Sexual content warning is here: Hey there's sexual content in this chapter. Oh my. Big thanks to those who review every chapter and encourage me to continue writing for this fic! I love that Penny is so popular with you guys! I hope I continue to do her justice! Oh yeah, did I mention there is sex in this chapter? There's sex. ^_^

Chapter 12

There's hundreds of different kinds of roses, which is a wood perennial with many different meanings spread out over the world.

The flowers came the next day. When Penny ran to get Rose, she had been sipping coffee in her reading chair and debating whether or not she was in the mood to sketch. The very feeling was welcomed, as she hadn't found much reason to sketch since Phil had died. Now, she thought she would want to sketch Neville. Preferable if he was naked and tangled up in her sheets when the light was just right. His back alone would give most art students the itch to sketch... the lines of his muscles so prominent. Her own fingers were twitching at the thought of having him sit for her and... other things.

She had been expecting a delivery for empty bottles and vials, and just assumed when Penny said there was a delivery for her that that was what had arrived. Penny, wanting to avoid any manual labor that would be involved, wandered to her room and started playing music.

Rose hopped her way down the stairs and prepared to carry the large box that was sure to be heavy. Instead she opened the door to giant, brilliantly yellowed roses that left her breathless. They were the most incredible flowers she had ever laid eyes on. The full blooms were at least six inches across and the smell was heaven on earth. There were a dozen of them, all the exact stunning shade of sunshine yellow, all of them healthy.

"My word…" she said, amazed by the mere display before her. She reached out a finger and brushed gently across the nearest soft petal.

"Who are they from, Mama?" Penny called out from above her, her little form leaning over the balcony. "Can I draw them? They sure are pretty."

Rose looked for a card, avoiding the thorns, and finally found a square white card attached to the stem by a thin, golden thread. "Well now…"

Her heart soared. To my #1 Girl, Penny. I'm sorry. -N.L.

"Uh… Penny my love?"

"Yes, Mama?"

"They aren't for me."

Curious, Penny came down the stairs. "The idiots delivered to the wrong address?"

"Nope." Rose held out the card to her daughter to see, excited to see what her reaction would be.

"Uhhh…" she said, her eyes screwing up.

Rose resisted the urge to laugh at Penny's perplexed expression and delighted in the idea that this was the first time a boy had sent Penny flowers. Neville was setting a high bar, but she didn't care. Penny deserved the best and Rose knew with certainty that Neville would do his best not to ever hurt her girl again.

She waited to see what Penny would do, watched as her eyes lingered over the beautiful petals. A bare second later she narrowed her eyes and said, "He'll have to do a lot better than that."

"Oh? You know yellow roses are supposed to represent friendship."

She watched Penny struggled with that for a moment before she said, "Yes. He was a jerk and I'm not going to forgive him just because he gave me some pretty flowers. My standards are much higher than that!"

Decision made, they dragged the large vase by one of the kitchen windows where the roses would get the most sunlight and spent another minute admiring them in the different light. Finally, Penny turned and ran upstairs. "I'm still going to draw them!" she called as she ran. Rose knew she would, the light was too good.

Rose joined her and they spent the rest of the morning sketching before Rose made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. She was cleaning up when there was another knock on the door. Expecting her vials and bottle finally, she opened the door and instead found a giant box of expensive chocolates. The delivery boy bid her a good afternoon after she signed for them and Rose just felt herself shaking her head. The card was attached to the top of the box and it said, Sweets for the sweetest girl in Diagon Alley, I'm sorry. -N.L.

"Oh Penny!" she called walking over the the island. "Delivery!"

"What another…?" Penny ran over to her, paint brushes in one hand. Her eyes widened at the sight of the large box of chocolates and she snatched the card, reading it quickly.

"Maybe they could be for you…" Penny tried.

"Sweetest girl? I'm sorry honey, he is most definitely not talking about me. These are for you." Rose said, nudging the box closer to her and feeling more and more impressed with Neville.

Penny lifted the lid with zeal and threw the cover paper to the ground. The smell of cocoa and mint and coconut drifted up to their noses.

"Can I have one?"

