To say seasoned Quidditch beater Fred Andrew Weasley had underestimated the true power of airplane sickness would be quite an understatement.
"You alright?" Odile asked in amusement as his usually pale features seemed to be lightening tenfold. He shook his hair, a move he regretted almost to immediately.
"I think I prefer apparation to whatever this contraption is." She giggled at that, perfectly aware of the uncomfortable nature of apparition. She placed a soothing hand through his hair and he seemed to relax a bit. She grinned as she repeated the motion, watching him unfold with the ministrations of her fingers. He laid his head on her shoulder, letting his eyes close as her hand cradled his skull. Careful not to wake him, she pulled her notebook out from where it sat in her jacket pocket. She flipped through the first few pages, hand never pausing it's soothing path.
"That little move is going to come in much use in the future darling, trust me." She turned her head to see an older lady watching them with a soft smile. She flushed lightly, and gave snoring boyfriend a look of ever present fondness.
"It's nice to see him relaxed for once, I have to admit." The woman nodded sagely and glanced over at the older gentlemen snoring beside her. She sneered at his noises, but sighed good naturedly as he cuddled closer towards her, allowing him to roll his head onto her shoulder.
"Enjoy it while you still can dear, the minute that the kiddos enter the picture all that peace goes out the window." Odile flushed brightly, stuttering slightly as the woman giggled at her expression.
"I suppose that means you haven't made any plans for all of that yet?" The lady teased, as Odile tried to regain her composure. She shook her head as vehemently as she dared, not wanting to shake the finally sleeping Fred.
"Well, you're still young, you'll have decades of time ahead of you yet. Love is the only goal at the end of the day, whether you find that through a family or not doesn't matter. All that matters is you leave this world with the knowledge that you did your best to find that happiness." Odile nodded serenely, watching her personal happiness snore softly. The woman grinned at the fond expression, before turning back to her own slice of happiness, pointedly ignoring the drool on his lower lip.
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The drive to the Fuller residence was one filled with anticipation, Odile eyeing the familiar countryside with a sense of nostalgia. Last time they'd visited the Fullers, they'd apparated directly from the Ministry's floo, bypassing the route that the taxi cab driver now took them. Fred eyed his surroundings with curiosity, the American rolling hills similar, yet somehow so different from their British counterparts. Odile was practically shaking with jitters, counting down the seconds as if they were hours. Fred glanced over at her and couldn't help but smile fondly at her bouncing leg. He grasped her hand and gave it a soft squeeze and she immediately relaxed, giving him a small grin.
"Nearly there darling." She nodded at his reassuring words, scooting as close to him as the seat belt would allow as he slung his arm around her. The driver glanced at his passengers through his mirror and smiled softly. He couldn't help but think about his own family, who'd likely be waiting at home for his return. His beautiful husband and their two chocolate labs; Jack and Daniel, his idea of course. At least his partner was good enough to put up with him, and that's what made everything worth it after all.
The soft rocking of the cab eventually lolled her to sleep, Fred's arm acting as her own personal security blanket. The next thing she knew was an irritating shaking of her side, and she burrowed into that blanket a bit further, the vibrations coming from his chuckles annoying her further.
"Odile, love. Wake up."
"Whyyy?" She whined, the jet lag having caught up with her in the worst possible way. She could practically hear his smirk as he nosed her head, whispering softly in her ear.
"Well for one this lovely gentleman probably has better places to be, additionally because your entire family is watching you behave like a badger." She shot up at that, eyes flying open as she heard hoops and hollering from outside. She squealed in joy, wrenching the car door open and in an incredible show of speed, threw herself in her grandparents' waiting arms. Fred shook his head in amusement, tipping the cabbie quite well on his way out. He pulled their cases from the boot, arms straining a bit as he headed towards the chockful porch of Fuller's. He laughed at the giant bear hug between all the family that was currently in action, setting the cases down gently at the foot of the stairs. Joe Fuller drew himself up at the sound, grinning from ear to ear.
"Get over here kid." He cried, beckoning the boy to join in on the large group hug. Fred approached him slowly but couldn't help but laugh as he was quickly engulfed by the Fuller family.
"Thank you Fred, thank you for bringing our girl back… again." Sue said, her voice heavy with grateful tears. He met her blurry eyes and nodded once, his smile wide enough to split his face in half. He felt a pair of lips brush his cheek and glanced over at Odile, the look of content thankfulness making his heart skip a beat. She mouthed the three words that were said every morning and every night, and it took all his strength not to gather her up in his arms and snog her senseless. Perhaps they'd save that for a bit later, after all, he liked his head still attached to his body.