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Louis sat at the table and glared at the totally blank piece of parchment in front of him. So much for his family dinner party idea. After all, it was pretty much doomed from the start if he couldn't even figure out who he was inviting. He couldn't invite everyone, they were legion, especially with all the spouses and kids thrown into the mix. Getting his whole family together was like planning a war, it took a lot of time and prior notice to pull things off successfully. So he couldn't invite everyone, the thought miserably, not if he wanted the majority of them to make it. And they'd feel bad for not being able to come because he hadn't been able to alert then in time, which he didn't want either.

So it made sense to invite just his and Teddy's immediate family to the dinner, but that didn't work either since his brother in law didn't get along with Teddy. Even after all this time Victoire was still touchy where Teddy was concerned and her behavior tended to make her husband uncomfortable, especially since it made it seem like she'd never gotten over being rejected by him.

And he couldn't just invite his parents, Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and Teddy's grandmother; they'd have an odd number of people and that just wouldn't do.

He could invite Lucy to come in as an eighth person, the fact that she worked with Teddy would make up for them not inviting anyone else, but she would know she was there to even out the numbers and that would hurt her feelings.

Crap.

"You look like your head is going to explode." Teddy murmured, setting his hands on the blonde's shoulders, gently kneading them as he looked down at the parchment. "What are you working on?"

Arching into the massage, the man had great hands, Louis focused on drumming his fingers over the paper. "I was thinking it would be nice to have some of the family over for dinner one night, but there's no way to invite just a few without hurting the feelings of others."

Reading between the lines Teddy could see why that would be a problem. Louis might have been one of the main reasons he didn't attend family get togethers as often as he could have in the past, but not having to deal with Victoire was an added bonus. Not that he didn't care for her, he did, but he'd made a massive mistake in both assuming her feelings for him when they were teenagers was just a crush, and by telling her after that kiss on the Hogwarts Express that her kiss had done nothing for him. Back then he'd still held out hope that he could force himself straight and the disappointment that not even a woman with Veela blood could interest him had caused him to blurt out things he should have kept to himself. She said she'd forgiven him for that but every once in a while her claws came out when he said or did something that somehow rubbed her the wrong way.

She had damn sharp claws.

Which was one of the very few good things about the fact that Louis wasn't likely to wake up one day with a terrible, all-consuming lust for his body.

Victoire would kill him in a way he'd rather not speculate about.

And it would not be a quick death, Teddy mused as he looked down at the top of the blonde's head, wondering what it said about him that he'd be willing to risk ending up dead if he got even just a night with the other man beforehand.

Tilting his head back Louis gave Teddy a questioning look. "Whatcha thinking?"

"I think…that before we invite anyone over here for dinner we need to do something about my dining room." Thank Merlin that he was used to thinking on his feet. "I mean you got me thinking about the place and you're right, it does need some serious work when it comes to the decorating. And since you have better taste when it comes to that sort of thing, would you consider taking it on? Or working with someone, I don't want to interfere with your work."

Louis's eyes lit up. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. You can use the money you were going to pay me for rent, and if you need more I'll get it for you." He might regret it later, especially when the other man moved out and he was stuck with a dining room that was sure to reflect Louis's taste, but he'd risk it. The man's decorating skills were probably okay, and the daily reminder of the blonde…well he was a man, he'd suck it up.

Immediately turning his head this was and that Louis studied the room, all but rubbing his hands with glee. He'd always lived at home or in flats where what he could do with a room was severely limited by lease agreements, roommates, or money. "Oh man but this is going to be so brilliant. You so are not going to regret this. And I'll take your taste into consideration, promise. You'll love it when I'm done." And it had to be asked, "What's my limit money wise?"

Chuckling and caught up in the other man's enthusiasm Teddy lowered his head and placed a kiss on the top of the blonde's head. "Go to town."

Cheeks flushing and not exactly sure why, Louis picked up his quill and turned his attention to sketching out the contours of the room so that he could start planning out what he was going to do with it.

And sensing that his gesture had unnerved Louis just a little, and himself too now that he thought about it, Teddy gave the other man's shoulders one last squeeze before heading out to leave the blonde to his decorating plans, deciding to make himself a cup of tea.

Looking up when he sensed that the other man was gone Louis didn't know what to think about the fact that the room suddenly seemed…emptier.

Not a good sign, that.

