Over the next few weeks Venice found herself spending a lot of time at Charlie’s. Tom had rented him out the largest room when Charlie had told him he’d be staying indefinitely, and it was quite interesting to help Charlie unpack. She’d had to stifle a laugh when she’d found the box labeled “Quidditch”, and discovered it to be full of children’s books and stuffed animals.
Solemnly, she’d handed that box to Charlie without revealing that she’d opened it. She hadn’t seen the box since and was under a good suspicion that he’d hidden it in the hopes that she’d never see it.
They had dinner at the Burrow almost every night, ending the evenings more often than not with long talks as they sat, curled in each other’s arms, on her sofa.
It was getting hard to imagine a life without Charlie.
The Weasleys insisted that Venice bring her parents along for dinner one night, and inwardly Venice cringed, imagining all the things that could go wrong.
Thankfully, nothing did.
Her parents laughed until they cried at the antics of Fred and George. Arthur and her father, Peter, had a lively conversation during dinner about carburetors and spark plugs. Venice was quite certain that most of the conversation went over Arthur’s head, but Peter was very patient, not minding at all when he had to repeat himself. Molly took an instant liking to her mother, Sandra, and the two women were fast friends by the time the evening drifted to a close.
Venice escorted her parents back to their house alone, waiting with baited breath for her parents to tell her what they’d thought of both the Weasley’s and of Charlie.
But it wasn’t until she opened the door to leave, her mother at her heels, that either of her parents said a word about the evening.
She’d turned to give her mother a hug, and Sandra had pulled her closer than usual.
“We love Charlie,” she whispered in her daughter’s ear, “and we loved the Weasleys. You’ll tell them, won’t you?”
Wordlessly, Venice nodded, too stunned to speak. Sandra smiled at her, her eyes twinkling, and her own lips had formed a smile in response.
She’d Apparated home then, so distracted that she walked right by Charlie in the hall outside her door without even noticing him.
He’d cleared his throat to get her attention, causing her to jump half a mile and let out a startled sort of gasp.
“Are you all right?”
She bent to retrieve her keys from where she’d dropped them.
“I’m fine, just thinking.”
She glanced up at him, unable to hold back the smile she could feel lurking at the corners of her mouth.
“What are you thinking about?”
They stepped inside her flat; Charlie shut the door quietly behind them and pulled her into the living room.
She let him flop onto the sofa and pull her down onto his lap before she answered his question.
“Mum and I were talking after I took them home. My parents absolutely loved your family, and they were very impressed with you.”
“Well, that’s good news. I was a little worried about meeting your father, to be quite honest. I had this vision in my head of this huge giant, waiting to beat me up if I should fumble this relationship in any way at all.”
She had to laugh at that.
“My da wouldn’t beat you up even if you DID hurt me. He knows I’m a dab hand at hexes.”
“Are you saying you would hex me?”
She shrugged innocently.
“If the situation called for it...”
She deliberately let her sentence hang. She let out a shriek a moment later as Charlie’s fingers descended upon her sides and started tickling.
She went limp, sliding out from beneath his arms and landing in a heap on the floor. Jumping up, she made a mad dash for the kitchen, brandishing a wooden spoon at Charlie as he followed her.
He laughed loudly when he saw her choice of weapon.
“What are you going to do, hex me with a spoon? Ah, Venice, here I thought you were smart...”
She whipped the spoon at his head; he dodged the missile agilely and darted across the room, nearly catching her as she slipped around the table, trying to keep as much space between them as possible.
“You’re going to find yourself minus an eye, Weasley!”
“Bring it, Moon!”
She let him get a few steps closer and then launched herself at him, knocking him to the floor.
She kissed him hard, rubbing her lips over his until he moaned.
“Oh, I’ll bring it, Weasley.”
He silenced her with another kiss.
~~~
Another month passed; Charlie had practically moved into her flat. He spent more time with Venice than he did at work or anywhere else. Not that she was complaining, of course. She hated to be away from him. Even going to work was hard, knowing that she’d only get to see him at the end of the day. Gringotts frowned on its employees taking long lunches to be with their girlfriends, a policy she and Charlie both hated.
Fred and George teased her to no end every time she left work early, unable to stand being without Charlie for another moment, but she knew they were both secretly happy their brother had finally found someone.
Being with Charlie was as easy as breathing. They were made for each other, were destined for each other, and she was only too happy to oblige destiny by being with him as much as possible.
She’d even toyed with the idea of asking Charlie to move in, but something held her back. Embarrassment, perhaps, or the inability to squelch the last unreasonable bit of fear that he would say no.
One Monday morning, Charlie Apparated to her flat bright and early. Venice was still in bed, enjoying the peace of the early morning. Seeing Charlie poke his head through her open bedroom door made her feel like singing.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered, padding across the floor to slip beneath the covers beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, pressing kisses to her hair.
She snuggled against him.
“What are you doing here so early, Charlie?”
“I needed to talk to you. I had a bit of a chat with the twins last night; you don’t have to go to work today.”
