Sorry for the hiatus! It wasn't intentional, I just hit a wall with this story and don't really know where to go. This chapter is just a filler because I really have no idea what to write about... I hope I figure it out.
Charlie and I finally had a day off at the same time, so we spent the day together. We were currently lying together in his bed, I had my head on his chest as I played with the buttons of his shirt. He was reading a Quidditch magazine, humming under his breath when he found something that interested him.
"Not that this isn't the most interesting thing in the world, but I don't want to watch you read a magazine," I sighed, lifting onto my elbows to look him in the eye. "Pay attention to your girlfriend."
He seemed to be thinking for a minute before he grabbed my hips and rolled me under him after he tossed his magazine away to tickle my ribs. I was crying with laughter, trying in vain to get out from underneath him. While he was focused on tickling me, I took advantage and rolled him under me. I pinned him down with my hands holding his wrists, lifting my head from his neck to look down at him.
His eyes were sparkling with an easiness I hadn't seen there before. "You're so handsome, I don't know how I kept myself restrained for so long."
Just like I knew it would, my compliment made his ears turn pink. "Shut up, Ruby."
"No, I don't want to be quiet until you know just how handsome you are," I argued, kissing his forehead and scattering them across his face. "Your jawline is sharp enough to cut diamonds and all these freckles are the cutest thing. Then there's that smile, the real one you give me when we're alone instead of the one you use in front of the guys. And don't even get me started on that smirk you have when you're confident. It drives me crazy!"
If I wasn't kissing his face, I couldn't have been brave enough to say those things. I wasn't looking him in the eye and it made me courageous. Plus, the underlying need for him to be prouder of himself was strong. I knew what it was like to be insecure, and I was doing all the things I could to make him feel more confident in himself..
"If you want to talk about beautiful, let's talk about you," he said, making me pull back from kissing his chin to look at him.
"What do you mean?" I asked, sitting up across his hips and releasing his arms to cross mine over my chest. "I'm not beautiful, Charlie."
He sat up slowly, so he didn't knock me over, until our chests were only a couple inches apart. "Ruby, you can't really think that. You're so gorgeous it breaks my heart sometimes. When you're playing with the babies and you're laughing, the light shines off your hair and your smile makes you entire face look like the sun. I was never much of a daytime person until I saw you and knew the sun was where I wanted to be."
Charlie was never good with words, so I knew he'd been thinking about this for a while now. My heart was hammering against my chest because nobody had ever talked about me like that. I was scarcely breathing when I lifted my hands to gently cup his face, bringing my lips slowly to his and kissing him as light as butterfly wings.
That seemed to be new to him because his eyes were wide open when I pulled back and fluttered my eyelashes open. "What? Why do you look like that?"
"I don't have words for how that felt, Ruby. I've never had that many emotions flood through me all at once," he told me in a breathy voice. "That's the softest anyone's ever held me."
My smile was bigger than expected when I whispered, "No matter how big and strong you are, I'll always hold you this way."
He was absolutely beet red now, but I didn't pay attention to that. I busied myself with playing soft kisses all over his face and down his neck. He slowly laid back down for me and bared his neck, allowing me more space. This wasn't a position I expected from him, it was far too submissive. Charlie Weasley was nothing if not dominant in every situation.
"You are brilliant," he breathed, sliding his fingers back into my hair. "Godric, Ruby!"
His praises surprised me and made me bite his skin harder than intended, leaving a mark on his neck. "Shit, Charlie, I left a hickey on the side of your neck!"
That made him growl, his hand holding my hip tighter. "Good,"
"Not good!" I hissed, slapping his chest in exasperation. "We already get enough shit from everyone, I really don't want to make it worse!"
He put his hands over mine, keeping them flat against his chest to keep me from hitting him again. "They won't because they know I'll kick their ass if they're mean to you."
"I don't need you to fight my battles!" I told him before I sighed and moved off him to sit on the bed. "I'm independent and self-sufficient enough to take care of myself."
He sat up, too. "I never said you weren't, I just said I would take care of it. I care about you, it's my job to make sure you're safe and happy."
"But you don't have to! I'm trying so hard to prove myself here, to show all the others I'm their equal," I argued, trying my best to get him to understand what I was saying. "You coming in shouting at people because they're 'mean to me' is going to undo all the progress I've made!"
