In A Time Of Uncertainty

Part Three, Chapter One

When Oliver awoke in the morning, Percy was still snuggled next to him, his head pressed against Oliver's chest and his breathing steady and even. His eyelashes fluttered briefly; for a second Oliver thought that he might be about to wake up but then he was still again.

Oliver strained his neck to look up and over at the clock. It was a quarter to seven, which meant that he had forty-five minutes to get to Quidditch practice. He knew he ought to get out of bed, but the sensation of Percy's resting body next to his was wonderful and warm. To hell with it, he thought. He rested his hand on the small of Percy's still-naked back and smiled. A few minutes later, Percy woke.

"Hey." His hair was sticking up at odd angles.

"Hey yourself, beautiful."

Percy yawned and rubbed his cheek against Oliver's chest. "Let's not get up. Let's stay here."

Oliver bent down and kissed his forehead. "Tempting, but we've got to. Come on, I'll make you breakfast."

Percy remained stationary. "I've got to Apparate home and get new clothes." He shuddered slightly, involuntarily. "They'll all be staring at me like I've got a scarlet letter on my chest. God, what am I supposed to wear home?"

"What you wore last night, I guess."

"That's what people do after they've had one-night stands."

"That's what people do," said Oliver firmly, "when they were out late and had a change of plans. You're going to have to wear what you wore last night, everything I have would fall right off you." He ran one hand through Percy's hair, seemingly unable to stop touching him. "I'll come with you if you want."

"You don't need to. It's fine."

"I want to. I ought to." Mrs. Weasley had been friendly with him since he began to date her son, but she was somewhat guarded in her nature. Oliver figured that she was still getting used to the idea of her son fancying men, especially her son fancying a particular man. He was glad she was concerned, but part of him wanted to yell, I'm on your side! I want what's best for him too!

"Really, you don't need to. It'll be weirder if you go." Percy sat up, the white sheet sliding down his pale chest. "They'll be looking at us and imaging all sorts of things."

"I'd rather have them look at us than you alone."

"Look, love, I appreciate it, but you have to go to work." He flopped back down on the bed and pulled the quilt up to his chin. "Unfortunately."

Oliver placed one hand on Percy's back and ran the other up and down his chest, feeling the soft hair. Taking a deep breath, he steeled his nerve.

"Perce, I want you to move in with me."

Percy turned. "What?"

"Move in with me." He wanted Percy next to him every night. He wanted to come home to someone. He wanted Percy's family to know that he was serious. Slightly discouraged by the startled look on Percy's face, he continued, "We could wake up like his every morning. You're over here all the time anyway, you only sleep and have breakfast at home. We could visit lots so your mum wouldn't worry about you, every day if you wanted. And think, Percy, sex whenever we want it. Come on, it'll be fun."

An exasperated look came over Percy's face, reminding Oliver of his old prefect days. "Oliver, people don't move in together because it's fun."

"All right, so fun was a bad choice of words. Really, I want you to."

"Is this 'We'll try it and see how things work out' let's-move-in-together, or is this 'We can't get married so we'll take the next best thing' let's-move-in-together?"

"It's 'I think you're amazing and don't want to be apart from you' let's-move-in-together."

"We've only been dating for a month, you git."

"That didn't seem to be an issue with you last night."

Percy grasped Oliver's arm and leaned in closer, his eyes intent. "I didn't mean it like that. I love you, Ol. If you think I'm not committed to you and I only want you for sex - "

"I don't," said Oliver emphatically. He was glad Percy was determined not to make more mistakes, but didn't he know that they were beyond that level of apprehension? "If I thought you were using me for sex, do you think I would have consented?"

"Of course not. You wouldn't do that. I didn't mean - "

He laid one hand over Percy's. "I know you didn't mean that. It's okay."

Percy sighed. "This whole thing is so unfamiliar to me."

"Me too, love." He let Percy's arms encircle him and reciprocated the gesture. "If you don't want to move in with me, don't. No one's making you."

"I do. I just don't want to give my family any more reasons to worry about me."

"I can understand that."

They lay in silence until Percy said, "But I'd love to. I will."

Oliver sat up. "You will?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"I said I would."

"Promise?"

"Yes, you prat! Ah! Stop it!"

Oliver had reached out and grabbed for Percy's ribs.

"You - idiot - " Percy gasped, trying in vain to escape. "I - bloody hate - being tickled - "

"You really will?"

"Yes!" he shrieked, the sound changing from panic to giddy laughter. "I'll move in with you and sleep with you and watch you get dressed in the morning - " His head was thrown back, revealing pink bite marks from the night before. His laughter was rich and generated from deep in his throat.

"You've got a great laugh," said Oliver, finally releasing him. "Really. If you don't use it more I'll have to tickle you again." He nibbled Percy's ear. "Are you sore at all from last night?"

"Not nearly as much as I thought I would be."

"Good." Oliver pulled back the blankets and climbed out of bed, naked. "Now we've really got to get up." He bent over and picked up his clothes from the floor where they had fallen the previous night.

