Oliver Wood
looked down at his sneakers as he paced back and forth again,
surprised he hadn't worn a path in the concrete beneath his feet. He checked
his watch again and groaned. Then he found a blank spot of brick wall and
leaned back against it, dropping his pack at his feet. This was not how he
wanted to celebrate Christmas Eve.
"Attention passengers.
Crews are working overtime to clear the rails, but in the meantime we cannot
allow any trains to depart from King's Cross station. Please stop asking. We
will make an announcement as soon as the situation has changed. We are very
sorry for the inconvenience but we cannot control the weather. "
Oliver
threw his hands up in defeat, then slid down the wall
to sit on the floor. He crossed his arms over his knees and rested his chin on
them. At this rate, he'd be lucky to get out of the train station by New Year's,
let alone Christmas. Not that he blamed the officials, of course. The snow
storm had come out of nowhere and it was just his luck to get caught in it.
His only
consolation, though it wasn't a particularly good one, was that he wasn't the
only one stuck there. Last time he'd checked the departure board at least four
trains had been delayed and another eight had been definitely postponed until the
morning. Oliver's was one of the four the officials kept saying would move out
tonight, still, but it was going on two hours now and Oliver was getting
restless.
He'd been
through the options in his head loads of times. The Knight Bus would be out of
the question since it wasn't exactly safe these days. There had been reports in
The Daily Profit about Death Eaters
attacking whole busloads. And since the bus didn't have a set schedule, there
was no way to monitor it or notify Aurors to come to
the rescue. After the last attack, it took officials two days to find it; by
then it had been too late for the passengers. With the storm, flying was out of
the question altogether, whether by plane or by broomstick. And it was far too
far a distance to apparate safely. No, Oliver seemed to have no choice but sit
and wait, hoping that the tracks would be snow-free sooner rather than later. He
was starting to get sick of being patient, though.
"You don't
understand. I'm a very important official in the ministry. I've got to get
home!"
Oliver's
ears perked up at the sound of the argument. He smirked and shook his head. Hadn't
this guy heard the announcement? Didn't this guy care that everyone else was
just as stuck as him? Did the guy actually think complaining would get the
trains moving faster?
"Isn't
there anything that can be done?" The man sounded desperate. He also sounded...
familiar, somehow. Then again, after being stuck with the same people for a few
hours, he was starting to recognize voices.
"Look, Sir,
we really are doing the best we can. There's nothing you can do right now but
take it easy and wait along with everyone else, unless you've got some magical
solution."
"Well..."
Oliver's
eyes went wide. He lifted his head and looked about. He saw the official's
uniform amidst the crowd of people first, but then his gaze fell on the man
talking to him. Formal muggle clothing, a patched suitcase, a
wand-sized bulge in one pocket, glasses, and fiery red hair. Oliver's
stomach fluttered and then sank.
Percy
Weasley. It was Percy Weasley. Shite.
The
official was holding his hands up, trying to motion to Percy to be calm. "Sir,
I'm going to have to ask you to be patient."
"Patient?" Percy exclaimed. "It's Christmas Eve! I want to
get home!"
Oliver
sighed. He was going to have to do something to rescue this poor train station
official. He stood up, grabbed his bag, and headed over.
"Sir, we
realize this is a terrible situation. But we're counting on everyone to make
the best of it. Our many shopping and eating establishments have remained open
to cater to our patrons. Perhaps you would enjoy having a drink--"
"He doesn't
drink," Oliver interrupted. Ignoring Percy's stare, Oliver turned to the
official. "I'll handle him. Sorry to bother. We know you're doing your best."
The
official slipped away quickly. And Oliver was left standing there beside Percy.
He took a deep breath and turned. "Hi Perce."
"What do
you think you're doing?" Percy snapped. "I was talking with the guy--"
"You were
giving him a hard time. And you were practically yelling. I could hear you from
all the way over there." Oliver gestured to the far side of the main station concourse.
It was a bit of an exaggeration but Percy didn't need to know that.
Despite
still holding onto the handle of his suitcase, Percy stood with his arms
akimbo. "Well I was angry and..." He paused, looking at Oliver. "You heard me? I
mean, you knew it was me and you still came over?"
