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mini_fest2018-12-09 11:30 pm
mini_fest_mod) wrote in mini_fest2018-12-09 11:30 pm
FIC: A Very Hufflepuff Christmas (Ernie/Justin - 2733 - G)
Title: A Very Hufflepuff Christmas
Author/Artist:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
themightyflynn
Pairing(s): Ernie Macmillan/Justin Finch-Fletchley
Prompt: Own
Word Count: 2733
Rating: G
Contains (Highlight to view): Mild kissing, fluff
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: A huge thanks tosmirkingcat for the beta, despite how busy you are! I owe you one! <3
Summary: Ernie has a plan.
Stepping as lightly as possible, a small spring in his step, Ernie smiled. The Hogwarts kitchens had always been a source of comfort for him, especially during the colder winter months. The house-elves greeted any visitors to the kitchens with excitement, and Ernie had discovered that being greeted that way was rather pleasing. Reaching out to tickle the pear on the portrait that led into the kitchen, he stepped inside.
“Hello!”
“Welcome!”
“Please be having a seat!”
“Good evening, Master Ernie.”
Ernie turned towards the last, slightly deeper – for a house-elf – voice. An elderly elf was making his way slowly towards him from the fire, leaning heavily on a walking stick.
“Good evening, Dranga,” Ernie replied with a small tilt of his head.
Dranga ran the Hogwarts kitchens and had done so with amazing efficiency for many years, Ernie thought. At least, his parents recalled sneaking food from Dranga when they had both been in school.
“To what does Dranga owe the pleasure of seeing Master Ernie this evening?”
Ernie was unable to help a small smile at Dranga’s slow and very deliberate way of speaking. The dignity with which the elf held himself spoke volumes to Ernie, who was used to seeing such straight postures from humans who wished to ‘prove’ their superiority over others. Dranga would never think himself above his fellow elves, Ernie thought, but rather, he was considered the leader of the band of elves who ran the kitchens. The elves here looked up to Dranga in much the same way the students looked up to the Headmaster or Headmistress of the school.
“Well, Dranga,” Ernie began as he was pushed towards one of the benches and plates of sweets were placed before him. “I have a plan for Christmas Eve night, and was wondering whether I may beg a favour of you?”
Dranga bowed deeply before responding. “We are always happy to assist in any way we can, Master Ernie; you know that.”
Ernie smiled. “Yes, I do, Dranga. And I thank you for it.” He paused when Dranga bowed his head again, a smile on his wrinkled face. “This is a slightly unusual request, however.”
“Indeed? The Hogwarts house-elves are always pleased to be presented with a challenge, Master Ernie.”
“Alright then, if you’re sure…?” When Dranga bowed yet again, Ernie continued, “I want to set up a picnic in the Hufflepuff common room.”
“A… picnic, Master Ernie?”
Ernie could see the cogs turning as Dranga took in what he had asked. “Yes, a picnic. I thought, since there were so many of the Hufflepuffs who are staying for Christmas holidays, we could have our own private party in the common room as well as participating in the school feast on Christmas Day.”
A high-pitched buzz erupted around the kitchens as soon as Ernie was finished. The house-elves spoke quickly, spreading the word of what he had requested through the long room. It seemed that every elf in the entire kitchen knew in seconds what had been asked of them. They began planning a menu immediately. Ernie turned to Dranga, a questioning expression on his face.
“It seems what you have requested will be done, Master Ernie.”
Ernie grinned. “Thank you, Dranga.”
A sudden wash of nerves through his stomach caused Ernie to hesitate a moment. He did not know exactly how to phrase this net request without sounding like a complete prat.
“Was there something else, Master Ernie?”
Dranga’s voice was pitched low, almost sounding as though he were encouraging Ernie to confide in him. Ernie could feel his cheeks heating. Ducking his head, he ran a hand along the back of his neck.
“Well, uh, yes… yes there is…” Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. “I was wondering whether it would be possible to request some strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce, please?”
