Written For: interhouse_fest
Beta: Tuligar
Characters: Neville/Pansy
Prompt number: 123 for shy_of_reality
Word Count: 2290
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Summary: Pansy Parkinson kissed Neville Longbottom. It was whispered by some and shouted by others, but considered unbelievable by most everyone. Including Neville Longbottom.

Pansy Parkinson kissed Neville Longbottom. It was whispered by some and shouted by others, but considered unbelievable by most everyone. Including Neville Longbottom.

'What did he do?' a listener of the gossip asked.

'Kissed her back, of course.'

Others contemplated what they'd have done from pushing her away to spitting on her, but it was agreed that Neville Longbottom wasn't like that. He was nice. And because he was so nice, she didn't deserve him: 'She couldn't possibly treat him right.'

Neville walked passed the gossipers. They were everywhere. He knew there'd be gossip, but it was the opposite of what he'd expected to hear. He pretended he'd heard nothing at all.

'Oh, hi Neville,' a Ravenclaw girl said as she tried to join him walking down the hall.

'Hi,' he mumbled as he walked on staring at the floor instead of looking at the girl.

'Why'd she do it?' He heard someone ask. It was the question he'd had on his mind as well. 'To make Malfoy jealous, I'm sure,' came their friend's answer. 'Did you see the look on her face right before she'd stomped off in Longbottom's direction?' No, he hadn't. 'And the look on Malfoy's face when he saw what she was doing?' Neville had been a bit preoccupied at the time. 'It could have been anyone, Longbottom was just there.'

'Ignore them,' the Ravenclaw girl said. 'They're just bored with their own lives, so they gossip about others.'

Neville nodded. Though she had been one of them only moments before, he knew it was rude to point that out.

'Where are you headed?'

'Class.'

She laughed and flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder. 'Which class?'

'Herbology.'

'Oh, opposite direction from me.' She nodded down the hall. 'I'll walk you to the door though?'

Neville didn't think he needed to be walked to the door, but said, 'Okay,' anyway.

'I thought you liked Herbology?'

'It's my favourite, actually.'

'You don't look so excited about going . . . '

It was Neville's first kiss. It had only happened a few hours before, and he was already tired of thinking about it. The worst of it was that his day ended with a class with the Slytherins: Herbology. His favourite class would be ruined by this.

'Yeah,' Neville agreed.

She gave him an odd look, but continued with him until they reached the doors then waved him off as she made her way to her next class.

#

Draco and Pansy must have made up by time they got to Herbology, because they sat next to each other and worked together as though nothing had happened. Pansy didn't look Neville's way, but Draco caught Neville staring at them a few times. He couldn't help it. He'd noticed Pansy from time to time, but never thought of approaching her. She was unapproachable. Most girls were for him, but she was beyond even that. He had never had trouble making friends with girls, after all.

Neville was being a horrible partner to Hannah, she elbowed him to pay attention to the dangerous plant in front of him, again.

'Sorry,' he mumbled.

'It's alright,' she said, but it didn't sound as if it was all right at all. He and Hannah had been friends in Herbology for the last couple years, and he was ruining that friendship as well. If he couldn't stay on task, she wouldn't want to partner with him any more.

So he tried, and the rest of their assignment went better. At least he didn't hurt himself too badly, and they finished it. Neville took his time cleaning up and sent Hannah on her way, though she offered to stay and help. It was the least he could do after his inattentiveness that day.

Draco and Pansy were arguing about something on their way out of the greenhouse. Pansy had stormed out and Draco followed her with a huff.

They hadn't gone far though, as Neville ran into them on his way back to the castle. There was an awkward, silent moment were they all stopped to look at each other before Draco said, 'Well, I should let you two talk.'

'Draco!' Pansy's eyes were wide as Draco turned toward the castle and abandoned her there with Neville. 'Arse.'

Neville kicked at the dirt while he stared at his feet. 'I'll walk you in, if you want.' He looked up just in time to see Pansy nodding, though she was still glaring in the direction Draco had gone in. They started walking toward the castle slower than he'd ever walked the path before. He wouldn't have minded it, except it was freezing out.

He sort of didn't mind it anyway.

'I—' they both started, and then stopped at the same time. Neville began again, 'I'm not expecting anything to . . . I know you aren't interested in me like that.'

Pansy smirked and stopped walking. 'You know that?'

He stopped and turned toward her. 'Everyone knows you fancy Malfoy,' Neville said with a shrug.

'Everyone knows shite then.' She brushed her hair away from her face and stepped closer to Neville. 'I had called Draco a coward and he said that I was just the same. He said that I never went after the things I wanted any more than he did, so I had no room to criticize him for it. So, you see, he practically dared me to kiss you.'

He didn't see it; not at all.

'I shouldn't have run off like that after—' She rolled her eyes at herself. 'I didn't know what to say, and you just stood there mouth agape staring at me like I'd lost my mind . . . kind of like how you're looking at me now. Stop that. The idea isn't that crazy, is it?'

'Um, no?'

She fought back a smile, and as his toes began to go numb he realised that he could kiss her, again.

So, he did.

'Such a public place,' Pansy said. Though no one was close enough to see who they were. Neville looked around and the few people outside were headed in. 'People will talk.'

Neville shrugged, again. 'They already are.'

'I know.'

'I'm sorry about that. About what they're—'

'It's not your fault.'

