Work Text:
Dear Angelina,
I miss you. It feels like ages since we last saw each other. If you’re free, do you want to come over? It’s pizza night and I have your favourite here waiting.
Love you,
Fred
Fred Weasley put down his quill and looked at the words he’d just written. It was short but sweet, and hopefully it would be enough to persuade Angelina to come over. He racked his brain trying to remember the last time she stayed the night. It was over a week ago now—just before the party round at Lee Jordan’s house. Come to think of it, Fred was getting the feeling that she was avoiding him. He couldn’t think of a reason why, though. Their last date had been perfect as far as he was concerned.
He placed the note in an envelope and handed it to his owl, watching as the small creature hooted and flew out of the window. Fred reached for his pizza and sat back in his chair. When Harry had recommended the Muggle snack, Fred and George had been sceptical, but now they couldn’t live without it. He closed his eyes and savoured the salty taste of pepperoni.
His peace was disturbed by someone bursting through the door. “I’m sorry, George, but I can’t live like this. I have to tell him,” he heard Angelina tell his twin as she walked through with George hot on her heels.
Fred looked at them warily, taking in Angelina’s flushed appearance and George’s panic. “Angelina. I just sent you a note a few minutes ago. What’s going on?” He shot a pleading look at George, hoping for reassurance, but his brother couldn’t look him in the eye. This could not be happening to him.
Angelina took off her coat and paced around the room. “You may have noticed that I’ve been avoiding you.” Her brown eyes looked suspiciously wet, giving Fred the impression that she’d been crying. His heart swelled as he watched her. He wanted to go to her and offer words of comfort, but he held back. For the first time in their relationship, Fred felt insecure. For someone as cocky as him, this was unsettling.
Fred nodded and took another bite of pizza unsure about what else he could do. He held out the plate, offering a slice to his companions. George shook his head and slinked into the shadows while Angelina looked at her boyfriend in disbelief. “Are you really eating pizza in the middle of this?”
His patience was rapidly slipping away. “In the middle of what, exactly?” Fred snapped. “Are you planning on telling me now, or do I have to wait until Christmas?” He took a deep breath to calm himself, and he pushed the plate away from him. His pizza night was ruined, and that was just the beginning of his problems. If he didn’t find out what was going on soon, Fred wouldn’t be held responsible for his actions.
George cleared his throat and walked over to stand next to Fred. He placed a hand on his twin’s shoulder, but Fred shrugged it off. With a sigh, George looked at Angelina. “Maybe I should tell him, yeah?”
Angelina nodded, and Fred noticed the relief in her eyes. He turned to look at his brother as he began his story. “Well, it happened just over a week ago, at Lee Jordan’s party. . . “
George sat down on the hilly area outside Lee’s house. The dark, chilly night was dusted with starlight, providing the garden with some much needed natural light. Even so, George had to squint to see the people standing to his right in the far corner of the garden.
He looked about for Fred and Alicia, but they were nowhere to be seen. George hoped his girlfriend would hurry back; they’d been apart for weeks thanks to her new position as a chaser for the Montrose Magpies. He wanted to make the most of the time he had with her, but where was she?
Lee was a dutiful host, and he came out with a bottle of firewhisky—offering everyone a top up. George accepted gratefully, throwing the golden liquid back as soon as it was poured. Lee laughed and patted him on the back before heading inside. The bitter, fiery taste lingered on his lips, and George ran his tongue over his mouth to capture every drop. Alcohol was precious and shouldn’t be wasted.
The small crowd headed back inside, leaving George alone to enjoy the starlight. It was the perfect romantic spot. George hoped that Alicia would find him soon before it went to waste.
As if she’d read his mind, a pair of hands covered his eyes. He grinned and breathed in her scent. Strange. Instead of the usual flowery fragrance, Alicia smelt like a tropical paradise. She must be trying something new. “Guess who?” his girlfriend whispered.
“I don’t need to guess. You’re my beautiful girlfriend,” he murmured, wishing she’d take her hands away so he could look at her. “I wondered where you were.”
Alicia giggled throatily and he felt her sit on his lap, straddling him in a way he fully approved of. “I had to socialise a little, babe. It’s not often I get the chance these days.” She teased him with soft pecks, her lips shying away whenever he tried to deepen the kiss. George felt her move forward, closing the gap between them.
“You left me alone out here to socialise. You wound me,” he joked. “How are you going to make it up to me?”
He could sense her rolling her eyes in that playful way of hers. “I’m so sorry, oh needy one. Let me make it up to you with a kiss.” Before he could answer, her lips descended on his, giving him the greeting he’d been waiting for.
They stayed like this for a few moments before breaking apart for air. “Alicia,” he murmured at the same time as she whispered “Fred.” His eyes opened in a flash as he pulled her hands away. He prayed that he was mistaken, but the return of his vision proved his fears right.
“Angelina!”
“George!”
They sprang apart as fast as lightning, both open-mouthed in horror. George looked around to see if anyone was watching. Luckily for them, they were the only ones outside. “This never happened, okay?”
Angelina nodded, but George sensed her hesitance. “Okay,” she said, “it never happened.” Without another word, she turned and walked back inside. George scowled and rubbed his mouth, wanting to erase all memories of this night from his brain. He wondered if anyone would be willing to use a mild memory charm on him.
When his breathing returned to normal, George joined his friends inside, praying that he wouldn’t run into Angelina.
The last reaction the two of them expected was a laugh, but that was what Fred did. He stared at them in amazement for a full minute, making George and Angelina fear the worst. Just as Angelina opened her mouth to speak, Fred tried and failed to hold back a snicker. After that, he couldn’t contain his amusement.
Angelina recovered first. “Really, Fred? I tell you I kissed your brother and you laugh at me?” His girlfriend crossed her arms huffily and fixed him with a stony glare. This made Fred laugh even harder. He couldn’t stop himself.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. “I’m sorry,” he told her once the giggles have stopped. “I thought you were going to tell me that you’d been having a passionate affair behind my back.”
Angelina gasped and stepped closer to him. “I would never,” she told him. “I’m so sorry, Fred. I’d had too much to drink and I thought he was you.”
George cleared his throat, reminding the couple of his presence. “I would never, either. You know that. I’m sorry, too.”
Fred gestured for his brother to come closer, and George obliged. “Well, after thinking the worst, finding out that you two kissed each other by accident is kind of funny. You didn’t want to kiss George, right?” he asked his girlfriend.
Angelina made a face. “Merlin, no. No offence.”
“None taken,” George said with a grin. “I had no intention of kissing you, either. You’re like a sister to me.”
Fred pecked Angelina on the lips and patted George on the back. He opened the firewhisky and poured some into three glasses before handing them out. “Well then, let’s laugh about it and put it behind us. Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything,” Angelina told him, relief clear in her voice. George simply nodded, a small smile forming on his lips as he guessed what was coming. Fred grinned back at him.
“Never scare me like that again.”
The two managed a laugh, but Fred wasn’t quite ready to let his brother off the hook yet. He had kissed his girlfriend, after all. “So, George,” he asked as his brother took a big gulp of his drink, “have you told Alicia yet?”