Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the Harry Potter universe; they go to J.K. Rowling. And all Hogwarts Daily characters are owned by their respectful players.

A/N: This benefits character development as much as it entertains, so that's a bonus. For Charlie, I wanted him to develop an emotional relationship with someone else other than Lavender, and actually not sleep with another hot gay man for once. And for Adam, well, he needed something to do. I've had these two characters for a while now, and it's only occured to me to play with them.

As for warnings, alcohol, sordid sex stories, and general gayness is as far as it goes. And really, I need to say this, I'm glad that JK Rowling didn't develop Charlie too much in the books. I can accept my Charlie as canon, hah. Although with that Encyclopedia she's going to write... Haha, either way, read and enjoy.

Built This Way

Sex is the last refuge of the miserable.
-Quentin Crisp

"All right, here's one. Slept with one guy who was into wearing Vivica's Broom Closet lingerie. You know, the ones that make you instantly randy once you put them on? It was nice, but I could have done with less friction."

It was a tired story of Charlie's, but it achieved the right effect. Adam's eyes grew wide, followed by honest amusement and laughter afterwards. The retired dragon-keeper took another drink of his vodka martini, toying with the olive as Adam calmed down.

"Oh Merlin," said Adam with a smile, trying to breathe evenly. "That's a good one. But my favorite is still the erotic asphyxiation."

"The scarf story?"

"With the watersports."

"In the name of Merlin's baggy y-fronts, that was god-awful."

Adam flew into another fit of laughter at the shudder Charlie gave at the memory of tying another man upside down with silken scarves, only to find out that the man wanted the Weasley to have a piss on him. That wasn't one of his best moments, Charlie thought to himself.

"You know, I'd dish out a couple of my own sexcapades," said Adam, swirling his own martini, "but I'd probably bore you."

Scoffing, Charlie actually leaned forward on the dinner table where they sat, and said, "Come on! I heard from Tonks that you slept with that Cleo O'Neil bloke, the new Arithmancy professor?"

"A couple of times now, yeah." A pinkish tinge colored Adam's cheeks. "But even my fun with Cleo, Klaus, and Alex combined pales in comparison to yours." At the hand Charlie waved around, Adam added, "No, seriously! Nothing can top a blowjob on a dragon in flight."

"Well, yes," admitted Charlie, smirking. "But not unless you tell me that you and Klaus had any beasty fun, him being an Animagus and all." The remark earned Charlie a flabbergasted look from Adam. "I guess not."

Still shocked at the implication, Adam chuckled, "I could never! I mean, he was as horny as a dog in heat, sure. But sex while he's a dog? I'll pass."

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it." Charlie took a self-satisfied swig of alcohol as Adam hit him in the arm, grinning. Just as Adam was about to speak, Charlie cut him off, saying, "It wasn't Sirius, though. I'll tell you that much."

"You kinky little minx."

"So, spill. Tell me, what's the most outrageous sex you've ever had?" Charlie asked Adam, his eyebrows hopping.

Adam placed a finger on the rim of his glass, running it around, creating a small note that hung in the air as he pondered the question. "Probably when Cleo and I first met. It was early in the morning and he was starting to teach that day. I went over to his office to have a little meet and greet, and he was flirting with me, so..."

"I like where this is going."

Allowing himself a devious grin, he said, "We had sex right before he left for class."

Leaning forward even more, Charlie asked in an almost revering whisper, "What was it like?"

Taking the olive on the toothpick from his glass and playing with it, Adam answered, "The usual. We made out for a bit, moved to his bedroom, clothes came off, he went down on me, I went down on him, we fucked... and I think we fucked within the five minutes before class started."

Charlie was already snickering. "You sound like a fifteen-year old school boy."

With a raised eyebrow, Adam said, "So what if I do?" He smiled enigmatically. "Maybe that was my routine when I was fifteen."

"Oh, with Alex?" Charlie's curiosity was at its peak. "I never really saw you and him around at school. Do tell."

Adam finished the last of his martini, downing the rest of the vodka in one gulp. He wiped his lips and said, "Just ask Tara. She'll be happy to give you a first hand account. We'd be hidden in closets, dark corners of the halls, up in trees..."

"You certainly got around," Charlie teased. "It's a wonder I never caught even a glimpse of the golden gay couple of Hogwarts."

He shrugged. "We were rather discreet about it," admitted Adam, nibbling at the olive from his drink. "Yeah, the other kids knew about us being an item or whatever, but we weren't as open about it as the kids today are."

A silence hung between them for a while, Adam picking at the olive and Charlie observing Adam's tired figure in the dim light.

The kitchen of the Burrow was dark and quiet, with only a few lamps lit. Everyone had gone to bed already, seeing as it was about half-past two in the morning.The summer heat had crept into the house, forcing Charlie to get out of bed and take a drink of water downstairs. It was quite a surprise when, upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, he found Adam in the kitchen scrounging the cupboards for alcohol.

The former Arithmancy professor was on a mission for the Order, doing surveillance around Hangleton. Apparently, much to Charlie's amusement, Adam was feeling lonely in his tent on the outskirts of town and craving for a cocktail. So he decided to drop by in the middle of the night.

Charlie was glad with Adam's company.

"So, uh, do you miss him?"

"Hmm?"

"Alex."

Adam frowned. "Oh... Yeah, I do. He was my boyfriend of six years, Charlie." He laughed a hollow laugh. "Of course I miss him."

"'Course," repeated Charlie, a little embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just, I've never really had a boyfriend." He used the term disparagingly.

Both eyebrows now raised, Adam queried, "You've never had a boyfriend before?" Charlie shook his head. "How is that possible? You're funny, kind, and handsome... what man hasn't picked you up yet?"

