Just a little interlude as I think of the new chapter for my other fiction ' The Gravity Of Love'. A bit more P/O love here instead of the angst filled one mentioned above. This is dedicated to Leah Wood and all the great P/O slash writers who are keeping the good ship afloat here at and as always, own nothing that isn't of my own creation and this is not for profit.

NAKED TRUTHS.

Saturday mornings were the best in Percy Weasley's opinion.

For one, it was on of the few days where he could actually be lenient on his peers and not keep up the whole Head Boy persona he had on most of the school week. Two was the fact that most of the children would have left the castle for either the grounds, Quidditch Pitch or Hogsmeade as a chance to get out of the confines of the castle after five days of lessons or detentions. But the best and third reason he loved Saturday mornings was that, with all the students gone and himself in a more relaxed state that usual, he could have the Prefect's Bathroom all to himself and not worry about being disturbed while he bathed and went about his morning routine.

He was walking along the hallway to the Prefect's Bathroom now in fact. He had a bag slung over his shoulder which housed his casual muggle clothes and his toiletries bag of shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush and so on. He decided since he knew for certain he would have the place to himself he might as well enjoy it to the full.

The Head Boy arrived at the Portrait Hole and allowed a small smile across his face as he opened his mouth to say the password. He would spend nearly the whole day here if he could manage it, away from the twins and the Quidditch team, away from Harry, Hermoine and his annoying little prat of a brother Ron. The idea sent small sensations of bliss through him. And all he had to do was say two little words and the portrait would swing open and admit him into that wonderful little sanctuary.

" Raven's Nest."

" Sorry. Not today."

Percy frowned. The person in the painting, a stuffy looking wind pipe player with so many ruffles on his collar he looked like an overdressed poodle, looked at him with his nose upturned. It as then he realized they changed the original portrait for a new one. No matter.

" It's okay, I'm a Prefect. You can let me in."

" No can do."

" But I'm a Prefect! You must obey me!"

The man raised an eyebrow.

" My aren't we the little lordship today Mr Weasley." He smirked when he saw Percy's mouth drop in surprise. " Yes, I know who you are. The other man in the previous portrait warned be about your usual, ah, 'relaxation' periods in here on Saturday."

Percy felt the blush rise in his face. He thought he had made it clear for the other portraits not to be looking while he was doing 'that' in the bathtub. It wasn't like he planned it when it happened though. Not his fault damn morning erections refused to go away by mind power alone. If he wasn't so big it wouldn't be a...

" Let me in at once. If you don't I'll.."

" Sorry but I can't and there is a very good reason why."

" Which is?"

" The sewage pipes have bursts and unless you enjoy bathing in someone else's shit then may I suggest you look elsewhere."

His blush, if anything, went redder at that. Percy hated crude language at the best of times.

" When will it be fixed then?"

" Finch is looking into the problem now, but given the amount of damage done and the smell, my guess is about a week."

" A WEEK! Where are all the prefects going to bathe then?"

The Poodle Neck raised an eyebrow.

" As where most of the school take their showers and baths. In the commune bathrooms of coarse."

Oh no, No...no...no...no...no...no...oh...shit.

Percy nodded and turned around and began walking back the way he came, his good spirits thoroughly depleted at the news. Not so much the fact that the Prefect bathroom was not available anymore, but the fact it meant he would have to go back to the embarrassment of having to bathe in the commune bathrooms and, by default, be naked in front of other boys. Something he had not done in all the years he had been in Hogwarts as he always made sure no one was in the bedrooms when he changed for bed or on the weekends when casual clothes were allowed. And when it came to bathing and going to the bog he always made sure he was in and out before anyone could chance to see the most troublesome part of his anatomy showing. And to have all his careful planning come undone by one burst pipe. Percy never thought one could hate such an inanimate object as much as he had until that very moment.

