Format and Word Count: ficlet, 1354 words
Rating: PG
Prompt: Frog Spawn Soap, Bellatrix/Umbridge, punch, mystery/suspense, romance
Summary: The circle of life and love begin and end In Bed.
A/N: Many thanks to kerrymdb, nfwbls, and kerichi
Written for metamorficmoon community challenge.
In Bed
They go out for Chinese on Valentine's Day. They crack their fortune cookies together and laugh, reading to each other and finishing the phrases on the tiny slips of paper with: "in bed." They walk home, hand in hand, teasing and touching each other. Desire is potent as rice wine.
He runs a bath for her and adds Frog Spawn Soap, because he says he knows she loves the way the bubbles leap and tickle like tadpoles. She says he must like it too, because he always slips in with her. They laugh again, drunk with love, chasing scampering tadpole bubbles across each other's skin.
She punches her pillow lightly and arranges it on his shoulder to cushion her head as she cuddles close, soothed to sleep by the steady beat of his heart. Their arms, legs and fingers intertwine. Skin slippery and damp, flushed with heat, they hold each other tightly, for fear the other will let go.
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Time passes.
Things change so gradually she almost doesn't notice because she's so stressed with happenings at work. Umbridge and the Ministry are making everyone's lives more difficult, and there's more tension. She sees him watch Sirius with a furrowed brow and narrowed eyes and hears them talking about Harry late into the night. No amount of bubbly baths or excursions to eateries seems to ease the worry from his eyes for long, and it's often very late when he finally comes to bed.
When he does, she curls against his back, aching to reach him more than physically. She feels him pull away, but she clings closer until he sighs. It's a small victory when he turns and she fits herself into the crook of his arm. She feels a little guilty for needing that from him. He gives so much of himself to everyone already, and then she demands her share. She wishes she could give him more of herself, but he seems less willing than ever to take it. Even--or maybe especially--in bed.
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Her aunt Bellatrix sends her to a different bed, and her cousin beyond the veil.
In hospital, she hears a muffled thump as he punches a pillow to fluff it the way she likes and feels the mattress dip as he sits next to her. She opens her eyes and touches his fingers. He pulls them away to help her sit up, tucking the pillow behind her.
She sees through him.
He's trying not to show he's lost yet another piece of himself. She wonders how much can be left. His voice is hollow and frighteningly lifeless until he relates plans for escorting Harry off the train. There's a spark in his eyes then, and she's jealous, knowing it isn't for her. He pats her shoulder and tells her he'll return soon.
She can hear his voice in the hall. He's talking to Arthur, who tells him about the twins' swamp in Hogwarts. Her heart sinks sickeningly when she realizes she can't remember the last time he laughed like that with her.
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He's almost the way she remembers. Resolution and grim determination set his features now, but when he turns to her, she sees the love in his eyes. When he considerately asks if she needs more pain potion or if she should be home in bed, she grins wickedly. It's like old times to see him chuckle in response.
He takes her to her flat and tucks her into bed, giving in to her pleading by lying down with her. He holds her gingerly. She snorts, punching his shoulder as she insists she's not as breakable as he thinks. He pulls her closer. She feels reassured that the loosened strands of their connection are strengthening once again.
Hope flares as they spend time together. Sirius' death has left a gaping hole in their lives, but they are learning a new dynamic of working together, alone. She thinks things might be all right after all.
But he pulls away again.
She feels it when he tells her of his latest mission from Dumbledore. Her heart freezes when she realizes he means to leave her for months without even the promise of an owl. He wants her to give up on him, but she refuses. She argues fiercely, but he's determined. He leaves, and she is furious, snarling under her breath all the things she wishes she'd thought to say, and would say the next time.
When she sees him next, she forgets her carefully planned words, because they argue again. It's different but the same, and his arguments are horribly logical. She curses Sirius for dying because he was the only one who could get through to him when he was being so unreasonably reasonable.
She stops mid rant when he interrupts to say there is someone else who needs him. Stunned tears slide over her cheeks as she whispers that no one could need him more than she needs him. His eyes shift away—guiltily, she thinks later—and he shakes his head and says she's strong, independent and is better off without him.
Later, she decides he's lying, saying things to drive her away. Bastard.
Through the summer things deteriorate further. The Dementors affect her horribly, and Death Eater crime scenes are even worse. She hates going home at night, sleeping alone in her bed. She wonders where he sleeps at night.
She rarely sees him, but never stops worrying. She asks every contact she has for information, even going to Dumbledore on occasion. She hears he asks after her too, but it provides little reassurance. One more time, she tells herself. She wants to see him one more time, and she will tell him exactly what she thinks and how she feels, no matter what. Then maybe, maybe she'll be able to get over him and move on.
The fateful night at Hogwarts, still in shock over Dumbledore's demise, she confronts him again. She does tell him what she thinks and how she feels. Angry and upset with his reaction, or lack thereof, she Disapparates.
He comes to her room at the Hog's Head. She's not surprised to see him. She's angry and defiant. He's apologetic and contrite. They talk for hours and she thinks perhaps something has changed. He lets her comfort him. This time, he turns to seek her in the night and she meets him halfway. They spend two days together, mostly talking. There's a question burning at the back of her mind all the while, and finally she blurts it out, unable to hold her tongue any longer. She asks why he pretended there was someone else. Why he would lie to hurt her.
His smile is soft and sad. Her heart drops when he softly says he wasn't lying. He says he wants to introduce them, and he hopes when they meet, she'll understand.
After Dumbledore's funeral, he takes her to the other person in his life. She's four--a tiny orphaned werewolf, with chocolate brown eyes that fill with love and adoration at the sight of him. She drops the hand of her caretaker and flings herself at him, wrapping herself around his legs.
He drops to one knee. Thin little arms wrap around his neck. He turns to look up at her. Her heart reaches out to wrap around this smallest of Greyback's victims. She smiles at the child who peeks shyly at her. Her heart turns over when the man and child each return her smile with ones of hope. The love she feels swells to bursting as she answers all the unasked questions in her love's eyes with an unequivocal and enthusiastic yes.
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Years and a finished war later, they crack fortune cookies and laugh. They read and talk and walk hand-in-hand. They run baths and add Frog Spawn Soap because they love the tickly tadpoles—perhaps more than ever. They plump pillows and give kisses before pulling covers up under a small chin—soon to be joined by another, she reminds him, rubbing her belly where a little bulge punches against her skin.
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She holds a new life on Valentine's Day: another connection of hearts. He's slippery and wet like tadpole bubbles in the bath and he cries until she cradles him close. He settles to sleep, touched gently by his father and sister, soothed by the steady beat of his mother's heart, in bed.