Sorry for not updating this. Ever since I turned to writing for a living, my writing hasn't left me with time for fanfiction. I admit I also prefer focusing on my original works these days. I started this story to practice getting comfortable with sex scenes and never expected so many people to read it. Thanks for all the support! You are all wonderful.

Stepping into the shop was as comforting as collapsing onto the couch after a long work day. It was made even better by knowing Fred and George were both there. Watching them amaze customers never got old. That first step inside was always the best as the sounds and smell of the shop floated over her, welcoming her back. Not to mention how good the twins looked in their suits. They both liked to change into more comfortable clothes when they got home, which meant she soaked up as much suit time as she could get at the shop.

As for the dating front…she could find no better strategy to dating the twins than taking the new path one day at a time. That way she couldn't get too caught up in her head. It also left her ready to handle whatever Fred might suddenly throw at her. Which so far had been nothing out of the usual much to her surprise.

In fact, nothing had gone as expected. He may have had her panting his name on the quidditch pitch, but now they bumbled around each other like two kids dating for the first time. They hadn't so much as kissed again since their night together. Somedays she wondered if she'd dreamed the whole thing up. And yet any time she considered making a move she froze. Their history didn't help how nerve-wracking she found the thought of trying to seduce him. With George she felt like she was on equal footing. With Fred she felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff. Fear kept her frozen in place, unable to get away from the danger.

The worker on the register waved as she passed by. Fred and George were nowhere in sight, which meant they'd already disappeared into the back for their lunch break. No matter how busy their days were, they never forgot lunch. Good thing too, because they both got grumpy when they got too hungry. Fred could be downright insufferable until Lucy or George shoved a snack at him. She'd even caught George sneaking granola bars into Fred's briefcase a few times on the days he planned to hit the dueling club. Fred, however, was usually great at keeping the backroom stocked with snacks while George stocked their tea and coffee. It was one of those unwritten rules they had between the two of them that kept the shop running smoothly.

She stepped into the backroom and promptly bumped into Fred. "Sorry," she mumbled as she shuffled around him. Except he moved in the same direction, causing both of them to murmur a new round of apologies to each other until she finally made it around him.

"Tea?" he offered as he grabbed the kettle.

"Yes, please."

George turned his head, hiding his smile from them. George had been distant the day after her night with Fred, but he'd bounced back to normal ever since. She on the other hand couldn't shake the fear of losing him all over again. Maybe it'd all been an elaborated Fred scheme to prove she wasn't good enough for George and he'd played her like a fiddle. She'd thought they'd gotten past those days of him scheming, but that sense of danger wouldn't leave.

"I saw a cute little French bakery today and grabbed some macarons." She set the box of cookies on the table.

"Those look great." George snagged one. "I can't remember the last time I had a macaron."

She grabbed her salad out of the fridge before joining him at the table. "I also took new photos of the competition's displays today. I thought they could be good reference for the new ads we've been considering. I'm noticing some new trends we might want to take into consideration."

"We'll need to finalize Christmas sales and ads before you know it to get everything ready in time. That's always the best time of year for sales, but it also turns this place into a madhouse. Our first Christmas was rough with just the two of us to man the store."

Fred shuddered as he poured water into the teapot. "Don't speak of those days. You'll give me nightmares. Making it to December 26th felt like I'd survived the end of Diagon Alley. And the store looked like an apocalypse had hit it too." He grabbed not one but two cookies. "I'll catch you two later."

"Where are you going?" she asked as he tugged his coat on, balancing one cookie in his mouth.

"It's my turn to have lunch with Percy," he said around the cookie. He looked as though he were steeling himself for a battle.

She'd forgotten about their lunch date. The Weasley siblings all took turns having lunch with Percy every few weeks. It was their way of trying to keep him involved with the family, but without needing to worry about getting stuck with him for too long. She didn't know the details of Percy, only ever getting a "it's complicated" from both Fred and George whenever she asked.

