a/n: Warning for belly rubs...of the koala! Not Neville or hermione, or maybe that happens later, hmmm?
~O~
It was pitch black outside the greenhouse and so dark in the forest, Neville considered just staying overnight and sleeping in a corner somewhere. He had a fear of walking through the Australian wild at night...in case a snake caught him on the foot or something. Neville didn't like snakes. His intense dislike of snakes had helped him end Nagini's sorry miserable existence of eating people for Voldemort. He'd been glad to stop that evil snake, Neville thought, as he cut up some tree shoots to feed Winnie-the-Poop (whom had pooped twice already on Hermione's desk leaving Neville to clean after the koala.)
"The potion is almost ready!" Hermione popped her head back in the office area of the greenhouse to see how Neville was progressing.
Neville jumped up at having the brunette come back suddenly. "Merlin! You couldn't announce you were coming back this way?"
"Sorry, did I scare you?" Hermione primly ran her hands through her long hair and pulled out a hair elastic. He found himself watching in fascination how she twirled her long, healthy brown hair in a high, tightly bound ponytail. With her reading glasses on, Hermione was particularly enticing...like a sexy librarian.
Neville smirked sheepishly. "Nah just wasn't expecting to see you sneak up behind me...War habits."
"Ah yes," Hermione agreed and gave him a brief smile "I get the same way sometimes. I hate having people sneak up behind me in case it might be a Death Eater again."
They shared a laugh, they had that much in common—trauma from the war—and a love of cuddly creatures.
Neville had Winnie cradled in his arms and he couldn't stop giving the cute koala belly rubs, although the picky eater had barely touched his food.
"How are you progressing?"
"Not too well, he prefers belly rubs," Neville replied. He showed her the large green salad of shoots and leaves he had prepared the koala, of which Winnie had barely skimmed the surface.
"Well, of course, he does, your hands look like they'd give a good belly rub," Hermione said and then blushed when she realized how improper that sounded. She stopped talking and pressed her lips nervously together.
"Really? You think so?" Neville looked down at his hands, wondering how she could tell they truly worked magic. He grinned and couldn't help looking her up and down. "I've been told before by my herbology professors I have a green thumb...but this is the first time someone has said I'd be good with animals too?"
"I'm sure you are, Neville, with all living creatures," Hermione gulped. "Sorry...What were we talking about, Winnie's dinner?" Hermione took off her glasses and pressed at her temples.
"Are you alright?" Neville stared worriedly as Hermione pressed at her aching forehead.
"Sorry. I'm just so swamped, I feel like I'm running a million different tasks at the same time and I'm always short on time...I don't want any koala to be left behind. Or the other creatures...and the endangered plants." Hermione looked like she wanted to cry and pinched her nose again.
Neville knew Hermione had been overworking herself for a while but it startled him to see upclose just how stressed it was making her. Hermione's need for perfection was her own worst enemy.
"Hey," he said with genuine concern. "It's getting late, why don't you and me have a quick bite and I'll help you finish up the last things in the greenhouse and we'll call it a night?"
"You would do that?" Hermione asked with wet eyes. "Haven't you been here all day already? You're burnt aren't you?"
Neville shrugged, sorry he made a big deal out of his burnt skin and allowed Hermione to add yet another chore by brewing the potion. "You need rest and food too," he told her and pointed to Winnie-the-Poop. "Now let's stop pampering this guy so we can start pampering you." Neville swore mentally as soon as he realized how that sounded, like he was making a move on her. He hoped he didn't offend her.
But Hermione was already smiling up at him. "Okay, that sounds good actually." She lifted up Winnie from Neville's arms and their hands briefly touched. A spark flew between them that they both chose to ignore.
"Here let me show you how you get him to finish dinner, first," Hermione cooed as she tenderly held up the koala against one of her hips like a child and then encouraged the creature to eat more of his shoots. "You see if you just encourage him." She gave them both a beaming smile. Neville noticed how happy Hermione seemed in the presence of animals. Sort of the way he lit up around rare species of plants.
