A/N: What's this? ANOTHER chapter? Why yes, my darlings, it is! I woke up to the most wonderful thing in the world this morning: story favorite and reviews. :) You guys are so wonderful! Thank you!

This chapter is really dialogue-heavy, I know. The next one will be less so. I'm kinda nervous about my ideas for the next bit; I really, really hope you like where I'm going with this!

Oliver found Percy ten minutes later in the upstairs bathroom, scrubbing at the grout with a toothbrush that looked unnervingly like Oliver's. "I, er, think it's pretty clean, Perce," he said, looking around the immaculate white room.

Percy didn't respond, just scrubbed harder.

"Okay, so maybe I screwed up," Oliver began, and Percy threw the brush down so hard that it bounced a good foot back up from the tile.

"Maybe?" he hissed. "Oh, what a lovely apology. You screwed up, no maybe about it! I told you I wasn't ready to deal with them!" He ran a hand through his not-yet-styled hair. "God, as if you haven't pushed me into enough rubbish that I wasn't ready to deal with!"

"I know, alright? I've been a bit of a berk -"

"Maybe? A bit? Where is all this doubt coming from?"

"Okay, I've been really awful!" Oliver replied hastily, seeing a Weasley tantrum beginning to brew below the surface. "I know that! I'm really, really sorry. I had no idea they were even coming. I just told Fred and George that you wanted to talk to them and you missed them."

"Why would you do that, though? They're my brothers, after all. I should be the one telling them all that."

"I know, but you weren't," Oliver said quietly. "If I hadn't done this, would you have even considered going to see them?"

Percy stood, sprayed the mirror with cleaner, and began rubbing at it furiously with a cloth that looked suspiciously like Oliver's favorite T-shirt. "I don't know, Ol, but either way, it ought to have been my decision."

"Why is this such a big deal? They came, didn't they? Doesn't that show that they forgive you?"

"You obviously don't understand my family." Percy scrubbed harder. "This goes back farther than you know, okay? So stay out of it."

"How far back?" Oliver asked, massaging Percy's shoulders. "I know the twins have always teased you, but they do that to everyone…"

"It's not them," Percy growled, shrugging Oliver's hands away. "It's Ron."

"Ron?" Oliver repeated dumbly. "Seriously? What happened? I knew you two didn't get along, but I didn't think it was that bad."

"We did get along." Percy seemed lost in his own reflection, gazing at the spotless mirror. "But then…" He shook his head suddenly, insistently. "I'm such a terrible brother."

"You're not!"

"I am." Percy started spritzing cleaner into the sink. "I couldn't help him… When he needed me. And I still can't." Every word seemed like it was being pried painfully from his throat.

Oliver wrapped his fingers around Percy's wrist, gently pulling the new rag (revealed to be Oliver's scarf) from his hand. "Stop this. Tell me what happened."

Percy sighed, then turned slowly to face his boyfriend. He looked so wide-eyed innocent and sad. "Ron and I used to be really close," he whispered. "He followed me everywhere. In big families, people sort of pair off. Ginny spent all her time with Mum, Bill and Charlie were always attached at the hip, and the twins… Well, they're the twins. So Ron usually followed me around." A ghost of a smile flitted over his lips. "He was like a puppy, with the way he went running after me every time I left the room.

"During the winter holidays in our fourth year, I was out in the forest with Ron. There was a pond behind our Quidditch clearing. The ice on it didn't look very think, and the pond was deep, but Ron wanted to go skating so badly, and God knows I couldn't deny him anything. So I let him go out and… Well…"

Percy looked on the verge of tears now, his low lip trembling slightly. "He fell in." The words were hollow and frightened. "And I couldn't reach him. I didn't know what to do, he was too far out for me to pull him back, and if I figured that if I went in after him we'd both drown. I was so terrified, and I felt so stupid and helpless…"

"What happened?" Oliver breathed, his entire body stiff with tension as he looked down at his lover's white face.

"Dad." Percy cleared his throat. "Dad came looking for us and found us just a few minutes later. He managed to get Ron out with magic. He seemed too happy that we were both okay to yell at me, but still… I never forgave myself."

They stood in silence for several minutes, both of them mulling the memory over. It was Percy that spoke first.

"I couldn't look at Ron after that. I felt horrible. I couldn't believe that he'd almost died because of my irresponsibility. Every time I saw him, I felt ashamed. Eventually, I stopped spending time with him. I started obsessing over his every move, terrified of him being hurt again." He ducked his head - he was obviously hoping that Oliver wouldn't see him wiping his eyes. "I just can't do it, Oliver. I can't talk to him now that I know I hurt him again. It's too much."

Oliver bit his lip. "But Percy, he forgives you. He must. He wants to talk to you."

Percy looked up with a small, sad smile. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I just can't do it." And gently, as though pushing aside every terrible feeling in his heart, he pushed past Oliver and out of the door.