AN: And we're back at Shipping Heaven. Sorry about that, but I hope I've managed to explain it pretty good.
As the waiting time for Bill and George to get back closed in on an hour, Charlie decided to go inside to get a candle, a new bottle of whisky and a pack of cigarettes. He tried offering the latter to Nox, who just shook her head.
"Have you quit?" he asked casually as he used the candle to light his own cigarette.
"Yes, actually," she answered, hugging around her knees to keep warm.
"Just as good," he answered, leaning back against the tree trunk again. "I've tried myself, several times. The longest I think I went was five or six hours, all I could think about was that I couldn't, and then I wanted it even more. Working that logic a bit longer and seeing how mad my mother went the first time she saw me with a cigarette to my lips, it's a wonder the twins never tried. Starting, I mean."
"We've tried," Fred told him. "Several times, but why keep up a bad habit that tastes like something crawled into your mouth and died?"
"Good point," Charlie agreed and blew a puff of smoke in his brother's direction. Fred's transparent face features grew blurry for a moment before the small cloud dissolved. A far-off howl broke the silence between them.
"Is Bill trying to teach the national anthem of Greece to my four-legged twin, or what?" Fred had got up and squinted into the woods in the direction where, sure enough, two sets of howling voices shattered the quiet night. "And it's taken them forever, too!" The ghost didn't linger any longer, but shot off in the direction of the choir. Charlie and Nox was left to make up their minds if they'd rather stay put and wait for the others to return, or go hunting for the sources of the eerie sounds with Fred.
"You're cold," Charlie stated when he at last looked at Nox again.
"No, I'm fine," she answered as he wrenched his jacket off and offered it to her.
"You're shivering, take it, I'm fine." He bluntly wrapped the clothing around her, taking no heed of her feeble objections.
"Well, thank you," she said at last when she had got her arms free. The leather smelled strongly of male sweat and what she assumed dragons must smell like, a strong burn at the back of her nose, and she could at least have fitted two of herself within the jacket, perhaps three.
"Fred do have a point, though, it shouldn't have taken Bill this long to just have a little talk with George," he said, filling his glass to the brim again. "Maybe he wanted a chance at relieving his mind without George cracking a joke every two seconds."
"You know them better than me," she admitted, feeling the buzz of the alcohol in her head and how relaxed her body was now it was warm again. "Not having George interrupt with a joke every two seconds sounds like a treat, though."
"Yeah..." He put the glass down on the grass and Nox became aware he had somehow sneaked his arm over her shoulders without her noticing a second before he smashed his lips to hers and took hold around back to prevent her from escaping. Squirming in his arms and making as loud objections as she managed, Nox felt the muscular chest heave against her own scrawny front and the beginning stubble on his chin felt like sandpaper against her skin. In those few moments that felt like a painful eternity, she became all too aware of how defenceless she would be if he decided to take it further.
At last he broke the kiss and looked into her eyes with hope and fear in equal measurements, resting his large hands on her shoulders and awaited her reaction.
"Have you bloody lost your frickin' mind?" she shouted when realising it was over, then sprang to her feet and wiped the back of her hand over her mouth.
"I'm – I'm sorry," he answered meekly and got up on his knees. "I didn't mean for it to be like that, it's just – it's gonna sound horrible, but..." His voice died away and he looked down.
"I'm dying to get an explanation, it might as well be a horrible one," she said and tried washing the taste of him from her mouth with whisky. He took a deep breath to prepare himself.
"Eleven and a half out of every twelve months the only company I have is other men, rude, smelly, disgusting men. Then, when I first get back into civilisation I'm so hungry for proper human company I put my foot in my mouth, and come across as a brute and a womaniser. I don't mean to and you seem like a nice girl and you work with my brothers, so I know where I have you, at least 'til I go back the day after tomorrow." He got to his feet and looked at her where she stood with his large jacket, a scowl, and her arms crossed. "Please forgive me. It was just a drunken kiss, forget about it. With some luck I will by the time I sober up." After a long look at him and a sigh, Nox nodded and let her arms fall. She didn't have anything personal against him, after all.
"Booya!" Not having heard the running footsteps, Charlie was taken completely by surprise when Bill jumped up on his back, and went down face-first on the ground. "Hi, Charlie-boy!"
"What the hell?!" Charlie had managed to wrench them over and now laid with a good hold on his older brother's shirt, tightening it around his neck.
"We've come to the conclusion that just because it's a full moon is no reason for me to become a grumpy, old man, the world have enough of them, and they're twice my age," Bill announced happily, swallowing against the strain on his throat.
"And that's reason enough to break my back?" Charlie growled. Bill's smile dropped at once, seeing his brother's angry face inch closer.
"No, didn't mean for that to happen," Bill acknowledged. "You're not hurt, though?"
"No, I... I just need a moment," Charlie muttered, got off his brother, and stalked off through the trees.
"What happened?" Bill asked Nox as he stood up and began dusting dry leaves and pine needles from his clothes.
"Nothing," she answered shortly, hugging the jacket around herself to avoid getting cold. George trotted over to her and put his nose to her palm and once he had confirmed the smell of adrenaline from her, nuzzled his cheek to her thigh.
"I should maybe go talk to him," Bill mused, gazing in the direction Charlie had taken off.
"No, don't bother, it's nothing," Nox said, having an irrational need to keep anyone from knowing what had happened. Bill gave her a look saying he knew it wasn't 'nothing', but he would let it pass for now.
AN: That's it for now. Even though I got a good idea of what I want to write it's just not coming out right. Hopefully I'll finish it some day.