Neville found Hermione's affection for animals adorable. She probably was good with kids too. Hermione, despite being a braniac and war heroine, had a huge soft side and Neville realized he mightily enjoyed her company. Even more so than he had at Hogwarts. In fact, he realized now as he stared in wonder at her...he might even miss her when the relief work ended and they parted ways.
"You'd be a good mum," Neville said absentmindedly. Oh, shit, why the fuck did he say that?
"Pardon?"
"Uhm, I mean you and your boyfriend would make good parents, or rather you'd be, if you were having kids right now, which of course you're not nut, but, I mean if you are planning to have kids..." Neville stammered. "...You'd be good."
"Oh," Hermione nodded and began to laugh. "No, I won't be having them anytime soon. Ron and I broke up."
"Oh really...so you're single?"
"Yes," Hermione nodded again and this time they both laughed. Why was this conversation getting so awkward?
Neville scratched at his burnt neck and winced in pain. He hoped that potion was ready soon.
~o~
After Winnie finished his meal, Neville convinced Hermione to stop all she was doing and they both ate a quick dinner of sandwiches and coffees in the greenhouse. Despite the simple fare, Neville found having sandwiches with Hermione was a million times better than eating a five-star dinner in a fancy dinner with anyone else. He liked how she laughed and smiled at him. And he noticed she more than a few times definitely looked at his abs again as he was still shirtless. He smirked, wondering if he should point out that she was checking him out. But decided against embarrassing her.
Instead, it was her turn to embarrass him.
She rushed out of the small greenhouse office and came back with a small vial of the burn salve potion.
"It's ready," she said and sighed in relief. "If you want me to apply it, you can tell me where it hurts most."
Now it was his turn for his jaw to drop. He hissed out a hard breath. Somehow the prospect of Hermione's bare fingertips massaging a cream onto his back...unsettled him. Though they had been friends at Hogwarts, friends didn't massage friends like that, especially on bare skin.
"I promise I won't bite," Hermione said with a sad smirk, still holding the potion, since he hadn't replied. "Unless you prefer to just take this home and let your, er, girlfriend or whatever apply it to your back?"
"I'mnotdatinganyonerightnow," Neville said all too quickly.
"Pardon? Didn't catch that?" Hermione frowned.
Neville coughed. "I'm not dating anyone. I mean, I don't have a girlfriend waiting back at my hotel room I mean. I mean I don't have anyone waiting for me at the hotel..." he rambled and realized he sounded like an inbred pureblood prat. He shut his jaw shut and settled on winning her back with a grin that said 'sorry I'm not actually this tongue tied.'
But Hermione seemed more than happy to beam back at him with her own shy smile. "Sorry. Just assumed you had a girlfriend, I mean what with the way you've changed."
"Oh? In what ways have I changed?" Neville asked.
"Fit-so-bloody-fit," Hermione coughed and tried not to stare at his fabulous abs again...with that little happy trail leading down below...
"Pardon? Didn't catch that?" Neville asked genuinely not having heard her.
"Nevermind!" Hermione said quickly and lifted up the potion. She held his gaze for a moment before looking away. "Uhm I'd ask you to take off your shirt, but you already do..have your shirt off." She nervously poured some of the salve potion onto her hands. "So I'll just ask you to lean forward in the chair so I can, rub, it, er, in."
"Yes, rub it," Neville encouraged her.
He braced himself as Hermione hesistantly placed her hands on the back. She began to massage the salve in small, gentle circles along his upper back before she got more comfortable and massaged him more deeply, working in her fingertips. The potion worked wonders right away to completely remove the sunburn from his upper back.
"Lower," Neville said, suddenly, when he worried she might stop.
"Pardon?"
"My lower back is burnt too, can you rub some salve in there too?"
