Chapter Text
"So I've got a huge favor to ask you," Charlie's voice crackled on the other end of the phone.
Oliver had been on the high school volleyball team with Charlie, and he knew a request from his ex-captain could range anywhere from filling up water bottles to wrangling a dragon. Oliver shifted the phone against his ear to free his hand up to dig around for his dorm keys. "I'm not agreeing, but what is it?"
"You're driving back home for winter break, right?"
He'd been given the car by his parents, but with the stipulation that he'd be the one paying for all the expenses, and also driving it across the country every time he came home from college. That included every winter break. "Yeah, but I usually stop at a friend's house so it takes me three days."
"Do you have room for a passenger? It's just, my brother Percy, he goes to the same university as you, but we don't really have the means to get him a flight home. He's planning on crashing at a friend's for now, but with the whole fiasco last year, we'd all love to have him home. I figured since you guys would be traveling to the same place, he could maybe hitch a ride without you needing to change your plans at all."
Oliver pushed into his room and dropped his bag on the floor, taking a seat at his desk. "Is he anything like Fred and George?" The Weasley twins had just joined the high school team when Oliver made captain senior year. They were monsters on the court, but severely lacking in discipline so they ended up in detention more often than not.
Charlie laughed on the other end of the line. "Absolutely not. I've never met people more different. Percy is very much a stickler for the rules. Early riser too, so it won't be a problem if you're aiming for an early start. He'd probably even show up fifteen minutes before you."
"Well, if he doesn't mind sleeping on a couch for a couple nights, I can take him."
"Sweet! That shouldn't be a problem, but I'll let him know. Thanks a bunch Oliver, I really owe you. I'll text you his number once I check with him."
Charlie texted him two days later. Not five minutes after that, Oliver received a message from an unknown number that read more like a formal letter than a text. It went:
Hello Oliver,
This is Percy Weasley, I believe my brother Charlie contacted you about providing me a ride home. My finals are complete by Wednesday, please inform me when you intend on leaving and where I should meet you. I will compensate your trouble with a meal and my share of the gas.
"Surprised he didn't sign it off with a 'sincerely,'" Oliver muttered to himself. But at least it seemed like he would be very different from Fred and George, so his car would make it through the journey in one piece. And who was he to say no to a free meal?
***
They planned on meeting outside of Oliver's dorm before heading to his car. When Oliver stepped outside, a man with orange hair was already there with several bags resting at his feet.
"Percy?" Oliver asked just to be sure. Not that anyone else would be awake at 6 in the morning on the last Friday of the semester.
The man looked up. "Yes, that's me."
The only feature that looked anything like his brothers was his red hair. While Charlie and the twins were shorter and stocky, Percy stretched tall and thin like a beanpole. His clothes looked pressed and well taken care of, while Charlie often sported ripped jeans and the twins had copious holes in their shirts from failed experiments. Percy's nerdy look was completed with the horn-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, though they lacked the characteristic white tape seen on Halloween costumes. Charlie and the twins would never be caught dead in that look.
"Please lead the way," Percy said, picking up his bags.
"Right. My car's just through the parking lot here." Oliver's car was pretty easy to pick out. It was clearly older than the rest of the cars in the lot, the red paint scuffed and peeling in some places. He loved his car, though, and wouldn't trade it for the world. Percy didn't offer any judgement of it while he stacked his things into the trunk.
"So," Oliver started after they'd pulled out of the parking lot, "uh, what's your major?"
"Poli-sci."
"Oh cool, I'm business so we're in the same college. Surprised I haven't seen you around more."
"I tend to keep to myself, except when I have to do my RA duties."
"So you're still in the campus residence halls, then?"
Percy Weasley offered a very curt," Yes," and then asked, "Do you mind I use your AUX cord to finish a podcast I started?"
Startled by the sudden change of topic, Oliver nodded and directed Percy to fish around the center console for it. Soon the car was filled with a pleasant voice philosophizing, and Oliver let that carry their way down the freeway.