Oliver
sighed, not knowing what to say. He should have just stayed out of it. This was
not who he wanted to talk to right now. This was not a discussion he wanted to
be having right now. It wasn't a discussion he ever wanted to have. After their
breakup, Oliver had sent Hermes back without an answer to every letter Percy
had sent him. And, after a while, Percy had stopped sending letters altogether.
Oliver did
not have a chance to reply immediately, as Percy suddenly turned away. He
pulled out a handkerchief and cupped it cautiously over the whole lower half of
his face. "huhhh-huhhh-CHISHH!"
He snapped forward, then rubbed at his nose through
the handkerchief before wiping it dry and tucking the cloth back into his
pocket. "Excuse me," he mumbled.
"I see you
still get those colds around the winter holidays," Oliver said, trying not to
sound sympathetic. He'd noticed Percy hadn't looked altogether well.
"And I see
you still butt in and make comments about things that are none of your
business." They stared at each other, the confusion and annoyance of the moment
mixing with memories of the last time they'd seen each other and the reason
they'd broken up. But then Percy rubbed at his nose and softened a little. "You
might have blessed me, you know. Sniff!
Sniff! For sneezing, I mean."
Strangely,
Oliver felt the urge to soften a little, too. But perhaps it was just his
exhaustion and the fact that it was clearly Christmas. "Guess I'll just have to
wait until the next time you sneeze," he said.
"So you're
sticking around for a little while, then? I mean..."
Oliver
nodded. "Yeah. Let's get a bite and talk. Nothing else
to do while we wait, is there?" He rubbed the back of his neck hesitantly.
"That is, if you're game."
"I am!"
said Percy quickly.
They
selected one of the eateries at random and were seated against a wall at a
booth. As soon as the waitress came with their menus and left with their drink
order, Percy pulled out his handkerchief again and blew his nose. "Sorry," he
said just as softly as before. "My nose has been bothering me all day. I'd
hoped to be on the train by now napping and sleeping off the rest of this cold,
instead of here still." He cleared his throat. "How about
you?"
"Oh, I was
supposed to catch a train heading up north to Scotland
two hours ago. I was actually on the train in fact, but it just sat for twenty
minutes and then we were all told to get off as it wasn't going anywhere." He
sighed. "After two weeks on the road with the team, I was heading up to see my
family for Christmas." Oliver noticed how Percy's face had twitched at the
mention of the word family. And, though he knew he really shouldn't, he pressed
the issue. "Where were you off to? Isn't your family here in London?"
Percy
nodded and cleared his throat. "Yes..." He cleared his throat and tried again.
"Yes, they are. But they won't have anything to do with me any more. Not
after..."
"Not after
you started acting like an arsehole?" Oliver supplied
helpfully.
There was a
time when Percy would have gone crazy at that, but now he simply nodded. "The
Ministry needed someone to head to Edinburgh
for the holidays in an urgent matter and I volunteered. I won't be missed
around here since I haven't seen my family since..."
"Since you started acting like a right bastard?" suggeded Oliver.
Percy
nodded at this, too. "All right," he said with a sigh. "Sounds like you want to
have a go at me. And I deserve it. hehh... Just... hehhh-CHIHHH!" He sneezed into his handkerchief.
"Just get it all off your chest once and for all. It'll be my present to you. Ehhh-HIHChhhh! Go on, Olly.
Get angry. Let me have it. Hahhh-hahhhCshhhh!"
With much
sympathy, Oliver watched Percy sneezing. He could understand why Percy didn't
want to be near home for the holidays. He could understand why Percy didn't
want to be sick and stuck in a train station. And he could understand why Percy
thought Oliver would yell at him about everything that had happened. But when
Percy was finished sneezing, all Oliver gave was a soft. "Bless ye."
Percy
sniffed and failed to hide his surprise at not being yelled at. "Um, thank
you."
Drinks came
at that moment, and they placed two orders for fish and chips. Then they sipped
their drinks in silence for a while, apart from Percy's occasional sniffles. Oliver
had ordered a beer and an ice water. Percy, on the other hand, got tea and
spent the first minute or two with it adding artificial sweetener packets and
squirts of lemon, stirring anticlockwise, and blowing on spoonfuls until it was
cool enough to drink from. Oliver pretended not to be surprised about the fact
that Percy was familiar with sugar packets, but assumed it wasn't that Percy
had learned of them through Mr. Weasley's love for
all things muggle. Oliver's beer hit the spot. It was warm and relaxing and,
for a moment, he forgot about the fact that he was stranded in a train station away
from his family on Christmas Eve but with an ex-boyfriend.