He said it very quickly, almost running the words together. His hands clasped each other in front of him on the table, his fingers turning a deep pink with the pressure he was placing on them. He had not expected this part of his request to be easy to say aloud, but it turned out to be much worse than he had expected. His heart seemed to thump in his throat as he waited for Dranga’s response.
“Dranga shall prepare Master Ernie’s special request personally.”
The relief that flooded through him was so intense that Ernie let out a small laugh. “Thank you, Dranga. It will mean a lot to me.”
With that, the house-elves began shooing him out of the kitchen. He left with a wide smile and his pockets stuffed full of sweets.
*~*
“How’s it all going, Ernie?”
Ernie jumped half a foot in the air at the sound of the cheerful voice from behind him. Placing his hand over his heart, he turned around with a frown on his face.
“Merlin, Hannah! You scared me!”
Hannah grinned at him. “Sorry.” Hannah grinned, not sounding sorry at all. “Well? How is it all? Did they remember your special something?
Ernie had had to recruit Hannah into his little plan, as it would have been impossible for him to keep everyone else out of the common room on his own. A combination of excitement and nerves rippled through him, causing an almost permanent smile.
“They remembered,” he responded, returning to arranging the food on the table that had been brought to the common room just for this occasion. “Dranga prepared them specially.”
With a small nudge to Ernie’s side, Hannah leant over to examine the strawberries and dipping sauce. When she glanced back up at him, she was grinning again.
“He’ll love them.” When Ernie’s only response was a non-committal shrug, Hannah frowned. “Of course he will, you dolt! He’d be an idiot to turn you down and, as he is always reminding us: Justin was all set to go to Eton before Hogwarts. So, clearly, he is not an idiot.”
Ernie had to smile when Hannah rolled her eyes. It was true that Justin’s constant prattling about where his family had been going to send him before he received his Hogwarts letter could be boring. He had lost count of the amount of times he had been informed that Justin could have gone to the same school as the Muggle royals. But, as far as Ernie was concerned, there were other things about Justin that more than made up for his bad points.
The way his deep blue eyes softened whenever he spoke of his pets, for example. Anyone who was as fond of their pets as that couldn’t be bad, could they? His curly, reddish-blond hair was another point in his favour. Ernie had spent many nights imagining what it would be like to run his fingers through that hair. Justin’s height was another bonus. Ernie was just slightly under average height, meaning that, during those nights he had spent imagining how Justin’s hair would feel, he had also imagined himself having to stare up into those pretty blue eyes. Oh! And his eyelashes! Ernie could have sworn that he had never seen a pair of pale blond eyelashes on someone with such a deep shade of blond hair. And…
“Ernie! Earth to Ernie!”
Hannah’s hand waving in front of his eyes dragged Ernie out of his daydream. He blinked and cleared his throat, shaking his head.
“Sorry, what?”
Hannah shook her head, grinning at him. “You’ve got it bad,” she responded with another nudge to Ernie’s side. “Come on, help me with the tablecloth for the other table.
Ernie was slightly winded by the time they had finished setting the common room up completely. His love of the Hogwarts kitchens had made it impossible for him to budge that last little bit of stubborn baby fat that still clung to his midsection. He didn’t let it worry him, though. Not tonight. Tonight was about one thing and one thing only: he and Justin.
“How does it look?” he asked Hannah as she stood in the entrance to the common room, surveying their small feast.
“Perfect,” she proclaimed with a wide smile.
“Oh, good.” Ernie sank down onto one of the soft lunge chairs and gulped down half a glass of orange juice. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“No, you couldn’t have.” Hannah grinned at him again before coming over to claim the chair next to him. “Now, for the second half of your little scheme.”
Nerves fluttered through Ernie’s stomach yet again. He had been avoiding thinking of Justin while they worked. Hannah was right, though: he needed a plan for this part of the night as well.
“I have these,” Hannah continued before Ernie could respond. Brandishing several clumps of mistletoe, she grinned. “I can charm them to fly around the room and hover over people’s heads–”
“Oh, no, Hannah!” Ernie groaned. “I’d rather he not be tricked into kissing me, if you please.”
