For the Last Ship Sailing Competition, using the prompts navy, on cloud nine, candlelight, "Well, to be fair, you are pretty reckless.", and "Nothing With You" by The Descendants, and bonus prompts yellow and lazy.
Fleur came home late from work, her eyes swollen and red, with dark bags under her eyes. It was the third time this week, and it already felt as if she hadn't slept in a month; she could barely hold herself as she stepped out of the hearth and fell rather clumsily on the small navy couch Bill set for her besides the window. A smile appeared on her lips, the first one of the day, when she thought of her husband.
Her blue eyes sought the magical clock, one similar to the one at the Burrow, and the loneliness of Shell Cottage saw a lazy grin appear on her tired face: Bill's spoon was pointing Traveling. Before soaring high and landing on cloud nine, Fleur waited. Had Bill been traveling to some far away place because of their work, she would be disapointed, but thankfully the fireplace lit up in green flames and soon her husband appeared there, in all his glory of red hair and scarred face.
She could not hide her happiness and jumped from the couch, her hands encircling him and lips seeking his cheek.
"I missed you," she whispered between tender kisses that began on his cheek and ended on his neck, slowly caressing his scars as she loved to do to show him he was still beautiful to her. For that, Bill loved Fleur a bit more every day. "The wait was so long I almost threw myself from the cliff outside."
Bill tickled her as he laughed, their foreheads touching in a sign of affection they could not express with words. "Well, to be fair, you are pretty reckless. A Gryffindor, had you studied at Hogwarts."
It was Fleur's turn to laugh, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the small couch, where she sat him and promptly took her place on his lap. His lips sought hers now, hungrily claiming her affection. The charm for the candles began at that moment, leaving them in a dim candlelight that could not drown the artful sunset at the beach. Bill had always loved the color blue, even more after seeing Fleur's blue eyes for the first time, but the orange and gold colors of the sun going down always mesmerized him.
"It's been a rough week," Bill commented tiredly, his head thrown back and eyes closed, feeling a pleasant tingle where Fleur's hands massaged his shoulders and arms. "What did you got? The Irish Cave or the Strange Muggle Theather?"
Fleur made a disgruntled noise, and Bill responded with a quick kiss on the lips before returning to his position, waiting for her to explain. She stayed silent for a moment and pouted.
"The Muggle Theather," Fleur said, still showing her anger through her words, though Bill could hear amusement in her voice. "It was heavily jinxed, but anyone with basic education in Runes and Charms could have brought down the enchantments. I mean, the Muggles there knew what the runes meant and how they related with each other, but they obviously could do nothing without magic. The Ministry should have been able to dispell most of the jinxes, but the standards there are low."
Bill nodded before carefully removing a stray eyelash from Fleur's cheek and blowing it away. Fleur stared at him tenderly, her unhappiness fading away with each moment with him. She smiled, thinking how he always had that effect in her, calming her fiery temper with his laid back attitude. Almost nothing could make him lose his temper, and he never yelled at her, or at anyone for that matter.
"You look a little yellow," he said once he returned his attention to her. "Have you been skipping lunch?"
The worry he had for her was sometimes annoying, though, making her think of her mother-in-law.
"Yes, Molly," she answered sarcastically. "I only ever drink coffee and beer, and sometimes wine when I feel a little fancy."
Bill laughed and she snorted. "You are ridiculous," he told her, kissing her nose and her forehead, marvelling in the spicy scent of her perfume. "But wine is a good choice right now." He added, waving his wand to summon the good wine they had. The bottle came floating to his hand, and with another wave of his wand, it was uncorked.
"No glasses?" she asked, an eyebrow raised at his vulgar actions, as her sister called them. "Does that mean you will get wild and ask me to get naked in the sea to take photos of my dangerously perfect body, as you did last time this happened?"
The laughter that followed her question came to her ears like a balm, cheerfullness finally taking hold of them as they bantered between sips of wine directly from the bottle. Both of them had missed this playfulness during the few days that their jobs kept them apart, and now they were making up for the lost time, as if afraid it would happen more often. They savoured each other's presence as well as they did the wine.
"Your kisses taste like Cabernet," Bill told her breathily, tickling the skin of her neck as he kissed her shoulders. He brushed her hair to the side, leaving her skin more exposed to his lips.
Fleur giggled, repriminding herself for the moronic sound. "It's Merlot, you uncultured swine." Her words were accompanied by a playful swat to his shoulder as they both laughed and bickered over the imperceptible difference on types of grapes, between hair pulling and tickles, and more sips of wine.
Finally, once the bottle was empty and both of them were cuddled in the couch, only silence remained.
Their breathing was still agitated from their laughter, their hearts beating slow and steady. Fleur loved the combination created by the sound of Bill's heart and the smell of his skin when she rested on his chest, his hands wrapped around her as if protecting her from whatever peril could arise, from a Dark Lord to the bees she was so afraid of.
"I would love to stay like this with you, William," she confessed, not bothering to try and move herself from his embrace and actually curling around him more when he nuzzled her head with his nose, as he was prone to do since becoming half-werewolf. "To stay here in this living room, all day, all days, with you, for the rest of our lives. I would love to be here together with no responsibilities, only us."
Fleur felt him kiss her hair once, then twice, before turning to face him. Her heart raced when she saw the teary eyes of her husband, as they always got when she spoke tenderly to him, jokes aside and seriousness promising truth. Bill's lips brushed hers, a soft touch she always longed for when she was away from him.
"I could do nothing with you for the rest of our time," he added, the grave voice breaking as he tried to not to cry. Fleur's words plus wine always had that effect on him. "Really, lune de ma vie, until the Universe ends."
She smiled lovingly. "I believe you, mon soleil et mes etoiles. Even if you're a muggle nerd."
His laughter was contagious, and Fleur joined him with her own melodic voice. Yes, she thought, we belong together.
"Ow," Bill said as he tried to stand up and hit his knee with the coffee table. "That hurts like hell."
Fleur giggled again. "Maybe we should do nothing in the couch."