Finally,
Oliver spoke again. "So I assume it's busy at work nowadays?"
"Oh yes,"
said Percy at once. "Everyone at the Ministry is working overtime now. We have
to, you know." Well versed in the ways of Percy Weasley, and trained and
noticing the slightest signs to anticipate moves during a Quidditch game,
Oliver was not fooled by Percy's light tone of voice. He saw the man squeeze
the handle of his mug so tightly his knuckles went white.
Percy broke
his hold seconds later, however, as he retrieved his handkerchief. "huh-Scuse..."
He looked horrified at having to sneeze while at the table with Oliver, and he
glanced around for a men's washroom he might flee to. But there wasn't one in
view and the sneezes came too fast. "huhhh-EH-Chihhhh! hehhChuhhhh!
Sniff! huhh-Chuhhh!" He
snuffled into the handkerchief for a moment to clear his nose, then lifted his head with a pained expression on his face. "I
had to do it, Olly," he said, his tone now desperate
and pleading. "We were all so scared, and Fudge kept saying exactly what we
wanted to hear. No one wanted to believe You-Know-Who was really back. And I
had to be loyal to my superiors at work. Had to be. It wasn't
just lip service, I really wanted to believe
everything was okay. And then it wasn't and..." He sat with his head in his hands.
Oliver
leaned closer. "How long have you been beating yourself up about this, Perce?
How often do you think about it with regret?" Oliver asked. Percy suddenly
choked and gave a cough. "Percy... how often do you not think about it?"
Percy
looked up, his eyes wide. "I can't stop thinking about it," he whispered. He
covered his face again. "I was such an arse to everyone I loved. My family...
you... it's all my fault and I'm sorry and I was wrong
about everything!"
Oliver's
voice was calm and slightly sympathetic, "Perce... Perce..." Percy did not look up,
so Oliver reached out and pulled one of his hands back, looking Percy in the
eye. "You don't have to justify it to me. We all made our choices. What's done
is done."
By this
time, Percy's eyes had grown watery and silent tears were threatening to slide
down his cheeks. "Do you really mean that?" he asked timidly. "Sniff! Sniff! About
everything?"
Oliver
hesitated. They'd said some terrible things to each other during the breakup
and at times before it as well. Things they could never take back. But those
things were in the past. And if he'd felt differently Oliver probably would
have ducked into the loo, himself, instead of making
his presence in the station known to Percy. "Aye, I do."
Percy looked
down, and Oliver's eyes followed. He was startled to realize he was still
holding onto Percy's wrist. He pulled his hand back at once and curled it
around his half-empty mug of beer. Oliver started coughing a few seconds later,
and Oliver slid his water across the table. Percy drank to quiet the coughs
then gave him a grateful smile Oliver pretended not to have seen.
It was
lucky for both of them that their food arrived just then. They ate voraciously,
trying to look hungry so they wouldn't have to talk. There were a few comments
of "pass the vinegar" or "not bad for a restaurant in a train station" and
there was some sneezing from Percy and quick blessings from Oliver. But,
otherwise, they ate in silence and without any further emotional declarations of
any kind.
Professional
Quidditch players made more than enough money to live comfortably and though
Percy only worked in the Ministry of Magic, he made enough to enjoy spending
money in a way he had never been able to growing up. So when they'd been dating,
Percy and Oliver's favorite part of eating out had been arguing about who got
to pick up the check at the end of the meal. They would offer up the most
elaborate promises in order to be the one to treat the other. In the end they
probably came out even financially, but the promises had delightfully escalated
from dishwashing chores for a week to quite a few of the kinker
forms of sexual gratification.
As such,
Oliver was thinking about the last time they'd made love when he paid his half
of this meal's bill. And, judging by Percy's expression, Percy was thinking
about the same thing when he forked over his own portion of the check. So it
was even more awkward than ever when the meal was finished and they were forced
to either converse again or sit and stare at each other and be
prisoners of their memories.
