Neville Longbottom (whenhellfreezes) wrote in reduxpitch, @ 2016-08-06 10:41:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !thread, character: daisy potter, character: neville longbottom |
Who: Daisy and Neville
What: Returning a shoe
When: August 6th - Morning
Where: Daisy's flat
Satus: Completed in docs
Neville hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because his mind had been racing and he was genuinely worried that he might have said something wrong and just not realized it. He'd only just barely waited until a semi sane hour to go over to Daisy's flat with her shoe to see if he could apologize for whatever it was that he might have done to upset her. He stood in front of her door for nearly twenty minutes trying to decide whether or not to knock. He was pacing back and forth, not sure if he should wait until she contacted him or the other way around when he tripped over his shoe and tumbled into the door with a loud thunk.
Grunting, he pushed away from it and lifted his hand to knock properly, cursing himself under his breath as he waited for her to open the door and hoping that he hadn't woken the whole damn flat.
--
Daisy was pretty sure last night had been a dream. The details were hazy. Gorgeous dress that fit perfectly even when ordered from a catalogue. A pair of shoes that did not hurt her feet even after hours of dancing. Dancing with Neville Longbottom. These facts remained persistent as she lay in bed, trying to force herself back to sleep and enter back into the dream world. Because last night had to be dream, there was no other explanation. Alcohol could have been involved, but she hadn’t drunk that much to lay blame there.
“Argh.” With a huff of annoyance, Daisy crawled out of bed and went to go make tea and have a slice of pie for breakfast. That was a boon of being an adult. You could have whatever you wanted for breakfast and nobody could tell her otherwise. She’d just set the tea to steep when a loud THUNK! had her looking up.
“For Salazar’s sake, Flint-Weasleys, some other people live here too!” She called out and waited for a response, but when none came Daisy realized that she was alone in the flat. Alone except for Ginny’s cat, Bob, who probably did not make that loud a noise. Then came the knocking at the door and that made a lot more sense. With another sigh she went to go see who was bothering her at this god-forsaken hour. If it was a Jehovah’s Witness she was going to do…. Something. She’d know it when she thought of it.
Opening the door, Daisy saw Neville standing there, her missing shoe in hand. Acting on instinct, she immediately she closed it again. Right in his face.
--
Neville opened his mouth to say something but before he could even get a word out, Daisy had slammed the door in his face. He was left standing there with a confused look still written all over his face much the way he'd been standing the previous night when she'd run out on him. Okay, surely she was angry at him. It was the only thing that made sense. If she wasn't angry, she wouldn't have slammed the door in his face.
Biting his lower lip and being annoyed with himself that he had done something to upset her, he reached up to knock on the door again. "Daisy," he started, knowing she could hear him through the door. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry."
--
She regretted slamming the door in Neville’s face almost as soon as it occurred. Opening it back up again again, she offered the man a sheepish look. “I’m sorry. I had no idea why I did that. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Stepping aside, she beckoned him in. “I’m making tea and having pie. Do you want a slice?”
Maybe if she acted like everything was normal Neville would too. She bustled around the kitchen, checking to see if her tea was steeped properly. Since it needed a few more minutes, she cut another slice of pie for Neville, even though he hadn’t actually confirmed that he wanted the baked good.
“So you’re here to tell me last night was a dream, right? Mass hallucination?”
--
He was relieved when she opened the door again, even more when she told him that he hadn't done anything. Neville stepped in at her beckoning, following her through to the kitchen and watching her as she bustled about. She was already cutting the pie before he realized he hadn't responded to her so he finally replied with a nod. "Yes, sure, that would be nice."
He tilted his head a little at her last couple of questions, arching a brow at her. "No?," he told her. "I mean, I came here to return this," he told her, holding up the shoe. "Apparently you're more Cinderella than you thought. I also came here to figure out what I'd said that made you so upset you ran off in the middle of a dance," he added. "I've gone over everything I said a million times trying to figure out why you would have run off, but I've yet to come up with anything that really fits so maybe it's better that I just ask you."
--
Taking the shoe from him, Daisy looked it over. None of the crystals were missing, which surprised her far more than she gave herself credit for. She placed it beside her and wrapped her hands around her tea, soaking in its warmth. “You didn’t do anything.” Daisy held up a hand to forestall any argument.
