Submission for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition ~ Chasser 2, Cannons
Required prompt: Use the title of a story written by your Chaser 3 for inspiration ~ I chose "His Biggest Mistake"
Optional prompts: Pacing, Fish and chips, "I should have told you sooner"
A/N: I decided to make this a Muggle AU!
Of course, I own nothing but the silly plot
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Of all the places to realize exactly how much of an idiot he had been all his life, it was in the queue at the grocery store. Percy had been glossing over the tabloids and magazines in the racks, holding his basket and wondering if he had actually turned in that report this afternoon or just thought about turning it in. Then he saw it. The cover of a tabloid. The picture was terrible quality, but he'd know that face, that hair, anywhere.
Ten seconds later, Percy was walking out of the store, staring at the tabloid in his hands (which he had not paid for), grocery basket left, dropped on the floor. His mind was nowhere near what he'd be having for dinner like it was a few minutes ago.
Percy hadn't even realized where he was going until he rounded the corner, stopped at the crosswalk and looked up to see the stadium appear in front of him. How had he even gotten here? He'd been nowhere near this part of town. It was as if he had been so determined to get to this exact destination, his feet had magically brought him here of their own accord. A small thought in the back of his mind reminded him that he'd deliberated doing this very thing on many occasions over the years, but he brushed it away quickly.
The crosswalk signalled for Percy to walk, then stop, then walk again while he stood precisely where he had rounded the corner. He was being ridiculous, he told himself. He didn't even know if the team, much less Oliver, would be here today.
What was he even going to say, if Oliver was here? 'Sorry I didn't make it to your celebratory party when you made the team,' ten years ago… What a prick. 'I know I had your number all these years, but I lost it for a while, then when I found it years later I thought maybe you'd changed it so I didn't bother calling to find out.' Such an idiot. 'I had a crush on you since the moment I first saw you in class Freshman year. It definitely got worse Senior year but you were seeing a friend of mine at the time and I know it didn't last but I haven't told you even though I've carried a torch for you all these years.' What a wanker.
Percy had made a lot of mistakes in his life, he knew that. This though - this might have been his biggest mistake of all. He wasn't going to leave it this way any longer.
Waiting for the light to turn once more, he glanced down at the stolen tabloid in his hand. There, plain as day, Oliver Wood, his old school friend and crush turned pro football player, embracing another one of his teammates. Oliver had his hand grasping the other man's head, their foreheads pushed together. Likely someone had just made an excellent goal - just a perfectly harmless picture. But the ridiculous caption next to it in huge block letters "WHICH OF YOUR FAVORITE PLAYERS ARE PLAYING FOR THE OTHER TEAM?" and the fact that Percy happened to know that Oliver did indeed fancy men… It had pushed him to be standing here in front of the stadium where the team played.
Percy began pacing between the stadium entrance and the little fish and chip cart on the walkway. He didn't even know if he could get inside even if he wanted to. Percy groaned, covering his face with his hands, worrying all over about what he'd say even if he did see him.
He wanted to apologize. Tell him what a git he'd been, he knows it and that he feels like he's never been more of a fool than when it comes to Oliver. Even the huge rift he had caused between him and his family all over politics didn't compare. He had cut himself off almost completely from his family, everyone he'd ever known, he'd moved away: all mistakes. Every single one of them. But they'd been repaired. This hadn't. This was Percy's biggest mistake.
Percy checked his watch, though he didn't know why. It wasn't as if he knew what time practice let out - if the team was even practicing here today. Idily, he noticed his pacing was adding significantly to his step-count for the day though, and he imagined it was keeping him calmer than if he wasn't moving, so he kept walking.
Tilting his head back, he took in the unusually cloudless sky. It was a huge blanket of blue. He chuckled as he remembered back in school, when they would delay going home just a little longer by laying out on the field. Oliver had always fancied the ridiculous, the silly. Of course, he was also studious and determined, if in an unconventional way compared to Percy, but Oliver was always looking for reasons to laugh. They'd stare up at the sky and Oliver would go on for twenty minutes at a time about what it would be like to fly. Now he moved so fast on the pitch he'd earned the nickname The Flier. Percy wondered for a moment if Oli hadn't given himself that nickname.
