30 Random Kisses
CoffeeMary was trying so hard not to worry, not to fret too terribly over things. Michael was growing like a little weed, she was back at the Prophet as an opinion columnist (thank Merlin they were willing to overlook her abrupt leaving months ago), and things with Gabriel--they were going well. She still wasn't sure what to expect out of their relationship, but was finding it best to just take the situation one day at a time.
"I brought you some coffee," Mary murmured, her voice quiet as she placed a few gentle knocks on Gabriel's office door. "I figured you might like the break," she explained then, a secretive smile creeping onto her lips.
Gabriel leaned back in his chair, for once glad that Mary was interrupting his work. He'd been put on an assignment about international relations with Croatia and it was all he could do to not just rip his hair from his head. "Thank you," he replied, watching her as she set the cup down on the corner of his desk. He could have explained that the interns usually grabbed him something when he needed it, but figured he'd be better of not saying anything, lest he spark up some retort from her.
Mary leaned against the desk, studying Gabriel's face carefully. She could see the wear of the day subtly etched on his face. Maybe she would suggest that he leave early and get some rest, since Michael had been up late into the night crying most of the week. Instead, she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Gabriel's lips.
He held onto the kiss for a few minutes, not quite willing to let go of the physical contact of which the work day had deprived him. When they parted, he heard Mary let out a slow, content sigh. He cracked open an eye to look at her and smirked. Without saying a word, he batted at the air behind him with his hand until it came in contact with the cold metallic knob and gently pushed the door shut. The article could wait.
backDirtyIt had been a long game, and Ludo wasn't exactly in the mood to be around people, but...ugh, the fucking press were crawling out of the woodwork in the clubhouse and he just wanted to get a shower and get changed and--this was not working for him. He'd been hit half an hour into the game by a bludger that he
missed because of the
rain, and he was covered in mud and felt disgusting and they wanted to take his
picture. Probably for something ridiculous like
The Changing Profile of Ludo Bagman: How His Nose Went from Fab to Drab in a Matter of Months. And if someone actually read and bought that drivel, he felt sorry for them, he really did. He elbowed his way through the crowded hallway, heading right for the locker rooms. Let them call him rude, he didn't really care at that moment.
He set off for the shower, deciding to take his time getting cleaned up and comfortable before jumping back into the three ring circus outside the doors. It was rather unfortunate, however, that Ludo Bagman failed to notice one Greta Catchlove slipping through the locker room door behind him. And it was rather lucky for her that he decided to keep his towel
on between the shower and his locker.
The sight of her sitting there, waiting for him made him jump a little. "Blimey, Greta! You're--what are you doing in here?!" he asked, the annoyance evident in his voice.
She smirked up at him, casually crossing her legs. "I have my ways, Mr. Bagman. Would you mind a quick private interview with the Prophet? I promise I won't take up much of your time."
He sighed, but was rather amused that she had the gall to go through with all this. "I don't know. Do you mind a quick change into decent clothing? I promise I won't take too long...unless you'd like the private show, Miss Catchlove." He felt rather smug as he gently tugged open the black locker that held his street robes. He didn't actually plan on getting starkers in front of her, but maybe he could get her to squirm.
"Well, it's nothing I haven't seen before, Mr. Bagman. I do think our readers would be quite interested in this perspective..." she said slowly as she began scribbling something down on her parchment.
"Hey, now," he said slowly, trying to read what she was writing. "Greta, c'mon. You know how much I hate the articles they publish." He liked having her around and the fame and all that, but sometimes the articles were just too much. He was always in "trouble" for one thing or another, and if he were to change around, he'd be in trouble for that as well. There was no way for him to win in the public's eye. He sat down on the bench next to her, gently grabbing her wrist to stop her scribbling. "No articles this time. You know you don't have to lean on your job just to spend time with me."
"And who said I wanted to spend time with you, Ludo?" she retorted, debating on whether or not she should pull her arm away from him.
"Why would you keep offering to interview me if you're not a sports writer?" he replied, letting his eyes roam over her. She looked nice today, dressed up only a little bit.
"Because
someone has to do it and no one else is willing to volunteer," she said with a smirk.
