Special Delivery For: sweet_lemmon Title: Expected the Unexpected Author/Artist:andrian1 Recipient's LJ name:sweet_lemmon Rating: M Pairing(s): Charlie/Hermione Word Count: 4224 Warnings (if any): None
Summary: Valentine's Day is approaching. Hermione expects it to be a disappointing one. Authors notes: A bit fluffy I'm afraid.
February 9th
It was raining again, a typical London day, fitting for a Monday. It was the start of the work week, the beginning of the long days when she counted down the hours to the weekend especially when she was lying alone in the big empty bed at night. Hermione wouldn't have dreamed that she would feel this way, missing him so much during the week. It wasn't like she didn't have things to occupy her time. Her job at the Ministry kept her very busy and she would bring work home, though it was frowned upon. There was the volunteer work for the Women's Right League, the class at the University on Wednesday night, research, homework, and of course the knitting she still did to keep her hands busy while she read.
Then again, she never dreamed she would have fallen in love with someone like him. Strange how one's perception of self changes dramatically when the heart takes over.
Already his spot in the bed had grown cold, and she hated the fact that he didn't wake her up when he got ready to leave, arguing he'd rather let her sleep since he has to leave before dawn. She remembered the soft kiss that occurred somewhere between wakefulness and dreaming and him telling her he'd see her Friday.
Getting reluctantly out of bed, Hermione padded into the bathroom, turning the taps on in the shower. Mondays were different when she was in school; it was the day she looked forward to most. It meant classes started again and a week filled with the prospect of learning. Now, it was the day she disliked most. For one thing, most people in the office were always a bit grumpy on Mondays. The other thing was that it meant Charlie went back to the Reserve for the week.
It seemed simple at first to only have weekends, neither wanting more than just a casual affair, especially after her disastrous relationship with Ron, and his with a woman at the Reserve. Neither was looking for anything other than a quick shag that night they'd met up at the bar, the aftermath of having sex with 'his' brother the first thing they both thought of the next morning, although it didn't dissuade either from another tumble in the messy sheets before they parted ways. Two weeks later, they had met at the same bar, both hungry for each other. Ground rules were laid out the next morning.
Good sex, companionship, no strings, and no one could find out.
She wasn't sure when that all changed for her; she wasn't sure that it actually had for him. They were discreet in their relationship, only two others knew, and that alone let her know that it was just a causal thing for him. Yet, they'd been together for six months today, and in the past two months Hermione had decided that she wanted more.
Irritated at herself for letting things become complicated and knowing that it was one sided, Hermione jerked her dressing gown off, hanging it on the back of the door and stepped under the steamy water . The soothing water cascaded over her back and she closed her eyes, tilting her head back to let it spray on her face, her hair growing heavy as the water soaked it.
It was only physical, the emotions she felt stemming from the intimacy that sex left behind, she tried to argue with herself as she lathered her hair. Even if Charlie had an inkling of feelings for her, it would never work. Him on the Reserve; him being Ron's brother.
What did they have in common anyway? She preferred to read; he preferred being outdoors. Yet Hermione had been pleasantly surprised to find conversation with Charlie challenging and interesting. Truthfully, she'd thought he would have a one track mind, dragons and other magical creatures, yet he was highly interested in many topics, an expert on charms, and even passionate about political matters. And then, there was the unexpected; the surprise trip to Ireland that included a broom ride over the moors and a night of lovemaking in a charming bed and breakfast. There was something about being in his strong arms that made Hermione feel safer than she ever had... and loved, although she knew she was attributing an emotion that wasn't there, at least for him.
Get over it or get out, she thought ruefully, rinsing out the soap from her hair.
So lost in her thoughts, she never heard the soft rustle of the shower curtain being moved aside, nor the shift in the air as the warm escaped. She reached for the conditioner, jumping when her hand brushed against something or someone in the way, her eyes flying open in fear.
