InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "OMGGGG. HUGH JACKMAN."

Neville Longbottom (onceinhislife) wrote in toboldlyrpg,
@ 2017-08-02 06:14:00

Entry tags:

! enterprise, hannah abbott | harry potter, neville longbottom | harry potter

WHO: Hannah & Neville
WHERE: Just outside Medbay
WHEN: 226407.30
WHAT: Timelines are a messy situation
RATING: S for smoochies
STATUS: Closed, complete

Hannah had never been on a holiday, not a real one at least. Her parents had taken her to Blackpool once when she was little, before her brother Jeremy and sister Harmony had been born. They’d spent a long weekend there and Hannah had played on the rocky shore and her dad had taught her how to skip rocks in the tide pools, but she’d been too small for the rides at the parks. Her mum and dad had said they’d bring her back when she was bigger, but then Jeremy had come along and it wouldn’t have been fair to him if she could ride rides and he couldn’t. And once Jeremy was big enough, Harmony had been born and Hannah was in school most of the time any way and she’d stopped desperately wanting to ride the log flume. So this forced holiday she was on, aboard the Enterprise, was her first real one.

It was glorious for two and a half days. Then Hannah was ready to get back to work. For someone who had been working hard for most of her life, it felt more normal for her to be doing things than it was to sit around and do absolutely nothing. There were options for her here, though, that she didn’t have back home so she was determined to take her time and choose the right thing for her to do. While serving and tending bar in the Lounge would be easy, with little to no training needed, she’d dreamed of being a healer when she was younger. Perhaps she could assist in the Medbay. She enjoyed working with people, and helping new arrivals get accustomed to their new reality could also be fulfilling.

So many choices. She almost hated to have to make one at all.

Hannah was idly flipping through the information on the PADD when she noticed a list of new arrivals. One name on that list caused her heart to stop dead in her chest.

Neville Longbottom.

She didn’t even bother to put her shoes back on before she tossed the PADD aside and ran out the door, toward the nearest turbolift.

Well, that was different.

This was definitely not how he'd been planning on spending his 26th birthday. He'd had every intention of finishing up a day of work before heading to the Leaky to grab a drink or two with friends, and some of that incredible sticky toffee pudding rather than a cake. Nothing overly exciting. Then he'd have headed home, tended the plants in his care, and headed to bed.

This was much more excitement than he'd planned for. He wasn't even entirely certain he believed everything he'd just been told. But now he had to make his way to a new room with very few belongings and figure out what came next. He exited the Medbay, finding he suddenly missed Madame Pomfrey, which said a lot. He'd never been fond of being sick at Hogwarts, but it felt much warmer and more welcoming than this place.

Making his way into the hall, he looked down at the sheet the nice woman had put in his hands. Turbolift - was that just a lift, but faster? - and down and then what seemed a never ending maze of corridors.

Right, then. Well, if he could manage the changing staircases at Hogwarts and the sea of offices at the Ministry, this should be manageable. If only his head weren't still swimming with information.

Hannah tapped her toes impatiently as the Turbolift slowed and the doors crept open. It might have only been a minute at most, but the trip felt like it lasted forever. That’s the way it seemed to go when a person wanted something so badly, she supposed. The waiting became torture.

She stepped out and turned toward the medbay, running her hands down her dress to try to ease some of the wrinkles away, only to stop dead in her tracks. She would recognize that head of hair and those shuffling feet anywhere. She’d spent too many years during her adolescence silently watching him bent over his schoolwork in the Greenhouse and the Great Hall and the Library not to recognize him immediately. So she hurried down the hall, her grin growing with every step until their trajectories met somewhere in the middle.

“You know,” she said with a laugh, her hands immediately moving to cup his cheeks. “If you don’t look up once in awhile, you’re likely to run into something.” Hannah didn’t wait for a reaction before she pulled him in for a sweet but lingering kiss.

Not much could top his level of surprise on waking up on a spaceship hundreds of years in the future. Not much, that was, except for Hannah Abbott kissing him. He'd broken into a smile on first seeing her. It was amazing seeing a friendly and familiar face. But then she was teasing him - a tone he was all too used to, just not from her. And then… Oh. And then.

