Can't Live Without

By Molly The Monster

Setting: The flat of Teddy Lupin, 2024

Prompts: stare, crying, first time, forbidden, mistake, cheating, a tearful departure, slamming

The bright light of the rising sun snaked through the cracked shades of the window, hitting Dominique Weasley's pale, sleeping face, waking her from perhaps the most peaceful sleep she'd ever had in her life. She stretched her arms up over her head, taking a deep breath that was more like a yawn. When she rolled to the right, her lips curled into the slightest of smiles as she saw the figure of the boy sleeping next to her.

As quietly as she could, she slipped out of the bed, trying not to bother Teddy. He stirred slightly, adjusting himself to a more comfortable position, but otherwise he was undisturbed. She tiptoed across the soft carpet and slipped into the bathroom, closing the door carefully behind her.

When she approached the mirror, she was almost shocked at what she found. Her dark, red hair was a little messy, but other than that, she was positively glowing. Her cheeks were perfectly flushed, her eyes seemed to sparkle. Her smile, a smile she didn't even realize she'd been smiling, could light up a room.

Quickly, she ran a comb through her hair and brushed her teeth, careful not to make too much noise. When she looked in the mirror, she couldn't help but smile. Even with no makeup, with no magic, and with nothing special done to her hair, she'd never felt more beautiful than in that moment, standing in the bathroom of Teddy's flat in his old shirt that was so long it practically reached her knees. Teddy had wanted to be with her, and that was enough to make her feel like she was walking on air.

Closing the bathroom door quietly behind her, she snuck back into the room and crawled into the bed beside the still sleeping boy. Inching her way closer to him, she traced a line down his bare back with her finger. She heard him moan lightly, and she bit her lip slightly. Just hearing his voice was a reminder of the night they'd shared, and already it was enough to drive her insane. She leaned forward, pressing her lips against his neck in a gentle kiss. "Teddy," she whispered gently in his ear before going back to place another kiss on his neck. "Time to wake up."

Teddy let out another moan, but his voice was pleasant as he spoke, even if his voice was a mumble. "Oh, come on, Victoire. Five more minutes."

Victoire.

The word echoed in Dominique's head louder and louder.

He thought she was Victoire? He thought he'd spent the night with Victoire?

Dominique Weasley had spent her entire life living in her perfect sister's shadow. Victoire was special, perfect in every way. The first born of the Weasley grandchildren, naturally she was sorted into Gryffindor like all the Weasleys before her. Everyone was just so proud. Even in her first year, she got impeccable grades, she won the hearts of all her professors, she had oh so many friends she barely had time to spend with all of them. She was made prefect in her fifth year, and though she never got to be Head Girl, no one was disappointed in her.

But Dominique never begrudged her for any of that. Dominique didn't need to be a Gryffindor or a prefect or have every last member of the Weasley-Potter family fawn over her like she was the Queen of Sheba.

There was only one thing in the world that Victoire Weasley had that Dominique wanted. And the thing–or the person, rather–that she wanted was laying in bed next to her, mistaking her for the one person she'd been trying to differentiate herself from for her entire life.

Suddenly she didn't feel so beautiful anymore. Suddenly she didn't feel so giddy. She felt dirty, like a cheap prostitute used for her body and nothing more. A new feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach, and surprisingly, that feeling wasn't sadness. It was anger.

"Guess again, Teddy," she said gently in his ear, before lowering her mouth down to lay a trail of kisses down his neck and onto his shoulder.

Teddy groaned again, his body clearly reacting positively to the lips against his neck. "What are you going on about?" he asked, rolling over onto his other side so that he was facing Dominique. He was clearly still half asleep as he reached out to Dominique, but when his eyes seemed to come into focus and he realized it was not his fiancée laying next to him but her little sister, his eyes widened in complete and utter horror, his mouth hanging open as the realization set in that the girl laying next to him was not the right girl at all.

