InsaneJournal

Who: Vicky Frobisher & Percy Weasley
What: A proposal of sorts (not that kind!)
When: Monday, May 4, 1998
Where: Vicky’s flat
Warnings: None

Percy was grinning from ear to ear, but once he came into the apartment, he swallowed his smile to prevent himself from giving too much away. Before Vicky could see his face.

“Hello, darling,” he said, walking up to Vicky and kissing her upon the lips. “How was your day?”

Vicky wrapped her arms around Percy’s neck and kissed him more thoroughly. She loved that, even though he had more time now that the election was over, he kept coming here after work rather than going home. “It was great. How was yours?”

Giving a half shrug, Percy told her, “The shop is as usual. At least for a joke shop. A stack of Happy Bubble Boxes toppled over and temporarily filled the place with bubbles. The customers were delighted, but they were rather a trial to clean up after. But I have something exciting to tell you. Sit down.”

Vicky raised an eyebrow. “This news is so big I have to sit down?” Percy didn’t seem worried, so she tried to squash the nervous feeling that rose in her gut. She’d be able to tell if it were bad news, right? “It’s that good?” She sat, and looked up at him nervously. “Or that bad?”

“I think it’s good!” Percy sat down beside her and held both her hands, trying hard to contain his excitement. “Remember I told you I had a birthday gift for you in the works?”

“Yes…” Vicky drew out the word, wondering what, exactly, Percy was up to. Clearly, whatever he was going to tell her was big, though she had no idea what it could possibly be. He’d been mum on what the surprise was, not even mentioning it at all since the day after her birthday. “Is that what this is about? Do I finally get to know?”

“Do you want to know?” teased Percy. A sudden wave of anxiety overcame him. “I hope you like it. When you went on your backpacking tour, did you ever travel through Greece?”

Vicky teased him right back. “Of course I want to know! Is tormenting me by drawing this out part of the surprise?” She was very curious when he asked about Greece. “No, I never made it to Greece. Thought about it, but everyone I traveled with stayed in Western Europe.”

“Would you like to go to Greece?”

“Yes…”

Percy’s smile widened. “Well, check with your work and ask for the time off, because we’re going in mid-May!”

“We are?” She wanted to ask how Percy was going to afford that, but she knew he had his pride and she didn’t want to question that. “When, exactly? And for how long? I need to know if I’m going to take off work.” She didn’t think Ada or WWN would have a problem with it, but she did need to give them notice.

The way she first responded, made Percy a little self conscious. “Er. If you don’t want to go… I really should’ve checked with you before, but I wanted it to be a surprise. For your birthday. You know how excited I get, sometimes.” He tended to forget other people’s considerations.

Vicky leaned in and kissed him gently. "It sounds great, Percy, really. It's just... unexpected. When we went to the Muggle art museum, you said you had to cancel all your travel plans, and now you're taking me to Greece?" She stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers. "I hate to ask, but how can you afford it? When I said you owed me one hell of a present, I didn't mean something that would bankrupt you."

Percy leaned into her fingers as she touched his cheek. “You don’t have to worry. The cost is taken care of. Well, for the most part. We’ll be paying out of pocket for some expenses, but seeing as this is a business trip.” He paused, cautiously. “I’m afraid it’s not entirely for pleasure, but we most certainly will have time to do whatever you’d like. You see, at the Minister of Magic’s ball, last week, I met a gentleman who was keenly interested in Fred and George’s products. He wants to begin carrying them in Greece! He offered me a trip to his country to demonstrate to his company’s board of directors, and when I asked if I could bring my girlfriend along, he was very accommodating.”

Again, Percy became insecure. “Is that… alright?” After the last two arguments with Vicky, he was very sensitive about upsetting her, almost too cautious.

“Of course it is.” As much as she didn’t want to hear anything about the Minister’s Ball, Vicky was grateful that Percy wasn’t straining himself financially to make up for that particular slight. She’d told herself she would let that go when she forgave Percy, so she forced the thought that this was coming from someone he’d met at the Minister’s Ball out of her mind and let her smile widen. “But you have to tell me when we’re going still. And where. Greece is a pretty big place. Surely we’re not doing all of it.”

“Oh no. Not all. The meeting is in Athens, on the 18th of this month. We’ll be staying in a hotel, which my contact will be paying for. The presentation ought to last a couple of days, giving time for discussion and negotiation, but I’m assured there will still be time to visit the sites. Then, I thought we could spend some time in Crete. I have a friend, back in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He told me once that he had a place there, and if I ever wanted to stay there, just ask. I haven’t, yet, because I wanted to confirm it with you before making any further plans.”

“Well, talk to him, then. I need to know how long we’ll be gone before I request off, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem.” Athens and Crete were both high on Vicky’s list of places to visit, and the idea of spending time there with Percy sounded, well, perfect. Grinning widely, Vicky lifted one of his hands to her lips and kissed the back of it. “It sounds lovely. Thank you.”

“I don’t expect staying more than one week. But it will be nice. The seaside is lovely.” Percy smiled. “But not as lovely as you. This is the least I can do, to make up for botching up your birthday.”

“So… the 17th through the 24th? I should be able to get those days off.” She made a mental note to check as soon as she got to work in the morning. “Let’s not talk about that anymore, okay? I don’t want it to turn into something that keeps getting dredged up. I love you, and a trip to Greece is one hell of a present.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close, resting her forehead against his. “It’s behind us, all right?”

“All right.” Percy couldn’t agree with her more. “I hope this deal works out for the Twins. I want to give them something to help build their business before I leave.”

“Have you heard anything from Mr. Rowle about the opportunities he mentioned?” She really hoped he came through on that. As nice as this trip was going to be, Percy needed to stop working at the shop, for his sake as well as for the twins’.

“No.” Percy shook his head. “And I’m not waiting for him. I have other contacts within the Ministry, other leads.” Including Grandmother and Grandfather Prewett, though he doubted Vicky would care to know about that. “But I think I’ve overstayed my time at the joke shop. Fred and George know it too. I’m grateful for what they’ve done, but we simply don’t get along.”

“I think you’ll get along better when you aren’t working together.” Vicky kissed him on the lips, just a quick peck, before sitting back and taking his hand again. “You’re more like your brothers than you admit, Percy. And that’s not a bad thing. But working close like you are just emphasizes your differences. You need distance.”

“I’m not so sure about these similarities, but I agree. Distance is what we need. Ron will be working for them, after he finishes Hogwarts, so the Twins will still have an employee to help around the shop, in addition to somebody who is better able to deal with their mood.”

“Just trust me on the similarities, okay?” She knew that he didn’t see it, but from her position close to both Percy and the twins, Vicky did. She stood and tugged Percy to his feet. “Now, come on, let’s make dinner. You can tell me all about your job hunt. What you’re looking at if you’re not going to rely on Mr. Rowle to help.”