He took exactly three seconds for his surprise to make it from his head to the rest of his body as he stepped carefully out of her hold. “Um. Hi, Hannah.” Okay, so maybe the pretty blonde had been a very big part of the reason he'd intended to go to the Leaky that night. Maybe he'd intended to finally ask her to dinner. Somewhere where she didn't have to do the cooking and the serving, preferably. But he hasn't expected to move quite so quickly.

His face flushed an unmistakable red. “What, uh… What was that about?”

Well, that was a fine hello, she thought as Neville pulled away. Barely a hi, not even a hug… That just wasn’t how she’d ever envisioned her boyfriend, whom she had been missing terribly, to react to their being reunited. The confusion that had first set in her face slowly bled away, leaving the flush of realization-fueled embarrassment in its place. She took a quick step away from him as well, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.

“You’re… You’re not from 2008, are you?”

He was having a hard enough time dealing with being in the 2200s and she was worried about a two year time gap? “No,” he replied slowly, finally really looking up at her. The answer was there, he could almost grasp it. Almost. “2006. Hannah, what… I… I mean, not that that wasn't great, it was, it really was. But…” Now he was rambling and telling Hannah Abbott how great kissing her had been and that part was entirely true but that was hardly the point!

If the deck could just open her up and swallow her now, that would be wonderful.

Hannah’s cheeks were a deep, angry red, a clear sign of her absolute mortification. “I’m so sorry!” she said, hands moving to grip his with a quick squeeze. “I- I should have checked first and made sure, but I was just so happy to see you were here…”

He was just about there. The puzzle pieces were clicking together. Slower than they probably should have, but for one, he'd had one hell of a day. And for two… Well, it was him. The pretty girls didn't fall for guys like him. He'd watched as Ginny had dated at least three guys in his year. Two being his roommates. He'd watched as Luna had taken off on world tour adventures rather than stay with him. So someone like Hannah seemed almost impossible.

Yet she'd kissed him. She'd kissed him because she assumed he was from the same time as she was. “We're together?” he blurted, and suddenly his cheeks were as red as hers. “Um. In your time, I mean. You and I are… Oh. Wow. I. Wow.” Words. He had them. He'd just rather forgotten how to use them.

Oh, how her heart broke to see his surprise. She hadn’t precisely forgotten how adorably nervous and tongue-tied he’d been when they’d first started seeing each other, but it had slipped from the forefront of her thoughts as she’d watched him blossom and truly come into his own.

But then, maybe she shouldn’t have been as surprised as she was by his reaction. They’d shared a lot in the two absolutely wonderful years they’d been together. Millions of words, thousands of moments, hundreds of kisses, and more. He didn’t have the memories of any of that. Yet. And being kissed by someone you only sort of knew- that would be shocking to anyone.

So Hannah nodded and moved to his side in case the shock of the situation made him feel dizzy or weak or anything, one hand resting lightly on his back, the other on his forearm. “We are. Have been for a while now. But you’re not there yet, so I understand if you’d rather I not say anything or back off or give you space…”

And then she was touching him and wow again because that just reaffirmed the suspicion. “I… No, I mean…” He didn't want to hurt her. Hannah was one of those girls he couldn't picture ever hurting. She'd been through a lot, losing her mum the way she had, yet she always seemed to have that beautiful smile. The one he'd fallen for during all of those post-work meals in London. Fallen for… Oh, Merlin, he really had won this one, hadn't he?

“I'm sorry. That I don't remember.” The Liaison people had mentioned something like this could happen, but he had no idea. Not really, not like this. “I… I wanted to ask you out. I guess you know that now, though.” Yet knowing she was very obviously interested in him didn't stop talking about his feelings for her from feeling awkward.

Hannah’s heart swelled with how impossibly sweet Neville was. How he’d always been, really. For a moment, she forgot herself and let the hand resting on his back rub up and down slightly. “You still could,” she said with a hopeful, helpful smile. “If it helps, I will definitely say yes. Again.”

