Wow! I am so so so so so so so sorry for my long delay in posting! Just shy of a year is a long time and so unacceptable! In my defense (take it or leave it) I've had a lot going on in the past few months! I got a puppy, got engaged, had sooooo much family drama and a lot else, but I should've kept writing. It would've helped with the bad stuff.

That's enough of my excuses. I hope you love this and I hope you review even though I definitely don't deserve them!

Chapter Nine

The sun was beating down and the heat was sticky and nearly unbearable. It was so unlike anything experienced in London. The English team worried they wouldn't be able to perform in such conditions. They hadn't played anywhere nearly so tropical all season.

Even the usually optimistic and loud Oliver was silent as they surveyed the pitch, shading their eyes with their hands.

Before away matches, they had time for a light practice and to feel their surroundings out.

Adair glanced at her brother, hoping for some encouragement or guidance, but none came.

The entire team was on edge. The match against Argentina was the last one they needed to win to go to the World Cup.

The energy amongst the teammates who had had a considerably good season was so strange. No one said a word as they went into the locker rooms to change for their practice. The match began the next morning.

ooooOoooo

Latin music was pounding through the stadium, seemingly shaking the locker rooms they were in. Adair said nothing. She was looking at the goggles she only wore in the rain. They had done their best to charm them to block out some of the bright sunlight, but she still wasn't confident in the outcome of the match that day. No one seemed to be. She and Sienna and Jasmine didn't say a word to each other as they pulled on their heavy robes on and clunky boots. They had formed such a rapport over the last season that the silence seemed deafening.

"Ready?" Jasmine finally asked, slinging her broom over her shoulder.

The other two merely nodded and went out to join the men.

Per usual, Oliver and Adair were the last ones to enter the arena. Luckily, many English fans had come for such an important match and their cheers for the siblings almost drowned out the music.

Adair found herself squeezing her brother's hand and smiling at him. They had played together so many times and after her reconciliation with Charlie they had found their stride once more.

"We've got this," she yelled, before they mounted their brooms and kicked off.

Charlie was already pacing their suite and the Snitch and Bludgers hadn't even been released. He hadn't expected to be so nervous, but he knew how crucial this game was. He wanted to see Oliver and Adair go to the World Cup.

He felt his chest swelling with pride when Adair flew into the air. Her hair was braided back away from her face. He couldn't see her eyes under the goggles the whole team was wearing and he didn't like it. He could always sense her emotions on the pitch by her eyes. They were the only features that ever changed.

"I don't know if I can watch this," Katie said, crumpling into a stadium seat behind him.

He wanted to chuckle and tell her it would all be fine, but he wasn't sure it would be. His heart was pounding so hard and his palms began to sweat.

The Quaffle was released and Argentina took possession. Charlie swiped a rough hand over his face.

"I can't watch," Katie said and he turned around to see her face covered by her tiny hands.

"Adair Wood is neck and neck with Santos! She might do the Keeping for her brother today, folks!"

Charlie couldn't have gotten any closer to the suite window if he tried. His forehead was pressed to it.

When the Argentine Chaser tried to throw the Quaffle around Adair, she snatched it and went racing back towards the other side of the pitch. She weaved in and out of teammates and opponents alike.

"Go! Go! Go!" Charlie was yelling, but no one but Katie could hear him. She was up on her feet and next to him in a flash, her fists pounding on the glass.

"Adair Wood is here to play today, ladies and gentlemen. She's letting everyone know that she very much wants to go to the World Cup!"

"Maybe I can watch," Katie said, not going back to her seat.

"I won't tell them you had such little faith," Charlie said, finally grinning at her.

While England started off strong, it was still a desperately close match. One team would get ahead by a few goals and then the other would, but there was no sign of the Snitch being caught.

"Bloody hell!" Charlie exclaimed as the sun was setting and Adair narrowly missed a Bludger. "Now I can't watch."

The spectators were exhausted and they couldn't imagine how the actual players felt. They'd been in the air for hours and the coaches only sent replacements in for brief snippets of time, too worried about losing the match if they didn't have their best players in.

"They look awful," Katie said.

It was true. The players were wearing down fast. Luckily, there had been no serious injuries, but it would get more dangerous as the sun set.

