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It was all supposed to have been so easy .
After high school, Astoria had completely given up on Draco, who had spent the whole of their six months dating mooning after Hermione Granger, of all people. And then she had begun mooning right back and before you knew it, Astoria found herself single. They had even gone across the country to attend Yale together after graduating, how gross.
Now, years later, they are actually getting married and in the meantime, Daphne had somehow become one of Hermione’s best friends, which is how Astoria finds herself invited to the Malfoy-hosted wedding and is now stepping out of a private car at the ridiculously large, private, and expensive spa in the middle of Nevada, stylized into a desert oasis and, oh so cleverly, named Oasis.
Who the hell gets married at a tropical spa two hours from Vegas? Hermione Granger, apparently. They were also getting married on some random Tuesday “because the date means something ” so there's that .
Mere hours after walking into the building - checking in was fine, but she found herself lounging on the bed and flipping through the weekend spa menu with undisguised glee for longer than she’d meant - Astoria finds herself nursing a blue coconut-something with not enough rum alongside Blaise and Anthony Goldstein, of all people, at the afternoon arrival luncheon.
An open bar of themed tropical drinks, hors-d'oeuvres to match, with Draco’s mother wafting about in a cloud of Chanel perfume through the guests to speak to each cluster of overly wealthy people. His father is standing stiffly beside two people - a man and a woman, with too-perfect white teeth, impeccable grooming, and the man with horridly frizzy hair who can only be Hermione’s parents. While Lucius Malfoy seems to be funneling a double whiskey straight to his gullet, the Grangers are too busy beaming at everyone around them to drink the non-alcoholic “authentic tropical fruit punch” in their hands, garnished with giant drink umbrellas and fruit sculptures.
Blaise finally meets Astoria’s eyes with an arched brow, leaning in with a low voice. “Is this… is all this for real?”
She shrugs, sipping her melting adult slushie through a neon pink straw. The sun is warm on her bare shoulders through the giant glass dome; the illusion of the desert without the sweat and scorpions, which she can’t help but appreciate. “I assume so. Daphne says Hermione has been over the moon with this place, and the three times I've been close enough to hear the bride-to-be speak, she was going on about how amazing something about this place is. Either it's all legit, or she's the best actress ever. She's just so… earnest about the place.”
“Huh.” Blaise blinks in surprise at Astoria’s response as his eyes scan the gathering. “Where are Hermione and Draco? This is their party, after all.”
Just then Percy Weasley strolls up while trailing behind him is his older, much larger brother, Charlie. Percy smiles perfunctorily at the others, inclining his head a bit towards Astoria before he slips into Blaise’s personal space. “Draco is currently getting an exfoliating Dead Sea salt seaweed wrap. I just overheard Hermione mention it to Daphne and Theo. They just checked in at the front desk and are settling the twins with the nanny before coming down for the rest of the party.”
Percy and Blaise had been a surprise pairing when they'd first began dating, but now, Astoria couldn't see one without the other.
Percy’s naturalist brother, however…
Charlie Weasley had, apparently, been excluded from the political ambition gene that seemed to be otherwise spreading rampantly from the Weasley patriarch and had gone off in search of bears. He had become something of an expert in the field - complete with a doctorate and multiple published papers - and was, the last she’d heard, working at some bear rehabilitation- cum -refuge center in Canada.
With nine years between their ages, they'd never attended the same school at the same time, but proximity to his younger siblings had occasionally crossed their paths, and most every time had seen disaster.
He thought she was a spoiled brat. She thought he was a giant bear-like jerk. They were both right, not that they would ever admit it to each other.
Astoria sniffs derisively in Charlie’s direction and, whilst ignoring his responding scowl, turns to Percy with a brilliant smile stretching her pink lips as she coos. “Oh, my sweetest niece and most handsome nephew are here!”
“You mean your hellion niece and demon nephew are here, yes. However, Daphne and Susan are just putting them down for a nap, so you'll have to wait ‘til they wake up to see their royal highnesses.” Theo’s dry voice sounds from the side and as Astoria turns around to greet her brother in law, she scowls momentarily as he is already shaking Charlie’s hand in greeting.
