Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Oliver lay back in his bed and sighed through a smile. He watched Percy turn to him with creased eyebrows, and Oliver opened his arms wide. Percy crossed the room and sat on their bed.

“You’ll be eighteen tomorrow, Oliver,” Percy murmured and laid down next to Oliver. “Are you excited?”

Oliver groaned. “No, I’ll be ancient. ” He brought his hands up to his face and rolled to face Percy. “Will you still love me when I’m all greying?”

“When you’re sixty-four?” Percy grinned. At Oliver’s sigh, Percy pressed a quick kiss to where his nose met his forehead. “Always.”

Oliver kept looking at his boyfriend. At his thin, straight nose, at his constellations of freckles, at the small scar at the corner of one of his hazel eyes where Oliver had accidentally hit him with a quaffle. He reached out a hand and pulled lightly at one of Percy’s ginger curls. It bounced when he let it go.

Percy was, annoyingly, ignoring him. He hadn’t even told Oliver to not touch his hair. With a huff, Oliver sat up and swung a leg over Percy’s hip, straddling his lap. Percy still kept his eyes shut.

“Oi,” Oliver flicked Percy’s nose, “quit ignoring me.”

One of Percy’s eyes opened a sliver. “What time is it?” he asked.

Oliver narrowed his eyes, but checked Percy’s watch. “Midnight.”

Percy sat up and gently shoved Oliver off his lap, before digging through his drawers and coming back with a brown, wrapped package. He dropped it next to Oliver and sat back down. Oliver looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Happy birthday,” Percy whispered and lightly kissed Oliver’s lips. It was a little off center, and Oliver’s mouth was left slightly open. “Well don’t just stare, open it,” he laughed.

Oliver ripped off the paper, tossing it on the floor, and stared, gobsmacked. Before him was possibly the nicest copy of Quidditch Through the Ages Oliver had ever seen. It was cloth bound with golden letters on the front, along with that little bird people used to use as a snitch. It just got better as he flipped through the pages. Percy had annotated it all—little notes on what he could use, doodles in the margins of how plays would look, and he even saw separate notes and pieces of paper wedged between the pages. And finally, as he reached the last page, he saw the signature of Kennilworthy Whisp.

Oliver looked back up at Percy, almost not believing what was in his hands at the moment. He set the book aside and threw his arms around Percy’s shoulders. 

“Thank you,” he muttered. “Thank you, thank you, thank you—” he pulled away and grinned from ear to ear. “I bloody love you,” he said and leaned in to kiss Percy.

As Percy received the kiss, he brought a hand up to Oliver’s waist and let himself be pushed into the mattress. Oliver straddled his hips and smiled against his lips. Percy pulled Oliver’s hips flush with his own and let his mouth drop open. Oliver’s tongue flicked between Percy’s teeth and his hand ventured down to the tied waistband of Percy’s pajamas. He pulled the bow undone and slowly broke the kiss to sit back up and pull off his shirt.

Percy sat up with him, letting Oliver pull his own shirt off, and ran his hands over Oliver’s back muscles. He felt in their divots and inhaled the smell of Oliver’s cologne. Oliver twitched as Percy’s hair brushed against his neck.

He pushed Percy back into the bed, his hands planted on Percy’s chest. Percy started to tug Oliver's pants down, only for Oliver to gasp in false offence and whack his hands away.

“No getting handsy on my birthday,” he said. He could feel his cheeks dimpling as he smiled.

Percy frowned a little. “Not at all?”

Oliver snorted with laughter. “Not yet. You. Pants off, now.”

———

Oliver’s eyes slipped open and close, his head laying on Percy’s bare chest. He could hear Percy’s heart beating, slow but strong. He propped his chin up and grinned.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Percy blinked his eyes open and smiled. “I love you too. Now sleep, lover, or I will pass out in my porridge tomorrow morning.”

Oliver let his head back down and pulled the duvet half-over the two of them. 

He slept like a baby.

———

“ Three…two…one… ”

Oliver barely opened his eyes.

“Happy birthday, Oliver!” people screamed, pulling the curtain at the foot of Oliver’s bed open.

Oliver sat up with a start, and Percy groaned beside him. Oliver hurriedly pulled the duvet safely above their hips and stared. The quidditch team stared back. Fred and George in the front, by far the most offended looking of all, loosely holding a happy birthday banner. Alicia, Angelina, Katie, and Harry stood behind them, awkwardly holding gifts and plates of food.

“Oliver, what—” Percy mumbled as he rubbed his eyes and sat up. He made eye contact with Fred, then George, and fury grew on his face. “What the hell are you two doing here?”

Oliver furrowed his eyebrows. “Not to mention the rest of you.”

“What were you thinking, sneaking into his dorm like this! You truly have no sympathy for the other people who live here.”

“Not to mention the invasion of privacy,” Oliver scolded. “Really, you should have just waited for me to come down to the common room! Did you even think?”

“Percy?” Fred muttered, dumbfounded.

Oliver snapped his fingers to gain the dumbfounded twins’ attention. “Out of here now, the lot of you,” he said.

“You have three seconds, or it’s ten points away, each of you,” Percy fumed, and pointed to the door.

Everyone filed out silently, and when the door closed behind them, Oliver and Percy turned to each other. Oliver broke first. He huffed out a laugh and let his forehead fall on Percy’s shoulder.

“Oliver—”

“We really just yelled at them together didn’t we? They just got yelled at by the quidditch captain and Head Boy, at the same time!”

