Title: Not-so-strange Bedfellows

Author: tarotgal

Fandom: Harry Potter

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Percy/Oliver

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. I get no money from this. It's just a lot of harmless fun.
Summary: Percy Weasley comes down ill and stays the night at Oliver's for the first time.

Notes: Written for Weekly Hatching Bunny #218 (General): Character A is ill and over at Character B's house. B insists A stays the night instead of going home. It's the first time A has ever spent the night. Subsequently, A learns quite a lot about B's bedtime and/or morning and/or daily routines.

Not-so-strange Bedfellows

                “heeyyyyyyyYIHChoo!”

                “Bless you.” Oliver sat back in his chair and watched as Percy took another napkin from the holder at the center of the table and blew his nose into it enough times to make them both uneasy. “You sound miserable.”

                “Maybe a little bit. I won't deny that,” Percy replied with a nod. “This cold crept up on me faster than I thought it would.” He sniffled wetly and scrubbed the napkin under his nose. Percy noticed Oliver nudging his half-eaten dinner aside. “I'm sorry,” he said, sheepishly. “I never would have come over tonight if I'd known it would get this bad so soon.”

                Oliver surveyed him from across the table, eyes narrowed, blinking. “Perce, a couple sneezes and a damn sexy rough voice could hardly be called bad.”

                “That's what you think. I'm owling in ill to the Ministry tomorrow.”

                Oliver's eyes widened. “Percy Weasley not working his cute little arse off? My god! You must be ill!” He jumped up and immediately pressed his hand to Percy's forehead. He smiled reassuringly when it wasn't alarmingly hot. While his hand was right there, he smoothed back the slightly-frizzy red hair with affection.

                Percy smiled shyly and angled his head downward, staring towards his chest. “Well, they will have great difficulty without me at work, but I feel it's highly irresponsible to go to work when one is ill. I would not wish to spread my cold about. Speaking of which…” He got up, still avoiding Oliver's gaze for the most part. “I should go before I get you ill.”

                “Or you can stay.” Oliver walked over and wrapped an arm around Percy's waist. Percy began to resist, but Oliver only drew him closer. “I held you like this not half an hour ago as we finished cooking dinner. You're just as contagious now as you were then.” Percy relaxed and gave in, letting himself be held. Percy put his cheek on Oliver's shoulder and had to sniffle. Oliver didn't flinch. “It makes far more sense for you to just crash here for the night, aye? It's cold and wet outside. You can't fly and you certainly can't apparate in this condition.”

                Stepping closer, so his body was pressed hard against Oliver's, Percy wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “Well, this place does beat the Knight Bus. And you do beat my fussing mother. Sniff! Sniff! Sure you don't mind?”

                Oliver's chuckle was a low, deep rumble in his chest. He shook against Percy and kissed one of the man's slightly-warm cheeks. “I will admit I had imagined our first sleepover together to be a bit different, but you're welcome here under any and all circumstances.”

                Percy broke away and buried his nose in his sleeve. “heh-IHH-Shooo!”

                “Even a wee cold in the neb.”

                “Theh… ehhHihShoo! Sniff! The way you say it with that accent makes it sound so much more attractive than a mih… miserable little cold. Sniff, sniff!”

                Oliver reached over and snagged another paper napkin from the table. He gave it to the sniffling Percy then wrapped his arms around the man. Percy blew his nose, relaxing again. “The dishes can wait. Let's get you changed and tucked into bed.”

                Frowning, “Scourgify takes all of ten seconds. We clean up then go to bed.” Percy's glare was insistent. Laughing, Oliver decided not to argue. Percy did the cleaning while Oliver did the putting away. They tried it the other way at first but Percy had no sense of Oliver's organizational scheme in the kitchen cupboards. Oliver didn't bother to mention that he had no real organizational scheme to get a sense of.

                Oliver offered to transfigure one of his old t-shirts into a nightshirt for Percy, but Percy insisted he was fine in briefs and nothing else. He still trembled a little as Oliver watched him climb into bed. This was different than sex. Sex was heated. Sex was spontaneous. Sex was easy. But this was a long night together—their first long night together. This was intimate and quiet and any problem on this first night would color each and every moment of their relationship to come. A disaster would surely mark the beginning of the end, in fact. And, of course, there was the added complication of a head cold.

                Standing beside the bed, Oliver looked confused. “You don't want to shower before bed?”

                Percy shook his head. “I shower in the morning. I take it we won't be fighting for it then?”

                “I don't like to go to bed all dirty and sweaty from the day. If you don't mind, I'll go for a quick shower now?”

                Turning onto his side and stretching out in bed, Percy answered, “I'll still be awake, I promise. I.. I have… to… ihhhTchhhhh! Have to sneh… sneeze-heh-ehShoo! Have to sneeze far too much.” Before heading to the bathroom, Oliver got a handkerchief from the drawer of his bedside table. He tucked Percy into bed with it and left while Percy busied himself with snuffles and blows.

                Oliver took what might have been the fastest shower of his life, scrubbing frantically to get clean in record time. Then he hopped into bed. Percy was far enough over so that Oliver could have had his usual half in the middle if he had wanted. But he decided to give the man his space and lay down on the other side. When he turned his head to say goodnight, Percy looked at him, hurt in his eyes. “We're not going to… I know I'm ill but I did think we would at least touch in bed. Might as well sleep top to toe at this rate.”

                Smiling, Oliver stretched out his arm. “Don't be daft. Come here and sleep however you like. My bed is your bed.” His hand found Percy's upper arm and tugged lightly. Percy shuffled over, accidentally untucking the sheets in the process. He swore and shoved the covers down in order to tend to it. “Just leave it. I like my sheets lose.”

                Percy looked back, astounded. “But your feet will get all cold.”

                “Aye, but I'll have you to warm them.”

                “Not if mine are cold, too.” He tucked and secured the sheets. Then he popped back up. “See? Only took a few seconds and isn't that so much better?” He shivered violently, however, even after Oliver had pulled the covers back up around him and drawn him close. Soon Percy lay properly in Oliver's arms, breath hitching and hanky pressed right up against his nose. “ehhhh… ehhhh… Ih-HIHShfffff!”

                “Bless you, Perce.” Oliver's voice was both sweet and sleepy. He tightened his hold, hugging Percy closer to his chest. Percy closed his eyes and relaxed. In the silence, there was a strong pressure to sleep. They both went through short phases of lying there awkwardly and trying to relax their bodies. They twitched and shuffled, scratched and swallowed, yawned and considered saying something to the other.

                Finally, Percy broke the silence. “Oliver, if I snore and keep you awake, please wake me up.”

                Oliver chuckled again, taking the man he was spooning along with him. “You won't snore.”

                “Sniff! I'm stuffy and sniffly. I might snore.”

                “You won't.”

                “How do you… ehhh… know? Ihhhhhh!” Oliver hugged him tighter. “Sniff! IH-Ktchfffff!”

                As Percy blew his nose, Oliver petted Percy's head. “I know because I spent seven years in a dormitory room with you. I've seen you have plenty of colds, Percy Weasley, and I've never heard you snore.”

                Percy smiled to himself, thinking of all the silencing charms he had performed, wondering at the time if they worked completely or not. “Just don't let me deprive you of sleep. No sense in both of us being miserable tonight.”

                Oliver squeezed Percy again. “Oh, Perce. You're miserable?”

                Percy closed his eyes, still smiling. “Not in the least.”