She slides over and leans against her brother in law’s side with a simpering smile. “I know you're lying, Theo! Those babies are the most precious on the planet. My Instagram positively explodes when I post new pictures of them!”
Theo rolls his eyes as he steps back a touch from Astoria, settling an arm around her shoulders in a loose hug. “I'm sure it does, Tee. And how many followers do you have now?”
Suddenly, a far too close voice rumbles from just above her head. “Yes, Tee , just how many Instagram followers do you have?”
The petite blonde glares over the edges of her sunglasses at Charlie, who hasn’t moved and remains close enough to touch her. “ You are not allowed to call me that. And for your information, I have over a million followers now. So fuck off.” She huffs before stomping away, leaving behind only the lingering scent of her floral perfume.
She vaguely hears Theo’s chastising “ Really , Charlie?” before reaching the bar and drowning herself in fruity alcoholic drinks until the last thing she clearly remembers is Daphne escorting her into an elevator around sunset and bidding her sleep it off and that “Breakfast begins at 9 am! Be there !” in that annoying, bossy older sister tone as she pressed the floor’s button and the doors close.
.oOo.
When Astoria peels her eyes open again, she finds herself staring up at a huge expanse of black. Frowning, because her tropical spa room certainly doesn't have any expanses of black anywhere , she squints and attempts to lift her head before groaning in pain as the full weight of her hangover crushes her skull in the vice of overindulgence.
Rubbing her sticky, closed eyes, she huffs as she slithers off the bed and stumbles in the half-remembered direction of the bathroom before yelping as she runs into a side table about five feet from the actual bathroom door. “What the fuck?”
She shuffles into the bathroom, finally finding a light switch and flicking it, before frowning in confusion at the completely wrong … everything. Black and white and chrome did not belong in a tropical anything .
Turning slowly, Astoria peers back into the hotel room. Her jaw drops as she stares across the expanse of a pretty ordinary Vegas hotel room to a not so terrible view of Las Vegas itself outside the giant windows, approximately twenty floors away.
“What the fuck ?”
She emerges from the bathroom and stares at the remnants of a Taco Bell binge on the coffee table, a couple of hard shell tacos still wrapped up in the paper, and the condensation from two giant plastic cups pooling on the table top.
“ What the fuck ?”
That's when she spots the pile of horribly official looking papers and receipts on the desk... but then the pile of blankets and pillows on the opposite side of the bed suddenly moves with a long low groan and she screeches, throwing herself back into the bathroom and slamming the door shut, scrambling to lock it for good measure.
She stands there for a long moment, taking stock of her body and looking at herself - nothing seems wrong : she is still dressed, no marks, no unusual soreness… just the hangover. Sinking to the floor, she presses her face to her knees, sniffling. “What the fuck ?”
It's a few minutes later, when she raises her head from her knees and tugs at the hem of her skirt, that she notices the ring. Wrapped around her left ring finger is a cheerfully sparkling band of alternating white and blue stones, glittering up at her like the sun on a lake.
Once the hysterical laughter stops, she squares her shoulders and climbs to her feet. Grimacing at her reflection in the mirror - mascara smeared around her eyes, lipstick smeared, hair a flattened and strawy mess - she turns her face down to inspect the hotel soaps. Turning on the faucet, she splashes lukewarm water on her skin before popping open the bottle of complimentary facial cleanser on the counter. Scrubbing away until her face is clear and all vestiges of tears are gone, she pats her skin dry before fighting her hair into a relatively neat ponytail.
Straightening her slept-in clothes to the best of her ability one last time, Astoria unlocks and opens the door before her mouth pops open in shock as Charlie Weasley pushes past her into the bathroom while rumbling, “Oh thank God , I was about to just piss into one of those Taco Bell cups!”
As he shoves his jeans down, and her brain registers that there isn't that much difference between the tan on his back and the tan on his ass, she screeches and rushes from the bathroom, out of eyesight. “What the fuck! Charlie ?!”
He shouts back, as she resolutely attempts to ignore the sound of his stream into the toilet bowl. “I'm sorry! You woke me up and have been locked in here for over an hour and I just really had to piss!”