He felt bad about it all the same.

'I'm the one who kissed you in the middle of a crowded hallway,' she pointed out.

'I didn't mind it.'

#

Without putting a name to it, they were dating. The gossip changed, but was just as constant.

'Do you think she poisoned him?' a girl asked.

'He's not dead,' a boy said.

'With a love potion, then?'

'She wouldn't be the first to try.'

Though, Neville was certain she would have been the first to try ion him/i. It happened to Harry all the time, but he was famous. Those weren't the worst rumours, the worst ones involved her controlling him with sex. They weren't even close to the truth, just like all the others, but they bothered him the most.

'Ignore them,' Padma said. She caught him just outside the Great Hall on his way to meet Pansy.

'I iam/i.'

'You're face doesn't look like it.'

That made Neville smile.

'It's just . . . Parkinson isn't really anyone's favourite person since the war, and you are.'

'Me?' Neville asked. 'I didn't do anything more than anyone else did.'

She rolled her eyes and him then leaned up to kiss his cheek. 'If she hurts you, don't hesitate to call on a friend, okay?'

'Okay?'

With a smile she was gone. Neville was confused. Was she suggesting herself as a friend? Who else but a friend would he turn to if he and Pansy broke up? Though, he'd probably go to Luna before anyone else. She was the best listener. He shook the thought away and ran to meet with Pansy; he was sure to be late.

#

Neville and Pansy would be studying in a classroom or abandoned teacher's quarters, any place they could be alone, and eventually they'd be snogging instead of working. She was interested in taking it farther. So he'd push her away and they'd study again. Or rather, they tried to study and Neville couldn't even read a sentence let alone a paragraph.

Pansy snorted, closed the book on him, and covered it with her bag. 'What were we studying?'

'Um?' How could he not even remember that?

'What were you thinking about?'

He couldn't answer, but from the look on her face he was sure his face—and the heat he felt covering it—answered the question for him.

'I don't get you, Neville,' she paused. 'Is this because you're a virgin?'

Neville's stomach dropped. 'Are you not?'

She watched him closely as she shook her head.

'No,' he said, but then added, 'that's not all our relationship is about, right?'

That made her laugh. 'We've never done it, how could it possibly be all our relationship is about?' Then she rolled her eyes at him. 'We've only been together for a month; everyone is more physical in the beginning of their relationships. That's normal, Neville.'

'I heard—never mind, it's stupid, it doesn't matter.'

'Ah, I see,' Pansy said. 'You're not used to the gossip being all about you. Ignore them. They're just jealous I was the one brave enough to go after you.' She grabbed his hand and wrapped his arm around her. 'And they wish they would have beat me to it.'

'Who?' They couldn't all have crushes on him. 'iEveryone/i talks about it. They don't all want me.'

'You are so adorable.'

He felt his face heat up again.

'So,' Pansy as she climbed into his lap. 'I've told you about my embarrassing crush on you that's lasted for years, but you haven't told me why you chose me yet.'

Neville opened his mouth but no words came out.

'And if you say something incredibly stupid like: I was the first person to ask. I will not be happy with that answer—just so you know.'

'Well,' Neville said, 'I can't say that I was thrilled about you teasing me when we were younger . . . '

'But . . . ?'

'But, childhood rivalries seem so petty compared to the war, and during the war I did think about you a lot. About how you were doing, what it was like being where you and Draco were . . . what would I do if my parents were here . . . what would I have been doing, if they had been Death Eaters . . . '

Pansy didn't look away from him, and he liked that. Few people talked openly about the war, and most didn't look him in the eye when they did.

'You're brave,' he said. 'Most people don't see it, but I do. I always liked that about you. I liked finding the little things that showed your true character, that others missed.'

She smiled at him. 'So you were staring at me then?'

Neville shrugged. 'Maybe a little.'

'Draco teased me every time he caught you.'

Luna teased him every time she caught him, too.

Pansy threaded her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck, twisting the little curls she found there around her fingers. Up until then, she'd been the one to make all the first moves. It was obvious to him then that she was waiting for him to be ready. The mere knowledge of that made it where he was. He kissed her, pulling her tight against him.

He kissed her, until they were both out of breath.

And then he kissed her, until they couldn't help but move against each other.

A spare thought crossed his mind that he'd pictured his first time to be more romantic, to be more planned out. But he dismissed it, because he couldn't think of a more perfect moment. Anything else would be forced and fake for the sake of making it special.

For the first time ever, Neville was glad that Pansy loved to wear skirts. It wasn't a distraction this time. And as much as he fretted about what little he knew about sex left his mind. She knew what she was doing, and it had so much more to do with feeling than with any type of knowledge. One moment they were moving together with only fabric between them, and then after a few whispered spells the fabric was gone and she was guiding him inside her.

They paused their kissing to catch a breath, letting their lips brush against each other for a moment before continuing again. He wouldn't last long. She seemed to realise this as well and stopped kissing him to whisper encouragement of being so close, almost there, hold on, and he didn't quite make it. She kept moving against him as he softened inside her, and a moment later she moaned softly in his ear, clenched around him and slowed.

After they caught their breath, Pansy cleaned them up and moved gently back to her chair.

'Do you think you'll be able to concentrate now?' Pansy asked while she gestured down to Neville's Herbology textbook.

Neville grinned and kissed the smirk off her face.