"Charlie!" Her breath caught in her throat in surprise as he gave her that lazy smile that made her heart quicken, his heavily freckled face a welcomed sight. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here?"
"Flooed in. Told them I'd be there later, that something came 'up' that I needed to attend to," he remarked, running his fingers covered with conditioner over her shoulders and down her arms. Charlie's eyes met hers as his fingers took a different path, up her stomach to under her breasts. "I knew you were the only one that could help me with this problem."
Hermione couldn't help but smile when she felt what had come 'up', his hard cock pressing against her stomach. “Charlie, won't you get in trouble?” she asked, her voice huskier, touching the red hair that rested on his shoulder. It had begun to curl from the steamy heat of the shower. It always did that.
“Who me?” he asked, his breathe hot against her ear, before his mouth descended upon her neck. She giggled as she thought for a moment his tone sounded familiarly like the twins, which she quickly pushed aside, her senses focused entirely on what his hands were doing to her body.
A deep groan rumbled in Charlie's chest, his fingers pinching her hard nipples lightly. “'Sides, you're worth any trouble,”he murmured, raising his head to stare down at her. Hermione's breath hitched at the unrestrained lust she saw burning in his hazel eyes, and it thrilled her that it was all for her.
“Want you,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him urgently.
“Always want you,” Charlie muttered against her lips, his own kiss desperate. His strong, calloused hands gripped her waist as he easily lifted her, turning to press her against the tiled wall. Hermione's legs parted to wrap around him, his hardness sliding against her slit. “Always,” he repeated, shifting and thrusting completely into her.
Hermione gasped, burying her face in his shoulder, the fullness of being joined with him feeding the fire that was already burning through her. Her legs tightened around him as he began to thrust up into her, eliciting noises of feral pleasure from them both.
“Gods, love, so fucking hot, so tight,” Charlie growled, his teeth raking over her throat. Hermione whimpered, gripping his shoulders hard, straining to meet each thrust, her heart pounding faster as her orgasm built. She closed her eyes, riding out the storm that was building, ignoring the way her heart lurched when Charlie called her 'love'.
Hermione cried out his name as she came undone, grasping his shoulders tighter as he fucked her harder, then with a groan he joined her, his strokes slowing before he stilled. “Charlie rested his forehead against hers, his breathing laboured, a smug smile on his face. “Knew you were the only girl that could take care of my problem,” he teased.
She slapped him lightly on the chest. “You're incorrigible, Charlie Weasley. Unlike you, I can't call in because I was randy. Not that I'm complaining, but some of us do have a schedule to keep.” She smiled and wished she could tell him how she felt.
Stop it. It's only sex for him.
Easing out of her body, Charlie kissed her. “Guess I better help you finish your shower so you won't be late,” he said cockily, picking up the bath sponge. A half hour later they were dressing in the bedroom, Hermione attempting to ignore the clock on the nightstand that kept informing her that she was running late.
She finished with her hair and checked her appearance in the mirror. She saw Charlie picking up his shirt, slower than her to dress as he kept watching her, which made her smile.
“See you Friday?” She frowned slightly when he didn't answer straight away.
“I'm afraid not, love. That's why I told them I'd be in late today. I Flooed the boss to see if he needed anything from London before I Portkeyed back, and he informed me that I was working the weekend.” Charlie pulled his shirt on and turned to Hermione, a lopsided smile on his face. “It seems a lot of the blokes wanted it off for some reason.”
She pursed her lips and nodded, then forced a smile, a flicker of disappointment flaring. Hermione knew exactly why Charlie's coworkers wanted the weekend off; Saturday was Valentine's Day. They would want to spend the weekend with their girls. She had planned to fix dinner for Charlie and spend the evening in, convinced that she wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't remember. Yet, her heart fell that he hadn't even remembered that it was Valentine's Day. “Work must come first. The next Friday then,” she said with forced cheeriness, walking over to him and buttoning up the last buttons on his shirt. What did she expect anyway? They were only shag buddies with no strings attached… at least for Charlie.