"Would you
like to find somewhere else to sit down?" Percy asked,
picking up on the threatening glanced their waitress had been giving them now
that they had finished and paid up. "Or... I mean, if you..."
"If I had somewhere else to be? Or if I had other plans?"
Oliver said with a laugh. "Right." He gestured to the
station. "We're still rather stuck here."
"huhh... huhh-Shihhh! hehhChihhh! Sniff!"
"Bless you,
bless you. And you look like you're going to topple over if you're on your feet
much longer. We'd better go sit down." Percy smiled sheepishly but looked glad
that Oliver hadn't taken the opportunity to ditch him. Oliver wasn't sure
exactly why he hadn't... except that maybe he still cared for Percy a little and
didn't want to see the man passing out in public or anything.
After
walking around the station for a good fifteen minutes, they finally spotted a
trio leaving a bench. Oliver and Percy dashed over and claimed it before anyone
else could. Percy sat down and placed his suitcase on the ground in front of
him. Oliver put his pack on the bench beside him, between Percy and himself as
a buffer. He didn't know if he needed one, but the move had been more
instinctual than thought-out and Percy didn't say anything about it.
"So when do
you think they'll have the trains running again?" Percy asked, glancing at his
watch.
Oliver
shrugged. "Soon, I hope. I don't want to be spending Christmas in a train
station."
"Wish
they'd just fix it already or tell us to give up hope. I just keep thinking
that I could be back in bed right now. Sniff!
If I didn't have to do my job, that is."
Percy had a
flat in town. Oliver had nearly forgotten that fact. He wondered if it looked
the same as it had when they'd been dating. Percy always kept things so neat
and tidy. A place for everything and everything in its place.
And once upon a time, there had been a place for Oliver in it.
Oliver
nodded. "You do look tired."
"I feel exhausted,"
Percy said quickly and a little more honestly than he'd wanted to get. His
cheeks flushed slightly. Then he coughed and he unfolded his handkerchief once
more. "huhhh-CHIHH! hehhhShuhhh!
KShhuhhh!" He kept his eyes closed
afterwards and sighed heavily.
Oliver had
a feeling he would regret the offer, but it had escaped him before he could
stop himself. "Why don't you have a bit of a lie down then while we wait?"
Percy looked
a bit taken aback by the suggestion. He coughed and fumbled with his
handkerchief to make himself look busy while he weighed his response. Finally,
"You'll look after my suitcase and make sure I don't miss my train?"
Something
inside Oliver was shouting at him not to keep speaking, but Oliver boldly
ignored it by moving his pack to the ground and giving the answer, "Of course.
I'll look after you." So Percy gave him another grateful smile and moved in
order to lie down on the bench.
The bench,
they found out, was considerably shorter than it seemed. Even half-curled on
his side in the fetal position Percy could not lie down on the bench without
some part of himself falling over the side. Oliver scooted all the way over to
one side to the point where only one leg was really even touching the bench,
but it was no use. Oliver finally sighed, scooted back on, and patted his
thigh. "Go on. We might as well be comfortable at least if we're waiting."
Percy
hesitated, looking down at Oliver's lap. "You would... be comfortable with that? Hehh-hehChihhh! With me? Ehhh-Shihhh!"
Oliver
sighed again, not quite sure why he felt frustrated. "Just
lie down, Perce."
Percy did. He
closed his eyes the moment his head was on Oliver's leg, using it as a pillow.
His whole body relaxed as it never did in public. Oliver recognized it
immediately even though he'd known Percy for nine-and-a-half years and the only
time he'd seen it was when they were dating. Wanting Percy to continue to feel
relaxed and safe, not having to worry about himself or
how he looked, Oliver's hand found its way to Percy's shoulder and gave it a
pat.
Percy
smiled weakly. Oliver knew he liked the touch, and probably missed the touch.
To tell the truth, Oliver sort of missed it as well.
"huhh..." Percy's happy, relaxed demeanor
changed at once. He tensed up and grabbed for his handkerchief, accidentally
dropping it onto the floor. "Shite!
Sniff! Sniff!" He cupped one hand to
his face and tried to bend and stretch the other in order to reach the hanky
but it was too far away. "hehhh... Olly?"