“Not tricked; compelled.”
“It’s the same thing!”
“It isn’t! Mistletoe is a tradition, Ernie. You can’t turn down tradition.”
He bloody well could. He’d spent a long time planning this night out, and he didn’t want it to end in ruin just because Hannah thought he was spurning tradition. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly.
“Hannah. I appreciate that it is tradition. And, I appreciate that you are only trying to help me. But I want this to happen naturally, if it happens at all.”
“Of course it’s going to happen–”
A clatter outside the common room door broke Hannah off. Ernie’s head swivelled towards the door, his shoulders tensing. A quick glance to Hannah told him that this was it. Standing, he huffed out a breath just as the door swung inwards.
“Merry Christmas!”
He and Hannah shouted it at the same time just as the rest of the Hufflepuff students who had remained for the Christmas holidays stepped through the door. There was a moment of what appeared to be stunned silence before excited chatter broke out. The students – twelve of them altogether, from various years – all moved into the room at once. Some exclaimed over the decorations, some over the food. Ernie’s cheeks were beginning to ache with how wide he was smiling after a couple of minutes. His eyes were able to find Justin in the small crowd rather easily. Another glance over to Hannah told him she had noticed. He shook his head the tiniest fraction when she raised an eyebrow at him.
“Did you organise this all yourself, Ernie?”
It took a second for Ernie to figured out who was speaking. Angela, a small third-year, stared up at him with wide eyes. He smiled.
“Hannah helped a lot.”
“But it was your idea, wasn’t it?”
“Uh…” He paused, not wanting to diminish Hannah’s role at all. “I thought of it originally, but she helped to organise a lot of the bigger details.”
“It was a good idea.”
A shiver ran straight through Ernie at the sound of the deep voice from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he met Justin’s eyes with a small smile.
“Thanks.”
His stomach flipped when Justin grinned at him. Angela was forgotten as he moved after Justin instinctively. The sounds of the people around them faded a little when Justin took a seat and patted the chair beside him, clearly beckoning Ernie over. Ernie’s heart began thudding rather painfully against his ribs as adrenalin coursed through him.
“House unity is an important thing these days,” Justin began as soon as Ernie was seated. “So bringing the House together like this was a brilliant idea.”
“Well, I, uh,” Ernie stuttered before mentally taking a firmer grip over himself. “I figured we could all use a little special thing. Just us, you know.”
“Just us.”
Justin met his eyes and smiled again. Ernie’s breath left him in a rush. Swallowing, he tried to take a deep breath, but couldn’t quite manage it. Breaking eye contact, he stared intently down at the food before him.
“Yeah, just us.”
“I like that idea.”
Ernie’s insides seemed to be trying to escape, they were dancing so wildly. Reaching for the nearest thing on the table – the chocolate-covered strawberries – he took a big bite of one and chewed it thoroughly. The distraction worked well enough that he was able to breathe properly, at least. A second strawberry cleared his mind enough that he was capable of meeting Justin’s eyes again without blushing.
“You do?”
Justin’s gaze was fixed on Ernie’s lips. A jolt ran through Ernie’s stomach, undoing the work he had just put into distracting himself. His tongue automatically flicked out to wet them, causing Justin to blink.
“What?”
“You like that?”
Ernie immediately became aware of the double meaning behind his words. He could feel his skin prickling as a deep blush crept up his neck, but couldn’t seem to drag his gaze away from Justin. Justin, for his part, seemed equally as incapable of preventing himself from staring right back. It took a couple of minutes before either one of them said anything else.
“Would you, uh…” Ernie paused, not wanting to push the whatever-these-feelings-were sensation too far before it had a chance to develop into something else. “Would you like to come over to the fire?”
“Yeah,” Justin replied immediately before giving a small cough. “Yes, I would.”
Ernie remembered to grab the bowl of strawberries before he rose. Hannah shot him a knowing smile as the two of them made their way over to the lounge in front of the fire. He shook his head at her again before taking the far side of the lounge, giving Justin the choice of whether to sit next to him or not. His stomach jolted again when Justin claimed the middle cushion.