Dominique watched as he scrambled to back up, not realizing he was laying at the edge of the bed. He tumbled over the edge of the bed, crashing to the floor in a mess of blankets. He didn't even seem to care or feel any sort of pain as he just stared at Dominique, the horror etched across his face as he tried to form any sort of coherent sentence. "What– What– How did you– What hap– How– What– What–"

The words came flying out of his mouth without any kind of filter. He just babbled on like an idiot as he tried to make sense of a situation he clearly didn't understand. He looked confused and terrified all at once. The sight was actually rather pathetic. Dominique almost pitied him.

"Merlin, don't hurt yourself, Teddy," said Dominique with a smug grin as she adjusted herself, propping herself up on her elbow as she looked down at Teddy who was sprawled out on the floor like a buffoon.

"What happened?" he snapped, his voice an odd mixture of fear and anger and confusion.

Dominique just laughed. "Do you want me to spell it out for you?" she asked with a sarcastic grin. "Or should I draw you a picture...?"

Teddy's eyes widened ever so slightly, like he was only just realizing what had happened. "No," he said slowly, quietly, his face that of a terrified child. "No, no, no, no, no," he said, over and over again. "We–we didn't..." He sounded absolutely petrified of the answer, an answer Dominique was certain that he already knew.

"Oh, we did," she assured him, pushing the guilt that was starting to form in the pit of her stomach down. "And, um, I think you really enjoyed it," she could help but add with a smirk.

All the color seemed to drain from Teddy's face as the shocking truth finally set in for him. "Oh, Merlin. I'm gonna be sick," he mumbled, his breath faltering.

"Don't be such a drama queen," said Dominique, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Teddy ran a hand through his messy, curly hair before scrambling to his feet. His breathing was heavy as he paced back and forth, mumbling to himself. "All right, all right. Okay. Okay. All right, I have to go," he announced suddenly, making a beeline for the door before he stopped abruptly. "No. No I don't. I live here." He turned his attention to Dominique. "You have to go."

Dominique just laughed. She was rather enjoying seeing Teddy running frantically like a troll who lost its club. "Oh, I'm not going anywhere," she informed him with a slick smile. "I'm comfortable right here," she went on, running her hand along the bed sheets. "Besides, you weren't so eager for me to leave last night. In fact, you practically begged me to stay."

The look on Teddy's face said it all. He shook his head, unable to accept the truth. "No. No, no. I–I didn't do that. I wouldn't do that. I–"

"Trust me. You did," Dominique informed him. Perhaps she was exaggerating a little. Maybe he didn't beg, but he certainly wanted to be with her last night.

"No," said Teddy a bit more forcefully, as if that was going to make it any less true. "No, I didn't..." Dominique watched in amusement as he struggled to come to terms with what had happened. He was probably starting to remember, and she was content to lay in his bed as he realized what had happened. She wasn't going to let him write her off.

"I need my shirt," Teddy mumbled, and it sounded like he was talking more to himself than Dominique. He looked down at the floor and scanned the room before his eyes landed on Dominique in his shirt from the night before. He looked like he was going to throw up before he turned away from her and began rifling through his drawers, mumbling something about how he needed a different one and why couldn't he remember where he kept his bloody shirts.

Seeing Teddy like that didn't bring joy to Dominique, even though she wanted it to. She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. She had to do something, say something to Teddy to make him feel better. "Look, Teddy–"

"Will you just go!" Teddy snapped, looking over his shoulder at Dominique for a brief moment before he finally managed to locate a shirt and yank it over his head.

Suddenly Dominique wasn't feeling so empathetic anymore. She bit her bottom lip, willing herself not to feel like some kind of trashy girl who Teddy picked up at a pub and used to let out his frustration over his fight with Victoire. Willing herself not to feel dirty and worthless and tossed to the side now that Teddy was done with her. Most of all, she willed herself not to cry at the complete rejection she was feeling from the one boy who ever meant anything to her.

"Why do you want me to go so badly, huh?" she asked, her voice rising as she sat up on the bed, not bothering to even try hiding her contempt. "It's not like Victoire will ever forgive you for this.

Teddy's bottom lip quivered as he spoke. "Y–y–you don't know that," he stuttered, his voice low, desperate.

"Actually, I do," said Dominique. She knew her sister well enough to know what would happen if Victoire found out about this. Victoire would never want to speak to either of them ever again. "You should just get out of it now. Cut your losses. I'm better than she is anyway!"

