Just a reminder as this chapter introduces familiar names and characters, this is HP Fan Fiction involving Charlie Weasley. I do not own the rights to anything associated with Warner Brothers, Harry Potter, JK Rowling and/or Portkey Games. I gain no monetary funds from this story. It's just for fun!
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The Flyer arrived in the Reserve around 8am on Sunday morning. The team moved Malik to the far side of the valley away from the other dragons and untied him. Vlad, Benji, Tommy, Felix, Lucas, Ollie, Mateo, Liam and Jesse agreed to stay on with Charlie at the Reserve an extra 72 hours to help with Malik's adjustment. The rest went home on a five day paid leave while Sarah, Sven and Charlie went to update Dale on the events on the mission. Dale as expected cursed them all out for putting Benji on the Leadership Squad and putting Vlad in charge of anything and giving him free reign. But the three convinced him that both decisions were right for the job and they were impressed with Vlad's quick thinking and great instincts and Benji's mostly cool head. After an hour or so, Sarah and Sven went home, and Dale and Charlie continued to talk about the mission, Dale bringing out the bourbon at 11am. They talked for a bit, then Dale said to him what Charlie never would have imagined. "When I'm ready to keel over and die, you'll take my place here, leading this Reserve." Charlie was speechless. "Men have been here longer than me, Dale. I'm not next in line to be the Dragon Ringmaster, no way." "Yes. But no one bleeds the Reserve like you do. You bleed this land like I do. You care about the dragons here as well as the people and the work we do here. So you'll get married, have kids maybe, but you'll die on this land just like I will. You know I'm right." He gave Charlie a knowing look. "I won't pass it to anyone but you when you're ready. And if I die first, don't worry, I will leave instructions." Charlie didn't say anything, but he was thoughtful. Dale continued, "You should know though, Benji will be here too. You think he doesn't care about the dragons, but he does. He's just more logical about it where you are all heart. That's why you clash so much, you're different sides of the same coin. But I hope you see that now, now that you've spent some time around him, see his thought process, and can work with him. Because it will be the two of you here leading this ship, like myself and Sven, until the sun sets on us, and you bury us at the grave site with our dragons." "Yeah," Charlie said. "I get Benji a little more now. I hope he gets me too though. You should be having these same conversations with him." "Who says I haven't been? You're not my favorite, you self absorbed cunt." Charlie smiled, knowing Dale was lying. He was definitely his favorite. Charlie resisted the urge to call Chris right away when he left Dale's office, he had a lot of work to do. He spent the next couple of hours writing up his report, highlighting key players and giving our recommendations and accolades for their records on the Reserve. He gave Benji the Second in Command Honor for his leadership, Vlad received the Bravery Honor, Tommy received Team Player Honor, and he gave out two Unsung Hero Awards to Felix and Liam. Then he joined the rest of the skeleton crew for Malik's awakening. Malik started stirring a little after 2pm. Vlad was already next to him wearing one of Malik's shirts and hat, singing Malik's song. Everyone stood at least 10 feet back while he opened his eyes and adjusted to his new surroundings. Vlad petted him along his face and behind his ear the way he liked, and Malik responded favorably. But then he raised his head and looked around, let out a roar, then a whine. Charlie and Felix came closer to assure him he was fine. Benji, Ollie and Mateo left and came back with three venison carcasses and laid them a few feet away from the dragon. Malik opened his mouth to cook his meal but only smoke came out. Sarah had subdued his fire ability while he slept. Malik whined again. Benji used his wand and called "Incendio", setting the food on fire until crisp, then blew it out with another charm. Malik grunted appreciatively and ate. Afterwards he moved closer to Benji who initially backed up, but then held his hand out as Malik came closer and scratched the soft spot behind his ear. Suddenly a dragon flew above them and landed a few feet over. Betta roared and Malik looked at her for a moment suspiciously. He had never seen another dragon before. She went up a few feet and started flopping around him. At first he looked annoyed that someone was disturbing him, but then was intrigued. She started circling him and he roared at her, then flapped his arms and chased her into the sky. The Reservers stood and watched them fly around a bit, then land near the watering hole where Malik made his first monster poop. Charlie conjured up a shovel and handed it to Vlad. "Get to it," he said with a straight face. Everyone laughed as Vlad gave Charlie a deadly stare. Charlie did not budge. Vlad snatched it from Charlie and sauntered over. He pulled one of the barrels that they keep in the valley, and started pulling up small piles of hot steaming dung and loaded it into the barrel. Vlad slipped a bit then caught his balance and yelled, "Aaaaah, my fucking trainers!" making everyone laugh again. "Awww he looks like a baby," Mateo joked. "You would have thought he hadn't done this just a year ago," Lucas said. Vlad continued to struggle, slipping every few moments and cursing. Ollie said, "Let's help this poor son of a bitch." He conjured his own shovel and started walking over. Lucas, Liam and Mateo followed him and Vlad looked relieved and grateful for the help. Tommy said, "No fucking way I'm cleaning up dung," and walked away. Jesse and Felix laughed, but then followed Tommy back up the hill. Only Benji and Charlie remained, standing side by side watching the dragons play together. Benji broke the silence. "It's because they are both so young and about the same age. I think Betta has been bored with all the older dragons around. Now they can keep each other company." "I think you're right Benji." Charlie paused then said, "Thanks for deciding to come along. I appreciated your insight and your counsel. I want you to know that. I couldn't have done this without you. I appreciate you." Benji grunted and said, "Well. Couldn't let you fuck it all up now could I?" Charlie smiled, and pushed him slighly with his shoulder. "So I figured out you're not a complete arsehole." "I am an arsehole. Don't ever forget it." "Didn't I just see you pet a dragon?" Charlie said amusingly. "Fuck off Charlie," Benji said with no malice, almost friendly. "Don't you have a boyfriend to make plans to fuck later on?" He gave Charlie a sideways smile and walked away. Charlie laughed, then pulled out his phone. ~~~ Chris was sitting at the top stair of the Tank when his phone rang. He smiled wide and said, "Well look who remembered to use a fucking phone rather than send scary but cute looking shadow dragons." Charlie laughed. "They didn't exactly have cell phone towers in the middle of the Sahara." "Didn't?" Chris asked hopefully. "But you do now?" "I do," said Charlie. "Albania has great reception service." Chris stood up, his heart beating fast. "You're back?" "Yeah, at the Reserve. But I will be here the next couple of days, I have to make sure my team is good and the dragon is adjusted." Charlie, Charlie I'm here." Charlie's heart started beating fast as well. "Here...where?" "At the Tank. As you rightly deduced, I did not go to work Wednesday night. Sarah worked a double for me and I took her Sunday afternoon shift. I'm here." Charlie looked at his watch, 4:15pm. He knew he would not be able to disappear, Malik just woke up and anything could happen, he needed to stay close. But maybe later on tonight... "You're off at 11pm then? I'll come see you then." "Okay." Neither spoke for a moment, yearning in the silence between them. Then Charlie said, "OK. I will see you soon." He hung up first. Chris's heart continued to beat fast as he held onto the phone, Charlie no longer on the other end. He grabbed his walkie and patrolled, needing to walk off his nervous energy. He walked over to the Reserve entrance in hopes that Charlie could see him, but then he went over to the lake. Because it was the first week of May and the weather was nice, there were a few fishers in boats, but otherwise it was quiet for a Saturday. He sat on a picnic table until dusk, then patrolled again before heading back to the Tank. He thought of nothing but Charlie and their last few months together, leading up to their last moments. Being with Charlie continues to excite him, but also calms him in ways that no one else ever did. In the beginning it was more about a balance between maintaining the friendship and building on the lust between them for him. But his feelings continue to grow deeper than friendship, deeper than lust and he had no idea what to do about it since he had no idea where Charlie's feelings about him were. At 10:45pm, Ulrick who does the overnight shift on the weekends arrived. Chris gave him the shift report and glanced at the clock every two minutes. At 10:55pm, he stood at the balcony of the Tank, scouting the parking lot and grounds for when Charlie aparated. He heard a small pop to his right and Charlie appeared at the edge of the forest. Chris's plan was to play it cool, but Charlie's was not and he moved with urgency toward him. Chris noticed and abandoned his initial plan, and started taking the stairs down two at a time and met a few paces from the bottom of the stairs. Chris also planned on making a joke or funny remark but Charlie was all business. He grabbed Chris's neck and kissed him passionately, jamming his tongue in Chris's mouth. Chris moaned and returned his passion, and soon they were locked in an intense make out session in the middle of the parking lot, hands touching everywhere from face to bottoms, lips biting and tongue sucking. After a few minutes, Chris said between kisses, "Charlie...if you...don't stop...your... little rule...about no... fucking on the job...is going...out the window...not...not that...I'd mind..." "Uuuugh!" Charlie groaned and kissed him on the lips one more time, then stepped back raising up both hands in surrender. He backed away about a foot and adjusted his erection, and Chris laughed. "Where are you staying tonight?" Charlie asked him. "Well I've been summoned home since my family has not seen me since last Monday and Mummy Clary is about to put out a search party for me." Charlie smiled, liking the idea of Chris sleeping in his bed this whole time. Chris asked, "Will I see you tomorrow?" "Yes. I'm going to try to sneak out again. I have a new protege to cover for me." "Oooh Charlie is breaking rules for me, this is new." Charlie came closer and put his hand on Chris's waist. "For you, I'd rob a bank right now." They kissed again, softer, slower. Charlie said in between kisses, "I...want you...so bad...but I ...I have...to get back..." Chris rubbed Charlie's obvious erection gently, then whispered, "I know." Charlie moaned until Chris stopped and moved his hand away, but held him close so that their erections touched. They stood there and embraced, chin on each other's shoulder. Charlie sighed and pulled away first. "I will pop in during your shift." "Okay," Chris said. They held hands and Charlie walked Chris to his car, kissing him again before he got in. He watched Chris drive away, remembering the times Chris would drive off leaving him here in the parking lot with confused feelings. Charlie was not confused anymore. ~~~~~~~ Two days later, Chris came into work to see Charlie laughing with Elijah, the new second shift Ranger. "What did I miss?" he asked. "Your boyfriend here was trying to explain the importance of mythical creatures in fantasy novels. We're talking Great Eagles, Werewolves and Oliphants in Lord of the Rings," Elijah said. Charlie said jovially, "Could you imagine Middle Earth without it?" They continued to argue about vampires and werewolves in Twilight and dragons in A Song of Fire and Ice while Chris was still focused on the word "boyfriend" trying to figure out if it was sarcasm or acknowledgment. Charlie answered his thought however; as he walked passed him sitting at the table and touched his shoulder, Charlie casually took his hand and kissed it, then let go, all while continuing his conversation with Elijah. Chris contained his surprise. Well, he thought, Charlie's trip must have gone better than he thought. He went to his locker and dropped off his bag, then sat down at the table next to Charlie. Elijah gave his shift report and headed out 10 minutes to 11pm, saying "Let me get out here giving you guys some much needed time." He shook Charlie's and Chris's hands and left. Chris waited until he closed the door, then turned to Charlie and said, "Sooooo. You seem pretty open about us." Charlie shrugged. "Elijah saw me hanging around and knew I was waiting for you. We got to talking, and apparently he has known since he started, or at least suspected. It was confirmed when he saw us snogging about two weeks ago." Chris nodded. "You came early." Charlie had been coming around to patrol with him the last couple of days and they did a little dry humping but nothing else. "Yup. Working tonight but I'm off for the next five days. The dragon is doing well so Vlad, his Lead Tamer is off by tomorrow. So as long as no red sparks meet me, I won't need to go back until Monday night." They played with each other's fingers on the table. Charlie continued. "So I'm going to hang around the Reserve all night, then meet you here in the morning and go home with you." "You don't want to go home to your flat?" Chris asked. "No," Charlie said, "I want to be in your space." "I'm tempted to take off too," Chris said. "No, don't do that. I will be there when you leave at night and when you come home. I want to put you to sleep and wake up with you. Every day." Chris smiled. "That was fucking romantic. More of that please." Charlie smiled widely. Then Chris said, "Make sure you have a change of clothes or you'll be wearing my underwear like I did at your house." Charlie laughed. "Okay, new plan. At dawn I will go home, get clothes and meet you at your place by 7:30am." They sat in silence for a moment, still playing with each other's fingers. Chris said, "So Vlad, not Tommy. Never heard of a Vlad before. Is he your new best mate?" "My new gay best mate." Chris's eyebrows went up and Charlie laughed. "Should I be worried?" Chris asked. "Ha! He's like 20 years old and has a boyfriend. Probably a fiance by the time he gets back." "Well. Can't wait to hear all about him." Chris looked away. Charlie laughed again. "I'm not sure if that was sarcasm not." Chris shrugged nonchalantly. Charlie leaned in and kissed Chris on the lips. "No worries. I'm all yours." "Yea well, show me on that bed right there," Chris tried. Charlie smiled and stood up. "I'll see you at your place. 7:15." He kissed his forehead as he started walked out. Chris smiled back. "It was worth a shot." At dawn, as much as he wanted to stop by the Tank, he instead apparated home. He noticed Chris had cleaned up his apartment and did a small load of laundry, probably of Charlie's clothes that he wore all week while here. Charlie showered, changed into a blue polo shirt, blue jeans and his blue and white Nike trainers. He packed a bag of clothes and looked at the time. It was already 7am and he did not feel like sitting around so he apparated early to Chris's vestibule. As he sat on the top step and waited, the right door of the duplex opened and Clarissa came out with Rudy. "Charlie, what a nice surprise!" she exclaimed. He gave her a hug and hugged Rudy as well. "You look great," he said, and meant it. Her skin was glowing. "Oh! Eight months pregnant and as big as a house, I wouldn't say I look great. But that was kind of you. So you're back?" "Yes," Charlie said, unsure of what Chris told them about his mission. "Well good. Because I barely saw my brother all week, he just kept himself busy, I guess. I'm off to work and this one is off to school." Chris helped guide her down the steps. She turned back and said to him, "Are you staying for dinner?" "Yes." "Good. We'll make it upstairs and bring it down for the table." She looked at him thoughtfully, then said, "Charlie, my brother really missed you when you were away for your work trip. He really cares about you. And I'm hoping that the feeling is reciprocated." Charlie swallowed. "Er...yes. The feelings are...reciprocated." He went a little pink. "Maybe...maybe more." She nodded, then turned to walk on. "See you at dinner," she called out and left Charlie with his thoughts. All this time he had been in his head about his own feelings, he never really thought about how strong Chris's feelings were. Sure, Chris liked him a lot, and he liked Chris a lot, but were they as strong as Charlie was starting to feel? He didn't know. Chris had told him many stories about people who have loved him that he didn't feel the same for, but carried on with the situation just because. The thought scared him, and Charlie could only hope that wasn't the case for them. Charlie watched Chris's car drive past the house looking for parking on the street. He walked up a minute later and looked Charlie up and down. "I don't think I've ever seen you more normal looking. You're either in your work uniform or t-shirts and boots. Not even on our date nights are you this casual." "Well. Maybe I wanted to look nice for you." Charlie said and they kissed. Chris opened the door and Charlie took off his shoes and dropped his bag in the entryway of the living room. Chris grabbed a plate of food and said, "Sis made me a breakfast wrap, either lamb or sheep, I can't tell." He took a bite. "Lamb." He broke off half the sandwich and gave it to Charlie. Charlie sat on the arm of the couch and leaned over to grab the remote and turn on the TV, while finishing his sandwich. Chris watched him curiously, surprised that he wasn't trying to jump his