“Yeah, next Friday,” he agreed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. He gave her a boyish smile, one that always made her stomach clench in a pleasurable way, before kissing her soundly. Charlie kissed her forehead and picked up his coat, removing a crumpled theatre ticket and disappearing as the Portkey took effect.
~*~
February 13th
The secretaries gathered around the front desk stopped talking when Hermione walked in and scrambled to get away. She felt a small twinge of guilt, almost, but ignored it continuing on through the office to her desk, but not before seeing the bouquets on each of their desks. True, it was a little bit of jealousy that caused her to demand they sort through the last three years of files and re-catalogue them. The three women had went on all week about the plans their boyfriends had arranged for Valentine's causing Hermione to snap at them after two days of listening to them twitter on about it.
Hermione threw her briefcase on the desk and flopped down in the chair. It was bad enough that the canteen had been decorated with hearts and roses, but it was the last straw when a pink carnation in a bud vase was sent to her after the morning break. It was a token the Ministry sent to all the single or widowed women in the building, so they wouldn't feel left out.
Stupid bloody holiday!
~*~
February 14th
Sitting with her legs up on the couch, dressed in her comfortable over-sized pajamas and old dressing gown, Hermione wiped her eyes and blew her nose as she flipped off the telly angrily. It was ridiculous to get so emotional over a movie, a sappy romance at that. She supposed she was feeling a wee bit sorry for herself, being alone on Valentine's Day.
It wouldn't have mattered if she'd kept the relationship with Charlie free of emotions, but she couldn't, she loved him. Hermione pushed her feet into her fluffy house slippers and shuffled into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Sipping the hot, strong drink, she kept going over the argument she'd presented to herself all week, whether to break things off with Charlie . Of course, she couldn't tell him how she felt. It would be too embarrassing to admit that she didn't keep her part on not getting involved.
Carrying her cup back to the sofa, she absently stroked Crookshanks who'd hopped up beside her in hopes that she'd brought something to nibble on with the tea. Hermione scratched him idly, trying not to dwell on feeling lonely and sorry for herself. It was her own fault for allowing her emotions to get in the way of a causal affair.
With a sigh, she set the empty cup down and picked up a book on Property Law. A scratching noise at the window made Crookshanks growl softly, his large, amber eyes staring at the darkened glass. Hermione glanced over to see an owl hovering patiently and she got up to let it in. The owl flew in, landing lightly on the back of a chair to hold out its right leg where a long stemmed white rose was attached, a silver, gauzy ribbon tied around the stem. A little flutter went through her as she took off the rose and thanked the owl, who hooted in a bored manner and flew back out the window.
Hermione smiled as she sniffed the rose before opening the small folded card attached, her smile growing wider. He hadn't forgotten.
Missing you.
C.
P.S. Untie the ribbon for a surprise
She touched the ribbon, wondering what kind of charm Charlie was going to surprise her with. As she began to untie the ribbon, she felt a jerk behind her navel and she went spinning into the darkness. Hermione barely kept upright when the Portkey lifted and she blinked, her eyes adjusting to her surroundings. She appeared to be in a courtyard. A large pit fire brightened the area in the center, a low u-shaped building in the background. Around the courtyard were muted burning lanterns, hanging magically in the air. Music played from somewhere and she heard low voices. Hermione clutched the ribbon and her dressing gown tighter, wishing she had her wand, when she heard a feminine giggle from the right.
Her eyes adjusting more to the dimness of the area, she saw several couples around the courtyard, some dancing to the slow music, others sitting on low benches. Her cheeks began to burn, standing in some unknown area in her night clothes, her hair messily up in a large clip, and her temper rising as she vowed she was going to kill Charlie.
Someone cleared their throat behind her, and she jumped before turning around, her face burning more at the couple standing there, the woman evidently trying hard not to laugh. “You must be Hermione,” said the man kindly. “Charlie said to expect you.” The woman at his side half snorted trying to stifle a giggle. “I'm David and this is Kara. Charlie's finishing his rounds checking the dragons.”
