VII. Where the Heart Is

Viktor didn't know how he was supposed to act as if this is how he normally dressed at home. The slacks were so neatly pressed he was afraid to ruin everything by sitting down, the shoes shined so brilliantly you could check your reflection in them, the black tee fit so tightly he could barely breathe, and no matter what Fleur said was fashionable, he knew he would never see anyone in Bulgaria wearing a purple silk collared shirt unless they were going clubbing. He felt ridiculous. If he stood with his usual slouch he felt like the t-shirt's seams would rip, so he was forced to stand at tight attention by the window. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, then took them out, then put one in only. No matter how he adjusted he didn't feel even slightly comfortable. He managed to wash off most of the cologne Fleur had spritzed him with, but he still thought he smelled like some small animal that crawled into the food cupboard and died there.

The bell rang and he moved stiffly towards the door. Through the peephole he saw Bill standing there in a black dress shirt, half open, and khakis. He was envious--Bill looked handsome and comfortable. Of course, Viktor was convinced that Bill would look dashing in a floral mumu. He swallowed a lump in his throat and opened the door, trying--and failing--to look surprised.

Bill pouted a bit at that and said, "Fleur got to you first, I see."

"...she means vell," Viktor answered, stepping aside to let the red-head in.

Bill was temporarily distracted by the fact that Viktor looked incredible in purple. He didn't seem to be all that comfortable though. Well, half of that could probably be attribute to Bill's presence, he supposed. "I guess I'll have to be graceful about her ruining my surprise, all things considered. So, surprise."

"You..." Viktor still didn't know what he was supposed to say. "You alvays do just as you please, don't you?"

"If there's one thing the war taught me, Vik, it's that life is way too short not to go after what you want." He brushed his fingers across the younger man's cheek. "It may be that this is my only chance at love. So, yeah, I'm pretty much going to stalk you until you agree to be mine."

"Vhat about Egypt?" Viktor asked, tense.

Bill pulled him into a firm, one-armed embrace and caressed his cheek. "I've found something that excites me a lot more than risking my life." Before Viktor could answer Bill tilted his head and leaned in for a deep kiss. Viktor was sure that between the shirt and Bill's soft lips stealing his breath away he was going to suffocate. His heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest.

When they parted, Bill said, "Where should we go?"

"Vhat?"

"You know Bulgaria better than I do," Bill smirked. "What's a good place for a date? Where do you want to go?"

Viktor colored. "I...vell..." he sputtered. "There vill be paparazzi if ve go out."

"So what?" Bill answered. "Embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"No, it's not...of course not," Viktor flustered. "But... I think my mother vould be very upset to find out her only son is gay from the newspaper."

Bill felt his heart leap into his throat. Viktor's family? Were they there already? Hell, if they were, that was totally fine with him. "Are you saying you want me to meet your parents?" he teased.

"If you do not vant to...I..."

"No no, that's just fine by me."

"...they have been vanting me to come for dinner," Viktor hedged. "You are sure this is okay?"

He knew there was always plenty of food at his parents' house, and he was always welcome, with or without advanced warning. They were definitely going to be surprised by this though.

"I want to meet them too," Bill assured him. "They're the people who created you. Besides," he postured. "It's hardly fair. You already know my whole family."

"You vill tell them about us soon too?" he asked.

Bill figured they'd know long before he bothered to say anything. "Soon enough," he said. "I figured I'd invite them to see the house when I finish building it. Of course, you'll be there, since it's your house too. I'll give them the tour. Show them the kitchen, the living room, you know, and eventually I'll say 'and this is the bedroom.' Of course, there will only be one bed, big enough for both of us. There will be some shelves with all the little knick-knacks I've picked up during my time in Egypt, and my visits to Charlie in Romania, and somewhere you'll probably have your Quidditch gear laying about. We won't have bothered making the bed, because I always figured it was pointless to make something only to unmake it again. And there will be pictures above the fireplace of all our family and friends. Sounds nice, right?"

Viktor rested his head against Bill's shoulder. It sounded better than nice. "It sounds...homey." Yes, not a house, but a home. A home for the two of them. Not a cluttered apartment, like the one they were standing in, but an actual home.

Speaking of homes, they reached the front door of his family's before he realized it. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, lacing his fingers with Bill's and pushing the door open. "Hello. Mother. Father. Kalina. It is me..."

Viktor's family home was more of a mansion than a house. Bill felt like he was walking into a small castle, but he supposed that wasn't really a surprise. A maid crossed in front of them and gasped. "Ah! Master Viktor! What a surprise," she declared before her eyes were drawn to where his hand was joined with Bill's. "I, oh, I'll tell your parents you and your...friend...will be joining them for dinner."

As she hurried off, Bill tilted his head thoughtfully. "...my Bulgarian really needs work," he said. "I barely made out any of that."

"Ve vill vork on it," Viktor said. "Come this vay. They vill be in the dining room."

