I'll Take Care of You

It was almost 6:30 when Percy finally apparated into the front yard of the Burrow. His hair was messy and his usually neat and tidy robes were askew and a bit travel-dirty.

"Mum, Dad, I'm home," he called as he hung up his cloak and set down his briefcase in the kitchen.

"Bit late tonight, eh, dear?" Molly answered from the sitting room. "Dinner is on the stove, I've kept it warm for you."

Percy carried his dinner plate into the sitting room and settled himself near the fire. He ate quietly, a million things going through his mind. His mother knew her son well enough to know when something was going on. She also knew him well enough to know that he probably wasn't going to tell her what it was.

"Too bad you missed lunch today, Perce, it was quite nice. However, these things happen. We'll just make it up next week, right?" Arthur mused as he pored over a copy of Popular Mechanics, his favorite Muggle magazine. He glanced up at Percy quickly, looking for a reaction. He had already mentioned to Molly what had happened that afternoon. Percy had said he would be busy with work though when Arthur had taken him a sandwich around 1pm, Percy's secretary told him that Percy had owled in saying that he wouldn't be in to work at all that day.

A reaction came, but it was not exactly what the Weasleys were expecting. With a great sigh, Percy laid down his fork and looked seriously at his parents. He had been preparing this speech for the last hour and a half and knew that it was now or never. He stood up slowly.

"Mum, Dad...listen. I'm 21 years old and I've been out of school for two years, but I still feel like a child. It's not that I don't love you and don't appreciate everything you do, but it's time for me to grow up. I am going to move out of the Burrow, no, don't argue, it won't do any good. I've already put a deposit and a couple months rent on a little flat in London. It's close to the ministry and it's not that expensive," Percy said all this very quickly, his cheeks reddening yet again.

Arthur looked at his son with mixed emotions. Pride, yes, and wonder at the suddenness of this announcement. "So that's where you were today," he mumbled quietly.

Tears shone in Molly's eyes as she gazed at her "little boy". Something tremendous had happened to Percy she knew. She knew not by the announcement that he was moving out, but by the outpouring of emotion that he had spoken with just now. She hadn't heard him speak that many words, with any emotional attachment in years. Percy wasn't quiet; he just usually limited his conversations to work, school, and politics, never anything personal. She could only hope that whatever had happened had been good.

"Well?" Percy's voice had gone much quieter and he asked this with a bit of apprehension. For some reason, they had never discussed his moving out of the house. In fact, it hadn't even occurred to Percy until that afternoon.

Molly smiled at her tall, lanky son, "Well, Percy, we will miss you greatly around here, but if this is what you need to do, then we certainly can't object. You are an adult and you make enough at the ministry to support yourself now."

"Right, and we have so much extra furniture laying around here that I'm sure we can get you furnished right off, you shouldn't have to buy much to get you started. Why don't we head out to the shed and see what we can find? I'm pretty sure that that old sofa is still useable, and there are some end tables, and I think there are enough chairs to make a dining set..." Percy and his mother listened to Arthur trail off as he headed out the door. This was his usual way of dealing with awkward moments-just jump right in and start an activity, that way you didn't have to talk about it.

Percy sat back down and looked expectantly at his mother. He knew that she would ask. At least she hadn't been upset that he was moving out. The last thing that Percy wanted to do was to upset his mother.

"Percy?" she asked quietly, "Is something going on? You know you can tell me or your father anything."

"Um, well, no, not really, I just got to thinking today that it was about time for me to move out and start living my own life. Please don't think it's something that you've done. You and Dad are fantastic, really. I just have to do this for myself right now."

"I didn't think you would tell me, but it was worth a shot asking." Her eyes fell on the plate in front of Percy. He hadn't eaten much at all and she knew telling him or even asking him wouldn't do any good. Percy's eating habits bothered Molly. The rest of her boys ate like there was no tomorrow, but Percy hardly ever even finished a plate.

Percy followed her gaze and knew what she was thinking. "Mum, dinner was great, really. I.... I'm just not hungry. I have a lot on my mind."

He carried his dishes to the kitchen and Molly listened to him washing up and then trudging upstairs to his room. To her surprise, he returned a few minutes later, with his hair combed and wearing clean robes. She looked up from knitting a maroon sweater to watch him gaze at the clock. He looked down at her needlework and broke into a large grin. "Ron's?" he asked. She nodded, counting quietly as she added stitches. "Just to let you in on a little secret, mum, Ron hates maroon. Maybe you could make him a blue sweater or something. He'd be thrilled."

