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Breakfast started out nice enough. Oliver was loading up on bacon as he leaned against Percy's side sleepily. It was far more comfortable than he would ever admit, and he was just glad that he had an excuse to be so close to the redhead.
So everything was going perfectly fine - until the twins had to go and open their big mouths.
"So Perce-" Fred started.
"When are you finally-"
"Going to ask out-"
"That guy you’re in love with?" George finished, and Oliver’s stomach dropped, suddenly feeling wide awake. He glanced at Percy, whose cheeks had gone pink. Percy was in love with someone?
"You know, the quidditch captain?" Fred added innocently, as if he hadn’t just shattered Oliver’s entire world. Percy was glaring at the twins like he wanted to throttle them, but time seemed to stop for the Keeper. There was a loud buzzing in his ears, and he could feel his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest.
His gaze instantly darted over to the Hufflepuff table. There was Cedric Diggory- Captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team and clearly the object of Percy's affection. Oliver knew the two of them were friends, but he had no clue that Percy’s feelings ran so much deeper than that. He felt like he was going to be sick.
Oliver couldn't compete with Cedric. Diggory was as good of a quidditch player as Oliver, but he was also much more popular and charming, and he was a prefect too, so he got to spend extra time with Percy since the Head Boy oversaw all the prefects’ duties.
Oliver silently cursed stupid Cedric with his stupid perfect hair and his stupid perfect smile. It wasn’t that Oliver thought of himself as ugly – his body was toned from years of playing quidditch, and he'd had his fair share of admirers – but he certainly didn't look like Cedric bloody Diggory.
He inwardly groaned, resisting the urge to slam his head against the table. It wasn't fair. Diggory already had everything – why did he have to take Percy too? (Oliver was well aware that Percy wasn't an object to win, but that did nothing to quell his resentment.) He was so lost in his own head that he hadn't noticed the twins leave. Now Percy was looking at him carefully, his expression a little worried and insecure.
"Listen, Ollie, about what they said..." Oliver shook his head, cutting him off. He couldn't talk about this; he couldn't listen to Percy tell him how much he cared about a guy that wasn't him.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. It doesn't change anything," he lied. Percy seemed surprised, and then slightly relived but also overwhelmingly disappointed. The redhead nodded stiffly, excusing himself so he could head to class early.
Oliver thought that maybe Percy wanted him to be more supportive about his chances with Diggory, but he just couldn't do it; he wasn't that good of a person. Besides, if the way Cedric looked at Percy like he hung the moon and stars was any indication, Percy didn't need any support for that relationship to happen.
Oliver’s next class was potions, which he shared with Percy, and it was more awkward than Oliver ever remembered it being between the two of them. He wasn’t sure if it was because of him or Percy or both, but it sucked. So at the end of class, he practically fled from the room to avoid talking to Percy and then hid out on the quidditch pitch until dinner. It wasn't overly brave (so much for being a Gryffindor) but he needed a little time away to process his thoughts.
He knew that he should be happy for Percy – he and Cedric would make the perfect couple. Bloody hell, they even had similar career ambitions, both wanting to work at the Ministry. They’d probably get a flat together, wake up slowly – since Percy hates mornings (Oliver always imagined waking Percy up with a kiss on the nose, but now that image felt tainted with the idea that Diggory might be the one to do so), and then they’d go into work together, holding hands and being disgusting domestic in a way that Oliver could only dream of.
He sighed. At least he knew Cedric would treat Percy well. He was fairly certain that Diggory had a crush on Percy since his first year, when he followed the redhead around like a lost puppy. Looking back, Oliver supposed he should be surprised that it took this long to happen. He wanted to be a good friend – Percy deserved that – so he was just going to have to find a way to suck it up and pretend to be happy for them even though it killed him inside (easier said than done).
He would give anything to be Cedric right now – to have the chance to hold Percy in his arms; to see up-close the way the sun illuminated his face in the morning; to talk with him for hours about quidditch and changes that Percy would make to the law when he was in the Ministry (Oliver loved how passionate Percy was – the way his eyes lit up and he always gestured wildly – and he loved how Percy always listened patiently when he ranted on about quidditch, asking thoughtful questions instead of just tuning him out like everyone else).
Oliver wanted to be the one to make Percy smile, his eyes bright as he blushed all the way down his neck; he wanted to make him laugh because that sound was the best music he'd ever heard; and he swore that he would give up every dessert for the rest of his life if he could just kiss Percy's lips and taste the peppermints that he was always sucking on.
He even wanted to be there when Percy’s temper flared – when his face would go dark red and as soon as he was in a private place, he'd let out a string of curses that would probably make his mom faint if she heard them. There was something so intense and raw about all of Percy’s emotions when he didn’t try to hide them.