***
They pulled into a musty rest stop for lunch. It was mostly old and dusty, with a single building that housed a bathroom and vending machine. Sludgy snow hung around in clumps at the edge of the lot.
"We can just sit on the hood," Oliver suggested when they parked, not seeing anywhere else for them to sit.
Percy made a face. "That sounds incredibly dirty."
"You can't eat in the car, though, I don't want a mess. I might have some towels in the trunk if that would make it better."
"It would, actually."
So Oliver popped the trunk and scrounged around until he found two towels he had stuffed in the corner. He and Percy laid them out over the hood, and then clambered on themselves.
Oliver tore into the sandwich he'd packed. "So whart's it loike--"
"Don't talk with food in your mouth."
He gulped it down. "Sorry. I was gonna ask what it's like being an RA?"
Percy picked at the wrapper of his own sandwich in thought. His legs were crossed beneath him, after triple-checking that they were contained within the towel barrier. "I enjoy it. It can get bothersome at times, but it feels good to be able to support all the freshman."
"That's what Cedric likes the best, too. He's also an RA."
"Cedric?"
"Mm, I told you we're spending the night at a friend's house, right?" Oliver waited for the confirmatory nod before continuing. "Well, that's Cedric and his girlfriend Cho. I played against Cedric in high school. Cho plays for the women's team, and they both got scouted to the same college, Division I."
"That's impressive."
"Yeah, they're pretty badass. Since we don't get to see each other as much being at different universities, I like stopping by their house on my way home and spending a day with them."
"Right, Charlie mentioned that."
"Well they're both super cool, and Cedric's a responsible guy so they're hard to not get along with." Oliver finished his sandwich and wiped his hands on his pants. "I'm gonna hit the bathroom, and then we'll go once you're ready."
"Do you mind if we listen to the next episode of my podcast?"
Oliver hummed in agreement. "That's fine. I enjoyed the last one." He'd never listened to podcasts himself before, but he had actually found himself enjoying the one Percy had put on. It was very different from the kind of thing he would do with his teammates, but he wouldn't mind listening to more with Percy.
***
Several hours of podcasts and intermittent conversation later, they pulled up at Cedric and Cho's apartment just in time for dinner. She greeted them at the door and ushered them inside before asking what they wanted to drink.
"We usually get drunk and play a board game," Oliver explained.
"Ah, I don't drink. But I like board games."
"Perfect. You can make sure we don't break the rules by mistake. Played Settlers of Catan before?"
They settled around the small table in the kitchen, just big enough for four people if you didn't mind bumping elbows. Cho dropped several beer bottles on the table along with water glasses, and Cedric passed out plates heaped full of food. Dinner was as raucous as it always was with them, catching each other up on their volleyball successes and the adventures of their semester.
One hour blurred into the next as they as the evening fell into night. They'd switched to Uno a while ago, as, after Percy called them out on the rules multiple times, they decided it was much easier to play after four drinks than Catan.
Oliver himself was definitely feeling warmly buzzed. It might've just been the booze talking, but he felt like even Percy was laughing more (not that he'd laughed much in the first place). He was also pretty sure his cards were drooping so everyone could see them, but Cedric was too drunk to notice and Percy valiantly claimed that he would never cheat (and Oliver found himself believing him).
"Alright," Cho slammed her elbow down onto the table in front of Percy after she won the last round. "Arm wrestle. I've already beat these two fuckers, now I gotta best you."
"Aw, c'mon Cho," Oliver tried. "Give him a break, man just lost at Uno."
But Percy was already clasping Cho's hand. Cedric gave the count down to start, and then five seconds later, the back of Cho's hand was on the table. Oliver gawked; Cho had way more muscle in her arms than Percy had to have. Cho looked similarly flabbergasted.
Cedric guffawed. "You got beaten by a nerd!"
"How--?" Cho flexed her wrist, then her gaze dropped to her drink. "It's just because I'm drunk, right?"
Percy's smile was almost cocky. "I think you forget who I grew up with. We would arm wrestle for who got to use the computer next. There was no way I could beat Charlie and Bill with physical strength, so I learned how to get a mechanical advantage."
