NINETEEN

FOR I NE'ER SAW TRUE
BEAUTY TILL THIS NIGHT
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, ROMEO AND JULIET

RAIN SHUDDERED down from the sky in heavy sheets that evening as Fred and Aspen meandered along the street. His hand was nestled tightly in hers, keeping them together as muggles hurtled past under umbrellas and ducked under storefronts to avoid getting soaked. They didn't mind so much, letting the rain drench them as they trundled along the street, slowly making their way towards the familiar neon sign in the distance. After all, they had Impervio-ed their clothes before they'd left for the night, and as a result were still bone dry despite the weather.

Aspen retreated to grab a booth - specifically, their booth - near the back of the shop while Fred ordered their ice creams. She sat back stiffly against the red leather, picking at her fingernails nervously. When he returned, she'd decided it was now or never - George's words of wisdom had inspired her, even if she was scared shitless.

"One butterscotch ice cream for m'lady," he quipped, adopting a posh old-English accent as he presented her with a tub full to the brim with her favourite flavour.

"Thank you ever so kindly." She played along, rolling her eyes and digging a spoon into the frozen treat despite the nerve-induced nausea building in her stomach.

"So, any reason for this date?" He asked, and she noticed the lopsided smile that had settled on his lips as he said it. "Not that I'm complaining, of course. It's just a little last minute. If I'd known, I would have done something more exciting for us-"

"No, not at all! This is great, Fred, this is us," she blurted reassuringly, shaking her head with a cheek full of ice cream. Just how it all started, she thought. "I just... I wanted to ask you something."

She swallow thickly as he eyed her curiously, placing his spoon down against the rim of the tub. Her breath rose and fell quickly, taking shallow breaths as she prepared herself. She had no idea why she was so terrified, but she'd never done this relationship 'thing' before and she was all too worried he'd turn around and say she'd misread the situation.

"What is it?" He asked, and then sensing her unease, he continued, reaching out to grip her hand. "You can tell me. Anything."

Her heart soared at his authenticity, and the feeling of his thumb swirling circles against the back of her hand lulled her into a sense of security. Although she normally hated intense eye contact, with Fred it was comforting, and before she knew it, she was speaking without control.

"I was talking to George earlier, and-"

"Oh Merlin, what's that prat said now? I swear, I didn't drop your favourite mug-"

"Hey! You dropped my mug?" She pouted, distracted as she abandoned her spoonful of butterscotch in its tub. "You know what? Never mind that. I was going to say we had a nice chat actually. About you. And me."

"About us?" He said, summing it up far more succinctly than Aspen had. She nodded, breath catching in her throat as she paused to focus on her words instead of letting them eat her alive.

"Yeah. About us. And I just wanted to ask," she started, and then took a moment to breathe as she contemplated. "I wanted to ask if you'd be my boyfriend."

A shaky smile grew on his face, hiding behind his wide eyes, and she supposed that seemed like good news after all. His grip on her hand tightened for a moment, and over the subtle din of the shop, she could hear him murmur a delayed "bloody hell", that made her break out into a grin that matched his own.

"Yeah, I reckon that sounds like a plan, Andrews," Fred said, as if he'd recovered his usual cool exterior. She'd almost have been fooled if he it weren't for the vague blush that settled on his cheeks and the way his fingers fidgeted in the palm of her hand. "Although I reckon I should have asked you sooner. I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

"That's one way to put it," she said, laughing a little as she retrieved her spoon to take a celebratory lick of her ice cream. "I was starting to think you didn't like me, y'know."

"You couldn't be more wrong about that," he said delicately, looking at her so fondly it made her knees weak. "I thought that's how you felt about me."

She laughed again then, realising that George had been overwhelmingly right after all. Perhaps he knew them better than they knew themselves, watching with an outside perspective. She made a mental note to make him only his favourite dishes for lunch for the next week straight as a thank you.

"That's what George told me. What made me ask you, really."

"Thank Merlin for him, then," Fred said, joy still simmering on his face. "Although that little bugger is going to be smug for days now. Shall we pretend I asked you, after all?"

