Confidence

By Serena-chan

Part Two:

It had been almost three days since Percy's and Oliver's nighttime confrontation. The two had been exceedingly polite to one another, not wanting to have another fight. However, they had said little to one another.

For Oliver, this was sheer agony. He had always done most of the talking anyway, and the few words he managed to worm out of Percy were always the highlight of his day. Besides, it didn't feel right to keep things all bottled up inside of him. He liked having someone to confide in, even if Percy didn't always say much back.

He had to try and get back the friendship that they'd had. He would just have to accept the fact that Percy would never want to be in a relationship with him. If he couldn't have him as a lover, then he'd at least have him as a friend, although in his heart he knew that he would always continue to love Percy Weasley. Nothing could ever change that.

That evening, when Oliver emerged from the bathroom, hair still wet from the shower, he saw to his dismay that Percy had already arrived, changed into his nightclothes, and was pretending to be asleep. Oliver knew better though. Percy had always been a light sleeper. There was no way that he had actually been able to fall asleep with the noise from the shower running drifting through the bathroom door.

He quickly changed into his pajamas, swallowed his pride, and summoned all the courage he could muster. A second later, he had jumped on the edge of Percy's bed hard enough to make the whole bed shake. Percy didn't move, which was proof enough to Oliver that he was only pretending. Had he really been asleep, Percy would surly have awoken from that.

"Come on, Perce, I know you're awake." Oliver flopped down on the pillow next to Percy's head so that their noses were only about six inches apart.

With a sigh, Percy finally opened his eyes. "What do you want?"

Oh boy, here was the hard part. He couldn't look him in the eye. "I just wanted to say that I'm awfully sorry about the other night. It's your life, not mine, and I have no right to tell you how to live it." Even though I want more than anything to tell you to spend it with me.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," Percy said softly, not making eye contact either. "You were telling the truth, and I knew it deep down, but I just didn't want to face it. I know that my parents would never want me to be unhappy, and I know that I would never be able to make it through life living a lie. I just snapped at you because it was the first time I'd ever spoken to anyone about my sexuality. I've known that I was attracted to men since I was thirteen. That's a long time to keep so many emotions all bottled up, and then when I heard you say all my fears out loud. . . I was scared."

Oliver had never heard Percy say so much at one time unless it was about a school related topic. He brought his eyes up to Percy's face only to see that he was crying. It tore his heart in two to see the one person he truly loved in so much pain. Hesitantly, he put is arm around him, and Percy snuggled into his embrace to weep on his shoulder.

"Shh. It's all right." Oliver murmured, running his hands through Percy's fiery curls. "I know this isn't going to be easy, but I promise that I'll always be here for you. I'll help you get through this."

Percy looked up at him through his tears. Their faces were only inches apart, and Percy didn't have his glasses on. Oliver found himself drowning in the other's deep blue eyes. There was a heavy emotion there that he couldn't quite detect, but it made his heart beat at an almost alarming rate.

He slowly found himself inching his face closer to Percy's. Percy didn't pull away. He seemed to be moving in as well. Their lips connected in a sweet, tender kiss, that sent them both swirling into a world of pure bliss. They gripped each other tightly as the kiss deepened. When lack of air forced them to part, Oliver suddenly realized what had happened.

"S-Sorry!" He yelped, jumping out of Percy's bed. "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's alright. I don't mind. I mean, um," Percy's face was as red as his hair. "I mean, it-it doesn't matter."

Oliver nodded, so relieved that his knees felt weak. He made his way over to his own bed. Just as he was closing his eyes, Percy rolled over to face him.

"Oliver, what are you doing over the Christmas holiday?"

"Probably just staying here," he said, glumly. "Mum and Dad are abroad right now, so it wouldn't make much sense for me to go home."

"Well," Percy swallowed hard, try to sum up his courage, "would you like to come to my house for the holidays?"

"I'd love to," Oliver responded, feeling more happy then he had in ages. Percy gave him a genuine smile of warmth and affection that made his heart leap, before blowing out the candle next to their beds and wrapping them both in a comfortable blanket of darkness.