WHO: George Weasley & Jiang Cheng WHAT: George is back & there is darkness & a monster immediately (feels a lot like his first arrival) WHEN: September 15th WARNINGS: Mentions of Fred, monster fight, pretty tame STATUS: Complete
At first glance, George didn't realize something was off. Yeah, he didn't remember how he had ended up in the woods, but he did remember closing up shop the night before and heading to a restaurant to meet up with Jiang Cheng for dinner. He didn't quite recall what happened after that, but he had been pulling late hours and he had taken quite a hit to the head recently in a product testing gone wrong, so he wasn't surprised by that either. One day, head injuries wouldn't be so normalized for him.
It would come to him, he was sure, but the discombobulation from ending up in the forest on what looked like a particularly moonless night was a little more concerning. Honestly, he had thought he was back in the Forbidden Forest for a moment, with how there was an unsettling feeling creeping down his back.
Pulling out the wand that Wei Wuxian had crafted for him, he cast a lumos and the tip of his wand lit up, lighting the area surrounding him.
Which in turn lit up the wraith that had been hovering in front of him. It opened its ghastly mouth and let out a screech, causing George to stumble back with a loud "Fuck!" It swooped at him and barely missed taking off his head, as he tripped on a tree root and fell backwards onto his ass.
It was pure luck that Jiang Cheng was in the right place at the right time. The darkness that had fallen had filled him with an uneasy dread and he'd resorted to patrols by sword. He'd come down out of the sky, fight a daemon or two, then return to his perch. He was careful what he chose to fight. Could he have gotten together with his brother and brother-in-law and fought more efficiently? Absolutely. But it was very late and sleeplessness had him patrolling alone.
George's curse rang up out of the woods and Jiang Cheng flew down with speed. He recognized the voice but didn't dare get his hopes up. Even seeing George with a tall spectral creature advancing on him didn't necessarily prove it was really him. It was dark. Still, when George fell, Jiang Cheng rushed forward, sword drawn as he shouted wordlessly at the creature.
The wraith was apparently a little too smart for that as it continued to descend on Georgel, blasting the grass and brush around him with fire. Jiang Cheng pulled water out of the ground with his totem and doused the fires as quickly as they appeared.
"Are you so weak that you won't fight a man on his feet?" Jiang Cheng yelled. He lunged forward and slashed his sword at the creature's back.
It was a beautiful sight, seeing Jiang Cheng descend on the scene like some kind of avenging warrior spirit. What little light was provided by the fire and lit wand, gave him a warm glow that George could probably sing drunken ballads over, if it weren’t for the fact that this dementor-like creature was trying to eat him.
He rolled away when Jiang Cheng managed to put the fire out and distract the daemon, gathering his fallen wand and getting up into a fighting stance. The ginger didn’t hesitate now, now that the creature’s focus was on his love. Raising his wand, he shouted out clearly and with a firm image of the first time Jiang Cheng told him he had loved him in mind, “Expecto Patronum!”
A large snake, mirroring the one that made up zidian, shot out from his wand, attacking the specter and forcing it to go tangible to defend itself against the magic from George’s world. He rushed over to the other man now, reaching out to grip his arm as he asked, “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
It was a relief to see George stand, to hear him and know it was him, without a doubt. It was a distracting relief though. Jiang Cheng looked away from the wraith and in that moment it hissed across the ground to get to him. The patronus was well-timed - and further proof that this was his George. He'd been too hurt the first time he'd seen George do the spell to recognize exactly what it was and had only made the connection later when they talked about how the spell worked. Now he was upright and clear-headed.
And curling his fingers into George's shirt. "You're back," he whispered, emotion heavy in those few words. "You have very dramatic timing, but you're back."
The wraith shrieked towards them now that it had fought away from the patronus and Jiang Cheng angrily turned to slash at it repeatedly. "We are trying to have a conversation! Go back to the hell you crawled out of!"
A cold pit was forming at the bottom of George's gut at the pure depth of emotion that was colouring his love's words. For George, it might have been only hours since he last saw him. But from the way Jiang Cheng was speaking, it sounded like it had been far longer for him.
But he pushed that away when more pressing matters came to the forefront. Only Jiang Cheng would berate their enemy for interrupting him. George tried for a light hearted quip, as he said, "I don't think it understood you." Then he called forward the memory of the first time they had slept together and blasted another Patronus at the creature to get them some space. "Want to get out of here?" He asked, holding onto the hand that was gripping his shirt and getting ready to Side-Apparate them away, if JC gave him the word.
Jiang Cheng wouldn't usually chose to leave the battlefield before the battle was won, but he wanted George away from this thing and to hold him close without bloodshed being involved. So he too blasted the creature away with a deluge of water, squeezed violently from the low hanging clouds above them.