Oliver was impressed, and also mildly turned on. He took another sip of his drink and let that thought slip away as Cedric challenged him next.
After Percy had won several more times against Cho, and Cedric just about passed out on the table, they decided to call it a night.
Oliver had won the spare mattress in a coin flip, but he was tired from driving all day and the drinking made him lose most of his coordination. So he flopped onto the couch, his face pressed into the soft cushions. "You should use the mattress," he mumbled, waving his arm that wasn't pinned against the couch.
Percy huffed a small laugh, and then Oliver could see him puttering around to get it set up.
"You're an odd dude," Oliver muttered to himself as Percy crisply fit sheets on the mattress. Then he drifted off to sleep.
***
Oliver woke early as he usually did. Percy was still zonked out on the mattress, a little bit of drool dried on his face. Oliver held back a smile and got up to make breakfast. They had a decent sized kitchen for two people, and Oliver quietly pulled out a pan to make scrambled eggs.
Cho was the one to stumble into the kitchen next, holding a hand to her head.
"Are you really hungover?" Oliver asked, handing her a plate of eggs as he scooped out one for himself. "You drank a lot of water."
"No," she whispered back, and pulled her away to reveal a good-sized bump on her forehead. "But I was drunk enough to hit my head on the dresser when I got my pajamas."
Oliver winced. "Ouch."
They settled into their seats at the table, keeping their voices quiet to avoid disturbing anyone else.
Percy was the next to rise, squinting blearily as he stumbled into the kitchen.
"Eggs are in the pan," Oliver told him.
Percy mumbled his thanks as he made his way around to the stove.
"Oliver's always up disgustingly early," Cho shared as she shoved another forkful of egg into her mouth, "but it's nice to have breakfast waiting for you when you wake up."
Percy hummed drowsily in agreement, taking his seat next to Oliver and bumping their knees together under the small table. "That's how Charlie is too. After he left, I was the one who woke up earliest and I hated making breakfast. That's when I started just drinking coffee."
Oliver made a face at that. "That's not very healthy."
"I wasn't going for healthy, I was going for easy."
"Yeah, Oliver. Not everyone keeps up a strict training diet all the time."
Oliver rolled his eyes at Cho's jab.
Cedric made his way into the kitchen a while later, sliding in on his socks. "I smelled eggs."
"You're late dude," Cho teased. "They're probably cold by now."
"Aw, shit." Cedric sullenly scooped his eggs onto a plate and then put them in the microwave. While he waited for it to heat up, he said, "I thought since there's four of us, we could do some 2-v-2 at the park after breakfast."
"I'm not particularly skilled at sports," Percy supplied. "It would just end up being two against one."
Cho hummed in thought. "Oh! A new mini golf place just opened up nearby. How does that sound? We can get a late lunch somewhere after."
All in agreement, they finished breakfast and piled into Oliver's car.
***
"How's the trip with Weasley been?" Cho asked as she and Oliver waited at the end of a hole for Percy and Cedric to catch up.
Oliver pondered for a moment. "Fine, mostly. He's respectful, not a jerk. But not the kind of person I'd normally be friends with. We mostly listened to a podcast the entire ride."
Cho shot him a sly look. "Well you know what they say. Opposites attract."
He gave an exasperated sigh. "Just because my relationship with the captain of the swim team didn't end well doesn't mean I need to exclusively date people I have nothing in common with. Besides, even if I were interested, which I'm not, he's Charlie and the twins' brother."
"So?"
"So, the twins are already enough of a pain in the ass. And I don't think I could look Charlie in the eye. There's no way I'd date a teammate's brother."
"But you've thought about it?" she teased.
"No. Absolutely not."
"Well, he's definitely into guys with how awkward he is around Cedric."
Oliver looked back at them. Cedric was attempting to show Percy the best way to hit the ball to get it through the windmill. Percy looked flustered by how close they were standing, and ended up whacking his ball so it flew off the green.
"Well your boyfriend sucks at mini golf too, so I don't even know why he's trying to help."
Cho laughed. "I'm just teasing, Ol."