At that, he had to laugh. He could absolutely understand why future him was head over heels for her. Why current him had a rather ridiculous crush on her. Why not? She was gorgeous, of course, but she was also funny and sweet. It was why guys had flocked to the Leaky Cauldron the moment Tom had hired her.

And yet she'd chosen him. She'd said yes when he'd asked her out, and she was still with him all those years later. That took some thought on his part.

“I'm not even sure what a date on a spaceship would entail,” he admitted with a bashful smile. “But I'd be interested in learning?” It would have been better back home. He wouldn't have been so off guard, and a firewhiskey would have calmed his nerves. Voldemort was nothing compared to talking to girls. But he'd manage. “Hannah, as I'm sure people here have to eat, would you like to have dinner with me?”

If it were possible for Hannah to physically melt, she would have at that. Her smile warmed and her hands stilled, slowly drawing away until she was gently holding one of his arms. “I’d love to,” she said, wishing she could give him another, better kiss, one that showed how much she cared. But he wasn’t there yet. She had no doubt that he would be eventually, so she could wait it out, but the desire was strong.

“Perhaps in the meantime, I can show you to your room?” she asked, glancing down at her bare feet. Oh yes. She’d forgotten all about that. Thank Merlin the floors on the ship were very clean. “I can give you a tour as well, if you like. Though one of the Liasons might be better. I haven’t been here terribly long myself.”

“How long have you been here?” he asked curiously. To him, she seemed more than settled in. But then, everything seemed completely strange to him, so he supposed anyone who knew their way from Point A to Point B would seem settled. “I don't mind if you're not sure on your way around. We can learn together.” Maybe that would help the dating thing along. Dating was hard enough and now he was expected to do so on a spaceship?

“But maybe we should stop by your room for your shoes, first.” Yes, he was teasing. He couldn't help that. She was adorable, running to meet him in her bare feet. That said a lot to him about what he meant to her. And he liked it. A lot.

Hannah adjusted her grip on Neville’s arm so it was less ‘stay where you are’ and more ‘let’s have a lovely walk in the park’ and silently urged him toward the turbolift. “Shoes are probably a good idea,” she laughed, loving that he felt comfortable enough to tease her already, even if it made her blush and duck her head.

“I’ve been here a week,” she said once she recovered. “It’s nice, though I don’t have any previous spaceship experience to compare it to. The other travelers are nice as well, as is most of the crew. I can’t help but worry about home, though.” Because worry for those she loved was just part of what made her Hannah. “My brother and sister. You.”

Neville hadn't really had a chance to process the fact that there was a there and there was a home. But he found he needed to find a way to comfort her. Even as the “just a friend” she'd been to him only that morning. “Well,” he began thoughtfully, attempting to work it out in his head, “two years ago, on my birthday, was I missing at all? Did I disappear for any extended period of time?” He didn't think even her feelings would extend to fancying a man who'd come back from time away ranting about living in space.

“And if I didn't, then that means I was both here and there. Somehow.” Luna was the Ravenclaw, not him. Her creative mind might have been able to answer this riddle. His was struggling. “So I would think that would mean you're also back home, taking care of your family and...well, me.” Not that he needed taking care of. Merlin, he was rambling. It was ridiculous and pointless. Why, exactly, did she intend to date him?

Actually… Yes, that did help ease Hannah’s mind quite a bit. If she were somehow able to be both there and here then she was at home, working on making Neville’s birthday dinner, laughing while Harmony tried so hard to make the cake she’d been planning on baking for him perfect. Of course, he’d have to spend the better part of the day with his family- his grandmother, aunts and uncles- but he’d promised to make time to see her as well. And the kids (or at least Harmony, because Jeremy was an adult now and mostly had his own life) were part of the package.

Neville always knew what to say to help her put things into perspective. Apparently even before they ever really started dating.

She tightened her grip on his arm in a sort-of hug as they entered the turbolift. She directed it to the D deck. “You’re right, of course. You weren’t gone for any length of time and I would have noticed.” Another blush stained her cheeks. “I always looked forward to seeing you in the evenings. It was always worth it to take the evening shift if it meant getting to talk to you. Even for just a minute.”