Percy groaned and flopped onto his back. “Oliver, the twins know about us now. I don’t know what you call that, but it isn’t good. At all.”

Oliver sighed. “Yeah. You reckon we should talk to them?”

“I reckon we should put the fear of God into them,” Percy muttered and swung his legs out of bed. 

The two of them got dressed, pulling on fresh clothes and brushing their teeth together. At the door, they looked at each other and smiled. Percy leaned down a little to kiss Oliver.

“Happy birthday.”

Oliver smiled softly and licked his thumb, rubbing away a smudge on the corner of Percy’s mouth.

“Let’s go.”

They walked down to the common room together and Oliver looked out the window—Merlin’s balls, it was still dark out. The quidditch team all sat in a circle around the crackling fireplace.

George stood up first. 

“Percy, are you—” he started.

“Shut up,” Percy said. “We are going to explain what’s going to happen, and you are going to listen.”

Oliver crossed his arms and shifted his weight to the hip that didn’t hurt. “First of all, you won’t be mentioning this to anyone. No exceptions.”

“If I hear that something has gotten out, I will be taking points.” Percy said. “Let it be known that I do not care that we are all in Gryffindor.”

Fred scoffed. “Explain the two of you, first. How long have you been—” he waved his hands— “canoodling?”

Oliver choked on a laugh, but covered it as a cough. “We’ve been dating since last year.”

“What about your other roommate?” Angelina asked. 

Percy shrugged. “Haven’t seen him since third year. I think he moved to someone else’s dorm.”

Oliver huffed. “Merlin, we hated each other then. I couldn’t stand you.”

“The feeling was mutual, I assure you.”

George gagged in the background, then cleared his throat. “So that time last Christmas when you both got sick?”

Percy clapped a hand over his mouth to stop a laugh from slipping by. “Oh, I forgot we used that excuse! No, we weren’t sick.”

“Just lovesick,” Oliver smirked.

Percy groaned. “Merlin, I hate you.”

“That’s not what you said last night.”

The quidditch team collectively groaned, then got up and walked back up to their dorms.

Percy sat down on the couch with a sigh. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and buried his face in his hands. Oliver frowned and sat next to him. He slung an arm around his shoulders and swayed from side to side.

“You shouldn’t be comforting me,” Percy mumbled. “It’s your birthday.”

“Pshaw,” Oliver said. “Hey. Look at me?”

Percy looked up at him, his eyes shiny and his eyebrows knitted together. Oliver cupped his face and wiped away his tears, closely inspecting Percy’s face before kissing his forehead.

“It’s alright, Perce. Don’t worry about the twins, don’t worry about the girls, don’t worry about Harry. None of them are going to tell anyone.”

Percy smiled shakily. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Oliver muttered and shook Percy’s head lightly in his hands. “Now come back to bed with me.”

Chapter Text

Oliver and Percy boarded the holiday train home and walked to the compartment Fred and George had said to go to. Inside was everyone going to the Weasley’s this Christmas—the twins, Ginny, Ron, Harry, and now the two of them. 

“Are you sure your mum won’t mind, Oliver?” Percy said worriedly, their shoulders pressed together with Ginny and Scabbers next to them. Ginny had insisted that Scabbers get his own seat, despite him being a rat.

Oliver shook his head. “Nah, she doesn’t celebrate Christmas anyway. I only started when I got to Hogwarts.” He yawned. “I’m going to take a small nap, though.”

Percy hummed and Oliver rested his head on Percy’s shoulder. He could feel Fred and George’s annoyance.

———

“Oliver, dear!” Molly crooned when he entered the burrow, carrying his and Percy’s bags. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again. Are these Percy’s bags? Percival Ignatius Weasley, get your and Oliver’s bags! He is our guest!”

Oliver laughed. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Weasley, I offered to take them.”

“Oh, you’re such a gentleman! You’ll be in Percy’s room again, your bags can go up there.”

“Hang on mum,” Fred scowled. “They can’t share a room, no way!”

“Why not, dear?” Molly asked. 

Oliver shot Fred a look, and he was sure Percy was doing the same thing beside him. Fred incoherently gestured until he gave up and trudged away.

Oliver and Percy walked up to Percy’s room and, after dropping their things, collapsed back on Percy’s twin side bed. 

“Your mum’s…” Oliver huffed. “A lot. My god, is she energetic.”

“Tell me about it.”

They lay there for a while, procrastinating going back downstairs to the whirlwind that was Molly Weasley, when another person arrived. Oliver sat up in shock when he heard the voice, then pulled Percy up and down the stairs with him.

“Charlie!” Oliver said, nearly shouted, and Charlie whirled around to see him.

“Oliver?” Charlie asked. He looked incredibly confused as Oliver hugged him with one arm, but still patted his back and smiled when they pulled back “Are you here with the twins or something?”

“No, Percy! I was here last year too, but you weren’t! Off with those dragons, right? Man, I still think you should have been a quidditch player, you were aces—”

Percy tapped his shoulder and whispered in his ear, “You’re rambling.” 

Charlie squinted and looked between them. “I forgot you two were…friends.”

There was an awkward beat of silence before Fred and George slung their arms around Percy and Oliver.

“Oh yeah,” George said, “best friends now.” He looked around, making sure everyone else was preoccupied. “You should have seen them on Oliver’s birthday.”

“Ten points,” Percy said through gritted teeth.

“What!” George said. “You can’t do that, we’re not at Hogwarts! And I wasn’t even going to mention it!”