He had few options. The commune bathrooms in Gryffindor would be full by now as it was nearly 7 and everyone would be up and around by now, him being the early riser besides Oliver Wood. The other commune bathrooms were out of the question because, obviously, they belonged to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. And besides that, the thought of having a chance of seeing a naked Marcus Flint just out of the shower was not that much of an appealing idea - no matter if the rumors about his nickname being Python in the locker rooms may have lead others to believe otherwise. And he could not use the Prefect bathroom until next week. That meant the only option was...

Fuckin' Hell.

------

I could still turn back. I'm not actually in there yet. And sounds like I shouldn't be either.

Percy stood there in front of the red wooden door that separated him from the locker room of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. On the other side he heard various whoops, yells and what sounded suspiciously bare arses getting whipped by wet tightly wound up towels. All of which made Percy doubt his decision to come here all the more insane and ridiculous.

But I came right to the Quidditch Pitch, with my bag and my towel. And I have my wand up my sleeve if anyone tries anything. What am I...

Suddenly he jumped back and ran around the corner. The door he had been standing in front of had burst open and through a haze of steam clouds he could see the male members of the team exit in one fast line. He saw Fred and George leave first, arms slung around the shoulders of their younger brother Ron, giving him girl advice by the sound of it. Next came their star player, the Seeker Harry Potter. He was dressed with his gym bag slung over his shoulder and shaking his head and laughing at something, possibly what the twins were saying to his best mate. Percy saw three more figures exit after him and then the door slammed shut behind them and he waited as he watched them move right across the pitch and were about just outside the boundaries of the pitch itself.

Now or never old chap.

Taking a deep breath, Percy ran around the corner, yanked open the door and went inside.

It was his first time in the locker rooms. He had never had a need to go there before as he always took his shower back at the castle and since he was never the athletic sort never used the gym or the adjacent facilities such as the locker rooms. It was surprisingly clean - rows of red lockers along the wall and a narrow row of benches in the centre of the walkway that lead up to the end where he saw the doorway to the Captain's office, the lights inside turned off. There was a bend at the end by the door and a sign on the right that read SHOWER ROOM.

Room? What could that mean? Certainly it's means to read Rooms? I mean they wouldn't expect it all to be in one giant room with no utter privacy for your...

He turned the corner and could only gawk in amazement.

It was indeed one large room. It was circular in shape with about ten shower nozzles sticking out around the room and about five more coming down from the room into the centre. The tiles were red and white checkered and there were in fact basins for soaps and hooks for towels. The one glaring admission though, Percy saw blatantly, was no dividing walls or shower curtains.

" Bugger."

Oliver never mentioned this about the locker rooms. But then again, he never really asked anything about the Captain about life in the locker rooms as he never really found them a place of interest as he was never sporty, nor was he a big fan of Quidditch like Wood, whose obsession with the game was known by all to be fanatical.

He looked around the room again. All the lockers were shut. The Captain's office door was closed and lights off and he had seen all the players were out of the room, so logic read he had the place to himself. He could just dump his stuff, catch a quick rinse and be out of there and no one would be the...

" Bugger. I can't believe I left it."

Percy froze. He heard the locker room door open and close, followed by the voice he knew all to well.

Oliver Wood. What's he doing back?

" Percy Weasley?"

Percy then realized he was in plain view of the Keeper and hadn't had the brains to hide when he heard the door open to begin with. Taking a deep breathe he turned around and faced the other boy, trying to keep his expression neutral.

Wood was standing there by one of the lockers, bad slung over one shoulder and his broomstick in his right hand. He still had his scarlet red robes on and protection pads on shins and arms. His whole body from head to toe was caked in the thickest layers of mud Percy had ever seen. He had a puzzled expression on his face that looked so out of place that Percy wondered why it was there, then remembered.

That's right. I'm not supposed to be here.

" Hello Oliver. Fancy meeting you here."

Oliver quirked an eyebrow as he dropped his gym bag and broomstick on the bench behind him.

" I could ask you the same thing Head Boy. This isn't exactly your territory."

" It's not of my doing. The sewage pipes burst in the prefect bathroom and I was left with no other option but to come here."