"Hey," Cedric called after he too hit his ball into the plants, "can we just move around the windmill? The kids behind us are catching up."
"Only if you're willing to add ten strokes to your score!" Cho called back.
Cedric looked at Percy, and they both nodded in resignation. "Probably would take more than that anyway."
Several putts later (during which the group of kids caught up and passed them), Cedric and Percy finally knocked their balls in.
Cho laughed at her boyfriend, but they linked hands as they moved to the next hole. Oliver waited for Percy as he pulled his ball out.
"I didn't realize I would suck so much at mini golf."
Oliver laughed. "At least Cedric's right there with you. Though I don't know why you still use his advice."
"Well it's not like you or Cho are offering any help."
"Oh, I know!" Cho exclaimed, spinning around to face them. "We can make it an unofficial two-on-two. We'll add Cedric's score to mine, and Percy's to Oliver's. Lowest total wins."
"You're so on!"
Percy and Cedric were still atrocious, but at least they were about equally atrocious. Oliver did his best to help Percy, but since he wasn't allowed to physically grab his stick and hit the ball for him, it didn't really work.
"Okay," he instructed, "now you gotta hit it up the hill so it goes around to the hole. But with medium power, though! Like half of your last hit."
"I know that," Percy harped, "but that doesn't mean I actually hit it where I want it to go." He swung at the ball, which did make it part way up the hill, but slowed down and rolled backwards to where Percy was standing.
"You'll get it next time." Oliver clapped him on the back as he moved to where his own ball was just a foot from the hole. He tapped it in, and Cedric marked a two onto the scoresheet.
Cho and Cedric were solidly in the lead until the last two holes, when by sheer dumb luck, Cedric whacked his ball wide and Percy got a hole in one. When it happened, Cedric buried his head in his hands and Cho let out a whoop. Oliver couldn't help but laugh at Percy's shell-shocked expression. He ran over and swung Percy around in elation. "Take that suckers," he crowed, one arm still looped around Percy's shoulders.
But Cho schooled them all on the last hole, and took the win for her and Cedric despite his abysmal performance.
They came back to the house to relax for the rest of the day. Cedric and Oliver cooked dinner, dancing around each other in the kitchen with ease. Percy and Cho chatted at the kitchen table, Cho lounging with her feet up on the next chair and Percy with his back straight and hands folded in his lap. As the vegetables simmered away in the pan, Cedric asked Oliver about his Christmas plans.
"Nothing special," Oliver replied, leaning against the counter. "We're just going to hang out at home. My grandparents will probably visit."
"That's nice. Cho's going to China to visit her family there, so I'll probably just hang out at home, too."
"Does that make this your first Christmas apart?"
Cedric nodded. "Yeah, it's gonna be a little weird. But it's only two weeks and then we're going to have a belated Christmas and New Years together."
"That's sweet. So I'm guessing it was your idea."
"Maybe. But I wanted to get my New Years kiss even if it happens a couple days late. You're invited if you want. And bring a plus one if you want a kiss, too." Cedric grinned at Oliver's exaggerated eye roll and pulled the pan off the heat. "Food's done!"
They turned in after dinner to get an early start again the next day. Cho and Cedric got up at 6 am with them, and saw them off at the door with breakfast to go.
"They're pretty nice," Percy commented as they drove away, Cho and Cedric still waving behind them.
"Yeah. They're some of my best friends from high school."
Percy hummed thoughtfully. "Even though you were opponents?"
"Of course. Just because we were against each doesn't mean we couldn't get along." He glanced over to see Percy was looking out the side window. When he didn't respond, Oliver decided to let him be.
***
Percy was more fidgety than usual in the last hour. He kept fiddling with his glasses or his phone, changing the air conditioning or the radio station.
"You okay?" Oliver asked, glancing at him.
"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."
"If you keep pulling on that loose thread on your shirt, it's gonna unravel."
"Oh." He lapsed into silence, but moved his hand from the thread to grip his legs instead. Then, "I'm nervous, I suppose."