When he stood back up, Percy was clutching the sheet. His breathing was heavier with each intake. "Oliver," he whispered. He reached over to the night table and grabbed the lubricant. "Get back into bed." He unscrewed the cap, eyes unwavering. "Lie down on your stomach." Two fingers thrust in the jar and came out glistening. "And spread your legs."

Quidditch could wait, Oliver thought, as he felt his knees go weak and the clothes slide out of his hand.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Puddlemere United was playing the Tutshill Tornados the day after next.

"Crap," said Penge, the coach, as he paced the men's locker room. "That's what their Chasers are. Total crap." The male players, both regular and reserve, watched as he walked back and forth between the bench and the wall. "Wood, I think I'll put Barringer in for the first fifteen minutes or so - if the match lasts that long. Make sure they're intimidated. Then I plan on giving her a break and putting you in for rest of the match."

Oliver nodded. Perfect. The Tornados might as well have lost already.

"Their Seeker, I'll admit, is excellent," continued Penge. "Douglas, I want you playing the whole match. Beaters...Jackson, I want you, Pritchard's arm could use another week off." Stuart Pritchard, the largest player in the history of the league, had been knocked off his broomstick and had landed squarely on his left arm during Puddlemere's most recent match against the Appleby Arrows. "All right. Be on the pitch in five minutes." With a sharp turn, Penge exited the locker room.

"Make sure you give them hell for me," said Pritchard to Reginald Jackson. Jackson slapped him on the back.

There was a loud sound of creaking metal as the locker doors opened.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Oliver returned home at noon, there was a desk sitting in the doorway. Mundungus was lifting one end - the one still in the corridor - and Percy was lifting the other.

"Where in the bloody - ow - hell did you get this thing?" Mundungus grunted. "It must weigh as much as a half-grown giant."

"I inherited it from my uncle Bilius," Percy said, glancing over his shoulder into the sitting room.

"He's dead?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're well shut of him, then. Oy, Wood, where do you want this thing?"

"Where do you want it?" Oliver asked Percy.

"I was thinking the west wall of the sitting room. You can have the library for yourself again."

"You were thinking?" Mundungus roared. "You'd better know, because in another second my bloody arm is going to fall off, and - oh, thanks, Wood." Oliver had taken his end of the desk.

"Be quiet, you mangy git," said Mrs. Figg from the couch. "You're disturbing Sapphira Elise."

"Who?"

Curled up on the armchair farthest from the door, next to Mr. Tibbles, was a very pregnant Siamese cat. She looked up at Oliver suspiciously.

"I told Mrs. Drummond that I had some prospective owners for a kitten, and they might like to see the mother," Mrs. Figg said. "So she lent me Sapphira Elise Esmeralda Lucinda whosit whatsit Nadia for the day."

Oliver and Percy set the desk down and went over to examine Sapphira Elise. She was very beautiful; her coat was shining and well-kept, her face was alert and intelligent. Tibbles rubbed his head against her back and purred.

"Maybe the kittens will have blue eyes like hers," Oliver said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

By the time Oliver and Percy went to bed that night, they were both completely exhausted. After weeks of work, the Recruitment Department had only managed to get three confirmed new members. List after list was going through further examination.

"Well, we always knew it would be a long and tedious job," said Oliver as Percy took off his glasses and turned off the light. "We've got to be as certain as we can that they're on our side. Besides, all the new members are abroad, so that's an advantage."

"I suppose," said Percy. There was a weary and distant note in his voice.

Oliver saw the shadowed outline of his face in the gray darkness. "Perce?"

"My parents think that moving in with you is rash."

Oliver rested his head on his lover's shoulder. "My father as well as my mother," Percy continued, "which makes it worse. If it were only my mum I could say that she was overreacting, but my dad - he had this sort of tired look on his face. Like this was the last thing he needed. Then he said that he liked you a lot and he was glad that we loved each other, but he thought I needed to consider the consequences and remember that we've only been together a month." He sighed. "I spent my entire life considering consequences, and it never got me anywhere."

Oliver turned and cupped Percy's face with his hand. "We'll show them it's the best impulsive decision we ever made."

Percy looked at him. "I still don't regret it."

"Me neither. I hope we never do."

Percy rested his hand on top of Oliver's. "What about your parents? Do they even know I exist?"

Oliver cringed. "Not yet. It's not that I'm ashamed of you," he added quickly, "but I haven't had the time to see them since we got together. They know I broke up with Ian, though."

"I bet they were thrilled."

"Well, they were mad about Ian. I mean, my mum was practically planning the commitment ceremony. But they weren't upset, really - "

"And now you've not only broken things off with their ideal son-in-law, you're living with an impoverished former Ministry drone whom you've dated for a month."

"Look, love, they won't think any of that once they get to know you."

"I've never even met them."

"You will. I'm having lunch with them tomorrow, I'll bring it up then. And the day after tomorrow Puddlemere's playing the Tutshill Tornados. I want you to come and see it; it looks like I'm going to get decent playing time. You can meet them beforehand and afterwards we can come back here for dinner."

Percy groaned. "I wish something was simple for once."

Oliver kissed him on the earlobe, long and tenderly.