CHRYSALIS - FRED WEASLEY

CHAPTER 23

"Fuck, me too," he admits, "Every time I looked at you tonight my heart dropped into my arse."

"Why are you nervous?" she asks, pushing his hair from his forehead.

He sighs, thinking, "This has been... building for such a long time. I've thought about it, you, a million fucking times. So often that I've built it up in my head." He rushes, "Not that I don't think you'll live up to my expectations, not at all. I guess I'm worried I won't live up to yours." She smiles and kisses him. "Why are you nervous?"

"Similar reasons," she shrugs, "But also, you know, it's been a while. And I've only really ever had one partner. And I cared about Charlie a lot, loved him, even, but sex with him was complicated. I want it to be uncomplicated." She pauses, "But I don't want to get into all of that now, I just want you," she adds quietly.

"Then I promise," he kisses her lips, "To make this as uncomplicated," he kisses her jaw, "as possible."

He kisses her then, hasty and wet, deeper than he had been before. His tongue ticks against the smooth interior of her lip without intruding against her own. His left hand stays at her jaw; his right folds against the back of her neck, simultaneously pulling her closer and tilting her back.

In a synchronous motion, like practiced dancers, Fred takes a step forward and Lillie takes a step back. They walk slowly, fervently occupied and wholly unaware of their surroundings.

Then Lillie's thin heel catches on something, some end of carpet or notch in wood, and she stumbles, her ankle rolling and the stiletto breaking and her face tearing from his. He catches her quickly under her arms, before she can fall to the ground.

"Mother fucker," she chuckles, her cheeks growing even redder than before.

"Shit, are you okay?" he asks, his face caught between desire and concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Heels suck."

"'S a bummer. Heels make you look hot," in a blur of movement, he scoops her up, bridal-style. She squeals and her legs bob in the air, supported by Fred's forearm. The broken heel, still connected to the sole of the shoe, clacks against her foot noisily.

He walks to the edge of the bed and sets her down carefully, so that she sits with her legs dangling. He kneels to the floor and cups the back of her uninjured heel, his long fingers running smoothly along the thin Achilles tendon. He pulls the shoe slowly off and places it next to the bed. He moves to her other foot, grasping the back of her leg gingerly, and maneuvers it closer to his face. He rubs his hands soothingly along her lower leg as he gently pulls the other shoe from her foot. Gripping her ankle lightly, he applies small amounts of pressure, kneading his fingers across each bone, slowly moving her foot in its joint.

"How does this feel?" he says, peering up at her. His voice is soft with concern, but Lillie detects desire in his upcast eyes.

"Good," she breathes, "I mean, fine. It feels fine. Doesn't hurt."

He smiles knowingly, "Good."

He leans down and presses one long, lingering kiss to the front of her ankle, on the indiscernible line between the top of her foot and the start of her calf.

"All better," he whispers. He glances up at her and takes in the way her hair has fallen in front of her face, how her collarbones rise and fall as she closely watches his actions. He smiles privately before placing another kiss to her leg, this time on the middle of her shin. His fingers ghost the back of her leg, relishing in the smattering of tiny, pinprick hairs that have grown since she's shaven. He cups the crux of her leg and kisses her knee, the top of her thigh. Then, with a wicked grin, he slides the hem of her dress up, revealing her clothed center and the frilly lower edge of her underwear. He places a final kiss to where her inner thigh, unconsciously spread apart from the other, meets the ruffle of her panty. He feels the way her muscles tense under his mouth and how they relax when he pulls away.