"Of course you can, they are for you silly girl. You better share with your mother though…" Rose teased reaching for one a round piece of chocolate. Penny grabbed three. Dark chocolate and coconut, white chocolate and fruits and everything in between. Rose bit into her piece and found a chocolate covered cherry in the center.

"Are you still upset with him? I don't know if I would've made it past the roses, but these… These are divine."

Penny struggled, she could tell, to come to a decision. In the end, she made a face and said, "Flowers and chocolate… so what?" but her voice sounded softer.

"Give him credit... he didn't buy the cheap ones. Your dad used to get me cheap chocolate until I yelled at him one day."

Laugh, Penny's eyes shined briefly. "What else did daddy do that made you angry?"

Rose picked up another chocolate, this one smelling of mint. "Well... He was a blanket hog and he always left the cap off the toothpaste."

"Oh? Didn't he ever do anything that really made you angry?"

"Sure, he wasn't perfect. Just nearly so." Rose said, winking at her daughter when she smiled.

They pigged out on chocolate, ruining their dinner. But it didn't stop there. The next morning, Rose walked down the stairs in her robe and bee-lined for the coffee maker, only to find it had already brewed. On the island, suspended in a stasis charm, sat a pancake breakfast complete with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

"Penny!" she called, raising an eyebrow as she poured a cup of coffee for herself. Another note sat by a carafe of maple syrup.

A few minutes later, a sleepy-eyed Penny stumbled downstairs rubbing at her cheeks. "It's too early - You made pancakes?!"

"Nope." Rose said handing Penny the card. Favorite breakfast for my favorite girl. I'm sorry. -N.L.

"Argh! He's making it really hard to be mad at him!" Penny exclaimed, flopping into her bar stool and practically drooling at the spread before her. "You haven't forgiven him yet, have you?"

Rose put her hands in the air. "If you're mad at him, I'm mad at him. He hurt your feelings and that makes me go into mama-bear mode."

"Well good! I'm still mad at him! I don't want breakfast." she shoved the plate away dramatically.

"A stasis charm only lasts so long, Penny… You should probably still enjoy the breakfast he made. We ate all the chocolates after all…"

Unable to resist, Penny pulled her plate back towards her and piled whip cream on top. "Fine… but I'm still - a little - mad at him."

"Fine, you're still mad." Rose said, sipping her coffee and wondered just how long her baby girl would be able to hold out against Neville. He was being awfully charming. She had told him to grovel, it seemed he was trying to butter Penny up first. And in the process, she found herself falling even more for him. Phil's voice filled her head, Of course you're falling for him. He's good to our girl.

Later that afternoon, Penny told her she was going to the park with Fiona. "Fine with me. Just be home before dark, understood?"

"Yes Mama."

And Rose found herself out in her garden with a notepad and a pencil to take note of her supplies. Spending more time outside had given her skin just a hint of gold, and it made her feel younger than she was, added that to the braids she put in her hair after her shower earlier, and her shorts and tee shirt… she just felt good. Even if she could feel all that chocolate from the day before going straight to her already too big hips.

She decided, after searching the weather, that she would open her shop the next day. On a Friday that the weather man promised was going to be sunny, with zero chance of rain. She had kicked off her shoes and now stood with her toes in the soft dirt, the smell of herbs and plants all around her, as she wrote down numbers and mentally catalogued what she would need to order next week.

The sound of her gate unlatching made her turn her head and her breath caught. Neville walked through, wearing his usual attire. Work boots, jeans, and a button up cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up. A today… a small smile that she shared.

"Hey."

"Hey." was all she said before he wrapped his arms around her and laid a kiss on her lips. One hand slid up and pulled at a braid, the other holding her waist tight against his body, she responded in kind by hooking her arms around his neck, her notebook and pencil forgotten.

"I saw Penny and Fiona walking to the park with Corwin Cooper." he mumbled between kisses.

"Mmmhmm…" she bit at his lips and pressed impossibly closer to him. "You done for the day?"

"Yep." he returned her biting with little bites of his own. "Ian says hi. I told him to butt out."

