A/N: Sorry for the long wait; things have been busy. Especially lately, with the tornadoes that came through not too long ago. I hope you enjoy this! Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
"Hands"
Chapter Four: "Smoke"
Ron stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked around. He took a deep breath and exhaled, the cold weather turning his breath into a white smokey fog.
He told himself that he was just observing his surroundings, casually taking note of what was around him; he was relaxed-and cool. He looked cool, standing there, with his black leather jacket, his purple dress shirt untucked and his hair ruffled.
But then his face suddenly fell into a nervous grimace, and he checked his watch for the twelfth time. She was only two minutes late, but his mind couldn't help but think: She's not coming. She's not coming, how could I think she would even come? She's Luna Lovegood. She . . .
Luna came skipping up to him, her orange coat pulled around her slim body, a hat pulled low over her ears, and a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, hiding her mouth.
She looked ridiculous.
She looked kind of pretty.
"Hello," she said, her voice muffled from the scarf.
"Hey," he said, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. He hoped his voice didn't sound as squeaky to her as it did to him. "So . . . do you want to get something to eat first?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love to eat something."
"Er, where do you want to go?"
She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter Ronald," she said. "You're nervous. You don't have to be."
He smiled nervously. "I'm not nervous."
"I am," she said. "How about we go to The Leaky Cauldron?"
He nodded, slightly relaxed by her confession, and they made their way towards the pub. Sometime during their walk, her hand had grabbed onto his, and with her warm palm pressed against his own palm, he began to feel a nervous tingling in his stomach.
He hoped desperately that his palm wasn't sweaty.
They arrived at The Leaky Cauldron and found a table in the corner, away from the noise of the dinner crowd.
"I want to show you the pictures we have of the crumpled-horned snorkack . . ." Luna said, after they had sat down. She opened the book and pointed to one of the pictures. "That's it, right there."
Leaning closer to her, he looked at the picture. It was a little blurry, with a small brown spot in the lower right hand corner that was trying to hide itself. It kept fussing and rearranging its tail.
Ron nodded. "That's cool . . . ."
She smiled widely at his approval and turned the page. Leaning closer to him in her excitement, her hair brushed against his neck and her cheek was so close to his mouth . . . .
She looked up at him, her blue eyes waiting expectantly and said, as if she could read his mind, "It's all right if you want to kiss me now."
He licked his lips and tried to smile. "I didn't . . . I mean, I want to . . . Er . . . ."
"Ron!"
Ron looked up quickly and caught sight of Fred and George, pushing their way through the crowd.
Ron sighed dejectedly. "Hey," he said tightly. He averted his eyes and scooted away from Luna a little.
"Oh, hey Luna," said Fred, sitting down next to her.
"Where's Harry?" said George.
"Yeah, and Hermione?" asked Fred.
Ron shrugged.
"It's just the two of you?"
"Yep," said Luna. "I wanted to show him my pictures from Sweden."
"Oh!" said George, with a smirk. "You're on a date."
"A date?" asked Fred excitedly. He pouted. "Hey, how come no one told us you two are dating?"
"Because we're not," said Luna. "I just wanted to show him the pictures."
Fred nodded, noticing a small, disappointed look on Ronald's face. "Well, we'll just leave you two at it. Come on George, I think I saw Angelina come in."
George looked like he was about to protest (how could he miss an opportunity to annoy his younger brother?) but Fred rammed his elbow in his side and nodded towards Ron. "Oh, yeah, I think I saw her too," said George, even though the door was behind him, and they quickly left the table.
"I was going to ask them if they wanted to see the pictures too, but they left so suddenly . . . ."
"So, this isn't . . ." He shifted in his chair. "This isn't a date?"
The words sounded stupid to him, but they flew out of his mouth so quickly, he couldn't grab them back.
"I wasn't sure if you wanted it to be a date."
"Oh."
"Do you want it to be a date? Because I wouldn't mind if it was a date. I quite like you Ronald."
"I thought it was a date," he said quietly-almost ashamedly.
"Then it is a date."
He looked up at her, a sudden swell of confidence filling his chest, and he reached out to touch her hand. She quickly-without hesitance-entwined her fingers with his and smiled.
"I like your hands," she said.
He returned her smile. "I like your hands too."
And then he kissed her. Her lips tasted like butterbeer, and he ignored the catcall from the other side of the restaurant where Fred and George had been spying on them.
Their kiss was interrupted by an annoyed waiter clearing his throat. "Your dinner," he said, "if you're still hungry . . . ."
With that out the way, Ron suddenly relaxed remarkably and they soon started a conversation about the eating habits of the crumpled-horned snorkack.
* * *
"That was a very fun date," said Luna, as they stood outside of her house.
"Yeah, we should go out again."
"Yes, we should." She placed her hands on his shoulders and pulled herself up to his height. She gave him a quick kiss. "I like kissing you."
"We should do more of that too," he replied.
"Yes, we should."
"Tomorrow?"
She nodded. "I'd like that very much Ronald."
"I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Yes, at The Burrow," she said. "Good night Ronald."
"`Night," he said, as she shut the door. He knit his eyebrows together, wondering why she said "at The Burrow."
He shrugged.
At least it was a date with Luna.
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