat. They were supposed to have a fun evening together eating dinner and relaxing. She needed to get a grip.
“Gin!” Harry opened the door and pulled her into his arms. Ginny felt some of the aggravation melt in his embrace and she sighed in relief. “Hard day?”
“It wasn’t really, at least not until the last minute.” She let him pull her into the flat and shut the door behind him.
“What happened on your way out?” Harry frowned.
Ginny buried her head into his chest. “Does it bother anyone you know that we’ve only been with each other?”
“We both dated people before each other.” There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.
“Not dated.” She looked up and kissed him. “I mean intimately.”
“Oh,” Harry frowned. “Why are you talking about that?”
“Don’t you remember what the locker room was like at Hogwarts?” Ginny laughed. “It’s a regular part of the conversation there.”
Harry shoved his hand in his hair. “I guess I thought that wouldn’t be the case on a pro team?”
“Love, I’d wager it’s worse.”
Harry took a deep breath and pulled her to the sofa with him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Well, to answer your first question, the only two people I’ve said anything to are Hermione and your brother, and only because Hermione asked me straight out.”
Ginny laughed, “Do I want to know why she asked that question?”
Harry shuddered. “No, you really don’t want to know.”
Ginny made a mental note to ask Hermione what had happened for her to ask that question. “Alright, well, a few people more than that know, also because they asked straight out, but they’re not the type to go blabbering it everywhere, just with the team.”
“So,” Harry paused, “I probably shouldn’t ask questions I might not like the answer to, but I think I need to here. Does it bother you that we’ve only been with each other?”
“No!” Ginny turned to look at him, his green eyes almost as vulnerable as the first time he told her he loved her. “I kind of love that it’s only ever been you.”
Harry’s whole body relaxed against her and he brought his hand up to cup her face. “Me too.”
“I’m sorry I came home in a state,” she rested her forehead against his. “It just bothered me that Valmai was so shocked.”
Harry nuzzled her nose with his. “You did not come home in a state, and I get it. But if you’re happy it’s just you and me, and I’m happy it’s just you and me, then that’s what matters right?”
“When did you become the voice of reason?” Ginny moved closer, almost, but not quite climbing into his lap.
Harry huffed when she stopped short of his lap and moved his hand from her face to grab her hips and pull her into him. “Better.”
She giggled as she used her new position to tease him, keeping her lips just out of reach, her body just far enough away. “Are you sure?”
He groaned and gave her hips a tug. “This is still better than you on the other side of the sofa.”
“I was not on the other side of the sofa.” She moved a fraction closer.
“Might as well have been.”
“Harry, could you be any more extra right now?”
“I’m distracting you.” He slipped his hand up from her waist, slowly climbing up into her hair.
Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck to brace herself as she melted into the feel of his hand in her hair. “From what?”
“Exactly.” He pulled her down to him and finally brought their lips together. As Harry’s lips undid her, his hands were moving, pulling her closer to him, melding them together, creating that blissful state where Ginny wasn’t sure where one of them ended and the other began.
It wasn’t until Ginny stole Harry’s shirt to pull over her head that she remembered what Harry had been distracting her from, and she smiled. He was right, as long as they were happy they’d only ever been with each other, that was what mattered.
And maybe after dinner, they could distract each other again, this time in their bed and not nearly falling off the sofa.
Battles end. Wars are won. But some feelings don’t ever change. A Harry/Ginny Post-War story for the fabulous LilyEvansJan30! Love you, darling!
Constellate
Ginny frowned.
“What do you mean I can’t leave?”
“We’re very sorry ma'am. But you’ll need to wait until we’ve been given clearance to let patrons out.”
Ginny pushed down the anger that was simmering up to a boil. “Can I at least have my wand back?”
It had only been a few weeks since the defeat of Voldemort, and the Ministry hadn’t managed to undo all of the policies from the regime, like only Ministry employees being able to keep their wands while at the Ministry - a policy put into effect after three fugitives broke into a pink toad’s office - and it had yet to be reversed.
Ginny secretly suspected that there were still Voldemort sympathizers deliberately turning blind eyes that Kingsley needed to fish out.
“Hey, Gin,” Harry stepped up behind her. “I didn’t know you were at the Ministry today.”
Ginny smiled at Harry, for once hoping that Harry’s unwanted star status would get her out of this one.
“Hi Harry, I was just trying to get my wand and head out but I’ve been denied.”
Harry’s expression went dark as he turned on the witch behind the counter.
“Why won’t you give Ginny her wand and let her leave?”
The witch looked warily at Harry but held her ground. “No one can leave right now, Mr. Potter. There was a threat sent to the Ministry and until the Aurors clear us to let people out we’re not to let anyone in or out.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Harry shook his head. “I just came from the Aurors’ offices and no one was acting like a threat had been issued.” He turned to Ginny. “Want to come back with me? Find out what’s going on?”