“Last night seems like a dream you see.” Daisy went on to explain how everything seemed to go perfectly, from getting the invitation from work (fudging the details slightly to fit her version of vents, to getting the perfect outfit, and the whole night itself. “And then it was midnight and there was something that was telling me that I had to leave.”
She didn’t have much of an explanation beyond that and she probably had offended him horribly, but Neville was such a decent guy that he’d brought her the shoe she’d left behind. The Longbottoms had raised him right.
--
He had opened his mouth to argue because she'd run off for some reason. She stopped him from actually saying anything, though, so he closed it again and let her finish her thought. He couldn't argue that it felt a little like a dream because it was only in his dreams that he'd get a chance to dance with Daisy. He did a lot more with Daisy in his dreams than that, actually, which made him blush a little, but he shoved those thoughts right back into the box that they came out of and tossed them back into the back of his mind.
"It wasn't a dream," he told her. "I mean--," he shrugged. "I don't think it was a dream, at least. I had your shoe, after all. So you were there. And we danced. A lot. An hour, can you believe it? You should really get a medal or something for that. Perhaps a trophy. Person to get Neville Longbottom to dance the longest. Truly, it was a feat that no one has completed until you." He flashed her a little smile. "I'm just glad I didn't do something to upset you. I actually had a good time. Even if I was dancing. And hey, I didn't scuff up your shoe. Did the other get as lucky?"
--
Daisy looked into her mug, frowning when she realized she was at the last little dregs. “Do you want tea?” she asked. “I’m about to brew myself a fresh cup.” Like with the pie, she did not wait for a proper answer either way and went about fixing him a cuppa. It was far easier to fuss about the kitchen than to explain what had transpired between them the night prior.
She settled back down, placing two fresh cups tea in front of them both. “You made it very easy, honestly. I don’t deserve a reward or trophy of any sort. Really, you do. Coming after me after I behaved so terribly.” And here she thought nothing would top some of the crazy nights where she got tattoos without remembering it the next day. No, she had to be a poor imitation of a fairy tale princess.
“The shoe is picture perfect,” she confirmed, “just like it’s mate. So really they must be good luck shoes after all.”
--
Again she pretty much made his choice for him and he wasn't going to be rude and refuse when she was going to the trouble. "Sure," he found himself saying, nodding a little at the question even as she got up to fuss around the kitchen. He watched her move, knowing she was thinking a great deal as she collected things for their tea. He was quiet until she settled down at the table again and he took the offered cup with a smile. "Thank you."
He shook his head a little. "You didn't behave terribly," he told her. "I just worried, like I said, that I'd done something wrong. Or stepped on you or something," he laughed. "I had a lovely time," he promised. "A really lovely time." So lovely a time he was trying to figure out what to do or say next. There were a lot of things he wished he had the guts to do or to say and he couldn't really find the words for any of them.
"They definitely are good luck shoes," he agreed with a smile. "I finally got to get close to you. Even if it was to dance - which is not my forte - I call that lucky." He flushed a deep shade of crimson at his own words, hoping that she wouldn't completely shun him after that almost admittance.
--
Daisy seemingly could not get her tongue to work. Any other man and she would be know when to lean in, laugh, and lust after. Here her tongue tied itself into knots as she kept feeding him. She wasn't Cinderella ‘s step-sister, but the witch from Hansel & Gretel that wanted to eat children.
“Finally get close to me?” Daisy’s brow furrowed as she looked at him. “You're already close to me.” Indeed, when she had retaken her seat she has taken the one beside him rather than across. “Neville,” Daisy laid a hand on his arm, “you're as close to me as my own brother.” She thought about her statement for a moment. “Well Harry at least. And possibly closer. So that being said…”
The flush of her face matched his and for one terrifying moment she could imagine all of this going horribly wrong. She took a deep breath and pretended to be a Gryffindor for a moment. “So that being said, if what I am about to do turns out to be a horrible idea, can we pretend like it never happened and never talk about it again?” Before she could lose her nerve, Daisy leaned forward to press her lips against his in a quick, stolen kiss.
