Disclaimer: Just the Two of Us does not belong to me. I did not write it or perform it. those honors belong to grover Washington, Jr. and Bill withers. respect their genius.
Author's Note: My love to my Andi, whose positive review for chapter 1 inspired me to keep going. Please Review. Reviews are my lifeblood. I'll thank reviewers by name in future chapters.
Oliver walked out of the Great Hall, across the dark green hills of the Hogwarts grounds, and towards the Quidditch pitch. He took out his Captain's key, opened the locker room, and took out his '79 vintage Phantom broomstick. His only indulgence, despite his well-off parents, was vintage broomsticks. The phantom was his favorite. He straddled the long, smooth ash staff, and kicked off the ground.
I see the crystal raindrops fall
And see the beauty of it all
Is when the sun comes shining through
To make those rainbows in my mind
He rose quickly into the grey sky. A light rain was falling, under the wide English sky the beautiful rolling hills and sprawling Forbidden Forest spread across the land like an illustration in a fairytale. The sun, white in the foggy air, came out from behind a cloud and washed the entire countryside with light. The light hit the raindrops, making them sparkle like shards of falling glass.
When I think of you some time
And I want to spend some time with you.
He though of Percy, and what had been said that morning. It couldn't be over. He had waited so long for this. Ever since second year, watching Percy, memorizing all his little movements, his habits, the way he bit his quill when he was thinking of what word to use. He loved the bookworm, dammit. It wasn't fair. He would have given everything for Percy. Sacrificed everything. It wasn't the sex, Percy was wrong. He wanted Percy. He wanted to just sit with him, hold his hand, have him smile that beautiful little smile. They were perfect together. It would have been perfect.
Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Building castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I
Sitting on the roof of the castle, Oliver watched the clouds floating over the sun, covering the gargoyles and turrets in shadow once gain. The rain began to fall harder, streaking down his cheeks and dripping from his hair. I won't let this happen. I won't. If I have to wait for the rest of my life, I won't let Percy end this, and pretend like it was nothing. If I have to die waiting, I will. Percy, damn you, I love you. And I'm not letting that go without a fight.
We look for love, no time for tears
Wasted water's all that is
And it don't make no flowers grow
Good things might come to those who wait
Not to those who wait too late
Oliver mounted the beautiful broom once more, and hurtled toward the ground like a falcon diving towards its prey. He returned it safely to the storage locker, and walked as fast as he could across the lawn. The hills were dark with the thick rain, the sky a deep grey. The sun continued to sporadically poke out from behind the massing clouds, every so often causing rainbow flashes of light as it hit the gleaming raindrops. Oliver slipped on the muddy hillside, tumbling down onto the ground. He leapt to his feet like a wild animal, and bounded across the lawn, neither rain nor mud meaning anything anymore.
We got to go for all we know
Reaching the campus, he wrenched open the door, and strode into the main foyer. He was soaking wet, his robes clinging to him and trailing water across the stone floor. His light brown hair was plastered to his forehead, and covered his eyes, obscuring his vision. He had mud all over, especially down his front. He was panting wildly, a fiery desperation in his eyes. But he didn't care. The hall was filled with people. Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and teachers. There were even a few ghosts. It was packed, as many, who had been out on the lawn had just fled inside from the rain. But Oliver was beyond caring.
Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Building castles in the sky
Just the two of us
You and I
"Percy!", he shouted, using every ounce of power he had in his formidable lungs. "Percy! Where are you, Godammit? Get down here! I love you, you bastard, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you give up on us!" And so he continued to shout, climbing stairwell after stairwell, yelling from every landing.
A pair of Slytherin seventh years blocked his path near the third floor, snickering tat him. He didn't hear their words. Though both were a year lder than him and a teacher was standing a flight below, he decked both with a single punch, and continued on his way, barely breaking stride or ceasing to shout to Percy.
I hear the crystal raindrops fall
On the window down the hall
And it becomes the morning dew
For his part, Percy was tucked away in his favorite corner of the library. Sitting on the floor, his back against a heavy bookcase, he was staring out a long, low window which reached down to the floor. Raindrops fell like quiet hail against the leaded panes of old glass. Through some of the clearer panes he could see the dark green hills and the wide forest.
