Kiss Thy Red Rose Lips

Yet another non-Ambassador's Journal story chapter. That's in the works, just having boy trouble at the minute and I'm really confused because I'm twenty two and I can't actually say I've ever had a boyfriend. Anyways enjoy this, part one of three.

Warnings and disclaimer: Mild cross-dressing (man in a snazzy dress everyone), mild kink, implied male/male sex and another panty/boxer/brief dropping OC. Plus I only own Taine (Lucky me!) and the rest is JKR's.

Part One: The Meeting

Harry knew it was a man in a dress but that didn't mean that he wasn't stunned by the beauty walking towards him from across the dance floor. The man's brown hair was cut short and it curled like vines around his head and wisped around his face, a face that could only have been made to be one of the goddess' favourites. Soft cheeks, bright eyes and sweet red lips that Harry swore he could almost taste.

The dress was just as stunning as the man wearing it was; it was short and sparkled gold over blacky-blue in the dim lights of the club. The tight fabric hugged a lean figure and firm shoulders, outlining every inch of powerful, lean muscle. Harry couldn't help but stare as he thought to himself that he'd never been attracted to a man in a dress before but then he couldn't help his groan and the twitch of his cock as the man in the dress licked his plump red lips.

The fact it was a man wasn't the problem, if indeed there even was one, as Harry had worked out that he was gay before he had even gotten to Hogwarts, his dating of Cho and Ginny had been him stupidly trying to hide that fact. So the object of his lust being male wasn't what made him pause, it was just that it had never crossed his mind that a guy in a dress might be a turn on of his.

If he was honest it had never crossed his mind that he would end up in the British magical worlds only gay club, Opal Dreams, after splitting up with his boyfriend of five years, drowning his sorrows in glass after glass of Fire-Whisky with a co-worker from a job that he never imagined he would ever have but he knew that he would or could never regret.

Working as an Apprentice Mind-Healer in the mental health clinic that was attached to Saint Mungo's hospital was a job on the knife edge of absolute joy and all-consuming sorrow. He enjoyed helping people and in particular he found focusing on rehabilitation for those who, like himself, had suffered abuse, trauma and life changing illness or injure was the most gratifying.

But it also destroyed part of him to see people so broken, some so abused that they felt that ending their life was the better option than facing the world another day. Harry did his bit to try and help them back on their feet again but it didn't always work and to hear they had lost a patient was always heart breaking.

Harry understood what was going through the patient's minds far more than many of his fellow Apprentice Mind-Healers did and if it hadn't been for Hermione's nagging at him to see a Mind-Healer after the war then who knows what kind of state of mind he would have been it, after all there was a limit to how many sleeping potions one could take in a row before it became unhealthy.

The nightmares had hit him hard after the war, after the death of so many of those he had loved and after a week of restless nights and days of Hermione nagging Harry had given in and seen a Mind-Healer who was a specialist in post-war related issues of the mind. It had amazed Harry to find out how much pain, how much hurt and suffering he had been holding back and how much it had been damaging and almost destroying his life.

After his last appointment he had asked about an apprenticeship and now five and a half years later he was almost finished and, of course, his boyfriend had decided that would be the best time to dump him without warning, reasons or care.

Of course being dumped had upset him, in fact it had made him rather pissed off but it was his final year and he didn't have time to waste lying about in misery if he wanted to pass his exams. He had to plan, revise and study till his eyes couldn't stay open anymore.

On the other hand it didn't seem to matter what he thought, his fellow students had banded together to drag him out to drown his sorrows. It had been six against one and so with a laugh he'd given in. He may have been the only student focusing on the trauma side of mental health but that didn't mean that he hadn't become close to some of his fellow apprentices over the last five years.

Laura was the oldest of the bunch at 29 and a muggle born who wanted to work with new mothers suffering from depression, like she had after the birth of her little girl. Harry didn't know the all the details, just that Emily had come about after Laura had been drugged at a muggle friend's party. Harry admitted freely that he admired her strength and the love she had for her little girl.