bones after a full week apart. But Charlie was very casually hanging around the house. Chris stood behind the chair and said, "Is that what you want to do now? Watch the telly?" Charlie looked up calmly and said, "What's wrong with NatGeo Wild?" Chris shook his head. "I'm going to go take a shower." Charlie grabbed his hand. "No wait, come sit down for a moment." Chris sat down next to Charlie who was still half on, half off the sofa, watching TV. After a couple of minutes Chris said, "I'm surprised we aren't being animals instead of just watching them. But I get it. Intimacy, right?" Charlie smiled a little, then muted the TV. He came off the couch and knelt between Chris's legs. They looked at each other, then Charlie reached in and pulled Chris to a kiss, then a hug. He leaned up and started unbuttoning Chris's work shirt, took off his tank top, licked his nipples, then his chest and licked down to his belly button. Chris moaned softly. Charlie opened up his belt buckle, then his zipper, but instead of pulling out his penis, he put his head down in Chris's lap and breathed deeply. Chris laughed. "You like the smell of my funk, yeah?" Charlie rubbed his face back and forth on his groin area. "I like the smell of you," he said muffled and wrapped his arms around his back, while his head laid in Chris's lap. Chris took the band out of his hair and massaged his scalp for a bit, then lifted up his head for a kiss. They locked eyes, neither of them saying what they really wanted to say. Then Charlie grabbed his pants and underwear at the waist and pulled it down and all the way off. He took his own shirt off with Chris's help, who opted to pinch his nipples as well. Charlie spread Chris's legs apart and started licking his cock and balls, inside thighs then back to his balls again, carefully sucking each one. Chris started moaning loudly so Charlie grabbed his wand to do the Muffliato charm, but Chris stopped him. "Don't. I want the neighbors to hear us." He nudged his head to the open window. Charlie laughed a little. "Well let's go all out and give them a show," he said. He pushed Chris back on the couch and scooted his waist to the edge, then lifted his legs high to get a full view of his hole. "Hold these for me, will you?" Charlie said and Chris held himself up as Charlie knelt all the way down and proceeded to put his tongue in and out of his anus, licked up to his testicles and back down to his hole. Chris moaned and groaned so loudly Charlie was sure his wish came true and the whole block heard him. Charlie then pulled Chris's legs back down and licked up to his head, and deep throated Chris a few times, making him moan even more, grab his hair with more force than he intended and push Charlie down deeper until his lips touched his groin. Charlie gagged a bit but held on as Chris moved his head in a circular motion. He wanted to face fuck him so badly but even more he wanted to come inside him. When Chris eventually let him come up for air, Charlie let out a river of saliva coating and shining up Chris's dick. "Fuck," Chris whispered. Charlie stood up and undid his jeans, pulled them down and off. He got back down on his knees and said to Chris, "Do it again." He covered his cock with his mouth. Chris obliged, pushed Charlie's head to where he was sitting in Charlie's throat and guided Charlie's head in a circular motion. Charlie stayed there a little longer than the first time until he gagged again, then Chris let him go. More spit and saliva coated Chris's cock, so much of it that it poured down his balls onto the couch. "Guess we won't need lube today," Charlie said breathlessly and Chris laughed. "Maybe a little more, just in case." Charlie bent down and took a small bottle of lube out of his jeans pocket. He poured a few drops on Chris's penis and he stroked himself as he turned around. He lowered himself onto Chris's dick, slowly and they both moaned all the way down until Charlie was sitting in Chris's lap. He sat there for a moment trying not to put his full body weight on him, and leaned back on Chris, who wrapped his arms around his midsection. Then Charlie began to move slowly and they both moaned. It was so wet and slippery and tight that Chris was afraid he would come this way too quickly. After a while he tapped Charlie's thighs and pushed Charlie back up to a seated position, then then pushed him even further down to the living room floor so that he was on all fours. Chris moved behind him, put one knee down and one knee up, and fucked him hard, fast and deep, hitting his center sweet spot over and over again. Charlie began to feel the shock waves of his orgasm and he began to moan loudly and Chris moaned with him. As he tightened around Chris's prick, Chris couldn't stop it if he tried, and spasmed over and over pouring hot white cum inside of Charlie. He continued pumping a few moments more because it hurt so good until it really started to hurt and he had to stop. He crashed backwards on the loveseat behind him that he just came off. "Fuck," he whispered again. Charlie lowered himself to the ground and Chris watched his cum leak out of him with pride. "I wish that lasted longer." Charlie did not answer, instead he lifted himself up and onto the other couch in a seated position. He looked at Chris and started stroking, and Chris knew it was not over. He slid off the couch and crawled over to Charlie, grabbing the lube along the way. He replaced Charlie's hand with his own, and began stroking, then licked his precum and sucked his head and made his way down, deep throating nice and slow, making Charlie moan. As satisfying as it would be to make him cum like this, he wanted to feel Charlie inside of him just as much as Charlie wanted it. He released his mouth around him and poured a generous amount of lube on his penis, then climbed on top, knees on either side of Charlie and lowed himself on Charlie's lap facing him. Charlie was silent but his mouth formed an o that he could not close. He leaned far back on the couch giving Chris a better angle and held onto his waist as Chris began to gyrate in a circular motion on his dick, just the way he liked it. They found their rhythm and moved together as one unit. They closed their eyes and moaned liberally and loudly, and it felt so good to both of them that neither wanted it to stop so they didn't. They stayed in the same position for a long while until Chris began to feel the waves of his orgasm. Charlie must have sensed it. He grabbed Chris's waist a little tighter and changed up his rhythm, lifting him up by his butt cheeks and slamming him down on his dick hard and fast. Chris held on and lost himself in his orgasm; his whole body went ridge, his toes curled and he exploded on Charlie's chest hands free as he climaxed over and over again calling Charlie's name. And Charlie, who is normally not as vocal aside from moaning, took the ride with Chris into orgasmic paradise, his own midsection freezing, his dick couldn't stop pumping out cum into him, digging his nails into his side and he yelled, "Yeeeeaaaahh this arse this fucking arse!" He continued to bound Chris up and down on him until he stopped cumming, his orgasm subsided and it began to hurt. Chris fell against Charlie's chest and started laughing. Charlie as usual started laughing as well, and they held onto each other until Charlie changed positions to lay on his side and Chris laid with him with his back turned. Charlie draped his arm around him and they spooned naked on the couch. Chris broke the silence first by saying, "That was fucking brilliant. About the sexist thing we have ever done so far." Charlie again did not respond at first, just held Chris tighter. Then he said, "Let's go take a shower." They stayed in the shower for over 40 minutes and talked about the Mission, his newfound respect for Benji who pet a dragon, and who Vlad chose to assign to Malik – Lucas as his Second Tamer since he works nights, Ollie, Liam and Demitri as his Fixers. He wanted Mateo but Mateo told him after the Mission he would be better suited with the Hunters and Benji was happy to have him. Charlie stepped up Greyson and Dylan as regular Fixers right away, so pretty much everyone that went with him that could get promoted got promoted. Afterward they laid in Chris's bed and touched each other until they were aroused all over again and ended up making love with Chris inside of Charlie again, facing him slowly, gently and taking much longer to come. It reminded Charlie of the dreams he used to have about Chris and wondered if it was a premonition of some kind. Then Charlie took Chris from behind, slowly and gently, then silently cumming inside of him, and they fell asleep this way. Charity came in around 3:30pm from work and saw their clothes everywhere. She went over to Chris's room who had left his door wide open and saw them sleeping. She silently closed the door and folded their clothes, laying it on the sofa, then went upstairs to help make dinner. Chris woke up first with Charlie's arm still draped around him to the smells of cooking. He slowly moved him off not to wake him, got dressed and came into the main area. Charity was setting the table with salad and rice. She said, "Charity will be here any minute with the food so you may want to wake the boyfriend." Chris nodded, then looked at the clothes folded on the couch. As he grabbed them she said, "Looks like you wasted no time making up for lost time." She smiled. "Shut up," he said and brought the clothes and Charlie's bag into the room. Charlie, who was sitting up said, "Oh good. I was wondering how I was going to get my knickers." By the time they got dressed and came out of the room, Clarissa was downstairs putting the beef casserole on the table. Rudy took a seat between Charlie and Chris with neither of them minded and his sisters sat opposite of them. They held hands to say grace and ate. "How is it that everyone in this family can cook?" Charlie asked between savory bites. "Not everyone," said Chris. "Our dad can't cook for shit. I don't know how he's been getting on by himself all these years." Charity answered Charlie, "From our mum. Ma Ami could cook with her eyes closed and somehow it always came out perfectly." They traded stories about how she would have them in the kitchen as young as Rudy, kneading the dough for making pie crusts or washing lettuce for salad. Charlie, who burns water, was fascinated. "The only ones of us that cook is Bill because he was the oldest and hung onto my mum's skirt a lot while she was in the kitchen when he was younger so she put him to work, and Ginny because mum made her sit in the kitchen most of her childhood." As conversation died down, Clarissa turned to the couple. "So you two are getting pretty close." Charlie smiled but Chris gave her a warning look. "I'm just saying I notice how much you guys hang out, isall." She threw her hands up casually. Charity said, "Oh don't be shy now, you certainly aren't shy or selfish with your bodies." She smiled and winked. "Shut up Sis." Clary ignored her as well and addressed Charlie. "I just wanted to know if it's casual or exclusive. My brother is notorious for casual, but never for this long." "And it still would be my business, innit?" Chris said, annoyed. "I'm not trying to put you on the spot Chrissy, I am just curious about your relationship." Charity said, "And I just want to know how good the sex is." She laughed. "Charity, don't be crass," Clarissa scolded her. "Don't you have a parking attendant to bone, since you're so concerned about my sex life?" Chris spatted at his younger sister. "I have and I did, thank you very much, would you like to know the details?" "Fuck off-" Charlie cleared his throat loudly and everyone looked at him. "SO. We're exclusive. It's not casual." He said matter of factly. Chris looked down at his plate and smiled. But Clarissa had more questions. "That's good to know, Charlie. So does your family know about him?" "Give it a rest Clary." Chris groaned. "It's a valid question, Christopher." They began arguing back and forth and then Charlie cleared his throat again. "WELL. Not yet. But I have a wedding to go to next month and I was..." He turned to Chris, "I was hoping that you would go with me. Harry and Ginny's wedding in June." Chris was surprised. He had seen the wedding invitation on Charlie's mantle but did not think Charlie would ask him to go. "To England? With you?" "Er..yeah. If you can get the time off, it will be at least four days, a Thursday to a Sunday, or Friday to Monday." "Oh. Um..yeah. I can do that." "Okay." "Okay." Rudy in between them said, "okay!" and they both looked at him and smiled. But Clarissa was not done. "You're sure you're ready for that, Charlie? For Christopher to meet your family?" Chris gave her an exasperated look that she ignored. "I mean, is he going as your friend, or a date?" "Alright, enough with the interrogation, Clary. If Charlie isn't ready to tell his parents yet I'm fine with it. And if I'm fine with it then you lot can fuck off!" "Chris..." Charlie shook his head to stop him from going off. He said to his sisters, "I'm not hiding him in Albania, just so you know. I mean, I'm not going around broadcasting my private life but I'm not denying it either. The people I work with know. The people he works with know. Our friends and neighbors all know that we are together. So it's only a matter of time before my parents and siblings know as well. He's going to be at the wedding with me. I'm not denying us here and I'm not going to deny him there either." Clarissa was thoughtful. "Charlie I like you, I really do. You're smart, you're kind, you have a good head on your shoulders and you are good for Chris. So I say this to you not just as Chris's sister but as someone who cares about you too. Just be sure this is what you really want for yourself. I've watched my brother pretend not to struggle with his identity for years and it's not easy. But with the right person, who cares about you and will support you through it, it makes all the difference in the world. He hasn't had that in his life until now. He can be that one for you. I am hopeful that you could be that one for him, too." Chris and Charlie were both afraid to look at each other, as Clarissa said more about their relationship than they have discussed among themselves. Charlie said, "I appreciate that, Clary. And the truth is, I don't know what will happen in the future with us. All I know is that right now..." He looked at Chris in the eyes, "I like what we have. And I'm happy with where I am." Chris smiled at him, then turned to his sister. "Now are we done here? Because I have to get ready for work soon." Charity said, "Well if Charlie is staying I'm sleeping upstairs." "Well he'll be here for the rest of the week through the weekend so yes, stay your arse upstairs." After everyone left Charlie washed up the dishes with his wand. Chris came over and stood next to him. "I'm really sorry about all that, Charlie." "Don't be," said Charlie. "Obviously she loves you and she is just being a protective big sister. Expect Bill to do the same when you meet him." Chris was quiet for a moment, then said, "You know, tonight was most open you have been with me about us since we moved beyond friendship." "I know. And I'm sorry. I have been in my head a lot instead of just talking about it. I should be talking about it with you, but it's weird now talking about us with you. Not because I can't talk to you. But because I don't want you to feel like I don't want this or I'm not confident in us. It's more like,...I don't know how I feel about me. And that's really what makes us complicated. Not because of us, but because of me. I don't know if I'm making sense. See why it's weird?" Chris said, "I get it, I do. Which is also why I don't put any pressure on you. No pressure to tell your family. No pressure to hold hands or kiss in public. It's whatever you want to do, for as long as you'll have me." "Well that doesn't seem fair, innit? What about what you want?" "I have what I want right now," Chris said. "A warm body to hold onto and a big cock to fuck me when I want." He laughed. Charlie shook his head. "You deserve so much more than that. You deserve-" Chris stopped him before he said something stupid. "Charlie, really. I'm not sitting around waiting for you to figure out if you're really straight or bi or gay or all of the above or none of the above. I'm living in the moment. And the moment calls for a hug, and a kiss." He leaned over and kissed Charlie, then pulled him in for an embrace. He asked, "Want to shower with me? You know, for intimacy purposes?" They showered again and Charlie told Chris about Vlad, and how he gave him relationship advice which led to him realizing that his fellow colleagues would support him. When they got back, word had gotten around about his relationship with The Ranger as they call Chris, as Vlad talked about his own and the response has been positive – or more like playful ribbing – and it has given him more confidence to be open about them. Chris rewarded his confidence with a blow job and then fucked him from behind the way Charlie liked. Afterwards they rubbed lotion on each other and Charlie watched Chris get ready for work. At 10:30pm right before he left, Chris went into his dresser and handed Charlie a key chain of a golden dragon and a gold key. "It's only fair that you have the key to my place while I have the key to yours. No more waiting out front for me." Charlie smiled. "Well technically, I could have always entered your home, locks and all. We can open regular locked doors at will and only another wizard's personal charms or spell can keep us out." Chris snorted. "Fucking wizards," he said and shook his head. Charlie laughed, "But thank you for this. The invitation and sentiment is there, and I will use it liberally." Chris leaned in to kiss him on the lips. He said, "Your birthday is in a couple of weeks on a Friday. Can you take the Saturday off?" "Barring no issues, it should be fine. What do you have in mind?" "It's a surprise. I will make all the arrangements, all you have to do is show up with an overnight bag. No