A.N.
Buckle up for chapters of full fluff, folks
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When Sarah woke up the next morning, she'd never been happier to have worked a night shift before, because it meant she was free the next day, she could stay where she was, and for the first time in weeks, it had been an incredibly undisturbed and restful sleep. Because she was with Fred.
Fred woke up to her warm breath against his chest, and for a second he thought it wasn't real. But it was. The sun was shining, the air was cold, and he had Sarah in his arms.
He felt her fidget, and she opened an eye, immediately smiled and snuggled into his hold. His heart had never been lighter.
"Good morning," Fred rasped, kissing her hair.
Sarah smiled widely and pressed a soft kiss on his jaw, "Good morning."
He breathed in deeply, pressing soft kisses on her head, "I can't believe I'm waking up next to you. It's the best thing ever."
"I know," she said cheekily, tracing circles over his shoulder. Fred hugged her tightly, breathed in deep her scent, stayed like that for a few minutes.
"I'm never getting up, just so you know," he said, kissed her cheek.
She smiled and nuzzled into his chest, "Me neither, we'll just dehydrate and starve. I'll die happy with you, honestly."
"Perfect, we've agreed then."
She grinned and kissed his chest gently, "Guess what?"
He hummed, smiling like the fool in love he is.
"I don't have work today."
Fred gasped in delight, "That is such a coincidence because since I don't have work either, I had some plans." His eyes widened and he smirked, reached down to wrap her leg around him.
"Interesting," said Sarah thoughtfully, "Mind expanding on those a bit?"
Fred pressed her closer against his chest and sighed delightedly, "Where to start-" he wondered, his hand traveling up and down her thigh, teasing the more sensitive skin up until he made her gasp suddenly.
"Or perhaps-" his other hand around her slowly lifted her t-shirt, drew some circles over her waist until he reached her lower abdomen, Fred grinning knowingly at her and watching her breathing fasten. Suddenly he stopped, "Really unsure."
She squinted at him, seeing he was pleased to see her this flushed. But she fully knew how to play this game, too, "Unsure, huh?"
With her leg she slowly reached up his inner thigh, feeling his own breathing fasten now, and she heard he pushed down a groan when she stopped.
She moved up so her lips were closer to his neck by tightening the grip of her leg around him, pressed a couple lingering kisses just right and both that and the way her hip brushed over him completely did the trick, and she chuckled softly against his skin.
"Bloody hell, McCauley," he rasped through that powerful jolt he must have felt. Sarah smiled, feeling completely gratified, "My bad," she spoke sensuously into his ear and unwrapped her leg from him.
Fred immediately rolled around to follow her and pulled her back close to him. He went to capture her lips hungrily but she tilted her head up, lips parted, refusing him playfully and it left him hovering, he let out a small groan.
She pulled down on her waistband under the cover and tossed it on the ground, seeing Fred's eyes spark up with desire. She smiled playfully, "I bet you're regretting starting this, right now."
"Not if it ends well," said Fred, his hand squeezing her calf then slowly moving up, his grip tightening to bring her closer.
Sarah chuckled softly and closed the gap between their lips yearningly, making Fred land on his back and inhale sharply. He traced over her lips with his tongue, gently tugging on her hair to angle her head.
Last night had been urgent, and loving, the result of years of pining and longing, discovering everything the other was, what they made them feel and realizing it was what they'd hope it would be and more. Now they knew, and they tasted and savored every passing second of the touch of their skin, lips, feeling of wanting and being wanted.
Her own mind was completely blurry and spinning. She straddled him, a pleased grin drew on her face when she saw him stay laid back for a few seconds.
She leaned in slowly, pressing open-mouth kisses on his neck, making Fred sigh out in complete surrender. It took a single kiss on his sensitive spot and a hot breath against his ear for him to tighten his grip on her thigh and rock her forward against him.
She let out a small moan from the friction, and she did it again, entire body flushed, and she was completely gratified to feel Fred even more flushed, "Sarah, you're killing me," he rumbled.
She pulled away to lock eyes with him, a taunting fire in her eyes as she grinned and took a delicate hold of his jaw, "I'm quite aware, Fred."
"Fucking hell," Fred laughed with a depth to his voice as he sat up and kissed her hungrily. "I love what you're doing to me," he was positive if he hadn't been laying down before, his knees would have gave out on him.