“Of course,” Ginny looked back at the witch. “May I at least have my wand?”
“I’m sorry ma'am, but I can’t return a wand until the patron has been cleared to leave the Ministry.”
Harry bristled. “I just signed all the paperwork to join the Aurors, I’m an employee of the Ministry and would like my wand.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Potter, but until that paperwork makes it to me I can’t give you back your wand.”
Ginny grabbed Harry’s arm as she saw the tell tale signs that Harry was about to lose his temper.
“Let’s go see Kingsley. He’ll sort everything out for us.”
Harry looked down at her hand on his arm and Ginny felt how much she’d missed him over the last year rushing through her.
“Come on,” Harry nodded, not giving the witch behind the counter another glance.
Ginny moved to match his fast pace towards the lifts.
“How’s Birmingham?” She asked in reference to his new flat.
Harry chuckled as the doors closed and they began to descend to the Aurors’ level. “Nice, being in the Muggle world keeps most of the Wizarding Press at bay.”
“It’s quiet with you and Ron and Hermione not around anymore.” Ginny immediately regretted the comment as Harry flinched. “Sorry, I wasn’t saying you should come back.”
Harry shook his head. “I just don’t want you to think I’m walking away from all of you.”
“I don-”
The doors opened, cutting her off as Harry walked out into the corridor.
“Hey, Gawain,” Harry called to a man with gray hair walking out of an office. “I just got told I can’t leave because of a threat to the Ministry.”
The man turned with a sigh and nodded. “We had a howler show up in Kingsley’s office saying that the next person who left would set off an explosion that would implode the building.”
“What do you need me to do?”
Gawain shook his head, “I can’t give you an assignment until everything’s processed for your hiring.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Harry fisted his hand in his hair.
“Is Kingsley here?” Ginny stepped up, hoping that Kingsley hadn’t decided to move from his office in the Aurors’ department to the Minister’s office yet.
Gawain shook his head, “He moved out this morning. What brings you here Miss Weasley?”
“I was dropping off paperwork for my dad,” Ginny answered. “Mum had sent our owl off and Dad said the forms couldn’t wait.”
Gawain nodded and turned back to Harry. “I understand your frustrations but until Kingsley and I can get these mandates changed my hands are tied.” He put his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “It’s slow going, but don’t give up on us, we’re going to fix all this, you’re part of that Harry.”
Harry nodded but Ginny saw the tension building in Harry’s shoulders and neck.
“Is there a place we can wait until you’ve sorted everything out?” Ginny put her hand back on Harry’s arm, hoping it would have the same results it had in the Atrium.
The same result her touch had when they’d been together.
Gawain turned his attention to her and gestured down the hallway. “Harry and your brother’s office, it’s theirs, even if the paper pushers haven’t managed to lift a finger.”
Ginny pulled on Harry’s sleeve. “Thank you, Gawain, and if you happen to find out Harry can get his wand back, let us know.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Gawain nodded and then continued the way he’d been going.
“Why don’t you show me your office? Is Ron here too?” Ginny gave his arm a firmer tug and Harry finally turned with a frustrated sigh.
“Ron apparently got out in the nick of time,” Harry moved to a door not too far from the lifts, his and Ron’s names already on the brass plate. “We were here to sign all the paperwork and Ron needed to get to Hermione’s for a date. I let Gawain get Ron through first so he wouldn’t be late.”
Ginny followed him into the office, and looked around. The walls were bare but two desks were set up to face each other and a sofa was set against the wall.
“I’m sure Hermione appreciates the sacrifice,” she sat down on the sofa, “And I’m much happier being here with you than stuck in the Atrium with everyone else.”
That finally earned her a smile.
“I’m glad I’m not here on my own either.” Harry sat down next to her. “Gin-”
“Good evening, Mr. Potter.” A tall woman with black hair stepped in the office and smiled. “Mr. Robards asked me to see if I can order any food brought up for you and your friend.”
“Ah, does Gawain think we’ll be here that long?”
“I’m afraid that in an effort to fix the situation, one of the wizards has managed to lock us all in. They’re trying to undo that and neutralize whatever has been done to the exits.”
“Merlin, what next?” Harry groaned.
“Some dinner would be wonderful,” Ginny looked at the witch. “I’m Ginny Weasley, by the way.”
“I’m Charlene Hopkins, the receptionist here, it’s nice to meet you Ginny. I’ll see what they’ve got in the cafeteria and have something sent up to you. We’ll all feel better after a spot of dinner.”
“Thank you,” Ginny smiled and watched Charlene go. She turned to Harry and patted his knee. “At least we won’t starve.”
Harry didn’t answer, just sat back on the sofa and rubbed his eyes, skewing his glasses.
She let it be quiet for a long while, knowing this wasn’t something she could fix for him. Just like she couldn’t fix that Voldemort would have gone after her had they been together.