Then there was Maggie, another muggle born, who wanted to work with children and Harry had to admit it that it fit her so well, with her sunny smile and bright green hair. Once again Harry didn't know all the details but from the fact her step-father was in a mental health ward of a muggle prison for child abuse he could guess a lot.

There was the brother and sister pair from the growing Middle East city of Dubai, Adnan and Alya, who were studying at St Mungo's before they planned to return to Dubai in the hopes of opening their own clinic. It had shocked Harry the first time he had met the twins and had for the first time met a woman wearing a proper headscarf or Hijab (Not like the thin scarves his aunt would wear on her head to church on Sundays). Harry had learnt a lot from the twins over the last five years and he often found himself in awe in how well they managed their religious faith and their magical powers. He had met their father and mother at a party they had hosted for the twins 25th birthday, their father was a powerful man and their mother walked with more dignity than he had ever seen another walk with.

Harry got on the most with Ben, or Benny as he liked to be called childishly. Maybe it was because he was bisexual and they could talk about guys together or maybe it was because they had both been Gryffindors at Hogwarts (albeit a few years apart), but whatever the reason Harry knew he'd made a odd friend in that one. Harry also greatly respected Ben's work in the mental health side of grief and death.

Lastly was quiet but razor witted Trent from America, with his good looks and good humour it was no wonder that he could charm the most bitter of witches and wizards. Good thing too as his work with elderly magical folk mean that he had to use his charm day in, day out. The magical health care in the US was a lot like the muggle one and so, Trent had explained one night at the pub, many less well-off families had to look after their elderly loved ones at home. His aim, he had told them, was to train families on how to better care for those family members and in time set up day centres so families could have breaks.

All six were amazing people, people he was glad to know and call friends. He had invites to visit the twins in their home city, he had plans to keep in touch with Laura, Maggie and Ben and perhaps even work with them and he knew that he better learn how to send owls all the way to the US. It had been the best five years of his life… so far.

Harry thoughts snapped back to the present time as the gorgeous man in the gold and navy dress slid into the chair next to him and Harry caught a nose full of honey and lavender. He couldn't take his eyes off the sight before him and as the alcohol made his lips and tongue too numb to talk he could only watch as the brunet order a fresh drink from the tattooed barwoman.

Their eyes met and the other man chuckled at the look on Harry face, causing Harry to wipe his mouth to make sure he hadn't embarrassed himself so much by literally drooling over a hot guy.

"I see you like the dress." The un-named man chuckled again as Harry nodded slowly.

"Err yeah, I didn't realise I would I guess." Harry mumbled back.

The man nodded and took a deep drink from his brightly coloured glass, "It's alright, it can shock some guys that a bloke like me would wear a dress but it's a night out thing you know?" Harry nodded, even if his fuzzy brain barely understood.

After draining the rest of his drink he turned back to Harry, "Well you don't look turned off by the dress so do you fancy a dance?" He winked.

The black haired wizard let his eyes run over the full to bursting dance floor and shook his head, "Maybe later," he said and when he saw the disappointed look he quickly added, "I don't want to be crushed by that lot right now and to be honest I'm not drunk enough to dance yet." At that they shared a giggle.

"Well let's order another drink and we can chat for a while if you like." Harry nodded and they were silent as the barwoman served them their drinks, Fire-Whisky for Harry and a Flaming Phoenix cocktail for the brunet.

"So I'm Harry." He held out his hand and had to hold back a gasp at the feeling of soft skin against his as they shook hands.

"Mmmhm, I'm Taine." Taine suited the man well, wild but beautiful.

"Where do you work?" Harry asked carefully, knowing that some men don't like giving out too many details to potential one-night-stands. Not that he'd had many and none in the last few years since he'd started dating Jacob.

"I'm a curator at the Magical Museum of Mysteries in Oxford, I run the Creatures and Beings of Legend exhibition but I also help out around the rest of the museum." Taine grinned and Harry got the feeling he really did enjoy his job. "What about you Harry, what do you do?" he asked with another smile.

"Oh I'm an Apprentice Mind-Healer at St Mungo's; I'm in my last year in fact." He replied proudly.