)

He was making Louis nervous for some reason. So the question was, what exactly had he done to cause that to happen, Teddy pondered as he leaned against his kitchen counter, waiting for his water to finish boiling. It couldn't be his own reaction to the other man because he'd been doing a really good job, if he did say so himself, of treating Louis the way he would treat any member of his honorary family. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have kissed the blonde on top of his adorable head, but other than that he'd behaved admirably in his own opinion.

But note to self, head kissing was out.

Louis had smelled so good though, Teddy thought with a sigh, recalling the citrusy scent of the blonde's hair. There weren't words for how much he wished he could bury his face in the shiny strands and just wallow in the scents that made up Louis Weasley.

He was getting creepier by the minute. It had to stop. Somehow.

After all, if he kept it up he was so going to give himself away, Teddy forcefully reminded himself, wrapping his arms around himself. His need to touch and be close to the blonde was one of the other reasons he'd forced himself to stay away from the family get togethers he knew the other man was coming to. He knew that he'd never stand a chance with Louis so his stupid feelings for the blonde spurred him to show the man affection when they did meet up if the opportunity presented itself. Which would have been fine if he were the type to be affectionate in public, but he wasn't which meant people noticed when he did behave that way towards someone. And since he was far more inclined to kiss or hug Louis than any other person of his acquaintance…well it was pivotal that he keep his hands and lips to himself as much as possible without making Louis mistaking his behavior for the exact opposite.

Life was always so complicated when you threw a Weasley into it.

Deliberately changing his thoughts to work, he had a busy day ahead of him come morning, Teddy was relatively successful up until the point where the kettle indicated that his water was ready to be poured into his mug.

It occurred to him as he added the hot water to his cup that maybe he should see if Louis wanted some tea too, the mental debate distracting him to the point that Teddy didn't realize he'd over poured until the scalding water sloshed over the rim and onto the hand holding said cup.

Cursing at the painful contact Teddy instinctively jerked the kettle, more hot water hitting his skin as he dropped his mug, which shattered on the floor as he quickly set the kettle down before heading towards the sink, shoving his hand and arm under the tap as he turned on the cold water.

"Teddy? Are you okay?"

Turning his head in the direction of the doorway leading from the kitchen to the dining room Teddy held up his good hand. "Stay there, there's broken pieces of pottery on the floor."

Seeing that Louis also noted the water around the shattered mug and the tea kettle that was no doubt damaging the counter Teddy had set it down on in his haste.

Ignoring the other man's warning to stay where he was Louis deftly made his way around the broken pieces of pottery and the water, retrieving the kettle and putting it back on the stove. That done he carefully made his way over to the older man's side to get a look at the damage. "How badly did you burn yourself?"

"I'm fine. It just stings a little."

"I'll be the judge of that. Let me see." As a chef he knew way more about burns than he wanted to.

Not wanting to remove his limb from where it was, it would hurt like a bitch as soon as it wasn't being cooled down, Teddy worked up a manly, 'this is nothing, Sweetie' smile for the blonde. "It's fine, Louis, really. You can go back to your planning, I'll clean up the mess in a minute." Or two.

"Can the macho bullshit." Was Louis's response to that, the Gryffindor crossing his arms for emphasis. "I'm just as macho as you are and I'm perfectly capable of MAKING you show me your arm. So we can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice."

If it weren't for the fact that the tussling would probably end up giving him one hell of a hard on he would have been tempted to call the blonde's bluff. And with that undeniable fact whirling around his head Teddy grinched his teeth and withdrew his arm and held it out for display. "Though let the record show that I'm only giving in because you'd hurt yourself trying to make me."

Louis glared at him before lowering his gaze to the red skin that highlighted where the hot water had hit. "Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I'm weaker than you are."

"No, but I'm taller, heavier, older, and I've taken lessons in self defense." Teddy resorted, absently mumbling the rest of his opinion under his breath as he tried not to wince over the other man's prodding. "The fact that you might as well have 'Bottom' tattooed on your forehead has nothing to do with it."

"Excuse me? Did you just say what I think you just said?"

"Uhm…no?"

Pulling back his arm Louis lightly punched Teddy in the shoulder. "Watch it, Old Man, or else. And for your information I'm perfectly capable of taking top." He added with a sniff, not about to admit that the man had pegged him correctly. He could take top, but he preferred bottom.