go get some sleep." ~~~~~~~ Charlie stayed with Chris for the rest of the week doing what he promised. They made love every day he came home from work, slept, made love again every night before he left for his shift. On Saturday they found themselves at Nemo's and it was pretty crowded, as it was the first really warm night and summer was in the air. They noticed a couple standing around awkwardly and made conversation with them. They found out they were on their first date and needed a table, and Chris and Charlie already had one so they invited them to share. They were heavy in conversation when Chris looked up and saw someone that made him freeze. Charlie noticed and turned around. A tall dark brown skinned bald headed handsome man had entered, greeted the owner and sat at the bar. Charlie turned back to Chris who was still watching the man with a stoic expression on his face. It dawned on Charlie who it was and he turned back to look at the man who had not noticed Chris yet. He looked at Chris and gently touched his hand that was resting on the table, and he finally turned his gaze away to Charlie. His expression was unreadable, which is a first for Charlie, he had gotten pretty well at learning Chris's moods and expressions. He asked, "Do you want to leave?" Chris shook his head, still unable to speak. He glance back at the bar at Rem, then turned his attention back to the table and the conversation about how terrible gay dating is in Tirana. After a couple of minutes he seemed more at ease to Charlie. Truthfully, Chris was a ball of emotions. Seeing Rem for the first time in a year brought back a wave of emotions that he was not prepared for – disgust, love, lust, anger, sadness, anxiety and a bit of fear that he would walk over and say or do something sarcastic to him about Charlie in front of him, and he had no idea how Charlie would react. He decided to push all his feelings down and enjoy this moment with Charlie, willing himself to forget Rem was in the same room as him. He did not look back up until a commotion in that direction brought a few people to glance that way. A glass was pushed off the counter and shattered and a stool fell down with a clatter as Nemo was holding onto Rem's arm tightly, saying a few choice words they could not hear from their distance. Rem yanked his arm away and raised his palms up in surrender. He straightened out his jacket, then turned around and looked directly at Chris. Chris felt his heart drop in his chest. That little bit of fear became deathly afraid Rem was going to walk over. Charlie territorially put his hand over Chris's hand on the table without breaking his hard expression at Rem. Rem turned his attention to Charlie who gave him an icy glare. Try it, I fucking dare you, he thought to himself. As if Rem read his mind, he laughed, nodded, and turned around to walk out the bar. Nemo glanced over at them briefly, but then continued working at the bar. "What was that about?" their table mate asked. Charlie turned and locked eyes with Chris. "I have no idea." Chris looked away and took a sip of his beer. Charlie kept his hand over Chris's for the next 30 minutes before deciding to head home. They walked in silence back to Chris's place holding hands. Chris had no idea what Charlie was thinking and was afraid to find out. He was upset with himself for getting so emotional and transparent. When they got inside the flat, Charlie went straight to the fridge for a cup of ice water and stood against the counter to drink. Chris went to stand next to him. Charlie wouldn't look at him and he knew he needed to say something first. "So you're angry with me?" he asked. Charlie paused mid-sip. He sighed and said, "No. I'm not angry with you." Chris let a moment pass wanting Charlie to say more, but he didn't. "What then?" he practically whined. Charlie took another full sip before he spoke. "Frustrated. Annoyed. I don't know. And it's not like I don't get it. If my ex Chitra walked through that door I might have had the same reaction. But that doesn't change how I feel." "And how do you feel?" Chris wanted to keep him talking. "Like I wanted to pull out my wand and turn him into the weasel that he is. Or punch him in the fucking throat. Either way it would have knocked that smug smile off his face." Charlie took another sip, put his glass on the counter and turned to face Chris. "So how do you feel?" Chris wanted to say something sarcastic then seeing the seriousness on Charlie's face made him not to. "I feel..." He decided to go safe. "I feel lucky to have you." Charlie stared at him for a moment, narrowed his eyes and went to sit on the couch in the dim living room. Chris sighed. Of course Charlie would see through his bullshit. "Ok, I did mean that. But also, I feel like I am grateful for Nemo for keeping Rem away from me, from us. And I feel...frustrated as well, with myself that I can let him get to me still. I gotta work on that." Charlie continued to look straight ahead into the dark living room. "Do you love him?" he asked softly. "No," Chris said automatically. "And you asked me that before. The answer is unchanged." Charlie didn't respond. Chris came and sat next to him on the couch, folded up his legs and faced him, but Charlie was still looking ahead. "But you're drawn to him," he said factually. "I was, but not anymore. Not for a long time. Charlie, I didn't feel like I wanted to be with him, if that's what you're asking. Not in any way. It was more like... I was afraid that he was going to come over and start some shit with you, with us. Because that's what we do, we push each other's buttons until the other caves. But nothing in me wanted that tonight. More than anything, I just didn't want him to come between us." "And if I wasn't there? Would the desire to push buttons until some caves, would that be there?" Charlie needed to hear him say the words, needed reassurance that his feelings weren't in vain. Chris turned Charlie's face to him and looked him in the eyes. "No. Because I am with you. He has never made me feel the way you do, in or out the bedroom. Especially out the bedroom. But in the bedroom too." He smiled but Charlie didn't so he stopped smiling and said with all seriousness. "My desire is for you, Charlie. I don't want anyone but you. You." And Charlie believed him. He leaned in for a kiss, and they kissed gently for a while. Charlie then reached over and removed Chris's pants buckle, zipped down his pants and exposed his penis. He leaned down and took Chris in his mouth, first slowly, then fervently. Chris moaned appreciatively and then loudly as Charlie kept deep throating repeatedly without letting up. His pants were in the way so he lifted Charlie off his dick to stand up and drop his pants and underwear. He came closer and proceeded to let Charlie give him a deep throating blow job, his lips hitting his groin and he made small gargling noises as the head of Chris's cock continuously slid past his tonsils. Chris grabbed his head and face fucked him which Charlie hungrily accepted, sucking him hard and deep, never missing a beat. "Fuck. Charlie. Fuck. Fuck. Charlie. Fuck. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK!" Chris cried now slamming Charlie's head against his skin. Realizing he was getting loud, Charlie pushed Chris back and pulled out his wand, said, "Muffliato," then dropped it on the floor as the charm took over the room. He leaned all the way back on the seat and motioned for Chris to climb up on the couch, which Chris did. He stood over Charlie, feet in the cushions, knees bent, holding onto the back of the couch as he leaned his head back and continued to face fuck him. Chris lost all restraint and began pounded Charlie's face over and over again moaning loudly with each thrust, "AH! AH! AH! AH!" And Charlie continued taking him deep and sucking him hard, his only sound was the gargling noise from time to time as he took it all in. He open up his own pants and took out his member, slowly stroking himself as he took in every inch of Chris's rock solid cock in his mouth, listening to Chris moaning loudly, making him rock hard as well. When Chris finally came he growled with intensity and slammed his groin into Charlie's mouth hard one more time and held it there, filling his mouth with thick cum. The taste of Chris's sweet nectar was enough to make Charlie cum as well, taking him by surprise. He moaned with Chris's full dick and cum still in his mouth, and erupted mid stroke on his hands and his pants. He sucked as Chris removed himself slowly from his mouth, licking and swallowing along the way making sure not one drop spilled out. Then he swallowed one big gulp of Chris's cum. Chris groaned and fell into the seat next to him. He looked at Charlie who was still sitting there with his head leaned back, eyes closed, cock coated with his own cum still in hand. Chris was still stunned. "What. The. Fuck, Charlie? I mean...I'm not complaining but...are...are you okay?" He didn't respond at first, then said, "Let's go to bed." However he did not move. Chris slowly moved to Charlie's cock. He licked the cum off his hand first, then licked the cum off his penis. Charlie moaned softly and Chris continued to lick him until his penis softened and the only cum left was stuck to his jeans. He then stood up in front of Charlie and reached for his hands, making him stand up as well to hold him. He wrapped his arms around his neck and Charlie wrapped his arms around his midsection. They stayed there for a long moment silently, and held onto each other. Then Charlie pulled Chris to his room. He took off the rest of Chris's clothes and then took off his own, pulled back the comforter and got in the bed, pulling Chris with him. Chris turned his back to Charlie so they could spoon. They were both awake, eyes open and Charlie held him tight and Chris's held his arms around him. After a while, Chris said, "Charlie, I need to tell you something." "Hmm?" "I have been with a lot of people, you know this. So believe me when I say, that was the best fucking blow job I have ever fucking had in my entire fucking life. I'm not kidding. Nothing even comes close. And if you're trying to make me fall in love, two more times of that and I will. Be your fucking love slave for life. Shiiiiiiit." Charlie was silent for a moment, then started laughing. "Go the fuck to sleep, Chris." ~~~~~~~ Charlie went back to work the following Monday and Vlad stayed on until the night shift just to see Charlie and tell him his story: He did what he said he was going to do. He went to Romania and told his parents that his best friend for the past ten years has actually been his lover for the past five years and they intend to marry. As expected his mother cried about him going to hell and his father told him he could not step foot into their house again. "I told them, if they were prepared to lose their only child over it then that was on them. My door will always be open." He got teary eyes but his voice held firm and Charlie told him he was proud of him, hoping he is that brave come next month when he brings Chris home with him. Vlad then flew to Moldova and went to Alexi's parent's house, where he knew he would be for dinner. His older brother Demetri and their family were there and so was his older sister and little sister. His father was working late and was not expected to be home. Vlad said "I just walked into the dining room and looked straight at him, said, `I told my parents. Now it's time for you to tell yours.' "And Charlie, without a beat, he stood up and said to his family, `I love Vladimir. I've loved him since I was 15 years old. I'm in love with him and that's never going to change.' No one spoke, but seeing him that bold was all I needed. I walked over and got down on one knee, said, Will you marry me, Alexi? And he said, `As if you even had to ask, stupid.' Then he kissed me and we both started crying. Then all hell broke loose." Alexi's mom was beside herself with rage and started throwing things, screaming that he would never see one galleon of their money if he disgraced the family like this. Then she called his father hysterically trying to explain what just happened. His brother was sitting there stoic and his sister started crying, trying to calm their mother down. Only his younger sister came over and hugged them both, then said, "Go. Now. Let me know when the wedding is." Alexi ran upstairs and threw everything he could into a suitcase, kissed his siblings goodbye. They all cried knowing this would be the last time they saw each other for a while. "Alexi's father caught us at the airport while waiting for the plane back to Albania. We have no idea how he got there so fast or even got past security, but he came right up to us in the wizarding lounge as we waited standby for our flight. He tried to keep his voice low and told Alexi that he would be cut off from his family and his money for life, and it was his last chance. And Alexi in turn spoke very loudly, saying, `I choose Vladimir over anything you could ever offer me.' Charlie I thought my heart was going to fucking explode. It was like all he needed was the OK from me to tell the whole world how much he loves me. It was the best feeling in the world, and I just grabbed his face and stuck my tongue down his throat, the first time we have kissed in public, ever. Ever. What a feeling that was." Now Alexi is staying with him in his room in Jesse's house with Lucas, Ollie and Mateo. They plan to marry next month but first Alexi needs a job and they need to find an apartment. Alexi worked in one of his father's banks so anything having to do with money is good, but he will take anything right now, even coming onto the Reserve. Charlie was thoughtful. "Let me check with Cole at the Exchange, see if they could use some hands. I can also check with Esme to see if any flats are available." Vlad hugged Charlie. "I knew you would have all the answers!" As it turns out Cole's wife Rebecca was pregnant with their fourth child and wanted to step back from working in the Exchange, so hiring Alexi came right on time. He came in for an interview on Tuesday and started that Wednesday. Unfortunately there were no flats available at the Atrium but someone was moving out by August 1st and they were welcomed to the apartment if they wanted it, a one bedroom on the first floor. So they planned their wedding for July 30th and asked if they could have their wedding at the Atrium, and Maggie and Esme, who fell in love with their love story, were delighted to help them. ~~~ Charlie invited them to lunch on the following Sunday so they could meet Chris and he could meet Alexi. Alexi was taller than Vlad by a good two inches, same height as Chris and Charlie at 6 feet. He was tall, blond, scraggly hair and thin, and had a boyish charm about him, the complete opposite from Vlad's 5'10, dark wavy hair and medium build and more rugged. He also dressed impeccably and like he was an old man in the 1920's; He wore gray slacks with a vest to match, button down shirt and a bow tie, with oxford shoes and a pocket watch with a gold chain hanging out. Chris joked later he was a Twink with a Kink. He spoke no English although Vlad had been teaching him daily, only Russian and Romanian, but he understood much of it as long as it was spoken slowly. Vlad did much of the translation during their lunch. They sat side by side awkwardly. Charlie and Chris could tell they were not used to being Out. Chris asked, "So... how is the relationship going now that you don't have to hide anymore?" Vlad turned pink but translated for Alexi who also turned pink, but he answered, "volshebniy" and Vlad smiled, "He said, `magical.'" Which made them all smile. Chris casually reached over and took Charlie's hand on the table. Charlie looked at him quizzically but said nothing else about it as he continued to ask about their relationship and plans for marriage. "Children?" Chris asked. "Yes, Da," they both said. Vlad said, "I've always wanted siblings and Alexi has three of them. So eventually we will adopt some wayward children and raise them." Charlie and Chris also found out that they weren't having sex much. Vlad said, "At Durmstrang it was always hard to find the time and place, so we didn't center our relationship much around it. And then we were living apart for the last two years." "Well what about now, you live together don't you?" Charlie asked. "Yes, but we live in a house with other men and thin walls. They are gracious to let Alexi stay with me because they know my story, but we don't want to push it." "What about Muffliato?" Chris asked. Vlad and Alexi stared blankly. Alexi repeated, "Muf-Li-Ah-Toe?" "Yes the muffler charm, to block out sounds escaping any room," Charlie explained. Vlad translated for Alexi. "Da, es Silencio?" he asked. "No," Charlie explained. "Silencio silences your voices, although that's a good idea, too, you do get loud Chris." Chris nudged him with his shoulder. Vlad laughed and translated and Alexi laughed too, saying, "V sleduyushiy raz zatkni yego pryamo pered tem, kak on zakrichit." Vlad laughed and translated for Chris and Charlie. "He said, Next time shut him up right before he hollers." They laughed. "Yup, I'm going to try that," Charlie said amusingly. They found out that Alexi is a master dueler, and won competitions back in Moldova. Vlad told them, "His brother is also a master dueler and taught him ever since he could hold a wand how to duel." Alexi smiled but it did not reach his eyes and Vlad noticed. He reached over and took Alexi's hand, said a few words to him in Russian and Alexi nodded, smiled and touched his face. He said, "Demetri and Alexi have always been close, and it pained him that he couldn't tell his brother who he really was all this time. It pains him even more now that now that he knows, he hasn't reached out to talk to him." Charlie asked, "So what did you tell him?" Vlad smiled. "Basically I said, `fuck your family, I'm your family now.' " Charlie laughed. "You've been hanging out with Mike too much." Charlie invited them upstairs to show them how Muffliato works, and they practiced the charm while Chris took turns