Mustering all the dignity she could wearing her pyjamas, Hermione stuffed the ribbon in her pocket and offered each her hand. “Nice to meet you,” she said weakly, still planning Charlie's untimely demise for the embarrassment.
“I'd neuter him if I were you,” Kara said in an amused whisper as she shook Hermione's hand. She nudged David in the side. “Maybe you can show her to Charlie's room to wait for him.”
David nodded and offered Hermione his arm. Embarrassed, she took it and followed him through the courtyard, hearing a few more amused whispers in her wake. They entered the right side of the long building, the lights in the hall causing her to blink a moment and she felt more exposed in her shabby, inappropriate attire. “Charlie was planning to be in the courtyard when you arrived, but his turn came on patrol,” David said conversationally. “He'll be sorry he missed your arrival.”
“Oh, he'll be sorry all right,” Hermione muttered under her breath, mortified that David must have heard her as he laughed.
“I'm sure he will,” he said, giving her a wink as they stopped in front of a door. “Don't damage him too much, he has another patrol at dawn.” David opened the door and they walked into a sizable living room that held several large couches before a fireplace and a large table with six chairs. “Charlie's room is the third door on the right. I'll send him straight in when he gets back.”
“Thanks, David,” she said, unable to muster up any more conversation, especially since she was in a hurry to get behind a closed door and away from anyone's eyes. Once he left, Hermione hurried to the door he'd told her and went in. The room was small but comfortable looking, with a double bed, an armoire and a small two seat sofa that was wedged tightly between the nightstand and bed. Even in her ire, Hermione took great notice of the room that Charlie called home. A two tiered barrister bookcase by the desk was stuffed with books and she took a moment to read a few of the titles.
Hearing someone in the outer room, Hermione straightened and turned to face the door, in case it was Charlie. Her mouth thinned when the doorknob turned and she took a step closer to the door as it opened. Charlie entered, his hair messy and windswept, his face lighting up when he saw her.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said with grin, tossing his coat haphazardly toward a nearby chair as he approached her.
Hermione slapped him hard on the chest several times when he was close enough, her eyes narrowing in fury. “How dare you, Charlie Weasley!” she snapped at him, hitting him again, growing angrier that he didn't even flinch from her blows, and she wished she had her wand again.
“Whoa! What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked, bewildered, as he grabbed her wrists, his brow furrowing.
“What's wrong with me?” Hermione said shrilly. “Let's see, where do I start? Maybe being Portkeyed into the middle of a party in my night clothes? Or that I was whisked thousand of miles to the middle of nowhere without my wand? Think one of those could be the reason, Charlie?”
Charlie's neck reddened, his mouth setting and he dropped her wrists, stepping away and raking his hand through his hair. He glared at her, opening his mouth then shutting it. Hermione put her hands on her hips waiting for him to defend himself. “You should have warned me that the ribbon was a Portkey! For all I knew I could've landed in a lake...”
“Just shut up!” Charlie growled, closing the distance between them. He grabbed her shoulders and jerked her against him, his mouth closing on hers in a bruising kiss. Hermione tried to pull away, determined not to give in to the kiss, but Charlie was relentlessly kissing her over and over until she felt weak and began to return them. When he pulled away, he wore a cocky smile. “Now will you be quiet and listen?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Figured it wouldn't be much of a surprise if I'd told you to dress up for a party, would it? Not that it's a dress up type of party anyway, just the guys who were stuck here instead of spending the holiday with their girls.” He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. “And I wanted my girl here,too. So sue me. 'sides, you look fine just the way you are.”
Hermione eyes widened ever so slightly at the mention of 'my girl', and she shook her head, trying not to smile, wanting to stay angry. But, she couldn't. “I'm wearing my nightclothes, Charlie,” she chided, holding out her arms to emphasize her old dressing gown. She always wore her nice one when he stayed for the weekend.
