I swear it’s plotting to take over Tokyo. Who: Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Verity Ashford When: June 21 Where: For the Lulz What: Working, etc. Rating/Warnings: Low/None, talk of pregnancy and the twins' girlfriend Status: Complete
Verity was stocking t-shirts. She had them organized exactly the way she wanted them, and hated it when anyone other than herself started digging through to find the right size or style. It was a pain in the ass to put everything back together, and no one folded the damn things right.
She was holding up a t-shirt to her chest, a little distracted, staring off into space, and wondering if she should screen print some amusing or unusual maternity t-shirts. That might be a fun project, right? She didn’t hear someone saying her name.
Probably because no one was saying her name. The Twins had taken to calling her Veronica lately, since she’d been in and out so often that they pretended to forget who she actually was. “Oi,” Fred said, leaning on an endcap and crossing his arms. “Yes or no?”
“Hmm?” Poor Veronica. She’d had a lot of doctor’s appointments, and was sick so much. But that was mostly over. Her OB was going to see her at ass am so she wouldn’t have to take off time for appointments, and her sickness was gone. Now she was just... hormonal, a bit insane, a nonstop eater, and torn between bouts of energy and sleepiness. She turned to look at Fred. “Yes or no?”
Fred just stared at her for a moment, as if concerned she might yell at him. Or maybe cry. "I said. I'm going cross the street for coffee. Do you want anything?"
“Oh. Um.” Verity was still hugging the shirt to her chest, still coming back from whatever dreamland she’d been wandering through just a moment ago. (Hey, she was ahead on her work, she could slack, okay?) “Do they have anything with peanut butter? Or bacon? Or both?”
Fred just continued to look at her. He blinked, and then looked over his shoulder for George, as if his twin might save him from this conversation. Which, actually, he did. “He’ll look for you!” George called out from the register. “If not, you just want that tea you’ve been having?”
Fred looked oddly relieved.
“Yeah. Yeah, tea sounds good.” Verity said, giving Fred a smile. “With honey, please.” It was almost as if she hadn’t noticed it was George who called out to her, and not Fred who’d just spoken. “But really. Peanut butter and bacon.” She added, giving a nod and knowing smile. “God, that sounds so good.”
“It sounds bloody disgusting,” Fred waved her off and wandered toward the door, leaving just her and George behind. Neither of the boys would have minded terribly if she’d thought one the other or both the same.
George leaned against the register counter, hands under his chin. “All right?”
Oh, she did. She knew they were just as good as the other. Verity gave a little sigh, and started to fold the t-shirt she’d been cuddling. “Yeah. Sorry. I’m just... easily distractible.” Shocker there. But it was par for the course, really, with the pregnancy and all.
“Gee really,” George said dryly. They’d noticed a bit. It’d wear off eventually they knew, but still. There was a reason she was doing floor work and none of the internet stuff these weeks. Well beside the fact that Abigail preferred the internet orders.
“No worries. It’s about empty in here. Take a load off.” There was always a stool behind the register -- not that anyone tended to use it in lieu of the actual counter itself.
Verity was also incredibly good at organizing. She was distractible, but when she was on, she was on. This ‘nesting’ thing was doing wonders for her cleaning the shop. After all, how could she bring a newborn into this shop if it wasn’t clean and organized perfectly?
She set the last shirt onto the stack, folded neatly and looking wonderful, and headed over to plop down onto the stool behind the counter. She sighed a bit, taking her load off. “Christina Alice.” She said, giving George a little smile. “What do you think?”
“I’ve already got a name,” George pointed out in poor form, glancing out over his store with a keen eye. While this place was both his and Fred’s the actual store part was more his design, whereas a lot of the product ideas were Fred’s. He organized just as much as Verity did, really.
“For your kid? Seems fine. What I think shouldn’t matter much, I’d say. More if you like it or not?”