Astoria gulps as he flushes the toilet, and after a moment of silence, the sink turns on. She scurries away from the bathroom, peering down at all of the papers now neatly arranged on the cleaned up coffee table. Collapsing onto the couch, she sighs as she pulls the topmost page closer with a frown.
Marriage License
Clark County, Nevada
“Yeah, that, uh…” Charlie clears his throat from behind her, and she looks over at him with a frown. “Apparently Clark County offices have, like, the craziest government office hours ever .”
“This all looks very official.” She lets out a heavy sigh before her chin drops to her chest. “Daphne is going to kill me.”
.oOo.
“You DID WHAT ?!”
“Daph-”
“NO! You don’t get to “Daph” me, Astoria! And you!” The blonde whirls, stabbing Charlie’s broad chest with a sharp lavender nail. “You’re a full grown adult, Charlie Weasley! How could you let this happen?! The wedding is
starting
in
one hour
and you’ve both been missing since
last night
! Do you know how hard it is to deal with that
and
a Hermione Granger within hours of getting married?”
Ignoring her sister’s rather hysterical screeching, Astoria turns to stare at Charlie, her brows arching beyond her sunglasses - despite the low lighting of the hotel room. “How
did
this happen?”
He clears his throat, running a hand through the long tops of his hair, tugging them, before scratching at his beard. The bit of skin that shows is pinked. “Well…” Blue eyes dart around the room before closing in defeat. “Fuck. Ok, so Astoria was very drunk and apparently she tried to come back down after you sent her upstairs - yes, Astoria , I knew that happened because you bitched about it for at least an hour because, and I quote, ‘I am not a fucking child.’ Don’t interrupt if you want what I remember.”
Baring her teeth at him in a silent snarl, she crosses her arms and stares at him. Even Daphne is watching him, brows raised in expectation. The expressions on the sister’s faces are eerily similar and Charlie makes a mental note to buy Theo a drink sometime.
Clearing his throat again, nervously, he shoves his hands into his pockets. “As I was saying, Astoria tried to come back down. However, she was very drunk and when she was on the elevator, apparently someone else got on and took her up instead of down, and she ended up on my floor. I came up to go to bed, not so sober myself, and she waylaid me and insisted that we go back down to drink some more. I was going to just drop her off with you, but I dunno, I guess I just… got caught up in her enthusiasm?” He grimaces at the very sentence. “I said one drink, which became a few, and then we called an Uber to pick us up and take us to Vegas - that was definitely her idea, she called and everything - and after we got there, I’m not exactly sure what all happened after that? There was just, like… a lot of alcohol involved. We even saw one of those Elvis impersonators!”
Daphne stares at Charlie for a long moment, then slowly turns her green eyes towards her sister. Her lips purse, pinching inward, as she lets out a long slow breath through her nose. “You know what? I don’t have time to deal with this; I’m surprised Hermione isn’t already screeching for me, not to mention finding Theo and making sure the twins ready. You two are on your own; grow up and act like fucking adults. And since you’re now married , apparently, you’re each other's plus ones. Can’t wait ‘til you tell mom and dad.” Spinning in her brand new gift from the bride slippers, the blonde strides down the hall and disappears back into the suite she’d appeared from at their arrival.
Charlie groans, rubbing his face vigorously as Astoria merely rolls her eyes, huffing. “Whatever. I’m going to my room to get ready for the ceremony. I guess I’ll meet you downstairs in the lobby in forty-five minutes.”
He squints at her before barking out a laugh. “Can you be ready in only forty-five minutes?”
Astoria, in the process of turning toward the elevators, pauses at his words, before directing an icy smile over her shoulder. “I’ll be ready in forty and IG-worthy.” She completes her turn and strides to the elevator, luckily managing to hop on just as the doors ping open.
Charlie frowns after her, calling out with no reply. “What does that even mean ?”
.oOo.