“It’s nice over here, away from the noise.”
Justin’s voice seemed a little higher-pitched than normal. Ernie smiled.
“Yes, it is.” He sat silently for a few seconds before remembering the bowl in his hands. “Strawberry?”
“Mmm, please.” Justin took his time in choosing a berry. “These are my favourite, you know.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Justin’s head whipped up to meet Ernie’s eyes. Ernie read shock there before Justin recovered himself and glanced toward the fire.
“Why, uh…” Justin paused. It was strange to hear him so at a loss for words, as he was usually so vocal and eloquent. “Why did you choose them? They’re a little… unusual for a picnic with friends, aren’t they?”
It was Ernie’s turn to not know what to say. This night felt as though it was going in the exact direction Ernie had wanted it to. But what if he was reading everything wrong? His eyes strayed from the fire over to Justin next to him. He was just in time to see Justin bite into the strawberry, and have the juice dribble down his chin. Ernie grinned.
“I chose them because I know you like them.”
Ernie watched Justin’s reaction. A small noise issued from his throat as he tried to both catch the drips of juice and turn to stare at Ernie in what appeared to be astonishment. The juice dribbled down his chin the rest of the way as he swallowed the bite of strawberry.
“What?”
Ernie sighed. Steeling himself, he knew that just coming out with it would be his very best move right now.
“Jus, look. I, uh… I like you. I mean, uh, like like you. A lot. And, uh, I was wondering if maybe–”
Ernie was cut short when a pair of strawberry-flavoured lips connected with his. The kiss was brief and nowhere near what Ernie wanted from Justin, but it was also more than enough. His eyes closed as Justin pulled back from him. Licking his lips, he savoured the flavour Justin had left behind.
“Is… uh… I, um…”
“Ern?”
Ernie reopened his eyes to see Justin hadn’t pulled far back. He found himself caught in the depths of those blue eyes.
“I like like you as well. A lot.”
A heated sensation swirled through Ernie as he leant forward to claim Justin’s lips in a proper kiss. It was such a fierce emotion that he found himself having trouble breathing properly again. He smiled into the kiss. It was going to be a happy Christmas, indeed.
Author/Artist:
themightyflynnPairing(s): Ernie Macmillan/Justin Finch-Fletchley
Prompt: Own
Word Count: 2733
Rating: G
Contains (Highlight to view): Mild kissing, fluff
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: A huge thanks to
smirkingcat for the beta, despite how busy you are! I owe you one! <3Summary: Ernie has a plan.
Stepping as lightly as possible, a small spring in his step, Ernie smiled. The Hogwarts kitchens had always been a source of comfort for him, especially during the colder winter months. The house-elves greeted any visitors to the kitchens with excitement, and Ernie had discovered that being greeted that way was rather pleasing. Reaching out to tickle the pear on the portrait that led into the kitchen, he stepped inside.
“Hello!”
“Welcome!”
“Please be having a seat!”
“Good evening, Master Ernie.”
Ernie turned towards the last, slightly deeper – for a house-elf – voice. An elderly elf was making his way slowly towards him from the fire, leaning heavily on a walking stick.
“Good evening, Dranga,” Ernie replied with a small tilt of his head.
Dranga ran the Hogwarts kitchens and had done so with amazing efficiency for many years, Ernie thought. At least, his parents recalled sneaking food from Dranga when they had both been in school.
“To what does Dranga owe the pleasure of seeing Master Ernie this evening?”
Ernie was unable to help a small smile at Dranga’s slow and very deliberate way of speaking. The dignity with which the elf held himself spoke volumes to Ernie, who was used to seeing such straight postures from humans who wished to ‘prove’ their superiority over others. Dranga would never think himself above his fellow elves, Ernie thought, but rather, he was considered the leader of the band of elves who ran the kitchens. The elves here looked up to Dranga in much the same way the students looked up to the Headmaster or Headmistress of the school.
“Well, Dranga,” Ernie began as he was pushed towards one of the benches and plates of sweets were placed before him. “I have a plan for Christmas Eve night, and was wondering whether I may beg a favour of you?”
