Fic: Something More, Neville/Luna PG
Title: Something More
Rating: PG for talk of cross-dressing
Pairing/Character(s): Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood
Warnings: Talk of cross-dressing
Summary: Ever since Luna accidentally walked in on Neville while he was dressed in stockings, a skirt, and a lovely pink sweater, she couldn't help thinking about him as more than just a friend.
Author's Notes: 2400 words. Sequel to If the Shoe Fits, my first cross-dressing fic. Though this fic can stand on its own, it is meant to follow the first. Also, there will be a part three, so stay tuned for the big payoff. *wink*
Thanks to slytherin_face and severity_softly for the beta.
They had always been friends - just friends. Neither of them ever indicated that they had wanted more than friendship, and they were both perfectly happy with that. And yet, for the last two weeks, ever since Luna accidentally walked in on Neville while he was dressed in stockings, a skirt, and a lovely pink sweater, she couldn't help thinking about him as more than just a friend.
He had looked smashing in that outfit. The neck of the sweater was just low enough to show a bit of his chest hair, and the way the nylon hugged his legs... well, Luna's spine tingled just remembering it. However, as she thought more about it, she decided there really was more to it than just the way he looked. It had taken her this long to figure it out, but during that afternoon she had spent with Neville, she realized that she wanted to be with him. Neville had always been there for her. He was the only one who had kept in touch with her during the six years he had been out of school. He was her truest friend, and he was the person she was the most excited to see whenever she returned to Britain after spending time researching abroad. She cared about him deeply.
She'd never had a serious relationship before, and she barely even knew where to begin. She didn't even know if he was interested in her this way! Neville and Luna were friends. Everyone knew that. However, Luna wanted to know, and she had always been direct; she would just come right out and ask him how he felt about her. She wrote Neville a nice letter asking him to dinner at her house, making sure to tell him to dress however he would be comfortable.
Neville replied that he would love to come, and Luna found herself in the kitchen on the following Thursday evening, adding the last dash of thyme to her stew as the doorbell rang. She tapped the fire under the cauldron with her wand, extinguishing it, and ran to open the door. Neville was standing a bit awkwardly on the porch, holding a small bouquet of white flowers. He was dressed sharply in royal blue robes, and, though he looked handsome, Luna was the slightest bit disappointed that he hadn't worn something a little more... feminine.
"Come on in," she greeted him with a smile as he stepped over the threshold.
"I brought flowers," he said, holding them out uncertainly. Luna grinned and felt her cheeks tint pink as she took the bouquet. Thanking him, she invited him to sit at the table as she looked in the cluttered cabinets for a clean vase.
"Dinner's ready," she said after she had filled the vase from the sink and set it on the table. "Are you hungry yet? I can start the fire again and let it simmer for a while if you'd prefer to wait."
"It's up to you," he replied with a slight shrug, looking from the white blossoms to Luna's smiling face.
"Let's eat now," she said decisively, grinning suddenly and spinning around to get everything together. They hadn't shared a meal together for a long time, and Luna was excited, despite her nervousness about asking Neville how he felt about her.
As she moved into the kitchen, Neville immediately got up from the table to help her, and Luna put him to work fetching the bread from the oven where it was warming. The kitchen was a bit too small for two, but they just laughed as they bumped and reached and muttered awkward apologies. When he stood on tiptoe and retrieved the wine glasses from a top shelf, Neville rested his hand gently on Luna's shoulder for balance. It felt warm and solid on her shoulder, and she paused to watch him as he stretched up for the glasses.
"What?" he asked after he had set them on the counter and had filled them with elderflower wine. She was still watching his every move, and he seemed to have taken notice.
"Nothing," Luna said quickly, smiling to cover her embarrassment. "You're taller than I remember is all."
She picked up the bowls of stew and led him back to the table, where they sat to eat. They kept up a lively conversation throughout their meal, after which Luna magicked the dishes into the sink, assuring Neville that she would take care of them later despite his offer to help.
At her suggestion, he refilled their wine glasses and they moved from the kitchen to the backyard. The candles around the back deck lit up as they passed through the door into the cool autumn air. They stood next to each other, leaning against the banister that surrounded the deck and looking out over the garden. A comfortable silence settled between them after a moment, until...
"I have a question for you," Luna said suddenly, remembering why she had asked him here in the first place.
"Anything," he replied, smiling and turning to face her. His hip was pressed into the wooden banister, holding him up.
