RP: A date on the beach

[tt_kingsley]

Date: 2 March 2002
Characters: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones
Setting: The beach
Content: NC-17
Status: Private : Complete



It had been a slow, quiet day, slow enough that Kingsley had had time to go to the market himself, slow enough that he'd had time to cook up a nice lasagna for dinner, and slow enough that he had even packed the picnic basket himself. All much to the amusement of his assistant, Jack. It was Jack who Kingsley handed the reins over to at 5:00 p.m., going home to take a shower and change into jeans and a t-shirt.

At 6:25 p.m., Kingsley was standing on Hestia's porch holding a packed basket in one hand and knocking on her door with the other. A group of people passed on the path but he ignored them, not wanting to add to the gossip that would no doubt get around the settlement by noon the next day, especially in the wake of the potion incident.

Comments

[tt_hestia]

It had taken her chat with Fleur, much soul searching, and a ridiculous list that Hestia wouldn't even admit to thinking about, let alone writing it that had her accepting Kingsley's offer of dinner on the beach. The two of them deserved the chance to see where their relationship could take them in this brand new world. Kingsley made her happy, and she did want them to be together in the 'us' sense of the word. It was Hestia being a massive idiot that almost made that not possible.

But in spite of that, Kingsley had offered and she had accepted. It had only been a few hours but there was a growing sense of giddiness in Hestia that had her unable to concentrate on much of anything, flitting from one project to another until his arrival.

Finally though, a knock sounded at her door and Hestia tossed her datapad into her bag, slug it over her shoulder and walked over to the door. "Hi," she said, grinning up at him. "Would you like to come in?"

[tt_kingsley]

"No need. I was hoping to take in the sunset with you," Kingsley explained, stepping back to let Hestia come out, hefting the picnic basket with a shift in his grip on the handle.

"We can walk but its a couple of miles through the jungle," he offered, slipping an arm around her waist and taking a moment to press a warm but mostly chaste kiss to her lips.

[tt_hestia]

"That sounds lovely," she said as she stepped out. Locking the door by both the key and casting Colloportus on it (old habits and all), she slipped both key and wand back into her bag. She went willingly towards Kingsley when he slipped an arm around her waist.

His mentioning of a few miles of walking through the jungle had her grateful that she had changed her mind from wearing flip flops to changing into tennis shoes. "A walk is fine with me," she replied. "Where exactly are we going though? Or is that a secret?"

[tt_kingsley]

"There's a nice spot just east of here, along the coastline. The view is amazing," Kingsley assured her warmly, chuckling. He could see the ties of her bikini top over the edge of her shirt and he was glad she was accepting of this date near the water. Kingsley rarely made time to enjoy the water himself and he wanted to share this with her.

"Or we could skip hiking through the jungle," he purred against her ear, bending his head to do so. With his hand splayed at the small of her back, Kingsley apparated them both to the sloping hill overlooking the spot he'd just described. "Now the view just got even better," he said with a grin, looking down at her.

[tt_hestia]

She had been mostly kidding about being worried about the giant man eating sharks. Hestia had no intention of going past the navigational buoys - unless it was absolutely necessary - and she didn't really have a chance to explore said waters until her day with Fleur. A lack of anything to do with swimwear did put a damper on water activities. But then the day after she had had her first initial interview with the med center. So today had been her best chance to do so and what a chance it was. "I can't wait," Hestia responded. "I've been hearing excellent things about the beaches here."

At Kingsley's mention of skipping the hike, Hestia simply raised both of her eyebrows at him and slid her arms around him, hands clutching the back of his shirt. "Oh, you flatterer, flatter on," she said when the two arrived at their destination, with a hint of laughter in her voice and a rush of warmth running through her. A compliment like that deserved a reward though. Standing on her tiptoes, she pecked the base of his chin. "Just out of idle curiosity, mind you, how likely are we to come across other people here or be interrupted?"

[tt_kingsley]

"If you're asking about privacy, then I can't really guarantee that," he said with some remorse, stepping back to catch her hand in his, leading her down the hill to the beach itself, going slow to make sure she had her footing in the shifting sand.

Setting the basket down, Kingsley took out the shrunken blanket and cancelled the spell, shaking it out to full size before laying it down on the sand. "This spot is known but I doubt we'll be disturbed," he relented as he reached into the basket to take out a bottle of wine and two glasses. "I'll start a fire and that generally keeps others from bothering us. I hope you like this blend, its a new wine from our own grapes here."