Oliver groaned, dropping his head painfully against the wall. He was so screwed.
He finally gave up and made his way to dinner, dreading having to be in such close proximity to Percy, but he was taken aback by the absolute murderous glares the twins were sending him. It was enough to make him hesitate before sitting down, because he'd never been on the receiving end of their anger (even when they were mad about too many early quidditch practices, they weren’t this livid).
It took him a moment to piece it together, but he finally realized that they were probably mad that he wasn't more supportive of Percy's possible relationship. Maybe the whole reason they said all those things in front of him was because they wanted him to encourage Percy to go for it. Well, they could just piss off then, Oliver thought bitterly. He wished they'd never said anything so that maybe he could have lived in denial a little longer and kept the belief that he might stand a chance with Percy.
The next few days passed by in a blur with Percy and Oliver pulling farther and farther away from each other, and Oliver was now hyperaware of any interaction between the redhead and Cedric. They were always standing close together and whispering, and it made his blood boil that Percy called him “Ced” while Diggory called him “Perce.” Oliver was the only one – outside of his family – that should be allowed to call him that!
Every time he looked at them, Diggory was looking up at Percy with hopeful, adoring eyes – probably the same expression that Oliver wore whenever he looked at the redhead. It was strange though, because Percy never looked at Cedric with anything more than kind fondness – the same look one might show to someone younger that they were mentoring – and Oliver was (grudgingly) pretty damn impressed that Percy could hide his emotions so well.
The twins hadn't gotten over their annoyance at Oliver though – on the contrary, they had taken to pranking him constantly, and some of those pranks were borderline cruel. Even Percy had never been subjected to this level of pranks, and the twins loved tormenting him (though Oliver’s always thought that it was more attention-seeking than anything else). He had never had to deal with this side of them before, and he suddenly had a newfound sympathy for their enemies. He didn’t think anyone deserved this – except maybe Cedric. He briefly contemplated how he could transfer their ire to the Hufflepuff, but he knew that would only cause more problems with Percy.
He actually thought about telling Percy to get the twins to lay off – even if he had to take points away from Gryffindor to do it – but for the first time, Percy mostly ignored their actions, aside from the occasional stern warning. It was driving Oliver crazy. He tried to focus on quidditch, making the team practice extra hard to win the cup this year, but those plans were suddenly derailed when he found out they were playing Hufflepuff in the first match instead of Slytherin – because of course they bloody were.
“We’ve been practicing all those moves assuming we’re playing Slytherin, and instead it’s Hufflepuff, and their styles quite different. They’ve got a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory —” he started to explain to the team when Angelina, Alicia, and Katie suddenly giggled.
“What?” He frowned.
“He’s that tall, good-looking one, isn’t he?” said Angelina.
“Strong and silent,” added Katie, and they started to giggle again.
Oliver wanted to punch something.
“He’s only silent because he’s too thick to string two words together,” said Fred impatiently, and Oliver suddenly felt like he could forgive at least half of the twins’ recent pranks for that comment alone.
If the team thought Oliver wanted to win before, then they had no idea how much he needed to now. There was a savage, primal desire pulsing through his veins to beat Cedric and prove that he could at least do something better than him. He knew it wouldn't change Percy's mind, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t dream about winning the match and then having Percy jump into his arms and kiss him.
The actual day of the match, Oliver couldn’t even muster up his usual pre-match pep talk. When he had to shake hands with Diggory, Cedric had the audacity to give him a friendly smile – we are not friends, you prat – and Oliver clenched his jaw and merely nodded back. He wanted to punch Cedric in his stupid face and mess up his stupid perfect teeth. Oliver had always been a peaceful person, so this violent fantasy came as a bit of a surprise.
He wondered if maybe this is how Flint felt all the time. That line of thinking then led him to wonder if Flint was pissed off for the same reason as him – because Oliver got more of Percy's attention than him – and he realized that he wouldn't be surprised, judging by the way Flint's eyes always seemed to follow Percy in the dining hall or when they had class together.
Oliver inwardly groaned. Great, one more person he had to compete with for Percy's affection. Maybe he should just start using the twins’ products to give everyone else hideous boils and warts so that he would be the only decent option left.
He forced himself to focus on the match, but when Hufflepuff won because Cedric caught the snitch, he felt himself die a little inside. Of course Diggory was nice enough to offer a rematch, but it just made Oliver hate him more. Why couldn't Cedric be a git like Flint? It would make this so much easier.
He felt like crying, so he went to the locker room showers to do just that. He didn't even bother getting undressed – the water was seeping through his clothes until he was shivering, but he didn’t care. He might have been trying to drown himself, but who could blame him? And the worst part was that he bloody missed Percy. He was used to spending so many hours in a day with him, and this distance that had developed recently hurt worse than a bludger to the chest.