Oliver's eyebrow raised higher, his hands going to his hips.

" What about the common bathroom back at the tower?"

" Too busy."

" Too busy?"

" Yes."

Oliver smirked. Percy wished he could just slap it out of his face. He knew the reason Wood was having such fun at this predicament as he knew all to well the red head's somewhat prudish nature when it came to nudity and himself. Half the time Oliver had to ask Percy if it as alright if he changed in their own dorm, citing the fact he was worried the sudden onslaught of male nudity may give him a heart attack. Oliver knew damn it, knew that this was the most embarrass...what was he doing now?

" What are you doing?"

Oliver had turned back to his gym bag and was proceeding to shed his muddied robes onto the bench, then propped up one foot as he began to unfasten the shin guards. All the while he kept an amused expression and his gaze level with the red head halfway across the room.

" What does it look like Weasley?"

" Your...getting undressed."

Oliver smirked, tossing the shin guard to the ground before propping up his left leg and unfastening the other in quick succession. Then came the black broom hooked boots, which he tossed in the far corner, soon followed by his socks.

" Exactly."

Percy began so swallow. Hard. " Why?"

Oliver's grin turned into a full on smile as he began to unhook the clips that held his shoulder armor onto his burly frame and Percy almost jumped at the loud smacking sound it made on the tiled floor when the large piece of equipment fell. Then he nearly went red in the face when he saw Wood begin to take off the red jumper, though he paused briefly and spared him a look.

" I'm taking a shower before I head back to the tower. I was going to use the prefect one but since you said it's not available, well..."

" Oh."

Look away Percy. Look away, look away, look away, look away...oh..my...

When the Keeper lifted the jumper and the white shirt underneath over his head he revealed a well toned torso - lean and sinewy with skin almost just barely containing the muscles underneath the bronzed outer coating. It was there and then that Percy realized that yes, playing Quidditch did give you a six pack to die for.

Oliver, somehow not noticing the open and blatantly appreciative audience, chucked the jumper and shirt along into the corner with the boots and shin guards and socks. He stretched his hands to the ceiling, cracking his bones in his arms and sending out a low groan from his lips that seemed to echo around the entire room. And then he looked back at Percy. Oliver's smile, if he was reading it right, now looked down right mischievous.

" Care to join me Head Boy?"

As Oliver knew it would, Percy's blush went from red to a very, very bright pink. But the boy quickly gained his composure, shook his head quickly to clear it and began walking back the way he came.

" Don't worry Oliver. I'll chance it and get one in the common room back at the tower. It should be clear now, and I won't be such a bother if I'm not here, and..."

Percy stopped mid ramble as when he walked past Oliver the Keeper reached out and grabbed him by the elbow with his left hand. Percy kept his eyes to the ground, not daring to look up in case the site of a nearly naked Scotsman would either turn him into a stuttering mess or make him die of embarrassment of having to reveal his own lesser, uglier form.

" Hey," Oliver spoke, his brogue oddly gentle and nowhere near the teasing tone it was before. " I'm sorry. Didn't mean to embarrass you none mate. I know how touchy you are about getting' your kit off in front of other blokes, but it's okay with me. I won't tease or take the piss."

Percy was thinking about it. A lot now. Oliver was hardly known for his gentle nature and caring about what other people thought or felt, yet here he was, oddly gentle and coaxing a startled red head into taking a shower with him with no pressure. And, if Percy didn't know better, he could feel Oliver gently rubbing his thumb over his elbow in a circular motion, all the while those brown eyes looking right into his.

He does look oddly sincere. But how can I know for certain? For all I know the twins and harry are just waiting for a signal to come in, snap me in a picture when I'm completely wet and naked, then I'll be...

" I'll get in the way. You won't like me here and.."

" You won't be, in the way I mean," The brunette smiled, still gently rubbing his elbow with his thumb and, if Percy was correct in his assumption, pulling his body closer to his. " It's a big shower room in case you haven't noticed, so we won't be exactly in each other's personal space and besides, wouldn't you rather have a nice shower here than back in the tower where the twins could pop up at any moment?"