That was still baffling to him. That she'd had feelings for him at all. Now that he knew for certain that she did - her kiss was still tingling on his lips - he tried to think back over the last few weeks. Those times he'd met with friends, watching her behind the counter. The moment Luna had figured out he had an interest in her and encouraged him to act on it. All that time he had possibly wasted.

All still worth it for that little half a hug. “There were nights I was utterly exhausted...but I still went out, and it wasn't for Tom's shepherd's pie.” Even knowing what he did about his future didn't stop his cheeks from reddening at the confession. “I had no idea. I thought for sure you were going to turn me down.” He'd even been willing to try and pass it off as a birthday gift, if he had to.

“Neville…” It hurt Hannah to have him think that she would turn him down. Of course, this was after two years of a truly wonderful, loving relationship, so she supposed she could see things from his perspective. But maybe… If she gave him a little bit of insight…

She turned around so she was facing him and stretched up to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. “You silly goose. I know you didn’t notice me in school, but I noticed you and developed quite a crush on you sometime during third year. During Herbology. I would never turn you down, for anything, ever.”

Third year? But that was… “Merlin, Hannah, why? I was an even bigger dork then than I am now!” But he couldn't help the hint of color to his cheeks, the shy smile that crossed his face. And why hadn't he “noticed” her, so to speak? He had, it wasn't like he'd gone through seven years of school without ever seeing her. Well. Not seven, he supposed. She'd left after her mum had passed.

“Should have bucked up the courage to ask me to the Yule Ball,” he teased gently, completely understanding why she hadn't.

Hannah laughed, but it definitely wasn’t at Neville. “I thought about it. If I’d thought there was a chance you’d have said yes, I would have. But then Ernie was turned down by a couple of girls he fancied, so I went with him.” Because friends, real, life-long friends, were gold and Hannah would never turn her back on Ernie or Justin. No matter what.

“And why wouldn’t I fancy someone who was and continues to be kind and thoughtful and helpful and brave?” Oh, Hannah was a goner. The truth was, she’d been a goner for a long time now.

“Who turns down Ernie Macmillan?” Neville all but yelped, shock evident in his voice. Then again, Harry hadn't had a date till almost the last minute. Even Neville had gotten a date before he had. Not that he was smug. And not that it had gotten him anywhere. It had been a while before he'd been able to look at Michael Corner quite the same.

Hannah wasn't the type to compliment lightly. He realized that. That didn't make him less likely to brush it off, thanks to his overwhelming lack of self confidence. “If I'd known all of this, I would have asked you to dinner ages ago.” And he knew Hannah wasn't in it for the whole “war hero” thing that had gotten him several owls and a phone number or two. She was far too genuine and kind for that. “I'm sorry. That I didn't, I mean. I feel sort of like a blind idiot now.”

“Daphne Greengrass did,” she said, pulling a face at the thought. Hannah was glad Daphne had turned him down because she didn’t much care for the girl’s snotty attitude. “I don’t remember who else, maybe Mandy Brocklehurst.”

The doors to the turbolift opened to deposit them on D deck, so they started down the corridor toward Hannah’s room. “You shouldn’t feel like an idiot, darling. It wasn’t as if I was broadcasting my crush for all the world to see.” And she honestly didn’t know if she would have had time to dedicate to a relationship for a lot of the intervening years. Things were better now, slightly easier in some respects, but she had put her siblings first, the way her parents would have had they been able, and it was only now that they were older and more self-sufficient that she could think about things like that. “And weren’t you dating Luna anyway?”

“Daphne… Didn't her sister marry Malfoy?” It had been all over the Daily Prophet gossip section. Not that Neville traveled in those crowds. Blood traitor and all. His gran had pointed it out and he'd simply shrugged. There was no love lost between he and Malfoy and while the years of bullying didn't bother him anymore, he certainly wasn't going to ask the man around for tea.