Finally, Potter, I thought we'd all die of old age before you managed! A voice sounding suspiciously like Evan’s sounded in her head and Daisy quickly shoved it back where it came from. She really didn’t need her twin, even in imaginary form, to witness the moment.
--
He scrunched his nose a little when she said she was as close to him as her brothers. He wasn't sure he liked the way that sounded because he was sure it was going to turn into something about being 'too much like a brother to her for anything else'. He didn't open his mouth, though, and let her finish saying what she was saying and tried to make some sense of all of it. As she started speaking about what she was about to do, he became a little confused. He wasn't sure what she could have been planning to do and barely even caught on to her movement until she had kissed him.
He blinked, a breath of a moment passing before he realized what exactly was happening and could make the move to return the kiss, quick as it was. He let her pull back before he did, still blinking a little as the flush on his cheeks deepened further, making him feel a little dizzy from the quick movement of blood rushing to fill his face. "Wow," was all he could muster for a moment, then after a beat, he laughed, then grinned, then shook his head a little. "That was… amazing. Just… next time, don't tell me I'm like your brother first?," he laughed again, the flushed even more deeply. "I mean, I'm not assuming there's going to be a next time, I mean… unless you want there to be. I mean--," he swallowed and laughed nervously again. "I totally wouldn't mind a next time."
--
When he didn’t pull away with a disgusted, hurt, or confused look on his face, Daisy allowed herself to breath a little easier. It hadn’t ended as terribly as she had feared and Neville was still willing to speak to her. Her moment was slightly ruined by his laugh and daisy couldn’t help but correct him. “I didn’t say you were like my brother. Just that you were as close to me as my brother.” There was a difference. “It means I trust you, Neville. And I can probably count the number of people I trust on both hands.”
Admitting that much left Daisy feeling a bit raw as she pulled back, hands going back around her mug of tea. “I wouldn’t mind if their was a next time either.” She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now. There was tea. She had fed him. She couldn’t rightly kick him out of the flat. Desperately she wished for either Ginny or her fiance to walk through the door and prove that she wasn’t alone after all.
--
Her correction did make that whole thing feel better and he almost immediately forgot it. Especially when she talked about how she trusted him. That meant a great deal to Neville, of course, especially after knowing Daisy as long as he had. She didn't give away her trust very easily and knowing that he had a place in that little circle of trust was a very lovely feeling.
He bit his lower lip when she pulled back, wondering if he'd ruined the moment with his awkward uncertain giggling. He felt a bit like an idiot after all of that, especially when she said she wouldn't mind a next time. She hadn't said she wanted a next time, but it was still something. He felt very awkward and uncertain for a moment, torn between wanting to kiss her again and wanting to flee before he somehow made things worse like he so often did when he was flustered. "I trust you too, you know," he told her. "And I'm sorry I laughed like a loon," he added. "I do that when I'm flustered." Not that she didn't know that already. "And you fluster me, mostly because I don't want to mess up and make you hate me."
--
“Hate you?” Daisy shook her head. “I could never hate you. I don’t know how anyone could.” And if they did, Daisy would be quick to point out how they were massively wrong. There would possibly be graphs and a report title ‘An Account On How It Is Impossible to Hate Neville Longbottom.’ She could possibly convince Evan to help her write it.
Unable to hold his gaze any longer, Daisy dropped hers down to the table, embarrassed. It was really far too early for such complex emotions.“You have nothing to be sorry for. I promise.”
--
He hoped her words were true, but no one could really give a hundred percent guarantee that nothing would ever be enough to make them hate a person. Or at least that was what he told himself because he was very much not quite as confident in himself where it came to Daisy as he was when it came to other things. There were things that he was good at, like plants and smiling and cracking a joke, but there were things that he wasn't good at like dancing, not being a klutz, and forming words that made any sense around Daisy Potter.
When she looked away from him and down at the table, he bit his bottom lip again, worrying on it for a moment before he gave up on not taking chances. Reaching out, he gently cupped her chin and nudged her face up to meet his gaze again. And then, with an intake of breath and a wish for luck, he kissed her.
--
Daisy didn’t know what she was waiting for until Neville kissed her. While she may have been bold enough to make the first move and steal a kiss, she was not able to follow it up. At that moment, however, it did not matter as he was kissing her. It was a much more proper kiss then she had given him and for the briefest of moments she was certain this was another dream. True, she never had a history of sleepwalking or any other sleep disorders, but there was a first time for everything.
