Title: Smells like home
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pair: Astoria/Luna
Words: 426
Rating: PG
Prompt:
Love is in the air - I won't say I'm in love
Prompt:
100_women - perfume
Astoria lights a cigarette, the smell of the smoke mingles with her expensive perfume. Luna already knows that smell, and though she doesn’t particularly like it, it feels a bit like home. Though that it is something Astoria wouldn’t like to hear.
Not that she minds that. “It smells like home.”
Astoria turns her head and looks at Luna. “Don’t be ridiculous. It smells like cheap motel-room sex.”
Luna doesn’t mind these harsh words, the unwelcoming tone in the other woman’s voice. Instead it makes her smile. Astoria is always cold, derogatory and annoyed afterwards; the only thing that matters to Luna is when she shows her true colors: when they don’t talk and just feel, when there are no husbands to think about, no unhappiness and being taken for granted.
And when they’re done and it all comes back, Astoria flees (after her cigarette) and says that it was a mistake and that they will never do it again.
Luna agrees and waits for Astoria to arrange a random meeting (which she didn’t expect of course. Never. Oh, what a surprise to meet you here!), and she never says a word of scorn when Astoria apologizes about the last time and invites her to ‘their’ motel.
No, Luna just smiles and waits in front of the room at said time in the afternoon (no, never in the evening because who can tell their husbands they’ll go shopping in the evening?), until Astoria arrives and they start their ritual once more.
Now Astoria puts the cigarette in the ashtray and sits up. She’s going to shake her head, leave the bed and get dressed, not looking at Luna once until she’s in the door and says her usual lines. Luna already knows the procedure.
“You know …” Astoria says suddenly, and Luna is taken by surprise.
“You know I will never say …”
Astoria doesn’t say what she will never say, and Luna thinks that it makes sense.
“That’s alright. Me neither.”
Astoria looks at the blonde. Is Luna imagining things or is there some kind of hurt in her eyes?
“That’s … good. I didn’t want you to misunderstand the situation. This means nothing.”
“Of course it doesn’t. I was just ridiculous.”
Astoria nods. “Good.”
And Luna doesn’t show, but it surprises her even more when Astoria sighs and lies back down, even rests her head on Luna’s shoulder.
‘It’s okay,’ she thinks. ‘We don’t have to say anything - as long as we feel it.’
The smile returns, and Luna inhales. Cigarettes and perfume. Home.