Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Warning for Character Death.
Word Count - 1453
he woke up lonely
Oliver thought it would always be them, Percy and Oliver against the world, no matter what happened. He thought that they'd stick together, the odd couple, through the good and the bad. He thought Percy would always be at his side.
Oliver thought wrong.
…
"You took the mark?" Oliver gasped, horror on his face as he stared at Percy. "What… what were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that I wanted to survive," Percy mumbled, pushing his glasses up his nose, as he blinked rapidly. "I was thinking that there's no other option now, the Dark Lord has already won."
Oliver stared at him for a moment. "I can't even look at you right now."
"Ollie -"
Shaking his head, Oliver turned and Apparated away.
…
Oliver remembered the easy days, the early days, when sitting in The Leaky Cauldron complaining about work was a thing that they did. When lying on the couch and tracing Quidditch plays onto Percy's bare skin was a thing he was allowed.
Oliver remembered when, after Sunday morning sex (the best kind of course) they would argue over who had to cook breakfast. When "make me!" was met with tickling fingers and lazy kisses.
Oliver remembered the times when it didn't hurt to think Percy's name and he hated it because now, the image of Percy in his mind filled him with sorrow and pain.
…
"Oliver, please just listen," Percy begged, reaching out to catch Oliver's hand with his own. When his fingertips brushed over Oliver's hand, Oliver pulled away with a flinch, a look of disgust flashing over his face.
When Percy looked down, he saw that the bottom of his Dark Mark was on show. Pulling his sleeve down, Percy murmured, "Please, just let me explain."
"There's nothing to explain. You chose him."
"If you joined -"
"I'll join you when hell freezes over," Oliver snarled. "You've chosen your side, and that side isn't mine. You have to stop looking for me, because you're going to get me killed. Unless, of course, that's your aim."
The look on Percy's face told Oliver he was wrong.
It didn't make him feel any better as he walked away.
…
Percy wanted to tell Oliver that he loved him. That he still loved him, that he would always love him, that he was sorry.
Sorry that he wasn't brave like Oliver, that he wasn't stubborn enough to stand in defiance, that he didn't have the courage to keep on fighting.
Sorry that he'd betrayed the only person who'd ever stood by him through… through everything.
Percy wanted to tell Oliver that he'd made a mistake out of cowardice and he regretted it with every second of life he'd sold himself out for.
But he couldn't.
Because for the first time ever, Oliver wouldn't listen.
…
"I never really understood why the two of you were together, you know? You and Percy. It was such an… odd mixture. The Quidditch Captain and the Nerd."
Oliver smiled softly. "He gives me butterflies. Gave. He gave me butterflies. Every time I saw him."
Theo nodded, staring at Oliver for a long moment.
"Why are you still wearing that?"
Oliver looked at the bracelet around his wrist, before glancing up to look at Theo. They were sitting outside of the safe house, the heat stifling inside.
"I… never thought to take it off," Oliver admitted after a pause. He wasn't lying either. Percy had bought him the bracelet for their first year anniversary and Oliver hadn't taken it off since.
"It's not like the two of you are getting back together, is it?" Theo commented carelessly, before he bit his bottom lip. "Sorry, that was harsher than I intended it to sound. I just… taking the mark isn't something forgivable, is it?"
"He sacrificed me for his freedom," Oliver sighed. "If wearing the mark of an insane murderer can be classed as freedom. So no, probably not forgivable."
He still didn't take the gold bracelet off.
…
Oliver wondered why Percy put up with him. They had little in common and yet, Percy, who cared nothing for Quidditch would sit with him and listen to him recount every single second of a match. Even the matches that Percy had watched.
And he didn't complain about it.
Oliver couldn't help wonder if he'd ever thanked Percy for that. He didn't think he had.
He would always regret that.
…
"What… what are you doing here?" Percy asked, gasping in pain as he clutched his side.
"I'm not here for you. I was at the battle," Oliver replied, his blue-green eyes hard. "I saw the hit you took."
Percy stared at him. "Okay. And?"
Raising his eyebrow, Oliver put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small vial, tossing it to Percy carelessly. Percy had to reach to catch it, and he twisted his side painfully to do so, biting his lip to stop himself from crying out.