Fred finished the first cookie and gave them a salute before waltzing out the back door.

"Someday you're going to need to explain more about Percy to me."

"It's complicated," George said, Lucy mouthing the words as he said them.

"You always say that and it explains nothing."

George shrugged. "Because it is." He grabbed the pot to pour their tea.

She dug into her salad, but her thoughts kept tugging her attention to her bag. She'd shoved the letter in there this morning, figuring she'd take care of it later. Yet the letter kept sneaking into her thoughts all morning, refusing to leave her alone. She hadn't even expected to hear from any of her applications this late. And yet the unexpected job offer had shown up. Like everything else in publishing, they'd clearly taken their sweet time. At first she'd been so worried about securing a new job to get herself out of the twins' hair, but now…

She pulled the letter from her bag, rereading it before setting it on the table. "Can we talk?"

Worry crossed his face. He pushed his steak salad away. "Sure. Should we wait for Fred?" His face went blank.

"I suppose he should be here, but I think I feel more comfortable talking to you first." She felt too awkward around Fred for this sort of conversation. George could pass their conversation on. She slid the letter over to him.

He scanned it, his brow wrinkling in confusion. "A job offer?"

"Yes. I applied what feels like ages ago, but the publishing world is as slow as a turtle. I guess I wanted to know if you think I should take the position. Especially after everything that's happened."

He squeezed a few drops of honey into his tea. "Do you want to take it?"

She ran her thumb up and down her fork, biting her lower lip in thought. "You've both been more than generous letting me work for you. I don't want to be in the way here. Without the two of you, who knows what job I would have ended up in. Maybe I'd even have been forced back to the states."

"You're not in the way." He leaned over, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Never. Don't even think it," he murmured against her skin. He pulled away, but reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Fine, I won't say I'm in the way, but I understand if you'd rather hire someone more qualified." Handling the WonderWitch line wasn't quite the same as marketing books, but she'd found plenty of commonalities. "I don't want to overstay my welcome, and this would be a good way to step away." The last thing she wanted was to take advantage of their kindness until it ended their relationship.

"Forget about being in the way. Compared to what you do here, would you rather take this job and return to publishing?" He tapped the letter. "What work would you enjoy more?"
That was an easy question to answer. One that left her with no doubts. "In all honesty, no, I don't want the job. No editing position is going to go much of anywhere and the pay isn't worth the long hours and tears. I prefer what I do here. The work is more satisfying, and the extra time it gives me with you is a big bonus." Any satisfaction she'd received in her last job had been short lived. There was always another fire to put out. Another underperforming book to worry about.

"With all the classes you've been doing, we assumed you would be interested in staying. Seems like every other Tuesday you have another morning lecture lined up about business and marketing to attend. I don't know how you can sit through that many boring lectures, but that just makes you dedication all the more impressive."

"I finished them all as of yesterday. And they may have been boring, but they were informative. Note taking kept me awake." They'd given her new ideas, and ways to make her current tactics more effective. Getting their products into beauty shows and magazines was her latest focus. It seemed the best way to get the word out about the WonderWitch line and hit customers who wouldn't be willing to visit their shop, but would grab a catalog or visit a beauty store that stocked their products. "I want you to be honest with me. I'd rather work elsewhere than have it hurt our relationship if you aren't pleased with my work."

"Wait here. I have something to show you." He went into the office and she squeezed her shaking hands together. A moment later he returned with several graphs in hand.
He sat back down. "Fred made these when we were discussing the WonderWitch line last week. You had that idea for a subscription box, but we agree with your concern that there aren't enough products in that line alone for it. So we started thinking about a box for the shop. One aimed at kids that is school friendly that family can send to them. It would help bolster our sales when kids are in school. But we were also doing WonderWitch line calculations to figure out what future we saw for it."