But Voldemort was gone.
And Ginny still wanted more than just friendship with the man sitting next to her.
“Harry-”
“Hello Sir, Ma'am.” A House Elf appeared at the door with a large tray floating behind her. “May Popsey bring in your dinner?”
“Yeah, thank you,” Harry stood and took the tray, setting it on the desks. “Do you know if they’ll be letting us go home soon, Popsey?”
“Popsey doesn’t know, Sir, but Popsey can get you what you need.”
“Could you get us to our wands?” Ginny hoped she’d just found a loophole.
Popsey shook her head. “Popsey is sorry Ma'am, but Popsey isn’t allowed to take you to your wand.”
Ginny huffed and looked at Harry. “Was worth a shot.”
Harry gave her a small smile and Ginny almost forgot to be put out with their situation.
“I think we’re set for now, Popsey.” Harry turned back to the elf. “Thank you.”
“Popsey is happy to serve, Sir.” She bowed deeply and then disappeared.
Harry looked down at their food as he fisted a hand in his hair. “They’ll feed us, but Merlin forbid they give us a way to defend ourselves. It’s Umbridge all over again.”
“Hey,” Ginny came to stand beside him. “It’s going to be alright. We’ll be out of here and on our way home before you know it.” She sat down at the desk facing the door and pulled a plate toward her, gesturing to the desk chair across from her. “See, it’s just like when we were in school.”
The smirk found his lips slowly as his eyes locked with hers. “If I remember right, I sat next to you, not across from you.”
Ginny grinned and deliberately shifted the wheeled chair from the center of the desk to the far left. “Well, would you look at that? There might be room for two here.”
Harry’s laughter made her heart soar and she didn’t bother to hide her smile as Harry pulled the other chair around and sat down next to her.
“Want to play a game?” Ginny asked as they tucked in.
“What sort of game?”
“It’s a game Fred and George used to play,” Ginny swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed forward. Fred wouldn’t want her weepy every time she mentioned his name. “You pick a specific place and time and then the other person has to think of the funniest thing that happened to them during that time at that place.”
Harry took a drink before nodding. “So I would say when you were seven at home?”
“Sure. And then I think of the funniest thing that happened to me when I was seven at home.”
“Which was?” There was a glint in his green eyes that had Ginny leaning a little closer to him.
“Sneaking out to the broom shed to try and learn to fly but finding Bill trying to sneak out to see his girlfriend.” Ginny laughed.
Harry laughed.“Did you both just turn a blind eye to each other?”
“No,” Ginny shook her head, “Bill said the girl wasn’t worth it and took me back to my room and told me not to go outside by myself.” She chuckled, “I was furious then, but it’s funny now.”
“Especially because you can fly circles around Bill now.” Harry bumped her shoulder.
“Alright now you.” Ginny bumped him back but smiled. “Fifteen at Hogwarts.”
Harry looked thoughtful a moment before grinning. “Finding out you bat bogey hexed Malfoy.”
Ginny laughed, “You weren’t even there for that.”
“No,” Harry shrugged, “But the mental image made me laugh. Honestly that and your brothers’ exit were probably the highlights of that year.”
Ginny laughed, “See, it’s a good game.”
They played till well after their food was finished and Popsey had collected their empty dishes and brought a tea tray for them. They’d moved back to the sofa when Charlene returned.
“I have bad news.” She stood at the door. “It looks like we’ll be here for a decent bit. I’m not sure of the details, but I just got an internal message saying I might as well tuck in for the night. Do the two of you need anything? My daughter works in Magical Games and Sports and I’m going to head up to her level till we can leave.”
“They think it’ll be tomorrow?” Harry looked like he was about to explode.
Charlene rubbed her brow. “I’m sorry, Mr. Potter, I know this is frustrating, but on the bright side we’re not here alone. You have Miss Weasley with you and I have my daughter.”
Harry stared at her incredulously.
“I think we’re alright, Charlene.” Ginny put her hand back on Harry’s arm.
“Have a good night then,” Charlene gave her a tired smile before moving to the lifts.
Ginny moved and shut the door after her, hoping that if Harry did need a chance to shout he’d be able to do it without the audience of any stray co-workers.
She turned just in time to see Harry kick one of the desks and swear.
“Harry-”
“Sorry, just-”
“Harry, it’s alright, honestly, you’re handling it better than I thought you would.”
“Maybe I should go tell Gawain I’m not interested anymore.”
Ginny scoffed, “From the man who broke up with me to protect me? Be serious, Harry.”
“What choice did I have?!” He turned on her. “Can you imagine what he would have done to you if he’d known? If any of them figured out what we had was more than a fling?! That I cared more about you than I did everything short of defeating Voldemort?!”