Hannah walked through the halls with such confidence that he could almost forget that they were about two centuries and a light year or two away from home. He didn't even think you could see Earth from there.

Her words did bring a level of comfort, though. He of all people knew that if someone wanted to, they could certainly keep a crush well hidden. “Not really,” he admitted. “We gave that impression, though, didn't we?” There was a little laugh, a shrug, the hurt rolling off of him. “We're only friends. Always have been. She was never interested in much more. Not exactly the settling down type and I am. Though… I guess you know that.” Since he'd apparently settled down with her. For two years. And he hadn't… Subtly, Neville glanced towards her hand. No. No ring. Well. Maybe someday.

“She did,” Hannah confirmed, nodding. “Daphne was always such a pill, but her sister Astoria was very different. She was genuinely nice and wasn't like the rest of that lot with their ideas on blood purity.” Which Hannah had heard too much about. The Abbotts were a very old and proud family, but since her maternal grandmother had been Muggleborn, she was always somehow considered ‘less’. It was ridiculous.

“I wish I'd known,” she sighed, squeezing his arm again. “About you and Luna. Especially once Harmony was away at school. Things were so busy before then, with working and taking care of her and checking up on my Dad… I hardly had time to make sure I was wearing two of the same shoes. But once I got some breathing room…” She shrugged, giving him a soft, slightly sad smile. “I saw the two of you come in once, and you looked like you were having such a lovely time. And I wanted to happy for you both, but I was so horribly jealous of her.”

Neville bit his lower lip, glancing down at the floor in front of them. Which wasn't exactly smart, he should have been watching where he was going as he did have a natural tendency to be clumsy and he was likely to get lost in this place a dozen times over. “She's still one of my best friends. She's just my best friend who's in Australia or Canada or Costa Rica or wherever she is this month. I did want more. For a long time I wanted more. But that isn't the life for her.” Luna had found someone recently, someone Neville thought might actually be able to keep up with her. That was better for them both, in the end.

“How is Harmony?” he asked, wondering how close future him was with Hannah's sister and brother. If it had been two years, he'd like to think fairly close, at least. “And maybe you shouldn't be overly concerned with wearing two of the same shoes,” he reminded her, grinning down at her bare feet.

Hannah laughed, the sound clear as a bell, and leaned into him, just soaking up the physical contact. She’d missed him so much and it was just so nice to be in his presence. “Yes, I think just remembering shoes- period- is a good first goal.” She understood, though, about his relationship with Luna. She was much the same with her boys, to the point where she’d heard rumors around 5th year that the three of them were a thing together- which was ridiculous. She loved them dearly, would do anything for them, but that just wasn’t the nature of their relationship.

“Harm is good,” she said, beaming with pride. “She’s just started her fourth year. Keeps owling you for help with her Herbology lessons. I swear, we get one a day, at least. But it’s early days yet and she’s always a little homesick at first.” Hannah may not have given birth to her sister, obviously, but she’d raised her for most of her life. As soon as Hannah had gotten established, she’d had both her brother and sister with her. She’d seen Jeremy off on his first day of Hogwarts and had been there when he graduated. And she’d do the same for Harmony as well. That she had Neville to share the moments with now… that just made life so much better.

Good. He liked that. That he was a part of their lives. Not that it mattered here in space and he wouldn't know his future when he returned, or so he assumed. But it was good to hear. “Well I hope I agree to help her. You can't just become a good herbologist on your own!” Professor Sprout would help her, though. She was brilliant that way.

It occurred to him that if he was that involved in her life, that things were serious. Very serious. And she was leaning into him adoringly and she was her usual beautiful and bubbly self. It would be too easy to let himself get wrapped up in this. In something he wasn't entirely ready for but wanted to be. “So, tell me about us,” he asked when she came to a stop in front of what he assumed was her door. “Am I at least a decent boyfriend?” He didn't have a lot of experience at it, so he hoped so.

“You always do,” Hannah said fondly, stepping into the common area of the room she’d been assigned as soon as the door opened. “She’s got the professors there, but you’re the best herbologist I know.” She motioned for him to follow her in. “You can sit in the lounge while I get my shoes, if you’d like.”