“You're beautiful,” he said, raising his hand to cup her cheek, “whatever you're wearing.”
“Charlie...”
“Guess I owe you an apology for not warning you.” He gave her his boyish smile, one that was well- tested on Molly Weasley.
Hermione laughed softly, putting her arms around his neck and standing on tiptoe to kiss him softly. “No, I owe you one. It was a lovely surprise. I wasn't expecting anything at all.” She hadn't meant to say that and stiffened.
Charlie pulled on one of her curls, a closed expression on his face. Hermione watched him as he was silent a moment, seemingly gathering his words. “Yeah, I can see why you'd think that,” he said softly. Taking her by the hand, he led her over to the worn small sofa where he sat down and pulled her into his lap. His thumb stroked over the back of her hand as he searched her face. “After all. we made the rules, only fuck buddies.” Hermione was startled to hear the small note of contempt in his tone. She started to make light of it, not wanting him to know it pained her that she'd agreed to that, but he put his finger to her lips. “Hear me out, Hermione, before I lose my nerve. When we started, I knew we couldn't be more because of, well, Ron. Bloody brother honour thing. Stupid, whoever came up with it.” He removed his finger and smiled wryly. “It was easy at first, till I started wanting more.” She held her breath, her heart beating faster at his words and it took a lot of willpower not to speak.
His hand covered hers and he gave it a squeeze. “When I said I wanted my girl at the party, I meant it. I mean, I would like that, love. For you to be my girl, because I'm fuck at keeping my end of the bargain it seems and I've fallen for you.”
The smile that tugged at her lips was almost painful as she took a deep breath, then laughed. Charlie released her hand and she felt him tense, almost looking wary. “Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have said...”
Hermione threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. “Yes, yes, you should. You said everything right,” she said in a rush, knowing he thought her reaction was a rejection. “I've been driving myself crazy because I broke the pact too. Crushed it, in fact, because I've fallen in love with you, Charlie.”
His face relaxed before he grinned. “Bloody hell,” he said, laughing when she raised her brows. “I mean, bloody brilliant. That's bloody brilliant.” Still chuckling, Charlie pulled her closer, kissing her softly, a teasing kiss that held promise.
Resting her head on his shoulder, Hermione felt like she was light and free. “Charlie, what about Ron?” she asked abruptly, unable to help herself since he'd brought the white elephant into the room minutes before. Charlie chuckled and shook his head causing Hermione to sit up.
“I talked to him Monday. That was the other reason I took the morning off. I wanted to clear the air with him about us,” he said, kissing her chin when she frowned. “Guess, I should've told you how I felt first but it's all good, with Ron that is.”
Relief flooded her, glad that Ron was okay with this and as if he could guess what she was thinking, Charlie continued. “Though if he wasn't okay with it, I wouldn't have let that stop me from wanting you.” She heard the sincere truth in his voice and her heart soared.
Hermione kissed him gently, her eyes dancing. “Good, because I want you, Charlie Weasley,” she said, getting off his lap and untying her dressing gown. “But, I'm still mad at you for Portkeying me into a party when I was dressed like this.”
Charlie grinned and got up also, his gaze sweeping over her. “I still say you're beautiful dressed in your pyjamas, but since you disagree, I can transfigure something of mine for you to wear to the party.”
She shrugged the dressing gown off and began to unbutton the pyjama top, a mischievous smile on her face. “Maybe later. Right now,” Hermione finished unbuttoning the top and it joined the dressing gown at her feet. She smirked at the light in Charlie's eyes. “Right now, I believe 'my' guy needs to apologize to me... over and over, perhaps all night.”
Pulling off his jumper, Charlie began to undo his belt. “Damn straight, he does. All night long.” He stepped over to her and scooped her into his arms, carrying her the few steps to the bed. Falling down onto the soft mattress, Charlie kissed her hungrily. Hermione smiled inwardly, knowing that this was the best holiday ever.