As they turned up the hall, a little girl of about ten years old came darting out of a doorway to the left. Her hair was long and dark and bound in a pair of braids that fell over her shoulders. "Oooh! It's a man!" she declared, poking her head back into the room. "Momma, Poppa! Viktor's special someone is a boy! With lots of scars!"

"Kalina!" Viktor protested, then sighed. "My sister," he explained to Bill. "She is...a nuisance. I am hoping she vill eventually grow out of it."

Bill laughed. "I have six younger siblings. Trust me. I know what you mean. I always found Percy especially annoying."

Viktor smiled at him before swallowing down the hard lump of nervousness in his throat. "Vell, here we go, then." He pulled Bill gently into the dining room.

His father was sitting at the head of a long table--stern looking with salt and pepper hair. His mother seemed gentler, but only slightly--too thin with a long neck and her hair tied into a tight bun. Bill felt Viktor clutch his hand a bit tighter as if looking for strength.

"Nice of you to join us, Viktor," his father said after a pause. "Are you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Can ve please speak English?" Viktor said. "His Bulgarian is not yet very good." He took a deep breath at the tiny nod his father gave. "This is Villiam Veasley. He is called 'Bill' and...and he is precious to me. So...I vanted you to meet him."

"It's a pleasure," Bill said. It was always awkward meeting the parents. He hoped they weren't too taken aback. The silence was palpable.

"So, Bill," Viktor's mother said after a while. "Vhat do you do for a living?"

"I work for Gringotts," Bill answered smoothly. "Originally I was charm-breaker, but I took a desk job back home during the war. I just transferred to the branch in Sofia. I'll be starting there next week, not sure exactly what they'll have me doing just yet."

The woman nodded. Gringotts was a good job. That test was the easy one to pass. And it also let on, without having to be asked, that he'd moved to Bulgaria for Viktor--that meant he was serious about their son. He was pretty sure, at least, that was enough to satisfy most mothers. The father was harder to read.

"Your family is in England?" the man asked seemingly out of nowhere.

"Oh, mostly," Bill answered. "One of my brothers is right in Romania doing work with dragons. I'm staying with him until I finish building my house."

"You'll build your house in Bulgaria?" the man asked, still not raising his gaze from his plate.

"Yeah, I bought a nice plot near the Danube, a bit outside of Pleven. I'm planning to start work in March. If things go well I should be able to finish by September."

"And this home of yours. You intend to bring my son vith you?"

"That was the plan, yeah," Bill answered. He wasn't sure if that was what Viktor's father wanted to hear or not, but he wasn't going to lie about it.

But before anyone could ask more serious questions of him, the little girl blurted out, "Hey, how'd you get all those scars?"

Inquisitive little brat. Bill grinned. She reminded him of Ginny at that age. "Oh, that's from the war," Bill said. "There was this werewolf, Greyback. Blind-sided me. Well, I guess I was a bit out-matched, but the first one," he pointed at a dark scar near his temple, "was still a cheap shot."

"You vere not out-matched," Viktor stated sternly. "You are being too modest."

It was cute how Viktor was defending him, but Bill just laughed it off. "It's history, in any case," he said. "I hardly feel them anymore."

Viktor's father tensed. Bill knew why. The word 'werewolf' was always a sensitive subject. Before the man could ask he continued as if it was still just casual conversation, "The way I see it I got off easy. I like my meat rare and my sense of smell is a little better than I'd like sometimes, but that's about it."

"So, you are not a verevolf then?" Viktor's mother asked. "Even though you received such vounds?"

"He wasn't transformed at the time," Bill answered casually. "I got the whole complicated explanation right after it happened, but to be honest, I think I may have fallen asleep half way through it," he answered casually. "The gist of it seems to be that since he wasn't in his wolf form when we fought the side effects are pretty minimal. Beyond that I guess I just never thought the details were all that important."

Bill was amazing, Viktor thought. No matter what awkward questions his parents shot at him with their stern tones, he answered back casually and honestly like he was completely comfortable. Next to him, Viktor felt like a nervous wreck. What if they didn't like him? What if they didn't approve of his answers or his laid back personality or the fact that their son had fallen in love with a man? What if...?

But the night seemed to go smoothly. Once all the awkward questions were asked, his sister got curious about charm-breaking and he talked about that for a bit, and it just ended up making him sound really smart, because he knew about so many different hexes and curses and how to counter them. Of course, Viktor knew he was smart--he'd been Head Boy at Hogwarts, after all. He'd heard that somewhere, but wasn't sure who'd mentioned it to him, not that that was important. What was important was that by the time dessert was over, his parents were slightly less tense than they tended to be.

"Kalina, vhy don't you give Bill a tour of the house, Viktor and I have some things to discuss," Mr. Krum said.

"Okay!" Kalina, at least, seemed to rather like him. Her English was about as good as Bill's Bulgarian, but between the two languages they managed to understand one another well enough and it was only a matter of time before Bill perfected Bulgarian, Viktor figured, just like he perfected everything else.