Dranga bowed deeply before responding. “We are always happy to assist in any way we can, Master Ernie; you know that.”
Ernie smiled. “Yes, I do, Dranga. And I thank you for it.” He paused when Dranga bowed his head again, a smile on his wrinkled face. “This is a slightly unusual request, however.”
“Indeed? The Hogwarts house-elves are always pleased to be presented with a challenge, Master Ernie.”
“Alright then, if you’re sure…?” When Dranga bowed yet again, Ernie continued, “I want to set up a picnic in the Hufflepuff common room.”
“A… picnic, Master Ernie?”
Ernie could see the cogs turning as Dranga took in what he had asked. “Yes, a picnic. I thought, since there were so many of the Hufflepuffs who are staying for Christmas holidays, we could have our own private party in the common room as well as participating in the school feast on Christmas Day.”
A high-pitched buzz erupted around the kitchens as soon as Ernie was finished. The house-elves spoke quickly, spreading the word of what he had requested through the long room. It seemed that every elf in the entire kitchen knew in seconds what had been asked of them. They began planning a menu immediately. Ernie turned to Dranga, a questioning expression on his face.
“It seems what you have requested will be done, Master Ernie.”
Ernie grinned. “Thank you, Dranga.”
A sudden wash of nerves through his stomach caused Ernie to hesitate a moment. He did not know exactly how to phrase this net request without sounding like a complete prat.
“Was there something else, Master Ernie?”
Dranga’s voice was pitched low, almost sounding as though he were encouraging Ernie to confide in him. Ernie could feel his cheeks heating. Ducking his head, he ran a hand along the back of his neck.
“Well, uh, yes… yes there is…” Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. “I was wondering whether it would be possible to request some strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce, please?”
He said it very quickly, almost running the words together. His hands clasped each other in front of him on the table, his fingers turning a deep pink with the pressure he was placing on them. He had not expected this part of his request to be easy to say aloud, but it turned out to be much worse than he had expected. His heart seemed to thump in his throat as he waited for Dranga’s response.
“Dranga shall prepare Master Ernie’s special request personally.”
The relief that flooded through him was so intense that Ernie let out a small laugh. “Thank you, Dranga. It will mean a lot to me.”
With that, the house-elves began shooing him out of the kitchen. He left with a wide smile and his pockets stuffed full of sweets.
“How’s it all going, Ernie?”
Ernie jumped half a foot in the air at the sound of the cheerful voice from behind him. Placing his hand over his heart, he turned around with a frown on his face.
“Merlin, Hannah! You scared me!”
Hannah grinned at him. “Sorry.” Hannah grinned, not sounding sorry at all. “Well? How is it all? Did they remember your special something?
Ernie had had to recruit Hannah into his little plan, as it would have been impossible for him to keep everyone else out of the common room on his own. A combination of excitement and nerves rippled through him, causing an almost permanent smile.
“They remembered,” he responded, returning to arranging the food on the table that had been brought to the common room just for this occasion. “Dranga prepared them specially.”
With a small nudge to Ernie’s side, Hannah leant over to examine the strawberries and dipping sauce. When she glanced back up at him, she was grinning again.
“He’ll love them.” When Ernie’s only response was a non-committal shrug, Hannah frowned. “Of course he will, you dolt! He’d be an idiot to turn you down and, as he is always reminding us: Justin was all set to go to Eton before Hogwarts. So, clearly, he is not an idiot.”
Ernie had to smile when Hannah rolled her eyes. It was true that Justin’s constant prattling about where his family had been going to send him before he received his Hogwarts letter could be boring. He had lost count of the amount of times he had been informed that Justin could have gone to the same school as the Muggle royals. But, as far as Ernie was concerned, there were other things about Justin that more than made up for his bad points.