Luna took another sip of her wine before she continued. Yes, she had wanted to be direct about this, but now that it was time to ask him, she was more nervous than she thought she'd be. "Do you… have you ever - ever at all - thought about… about being more than friends?"
Neville didn't answer right away. He dropped his eyes and his smile and turned back to face the darkened garden. Luna watched nervously out of the corner of her eye as Neville swirled the wine in his glass. "Not for a long time," he finally said.
"When?" Luna whispered, feeling a surge of hope. At least he had thought about it.
He shook his head very slightly. "Back in school, when we were in the D.A," he said.
Luna wondered why he wasn't looking at her. He continued: "I always thought you were really pretty. To be honest, though, I still had a bit of a crush on Ginny, even though she was with Michael. But when I met you, I thought maybe you'd go out with me, since Ginny wouldn't. No, wait... I don't mean it like that!" He ran his hand over his mouth and jaw as he set his glass on the banister with a soft clink. Luna waited patiently while he gathered his thoughts, still slightly concerned that he hadn't yet looked at her.
"By the time the D.A. really started and we were having weekly meetings, I had given up on Ginny and I realized that I liked you," he said carefully, as if he was weighing every word on his tongue before letting it out. "But you never seemed to feel that way about me, so I didn't bother asking you out. I was okay with being your friend. And then we stopped seeing each other regularly the next year, so my crush kind of went away and... and then we were always just friends." He shrugged and picked up his glass again, drinking the rest of his wine in one gulp. The drink seemed to bring Neville around. He turned to her again and gave her a shy smile that she thought he had outgrown years ago.
"Why do you ask?" he finished.
And now it was Luna's turn to smile shyly. "I..." she started, but faltered. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Ever since tea at your flat couple weeks ago, I... think I like you. But, as corny and cliche as this sounds, I don't want to ruin our friendship. I love being your friend, Neville; I always have." She reached out to rest her hand on the back of his to emphasize her words. "But if you think that maybe you could like me, too, I'd like to try being… more."
Luna's heart jumped with joy in her chest when Neville turned his hand over and gripped her fingers in his hand, his palm damp with sweat. But her heart had misinterpreted his actions. He had stopped looking her again. Instead, he was watching a gnome wander from one shrub to the next, looking for food.
"Neville?" prompted Luna gently when he didn't say anything.
"I don't know," he answered as his fingers went limp around hers. "It's been a long time since I thought about dating you, so I think I have to think about it."
"Oh." That wasn't quite the answer Luna had expected. She had assumed he would say yes or no right away and that would be that. The butterflies returned to her stomach, and she slipped her hand from his.
"Can I have some more wine?" asked Neville in an obvious attempt to change the subject. Luna smiled at him, remembering that his endearing awkwardness was one of the things she liked so much about him, and went back inside to retrieve the bottle. They each drank another small glass of wine, but he didn't stay too much longer after she'd returned. Luna didn't mind terribly when he left; Neville didn't really seem to be himself anymore, but maybe he was just preoccupied and wanted some time alone to think.
The next morning, Luna was very surprised to hear the unmistakable sound of an owl tapping at her kitchen window. She wasn't expecting any post. When she saw that it was Lydia, Neville's slate grey, spotted owl, who was doing the tapping, Luna was even more shocked. The way Neville said he needed to "think about" everything left Luna under the impression that she wouldn't hear from him for a week or so.
She fumbled to open the window, and when Lydia flew in, she landed lightly on the kitchen table.
"He wrote already?" Luna asked the bird unnecessarily as she untied the parchment from Lydia's foot. Lydia helped herself to a bit of Luna's breakfast as Luna pored over the letter, firmly gripping the back of a chair to steady herself for whatever Neville might say.
Dear Luna,
First, I must apologize. I lied to you tonight. There was really nothing for me to think about - I knew my answer to your question right away. But for some reason, I couldn't seem to get it out, so I came home to write you this letter. There is so much to explain, and I didn't know how to do it while you were watching me so intently, waiting for an answer. So please forgive me for lying and for any anxiety I've caused you in forcing you to wait.
I think I should preface this by telling you something that no one else knows. When I first started cross-dressing, I was terrified. I thought that anyone who found out would think I was gay or weird or disgusting or all of the above. And I convinced myself that no woman would ever want me when she found out. So I stopped dating, and I never told a soul, because I knew I couldn't - and didn't want to - stop.