Percy visibly shuddered at the thought, making Oliver chuckle despite himself.

" I thought so. Tell you what, I'll go finish getting changed in the captain's office and then wait until your already in the shower before I come out. With all the steam that flows around that room I will not see a thing and I'll stay on the other side just to be sure."

Percy thought about it. It was indeed a big shower room, and Wood did seem sincere enough in his invitation and taking the extra precautions. And having the chance to see the Keeper's bare arse coated in water and soap suds, if the bubble curve in the back of his breeches was anything to go by then...

Stop it, Stop it. He'll never be interested in a scrawny runt like you. Get over it.

Percy looked up, eyed the brunette carefully.

" You promise not to peek? Or tell anyone?"

Wood smiled and held up two fingers in front of him

" Scout's honor Head Boy. Now shove off and get in. I'll join you in three."

Percy nodded, watched as Wood gathered up his clothes and equipment and moved down to the office at the end of the room. As he did so he could not help but see the back of his cream breeches that clinged tightly to the the well muscled arse as he moved.

What have I gotten myself into now?

------

As he stripped quickly and precisely he had to wonder what he was getting himself in for. He had always showered and bathed alone in all his years here, yet it was only now in his sixth year that he was being literally thrown into close quarters with the one person he did not want to be seen naked in front of.

he stripped his shoes, socks, shirt and tie and jumper in quick succession and folded them all neatly as he placed them on the bench. It was only when he began unbuttoning his trousers that a wave of panic came over him. What would Wood think of the sight of him completely in the raw after all these years? Would he be shocked, repulsed or maybe a little curious? He was certain though that he would most likely be repulsed. He was all angles and bones covered in pasty colored skin that barely concealed the many ridges and odd angles, and he had nowhere hear the nicely muscled arse of the brunette or his finely toned abdominal muscles. He on the other hand had a flat stomach that served little else but just showed how plain, pasty and...freckly he was.

God I can't this, not in front of him. I'm just too ugly for him not to say anything. He'll see and tell the twins and then they will tell the whole team, who will then tell the other teams, which would inevitably lead to the Slytherin team, who would then...

" Weasley?"

Percy's head snapped around. Oliver was standing outside the office now, naked except for a white towel wrapped around his waist. A toiletry bag grasped in one hand as the other held the towel up. His expression on his face was a worried one.

" Are you alright?"

" Yes, it's just that, well...I'm a bit nervous."

The keeper smiled.

" I told you I won't take the piss and I won't look. Plus, after I came in I double locked the door leading in and shut all the windows and spelled them so no one can see in."

" Why did you do that for?"

This time it was Oliver who blushed, shuffling his feet a bit as he looked down at the ground.

" The younger year girls always try to sneak a peak at the blokes when they are in the locker room after practice, some try to even take a picture of us while changing or heading to the shower. Poor Potter is a nervous wreck most of the time now, only showers back at the tower after the games."

" But not you?"

The Keeper shrugged, looking back from the floor and into Percy's eyes. His grin returned to his face.

" I'm not much to look at Weasley. The girls go for more Potter and your brothers."

Percy scoffed despite himself.

" My brothers? Why on earth would they go after them?"

" I don't know. Could be the combination of that red hair, the smooth flawless skin and how your freckles seem to cover your entire body like a patchwork quilt. It's not a bad combination when you take it all in."

He's not saying...implying that...

Before he could ask what exactly he was referring to Oliver walked into the shower room, but not before giving the red head a little wink with his right eye.

' Better hurry up head boy. Lights go out on the pitch in twenty."

-----

Percy felt like he was walking into the gallows when he entered the shower room, his towel wrapped so tightly around his waist he was in danger of rupturing his insides. Through the steam that was as thick as Wood said it was he saw the other boy at the other side of the room, already rubbing soap all over his bare arms and shoulder and, as promised, kept his gaze away from him. Luckily, the steam was so thick it distorted his view of Oliver's arse, otherwise he knew he would just about die of nervousness.

