For Love in Motion (LunaGabrielle)

Beautiful.

There are days when Gabrielle hates the word. She is proud of her Veela heritage, but it feels like a burden.

Beautiful.

It's all anyone cares to see. Strawberries and cream skin, silvery blonde hair, crystal eyes. She is just another pretty face. It does not matter that she had been one of the top students in her year. Brains are not visible on the outside.

Beautiful.

No one cares that she has a big heart or that she loves to write poetry. She is part Veela, and none of that matters.

...

At least, it hadn't mattered until Luna Lovegood came into her life.

"You're beautiful," she says.

Gabrielle tries not to scowl. She's heard it her whole life, and it's starting to get old.

"Your aura, I mean," the older witch adds, as though she can read Gabrielle's mind. "It's quite lovely."

"My aura?"

The other woman nods. "It's calm. Most people's auras are quite intense. They give me headaches."

"Gabrielle Delacour."

"Luna Lovegood. Hello."

…

Luna is like nothing Gabrielle has ever seen before. She believes in impossible things with such a passion that Gabrielle allows her own mind to turn to fantasy. There's a strange magic in everything that Luna does.

…

It's easy to fall in love with Luna Lovegood. They fit together so perfectly.

At three in the morning, they sit together, sharing cups of coffee. Gabrielle writes love poems, and the words come so easily, like she's always been meant to write about the strange goddess before her. Luna paints portraits of Gabrielle, gliding the paintbrush over the canvas like she's working magic into each stroke.

"Why am I yellow?" Gabrielle asks.

"Yellow is happy," Luna answers. "Yellow is how you make me feel."

And, once upon a time, those words would have seemed so silly, but now they make Gabrielle smile.

…

"You're beautiful," Luna tells her as they sit beneath the stars, studying the constellations with tired eyes.

For once, Gabrielle doesn't mind the word. When Luna says it, it isn't a curse or a terrible burden. When Luna calls her beautiful, it feels like home.