That said, I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you how much it means to me that you don't care how I dress. And to hear you say that you liked me after you knew about it was overwhelming. I still can hardly believe that it happened. I only hope that I don't wake up tomorrow and find that I dreamed the whole thing.
Well, now that I've forced to you wait even longer for my answer… Yes, Luna, I want to give us a try. More than anything in the world. If you are free on Saturday, I'd very much like to take you to dinner.
Yours,
Neville
Tears were glistening in Luna's eyes by the time she finished reading. She had no idea that Neville had spent the last few years in despair that no one would ever love him. Part of her wished she had known; she would have been happy to assure him that it wasn't true. But then again, she knew Neville. He wasn't likely to be convinced of something simply because someone told him so. He needed proof of things. Unless someone expressed interest, just like she had done, she knew Neville would never have believed her, no matter how often she told him that he was loveable just the way he was.
"Lydia, he wants to date me!" she cried in excitement as Neville's reply hit her fully. Lydia looked up at her briefly, but didn't respond. She seemed more interested in Luna's bacon. But Luna understood; if she had flown all night to deliver a message, she would be starving. "Would you please bring him back a letter for me, Lydia?"
Without waiting for a reply, Luna went to her desk in the living room and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment. Dipping her favorite peacock quill in her favorite purple ink, she wrote:
Dear Neville,
I would love to see you for dinner tomorrow night. Why don't you come by around seven?
There is no need to apologize for anything you did or said last night, and I thank you for being open with me in your letter. If you'd like, we can talk about it more tomorrow when we see each other, but I leave that decision up to you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.
With love,
Luna
She read through her letter once more to make sure she had written everything she wanted to, and then she rolled the parchment and tied it carefully to Lydia's outstretched leg. The bird hopped over to the window and took flight, with Luna watching until she was only a speck in the distance. Unable to stop grinning, Luna picked up her breakfast plate and took it to the sink. Lydia had picked over it pretty well, so what little food was left was no longer edible. It didn't matter, though; Luna was too excited to eat. Charming the dish to wash itself, Luna ran upstairs to her bedroom to look through her clothes. She hadn't been on a first date in years, and she needed to see if she had anything appropriate to wear. Halfway up the stairs, she let out a loud squeal, unable to contain herself. She was going on a date with Neville Longbottom.
Rating: PG for talk of cross-dressing
Pairing/Character(s): Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood
Warnings: Talk of cross-dressing
Summary: Ever since Luna accidentally walked in on Neville while he was dressed in stockings, a skirt, and a lovely pink sweater, she couldn't help thinking about him as more than just a friend.
Author's Notes: 2400 words. Sequel to If the Shoe Fits, my first cross-dressing fic. Though this fic can stand on its own, it is meant to follow the first. Also, there will be a part three, so stay tuned for the big payoff. *wink*
Thanks to slytherin_face and severity_softly for the beta.
They had always been friends - just friends. Neither of them ever indicated that they had wanted more than friendship, and they were both perfectly happy with that. And yet, for the last two weeks, ever since Luna accidentally walked in on Neville while he was dressed in stockings, a skirt, and a lovely pink sweater, she couldn't help thinking about him as more than just a friend.
He had looked smashing in that outfit. The neck of the sweater was just low enough to show a bit of his chest hair, and the way the nylon hugged his legs... well, Luna's spine tingled just remembering it. However, as she thought more about it, she decided there really was more to it than just the way he looked. It had taken her this long to figure it out, but during that afternoon she had spent with Neville, she realized that she wanted to be with him. Neville had always been there for her. He was the only one who had kept in touch with her during the six years he had been out of school. He was her truest friend, and he was the person she was the most excited to see whenever she returned to Britain after spending time researching abroad. She cared about him deeply.
She'd never had a serious relationship before, and she barely even knew where to begin. She didn't even know if he was interested in her this way! Neville and Luna were friends. Everyone knew that. However, Luna wanted to know, and she had always been direct; she would just come right out and ask him how he felt about her. She wrote Neville a nice letter asking him to dinner at her house, making sure to tell him to dress however he would be comfortable.
Neville replied that he would love to come, and Luna found herself in the kitchen on the following Thursday evening, adding the last dash of thyme to her stew as the doorbell rang. She tapped the fire under the cauldron with her wand, extinguishing it, and ran to open the door. Neville was standing a bit awkwardly on the porch, holding a small bouquet of white flowers. He was dressed sharply in royal blue robes, and, though he looked handsome, Luna was the slightest bit disappointed that he hadn't worn something a little more... feminine.