Forty minutes later, Charlie sits at the bar downstairs, sipping a whisky on the rocks while waiting for Astoria. He spoke with three of his brothers in the ten minutes since his arrival at the bar and is on high alert as he keeps both eyes peeled for his mother. If he can just avoid her until after the wedding, he might even be able to escape without having to tell her about anything …
A sudden lull in the conversation and his eyes pop up from the glimmer of the golden liquid in his glass to land on Astoria.
She is dressed in an off the shoulder dark purple flowy dress that just brushes along the tops of her knees, showing off the long elegant lines of her calves, capped with tall golden heels that push her even closer to his height. Her blonde hair is twisted back from her face, and pulled down over one bare shoulder in some kind of braid with tiny sparkling stars throughout the entire do. The only other jewelry she is wearing is the glittering band on her left hand - though smallish, were real diamonds and sapphires, not that she needed to know that - and a sparkly gold bangle on her right arm.
Charlie knows the dumbfounded look that is plastered across his face cannot be attractive - not that he’s trying to be attractive, God no, - but he’s also completely unable to change it.
When she comes closer, the sweet floral scent that Charlie associates with her fills his nose. Her lips, painted a pale pink, curl in amusement at his dazed expression and she flutters her long dark lashes.
The golden sparkles that dance across her lids distract him even further until he shakes his head and takes a step back from her sweet scent and draws in a deep swallow of his whisky before clearing his throat. “Astoria. Only forty-two minutes, I’m impressed! Didn’t think you’d manage it.”
There’s a pause, and a flash of something dark flashes across her perfectly lined green eyes, before she smiles, completely saccharine. “ So glad I impressed you. Let’s go, husband . We can’t be late to the wedding, and if we’re already seated, no one can come bother us.”
Charlie snorts in agreement as he tosses back the dregs of his drink and leaves a few bills on the bartop. “Right then. Let’s go.” He turns and is just about ready to stride off, before checking himself and turning back to offer his arm to Astoria. “Those heels look totally lethal.”
She eyes his arm for a moment, then looks up into his face. Even with the highest heels she brought with her, the top of her head is still just out of reach of his bearded chin. In the short time he was in his room, he’d neatened up quite a bit, even trimming up his beard. Astoria can almost make out some of the freckles on the skin beneath the thick ginger hair, and a subtle hint of some woodsy cologne tickles her nose. In a dark grey suit of mediocre material and decent tailoring with “mountain stream” clear blue eyes, Charlie Weasley actually cuts a really good-looking figure.
The realization makes her eyes jump to his in surprise as she curls her arm around his elbow, settling in at his side rather neatly. “Only to the uninitiated.”
Charlie snorts and rolls his eyes in response, and just as he decides to head out, Astoria tucks her clutch under her arm and digs into the folds of her dress. “I almost forgot!” Extracting her phone, she flicks open the camera as she leans against his side and takes a few selfies. She frowns at them for a moment, flicking through the half dozen photos. “Ugh. No, no. Something’s missing…”
He stares down at her in shock when she reaches up and gently extracts one of the star pins from her hair and turns to tuck it into his lapel with a light pat. “There we go. Sorry, just one more minute. I haven’t posted anything since yesterday’s arrival luncheon, and I am way off schedule!”
In a flash, she tucks herself back against his arm, angling their bodies and snapping a few more photos before letting out a satisfied sound. With a few flicks of her fingers, she adjusts the photo and crops it, adding a custom filter, and typing a quick description and tags before posting it and tucking her phone away again. “Thanks! Alright, let’s get going. It’s wedding time!”
“Wait, where did your phone go? And what was all that ? And why was I in it?”
Astoria quirks a brow at him as she ushers him across the threshold of the bar and down the hall towards the ceremony location. “I posted a picture of myself, or what many people nowadays call a selfie , to my Instagram account. You are my date to the wedding, so of course, you’d be included though I made sure to crop out pretty much any publicly recognizable features to keep your identity secure as you didn’t have time to agree to be in the photo. And my phone is in my pocket ; you’re not a girl, so you don’t understand the significance.” She flicks a bit of hair from her eyes, tucking it back into place, as they follow a bored-looking Oliver Wood, usher, to the next available seats.
Charlie can only stare at her in shock as she settles onto the cushioned chair, and pats the seat next to her with her clutch. “Better sit and hope the next people in aren’t related to us.”