Finally, somehow the English Seeker caught the Snitch. Both teams nearly collapsed when their boots hit the ground, but they somehow managed to walk into the locker rooms. After such a match, there was no celebrating. They hadn't had had such a difficult match all year and it led them to believe that the World Cup would be much of the same. Absolutely grueling.

Charlie couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Adair was going to the World Cup!

He and Katie waited in the suite for almost another two hours while the players changed and then sat through a celebratory press conference.

When they finally came through the door, Charlie was upon her, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around and around.

"You were incredible!" He exclaimed. When he set her down, she rested her forehead on his broad chest.

"I've never been this tired," she murmured.

"Let's go back to the hotel," he suggested.

Adair nodded and wrapped her arms through his, cuddling against him even as they walked.

"You were bloody brilliant," he said, still smiling, even as Adair tried not to fall asleep on her feet when they took the elevator up to her room.

She still didn't say anything, just made her way to the bedroom, falling face down on the duvet.

Charlie chuckled until he realized she had fallen immediately asleep. He gently removed her trainers and then tried to maneuver her so she was under the covers. She didn't stir at all.

He stood over her for a minute before he joined her in bed.

Even though Adair was practically unconscious, she rolled toward him and wrapped herself around him.

ooooOoooo

Late the next morning, after Adair had slept for well over twelve hours, Charlie ordered breakfast to be brought up for them. He tried to quietly wheel the cart into the bedroom, but Adair blinked awake.

She seemed confused as to where she was.

"You slept really hard," Charlie said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I played for almost eight hours yesterday." Adair winced as she tried to prop herself up. "Every part of my body hurts."

"Allow me then," Charlie said, reaching for a plate of fresh fruit on the tray. He picked up a chunk of pineapple with his fingers and brought it to her lips.

Adair smiled. "I love playing down here for the fruit and coffee."

She reached for the mug he handed her and took a careful sip. "Mmmm." Her eyes closed and she fell back into the pillows.

"Have you processed it?" Charlie asked her as she brought the mug back to her lips. "You're going to the bloody World Cup!"

Adair didn't smile. "It's more of an exciting prospect in the abstract, but when I think of another match like yesterday's, I'm not sure I'll survive it."

"Of course you will and you'll bloody win!" Charlie was up walking around. "I mean that first play yesterday and all the rest of them really. Whoever you're up against, doesn't stand a chance."

"Could we talk about anything else for a while?" she asked, setting the mug back on the tray. Adair wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed the sore muscles of her biceps, triceps and shoulders.

"Maybe you should get a massage before the Cup. You've got plenty of time," Charlie suggested.

"Maybe you should too."

"Funnily enough, we don't have a masseuse on staff at the sanctuary."

"Well maybe you shouldn't go back to the sanctuary just yet."

"I have to go back tonight."

"You don't have to. Wasn't there once someone who told me that everybody takes a sick day now and then?"

"Adair," Charlie began, but she was shaking her head at him.

"Listen, I rented a little beach bungalow a little ways from Buenos Aires. I knew that if we lost I'd want to be alone and if we won, I'd want to get my head right for the Cup. We've got a week off where we really only have to workout on our own. Coach doesn't want to overtrain us before such a big game. So go there with me. For just a few days."

Charlie was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Come on. Haven't we enjoyed those times where we've just been allowed to hole up together?"

He slowly nodded.

"Now imagine that on a beach."

Charlie remained silent.

"Just tell them you caught some awful Southern hemisphere bug or something and you're not well enough to leave the country for a few days." Adair looked up at him. "I cannot believe you're being this stubborn. You made me do it once upon a time!"

He couldn't help but laugh. "Fine."

He drew his wand from the bedside table and without words a silver dragon burst from the tip and whooshed from the room.

Adair had to flatten her hair when it was gone.

"Do you know what I think of when I conjure a Patronus?" he asked with a rogue grin, crawling towards her and moving the tray off of her legs.

Adair laughed as he pulled her underneath him, but then she was groaning. "Bloody hell, everything hurts." She rolled onto her side and pulled her knees to her chest, but even that hurt her arms and hamstrings. It got worse as she woke up and blood flowed into her extremities.

Charlie's heart hurt to see her like that. He often worried about what the impact of her years as a Quidditch player would do to her body in the long run and he could tell that she wasn't suffering from normal muscle soreness. She had sat on her broom the day before for hours and hours, and not only sat there, but raced back and forth, rolled and dove, catched and threw the Quaffle.