“You think I don’t know?!” Ginny stomped up to him. “Do you think Hogwarts was some walk in the park?! I owled Luna and Neville before I ever showed up to school telling them that we were going to paint you and I as a passing fancy! That I needed them to help me make us out as nothing or Voldemort would be able to push you into a corner!”
Harry took a deep breath and gripped the desk in front of him.
“Fine.”
Ginny nearly shoved him. “Really? That’s all you have to say? Fine?” She threw her hands in the air and stomped over to the couch.
Ginny reached for her wand - if she was going to be stuck here all night she might as well have a blanket and pillow - but her hand came up empty.
Oh. Right.
They didn’t have their wands.
“Er…”
Harry turned to look at her, his face still tight with anger.
“Don’t suppose either of those desks has a cot in it? Or maybe a blanket?”
Harry blinked at her, his expression shifting from angry to confused. “What?”
“There’s only the couch, Harry, and we don’t have our wands. If we’re spending the night we’re in a bit of a predicament.”
Understanding dawned on Harry’s face and Ginny nearly laughed as red touched his cheeks. He quickly turned to the desk drawers opening and muttering before slamming them shut.
After shutting the last drawer, he turned around the room slowly before finally facing her again.
“I’ll sleep on the floor. You can have the couch.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Ginny scoffed. “It’s big enough for both of us to sleep sitting up.”
Harry wouldn’t meet her eye and Ginny wondered if he might have found that Veela she’d been figuratively jealous of almost a year ago.
“I’m not going to attack you.” She rolled her eyes and tried to push away the ache in her chest. “And I’m sorry for yelling back at you.”
That finally got a smirk out of him. “That sounds like you aren’t actually sorry for yelling at me.”
Ginny grinned, “When have I ever apologized for shaking some sense into you?”
“Not once.” Harry sat down next to her. “And I wouldn’t change it.”
“Are you less put out, then?” She resisted the urge to scoot closer to him.
Harry sighed, “It’s just been a lot, you know?”
She did know.
“Hey, it’s alright for it to feel like a lot. I mean you just killed a madman that was trying to take over the world. That is a lot.”
Harry stretched his feet out in front of him and leant back. “I think I wanted to see change faster. I wanted to feel like what I did mattered. And this whole thing has made it feel like none of it made a difference. I still can’t have my wand here. This is obviously an assassination attempt on Kingsley. Some idiot up there has made it worse. And I can’t do anything about any of it.”
Ginny couldn’t help it, she scooted closer and put her hand on his thigh. “You have made a difference, Harry.”
He shook his head but Ginny kept pushing.
“Don’t you dare, Harry, don’t you dare think for one second we all risked our lives for this and it meant nothing. Just because it’s slow to start does not mean that you accomplished nothing, that we accomplished nothing!”
Harry grabbed her hand on his thigh and squeezed it. “Merlin, I’ve missed you.”
Ginny wanted to wrap her arms around him but she settled for squeezing this hand in return. “I’ve missed you too.”
Harry didn’t look at her, but Ginny saw the lines in his neck relax and the muscles of his shoulders finally release down.
“We should probably try and get some sleep.” He yawned. “I’ll move to the floor so you can lay out.”
“I’ll hex you if you try to sleep on the floor so I can have the couch.” Ginny glared at him.
“You and what wand?” He grinned.
Ginny couldn’t help it. Maybe it was the tension lifting from him. Maybe it was that they’d been laughing and enjoying themselves less than an hour ago. Maybe it was just falling back into the way she and Harry had been before Voldemort had started his take over. Maybe it was that Harry had always been good at getting her to laugh.
Whatever it was, Ginny dissolved into a fit of laughter.
And Harry quickly followed her.
She didn’t know exactly how it happened, but somehow, Ginny ended up pressed against him, her head resting on his shoulder, his arm draped loosely against her back, his glasses skewed to one side, green eyes staring down at her like they had the day they’d finally kissed each other.
Ginny was sure something had happened to the air, because no matter how hard she tried to breathe, nothing seemed to be getting to her lungs.
“We, er, we should try and sleep.” Harry’s eyes dropped to her lips as her tongue darted out to lick them.
“R-right.” Ginny reluctantly pushed off of him, realizing how cold his office actually was without a blanket or jumper.
She tried to wrap her arms around her and burrow a bit into her side of the couch, but it was to no avail. It was going to be a cold night.
Ginny watched Harry shiver once before he stood and turned off the light. The room was instantly pitch black and she didn’t manage to not laugh when Harry hit the desks in his attempt to return to the couch.
“Like you would have done any better.” Harry laughed with her and Ginny felt the couch move as he sat down.
“I’m part owl, didn’t I ever tell you that?”
“And I’m part dragon,” Harry snorted.
“No, you just have one tattooed on your chest.”
That earned her a full laugh from Harry and Ginny couldn’t help the feeling of pride it gave her.