"What for?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Oliver could see him fiddling with his glasses again. "I--I don't know how much Charlie mentioned. But I wasn't on good terms with my family when I left for college. I didn't come home last Christmas. Things got better over summer, but I haven't really seen them since."
Charlie had said something about having a falling out with one of his brothers, though he never talked about it much. "I'm sure they're happy you're coming back. Even if they're a little awkward at first."
"That's what Penny said, too. But she hasn't met my family."
"Well, I have. Charlie sounded really stoked about it on the phone."
"I forgot you played on a team together."
Oliver flashed him a grin. "Best team in years. Would've won the championship too if Flint wasn't a dirty cheater."
"Charlie said the same thing." Percy sounded a little wistful, so Oliver reached over a punch him in the arm.
"It'll be fine, yeah? So stop worrying. And then if it does all go to shit, we're driving back to college in a couple weeks anyway."
Percy heaved out a heavy sigh. "It's not that easy. My siblings are all doing something with their lives. Bill's working as some big finance hot shot, and Charlie's a vet for the Australia Zoo. Fred and George have a tendency to make a mess of everything, but they're chemistry majors so they'll get good jobs. Ron's a chess champion and sometimes shows up on his best friend's famous YouTube channel. Ginny wants to play pro sports, but she's still in high school so my parents think she's gonna grow out of it. They don't think I can do anything with a political science degree. They only felt okay about it when I got an internship last summer in journalism, even though it was unpaid. And I know it'll be hard to get a job, but that's a challenge I chose to take. This is where I feel like I can make the most difference in the world. But because it isn't science or business related, they didn't even give me a chance. So we had a big row. Only started talking again last summer, but I haven't seen them since I left for college."
"Shit." Oliver hadn't talked to Charlie as much since they were both busy with college, but he hadn't realized that Percy had basically been ostracized from his family. "That really sucks."
"Yeah. At least they didn't throw me out for being gay, but I feel like that would've made more sense."
"You're gay?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Oliver could see Percy cross his arms over his chest, getting defensive. "You got a problem with that?"
"What? No! I mean, I am too. Gay. I'm gay too." He was thankful to be driving, so he could keep his eyes trained on the road and not have to look at Percy. But he could feel the heat of embarrassment crawling at his neck, and Percy's heavy gaze on him. Oliver chanced a glance over, but Percy just looked away.
"Well that's," he cleared his throat, "that's good."
"Yeah. Alright, cool." Oliver wanted to slam his head into the steering wheel. How embarrassing.
***
The awkward silence lasted until they pulled up at the gas station almost an hour later.
"Can you look for a place to eat?" Oliver asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah, sure." Percy pulled out his phone, and Oliver got out to fill up the gas tank.
What had possessed him to say that? Cho had been joking when she'd brought it up, but now the idea was niggling at Oliver's mind. Insistently prodding at him, and newly invigorated with this little tidbit of information. "You dummy," he muttered to himself, jabbing the button for Regular fuel more aggressively than he needed to. Just because Percy was gay didn't mean anything. Opposites attract. He scoffed, what a load of rubbish. They probably wouldn't see each other back at school anyway. Oliver was being ridiculous. There was no reason to--
"How does Chinese sound?" Percy popped his head out the window to ask.
Oliver jumped, and just about dropped his credit card. He shook his head to rid himself of those utterly ridiculous and unfounded thoughts. "Chinese is good."
The diner was infinitely less awkward than the car ride. They got seated quickly, at a two-person booth in one corner by a window. It provided a sort of mental reset for them to move past the earlier conversation as they pored over the menu. Oliver may have piled potstickers and rice into his mouth while Percy took a more civilized approach, but at least it wasn't weird anymore.
"Will we be stopping at Cho and Cedric's on the the drive back to school?" Percy asked.
Oliver shook his head and swallowed the chunk of food in his mouth. "Probably not, no. Their winter break goes a week longer than ours, and so they'll be with their families when we're going back."
"Then what will we do?"
"There's a cheap motel I stay at sometimes, and other times I just make the entire drive in one shot. So we'll probably decide right before we take off." He shrugged and then shoveled more food into his mouth.
"That sounds amenable."