He pressed a tender kiss to her temple and then stood to go into the luxurious bathroom. He filled the marble tub with hot water and dumped in a vial of salts that were on the edge.

When the tub was full, he went back into the bedroom and gingerly undressed Adair. She sucked in her breath when she had to raise her arms to remove her shirt and sports bra. He wiggled the leggings over her hips and down her legs.

She pressed her face into his chest when Charlie lifted her into his arms and he wasn't positive, but he thought he felt her warm tears of pain on his bare chest.

"Oh Adair," he murmured into her blonde hair.

Carefully, he deposited her into the warm bathwater.

"Can I get you anything?"

"A shot of Firewhiskey," she said.

Normally, he might have tried to convince her to have something else, but her face was drawn with pain and completely leached of color. He glanced at her bony hands grasping the edge of the tub, white knuckled.

He merely nodded and navigated his way to the stocked bar. He poured her half a tumbler of the smoking, amber liquid and when he was perched on the edge of the tub once more, he put it to her lips himself.

Adair tilted her head back and opened her throat, downing it all in one go. When she was done, she kept her eyes closed and rested her head on the lip of the tub.

Charlie reached into the water and pulled her foot out, using his thumb to massage the arch.

She yelped and jerked her foot out of his grasp.

"I'm so sorry," he said quickly. "I was only trying to help." He ran his hand through his hair when he saw that tears had really come to her eyes that time.

"I know," Adair said, when she quit biting the inside of her cheek. She surprised herself when she placed the same foot back in his hand. "Just be extremely gentle."

Charlie felt like he was barely touching her, but her body relaxed under his ministrations. He worked his way from her feet to her calves to her thighs.

Adair's eyes shot open when his hand moved just a little higher. "That's not sore."

"No?" He started to draw his hand away.

"I would love nothing more, but I don't think I'll live if my body tenses up like that," Adair said, cheeks going red.

Charlie chuckled. "We can't have that." He dried his arms off and bent over to press a kiss to her forehead. "Stay in here for a while longer."

While Adair lay in the tub dozing Charlie sent a glass of water to her. "Drink it!" he called, from his spot in bed.

She did as he told her and an hour later she somehow managed to stand from the tub, dry herself off and slather herself in lotion. She waddled to the bed, muscles so tight and sore she could hardly bend her joints, and collapsed next to Charlie.

"When are we leaving?" he asked.

"In the morning," she replied, before falling into the sleep of the dead.

Charlie glanced at the clock. It was barely noon.

He ended up sending for dinner by himself as Adair hadn't stirred and there was no sign that she would in the near future. He occupied himself with a walk around the hotel grounds and then with a book he had brought before he went to sleep himself, inhaling the scent of her clean skin and hair.

ooooOoooo

"Bloody hell, Adair, this is amazing," Charlie whispered when they were safely Apparated to their bungalow late the next morning. The sand of the beach was the whitest thing he had ever seen and it was difficult to discern between the ocean and sky they were both so blue.

"Glad you came?" she asked, leaning heavily on his arm. He might've been mistaken, but it seemed the second day after the match was even worse for Adair.

She pulled him into the bungalow. It was tiny and all one room besides the bathroom. There was a large bed and small kitchen and not much else. On the counter were two drinks in coconut shells waiting for them. Whatever was in them tasted delightfully of oranges.

"You shouldn't have invited me here," he replied. "I'll never want to go back to Romania."

Adair laughed. With a wave of her wand, the things from her bag unpacked themselves neatly into the one small chest of drawers. Seeing that Charlie had no intention of doing the same, she did it for him.

They had had to buy a few things for him for the trip, but really they wouldn't need much as they wouldn't be leaving. She had found a place that would already be stocked with the things they needed for their short stay.

She gingerly pushed her shorts down and pulled her tank top off, slipping right into her black bikini. "Can you tie this?" she asked.

"If I have to," Charlie said, setting his drink down and tying the bikini top around her back and then behind her neck.

Adair smeared sunscreen over her entire body and then handed it to Charlie. "You'll probably want to use that entire bottle," she joked, picking her drink up again before heading for the ocean.

Charlie watched her go before he pulled on his new swim trunks and covered himself from head to toe in the sun block and joined her.