Fred formed a fist into her hair and brought her against him, gripped on tightly on her waist, would have captured her lips again but missed a beat, several actually when her hips met his. He rested his head into the nook of her neck, she couldn't help but let out a breathy chuckle, feeling the weakness taking a complete hold of him for a few moments. He gently tugged back on her hair to kiss her, his tongue grazing over her lips through every motion, muffling her breathless gasps and moans. "Freddie." She hung to him tightly, feeling herself completely becoming undone again and nodded, unable to say anything other than breathe heatedly against her neck. It felt like the world broke apart, the timeline fractured and everything just caught fire. They fell apart in the other's arms, their lips met again although they were dizzy and smiling, electrified.
The bedsheets were twisted around them, no space left in between, and soon they were chuckling between kisses, "So gorgeous," whispered Fred with a sly smile, "So bloody gorgeous, I love you so much."
"I love you so much," she grinned widely and tried to bite it down so she could kiss him.
Fred nuzzled in the nook of her neck and laid down again and put a leg over her, "I'm keeping you here forever."
Sarah chuckled adoringly, "That's drastic."
He shook his head playfully, "I don't care."
She stroked his jaw gently and loosely linked her arms around his neck, continued to stay there in his arms, dozed off for a few minutes every now and then, maybe more.
_
They had no notion of time whatsoever, how long they stayed there was a mystery and they didn't mind in the slightest. Fred pressed soft kisses on her face, holding her so dearly, she'd never felt so loved.
"I have another question for you," said Fred, nudging her ear with his nose.
"Shoot."
"It's more of a hypothetical. So, a priest, a goblin and a giant walk into a pub-"
Her head snapped towards him in surprise and confusion and he cackled, "Okay, I'm joking. So, imagine I'm walking down the street-"
"I'm scared for the punchline, now," cautioned Sarah, leaning a bit back so she could look at him carefully.
He propped himself up on his elbow and grinned, "Let me say it."
Sarah raised a brow and tucked both hands under her head to listen to him.
"Imagine I'm walking down the street, and this bloke grabs me by the collar, and he corners me. I can't escape him. I reckon, well, he must want something so I ask him 'What do you want?' and then he pulls out a knife-"
Sarah's eyes went wide suddenly, she wasn't expecting that at all, suppressed the urge to question him immediately and just kept listening.
"And he thunders, waving the knife towards me, 'Who is Sarah McCauley to you?' What do you think I should answer? If it was like I depicted, a life or death situation," Fred looked right at her with a casual expression, like it was a complete normal situation he just described.
Sarah blinked, vaguely guessing where he wanted to go with this, but it was Fred, so she wasn't so sure. After a second, she asked, "Why would someone attack you with that question?"
"I dunno. People can be mental, McCauley," said Fred with a light shrug.
She bit down her smile, her heart expanding all of a sudden and she continued on his lead, "All right. Well, what do you want the answer to be?"
Fred put on a thoughtful face, now wondering why he went with this strange way of asking her instead of being straightforward, "The answer can vary, really. There's loads of answers, but I reckon the person with the knife won't have time nor the interest to discuss the multiple nuances the answer has taken through the years, you know. Which is why I was thinking, wondering, well, actually hoping for a particular answer, a new one at that-"
Sarah reached up and kissed him so he'd stop rambling although he was adorable, and felt him smile into the kiss, cupping the back of her head.
"Girlfriend, right? That's what you were trying to ask me with that weird story," said Sarah, hopeful and puzzled, a slight wrinkle between her brows.
Fred nodded and smiled, brought her lips back against his by the hold of her head and leaned back, his other hand clutching the soft fabric of her shirt, "Yes, exactly," he breathed out between kisses.
She chuckled softly, slid her hands over his neck, "You're an idiot for thinking you needed some story to ask that," and then she pressed multiple kisses all over his face which split Fred's lips into the widest grin she'd ever seen, "Maybe, but I'm your idiot, now."
"Oh, I love that," she giggled. Fred wrapped his arms around her fully and rolled around, playfully tickling her neck, spoke with marvel to his voice, "Sarah McCauley is my girlfriend."
He tickled her side, kept her on her back while she shrieked with laughter, stopped and said deliriously, "I am your boyfriend, you'll never hear the end of that."