“Neville.” She sighed against his lips, pulling back after a few moments. Uncharacteristically without words, her gaze turned back to the remnants of her breakfast of pie. Sweet Salazar, what was she doing? This was Neville, not a simple flirtation that she could have fun with and discard into the rubbish bin. He mattered.
--
The kiss was lovely. Lovely and far too short. When she said his name the way that she did, more sigh than anything else, he wasn't sure if it was a good sign or a bad one. Especially when she didn't look at him but at the remains of her pie. He worried his lower lip, wondering if he'd done too much. Her kiss had been quick and almost chaste. Maybe it hadn't meant what he'd hoped it had meant. Maybe he was reading far too much into the whole thing. Maybe it was all a dream and he just hadn't woken up yet. He wasn't sure which thought was more plausible.
"I feel like I should apologize again," he said softly, lifting his hand to scratch the back of his neck in uncertainty. "I don't want to, though, because you're only supposed to apologize for things you've done wrong and I don't think kissing you could ever be wrong but…," he shrugged his shoulder and worried his lower lip again. "I'm sorry if you didn't want me to."
--
Reaching over, Daisy covered the hand that remained on the table with one of her own. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who keeps pulling away.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to figure out the words she wanted to say. “You matter and I’m pretty shite at relationships that matter, if you didn’t already know.” It was impossible that he wouldn’t know, but Daisy had learned long ago to not assume things when it came to the male sex.
Daisy forced herself to look up and directly into Neville’s eyes. “I have wanted nothing more for years. So, no, you have nothing to apologize for.” She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now. If it were anyone else, she would have laughed this off, maybe suggested they retire to her bedroom, but that seemed wrong right now. Far too much far too soon. “In fact, if you wanted to do it again… I won’t say no.”
--
He relaxed considerably at her reassurances. He listened to what she had to say about how she wasn't good at relationships that mattered. He didn't think that was entirely true. Or maybe she didn't give herself enough credit. She had good relationships with some people after all. He'd always thought their friendship was really great, actually. He could understand, though, that this was taking it to an entirely different level.
He was surprised to hear that she'd wanted him to kiss her for years. The statement left him blinking in surprise. "Really?," he found himself asking, as if hearing the words again would somehow make them less surprising. As for whether he wanted to kiss her or not, that was silly. Of course he wanted to kiss her. "I think wanting to kiss you is pretty much my default status when you're around," he admitted, flushing desperately. "I guess I'm usually just better at keeping it under control."
--
Daisy snorted. “I’d say you were more than ‘just better,’ I had no idea.” Maybe others did, but Daisy had remained blissfully in the dark. Except it was less blissful and more annoying that they could have figured this out ages ago. Thank Merlin for those shoes after all.
Leaning forward, Daisy cupped Neville’s face in her hands. “I don’t know where this is going and that is absolutely terrifying. I’m no Gryffindor, despite what others might have you believe. I want to know all the angles and outcomes, figure out which one is the most advantageous. I can’t do that with you.” So that wasn’t the most romantic or sexy thing to say, but it was far too early in the morning to be either. So Daisy had to rely on a bit of brutal honesty.
“I want to kiss you again, but I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I don’t want to hurt you.”
--
He'd figured Daisy knew and just didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. He doubted she felt any inkling of the same sorts of feelings or wants that he did. He wasn't her type. Far too much of a klutz, far too forgetful. Not exactly the bad boy sort that she often drifted towards. He thought she could do better than all of them, always had, but he never thought she'd want him, even fleetingly.
Her hands on his face were warm and soft and he all but melted into them He wasn't sure what to make of what she said, but he had to admit that he respected and appreciated her honesty. If there was anything he could always expect from Daisy, it was her honesty. She didn't beat around the bush or pretend that she knew what she was doing if she didn't.
It was the last few things that she said that really caught his attention. She wanted to kiss him again. That was the most perfect thing he'd ever heard, he was sure. He didn't really care if it might be a terrible idea. He didn't care if she did end up hurting him. In truth, he doubted very much that it would matter.