"I do indeed." He stepped closer to George, his eyes intense as he ran his gaze over that familiar face. He'd missed that face. "There are more than just this one to fight, but they can wait. There were none at Lotus Pier when I left. Take us there."
While Jiang Cheng's face became more intense, George's softened. He didn't ask for elaboration on what he was clearly missing out on because this wasn't the time or the place, but he would when they were safe and secure.
Nodding wordlessly at JC's directive, he focused on the inner courtyard of Lotus Pier and took them away with a quiet whoosh that spoke of years of expert practice. The wraith they had left behind flew past where they were just standing moments again with a disappointed screech.
It had been many months since Jiang Cheng had felt the same lurch in his stomach - the soft one at George's face and the not-so-soft one from side-apparition. It was a welcome discomfort, though. He let his sword fall disrespectfully to the ground in his courtyard and threw both arms around George's shoulders to bury his face in the side of George's neck.
"You have been gone one hundred and forty-nine days," he mumbled feelingly. "It feels like longer. The Burrow went with you. But--" He pulled back, eyebrows lifting. "--I took good care of your shop. My brother and I, and your employees." Wei Wuxian and Serefin had been integral to keeping the doors open, but if he crowed too much about them, it would come off disingenuous. Or so he told himself. "Did you go home?"
Five months. Nearly five months he had been gone and his stomach rolled at the thought. What had he missed? What had changed in his absence? A feeling of dread started to creep through his veins, but he pushed it away as he hugged the man in his arms back. He let his arms fall away to his side as he swallowed and watch Jiang Cheng pull back.
The shop was there. Good. He knew the brothers would take care of it in his absence, should he ever leave Vallo. Brothers started the business, it had only felt fitting to make sure brothers would continue it.
But speaking of brothers…”I only remember going out to dinner with you and then I woke up in the forest with that creature.” He swallowed, thickly, but knew if he didn’t ask now, he would keep pushing it off. “I have to know…is Fred still here?” But he already knew the answer, as his brain made the connections. Tears started to well up in his too serious eyes. Jiang Cheng would haven’t been left to run the shop if Fred was still there. That only meant one thing.
Jiang Cheng's heart hurt for George, the moment he realized what question would naturally surface first. And his face showed his sympathy and remorse. He pulled George back into his arms and rested his cheek against the side of George's head. "I'm sorry. I wish I could say yes. But Ron and Ginny are here." he offered. He knew none of George's other siblings were his twin as far as closeness, but he hoped having some of his family would help.
This time when he pulled back, he didn't move much more than his head. He caressed the side of George's face. "You can go see them or you can stay here." He glanced over his shoulder at the village buildings. His home. "As long as you need. You are always welcome here."
He barely heard the news of his younger siblings being there, over the faint roar that was suddenly in his ear. Don’t get him wrong, he was glad he still had family there, but Ginny and Ron were happily alive back in their world. Fred was not. Burying his face in Jiang Cheng’s neck, he huffed out a harsh breath, as tears started to fall from his eyes. He squeezed them shut as more started to fall and was a right mess when JC pulled back to look at him again.
“I…I don’t want to leave you right now.” Lotus Pier had become another home, in the time he had been with Jiang Cheng. And even if the Burrow did show back up with him on his rearrival, he wasn’t sure he was ready to be surrounded by the reminder of his twin who was no longer there. Pulling back further, he raised his hand to his eyes, wiping them as best as he could. “I'd rather you tell me what that creature was and how I can help fight it.” Anger was slowly unfurling in the pit of his stomach, anger at Vallo for sending Fred away, for forcing him to leave Jiang Cheng, for all the unfairness he was feeling at the moment.
And what better way than to use that anger productively against this creature that seemed to be plaguing Vallo at the moment.
As someone who would always rather fight than show any weakness, Jiang Cheng was all too understanding of George’s decision. He shifted to hold his hand and pulled him towards his own rooms in the compound.
“You will have a hard time getting rid of me now that you said that,” he scowled. It wasn’t entirely true – if George asked for space, he would get it. But Jiang Cheng felt like the feeling he wanted to express was clear anyway. He led them towards the kitchens, where he fully intended to try and feed George before taking him anywhere else. “I will tell you about the daemons and the darkness. While you eat. And tell me what light spells you know.”
He squeezed George’s hand a little tighter. “I have missed you, George Weasley.”
“Bold of you to assume that I want to get rid of you,” George quipped, the smile a little forced, but still present on his face. There would be time to break down later, right now he was all too willing to let JC feed him and then let him loose on these daemons.
Squeezing his hand back, he nudged the other man with his shoulder. “As long as I can help it, I don’t plan to go anywhere again.”