[tt_hestia]

Oh. There went that particular plan. She would just have to implement it at a different time then. Refocus and plan a new strategy. "Mmm," was all Hestia said in response. Let Kingsley make of that as he would. She did slip her fingers into his when he took hold of her hand and led her down to the beach.

"Wow," Hestia let out on a breath. "If this is an example of the beaches around here, people have not been doing them justice with their descriptions." The sand was glistening in the beginnings of the setting sun, the waves lapping gently against the shoreline, the salty smell of the ocean. Hestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking it all in. The siren call of the ocean was almost impossible to ignore, but she willed her eyes open and turned her head towards Kingsley.

"A fire sounds wonderful," she replied, dropping her bag down next to her and sitting down on the blanket. Not sure of what Kingsley's plan was for tonight, she didn't strip down to her bikini, but she did make short work of nudging off her shoes and socks. Burrowing her toes in the sand, she accepted the glass from Kingsley with a 'thank you'.

[tt_kingsley]

"The entire coastline is pretty much like this. Its an incredibly beautiful island - well, chain of islands. Even with the volcano's, I can't think of a more beautiful place the portal could have opened onto," Kingsley stated as he poured the wine.

He smirked when Hestia took off her shoes to dig her toes in the sand. Seeing her enjoying this made all the preparations worthwhile. Summoning dead wood, he built a small fire a short distance from the blanket, doing it the Muggle way. "How was your day?" he asked, kneeling in sand beside the fire pit to get the stack of wood right.

[tt_hestia]

"One day soon, I will have a private island of my own. All the things I could do on it, surrounded by beautiful scenery and open water." Hestia said, before taking a small sip from her glass and then taking a longer one, savoring the play of flavors on her tongue. "This is gorgeous. For not having that much time here as on the other side, this world has done some pretty incredible things."

She leaned back on the blanket, watching Kingsley set up the fire, admiring the ways his muscles rippled and the colors reflecting off him once he lit the fire. "I mainly spent it curled up in a chair on my deck, reading over the changes made to medicine. My initial interview with the med center was yesterday and I think it went pretty well if I do say so myself. What about you?"

[tt_kingsley]

"I hope that island will be open for visitation," he teased warmly, grinning as he worked. It was still warm but the fire would be nice after a swim to keep the breeze from being too chilling. Not to mention it was just nice. Romantic, even. They'd never had moments like this before, and Kingsley was determined to give her all the romance he could muster together this time around.

The fire took easily and he stood finally, walking back to the blanket and taking a seat beside her. "I'm sure they'll be very happy to have you on staff, love," Kingsley assured her, reaching out to brush her hair off her shoulder. He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the hollow of her throat. "It was a quiet day for once. Just a bit of database work and going over reports from the security folks. I actually had time to cook for us - lasagna and some garlic bread."

[tt_hestia]

"Depends on who's asking to visit," Hestia teased him back. "If Circe, Anne Boleyn or Mungo Bonham came and asked to visit, they would automatically be granted access. Other people...would have to prove why they should be able to visit." They had so few opportunities before to go full-out on romance, that tonight was a novelty (up until now) and Hestia wanted to make certain that she made full use of it.

Hestia waited until he was sitting down next to her before scooting closer to him. After angling her head a bit to grant him better access, she leaned against him. "They did say that if I am accepted, I do have to learn Muggle medicine. And catch up on the last four years of development. Which I expected, since who wants someone taking care of you that isn't up to date?" As Kingsley mentioned cooking lasagna and garlic bread, Hestia perked up. "Oh, I haven't had homemade lasagna in a long time! Can we eat it now?"

[tt_kingsley]

"Oh, its going to be like that now, is it," Kingsley replied with a mockingly serious tone. "And just how is one supposed to prove they are worthy of this privilege?"

"I'm sure magical medicine hasn't changed that much. The Muggle half is good, though. I think you'll enjoy it." He was just at the point of gently tugging her collar over to kiss more of her shoulder when she perked up, making him laugh heartily. Pressing another kiss to her cheek, Kingsley leaned back and shifted to properly get into the basket.

"How can I say no?" he teased, unpacking the basket onto the blanket to make it easier on them both. The garlic bread was wrapped in a tea towel and he fixed two plates for them, handing hers over with a smile. "I'll have you know I used the last of my ground beef to make this."

[tt_hestia]

"Yes, I've decided that," Hestia replied, matching Kingsley's tone. "As for proving one's worth for a visit, that will be decided on a case-by-case scenario, with the people mentioned earlier having automatically been granted approval. I would suggest that you come up with a good plan to receive that approval."

