-Are you sure it doesn’t bother you Luna ? anxiously asked Neville.
-What?
-Sleeping with you.
Luna neatly folded her pants near the bed:
-Me being a lesbian doesn’t mean I can’t platonically sleep in the same bed as my best friend, she smiled.
-You sure? You’d tell me if it’d bother you?
She shushed him:
-It’s not you talking. It’s firewhiskey and anxiety.
Neville blushed, slightly squirming on the bed; yeah, he was kinda drunk. When helped with some coins, Weasleys’ parties sure were something.
-Also, continued Luna, I like you. Not as I like girls but I like being near you. You’re the nicest boy I know. Wanna be the little spoon?
Neville blushed a bit more, but lied under the covers and turned his back to Luna. She fumbled a bit with the sheets, then let out a sigh of contentment once settled. Neville melted in the warmth of her slender, naked body against his own.
-Now sleep, my friend, commanded Luna.
He closed his eyes. Her chest was raising calmly against his back. The light weight of her arm wrapped around his waist had something really comforting. A sense of safeness bloomed into his chest.
It was nothing like sleeping with his male friends, 5 feet apart apart from each other. He loved them, but comfort was always somehow rough.
It also was nothing like sleeping with straight girls. Now he was some kind of hero, a few girls tried to bed him, and he naively believed they liked him for his personality. Those nights were nice, but he couldn’t help but feel like they took something from him. Feeling used.
And his female friends, if they were nice, were not exactly the physically affectionate type. He couldn’t see himself asking Hermione or Ginny for a hug. They’d give him one, but it wasn’t exactly their nature. They were strong, in a stone way.
It was like the war made everyone colder. Except Luna. Luna was perfect. She loved cuddles as much as him. When she sneak in his bed, he knew that she wanted nothing more from him other than a good night of sleep. And she liked to be the big spoon.
Neville took her hand and brushed a kiss on her fingers. The first few times they slept in the same bed, he could have cried from relief. He didn’t even knew he craved touch this badly. Even now, he was so grateful that the warm, swelling feeling in his chest was almost too much.
He kept her hand in his own, and let himself drift in a dreamless sleep, leaded by the firewhiskey in his system.
He suddenly felt like falling, and he woke up in a gasp. Morning light was just starting to pour in the room. His headache made him wince. Luna was shaking his shoulder.
-Neville, you need a shower.
For a split second, he asked himself if he sweated that bad last evening, and then he felt it.
A cold panic filled his stomach. He sat straight, frantically pushing away the sheets, his heart thumping.
He was sitting in a cooling pool of wet bed sheets. His clothes were soaked from navel to knee. The thumping spread to his ears. No, no.
-I’m sorry, he let out, his voice made atrociously squeaky by his tight throat.
He stayed frozen in place for a few seconds, burning tears filling his eyes, then he drew his knee to his chest, burying his face between them.
Stupid, stupid. Why did he skipped the bathroom after drinking all of this firewhiskey? He KNEW it could happen. Stupid.
A slender hand ran through his hair. He tightened his arms around himself, a small sob shaking his shoulders. Luna knew, of course. She certainly was the person who knew the most about him on this earth. She knew it happened to him sometimes, but he never… he never pissed himself near her.
-I’m sorry! he whined again. I… I’m dumb, I should have…
Another sob hitched up his throat. He felt Luna move around him. Bony hands firmly grabbed the sides of his face, slowly lifting his head.
His gaze met Luna’s. She didn’t looked angry, or uncomfortable, or even surprised. She mostly looked blurry though his tears. Her head was slightly cocked, and she was still naked.
-Neville, you’ll cry later. You can’t stay in your pee.
His mouth twisted and another pathetic whine left him. Then he realized that she was kneeling in front of him, right in the wet spot.
-Luna you’ll get dirty! he blurted out. I’m so sorry I’ll… I’ll clean up, don’t worry!
-I’m naked, she shrugged. We both need a shower, come with me.
He tried to regain control over himself, wiping his eyes. He was still sniffling when they both got up from the bed. He winced when he felt his now cold pajama pants cling to his plush thighs. Fortunately, their room was the closest from the bathroom, and they could hear no noise betraying someone being awake beside them. Luna, still naked and clutching two changes of clothes against her chest, took his hand and swiftly led him inside the bathroom.
He took a deep breath when she locked the door behind them, trying to calm down.
-You go first, said Luna, looking at him then at the shower tray.
He almost protested, but he obeyed. He took the shortest and hottest shower he could, scrubbing his thighs and crotch. He couldn’t smell like pee on top of that.
He didn’t turn the shower off when he left the tray, Luna instantly climbing in after him. She sighed under the hot water, letting out a happy giggle.
Neville quickly dried with one of the old Weasley’s towel, and got dressed.