"Sounds rewarding, are you planning on staying at St Mungo's after you finish your apprenticeship or do you have other plans?" Taine sounded genuinely interested and Harry couldn't help it when he got over excited at the chance to talk about his dreams with a handsome young man like Taine.

"Well I'm hoping to stay at the clinic for a couple of years before I hope to either open my own clinic somewhere outside of London or I would like to work with one of the charities that were set up after the War." He knew that he wouldn't mind which path he would end up travelling, both would be more than rewarding enough.

"Sounds great, I knew there are very few mental health clinics in the Wizarding World, even less in Britain and I know that the War Charities would be more than happy to have you. I worked with a few to preserve the histories of the rises and falls of Voldemort for the museum, in the hope that we can prevent wizards and witches from following that route in the future." Harry knew the work Taine was on about; he himself had given information to the charities for that very reason.

"Yeah they do amazing work and it would be a pleasure to work for them." Harry smiled before draining the rest of his drink and ordering yet another one, it had been his fifth glass of Fire-Whisky and the second he'd had at the club, the others he'd had at the pub before he and Ben had left the others behind. Laura and Maggie because they had the early shift, Trent because he was expecting a call from back home and the while the twins didn't drink for religious reasons they still enjoyed the pub atmosphere but the club would have been too much for them and so they'd parted ways. Once they were at the club Harry and Ben had shared a drink before Ben had left him at the bar to dance with whoever let him.

Harry took a sip of his fresh glass and turned to see Taine watching him with a smirk. "You are rather lovely you know." He said matter-of-factly and Harry laughed.

"Thank you I think and you are striking, gorgeous in fact." He hummed in return.

"Why thank you Harry, I'm glad you don't find the dress off putting." Taine's grin was bright and Harry looked out at the slightly less crowded dance floor before he drained the last of his drink.

He turned to Taine and held out his hand, "If that offer for a dance is still going then I'm like to show how much the dress doesn't put me off." He flushed at how demanding he sounded. "If you want to dance I mean."

Taine's grin grew again and he quickly grabbed Harry's offered hand with a vice like grip. "Of course I want, now let's see your moves lover boy." He purred as he drained the rest of his own drink before dragging Harry by the hand to the pulsing beat of the dance floor.

The dance floor was as busy as it looked as hot mess of people moved to their own rhythms, but somehow still together to the beat of the booming music. Harry thought he saw a glimpse of Ben and perhaps some others he knew from Hogwarts or the hospital but the moment he thought for sure he had seen them they would melt back into the crowd.

The heat of the dance floor hit Harry fast and he could feel sweat drip down his back but as he watched Taine move his narrow hips to the beat Harry found that the heat and sweat were unimportant compared to that sinfully moving body. The alcohol he had drunk chose that moment to really kick in and soon Harry felt himself swaying his body to the music. He moved closer to the object of his desire, and Taine didn't seem to mind at all, in the fact he wrapped an arm round Harry's shoulder and bumped their hips together.

Harry laughed at that but his laugh jumped to a breathless moan as he felt Taine's hardness dig into his arse. A shudder of ghost like pleasure rippled through his body at the sinful ideas his lust filled brain came up with, there was just so much he could be doing to or with that hard cock if they had been some where private.

Maybe this was just what he needed, a good lay and maybe a new friend.

The headache hit Harry before anything else did. The soreness in his muscles and the mild sharp pain coming from his arse grabbed his attention moments later and he couldn't help the groan that rolled from his mouth.

After the pain he came to the realisation that he wasn't in his own house, the air was too warm and he didn't have silk sheets, or a bed-mate to share said silk sheets with for that matter. The warmth of the man at his side was comforting and the faded smell of sex gave Harry a rather good idea of what had happened the night before, well if the soreness of his arse wasn't a big enough indicator. Opening his eyes did nothing to help as his eyes had only gotten worse over the years. Searching for his glasses didn't take long at all, they had been thoughtfully places an arm's length away from him on a bedside table.

Glasses in place he turned to his bed-mate and almost gasped as memories rushed back to replay over in his head. The pub, the club, watching dancing, dancing and sure enough as he glanced at the floor there was a sparkly gold and navy blue dress that could have come out of one of his unknown fantasies.