"The majority of the reading I was doing today regarding magical medicine looks like haven't been any big advancements, just not so big ones. Improvements on what's already there. It's the Muggle medicine that's going to trip me up. At the core, it's the same; it's just techniques and procedures that are so different." Realizing that she was going to go off on a tangent could last for hours (and make Kingsley incredibly bored) if she didn't quit speaking medicine right now, she shook her head at herself and proceeded to do just that.

Hestia just gave him a giddy smile when he started laughing. "I don't think you can," she said, her mouth beginning to water as the smells permeating from the package that the lasagna was in became known. "I haven't even eaten it yet and I appreciate your noble sacrifice of using it up on me," she stated as she accepted the plate. Waiting until he had his own plate of food, Hestia took a bite of the lasagna. "Ye gods, this is good," she moaned. "Definitely a good use for the last of it."

[tt_kingsley]

He chuckled warmly, letting the realization that she was back in his life - properly back - wash over him. This wasn't just a second chance for her, it was a second chance for him and Kingsley wasn't going to waste it. "Case-by-case," he repeated, feigning deep contemplation. "I'll get to work on that straight away."

"I know the basics, the real basics, of Muggle medicine techniques. Even though the Muggles here accept us, they're naturally shy about the use of magic in healing. And there's some who flat out refuse it," he replied, nodding. "We have some good Muggle doctors. I'm sure you'll be fine once you get into it. Like you said, at the core, its the same and Healers and doctors share a similar desire to help others."

"It's only a temporary loss. We're calving baby cows every day over at the farms. Having all this land for them, they're thriving better than I could have hoped. In the meantime, I'll have to work out something with fowl meat, see how good I really am then, won't we," Kingsley explained, pausing to take a bite of food, then he dipped a slice of garlic bread into the sauce, handing it to Hestia.

[tt_hestia]

"I would suggest putting some considerable thought into it," she informed him, a feigned note of severity in her tone. "You're going to have seriously impress me in order to gain entrance to my island."

Hestia got a skeptical look on her face and was about to say something before she thought the better of it. Nodding when he ended, she said, "Keeping them from the brink for as long as we can. And for those who do refuse magical methods, that's why I need to learn the Muggle approach. I do appreciate the confidence in me though. Thanks."

Really, it had been decided before Hestia even thought about it. For instead of taking the bread from him, Hestia took a bite of the slice, her tongue flicking out and licking up a spot of sauce on Kingsley's fingers. "You had some sauce there," she said, sitting back.

[tt_kingsley]

"All our Healers have taken the course, or are taking it. All our Aurors had to go through the Muggle security course for weapons as well. This is an alternative time stream, after all. We can't assume everything works the same as it does in our time," he pointed out somberly. As much as he enjoyed joking with her, he was still the leader and responsible for... everything. He didn't want to give her a false sense of normality when he couldn't guarantee that.

When she leaned over and took the bite, Kingsley bit back a groan, knowing she was not going to make this easy for him. Then again, if he'd wanted easy, he'd never have been attracted to Hestia in the first place. Gryffindors. He arched an eyebrow, smirking. "I hadn't noticed," he replied smugly, before taking a few more bites of the lasagna. "Things here are... more fluid than most of us are used to. As a Healer, you aren't restricted to the medical center. You could partner with an Herbologist or Geologist, explore the island. Or volunteer for the building teams or over at the Ark."

[tt_hestia]

It was then when Hestia started to realize exactly how much of a burden Kingsley was putting on his shoulders by being the leader for this group of people. Knowing Kingsley like she did, it was more of a load than what was necessary, but he wouldn't be Kingsley without it. And that's what she lo-...Hestia ruthlessly shoved that particular thought away before it continued. This was neither the time nor the place to think about it. She needed time by herself, without a chance of interruption to fully develop it. "That makes sense," she said slowly. "It's a new world and we're all learning as we go along in it."

She withdrew slowly, licking her own lips in a show of making sure she had gotten any sauce on her lips off. "Well then," she responded pertly, "it's a good thing I noticed it. Couldn't have you sitting here with...sauce on your hands." Oh, she was going to do her best to make it hard for him. In more ways than one. Kingsley needed a night away from being responsible and lighten up their conversation. Typical Ravenclaw, her Kingsley. "Volunteering at the Ark could be interesting. Or with the building teams. Guess I'll have to see what comes my way."

[tt_kingsley]

"That's very considerate of you," Kingsley purred smugly, thinking of the last time the two of them had had any privacy with each other. It was hard to shed the shell of leadership that had been pushed on him following the battle of Hogwarts, but he was going to make every effort - for Hestia. He wasn't going to make the same mistake of the past in believing their time together was infinite.

