Teddy woke up in Pansy's bed with her snuggled against his side and one leg flung over him. Her dark hair lay across his arm and one hand curled on his chest, relaxed with sleep. He turned his head to press a kiss into her hair and her hand twitched.

She stiffened for a moment and then relaxed with a long sigh. He would never get used to her ability to awaken in the space of an instant and wondered what had happened in her past to create that quality. He supposed he would never know.

"Teddy," she murmured.

He made a noncommittal noise, perfectly willing to go back to sleep.

"I want to go shopping."

Teddy's eyes snapped open. "Now?" He considered reaching for his wand to cast a Tempus Charm, but she chuckled.

"No, silly. Later. Come with me?"

He mentally ran through his list of things to do. A brunch at 11am and then a cocktail party with finger food that he could easily assign to underlings. "All right," he said and then snuggled closer with the hope of drifting back to sleep.

Pansy sat up to peer down at him. "Really? You'll come with me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked. "Sounds like fun."

She chuckled and dropped her head back onto his chest. "You'll likely not say that when we're finished."

She was nearly right, Teddy discovered later. Pansy did not so much "shop" as mowed through stores like a tidal wave, snatching up items, discarding others, and utilising shop clerks-and Teddy-as pack animals. The only short-lived respite was while she tried on items, although she demanded Teddy lurk outside the fitting room so that she could emerge and model the items for his approval.

After he gave his enthusiastic endorsement to the nineteenth outfit, she frowned at him and smacked his arm. "You cannot like everything, Teddy. I am looking for honest feedback."

"I'm giving you honest feedback!" he protested. "It's not my fault everything looks good on you."

She pulled him into a bruising kiss that left him feeling slightly breathless. "You're so fucking adorable," she muttered and then turned away to vanish into the changing room once more. He grinned at the curtain in bemusement.

Thankfully, Pansy had the clerks send most of her purchases directly to her home rather than have Teddy carry them around, though there were a few items of jewellery that she deemed safer on his person than trusted to owl post.

She tried to buy a few items for him, but he refused to hear it, preferring not to listen to his internal voice calling him a rentboy should he accept. Pansy pouted, but relented in the face of his obstinacy.

They finally escaped the collectible gifts store, which Teddy had dubbed the "useless bric-a-brac store", and stumbled back into Diagon Alley.

"Look there!" Teddy said loudly, as though surprised. "A bookstore!"

"Oh pish, you know I don't read," she said.

"Come on, I said nothing whilst you sniffed one hundred and seventy five candles."

"I did not! There were no more than thirty!"

"Well, it seemed like hundreds. Besides, I'm sure I can find something you would enjoy reading."

"The words 'enjoy' and 'reading' do not belong in the same sentence." Despite her words, she looped her arm through Teddy's and allowed him to guide her toward Flourish and Blott's.

Teddy laughed and she smirked at him as they reached the door of the shop, which opened as Teddy reached for the handle.

"Teddy!" a man cried happily.

Teddy blinked at his godfather and then smiled widely. "Harry!"

Harry's eyes slid to Teddy's companion and his features froze before his brows drew down over his green eyes. "Parkinson," he said in a cold tone.

"Potter," she replied and stepped closer to Teddy, taking his hand as she pressed herself against his arm, and raising her chin in a defiant manner. Teddy glanced from one of them to another. It hadn't occurred to him that they might know each other. Their acquaintance did not seem to be friendly, either.

Harry switched his gaze back to Teddy. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since Christmas."

Teddy felt a bit guilty for not keeping in closer contact with Harry and his family, but despite the fact that he was always welcome, he never quite overcame the feeling of being an outsider among the Potter-Weasley clan.

"I've been fine. Busy, you know," Teddy said sheepishly.

Harry nodded. "I know. You've done very well with your catering business. We're all proud of you. I've heard it mentioned by several colleagues who plan to owl you for their events."

Teddy felt his hair begin to change colour as his cheeks reddened, so he clamped down on his self-control. "Thanks," he said.

Harry moved away from the door, finally seeming to sense Teddy's discomfort. "Well, then. Don't be such a stranger, all right?"

"I won't. I'll um… owl you, yeah?"

"Please do. We miss you, Teddy."