"Mmm, well at any rate I'm glad it's always you, Greta," he said softly. He leaned in closer, pressing a soft kiss against her lips. Greta was the only reporter with whom he could truly get away with doing this, and damn it was the only thing he liked about having reporters around. He let his fingers run through her hair, deepening the kiss only slightly as he scooted closer to her, pressing her back against the locker behind her. Who knew how long it'd be before he actually got around to putting his robes on...
backBlissfulNora felt like all the pieces in her life were finally falling together the way they were meant to. She had a beautiful daughter who would soon be two years old, a job that she could truly say she enjoyed going to, and a husband that she loved being around and being with and the whole nine yards. There wasn't a moment that she regretted the decision to share custody of Penny; not doing so would have meant some form of forced marriage, something Nora wasn't quite sure she would love being in for the rest of her life. But
this, what she had with Jones, certainly had the potential to last a long time.
"Do you think she's doing okay with them?" Nora asked, wrapping her arms around Jones waist as a gentle breeze played with her hair.
"Oh, I think they'll be alright, love," he murmured softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "You know how much she loves spending time with Uncle West."
Nora smiled, letting her head rest on his chest. "I know. I just worry sometimes, with her so young." She knew very well that Griff and West did everything to take care of Penny when she was staying with him and that there was no real reason to worry. "At least I've got something to distract me for a bit," she added, leaning back just enough so he could see the smirk on her face.
"Oh, have you?" he asked, feigning shock. "Is it a distraction for me as well?"
Nora laughed, leaning up on tip toe to kiss him. "Yes. I suppose you could say that. But you know, I can't show you until we get off the balcony and back into the room..."
"Say no more, m'lady!" he replied, raising his eyebrows. In one swift motion, he had her picked up, her knees settled across his left arm and her body resting easily on his right. "It would be wrong of me to delay this distraction any longer."
"Mmm, it would," she agreed, leaning herself forward to once more capture his lips in a kiss more eager than the last few, a precursor to what was sure to follow.
backAdventurousMary knew that Gabriel wouldn't be completely
thrilled by this, but Merlin she didn't expect him to be so--
bothered by it! Weren't blokes supposed to be turned on by this stuff? It all started on a bet from James Potter, a bet that Mary was almost positive would be bad news from the get go, but one she could not let pass up (she was a sucker for making Gabriel squirm at the most mundane things, what could she say).
New Year's 1981 came with a rather small party of friends, sitting around drinking a few beers, having a laugh. The memory was a bit hazy, but it came somewhere between the seventh and ninth round. Someone had the idea of playing never have I ever, which was rather amusing until someone stated they'd never kissed someone of the same gender and it was such a
shock that Mary hadn't either. Which was rubbish in Mary's opinion because it wasn't like she was a complete slag in school or out of school but
whatever.
"Well, you know, you could always fix that," James slurred, looking pointedly at Mary.
"Oh, could I?" she asked back raising an eyebrow at him. "And just who would I be fixing that with?"
"With Lily," he retorted, looking at her as if it was the only feasible option (because who else would James kiss than Lily).
Mary glanced at Lily rather cautiously, though it seemed that she wasn't phased by the suggestion in the least.
"C'moooooon, do it," James howled, now punctuating the suggestion wtih a few elbow jabs. "Oi, Corner! I bet you six galleons she won't do it!"
Mary looked between the two blokes, trying hard not to laugh at the expression Gabriel was now wearing. In one wobbly motion, she stood and stumbled to where Lily was sitting before pushing one hand down onto the table in front of her. "I'm not going to do this if you don't want," she said, now staring intently at Lily.
"Oh please," Lily said rolling her eyes. "It's just a kiss."
And that was when she felt Lily's hand at the crown of her head, gently inching her head forward before pressing her lips hard against her lips. Mary sucked in a deep breath, and a deep scent of strawberries filled her nose.
This isn't so bad, she thought to herself it wasn't as if this was a snog or anything--it was just a
kiss. But it was a kiss that felt really nice because
God Lily had soft lips. And she smelled so nice and--it must have been the mix of alcohol between the two of them, but Mary had somehow ended up sitting on Lily's lap deepening the kiss to something more than just a peck from a sister-like friend.
It took a while, but as soon as she heard the catcalls from the blokes in the room (read: James Potter), she pulled away from Lily. "Pay up, Potter," she said firmly, sticking out her hand as a deep blush set into her cheeks.
"I said I'd pay Gabriel over here, not you," he replied with a smirk as he began to rummage in his pocket for the money. Gabriel, on the other hand, was sitting there all slack-jawed and shocked. It was going to take a long time before the image that had just been
seared into his memory would go away--the mother of his
child...
kissing another
woman like--like--like a common
hussie!
backMistletoe"Happy Christmas," Joey murmured softly, wrapping his arms around Rosie's waist. He kissed her temple, holding her in his arms as he began to sway to the Christmas music playing softly on the wireless. It was their first
real Christmas together, and their first anniversary of being together. God, he couldn't believe they'd made it this far together. He would have to send Phoebe a brill gift this year, he decided.