screaming in the bedroom for them. Vlad and Alexi were a lot more touchy-feely when it was just the four of them. They moved onto other charms and jinxes, and somehow Charlie and Alexi ended up in a friendly duel match. They moved the living room furniture out of the way as Vlad and Chris sat at the kitchen table and watched. Alexi really was a pro, especially at non-verbal jinxes and he caught Charlie a few times, as Charlie's wand would fly out of his hand, or he would begin to float up and upside down with a point of Alexi's wand. But then Charlie surprised everyone with a Locomotor Mortes charm without his wand and only a hand gesture, knocking Alexi off his feet and binding him. "How the fuck did you do that!?" Vlad asked, astonished. "It's magic," Charlie smiled as he released Alexi. Alexis said to Vlad in Russian, "No Kris ne volshebnyy, da? On tochno maggl." Charlie heard the words "Chris" and "muggle" in there and looked to Vlad, his heart pounding. Vlad looked at Chris puzzled, then at Charlie, but then he turned and began talking with Alexi in fast Russian. After a few moments of conversation back and forth between the two of them, Vlad looked at Charlie again. "Soooo Alexi thinks Chris is an unregistered muggle around magic and if he is we don't give a shit," Vlad said in one breath. Alexi said something else in Russian to Vlad and he smiled, "He said, We are familiar with keeping long term secrets, so your secret is safe with us, forever. You have our word." Charlie looked at Chris first and smiled, then at Vlad and Alexi. "Let me show you how to do Locomotor Mortes." They talked and shared magical charms, drank beer and ordered more food from the Atrium for dinner, than drank some more. As the night grew late, they vowed to do this again, but they wanted to get back to Vlad's room and try Muffliato tonight. Chris wished them a happy sexing and Charlie walked them out. When he came back up, Chris said, "Well look at us, hanging out with another couple like adults." Charlie sat down and pulled Chris into his lap. They kissed softly, then Charlie said, "I want to make you climax, then shut you up right before." Chris smiled a little then said, "You've been thinking about doing that for the last, what, seven hours or so?" Charlie laughed. "Yes. Now take off your fucking clothes and get on top." Chris obliged and soon they were in their favorite position: Charlie laying flat on his back while Chris was on top grinding and Charlie is holding his cock, stroking it at the same time. Chris rode Charlie into his first anal orgasm, getting louder and louder with his moans. He felt when Chris was about to come but waited until Chris said, "aah aah going to fucking c-" "SILENCIO!" Charlie waved his hand and watched Chris's face scrunch up and his eyes flutter back, mouth opened in a silent roar and he exploded all over Charlie's chest. When he opened his eyes, Charlie gave Chris back his voice. "Finite Incantatem." He looked up and smiled. "How did that feel?" "Fucking. Intense." Well turn around and come again for me." Chris happily obliged again and he turned around to ride cowboy style on Charlie's dick. This time he moved faster and with a purpose, to get off and to get Charlie off too. Chris reached climatic heights pretty quickly and his penis leaked out cum. Charlie forgot he was supposed to be silencing him as he was coming himself, moaning right along with him. Chris fell backwards onto Charlie and slipped out, making them both laugh. Charlie turned on his side on the couch and Chris turned sideways as well, facing him. They kissed, held each other and went to sleep. ~~~~~~ Two Saturdays later, the couple drove two hours north to Tirana that night, overnight bags in the trunk. Charlie only knew that they were celebrating his birthday and to dress up but casual. Charlie chose a dark red button down shirt that wouldn't clash with his hair, black slacks and a pair of black loafers. Chris wore a light blue button down shirt, dark blue jeans and a pair of Charlie's dark blue and tan loafers. They had already eaten dinner before they left for Tirana, as Chris told him there will be lots of drinking tonight. Charlie assumed they were going to a club of some sort which he wasn't fond of, but he let Chris lead. And he was proven right as they pulled into a parking lot for a 3 story warehouse turned club with the word Levels written on the side. There was a line outside but Chris walked to the front and told the bouncer, "We're on Jax's list," and gave their names. The bouncer checked and let them right in. At the counter Chris told the lady the same, that they were on Jax's list and she gave them green armbands. "This will get you into every room all night," she told them. Chris gave her his credit card number and said, "Run a tab until closing." They entered a small vestibule with a staircase leading up and a door to the right where people were coming in and out of. They went through the door into a cavernous room, hundreds of people dancing on the dance floor, strobe lights and loud music. The bar ran the length of the large room on one side, it was so long it probably had 100 bar stools and about 50 bartenders catering to everyone. Chris and Charlie found two bar stools that open miraculously as two other people just got up, so they were able to sit together. Chris ordered two rum and cokes, and they began to people-watch. Charlie noticed it wasn't a gay club, but everyone danced with everyone, guys with girls, guys with guys, girls with girls. There was a female couple making out near them to a Beyonce song and he enjoyed the show. When the song ended he saw Chris watching him. "Did you enjoy that?" he said amusingly. Charlie smiled and said to him, "Why did you bring me here?" Chris shrugged. "Who doesn't like to party on their birthday?" "Not exactly my type of music though." Chris smiled slyly. "Who said we came here for the music?" Before Charlie could respond a tall skinny brown haired man came and grabbed Chris's shoulder. "Jenna!" he yelled. Chris turned and gave him a huge smile and hug. "Jax!" "I'm so glad you made it out here," Jax said. "I feel like I don't get to see you, you don't come out this way anymore." "No, I just been working, busy. Hey, meet Charlie. Charlie, my best friend Jaxon." "Oh, the new flavor of the week, nice to meet you." Chris shoved him a bit and he laughed. He gave Charlie a dap and turned back to Chris. "Don't forget, midnight. That'll give you about an hour and a half, give or take. I won't be up there, obviously, but they know what to do. If you need me for anything, tell anyone that works here to find me." They hugged again like brothers. "It's good to see you, Jenna. You look good. Happy." He winked. "Come by more, I'll always get you in." "Thanks, bro." When he left, Charlie asked, "Jenna?" "Yea, it's a play off my last name. Jaxon called me that at 14, said I ran like a girl and should change my name to Jenna since we already had a Chris on the team. I socked him, but the name stuck. You'll know who my high school friends are by them calling me Jenna or Other Chris." He turned to the bar and ordered another round of rum and coke while Charlie faced forward, still people watching. A pretty blonde woman in a tight green dress slid in between their stools. She ordered her drink then turned to Chris and said, "Hi." "Hi there," responded Chris. "So are you going to drink all night or are you going to dance with someone?" she asked. Charlie watched in amusement out of his peripheral vision. Chris said, "Maybe later." The Blonde said, "Well, if you do decide, come find me." She got her drink and seductively drank from it, then brushed against him as she walked away. They both watched her return to her friends a few feet away. "I think you got competition, Charlie," Chris said. "Yeah? Let's hope she can suck your cock like I can." He smiled. Chris turned Charlie's stool around with his legs to face him. He leaned over, kissed him on the lips, then put his tongue in his mouth. Charlie returned the kiss, reaching up to his neck to stroke him a bit and they parted. Charlie glanced toward the blonde and her friends who had a look of surprise on their faces, then started giggling. Chris, who was still looking at Charlie asked, "Did she see?" "Yes." Charlie responded. "Good." He looked at his watch and said, "Let's go." He took Charlie's hand and led him back out to vestibule and up the stairs. They entered another door into a room not as cavernous but still large. In the center was a circular elevated stage with poles on it. Female strippers of every color, shape and size were dancing practically naked with what little clothes they had on. Other women walked the floor serving drinks and offering lap dances. The music was different up here, less pop and techno, more alternative rock and grunge. Chris and Charlie found a two seater table in the back and Chris ordered six tequila shots. When they came, he moved four toward Charlie, who looked at it and smiled. "Are you trying to get me drunk?" "You may want to be for what I have in store for you tonight." He winked at him. Charlie took all four shots in quick successions. He was starting to feel warm and tipsy now. Chris laughed and took his first shot, then said to him, "Ok. Pick one." "Pick one...what?" he asked stupidly. Chris looked at him like he was stupid. "A girl. Pick a girl, Charlie." "For a lap dance?" Chris didn't answer, instead said, "Pick the most attractive female in the room to you. I want to know what you like." "I like you," Charlie said. Chris pursed his lips into a smile and said, "I know that. Now pick a woman. Anyone. Take your time." He ordered a beer instead of drinking his second shot. Charlie looked around. There were certainly a lot of beautiful women walking around. It took a couple of minutes but then she appeared. She had light brown skin, a few shades darker than Chris's, and she has the perfect hourglass shape, decent sized breasts, thin waist, wide hips and a nice round derriere. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a lavender see through lingerie with nothing but little black bows to cover her nipples, and a matching long, see through robe over it. She walked past barely noticing them. Charlie tapped Chris, harder than he intended and Chris spilled his beer as he was mid-sip. "Sorry. Her. I want her," he pointed. Chris wiped his mouth and looked. "Ho. Le. Shit. She is incredible. And you sure do like brown skin don't you?" Chris teased and Charlie could feel himself growing pink. "I'll be right back," he said and chased her down. He saw them exchange words and he pointed at Charlie. She nodded and Chris handed her some money. Then he came to sit down next to Charlie without her, as she walked in the opposite direction. "What...what happened?" "She's coming, don't worry." Then he slid his last shot over to Charlie. Charlie drank it and they waited. After 10 minutes, she came walking directly to their table and he straightened up his pants and sat up ready for a lap dance. Instead she grabbed his hand and said, "Come with me, Charlie." He realized that she knew his name. He took it and followed her as Chris smirked at him. After a few steps she turned around and said, "You too, boyfriend." She reached out her other hand. Chris jumped up and took it, and the two of them were led like children deeper into the room down a corridor with doors. She stopped at room number 5 and went inside, they followed. The room was no bigger than a large walk in closet. It was dimly lit with red and yellow bulbs, and three red plush chairs. In the center was a throne like armchair. She closed the door and the sounds outside the room were still loud but muffled. She said to Charlie, "pick a chair." Charlie sat in the throne and Chris sat to his right on one of the plush chairs. She came close to Charlie and could see her eyes were light brown. In his inebriated state, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She said to him, "I'm Sapphire. I'm going to be your sexual fantasy. Would you like that Charlie?" He just sat there and nodded. She went to the wall and pushed a button, music began to play. She took off her see through robe and she danced seductively back to him and stood in front of him. She moved with fluidity and sensuality, touching herself along the way. She got closer and closer with every step as Charlie held onto the arms of the chair and watched, feeling himself grow tight in his pants. When she was close enough, she knelt down and rubbed her face in his crotch, and his semi-hard penis went instantly to rock hard. She danced back up against him, then turned around and sat in his lap. He inhaled sharply as her bottom rested on his dick. She began to gyrate slowly, then leaned back and moved faster. Charlie was unsure how he was controlling his hands, probably from the shock that this was really happening. He had gotten a lap dance before, but not like this. She was practically fucking him with very little clothes on, he thought. Sapphire turned around to face him and untied one of her straps from her shoulder and a perfect breast with a dark brown nipple fell out. He heard Chris gasp but he could not turn his eyes away from it and glad he didn't, because the next thing she did was lift it up and put her head down, eyes still on Charlie, stuck out her long tongue and licked her own nipple, continuing to dance for him. Chris gasped again. Then she straddled him, moved back and forth on his dick dry humping him, her loose breast bouncing against Charlie's chin. Chris watched Charlie and Sapphire and it made him hard as well. He absentmindedly rubbed himself through his jeans and looked at Charlie's face, eyes wide, mouth closed tightly, and his hands were gripping the arm of the chair so hard his knuckles were turning white. The song continued to play as she slid off him and turned her back to him. She danced to the floor and did a split, her thonged bottom bouncing as it hit the floor, then danced onto all fours and twerked for him, winded up her waist and moved like she was being fucked from the back. Then she leaned all the way back until the back of her head was in Charlie's lap again, and moved with fluidity to turn around, dragging her face through his crotch again and lifted herself to stand up. "Ho. Lee. Shit." Chris said to no one. Sapphire was not done. She said, "Since it's your birthday, you get a special treat. Do you want to see me make myself come, Charlie?" Charlie's mouth formed a small o as Chris's mouth dropped into a large one. Charlie still couldn't talk, so he just nodded. "You promise to be a good little boy and just watch right, no touching?" Charlie nodded again. She turned to Chris. "You too right?" Chris nodded as well, still holding his dick through his jeans. Sapphire sat in the chair opposite Charlie and undid the strap that held her crotch together, then spread her legs. She revealed a brown, hairless cunt with a pink center. She licked two fingers and first started playing with her clit. Chris could not believe this was happening and said out loud what he and Charlie were thinking, "Ho..Holy...Holy shit." They both watched her moan and squirm and bring herself to ecstasy, then insert those same two fingers into her vagina and fingered herself until she squirted. She laughed at her own ejaculation, stood up and strapped her center, then her shoulder. She looked at Chris who continued to be stunned, and said, "You have 15 minutes." She said to Charlie, "Happy birthday" and kissed him on the cheek, left, closing the door behind her. Chris started laughing, "I swear I did not know she was going to do all that!" Charlie, who still had not moved, said quietly, "Why did you bring me here?" "Because I wanted you to have some fun. That shit was FUN!" "I...I feel like...like...like this is a test from you, for me. And I'm not sure if I passed or failed." "Both," Chris laughed. Charlie finally looked over at him with a defeated look. Chris said, "Charlie. It's okay if you still find women attractive. It's okay if they make you hard or want to fuck them. It doesn't take away how you feel about me. It's okay to want her. It's more than ok. It's fucking fantastic!"" "Yeah? What if I tell you that I don't want you to touch me right now?" "Shit, I would say you are human and if I were you I wouldn't want to be touched by anyone either, if I just got fucked with my clothes on by a beautiful goddess." Charlie shook his head, "I don't know what I am. Right now I am more confused than ever." Chris touched his arm and said, "Then stop trying to put a fucking label on it. Just be. Be the guy who likes this other guy and also likes to fuck him. Also be the guy that just got the craziest back room lap dance by a beautiful woman that almost made him cream his pants. Be that guy. I like that guy." Charlie smiled. He finally let go of the arm of the chair and touched his aching erection. "Shit. I can't get up. I can't go out there like this." "Well, I think she told us that we had 15 minutes for a reason. Let me take care of that for you." He knelt in front of Charlie and started zipping down his pants. "Aren't their cameras in here?" "I have no idea," Chris said before he put Charlie's cock in his mouth. Charlie let out an "aaaah" as if in pain and Chris knew this would be easy. After eight strong, deep throating sucks, Charlie's dick spasmed in his mouth shooting out cum and he took it all down his throat. He zipped Charlie back up and stood up, his own erection visible but he chose to ignore it. "Are we leaving now?" asked Charlie. "Nope. I got a few more surprises in store for you." They left hand in hand and headed for the bar. Chris ordered two fireball shots, a beer for himself and a rum and coke for Charlie. They sat and people watched. Sapphire walked past and winked at them and they both instantly began to grow again. Then Chris started laughing, making Charlie laugh. He was definitely getting tipsy and he was sure Charlie was drunk by now. At 11:40, Chris said, "Shit, we gotta go." He took Charlie's hand and led him back out the door they came, but instead of downstairs they went up the next flight of stairs. The door opened to a similar room as the one downstairs and the music changed again and it was more techno and house music. But instead of a circular stage, there was just a circular dance floor. And instead of female strippers there were male exotic dancers. Charlie busted out laughing. "Seriously!?" Chris winked at him and pulled him to a table near the front of the dance floor. He ordered four jelly shots, took one and passed three to Charlie. He rolled his eyes at Chris but he took them back to back. He shook his head quickly and said, "I'm fucking wasted now." Chris laughed, and took his jelly shot. "These are good, let me order four more," Chris and he did. Charlie, who still had his rum and coke nursed it while they watched the show. Charlie was watching the male bodies and it aroused him but not excited him. Not the way Chris does. He looked over at Chris who was into it, and he reached over and touched Chris's cock. Chris looked down at Charlie's hand then looked at him. "Yeah. You're fucking drunk." They both laughed. Charlie moved his hand to his leg instead until the show ended and they stage cleared. A worker put a chair in the middle of the floor and the DJ lowered the music. He said, "Hey Levels fam, we have a special shout out. Somebody here is celebrating their birthday with us tonight." Charlie froze and looked at Chris who would not catch his eye. The DJ called, "Charlie. Charlie Weasley, please take your seat as king for the night so we can honor you." The crowd clapped and whistled and started chanting his name, "Charlie! Charlie!" Charlie stood up and said, "Remind me to kick your ass later." He made his way to the chair, which was similar to the one he was just on in the private room but this one was black. He took a seat and faced the excited crowd, he could see Chris to the left of him, smiling widely. The DJ said, "So first thing's first, we need to properly wish Charlie a happy birthday. 