Author's Note: Written for…
Famous Witch and Wizards Card Challenge. Theme: romance Prompts: carnival, cosmic, twin, immunity
Unusual Ships Challenge.
Back in Business
Verity sighed to herself, her voice getting lost in the noise of fifty schoolchildren running wild through the store. It was the first day of WWW's busy season, when the arrival of school letters sent wizarding families flocking to Diagon Alley.
It was slightly unexpected, the amount of business they were getting. Verity would have thought people would be tighter with their money, just coming from the war. Thankfully they still had more than enough inventory left over from the previous year to cover the demand. Not that George was too busy to start manufacturing again.
"I'm going to go upstairs for a bit. Ring if there's an emergency," she told one of the new clerks.
She whipped off her purple and orange work shirt the moment she stepped into the backroom and draped it over the back of a chair on her way to the spiral staircase tucked in the corner of the room, straightening her green t-shirt along the way.
The railing vibrated with the protection charms still in place from months past, back when Verity had been one of the few people Fred and George had trusted not to turn on them.
There was a single door at the top of the stairs and Verity stopped before it and steeled herself for what she would find inside the flat that had once belonged to the twins. George would no doubt be expecting her – she'd been checking in on him once or twice a day for over a month now, usually bearing food. Today she was empty-handed, having just stocked his cupboards with meals under stasis charms and plenty of snacks. Today she was just checking in out of concern.
The doorknob took a bit of work to twist in her clammy hand as she prepared herself to find George at his worst.
"Ah, Verity, right on time!"
She froze in the doorway. Lately her visits had been received with snide remarks and a turned back. It had been almost a year since she walked in on one of the boys hunched over their dining table-turned workshop, and it was certainly a sight she never thought to find again.
"Quickly, I need you to pass me the paperclips!" George told her, staring down at what looked suspiciously like a bomb, his cheeks flushed with excitement.
She jumped into action, rushing across the room to fetch the jumbo-sized box of colorful paperclips from the supply shelves and hand them to George.
He worked too fast for her too see, tying three paperclips together and inserting them into the contraption.
"Thanks," he said at last, stepping away from the table and grinning at her.
Her throat tightened. How long had it been since he smiled like that. She wanted to ask what had changed since he'd thrown a box of crackers at her the night before, but bit her tongue. Better to not make a big deal of it.
"Anytime," she said instead, leaning over the table corner to take a better look at what he'd been working on. "So, what is this thing?"
"It's a new firework. Fred thinks … Fred thought it would be cool to do one that lights up like constellations. I've been calling it 'Cosmic Chaos.'" He was frowning by the time he finished speaking, and then he turned around and dropped onto the lumpy old couch, scrubbing a hand over his face.
Verity sat beside him, unsure of what to do. She could deal with happy George and angry George, but sad George was too much to comprehend. It was like something was wrong with the universe. A year ago she would've sworn that George Weasley could laugh his way through anything.
"Are you okay?" It was strange to hear those words come from his mouth, and she stared at him in confusion for a moment before his hand came up to cup her face, a thumb wiping away tears she hadn't realized she was crying.
"Oh no, I'm sorry," she said, frantically trying to dry her eyes. He touched her knee.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"I'm fine, honestly."
He gave her the same disbelieving look as when she claimed that she definitely hadn't tested out some of the Crush Blush when they weren't looking.
"Verity…"
"I can't, I – it's selfish. I can't."
He seemed to understand then, and he smiled sadly. "You lost someone?"
Verity let out a bitter laugh. "I lost you. I lost Fred. It's so stupid." She kicked at a candy bar wrapper on the floor and hid her face. "I thought I was safe. I didn't have anyone before you guys found me at the carnival. All through the war I thought I had some weird immunity to the worry and grief. I didn't understand…" Her words were drowned out by sobs, and she felt herself being pulled into a hug.
She wasn't sure how long she stayed in his arms. When she was calmer, George retrieved some tissues and a glass of water for her, which helped her hold since her hands still shook.
She couldn't look him in the eye. She wanted to disappear – better that than cause him any more pain – but she felt like there was more she needed to say before she made an attempt at getting back to work.
"I miss you," she whispered.
There was a hand on her cheek instantly, forcing her head up. She had no choice but to look at him. He was smiling – thank Merlin.
"It'll get better," he promised, wiping away the remnants of her tears. "I'm not going anywhere."
She returned the smile, reaching a hand up to smooth back his hair, which had grown long since becoming a hermit. She was just wondering if she'd be able to convince him to cut it when he leaned in and kissed her.
"We've still got each other, Verity."