Quickly he ditched the towel by the doorway and turned on the tap to the one nearest the entrance. That way he could bolt for it if he felt the slight inkling of a prank coming on and be gone before anything bad happened. As he stepped under the hot spray he closed his eyes briefly and enjoyed the hot stream that coated his body and tingled his muscles into relaxing. The water, combined with the steam that circled around him like a cocoon, seemed much better that the tempered baths he had back at the castle. Now all he had to do was reach for his shampoo and body wash and...

Body wash. Shampoo. Back in bag in locker room. Am completely buck naked.

Shit.

" Weasley,"

Percy's eyes blinked. You were allowed to talk to people in the shower?

" Yes Oliver?"

" Hate to rush you but you got to hustle. Lights will be out in fifteen and Hooch always comes in to make sure there are no stranglers lurking around."

" Alright."

Then the silence dropped upon them.So since he had no soap and no shampoo he decided to at least slosh some hot water where he could reach, towel off and then have a proper shower with soap and suds late at night when everyone had gone to bed and the commune one was guaranteed to be free.

" What are you doing?"

Percy blinked again, this time he chanced it and snuck a look over his shoulder, and suddenly wished he hadn't as he saw Oliver had turned around and saw rivets of soap suds cascade down the broad shoulders and down a V shaped lines into his nipples and then further into the ridges of his abdomen, then lower into the curls of his...

He shook his head. Why was Oliver turning around. And, more puzzling, why was he looking directly as him.

" Showering. You said to be quick so I..."

" With what? Just water?"

Percy shrugged. " Left my stuff in the bag. I'll just have to wait till I get back to the tower to have a proper one."

He quickly turned back into the spray, willing his gaze to stick to the red and white patterns in the tiles in front of him and not back at the boy who was now probably getting a good view of Weasley arse in all it's pale flat glory. Steam could only hide so much.

Just finish off now, towel yourself and then run like heck back to the tower. Then just avoid Wood for the rest of your natural life and all should be well.

" Here."

Percy jumped. Somehow Wood had made his way over to the shower stall right next to him and turned it on, and then he noticed what the other boy was holding out in front of him. It was a bottle of body wash.

" I thought you said you would keep to the other side."

Wood grinned.

" Aye, but I am in a hurry because of the time and all, and I think you ought to at least have a quick soap and rinse before facing your girl when you get back."

" Pardon?"

Oliver frowned.

" Your dating that Ravenclaw. Clearwater right?"

He obviously hadn't heard.

Percy shook his head, though he nodded his thanks as he took the bottle from Wood and squirted a hand of the mint smelling liquid into his free hand before placing the bottle on the floor and slowly rubbed it along his arms.

" Not anymore. We broke up over the summer."

" Why's that'? I thought you two were like the perfect couple, gonna get married and have a little house and kids."

" Honestly? I think it was because of me."

Oliver frowned further.

" What' makes you think that?"

" Well look at me. I'm not exactly nice to look at am I? I mean, who would want to touch m..."

He shook his head and cleared his thoughts. This was not the kind of thing you wanted to talk about with a boy. A boy who is completely naked, wet and is so good looking he would not know the meaning of words such as ugly, useless or unlovable. He was just leaning down to do his legs when he felt it.

Oliver had placed a hand gently on his right shoulder and was motioning him to stand up.

" Oliver. What are you.."

"Shh."

Too stunned for words Percy allowed himself to be motioned up and pushed back under the spray, and his eyes widened when Wood stepped out from under his nozzle and into Percy's own water. Those brown eyes never leaving his. Slowly the Keeper released his shoulder and the red head watched as he kneeled down and picked up the bottle of mint body wash and squirted some into his hands before dipping them under the spray, then working them into a nice, soapy lather by rubbing them together.

What is he going to do? He won't want to touch me,no one wants to touch me willingly, so why would he?

And then large, calloused hands eloped his thin shoulders, rubbing down to his arms in slow, lingering strokes that sent shivers up his spine despite the combined heat of the hot water and the broad body that was closer to him than ever before.