He set the first graph in front of her. "This is the WonderWitch line earnings over the past years, showing how they've grown since we began expanding." The line climbed steadily upwards, growing each month. "And finally," he said as set the last graph down, "overall earnings over the past six months divided between the WonderWitch line and everything else."

"Looks like the WonderWitch line alone is almost matching all sales here at the main shop."

He nodded. "We couldn't have done that alone. Not enough days in the hours for us to do all the visits and promos you've been doing. The negotiations and meetings we were doing before hiring you already had us at our limit. We love our shop and the products aimed at kids. That's where our hearts started, but we've also been discussing diversifying more with the WonderWitch line. It clearly has legs, and Fred was throwing around the idea of trying small boutiques for WonderWitch. We thought it might be an easier direction rather than turning this main shop into a chain."

She considered the idea. "The magic of this shop is highly dependent on you and Fred keeping such a close eye on it. Other shops wouldn't be quite the same without the attention you can give this one. But WonderWitch on the other hand…"

He nodded along. "Wouldn't require us to be at the shops. Not with the right trained staff. That let's us keep our focus on the shop here while still staying involved."
"Having workers in the shops wearing the products creates better sales and brand trust with your core audience. Your tactics at this shop wouldn't work as well."
"Exactly! And with us aiming the brand at women, we want women to be the face of it, right?"

"Yes. If you had enough products, it could be a smart way to test expanding with more stores. Focusing on WonderWitch wouldn't require much floor space for a small boutique shop." The magical world was still big on buying from catalogs. A good portion of the shop's sales came from catalog orders, especially for kids in Hogwarts. But WonderWitch line buyers liked to shop in person before buying. She'd done a survey on the very topic and already dug into their sales to compare catalog sales to in-person sales.
"We wouldn't have enough time to do it alone, but with someone else helping to manage the boutiques, with the money coming in it's a real possibility to give it a go. Fred and I would both rather it be you than have to find someone else. You get what we are going for with the brand. And you make suggestions and help guide us instead of taking over yourself."

She frowned. "I wouldn't take over. It's your shop and products." There were no words that could accurately describe how much she admired what they'd achieved.
"You recognize the importance that having the last say means to us, and that's why we work so well together. You keep us updated on everything with weekly reports and all the detailed graphs that Fred basically lives for. Any questions we could possibly have you have data gathered for already. Plus you are good at working independently. We can trust not only your work, but that you understand our brand. You'd be the perfect person to help us manage the line expansion, but it would be a permanent full-time position. Once we expand, you'll still need to help manage the new shops."

"I like the sounds of permanent. If you wanted to keep expanding into Europe and the American markets with the WonderWitch line, it would be more profitable with your own boutiques rather than renting small spaces in beauty stores. They only give you limited space for the most popular products. Less to manage too without fighting with every store that wants to demand steeper discounts or rental costs every other month."

These last few weeks she'd found more of her confidence now that she'd gotten used to the role. She knew all the products by memory and all her sales pitches. She'd even perfected her WonderWitch makeup looks, from her smoky eye to the natural look, or even the sparkly, more glamorous eyeshadow she preferred for a night out. The free products really were a big bonus. Basically, if she ever had to take an O.W.L. test on the shop, she'd get top scores.

He tapped her nose. "See, you are getting our vision. We'd like your help with it, but if you want to go back to publishing we won't try to stop you. You should do what makes you happy. Just because the store is our passion doesn't mean it needs to be yours too."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, blinking back the tears threatening to fall. Relief rushed through her knowing she could stay. There was no magic quite like the shop. She'd finally found a place that felt like home. A place she never wanted to leave. "Thank you. I'd like to stay here. Publishing...my heart's no longer in it. I prefer catching every moment I can with you, and getting to see the magic of the shop every chance I get. Plus this way I actually have time to read in the evenings. Sparky would get bored without my bookmarks to steal and hide."

He chuckled. "Speaking of books, we still have to finish that monk romance you made me read to you. Or have you decided to move on to priests?"