"And for that I will forgive the attack from earlier," she brought him into a heartfelt kiss, moving her lips against his so flawlessly and resting in his firm and warm hold, this was her safe space. His presence had always been special, it had always mattered so differently than anyone else's, and she finally understood why.
_
She must have fell asleep again, because she woke up to the other side of the bed empty, and to a smell that made her stomach growl, making her realize she was starving.
She peaked around the corner and saw Fred buzzing around the kitchen, pouring tea in two cups and looked up as if sensed her around, "Well, hello, again. You woke up just in time."
"And you seem to want me to get used to this," she gestured at the plates on the counter with a genuine smile.
"That is exactly what I'm trying to do," said Fred cheekily, took a butter knife to set next to the plates.
She beamed at him, "Brilliant."
She sat and brought her knees up, ripped small pieces of her buttered toast while they talked over breakfast, or lunch, or whatever meal that was because when she glanced at the clock, she saw it was around three in the afternoon.
Sarah couldn't stop smiling, both because she was with her best friend, having as always the greatest and funniest conversations, and because that same person was her boyfriend, now, and she loved with her entire heart. She had been so scared of letting herself hope, she almost missed this.
They were still Sarah and Fred, but in a way, it felt like this was the way it was supposed to be all along, only they'd been too afraid to take the leap. But now it was perfect.
_
Sarah set the last plate she washed to air dry when she felt Fred's arms wrap around her waist, and leaned in to press soft kisses up her neck. She smiled and dried her hands before wrapping her arms around his. "Fred," she whispered, slowly leaning her head back against his chest.
"Sarah," he whispered back, taking on the same tone as she did and chuckled softly.
"I need to check on Selena," her voice didn't come out as determined as she had intended, she could feel herself melt into his hold.
Fred nodded slowly, "She's fine, she's with George."
She smiled and turned to face him, linking her arms around his neck, "Yes, exactly. She was blown up yesterday, meaning his girlfriend got hurt, and now their best friends are nowhere to be seen," she reached up to press a soft kiss on his lips, "They must be spiraling and paranoid right now."
"Yes, that's true," he nodded slowly again and twisted his arms tighter, leaned down to capture her lips, soon his tongue brushing over them.
"If you don't stop me in the next two minutes, I'll pick you up and jump back in bed with you," said Fred, brining a hand up to cup the back of her head.
"I wouldn't be opposed to that," she said, sliding her hands over his neck, "However," she pressed a last lingering kiss on his lips, "We need to check up on them. Come on, get dressed."
"It should go the opposite way, McCauley," he linked his arms around her and pouted.
Sarah grinned and pressed a kiss on his jaw. He held her still for a few minutes and eventually agreed their other best friend and his brother could be worried, so they got ready and left the flat quite reluctantly.
The streets were almost empty, and they floated through them, fingers intertwined and laughing.
The door to their flat opened on their large living room where George was, his face turned red, not unlike Molly when she was mad, "Where have you been!? After yesterday you just left?! We'd thought-"
Before either could answer George glanced down at their hands and his eyes went wide, spent a few seconds in complete shock.
"Are y-" George started, "You're-" his eyes growing wider and wider, "Did-"
Sarah and Fred looked at each other, realized they hadn't let go of their hands when they walked in, and Fred nodded happily, making her smile, too, and he turned to his twin. "Yes, Georgie," said Fred with a blissful smile and Sarah wrapped her arm around his with a nod.
George's lungs seemed to have expanded and he let out a cheer, followed by an enormous shout, "SELENA!"
Selena ran in, her eyes scanning the room, "What!? Wh-" She froze when she saw them, locked eyes with Sarah and they had a silent conversation that led to Selena to bring her hand over her mouth. She turned to George and they started cheering, "Yes! Finally!"
George cackled triumphantly, "The crippling angst and insufferable pining are over!" then resumed to jump up and down with Selena.
"Excuse me?" bellowed Fred to get his voice heard through their screeches.
"Oh, don't you even get me started," said George accusatorially, pointing a finger at him.
Fred's eyebrows shot up and he glanced down at Sarah, "I wasn't insufferable."
George let out a delirious laugh, "Are you joking?"
"George and I walked on eggshells for years when it came to you both," said Selena, gesturing to them.
