A/N – Gah, sorry it took so long for an update, everyone. Real Life Drama (™) just had me completely drained and pretty much ruined me for anything but wandering around my house, stuck in my head and trying to keep various family members from losing it. But on the bright side, being stuck in my head for so long helped me work out solutions to the different, er, "problems" I'd encountered with some of the stories I've got in the works, and I even came out of my shell long enough to work on this story and Letter B (whose actual title is subject to change, like, every other day, lol) from my Alphabet Series. I'm actually almost finished with the as-yet-untitled Letter B, so that should be up within the next week or so, as well.

Anyway, out of all the ones I've done so far, I think this was one of my favorite chapters to write…but that's mostly because of the absolutely shameless love I have for all the Weasleys. ;-)

X

Winter melts slowly into spring as Percy and Audrey start their awkward courtship. They try to keep things quiet at the office, but Percy is secretly sure that everyone knows what's going on between them – no matter how much they argue, no matter how proper and distant they are in front of their co-workers, it isn't too hard to scratch the surface and realize that Percy Weasley and Audrey Davies are synchronizing their tea and biscuit breaks. Or see how Audrey keeps coming back from her lunch with her clothes a little rumpled and her lipstick slightly smudged, and how Percy has rearranged his photographs so that Penelope – once set in a prominent place right next to his ink bottle – has been replaced by one of his many nieces and nephews standing underneath the awning of a new outlet of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. And it really doesn't help that Suzette has the ears of a wolf and the eyes of a hawk when it comes to sniffing out all "vulgar, clandestine trysts" that occur in the office under her watch.

No one says anything, and life moves on as normally as it can. But deep down Percy wants them to know; wants to get caught so that he doesn't have to expose their secret himself.

He introduces her to his family members one at a time, hoping that if he incorporates her slowly she won't run off screaming towards the hills when he finally gets around to inviting her to the Burrow for one of his mother's Sunday Dinners. She laughs at all Ron's jokes when they go to the Wheeze and teases Charlie for trying to flirt with her back when they first met. She seems genuinely interested in Ginny's work for The Daily Prophet and even helps a pregnant Fleur waddle, off-balanced, from one room to another when they go around Shell Cottage for lunch one afternoon. Both Hermione and his father have nothing but nice things to say about Audrey when they learn hear her name, and when he casually mentions to his mother that she's a skinny little thing – telling her over tea how Audrey barely eats during the day – his mother makes it her personal mission to have another mouth to feed. Molly bakes pies and bread and a dozen other things for Percy to bring to Audrey when the workday is over. She hasn't cooked like this since Harry lived with the Dursleys and Audrey's empty pantry seems to fill up within the week, much to both their surprise.

He finally brings her home to meet everyone at once on the day George announces that and Verity are getting married, and his entire family seems to burst into a cry of collective shock at exactly the same time. Everyone that is, except for Percy, who only rues his bad timing. Bringing Audrey to the Burrow for the first time was supposed to consist of a nice, relatively quiet family dinner…not a dozen loud, obnoxious conversations over the price of invitations and where and when his brother will honeymoon. He's happy for George – he really, really is – but he can't help but silently wish that his brother could have picked a different family dinner to announce his and Verity's engagement.

Embarrassed by all the attention lavished on the two of them, Verity "Soon-to-be-Weasley" Bloom turns seven shades of red before even moving from the Burrow's front hallway into the sitting room as four Weasley women (and, er, Audrey) descend upon her to gaze adoringly at the engagement ring on her left hand. Even Hermione – proper, serious, uptight Hermione – falls under the spell Verity's diamond ring has seemed to cast over everyone and gets misty-eyed when recalling hers and Ron's month-long honeymoon.

"We're not like this all the time," he keeps telling Audrey in a hushed voice, blushing at the tips of his ears in true Weasley fashion as Charlie claps George on the back and asks him, quite loudly, if he and Verity are getting married because he "knocked her up." Arthur nearly chokes on his drink and Molly gives her second oldest son a withering, scornful glare as the table around them goes silent for what feels like hours, only to burst into an even louder argument after four-year-old James asks – and quite loudly, at that – exactly what "knocked up" means.