"Can I get you anything, lad?"
Percy brought his head back down and pushed up his glasses as he glanced over at the man behind the fish and chip cart. He was older, a bit hunchbacked, wearing a little cap and had a nametag on that read "Tom."
"Thanks," Percy said, "but I'm just waiting…" He trailed off as he turned his head back towards the stadium. "Do you know, is the team practicing today?" Percy took a few steps closer to the man and his cart.
"That's why I'm here!" he replied. "Most of the lads go down to the pub just over there after practice but I can usually get a few orders of chips." Tom looked Percy over as he asked "Do you… know someone on the team?"
"Uh, yeah," Percy could feel the tips of his ears burning. "Well, I was old school friends with one of them."
"Ah," said Tom - as if with that one confession he knew everything Percy wasn't saying. As if this kind of thing happened all the time; old friends, fans claiming they knew the players appearing out of the woodwork hoping to catch the players. Maybe it did. Maybe Oliver got confessions of love once a week after practice. Maybe this idea was shit.
Rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced back at the stadium, Percy asked "Do you, uh, do you know when they're usually done? Only he doesn't know that I'm coming and I don't mind waiting! I'll wait as long as it takes, but I was just curious… if you knew." He pushed his glasses up again.
Tom chuckled, though it came out a bit more of a wheeze than anything. "Just another quarter hour, I'd wager."
Without thinking, Percy was walking towards the stadium again. He had fantasized about this moment plenty of times. Except those were always spontaneous, accidental run-ins. He never knew what to say then, either. If he couldn't be smooth in his daydreams, surely he was going to make a right fool of himself here in person.
Really, he thought as he turned back towards Tom and his cart, he shouldn't be here. He should leave. Try the phone number he's never tried in the last decade. Call his mother and ask if she has Mrs. Wood's home phone, try that one. Maybe the team had an agent he could call-
"Weasley! Is that you?!"
Percy whipped his head around so fast his body almost didn't catch up with him.
There was Oliver, striding towards him in a practice jersey, mesh workout shorts, a bag surely full of gear hanging off his shoulder. And he was laughing. Smiling. At Percy.
"I'd know that hair anywhere!" he said, splitting from the teammate he had been walking with to make a beeline straight for Percy. "What are you doing here? I thought you were up in-"
"I moved back," Percy blurted. "Recently."
They stood there, silently smiling at one another for a few moments.
"What made you move back?"
"I'm here to see you," they both said at the same time.
Then Oliver was giving him that cockeye grin - the one Percy associated with Oli coming up with some fantastic idea. Percy knew he had to be blushing as his cheeks heated while he tried to stop thinking about what ideas he hoped Oliver was coming up with right now.
"I'm - I'm here to see you now. That's not - that's not why I moved back," Percy stammered.
"That would have been quite the grand gesture if you had," Oliver said as he glanced Percy up and down. "You're looking good, mate." Percy was never going to stop blushing at this rate. Though he might die of mortification as he noticed Oliver's eyes lingering at his hand and he remembered he was still holding the bloody tabloid.
"Thanks," Percy said as he quickly rolled up the paper in his hands to hide the front page. "So are you, obviously," he said as he used the paper to gesture at all of Oliver.
Oliver chuckled at that, and Percy relaxed just the slightest bit. Mad declarations of love, or fancy - even of years gone by - wasn't Percy's style. He wanted to be bold enough to say "I fancied you in school, I've held onto that crush, and I miss you. I should have told you sooner. Even if you're with someone else, I'd like to be friends again." But he realized, as they stood there, the end of that declaration was really what mattered most. He wanted his friend back. If he lucked out and got more, well, he'd be a lucky man either way.
"Some of the lads pop down to the pub after practice," Oliver said, looking at the last stragglers on the team walking down the road.
"Oh, sure, you should go! I shouldn't-"
"But," Oliver turned back and looked Percy directly in the eyes, "honestly, I could really go for some fish and chips." He quirked his eyebrow in question and Percy thought his cheeks would split with his smile.
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A/N: Thanks to prairieenginere, for-witchcraft-and-wizardry, and amaliabones for their cheerleading and betaing! xoxo
Also, I know they use different school years than we do here in the US, but I kept it anyway! :-p