"Aye, I've
got one in my pocket, I think," He reached into the pocket of his corduroys and
fished around, but didn't find it. "Shite!
Perce, sit up. It's in my other pocket."
Percy sat up
but kept his hand over his face. "hihh... hih-hehhhhh..."
Oliver felt
around, rolling his eyes. Pockets in wizarding robes weren't this deep. Where
was that handkerchief?
"huhh-CHISHHHH! Sniff!"
Oliver's
hand closed on the handkerchief and he pulled it out.
"hihhShihhh! Sniff! Sniff! hehhh-HIHSHHHH!" Percy was
practically bent over now. He had both hands cupped over his nose and mouth and
his eyes were closed. "huhhhKSchhhh!" His whole body shook and his chest
bumped his knees.
"Merlin, Perce.
What a cold. Here." Oliver held the handkerchief up against Percy's hands and
when the man didn't take it, he stuffed it in-between hands and face.
Percy
coughed and blew his nose several times. Then he sat up and sighed, rubbing the
handkerchief at his nose. "S'beed a while sidce I took a botiod for it.
Looks like it's wearig off. Sorry. Disgustig."
He winced slightly as he leaned back against the wall.
"Not
disgusting," Oliver said. "It's just sneezing. Not like I've never seen you
like this before. Worse a couple of times if I recall."
Percy sniffled, still looking apologetic and miserable. "You're not that bad
this time. You're still--" He caught himself before he said it but couldn't find
a way to end the sentence.
It hung out
there between them. Percy stared at Oliver, and Oliver couldn't look away. Cheeks
were flushed red. Mouths hung open. Eyes locked unblinkingly.
Then,
suddenly, Oliver's head began to tilt and Percy's eyes began to close. Oliver
hesitated a moment, making sure Percy wasn't just about to sneeze. Then he
darted forward and pressed his lips to Percy's. Percy kissed back. Of course he
kissed back. He kissed back eagerly, hungry for what he'd missed, and Oliver
gave himself up and threw himself into it.
When they
pulled away, the sound of booing and groaning filled their ears. It was so loud
Oliver couldn't understand how he'd missed it. He must have had his mind on
something else. They both looked uneasy, clearly thinking they'd been spotted
snogging. Muggles weren't quite as open-minded as the wizarding community was
when it came to homosexuality.
But then
Oliver noticed people collecting their belongings and heading grudgingly
towards the exits. He stood and flagged down one of the passersby. "What's
going on?" he asked.
The man
looked confused. "Didn't you hear the announcement? They're closing up. The
storm's getting worse. No one's going anywhere tonight by train."
"Thanks,"
Oliver said, letting him go on his way and returning to Percy, who had been
blowing his nose.
"They're
closing the station?" he asked.
Oliver
nodded.
"So... you're
stuck in London for the holidays
without any place to go?"
Oliver
nodded.
"And I have
a good excuse not to do my work?"
Oliver
nodded.
"So,
conceivably, we could go back to my flat and get some sleep and celebrate
Christmas in the morning?"
Oliver
nodded and smiled. "Do we have something to celebrate, Perce?"
Percy
shrugged, playing innocent. "You're talking to me again. That's a good start."
Oliver
nodded. And grinned. "Did a bit more
than talking just then."
"Want to do
more? huhhhh... huhShihhh!"
He quickly turned to the side and sneezed into Oliver's handkerchief.
"Not until
you get some rest." Oliver said, caressing Percy's cheek with much less
hesitation than he would have imagined a few minutes ago, let alone a few hours
ago. "Can I take you home, Percy Weasley?" Oliver slid his arm around Percy as
the man nodded, smiled, and leaned into him. "You all right?"
Oliver asked worriedly as Oliver supported his weight. "Feeling weak? Cold?"
"M'okay," Percy said sheepishly. "I just... wanted to feel you
again." He snuggled into Oliver's side. "I was really dreading Christmas but
now... maybe... I mean, you don't have to be stuck with me any more, but you wanted
to come with. So just maybe..."
Oliver
hugged him closer. "Maybe," he agreed. He kissed the top of Percy's head and
sighed. This Christmas was going to be different from what either had expected.
But, like Percy had said, this was a start. He couldn't think of a better way
to spend it than patching up things with Percy. And that was definitely something to
celebrate.