“Who was it you told that too? I don’t remember.”
“Romilda Vane,” Ginny huffed. “The girl couldn’t seem to fathom why you’d picked me instead of her.”
“Because you actually cared about me.” Harry’s voice was quiet. “And you’re much prettier than she ever was.”
“Thanks.” Ginny’s voice mirrored his tone.
She felt the couch shift and Harry grunted. “You’d think they’d give you control over the temperature of your office. It’s getting colder.”
“They probably expect you to use magic for it.” Ginny shivered too. “Here.” She scooted over to sit right beside him. “If this is alright, it’ll keep us warmer.”
“It’s, yeah, it’s fine.” Harry shifted, pressing their legs together. “Definitely, warmer.”
Ginny rested her head against his shoulder before she could talk herself out of it.
She’dmissedthis.
She shivered again and Harry put his arm around her, pulling her closer.
“This alright?”
Ginny hummed and snuggled into him.
She’d missed this.
His fingers found the end of her point tail, and began running through the soft stands the way he used to.
She’d missed him.
Pressed against Harry, for the first time in months, Ginny felt safe. She felt peace. She felt right.
“Gin?”
It was muscle memory. In her tired state, all bemused in the past mixing with the present, skewing her thoughts to places that no longer existed, Ginny turned her face towards him and brushed her lips against his.
Then she froze as she realized what she’d just done.
Ginny tried to manage even a stutter of an explanation, but never got the chance as Harry followed her lips, pressing her back against the couch as he made her display in her bedroom before Bill’s wedding look like child’s play.
Harry’s kiss was near desperate as his body pinned her to the couch. His lips and teeth both caressed and plundered her mouth, spurred on by the sounds each feeling pulled from her. Then he found the spot behind her ear and she melted, just like she had when they’d been together.
Harry capitalized on her malleable state and shifted them flat on the couch.
“Merlin, I’ve missed you.” Was the only conscious thought she could manage to vocalize as her body wanted to surrender to the oblivion that being with Harry like this always was.
“Me too.” He kissed along her neck as she tangled her fingers in his hair.
“Are we going to skip the conversation and pick up where we left off?” Ginny tugged on his hair when he bit down on her pulse point.
“We should probably have that conversation,” he smirked above her.
“Later.” Ginny pulled him back down to her, deliberately pressing herself into him and smirking at his groan.
It was when Ginny thought the room was heating up and perhaps all these clothes weren’t as necessary as propriety dictated that someone knocked on the door.
Harry swore and shifted off of her.
“Just a sec,” Ginny called out as Harry stumbled to his feet, this time not crashing into the desks as he made it to the door and flipped on the lights.
“Sorry if I woke you.” Gawain handed Harry his wand with a tired grin. “Welcome to the Aurors, Harry. And Miss Weasley.” Gawain crossed the room and handed Ginny her wand. “Compliments from the Minister of Magic.”
“Thank you,” Ginny smiled and let the feel of the woods on her palm buzz through her body.
“Did you manage to clear the exits as well?” Harry asked.
“Yes, thankfully that’s sorted and you’re welcome to go home. Kingsley suggested the two of you head to his office and use his Floo access. The queue to leave is already getting ridiculously long.” Gawain nodded to both of them. “Have a good rest of your night.”
“You too, and thank you,” Harry nodded and watched Gawain head to the lifts.
Ginny stood, feeling somehow exposed under the light. “I guess we should get moving too. My parents probably know what happened and they’ll be worried if I don’t let them know where I’ll be now that we can leave.”
Harry looked back at her, his green eyes locking on hers. “Where you’ll be? Did you not want to go home?”
“Is there a Veela waiting at your flat I should know about?”
Finally, finally he smiled, that smile he’d had only for her when she was his. “No, no one’s waiting for me, but I make a pretty good breakfast.”
“That sounds heavenly.” Ginny holstered her wand and threaded her fingers with his. “We can have that conversation while we eat. But right now, let’s get to yours. I’m assuming your bed is bigger and warmer than that couch.”
Harry smiled, his free hand running along her neck as he brought his lips to hers with a kiss that made her breath catch. “Plenty big for the two of us, and I can think of ways to keep us warm.”
And much later, drifting off to sleep with Harry’s arms wrapped around her, no howler from her mother in response to where she’d be for the rest of the night, Ginny felt secure that in the morning their conversation would go about as quickly as it had the first time. Maybe even quick enough for them to enjoy the morning together.
Summary: The Doctor and Rose discuss sartorial preferences while watching Indiana Jones. Predictably, the discussion becomes very…heated.
Notes: Hello shiny people! I’m back after a few weeks break since finishing my last (lengthy) fic. This time we have something light, fluffy, silly and short (and NINE). I blame @aintfraidanoghosts entirely for this fic because she begged me to write it when this crazy nonsense popped into my head while watching Raiders of the Lost Ark a while ago. So really, IT IS ALL HER FAULT that I ended up writing this on a Monday morning when I was supposed to be working. So….yeah this fic is for her. No beta, all mistakes are mine. I hope you enjoy and please don’t kill me for this silliness!