.oOo.
The wedding itself is truly beautiful, if so earnestly mushy that even Astoria has to focus on not tearing up during the final recessional, and luckily for them, all of their family members are either involved in the wedding or seated too far away, unable to do more than stare daggers (or mutter, point, and laugh, in the twins’ case) in their direction.
Unfortunately, the wedding lasts a total of twenty-six minutes before the happy couple sweeps off to take photos before the reception, while everyone not immediate family or bridal party is escorted into the banquet hall for the cocktail hour.
They don’t even have drinks in their hands yet when Astoria’s parents reach them first. “
Astoria
! Just
what
is going on here? Your sister was being very vague and seems totally infuriated with you.”
“Ah, well.” Astoria smiles, beams really, as she tightens her arm around Charlie’s when she feels his attempt to slip away. “What dear Daphne decided against telling you was that I got married. To Charlie, here. Last night. In Vegas.” She pauses, watching her parents’ faces shatter in shock as they stare at her, bug-eyed. “Yup! And now we’re going to go get some drinks and talk about the future. Excuse us, mother, daddy.” She blows them each a kiss before dragging Charlie off as quickly as her high-heeled feet can move them along. “This is going to be a
fucking
nightmare.”
“I can’t believe you just did that to your parents !” Charlie laughs a little, shaking his head as he peers down at her. “Too bad you won’t be able to do that to my mother, but maybe we can just hide from her the entire time.”
Astoria arches her brows, staring up at him in disbelief. “Seriously? You’re actually scared of your mother ? You are fully grown, are you not?”
“You’ve been around Molly Weasley enough in your life to know what she’s like. But apparently, as usual, you were completely oblivious to anything that didn’t affect Princess Astoria .” He focuses on her intently, heavy brows drawing together in the beginnings of a scowl.
Her head turns slowly as she narrows her eyes at him. “Excuse me? Are you kidding me? You don’t know anything about me , you ass, much less about to what I pay attention. ” Yanking her arm from his, she stumbles a little as she steps away from him with a scowl. “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on back to Canada, Charlie Weasley!”
Charlie stares in shock as she stomps away, off towards the restrooms. At a tapping on his elbow, he spins around with a growling “ What ?!” - only to swallow hard on his tongue when he comes face to face with his pink-faced mother.
.oOo.
A soft tapping at the stall door causes Astoria to look up from her glowing phone screen with a scowl, calling out. “Occupied!”
“I’m aware.” The dry voice is tantalizingly familiar, but not someone to whom she’s close. “I just wanted to talk to you for a second, about my brother - about Charlie.”
Tilting her head to the side, Astoria peers down at the sensible black heels and lightly freckled, athletic but feminine legs - Ginny Weasley. She huffs, tapping her nails on her phone screen in consideration before finally standing and slowly exiting the bathroom.
The slim ginger smiles genuinely, if a little too widely, from where she has moved back from the stall and is leaning against the sink counter. “Hey.”
“Hello.” Tucking her phone into her pocket, Astoria hesitates, hovering a bit anxiously just outside the stall as she stares at the other, slightly older woman.
Ginny tilts her head, long loose hair shimmering like copper. “I know you think Charlie is an asshole, and he kind of is, but not at all deep down, he’s a really great guy. He’s just… he doesn’t really know how to deal with people , you know? He was always into animals, could tell you all kinds of stuff about bears since he was a kid. Long as I remember. He just needs a little extra patience. And honestly, someone to boss him around. You’d be totally cute in a parka; Instagram would love it.”
Astoria blinks slowly, before pointing towards the door incredulously. “ Wait . Are you here to actually try and convince me to stay with him? We pretty much hate each other!”
With a snort, Ginny shrugs and stands up tall, smoothing her hands down the straight length of her cream sleeveless bridesmaids dress. “I know, it sounds totally ass-backward. You two always snip at each other, you get in each other’s way… but I really think you’d be surprised if you gave each other some time. And I don’t think you hate each other at all, not really.”
