This is in honour of the lovely Clover Bay, to commemorate the day of her birth!

Happy Birthday, Clover!

Summary: Charlie has a very important question to ask…if Hermione and her stunningly sexy silk dress don't distract him first. But he soon realizes that all he had to do was ask…

All You Have To Do Is Ask

Charlie Weasley stood outside the restaurant, trying to keep his racing heart at bay. For what seemed like the hundredth time that night, he worried the sleeve of his light blue Oxford shirt, trying to stop the restlessness from taking over his body. He was amazed he was still able to fit into it, considering the last time he had worn it had been a year earlier, but the article of clothing and the last time it had seen the light of day was the absolute last thing on his mind when he had pulled it from the closet earlier in the evening.

Three-hundred and sixty-five days. Three-hundred and sixty-five glorious, mind-blowing days since he had donned that shirt and spent the first of many evenings with the one woman who had wormed her way into his life with enough dexterity that he wondered how he was ever going to live without her. Three-hundred and sixty-four days had passed with him knowing that no woman would ever effect him the way she did, and three-hundred and sixty-three days had passed knowing that he didn't want another woman to enter his life as completely as she had enveloped his.

The click of heels brought his attention to the fact that he was standing outside, holding a bouquet of what he was slowly realizing as inadequate blue forget-me-nots – her favourite – waiting for the love of his life to join him for dinner. The blonde that passed him threw him a lecherous wink – the type of wink that would have had him smirking confidently three-hundred and sixty-six days ago. But as she passed, he gave her a weak smile and a non-committing nod that had her sticking her arguably adorable nose in the air and sailing wordlessly by.

He swallowed hard, wondering when it was he had become such a sap. He had never been so faithful, so utterly addicted, to one woman before. In his life of debauchery – extensive though it had been – was decidedly committed now to the woman who was running twelve minutes and thirty-three seconds late for their dinner date.

"You didn't have to wait outside for me, you know."

Charlie felt like he jumped a mile at the sound of her voice, visibly starting when he realized that she was standing next to him, smiling ingenuously and blinking those beautiful whisky-coloured eyes up at him. He swallowed hard again, this time his body shivering as he took in her figure-hugging light-blue dress, matched impeccably with a pair of sensible grey heels and matching clutch. He couldn't help a small smile as he took her in. Everything was matched so perfectly – everything in its proper place – while the one attribute he absolutely adored hung in wild, untameable curls around her face.

It marked her personality so well. Ordered, yet unapologetically defiant.

"I know," he said when he finally found his voice, despairing that it cracked slightly. "But I figured it would be nice to walk in together."

He blushed slightly as she arched an eyebrow, but she had the good grace not to say anything as she gave him a once over, her eyes finding his again and giving him a slow, sexy smirk.

"I remember that shirt," she said, taking the flowers from him wordlessly when he still hadn't offered them to her. "Though, I remember liking it better on my bedroom floor."

His brain flew back to that night, and for once in his life he was glad for his easy ability to blush, knowing that the blood would have gone to a decidedly less appropriate place had he allowed it to.

"These…those are for you," he said needlessly, starting to offer her his now-empty hand before realizing she had taken the flowers already.

"I should hope so," she said with a laugh. "Otherwise, we would have much larger problems."

He managed a laugh as he watched her take a deep breath of the delicate flowers, smiling lovingly up at him.

"Thank you," she said, standing on her tip-toes and kissing him lightly. "They're lovely."

"You're welcome," he replied, taking a deep breath and giving her a smile as he once-again went over his plan for the evening. The first part – handing her the flowers – had not gone exactly the way he had intended but then again, nothing he had ever done could have prepared him for what he had planned for that evening.

"Shall we go in?" she asked, nodding to the door where the maitre'd was giving them an odd look.

"I…yes," he said, hoping the stoic man behind the podium did not mention that Charlie had been standing there for almost forty-five minutes.

"Happy Anniversary, Charlie," she said, tucking the flowers in the crook of her arm as she took the initiative and coiled her free arm around his.

"Happy Anniversary, darling," he replied, smiling down at her as he willed his heart to stop pounding so hard against his ribs.

"Good evening. Welcome to Chateau Dorè," the maitre'd said when they entered. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Er…yes. Weasley. Two," Charlie said with a smile.

The maitre'd looked down and crossed off a name with a flourish of his eagle feather quill.