“Wha’?” Rose said, eyes glued to the screen as the Doctor plopped onto the sofa beside her.
“How can you watch this rubbish, Rose?”
“What’s wrong with it? ‘S Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark!” she said indignantly, blindly reaching for another handful of popcorn.
“He’s traipsing about the jungle in a leather jacket!” The Doctor offered her the bowl. “Who does that, then?”
Rose choked. “‘Scuse me?”
“Nobody wears a leather jacket in the jungle on the way to liberate Aztec artefacts from a glorified seesaw!”
“Say what?”
“You heard me. This director is barking, Harrison Ford or no Harrison Ford. Raiders of the Lost Ark, indeed. Nutters of the Lost Ark, more like it!”
Rose turned to stare at him. “You did not just say that.”
“Did so!” He raised his eyebrows smugly. “What of it?”
“You did not just say that nobody- Doctor, you wear a leather jacket in the jungle!” She shook her head disbelievingly. “You do it all the time!”
“Well…that’s different.” The Time Lord shifted uncomfortably and set the bowl on the table in front of them.
“You also wore a leather jacket in the snow and in the desert and to the beach and my cousin Robbie’s weddin’!”
“‘S not the same thing !” The Doctor folded his arms, leather jacket creaking.
“Why not?” Rose silently thanked the TARDIS for pausing the movie for her. “He’s wearin’ a leather jacket in the jungle, you wear a jacket in the jungle. You wore a leather jacket in the Plentimen jungle just last week!”
“‘M not sayin’ there’s sommat wrong with leather, Rose!” He scowled. “Happen to like leather, me. ‘M just saying leather isn’t appropriate for his…activities! ‘S just daft for a human to wear leather in a hot, humid jungle! You overheat at the drop of a hat, you lot!”
She smirked, suddenly understanding the cause of his little outburst. “Oh please, don’t start that whole ‘Time Lord biology’ bit again.” She rolled her eyes and turned back to the movie, sending another wave of gratitude to the TARDIS for restarting at just the right time, receiving a pleased hum in return. “Just admit you’re jealous of Harrison Ford and move on, Doctor.”
“I am not!”
“Course you are,” she said, watching as Indiana Jones slashed his whip about, admittedly looking like a giant git compared to the bloke sitting next to her- not that she’d ever tell the Doctor that. “‘S understandable that you’d feel insecure about how good he looks in leather.” She glanced slyly from the corner of her eye. “I mean, look at him. He’s a bit of alright what with the leather and the hat and the khaki trousers and workboots. Looks very rough ‘n ready- very sexy.”
“Oi! An’ what ‘m I then? A ballerina?”
She tried not to laugh as she stared determinedly at the screen, even though her attention was entirely on the man beside her. Sometimes, he was just too predictable. Any moment now…
Suddenly, she was lying on the couch, pinned beneath a Time Lord whose eyes burned blue fire.
“S’pose you think you’re funny?”
“Might do,” she said breathlessly. God, she loved him.
“S’pose you thought it’d be fun to tease an old Time Lord?”
“Might’ve done,” she grinned, tongue touching her teeth.
His eyes burned even hotter as his body stirred against her. “You should be careful playin’ with fire, Rose. Could get burned.”
“Oh I’m countin’ on it,,” she said, trailing a finger across his lips, heart racing as his eyes flared.
“Is that so?” His face drew closer.
“Yeah,” she sighed as his lips caressed her neck. “You know I love a rough and ready bloke.” She smirked as he stilled.
“Rose,” he growled.
“Well,one rough and ready bloke- a daft old sod who’s jealous of someone off the telly.”
“Was not!”
“Yes you are.” She grinned, watching his eyes follow her tongue to the corner of her mouth. “You’re jealous of a git off the telly, Doctor.”
The tips of his ears burned red. “Alright, might’ve been, just a bit,” he muttered. “Couldn’t help it, what with you starin’ at him so intently.”
She shook her head and pulled him closer. “You’re mental, you are.”
“Am I?” The low rumble of his voice sent tremors through her body.
“Course you are,” she said softly. “There’s only one bloke in a leather jacket I’m interested in.”
“That so?”
“That’s so,” she said breathlessly, arching against him. “An’ he’s so impressive that it hurts to look at him sometimes.”
“Does it now?” His eyes smouldered. “I’ll show you rough and ready, Rose Tyler.”
Neither of them had a word to say for a long time after that.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Four weeks later, the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil, 1926
“Come off it, Rose! Let it go!” The Doctor tromped up the slope, turning to make sure Rose was close behind. “Blimey, you’ve got the memory of a Zoprel elephant, you have.”
