Subtle Love
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: Written for lunalestrange4's Slash and/or Femslash Challenge on the HPFC forum. The year is 1974.
"We're going to have to order more ice, vanilla and chocolate too I think, for next week; it's supposed to be a scorcher. Florean Francis Fortescue, are you even listening to me?"
Florean snapped out of his daydream and back into the present at the warning note in Florence's voice. His sister was dangerous when provoked and there was nothing she hated more than being ignored.
"More chocolate ice cream because of the heat wave," he repeated dutifully after a panicked moment of wracking his brain.
"Hmph," Florence grunted, unimpressed but not about to do him bodily harm.
Florean glanced at the clock. It was eleven twenty-six, he was late.
"Do you have somewhere you need to be, little brother? That's the sixth time you've checked the time in the past ten minutes,"
Florean flushed, and quickly turned away from his post watching the door to re-stock the chopped nut medley.
"I'm just waiting on a regular," he muttered.
Florence got a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"Is she pretty?"
"Leave off Flor, it isn't like that at all," Florean protested flushing more furiously.
"Uh huh, your face says otherwise. Aww, my dear sweet baby brother has his first crush on a cute customer," she teased.
"Shut up, and I'm twenty-two in case you'd forgotten,"
"So this isn't your first crush on a cute customer?"
"I'm not answering that question," Florean sighed, "You'll just twist my words around,"
"He who says nothing is understood to agree," taunted Florence, "Anyway, I need to go floo the creamery and yell at some people, you can mind the storefront on your own, right?"
"Please, just go,"
Once Florence had disappeared into the back room Florean gave into the urge and banged his head against the wall a few times.
"You are such an idiot," he told himself punctuating each word with a bang.
"Doesn't that hurt?"
Florean whipped around and upon locking eyes with a pair of curious misty blue ones he flushed brightly.
"Um…er, that is I—"
"I'll have a scoop of toffee-nut crunch, and I'll take a banana milkshake for my brother here my good man,"
Florean blinked and glanced up at the taller blond standing behind the object of his affections.
Everybody knew Ludo Bagman of course, he was the Wimbourne Wasps' star beater and the winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award for two years running, but Florean never really thought about him being Otto's brother.
"Sure, um, that'll be three sickles,"
"No discount for a star quidditch player?" wheedled Ludo breaking out that smile.
Florean fought a wave of annoyance, if he wanted to be on good terms with Otto he'd have to be polite to his brother.
"Well, any man as talented as yourself should be well able to afford a mere three sickles, Mr. Bagman,"
Ludo roared with boisterous laughter.
"Touché! A fine hit, there you go my good man,"
Florean smiled weakly in return accepting the three sickles and sliding them into the till.
"Would you like those for here or to go?"
"For here, if you please," Ludo said still chuckling.
"No problem, I'll bring them out to you if you'd like to take a seat,"
As Florean made up the ice creams for Otto and Ludo he couldn't help but wonder at how different the two men were despite the fact that they were brothers.
Otto had been three years behind Florean when they were in Hogwarts and he fit Ravenclaw to a tee, quiet and studious with an odd passion for History of Magic. Ludo by contrast was loud, boisterous and a bit of a dunderhead if you were to ask Florean's opinion.
Sure Ludo was handsome in a very classic way, with his broad shoulders and his easy grin, but Florean found that he preferred a lanky long-fingered gentleman with misty blue eyes that would blink owlishly from behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles over the top of some long forgotten tome. Florean went a little misty-eyed himself just thinking about it, and risked a glance.
The Bagman brothers had chosen a table out on the patio, and Ludo was laughing uproariously, probably at one of his own jokes. One that wasn't funny if Otto's expression was anything to go by.
Florean went to his rescue the only way he could and brought out their treats.
As he set the ice cream on the table he shot Ludo his best solicitous smile hoping to distract the quidditch star from whatever he'd said that had upset Otto.
"Can I get you gentlemen anything else?"
"A sense of humour for my brother here," Ludo suggested with another laugh and a broad wink.
"That's everything, thank you Florean," Otto interrupted, shooting his brother a frosty look, before quirking a tiny half-smile in Florean's direction.
Florean could feel himself flushing slightly as the silly grin tugged at the corners of his lips and he actually bowed like some sort of idiot before turning and ducking back into the ice cream parlor. It was the first time Otto had called him by his name, and he'd smiled, he'd smiled directly at him and it was such a sweet little smile. If he was attacked by dementors right now he was sure he could produce a corporeal patronus he was so blissfully happy.
Otto Bagman knew he existed. They'd talked before, well, Florean had taken Otto's orders and occasionally had been treated with an explanation on what the blond was reading, but he hadn't thought that Otto had really noticed him per se.
He went about the rest of his morning in a kind of deliriously cheerful daze, and was glad when Florence didn't reappear from the back room to tease him for it.
After serving a heap of strawberry swirl to a rather large family of red-heads Florean felt enough time had passed that he should be able to glance back over at Otto's table without it being too noticeable that he was watching the blond.