"Come on in," she greeted him with a smile as he stepped over the threshold.
"I brought flowers," he said, holding them out uncertainly. Luna grinned and felt her cheeks tint pink as she took the bouquet. Thanking him, she invited him to sit at the table as she looked in the cluttered cabinets for a clean vase.
"Dinner's ready," she said after she had filled the vase from the sink and set it on the table. "Are you hungry yet? I can start the fire again and let it simmer for a while if you'd prefer to wait."
"It's up to you," he replied with a slight shrug, looking from the white blossoms to Luna's smiling face.
"Let's eat now," she said decisively, grinning suddenly and spinning around to get everything together. They hadn't shared a meal together for a long time, and Luna was excited, despite her nervousness about asking Neville how he felt about her.
As she moved into the kitchen, Neville immediately got up from the table to help her, and Luna put him to work fetching the bread from the oven where it was warming. The kitchen was a bit too small for two, but they just laughed as they bumped and reached and muttered awkward apologies. When he stood on tiptoe and retrieved the wine glasses from a top shelf, Neville rested his hand gently on Luna's shoulder for balance. It felt warm and solid on her shoulder, and she paused to watch him as he stretched up for the glasses.
"What?" he asked after he had set them on the counter and had filled them with elderflower wine. She was still watching his every move, and he seemed to have taken notice.
"Nothing," Luna said quickly, smiling to cover her embarrassment. "You're taller than I remember is all."
She picked up the bowls of stew and led him back to the table, where they sat to eat. They kept up a lively conversation throughout their meal, after which Luna magicked the dishes into the sink, assuring Neville that she would take care of them later despite his offer to help.
At her suggestion, he refilled their wine glasses and they moved from the kitchen to the backyard. The candles around the back deck lit up as they passed through the door into the cool autumn air. They stood next to each other, leaning against the banister that surrounded the deck and looking out over the garden. A comfortable silence settled between them after a moment, until...
"I have a question for you," Luna said suddenly, remembering why she had asked him here in the first place.
"Anything," he replied, smiling and turning to face her. His hip was pressed into the wooden banister, holding him up.
Luna took another sip of her wine before she continued. Yes, she had wanted to be direct about this, but now that it was time to ask him, she was more nervous than she thought she'd be. "Do you… have you ever - ever at all - thought about… about being more than friends?"
Neville didn't answer right away. He dropped his eyes and his smile and turned back to face the darkened garden. Luna watched nervously out of the corner of her eye as Neville swirled the wine in his glass. "Not for a long time," he finally said.
"When?" Luna whispered, feeling a surge of hope. At least he had thought about it.
He shook his head very slightly. "Back in school, when we were in the D.A," he said.
Luna wondered why he wasn't looking at her. He continued: "I always thought you were really pretty. To be honest, though, I still had a bit of a crush on Ginny, even though she was with Michael. But when I met you, I thought maybe you'd go out with me, since Ginny wouldn't. No, wait... I don't mean it like that!" He ran his hand over his mouth and jaw as he set his glass on the banister with a soft clink. Luna waited patiently while he gathered his thoughts, still slightly concerned that he hadn't yet looked at her.
"By the time the D.A. really started and we were having weekly meetings, I had given up on Ginny and I realized that I liked you," he said carefully, as if he was weighing every word on his tongue before letting it out. "But you never seemed to feel that way about me, so I didn't bother asking you out. I was okay with being your friend. And then we stopped seeing each other regularly the next year, so my crush kind of went away and... and then we were always just friends." He shrugged and picked up his glass again, drinking the rest of his wine in one gulp. The drink seemed to bring Neville around. He turned to her again and gave her a shy smile that she thought he had outgrown years ago.
"Why do you ask?" he finished.
And now it was Luna's turn to smile shyly. "I..." she started, but faltered. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Ever since tea at your flat couple weeks ago, I... think I like you. But, as corny and cliche as this sounds, I don't want to ruin our friendship. I love being your friend, Neville; I always have." She reached out to rest her hand on the back of his to emphasize her words. "But if you think that maybe you could like me, too, I'd like to try being… more."
Luna's heart jumped with joy in her chest when Neville turned his hand over and gripped her fingers in his hand, his palm damp with sweat. But her heart had misinterpreted his actions. He had stopped looking her again. Instead, he was watching a gnome wander from one shrub to the next, looking for food.