"And Happy Christmas to you," she replied with a smile, letting her hands clasp with his. She'd been staring out the window, watching the snow gently fall down and cover the ground, coating the ground with a storybook icing. She turned around in his arms, smirking at him. "Just think, this time last year you were a bumbling, awkward boy. And look how you've turned out," she teased, leaning up on tip toe to kiss him.
"
Haa" he replied, pulling her closer to him for another kiss. "I was awkward? You wouldn't even let us get past a decent snog until the summer, might I remind you."
"That's because I was good enough to have that you could wait until we were married," she responded. He knew why the two had waited and it didn't really bother him much, he just liked to tease her about it.
"Yeah. And look where we are now. I have to revert to mistletoe to get you to date me, and to kiss me," he said with a small pout. He pulled a tiny sprig of mistletoe out of his back pocket and held it up above their heads. "So, whadda ya say? For old time's sake?"
She laughed. Maybe this would become an annual tradition for them. He'd get her a sprig of mistletoe and they'd snog and er--
get jolly. "I suppose I could manage a kiss for you."
But Joey had more than just a kiss planned. He readjusted his arms, now lifting her up to eye level and holding her snugly against him before pulling her in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, trying her best to trust his strength and know that he wouldn't drop her.
He moved his arms so they were now cradling around her, holding her up much like one would a small child as he began to slowly walk them towards the bedroom of their tiny one bedroom flat. And to let him know that she didn't particularly mind where he was taking this, she wrapped her legs loosely around his hips, her arms around his shoulders before deepening the kiss. Happy Christmas, indeed!
backCarThis was by far the best family outing. Perfect weather, the boys were in a good mood and not at all acting up, and Molly had made corned beef sandwiches which were Arthur's
favorite! The automocar had not acted up at all for the entire trip and the boys were having so much fun playing in the field (oddly enough, they found a small pack of gnomes, which Bill and Charlie were now taking great pleasure in torturing while Percy looked on).
Meanwhile, Arthur had managed to pull Molly away from the boys (they knew well enough to watch what they were doing and keep an eye on the little ones even if they were only napping in their buggies) and had them holed up in the backseat of the car. "So, are you glad I talked you into this?" he asked with a grin, leaning over to kiss Molly.
She snorted. "This car is ridiculous, Arthur!" It was so
small in the backseat and how did muggles
do it?! She couldn't imagine using something like this to get from here to there, she honestly couldn't.
"Mmm, maybe a little bit. But I'm sure it'll grow on you," he said with a small smile, almost as if he were mentally shrugging off her comment. Of course he would never actually
do that because that would be horrible to his Mollywobbles, but well...she knew how he was about his muggle things!
"Maybe," she said slowly, a gleam suddenly in her eye. That was a gleam that Arthur knew far too well.
He leaned in for another kiss, running his fingers through her hair. "Mollywobbles," he murmured softly, punctuating the word with another small peck.
"Yes, yes," she said with a sigh and a grin. The boys could handle themselves for a little while...and the car being so small just meant that they got to be closer together. She supposed she could live with this.
backAmbitionIn a world where there was no Iris Bradley, there was no secret elopement to Paris, there was still a bit of dating going on for miss Iris Conway. It was no surprise to anyone that she despised Barty Crouch, but for one reason or another the two found themselves dating each other shortly after she finished school. Perhaps it was out of respect for their fathers (did Barty actually have any?) that they went along with it; she certainly felt that they had the ability to become this grand power couple should things continue in the fashion that they were.
Iris was sitting in the Ministry cafeteria, reading carefully over some paperwork she was to file when she saw the familiar figure settle in next to her out of the corner of her eye. "You're here early," she responded calmly, not even bothering to look up at Barty. "You never eat this early in the afternoon."
"Not here to eat, Conway. You're really showcasing that Gryffindor brilliance," he responded with a smirk. Ugh, the one thing she couldn't stand--well,
two things--about Bartemius Crouch. First, his incessant sarcasm and wit and ability to just pull it out of nowhere and be
smarter than her and general, and second, his need to point out that she was in Gryffindor during school. Stupid Slytherin.
"Yes, yes," she said dully, "You're
so smart, how will I ever match up to your Slytherin brilliance. I shudder to think of the daunting task of even trying to come up with a brilliant retort." She sighed and turned to him. "Don't you ever get tired of this? Of this back and forth bickering--
nonsense?!"