“But Doctor, I’m just worried about your health!” Rose smirked as she climbed the slope to stand besides him. “Nobody wears a leather jacket in the jungle! ‘S just mental. Not appropriate for our activities, you know, what with us trying to save that alien ark that landed here.”
“Oi, I’m not the one whose body temperature can kill ‘em within a few degrees!” he protested, crossing his arms. “Nice and steady with the biochemical processes, me.”
“But Doctor, I thought you said only a nutter would wear a leather jacket in the-”
“Right, that’s enough of that. Com’ere, you,” he growled and pulled her to him, kissing her as though both their lives depended on it.
(Come to think of it, they probably did).
She was pleasantly unaware of her surroundings until approaching voices rudely interrupted their pleasant interlude.
“Perhaps we’d better give them a moment,” a timid voice in British tones said. “They appear to be, er, occupied.”
“Oh, if we wait for them to disengage we’ll never get anything done,” Jack said cheerfully. “Locked at the lips is of one the ten natural states in which you can find Rosie and the Doc in the wild.”
“I, er, that is-”
“Others include smiling goofily at each other, holding hands, cuddling, cuddling while smiling goofily at each other, arguing, arguing followed by smiling goofily at each other, the Doc defending Rose, Rose defending the Doc and both of them joined in places that are not permitted to be seen in public during this time period.” Jack wiggled his eyebrows at the blushing archeology student. “If you know what I mean.”
“Jack!”
“Harkness!”
Their erstwhile companion ignored them both and continued to lecture the poor bloke next to him, sounding for all the world as though he were narrating an animal documentary.
“They don’t object to human observers in most of these states, however-
A mighty flash interrupted Jack’s spiel.
“- the male of the Time Lord species has been known to react badly to flash photography,” Jack finished, cringing slightly.
“Oi!” The Doctor pulled away from Rose and stomped over to the poor bloke clutching the camera. “You tryin’ to burn my retinas?”
“He was just takin’ a photo, Doctor,” Rose sighed, following him.
“He was just blindin’ me, is what he was doing! Primitive human contraption nearly took my eye out.”
“’S not his fault that cameras are what they are in this time period,” Rose said, taking his arm as she turned him back to the trail they’d been following.
“He should watch where he’s pointin’ that thing!”
“He didn’t mean to blind us,” Rose soothed, pulling him along. “He’s probably just excited about the whole alien bit- only found out about it this morning, didn’t he?”
“S’pose,” the Doctor grumbled. “Still needs to be careful where he’s aiming that daft contraption.”
“I’m sure he will,” she soothed.
Behind them, Jack and his new friend trailed along. “You’ll note that the female of the brand new, one of a kind ‘Bad Wolf’ species has a calming effect on the Time Lord and can usually soothe him into less dangerous moods in no time.”
Philip exhaled. “Quite. Thank goodness for that! Does it, er, does that happen often?”
She could hear the smile in Jack’s voice. “All the time, gorgeous. All the time!”
As Jack began rambling about the time he’d been arrested for nude hiking on Kolima Beta, Rose glanced at the still-muttering Time Lord beside her, while the most lecherous immortal to walk the earth trailed behind them, trying his best to corrupt the poor naive bloke with him. Nutters of the Lost Ark indeed, she smirked.
@officialtolkiensecretsanta gift for @ibrithir-was-here. Wishing you a very festive winter, whatever holiday(s) you celebrate! Have some early developing-relationship fluffy nerdy Silvergifting. I hope you enjoy!
There are plenty of things Bokuto enjoys; volleyball, barbecued meat, praise, and especially getting Kuroo riled up. There’s only one thing that trumps the rest, makes all his other little pleasures seem small and inadequate.
You.
But more specifically, watching you come undone for him. You’re breathtaking, perched on top of him, breathing heavy in between each soft moan. He revels in the way the pads of your fingers dig into his chest, small red prints left against his flesh.
Bokuto sighs in bliss, moving his hands up your thighs to grab at your hips. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he croons, guiding you to take more of his cock into your tight heat.
You answer with another moan, head craning to the side as the tip of his dick presses into that spongy spot deep inside. The idea of responding with anything intelligible is beyond you, too coiled in the euphoria he gives.
Bokuto sits up, wrapping his arms around your waist before flipping you on your back. He smiles down at you, unable to help himself. As ethereal as you are on top of him, he can’t control himself with you pinned below him. You’re so much smaller, his height and muscular frame easily covering you. He chuckles at the way your walls squeeze around him, unable to ignore the obvious response of his towering size over you.
Sitting on his haunches, his grasp locks around your waist, dragging you into his lap before sheathing himself inside your gummy walls again. Bokuto breaths out a shaky sigh, a shock of euphoria zipping down his spine. “You feel so fucking good,” he groans out before beginning to thrust into you. The way your cunt tries to suck him back in makes his shoulders hunch, nearly curling in on himself as you try to milk him of all he’s worth. “So fucking good, so perfect.”