"Very good, sir. If you'll follow me," he said, picking up a pair of menus and motioning the couple to follow.

"This is a very posh place," Hermione commented, looking around and trying to ignore the pointed stares she received from the seated diners.

"Don't you like it?" he asked worriedly.

She smiled bemusedly.

"Why wouldn't I like it?"

"You said it was posh."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with a place being posh. You should know me well enough by now that I try not to judge something simply by its looks."

"So you like it?"

"We just got here, Charlie. Honestly, I haven't made a decision yet," she said with a laugh. "You seem a little high-strung. Was everything okay at work?"

"Oh, yeah. Work was fine," he said, closing his eyes for a brief second to try and re-group, inwardly berating himself for somehow ignoring his usually-sound mental filter.

"Will you relax? You're acting like this is our first date," she said, smiling politely as the maitre'd held her chair for her at the secluded table in the back he had specifically requested at least three times while he was making the reservation.

"Sorry," he said, accepting the menu from the maitre'd after he had sat across the candlelit table.

Hermione gazed at him across the table for a few moments until he couldn't take it anymore.

"What?" he asked.

"You seem…different," she mused. "Have I mentioned how handsome you are in that shirt?"

He smiled slightly.

"Even though you like it better on your bedroom floor?" he teased.

She smirked, picking up her menu.

"Well, there's still time for that," she replied, throwing him a wink.

Charlie felt his blood heat up and once again willed the blood away from his crotch.

"Ooh…they have coq au vin. I know what I'm having," she said after a moment, putting the menu down and looking at him. "You remember that time we were stuck in that inn in France on the way back from Romania? I wonder if anything can beat the coq au vin there."

"It was very good," he remarked, his mind treacherously going back a few months to the cozy little country inn where he and Hermione had spent most of the weekend holed up in their room, christening every available surface. "Not the best part of that weekend, though, if I remember correctly."

She smiled.

"No, I have to say the food was definitely not the high point of that little unintentional get-away."

Charlie chuckled.

"Mum was royally brassed off for missing Aunt Muriel's party, but I think both of us preferred our little mini-break."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Though I could have done without the comments your aunt kept throwing at us about being irresponsible and ungrateful. Like she's ever done anything for me."

"Yes, well, good thing she has no say in my romantic entanglements," Charlie said.

"Well, she has a say. But like most things with your family, you simply ignore it," she replied with a chuckle. Then she sighed, leaning over and taking his hand. "Can you believe it's been a year, Charlie?"

He smiled adoringly at her.

"A beautiful year, love," he said, kissing her hand before holding it affectionately. "I've loved every moment of it."

"As have I," she replied, before that same slow, sexy smirk appeared on her full lips. "I don't think I've ever had so much mind-blowing sex in one year."

Her words were laced with promise, and Charlie wasn't able to suppress his libido as he imagined all the nights they had spent making love, her back arched as a thin sheen of sweat glinted in the moonlight. Her body was something he couldn't possibly get enough of.

"It has been pretty mind-blowing, hasn't it?" he asked absently, his cock coming to attention as she gazed into his eyes with the same hunger he remembered seeing that day a year ago when they had had their first date.

"You are one of a kind, baby," she said. "All you have to do is ask, and I melt into a puddle at your feet."

"Me too," he breathed, getting caught up in the feral glint in her eyes.

"Good evening," a voice said beside them, interrupting their unspoken foreplay, and the two looked up to see a young, attractive brunette standing next to their table. "My name is Danielle, and I'll be your server tonight. May I start you off with something to drink?"

Charlie didn't miss the flirtatious lilt the waitress had as she gave him a once-over.

"Yes, please," Hermione said, understandably irritated at the unabashed appreciation of what Charlie had affectionately referred himself to as "her" property. "I'd like a glass of St-Èmilion."

"The bottle for the two of us, please," Charlie added, barely giving the waitress a glance as he appreciated the mild flush of his lover's cheeks.

"Yes, sir," the waitress said, obviously understanding that she was out of her league in terms of catching the redhead's attention, and walked away.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Hermione admitted. "I trust you, but there are mild drawbacks to having a deliciously-sexy boyfriend."

Charlie felt a thrill slide down his spine at the idea that, even after a year, she still thought of him as sexy.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to deal with the looks my devastatingly-gorgeous girlfriend keeps getting, either. Especially from admittedly-attractive Quidditch players," he replied, arching his eyebrow with a smirk as she rolled her eyes.