She rolled her eyes at the hopeful quirk of his eyebrows.

"Is that you trying to take credit for my bravery, Weasley?" She teased, and she would have jabbed him with her elbow for his cheek if he hadn't been sitting all the way on the other side of the table. "Y'know, I reckon this is the only time in my life I'll ever be more quintessentially Gryffindor than you."

"Well don't expect that to last long. My brave streak will be back with a vengeance. Starting right now, in fact," he said with a smug little smile. Then, without warning, he leant across the table and pressed a fervent kiss to her lips that took her breath away.

"Much better," she mumbled against him, joy seeping out of her like a flooding dam as she leant into him. Neither of them focused on the dirty stares they received from the elderly couple to their right because it didn't matter. For once, the whole world revolved around Fred and Aspen, and they couldn't have been happier.

WHEN THEY returned to the twins' flat that evening, it was beyond obvious that there was a newfound brightness in the air. George was lounging back on the couch, flicking through a raggedy old potions book. His tongue was resting on his bottom lip, eyebrows furrowed together as he focused, but it was all in vain as he lost his place the moment the happy duo strode in the front door hand in hand. He dropped the book into his lap with a heavy sigh, glancing over his shoulder to catch sight of the pair.

Amusement bubbled in George's throat at the mere sight of them. Both of them looked considerably like drowned rats, their hair stuck against their heads from the heavy rainfall they'd walked home in. Aspen's corduroy jacket, on which the Impervio charm had worn off, was dripping big wet puddles onto the hardwood floors, and Fred's shoes had left muddy footprints on their way in. Together, they were a comical spectacle.

"How was your night then, lovebirds?" George teased, chucking his book onto the rug with a definitive thud. His legs were still propped lazily along the couch, but Aspen and Fred didn't mind, and instead she took a seat in his lap over in the armchair by the fireplace.

"Better than yours, by the looks of it," Fred quipped, and George grunted in agreement.

"Advanced Potion Making? I've not read that since we sat our NEWTs," Aspen interjected, uninterested in the trivial banter between the boys.

"Working on another batch of Sky-High Spray," George said, as if it were obvious. He was glaring down at the book as if he wished it would catch fire and crumble into a little pile of ash. "Trying to figure out how to make it last longer, so we can up the price, y'know?"

"Do you ever stop working?" Aspen questioned, resting her head against Fred's neck as she nestled into him a little closer.

"Maybe we ought to find him a girlfriend, Pen," Fred said, squeezing her hip as he spoke. "After all, he is the only single one around here these days."

"I knew it!" George exclaimed, waggling his finger at them as if he were their suspicious father. "Who popped the question, then?"

"Merlin, we're not getting married, Weasley," she said with a chuckle. "And I did. This one's too much of a wimp. Aren't you, love?"

"Am not! You just didn't give me enough time to... plan," Fred countered with a hopeful smile, but it was quickly replaced with a grimace as she ruffled his hair, still drenched from the rain.

"Whatever you say."

Aspen dismissed his comment before standing up from his lap, becoming uncomfortable in her clothes. George was back to staring at his Advanced Potions book, not particularly bothered with third-wheeling them much longer. Still, it was clear he was getting sleepy, and his eyes were drooping after every few sentences he read about lacewing flies.

"Is it alright if I grab a shower? I'm freezing half to death here," Aspen said hopefully, although she didn't wait for much of a response before she began to bound over towards the bathroom.

"Go ahead. I reckon I need one too," Fred replied, shooting her a cheeky wink as he stood from the armchair too, leaving behind a sopping wet patch where he had once sat.

"Merlin's fucking beard," George groaned as the pair advanced across the room, leaving behind a messy trail of water. "Do you seriously have to fuck in my shower?"

Aspen let out a peal of overjoyed laughter as she and Fred hurried into the bathroom. Just as the door shut, she could see George summoning an old pair of pink, fluffy earmuffs - not that it mattered. She'd always been particularly skilled at silencing charms.