1, 2, 3!" And the crowd proceeded to sing happy birthday, loudly, terribly and off key, then applauded themselves for a job well done. "And now, for your birthday present, courtesy of your boyfriend, Chris. Enjoy!" The music started and five male strippers came out in matching red thongs and began dancing. They danced over him, around him and underneath them. The crowd went wild as they gyrated their penises and asses in his face, put their faces in his crotch and sometimes simulating fellatio. Charlie knew if the lights were brighter everyone would see his beet red face and hard on slightly forming. It was not as intense as Sapphire, more jovial and play acting, but Charlie was shit faced drunk so every touch felt good. He looked over to see Chris standing up, whistling and hooting with the rest of the crowd and laughed. When it was done the DJ said, "Aww, Charlie was such a good sport, give him a round of applause. Chris come get your boy toy, we got him all ready for you!" The crowd clapped as Charlie stood up and adjusted his erection in an obvious way that made the crowd go wild again. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face if he wanted to. Chris came up and gave him a hug, then a peck on the lips. The crowd said, "Awwww!" and clapped again. They held hands and took their seats. Chris ordered more drinks and they struck up a conversation with the straight couple next to them. They were Levels regulars and talked about how live it was like this every Saturday night. About an hour and a couple more drinks later the DJ announced the main event. Music came on and a man came out in an ass opened cowboy silk pants and a cowboy hat. He danced around a bit, then headed Charlie's way. As he got closer Charlie noticed how attractive he was. He looked to be of middle eastern descent, dark brown hair, grey-green eyes, perfect build- not too muscular but defined. He gyrated his waist and gave Charlie full eye contact as he danced in front of him, then turned around and sat in his lap, gyrating and grinding against his now hard dick again. The dancer stood up and danced some more, then yanked his silk pants off to reveal his entire hairless ass with a silk black sleeve to cover his huge cock. Charlie stared at it with his mouth opened, and the dancer took Charlie's hand to touch it. Charlie rubbed slowly the length of it, at least 10 inches long, hard and thick, and his mouth watered. In two moves, he was on Charlie again, straddled and facing him, looking into his eyes as he moved in a circular motion, hands around his neck. Charlie could not help himself this time. He found his hands on the dancer's waist and guided him. He got lost in his grey-green eyes. And for the first time ever, Charlie found himself desiring another man besides Chris. It was surreal to him, and yet it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Chris, who was sitting close enough to touch, watched with mixed feelings of wanting to push the dancer off his man, and wanted to watch them go all the way. He watched Charlie hold the dancer's waist like he holds him, and he could see and feel the desire in Charlie's eyes, and it was incredibly sexy. If Charlie was straight before, he definitely wasn't anymore. The dancer leaned all the way backwards to touch the ground and flipped off Charlie, tipped his hat and winked, then walked away, leaving Charlie with his hands still suspended in the air where the dancer's hips were. He slowly lowered them, then touched his groin and he realized for the second time that night he was left with a hard on and this time nowhere to release. Chris turned to the couple next to him, "Who was that?" "That's American Rodeo. He always picks one person out of the crowd to basically publicly fuck. I guess it was your boyfriend's lucky day." "Wow," was all Chris said. He looked at Charlie who had not moved. "You ok?" He touched his arm. Charlie looked at him for a long moment. He didn't have words to express how he felt right now, but he knew what he wanted. "Take me home." Chris stood up and felt he was a little tipsy. Charlie stood up and stumbled and Chris had to catch his arm. He laughed and Chris smiled at him. "I got you, mate." They walked out arm and arm down three flights of stairs into the cool night air. When they got to the car Chris paused. "Er...my plan was to stay sober but I guess I fucked that up. There is no way I can drive." He started laughing then Charlie started laughing too and they both leaned against the car in a fit of laughter. When it died a little, Charlie asked, "How far is the place?" "Probably another 15 minutes from here." "Ok, let's grab our things." They took their bags out of the trunk, then Charlie asked, "What's the place called?" "The Artimus." He gave him the address. "We're calling a taxi?" "No. We're going to apparate." "Wha...what? You can do that?" Charlie shrugged a little. "Close your eyes and think of the front entrance. Concentrate really hard and don't think about anything else. I'm going to guide us there on the count of three. Then we're going to take two steps forward. You got all that?" Chris nodded. He closed his eyes and saw the entrance. He had only been there once for a party a long time ago, but he vividly remembered what it looked like. "Okay. One. Two. Three." They both stepped forward. Halfway through Chris's first step he felt like his whole body was being squeezed through a tight tunnel for a split second and he could not breath. Then just like that, it was over and his feet landed on solid ground. He opened his eyes and he found them right in front of the lit entrance of the double doors of The Artimus. "Ho. Le. Shit. That was the worst and best thing ever." He said, and they both laughed. Then Chris said, "Wait, did you want to just apparate into a well lit area? What happened to secrecy?" "Oops!" Charlie said playfully and busted out laughing again, making Chris laugh some more. "Oh my God Charlie, you are fucked up. Like, frat boy fucked up. Let's get you inside." They got upstairs into the one bedroom suite and dropped their bags by the front entrance. Charlie flopped on the couch and Chris sat next to him. He closed his eyes and said, "Tonight was the craziest night I've ever had. Thank you, love." Chris heard him call him "love" and it felt good to hear Charlie say it, even if he was drunk off his ass. He told him, "It's not over. I got one more gift for you." "I swear if a transgender person, a chick with a dick if you will, pops out of the closet..." Chris laughed. "No. No more others. Just me tonight." Charlie opened his eyes and looked at him. Chris got up and went to his bag, found a small drawstring parcel and pulled out what looked to Charlie like a small black golf ball with a long tail and a hoop at the end. He sat in front of Charlie on the coffee table and handed it to him. "It's a weighed anal ball. You always give me waves of anal orgasms, but I don't always do it for you. A few times a week you feel it once, but not multiple back to back mind blowing orgasms. Let me do that for you tonight." Charlie held the ball in his hand. It felt heavy but soft, he guessed it was made of silicone. He said while still playing with it, "I'm starting to think this is the real reason you got me drunk tonight." He looked up at him and said, "So. We've now entered into the introducing toys to the sexual part of our relationship?" Chris knelt down between his legs and pulled off his shirt saying "Well. It's the next logical step isn't it? I think we've explored every position imaginable. Now this is how we keep the magic alive." He kissed him, then sucked his nipples. He said softly with his face in his chest, "Let me make you feel as good as you make me feel." Charlie lifted up his head and kissed him again. Chris stood up and led Charlie to the bedroom, grabbing the lube from his bag on the way. He took off the rest of Charlie's clothes and laid him over the bed face down. He then took off all of his clothes and got on his knees, eating Charlie out for a few moments as Charlie moaned. He then lubed the inside of Charlie's anus with two fingers until he was nice and slippery. Charlie's inebriation had him moaning with impunity, loudly and sexily. Chris took the anal ball from Charlie's hand and gently inserted the ball inside. Charlie howled "OH SHIT!" Chris pushed it in as far as it could go, then he stood up and lubed his own cock and slowly entered Charlie from behind, pushing the ball further in. Charlie moaned loudly again, "Fuuuuuuck Chrisssss..." When it was evident that it could go no further and Chris was inside to the hilt, he laid on top of Charlie and grinded against the ball that grinded against his prostate. Charlie was beside himself with pleasure and kept moaning. Then Chris began to move in and out. Charlie's grunts became louder and more uninhibited. Between Sapphire and American Rodeo he had more than enough images of sex than he needed to feel like his whole body was on fire with desire. And Chris's gift was sending him over the edge quicker than he ever had before. He truly never felt anything like it, the constant pressure on his sweet spot was overwhelmingly intense and with Chris giving him quick strokes he quickly felt his orgasmic waves forming from the inside. The waves came as soft ripples, that wouldn't stop until they became ocean wide currents and he thought he would pass out from the intensity. He let out a long loud "ooooooooooooohhhh" and clenched everything, his hands grabbing the sheets, his toes, his anus and his eyes as tears formed. He couldn't stop moaning and his clenching kept the ball kept pressure on his prostate which made it worse, or better. Chris had to stop moving or he would have came himself. He slowly pulled back a bit, giving Charlie a chance to catch his breath. He asked, "Are you ok?" Charlie couldn't talk, just nodded. Chris changed positions, turning Charlie around to lay on his back. He leaned over him and asked, "Do you want me to stop?" "Yes," Charlie said breathlessly, "And fuck no." Chris laughed. "You're drunk so I will need clear and verbal consent here." "Shut the fuck up and fuck me already." Chris laughed again. "Yeah, that was verbal enough for me." Chris entered him slowly again and Charlie began to moan automatically, loudly. He moved a little faster as he held onto Charlie's side and fucked him standing up. Charlie felt the ripples again and thought he could control it somehow but it was just as intense as the first one and his legs started shaking as he climaxed, yelling, "fuuuuck fuck fuuuuuuuk fuuuuk fuuuuuk fuck fuck!" Chris kept pounding until he felt his own orgasm forming, then slowed all the way down to stop it. He put his hand on Charlie's chest, over his heart and shushed him until his moans got quieter. He pulled out and told Charlie, "get further on the bed." Chris got between his legs and kissed him with passion, licked the sweat off his neck and kissed him again. He whispered in Charlie's ear, "Come again for me." Charlie moaned, "Ooooh what is this, pay back?" Chris only responded with, "I want to see you cream this time. No touching." He sat up, put a pillow under Charlie's waist and entered him again with more force. Charlie looked at Chris through his heavy lidded eyes as Chris took control like he did the first time, and he held on to Chris's waist as Chris moved in a circular motion that Charlie liked so much for a while, then started pumping and thrusting faster and faster. He held onto Charlie's legs as Charlie moaned loudly again and Chris found himself moaning with Charlie. As Charlie began to climax again, Chris felt his clench and thrusted harder and faster. He let out that long "oooooohh" again and Chris fucked him like a rabbit in heat until Charlie bucked his entire waist up and ejaculated hot white thick cum shooting everywhere and all over himself. Chris lost it while watching Charlie erupt in front of him and he responded with his own "aaaah" and filled Charlie up with his cum, then collapsed on top of him. They laid there hot, sweaty, feeling the quickness of each other's heartbeats trying to catch their breath. When Charlie did, he said, "Chris?" "Yeah?" "If you're trying to make me fall in love, two more times of that and I just might." Chris busted out laughing and then Charlie did as well. They scooted to the top of the bed and Chris slowly pulled out the weighted ball, then pulled the covers over them. They went to sleep almost instantly, facing each other arms draped around the other. ~~~~~~~ Clarissa was admitted into the hospital a week before her due date and two days before Chris was supposed to fly out to England with Charlie. He told him, "There is no way I can leave her, mate." And Charlie said, "Of course not, I wouldn't have even asked. Just keep me posted please." And he headed off to England alone early Friday morning. He flew into London on a plane then apparated into the hills of St. Ottery St. Catchpole, and smiled at the site of The Burrow. He hasn't been home in a year and he forgets how much he misses it until he is back again. Charlie walked the long way, through the fields that lead to the back of the house and stopped at the large boulder under the tree where Fred is buried, about a quarter of a mile from the house. "Hey Freddie," he started. "I know you've been watching, but I feel like telling you anyway." And he sat for the next hour talking about Chris, how strong his feelings are for him and his fears. Then he sat and thought about all the sarcastic comments Fred would make about his new found sexuality and then how Fred would tell him to go for it, no regrets. He smiled and then his heart ached with grief. He started hating himself with not being there on time, but then remembered his conversation with Chris over it and he knew in his heart Chris was right. He took a couple of deep breaths and said, "I'll see you before I leave little bro." He blew a kiss and walked on. He saw his mom and Ginny in the garden before they saw him. Charlie said loudly, "There's my two favorite girls!" "Charlie!" Molly and Ginny both exclaimed and Ginny did a running jump into her brother's arms. He spun her around and kissed his baby sister's head, then took her hand and they walked over to Molly. He gave his mother a long hug. "It's good to see you. Can I give you a haircut?" Molly said. "No mum." He smiled at her. She pulled apart and looked behind him. "I thought you were bringing a friend?" "No... something came up." Charlie chose his words carefully. He did not tell his mum in the letter whether it was a male or female friend, just a very special friend of his that was going to accompany him to the wedding. "Oh well. I hope to meet her soon," Molly said. Charlie did not respond, instead looked to Ginny. "So. It's finally happening. You're going to be Potter. How do you feel?" They linked arms and walked to the house. "Yes. True be told I barely have seen him this last year, with Auror training and all. I look forward to after the wedding humbug, and we're just living together so I get to see more of him." They talked about the going ons with the other siblings while Molly cooked and served lunch for the three of them: Bill is still headquartered in London but travels several times a year for missions. Percy has long resumed his title as junior assistant to the Minister, who is now Shacklebolt. George and Ron run the joke shop, still as popular as ever. Hermione now works in their dad's old department in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, and actually runs it more efficiently. She and Ron aren't engaged yet and are still in Harry's house, soon to also be Ginny's house that was formally known as the House of Black but now referred to as The Potter House. They talked about wedding and tonight's rehearsal dinner and who he was paired with to walk down the aisle, one of her dorm mates named Shoshauna. Afterwards were the individual parties and all the men were to be here by noon tomorrow to set up the chairs and tables. The wedding will begin at 3pm right at the Burrow in the same spot the Bill married Fluer. After lunch Molly sent Charlie upstairs to try on his groomsman suit and rest up before tonight. Charlie