Otto was sitting at the patio table alone with his head propped up by his one hand listlessly stirring his milkshake with a glum expression on his face.
Florean couldn't resist that face any more than he could resist the Imperius curse. There were no customers waiting at the moment so he set up a quick alert charm and went out to the patio to talk to Otto.
"Why so glum?" Florean asked tentatively, his nerve and natural sociability nearly failing him as he approached the blond.
"I love my brother," Otto announced.
"That's good, I suppose. Where did he get to by the way?" said Florean when Otto seemed disinclined to explain his statement.
Otto jerked his head and Florean followed the motion and caught sight of Ludo a little ways down the Alley in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies in the middle of a swarm of fans signing some girl's bare midriff.
"I love my brother, but sometimes I want to strangle him,"
Florean pulled a commiserating grimace as he sat down in Ludo's abandoned seat.
"What's the occasion this time?"
Otto shook his head and sighed.
"It's not even his fault, really. He just caught the eye of the person I fancy,"
Florean winced, and not just from sympathy.
"Ouch,"
"I don't blame him, well, okay; I do a little bit, but I know he's famous and handsome and it isn't like he does it deliberately, people just like to be around him,"
"But?"
"But sometimes I really wish he would just go away. You know we were supposed to be celebrating,"
"Really? What was the occasion?"
Otto dropped his eyes to the table a faint blush tingeing his cheeks.
"I was offered a position at the Magical Museum of England,"
"That's so great! Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Otto murmured, "Anyway when I told him I was coming here he offered to buy me a celebratory ice-cream,"
"And then went off to bask in his own self-importance?"
Otto chuckled a bit.
"Yeah, pretty much,"
"Well, Mr. Bagman, I have the cure for what ails you," Florean said dramatically, "That shake'll fix anything from a bruised ego to a broken heart,"
Otto gave his shake another lacklustre stir.
"To be perfectly honest I don't even like bananas," he said with a sheepish grimace.
"Try it," Florean insisted not quite able to keep the smugness from his smile.
Arching one eyebrow, Otto took a tentative sip of the milkshake and his big blue eyes went comically wide.
"Mmm, that is not banana, and it's delicious," he added taking a longer deeper draught.
Florean laughed.
"You've come down here every even remotely warm day and a good portion of the cold ones for the past year and a half and never once have you ordered something with banana in it, give me some credit,"
"This is the best thing ever invented," Otto declared.
"Heartache mending?"
"Not really,"
"Do you want to talk about her?"
Otto sighed, adjusting his glasses.
"Him," he corrected, "Well, you, actually,"
Florean blinked, not sure he'd heard properly. His throat was suddenly dry as a desert and his heart was pounding about five times faster than was probably healthy.
"Me?" he managed to squeak out.
Otto blushed again, not meeting his eyes and toying nervously with his straw.
"Yeah," he agreed, "I've fancied you for a while now, I just never really knew how to bring it up so whenever I talked to you it kind of devolved into a history lesson," he grimaced, "You must have been so bored,"
"No!" Florean was quick to burst out, a few patrons shot them curious looks and he flushed, "No," he repeated more quietly, "I love listening to you talk about history, it's one of the reasons I fancy you so much, you're so passionate about it your face just lights up,"
Otto's head snapped up.
"Wait, you fancy me? You don't have a thing for Ludo?" he asked intently.
"No! Why on Earth would you think that?"
"Well, there was the blushing today, and the bowing, and the flirting,"
"That wasn't flirting, I was just trying to keep everyone happy, I could tell how upset he was making you and as for the blushing and the bowing, well, you bring out the blithering idiot in me, what can I say," shrugged Florean.
"Oh," blinked Otto owlishly.
"Oh," agreed Florean not even trying to keep the silly grin from spreading over his features.
"So…would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"
Florean couldn't help himself, he leaned in and kissed Otto full on the mouth.
"I get off work at six,"
"That would be a yes then, right?" asked Otto looking a bit dazed.
"Definitely," Florean laughed and leaned in to kiss him again.
He was enjoying the creamy cool slide of Otto's tongue against his own, when a very familiar pointed throat clearing broke them apart.
"So, this is the one you've been mooning after all day," Florence said wickedly.
Florean groaned hiding his face in Otto's shoulder.
"I love my sister," he muttered, "But sometimes I want to strangle her,"
Otto laughed.
AN: So I've had this idea for a while now and I needed something to get back in the saddle after losing a good six months worth of work when my laptop was stolen on monday.
As far as I know this is the only pairing of its kind as there isn't a character filter for Florean Fortescue on let alone one for Otto Bagman who gets one very small mention in book four.
For those of you who don't know...Florean Fortescue runs Fortescue's ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley and helps Harry with his homework in the summer before third year. Otto Bagman is Ludo's brother, he had a bit of trouble with an enchanted lawn mower that Arthur Weasley helped him out with and in exchange Ludo got him the tickets for the Quidditch World Cup.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed, please leave a review on your way out and let me know what you think!