He looked stressed at my words and I realized he didn't get it still. Instead of getting angry and storming away, I took a centering breath and decided to explain it in terms he'd understand.
"You know how you felt like you had to prove yourself after Bill became Head Boy?" I asked, sitting on my knees to be the same height as him. "You were the Quidditch captain, but you still felt like you had to continue to prove to your parents you were equal with him? It's like that with me here, except I have to prove I can keep up with every single man and the one other woman. I think I'm doing a really good job, but you coming in with fists blazing is going to undo all the progress I've worked so hard to make. Do you understand now?"
"Everybody here knows how awesome you are," he argued stubbornly. "Ruby, you have to know that."
I shrugged and maneuvered myself around until I could pull my knees up to my chest. "I don't know, I'm not used to having people know me and want to be around me. I didn't have friends in school, I was always either with Hagrid or Professor Kettleburn. People just don't like me most of the time."
That made him frown and move forward, removing my arms from my knees. Then he pulled me back over to his lap, brushing his fingers through my hair softly. Every time he was soft with me always blew my mind. His rough palms treating me like I was fragile made me melt from the inside out.
"I didn't think about I like that," he told me quietly. "I don't mean to make you feel insignificant or like you need to prove yourself. If it bothers you so much, I'll try to stop being so angry."
I scooted closer to him and laid my head against his shoulder. "Good, that's what I want."
He just shook his head and placed his hands on my lower back. "If we're good again, I can think of something a lot more fun we could be doing."
I laughed and lifted my head, moving closer and allowing my lips to hover over his a little. "Oh yeah? What is that?"
He growled again and dove forward, knocking me onto my back and pressing his lips to mine. I laughed out loud, and he waited patiently for me to quit so he could kiss me for real. He held my face and his thumb stroked over my cheekbone as his tongue slid into my mouth. I kissed him back, sliding my fingers back into his hair and lifting a bit to get closer to him.
His free hand came down to hold my hip, his tongue sliding against mine and making a shiver course through my spine. This was the first time we'd had time to really snog for real, and it was fantastic. My only experience was nothing like this, Isaac wasn't this gentle or attentive to what I wanted. He just shoved his tongue into my mouth and did whatever he wanted. Charlie was slow and questioning, only placing his hands where he knew I wanted.
My shirt had come untucked while we were rolling around together, and I felt his fingers timidly tracing over the edge of it. I reached behind myself without breaking our kiss and slid his hand underneath the fabric boldly. My face was burning at the movement, but I knew it was what I wanted.
His hands were rough against the tender skin of my lower back, his finger sliding over the dimples there. I gasped at the feeling and broke the kiss, my eyes big as they met his. Taking that as a good sign, he kissed along my jawline and down the side of my neck. It was my turn to arch my back and offer him more space to kiss.
"Charlie!" I gasped when his tongue brushed a spot on my neck that made me light up like a Christmas tree.
He focused on the spot and kissed, scraping his teeth over it and making me moan quietly this time. His grip tightened after he dropped his hands to hold my waist, making knots form in my stomach. It occurred to me a few seconds after he licked over the spot again that he was leaving a spot on my neck like I'd left on him.
"Charlie Weasley!" I cried, hitting his shoulders with my palms indignantly. "We can't both have marks!"
He lifted his head and looked down at me with that smirk I'd mentioned previously. My stomach did a nosedive and I felt my stomach turn over on itself. It was nearly painful he didn't realize how gorgeous he was. My head fell back against his pillow in a groan.
"What?" he asked, nuzzling into my neck with his nose adorably.
I ran my fingers through his hair as I responded, "It isn't fair you're so adorable."
He made a noise of disagreement but didn't lift his head. Instead, he kissed where his lips sat sweetly before moving his body onto the bed by mine. I didn't miss that he left his head where it laid, cuddling into my side. The fierce, aggressive dragon tamer was nowhere to be seen as he let me hold him.
"Shut up," he told me in a sleepy voice.
I just let things be and ran my fingers through his hair, allowing him to fall asleep against my chest. I couldn't see his face, but I could feel the lack of tension in his body. I kissed the top of his head sweetly before closing my eyes to nap with him.
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