"After dinner, I thought we could take a swim together," he said, shifting the conversation back to the evening, reaching over to gently caress his fingers along the curve of her ankle and up the back of her calf. He loved her legs, the silken length and gentle curves. Wanting to finish eating, however, he returned to lifting his fork. "Just the two of us. We've both been through a lot and I thought this would be a good way to reconnect."

[tt_hestia]

“It’s a good thing you have me here then. Can’t have you going around with splotches of sauce on your fingers,” Hestia responded, her tone coquettish. “It wouldn’t be seemly. People might talk.” He had taken on rebuilding a world basically from scratch after the battle of Hogwarts and now he was building up an entirely new world here. Hestia wanted to do what she could do make things easier on him (even if it meant making certain other things hard.) She owed him that at the very least. Make the most of every moment because they had had it proven that it was possible that their last moment could be their last moment.

“A swim would be nice,” her breath hitched a bit as his fingers made their way up her ankle along the back of her calf. Shifting her leg so Kingsley could have full use of it, she scrunched up her mouth when he withdrew his fingers to his fork. “A moonlit swim with you. What better way to reconnect?” Hestia took a bite of her own slice of lasagna, following Kingsley's example.

[tt_kingsley]

The fire light made it easier to see that Hestia was growing impatient with his advances. For her, it had been the span of a few months since they'd last seen each other, though it had been longer still before that since they'd had private times together. If you could call a hot, rough shag in a broom closet on the second floor of Grimmauld place 'private time'. However, for Kingsley it had been much longer than that, and he had not been a saint in the interim.

"I can think of a few better ways, love, but we're going to start there," he answered, finishing his meal and setting the dish aside. Kingsley drained the rest of his wine as well but he put the glass on top of the basket for later, then rose to pull off his t-shirt. "The water here is very refreshing," he stated with a sly grin.

[tt_hestia]

Even with the fond memories that she had of that broom closet experience (one among others she had made use of while in hiding), it had still been much too long for Hestia. While not exactly saint like in behavior, she had remained true to Kingsley. Because when she was with someone, she was with someone. Not that she would ever fault for him for finding other ways of escape after her death. Kingsley was still human and need a healthy way to release any pent up emotions. All that being said, she couldn’t help but frown at his sentence.

“Will I find out what those better ways are?” she asked, withdrawing her leg as he spoke and folding it back underneath her. “Or am I going to have to wait?” Finishing up her own supper, she placed her plate on top of Kingsley’s and set the glass next to his. She did whistle at him after he took his shirt off. Standing up, she made short work of getting out of her own clothing and placed it in her bag. “So, about this refreshing water..."

[tt_kingsley]

"Patience is a virtue, I'm told," Kingsley replied, watching her eat with enthusiasm. It made the cooking worthwhile to see her enjoying the meal so much, and he wasn't concerned about the basket or dishes while they were swimming. What he was enjoying was watching Hestia strip out of her shirt and shorts, licking his lips as he watched.

Holding out his hand, Kingsley drew her close, threading his fingers in her hair as he bent to press a kiss to her lips, drawing a deep breath as the kiss deepened, pushing the thoughts of the ocean away for the smallest of moments while he savored the taste of her mouth. Drawing back slowly, he tugged Hestia toward the water with a sly grin. "Very refreshing, indeed. Just a short swim," he cajoled.

[tt_hestia]

“Only by those who told you,” she said with a grin that bordered on wicked. The lasagna had been amazing and a definitely good use of his last amount of ground meat. Even if she did feel guilty that it was being used on her. She would have to make him a meal as a thank you. If she had seen that Kingsley enjoyed watching her strip, she would have made a show out of it. As it was, it wasn’t until the shorts were around her ankles that she noticed him licking his lips. Wishing that she could make the removal of her footwear into a show, she instead made quick work of taking them off.

Without a word of protest, she let him draw her closer, her fingers intertwining with his as he kissed her. Lifting herself on her tiptoes, she opened her mouth to let him enter, letting herself indulge in something that had been denied to her for much too long. “Oh gee, just a short, refreshing swim? Whatever shall I do with myself afterwards?” she asked him as Kingsley tugged her towards the water. As much as she likened being with Kingsley as being at home, there was a need that was being fulfilled being by the water. She couldn’t name it, didn’t know where it came from. But she felt a contentment and a sense of peace.

On the other hand, the grin that he was giving her was stirring up entirely different feelings...