The pain coming back in full force now that the former chill of the water had worn off Teddy had to bite back his resort that the only time the blonde probably took top was to ride his partner. And that thought was both a blessing and a curse because while it was really pleasurable to imagine Louis in that situation, it wasn't him the blonde had been riding which stung as much as his burned skin.

Instinct had Louis looking up, lust pooling in his stomach when his body registered the change in the older man's cobalt blue eyes, which had darkened and shimmered with something hot and possessive.

Logically the man was probably thinking of his own sexual exploits due to their discussion, sex was a great distractor after all, but Louis couldn't help but imagine for a moment that those beautiful, hot eyes were for him and that the really good sex they promised was something he'd get the chance to experience.

Oh man, he was really in trouble if he didn't get his head on straight, Louis reminded himself as he forced himself to break off the eye contact before he did something stupid like make a move. "Put your arm back under the water. I'll clean up the mess and then get you some stuff to put on it so that it doesn't blister up on you."

"It's my mess, I'll clean it up while you get the cream you're convinced I need. I can use my wand to do the actual clean up." Teddy added, retrieving his wand for emphasis.

Recognizing the importance of picking his battles Louis agreed to that and headed back out of the room, thinking to himself that playing doctor was not the way to go about getting over this weird crush he seemed to be developing for the older man.

)

By the time Louis returned with the container of cream Teddy had cleared up the mess he'd made on the floor and was leaning up against the counter with a wet wash cloth wrapped around the burned area, his other hand holding it in place. As soon as he stepped into the room the older man unwrapped the cloth and held out his injured arm for inspection and treatment, Louis reluctantly amused at the faintly put upon aura his landlord was giving off. It was just so Teddy, the blonde thought as he shook his head, uncapping the container.

Pouring a generous amount into his hand Louis carefully applied the cream, apologizing a couple times since he knew he had to be hurting the other man, not that Teddy would admit it. No, the man was apparently determined to be all tough and stoic for the moment.

"What is it with straight guys and pretending that you're not hurt when you obviously are?"

Since he wasn't straight Teddy couldn't speak from experience, but the answer was obvious, at least to him. "People who complain and make a big deal out of an injury usually care more about getting attention than having their injury taken care of. And while a burn is painful crying to you about it wouldn't have changed that in the slightest. If it had been a serious injury I would have seen to it immediately or sought medical attention. I'm not so obsessed with proving my masculinity that I'd permanently damage myself rather than admit to my condition."

Since he wasn't the type to remain remotely quiet when injured Louis's lips curved into a pout at the implications of the other man's opinion on the matter. "It does too feel better to bitch and complain when you're sick or hurt. If nothing else it takes your mind off whatever's wrong with you."

Teddy had to smile a little at the adorableness of Louis's pout. "I remember your insistence that I had to kiss better every bruise or scrape you got when you were younger."

"And I felt better afterwards, which just proves my point."

"You mean you ate up the attention with a spoon." Teddy countered knowingly. "You were as good as Victoire when it came to calling up your crocodile tears."

Making an insulted sound Louis would have put his hands on his hips if it weren't for the fact that he didn't want to get his trousers dirty. "How dare you accuse me of faking those tears. Those were real tears, I'll have you know."

"Right. And I suppose you have a resort in the middle of the desert you want to sell me too?"

"Hmph. See if I help you the next time you injury yourself."

Teddy thought about pointing out that he hadn't asked the other man for help but he didn't see the point in stating the obvious, especially since they both knew that it was completely against Louis's nature not to help someone in need. "Fine. I consider myself warned."

Sighing Louis threw his hands up in defeat, knowing what the other man was thinking without him having to say it. "You know I could never not help you if you were hurt, you smug jerk. Seriously, I'm dreading when I leave here because Merlin only knows what you do and eat when no one is around to take care of you. I'm going to have nightmares about it thanks to you."

He was touched and a little sad at the reminder that Louis would only be with him for a short time. "You do realize that I've been living on my own for over a decade without someone around to babysit me. In fact, most people would argue that you need a caretaker even more than I do."

"Excuse me? I eat really well and properly take care of all injuries I sustain at work and stuff."

"That's not why you need someone to take care of you."

"You need someone to take care of you more than I do!"

Teddy's lip twitched in amusement. "If you say so."

"Don't act like you're humoring me, Teddy Remus Lupin. You need me here to take care of you, admit it!"

Okay…he couldn't really argue with that, now could he?

"I suppose I do."