Fred scoffed. “Coward. I was.”

“Charlie, dear,” Molly said from the kitchen, “I’m afraid your and Bill’s old room became your father’s new tinkering studio since the garage caught fire, you’ll have to stay with Percy and Oliver.”

“Mum, what?” Percy asked. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows furrowed. Oliver could admit that he shared similar feelings of disappointment.

“Oh, don’t complain,” Molly scolded lightly. “Bill’s staying with the twins, and he’s not complaining.”

Percy visibly deflated as the twins cackled in their ears. 

“Everyone get washed up for dinner,” Molly said, and the group dissipated. Oliver and Percy went to the bathroom sink to wash their hands. Oliver looked both ways to make sure nobody was there with them, then pressed a kiss to the spot under Percy’s earlobe, the one that always made him red as a tomato.

Sure enough, Percy’s ears glowed with heat and his face flushed beet red. Percy flicked water at Oliver, who just grabbed Percy by his hips and kissed him on the neck over and over—in the hollow just above his neckline, his adam’s apple, up both lines of his neck—until Percy pushed his face away with wet hands.

He was smiling, his eyes crinkling and his nose scrunching just a little. Oliver stared at him.

“You’re gorgeous,” he breathed.

Percy chuckled and turned Oliver’s face to kiss his temple, then once he was smiling, turned his head to the other side and kissed one of his dimples.

Oliver stared at him, then sighed.

“We should go get food,” he said.

Percy nodded and they left the bathroom, then sat at the table together and began to dig into the food with everyone else.

Oliver loaded his plate with shepherd's pie and mashed potatoes, bread rolls and green beans, then ate it all. He considered seconds, but just ate what Percy hadn’t instead. At desert, it was the other way around, though; Oliver didn’t finish his slice of cake, and Percy ate it for him.

The family, plus Harry and Oliver, retired to the living room. It was rather cramped, with Harry and Ron sharing a squashy armchair and ottoman, Ginny and her parents together on a loveseat, and the rest of them trying to fit onto the large sofa. 

Oliver was sitting on the armrest, Percy beside him, and Charlie was on the other side, curled up probably as small as he could. Bill separated the twins from Percy, and honestly, Oliver was glad for the fact.

Charlie was saying something about dragons, talking with his hands, when Oliver felt a weight against his arm. He looked down to see Percy’s head rested against his bicep, his eyes closed and breath steady. He smiled softly to himself and stayed as still as possible to not wake him up. 

People started to go to bed, starting with Ginny and Bill, then Arthur, Molly, Ron, and Harry, and finally the twins with a joke and a yawn. Oliver was left with a sleeping Percy and a very awake and staring Charlie.

Oliver tried to ignore the eyes piercing his skull and nudged Percy’s head.

“Time for bed,” he whispered to Percy. Percy didn’t budge. “Sleepy git.”

Oliver got up, letting Percy’s head fall. Percy groggily groaned, still mostly asleep. Oliver pulled Percy up, letting him collapse onto Oliver, then dipping himself down and picking Percy up over his shoulder. Now, Oliver may not have been the tallest or broadest, but he had been playing quidditch competitively for the past five years, almost six, and he didn’t plan on stopping.

Oliver held onto Percy’s legs, waving a brief goodnight to Charlie before turning to walk up the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, Percy stirred and groaned.

“Shshshsh, almost there, Perce,” Oliver muttered and gave Percy’s butt a small pat. He pushed the door open with his hip and gently dropped Percy down on the bed. He worked Percy’s jumper off, then his button down, then started to unbuckle Percy’s belt. Percy opened his eyes lazily and raised his eyebrows.

“Right now?” Percy mumbled.

Oliver scoffed, a smile crossing his face. “No, you need to go to bed.”

“Pff, I can do that.” Percy sat up, his face scrunched up, and got up to get his pajamas out. Oliver changed into his own pajamas, discarding his dirty clothes on Percy’s desk chair and taking out the cot from below Percy’s bed.

“What’re you doing?” Percy frowned.

Oliver looked at him. “Getting the cot out. Charlie’s going to be in here.”

“Don’t care, come to bed.”

Oliver sighed. “Merlin, I can’t say no to you.” He crawled under the covers that Percy held open for him and wriggled closer to him. Not that they could be very far apart on the bed, given its size. Oliver flipped around so his back was pressed against Percy’s chest, and let his eyes fall close.

———

“So,” Charlie said the next morning.

“So?” Oliver grimaced. Percy had slid out of bed earlier to help with breakfast, so now it was just the two of them in Percy’s room.

“You and Percy are…something of an object, I see.”

Oliver groaned and rubbed his face. “Yeah. Merlin, the twins have been giving us shit ever since my birthday—the whole team, really.”

“What—” Charlie chuckled nervously— “What happened on your birthday?”

“They barged into our dorm to say happy birthday—everyone on the team, including Harry, mind you—and Percy and I were, ah, in bed together.”

“Oh, Merlin,” Charlie said, and covered his face with his hands. “Well that explains it, I guess. How long?”

“About a year.”

Charlie nodded and stared off into space. Oliver could tell something was on his mind.

“What’s up?”

“Have you told your mum yet? I know you haven’t told mine, but what about yours?”

Oliver nodded. “I did.”

“How did she take it?”

“Pretty well,” Oliver said. “Percy and I have to stay in different rooms when he stays over, though.”