She twisted around, trying to see his face.
“You’re joking! It’s Monday; it’s always busy, they’ll need me!”
Charlie shook his head firmly.
“Not today, they don’t. The only things I want you to do today are to take a long, hot, bubble bath, and relax, and then you’re meeting me at my place for dinner at five-thirty.”
“Why am I taking the day off? If you’re taking me out for dinner, you know the twins will let me out of work early.”
Charlie sighed, his eyes twinkling at her.
“You don’t give up, do you? I don’t want you going anywhere near work today, Venice. That’s an order. Just relax. Take the day and do whatever you want, for as long as you want. You deserve it.”
Frowning at him, trying to figure out the motives behind his actions, she finally nodded.
He chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose.
“That’s better. I didn’t want to have to hex you, but I would have if you hadn’t agreed.”
She shoved him playfully.
“You’re such an ogre! You’d hex your own girlfriend?”
“Maybe if she wasn’t always so stubborn...”
She tried to roll away but he held her fast, turning her in his arms so he could kiss her properly.
Ogre or not, it was hard to be mad when he made her heart race like that.
~~~
When Charlie had finally left for work, Venice rolled out of bed, wrapped herself in her robe, and headed to the kitchen, intent on a long, leisurely breakfast.
When she rounded the corner she froze in mid-step.
Her kitchen table, and half the counters, were covered in flowers of every shape, size, and type imaginable.
An envelope was propped against the front-most bouquet on the table, bearing her name in large, bold lettering so she wouldn’t overlook it.
Smiling broadly, thinking of ways she was going to repay the most fabulous boyfriend in the history of the world, she moved forward and picked up the envelope.
The fold of paper inside was surprisingly thick. Her curiosity peaked and she unfolded it slowly. At the top of the first paper, written again in bold letters, was the heading “A flower for every reason I love you”. Her eyes flicked down the page and her mouth fell open.
- Your gorgeous eyes
- Your sexy smile (Yeah, I said sexy)
- The way your eyes sparkle when you laugh
- How you always smell bloody amazing...
The list went on and on; she flipped the first page over, shocked to see that the list continued there, and on the next page, and the next, and the next. Her heart fluttered madly in her chest and her legs threatened to collapse beneath her. She grasped for the nearest chair and lowered herself into it, staring around the room with eyes that were suddenly filled with tears.
It was almost too good to be true...
She gasped suddenly, the pieces clicking into place.
Charlie, getting her the day off and telling her to pamper herself.
Charlie, filling her kitchen with flowers.
Charlie, writing her the sweetest, longest, most ridiculous note she’d ever laid eyes on.
Charlie, taking her out to dinner tonight.
She clapped a hand over her mouth, the tears flowing in earnest now. Was it completely idiotic to cry when you were so insanely happy?
She pushed herself out of the chair, a stupid grin plastered on her lips now.
Her plans for a leisurely breakfast went completely out the window as a new idea formed. She rushed through breakfast, barely tasting the sausages she stuffed hurriedly into her mouth.
After a quick shower, she carefully slid the numerous pages of Charlie’s note back into the envelope, sticking the whole thing into the back pocket of her jeans. Her first stop of the day was the Burrow, and she knew Ginny would want to read it.
She almost made it out the door before she realized she was wearing two completely different shoes. Laughing at herself for having her mind so completely on other things, she quickly traded them for a pair that matched, put up the wards on her flat, and Apparated straight into the Burrow’s kitchen.
For the first time ever, the room was completely empty. For a moment she stood in the middle of the floor, listening, and the sound of voices drifted in from the living room. She darted in that direction, praying silently that Ginny was home.
And Ginny was; she was the first person Venice spotted as she rounded the corner. She was sitting on the floor, playing Exploding Snap with Ron, and she jumped when Venice burst into the room.
“Ginny, I need to talk to you!” she gasped. Ginny turned around and raised an eyebrow.
“Is something wrong?” she asked when she’d gotten a good look at Venice’s face. Venice wasn’t sure what her expression was, but Ginny immediately rose to her feet and took her friends’ arm.
“Ron...I’ll have to finish this later...”
He nodded silently, watching them go with a smirk that clearly said he thought they were both crazy.
Once in the safety of Ginny’s room, Venice pulled the envelope from her pocket and thrust it into Ginny’s hands.
“Read it! Just read it.”
Hesitantly, Ginny slid the papers out and unfolded them. Venice watched her eyes moved as she scanned down the page. She let out a low gasp when she’d gotten to the bottom of the page.
“Venice, what’s going on?”
Venice shrugged a shoulder, unable to keep the sudden smile from her face.
“This morning Charlie comes into my room and tells me he’s talked the twins into giving me the day off, and that the only thing I’m allowed to do is lounge around and ‘pamper myself’, as he put it. And then when I get up and go into the kitchen, my kitchen is filled with flowers! I barely had space to make my breakfast! I have to meet him at his place for dinner tonight, and Ginny, unless I’ve completely lost my mind...I think Charlie’s going to propose!”