"Viktor, Oliver, and Cormac combined are not nearly the man you are, darling," she assured.

Charlie swelled slightly at the comment.

Having fallen into the easy conversation that always relaxed him had caused him to nearly forget his reasons for being nervous in the first place. The mild reminder of her past paramours, however, brought all of his anxiety to the forefront of his mind, however, as he remembered the tiny box that sat like a rock in his trouser pocket.

"Do you remember that time we accidentally missed Ginny's Quidditch game?" Hermione asked with a chuckle.

Charlie smirked.

"How can I forget? The scratches on my back have only just started to heal," he teased.

"You had been gone for three weeks! It was the least I could do to show you how glad I was that you were home," she replied, biting her lip as her thumb started to make tiny circles on the back of his hand.

"Oh, I'm definitely not complaining," he said, his mind once again drifting back to their love-making and how her body had felt so perfect pressed into his. She always felt so perfect in his arms.

"No, you definitely weren't," she said, gazing into his eyes.

They sat for a moment in silence before Hermione leaned forward.

"I'm sorry, love, but I can't help it…what do you say we forget dinner and go home? Seeing you in that shirt is bringing back all sorts of memories that I'm very eager to relive."

Charlie's mouth went dry, trying to stop the two sides of his brain from warring against each other. On the one hand, her body had been calling to his the moment he had seen her standing next to him outside, the blue silk bringing out every curve to perfection. On the other hand, he had planned the night so perfectly – wanting everything to be just so – that a disruption might make him lose his nerve.

As expected, however, the romantic side lost out to the side that could not refuse her anything.

"All you have to do is ask, love," he said, already putting his napkin on the table and pushing his chair out.

"Should we leave some galleons for the wine?" Hermione asked as Charlie all but heaved her to her feet as he helped her out of her chair.

"What? Oh, yes," he replied, digging into his pocket and throwing down more than was necessary before taking her hand and almost dragging her out of the restaurant.

Apparating them to the front of her building, Charlie knew that his head had been fighting a losing the battle to his raging erection when she nearly took his arm off getting them to the lift of the very expensive building that housed her very expensive flat.

"I've been imagining you naked for the past half an hour," she breathed in his ear as she pushed him up against the wall of the blissfully-empty lift, pausing only to press the button to her floor before crushing her lips to his.

Charlie groaned, wrapping his arms around her body, drawing her up against him as he devoured her. The full cushions of her lips held an exotic spice to them that he had never been able to place. It was just so uniquely her that he had just figured it was yet another thing that differentiated the brilliant bookworm from all the other women in his life.

"God I can't wait to have you," she whispered as they stumbled out of the lift, nearly colliding with the lovely older woman who lived a few doors down from her. The woman gave them a disapproving sniff, though Charlie thought he saw a hint of amusement behind her eyes as they passed her in a hurry.

"Thank Merlin for wands," Charlie mused as she quickly opened the door with her vine wood one. He briefly wondered where she had stowed it, but thought better of contemplating the matter any further as she tugged him into the flat and pressed him against the door.

"Do you think we should go to the bedroom?" she asked between quick, frenzied kisses, her fingers already halfway through with the buttons of his shirt.

"No time," he groaned as her hands pressed against the hard planes of his work-honed muscle, running up his body and pushing the shirt off his broad shoulders.

"My thoughts exactly," she replied, catching his lips in another breathtakingly deep kiss.

Lifting her into his arms and turning them, Charlie felt her legs wrap around his hips as her back hit the door. He groaned as he felt the heat of her naked core press intimately against his fabric-covered erection.

"You're not wearing panties," he growled in her ear, his hands already on her thighs, pushing the silk of her dress up her body.

"I had a feeling I wouldn't need them," she replied. "Considering the amount of pairs we've ruined, I figured I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Always thinking ahead," he breathed, bringing the dress over her head and throwing it behind him. "That's one of the many reasons why I love you."

He heard her breath hitch as he clasped a straining nipple between his lips, sucking on the rosy bud as he felt her body shiver in the cool night air. He wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her body closer as his other hand slid up her body, cupping her chin and weaving his fingers through her soft hair. He groaned as she nipped at his thumb, which was right next to her lips, taking it between her lips and sucking lightly as he switched to her other breast.