-I’m so sorry Luna, I… I should have know better, it’s gross.
-You already said sorry a million time, she said, rubbing soap on her armpits, her long hair slicked all over her back. It’s fine, Neville, it’s just pee.
He fought tears again.
-It’s not fine, I’m not supposed… It’s not normal, it’s gross, you don’t have to wake up in my piss.
-That’s what morning showers are made for. Also, I’m pretty sure I’m the first girl you peed on, and it’s an honor.
He smile through the new haze gathering in his eyes.
-You’re so nice. I should have take precautions, it’s… disrespectful. I know it happen sometimes, especially when I drink, I’m… It’s irresponsible.
-It’s pee! she exclaimed behind the curtain of hair she was rinsing. If it grossed me out, I would have stopped sleeping with you long ago.
-Sleeping and getting pissed on isn’t the same, he let out through his gritted teeth. Even if you know, I don’t want you to see me… embarrass myself.
Luna cut off the water and wrung out her hair.
-Actually, it already happened.
Neville felt a stone fall in his stomach.
-What do you mean?…
-You already wet yourself in bed with me. Every time, I would just cast a cleaning charm without waking you up. I figured it would be unnecessary uncomfortable for you. I just couldn’t find my wand this morning.
The man felt all of his blood leave his face, then quickly come back to make his cheeks heat like a stove.
-How… how many times?…
Luna wrapped herself in a towel. She seemed to count on her fingers. When she unfold the tenth, Neville hide his face in his hands and let himself slip to the floor, his back against the door.
-How? he whined. It barely happen when I’m alone! Please, tell me it’s a joke!
-I don’t know, she shrugged. Really, I don’t mind. Should I have wake you up every time? I figured out you would be embarrassed.
-I’m not embarrassed, I’m mortified! He exclaimed.
He burst into silent tears, from surprise and humiliation. Sure, it was a nice idea. Luna was nice enough to clean him up and go back to sleep like nothing happened. But that thought made his guts twist and churns. He was so, so disgusting. More than he actually knew he was. He couldn’t exactly point why, but humiliation was burning him alive. The headache growing more and more present certainly wasn’t helping.
-I should have told you? asked Luna.
She was crouching in front of him, still in her towel. He sniffled and wiped his wet cheeks.
-I… I don’t know. Fuck, Luna, I know you were trying to be nice but it makes me feel even more bad. It’s not your fault, I… I’m just gross.
Luna was now wincing a bit. It was her “I fucked up” face, and Neville felt more tears bathe his cheeks, because he didn’t want Luna to feel bad. She sat near to him, and opened his arms. Neville didn’t resist and put his head against her shoulder, closing his eyes when she embraced him with her thin arms. They stayed like this for a while, because it was not a matter of talking, they just needed their emotions out.
-I’m sorry, mumbled Neville after a while, tears still slowly streaming down his face. I may be hangover, it makes everything worse. Maybe… can you wake me up if it happen again? I’ll clean on my own.
-It certainly will, and I’ll wake you up, declared Luna, and Neville’s guts twisted again. I’m sorry too, I tried to be a good friend.
-You are, softly sobbed Neville. You are the best friend I ever have.
-Maybe it’s another friend thing, pensively said Luna.
Neville cocked and eyebrow, confused.
-What?
-Ginny pukes on Hermione at nearly every party. You pee on me like half of the time when we sleep together. Is it a friend things?
Neville cracked a frank smile through his tears.
-Being friends despite that, yeah, it might be a part of the experience of friendship, he laughed. Maybe it’s helping each other.
He finally stood up, wiping his eyes for good. He waited for Luna to get dressed, watching her struggle with her wet, long locks of hair sticking everywhere.
When they came back to the room, the reek of urine hit him like a punch. Fuck, they forgot the bed. His cheeks heating, Neville quickly found his wand and cast a cleaning charm over the sheets and the soiled clothes Luna was holding. He opened the window to get rid of the heavy scent and let himself fall on the now clean-ish bed. Too much emotion for a normal morning.
Luna sat beside him.
-Can you do a friend thing for me? she asked.
Neville nodded, sitting back. She handed him a pretty wooden comb.
-Can you comb my hair? I never manage to completely unknot them…
Neville smiled and shifted behind her, and started to work on the pale blond hair. She didn’t lied, they were quite tangled; he tried his best to be gentle.
-Sorry, they must be really matted, I’m not good at taking care of them. My mom used to brush them for me, but she’s not here to help anymore.
-Why don’t you cut them off?
-It reminds me of her.
Stupid question. Neville’s cheeks heated while he was growing extra careful with the knots. It wasn’t that hard, it was a matter of patience, and Neville had plenty.
-She gave me this comb, Luna started. One day, I nearly broke it, and..
And Neville listened to her babbling about her mother until her hair was silky soft.