Viktor swallowed and watched as his sister pulled Bill along by the cuff of his shirt, and his mother excused herself to 'help in the kitchen', which he knew was just an excuse to leave Viktor and his father alone. Viktor had always been intimidated by his father. Always. Now that he knew they were going to talk about Bill he felt even more worried.

"So, you spend years chasing after anything that wears a skirt, and now you expect us to believe you prefer men?" Mr. Krum stated.

"I expect you to believe I prefer this man, at the very least," Viktor answered. He wasn't going to get into how a person could be confused. How they could spend their entire lives ignoring what's right in front of their face and then one day, just suddenly see it plain as day. Explaining how a person can 'become gay' after having slept with many women wasn't something he thought his father would understand even if he explained it. It was, Viktor thought, something like drawing blinds away from the window. The view on the other side of the window has always been there, but until you move the curtain aside, it might as well just be another piece of the wall. Once you've drawn the curtain though, even when it's closed, you'll always know what's on the other side. You can pull the blinds closed, sure, but you can never un-see what you've seen. He thought it must be like that for Bill too.

"This man," Mr. Krum sighed a bit. "This charm-breaker. He likes risks."

"He does," Viktor answered, straightening his posture and saying confindently, "he likes me more." It was one thing he was absolutely certain of.

They just stared at one another for a long time, wills battling. Viktor didn't expect to win. He never did. His father spoke again. "He is stubborn. He decides what he wants and goes for it. He makes solid plans, and, even a stubborn old man like me can see the way he looks at you." He clapped Viktor's shoulders. "As if you are the sun around which all things revolve."

Viktor's cheeks colored a bit, but his father continued. "This man is very serious about you. I hate the way he dresses, like some rockstar."

"Father..." Viktor began to complain.

"Let me finish. I hate the way he dresses, and his Bulgarian, when he tries to speak it, is atrocious. He speaks too casually about dire things, like the war. But," Mr. Krum smiled. It took years off of his stern features, and Viktor tried to remember when the last time he saw such an expression was. He couldn't remember one. "But, he is a good man. Smart. Strong. Brave. I like him. He will be good to you."

Viktor's tension eased and his father pulled him into a manly embrace, slapping his back a few times before releasing him. "But you. Do not forget your family just because you are too busy being in love. I expect to see you both here for dinner at least once a month. I will not accept excuses. Your mother worries when she does not see you for so long."

"Yes, sir. I will visit more often. At least, when it is not Quidditch season."

"Bah," the man said. "Always Quidditch with you. You have someone precious now. When are you going to stop playing games and get a real job?"

"Father," Viktor sighed. He was so tired of this conversation. "When I am finished playing Quidditch, if things continue to go so well, I will not need a 'real job' as you call it."

"My son, the layabout," Mr. Krum griped. "At least this Bill of yours has good, respectable work."

Viktor opened his mouth to complain but a knock on the door interrupted him. Kalina entered. "Are you finished scolding Viktor, papa? I have shown Bill all of the good parts of the house. Mama shooed us out of the kitchen."

Viktor glanced between Bill and his father. "Go," Mr. Krum said. "We will talk about it more at another time."

Viktor looked a bit relieved at the interruption.

"So how'd I do?" Bill asked as they left the house and began on their way back to Viktor's apartment.

"Father approves of you," Viktor answered. "I think far more than he approves of me," he added irritably.

Bill quirked a brow inquisitively.

"He does not think Quidditch counts as a real job. He feels I am lazy."

"That's ridiculous. You're amazing," Bill replied.

"He thinks it is only a matter of time before I am injured to badly to continue. He complains about how I will support myself then."

"Well, obviously, you won't have to," Bill grinned, draping an arm over Viktor's shoulders. "That's what you've got me for."

"I am not interested in your money," Viktor replied sardonically.

"So it's not my money," Bill grinned, "and it's definitely not my face...ah! I know, it must be my body."

"Your body is not bad," Viktor answered.

"Not bad, he says!" Bill huffed.

"Not bad," Viktor retorted with a smirk, "but it is your heart that von me over."

Bill snickered a bit. "Such a romantic."

"There is nothing vrong with a little romance," Viktor huffed.

"Well, Mr. Romance, why don't we go back to your place, light some candles, and I'll give you another look at just how 'not bad' my body is," Bill teased, pulling Viktor against his chest and pressing a firm kiss to his mouth that he felt in his toes. Merlin, how he adored this shy, sweet man!

Viktor melted into the kiss and pulled back, blushing. "I...think I vould like that," he replied. It seemed surreal--feeling like this, someone else feeling like this about him. 'Well,' Viktor thought. 'If life was predictable, it would be boring, I suppose.' He wrapped his arm around Bill's waist and curled slightly against his shoulder. With the warmth spread between them, the January chill didn't really stand a chance.