"As tempting as priests and monks are, I think I still prefer a well-dressed businessman." She raked her gaze over him. She'd never get over how good he looked in a suit. Or how soothing his presence was. She never would have imagined all this when they first met. To think so much had happened since she started watching him eat lunch at The Leaky Cauldron.

He scooped her out of her chair and carried her to the sofa, where he collapsed with her on his lap. "You'd best enjoy your break, because once Fred finishes some of the sketches he's working on, planning for the boutique will officially start. Once Fred gets an idea, there's no escaping him. Even hiding under the bed isn't safe.

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"Yeah, except I tried my closest. The light gave me away."

"That is a rookie mistake. I'll have to get more creative with my hiding. Maybe I'll hide under his bed instead. He'd never see that one coming."

George smiled in delight. "A clever move to be sure. He isn't prepared for your genius."

A boutique would be an interesting challenge. She could already picture the color scheme. The way they would advertise their products as sexy, but still fun. Fred's sketches always helped picture how it would all come together. "I'll have to start looking for possible locations and price—"

He cut her off with a kiss. "Later," he mumbled against her lips. His right hand glided up her side. She leaned into him, content to lose herself in the kiss as she clung to him. No matter what happened with Fred, she refused to lose George. Her heart wouldn't be able to handle the pain. She shifted, swinging her legs around to straddle him. They parted for air and she moved to kissing his neck, professing her love between each kiss. The emotions welling up in her made her want to cry. They'd survived the Death Eaters, and the peace of the last few weeks had felt unbelievable. She didn't want it to ever end.

Never in her life had she loved anyone quite like this. The deep, raw feeling of it was a little frightening. Forget ever going back to the states. She wanted to stay right here. "Love you more than anything. Don't ever leave." She kissed his jaw. "Never ever." Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. She'd come to England looking for an escape, but this was more than an escape. This was how she wanted to live the rest of her life.

"Never," he agreed as he kissed her again. "Let's go to the office. I'll show you how I feel in there." He scooped her up. She buried her head against his neck again and wrapped her legs around him. The comfort of his arms made her feel safe.

"Always and forever," she murmured as she nuzzled his neck.

That night George found Fred in the yard on his telescope. They were close to a new moon, which made for great stargazing. George had always found the night sky beautiful, but who wouldn't? Despite that, he never quite shared Fred's enthusiasm for the stars or all the mythology surrounding them. He found that love in fantasy books instead.
He hung back, letting Fred have his peace. Lucy was inside lost in her latest read, curled up under the makeshift blanket fort she'd crafted over one of the armchairs. Sparky was likely curled up with her. George had already put dinner leftovers away, a new recipe he'd been meaning to try for weeks. Lucy had played sous chef to him while they cooked. Fred had never liked cooking as much as George did, and had been happy to go to his dueling club instead. With Death Eaters still coming out of the woodwork, Fred hated to miss a practice day.

When Fred finally admitted out loud his feelings on Lucy, George had felt like all the air was being sucked out of him. Like his happy days were over. No matter how cool he tried to play it, he couldn't shake his worry that she'd prefer Fred. But his fears of her preferring Fred hadn't come true, and his panic had subsided.

Now he felt nothing but peace knowing Lucy was safe inside with a book and Fred was at home looking at the stars instead of out drinking or working himself to death. Things were better this way. He got to keep Lucy and she helped keep Fred from spiraling while Fred helped him keep her safe.

This was perfect, and the very thing he used to yearn for. By the time Fred practically moved in with Angelina, he'd never experienced such loneliness before. After growing up between a noisy house full of siblings and Hogwarts, being alone was too quiet. When Fred moved his things back in, George welcomed him, acting as though he were happy to help Fred get back on his feet. Really though George had been relieved to have him back. Having his own space was nice, but he didn't need all of it to himself.

