For the Monthly Slash-tastic Drabble-athon Competition (68. Dialogue: "I'm here. It's okay.")
"Percy? Are you sure you're okay?"
Percy turned to face Oliver. "Of course I am," he replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I'm not blind, Perce," his boyfriend murmured, gently cupping Percy's face. "You haven't cried yet. You've been the strong one in your family, but you need to let your feelings out sometime."
"I'm fine," Percy replied.
"Perce…"
"I'm fine, Oliver!" he exclaimed sharply, rising from the sofa the two of them were sitting on. "I swear, I'm okay. I've dealt with my feelings over…Fred," he stuttered.
Oliver watched him tentatively. He knew Percy thought that he knew how to deal with his emotions, but he also knew Percy. The other man liked to think he was the master of his feelings, that he could handle himself without letting anything out, but Oliver had spent seven years in the same dormitory with him, and another four sharing a bedroom with him. He knew better.
He had tried to convince Percy to talk to him, and he had failed. Now all he could do was wait.
"Perce?" Oliver called out, "Are you ready?"
It was a month since the Battle of Hogwarts, and the school had finally been cleared of rubble – at least enough to allow a memorial service for the dead to take place. Percy had cloistered himself in his room for the last hour and a half, getting ready for it.
When he didn't receive any answer, Oliver started to get worried. It wasn't like Percy to ignore.
"Percy?" he called once again, this time knocking on the door of the spare bedroom, where Percy was getting ready.
For the second time, there was no answer. Unable to deal with his worry any longer, Oliver whipped out his wand.
"Alohamora," he whispered, extremely worried now.
The sight that greeted him when he entered the room made him stop in his tracks.
It was Percy, dressed to the nines in his best formal dress robes. That in itself wouldn't have been cause for concern, but he wasn't in front of the mirror, or in the bathroom, or even sitting on the bed, all actions that would have meant he was still in the process of getting dressed. Instead, he was curled up on the bed, facing away from Oliver.
And his shoulders – his whole body, actually – were shaking.
"Percy?" Oliver asked again, this time in a whisper. Once again, there was no answer.
He tentatively made his way towards the redhead, rounding the bed to be able to face him. He had his suspicions why Percy wasn't answering, but he had to make sure. When he finally saw Percy's face, his suspicions were proven correct.
With a murmur, he sent off a Patronus to let Harry and the Weasleys know that it was unlikely that the two of them would make the service in time, if at all. And then he climbed onto the bed, and wrapped his arms around the sobbing Weasley.
"It's okay," he murmured, "I'm here. I'm here for you."
And as he murmured nonsensical words of comfort, Percy finally allowed himself to cry.
I hope you guys liked it! As always, please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)