When Neville woke up the next morning in Charlie's flat, begrudgingly in the guestroom, he could hardly believe it. Not that he was at Charlie's flat, but the fact that they'd snogged for hours last night after their impromptu date, and then gone off to sleep in separate beds.
Charlie had suggested taking things slow, and surely, Neville had agreed. It wasn't like he had any other choice. What would he have said? "No, I just need to have you right this second?" No, that wouldn't have gone off well. It was clear Charlie liked him, liked him just as much as Neville had liked Charlie – so he needed to keep his head on straight.
There was a knock on the door and Neville straightened up.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Charlie peeked through the door and Neville smiled up at him. He brushed his hair off his face, it really was time to get a haircut, and shook his head.
"No, just woke up," he replied.
Charlie looked refreshed, and Neville wondered if there were a time when the man didn't look brilliant.
"The shower's free if you want to hop in," Charlie said, still standing by the door.
Brilliant, the man had already woken up, showered, and was probably mid-way cooking breakfast and Neville was just lazing about feeling sorry for himself.
"Thank you," he said, and with a nod, Charlie was gone.
So much for a morning kiss. Never had Neville doubted himself so much when he'd been dating a man. He wondered if Charlie regretted kissing him, and by keeping such a distance, was he trying to tell Neville it wasn't a good idea for them to get together?
Finally, he got up off the bed and realised he didn't have a towel. Of course, he'd thought he was going to spend the night at the Inn and they usually provided such things so Neville'd not packed one. Figuring he'd simply use a drying charm on himself and his hair, he made his way to the bathroom.
When he was out of the room, he found Charlie in the kitchen. He had three pans working on the stove while he was whisking eggs.
"Hey," he said looking up at Neville and gave him a bright smile. "Sleep okay?"
"Yeah, thank," Neville said.
"There's a linen closet right before the bathroom, you can grab fresh towels from there," Charlie said, returning his attention to the cooking.
Neville stood there, staring at him. Like a fool. He couldn't move. He just liked watching Charlie work. If this were the Burrow, and a few months ago, he would have stolen glances, but now he felt like he had the right to just take it all in.
After Charlie flipped the bacon on the pan, he turned to look at Neville again. Instead of confusion, for wondering why Neville was just standing there, Charlie closed the distance between them and kissed him.
Neville relaxed into the kiss. Yeah, he was being an idiot.
"I'd been resisting you kissing all morning. I wanted to come and see you the first thing I woke up, but I didn't want to be all…" Charlie paused.
"Weird, and creepy, like how I'm being? Just staring at you?"
Charlie threw his head back and laughed. Gods, Neville always thought that laugh was so bloody infectious. The house vibrated with the comfort of that laugh.
"I like that you stare at me. I like that you're mine now."
"Oh, am I?" Neville asked, teasingly. "I didn't realise we were on claiming each other phase already."
Charlie gave a nervous chuckle, and Neville nearly well lost it again. "I work with dragons, Nev. They like what they see, they claim it."
Nev.
Neville bit his lower lip and pulled Charlie in for another kiss. They had to break apart when the bacon startled to crackle and the oil made a spluttering noise. Charlie ran back to the pan, making sure he didn't burn the food.
"I'll just take that shower then," Neville said. "I don't want to be the reason you burn all the food."
When Neville returned to the kitchen, which was on his way to the guest room, Charlie was still hard at work making breakfast. Unfortunately for Neville, he'd not thought about bringing a change of clothes so he was simply in a towel graciously provided by his host.
In the past, Neville had never cared about his appearance. Not really. He wasn't one that spent a lot of time fretting over his looks or his body. He was awkward and lanky, and that was okay with him. Growing up he'd been a bit chunky but that'd eventually all shed off as he grew up. Charlie on the other hand, was worth of being a male model on those Muggle calendars Harry had once shown Neville and Draco. Even under a long sleeved shirt and cotton trousers, it was easy to spot the back muscles, the perfectly toned physique, and that bloody arse.
Neville must have really been doing something right with himself if someone looked like Charlie bloody Weasley had confessed with…Shit, Neville. I've fancied you too. For so long that I can't even remember.
Neville tried to walk past Charlie as fast as he could so he could get to the guest room. But when Charlie's gaze caught him, he was pinned at his spot again.
"Hi…" Charlie said, raking his eyes over Neville.
Neville instinctively tried to cover himself with the bunched up sleepwear he was holding. He wasn't as fit as Charlie, bloody hell, he wasn't fit at all. He didn't have a flat stomach or well-defined abs, or—
He was so busy revelling in self-pity that Neville didn't realise Charlie was once again very close to him, and his hand grabbed Neville by the back of his neck and pulled him close.
