Lean on Me ||perciver

9. Smooth Sailing

"Excited?" Oliver asked as he walked Percy out of his office, their hands brushing. Percy had taken a half day for the occasion after weeks of pestering and from Oliver and the Weasleys, and they couldn't be more pleased about it. Molly had even told Oliver herself that he would never have taken even a minute off of work before, and that she was immensely grateful for his help.

"Ollie, I'm a grown wizard."

"And? Nothings stopping you from looking forward to your birthday," Oliver said, sneakily hooking his pinkie finger with Percy's. While he knew that he didn't like to display affection while he was at work, their robes hid it for the most part, and they were almost out of the building anyway.

Percy glared at him, but Oliver could see the corner of his lips twitching upwards, and squeezed their fingers tighter together.

"You just can't wait to get to the burrow and play quidditch," he scoffed. "You're probably only dating me so you can partake in the matches."

Oliver pulled Percy close and pecked him on the forehead. "That's only a small fraction of it, love."

Percy regained his personal space and huffed. "You're unbelievable." But he wasn't too miffed by his teasing, judging by how he was still holding his hand.

They traveled through the floo exit, finally leaving the ministry and arriving in the cozy home of the Weasleys, greeted by Molly right away.

"Oh, look who it is!" She gripped both of them in a tight hug and stepped back to fix Percy's collar. "Is the birthday boy ready for his cake and presents?"

"Mother..." Percy groaned, but Oliver could tell that he was secretly enjoying the attention.

"Oh, all aright," she lead them through the back door and into the yard, in which there was a large table and some ribbon decorating the trees and seats, along with a few Weasleys here and there. "Seat yourselves, I'll be right out once Harry and Gin get here."

Oliver made to pull out his chair next to Percy's, but was interrupted by Angelina grabbing his shoulder.

"We're about to start a match, and I want you on my team," she said, "seeing as you're my captain and all."

Oliver sighed, unamused. Even after weeks after he had become the captain, she was still unable to drop it.

"Get that shite-eating grin off of your face, Johnson."

"You think using your captain-voice is gonna get me to stop?" She simply laughed at the notion, pushed a broom into his hands, and walked off.

"Captain voice?" Percy said, raising a brow. "The very same one from our days at Hogwarts?"

"Perce, please."

"Alright," Percy accepted a kiss from Oliver, releasing him to the Weasley's family quidditch match.

The rest of the evening was spent flying in the small clearing, scoring points and enjoying good natured scuffles if there were fouls detected by Lee. At one point, they had all gotten into an argument on how Lee was biased towards George, although they couldn't be upset about it for more than a few minutes until they burst into laughter and resolved the issue by throwing teasing remarks at the two throughout the game.

By the time Molly finally called them all back, the sun was nearly setting, leaving them to lug their brooms back to the shed, somewhat worn out.

He returned to his place next to Percy and heartily enjoyed the magnificent meal that Molly had cooked up, and later sang along with everyone as the candles on the cake were lit and blown out.

"Did you wish for something good?" He asked, rubbing a thumb along Percy's hand.

Percy turned to Oliver with a flat look. "I wouldn't wish for something bad, Ollie. That would be just plain silly," He turned back around to accept the plates of cake from Molly and leaned back into Oliver's side. "Besides, I've already got something good right here, haven't I?"

Oliver blinked and felt his body warm. If anything, Percy was his 'something good'.

"Anyway, eat up," he said, as though he hadn't said the sappiest thing seconds before, although it was probably better left unacknowledged. Oliver didn't think he was in the right condition to endure anymore before somehow embarrassing them both in front of all of the Weasleys.

Fred and George later brought out the alcohol and merrily sang an improv birthday song of sorts, causing Percy to bury his face in his palms and the rest of the Weasleys to groan. Eventually, they gave up on singing and settled with playing a drinking game with anyone who would join (which only included the twins, Lee, Angelina and Ginny).

While everyone was occupied, Oliver lead Percy over to a secluded oak tree, and they leaned against it's large trunk, comfortable.

"Happy?" He asked, leaning farther into his side, enamored by how the sides of Percy's eyes crinkled with a smile.

"What kind of question is that?"

"What do you mean, what kind of question is that? I'm just asking!"

Percy laughed and leaned back, silent for a moment. The crickets chirped around them, and the air, although cool, was pleasant against the warmth of their bodies pressed against one another. A laugh rose from behind them in the yard, and the world, or at least the small area in which the burrow stood, was lively as they sat against the oak tree, soaking in the stars.

Percy moved to meet his eyes with a pleased smile, raising his hand to brush through Oliver's messy locks.

"You make me happy," he replied, and dipped to join their lips.

Oliver sighed into the gentle kiss and hummed, his heart ebbing with affection.

Could it possibly get any better?

(It did)