Glancing in the mirror, Ginny checks her lipstick before smiling one last time at Astoria over her shoulder. “By the way, love that dress; the color is gorgeous on you and it’s got pockets !” She grins hugely, giving her a double thumbs up, before slipping from the bathroom and leaving Astoria staring after her in shock.
Sinking down onto the white wicker bench, partially covered by the large fronds from a real palm tree, she leans against the wall and sucks in a deep breath, holding it before breathing out, slowly and steadily, counting.
It doesn’t help - she can still feel the panic attack rising.
.oOo.
Charlie frowns as he scans the groups of people standing together, chatting. Any number of blonde heads makes him pause - and with the Malfoy family in attendance, there is an abundance - but none of them are the right blonde head. Where the fucking fuck did she go?
The confrontation with his mother had gone better than he’d thought - considering he’d gone off and gotten married in Vegas the night before without telling her or anyone else, to a girl nine years younger than him, while blind drunk, and had been avoiding his mother since... it could have gone a whole lot worse!
When Molly, the proper Irish Catholic mother she is, eventually finds out that they’ll be getting the entire travesty annulled… well, hopefully, he’ll be back in Canada before she finds that tidbit out.
Unfortunately, for now, he is following direct orders to find his new bride and bring her over to the Weasley table for the reception, and Lord help him if he doesn’t. But that wouldn’t be happening until he found his lovely bride.
Making his way in the direction of her earlier escape, Charlie frowns as he still doesn’t spot her. He does spot his sister, however, making him smile as he eyes the former pro soccer player turned sports writer. She smiles back when she spots him and heads straight towards him.
“I see you’ve lost your new bride, older brother. Mom’ll be so disappointed. She’s already planning the baby blanket pattern.” Grinning, she embraces her brother tightly before stepping back.
Groaning, Charlie rolls his eyes even as he hugs Ginny back, extra tightly, before she escapes. “Fuck me, mom is going to kill me. She’s expecting us to be at the reception table, and I don’t even know where she is !”
Ginny sighs gently, reaching out to lay her hand on his arm. “Luckily for you, I know where she is. And I’ll tell you the same thing I told her before I tell you where she is, so you have to listen to me!” She merely quirks a brow at him when he looks down at her in surprise. “Give her some time and some patience. She’s not a porcelain doll, but you should really treat her kinder. She’s very sweet, and I think you could make something of this if you both just try a little.”
Charlie gapes at his younger sister before snorting loudly. “Are you kidding me, Ginevra? Me and Astoria? Nah, the faster we get this taken care of, the better. She’ll go back to her pampered happy life and I’ll be back in Canada, at home. That is what we both want.”
“Fine! Fine. But for the record, I happen to think you’re making a mistake, and Harry agrees with me. So does Ron, actually, and that should tell you something.” Rolling her eyes at his impatient growl, she finally relents. “She’s in the ladies’ room.” Ginny sighs, watching her older brother head off to the bathroom. After he cautiously disappears inside the bathroom, she slips off to return to her bridesmaid duties.
.oOo.
Charlie reaches the bathroom door, pushing it open carefully and poking his head in, before entering completely. “Hello? Astoria?”
A muffled sniffle followed by a rustling from the seating area has him spinning around in surprise. Spotting her folded legs, he strides over and holds out his hand with a huff. “There you are, Jesus; come on. My mother is expecting us since someone spilled the beans.”
When she just turns away from him, ignoring him while hunched over and sucking in deep, shaking breaths, Charlie scowls and reaches out to touch her bare shoulder. “Astoria -”
As soon as his fingers brush against her cool skin, she hisses and twists away from him, her voice choked up. “Just - leave me alone!”
“What the hell? No, I won’t leave you alone! In fact - ” He reaches out, pushing the fronds away and mouth open, prepared to shout at her - just as he actually looks at her face and his jaw snaps shut.
Her previously perfect makeup is smudged and smeared, green eyes red-lined and shining with sorrow despite the glare she is directing at him.
Charlie lets out a soft huff, suddenly dropping to his knees right beside her and reaching out to gather one hand in his, rubbing the skin. “Astoria, I’m sorry.”
She jerks a little, almost pulling her hands away as her eyes fly up to his in surprise. “What?”