Lucky for her, all of her roommates seemed to be out so she wouldn’t have to explain to everyone that yes, it was Neville, but he wasn’t her Neville quite yet- though she had hopes. She had so many hopes. She just had to be mindful that he hadn’t done all those things yet. They hadn’t had their first date, hadn’t picked her flowers or taken her for ice cream on her break yet. He didn’t know what it was like to fall asleep on the sofa in her old room, hands clasped together, after talking all night long on one of her evenings off. He didn’t remember the first time they spent the night together, or their holiday to Blackpool, or staying with her so often that she just suggested he move in. And it was hard, so hard, for her to keep all that in mind because she was so smitten, but she’d have to. He deserved to have as many or as few of those experiences as he wanted, without unknowing pressure from her to recreate them.

“You’re more than decent as a boyfriend,” she said after retrieving her shoes, slipping a pair of plain black flats onto her feet. “What would you like to know?”

The room seemed simple enough, despite obvious changes in technology. He wondered about that thing where magic and muggle technology didn't work together. How would that be affected here, surrounded by it as he was? He was far more confident in his charms than he was as a kid, but that didn't mean he wanted to risk blowing something up.

When she reappeared, he smiled up at her. It was a good thing he was already smitten, or he'd be dealing with falling head over heels. Just the way she seemed to accept his presence as something she saw every day. Which he supposed she did.

“Tell me about our first date,” he encouraged, hopping back to his feet, ready for a tour. “Since I'm not going to get to have it for a while, it seems.”

“Well… technically we’re going to have it in a few hours,” Hannah teased, slipping her hand into his. “But it took us a few weeks to go on a proper date after you asked me to dinner, because Harmony was still very young and while I am completely comfortable living above the Cauldron, I wasn’t comfortable with leaving a child on their own above the Cauldron for an entire evening.” But that was something she was working on fixing, actively working on. Maybe it was a non-issue, maybe it wasn’t, but it was a goal of hers, ensuring that her business was completely family-friendly.

“So we had mini-dates in the meantime. We’d take walks around Diagon Alley and get ice cream. You went with Harmony and I to do her school shopping. And once she was off to school, you planned such a lovely evening. It was so romantic…” Hannah practically melted again just recounting it as they walked, slowly, further down the corridor to his room. Her expression was soft and dreamy while she recounted the day. “You took me to a muggle restaurant in Hyde Park. We sat on this lovely terrace on the shore of the Serpentine and had salad and sandwiches and shared a bottle of Proseco. And then we walked through the rose garden and talked… About everything, it felt like. I wanted it to never end.”

Neville couldn't help but blink. She must have come up with all of that. Him? That sounded too romantic. Or maybe he'd gotten Hermione to help. She'd certainly read enough books to know a bit about romance. She and Ron were rather perfect, after all.

Still, he could almost see it. Easing himself into their little family. It made sense, in a way. He'd never had much of one of his own. His Gran, of course, and aunts and uncles he didn't see often. But it wasn't the same. This, though, that entirely domestic picture she'd painted…

“There's no way I came up with all of that,” he replied finally, shaking his head with a shy smile. “I'm not exactly Mr. Smooth here, Han.”

Though his self-doubt tore at her heart, just a little bit, Hannah still laughed softly. She stretched up as high as she could to press a kiss against Neville’s cheek. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, love. You absolutely came up with all of that. And it was perfect.”

Well, then. Then he was glad he had. Especially since, two years later, she seemed to almost swoon at the mention of it. And then she was kissing his cheek and, while it wasn't quite the surprise kissing him on the lips was, it did still send a flush of color to his face.

Still, he smiled. She'd called him ‘love’. And he found he rather liked it when she did. “Then I'm glad future me does a good job.” Which wasn't all that far in the future, really. Which took some getting used to. This girl by his side would have been entirely his in just hours.

“You always do a good job. No matter which you it is.” Hannah took Neville’s hand, weaving their fingers together. “Come on, love. Let’s get you settled in and then I’ll show you around.”