"Neville?" prompted Luna gently when he didn't say anything.
"I don't know," he answered as his fingers went limp around hers. "It's been a long time since I thought about dating you, so I think I have to think about it."
"Oh." That wasn't quite the answer Luna had expected. She had assumed he would say yes or no right away and that would be that. The butterflies returned to her stomach, and she slipped her hand from his.
"Can I have some more wine?" asked Neville in an obvious attempt to change the subject. Luna smiled at him, remembering that his endearing awkwardness was one of the things she liked so much about him, and went back inside to retrieve the bottle. They each drank another small glass of wine, but he didn't stay too much longer after she'd returned. Luna didn't mind terribly when he left; Neville didn't really seem to be himself anymore, but maybe he was just preoccupied and wanted some time alone to think.
The next morning, Luna was very surprised to hear the unmistakable sound of an owl tapping at her kitchen window. She wasn't expecting any post. When she saw that it was Lydia, Neville's slate grey, spotted owl, who was doing the tapping, Luna was even more shocked. The way Neville said he needed to "think about" everything left Luna under the impression that she wouldn't hear from him for a week or so.
She fumbled to open the window, and when Lydia flew in, she landed lightly on the kitchen table.
"He wrote already?" Luna asked the bird unnecessarily as she untied the parchment from Lydia's foot. Lydia helped herself to a bit of Luna's breakfast as Luna pored over the letter, firmly gripping the back of a chair to steady herself for whatever Neville might say.
Dear Luna,
First, I must apologize. I lied to you tonight. There was really nothing for me to think about - I knew my answer to your question right away. But for some reason, I couldn't seem to get it out, so I came home to write you this letter. There is so much to explain, and I didn't know how to do it while you were watching me so intently, waiting for an answer. So please forgive me for lying and for any anxiety I've caused you in forcing you to wait.
I think I should preface this by telling you something that no one else knows. When I first started cross-dressing, I was terrified. I thought that anyone who found out would think I was gay or weird or disgusting or all of the above. And I convinced myself that no woman would ever want me when she found out. So I stopped dating, and I never told a soul, because I knew I couldn't - and didn't want to - stop.
That said, I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you how much it means to me that you don't care how I dress. And to hear you say that you liked me after you knew about it was overwhelming. I still can hardly believe that it happened. I only hope that I don't wake up tomorrow and find that I dreamed the whole thing.
Well, now that I've forced to you wait even longer for my answer… Yes, Luna, I want to give us a try. More than anything in the world. If you are free on Saturday, I'd very much like to take you to dinner.
Yours,
Neville
Tears were glistening in Luna's eyes by the time she finished reading. She had no idea that Neville had spent the last few years in despair that no one would ever love him. Part of her wished she had known; she would have been happy to assure him that it wasn't true. But then again, she knew Neville. He wasn't likely to be convinced of something simply because someone told him so. He needed proof of things. Unless someone expressed interest, just like she had done, she knew Neville would never have believed her, no matter how often she told him that he was loveable just the way he was.
"Lydia, he wants to date me!" she cried in excitement as Neville's reply hit her fully. Lydia looked up at her briefly, but didn't respond. She seemed more interested in Luna's bacon. But Luna understood; if she had flown all night to deliver a message, she would be starving. "Would you please bring him back a letter for me, Lydia?"
Without waiting for a reply, Luna went to her desk in the living room and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment. Dipping her favorite peacock quill in her favorite purple ink, she wrote:
Dear Neville,
I would love to see you for dinner tomorrow night. Why don't you come by around seven?
There is no need to apologize for anything you did or said last night, and I thank you for being open with me in your letter. If you'd like, we can talk about it more tomorrow when we see each other, but I leave that decision up to you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.
With love,
Luna
She read through her letter once more to make sure she had written everything she wanted to, and then she rolled the parchment and tied it carefully to Lydia's outstretched leg. The bird hopped over to the window and took flight, with Luna watching until she was only a speck in the distance. Unable to stop grinning, Luna picked up her breakfast plate and took it to the sink. Lydia had picked over it pretty well, so what little food was left was no longer edible. It didn't matter, though; Luna was too excited to eat. Charming the dish to wash itself, Luna ran upstairs to her bedroom to look through her clothes. She hadn't been on a first date in years, and she needed to see if she had anything appropriate to wear. Halfway up the stairs, she let out a loud squeal, unable to contain herself. She was going on a date with Neville Longbottom.