Five times kissed(for Dina)
She’d saved him countless times. He’d never asked. She simply had.|one|
The very first time? He’d been too focused on pranking the punch bowl. The music blared, feet pounded on the stone floor, and a mix of languages fed into the fury of activity of the Yule Ball. An international stage and a chance at upping the stakes had been irresistible. McGonagall would’ve caught him–
–if Dina hadn’t yanked him under the table and pressed her lips to his. He was in over his head. And she pulled him out. Kissing her was the rush of a broom dive 20 feet down, and snatching the snitch–unexpected, dizzying, and right.There were other kisses. Many others. Their 7th year, there was one…|two|The air was cool in the darkened, secret, passageway. He’d joked they should go the Room of Requirement, but chances were up that someone might want to practice defense. No, this was better. His back hit the wall, he pulled her towards him, right hand cradled the back of her neck, his left palm pressed between her shoulder blades. His lips found her neck. The air was cool. Her skin was warm. He kissed her lips again. And maybe that time they saved each other? War riding in on the wind. Umbridge in the castle. Dina and him? Together everything was more bearable. But then…
He’d chosen. And there wasn’t time for snogging, for pranks, and together. War was fought with wands as well as words. For people with magic, words possessed a deeper power to affect the world around them.
They survived the war. And everything that had come before it was like a disconnected dream. He didn’t feel together. He wanted that feeling again. Maybe if he hadn’t wanted it so much,Jennie wouldn’t have been able to crack him a part a little bit more. She hadn’t meant to, but she proved a person could care about someone and still leave them broken. If Dina’s first kiss with him had been a game-winning-swoop, then Jennie’s last with him was the final bludger-stomach-punch, the swift fall, and fractured bones.
|three|He was dazed and confused, but somehow his feet lead him to Dina’s doorstep. Mistletoe. He’d forgotten it was nearly Christmas. He supposed he must’ve looked like he felt. Dina had probably only meant to honor the silly tradition.But she swept him off his feet again. She kissed his lips and he remembered what feeling wanted was like.
If his life was a watered down fairytale, this is where the story would end. But in their world, fae are real, magic requires energy and sacrifice, and healing is never as simple as wishing.
Time and distance from overcast, British skies, help,though.The hotel suite door swung open.Lee finished a push-up, then hopped to his feet and kissed Dina’s cheek. “Hello, beautiful.”
Dina scrunched up her nose. “My hair’s a mess and I have sand everywhere. And the photographer kept telling us ‘look intense’–how am I suppose to know what that means?”“Ssh…” Lee pressed his lips to her’s, he tasted sea-salt, and sunshine and he meant to calm her, but his pulse quickened. He pulled away.At least, he’d quieted her. “Relax. I promise I won’t tell you how to look or what to do. We can do anything you want tonight.”
And sometimes, even a change of scenery didn’t help at all.
The kick sent Lee rolling, hands grasped at too soft blankets, the sense of imbalance jolted him too slow, he landed on his behind at the side of the bed. Lee was alert. His hand grabbed his wand from the nightstand, but only Dina was in the room. Dina thrashed. Lee climbed back into the bed. He blocked an arm from striking out. Lee smoothed back her hair. “She’s not here. We’re safe.” The last might be a lie–he didn’t trust that himself, but it was what she needed. “Dina. Wake up.”
She sat up, her hands reached for his face, he kissed her wrist, and she stared at him"You’re here?““Yes.”
“She knows you.” Dina drew her hands back. "If she could look like Artemis, why not you?She could’ve–And this is a trick–Prove it. Prove you’re you.“ He leaned in, pressed his forehead to her’s, and reached for her hands again. “Athena is a cat that thinks she’s a dog. Arachne’s getting old. Bellatrix would probably say something like ‘of course it’s me,‘but I don’t know what will convince you. So tiny things are all I have…Like if it were up to me, I’d kiss you right now, but I’m afraid you’ll pull away. Or you’ll let go of my hands and disapparate away and I won’t know how to help. Or how to find you. And I want one of our pets to hop on the bed and bark or purr because if this were a mov–”
Dina grabbed his shoulders and crashed her lips against his.She didn’t know what he meant to say,but if his absurd thought wasn’t enough to convince her, then how he kissed her, would.
He didn’t hesitate. He pulled her closer, tried to pour reassurance into the kiss, hold her tighter, and prove he was solid and real. He tried to say, it doesn’t matter where we go or what we do–I want to be there for you.
|bonus kiss #6|Hurried. Impatient. Fumbling hands, racing hearts, warm skin, wet tongues.Gasps and moans and growls. Clothes crumpled at their feet.