Title: Surprising Confession
Rating:T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Charlie/Cedric
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 942
Summary: On the first Valentine's Day after the war, Cedric gets something he wanted for years.
Notes:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: February Event - Stupid Cupid
Through the Holidays: Character - Charlie Weasley. Prompt - (scenario) a character receives a confession of love from someone unexpected
Cedric remembered Charlie Weasley of course. He was a bit older, and he graduated from Hogwarts when Cedric was still a third year. They didn't actually talk because of the age difference and the fact they were in different houses, but they were both on their house Quidditch team. And they were both Seekers.
It was why Cedric couldn't help but noticed the stocky redhead that shouldn't have been such a graceful Seeker. Each position was different. Beaters were usually the stockier players because they needed muscles to hit the Bludgers. Seekers were supposed to be slim and lanky because they needed speed on their side to have a better chance of catching the snitch first. Charlie had a Beater's build while he was a Seeker.
It didn't make sense to Cedric, especially since the fact of the matter was that Charlie was one of the best Seekers the school had seen in a while. He could have easily gone pro if he didn't love working with dragons so much.
Cedric wanted to be like Charlie on a broom. He wanted to have that kind of skill as well as sportsmanship. Even if Charlie's team lost, the redhead always congratulated the opposing team. He might have worked harder the next game, but he was never a sore loser about it.
Charlie became his hero. And that hero worship turned into a crush. It was a pathetic crush with there being no hope of any feelings being returned, but it was a crush nonetheless.
And after Charlie was out of Hogwarts, no matter who he dated, whether it was boy or girl, his crush on Charlie never went away.
It was a year after graduation that something happened that he never thought was possible.
It was February 14th, and he was moping around his small house because he had no one to spend the holiday with. He had many admirers, being a Seeker for the United Puddlemere made sure that happened. They didn't like him for him, though, and he didn't want to spend a holiday that was for lovers with a groupie. He wanted to be with someone who truly saw him as a person and despite his flaws, he was still liked.
As of right then, there was no one like that in his life.
So when there was a knock on his front door, Cedric was surprised. He had been reclining on the couch, but he forced himself up and walked to the door. He opened it cautiously with his wand ready—some of his habits from the war hadn't been broken yet—and he nearly dropped his wand at the sight of who was there.
"Charlie Weasley?" Cedric asked.
The redhead waved. "Hi."
Cedric put his wand away. "Hi," he answered dumbly.
Charlie nodded at Cedric's wand arm. "Always vigilant, huh? Mad-Eye Moody would be proud."
Cedric shrugged. "The war might be over, but it never hurts to be careful."
"True, especially when not all of his sympathizers were marked. Some could have easily slipped by the Aurors' notice."
Cedric couldn't believe he was making small talk with Charlie Weasley. If he had been fourteen, he would have been a red-faced, stuttering mess. He liked to believe he was more suave now, but he was still completely gobsmacked that Charlie was at his house talking to him. "So, what can I do for you? Because no offense, we never really talked before."
Charlie smiled. "I know, and that's kind of my fault. I always thought you were pretty cool, and I wish I got to know you better when I was in school."
"I might have been cool for my age, but you had better things to do than hang out with someone three years younger," Cedric surmised.
"Maybe, but I could have talked to you when you joined the Order. You were still younger, but the age difference wasn't as big of a deal then."
"Why didn't you then?" Cedric asked, truly curious, as he stepped back to finally allow the older man entry into his sanctuary.
Charlie stepped inside. "Well, there was a war going on, and I wasn't ready to admit to myself the truth yet."
"The truth about what?" Cedric questioned.
"About why I never dated any girls."
Cedric swallowed. Could this be going where he thought it was going? No, it was too good to be true.
Charlie took his silence as a push to continue. "Your still friends with Harry and when I asked him, he told me you were currently single. Is that true?"
Cedric had gotten close to Harry during the Triwizard tournament. Near death experiences tended to bond people together and after Harry saved him...
Well, he knew what a good friend Harry was and wanted to keep that closeness, and their friendship remained strong, even when a lot of the wizarding world refused to believe Voldemort was back and turned on Harry. And right now, Cedric was even more grateful for his friendship with Harry. "Yeah, it's true."
Charlie's smile was wide. "Good, because Cedric, I love you. I'm not really sure when I fell in love with you, but I know I love you."
Cedric's dream was coming true. He always thought he'd see fireworks if it ever happened, but there was none of that. There was just a light, happy, fluttering feeling in his chest.
He could have waxed poetic about how he developed feelings for Charlie or how much he admired the redhead. Instead, he decided to keep it simple. "I love you, too."
When Charlie kissed him, he saw the fireworks he believed he'd see.