Molly looked disgruntled by this announcement, however, she returned Percy's smile and started looking for blue yarn in her knitting supplies. "I really wish you boys would tell me these things. Between you and Ron, I never know what is going on. At least with you I usually know you aren't in trouble. With Ron, I am always afraid his silence means that he and Harry are up to their old tricks again." Suddenly, her face grew pale. "Percy, you aren't in trouble, are you? I mean, you would tell Dad and I if you were, right?"

"Mum, no, I'm not in trouble! It's fine, really," Percy settled himself on the sofa and contented himself with watching his mother who had gone back to her knitting after giving Percy an appraising look. They sat in silence for awhile, listening to the occasional bang and curse coming from the shed where Arthur was trying to accio some furniture out.

"Well, I think I might go for a walk or something, " stated Percy as he stood up. "Or maybe...hey, Dad said that my friend Oliver was hurt, maybe I should go over to St. Mungo's and visit him." Percy tried to sound as casual as possible, but he wasn't sure he was very convincing.

Molly was counting stitches and mumbled something that sounded like, "Okay, don't stay out too late."

Percy grabbed his cloak and was out the door almost instantly. This time he didn't hesitate outside of the hospital. He headed straight for Oliver's room. Arriving, he noticed that Oliver looked somehow better. Maybe it was the lighting in the room, but his skin looked brighter, healthier. He was still in a coma, although he appeared to be sleeping so peacefully. Percy was sure that a smile was definitely turning up those full, pouty lips now.

"See Ol, I told you I'd come back to see you tonight" Percy whispered as he took his now familiar place on the bed. "I just had some things I had to do this afternoon and it's all good now." He launched into a detailed description of what he had done and how he had found his new home. Oliver got a full description of the little two bedroom flat. Percy told him how he planned to decorate each room and what he was going to do with it. "Wow," he thought, "I've already planned my decorating scheme, I must be gay..."

His stomach lurched as the realization hit him. Molly Weasley's excellent dinner almost ended up in the bedside garbage can. Here he was, holding the hand of the man he was desperately in love with, planning his new life and he admitted to himself, for the first time, that he was gay. The idea had never crossed his mind. Yes, he knew he loved Oliver, but for some reason, Percy had never made the connection. Suddenly all the pieces fell into place. He had never been attracted to Penny, at least not in the way the average 16-year-old boy should have been. Girly magazines had never done a thing for him. And the kicker, he was hopelessly in love with another man.

Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, he gazed down at his Oliver. God, the man is in a coma, and I'm laying claim to him! I guess all I can do now is hope that Oliver is gay as well. He did kiss me that time, although that could have just been emotions running high from graduation.

"Ol, you better wake up soon, before I lose my resolve to tell you what you need to know."

Moonbeams played across the floor and then across the Quidditch player's face as he lay there. Percy sat watching him sleep. He had fallen into a deep reverie. A single scene from their school days kept playing through his mind. It was in the fall of their seventh year. They had lain awake in their beds very late one night, talking about their future. Oliver, always so confident, was sure that he would get a great, high paying contract with a pro team. He never questioned it. Percy, on the other hand, was nervous about graduation. What if the ministry didn't want him, what if he couldn't find a job? He wasn't sure what he would do or where he would go if he couldn't find work after Hogwarts. A bit embarrassed, he had told Oliver all this. It was what Oliver said that Percy couldn't get out of his head. Oliver had sat up in his bed and looked straight at Percy. Although his tone had been light and cheery, he had been dead serious when he looked into Percy's eyes and said, "No matter what, Perce, I'll take care of you, don't you worry about it. If you can't find a job, it'll be fine, I'll make enough for both of us, I'll take care of you." Then he had lay down and gone to sleep without giving it another thought. Percy doubted that his friend remembered he had ever even said it, but it had meant a lot to him. That someone outside his family would even say that completely amazed him. Moreover, Oliver didn't say things that he didn't mean. He was a true and wonderful friend.

"He would take care of me, he really would," thought Percy, fiddling with the Puddlemere crest ring on Oliver's index finger.

"Uh, sir, visiting hours are over, you'll need to say goodnight, " a young witch with long blonde hair chirped as Percy jumped, badly startled. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to scare you!", she called as she headed off down the hall.

"Oliver, I have to go, they are kicking me out. I'll...well, I'll see you soon. Maybe next time I see you, you'll be awake. Please? I really have to get this off my chest and telling you that I love you when you are unconscious is not really cutting it. Goodnight". He bent to give those perfect lips a kiss and was just straightening up when the blonde nurse reappeared.