She laughed and tugged his head down for more kisses, he came easily and slid his other hand down her back, over the curve of her bottom, and rested his fingers on the underside of her ass. He squeezed tight once before picking her up. She swung her legs around his waist without ever breaking their kiss.

It was moments like that that she really appreciated his strong arms, delighted in the fact that he wouldn't drop her. "Were you just waiting for Penny to leave so you could come ambush me?"

He shook his head. "Pure chance. I was just closing up the front when I saw them heading off down Northeast." His tongue slid into her mouth after he said that, his hands sliding up under her shorts as his fingers spread and dug into her skin. He pressed her against the door frame and continued to ravage her mouth.

"You know Penny won't be back until after dark." she said when he moved his kisses down her neck.

"That gives us plenty of time." he bit along her neck up to her ear.

"Yep… maybe I should go say hi to Ian."

His hands squeezed her as he bit down on her lip hard. "Are you trying to make me mad?"

"Maybe… it worked out in my favor last time." she said, breathing heavily.

"I could just go home." he leaned back, looking down at her.

She stuck her lip out in a fake pout. "Or … you could take me upstairs."

"What's upstairs?" he asked, leaning in and pressing his lips over hers. They stayed like that for awhile, making out like two teenagers, and she liked every moment of it.

Finally she broke away from his lips, sucking in quick breaths, and dropped her legs. "I'll show you." He reluctantly released her and she took his hand, leading him through the front door and up the stairs to her bedroom. Her skin beneath her clothes felt stretched tight and heated, until she was desperate to get her clothes off.

The deep blue of Neville's eyes had turned dark as he watched her and she felt anticipation flutter in her stomach, heat curling between her thighs. She shut the door firmly behind her and placed her hands at the bottom of her shirt. Slowly, she pulled her tee over her head before dropping it to the ground at her feet. She heard him suck in a sharp breath and thought she wanted to really drive him crazy. She pushed gently at his shoulder and he backed up until his knees hit the bed and he sat back on his elbows, his eyes floating between looking at the white bra she was wearing and her face.

She could feel his eyes on her, leaving that trail it so often did. It was heat and desire and it promised so much of both. She turned, wanting to feel that fire on her back. Dipping low, she pushed her shorts down slowly and wondered if he minded the dirt on her barefeet. Probably not, she decided thinking about how often he himself spent in his garden. They were alike in that way and it gave her joy to think about. She turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder, slowly unclasping the hooks on her bra. It fell to the floor a moment later and she heard him moan.

"Oh Fuck…" he said. And he was suddenly behind her, one arm banding tightly around her torso under her chest, his hand a brand against her breast. The callouses on his hand were rough against her nipple and it made her gasp. He pulled her flush against him and put his mouth over her pulse, sucking lightly. His other hand untangled the braid in her hair, allowing it to fall over her shoulder in waves of pure black, then he pushed that hand down her side, the skin of his fingers rough, and slid underneath her panties.

Her hands came up and gripped his hair as his fingers slid through her curls, and began rubbing intimately against her damp folds. He sucked and kissed at her neck, rubbing her harder, listening to the little sounds she made. As a finger teased at her entrance, she cried out and he held her even tighter, keeping her still as his forefinger pumped into her.

"Neville!" she clutched onto his arm as it moved, one hand still in his hair, and went on her tiptoes trying to get closer to him.

"God, you're sexy as hell…" he muttered against her skin, moving his arm against her with every pump of his hand. When her moans became harsher, he added a second finger and had to hug her even closer when her back arched against him, trying to get away from the pleasure.

Then he brushed his thumb against her clit in sync with the movement of his fingers, and she came on his hand, throwing her head back into his shoulder. "Sexy. As. Hell." he said, kissing her neck between words.

He laid her gently on the bed and she trembled against the sheets, watching him unbutton his jeans and pull the zipper down. "Well that was really fun," she said breathless, crossing her arms behind her head. "You can come back tomorrow, around the same time."

He paused and tilted his head. "You're just asking for trouble." Then she got to watch as he undressed for her, kicking off his boots, pushing his jeans down, pulling his shirt over his head with his strong arms. She reached out to help him with his briefs but he lightly hit her hands away.

