Weasley Twins - A Fate You Can't Escape

Chapter 74 - The Agreement

Mid January comes, and all of the students head back to school after break.  The holiday rush from the boys' shop comes to an end, and the dreary, post-Christmas season hits.  It feels like spring is an eternity away, and the lack of sunshine makes me feel down.  That and all the "disappearances" which the ministry refuses to acknowledge as Death Eater attacks.  At this point, not even quidditch is enough to raise my spirits.

Vivian has banned my from using my seer abilities to play again.  She claims it's too dangerous and she can't risk me passing out mid game.  Plus, even though it was legal, some of the other teams were upset about it.

After practice, I head home to shower and do some brewing.  Eric is out of town for the week and I offered to watch the store for him.  Healing potions of various types and poison antidotes are very popular right now, and I need to brew to keep up with demand.

Once I smell like human rather than a sweaty armpit, I head down to the shop to get started.  Eric had made the decision after the holidays to close the storefront, only accepting owled orders.  It seems like that's the standard more and more, as people try their best not to leave the safety of their homes.

I braid my hair back into pigtails and start heating up several cauldrons.  I am going to have to make some large batches if I want to get the orders shipped on time.  I work on chopping various ingredients, making sure not to cross contaminate anything.  By the time I've got the prep work done, the cauldrons of water are boiling.  I start slowly adding the ingredients, making sure to follow the steps closely.  Eric has his own potion recipe and I use it for consistency's sake.

I am just bottling the last vial of the day's brews when I head a pecking at my upstairs window.  I cork the bottle and set it with the others, properly storing them before heading upstairs.  I crack open my living room window and let the small brown owl inside.  He drops the letter on my kitchen table, ruffling his feathers to get the snow off.  I give him a quick snack and let him warm up a bit while I read the note.

'Hazel,

Would it be okay if I stopped by after my shift at the shop?  I feel like we gotta talk about what happened New Years.

Fred'

I pull a scrap of paper out and write a quick reply.

'Yes, that sounds good.  See you soon. -Hazel'

Once the little owl is all warmed up, I strap on the note and send him back to Fred.  I can't believe it's been two weeks and we still haven't gotten to talk things through.  I keep thinking back to it, confused.  It's one thing for us to have shared a quick kiss for the sake of New Years.  But what happened, was not that.  

My stomach felt all weird every time I thought of it.  My cheeks warmed every time I remembered him pushing me against the wall.  My lips tingled when I recalled the passion in his kiss.

What do I want from all of this?  

I mull things over a bit as I start making soup for us for dinner.  I haven't eaten in far too long, and I'm sure Fred's hungry too.  And the only thing I'm good at cooking is soup.  I think it has to do with how similar it is to brewing.  

I boil the broth and add some chopped potatoes to it while in another pan, I cook some onions and chicken in some butter.  This is a familiar recipe to me.  Mia's moms used to make it when I would come visit sometimes, since they knew it was my favorite.  I add some carrots and corn to the broth before dumping in the chicken and onions.  The scent of the soup starts making my tummy grumble.  After whipping up a quick rue, I add the milk and cream, turning the soup to a lovely pale yellow color.  Now on to my favorite part.  I raid the spice cupboard, dumbing in generous amounts of all my favorites.  The soup slowly turns a deep gold color, after which it is named.  I add the final ingredient to Mama Ava's 'Sunshine Soup,' dumping in a large amount of shredded cheese. 

The completed soup bubbles happily on the stove as I wait for my dinner companion.  My stomach keeps growling impatiently as I wait for him.  I'm very tempted to just have a small bit without him, but manage to wait.

A few minutes after eight, Fred apparates into the apartment.

"Finally!"  I jump up.  "I'm starving!"

"What?"  He smiles, but looks confused.

"I made dinner.  Let's eat."  I nod towards the stove and he follows me over.  We each serve ourselves a bowl and sit at my small dining table.

"How was work?"  I ask, blowing on my spoon, trying to get the soup cool enough to eat.

"A bit crazy.  But what else is new?"  He grinned.  We make small talk throughout dinner, catching up on normal stuff like work, friends, and war efforts.  I had missed the last Order meeting due to watching the shop for Eric, so Fred caught me up on that as well.  Once dinner is over and all of the dishes are washed and put away, we sit on the couch.  

There's an awkward few minutes as we both ponder on how to broach the subject.

"So..."  I start, hesitating immediately.  "Um, that was some kiss."

"Yeah."  He agrees.

"Yeah?"  I glance over at him, but he's staring at his hands.

"Yes, Hazel."  He sighs.  "It was drunken, and impulsive, and confusing, and..."

"Amazing?"  I offer, blushing slightly.  His eyes snap up to mine.

"And amazing."  He looks relived.  Was he worried that I hadn't felt it too?

"So what are we going to do about it?"  I start picking at a loose thread on my jumper, feeling a bit nervous.  I still don't know what I want.  I'm not sure I have all those romantic feelings.  I'm also not sure I don't.

"I- I'm not sure."  He admits quietly.

"Do you want to just pretend it didn't happen?"  I ask, unsure.

"No!"  He says quickly, causing me to smile a bit.  "No, that doesn't feel right."

"Not to me either."  I nod. 

"Are we... dating?"  Fred says the word, but frowns a bit.

"Hmm.  That doesn't feel like it either, though."

"I didn't think so."  Fred blow out a breath.  "So what?  Do we just resume our agreement from seventh year?  Just start going at it in broom closets and hoping we don't get caught."

This makes me crack up, remembering the time McGonagall caught us out by the lake.

"Maybe.  It sounds the closest."  I shake my head, not believing it's come back to this.

"Okay.  But we do it better this time."  He turns on the couch to face me.

"How so?"  I ask, turning as well so our knees brush.

"To make it easier, we tell everyone we're dating.  It will prevent a bunch of awkward questions, and give you a reason to be around.  It will be similar, but without all the lovey stuff.  No romantic attachments or expectations."

"Alright."  I process his offer.  "And if one of us starts forming a... romantic attachment, they disclose it.  No judgement, no pressure."

"Deal."  Fred agrees easily.  "Would this be an, this sounds weird, but an exclusive type thing?  It sounds all relationshipy, but if that's how we're advertising it, I don't want to have to explain to my mom if you get seen on a date or something."

"Yeah, that sounds fine."  I smile, imagining the verbal beating his mother would give me if she thought I cheated.  Probably would still be only a fraction of what she did to George, but still.  "If either of us wants to date someone else, we "break up.""

"Perfect.  So do we have an agreement?"  Fred holds out his hand, and I clasp it tightly.

"Welcome to the official sex-friend agreement part two."  I laugh shaking his hand.

"It starts now, right?"  Fred ask waggling his eyebrows.

"Now?"  I tease, leaning in closer to him.

"Now."  He says firmly and closes the space, lips crashing against mine once again.

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