headed to the second floor to his and Bill's room, which had never changed: Twin beds on opposite sides of the room with a window in between. Charlie's side had posters or Puddlemore United and several moving dragons. His old Comet Quidditch broom was hanging on the wall as well. Bill's side of the room had posters of Bellycastle Bats and several music artists, including a huge poster of The Weird Sisters. He dropped his bag and tried on his suit, which fit fine, then plopped on his bed and called Bill from his cell phone. "Charlie my boy! I kind of expected you to just show up at my door," Bill said. "You know I had to see mum first. Just settled into our room." "Oh no, you aren't staying at the hen house!" "The what?" "Soon that house is going to be swarming with giggly, girly bridesmaids. You do not want to be there, mate. Come to Harry's house." "I don't even know where Harry's house is," said Charlie. "Well go to the joke shop, and hang out there until they close up. I have a couple more hours of work here myself, then I will stop by." Charlie sighed. "Got it. I'm going." He got up and changed back into his clothes, grabbed his bag and suit and told his mother and sister the plan. Then he left the house and aparated to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The shop was filled with kids whose school year had just ended and summer plans were just beginning. He tried to walk through without being noticed but George who had been waiting for him shouted from the top of the stairs, "CHARLIE!" He came running down the stairs and jumped into his arms similar to Ginny's greeting earlier. Charlie laughed and hugged his little brother. After spending a year on the road with him, they got pretty close and he missed him a lot. Ron, who heard George's yell, came from the back and gave Charlie a hug as well. "I was told we're staying at Harry's. Where do I put these for now?" He held out his bag and suit. "Oh yeah sure, I got it." Ron pointed his wand at Charlie's stuff and it disappeared to the front entrance of Harry's house. "Kreacher will know what to do. So how long are you staying?" "Just until Sunday. I need to get back." "Yeah, back to your special friend? Mum told us." George winked at him. Charlie smiled at him back but did not respond. He hung around the shop until they closed an hour early. After everyone left Ron told him the address to Harry's house, 12 Grimmauld Place, and they apparated to the front steps together. Harry popped open the door and greeted Charlie happily. They sat around and drank Butterbeer, talked about life on the Reserve and Harry's Auror training. Bill showed up with the hard stuff, whiskey and they hung out some more as they caught up on each other's lives. At 6 o'clock they got ready for the rehearsal dinner and apparated together back to The Burrow by 7pm. Charlie saw that Bill was right, it was a hen house. Ginny had six bridesmaids, including Hermione, Fleur and Luna, and his aunt Muriel was spending the night as well as more female cousins and other girls he assumed were from Hogwarts. Neville who was also a groomsman and Percy were already there, along with his dad who he gave a hug to as well. Molly started sending all other girls and female cousins along with Aunt Muriel to The Leaky Cauldron for the rehearsal dinner and all that was left was the bridal party to do the wedding rehearsal. Charlie knew who Shoshauna was by the way she stared at him before they were officially introduced. When it was time to pair up, she walked over to him with confidence and introduced herself as Shauna and linked arms with him. Shauna had a mysterious beauty about her, long wavy jet black hair, dark blue eyes and a thick shape. It was obvious she wanted more from him so Charlie was already strategically trying to figure out how to keep his distance without offending her. The wedding rehearsal went well and once it concluded they all apparated to The Leaky Cauldron for dinner. Charlie suspected Shauna kept finding ways to be close to him, and Bill and George kept giving looks and snickering behind his back, which he kept giving them the finger every time. He was grateful when George called for the boys to get together, as they were headed to Wanderlous, a wizarding bar on the south side of London. They left together and met up with Dean, Seamus, Dennis, Lee, Terry, Ernie and Justin, all of Harry's chums from Hogwarts. They drank a lot and traded stories of their time at Hogwarts before the war and during. Charlie was sitting next to George when his phone buzzed. Chris had been sending Charlie updates on Clarissa all day, but this time it was a photo message. He opened the picture of Charity, Chris and Clarissa holding a baby in the bed, with the caption, It's a Girl! Charlie smiled as George leaned over. "And who are those beautiful people? Might one be that special someone you were supposed to be bringing?" Charlie pointed, "This is Charity, Clarissa and Chris." "She is stunning," George said. "Well done, mate." Charlie realized he was talking about Charity and just laughed. A couple minutes later his phone rang and Chris's name popped up. George saw and gave Charlie a puzzled look but Charlie intentionally did not catch his eye, instead got up to take the call outside. "Hey you," said Charlie. "Hey." "Congratulations Uncle Chris." "Thanks. The last 24 hours was crazy." He told Charlie how Clarissa had to be induced because of low placenta fluid and low blood pressure, then had an emergency c-section because the baby had a cord around her neck and was losing oxygen. They were all so scared but Chris went into the room with her and held her hand, and he was the first to hold his niece. "Clary named her Sierra, after the country where her father was born, Sierra Leone. She may never know him, but she will know where her heritage came from." "Wow. That's amazing. I can't wait to meet her. Hug Clary for me and tell her congratulations and well done." "I will. It was incredible, holding a newborn like that, fresh out of the womb. I can't wait to have my own kids." "Yeah? I didn't know you want kids." Charlie was surprised. "Of course I do. Family is the most important thing to me. I definitely want to have my own, two or three really." He paused. "You don't want kids?" Charlie shrugged like Chris could see him. "I guess. I don't know. I mean I've always figured I would at some point, but I've never been one to feel like I have to have them, you know? And now that I'm..." he trailed off. Chris laughed. "What? With a man? Men get married and have kids all the time." "I know. Sure. I guess I would leave the decision to my partner, man or woman. I would be fine either way." "Well I have to have them. It's a must for me. This good seed I've been just giving away has to amount to something." Charlie laughed. "So would you be shocked if you had kids out there that you didn't know of?" "Actually no, I wouldn't be shocked and that shameful of me so let's not talk about that. How is it going? Anyone mention my absence yet?" "Only my mum wanted to know where my special friend is. I just said, something came up. Oh and George mentioned something in passing." "Uh-huh and I'm sure my gender didn't come up or the fact that I'm not a wizard?" he said amusingly. "Neither of those things came up because I didn't want to start a conversation without them meeting you first as planned," he said seriously. "We'll take another trip as planned." "No rush, Charlie. I already told you, I'm good with where we are too. No pressure to tell your family. When the time is right, it will reveal itself." "Okay," Charlie said softly. Silence came between them. Chris broke it. "Sleeping alone again." "Yup." Charlie could feel Chris's frustration through the phone. "You're going to jerk off aren't you?" Chris laughed. "Of course! Well, maybe not. I will be on Uncle duty until Clary gets out of the hospital and Rudy's staying downstairs with me." "Good, you'll have no choice but to exercise self control." Chris said, "I'd rather you send me a dick pic so I can lose control tonight," as the door to the pub opened and George looked out to search for him. Charlie looked at his brother and said on the phone, "I gotta go. Kiss the family for me." "So that's a no on the dick pic?" Charlie laughed again. "Goodbye Chris," he said as George walked over to him. "Hey," his brother called, "Everything okay?" Charlie smiled. "Yeah. Everything is great." He patted George on the back and went inside, leaving George with a puzzled look on his face again. ~~~ After fighting about sleeping arrangements, Charlie ended up sharing the third floor bedroom with George. George pulled out a bag of marijuana, "Fresh from the Amazon" and coerced Charlie into lighting up a joint with him. Charlie asked him, "And how are you getting on, Georgie? For real?" George shrugged and puffed. "Keeping busy. Haven't tried to kill myself if that's what your asking." "That's not what I'm asking." He took the joint from George and puffed. He hated George's dark humor now, but he understood it. "How are you keeping busy?" "Work gives me plenty of stuff to do." He looked at Charlie. "Really. I'm okay. The trip cleansed me a bit, gave me a clear head about all that has happened. I've accepted it. I'm moving on. Still practicing Kalenjin. That helps too. It would be nice if people stopped asking me how I'm doing though. That would help tremendously." He took the joint back from Charlie and puffed. "Okay," said Charlie. "I know you well enough to know that when you're ready to talk to me, you will. Just know I love you, unconditionally. Nothing that you could ever say or do will change that." George was silent for a moment. Then said, "My Patronus changed. It's not a magpie." "That was to be expected. What is it?" He didn't answer. Instead he said, "Angelina comes around the shop, a lot." Charlie's eyebrow went up. "Angelina from Hogwarts? Your Quidditch teammate?" George nodded. "Angelina...Fred's girl?" George nodded again. "Okaaay. So...what does that mean?" George fell backwards on the bed. "I didn't fuck her. Quite the opposite, I kind of yelled at her last week, told her I'm not Fred, and if she was hoping I would be some kind of Fred substitute then she's wrong." "And what did she say?" "She bursted into tears and told me to fuck off. That she knew who I was and if I didn't want things to go further that I needed to not be a dick about it and bring up my dead brother." Charlie knew to read between the lines. "Go further than what? You said you didn't fuck her but something happened." He took the joint back and puffed. George paused, then said, "We went on a date about six months ago, right before she went back to Quidditch training. A wonderful fantastic date that ended with her in my bed. We kissed and cuddled, but that was it." Charlie nodded. "And how did that feel. Being with her?" "It felt like...hot mint tea on a winter day. Refreshing. But when I woke up I felt like I was betraying him somehow. We always had a rule that we didn't share girls. I had Katie. He had Angelina. That's the way it was supposed to be." "But he doesn't have Angelina anymore. No one has Angelina anymore innit?" He took the joint back, puffed, then said, "So it's my duty to covet my brother's girl?" George laughed. "I didn't say that. I'm just saying, if it feels right, don't hold back. Life is short." "Yeah. I think we all know that." Charlie got in the bed and put his head on the pillow, then asked, "What does she want?" "I don't know. When she first started coming around she said she just wanted to see how I was doing, and she talked about her and Fred a lot. I was her outlet. But then she slowly stopped talking about him and started telling me about herself, how playing professional Quidditch gave her purpose and all, her family, her life. And we just started connecting. That's what made me ask her out. I wanted to see if it was really something, outside of the one we loved the most dying." "And was it? Something?" He puffed again, then handed it back to George. He was done. "Ugh, I don't know anymore." Charlie knew that was his way of shutting down so he let him. "Well, figure it out. And when you do, don't be a dick about it. Either way. Besides being Freddie's old girl, you two were friends. So treat her like a friend first. Be honest about your feelings and don't lead her on. But also, be honest about your feelings and if it feels right, let it happen naturally." George took a deep drag. "You're just full of relationship wisdom, aren't you?" Charlie smiled. Then George asked, "So, you gonna tell me about this new girl or what?" Charlie hesitated. Then said, "Not yet, George. Let me keep this one close to me just a little while longer, if that's ok." "Yeah. Sure," he said softly. They didn't speak again, both in their own thoughts and quietly drifted to sleep. ~~~ Bill woke up George and Charlie early, then woke up Ron. They went downstairs to Harry's room and jumped on the bed waking him up singing, "Ho Ho! Hey Hey! It's your fucking wedding day ho ho! Hey hey! It's your fucking wedding day!" Harry woke up alarmed, then smiling. "Oh wow! I thought you only did this for family." "You are family, stupid," said George as they settled on the bed around him. "Yeah, but you know what I mean." They had jumped on Bill's bed the same way on the day of his wedding to Fleur. "Nope, we don't," said Bill. "You've been family since the day Ronnie brought you home, like a stray puppy." "Except we should have neutered your arse, before you mounted our little sister," said Charlie threateningly. Harry went bright red. "I...I...did nothing of the sort." Ron snorted. "Yeah, okay." Charlie slammed his hand hard down on Harry's shoulders and he winced but didn't pull away from him. "It's okay, because you are making an honest woman out of her. If you weren't then..." He gave him a knowing look. Harry, still red but fading said, "Believe when I tell you, she is the one making me look good and pure here. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me. You lot are the second best." He took a deep breath. "Thank you for always being there for me. Bill, for always treating me like one of your little brothers since the Triwizard tournament up until now. Charlie, for getting us out of the dragon jam in our first year of Hogwarts with Norbert. George, for getting me into a lot of jams in school, but looking out for me always. Ron, for going with me on the run and helping me defeat Voldemort. I'm so excited to marry Ginny today but I'm also happy that I gained four amazing brothers in the process. Well Ron, mate, you know you've always been like a brother to me, so three more amazing brothers. Four if you count Fred looking out for me from above. I guess what I'm saying is, this is the greatest day of my life, because I'm gaining a family, something I didn't have before and-" George cut him off. "If you don't cut this sappy shit out I'm going to sneak a nosebleed nugget into your mouth later on and you'll have the worst honeymoon ever." Harry grinned widely. ~~~ The wedding went off without a hitch. Ginny wore a pure white lace princess cut wedding dress, holding fresh flowers from the garden. Harry wore white dress robes with a burgundy inside shirt and Gryffindor cufflinks. The bridesmaids wore burgundy strapless babydoll dresses, high in the front and longer in the back, while the men wore black dress robes with a burgundy shirt on the inside, also Gryffindor cufflinks. Bill and Charlie, who both sported ponytails, were forced into a chair right before the wedding as Molly trimmed Bill's 14 inch hair down to 12 and Charlie's 10 inch hair down to 8 and he was barely able to hold it in a ponytail so he shoved it behind his ears. She also gave him some length in the front, which he didn't hate that much. Harry and Ginny exchanged vows, did the magical tie bind and kissed. Then Harry apparated with Ginny on the spot and everyone knew their honeymoon had just started. They returned two hours later just in time for dinner, happy, smiling and holding onto each other as the Weasley sons exchanged looks. Charlie was in conversation with his father, George and Percy about how the ministry could do a better job of tracking illegal breeding of dragons when Chris called. He excused himself and went to the far side of the garden to talk with him. "I have a new baby sister!" Rudy exclaimed, excited to talk to Charlie. "Yeah I heard mate, well done," Charlie encouraged him. "Yeah I got to hold her and feed her and I can't wait to play with her!" Charlie laughed as Chris had to explain baby safety all over again in the background. "He's just excited," Charlie said. "I'm sure Rudy will be the most amazing big brother ever." He could hear Rudy's smile through the phone. "I will be, promise Charlie!" Chris laughed and said, "Go play with toys, let me talk to Charlie for a minute." "Okay bye Charlie!" Rudy called and ran off. "God that kid is cute," Charlie said. "Yeah? Mr. I don't want kids?" "I didn't say I don't want kids, I said I will leave it to my partner to decide. I'm fine either way." "Yeah yeah sure sure," Chris said sarcastically. "Anyway, how is it going? Wedding went off great?" "It was beautiful, yes. No problems at all. Oh and my mum cut my hair so..." "Ho. Lee. Shit. Charlie, take a picture!" he pleaded. Charlie laughed. "No, you'll see it tomorrow." "C'mon. I need a full length picture too, dress robes and all." "Not gonna happen." "Awww you suck!" "Not right now but I will when I get back," he said seductively. "Hmmmm, Charlie you are so lucky Rudy is here or I'd have some words for you." Charlie laughed again and said, "I'll be home tomorrow night. Your place then?" "Well I took a week off to play faux dad so you won't see me in the forest," Chris said. "That's okay, you'll see me in your bed," Charlie said seductively again. "Hmmm... You are testing my resolve here." Charlie laughed for the fourth time. "I fucking miss you, mate." "And Ieeeeee. Miiiiiiisss. Yooooou," Chris sang. They were silent for a moment. Chris broke the silence. "Well I just wanted to check in. Sorry I missed this one. Looking forward to attending another