You Can't Hurry Love

22| In-toxic-ated

Fred and Hermione walk up to the porch as they arrive home from the office. The topic of FP dating Gladys has been all they spoke about on their whole drive home.

"I have a bad feeling about this woman." Hermione tells Fred. "I can't explain it."

"Are you saying that as someone with an inkling or as Alice's best friend?"

"I'm just saying something is off. How is it that the first time they go out together he gets arrested. Is that like a bad omen?"

"You're reading too deep into it. Hal was there. He wouldn't miss an opportunity to stir up trouble with FP. They always butted heads on the team." Fred explains. "Besides it will all blow over soon. What they've got isn't serious. We can't control everything in his life. He needs some say in how to run his own life. If he feels like we're controlling him, then he'll never listen to us."

"Okay, fine."

Fred pushes the door open and lets his fiancée enter first. They make their way to the kitchen, where they find the blonde.

"Hey, Alice." Fred greets her. He then notices the frown on her face. "Everything okay?"

Alice sets her cup of tea down. "I went to go talk to him like you said." She glances over at Hermione.

Fred and Hermione look at each other.

"You did?" Hermione questions. The pair is all too aware of FP's date with Gladys tonight. Had their talk gone badly? "How did it go?"

"I never made it to his door. I left."

"Why?"

"Gladys was there. He's all hers now."

Hermione instantly goes up to her and gives her a big hug. "Oh, honey. Everything is going to be okay. I'm so sorry."

"I keep on thinking that if maybe, just maybe, I were a few minutes earlier I wouldn't have made a fool of myself." Alice grimaces. "Or maybe I actually saved myself the embarrassment. Who knows?"

+++

Gladys brings two plates over to the dining table. "Bon appétit."

She spins on her heels to go grab two glasses from the cabinet. He watches her pull out a big bottle of wine. He cringes at the sight of the bottle.

"I don't want to drink," FP nervously admits. "...tonight."

"What's up with you not wanting to drink?" Gladys questions him. She's noticed his constant refusal.

"I've got work in the morning. I can't get wasted. It's very unprofessional."

"You'll recover by then," She shrugs. "Don't you like having fun? It'll make our celebration tonight even more fun."

"I don't know. Can't we change things up a bit? Get to know each other before we have any sex tonight? I mean I don't know anything about you besides being a Serpent and moving here from Toledo. Do you even know anything about me?"

"I know you have a son with blondie."

"That's it. We never get to have a measly conversation. You only ever want to sleep with me."

"The kid is all you ever talk about."

"Can't I be proud of my boy? Is that so wrong? He's turned my life around for the better."

"You're still young. Don't you want to have real fun? You're in your twenties. You should be free to act wild or do something thrilling. All you want to do is boring stuff like raise a kid."