"The Devil and the Wind," Luna/Tonks, R
(why am I even moving this one over? it sucks ass.)
TITLE: The Devil and the Wind AUTHOR: green_amber PAIRING: Luna/Tonks RATING: R SUMMARY: "Muggle liquor makes you see pink elephants?" Luna's face lit up like it was Christmas and her birthday come at once. "I'd better have more, then." WARNINGS: booze, random ghostly lesbian nuns DISCLAIMER: Not mine! AUTHOR NOTES: Written for tyrell_ at sunandsmut. Thanks go to david_ackerman and lilahthedragon, who provided much-needed beer inspiration when I was so blocked it wasn't funny.
Sister Margaret and Sister Alienor walked silently through the cathedral, hand in hand. The press of their palms was cold, not warm as it had been in life, yet they'd come to find comfort in it. There was precious little beauty in this grey existence, and one had to take one's pleasures where one could.
We denied ourselves the joys of the flesh in life; perhaps that is why we could not surrender to Death when it called, mused Margaret. Yet there is no flesh in this half-life. We are closer than we were then, she and I, yet not in the way either of us wanted. There are times I think God gives us what we ask for, not what we truly need.
Margaret crossed herself against the unwelcome thought, and sighed..
***
Tonks had thought--foolishly, as it turned out--that her job would get easier after Voldemort fell. The Death Eaters were less organized now, but wreaked no less havoc. It seemed every few days there was another nasty incident involving bitter ex-Death Eaters. Tonks kidded about it at the office, loudly cursing them for sore losers, but there was no joking at the crime scenes. Some things just weren't laughing matters.
She hoped this latest mission would lead her to nothing but a false alarm. Magic use by unknown party in Lincolnshire Cathedral. May be a rogue Death Eater, hiding out.
She pulled open one of the vast doors, wand at the ready. A faint whiff of frankincense tickled at her nose as she slipped into the expanse of the church.
I've been here before.
It had been on that trip with her parents when she was a kid--it was no wonder she hadn't remembered being here until actually clapping eyes on the place. They'd gone to so many churches, and when you're a little kid, you remember the chocolatiers' shops instead. The churches had all sort of run together.
There was a story about this one, she remembered now. It had been her dad's story, which stood out in her mind because usually Mum was the tale-spinner. This had been a Muggle story, though, so Mum hadn’t known it.
A statue, that's what it was--a little statue of an imp, supposedly a real demon turned to stone. The demon had been friends with the wind, and the wind had blown him into he church, where he wreaked the sort of havoc you'd expect from a demon. So an angel turned him to stone, and the wind wailed around the building wanting its friend back.
Tonks had thought it was all completely true and horribly tragic, of course. She'd felt a little cheated when Dad had pointed out to her where it was--she'd rather wanted to wander around the church all day looking for it.
She glanced in the direction of the choir, where she remembered the statue was located, and that was when she saw the mysterious figure. At first she thought the dark-robed person standing stock-still in the middle of the choir was a nun, but as she crept closer, willing herself to be better at stealth than she usually was, Tonks saw that the robes were not a nun's habit, but wizarding robes.
Bloody wizards--don't they know they're supposed to wear Muggle clothes when the go to Muggle places? Conspicuous much?
Closer, and Tonks realized it was a witch, one with long blonde hair, and that she was staring as if spellbound at the imp statue high above the archwork. A few steps more, and Tonks recognized the woman, and grinned in relief. This was no Death Eater; this was one of Harry's friends. Tonks recognized her from the Hogwarts battle two years ago. "Luna?" she called. "Wotcher, Luna!"
Luna turned. "Oh, hello. You're the Auror, aren't you? Your hair was brown before."
Tonks patted her pink spikes. "Oh, right. I was feeling a little drab at the time, I guess. What've you been up to?"
"Research, for a story on the Nargle."
"The…the what?"
"Nargle." Luna pointed at the odd little demon carving. "The Muggles have it all wrong; they think it's some sort of devil."
"What is a Nargle, anyway?"
"It's a creature that lives in mistletoe," said Luna. "It feeds on sexual energy. When people kiss under the mistletoe? It gets stronger. This carving? It proves there was a Nargle sighting in this area around the time the cathedral was built. My dad's readers will be thrilled."
