Sunset on the Slopes
Of Hot Chocolate and Ski Lifts
{NextGen - The S U N S E T S Competition}
Fred II/OC~ mischief, sanguine, vixen
Fred's promotion was well-deserved, and very much appreciated by his girlfriend. Azalea had been longing to get away, to go somewhere, and with Fred's pay increase, it was finally successful. Fred felt quite successful, like he was on top of the world, which might explain their choice in vacation destinations. Granted, the Rocky Mountains of the United States weren't exactly "the top of the world," but they were tall, and that was enough.
Azalea enlisted the help of a wizarding travel agent, who promised the soonest possible portkey to Colorado. He was true to his word. It had been barely an hour after they finished packing their trunks when they received the Floo call to the agency.
The whole thing had come about rather quickly, Fred thought as he reached for his girlfriend's hand. She smiled at him, a brilliant grin that lit up the sharp planes of her face. Her grin was Fred's last glance of England before he was overcome with the herky-jerky sensation known as a portkey.
It took about five minutes of looking around for Fred and Azalea to realize that they didn't land at their destination. Another fifteen minutes later, they finally figured out that they were absolutely clueless as to where they were going. And after an hour of wandering aimlessly, they finally had to admit that they were extremely lost.
Luckily, Azalea spotted a convenience store a little bit ahead. It appeared dingy and small, but it would have to do for the exhausted couple. Fred couldn't help but notice the way it sat precariously close to the edge of the mountain, seemingly ready to tumble off without a warning.
With a bit of trepidation, Fred held the door open for Azalea. She marched right up to the ancient man behind the counter and ordered, "We need directions to Shoshone Ridge Ski Resort, as we're hopelessly lost. Also, two hot chocolates would be appreciated."
She left Fred at the counter to pay and went to wipe up one of the greasy tables with a handful of napkins. The cashier took one look at Fred with knowing eyes before disappearing underneath the counter, reemerging a second later with a pen and a pad of paper. "You're not too far away, actually," he disclosed, ripping off the piece of paper and handing it to Fred. "Just take the next right onto Stone's Throw Road, that'll do."
Fred thanked the man earnestly and returned to Azalea with directions and a mug of hot cocoa in each hand.
"Lovely," Azalea remarked between sips, "it's the perfect temperature." Fred grinned back, and the two took their time emptying their cups, simply enjoying a quiet moment. When it was time to leave, Azalea deposited their waste in the bin and left first.
Fred went to follow, but the old man caught Fred first. His blue eyes twinkled with mischief as he said, "She's a vixen, boy. Better take good care of her."
Fred was quick, but his comment had caught him slightly off guard. "Thanks," he managed, "believe me, I know."
And with a final wink from the man, Fred was out the door.
Someone had always said that wizards didn't have the best sense of direction for all their magical talent, and Fred and Azalea definitely proved them right. Even with a clear set of directions, they made a wrong turn or two on the way, and it was nearly dark before they arrived. Fred was all for checking in at the lodge and heading to bed early, but Azalea persuaded him to at least take one run down the slopes. Fred agreed, a bit reluctantly, but knew that he really couldn't deny his girlfriend much.
So they let the bellboy take their things, and Azalea led them to the equipment pick-up. Fred struggled walking in his boots, and learned quickly that Azalea was the more experienced skier, as she pretty much walked him all the way to the top of the bunny hill, giving him some basic tips.
"Now I can't hold your hand forever, baby, but meet me at the bottom." Azalea smiled at him, but took off. Fred watched her go, a blur of black curls and indigo earmuffs, turning gracefully down the hill. With a huge breath, Fred gathered his courage—he was a Gryffindor at hear, and wasn't about to let some Slytherin show him up.
Skiing down the hill felt wonderful, until he realized that he didn't know how to stop. He tried to turn a bit, but only managed to veer off course so much that he crashed, rather spectacularly, into a small shed. After that, everything was fuzzy for a few moments before Azalea quietly dug out her wand, and cast a basic first aid spell.
Fred blushed a bit, hoping no one would be able to tell because of the cold. "Thanks, Az," he smiled.
She giggled a bit before replying, "I'm just glad you're all right. I think that's enough skiing for the day and it's getting dark, so we're going to head in, okay?"
It wasn't really a question, but Fred nodded his head yes.
The lift ride up was uncomfortable, and the mountain partially blocked their view of the sunset. After a few minutes, though, the trees cleared out and more and more colors came into view. Near the bottom was a blazing goldenrod, which faded into a magenta color, and from then on out- a vivid purple. It practically enveloped the whole sky. Fred was distracted, and almost missed the top of the lift; luckily, Azalea nudged him and helped him off the seat. It piqued his pride a bit that his girlfriend was clearly the better skier, but he was fine with that if it saved him a couple falls.
And then he looked up. The view was simply mesmerizing. It was hard to believe that the small purplish triangles were actually mountains, thousands of kilometers tall. They looked miniscule, blanketed by the endless cobalt sky. Fred felt quite taken aback, and his legs gave way, just a bit. But just a bit was enough, and he tumbled backwards, into a snow bank.
This snapped Azalea out of her reverie. It took a moment for her to spot her boyfriend in the fading light, but when she did, she chuckled heartily, more than Fred had seen her laugh in ages. Preoccupied with her laughter, he didn't even noticed when she stepped toward his fallen form, and fell on top of him.
Her cheeks were sanguine from the cold, but she smiled and he laughed and it was absolutely perfect. Steadying himself, he leaned into her; she mimicked him, and suddenly Fred couldn't feel the cold anymore. She held his face as she pressed her warm lips to his, and Fred could feel the melting snowflakes running down his neck.
'How high are we, anyway?' he mused, because that feeling- it was heavenly.
They continued for a while until Azalea pulled away, breathing quite heavily. Fred didn't say anything more. He simply held her close, and they sat in silence—their hearts pulsing to the same rhythm—and watched as the sun disappeared.
a/n: Can anyone guess Azalea's mother? It's not the most obvious option out there, but maybe one of you will pick up the baby hints I gave? ;) Anyway, I had absolutely no idea who to pair with Fred, but I loved the name 'Azalea' and her character kind of fell into place very quickly, even though there wasn't too much of her personality shown in this story. So, yeah :) Thanks for reading, leave a review if you please :]