I'm supposed to be writing George/Angelina for Inktober, but Anna prompted this. :p


Under the Stars

"I could lay out here all night," Angelina said, glancing over at Fred, who was reclining on his elbows about an arm's length away. Darkness had settled around them — she could only just make out his vivid red hair.

"Me too," he agreed, his head tilted up towards the starry sky.

Angelina looked up again, too, admiring the way the stars twinkled against their inky black backdrop. She had never taken the time to enjoy the constellations — Astronomy had always felt like more of a chore than anything — but here, with Fred, she wished that she could point out every cluster by name.

She shifted a little on the thick crimson blanket. "I'm sorry I don't know most of these constellations."

Fred laughed. "I don't really care about the constellations, Angie."

"No?" She risked another peek at him, but this time, he caught her looking and her face warmed with embarrassment.

"I mean, they're nice and all, but what I'm really enjoying is being here with you," he said. Angelina felt her breath hitch.

"Yeah, this is really fun, Fred," she said, hoping that she sounded casual. Internally, she was attempting to dissect the meaning of what he had just said. Was he merely implying that he liked spending time with her, or was there something more to it? Returning her attention to the heavens, she asked, "Do you remember what Cassiopeia looks like?"

"You know full well I was rubbish at Astronomy," Fred snorted.

"Yeah, well, I thought maybe you would have studied up on it. You know, to impress me." It had been a bold thing to say, but hearing Fred chuckle in response made her feel like she was on top of the world.

"I should have," he said, his voice husky.

Suddenly, Angelina was aware of the fact that he was closer to her than he had been before, and she resisted the urge to gaze at him yet again. Keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the sky, she said lightly, "I agree."

The next moment, she felt Fred scoot so close to her so that their arms were touching, and this time, she couldn't help but look over.

"Hi," he said, and she let out a nervous giggle that she immediately wished she could take back. It was just Fred, for Merlin's sake. He was one of her best friends. So what if she had fancied him for a while now? She hadn't wanted to make things awkward between them, and now she was doing just that.

"Hi yourself," she finally replied. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw him roll his eyes.

"You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

Angelina's heart started to race. "What do you mean?" she managed. She figured she might as well be direct — she didn't like the thought of continuing to dance around whatever it was that he wasn't saying outright.

Fred propped himself up on his left arm. "Come on, Angie. I invited you to go stargazing with me —just the two of us— and you didn't, I don't know, think that was a date?"

"I didn't want to get my hopes up," she confessed.

"George thought it would be romantic," he continued, then stopped. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"I didn't want to get my hopes up," she repeated, grinning. Fred returned her feelings! She could hardly believe it.

"Say that one more time?" Fred teased. "I just want to make sure I didn't hallucinate that twice."

She swatted his arm playfully. "Prat."

"But I'm your prat," he said smoothly. "That is, if you'll have me."

"Hmmm, let me think about that for a moment," she said. She pulled her face into a look of deep concentration.

"The sooner you admit you can't resist me, the sooner I can kiss you," he told her. She didn't think that she was imagining the desire coloring his cocky words.

"Well, in that case...I admit it. I can't resist you," she giggled. She closed her eyes and leaned towards him, savoring the moment when their lips met. Forget gazing at the stars all night. This...this she could do forever.


Word count: 701