FICLET: Rumble and Bumble (George/Luna)
Title: Rumble and Bumble
Character Pairing: George/Luna for
rarepair_shorts
Prompt: So much for having a lot to do
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,415 (well, at least I'm heading in the right direction....this actually started out at over 2,100 so I'm pretty proud of how much I was able to trim!!)
Summary: Luna brings George a present and they both get rather more than they bargained for....
Author's Notes: This is 2/13 for my claim, and it takes place a couple of weeks after "In The Gloaming." The fics in my claim won't really be chapters of one story, but they will all be somehow related and in the same universe....enjoy!!
Link to prompt table: Click Here!
George Weasley was bored out of his mind.
It was the middle of the afternoon on the next-to-last Wednesday in August, and he had already de-gnomed the Burrow’s garden, gone for a swim, made lunch, eaten lunch, and gone for a post-lunch walk.
He was now sprawled in the backyard of the Burrow, propped against the trunk of a maple tree….this close to twiddling his thumbs!
His family and friends were all occupied elsewhere for a change and George, left alone at the Burrow, was craving some company. Hell, I’d even be glad to see Percy…
George squirmed uncomfortably against the bark of the tree, admitting to himself that after their fight at the shop a couple of weeks ago, he and Percy had been on fragile terms. George knew it was largely his own fault.
Well, I could always try going back to the sh-- George slammed the brakes on that idea immediately. He was coming around to the idea that maybe Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes could continue…without Fred…but he wasn’t ready to face the shop today.
He sighed deeply. So much for having a lot to do. Now that he’d called the memory forth, his mind stubbornly kept analyzing his fight with Percy. It’s like picking at a scab when you know you shouldn’t…but suddenly he remembered what had happened that day after he’d left the shop.
Luna!
By chance, their paths had crossed a number of times since then. She often roamed the fields around Ottery St. Catchpole, and George had seen her a few times while out flying. He’d swooped down and joined her and they had spent several pleasant afternoons walking and chatting. George had even taken her for a fly once. She had an offbeat - but sharp - sense of humor that he appreciated.
He stood and started for the kitchen to leave his mum a note, choosing not to examine too closely why he felt like Wildfire Whizbangs had suddenly been let off in his stomach.
~*~
As George finished the note and laid it on the kitchen table, he raised his head and looked out the window above the sink. Movement at the edge of the back garden caught his eye and he smiled and incinerated his note instantly.
He no longer needed to leave the Burrow. Luna was tramping slowly towards the house. George leaned against the frame of the open back door, crossing his arms over his chest.
“How do you do that?” he called to her.
Seeing him, she smiled brightly, “do what?”
“Read my mind.”
“Did I?” she said, looking pleased.
“Mm…I was just going to take a walk over to yours, and here you are. How did you know?”
Luna had reached the back door and gazed up at him solemnly, furrowing her brow and pursing her lips in concentration. George’s gaze instinctively fell to her mouth, but before the Whizbangs could really get going in his stomach, she spoke.
“It’s really very simple, George.”
“Hmm?” he said distractedly, bringing his eyes back to hers.
“I know all the secrets of the universe,” she said arching an eyebrow and holding back a laugh. “Or at least, I think I’ve figured out what you need.”
Stop it, you wanker! She didn’t mean that!
“Oh, you have, have you?”
“Mmhmm…come on, I’ve brought you something,” she said grabbing his hand. She led him to the tree he’d been beneath earlier and they sat down. George noticed a large, ancient-looking trunk in front of them on the grass. The trunk had a logo of an interlocking B&D stamped on the top and the front was closed with heavy gold clasps. “Have you ever heard of Balder and Dash?”
Of course George had. Ignatius Balder and David Dash had been early pioneers among Wizarding joke and trick makers. They pre-dated all of Zonko’s work by two generations, loads of their innovations had been adapted into practical devices sold by Dervish and Banges, and Fred and George themselves had modeled some of their ideas on concepts first created by the legendary jokesters.
But it wasn’t possible for Luna to have brought him anything of theirs - it just wasn’t. Neither of them ever had children and no one in their families had wanted to carry on the business, so when they retired, their merchandise disappeared.
“Of course I have…but, that can’t be-”
“Can’t it?” she blinked serenely.
“Their products don’t exist anymore, Luna,” George said gently. She was so open and accepting, and Ravenclaw-smart to boot, all traits George had come to admire in her, but he feared that in this case someone had tricked her.
“Of course not. Not on the open market,” she replied. “I inherited these.”
“What?”
“My mother’s great-great-great-uncle was Ignatius Balder. When he passed away, he left this trunk to his favorite nephew - my great-great-grandfather. It’s been passed down in our family ever since. I haven’t opened it in ages,” she said. “But my mother used to dabble with some of the things in here. If I remember correctly, there are a few prototype products and some plans for inventions in here.”
“Luna, this is…amazing,” George said, running his hand over the top of the trunk. “Why did you bring it to me?”
She turned to look at him as though he were daft. George found the expression on oddly endearing.
“It’s inspiration.”
~*~
They spent the better part of the next two hours poring over everything in the trunk. George was blown away by the vintage firework samples and sketches for half-completed inventions. He fiddled with the edge of a schematic drawing. Hmm…this one has serious potential…
George looked over at Luna, who was peering at some old photographs. He felt the now-familiar sparks race through him as he watched her hair flutter around her face, lifted by the swirling breeze.
“Luna, I can’t thank you enough for sharing this with me.”
She smiled at him, “it was my pleasure George. I expect you to take good care of it for me. It’s yours now, after all.”
“But, I can’t-”
“George, yes you can. I want you to,” she looked at him imploringly. “It should be with someone who can do something with it. You can.”
George looked into her eyes then and he could see she would be deeply hurt if he refused. He still thought it was too generous, but he couldn’t deny he felt touched that she wanted him to have it.
“I’ll keep it on one condition. It’s a permanent loan. If you ever want it back for any reason, just ask.”
“Alright, but I won’t be asking,” she smiled again and reached to hug him.
“Thank you, Luna,” as he leaned in to return the hug he impulsively moved to kiss her on the cheek, but she turned her face at the last moment and George suddenly found his lips on hers.
She overwhelmed his senses in a heartbeat. Her lips touched his for barely five seconds, but it was long enough for George to memorize their supple feel and detect the faintest taste of apricot. Just then, a particularly strong burst of wind gusted around them, rattling the limbs of the maple tree. They broke apart, Luna letting out a soft “oh!” of surprise. Her hair whipped around them both like a cloud and the wind sent papers lifting and scattering around the garden.
George scrambled up and chased after the errant pieces of parchment. When he’d gathered them all he returned to where she stood next to the trunk. Dropping the papers inside and closing the lid, he slowly turned to face her.
“George?” she asked, sounding slightly agitated.
“Yes?”
“Was it an accident?” she blurted. He noticed that she seemed conflicted about whether or not she wanted to continue, but was unable to stop herself. “Kissing me, I mean?”
“Err…yes, it was,” he replied honestly. “But a good one.”
She smiled, and ducked her head. George reached out and took her hand, gently rubbing her knuckles with his thumb as he said, “Luna, do you want-”
“Yes-” her answer and her expression were fierce, all traces of shyness gone.
George slipped his other arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. Laughing, he said, “how did you know what I was going to ask?”
She winked at him slyly, and just as their mouths met again, she whispered her answer against his lips.
“Remember George….I know all the secrets of the universe.”