Charlie snorted, then paused again. “Have you heard of asexuality?” He said suddenly, looking up at Oliver with big, brown eyes.

Oliver wracked his brain. “Like, asexual reproduction? With the splitting cells and stuff?”

Charlie laughed lightly. “Kind of. Not really. It’s basically saying that you don’t…” Charlie huffed. “You don’t feel attracted to people. Not in that way.”

Oliver considered the thought for a second, then half nodded. “Neat. Are you…”

Charlie nodded. “I think so. But if I tell mum, then she’ll be all ‘ oh, you just haven’t met the right lady yet.’ And I don’t think I want to deal with that. But I wanted to tell someone.”

“Why me, though?”

Charlie shrugged. “Figured you would understand.”

“Safe bet,” Oliver chuckled. “Now let’s get breakfast, I’m starved.”

“Oh, and Oliver?” Charlie said.

“Hm?”

“Let me know if you and Percy need the room to yourselves.”

Oliver flushed red and ducked his head. He made a vague noise of agreement and slipped out of the door. He ran down the stairs and nearly crashed into Bill.

“Oh, hey, Oliver!” he said with a slightly crooked grin. His hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail, and earrings glittered in his earlobes. “Fancy a Christmas Eve quidditch match?”

“Haven’t got my broom.”

“We’ve got spares, don’t worry.”

Oliver grinned. “I’d love to, thanks. Just need a spot of breakfast, though.” He slid past Bill and into the kitchen, where Percy was sitting at the counter, sipping at coffee, and reading the daily prophet.

“Morning, Oliver,” Percy said with a slight smile.

Oliver leaned in close to him and whispered, “Good morning, my love.” He quickly pecked Percy’s cheek and began to fill his plate. Oliver sat down on the counter next to Percy and ate, occasionally peering over Percy’s shoulder. After a couple of minutes, Oliver finished his breakfast and Charlie came barreling down the stairs with thick, warm clothes on and more in arm.

“C’mon, lads and Ginny!” he bellowed to the whole house. “Everyone for the quidditch match—you too, Percy!”

Oliver jumped down from the counter, dropping his plate in the sink, and started picking up clothes from the pile. He pulled on a couple of jumpers he could identify as Percy’s—one because he had seen him wear it before, and the other because it had a great orange P knitted onto the front.

Percy came up from behind him and got a couple jumpers for himself, then pulled on his winter jacket over it. Oliver watched him wrap a scarf around his neck and then, picking up a hat, he pulled it over Oliver’s head. Oliver grinned and shoved a pair of gloves into his pocket, unsure if he would use them. He dragged Percy outside, where Bill had been getting all the brooms ready. They were old, probably second hand, but who really cared.

Oliver grabbed up a broom, tossed it to Percy, and grabbed one for himself. Almost running out to the lawn where the twins were already flying about in the air, Oliver mounted his broom and kicked off. He stayed close to the ground, waiting for Percy to follow him.

Making eye contact, Percy groaned and kicked off next to Oliver. He was more than a little clunky, but it just made Oliver happy to see him on a broom. Oliver grinned from ear to ear and circled Percy.

“I’m not having fun,” Percy grumbled.

“Aw, come on Perce—” Oliver started before the twins sped by Percy on either side, causing Percy to shake and grab onto his broom tight.

“Why can’t I just referee like usual?” Percy shouted to Bill, who was still on the ground.

“We need even teams,” Bill shouted. “It’ll be you, Oliver, Ginny, Fred, and George against me, Charlie, Ron, Harry, and dad.”

Percy groaned and Oliver flew up beside him, almost touching.

“You’ll be alright,” Oliver said with a smile. “You’ve got the best eye for strategy here, you know. And I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.”

Percy snorted lightly. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you’ll be at the goalposts the whole time.”

Oliver frowned. “Whatever.”

“Get with your teams, everyone!” Charlie called from the ground.

———

“Fuck!” Percy clapped a hand over his nose and swerved. 

“Time out, time out!” Oliver called and flew over to where Percy stayed hovering in the air. He pulled Percy’s hand away to see it covered in blood. Bright red poured from Percy’s nose, down his face, and dripped off his chin. He and Percy rushed to the ground, nearly crashing, and ran inside to the bathroom. 

Percy dripped blood into the bathroom sink as Oliver bunched up toilet paper and brought it to his nose. He dabbed up as much blood as he could, but it just kept going. He found himself with one hand on the back of Percy’s neck and the other holding the mass of toilet paper under his nose. After he thought it was done, Oliver wet another wad of toilet paper and started wiping away the dry blood.

“Ow,” Percy mumbled, his face scrunched up, as Oliver wiped at his nose. 

Ginny swung the door open, her eyes watery. 

“I’m so sorry, Percy! I didn’t mean to throw it at you, I promise,” she wailed. She flung her arms around him in apology.

“Don’t worry about it,” Percy sighed, patting her back. “This means I can sit out the rest of the game.”

Oliver smiled a little. “You know, Ginny, you’ve got a hell of an arm. A little work on your aim, and you’d be aces for the quidditch team.”

Ginny looked up, worried. “But I hit Percy.”

Oliver shrugged. “Eh, I’d have thrown a quaffle at his annoying gob if I could too.”

“Hey!”

“And I have before,” Oliver continued. He pulled Percy’s face closer for Ginny to see the small scar by the corner of his eye. “Right there. Threw a quaffle so hard at him, the mark is still there three years later. I didn’t mean to, of course, but it still happened.”