"It'd be worth it to be close to you, even for a little while."
--
How could be so perfect? Daisy had often wondered this. She knew that he actually wasn’t, Daisy had witnessed some of the particularly bad klutz movements, but somehow Neville always knew what to say to make her feel better. “Saying things like that make it incredibly difficult to not want to drag you directly into my bed and have my way with you.”
Dropping her hands away, Daisy picked up their plates and went over to the sink. If, and that was a big if, she and Neville were going to move beyond friendship she couldn’t treat this like her other relationships. Which mean no meaningless, thoughtless sex. Neville deserved more than that.
--
Those words brought a whole lot of thoughts to Neville's brain and none of them were gentlemanly. He swallowed and tried to push them out of his head as fast as he could before things got really awkward. He was silently thankful that they were sitting and he made a point not to even consider getting up for at least minute or two. Once his brain focused on non-Daisy things. His cheeks flushed a little despite his best efforts and he gave her a goofy little smile.
He almost whined when she dropped her hands away and got up to go over to the sink. Watching her as she moved about, he tried to figure out exactly what she might be thinking. "So, what happens now?," he asked her finally.
--
If anyone asked her, Daisy would say she deserved a medal that exact moment. Because she really, really, wanted to grab the front of his shirt to have her way with him. “I don’t know. Well, I know what I WANT to do, but that’s probably not a good idea right now.”
Her gaze softened as she looked at him. He was such a good guy and she really didn’t deserve the way he looked at her. Leaning against the counter, she considered their options. “Well an obvious option is that when you leave the flat we forget that any of this happened. But I imagine that’s not going to happen.” Because once they, as Pandora, opened the box. The feelings could not be returned. “So I float the possibility of us figuring out whether we like more than kissing one another.”
--
Figuring enough time had passed and that he could safely and not awkwardly get up, he did. Walking over to where she stood at the counter, he nodded. "I'd like that," he told her. He wasn't sure where it would go or if it would implode or somehow turn out perfectly fine, but he was willing to take the chance because he thought that Daisy was worth it. He wanted her to know that he thought she was worth it.
"How about we start small," he offered. "Can I take you out to dinner?" A date. A real date with Daisy Potter. If she said yes, of course. He awkwardly shifted his weight to one side as he waited for her to give him an affirmative or a denial. "Anywhere you wanna go."
--
“Anywhere I want to go, hmm?” Daisy tapped her chin in thought, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “You do realize that giving me that much power could be dangerous, right? I could run away and go mad with it.” Let it be known that Daisy was always one who would take advantage of any sort of advantage given to her.
She definitely did want to go on a date, a real one, with him. Timewise, however, she was far less sure of. “I’m making the rounds of lunch and/or dinner with my uncles, so I don’t actually know what nights I’m free. I’m letting them choose, you see.” Wasn’t she generous? “But if I get back to you, we should be okay, right?”
--
He nodded, trying not to think about how insanely adorable and completely sexy that little smirk on her lips was. It was unfair, really. Especially when she talked about how dangerous she was with power. He didn't think that he would mind if she ran off with that power. "I think I'm willing to take that chance," he told her.
Her mention of her uncles made a lot of sense, so he nodded. "Yeah, totally," he agreed. "Whenever's good for you. Just let me know and we'll figure out something." If she got back to him, then together they could figure out where they were going or what they were doing. He didn't have to have a set out plan right that moment anyway. She seemed to be agreeable and that was just fine with Neville. The thought of having a date with Daisy was enough to make his stomach feel all floaty anyway.
--
If Daisy could read Neville’s thoughts… well, the whole premise of not taking him off to bed would have ceased far before, but she would also try to point out that her plotting to take over the world wasn’t adorable. Him thinking that it was adorable? Completely adorable. “You’re a brave man, Neville Longbottom,” she told him with a grin, “a true Gryffindor if I ever saw one.”
Now that their little moment was over, Daisy turned to more practical matters. Like the fact that she was still in her pajamas, her cute pajamas, but sleepwear none the less. And it was still ridiculously early to be awake on the weekends. “Can I get you anything else? More tea? Pie? I think I have a tin of biscuits in somewhere, if someone didn’t eat them already.”