Grumbles from the other side of the bed made Harry turn and stare and the stunning man from the night before slowly woke up.

"Hi." He muttered quietly, ready to jump and get dressed the moment his one night stand starts to hint he should get lost.

What he didn't expect was for the man, Taine his brain suddenly remembers, to grab him by the shoulder and tug Harry into a lazy kiss. Gasping he returned the slow burning passion, shuddering as a hand gripped his hip tightly. He felt his cock take interest in the bare skin and the lips mapping their way down his love bitten throat.

It felt natural to run his hand down to Taine's morning glory. He knew it wouldn't go far, both of them would need to pee and clean up the remnants of the activities enjoyed the night before but that didn't mean the soft moan from Taine didn't cause Harry's inner fire to burn that little bit hotter.

"Hey." Taine whispered as their lips parted ways. "You all right this morning? Any pain?" He stroked his hand over the curve of Harry's arse with no pressure, just a gentle touch.

Harry blinked in surprise. "Only a little but that proves we had a good night I guess." They shared a chuckle as they enjoyed the warmth of the other.

All too soon the pressing need to use the loo overtook the comfort of the bed. "You use the loo while I make some tea. Milk? Sugar?" He asked Harry as they rolled out of bed and pulled some clothes on, shorts and shirt for Taine and Harry found himself glad he'd worn his most comfortable jeans and not the ones that looked like they'd been painted on but where in fact just a bitch to get on instead.

Harry nodded to milk, held two fingers up to sugar and then made his way to where Taine had pointed.

After he'd finished in the loo and grabbed his tea in the kitchen Harry took the time to have a good look at where he was. They'd taken a muggle cab back to Taine's flat, Harry could vaguely remember stumbling up a few sets of stairs, and Harry found the odd little place lovely. One bedroom but rather big for as close to the centre of London Harry suspected it was.

The kitchen and living room were open plan and a likable mix of dark brown, teal and cream. The kitchen itself was mostly muggle and Harry had no trouble making himself another mug of tea as his finished the other.

The Yorkshire tea bags he found pleased him and made his chest burn with warmth. Strong Yorkshire tea was his favourite, much better than the weak, crappy stuff his Aunt had brought back when he was still living with the Dursley's.

Noise from behind made him turn and smile as Taine walked towards him. In the light of late morning the man was even better looking than he had been in the dark and neon lights of the club. His cheeks were round and boyish, his eyes brown and full of amusement (Probably from how Harry was studying him) and his skin golden.

"So Taine, I can't remember if we got passed first names…" Harry said as they both took a seat on a very comfortable teal sofa.

Taine chuckled. "No we didn't but I hope you don't mind if I say that I already know yours Mr Potter."

Harry returned the chuckle and smiled, "Oh no, of course not! I wasn't trying to hide who I am, those days are long gone and I find myself too old for such nonsense. It was your last name I was hoping to know."

Taine sat up straighter and in his best upper-class said, "My name is Taine Alexander Blackbridge of the Oxfordshire Blackbridge's and, my dear Mister Harry Potter, it is indeed a pleasure to meet you." He balanced his tea on his knee as he took Harry's hand in his own and kissed the back of it.

Harry outright laughed at the other man's actions and accent. "You'll almost sound like a Malfoy if you aren't careful!"

"We wouldn't want that now would we?" He said, not letting go of the snooty accent.

Draining his tea he grabbed Taine's forgotten cup and after moving it out of the way he crawled into the brown haired man's warm lap, leg either side of Taine's hips and their body's aligned almost perfectly.

"Stop or you'll give me nightmares." Harry whispered against grinning lips.

"No." Once again the holier than thou accent sent a shiver down Harry's spine but just not in the nightmarish way his words had suggested.

Their lips once again met and the world faded into bliss.

So I had planned to write this and post as a one shot but then the attack on a LGBT centred night club happened in America and I thought this to be my tribute to those who won't get their Happy Ever Afters because of the actions of a mad man.

RIP loves, sleep well.

Conquered King.