"Sir?"

"Oh, sorry, I'm coming"

She took his elbow and guided him towards the elevator. Outside the air had gotten very cold and Percy realized that he had left his cloak in Oliver's room. Too many thoughts, memories, and dreams swirled through his brain for him to feel safe apparating home, so he started walking.

The wind whipped and blew his robes around his thin body and he was shivering from the cold by the time he arrived back at the burrow, although Percy hardly felt it. There was a large stack of furniture sitting near the back door. It had been covered with rain repelling shields to protect it from the weather. He slipped in quietly so as not to wake his parents. They were usually in bed early and it was quite late. To his surprise, his father was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and his Popular Mechanics.

"How's Oliver?" he asked, not taking his eyes from the magazine.

"He's still unconscious, but the doctor said that he would probably be fine." Percy answered through his chattering teeth.

Arthur looked up at him then and saw the pale skin and blue lips of his son. He suddenly became very alarmed. He usually let Molly do the worrying, but this was too much. "Perce, are you sure everything is okay? You've just acted a bit strangely this evening. Get you some tea and we'll talk while you warm up."

"No thanks Dad. I'm fine, really. Actually very fine, but I'm tired. I'm just gonna go to bed. Thanks for digging out that furniture for me." He offered a wan smile and went up to his room.

As he drifted into a peaceful, deep sleep, he realized that he hadn't been lying to his father. He was fine. He was in love and knew exactly he had to do. He had to take care of Oliver.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday morning dawned bright and sunny. Percy rolled over in bed and stretched. It took him a minute to figure out why he was in such a good mood. He lay in bed thinking about Oliver for a minute. The deep hazel eyes, pouty lips, the thick dark hair. The way that his robes blew in the wind when he was flying, accentuating his muscular chest and thick arms. His laugh and his voice. Oh, what Percy wouldn't give to hear that gorgeous baritone voice rumble, "I love you, Percy." Percy's imagination ran amok with all sorts of fantasy scenes while he lay in bed, gazing out the window at the sapphire sky of autumn.

He was thinking about Oliver's legs and how sexy they were, when Molly called up the stairs, "Percy, dear, breakfast is ready!"

"Thanks mum," he mumbled, rolling out of his warm cozy bed. He showered quickly and dressed in hunter green robes. As he combed his hair the mirror muttered sleepily that it looked like he needed a haircut.

Downstairs at his place was a huge stack of French toast. It was his favorite. The elation of coming to terms with his life had made Percy ravenous and he wolfed the entire plate of toast in minutes. Molly was thrilled and promised to make him French toast every day if he would eat that much. Percy chuckled lightly and said, "Thanks, mum, that would be great."

As he reached for his cloak, he remembered that it was still at the hospital. Well, maybe he could stop in at lunch and get it. Percy kissed Molly on the cheek and called "Goodbye" up the steps to Arthur, who was still trying to pick out the most "Muggle-ish" outfit he could for a meeting that afternoon. With a bounce in his step Percy apparated right out of the kitchen and right into his office at the Ministry of Magic. His secretary, Louisa looked up, startled, as Percy usually apparated to the lobby and walked into the office.

"Good Morning, Louisa," he greeted her absently, not even noticing that she jumped as he appeared.

"Good Morning, Mr. Weasley, I've put all your mail in your inbox. I trust you got everything sorted out yesterday. I told Mr. Fudge that you would be in today. He wanted to speak with you. Didn't say what it was about, though," Louisa recovered from her surprise to give him the daily report. Percy walked right past the woman. She frowned. She tried very hard to please Percy. She knew that without him standing behind her, she would have been fired with the rest of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. They were the only two that remained from a year ago.

Percy got right to work. He sent owls, reviewed reports, and started on the newest report for his boss, Mr. Longfellow. Mr. Longfellow had taken Mr. Crouch's place after his untimely death. He had liked Percy's work so much that he kept him in the department and relied quite heavily on his ability to process large amounts of work very quickly. As Percy worked, though, his mood dampened. He was quite relieved to have figured out a large part of his life, but it was quickly occurring to him everything else that was involved. First and foremost-Oliver. What would he say? Would he be disgusted? Would he refuse to see Percy again? Percy wasn't sure, but he was sure that he would explode if he didn't at least tell Oliver his feelings. He couldn't risk losing his friend without him at least knowing.