Ginny chuckled, and Oliver let Percy’s face go.

Percy looked to the ceiling and groaned. “Why must my face be a quaffle magnet,” he whispered.

Oliver grabbed Percy’s face again and did one last wipe down before running a finger down the bridge of Percy’s nose.

“No bumps, you’re good to go,” Oliver said, and patted the side of Percy’s face before tossing the bloody toilet paper into the bin and ushering Percy and Ginny out.

They walked outside and Percy was immediately smacked up the backside of his head.

“Percival Weasley, you watch your mouth!” Molly shrieked. “I will not have such language in my house, am I clear?”

“Crystal,” Percy choked out.

Oliver clapped Percy on the back and looked at him. He froze for a second, then licked his thumb and wiped a missed smear of blood off of Percy’s chin. He rubbed it a little, ignoring Percy’s screwed up face, then ran to the pitch to kick off with Ginny. It was decided that Mr. Weasley would sit out, and the game continued.

———

“I think mum thinks you’re replacing her,” Percy mumbled to him late that night. Charlie was already fast asleep and unbothered by them.

Oliver grinned and knit his eyebrows together. “How d’you mean?”

“When you licked your thumb and wiped away that little bit of blood, she grabbed me right after and looked for more blood to do the exact same thing for. She did that all the time when I was younger, y’see.”

Oliver frowned a little. “Do you want me to stop?”

Percy leaned closer to him and breathed, “Never.” He kissed Oliver soundly, then pushed closer and slid his tongue across the seam of Oliver’s lips. Oliver dropped his mouth open and nipped a little at Percy’s lips. Percy smiled and pulled back.

“Minty,” Oliver whispered with a wide smile.

Percy squinted, then pressed one more quick kiss to Oliver’s smile and let his head down on Oliver’s chest. He was wearing one of Percy’s old Weasley sweaters, a large P on the front.

“ It’s so people can see I belong to you,” Oliver had said through a smug grin and waited for Percy to kiss it off his face. Charlie had, in fact, walked in on the exchange, but Oliver hadn’t cared too much.

Oliver reached to Percy’s bedside table and looked at Percy’s watch. 12:06. Perfect. He turned back to Percy and sat up.

“C’mon, time for your first Christmas present.”

Percy blinked and sat up as well. Oliver cupped his jaw, bringing their faces almost completely together. Their noses bumped together a little before Oliver closed the small gap. 

Against Percy’s lips, he murmured, “Move in with me?”

Percy’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“When we graduate, do you want to move in together? Get a little flat, then maybe we can get a full house once we have jobs. You don’t have to say yes, of course, and you don’t have to answer right now, but—”

Percy kissed him silent.

“I’d love to,” he whispered. “Of course, I’d love to, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Oliver grinned.

Percy knitted his eyebrows together in thought and Oliver froze.

“What?” he asked. He was only a little scared.

Percy grabbed his hands and stared wide-eyed at him. “Do you want kids? Together?”

Oliver’s breath caught in his throat. “Y—yeah. Yeah, I want kids, we’ll have a daughter and a son, maybe more. I’ll teach them quidditch, and you’ll read to them at night, and then—Perce, how are we going to get kids?”

Percy shrugged. “We could adopt. I don’t care if they’re not magic, I really don’t.”

“Me either,” Oliver whispered and kissed Percy.

Percy sighed. “I imagine I’ll have to tell mum and dad, then.”

“It’ll be worth it,” Oliver smiled. “When we have our house, and our kids, and—” he blinked. “Marry me?”

“Of course,” Percy said. He didn’t seem to think twice, just said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Is it legal?”

“I don’t care,” Oliver grinned.

Percy snaked his arms around Oliver’s waist and hugged him tight. “Okay,” he muttered. “So we graduate, get a flat together and get jobs, then we get married, move into a house, and adopt kids.”

“Sounds perfect,” Oliver said and hugged Percy back. He pulled away smiling. “Ahh, I’m just so excited. I actually brought some flat options to look at—” he reached under Percy’s bed and pulled out a thick envelope full of clippings of different flats from magazines and newspapers.

They looked at flats together until they fell asleep, slouched against the wall and each other.

———

Oliver woke up with Percy on top of him and bent magazine clippings all around them. When he pushed Percy’s face off of his hip, he nearly choked on his own spit.

“Oh Merlin, Percy, wake up,” he chuckled.

Percy whined. “Oliver, my face hurts.”

Oliver nodded and laughed breathily. “Yeah, I can see why. You might want to come to the bathroom to see this.”

They got out of bed, Oliver ushering Percy to the bathroom so he could see the slightly swollen, dark purple splotches covering his nose. Percy half yelped when he saw his reflection, immediately going to touch his nose, then hissing at the pain. 

“It’s not so bad, Perce—” Oliver tried.

“Not so bad? Oli, I’m hideous.”

Oliver’s heart nearly broke. “What did you just say?”

“I’m hideous?”

“No, the other thing.”

Percy squinted, but then his eyes went wide and he grinned. “Oli?”

Oliver felt his face go hot and he half rested, half covered his face with one of his hands. “That—that’s—oh, Merlin,” Oliver muttered and Percy laughed. He pulled Oliver toward him and hugged his waist. Percy rested his chin in the crook of Oliver’s neck.

“I love you, Oli,” Percy murmured and kissed Oliver’s neck.

Oliver pulled back, his ears burning hot. He pointed an accusing finger at Percy. “Keep calling me that and I’m going to have to kick Charlie out.”

