Nothing felt quite right, everyone was too close, looking at him expectantly. All Charlie wanted was to be left alone - he should have known better, his family didn't really understand the meaning of alone. He doubted they ever had. But it was what he wanted, he couldn't sit in there with them, see their faces, see the hurt there. It had been bad enough in the Great Hall - but now? When they were home? It was too much here of all places.
And he left, pushing his way out of the house, until the sound of sniffling and his mother trying to hide her sobs in the kitchen faded away. Until there wasn't anything left but the sound of night. Though he kept going, until the light from the house was almost lost, and only then did he stop, sinking to the ground, and pressing his face into his hands.
He hadn't thought he'd be coming home so soon - he'd still had a few more years left on his contract at the reserve in Romania, but they'd understood. But that didn't make it any easier. He was supposed to be gone for a few more years, make a name for himself. Anything for family. But now, he couldn't stand to be away from them - anymore than he could stand to be in the same room with them.
He didn't look up at the sound of footsteps, the heavy footfalls too familiar for him not to know.
And yet his brother didn't say anything, just sat down beside him, leaning against the same tree he did, their shoulders pressed together in the dark. He reached out without thinking, without looking, until his hand found Bill's and he tangled their fingers together gripping more tightly than he would have with anyone else. Bill was always there when he needed him, just like he had been since they were children.
And Charlie was so lost now, he didn't think he could ever find the ground again - but Bill was there, gripping his fingers just as fiercely, letting Charlie fall into him.
And he stopped thinking, pushed everything else out of his mind, and let Bill be the one to hold him down, just like always. He pressed against his brother, leaning into him, breathing in that scent he knew so well, letting it fill his senses as he pressed his face against Bill's neck, his lips finding skin, fingers pushing their way under clothing. Finding that place he'd always felt right, finding home there in his brother's body under the stars.
Theodore and Stephen run into each other at an s&m club
He hadn't come here in months - things were so busy now, soon there wouldn't be time at all for this sort of indulgence, and so Theodore took his chance while it was ripe for the taking.
The lights were low, and the sound of leather against skin greeted him like an old friend as he moved further into the dimly lit space. He'd always thought it something of a shame that Pansy wouldn't accompany him to these places - she preferred their activities were best kept in their private home. But she didn't deny him this pleasure, gods only knew she was finding pleasure of her own elsewhere. And as long as neither of their indiscretions ended up in the pages of the Daily Prophet then they had an agreement.
He was content to watch for the time being, there was still plenty of time for play after all, he liked to take his time, make sure he picked the right one.
Of course he hadn't expected to see a very familiar set of too tall shoulders looming up over the crowd, though he should have guessed his own son would end up in a place like this at some point in his life. After all you didn't have parents like Theodore and Pansy and end up normal. He watched his son work, with a small sense of pride - Stephen was good, but then he was good at everything he set his mind to.
"You're gripping too high." Theodore had grown tired of watching, and thought it was time for a little fatherly advice. He took the tawse from his son and showed him where to grip it. "Like this." He said with a small smirk before handing it back. "Go on."