"It's so much nicer here than in the city," he said, as he waded out to wear she stood, waves lapping at her torso. "Not so stifling."

Adair nodded her agreement. "I'm glad you came."

"This is way better than when I asked you to spend a few days in my shack in my Romania," he laughed, but she thought she could sense some real embarrassment.

"I think they both have their charms." She wrapped her arms around him from behind and placed a chain of kisses up his spine.

She didn't say anything more about it, not wanting to linger on the topic of money for a multitude of reasons, but mostly because it didn't matter to her how they got to enjoy certain things as long as they did get to enjoy them together.

They stayed in the water all afternoon, Adair finally getting some relief as it made her feel buoyant and relaxed her entire body.

When they finally walked back to the bungalow, the sun was setting and they were a bit tipsy as they had found that the coconuts kept refilling themselves.

"I'm starving," Charlie groaned.

"There should be food in the kitchen." Just as she said it, two huge platters appeared on the counter. Upon closer inspection it was a white fish on a bed of fresh vegetables and rice.

Before Adair could blink, Charlie was devouring the meal. She did as well, eating more than he'd ever seen her eat. He wasn't sure if it was because of the long game the day before or because of the healthy ingredients, but he didn't question it when there were only a few bites left on her plate.

"I'm going to take a shower," Adair said, standing gingerly.

"Can I join you?" Charlie asked. "The dishes have done themselves."

"Tomorrow," she promised. She wasn't sure her body could take what he wanted of her after a separation and after playing in the match she had yesterday.

Charlie just nodded and gave her a small smile.

Adair turned the water as hot as it would go despite the tropical temperatures outside, blasting the sand and salt from her skin and hair.

When she emerged from the bathroom she was rosy pink, delightfully full and tipsy and she fell into bed.

By the time Charlie emerged from his own shower, she was fast asleep.

The next two days passed much the same. "I know you have this place for a week, but I need to get back tomorrow," Charlie said quietly when they were laying in bed.

"I know. I'm glad you stayed for as long as you did," Adair molded her body around his.

"I wish we never had to go back."

"Me either."

"But we have to so you can win the World Cup."

"Sssshh," she said, covering his lips with hers to stop that train of thinking.

She had refrained from any intimacy until that night to let her body recover in the sun and surf.

"We don't have to do this, Adair, especially if you're in pain."

"I'm not," she promised.

"Good. I've missed you." Charlie kissed her hungrily, running his hand up the inside of her thigh. He kissed down to her throat and as he took a breast in her mouth, he moved so he was in between her legs.

"Be gentle," she said quietly.

"Adair."

"No really, I'm fine and I want to, just be gentle." She looked up at him and nodded. "Please. I've missed you too."

Charlie pushed into her excruciatingly slowly. Adair sighed in pure pleasure, but his slow pace was going to drive her mad.

"You said gentle," he growled in her ear.

"I said gentle, not torture," she murmured against his neck.

Charlie picked up the pace a little bit and Adair felt her body tense. She was still sore, but with the building climax, it was a delicious pain.

They cried out at the same time and then Charlie rolled off of her, pulling her tight against his side.

After a moment of catching their breath, Adair decided to speak while he couldn't see her face.

"So, there's a dinner for both teams the night before the World Cup," she began.

"Mhm."

"I'd really like you to be my date."

"I'd like that too."

"But the reporters will want to know who you are."

"Charlie Weasley."

"Funny. In relation to me."

"Because everything revolves around you Quidditch players. I'm a friend of your brother's."

"That's pathetic. Adair Wood shows up to the most important meal of her life with a friend of her brother's."

Charlie laughed, chest rumbling under her cheek.

"What would you like me to go as? Your boyfriend?"

Adair was silent for a moment.

"It sounds better than a friend of my brother's."

"Then I am Adair Wood's boyfriend."

ooooOoooo

As soon as he Apparated back to the sanctuary, Sandor found him.

"You don't look pale and sickly like you're supposed to, lover boy," he said in his thick accent, huge grin on his face.

Charlie shrugged and tried to hide his own smile as he made his way back to his cabin. "I recovered in the sun. You really can't escape it down there."

There you go! I hope you liked it! This was fluffy, but we're going to get into some drama here soon and I'm excited! Let me know what you think of this update even though I delayed it for literally 10 months (God that sounds bad). I'd love to hear from you.

Happy reading,

Avonmora