wedding with you next month." "Yes, Vlad and Alexi in the Atrium." The couple asked Chris and Charlie to stand in as their witnesses since no family would be there to attend. They readily accepted. "That should be fun." "Yeah." "I'll call you tonight, before bed. I'm pretty sure George isn't sleeping here tonight, he has been following my bridesmaid Shauna around all day. So I'll have some alone time." "Well I'm looking forward to that as well. Later, Charlie." "Later, Chris." They hung up and Charlie stood there a little while longer thinking about his relationship with Chris and staring into the setting sun. George came over and stood next to Charlie. "Hey, Charlie." "Hey, George." They were silent for a brief moment, then George said, "That picture of your friends in Albania. I just assumed that beautiful Charity was your special friend. But all your calls all weekend have been coming from Chris." He let the words hang in the air. Charlie who kept looking straight ahead said, "Is there something you want to ask me, George?" "Nope," George said, shaking his head. "Because I know you well enough to know that when you want to tell me something, you will. Just know that I'll always be here for you like you've been for me. Unconditional, innit?" Charlie nodded. They stood staring ahead for another moment, then Charlie turned to him and pulled George into a tight hug which he returned. "I love you, Georgie." "I love you too, Charlie." He held him a bit longer, then released his little brother. George said, "I'm going to see Fred." "Wait, before you go, take a picture of me. Well two. One full length and the other a close up of my hair." "Oooh somebody wants to see scruffy Charlie all dolled up huh?" he teased. Then George took Charlie's phone and snapped two pictures, then handed it back to him, before heading down the path to Fred's tree. Bill cornered Charlie the next day before his flight home and told him, "They are planning on sending me to Somalia to investigate a possible curse that is protecting a long lost treasure. I'm going to stop in Albania for a few days before heading on. Or I might just take you with me. We'll see how it goes." Charlie was excited about the plan. He figured that he would introduce Chris to Bill first and see how that went, before introducing him to his family. ~~~~~~~ Charlie stayed at Chris's house for the next week and assisted in getting Rudy ready for school, taking him to and from school every day, and caring for Clarissa while she cared for baby Sierra. He also did a fair amount of diaper changing and rocking during the day while Clary slept or showered. Because Chris missed a week of work and other Rangers were covering for him, he generously spent the next couple of weeks picking up extra shifts here and there for them. One weekend in mid July he picked up a Saturday and Sunday overnight shift. When they arrived at Chris's house that Sunday morning, Charity was walking out with a man Chris had never seen before. The man greeted Chris and Charlie but Chris just glared at him murderously. As soon as he left, Chris exploded on his sister. "Did you really just bring some rando into my house for a quick fuck?" Charity brushed him off. "As many randos that you fucked, you have some nerve." "No Charity, I have never brought a guy I met five minutes ago into my actual living space, you fucking skank!" "Chris..." said Charlie quietly but the siblings ignored him. "Fuck off!" she yelled at Chris. "You think because you are in a relationship now you get to dictate how everyone else is getting off. Fuck you!" "I should slap the shit out of you right now," he said coldly. Charity ran toward him. "I fucking dare you!" Charlie caught her and jumped in the middle. "Okay, hold on now. Let's talk about this like adults." Chris said, "No. If she wants to be unsafe and stupid about who she fucks, then that's on her. I don't give a shit. Just don't bring it to my house." "UNSAFE!" Charity was now screaming at him. "You fucking hypocrite!! You have fucked and sucked your way from Tirana to Maliq! You've fucked everybody and probably still fucking everybody AND Charlie raw for months, who knows how many diseases you've passed to him by now and you're talking about me!" "You fucking bitch, how dare you!" Chris screamed at her back. "All this because I'm a woman! Well if I'm a skank you're the biggest slut bag whore in all of Europe!" Charity broke out of Charlie's hold, ran to her room and threw clothes in a bag, then stormed out without another word to either of them. Chris called out as she reached the door, "Fucking stay out of my place and my life!" She glared at him and then slammed it hard. He brushed past Charlie and went into the bathroom slamming the door. He was beyond pissed at what she did, but even more so at the things she said to him. Charlie sighed and went to the fridge to pull out leftovers from the night before and warmed them up while Chris showered. When Chris was done he went straight into his room and slammed that door as well. Charlie sighed again, and went into the room, sat on the bed and looked at him. Chris was still fuming. He started, "Chris-" Chris cut him off. "Nope. I'm not going there with you. Drop it. All of it." Charlie didn't. "She didn't say anything that I don't already know or care about." Chris glared at him. "For the record, I get tested every six months, for everything and I used protection most of the time unless I was in a relationship obviously. I just didn't the first time with you for some reason..." he trailed off. Charlie said, "Well, the first time wasn't exactly planned. And we just kept going after that, no sense changing it." Chris didn't respond at first as he got dressed. Then he said, "I've been reckless, yes, but I'm not a moron. And either way I'm done with all that. So fuck her for even insinuating that I'm still fucking around. She has no ideas how I feel..." He looked at Charlie. "Charlie, I'm not sleeping-" Charlie put his hand up to stop him. "You don't even have to say it. I'm not worried about that at all. I trust you," he said simply. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. She said some pretty harsh things to you." He touched Chris's arm and Chris sat next to him on the bed. "It's not the first time. I was just mad she went there in front of you." "For the record, I'm not innocent either. I wasn't a virgin when we met you know. Not in the biblical sense," Charlie said, and Chris gave him a wide smile. "I just meant, I spent a year being reckless too. But I'm also not a moron. When George and I got back I made us both get full check ups, the wizarding way and the muggle way." Chris nodded. "We just keep having these adult conversations don't we?" He smiled. "Well it's a good thing we're adults," he smiled back, then leaned in for a kiss. Then Charlie said, "Also, be nicer to your sister." Chris groaned and pulled away. Charlie held his arm, "I just mean that you could have said what you needed to say without being mean and condescending. You are worried about her being unsafe. Tell her that." "Yeah, well that's not going to happen any time soon. Let's go eat." Charlie stayed at the flat while Chris went to work that night. A little after midnight Charlie was laying on the living room couch when he heard the front door open. He came out to see Charity, seemingly drunk in a super short black dress, so short he saw the bottom of her derriere. He quickly averted his eyes. She went straight for the kitchen and started pulling out baking pans. "Hi Chaarrrrrlie!" she purred. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Making brownies!" she said happily. He sat at the table and watched her pull out the ingredients, add it to a bowl and start mixing, talking about her night at a party she just came from. Halfway through adding the cocoa powder, she pulled out a bag of cannabis and emptied at least an ounce into the mixture. "Whoa!" Charlie exclaimed. Charity looked up innocently. "What?" She mixed it all in a blender, added it to the pan and put it in the oven. Then she sat at the table across from Charlie and smiled seductively. "Hi Chaaaaarlie," she sang his name. Shit, Charlie thought. He said to her, "Charity, have you been drinking tonight?" "Yes!" she said happily again. "A lot. And now I'm going to get high." "Aren't you a nurse? I thought medical professionals cautioned against stuff like this." "You have the prettiest blue eyes, do you know that," she answered him with a smile. Bloody hell, Charlie thought. He turned away from her and shook his head. He let Charity ramble on about her job and blokes she have been interested in until the brownies were ready. She took ice cream out of the freezer, cut a slice for each of them and put a scoop on the side of the plate, then sat next to him instead of across from him. Charlie knew there was no way he was eating more than a couple of bites of the brownie but he didn't want to upset her so he pretended, eating more ice cream than anything else. She talked and he watched her eat the first slice, cut another and finish that, then just started eating from the pan. Then she asked out of nowhere, "So Charlie, do you love my brother?" Charlie did not answer, instead took a scoop of ice cream and smiled at her. She "hmpf" at him. "Well, you should be careful. He is incapable of love you know." "I don't think that's true at all," he said. Charity scoffed. "You should run." Charlie laughed. "Yeah? Tell me how you really feel about your brother." She looked up at him with her hazel eyes, then moved her chair closer to him. She rubbed her bare foot along his bare leg and said, "Unless it's only for fun, you're looking for. You can get that anywhere." Charlie said to her, "I thought you don't share men with your brother." "For those baby blues, I'm willing to make an exception." She leaned in to kiss him and Charlie stood up. As she fell over he caught her by her shoulders. "You're wasted. You should go to bed now," he said fatherly. She looked up again and batted her beautiful eyes. "Why don't you put me to bed?" Charlie started laughing. "Okay. Goodnight Charity." He helped her up, took her hand and started leading her toward her room. Right before they got there she reached across and grabbed his soft groin. "Fuck, you are big," she purred again. Charlie let her go and jumped back startled. She laughed hysterically. "You, Charity Jennings, are dangerous," he said seriously. "And you're gorgeous." She started walking towards him, desire in her eyes. Charlie pulled out his wand and said, "Protego!" A blue shield appeared in front of him and Charity walked right into it. She was fascinated. "Wow. What is it?" She kept touching it like it was a wall. Charlie said, "It's a dream, this is a dream and it's time for you to lay down so you can wake up again. Finite Incantatem." The protection spell disappeared and Charlie started a new one, a star shower above her head. Charity was so high it distracted her completely from her mission to fuck him. He led the charm all the way to her bedroom and Charity followed like a puppy. He put stars on her ceiling that were to fade in two hours, and helped her get in the bed. "It's so beautiful," she said softly before drifting off to sleep. The next morning Charity woke up and looked around. She had no recollection of how she got in her bed at Chris's house downstairs, fully dressed in her clothes from the night before. Her head was pounding. She went into the main area and Charlie had made coffee and was trying to make breakfast for Chris. He saw her and automatically handed her a cup and a piece of toast. "Good morning. How did you sleep?" "Ugh. I had the weirdest dream. I found a blue light and followed it to a shooting star and rode the star all night." She sat at the table. Charlie chuckled, "That sounds awesome." "Yeah it was-" She froze. "Charlie how did I get here?" "You came last night, made pot brownies and went to bed," he said matter of factly. "There were...other parts of my dream too." She put her hands to her mouth and her eyes went wide. Charlie waited as the events of last night began to take shape for her. She looked horrified when she finally looked up at him. "Charlie did I...did we...did I try to kiss you?" Charlie kept a straight face. "No. Why?" They stared at each other. Then Charity groaned and put her face in her hands. "Uuuugh I hate the fact that you're such a great guy. So loyal to him and it just makes me feel worse." She looked up at him. "He could never know, okay? Never." "Know what?" he asked innocently as took a sip of his coffee. Charity smiled. "You do love him, don't you?" Charlie just looked at her. Chris should know how he feels before anyone else does. She said, "Well, I said a lot of shit last night. Ignore all of it. Because I know my brother and I'm pretty sure he feels the same about you. For what it's worth." He smiled at her as her words were worth everything to him, as the door opened and Chris came in. Chris smiled at Charlie who he saw first and Charlie handed him a cup of coffee and a kiss. He froze upon seeing Charity at the table. He looked back at Charlie with a frown and said, "What is she doing here?" Charity answered, "Just chatting with the boyfriend. He's a real keeper, Chris." She walked over to him and gave him a hug which he did not return. She said, "I'm sorry about yesterday. It won't happen again." She stood on her tippy toes, kissed his cheek and went back to her room to lay down. Chris watched her walk away and rounded on his lover. "Okay. What happened?" he asked Charlie. Charlie shrugged. "She loves you, mate. You have a great sister." It was all he said. He knew he would go to his grave never telling Chris about the night before. ~~~~~~~ The afternoon of Vlad and Alexi's wedding was a bright and sunny Friday. Vlad spent the night at Charlie's house and Alexi stayed at Jesse's house to get ready. They expected a small number of guests but Vlad was pleasantly surprised when Alexi, Jesse, Ollie and Mateo apparated with all the men from the mission, including Sarah. She had convinced Dale to give the day crew Reservers that wanted to go to the wedding 1 hour off to attend, then they would apparate right back to work. When their shift was over they would come back for the evening festivities. Charlie began introductions. "Hey everyone, meet Chris. Chris, this is Felix, Khalid, Sahid, Jesse, Benji, Romalus, Tommy, Dylan, Grayson, Liam, Jamie, Ollie-" Tommy interjected, "OOOOOH you're the BOYFRIEND!" he yelled a little loudly. Chris smiled, looked at Charlie who said calmly, "Yes Tommy. He's my boyfriend. Got all that now?" "Oh yeah. Sorry, I don't know why I yelled it," Tommy said sheepishly. Felix answered, "Because you're a fucking weirdo, mate. We all know it, and now Chris knows it too." The Reservers laughed. Charlie finished introductions and they all took their places. Vlad and Alexi talked quietly in Russian on the bridge waiting to begin, smiling at each other. Suddenly Lucas apparated with three people that Charlie had never seen. He yelled to Vlad and Alexi, "Vy ne mozhete nachat' tseremoniyu bez nikh!!" Vlad and Alexi were astonished, shouted in Russian and ran to the new attendees to give hugs. Kristoff who was standing close by said, "Lucas said, `You can't start the ceremony without them.' It's their family." Lucas reached out to Demetri, Alexi's oldest brother and told him about the wedding and how much his brother needed him there. Demitri brought his oldest sister Maria, and Maria reached out to Vlad's mother Oksana and convinced her she would be miserable if she did not witness her only son's marriage. Oksana told her son in Russian, "I don't understand, but I didn't understand when you started using magic either. I got used to that. I will get used to this." This brought Vlad to tears as he cried his mother's bosom. His father however did not know she was there. Demetri told them that he never not accepted his brother, he was just shocked that everything happened so fast and he did not know if Alexi wanted him to reach out. But he always thought of Vlad as part of their family, so he was fine with their relationship. Maria said the same, and that Nina, the youngest sister, also supports them as well but they implored her not to come as she was still 16 and underage, and since she and Demetri was well over 21 and already had their inheritance, it was easier for them to defy their parents than she. But she sends all her love and support. They all hugged and cried. Charlie and Chris quickly stepped out of the way as witnesses and allowed their family members to be there for them. Vlad and Alexi took their spots on the bridge in the Atrium as everyone stood and watched them exchange their vows with tears down their faces. Kristoff continued to translate the beautiful words they shared to each other for Charlie and Chris, who held hands throughout the ceremony. Afterwards, the day crew members apparated back to the Reserve to return in two hours for the reception. The ones not working went to the Atrium to help set up while Charlie, Chris, Vlad, Alexi and their family members toured the apartment in the Atrium that they were to move into in two days, then sat around and talked until it was time to head to the Atrium Restaurant. At 7:30pm the guest started arriving again, this time dressed for the party, including Dale on Sarah's arm and Sven who did not attend the wedding. Durmstrang alums, Lucas, Demitri, Romalus, Kristoff and Gideon wore red button down shirts, black slacks and black ties and Benji showed up with cases of imported vodka. Demetri, Alexi's brother, wrote Maggie a huge check to cover the wedding and in anticipation of the destruction that was sure to ensue. Sure enough, almost everyone got ridiculously drunk, especially the Durmstrang boys including Vlad and Alexi, breaking many glasses on purpose to celebrate the occasion and danced on tables singing school songs. Chris and Charlie, who were not drunk, sat at the counter and resumed their typical role of people watching and laughed. As the night went on they thought they lost the newlyweds but Chris spotted them in the corner in a