“Promise?” Percy smiled.

Oliver scoffed. “I can’t with you and your handsome mug.”

“Too bad, you’re stuck with me. We’re going to move in together, then get married, then have kids.”

Oliver bit back a grin from talking over his face. “I’m really happy, Percy. You make me really happy.”

Percy kissed the corner of Oliver’s mouth. “You make me happy as well. Now, we should get back downstairs after we clean up all those clippings so we can look at them later.”

Oliver nodded and pulled back. He opened the door and they walked back to Percy’s room, where Charlie was sitting on Percy’s bed and staring at one of the clippings.

“Are you two moving in together?” he asked. His eyes were wide.

“Yes,” Percy snipped, plucking the page out of Charlie’s hands and putting it back into the envelope. He and Oliver picked up as many clippings as they could find as Charlie watched them.

“Are you going to tell mum and dad?” Charlie whispered.

“At some point,” Percy replied. 

Oliver rested his chin in his hand. “I think you should, too, Charlie. Even just to get it off your chest.”

Percy looked up like a meerkat. “You’re queer too?”

“I’m asexual,” Charlie said confidently, despite his wavering voice.

“Oh,” Percy said. “I read about that. Sounds cool. Gives you more time to focus on dragons.”

Oliver didn’t miss the wide grin spreading across Charlie’s face at his brother’s acceptance. 

The door flung open to show a flush-faced Ginny.

“Come down and open your presents,” she said hurriedly, and dashed off down the stairs. 

“Oh, hang on,” Oliver said, and rifled through the bag he had brought with him. He pulled out a couple of badly wrapped boxes and smiled. “Great, let’s go.”

The boys ran downstairs, where everyone had piled together around the fire again. They took turns opening gifts. Everyone got a hand-knit Weasley sweater with their first initial on the front, Oliver got at least three different quidditch related gifts—he wasn’t complaining, though—Percy got an extremely nice set of quills, Rom got a brand new wizard chess board, and many, many others. 

Now, everyone with their new jumpers on, Oliver handed out a couple of gifts. He hadn’t had enough time nor money to get something for everyone, but he tried. He had baked his mum’s cookie recipe for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, gotten a really neat dragon diagram poster for Charlie, one of Oliver’s favorite pairs of quidditch gloves for Harry, a small box of Zonko’s jokes for the twins, and a surprise for Percy. 

Oliver sat cross-legged with a smile on his face as Percy carefully unwrapped the paper. He inspected the wooden box carefully, taking in its elegant designs. He opened it slowly, and took out the stacks of postcards. All of them were places Oliver had gone over the past few summers, and while it wasn’t that many, he had bought multiple from each place. On each was a note Oliver had never sent.

Some were as simple as I miss you, wish you were here! while others fell more along the lines of I think we’re written in the stars. With love, Oliver. P.S. I miss you. By the time Percy moved on to the rest of the box, his eyes were gleaming and the entire Christmas tree could be reflected within them. He next reached for the book. It was a well-loved copy of Percy’s favorite, Maurice. As Percy flipped through it with shaking hands, he saw little doodles and notes in the margins. 

“Oli, you actually read it,” Percy mumbled through a smile.

Percy closed the book, but noticed it didn’t quite close all the way. He opened it to the last page, where something was taped to the inside of the back cover. But—but not just something. A ring. A silver, slightly tarnished ring with a foggy, green gem embedded in it. Percy slammed the book shut, set it aside, and wrapped his arms around Oliver’s neck. 

Oliver chuckled and rubbed Percy’s back.

“You big baby,” he muttered through a smile that would make his cheeks ache.

Percy leaned back and rubbed his eyes. “Idiot. My gift looks like nothing now.”

“So, yeah?”

“Of course, yeah.”

They sat back and faced the rest of the Weasleys, plus Harry. They looked confused, for the most part. Confused, but smiling. Charlie and the twins, however, had their eyes blown to the size of saucers.

“You didn’t,” Fred muttered.

“He did,” George said. “Didn’t he?”

Charlie covered his mouth. “Merlin’s beard. Actually?”

Oliver grinned from ear to ear. 

Percy cleared his throat, rubbed his eyes, and handed Oliver a significantly better wrapped gift. He was still smiling.

“It’s nowhere near as good, but…” Percy trailed off.

Oliver tore off the paper, opened the box, and pulled out a walkman and cassette tape. The only title it had was a small heart next to Oliver’s name. 

“I learned about it in muggle studies,” Percy said. “I thought you would like it, so I put together some of your favorite songs. There’s a list here.” He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Oliver.

The first song—When I’m Sixty Four, the Beatles. Oliver grinned wide. Not to mention Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy, This Charming Man, and the Prettiest Star.

Oliver rubbed his stinging eyes and leaned into Percy. He hugged his shoulders and rested his chin on Percy’s shoulder.

“It’s amazing, Perce. Thank you.”

“Don’t lie, it’s nothing.”

“I would never lie to you.”

Percy snorted in laughter. “You definitely would.”

“Not if it mattered.” Oliver broke away and rubbed his eyes again.

Molly smiled, a slight worry to her brow. “Well, that’s all the presents. Brunch should be ready in about an hour.”

Percy stood up and looked back at Oliver. “Want to go for a walk?”

“Yeah,” Oliver breathed.