"Don't worry about it," Audrey whispers back, squeezing his hand under the table as George threatens to knock his older brother unconscious with his tablespoon and Verity covers her face with her hands. "I like the noise. It's, er…well, it's interesting!"

Almost immediately afterwards, dinner finally, finally ends and everyone retires to the sitting room, where Percy's parents have set up a table practically groaning under the weight of the desserts Molly has made for everyone. And it is there, sitting in the company of his family with a plate of brambleberry pie resting on his knee, that the rest of the Weasleys remember Percy brought a girl home.

"So, Kitten," Charlie says with a wink. "D'you want to tell everyone where you and Percy met?"

Audrey blushes and Percy once again feels like he is going to burn up from embarrassment, but despite all that it all goes well. His family is notoriously critical of newcomers – Fleur is a living testament to this, as is (was) Angelina – but once they survive the seemingly-endless gauntlet that is spending a meal surrounded by Weasley relatives, most people are warmly accepted into the fold, and nearly all of them become Weasleys themselves. Honestly, Percy's just happy that she can meet his family; that things aren't awkward and empty between himself and the rest of the Weasley clan; not like they used to be.

The night ends with his mother filling the sidecar on his motorcycle with enough food to feed an army for a month, and when he flies her home to Leeds Audrey's arms are secured firmly around his waist. The night air is cold on Percy's face, and despite the fact it is close to two o'clock in the morning, he feels more awake and alive than he has in, well…ever. He likes that.

X¾

They're too old for this and they both know it, but it doesn't stop them. The furniture is all pushed to one side in Percy's living room, and the two of them are sprawled out on the carpet, a bowl of popcorn on the floor between them. It is a little after midnight, and Percy and Audrey are throwing popcorn at her dog, Monty, trying to see who can get the Yorkshire terrier to catch the most before they hit the ground. Several pieces of popcorn bounce off of the dog's side, but he catches one right in his mouth.

"That's eight for me," Percy crows, reaching over Audrey's lap to grab another handful of popcorn.

"No, you dolt, that was my piece. Yours hit him in the ear." She swats at his hand, trying to keep him from the popcorn, and moves the bowl a little further from his reach.

"Liar!" He can barely hold back a childish laugh. "You're just trying to make up points so you win."

"Loser sleeps in the bathtub? Hell yes, I'm trying to win." Audrey slaps at his hand again; he's tried to reach behind her for the bowl, but Percy was never very good at being sneaky.

They spent the day in the park with Fred and Roxie and Audrey's dog, treating his favorite niece and nephew to ice cream and a nice little outing while George and Verity went over the last-minute details of their wedding. Still undecided on where their honeymoon would be, Percy offered to take them out for a bit while his brother and the bride-to-be made the excruciatingly hard choice between Greece and Rome. He pitied them, really.

Monty barks for attention and it pulls Percy out of his thoughts. Audrey flings a handful of popcorn at him; he catches one piece and the rest flies past his wagging tail.

"That's got to be at least five points," Audrey points out as the pieces of popcorn bounce off of the mantle of the fireplace to fall to the floor.

"That's got to be cheating, and you're hogging the bowl." Percy lunges for the popcorn, but all he's successful at is knocking the bowl out of Audrey's hand, scattering popcorn everywhere, and inadvertently tackling her to the floor. They both dissolve into giggles, and for just a moment, they both feel like kids again…rather than two people who have seen far, far too much of life.

Audrey chuckles below him and reaches up to brush hair from his eyes, and a wave of uncertainty passes through his body. She pauses in her movements and chews her lower lip in that annoyingly attractive way of hers, her hand resting on the back of his neck, and he is suddenly hyperaware of just how close their bodies are. On an impulse, he leans in to kiss her.

It has been nearly six years since Percy has been with anyone other than himself. Six years of one toothbrush by the bathroom sink, of one place setting at all three meals, of his limbs stretching out across the bed in the middle of the night and only finding empty mattress. Six years of watching his brothers and baby sister grow and love and marry and being the quiet, bachelor uncle that stands alone on the sidelines at every family gathering, wishing that he could be like them. He's carried his grief with him for six long years and his guilt for even longer, but when he's around Audrey it feels like a weight he didn't even know he carried has been lifted from his shoulders. It's a feeling he's been finding that he wants to keep.