In his hand was a burn-heal paste.
"How… how are you not here for me, if this is for me?" Percy asked, confused.
Oliver's eyes narrowed.
"I'm here for your mum and your dad, and your brothers who I called my friends. Because as much as you're an ass, they wouldn't want you to suffer. So I'm here for them, because they can't be here since the man who's mark is on your skin had them killed."
"You think I don't know that?" Percy demanded, standing up and doing his best to ignore the pain for a moment. "You really think that I like what I see when I look in the mirror, Oliver?"
"Then why did you do it?" Oliver asked, his shoulders slumping. "If you… I don't understand, Percy. We… we might not have been safe but we were together. We were… we were together."
"I wanted to live. It was join or die, and them were my only choices. I couldn't… I wasn't brave enough to tell him to kill me, Oliver. I…" Percy trailed off, shaking his head.
Oliver closed his eyes.
…
Percy dreamt nightly of Oliver. He dreamt of their one and only holiday, a long weekend in Poland, splashing each other in the sea, their laughter free and easy, time just for them. He dreamt of his hand resting in the curve of Oliver's hip when Oliver was feeling particularly cuddly.
He dreamt of weekends spent in the flat they shared, curled up on a blanket with junk food spread around them, talking about nothing and everything.
He dreamt of holding hands and picking yellow daffodils and feeding the ducks.
He dreamt of days filled with happiness to make up for his waking hours being empty.
Percy often woke up crying.
He always woke up lonely.
…
"You need to leave," Percy shouted, stumbling into the safe house. "He knows the location of the house, he's coming."
There was a hustle of movement as a few of the people staying in the house moved forward to grab at Percy but Oliver stopped them.
"How do you know?"
"I heard him planning with the inner circle," Percy said, taking a deep breath. "But I knew you were here and I couldn't… Oliver I couldn't."
"How'd you know I was here?"
Percy blushed. "The bracelet. I put a tracker on it, before I gave it you. You know, in case you were ever in danger or… people do that."
"Stalkers do that," Theo interjected.
Percy glared at him. Oliver shook his head.
"Everyone get ready to move out," Oliver ordered, ignoring Percy for a moment. "Gather as much gear as you can and be ready to leave in five minutes."
Turning back to Percy, Oliver unclipped the bracelet and moved over to Percy's side. He placed the bracelet in Percy's hand and kissed his cheek, lingering for a moment to bask in the familiarness of Percy's smell and the feel of his soft cheek.
"Thank you for telling us."
…
Oliver hoped his death would be heroic. Or at least not pointless. And yet, as he inhaled gasping breaths, the pain like an inferno in his body, he knew that he was about to die.
Despite Percy's warning about the safe house, he'd been captured and made an example of.
And it was for no other reason than Voldemort wanting to make a point.
The point? Even his followers loved ones weren't safe if they decided to rebel against the new regime.
Oliver met Percy's eyes as he took his last breath and despite everything, he hoped that Percy knew that Oliver still loved him with his whole heart.
And if there was an afterlife, he always would.
Writing Club
Character Appreciation - 20. "I'll join you when hell freezes over."
Shannon's Showcase - 27. Stubborn
Book Club - Maeryn - Curve / Splashing / Warning someone
Showtime - 7. Crying
Buttons - O4. Glasses / D4. "I'm not here for you." / W5. Freedom
Ami's Audio - 1. Blinked / Sex / "Make me."
Sophie's Shelf - Vault 11. Sacrifice.
Emy's Emporium - Portugal 2. Lonely
Angel's Arcade - Roxas - Confused / Choosing a side / Yellow
Lo's Lowdown - C8.(Word) Poland
Bex's Biscuits - Rich Tea - Voldemort Wins!AU / "I can't even look at you right now." / Disgust / Wrong.
Summer Seasonal
Days Of The Month - 27. Gay Pride - Write slash/femmeslash
Summer Prompt - Stifling
Colour - Blue-green
Birthstone - Topaz - "He/She gives me butterflies."
Element (fire) - Inferno
Gryffindor - Percy Weasley
Other - Gold
Other
Insane House - 336. Burn Heal Paste
World Cup - Voldemort Wins!AU
Pinata - Trio Era