She does not go to the apothecary simply to meet them. No, that is certainly not why she is there so often; she merely needs herbs and ingredients far more often than the average potioneer.
Daphne has started complaining at this point. "You could open your own apothecary, you know," she occasionally remarks. Daphne's jibes are often the worst kind: a roundabout way of reminding her that she is currently head over heels for a wizard.
Well, two wizards, if she is honest. But she hardly displays such honesty out loud, or even to herself. She most certainly does not get a foolish grin on her face every time she thinks of either of them.
That apothecary will be the death of her. She has spent too much time there. She has heard all their stories: how the war had shattered the wizarding world, how picking up the broken pieces had brought together the strangest people, how they started to grow their own herbs in the gardens of one of the Nott mansions, how they began the apothecary with Neville's knowledge of herbs and Theo's knack for handling businesses, and how it has fit perfectly into their lives since.
She sometimes wonders if they are...together. It is undoubtedly more than a small possibility, but she has never dared to enquire if they are, nor to ask either of them if they are interested in her.
"You're doing it again, zoning out with that smile," Daphne says calmly, continuing to sift through the pile of parchments on her lap. "You could simply ask them, you know."
Pansy sighs loudly. She could simply ask them, yes. But it would always be more than a simple question. She wonders if there is far too much on the line if she does ask. She is loath to lose their friendship. Besides, which one would she ask? How would she possibly let go of her feelings for the other?
"Pansy?" Daphne calls out, breaking her train of thought.
"Yes?"
"I'm no potioneer, but your potion downstairs smells like it's burning."
By the time she runs over to her cauldron, the potion is entirely unsalvageable. And Mrs Bulstrode would be paying her a visit tomorrow, expecting her order.
Just great. Now you'll have to make another trip to the apothecary, because this is, of course, the one potion you did not buy extra ingredients for. It was hardly your fault! Agrippa doesn't last very long after it is harvested, and you don't need it very often.
She steels herself. It's just a trip to a shop. You pop in, get your items, and pop out. No interaction or drooling necessary. Easy in, easy out.
She calls out to Daphne to let her know she is leaving, and in moments finds herself at the Apparition point close to Diagon Alley.
Entering the shop, she is surprised to find a small "closed" sign hanging in front of it. This is unusual, the two men keep punctual hours, and she is certain she is before closing time.
The urgency of the situation (Mrs Bulstrode's bad side was not one she wanted to meet) and the fact that it seems more likely than not for the sign to be a mistake gives her the courage to push the door ajar.
It opens silently, without resistance, so she walks in, still not sure if she were trespassing.
Theo and Neville are sitting behind the counter, as they always do. Except Theo isn't at the register. Instead, his head is on Neville's shoulder, short brown curls tangling with Neville's longer, darker locks. He looks asleep, a beautiful sight that makes Pansy's breath catch slightly. Neville looks up at her as she enters. His face still has the happiest of expressions, comfortable and… (Pansy's face falls as she realises this) in love.
"Hello," he says. "We were closing up, but you're always welcome anytime. Gotta take care of our best customers, of course," he says, beaming at her. For a second, she wonders if he is being sarcastic, but she can find no hint of it in his genuine smile.
"I ...I needed some Agrippa. Two vials, same as last time," she manages to choke out, trying to speak softly so as to not wake Theo. There is a lump in her throat as he first places a cushioning charm under Theo's sleeping head, and then walks over to the shelves and carefully picks out two vials, shaking them as little as he can as he hands them over.
"Thank you," she says," putting them into a stasis spell and then into one of the many pockets of her robes. She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it.
"Urgent orders?" he asks by way of making conversation, sensing her rather unusual discomfort.
"Hardly." She bravely musters a smile. "I botched up the last batch, and it's due tomorrow," she admits, looking sheepish.
"Ah! Well, it happens to the best of us," he says. "Theo once messed up a pretty big payment, and it took a while for us to untangle ourselves," he adds, conspiratorially.
The mention of Theo flares up her temporarily abated heartache. She takes a deep breath, and unable to hold it back, blurts out. "Areyoutwotogether?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Pansy catches some movement, and when she looks, she realises that their conversation has woken Theo, who is now rubbing his eyes.
"Theo and I?" Neville asks, and Pansy nods slightly. "Yes. I thought you knew already, Pans?"
She swallows and nods again. "I...guessed."
His brow furrows at her clear disappointment. "Are you all right? You look a little pale."
"What's wrong?" Theo asks, walking up the counter, now fully awake. His hair falls half over his eyes, a sight that Pansy has never seen before.
She thinks it makes him look even more beautiful, but then mentally chastises herself. He's taken. What's more, he's gay. They both are. And they're in love. With each other.
Each thought that passes by makes the pit in her stomach grow, until she finds tears forming in her eyes. "I'm okay," she says, blinking away the tears. She would not cry over a man. Or two men. "I just need to get home," she adds, trying hard to keep her voice steady.
She turns to leave, but a hand grabs hers, stopping her. She takes a deep breath and turns around, the tears now clearly flowing down her face.
"We don't let our friends leave our shop crying," Neville says, and Theo smirks, agreeing.
"I'll be fine," she replies, but circles back to the counter anyway.
"Pans," Theo says, his voice low, "you can talk to us, you know."
"It's...foolish. I messed up my potion, because I've been thinking about this thing for a while and I couldn't get it out of my mind and…"
"And?"
"And you're gay," she blurts out, in a mess of tears.
"What do you mean?"
"I… like you. I like… liked both of you, and I was so torn, and I wanted to… ask. But you're gay."
"We're not, actually," Theo says, quite firmly.
Pansy looks up, surprised. "But you're-"
"Dating each other, yes. We're both bi," Neville explains.
"And poly," Theo adds, smiling like he has something to hide. "In fact…" he trails off.
Poly? Pansy is taken aback. They're poly? And bisexual?
"In fact," Neville picks up, "we wanted to ask you if you'd be interested, but we never had the courage and were never sure if you wanted to."
"The reduced ingredient rates aren't just because you … let's just say, 'visit frequently', y'know," Theo added with a wink.
A triad? They want her—both of them!
"So, now that the cat's out of the bag," Theo says, as he circles around her, to ensconce her between Neville and himself. "Would you? Would you go out with us, Pans?"
She pauses. She waits for them to circle around her, closer, closer, close enough to reach, to touch. Theo's arms are almost at her waist, just a breath away from touching, while Neville leans forward, his forehead against hers. They are waiting for her reply.
Saying "Yes", the word that she hopes will change her life, she leans forward into a kiss.
Notes: For the HP Triad Fest on AO3/Tumblr! Prompt: A generic, seemingly heterosexual, love story with a love triangle, but the protagonist's two male love interests turn out to be dating each other. Or Pansy is torn between strong feelings for both Neville Longbottom and Theodore Nott. Devastated when she finds out they are dating each other, she assumes they are gay and tells them. Turns out they may not be as gay as she thought.
I hope I did the prompt justice. I had a lot of fun writing for this fest, and I hope you enjoyed reading! A big thank you to my beta 'B'!