heavy make out session, hands on each other's bottoms without a care in the world who saw them. "I guess they aren't shy about their love anymore. Their dry spell is officially over," Chris sais amusingly. Charlie laughed. "Yeah. It's good though, they deserve to be happy. They are so in love." He smiled at Chris and Chris smiled back. Maggie slid over to them from the other side of the counter. "So, when is the big day for the two of you?" she teased. They both laughed. Charlie said, "Maggie, they are light years ahead of us." "And this is small potatoes for a romantic like Charlie. He's going to need a fanfare proposal before he agrees to marry someone like me." Chris laughed. Charlie feigned being shocked. "What does that mean? I'm a simple guy." "Yeah, okay, mate. You'll want a proposal on the Eiffel Tower with your favorite Quidditch team flying above spelling out the words, Will You Marry Me with stars in the night sky." "Actually, that's a pretty fucking fantastic proposal," Charlie said, making Chris laugh. "So you've thought about this, yeah? "See? You aren't as simple as you think!" "No, that's just because you're too simple, you don't think big enough. We would be patrolling or sitting right here eating breakfast and you'd turn to me and say, `Hey Charlie, marry me, okay?' And I would say `Fuck off, ask me again on the Eiffel Tower." They both laughed again. Maggie said, "Sounds like you guys aren't as far off as you think." She winked and touched both of their shoulders as she walked on. They looked at each other and smiled again, then went back to watching the commotion in front of them. ~~~~~~~ One late August night after patrol, Chris and Charlie were laying around the Tank talking about the pockets of the woods that have yet to be explored. "The Northwestern part of the woods is where the Hunters go for food for the dragons. Wild animals roam that denser part. Actually you should be thanking the Hunters, they've been taking care of your wolf and wildcat problem for decades," Charlie said. "Hmmm... I'm starting to think that's where my tree is," Chris said thoughtfully. "What tree?" "There's this tree that we used to play under as kids," explained Chris. "Ma Ami used to take us there to play under the tree. Sis would splash in the river and Clary would lay on the grass with mum talking about whatever boy trouble she was having at the moment, and I would play clubhouse under the leaves. I loved that tree. We were always so happy there. It's like a cross between a weeping willow and a Japanese cherry tree. There is no other tree like it in all of Verdan." "Chris..." he said softly Chris didn't hear him, lost in his own thoughts. "When I started working in the woods I tried to find it again but either I was looking in the wrong place or someone cut it down or maybe it died. I know I should let it go but I just can't." Charlie sat up and looked at him. "It's near a river, you say? Where the river meets the bottom of the mountain? Huge boulders all around?" Chris looked up at him. "Yeah...have you seen it? You know where it is?" "Of course. It's near the Reserve. And it's one of ours, it's a Motus Willow." Chris slowly sat up too. "Are you serious, Charlie?" "Yes!" said Charlie excitedly. "I pass it all the time. It's probably a mile north of the Reserve entrance." "It can't be," Chris said. "I've looked all around there. It's not there." Charlie was thoughtful. "Yes...But if you looked for it when you first got here, the charm would have stopped you from getting too close. Because the river leads to an entrance into the mountains, that will lead you right into the Reserve." "What charm?" "Muggle Repellum. I believe they expanded it that way about 20 years ago, because any person could fall into the river and have it take them into dangerous territory. So that makes sense, that you played there as a kid, but you couldn't find it as an adult. But I blocked that charm from you ages ago. There is nothing to stop you from going there now." Chris stared at Charlie. He wanted to go right now. Charlie read his mind. "C'mon, mate. Let's go see your tree." They started walking as if they were going to the Reserve, but then Charlie kept going further north, to the small wooden bridge over the creek that led to the river. They crossed it and went down a small slope. Chris remembered this slope vividly and started walking faster ahead of Charlie, like on autopilot. He gasped when he saw the leaves at first. They were pink as they usually are in the summer, white in the winter. The closer he got, the more emotional he got and by the time he pushed the long leaves aside and stepped under the Motus Willow he was flooded with emotions and was crying. He remembered playing hide and seek with Charity; his mother making a lei out of the leaves and wrapping them in it; playing with his toy soldiers along the side of the tree and the roots; the day Clary said, "let's take pictures so we'll never forget the best time of our lives"; but most importantly he remembered his mother. By the time Charlie caught up, Chris was laughing and crying as memory after memory overwhelmed him. "This is it Charlie! This is my tree!" He hugged and kissed him, then ran around the tree a few times like a little kid. Charlie, who was also feeling emotional, tried not to let it overwhelm him, as he knew it was the tree expounding on emotions that were already there. Chris suddenly came around to the side of the three and started digging between two roots with his bare hands. Charlie watched Chris pull out a metal tin Superman lunchbox. He let out a moan and started crying even more. "Charlie look! It's still here!" he cried. He opened the box and there were some rocks, a game of jacks, toy soldiers that looked like they were preserved for 20 years, and two pictures. Chris let out a sound that was a cross between joy and pain. He stood up and pushed the tin box for Charlie to hold, and held both pictures to his chest. He leaned on the tree, closed his eyes and cried openly. "Ma Ami. Ma mere, mère, mère pourquoi m'as-tu laissé derrière, pourquoi ne m'as-tu pas emmené avec toi? je suis si perdu sans toi, si perdu si perdu..." Chris was speaking french so fast that Charlie only made out one word: ma mere, my mother. He did not need to know the words to know that Chris was grieving and talking to her. Before he could catch himself, his own eyes welled up with tears and he brushed them away. He leaned on Chris's shoulder and let him grieve. After a few moments he said to Charlie, "She's here, Charlie. Can you feel her? I can. I can hear her laugh. It's like she never left me." Charlie grabbed Chris's other hand and held it tightly, brushed more tears from his eyes. Chris opened his and looked at Charlie. He gave him a sad smile and wiped Charlie's tears as well. Then he showed Charlie the pictures. The first was a picture of a six year old Chris smiling with all his teeth and a woman kneeling next to him kissing his cheek. The picture was taken where they are now, except they had on heavy coats and the leaves were white. The second was a full length picture of his mother, not quite as young as the picture of her and her husband on Chris's mantle, but still fairly young. She was standing in front of Chris's house, with a soft smile and kind eyes. "She is so beautiful," Charlie said, and he meant it. "The most beautiful woman in the world. No one could ever compare." He sniffed. "She took a single picture with all of us this day. Both of my sisters have theirs, but I buried mine here along with the one of just her, thinking I would never lose it. When she died I went crazy trying to find this tree and this picture. I figured because of my grief I couldn't think straight to remember where it was. But now I know. And now I have her back." He let a few more tears drop as he looked at the picture. "Ma Ami," he said softly. Charlie wiped his own tears again then reached over to wipe Chris's. "You don't know what you've done for me, Charlie. You've given her back to me. Thank you," Chris said sincerely. "Of course," Charlie said softly. "This was nothing. But I would do anything for you, you know. Anything." He wiped Chris's tears again. Chris looked into his eyes and again he was flooded with emotions, but this time they were all for Charlie. He leaned in and kissed him passionately, pushing the box out of Charlie's hands and pulling at his work uniform. Charlie kissed him back unable to stop himself. Chris got the top half of his work jumper off his shoulders to his waist. He licked Charlie's neck and bit his nipples through his shirt, then kissed him again. As Chris moved back to his neck, Charlie found a small bit of resolve. "Chris...Chris wait..." he tried. "Shut up Charlie." Chris stopped pawing at him and looked into his eyes. "Shut the fuck up." Charlie stared back at him and knew he lost this battle the moment he stepped under this tree with his lover. He grabbed his neck and put his tongue in his mouth. Chris yanked the rest of Charlie's uniform to his ankles with his shorts and boxers, fell to his knees and took his entire dick in his mouth with one motion. Charlie moaned louder than he intended and held Chris's head as he deep throated him easily in six quick sessions. Chris came up with a loud popping sound, then licked and sucked his balls, licked back up to the head, then deep throated again. Charlie could not stop moaning and barely noticed as Chris used both hands to zip down his zipper and take off his pants. Chris knew he had no lube on him so he made himself gag a few times while deep throating and spit on himself, using the slimy saliva to coat his dick. He did this a few more times pulling Charlie to the edge of ejaculating but instead stood up and turned Charlie around. He spit a few more times on himself until his dick was dripping in saliva, then thrusted inside. Charlie grunted but didn't stop him, instead held onto the tree in front of him. Chris held onto Charlie's waist at first, as he kept thrusting into him as if he was trying to put his whole body inside of him. Charlie could feel Chris's emotions and it overwhelmed him again. He took one of Chris's hands off his waist and pulled it toward his chest so he could lace their fingers. He tried not to make any noises himself, he wanted to feel and hear all of how Chris felt about him in that moment. Chris was here and then he wasn't. It was an out of body experience for him, and he felt euphoric. He licked Charlie's neck and tasted the sweat on him. He could smell the shampoo they used earlier today on his hair. He could feel how tightly Charlie held him, as if he would never let him go. He could hear the sounds of him thrusting into Charlie, his thighs hitting his arse. And although his eyes were closed, he could see them, against the tree, his tree, becoming one, the leaves gently swaying around them, encouraging them. When he finally came, he moaned the whole time; he felt light and thought he was going to fly away with how amazing it felt to empty out and fill Charlie up. And before he could stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth, he leaned on Charlie's back and said, "I love you." Then he gasped. He felt Charlie freeze so he froze as well and no one spoke. Then Chris slowly eased out of Charlie and took a few steps back, tripping over his pants that were still around his ankles and fell to the ground with a thump. Charlie turned around and sat down at the base of the tree, his face unreadable, neutral. Chris averted his eyes and started pulling up his pants. Charlie stopped him. "No, don't. Come here," he said. Then Charlie removed one pant leg and boot and slid down a little, the root of the tree as his pillow. He motioned with his fingers for Chris to come over and he started stroking his dick. Chris removed both boots and pants silently and crawled over. Still avoiding Charlie's eyes, he deepthroat his dick a few more times, creating more saliva. When it was glistening in spit, he straddled him and lowered himself down slowly, taking all of Charlie's 9 inches in. Charlie held onto Chris's waist as Chris began to move. When Chris finally looked at him they locked eyes they could not turn away from each other. He could almost hear Charlie say to him, "come for me." Chris rode Charlie like he always did, moving circular, then back and forth, bringing himself to orgasm. But something felt different this time, almost spiritual, as they became one. They moved together rhythmically, and Chris started moaning as the waves came. He put both hands on Charlie's broad chest and managed to close his eyes despite Charlie's intense glare. Charlie then started touching other parts of Chris's body, his chest, his nipples, his stomach, his arms, his thighs as Chris began to tighten around his cock. Chris did not understand why this orgasm was so intense, but he felt his whole body tremble as he climaxed, wave upon wave upon wave bringing tears to his eyes and moaned and hollered like he had never before. At the height of Chris's orgasm, Charlie released with a low "hmmmm" and warmed Chris up with his cum on the inside, as Chris exploded simultaneously on Charlie's chest like he did not come hard a mere 15 minutes before. And as Chris slowed down to stop and his breathing returned to normal, he heard Charlie say, "I love you too." Chris opened his eyes and looked at Charlie, who was still staring at him intently. He lifted himself up to remove Charlie from inside of him, but sat back down in his lap, resting his legs on either side of him as Charlie sat up and wrapped his arms around his back to pull him closer. "I think I've known for a while now," he said quietly. "A few weeks. Maybe months." He let his words sink in for Chris as he held him, and they did. "You love me," Chris whispered. He looked down at Charlie's chest. "I do. How could I not?" Charlie said with a clear voice. "You're the most incredible person I have ever known. Everything about you is incredible. I love your passion for everything. I love that you make me laugh, even during the most inappropriate times. I love your serious face and your excited face. I love how intelligent you are and empathetic you are. I love how silly and immature you get when I make you act like an adult." Chris laughed a little. "I am in love with you, Christopher. I don't know what I was doing before you came into my life, but you are my whole life. And you're my future. And I can't imagine any future that doesn't involve me loving you as much as I do right now. You are my future." Chris's tears started flowing again and Charlie touched his face. "I love you so fucking much, Chris. So fucking much." "You know something, Charlie?" Chris started. He looked into Charlie's eyes through his tears, "I'm going to love you forever. I'm not kidding. I fucking love the shit out of you. And I'm going to love you for eternity and then three days after that. I'm going to marry you and give you Chris-looking children and we're going to settle right here in Albania and be a fat, happy gay couple or we won't have any kids at all and we'll travel the world and all the countries in Africa that have Wizarding villages and learn how to do unconventional magic with our feet." Chris said in one breath and Charlie laughed. "Whatever you want to do, as long as I get to love you and be with you while doing it. I love you, Charlie. I really, really do." Charlie said, "Why not both? Why don't we have Chris-looking kids and travel through Africa with them? So we both get what we want." They kissed again and held each other. Then Chris said, "So what do we do first?" "Well first, we get our arses off this grass." They both laughed. "Then we go to your place and make love again." "No yours," Chris said. "No distractions." They kissed again, slowly. "Then I stop playing around and tell my family," Charlie said. "Starting with Bill, who will be here in two days." "Okay," Chris said softly. He tapped Chris's leg so he could get off him and they started putting on their clothes. When dressed, Charlie picked up the lunchbox. "Do you want to keep this?" he asked. "No. Let's bury it again. I have what I needed." He put the pictures in his pocket and buried the lunchbox where it was. Chris then stood up and said, "Say it again." Charlie smiled. "I love you." Chris came closer and kissed his face. "Say it again." Charlie laughed. "Why do I have to be the one to keep saying it?" "Because I said it first and you'll never let me live that down so now you have to say it more times than me." "Fair enough," Charlie laughed. "I am ridiculously, unequivocally, unreasonably in love with you, Chris Jennings." Chris smiled widely, then kissed his cheek again. As they walked back to the Tank hand in hand, Charlie explained what a Motus Willow does. "It enhances your emotions so whatever you are feeling, it expounds on it ten times more." "So that's why I couldn't stop crying," Chris deduced. "Right. Your happiness about finding the tree was elation, but your sadness about your mother brought full on grief like it happened yesterday." "And then I felt immense passion for you." He smiled. Charlie smiled back. "Enough passion to tell me you love me. First," he teased him. Chris shoved him a bit with his shoulder. "I didn't stand a chance." Charlie laughed. "So was it lust or love? Was it all real or just what we feel in that moment?" They had reached the parking lot and Charlie pulled Chris under the lamp post where they first kissed. He took both of Chris's hands. "I meant every word of what I said under that tree. If I could remember it all verbatim, I would say it again, right here where it all started. I am in love with you, Chris. That is real." Chris smiled. "You said it first outside of the tree so this should count as the first one." Charlie punched him playfully in the arm making him laugh. "Well I remember everything I said and I could tell you verbatim but I'd rather show you." He wrapped his arms around Charlie's neck and said, "I'm going to love you forever, Charles Weasley, and three days after that. You're my best friend, my lover, my everything." And they kissed slow and long under the lamp post.