“I’m sorry. Uh, I’d lay the blame for a lot of this at my feet. Being drunk is never a good excuse for any behavior, but I certainly didn’t help you last night, and… if I’d been less of an asshole, we wouldn’t be here, I don’t think. So, I’m sorry.”
Astoria stares at him, her pink lips parted and hanging open a bit. “Charlie…” She swallows, then reaches out and grasps his shoulders, suddenly pulling him towards her and hugging him tightly. “I’m sorry, too. I’ve been a total bitch this weekend.”
Charlie wobbles a bit before getting his bearings and returning her embrace. “Yeah, you totally have been.”
A small sound of indignation erupts from between his arms before he feels her head settle on his shoulder. Rubbing his large palm slowly over her back, he tilts his head down to peer down at her. A small smile curls her lips, and Charlie lets out a soft huff of breath at the realization that he’s never seen her so unmade.
And maybe Ginny isn’t totally wrong…
Shaking the thought firmly from his head, Charlie pats her shoulder lightly while clearing his throat. “Think you can face going back out? The reception is probably starting soon, and my mother…”
“...Is expecting us. Yeah.” Voice soft, Astoria pushes herself away a little then looks up into his face. “Thank you, Charlie.” She hesitates, then presses her lips to his cheek, before slipping away to correct her makeup.
“You’re welcome.” He rumbles while blinking in surprise. He stands and wanders over to the sinks, leaning against a wall with his hands tucked into his pockets and watches her throughout the process, quiet and patient.
When she’s done, despite the slight puffiness from crying, she’s just as beautiful as before the wedding. Charlie takes her arm, tucking it into his, and escorts her from the bathroom, out into the crowd.
.oOo.
Astoria can barely keep herself from squirming for the rest of the night.
Charlie keeps looking at her with those earnest blue eyes, and the rest of the Weasleys are all perfectly nice if a bit outr é. Molly Weasley is particularly pointed, though while also completely oblivious to that fact.
Bill’s wife, Fleur, is quite lovely and French and makes a nice dinner companion. When Astoria mentions the time a few years passed when she went skiing with her family in Chamonix to the other woman, Charlie glances down at her curiously. “You like to ski?”
“Well, I don’t mind skiing. It’s fun, but not what I would like to do all the time.” She smiles up at him, tilting her head as she toys with her mostly empty wine glass. “You?”
Charlie raises one shoulder as he takes a small sip of his wine. “I ski a lot, with where I live and all.”
There’s a pause as Astoria, recalling Ginny’s words about how cute she’d be in a parka, swallows the last of her wine and presses her lips together tightly before abruptly relaxing and smiling at him again. “I can imagine.”
He hesitates, eyeing Astoria for a moment before he bobs his head in agreement and refocuses on his dinner. She watches him for another moment before looking back over towards Fleur. Unfortunately, she’s now chatting with one of the twins - Astoria still can’t figure out which is which - and when she looks over, suddenly finds herself meeting Bill’s amused gaze. Blue eyed, just like Charlie - but a different kind of blue, not nearly so warm, a bit too sharp-eyed and knowing for Astoria’s preference.
Green eyes focus on blue, her lips purse just the tiniest before Bill grins widely then nods at her. He slips into the conversation between his brother and wife, leaving Astoria staring in confusion before turning to Charlie.
He’s comfortable in his chair, suit coat hanging on the back of the chair, one large arm flung across the back of her chair. She sniffs a few times, leaning over a bit closer as she sucks in the scent of his cologne. “Charlie?”
“Mmm?” He glances down, then blinks and focuses more closely on her when he notices her proximity.
“What cologne are you wearing?”
A bit of red creeps across his cheeks, mostly hidden by his beard. “Chanel Bleu.”
Her eyes widen before she leans in closer and takes a deep, slow breath. “It is ! It smells so good on you, too.” Her own flush creeps across her cheeks before she settles back into her chair. “I like it.”
“Thanks.” Charlie clears his throat, shifting in his chair to reach for his water glass. “I, uh, like your perfume, too. It’s very flowery.”
