Charlie took a seat at the table in the corner, waiting for his brother to arrive. It had been some time since he last saw Bill, so he just knew that it was going to be a great day.
Bill entered the small coffee shop and ordered before he sat down. "I still hate long distance Apparition," he informed his brother dryly. "So you better be glad that you're my brother or I wouldn't have come at all."
A smile played at Charlie's lips. "Well then, I'm glad I am your brother," he said softly. Silence fell between the two.
"So who is he?" Bill asked. He grinned when he saw Charlie nearly choke on his drink.
It took Charlie a few seconds to get his breathing correct again. "What?" he questioned.
"Oh come off it Char. We both know that you wouldn't have asked me visit you in a coffee shop unless you had someone at home," Bill inferred. "So, who is he?"
Charlie sat in silence for a few moments, trying to find the right words to tell Bill who was at his home; Charlie was continually nonplussed when it came to how Bill always seemed to know what was going on with him. "You trust my judgment, Bill?" he finally asked, trying to figure out Bill's response before it happened so he could act accordingly.
Bill raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You know I always have."
"Well then, trust me when I say that I know what I'm doing," Charlie said. "Because I'm kind of dating Draco Malfoy," he added hurriedly.
Bill stared at Charlie for a while, trying to comprehend what he had just said. Finally, he wanted reassurance that he didn't hear what he thought he heard. "Did you just say you're dating Draco Malfoy?"
Charlie just nodded because he was sure his voice wouldn't work if he tried.
"You do realize that most of our family hates him, right?" Bill questioned, still looking at him with piercing eyes. Again, Charlie could only nod. "He's what? Eight years younger than you are," he continued.
"I know," Charlie finally spoke, because he didn't need Bill to tell him what he already knew. "But I'm really serious about him, Bill."
Bill sighed. "Well, if you trust yourself to know what you're doing with him, then I trust you." Bill knew it was the right answer when a grin spread across Charlie's features. "You know Mum is going to want to meet him," Bill smirked.
Charlie groaned. "Why'd you have to remind me?"
A/n – Written for Gamma's OTP boot camp challenge. Word used: nonplussed.
Big thanks to kci47 for beta-ing this for me!
Please, please don't favorite without reviewing.