“I think that’s what I’ve decided.” Verity said. “Christina after my mother, and Alice after my best girl friend. I hope she doesn’t mind. Alice is such a beautiful name.” Verity stood up again. She felt like moving. Couldn’t sit still. Not when there were things that needed being done.
She collected up a couple of boxes of knick-knacks from behind the counter and started stocking up the “impulse buy” items around the register while they talked.
“Dunno who’d mind someone naming their kid after them,” George pointed out, tapping his pen against the counter a little boredly. It’d been a bit of a slow week, and he’d been pretty diligent with his paperwork in preemptiveness for taking the weekend off -- now he had very little to work on. Not that that was a bad thing. “Seems nice, in any case.”
“Thanks.” Verity said. She’d be flattered if someone wanted to name a daughter after her. Though, she wasn’t sure why anyone would do that to a child. Verity? Not exactly the most common name in the world. People tended to look at her funny. Better than ‘Apple,’ she supposed. Better to be a little interesting than boring.
“Ooof,” she said, reaching a hand down to rub at her side a little. “...now that I’m feeling her move, it’s really, really insane.”
“I bet,” said George, who rather liked his name despite it’s plainess, thanks. He was, admittedly, a little immature about things like babies -- a little weirded out. He’d never figured himself the type to want to be a father, but sometimes considered how he might be a very good uncle, indeed. If, of course, any of his useless brothers (beside Fred) would ever get on that.
“What are you going to do? You know. When you have it?”
"Well." Verity said, stocking the things, straightening, making herself useful. "I suppose then I'll be a single mum." She shrugged. "I'm going to need a bigger place, and some child care, and possibly more hours to pay for it all."
“Okay,” George said, and it felt like just enough to say, really. What else could he do but agree? Not like there was anything to disagree with, there.
The door of the shop creaked open, and Fred returned with a hand full of coffee and tea cups, but no peanut butter or bacon.
And now that Fred and George had a girl in their lives, perhaps it was a good thing Verity was going to need more hours. “I’ll--” She stopped when the door opened, and turned to give Fred a little smile. Though, she made a disappointed pout.
“No peanut butter or bacon?” She asked, then stepped forward to help him by taking cups, if he needed it.
“It’s a coffee shop, not a grocery store,” Fred said by way of vague apology before handing her cup over and then gifting George with another.
“Ver thinks she’ll need more hours eventually. But what she meant to say was that she thinks we need to spend more time with our girlfriend.”
“Isn’t that what I said? Exactly, word for word?” Verity asked, then went to sip from the cup. It was far, far too hot, she decided, thankfully before burning her tongue out of her mouth.
“No,” said George. “But I am pretty good at mind reading, so close enough.”
Fred snickered.
Verity nodded. “I know. It’s a wonder I even have to speak at all.” She said, then moved back around the counter to stash the boxes and leftover merchandise that wouldn’t fit in the “impulse buy” section by the register. “Now I’m not retching every thirty seconds I can work more hours. Let you two get back to normal again. Take time off. Go... camping, or whatever. I promise I won’t ruin your office again like last time.”
The twins rarely needed to speak around each other, so they thought it was only natural that others shouldn’t either. That probably wasn’t really the case though.
“Shucks,” they both said at once.
“That’s kind -- “ Fred said.
“You not deliberately ruining our things.” George smiled and sipped his coffee. “But we can do that, yeah.” Abigail really only worked weekends, anyway, so it wasn’t like there weren’t hours to go around.
“Well. Not deliberately.” Verity said, smirking softly. “I’m getting clumsier by the minute, with my equilibrium thrown off by massive tummy. I swear it’s plotting to take over Tokyo.” It was true, she looked like she was smuggling a basketball already. (Okay, exaggeration, but only just a little.)
She finished putting away the rest of the impulse items. “I’ll go check what needs stocking in books,” she added, giving the two of them a smile. Now she was back to business, she really was back to business. “Unless there’s anything else you want me doing?”
“The only thing we want is for you to name your child Godzilla. Barring that, go do what you must.” George’s smile was cheeky.