Pairing(s): Charlie/Tonks Rating: PG Warnings: None Status: Complete
"Well, as far as weddings go, that was …"
"Bloody painful?" Charlie suggested, as he and Tonks sat with their backs against the elderly weeping willow that rested in one of the corners of the Weasley's dishevelled-looking garden, escaping most of the post-wedding party debris that littered the grass and the tables.
"Ah, no." Tonks replied. "I was going to say -"
"Bloody awful? Bloody hectic? Bloody agonising? Bloody long? Take your pick."
"Charlie Weasley, this is your brother's wedding we're talking about. Can't you say one nice thing about it?" Tonks scolded, secretly loving being the mature one of the pair for once.
"That it's over?" Charlie asked, taking a long pull from the bottle of firewhiskey that sat between their legs, reminding both of them of many occasions where they'd woken up the next morning not quite sure just what had happened to their secret stash of alcohol, or why they felt like they'd had their heads bashed in by a comet 260.
Noting Tonks' raised eyebrow, Charlie elaborated, not enjoying being the immature one of the pair. "Oh come on! Can't you see the mark my great auntie Muriel gave me on my cheek after she tried to get that non-existent speck of dirt off? Or the extra wrinkles from having to deal with all those bloody children and their levitating broomsticks? I swear, if I hear the words 'Can we have another dragon ride on your back, uncle Charlie?' them I'm going to take one of those broomsticks and shove it -"
"Okay, okay." Tonks laughed, snatching the bottle from Charlie and deftly downed half the remaining contents. "I get it. It was pretty bloody excruciating. 'Least your hair didn't change to radioactive-green when you sneezed and cause some little old wizard behind you to pass out in shock."
Charlie made a sound somewhere between a laugh, a snort and a dying dog.
"It was not amusing, Mr Weasley. It was bloody mortifying."
"Not for the rest of us! I wish I'd caught it on camera! We could've won one hundred galleons if we'd recorded it and sent it into 'You've Been Hexed'. How many people knock some old bloke out, fall over in shock, bang their heads against the chair, knock themselves out, fall onto the aforementioned old bloke, and then give him to thrill of his life when he wakes up with your boobs in his face? Abso-bloody-lutely hilarious."
Tonks waited for Charlie to calm down before swiftly changing the subject.
"Well Bill's wedding speech was pretty sweet, wasn't it? Didn't know a bloke could fit as many cheesy lines and clichés in as he did but nevertheless …"
Charlie nodded in agreement. "You should've seen him three days ago. Was in an absolute panic, running all around the place, muttering stuff like 'Do it today or later you'll pay' or something. He was so desperate he asked Fred and George for help!"
"Well he sorted himself out in the end, didn't he?"
"Yeah, he wrote some hallmark-worthy stuff. Nice touch with the 'I loved you from the moment I met you, and haven't stopped since' line. They're called classics for a reason."
Tonks snorted. "Yeah, but most blokes who say it are lying through their teeth."
"So didn't you fall in love with me instantly the first time we met?" Charlie asked playfully, batting his eyelashes seductively.
"Ah, no." Tonks replied shortly, grinning at her friend's melodramatic gasp of shock.
"But why not?" He demanded, feigning hurt and disbelief.
"Because you told me I had a nose like a pig, eyes like a rat and ears like an elephant."
"Well you did." Charlie said, shuddering at the memory. "Anyway I only said that because my feelings were crushed. You said I had hair that people could probably see my hair from space, or mistake it for a hairy carrot."
"Well you do!" Tonks laughed, dodging Charlie's foot and knocking the bottle of firewhiskey over her trousers.
"Then you said that dragon-shagging was illegal so I'd better watch out or I'd get chucked in Azkaban." Charlie continued, squinting his eyes to remember.
"Well I only said that because you said that I caused more damage than the offspring of a Whomping Willow and a bludger."
They both sighed contently at the memories.
"We got along well, didn't we?"
"Like a cauldron on fire."
Charlie winced. "Don't remind me."
"Why not? That was the day of our first kiss. We were walking back from detention, but we had to hide in that cupboard because we heard Filch coming."
"I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me into flying our broomsticks up to the top of the great hall. That bloke had it in for me after that."
"He had it in for everybody. Anyway, we hid in the cupboard, then you leaned down, and I leant up and then you put your lips on mine just. Like. This."
Tonks pressed her lips softly on Charlie's, enjoying the soft feel of his lips on hers before she pulled back and yelped in pain as Charlie bit her bottom lip.
"What was that for?!" She asked, rubbing her sore lip.
"Payback." Charlie grinned. "That's exactly what you did to me that day."
"I'd tripped!"
"Where have I heard that before?"
"Bite me."
"Just did, love."