"Oh," said Tonks, at a loss. Maybe changing the subject would get her back on familiar ground. "The Ministry sent me here to look into somebody using magic here. I think it's you they sensed, but I'm still worried. You haven't seen any…unsavory types around, have you?"
"Oh no, it was me," said Luna. "I cast Lumos in here last night. It gets dark in here, you know."
"Good to hear," said Tonks. "I don't think I've ever been so glad to see a familiar face in my life."
***
They'd gone for chocolate, of course, and then to a pub. It was a Muggle pub, and Luna lamented the absence of Butterbeer, but Tonks was able to comfort her by recommending several mixed drinks just as sweet and with a bit more of a kick.
"S'pose I shouldn’t Apparate back to London in this condition," said Tonks, draining her glass. "I'll be seeing pink elephants next."
"Muggle liquor makes you see pink elephants?" Luna's face lit up like it was Christmas and her birthday come at once. "I'd better have more, then."
Tonks suppressed a sigh. "It's just a turn of phrase. What I mean to say is, I'm utterly pissed."
"I've rented a room," said Luna. "My dad's paper is paying for it, and I'm willing to share." Luna's smile made Tonks feel warm all over. Or maybe it was the booze and the thought of a warm room at an inn.
Luna took Tonks's hand and led her through the midnight streets. It was a good thing Luna knew where she was going, because Tonks was unfamiliar with the town, and the town was swirling rather disconcertingly besides.
Oh great, thought Tonks. Now I'll have drunk dreams. Tonks hated drunk dreams; they were usually even more bizarre than her regular dreams. She hoped she wasn’t in for another night of labyrinthine nightmares. An Auror's mind could dredge up the most unpleasant things at the worst of times, and she had no desire to wake Luna with screams.
***
Margaret wrenched her arm out of Alienor's grasp. "No! I'll not be tempted again!"
"We love each other," pleaded Alienor. "How can love be wrong?"
"Love?" spat Margaret. "It's the wiles of the Devil, I tell you!" She glanced at the horned creature high on the wall, as if it might at any moment leap from its stony perch and seize her.
She sprinted down the nave, gathering up the long skirts of her habit with one hand, leaving Alienor weeping in the aisle, knees pressed to the stone floor.
Tonks awoke in pitch darkness, Luna's pale face hovering above her, eyes wide with concern. "Tonks?"
"Weird dream," said Tonks, still not quite coherent. "Lesbian nuns, or something…"
"Are lesbians really so weird?" Luna smiled, and lowered her lips to kiss Tonks.
Only if they're Luna, thought Tonks for a moment, before realizing through her foggy mind that she liked the kiss, liked it very much indeed. She threaded her fingers through Luna's thick soft hair, kissing her back, a little surprised at the thoughts that were beginning to flash through her mind. Thoughts like, I wonder what she looks like without that nightshirt on. She tried not to think those thoughts--even in her inebriated state, Tonks remembered that Luna couldn't be more than eighteen or so, which was definitely not on. Twentysomething Aurors needed to be responsible, dammit. They needed to not seduce impressionable girls.
These good intentions were swept from her mind by the sensation of the impressionable girl's hands exploring under Tonks's pajama top, teasing her nipples to hardness. Tonks heard herself moan, and Luna laughed--not a giggle, but a much more delicious sort of laugh, and Tonks had no choice but to kiss her again, as if she could drink that laugh from Luna's lips.
Luna tugged the shirt off over Tonks's head and arms, and lowered her head to take one of Tonks's nipples into her mouth. With a knowing sort of smile, she slipped one of her hands down Tonks's pajama bottoms, snaking her fingers under the waistband of her knickers. Tonks writhed against Luna's hand, moving her into just the right place so the sensation could build and build and…there, she climbed to the edge of orgasm and then fell, gasping and grinning ear to ear, her hands knotted in Luna's tresses.
"My turn," said Luna, dropping a light kiss onto Tonks's lips.
"Never done this with a girl before," she said. "I'm not sure I know what I'm doing."
"You'll do fine," said Luna.
***
Tonks wasn't expected back at the Ministry for a few days, so they went back to the church in the morning (though it was technically one in the afternoon) so Luna could finish taking notes for her Nargle story. It seemed somehow right and normal to Tonks that they were holding hands.
Unseen by the two women of flesh and blood, two gossamer ladies in grey wimples and habits watched from a faraway pew.
"More sense than we had, if I do say so myself," whispered Alienor.