Teddy nodded and took the edge of the door, hoping to escape inside. Harry stared at Pansy for a moment, as if looking for answers in her expressionless face. At last he forced a smile. "Parkinson," he said by way of farewell.

"Potter," she said again and then swept into the bookshop ahead of Teddy, who threw Harry an apologetic look and hurried after her.

"So," she said when the door had shut safely behind them, "You and Potter are bosom buddies?"

"He's my godfather."

Pansy burst out laughing. "Oh, that's rich. I should have guessed."

"You don't like him."

She shrugged. "I may have tried to hand him over to the Dark Lord during the war."

Teddy stared at her, aghast. "You're joking?"

Her lips thinned, but she shook her head and looked away. "I was young. I just wanted the war to be over."

Teddy swallowed, feeling suddenly uncertain. For the first time since moving in next to her, he sensed an insurmountable chasm between them, built from experiences she had weathered that he could hardly imagine.

She cleared her throat. "I don't think I want to shop anymore, Teddy. I am going home."

"I'll come with you." His voice sounded slightly desperate, even to his own ears, and he winced.

She was silent for a long time and he thought she might refuse, but at last she nodded curtly. "All right." She held out her arm and Teddy took them back to her flat. Once there, she moved away from him immediately and strode to the kitchen where she opened and shut cabinets in what seemed to be growing agitation.

Finally, she slammed a cupboard door closed with a bang and then marched back to Teddy and leaned up to kiss him hungrily, twisting her hands almost painfully in his hair.

She broke the kiss and whispered, "Make love to me, Teddy." She took his hand and led him into the bedroom.

Teddy obliged, sensing that all was not well, but too terrified to ask. He undressed her slowly and carefully, fearing that it would be the last time. She pulled him down onto the bed before he could remove his own clothes. He tried to shuck his shirt while she kissed him and it finally fell away to catch on the edge of the bed. His hands immediately began to slide over her soft skin, committing every curve to memory.

"Teddy," she said quietly and lifted both hands to cup his face. "Lovely Teddy. I should send you away before I get too attached to you. Already you have been around longer than any of the others."

His eyes narrowed. "I don't want to hear about the others."

"Are you actually jealous?" she asked, lips quirking.

Teddy's hands clenched until he forced himself to relax in order not to bruise her. "Yes," he snapped. "Yes, I am jealous. I'm jealous of every man who ever looked at you. I want to kill them for touching you, okay? I've been bloody jealous of them since I was-" He broke off, realising he had said too much and probably sounded like the crazy stalker that he was.

Her dark eyes were wide. "Since you were what?"

Teddy sat up, unwilling to confess his ages-long crush. She levered herself up and wrapped her thighs around his waist, holding him in place. Her hands held his face once more. "Since you were what, Teddy?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Remember when you were at Hogwarts for the fifteenth anniversary of the Battle?"

She frowned. "Well, yes, I arranged the entire affair for the Ministry, but…"

Teddy nodded. "I was there. You ordered me around like I was invisible."

Pansy gasped and then laughed. "Oh my! You were there! I remember you! I nearly ran you down on the stairs once and you couldn't take your eyes off of…" She let go of his face to cup her breasts and Teddy's eyes dropped to them.

He groaned, wanting to shove her back down onto the bed and suckle them just like he always did, regardless of their current familiarity. "Yeah. Just like now. You called me Tommy."

She was quiet, studying his face. "You wanted me all this time?"

Teddy nodded and looked away. "I tried to forget about you, which was easier when I didn't see you for years. But then I moved here. And now-" He clenched his fists on the bed. "Well, you probably think I'm an idiot for holding a torch for so long. And you think I'm crazy. I know you don't think of me as anything more than-"

"I don't appreciate being told what I think, Teddy," she said sharply.

He looked at her in surprise and then smiled. "No. You really don't, do you?"

"And you're wrong. I don't think you're an idiot. Quite possibly crazy, yes, and I doubt you have thought this thing through properly. Do you have any idea what your godfather and his fan club would think about the two of us?"

Teddy set his jaw and glared at her. "Yes. Yes, I have and I don't care."

She made a derisive sound. "You don't care?" She dropped her hands and would have pulled away, but he grabbed her shoulders. She asked angrily, "How long will that be true? Until the first time we appear together in public? Or at one of Potter's functions? They will never allow it."