"By choice." Charlie took the bottle of Purple Pheasant and poured himself some more vodka. "I'm not into the whole monogamous thing. The way I look at things is that there's so many hot men to do, so little time."

"Have you ever," began Adam, inching a tad closer to Charlie, "considered having a committed relationship with anyone?"

Shaking his head again, Charlie responded, "Nope."

"Why?"

Charlie shrugged. "I think I'm just not designed to be looking for The One this early in the game. They say I use the men that I sleep with, but I don't really give a dragon's tail. I'm just built this way." He took a drink of his vodka. "What about you?"

Adam furrowed his brow. "What about me?"

"How come you've been landing stable boyfriends left and right?"

"I had a committed relationship with Alex for six years, and that was almost nine years ago," explained Adam, ticking them off on two of his fingers. "And then, just a year ago, Klaus and I lasted less than six months. No serious boyfriends between the two of them, and both of them ended up being killed by Emily York."

"I phrased the wrong question then," said Charlie meekly.

"I don't know..." Adam trailed off, staring at his martini glass. "I guess... Even then, my goal was always to find the one who I would spend the rest of my life with. That person to complete me."

"You shouldn't talk like that," advised Charlie, Adam giving him an odd expression. "You're already complete. We're all individuals, and you shouldn't believe that it takes another person for you to feel like a whole person."

Adam smiled.

"Because thinking like that is just sad," Charlie continued. "It's like the dragons I've dealt with. During mating, the females and the gay males tend to--"

"You're not seriously comparing me to dragons, are you?" Pausing for a moment, Charlie's mouth hung open as he began to speak, but closed it. Adam laughed. "With that kind of reasoning, I suppose you're right. But, don't you want to find somebody to love? Someone to hold you, and stick with you through--"

"--The good times and the bad?" Charlie finished for him. Adam nodded. "I have one of those. I have a lot, in fact. I call them, 'family and friends'."

It was then Adam's turn to open his mouth, and not speak. After his short pause, he conceded. "You got me there."

"Besides," started Charlie, "I reckon you were built that way, as well." Adam and Charlie shared a laugh. "But you think you don't have much of those either?"

He seemed to be going into deep thought. Adam toyed with a few locks of hair near his temple, and then said finally, "I have Ty. His mum, Ophelia... I have my brother and my parents. I have the Order, like you."

Charlie felt himself swell with a little pride. Just a little. "There. Your life doesn't seem so bad now after all, huh?"

One moment, Charlie was looking at Adam pridefully, Adam returning the look with warm eyes. And the next, Adam had moved his chair closer to Charlie, the former dragon-keeper watching him inquisitively, and Charlie soon found Adam's face inches away from his own, Adam's warm, alcohol-stained breath ghosting over his lips.

He didn't know what made Adam kiss him out of the blue, but Charlie didn't resist his advances. They were kissing slowly, Adam's tongue running along Charlie's lower lip. He opened his mouth, allowing the older man further access. Their tongues touched ever so lightly and tentatively, and Charlie took in a deep breath through his nose when he tasted the vodka on Adam.

A moan escaped from Charlie as Adam tilted his head, letting him explore Charlie's mouth more intimately. It was different for Charlie this time around, mainly because he wasn't the one who had started the kiss. He wasn't taking the lead. He was only along for the ride. Adam brought up a hand to caress Charlie's cheek, and as much as Charlie wanted to do the same, he couldn't bring himself to even lift his hand.

Their kiss seemed to last for ages, sitting there, slowly and thoroughly seeking each other's lips and mouths for something they couldn't seem to find. Adam had moved his hand up into Charlie's hair, their kisses now soft and unhurried, as if they had all the time in the world. With his free hand, Adam tried to lift up Charlie's shirt at his waist, only to be stopped by Charlie.

Pulling away, Charlie said in a faint voice, "No. We can't."

"Why not...?" asked Adam, hushed, his forehead against Charlie's. His eyes were clouded with a certain emotion. Whether it was need or simple lust, Charlie wasn't sure. He could feel a haze of his own inside of him, although it bore more of a likeness to hesitance. Fear.

"We're not what each other's looking for." Charlie sat back in his chair, still looking at Adam with an unfamiliar feeling. "I... I don't want to use you."

Adam only stared back at Charlie, the fog in his eyes now gone, but they were replaced with the hollowness of cold, hard chestnut brown in his eyes. He bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah. I-I'm sorry, that I... I wasn't thinking."

"No, it's fine," assured Charlie. Really, the kiss was lovely, but the cloud of emotion inside him told him it wasn't right.

"I better go," said Adam vaguely, standing up, taking his cloak from the back of his chair and putting it on.

Charlie didn't say anything, but he stood up as well, meaning to escort Adam to the back kitchen door, although Adam sped right past him. "I... Be safe."

"Thanks," replied Adam, turning around to see Charlie. He was already out the door, standing on the stones set on the garden ground. The light from the kitchen wasn't strong, but it shed enough light on Adam's face to show Charlie that he was, of all things, sad. "I'll see you."

"See you." Charlie stood by the door frame, watching Adam enter the darkness of the night, his figure turning into a silhouette before his was pitch-black as the rest of the foreground. Charlie heard a faint pop, and he knew Adam had returned to duty. He walked back to the kitchen, closing the door behind him, sitting again at the kitchen table.

He looked at the glass Adam left on the table. The toothpick lay in it, the pimento remaining. It was incomplete.

A/N: Comments, feedback, reviews, constructive (I cannot emphasize that enough) criticism... anything is appreciated. Thank you. Fossil: OUT. Heh.