Defusing the Tension

Y/N stumbled towards the door leading into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the closed sign hanging delicately against the door's window. The lights were still on, shining through the large, red windows. They illuminated her path, bringing the snow to glitter lightly on the cobblestone sidewalk. She took in a deep breath, desperately needing the cool, refreshing air in front of her home to alleviate the stress of her day.

Her job always demanded the majority of her energy, leaving her with promises of exhaustion and a tenseness both in her mind and body. Today, however, had taken its toll far more than it usually did. It seemed like everything that could go wrong, had done just that, and she had been left in the chaos to clean it all up. Feelings of being unappreciated for her hard work and being at odds with the ache in her head left her in a tremendously gray state by the time she had gotten back to the shop.

She unlocked the door, closed it behind her and made sure to lock it. The simple task now completed, she turned around slowly to take in the lovely sight of the delightful havoc put together so beautifully by her equally beautiful partners. A warm smile overtook her features as she listened in on the gentle thudding of feet hitting the floor in the loft above her. Another breath of tranquility graced her lungs as she detected the deep voices of the two loves of her life, no doubt discussing another one of their projects based on the energy that could still be heard from a floor below them.

Y/N stood for a moment, thinking back to the days that had changed her life forever, leading her onto a path she would never hope to step off from. She leaned her body against the door of that mischief filled place and let her memories wash over her. Yet another sedating peace rolled through her mind as an affectionate smile curled her lips.

Her mind flooded with images of the day she had first been introduced to the Weasley Twins. Even then, without knowing anything about them, she could feel the glee that radiated off of their bodies infecting her through and through. A friendship blossomed the evening they had all been sorted into Gryffindor and she thanked the stars it had. She found a home within their companionship, one that seemed to bring a breath of new life that she had not experienced before.

Her romantic feelings towards them snuck up on her around their fourth year at Hogwarts. It wasn't anything that they did to change how she looked at them. It had simply dawned on her as she watched them from across the table, laughing along to a joke she had long forgotten. There was a twinkle in their eyes she had never quite noticed before until that moment and it captivated her. Right then and there, she had felt an aching to be closer than she already was and that terrified her thoroughly.

Catching feelings for a close friend had its own baggage to surely drag down the unfortunate soul it would latch onto, but to catch feelings for twins. Not to mention twins as close as Fred and George. She was stubbornly certain nothing would ever come out of her quickly flourishing crush on them, but it pained her, nevertheless. The prospect of ever having to choose, the idea of risking their friendship, and the doubts that filled her mind on their feelings towards her had sent her into a complete state of misery. Though, she worked hard to never let it show. Well, not at first and definitely not to the exact degree anyway.

Truly, it wasn't until the beginning of their fifth year that the evidence of her feelings really started to force their way into her demeanor. Neither Fred nor George could pinpoint what it was that made her break eye contact so often or find excuses to leave their presence all too quickly, but they knew something had changed. But did either party acknowledge this nagging question to her? Not in the slightest. They simply continued onto their path of bearing the small tinges of awkwardness and slight pains of wondering what to do about the situation they had all stumbled into.