The two of them took their gifts and ran up the stairs as fast as they could. Percy threw together a bag, putting in the envelope and his box, as Oliver put on a second pair of socks. They dashed back downstairs, hopped into their boots, and ran out into the snow. As soon as they were out, Oliver grabbed Percy’s hand and made a mad dash for the pond near the burrow. 

They found themselves in the shade of a low-hanging tree. Oliver grabbed Percy’s bag, dug through the box, and pulled out the ring. He got down on one knee and smiled wide.

“Oliver, this is the third time you’ve proposed to me today—” Percy laughed.

“Third time’s the charm, I’m doing it right this time. Percy Weasley, love of my live, apple of my eye—will you marry me?”

Percy wiped his eyes and nodded vigorously. He smiled bigger than Oliver had ever seen him as he fumbled in the cold to slide the ring onto Percy’s finger. Percy pulled Oliver up and dipped him into a kiss, leaning as far forward as he could without dropping Oliver.

“I’m so in love with you,” Percy muttered.

“I can’t believe you’re mine,” Oliver smiled and pulled Percy back into a kiss. 

“Percival Ignatius Weasley and Oliver Wood!” Charlie yelled from across the pond. He ran, Fred and George in tow. 

Oliver could only grin like a madman.

“Did you actually do it?” George asked. He only seemed a little mad.

“And by it, you mean…”

“Propose to Percy!” Fred asked. 

Oliver just looked at Percy, who begrudgingly gave him his left hand, where the ring sat on his finger. He showed off the ring, and Charlie tackled the two of them with a hug.

“I can’t bloody believe it!” Charlie exclaimed. “You idiots, you brilliant, brilliant idiots! You’re engaged!”

They smiled and laughed, sharing joy just for them. 

When Charlie finally broke away, Oliver pulled Percy down slightly for another kiss.

“My beautiful fiance,” Oliver whispered to Percy.

“Even with the bruised nose?”

“Absolutely.”

Fred cackled. “Oh, you two are disgusting! It’s like you’re married already!”

Oliver pecked Percy on the tip of his nose, then grabbed his hand. “Should we actually go for a walk, then? I don’t want to go back yet.”

With a mutual agreement to not go back and surely get wrapped up into an awkward conversation or helping with brunch, the five walked around the lake. They talked about quidditch a bit, argued about strategy and what team would be winning the next world championship. 

When they got back, cheeks red and numb, Molly ushered them to the table and sat them down. She and Bill brought out the food—bacon and eggs, pastries, basically anything Oliver could have asked for. Everyone picked at the food, chatting and wondering what to do after.

Oliver would have gone outside with the rest of the lot, but as soon as their dishes were cleared, Percy dragged Oliver up the stairs and pushed him into his room. Percy kissed him fast and strong, dipping his tongue into Oliver’s mouth and pushing him back onto his bed. Percy crawled over him and kissed down his throat, slipping his hands under Oliver’s sweater. They broke contact and Oliver wriggled out of his jumper, dumping it on the ground and pulling Percy’s off after.

Oliver pulled Percy down to kiss him, then started to sit upright. When both of them were standing on their knees, Oliver turned Percy around and pushed him back into the bed. 

“I love you,” Oliver muttered as he kissed all over Percy’s face. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Percy squirmed and grinned. Oliver sat back on Percy’s lap and Percy ran his hands up Oliver’s legs, to his hips, up his sides, until he could pull Oliver down by his neck to kiss him. Percy brought his knees up, removing his lap from possible places to sit, and Oliver adjusted. He straddled Percy’s hips and placed his hands on either side of his head. Oliver leaned back in to meet Percy again when the door opened.

“Perce, mum says you—” Bill froze in the doorway. Oliver and Percy stared back like deer in headlights. Bill started to close the door.

“Bill, wait,” Percy said and Oliver clambered off of him. “Come in.”

Bill sat awkwardly on Charlie’s cot. “So you’re…”

“Dating,” Percy blurted out. “And—and maybe engaged and moving in together?”

Bill blinked. “I’m happy for you two. But mum wanted you to do the dishes. Does she know yet?”

“No.”

“You should tell her, she’ll only be more mad the longer you wait.”

Percy nodded and held his face in his hands. Bill left and Oliver wrapped an arm around Percy, kissing his shoulder.

“Was it just me,” Oliver muttered, “or was he surprisingly calm?”

Percy huffed. “Trust me, he only looks calm.” He paused. “We should tell mum and dad, though.”

“Do you want to right now?”

Percy shook his head. “I don’t think I could get the words out right.”

Oliver thought for a minute. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. “What if we just dropped really big hints? I’m sure they’d catch on.”

Percy looked up at him and grinned. “That could work,” he murmured and pressed a quick kiss to Oliver’s temple.

———

As much as Oliver would have liked to say the hints started small, they really didn’t. When they were getting dressed to go down and do the dishes, Percy and Oliver switched their Weasley sweaters. Percy walked down with a big O on his front, and Oliver with a P.

When they did the dishes, Percy paused to take his ring off and put it in his pocket, then asked Oliver if he remembered where he put it when they were done. It took everything in Oliver not to burst out laughing right then and there.

Honestly, it was fun. When Arthur put on music for him and Molly to dance to, Percy and Oliver jumped in to dance as well. Percy held Oliver’s hand in the air as he spun around, then caught him when he nearly fell over from dizziness. 

Now, the group was sitting in the living room again. Fred and George had pinned mistletoe to one of the doorways in an attempt to help, but Oliver had only gotten stuck underneath it with Charlie, who had lightly kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair.

