The sun woke him up, really. It was falling across his face in that impossible-to-ignore way that Spring sunlight has. He scrubbed his hand over his eyes and tried to get his mental bearings. It was Tuesday, he had the day off, and- he was notin his own bed. Unless, of course, he had recently decided that what his bedroom was really lacking was lilac-coloured sheets.
He was fairly certain that he hadn't.
Hannah, he remembers with sudden clarity. He spent the night at Hannah's last night. He hadn't imagined that. It had actually happened. It wasn't a dream this time.
Of course, the fact that she was no longer there was something of a divergence from his normal dream-life, however. Her absence provided enough impetus for him to swing his feet over the edge of the bed, gather his pants and trousers from the floor, and head out to find her.
He finally located her, along with the welcoming smell of food, in the kitchen.
She was just wearing one of those cotton camisole things and her pyjama shorts. He was blatantly staring at her legs, and he knew it. He really shouldn't have been surprised that she caught him when she turned around.
It wasn't his fault, though. Hannah had fantastic legs. He was pretty sure that he'd told her that several thousand times last night.
Of course, that train of thought was dangerous because he was thrown slightly off-balance by a flashbulb-like flashback to exactly what had happened last night. And, as it turns out, suddenly remembering that you know exactly how the skin on the back of a girl's knee tastes does not make it any easier to have a conversation with her.
As he crossed the kitchen, he wondered if it would be completely unacceptable to tackle her onto the kitchen floor for another go. But, she thwarted his attempt somewhat, by breaking the silence and bringing him, regretfully, back to reality.
"Good morning. Did you want some breakfast?" She asked with a bright smile. "Eggs and potatoes all right with you? I ordinarily only have eggs, or even just toast, but I figured that-"
Hannah tasted like tea and honey. She wrapped an arm around his neck almost immediately, standing up on her toes to return the kiss. He reluctantly pulled back a few minutes later, and smiled at her.
"Good morning."
"Breakfast sounds brilliant. I'm absolutely famished, actually."
"Yeah, well you would be, wouldn't you?" She winked and then blushed prettily. "Just sit down. It'll be ready in a sec. Can I get you some tea? Coffee? I have both."
"Tea's fine." He shrugged. "I never liked coffee."
"I drink it when I'm really cold. Dunno why. Tea just never seems to warm me up the same." She turned from the stove to levitate the tea tray to the table. He thought that it was really sweet that she'd taken the time to lay all of that out.
He helped himself to tea and milk while she dished breakfast onto plates, picked up some toast from the sideboard, and brought it to the table.
"That looks amazing."
"Well, I'd be a pretty pathetic excuse for a cook if I couldn't manage eggs and potatoes."
"I suppose that's true enough. How're things going down the pub?"
"Pretty good. The lunch specials have really been taking off. I can't believe that Tom wasn't taking advantage of that kind of business. He is now, though."
"He's lucky to have you, Abbott."
She blushed again, and he smiled. He liked that he could do that to her.
"If only he paid me what youthought I was worth."
"You'd be the highest paid barmaid in England. That's for sure," he laughed.
"I'm pretty sure that I already am. Speaking of which, as much as I hate to, I'm going to have to kick you out soon, I'm afraid. I have to be at work at ten."
"What time is it now?"
"About eight-thirty," Hannah shrugged, spearing a potato with a fork. "I've got just about enough time to finish eating, shower, and get dressed."
Neville nodded, chewing his last bite of egg and toast.
"Right. Well, I can get out of your way." He went to stand up, but Hannah placed a hand on his arm.
"Longbottom, I don't think that you understood me. I saidthat I had enough time to finish eating, shower, and get dressed."
"Yeah. I heard you. I was gonna-"
"I never, at any point, said anything about doing those things alone."
"I- Oh.Well, I can certainly approve of that agenda," Neville grinned. "Of course, I might make one alteration."
"And that is?" Hannah stood, carrying the dishes to the sink.
"You're going to have to kick me out right after your shower. If I'm still here, there is absolutely no way that you're getting dressed."