"Certainly. But I do love the response it brings out in you,
dear." Barty carefully leaned in for a kiss before pulling away, an eyebrow raised. "You know, the office is empty today..."
Iris rolled her eyes. "How
ambitious of you,
dear. I'll see if I can't manage some time away for...paperwork filing." Ugh, the things she did for him.
backAccidentalIt has been a year--probably the fastest year of Nora's life, but her daughter was exactly one year old. Nora watched Penny grow from being completely dependent to crawling and then walking and--it made her want to cry just thinking of it. She was so beautiful, and the babbles she spewed were slowly starting to make sense. It was amazing that her daughter, despite being touted from one side of the country to the other, was developing into a beautiful little girl. And, as much as she hated to admit it, she partially had West to thank. And even though the birthday party consisted of infants too young to actually
do anything, the mums and dads had found ways to keep themselves entertained. Mainly speaking, through the use of copious amounts of alcohol. And hey, it'd been a long time since Nora really allowed herself to let loose and drink, and this was kinda-sorta her birthday as well (okay not really but
hush you're ruining her rationalizations)! She deserved to celebrate for her baby girl, too.
When eerything was said and done, and all the guests were gone, it left Penny sleeping soundly on Griff's chest in the love seat in his living room, Jones passed out on the floor. Nora knew she should help clean, but she wasn't sure if she could manage. "Oi, West. Get your arse over here and help me up. So I can help you bloody clean the flat."
The man grunted at her--she was such an annoying nag. How Griff had ever seen her as an acceptable fake girlfriend, he would never know. At least
he had picked someone who wasn't completely annoying and useless when he was trying to cover things up. Nevertheless, he walked over to where she sat and grabbed her hand to help pull her up. "At least you're putting yourself to good use," he grumbled, now turning to pick up a few empty bottles.
"Hey, now. Don't call me useless, Sumpter. If you want me to be useless, I'll stop covering your arse every time you want to have your way with Griff," she said crossly, grabbing a few cups to take them over to the kitchen.
West smirked. "Oh, I couldn't stop that, now could I?"
Nora rolled her eyes. She swore that half the time he did things just to get under her skin. "No, of course not. Do you even care about having her around? Or do you just allow it because Griff wants her around?"
"S'not so bad, after a while," he replied, keeping himself busy so he wouldn't have to make eye contact.
Nora tried her best to make her way around him, but stumbled over a bump in the rug and fell into West. Normally, her weight would not have brought him down, but the amount of alcohol in his system was enough that her sudden movement caught him unawares, causing him to fall back into an armchair, Nora tumbling on top of him, their heads bumping as they fell. It didn't help, then, that Nora's lips found themselves pressed firmly against West's. She took in a deep breath before everything registered--WHY THE FUCK WAS SHE KISSING WEST SUMPTER?????
She pushed firmly on his chest, removing her lips from his as a deep blush settled into her cheeks. "Oh--oh, Merlin. Sorry. I didn't mean to--it was--God
damn it." West was probably the last man on earth that Nora really wanted to be doing that with--blech.
backFront DoorAshlyn had some rather large butterflies in her stomach (though there was a good chance that it was just the baby being fussy inside of her). It was April 4th--and she wasn't Ashlyn Cooper anymore. They had just barely started their Easter holiday and--and she was married. They had rented a hotel room for the night in London before the next morning when they'd head to Paris. "Keegan, is it really necessary to carry me?" she asked, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and neck.
Keegan laughed, pressing a few gentle kisses at the nape of her neck. "Yes, it is. Because it's tradition. And I know you hate all this chivalrous stuff, but ten years down the road you will kick yourself if we don't do it this way."
Ashlyn let out a dramatic sigh, teasingly. "Oh, all right. But at least let me unlock the door, will you? I don't want you to drop me." She nuzzled her head into his neck, the gentle thumping of his footsteps nearly putting her to sleep. She felt so at peace at that moment--and she knew that this was the right thing to do. She was supposed to be married at that moment, things were supposed to transpire this way.
He gently cleared his throat. "We're here..." he announced, waiting as Ashlyn went searching in his pockets for the key to the door.
"Aha! Found it," she said happily as she removed the metal key and pushed it into the lock before turning it and pushing the door open with her hand. He grinned down at her and captured her lips in a kiss. Tonight was perfect, this week was going to be perfect. They were starting their lives together and Keegan couldn't be more excited about where everything would take them.
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