Even when he could tell Fred enjoyed having a bit of separation for once, George couldn't muster the same enthusiasm. All the twin assumptions and mixups people always gave them didn't drive him as crazy as it did Fred. As far as he was concerned, that behavior was on the idiots, not them. He rather liked the twin bond. And when they fought at Hogwarts they'd spilled blood together. No one else could match the relationship they had. The comfort of knowing Fred had his back couldn't be matched.

Today's lunch session with Lucy hadn't hurt either. She'd been on the verge of tears over how much she loved him while he'd bent her over the office desk to take her from behind. Only her gasps had cut off her promises of love. She'd been so wet around him. Mixed with her delicious moans it'd taken all of his self-control to last until she came. Fuck had it been amazing. All her promises of love had gone right to stitching up his insecurities. He wouldn't lose her. Fred could have her too if he wanted, but George refused to let either of them go now.

A breeze wafted past and he shivered. The damp in his hair from his shower didn't help any against the chill. He continued on, balancing both mugs of hot tea carefully to keep from spilling. "Tea?" He asked as he set Fred's mug down on the little outdoor table.

"Check it out," Fred said as he pulled away from the telescope.

George humored him and pressed an eye against the lens. "A w?"

"That's Cassiopeia. She was a queen in Greek mythology. Got herself in trouble with Poseiden when she declared herself more beautiful than the sea nymphs."

"At least she got herself a w in the sky for her trouble. It is the best letter."

Fred hummed in agreement as he sipped his tea.

George stepped away to pull another chair up. He shivered again. "How can you stand sitting out here?"

"The tea helps." Fred pressed his hands against the mug. "It's good thinking weather."

"Are you reflecting on your lack of game lately?"

Fred frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been acting like a boy nervous about his first kiss around Lucy. As hilarious as it is to watch, it's getting painful."

Fred sighed as he dug his hands into his pockets. "I've been off my game since Angelina ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped all over it before feeding it to a pack of rabid garden gnomes."

George sipped at his tea, staring up at the w in the sky. "You are going to need to find your game again. She's shy and nervous. If you aren't proactive, you might lose your chance."

"I know. But are you sure you're okay with this?"

"I'm willing to share her, but I'm not willing to give her to you. As long as you understand where I stand we shouldn't have a problem."

"I love you Georgie. I don't want to hurt you. I feel like I'm stealing from you, and I don't like it. But the thought of walking away from her…" He rubbed a hand over his chest. "I can't. As for my lack of game, I never thought I'd need it again once Angelina accepted my proposal. I thought that was it. I'd get my happy romantic ending and business at the shop would boom. The end." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Now I feel like I have to find my footing again. And the thought of fully handing my heart over on a platter is terrifying. I don't want to fuck it all up. I'm tired of hurting people."

George buttoned his coat before wrapping his hands back around his mug. "I was unbelievably envious when you got engaged. You made dating look so easy because you were always so smooth at picking up the ladies."

"Before Angelina, all your relationships lasted longer than mine. I envied that you could get them to stay. I never seemed to be able to keep my girlfriends happy."
"Mine may have stayed longer, but none of them were quite the right girl. I wanted to be you somedays when I saw how happy you were with Angelina. And then things went to shit and it felt like my fault. Like my jealousy somehow cursed you."

"You didn't. Believe me, there's nothing you could have done to make my end with her any worse." He adjusted his telescope. "I know everyone was surprised when I announced the engagement. They all expected you to marry first. Especially after the battle at Hogwarts, it felt like everyone couldn't believe I was keeping it together enough to get engaged. Even I was surprised. And then she changed and I felt like a fool for thinking I could have such a good thing."

"Hogwarts wasn't your fault. We failed you. I failed you for not addressing what happened sooner. You should never have felt alone. I was too caught up in my own issues to notice right away. After that battle I was worried the shop would fail and that we'd lose everything. I couldn't imagine doing anything else, and that uncertain future terrified me. You'd make a great auror if all else failed, but me? The shop was sink or swim in those early days."

"We did all right though with the shop, didn't we?"

