InsaneJournal

Goodnight, Goodnight (Bill/Charlie, PG-13)
Title: Goodnight, Goodnight
Pairing: Bill/Charlie
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 267
Warnings: See pairing. Also infidelity.
Disclaimer: Not mine. JKR's.
Summary: Charlie didn't expect to feel this way.
Notes: For secretsolitaire, who stumped me in the Stump the Author Meme. She asked for anything Bill/Charlie. Hope you enjoy!

Afterwards—

—after everything—

Bill falls asleep quickly, his whisky-wet breath fogging Charlie's thoughts, and Charlie feels something squeeze his heart.

He isn't prepared for that. He's usually the one falling asleep first, if he's not up and out the door, leaving his lover behind to wonder what happened.

And that same something squeezes his stomach, too, and his throat, and it doesn't let up on his heart, and Charlie sits up and realises that more time has passed than he expected and he's more sober than he has a right to be after all he's just done—

—all they've just done. Bill's no innocent, either.

Charlie's good at compartmentalising things. Brother and lover used to be separate things, and Charlie can't fathom their merging.

He stumbles on his way out of bed and lands heavily on his hands and knees. Maybe not so sober, then. Bill mutters something that sounds like his wife's name, and Charlie cringes. If Fleur fell out of bed, would Bill only mutter, or would he be at her side in a moment, helping her rounded form up from the floor?

He's seen the way Bill talks to the lump in Fleur's belly, kissing it and whispering Goodnight, goodnight to it when Fleur goes early up to bed.

Charlie swallows past his own lump, the one in his throat, and hisses in a breath, and hauls himself up from the floor, pulling on his jeans and shirt, shoving his feet into his trainers without bothering to lace them.

Goodnight, goodnight echoes in his head, and he's gone.