Darling, when the morning comes
And I see the morning sun
I want to be the one with you
As the heavy wind pushed the clouds across the sky, the sun came out from behind the dirty grey clouds, illuminating the raindrops. It caused them to sparkle and glisten in flashes of rainbow-colored light, which gleamed like diamonds through the window where Percy sat.
He thought of Oliver. Part of him felt justified. He was not in any way tied to Oliver, except as a friend, and he wasn't in it for love. Love was weakness. Love was the insanity, the chaos, which could destroy the carefully constructed future he had been building since he came to Hogwarts.
But this voice was being increasingly drowned out. He felt bad about how he had treated Oliver, and how he had left things. But even more of him knew, and yet refused to recognized the truth; he loved Oliver. He wanted to be with him, to love him, to be loved by him. He wanted the beautiful feelings he had ridiculed that morning. But all kinds of doubts swirled around in his head. Could he do it? Would Oliver take him back? How could he ever bridge the gorge he had created this morning?
But then the first voice would come back, and prophecy all the uncontrollable emotion, all the unforeseeable issues, everything that this would create, that could be the end of all of Percy's ambitions for himself and his career. He couldn't afford to take that chance, could he?
Then the second voice, could he afford not to?
Just the two of us
We can make it if we try
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Just the two of us
Building big castles way on high
Just the two of us
You and I
After about half an hour of stomping around the castle, Oliver had finally calmed down enough to think. Where would Percy be, especially at a troubled time? The library. Duh. He flew up the stairs, taking them three and four at a time. Finally, he arrived at the library. He barreled through the archway, dripping wet, earning him a withering glance from Madame Pince. Realizing that first, she could throw him out if she wanted, and second, she probably knew where Percy was, he turned to her.
"I'm sorry, Madame Pince, I'm just in a huge hurry. I need to know where Percy is. It's urgent. Have you seen him?"
Madame Pince, lowered her spectacles, and stared at him down her long, impressive nose.
She said, "There is nothing so important that it gives one a license to disturb the peace and quiet of a library. However, as to Master Weasley, I think you will find him in the upstairs gallery, towards the South Wall."
"Thank you, Madame Pince, and I'm awfully sorry." Oliver began to walk towards the steps up to the higher level of the library.
"Master Wood.", came the librarians piercing voice.
"Yes, Madame Pince?"
"If I so much as hear you emitting a syllable, at a fraction of the volume you were just disturbing the halls with, I will not be responsible for my actions. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am.
Oliver ascended the steps as fast as he could, and raced along the endless rows of bookshelves. After what seemed like an eternity, he found the redhead sitting huddled against a window. Tears like crystalline raindrops had fallen down his cheeks.
Just the two of us
Let's get together, baby
"Percy!"
"Oliver?" came the startled reply.
"Percy, I-"
"Don't. After this morning, I-"
"No. You listen to me. I love you, you bastard. Maybe you can't see it, or maybe you've just had your nose in a book the whole time, but we had something. And I'll be damned if I let you dismiss it, and give up on us. I love you, and I'll always love you, and dammit, we're going to make this work.'
Percy's mind moved at about a mile per second. This was it. Oliver would have him back. But did Percy want to come back. It meant uncertainty, it meant unfamiliar terrain. It meant places that none of his textbooks could tell him how to navigate. But it meant Oliver. It meant never being alone. It meant love.
"Oliver, I love you.", he whispered.
"You do? You mean, you'll-"
"Yes, but… but we have to start again. We have to start properly. As boyfriends. There's too much… debris in the old way."
"Okay, umm… Percy, will you go out with me?"
"Yes."
Oliver ran to Percy scooped him up from the floor, and pulled him into a long kiss, the kind of kiss seen only at the end of romantic movies.
"Ahem! Mr. Wood! Mr. Weasley! This is a library, not a brothel!"
Just the two of us
We can make it
Just the two of us
We can make it
Just the two of us