"Yeah. It's nice to afford employees. And if your boutique idea works, what would we even do with more money?" George glanced back at the house. Only the living room lamp blazed, which meant Lucy was still reading.

"Renovate Mom and Dad's place. You know she'd never leave. Too many memories for her to walk away. But that place needs work." Fred pressed an eye against the telescope. "Weird having money sometimes, innit? Somedays I see something I want in a store and forget I have enough to splurge now."

"Sometimes I catch myself in the mirror out of the corner of my eye and don't recognize myself. The suits are too nice."

"But we look damn good in them."

George grinned. "Yeah we do." George scanned the sky. He'd never been good at picking out the constellations. The sky all looked the same to him.

"Percy made plenty of jealous comments about the suit, by the way. He even noticed the tailoring. I hate the way he refuses to own up to his decisions. How eager he was to pretend he wasn't a Weasley because he felt like he was better than us. And now he is still complaining he doesn't get the promotions he deserves. He even had the nerve to ask when we would put our silly jokes aside to take on real work."

George winced. "Good to know he still hasn't changed. Another breeze sent him onto his feet. "I can't take this cold. Sit out here and freeze all you like but I'm climbing under a blanket." He took one step toward the door before pausing. He dropped his voice. "And do something about Lucy." He brushed a hand over Fred's head, mussing his hair. It was a move Fred usually did to him. Love swelled in his chest. Despite all that had happened, Fred had taken back control and was back to himself. He'd already protected Lucy more than once. If anyone had earned his trust in sharing her, it was Fred.

He headed for the living room. Sparky ran past with a bookmark in his mouth, which could only mean one thing… Sure enough, Lucy had passed out on the chair. Usually she made it to the bed with her book before falling asleep. He'd learned to check the bed for stray books before climbing in. He didn't mind though. Finding an errant book crushed against his shoulder was a small price to pay for a night of cuddling.

He picked her up and carried her to bed. Funny how things worked out. When he first saw her at The Leaky Cauldron and sat at her table, he'd really had only been looking for a place to sit and felt he should be polite about it. Then later when he asked if she was interested in sex, the look of horror she'd given him made him think the assumption had been a misstep. He'd grown so used to women only wanting him for fun, that expecting anything else hadn't crossed his mind. By the time Oli punched him, he'd decided she was worth being punched over. He couldn't remember the last time a woman had been as appreciative of him in bed as her. Or made him breakfast after. Such simple things, but they'd hooked him.

She didn't wake up as he transferred her to the bed, and that meant she was gone until morning. It'd been a busy week for all them, and he was looking forward to sleeping in. The best part of being able to afford employees was the chance to take less opening shifts. The early hours were slow during the week anyway. Sometimes there was a small rush the first hour from shoppers on their way to work, but then it tended to calm down until lunch. Back when it was just the two of them, they used to take turns napping during slow hours. He didn't know how they'd survived those days.

He tossed his shirt off and climbed into bed. Lucy shifted to snuggle up to his side. He wrapped an arm around her and used his wand to turn the light off. He slipped the wand beneath his pillow and got comfortable. The door back door clicked shut and Fred's steps quietly tapped across the hallway as he headed to bed.

George closed his eyes and savored the night. All was well. Fred was safe and sound and the woman who owned George's heart was curled up beside him. He couldn't ask for anything more. Maybe it made him boring, but he just liked feeling loved. He'd fight a dragon just to hear Lucy tell him she loved him. Although he preferred hearing her moan it to him while he was buried inside her.

If Fred wanted to earn the same from her, he'd have to find his own path. And if Fred was successful, maybe George could broach the topic of moving somewhere bigger. His and Fred's wardrobes could already rival that of any fashionista, especially all their suits, and his poor closest couldn't handle any more of Lucy's clothes on top of his.

"Good luck, Freddy," he murmured to the darkness before letting out a yawn. His poor closest would need luck too if it didn't want to explode from too many suits, dresses, and shoes.