The way his deep blue eyes softened whenever he spoke of his pets, for example. Anyone who was as fond of their pets as that couldn’t be bad, could they? His curly, reddish-blond hair was another point in his favour. Ernie had spent many nights imagining what it would be like to run his fingers through that hair. Justin’s height was another bonus. Ernie was just slightly under average height, meaning that, during those nights he had spent imagining how Justin’s hair would feel, he had also imagined himself having to stare up into those pretty blue eyes. Oh! And his eyelashes! Ernie could have sworn that he had never seen a pair of pale blond eyelashes on someone with such a deep shade of blond hair. And…
“Ernie! Earth to Ernie!”
Hannah’s hand waving in front of his eyes dragged Ernie out of his daydream. He blinked and cleared his throat, shaking his head.
“Sorry, what?”
Hannah shook her head, grinning at him. “You’ve got it bad,” she responded with another nudge to Ernie’s side. “Come on, help me with the tablecloth for the other table.
Ernie was slightly winded by the time they had finished setting the common room up completely. His love of the Hogwarts kitchens had made it impossible for him to budge that last little bit of stubborn baby fat that still clung to his midsection. He didn’t let it worry him, though. Not tonight. Tonight was about one thing and one thing only: he and Justin.
“How does it look?” he asked Hannah as she stood in the entrance to the common room, surveying their small feast.
“Perfect,” she proclaimed with a wide smile.
“Oh, good.” Ernie sank down onto one of the soft lunge chairs and gulped down half a glass of orange juice. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“No, you couldn’t have.” Hannah grinned at him again before coming over to claim the chair next to him. “Now, for the second half of your little scheme.”
Nerves fluttered through Ernie’s stomach yet again. He had been avoiding thinking of Justin while they worked. Hannah was right, though: he needed a plan for this part of the night as well.
“I have these,” Hannah continued before Ernie could respond. Brandishing several clumps of mistletoe, she grinned. “I can charm them to fly around the room and hover over people’s heads–”
“Oh, no, Hannah!” Ernie groaned. “I’d rather he not be tricked into kissing me, if you please.”
“Not tricked; compelled.”
“It’s the same thing!”
“It isn’t! Mistletoe is a tradition, Ernie. You can’t turn down tradition.”
He bloody well could. He’d spent a long time planning this night out, and he didn’t want it to end in ruin just because Hannah thought he was spurning tradition. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly.
“Hannah. I appreciate that it is tradition. And, I appreciate that you are only trying to help me. But I want this to happen naturally, if it happens at all.”
“Of course it’s going to happen–”
A clatter outside the common room door broke Hannah off. Ernie’s head swivelled towards the door, his shoulders tensing. A quick glance to Hannah told him that this was it. Standing, he huffed out a breath just as the door swung inwards.
“Merry Christmas!”
He and Hannah shouted it at the same time just as the rest of the Hufflepuff students who had remained for the Christmas holidays stepped through the door. There was a moment of what appeared to be stunned silence before excited chatter broke out. The students – twelve of them altogether, from various years – all moved into the room at once. Some exclaimed over the decorations, some over the food. Ernie’s cheeks were beginning to ache with how wide he was smiling after a couple of minutes. His eyes were able to find Justin in the small crowd rather easily. Another glance over to Hannah told him she had noticed. He shook his head the tiniest fraction when she raised an eyebrow at him.
“Did you organise this all yourself, Ernie?”
It took a second for Ernie to figured out who was speaking. Angela, a small third-year, stared up at him with wide eyes. He smiled.
“Hannah helped a lot.”
“But it was your idea, wasn’t it?”
“Uh…” He paused, not wanting to diminish Hannah’s role at all. “I thought of it originally, but she helped to organise a lot of the bigger details.”
“It was a good idea.”
A shiver ran straight through Ernie at the sound of the deep voice from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he met Justin’s eyes with a small smile.
“Thanks.”
His stomach flipped when Justin grinned at him. Angela was forgotten as he moved after Justin instinctively. The sounds of the people around them faded a little when Justin took a seat and patted the chair beside him, clearly beckoning Ernie over. Ernie’s heart began thudding rather painfully against his ribs as adrenalin coursed through him.
“House unity is an important thing these days,” Justin began as soon as Ernie was seated. “So bringing the House together like this was a brilliant idea.”