Percy had his sleeves rolled up, just as he’d had for most of the day, and Oliver admitted that it did make the ring stand out of his finger.

Molly walked out of the kitchen, and Arthur in, and suddenly they were laughing under the mistletoe together. Arthur dipped Molly low to the ground and kissed her quickly before pulling her back up and continuing on their ways. Oliver nudged Percy.

“I bet I could dip you lower than that,” he muttered.

Percy huffed and smiled. “I doubt it, since you’re four inches shorter than me.”

“Rude,” Oliver muttered and ruffled Percy’s hair. 

Percy sighed and looked up at Oliver on his perch on the couch armrest. “Come down here, I miss your face.”

Oliver smiled and scooted down to sit next to Percy. 

“Hang on, look at me?” Percy said and stared at Oliver’s face—his eyes flicked from his eyes, to his lips, to who knows where, and back up to his eyes. “Perfect,” Percy smiled and let Oliver turn away. 

———

It wasn’t working so far. They had dropped what Oliver thought were the most obvious hints, but apparently it wasn’t obvious enough for Molly and Arthur Weasley. So he decided.

He needed to get Percy under that mistletoe. 

Lucky for him, his opportunity came the next day. 

He was coming out of the bathroom, heading back into the living room, when Percy seemed to appear in front of him. People weren’t actively watching, and maybe that was for the best.

“Look at us,” Oliver muttered. “Under the mistletoe.”

Percy hummed and smiled.

“Remember my bet from yesterday?”

Dread crossed Percy’s face. “Oli, no—”

Oliver held onto Percy’s waist, dipping almost to the point of dumping him on the floor, and kissed him on the neck, seeing as he couldn’t quite reach his mouth. He pulled Percy up—very gracefully, mind you—and grinned.

“I think that was deeper than them.”

Percy laughed. “Oli, you dork.” He lowered his voice. “You’re lucky I love you,” he whispered, then pecked Oliver on the mouth and walked into the kitchen. 

Oliver, contemplating whether or not to go back to the living room (where Percy was not) or to go to the kitchen (where Percy was), followed Percy into the kitchen.

Percy was helping Molly prepare lunch, which would be soup, by chopping carrots. Oliver admired his hands as he did so, the way his tendons flickered across his knuckles.

“Oh, Percy!” Molly picked up Percy’s hand and inspected the ring. “That ring is gorgeous.”

“Thank you,” Percy said softly. “Oliver gave it to me.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet! Where did you get it, Oliver?”

“It was my Grandmother’s, ma’am. Her husband proposed to her with it,” Oliver said, leaning on the counter. He felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest.

“Oh, you should have proposed with it! Oh well,” Molly sighed and went back to cutting vegetables. 

Oliver and Percy made brief eye contact before Percy blurted out, “He did.”

Percy clapped his hand over his mouth, and Oliver almost choked on nothing.

Molly chuckled. “Well, then why do you have it? Shouldn’t his fiancee have it?”

Oliver cleared his throat. “My fiance does have it, Mrs. Weasley.”

Molly turned around, her face quizzical. Percy and Oliver both stared at her. 

“But…” Molly laughed lightly. “No, that would mean that you proposed to Percy.”

Oliver swallowed. “I did.”

“But—”

“Mother, I’m gay.” Percy blurted out. “Oliver and I are engaged.”

Molly was worryingly quiet.

“Well, how long have you two been dating?”

“A little over a year,” Percy said.

“Do you have a wedding planned?”

Percy shook his head. “We were going to wait a while.”

Molly considered, then nodded. “As long as you don’t get married right out of school. And do make sure your brothers know to tell me they’re dating someone before they get engaged.”

Percy stared, eyes wide. “Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

Molly left the kitchen and Percy immediately maneuvered around the island to wrap Oliver in a tight hug. 

“Oh, Oliver, that was eating me alive,” Percy groaned.

Oliver chuckled and kissed the top of Percy’s head. “We can relax now,” he sighed. They walked back out to the living room, hand in hand, stealing a quick kiss under the mistletoe. All six of the Weasley siblings, plus Harry, stared at them expectantly.

“So?” Charlie asked.

“Um,” Percy said. “Mum says to let her know you’re dating someone before you get engaged?”

Ron screwed his face up. “Percy’s engaged? To who?”

Ginny hit him on the back of the head. “To Oliver, you dolt!”

Ron between the two of them, then let out a small “oh.”

Percy and Oliver sat on the armchair, pushing and shoving each other around until they settled with Percy half in Oliver’s lap. Oliver smiled and held him tight; he burrowed his face into Percy’s shoulder. Slowly, Oliver’s eyes slipped close.

———

Oliver quite enjoyed having people know about him and Percy. It let them be close, share quick kisses, and all in all, act like any other couple. It made him dread going back to Hogwarts. Even if they wouldn’t have to share a room with Charlie anymore, who at this point, was Molly’s way of making sure they weren’t sleeping together.

On New Year’s day, the day before they had to return to Hogwarts, Oliver rolled over to face Percy in bed.

“Perce,” he whispered and tapped Percy’s nose. It had healed significantly, only leaving a couple yellowish patches.

Percy cracked an eye open and hummed.

“Will you keep the ring on at school?” Oliver asked.

Percy thought for a second, scrunching up his face. Then, he nodded. “I will.”

“Penelope’s going to go mad.”

Percy chuckled. “She absolutely will.”

Oliver smiled and shuffled his face deeper into Percy’s jumper.