After dealing with Oliver, regardless of the outcome, would be dealing with his family. Although Percy knew that Oliver was the man that he wanted, if Oliver rejected him, there was still no doubt that Percy was gay. He would have to tell them someday. He wasn't sure if he was more afraid of Oliver or his family. It seemed odd that after 20 years with his family, his own flesh and blood, he still trusted Oliver more. He thought about their reactions. His parents, he knew would be disappointed. Mum is always pestering Bill about grandchildren. She'll be heartbroken, Percy thought with sigh. Bill...well, Bill was cool. Percy wasn't worried about Bill at all. In fact, he thought it might best to tell Bill first. Maybe he could help Percy tell the rest of them. Charlie would probably be okay with it. "Actually," Percy mused aloud, "I wouldn't be all that surprised to find out that Charlie doesn't care for girls either".

The twins. Well, they were obnoxious, selfish gits. That stupid joke shop meant more to them than any of their family did. They probably wouldn't care if Lord Voldemort murdered Percy. Percy shook that horrible, dark thought from his mind. Then he decided that the twins would care. They would care just enough to go blab it to everyone from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley to the Ministry.

The Ministry? Would they fire him if they found out? No. There was a gay man in the Department of the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures. In addition, two women in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement appeared to be a couple. As long as he did his job the way he was supposed to, that shouldn't be a problem.

His mind drifted back to his family. Ron, if he ever managed to tear his attention away from Hermione, would probably be repulsed. He didn't really appreciate or grasp anything that was off the beaten path. Percy was sure that Ron would be dead or flunked out of Hogwarts if Harry and Hermione weren't saving his arse every time they turned around. He just didn't think Ron would understand, ever. Ron was completely obsessed with women. Not just with Hermione either. Anything with breasts seemed to make him blush and pant.

There was one person that worried him more than anyone, though. Ginny. His baby sister. She would cry, he just knew it. Percy couldn't stand to make Ginny cry. She was his darling. The only one of his siblings who seemed to care and understand him. He could picture the big crocodile tears leaking out of her light green eyes. He wanted the best for Ginny. Money, happiness, everything. He had just about gone out of his mind when they thought she was dead, in the Chamber of Secrets during his sixth year. His brothers thought he was being callous by not being with them, but he just couldn't let them see him that weak. He had sobbed uncontrollably in his dorm room. Oliver had been the one who had comforted him then. Oliver.

His thoughts had come full cycle. His mind was off on a tangent about Oliver again. Oh what was he going to do? He loved Oliver so much that it was tearing him apart not to rush out of the office to go hold his hand and watch him sleep. The time would come when he had to tell his family and face the disappointment, embarrassment, tears and repulsion. He wondered if any of them, other than Bill and Charlie would even want him around anymore. It was for the best that he was moving out. He could live by himself. It would be fine!

Percy's mood got fouler and fouler as the morning went on. The report he had been working on lay forgotten on his desk as he wallowed in his dark thoughts. Just as he decided to go for a walk to stretch his legs, Louisa timidly opened his office door.

"Um, Mr. Weasley?" she asked shyly, knowing that she wasn't supposed to interrupt him.

"What?" he snapped at the poor secretary. He immediately regretted it, seeing the hurt look on her face. "I'm sorry, Louisa, I didn't mean to snap at you. What did you need?"

"Oh, it's an owl. It says it's urgent, I thought I should give it to you"

Percy had already spotted the St. Mungo's logo on the envelope. His heart jumped into his throat. Oliver. He knew it was about Oliver. Had he died? What was wrong with him? He stood rooted to the spot, staring at the letter in her hand.

"Mr. Weasley? Are...are you okay? You look really pale."

"Uh.... uh...I'm, I'm fine," he murmured, sinking back into his chair. "I'll take that, thank you. Why don't you go to lunch?"

Louisa handed him the letter and, glancing back worriedly at Percy, left the office to go on her break. Percy waited until she was out of the door before sliding his shaking white fingers under the heavy envelope flap. He pulled out the parchment inside and closed his eyes for a second before reading it. It took a minute for the dark purple words to register in his mind. The note was hand written by the doctor he had met yesterday and it said:

Dear Percy,

I'm sorry to disturb you at work, but Mr. Oliver Wood came out of his coma this morning and has been asking for no one else but you. I thought that you would probably want to know.

Thank you,

Dr. Morgan Wolfe, M.W.

If asked later about the next few minutes, Percy would have had to admit that he had no recollections of the scribbled note to Louisa. Nor did he remember running out of the office, shouting with joy into the sky and then disapparating.