--
He smiled - no, beamed was probably a better word for it - when she called him brave. Coming from someone that he thought was truly brave, it was a big compliment. It was hard not to beam with pride that she thought he was brave. In truth, it was hard not to light up simply because she was smiling at him.
He shook his head. "No. Thank you, though. The pie was really nice. The tea too." Not that he'd drank a whole lot of it. Far too distracted by kisses to care much for tea. He didn't want to leave, but he was sure he'd probably woken her up far earlier than she intended to be up in the first place. "I'm sorry it was so early when I got here," he told her, scratching his neck awkwardly. "On the bright side, at least I didn't come over right after you left like I wanted to."
--
She waved away his apology. Neville clearly apologized far too often. She would have to correct him of that notion, but not too soon, because that was what made Neville who he was and she liked him for that. Still, maybe a little less apologizing. “I was already up.”
Daisy couldn’t help the slight wince when he mentioned last night. While it had precipitated this morning’s adventures, she still wasn’t terribly proud of her actions. The less said about it the better, in her estimation. “I wouldn’t have turned you away if you had,” she told him, fighting back a small yawn that threatened to overtake her. “You’re a very hard person to resist.”
--
He felt better when she said she was already up. He certainly didn't regret coming over, of course. Things had gone far better than he'd ever expected them to. Besides, he'd gotten kisses. That was the best part of all and he was still practically intoxicated by the few that he'd gotten. The eager temptation for another kiss was only just barely resisted.
He smiled when she fought back that yawn while telling him he was irresistible. "Looks like sleep is irresistible too," he commented, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, lingering at the side of her face for a moment with his fingertips. "I should probably get out of your hair and let you get some more rest," he murmured. "Promise you'll send word when you're more certain of your schedule?"
--
Daisy almost, almost, invited Neville back to bed with her, but she was stronger than her libido. “It’s a hard battle, but right now Morpheus is edging you just slightly. That’s sleep, by the way. Greek Mythology style.” Daisy added the last bit, just in case Neville thought she was referring to an actual person rather than an allegorical figure.
Pushing away from the counter, Daisy wandered to the front hall and the front door. She didn’t want to see him go, but Merlin did she like watching him leave. “I’ll see you later, yeah?”
--
When she clarified who Morpheus was, he just grinned at her. "He puts up a tough battle," he sighed. "I'll have to try harder next time to be more interesting." He was joking, of course, badly as always. Anything to tease a smile out of Daisy.
He followed her down the hall and to the front door, nodding at her question. "Yeah," he promised her. "Of course you will. Like I have the willpower to resist coming to see you." Especially now that he knew she was interested in him and that she, at the very least, wouldn't mind kissing him again. "Sleep well. I'll see you soon." He bit his lower lip then and shifted his weight awkwardly from one side to the other. "Can I kiss you goodbye?"
--
“I would be mad if you didn’t.” Though Daisy didn’t give Neville much of a chance to kiss her because she was most decidedly kissing him right at that moment. Leaning in, she drew him into another kiss, doing her best to not pour everything into it right then and there. Daisy needed something to tease him by, to give him something to yearn for.
Breaking away, Daisy smiled at him. “You should really go before I forget myself.”
--
"Well we can't have th--," he started to say, but then she kissed him and he completely forgot what he was going to say to her. Apparently the way to get Neville speechless was for Daisy to kiss him. He certainly wasn't complaining, though. She could kiss him all day every day if she wanted to.
When she broke away from the kiss with that smile, he grinned like a fool. "Right," he said, nodding, having almost forgotten that he was supposed to be walking out the door. "I'll see you soon," he told her, leaning down enough to kiss her forehead. "Goodbye, Daisy."
It was with a great reluctance that he pulled away and stepped out of the flat, but he managed.
--
A warmth bloomed in her chest, which Daisy tamped down with a ferociousness. She was not some love sick girl, thank you very much. “And I will be seeing you, Neville.” Closing the door behind her, she let out a long sigh. Love sick girl or not, something between them had changed and hopefully it was a good change or they had just embarked on a terrible mistake. No, she wasn’t going to think about that now.
She fought back a yawn as she ran a hand through her hair. Right, time to follow Neville’s advice and find her way back to bed. It really was too early to make any judgements on life altering decisions.