Teddy ran a hand through his hair again, causing it to stand up and stick out in all sorts of odd angles. He seemed to be thinking, considering something before he finally nodded his head as if he made a decision. Dominique could practically see the gears working in his head. "Fine, fine, right," he said, the words coming out of his mouth a mile a minute. "You're right. You–you just get comfortable. Stay right there," he continued, indicating the bed as he inched toward the door. "I'm just gonna, you know..." he trailed off, pointing over his shoulder at the door as he slowly moved toward it.

It was obvious Teddy thought she was born yesterday. Dominique just narrowed her eyes at him, her lips forming a small smile. She was onto him. He was painfully transparent. "So you can waltz on over to Victoire's flat and try to explain all of this to her?" she asked, her voice taunting. "Wait, I have an idea," she said, climbing out of the bed and walking right up to Teddy, speaking only inches from his face. "Why don't you stay here?" she told him, placing a hand on his chest. "And I'll head on over to Victoire's just like this." She motioned to her outfit, or lack thereof, as she was wearing nothing but Teddy's discarded tee shirt from the night before. "And tell her the truth. You can come too and make up some lie if you want. But who do you think she'll believe? Her lying, cheating boyfriend or her baby sister who has nothing to hide?"

If Dominique had thought the color from Teddy's face had drained before, it was nothing compared to what it looked like now. He was actually as white as a ghost. His bottom lip was shaking, and his eyes were glassed over. "Oh, Merlin," he mumbled, and before Dominique could do anything he made a break for the door. For a moment she couldn't believe what was happening. Did he actually think he could just run out of here a get to Victoire before she could? She was beyond furious.

At least she was until she heard the sound of him vomiting in the bathroom.

A pit formed deep in Dominque's stomach, and she felt frozen in place as she heard the sound of him throwing up again. She supposed the vomiting could have just been because he had far too much to drink the night before. But she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't sick because of the drinking but because of disgust. That he was in the bathroom throwing up because he was disgusted by the idea of ever being with her.

She didn't even have time to sort out her emotions–was she angry? Upset? Confused?–before she heard Teddy's voice from the next room so quiet that she wasn't sure if he even wanted her to hear it. But the words that he muttered from the next room were unmistakable.

"I'm sorry."

All it took were those two words. It was enough to make Dominique lose it. The dam was broken and the tears started flowing, completely uncontrollably. The tears Dominique had been fighting to keep back all morning. "Screw you, Teddy!" she screamed, throwing herself onto the bed, burying her face in the sheets.

Dominique Weasley was not weak. She didn't cry. She didn't let other people see past her strong exterior. She didn't want to appear vulnerable. That gave people power over her, power that she didn't want anyone to have. She had always been good at keeping her emotions in, not letting anyone see what she was truly thinking. But Teddy Lupin had always been that exception.

Teddy understood her like no one else. Teddy never looked at her like Dominique Weasley, black sheep of the family. Teddy always knew what to say to make her feel better. Teddy never made her feel bad when cousin after cousin after cousin was sorted into Gryffindor even though she was a Slytherin. Teddy was always there for her when she needed him. Teddy had always made her feel good about herself.

Sometimes she had to manipulate people to get what she wanted. Sometimes she had to hurt people, and usually–always–she didn't care. But Teddy was the only person she never wanted to hurt, and she'd always thought Teddy would never hurt her. Yet here he was, hurting her more than she'd ever been hurt in her entire life. Her heart literally felt like it was breaking into a million pieces.

"Dominique." She heard Teddy's voice behind her, quiet and uneasy. "P-Please don't cry."

That was the last thing she wanted to hear. It was even worse than the apology. Suddenly she felt the rage building up inside her again. He didn't get to do this. She wouldn't let him. He wasn't allowed to be nice when he was breaking her heart.

"Why don't you want me?" she shouted, sitting up on the bed to look at Teddy. Her eyes were bloodshot and the tears were still flowing from her eyes. Teddy looked almost as bad as she felt. His eyes were glazed over, and his complexion was almost green as he stood in the doorway.