"Of course." He could've sworn that Hermione was breathing more than usually loudly, as if agitated by something. Was she upset by the animals, plants and trees dying again?
"Is everything alright?" he asked.
"Yup. Couldn't be better," Hermione quipped. "It helps me a lot when I help people. It's sort of therapy for me."
"Good. I mean, thank you. For doing this." Neville closed his eyes as Hermione ending up giving him a full back massage with the salve...which probably wasn't necessary but the little brunette seemed eager to touch him and he couldn't deny the pleasure—and relief—he got out of this.
Checking the clock to see it was now past 9:30pm, he decided to test the waters by flirting with Hermione a little. I mean it was now or never, with the disaster relief only lasting a few more days. What harm could a little flirting do? Surely she wouldn't really reciprocate the feeling. Though he had much more experience in flirting now that he'd been with several girlfriends since leaving Hogwarts. He felt rather confident to flirt with Hermione Granger now, especially since they were both single at this moment. Though he probably should've thought of doing this way back when at Hogwarts. He always thought she was super cute.
He leaned back in the chair as she finished his back. Neville bit at his lip. "Would you mind?" he asked her over his shoulder. "If you put some of that potion on my front? My chest is feeling pretty hot too, scorched really," he placed an emphasis on the word 'hot'.
"Oh Merlin, sorry! I didn't know you burnt your abs, I mean, chest too." She stepped around the chair and he could see her again. He smiled up at her enjoying the now obvious nervous reaction she had to touching his body. It was quite the most adorable moment he had shared with the infamous Miss Granger, seeing her nervous around him. Like they weren't old friends and knew each other all their lives.
Hermione paused as she put some more salve on her hands, preparing to put it on his chest, when they both realized the only way she could comfortably reach his chest and torso was if she kneeled on the floor between his legs...in front of him...as he sat in the chair.
"Would you rather I stand up?" Neville quickly offered her, not wishing to be ungentlemanly.
Hermione checked the time on her watch. "No, let's just get this done quickly," she said and winced at how that sounded. "I mean there's still so much to do and you promised to help me finish things here in the greenhouse."
"Don't worry I intend on keeping that promise," he assured her and added with a mischeivioes tone. "Even if I have to sleep in the greenhouse overnihght to help you. I will help you finish."
Hermione flushed scarlet. "You will? Do that? Oh Neville, I don't even know how I could begin to thank you. You've done so much already and you're not even Australian or have Australian family like I do." She paused to slather salve on his pecs before she sank to her knees in front of the chair he sat in. "I'll just be quick."
Neville resisted the urge to moan as Hermione kneeled in between his legs slathering his pecs with salve and gently worked his skin and muscles with her expert fingers.
A funny thought occurred to him and he decided not to hold back. The tension between them was now as blazing obvious as a comet crashing to the earth.
"You're giving me quite the belly rub right now," Neville teased. "Winnie has nothing on this."
"Goodness, you're right!" Hermione laughed nervously. "Are you feeling better?"
"Good as new," he said flirtateously and barely resisted the urge to wink at her. He didn't want to come across as tacky or a player. He was sincere about his interest in her. If Hermione was interested in him, he planned on making this a long-term thing, he wouldn't just shag her senseless and call it a night. He meant it when he said she'd make a good mother. Hermione Granger was the kind of girl you took home to meet your mum right away, or, in his case, gran.
Hermione finished, her face beet red, as she worked the salve on his lower abs before she she finally got off her knees and sighed audibly. "All done." She wiped her hands off on a towel. "You know you don't have to stay longer to help, Neville. You can help tommorow like you always do."
"I want to stay," Neville insisted.
Hermione frowned in confusion. Then shook her head as if uncertain Neville had indeed flirted with her.
"Girl I am flirting shamelessly with you, right now," Neville thought to himself, wondering why Hermione was still holding back as if scared by him. Did she think he was only playing around?
~o~
a/n: Continue?
Can they stop flirting with each other and one of them make a move?