"What is it?" Charlie asked, clearly having felt Neville's hesitation.
"I…Sorry. I just…I'm not as hot as you are."
Charlie frowned slightly, before he pressed his lips to Neville's, kissing him gently. A moment later, he'd pulled Neville close, chest to chest with Neville's clothes on the floor and his arm wrapped around Charlie's waist.
They pressed their hips together as Neville moaned into the kiss. What had he been thinking? He shouldn't have stopped to see Charlie again. He was only in a towel and it was now very prominently tented in the groin area. He felt awkward and foolish until he realised he wasn't alone. Charlie's groin pressed into his, and he was hard too.
There was a knock on the door to the flat and they quickly pulled apart. Charlie's cheeks were flushed and Neville's towel had nearly fallen off.
"Bloody hell," he squeaked before fixing himself up, picking up his clothes off the floor and sprinting to the guest room.
Finally managing to get dressed without any more mishaps, especially after really willing for his erection to go down first, Neville made his way the sitting room.
"Why are you coming out of the guestroom?" Draco asked Neville when he nodded a good morning to everyone
"I…slept there?" Neville said, confused.
"Oh, well, what was the point of all of this if you were going to be sleeping in the guestroom," Draco said.
"Draco!" Hermione scolded.
"Mama said you were going to be sleeping in Uncle Charlie's room like Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco sleep in the same room together," Rose said.
"I—" Neville was at a complete loss of words. So he had no idea that evidently everyone was trying to get him and Charlie together. He supposed he should have been thankful for that. If they hadn't left him alone with Charlie, then he wouldn't have flirted as he did the day before.
"Not everyone jumps at the opportunity of sharing a bedroom as Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco," Charlie said, and Neville sighed with relief.
"Hey now!" Harry protested.
"Can we just eat and not discuss bedroom situations in front of the children, please?" Ron said, handing the sleeping Hugo off to Hermione who immediately sat down on the sofa.
Breakfast was a noisy affair in the most typical Weasley fashion. There was not a proper dining table at Charlie's flat so everyone simply helped themselves from the kitchen and then sat around in a big circle in the sitting room. Charlie sat on the floor as there wasn't enough sofa room, and Neville decided to sit next to him.
They weren't cuddled up together, not the way Harry and Draco always did, but Neville was glad to feel the warmth of Charlie's body next to his. It was comforting, reassuring, and promising. If he was so contended to simply share such space with him, he was certainly looking forward to sharing a bed together.
"Ginny's coming to visit next month when her team is off for the celebration of the summer solstice," Hermione said when Ron, Draco, and Harry had got into a long winded discussion over Puddlemere United's chances in the next World Cup.
"Yeah, you should come then too," Ron said, quickly, and Hermione looked glad they'd stopped bickering.
"Maybe. Summer solstice is a tough time at the sanctuary. We have our own rituals with the drago—"
"I suppose you shall be visiting more often now, given your recent development…Ow!" Draco exclaimed when Harry and Hermione both elbowed him in the ribs.
Neville couldn't help but started laughing. Everyone wanted to discuss the Hippogriff in the room, yet no one wanted to discuss the Hippogriff in the room.
"I think we should leave soon. Mum's probably going to go mental if we miss the Portkey," Ron said. Neville stood up first and gathered their plates to take them to the kitchen. He figured some alone time for Charlie with his family was probably a good idea.
Draco joined him in the kitchen. He'd most likely thought the same.
"So things are promising?" Draco asked when they were alone.
Neville nodded. "Yeah. Slow, but promising."
"I'm glad to hear that, Longbottom," Draco said, smiling. "You can do worse than…" he searched for the words, looking very troubled, "…a Dragon Tamer."
Neville threw his head back and let out a very loud bark of laughter. "Is that what you call Harry?"
Draco immediately reddened, but he didn't get a chance to respond when Charlie entered the kitchen.
"Hey, Draco. Can I talk to Charlie alone?"
Draco nodded and quickly left the room.
"What is it?" Charlie asked, looking worried.
"I was thinking, since you have to work for a few hours, and I don't have another change of clothes…would it be all right with you if I left with them with the Portkey, and arranged for another one to return a few hours from now?"
"For a change of clothes?" Charlie asked, looking serious.
"Yes," Neville said.
"Well, Neville. If you were planning on wearing clothes, then you might as well not come back." Charlie's look was grim, but Neville saw the glint in his eyes, before he started to laugh.
"Merlin, you had me worried," Neville said, sarcastically.
"You are going to come back though, right?"
"Not returning is the last thing on my mind."
"I can only wonder what the first few things are," Charlie said, leaning down to kiss Neville again.