"Fuck, Charlie, I need you inside me," she gasped as he swirled his tongue around her nipple, causing her to arch her back.

"All you have to do is ask," he said with a smile, eagerly releasing himself from the constraints of his trousers and kicking them off. Lining himself with her dripping core, he thrust inside her and they both cried out in mutual pleasure.

"Oh God, I've been waiting all day for this," she groaned, her head falling back against the door.

"I thought it was only for the past half hour," he teased, willing his self-control into place to stop himself from cumming right then and there within the desperately-tight witch of his dreams.

"I lied," she breathed, catching his lips before rolling her hips to urge him on. He gripped her hip, starting to thrust hard against her and smirking as he heard her gasp.

If Charlie could describe the feeling of being one with his witch, the only word that could easily come to mind would be 'indescribable.' She was so hot and tight that every time they made love, he had to reign in every ounce of self-control he possessed. Now, gripping her hair with one hand and her hip with the other, Charlie forced her to look deep into his eyes as he thrust hard and fast into her body.

"Tell me you love me," he demanded, his hips working fluidly as he watched the flush of exertion cross her cheeks.

"I love you…God, Charlie, I love you so much!" she moaned, her eyelids drifting closed as he switched the angle of his thrusts, his cock sliding along her inner wall and hitting the spot deep within her that always had her toes curling.

"Merlin, witch…" Charlie growled, burying his head in her neck as he felt his muscles straining against her, her nails starting to dig into his shoulders as he felt her orgasm approaching swiftly.

"Charlie…" she cried as he lengthened his thrusts, drawing her to the edge before hiking her leg up higher on his hip, thrusting with almost brutal strength within her and setting off the nerve that had her hitting high notes.

"Tell me how much you wanted this," he growled, feeling his own orgasm starting to take over his body.

"Every day…all the time…" she gasped, her nails raking down his back as she came undone in his arms.

"Yes..." he groaned as he felt her walls clamp down around him, her peak hitting her hard as she screamed his name, her back arching and her body flushed with pleasure.

Charlie held her close, one hand holding her to him as the other pressed hard against the door frame, his hips jerking as he came within her. Pleasure flew through him, ripping her name from his lips as he buried his head in her neck once more, his own cries muffled against her damp skin.

They stayed still for a few moments, their bodies still giving residual shivers as they slowly came down from their respective highs. Finally giving in to his buckling knees, Charlie slid to the floor, bringing her with him and wrapping his arms around her body as she lay on top of him.

After a few moments of silence, she let out a puff of air against his chest.

"I have no idea why it took us almost ten years to start doing that," she said.

"Probably because for the first six of them you weren't old enough to be doing it," he replied with a chuckle.

"Hmm…that's what you think," she said softly before snuggling into his body.

"Excuse me?" he asked, though he knew she was just teasing him from the way her lips curled into a smile against his skin.

"Nobody has ever made me feel so utterly satisfied, darling," she said, stretching and rolling off his body to curl next to him.

"Good," he replied, wrapping his arm around her.

After a moment, she squirmed slightly.

"What am I laying on?" she asked, reaching beneath them to pull out his trousers, her brow furrowing as she snaked her hand into the pocket before he could stop her.

His heart stopped when she pulled out the small black velvet box.

She looked at it for a second before looking at him with wide, surprised eyes. He had to open and shut his mouth a couple of times, torn between guilt and mortification at the decidedly-unromantic way the intended climax of the evening had developed.

"I…er…wanted to give that to you in a different way," he said, sitting up as she stared at the still-closed box. "Um…"

She looked up at him, her eyes starting to fill with happy tears.

"All you have to do is ask, baby," she said quietly.

Glee spread through his body when he realized what that meant. Taking the box from her, he opened it and showed her the beautiful square-cut diamond that sat there.

"Hermione Granger," he said softly. "Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

She let out a little choked sob and took it delicately from its bed.

"Yes," she whispered, slipping it on her finger and watching it resize before looking at him. "Oh God, Charlie, yes!"

She launched herself at him, kissing him all over his face before settling on a long, languorous kiss on his lips that had him groaning with building arousal by the end.

Pulling back, he gazed into his fiancée's eyes, pushing a lock of that impossible hair out of her face.

"I was worried you might think it was too soon, but I've been wanting to ask you for almost a year now."

She smiled, kissing him lightly before cuddling into his body.

"All you had to do was ask, Charlie."

Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!