After finally telling Hermione and Remus about Will, she felt relieved. She hated not telling her sooner but didn't know what would have happened if she had.
She apparated home and appeared in her living room just as William came in the front door.
"Beat ya!" Charlotte said. "Well, you obviously cheated." Will say, and put down the grocery bags. "Magic is not cheating, you're just a lousy loser," she said, knowing that he would not let her win this argument without a fight. "Magic is cheating if not both are using it." She turned her back to him, and said in a low voice, but just loud enough to know he would hear it. "Such a bad loser." She smiled to herself, knowing she had just thrown a matchstick on gasoline. Since he was a lawyer it was like an instinct for him to argue.
Then suddenly he appeared right in front of her, her eyes widened. When she dared meet his eyes he had one eyebrow raised and a ghost of a smile. "Wanna say that a little louder" in a low voice. She bit her lower lip and was debating whether to end it or not. She landed on not. And with emphasis on the last word she said "What? You mean LOSER?" Her whole face went from neutral to her trying her best not to laugh. Maybe it was this kind of sass that had landed her in Slytherin when she went to Hogwarts. William's jaw clenched. 1-0 to her. She felt these "fights" with Will were one of the best things in their relationship. The childish part that made it feel unique.
Just as William was about to grab her, she disappeared. She reappeared sitting on the top of the kitchen island. "You're getting slow, Chaol," she said with a big grin. William was standing still, just looking at her. Then he cleared his throat and started walking toward her. She was still sitting on the island, letting him come all the way up to her. They were just a hand's length away from each other, both waiting to see what the other one would do. They were staring deep into each other's eyes waiting, searching for hints.
Charlotte was clearly the more impatient one and vanished, ending up by the couch. When she looked to the kitchen it was empty. Before she had time to react, William hugged her from behind, burying his face in the corner between her neck and shoulder. "one-one" he mumbled into her neck, and the kissed it. Then he let himself fall backward still holding Charlotte, and both of them fell onto the couch.
Charlotte turned and placed her hands on his chest, resting her chin on top of them. William gently stroked his hand along the border of Charlotte's face, from her forehead and let his hand linger along her cheekbone. Charlotte watched him, his eyes were fully focused on where his own hand was. William studied her face. "What?" Charlotte said with a careful yet curious voice. He smiled and shook his head "Nothing". "Oh, come on!" Charlotte said in a childish accusing tone. That just made Will laugh. When he stopped, he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. "I love you, Charlotte". Charlotte wanted to look annoyed but had to give up. "Argh, I hate you!" she said, but the tone of her voice said something else entirely.
Charlotte rolled off him and he sat up still with his legs resting on the rest of the couch. Charlotte scooched up between his legs with her back against his chest, and took his arms and wrapped them around her. "So, how did it go over at Hermione's?" William asked while he switched on the TV. "I think she likes you, or the idea of you, and it was so good to finally be able to tell her who you are." Will smile at this and holds her a little tighter than before. They sit like that and watch some reality series about a rich family with a bunch of dumb sisters.
When the episode was finished William stood up and went back to the kitchen. Charlotte started missing his warmth at once. She took a blanket around herself and sat in the spot he had, which was still a little warm. They still didn't live together in the sense of owning a place together, but they spent almost every night in the same bed. Her place had a more comfy, "home" kind of feel to it than his, therefore this was their primary place to stay. The few times apart was mostly because of work, when one of them had to stay late or he had a big case to prepare for.
"Can you make the table?" he asked, giving her a quick glance. She had been staring at him for a while now. She always thought he looked so handsome when he went around the kitchen, sleeves rolled up and a small towel over his shoulder. "Charlotte?" he turned around, holding a boiling pan in his hand. She snapped out of her little dreamy mode. "Yeah, table. Got it." She went over to the cabinets and took out plates and glasses, and cutlery from the drawer. She set the table right before he was done. He'd made lasagne, and it smelled amazing. When they were eating, they talked about when she was taking him to meet Hermonie and the others, the case he was working on and funny things that had happened that day.
When they were done, she waved her wand and the dishes started doing themselves. "It was really good," Charlotte said and gave his hand a squeeze. "Thanks," he said. Charlotte was tired and went up to the bedroom. When she got up, she went to the bathroom that was joined to the bedroom and washed up, brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas, a t-shirt, and shorts.
Will had kissed Charlotte before she went up, and went over to the table and placed the case folders on top. He put on a kettle, and sat down, looking over the case details. It was an ugly murder, but he was sure they had arrested the wrong guy.
Charlotte was lying in bed reading, which she had been for almost two hours, but couldn't seem to fall asleep. She went down the stairs and found Will still sitting at the table working. She walked over to him and put her arms down his chest.
"You should come to bed with me," she says in his ear. "Mhm" he responds, still focused on what's in front of him. She sighs and takes his cup with her to the kitchen counter. She quickly makes him a new cup of tea, throwing out the cold one, and one for herself. She puts it beside him, not expecting a response, but he takes her hand and drags her down giving her a kiss. "Thank you, I'm almost done." Charlotte walks over to the couch and puts on "NCIS".
When William finally looked up he realized what he thought was ten minutes was more like fifty. He looked over at Charlotte which had fallen asleep. He smiled and went over to her. She was curled up in one corner and had a peaceful expression. He bent down and lifted her up, she wasn't totally asleep because she placed her legs around his waist and arms around his neck. He walked up to the bedroom carrying her like that. Then he put her gently down on the bed, he nearly fell on top of her because she didn't let go of him. Her hands still holding tight onto him, he whispered he was only going to brush his teeth and get back, and she finally let go. He pulled the covers over her and went to the bathroom. When he got back she had taken his pillow, hugging it. He went over to his side, took off his watch and put it on the nightstand before he turned off the light. "I'm sorry it got so late," he said, not knowing if she heard him or not. He managed to take his pillow back after some time. He laid on his back with his right arm around Charlotte. She was on her side, kind of halfway on top of him. Her head on his shoulder and arms hugging him. The last thing he remembered was mumbling "good night" before he also fell asleep.