He heard someone enter the shower area, standing off to the side, but he didn’t bother to look over, assuming it was one of the twins; he didn’t have the energy to deal with them at the moment. He could sense movement behind him, and then there was a hand on shoulder. He turned around, startling as his eyes widened in shock. Percy was standing there, letting the water soak through his clothes, concern shining in his eyes in a way that made Oliver’s chest ache.
"You okay?" His voice was gentle and quiet, and Oliver bit his lip, trying to keep his tears from spilling over so that he wouldn’t start sobbing pathetically in front of the love of his life.
Upon seeing his expression, Percy didn’t hesitate to pull Oliver against his chest, and Oliver melted into the embrace. He was trembling slightly, trying not to cry, and Percy's hands were rubbing up and down his back soothingly, the heat from his body warming Oliver all the way through. He smelled like parchment and peppermint and ink, and having Percy’s arms around him felt like home, and Oliver wanted to freeze this moment forever so badly that he could barely breathe.
When he finally pulled away, he gave Percy a small, watery smile, and admitted, "Cedric is a really lucky guy." He knew that Percy doubted himself, and it was a bloody crime, because he was perfect and amazing, and Oliver needed him to understand just how important he was.
Percy just looked confused, brows furrowing, as he asked, “What?” Oliver sighed, running a hand through his wet hair. It was time to stop feeling sorry for himself and be the type of friend that Percy deserved.
“I know that he's the guy you’re in love with that the twins were talking about the other day. And for the record, you should-" he paused, swallowing over the lump in his throat. "You should go for it. He'd be an idiot not to feel the same."
Percy looked at him incredulously for a moment before bursting out laughing. Oliver blinked as Percy practically doubled over, tears forming in his eyes from mirth. Whatever Oliver had been expecting, it was not this, and he was starting to feel a little – a lot – offended. He just broke his own heart to make Percy happy, and now Percy was laughing at him? He crossed his arms over his chest defensively, and that finally seemed to snap Percy out of his laughing fit.
"Oh Merlin, Ollie, I can't believe you thought I was in love Cedric!" It was Oliver's turn to look shocked now.
"Wait, what? You’re not in love with Cedric?" Percy shook his head with an amused grin.
"Then who? Oh." Oliver’s eyes widened in surprise and Percy nodded, blushing lightly. Oliver scowled, his expression suddenly darkening.
"Flint?! Seriously Percy? You could do so much better than him!" He practically growled out. Percy blinked in surprise before giving Oliver a look of disbelief and then throwing his hands up in the air.
"Oliver, you are the most oblivious idiot I've ever known!" He sounded frustrated and slightly hysterical, and Oliver was about to respond that it wasn’t his fault that he thought Percy would have better taste than Flint, but his thoughts were suddenly derailed by Percy's lips pressing against his own. He froze, and Percy's hand tangled in his hair, his lips soft yet persistent, and Oliver had no idea why Percy would be kissing him when he liked Flint, but - oh. Oh. He pulled back in shock.
"Me?" His voice was a little hoarser and more desperate than he'd like, but hope was blooming in his chest. He silently begged Percy to say it; to tell him that it was him and he wasn’t just dreaming. Percy smiled in fond exasperation.
"Of course it's you, Ollie. It's always been you.” He said it like it was just a simple fact – like the sky is blue or the grass is green – and Oliver's heart soared. He grinned widely, fairly certain it looked dopey, but he couldn’t care less. This was even better than winning the quidditch cup.
He kissed Percy again, winding his arms around the redhead’s back to pull him closer, pressing their bodies together so tightly that they were almost melded into one. He poured all of his emotions into it, and Percy gasped before returning it with equal fervor. Oliver felt like he was flying without a broom, but there was no fear of falling. He was fairly certain that he could die happily right then and there.
When they finally parted for air, they rested their foreheads against each other’s. They were both grinning like mad when Oliver suddenly laughed, bright and loud. He now understood the reason behind all the twins’ pranks. It was funny – as much as Fred and George acted like they didn’t care about Percy, they did all of this for him. And if they hadn’t, who knows if they would be here right now, so Oliver was grateful to them despite their recent antics.
"I guess I should thank the twins by letting them off early morning practices,” He remarked with mirth, but Percy gave him an offended stare.
"Absolutely not! They've been pranking you for days now, and besides that, you still need to practice so you can win the quidditch cup for Gryffindor. I know this will be our year!" He said it so confidently that Oliver actually believed him, and he thought that if it was possible for a heart to burst with joy, then his would.
"I bloody love you Percy Weasley,” he couldn’t help but say. Percy's smile softened, pink spreading beautifully on his pale cheeks.
"I bloody love you too Oliver Wood."
They both grinned, connecting their lips again, and for once, both of them were happy about the twins’ meddling.