"Of course they will allow it. I'm an adult! Harry's opinion is important to me, but not as important as doing something that makes me happy! Do you really think I would give you up just because people might disapprove?"

She rolled her eyes. "Harry Potter is not just people."

"He is to me." To Teddy's relief, her gaze seemed to soften. He plunged onward. "Look, I'm not asking you to marry me, but I would like something a bit more permanent than bang-on-the-wall shagging with the expectation that it will end whenever you get bored."

"I'm not the one in danger of getting bored," she replied tartly. "You are young and gorgeous and there are hundreds-"

Teddy cut her off, surprised. "You're not getting bored?"

She stared at him and then burst out laughing. "Honestly, how can you ask me that? You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're eager and inventive and you put up with me when I'm being an utter bitch and you never bring up my past relationships like I'm some sort of five-Knut whore, and… You're really easy to talk to and you seem to care about me…" Her voice trailed away and she bit her lip. Teddy grasped her chin with one hand and lifted until her eyes met his.

"I do care about you," he insisted.

"No one cares about me," she whispered.

"I do," he repeated and kissed her.

She didn't respond for a moment or two, obviously trying to hold onto her ridiculous notions. He knew Harry and the others would come round as soon as they saw how blissfully happy Teddy was. He was certain of it. She finally melted against him and his hands curled around her to cup her firm arse.

"I like our bang-on-the-wall shagging," she said when they broke for air.

He chuckled against her lips. "Well, I never said that needed to stop." He pushed her onto her back and pounced on her, fastening his lips to one nipple and then the other, laving them with his tongue. Her fingernails grazed down his back and then one hand gripped his cock, only slightly diminished by their argument.

She guided him into her wet heat, rocking her hips up to take him deeper, helped along by Teddy's hands still on her arse. He held tightly as he pulled out and thrust into her. It felt more intense than ever, spurred by Teddy's need to hold onto her.

Her fingers teased the crack of his arse and he remembered that she had spread him open and licked him there two days ago. The memory nearly had him coming right then.

"All right, Teddy. We'll try it your way." she said between panted breaths.

Teddy stopped moving to stare down at her. "We will?"

"Yes. I said it, didn't I? Even though it's completely crazy and your family and friends will detest me… I don't want to give you up. Everyone knows I'm a selfish bitch, so my friends will expect it, but-"

Teddy silenced her with a kiss that was half laugh. His heart felt like it was bursting. "Say it," he demanded.

"Say what? And why did you stop moving?" Her hand slapped onto his arse cheek lightly as if to spur him back to motion. He ignored it.

"Say 'I am your girlfriend, Teddy'."

"What? That's silly." She tried to sound severe, but amusement tinged her voice.

"Say it, or I will go straight back to my flat."

Her jaw set and he thought he might have gone too far. Slytherins did not handle threats with aplomb. "You are being very stubborn," she said.

"I'm serious."

To his relief, she relaxed. "You know, I think I rather like you being forceful and determined. It's pretty hot."

"Say it."

"Bloody hell, fine! I am your girlfriend, Teddy. Are you happy?"

He refrained from laughing aloud, barely, considering the massive flood of relief and joy that soared through him. "Yes, I am. And you know what else?"

She made a huffing sound of annoyance.

"I'm yours," he said softly.

Her arms rose to wrap around his waist and she squeezed tightly. "Romantic sap," she whispered. Her eyes closed, but not before Teddy caught a shimmer of wetness there.

He smiled and began to move again, taking extra care to bring her to the brink before shattering her control and leave her shuddering beneath him as he spilled into her. He barely held back words of love, knowing there would be time for that later, once she accepted the idea that he wasn't going anywhere.

Pansy smiled up at him through his haze of blissful aftermath and carded her fingers through his damp locks. She froze suddenly. "Is your hair blue?"

Teddy bit his lip and rolled away to sprawl beside her. "There is one more thing you should know about me. And I assure you," he grinned wickedly, "You won't get bored."

~END~

WOOT! Thanks for sticking with me and this story. I just love them even though the odds are stacked against them. I'll most likely revisit them one day. BUT YOU KNOW PANSY WILL NEVER LET HIM GO NOW. :D