“Kou,~” his praise makes your head swim, the warmth in your lower stomach beginning to rage through the rest of your body like a wildfire. His sweet words make you writhe just as much as his cock ramming into your dripping pussy does.
He leans down, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck as he slams his length into you with reckless abandon. Your nails bite into the sculpted muscles of his back, leaving behind red crescents in the wake. Every thrust of his cock into the depths of your velvet walls knocks the air from your lungs, splotches of white dancing behind your eyes. The pressure in your core snaps before you can even think about alerting Bokuto, only able to announce your end with a gasping moan as your back arches like a bow pulled taunt.
“You’re so tight, Princess,” he moans against the sweat dampened skin of your neck, pace turning sloppy at the way you flutter around him.
“Kou,” you shudder against him, “p-please, fill me up. I- I want you to cum in me so bad!”
A chill creeps across his shoulders, eliciting a slight shake of his body. “You want me to cum in you?” You nod furiously, unable to answer with anything more than soft whines and whimpers. The room falls silent, only the sound of skin slapping against skin and heavy breathing bouncing off the walls. Bokuto zones in on the slick squelching of your soaked cunt, eyes rolling to the back of his skull at the sheer arousal of hearing you so needy for him. “I’m going to cum in you, pretty girl. I’m going to fill you full of this load,” he nips at your collar bone, hips slamming into yours with the force to bruise.
Ecstasy sparks through him like a live wire lodged in his veins, “take it,” he growls before sinking his teeth into your soft flesh. Warmth blooms in your core as ropes of white paint your insides, Bokuto shamelessly moaning against you as he reaches his end. His orgasm rips another from you, body quaking under the sheer intensity of it all.
He’s careful to balance his weight, keeping it distributed between his legs and arms to keep from collapsing on you. With pleasure hazed orbs, he stares down at you, completely enraptured with the way you rest breathlessly underneath him. Sweat beads across your brow, kiss bruised lips parted to pant out your exhaustion, beautiful eyes lidded in a daze of post-orgasmic bliss and pure adoration for the man you love.
There are many things Bokuto enjoys, but his favorite will always be you.
Hello,@youkailuvr! I’m your secret santa, a lot more than fashionably late with the first half of your gift, I’m so sorry! I had an unexpectedly hard time getting back into the swing of in-universe fic, but I hope you’ll like it anyway! Expect the other half within the next week, I’ll try to make it soon :) Happy new year!
Bad timing. That was what it came down to, she thought, tapping her fingers gently on the edge of the console and staring through the shuttle’s front window without really seeing anything. It was just really shit timing –
Not that time had everbeen on her side, neither generally nor where Cassian was concerned –
No, that wasn’t fair. Time had been on their side when it counted. It had got them off Scarif in one piece. All those other times, those painful little missed opportunities, interrupted conversations, not working up the nerve to say something in time… maybe those were just the price they paid for that one stroke of luck.
Still, there was no denying that after all this time – almost a year – they had picked the worst possible moment to finally take a step. Bodhi had always theorised that only a life-threatening amount of alcohol could ever get Cassian to respond to Jyn’s needling (nobody in their right mind could call it flirting, and she certainly wasn’t going to) with anything more than a lingering look, or to get Jyn to make herself vulnerable enough to step through one of the doors that he left ever so slightly ajar for her. Solo had offered “help” more than once, usually some variant of offering to shut them both into a supply closet for a few hours, until Jyn had detailed which body parts she would relieve him of the next time he made these suggestions. He was one to talk, really – and besides, even an insensitive nerf herder like Solo couldn’t possibly think it would be thateasy. If all they were after was a quick fuck on a dirty storage crate, they’d have got the whole thing over with a long time ago. She was determined and resourceful, and Cassian was ten times the strategical thinker Solo was. It was downright insultingto suggest they couldn’t have worked out the logistics of a one-night-stand for a whole year.
“It’s been a very long day, and Gwen is so happy to be coming home to Rhys.”
Happy New Year @moonlightrhosyn! This is part of the Torchwood Fan Fests: 2020 Holiday Exchange (organised by the lovely @torchwoodfanfests) for the prompt: ‘Gwen/Rhys, Gwen, Tosh and Rhys; Gwen and Rhys have a nice dinner planned but she is working on something with Tosh and gets home later than she’d planned, set after Meat so she gets to tell Rhys about her day and why she was actually late for the first time over dinner (she’s very happy with being able to share things with him and talk to him about work)’.
The gift is posted at AO3 here (no content warnings apply).
Thanks for this lovely, wholesome prompt, Gwen and Rhys together is one of my favourite dynamics, I had so much fun writing it and I really hope you enjoy it!
