Ambrose liked the expression Juni's mother had told her, it made him laugh once he got his head round it.

"Yeah, I'm still growing, Dad reckons I'll be taller than him, but he's not that tall[1] so won't be long." Ambrose grinned. "I don't want to be too tall though. I won't fit places. And stay here? What under the umbrella? But it'll get to be winter and we can't camp under an umbrella forever." Ambrose reasoned, taking Juni's suggestion far too literally for the intended purpose.

"We should at least get a tent."

1.	5ft8, shorter than Monty. Ambrose is steadily catching him up.

Last year she had been taller than Ambrose. Now, he was at least her height. Juni didn't think she was going to grow any taller.  Most girls around her age stopped gaining height as the boys kept growing tall. Some had that gangly look about them that reminded her of knobbly baby horses.

"Don't worry. You won't reach Trumble proportions." Or Trishna proportions. Both were so tall she wondered how they even went out in public and pretended to be normal.

She giggled as he took things a little literally; part of her had expected that. "Fine, we'll get a tent. Then we'll stay here forever." A good wizarding tent could be quite a cozy place to stay. Muggle tents on the other hand were thoroughly unpleasant. "The umbrella is only temporary."

A devious look flashed across Juni's face. "I need to introduce you to an old friend." The witch said said gravely, "COLD HANDS!" She slipped an icy hand on the back of his neck, looking far too pleased with herself. Let's face it, Juni couldn't resist that temptation and Ambrose was far too easy to be silly with.

"COLD HANDS!"

"AAAARGHHHH!!!!"

The umbrella wobbled as Juni slapped a hand to the back of Ambrose's neck and he howled with the icy grip, simultaneously clinging to her and trying to wriggle away from her grip.

He went face first into Juni's chest in the wrestle. With a younger brother and female cousins of differing ages, Ambrose was not afraid of wrestling a girl when it came to it. His retaliation was a tickle - a little more restrained than the attempt to lick that Ambrose had once done to his cousin Zeta end a wrestle when they were little and Eta had egged them on. It was hard to tickle someone so warmly dressed!

"Like iiiiiice!" Ambrose exclaimed through the flail of limbs. "Gerrooooff! Juuuniiii!!"

His reaction was better than she expected. Not only did he scream, he decided to retaliate.  His face went straight into her chest and she let out a shocked laugh, face flushing. Would she ever stop blushing around Ambrose? She couldn't control it, and hated that! Ambrose didn't seem to pay any mind to it-- he was far too tormented by her icy hands to care.

The Gryffindor's tickling attempts were mildly successful. Juni squirmed, trying to escape without being defeated.

"Like ice? You don't like Cold Hands?" She taunted him, voice tight as she tried not to laugh or squeal. attempting to stick her hands up his shirt so that she could tickle his side. "But he likes you!"

"AAAAHHH!" Ambrose exclaimed again, and then steeled himself to retaliate with more vigour than he had before, letting Juni get the upper hand because he didn't want to hurt her. He didn't know his own strength as he grew up sometimes.

"Nooot COOOOLD HAAANDS!" He mock protested in a low howl.
"But he likes you!" Juni taunted, her hands getting beneath his coat, seeking out more bare skin.

Ambrose shifted, reaching out to pin Juni's arm below the elbow and push her down to stop her. He was laughing as he did it and lifted his head from her chest, not at all thinking about the fact Juni's chest wasn't the same chest it had been when they were silly first years. He wasn't thinking about it at that moment, even if he had more than once in classroom daydreams. She was still trying to apply those fiendishly cold hands. Without thinking, Ambrose went in for the other attack that Zeta tended to squirm out of, and kissed Juni squarely on the lips for a brief moment before attempting to roll free.

Tormenting Ambrose was quickly becoming one of Juni's most favorite things to do-- if she sought out a reaction, she got it from him. He didn't retaliate against Cold Hands' second attack. For a brief moment, she gave Ambrose a suspicious look. Was he planning something? Surely, some horrible tickling feat was in the near future. As soon as she gave him an opening, Juni was certain that he would get revenge.

She enjoyed this playful side of Ambrose. It made her feel like her age. They were both so young to have to deal with their... Family lives. Not that their families were bad, but parts were painful to think about. Those parts, she felt, aged her. With Ambrose, she had room to be fifteen.

Then, with no sort of warning whatsoever, he planted a swift kiss on her lips. It took a moment for it to sink in, and in that time Ambrose had escaped. She felt giddy-- her body tingled with electricity and her stomach lurched as if she had skidded to halt after a sharp descent on a broomstick.

"You're devious!" Juni accused Ambrose, her words punctured with a laugh. In the tustle, bits of her curls had escaped from the messy bun and she tucked them behind her ear. "Next time, you won't catch me off guard." She promised, a sly smile spreading across her face.

He got away with it and dived clear, cold hands stilled in the surprise. The two of them were laughing despite Juni's accusation. Ambrose propped his head up on his elbow again to grin at Juni. It was a lovely laugh and he enjoyed listening to it as much as he enjoyed inducing it.

"I'll hold you to that." Ambrose laughed happily, missing the subtleties of the implication from Juni. "And the your tunnels."

End