"What?" asked Teddy stupidly, obviously baffled by her question. He didn't get it. He just didn't get it.

That angered Dominique even more. How did he not get it? How did he not understand what he wasn't doing her? That he wasn't just some guy to her. He was the guy, everything to her. "Why can't you want me the way you want her?" she demanded angrily.

Teddy just stared at her, apparently at a loss of words. "I'm sorry," he said finally, though the words seemed to hold little meaning. "I never meant for this to happen." His voice was sincere, Dominique could tell that much, but it wasn't helping her feel any better. "I never wanted to hurt you. It's just I..." his voice trailed off, and Dominique knew exactly what he was going to say.

"It's just that you love Victoire!" she screamed. How could he say that? How could he do this when he claimed to love her so much? "If you love her so much why would you do this to her? Why would you do this to me?"

"I...I don't know," said Teddy weakly. Dominique could see the pain in his eyes. She didn't want to hurt him. But he deserved to be hurting. He deserved to be hurting as much as she was. "Dominique...this. This was a–"

"Don't!" Dominique said firmly, holding up a hand to stop him. She got up from the bed, her eyes still filled with tears. She couldn't hear him say it. She wanted to be with Teddy more than anything in the world, and she couldn't bear the idea of him calling the greatest night of her life a mistake. "Don't say it."

Teddy looked at a loss of words again. "I care about you so much, but–"

"Stop it!" she yelled! "Just stop it!" She couldn't take it. She couldn't hear how much he cared abou ther, how much he cared about everyone. It was just a constant reminder of who he was. That he was the perfect guy in every possible way. That he was everything she could ever want, and yet he would never be hers.

"I'm sorry," he said again. The word was really starting to irritate her.

"Stop apologizing," she said wiping her eyes. "Just stop it."

"What else can I do but apologize?" he asked, and for the first time his voice wasn't so weak. His voice was strong, firm.

"You're just making things worse!" she cried. She didn't want to hear his empty apologies. She just wanted to hear one thing, one thing that he obviously didn't want to give her. "You can't fix this, Teddy! You can't!"

"What do you want me to say?" asked Teddy, his voice cracking slightly.

Dominique shook her head. "I just want to know why. Why would you do this?" she demanded.

Teddy stared at her blankly for a moment before finally speaking. "I don't know," he said flatly.

"That's not an answer!" Dominique yelled, her anger getting the better of her. "If you love Victoire so much and you care about me so much, why would you sleep with me?" Her voice was loud, so loud that she wouldn't have been surprised if she starting waking Teddy's neighbors.

"I. Don't. Know," he said, his voice raising. "What do you want from me, Dominique? What do you want?" He was yelling now, screaming at her like she was the worst thing to ever happen to him.

A new rush of tears filled Dominique's eyes. "Nothing!" she shrieked, grabbing her clothes from the floor and rushing to the door. She turned around for a moment, shaking her head slightly at him. "I don't want anything from you! Not now, not ever!" With one last look at Teddy's face, she slammed the door behind her.

She suppressed every emotion she was feeling but one. She wasn't going to be sad, devastated, heartbroken. She was going to forget the fact that for one glorious night she had everything she ever wanted and now was left with nothing. She was left with one feeling and one feeling only: anger. Anger at Teddy. Anger at herself.

He was going to pay for this.

She would make sure of it.

Holla! So there you have it. This was written for 90's child 100 Prompts challenge and Bree's (cancelling the apocalypse) angst challenge. Not sure how active either of those are, but I do what I want. Haha. I love me some angsty Teddy and Dominique, so I had to write this. I'm like really obsessed with the Dominique/Teddy/Victoire love triangle. I used to roleplay this a lot, usually as Teddy, and after a particularly fun thread, this was born!

So the original intention for this was to be a one-shot. But I'm kind of thinking this could actually turn into a multi-chapter story. I'm not sure. You can let me know in the reviews if you think I should continue!

As always, much love to snogbox10, JanuaryWords, Madam'zelleGiry, persevera, laxgrl21, and becc-gallanter for reviewing my last one-shot, Worth A Shot.