Off in the corner her dog is eating the rest of the popcorn and slobbering on his sofa, and directly below him Audrey moves up and kisses him back. Her back arches and she's purposely pressing her body closer to his as he leans on his elbows, shifting his weight so that he isn't crushing her. She pushes his shoulders and he rolls over onto his back. Audrey leans down, trying to take control of the situation, but after a few moments she pulls away, staring down at him with an odd, bemused expression on her face.

"Bedroom?" she asks, almost in a whisper. Some of her hair has come loose from her ponytail and it hangs in a dark, awkwardly-shaped curtain that separates the two of them from everything else. He can't remember how to speak – all he can think about is just how soft she is, compared to how sharp and angular she seems – but he must say something that vaguely resembles human speech, because the next thing he knows Audrey is standing up and holding out her hand. He takes it, and when he rises she points to the bedroom door and says, "I'll be there in a minute."

He watches her walk away and as soon as the bathroom door shuts behind her, he nearly trips over himself rushing into his bedroom. He pulls his shirt over his head and hurries to simultaneously undress and straighten up the room before Audrey makes her entrance. He sits on the newly-made bed in his boxers and waits, watching the clock and trying not to count the seconds that have passed

And he can't help it – he panics. He once again starts to neaten the room around him – even though everything is already clean and tidy – compulsively adjusting the various objects on his bedside table until they all sit in a straight, orderly line; lamp, alarm clock, wand, photograph of Penelope. He stares at Penny's photo for a good ten seconds, wondering if he should just turn it to the wall or leave it as is, but he grabs it and sets it, face-down, in the table's drawer as quickly as he can and sits on his bed, feeling lost.

What if she doesn't come out? He wonders, nervously chewing on his thumbnail. What if I've misinterpreted everything and she gets uncomfortable and when she sees me out here like this, she changes her mind and leaves? He considers pacing the room, or taking Penny's photograph out of the nightstand, or even putting his clothes back on and pretending that this never happened, but the nervous dread that fills the pit of his stomach keeps him seated. Percy closes his eyes and tries to breathe, hoping that what he's doing is the right thing.

And when he opens his eyes, she's there.

For the first time ever, Audrey looks shy as she walks towards him, and Percy feels like he's going to choke; Audrey reaches out to touch him and it feels almost as if he's not really in his body anymore, like he's watching everything from somewhere across the room. Audrey leans in to kiss him, and his fingers twitch with the bizarre desire to run them through the dark curtain of her hair. He rests them on her hip, at the lacy edge of her panties.

"I've wanted this for a really long time," he says, and his voice cracks. "But I, er, haven't actually done this in a really long time."

"I kind of guessed." She smiles and although her voice is smooth, there's a faint hesitation in it. He's almost relieved to hear that she's as nervous as he is, but her words make him stiffen and swallow. She pushes him backwards and her hands are soft where they rest against his shoulders.

He fumbles for something to say, stumbling over his words and feeling like he's sixteen years old again as Audrey's bites her lower lip to keep from laughing. He cringes inside, cursing at his lack of eloquence, but then she moves and it feels as though the Earth is shaking. He gasps and grabs her hips and he can feel the mattress groan underneath their bodies; his bed hasn't seen this type of movement in very long while, and Percy wonders idly if the springs could have rusted in that absence.

"We might break it."

"Is that a challenge, Mr. Weasley?"

He's giddy, but his words fail him and she kisses him again. She's warm and clean and wonderful, the bed is creaking beneath them and here in this moment, with her, against her, and just so in love with her, Percy Weasley couldn't care less.

"I still won, you know," Percy says, once he's managed to catch his breath. They're tangled up in blankets and her head is resting against his chest, and he feels something close to peaceful there, having her sprawled out against him. She lazily traces shapes on his skin, her eyes half-closed and looking as content as he feels. At least, he thinks that's how she looks; his glasses have gone missing and he isn't too sure where they might be.

"You did not."

"Did so," Percy insists, lifting his head just a bit to look up at her and squinting to make out the lines of her face. "It's my flat, and that means I automatically win."

"I am not sleeping in the bathtub just because you decided to change the rules." She raps him lightly, but the laughter in her voice gives away the fact that she finds this utterly hilarious.

And the odd thing is, for all his worry – for all the dread and panic he'd had bubbling under the surface of his skin – Percy does, too.