"No." he said to her pout. "Your mouth got you into trouble."

"Grr…" but she was soaring despite the angry sound she made.

Fully naked, he crawled onto the bed beside her, firmly gripping her hips and pulling her on top of himself. She willingly came, settling over top of him and pushing her breasts against his chest, and she leaned in for a kiss. He bit down hard on her bottom lip.

"Hey! That hurt…"

"You hurt my feelings." he said, rubbing circles into her hips, pulling her closer.

"Good." she smiled and straddled him, pushing the wet vee between her legs against the length of his erection. "Then I can spend time making up for it."

"You can spend a lot of time making up for it." he said in a rougher voice, his hands digging into the flesh of her hips, pushing her harder against his cock.

She smiled and slid her hand into his hair again, sending her other hand between them. Her delicate fingers gripped the thickness of his cock and she squeezed her hand, stroking him as she kissed his his jaw line, down his neck.

"Yea… lots to make up for. Lots and lots…" his voice wavered and she kept moving down and across his collarbone, back up to his neck on the other side. When she looked up and saw his eyes had fluttered closed, she positioned them together, and slid herself over the blunt tip of his erection.

His eyes popped open and met hers, and she continued her slow slide while they looked at each other both of them holding tightly onto one another. "Rosie…" he said, his voice edged. And she thought, finally. That was the right name. He knew who she was and he wanted her.

Then they made love like they did the first time, slow and deep until neither of them knew anything else.

oOoOo

As the sun set behind the house, she lay on her side with her back pressed into his chest, his arm thrown over her side. She had moved them under the covers at one point, though he wasn't sure how he'd been able to move even a single muscle after she had so thoroughly sexed him. He looked down at her shoulder and neck and felt compelled to kiss the creamy skin there.

"This is my favorite part…" he said, running a hand down the dip in her waist, and back up over her thick hips.

"Noooo…" she moaned. "I hate my hips."

"Crazy witch. Definitely my favorite… or here…" he ran his hands along her backside, down and cupping her cheek. "Or here." he continued down to her thigh.

"No, absolutely not. Not the thighs."

"What's wrong with your thighs?" he asked.

"They are huge. I could take someone out with those things."

"God please." he laughed and gave into the compulsion to kiss her neck. She smelled like Lemongrass there and he knew it was because of him. He was damn glad he had given her that oil.

"You're a very strange man, Neville Longbottom."

"Why? Because I like your curves?"

"No - because you like me."

He nuzzled at her shoulder and hugged her tight. "I think I more than like you." he admitted, even if it scared him.

"I think I more than like you too." she said without hesitation. Then she said, "I think my favorite part is your arms."

He laughed out loud. "My arms?"

"Yes… they are very strong. You can pick me up and I know you wouldn't drop me."

"Couldn't Phil pick you up?" he asked softly.

"He could… but well… he was a runner and built like it too."

"A shame."

"Psh… he had endurance." she argued.

He squeezed her thigh. "What else do you like?"

She made a mmm'ing sound as he continued to squeeze and massage her thigh. "I like your shoulders. They are very… thick."

"Hannah," he swallowed. "She was all curves too."

"I remember her as lovely." Rose offered him, her voice gentle. "I remember being very jealous of her hair, my mother always made me chop mine off."

He ran his fingers through the thick, tangled strands of her black hair. "It's beautiful."

She snorted and sank further into the curve of his body. "That's kind."

"What else about me is thick?" he said, deciding to distract her from the sad turn of their conversation.

"Neville." she complained. "I need to make dinner for Penny, would you like to stay?"

"I would… but it would mess up my plan."

"It's working you know. She's just about ready to forgive you." she untangled herself from him and threw her legs over the edge of the bed, stretching out. "And what about us?" she asked softly, turning her head to look at him. "Are you still very angry with me?"

He shook his head. "You can make it up to me. Lots."

She hit him with her pillow. "I'm opening my shop tomorrow… again. If you want to stop by."

He leaned up and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her slowly and sweetly. "You can count on it."