“Well, I, uh,” Ernie stuttered before mentally taking a firmer grip over himself. “I figured we could all use a little special thing. Just us, you know.”
“Just us.”
Justin met his eyes and smiled again. Ernie’s breath left him in a rush. Swallowing, he tried to take a deep breath, but couldn’t quite manage it. Breaking eye contact, he stared intently down at the food before him.
“Yeah, just us.”
“I like that idea.”
Ernie’s insides seemed to be trying to escape, they were dancing so wildly. Reaching for the nearest thing on the table – the chocolate-covered strawberries – he took a big bite of one and chewed it thoroughly. The distraction worked well enough that he was able to breathe properly, at least. A second strawberry cleared his mind enough that he was capable of meeting Justin’s eyes again without blushing.
“You do?”
Justin’s gaze was fixed on Ernie’s lips. A jolt ran through Ernie’s stomach, undoing the work he had just put into distracting himself. His tongue automatically flicked out to wet them, causing Justin to blink.
“What?”
“You like that?”
Ernie immediately became aware of the double meaning behind his words. He could feel his skin prickling as a deep blush crept up his neck, but couldn’t seem to drag his gaze away from Justin. Justin, for his part, seemed equally as incapable of preventing himself from staring right back. It took a couple of minutes before either one of them said anything else.
“Would you, uh…” Ernie paused, not wanting to push the whatever-these-feelings-were sensation too far before it had a chance to develop into something else. “Would you like to come over to the fire?”
“Yeah,” Justin replied immediately before giving a small cough. “Yes, I would.”
Ernie remembered to grab the bowl of strawberries before he rose. Hannah shot him a knowing smile as the two of them made their way over to the lounge in front of the fire. He shook his head at her again before taking the far side of the lounge, giving Justin the choice of whether to sit next to him or not. His stomach jolted again when Justin claimed the middle cushion.
“It’s nice over here, away from the noise.”
Justin’s voice seemed a little higher-pitched than normal. Ernie smiled.
“Yes, it is.” He sat silently for a few seconds before remembering the bowl in his hands. “Strawberry?”
“Mmm, please.” Justin took his time in choosing a berry. “These are my favourite, you know.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Justin’s head whipped up to meet Ernie’s eyes. Ernie read shock there before Justin recovered himself and glanced toward the fire.
“Why, uh…” Justin paused. It was strange to hear him so at a loss for words, as he was usually so vocal and eloquent. “Why did you choose them? They’re a little… unusual for a picnic with friends, aren’t they?”
It was Ernie’s turn to not know what to say. This night felt as though it was going in the exact direction Ernie had wanted it to. But what if he was reading everything wrong? His eyes strayed from the fire over to Justin next to him. He was just in time to see Justin bite into the strawberry, and have the juice dribble down his chin. Ernie grinned.
“I chose them because I know you like them.”
Ernie watched Justin’s reaction. A small noise issued from his throat as he tried to both catch the drips of juice and turn to stare at Ernie in what appeared to be astonishment. The juice dribbled down his chin the rest of the way as he swallowed the bite of strawberry.
“What?”
Ernie sighed. Steeling himself, he knew that just coming out with it would be his very best move right now.
“Jus, look. I, uh… I like you. I mean, uh, like like you. A lot. And, uh, I was wondering if maybe–”
Ernie was cut short when a pair of strawberry-flavoured lips connected with his. The kiss was brief and nowhere near what Ernie wanted from Justin, but it was also more than enough. His eyes closed as Justin pulled back from him. Licking his lips, he savoured the flavour Justin had left behind.
“Is… uh… I, um…”
“Ern?”
Ernie reopened his eyes to see Justin hadn’t pulled far back. He found himself caught in the depths of those blue eyes.
“I like like you as well. A lot.”
A heated sensation swirled through Ernie as he leant forward to claim Justin’s lips in a proper kiss. It was such a fierce emotion that he found himself having trouble breathing properly again. He smiled into the kiss. It was going to be a happy Christmas, indeed.