Oliver watched his face as he moved the hands and suds back up to the shoulders, and then moved down over the pale chest and smiled a bit when he saw the other boy's breathe quicken.

" Come here."

Percy did not know what he meant until Oliver gently grabbed his shoulders and soon Percy found himself head to toe and face to face with the Scotsman. The other man grinned and placed his arms around his neck as he rested his hands on the slippery back of the red head, slowly moving up and down the broad expanse of flesh with circular motions.

" Just relax. I won't let you fall."

Percy shivered. He knew he should probably be offering to to Oliver the same courtesy and wash him, but he was too far gone in his lustful haze to function straight and, with the Keeper's own erection firming up against his own growing one, all thoughts seemed to leave his mind.

Oliver allowed himself to sigh, moving his hands over a body he had longed to lay his hands on since the beginning of fifth year and now finally having the opportunity to do so.

He looked down as his hands moved lower and lower on the pale skin of the red head's back, marveling at the paleness of it mingled with the vast expanse of freckles that seemed to beckon to him. And then his hands reached those two beautiful white globes of arse that he grabbed one in each hand and gave both a gentle squeeze. He smiled when he felt Percy's grip tightened around his shoulders and neck. He shifted his head slight to align his lips with the small ear near him, giving it a gentle little bite followed by a lingering kiss on the lobe.

" Like that love?"

He felt the other man nod. Smiling still, he worked his hands in circular motions on the buttocks, then moved up again to rest them on the slender hip bones as he leaned back to see Percy face to face. The other boy though was embarrassed, refusing it seemed to meet his gaze. Frowning, he gently bought one hand to the other's chin and made him look up at him, and was truly surprised to see tears falling from those lovely blue eyes.

" Hey," he whispered, smiling. " What's the matter now?"

" Why are you.. I mean, no one likes to touch me...like this..so why.."

Oliver leaned in and gently, though strongly, placed a kiss right on those rosy red lips, shutting off the strangled question and thus hoping to answer it as well in the one gesture. It was a long one, with little breaks between but Oliver was sure he got the point across when he pulled away with a little nip at the lower lip of his new shower buddy's mouth. Percy shivered and rested his head on the broad shoulder in front. Oliver found himself gently rocking them back and forth on the spot, slowly turning round in a circle while the hot water continued to pour on them from above. All the while he rained more kissed down that pale smooth neck and moved his hands up and down the smooth back and arse.

" I've always wanted to touch you Percy."

Percy looked up from Oliver's shoulder, eyes confused.

" But why? I'm not handsome or anything. What could you see?"

Oliver sighed. he pulled the man's head back down to his shoulder, placing a kiss on the freckled one in front of him before speaking.

" You are too hung up on what is made out to be wanted, yet what is truth is closer than you realize love. You see, I've always thought you had the most sexy body of all our year."

" Really?"

" Yes really. I love how lean and long it is. I love how there are freckles coating it like powdered sugar in every place I can see."

Percy laughed despite himself, his grip tightening around the other boy's shoulders and neck.

" What about my hair then?"

Oliver bought a hand up to tangle it in the wet curls and began to lightly stroke it back, smiling at the sigh it bought forth from the other.

" Absolutely the sexiest thing I have ever seen. No contest love. But that's not what I love about you the most at all you know."

" Really? What is it?"

Oliver leaned in, gave a long, lingering kiss on the lips, then looked him right in the eyes.

" It's the man within I love."

Percy felt more tears begin to fall and turned to bury his head in the shoulder again, though Oliver caught the smile and felt Percy's body push more closer into his own.

A minute passed, Oliver just holding and stroking the pale, freckled man under the hot spray. Then -

" Oliver?"

" Yeah?"

" Does that mean we can take more showers together?"

The Keeper laughed. He pulled the red head closer and bit down hard on the shoulder in front of him, making the boy giggle and yelp at the same time. He knew one of them would have a hickey by the end of it.

" I bloody well hope so."

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