Astoria pauses in the motion of taking a bite of her chicken, turning her head to look up at him, a smile pulling at her lips. “Oh. Thank you.”
Just then, someone begins tapping their fork against their glass, and most of the reception goers join in, as the bride and groom blush and laugh and kiss for their guests.
Charlie and Astoria glance towards one another, then flush and look away, smiling.
.oOo.
The rest of the reception passes by pleasantly, Astoria even allowing Charlie to coax her out onto the dance floor for one dance. She is nervous, a bit jittery from the alcohol and proximity to his sheer huge size, highly aware of the rest of their families watching them, eagle-eyed. Of course, Charlie isn’t much of a practiced dancer and they stay contained to their area of the dance floor, swaying in each other’s arms.
The cake cutting occurs just after their dance and luckily, it’s the perfect distraction Astoria and Charlie have been needing before they can slip away from the reception.
Once in the elevator, Charlie lets out a huge breath and glances down at Astoria. She’s looking down at her phone, leaning against the wall and absently rotating one foot at the ankle. One of the starbursts in her hair sparkles, catching the lights from the elevator ceiling just the right way, and just as he begins to reach out toward her…
The elevator dings and stops on Astoria’s floor. She pushes away from the wall and looks up at him, one hand holding the elevator doors open. “Should we meet tomorrow morning, early, to take care of the paperwork for the annulment? We need to get to the courthouse and my flight leaves late, but I don’t know about yours…” She trails off, leaving only the sound of her nails tapping against her phone screen and the occasional reminder dings from the blocked elevator doors.
Charlie blinks once or twice before clearing his throat. “Ah, yeah. That’s, yeah. We can do that. I’ve got a few hours tomorrow morning. Meet at 8 am?”
Astoria nods, then hesitates before the doors ding again and she drops her hand. “Perfect. 8 am. Goodnight, Charlie.”
“Night.” The doors close and the elevator begins to move again, leaving Charlie staring at his reflection in the dull copper.
.oOo.
Luckily for Astoria and Charlie, the process for getting an annulment wasn’t necessary. The location they had been “married” at was already closed for not following proper protocols and laws, such as not allowing blind drunk couples to marry. A couple of signatures waiving any legal rights and some shredded paper, and they were free to go.
They ride in a cab together, silent from the courthouse to the airport. Charlie escorts Astoria from the car and retrieves her rolling luggage bag as she watches from the curb. Together, they move through the airport and through the security line, lingering in an airport bookstore and flipping through the magazines before buying coffee. Astoria beats him to the punch with a smirk, tapping her phone against the pay stand before he can dig the cash from his wallet. Few words are exchanged as they aimlessly wander through the stores and stands.
Finally, Charlie glances at the clock and grimaces. “I, uh, should get to my gate. It’ll be boarding shortly.”
Astoria’s surprised green eyes fly up to him. “Oh! Well, of course.” She drops the scarf she had been playing with back onto the hook and steps closer. “It’s been great, Charlie.”
His brows fly high as he lets out a surprised, low laugh. “What? No, Astoria, it was… a right mess, and I’ll forever apologize to you for all of this. Thanks for not, you know, making it… more difficult.”
She huffs and rolls her eyes, before stepping even closer to throw her arms around his neck and hug him tightly. “You’re such an ass.”
“I know.” Charlie chuckles softly, large arms wrapping around Astoria’s much smaller frame and returning her hug. “I guess I’ll, uh, see you around, eh?”
She tilts her head back, stretched out onto her tiptoes, before pressing her lips to his cheek. “Yeah, Charlie. I’ll see you around.” She drops back from him, leaving the lingering warmth from her body against his and the scent of flowers in his nose.
Astoria winks at him, tugging at the slouchy hem of her dark blue sweater - one that looks suspiciously like a Weasley sweater - as she strides away from him, blonde hair bouncing. Charlie watches her walk away until she turns a corner. Shaking himself, he heads off in the direction of his gate, and flight back to Canada.
.oOo.
Three days later, @weasleythebearkeeper follows @astoriathefashionable on Instagram. She grins and immediately follows him back. It was the easiest thing in the world.