Oliver cracked a smile. "Do you have a thing about big words?"
Percy rolled his eyes. "Only when I'm talking to jocks and freshman."
"Ouch." Oliver held a hand to his chest in faux-pain. But Percy was smiling again, so he'd take a small blow to his ego for that.
They finished up the meal, and the check came soon enough. Percy took it before Oliver could pull out his wallet.
"How much was my portion?" Oliver asked. "I have some cash I can pay you back with."
Percy shook his head. "I said I'd buy you a meal for taking me with you."
He's gay. Oliver shook himself. No stupid thoughts, this was purely transactional. "Thanks."
Then they were back on the road and everything was back to normal.
Mostly.
***
Several hours later, the Burrow loomed in front of them, four stories tall and looking like it was about to topple over. The house was festively decked out in Christmas lights, twinkling on the snow dappling the ground. Percy sat ashen faced in the passenger seat, his fingers gripped so tight on his pants it was a wonder they they hadn't become embedded in the cloth. Oliver turned off the car but Percy didn't move.
"Come on," Oliver said, slapping Percy on the arm in an attempt to make him feel better. "I'll go in with you. It'll be nice to say hi to everyone."
"Yeah, alright." He unclicked his seatbelt in a jerky motion and stiffly got out of the car. Oliver watched as he marched around to the trunk and lugged out his baggage.
Oliver swung out of the car himself, looping around to grab a bag and carry it to the door. "C'mon, mate. We don't have all day." He waited until Percy was trudging up the walkway before ringing the doorbell.
Charlie opened the door with a bang, just about flinging it off its hinges. "Percy? Oliver!"
"When'd you get a beard?" Oliver asked as he was pulled into a crushing hug.
Charlie stroked the orange hair donning his jaw as he pulled away. "Australian Outback, mate. It's wild." Then his eyes landed on Oliver's passenger. "Percy! You made it."
"Hi Charlie," he started to say, and then was pulled into a hug more crushing than Oliver's. Oliver grinned at him while Percy awkwardly patted his brother on the back. "Yup. Good to see you, too. Please let go now."
Charlie only hung on a moment longer (in which he may have lifted Percy off the ground), before ushering them inside.
They ran into Mrs. Weasley next. She looked about to cry when she saw Percy. She smothered him in a hug he returned a with only a smidge less awkwardness. Though when she started sobbing, he shot a panicked look over to Oliver and Charlie.
"Alright, Mum," Charlie coaxed, "you can let Percy go now. Give everyone else a chance before you hog him."
Oliver trailed them as Percy got passed around in a round of hot potato between his family. He managed to extract himself eventually, moving to cower next to Oliver. Oliver bumped his shoulder. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Percy shuddered. "I'm sure they're holding themselves back."
"Aw, c'mon. At least it's not all doom and gloom."
"Thanks." Percy bumped his shoulder back, and threw him a genuine smile.
Oliver's heart bumped in his chest. Before he could think anything of it, he was being dragged away by Charlie and the twins, and Percy got captured by his mother again.
Oliver got corralled into catching up as they kept him captive on the porch. He could see Percy through the window, helping Mrs. Weasley put things away on high shelves. Oliver traded life updates with his ex-teammates, and then they were trying to rope him into staying for dinner. He thanked them profusely, but he really needed to get home. It was still an hour drive and it was already starting to get dark. He eventually maneuvered them inside, inching slowly closer to the door. Then finally, Percy managed to ferret Oliver out to his car.
"You got all your stuff out, right?" Oliver confirmed.
"Yes."
"Alright, well, you can always message me if your family's giving you a hard time."
Percy smiled softly, throwing a look over his shoulder at the house. "I think it'll be okay." Then he turned back to Oliver, hands fluttering around briefly before dropping back to his sides as if he didn't know what to do with them. "Have a safe drive."
"See you in a couple weeks."
Oliver got the message after he arrived home. A simple Thanks again for driving me, and everything else, that made his chest go warm and fuzzy. Maybe it was just the holiday spirit getting to him, but he was looking forward to the drive back with Percy.