"You knew?!" urged Fred and Sarah at the same time, one to her best friend and the other to his twin.
George and Selena exchanged a look and nodded. "Of course we knew, we're not blind," George retorted.
"You both knew for years?" gasped Sarah, shooting Selena specifically a warning glance. "You said nothing?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Fred asked his twin with a frown.
"Don't come for us, all right? The subject of 'Fred and Sarah' was a grey area in our relationship," said Selena.
George nodded, "You weren't ready to admit it to yourselves, much less to the other. But it worked out, didn't it?"
Fred and Sarah squinted at the both of them for a second then turned to each other and smiled, "Yeah, I guess it did," said Sarah softly.
Fred agreed and pressed a kiss on her forehead, "Completely."
"Who told who?" asked Selena with a wide smile at the sight of them.
Sarah turned to her, "Why?"
"I asked you first," she said cheekily.
"I did, why?" answered Fred, rubbing the back of Sarah's hand with his thumb.
The moment he answered George jumped up and fist-bumped the air, Selena sighed and shook her head. He snickered at her and started doing a small victory dance, causing Selena to shove his head to the side and scoff.
"Oh, I know that face," said Fred, "You just won a bet, Georgie."
"Yes I fucking did!" he shouted gleefully, clapped his hands and resumed to his dance, "I need to collect from Ginny, too. Who else bet on Sarah?"
"Angie, Alexander, I think Bill, too, and Hermione, and-"
"Wait! Wait-" urged Sarah, "All these people bet that what? I'd tell Fred about my feelings?"
"Yes, precisely," said George.
"That's so stupid!" Sarah argued, glaring at the both of them.
George shook his head, "I disagree. And although I was doubtful with my stand on this at first, I just knew Fred'll do it after all the years I've spent witnessing the pining and the sulking, and the wistful sighs and stares-"
Fred cleared his throat, making George waggle his eyebrows and Sarah turned to Fred, "Years, huh?"
"Years," emphasized George before Fred could think of a funny comeback to avoid this conversation.
"Don't act like you've done any better," said Selena, taking on the role of humbling down Sarah, "You were also insufferable sometimes. Even more so because you refused to admit anything. I actually thought about dragging you both before the other, and order you to kiss, do us all a favor."
George chuckled and nodded, while Sarah and Fred let out a full laugh, shaking their heads disbelievingly. She automatically leaned against his shoulder and he pressed a kiss atop her head.
"My best friend and my brother," cheered George, walking towards them with his arms wide open. He pulled them into a tight hug, "It's finally happened."
"Took you long enough, Freddie," teased George, roughly shaking Fred's head.
"Would've have taken less if you'd told me something!" Fred shoved his head to the side and just like that they were teenagers wrestling again, Selena and Sarah put an arm around each other and watched them unfazed, it wasn't anything new to them.
"So," Selena turned to Sarah knowingly, "You're official, right?"
Sarah beamed at her and nodded, and Selena hugged her tightly, "I'm so happy for you."
Her eyes watered suddenly, out of pure joy, she was positive this kind of happy was unbeknownst to her until now. They giggled happily when she pulled away and then they turned to Fred and George, wrestling still, grunting and mumbling some complaints.
"I can't believe we're these blokes' girlfriends. Oi!" shouted Selena, "Are you done?"
George pinned Fred to the ground and nodded, getting up and rearranged his clothes, holding out a hand to help Fred up, too.
"You know what this means, right?" said Selena cheerfully, gesturing to her and George and Sarah and Fred.
They all questioned her with a look and she cheered, "Double dates! And also, whenever Fred spends the night at Sarah's, we'll have the flat to ourselves. So don't be shy, guys," she looked between Fred and Sarah raising a knowing brow.
George and Fred's eyebrows shot up in surprise with a smile, suddenly their ears turning red.
Sarah and Selena exchanged an amused look at their faces. They winked at their respective boyfriends and made their way towards the kitchen, "Hungry anyone?" asked Selena.
"Starving," Sarah answered and they bit down their smile until they turned to corner.
Fred and George's gaze followed them until they were out of sight, then turned to each other, "We're completely whipped, aren't we?" mumbled George.
"Yes, we are, Georgie," answered his brother, the ghost of a smile still on his face, and probably will never leave because he's finally got the girl. His girl.
George smiled at the sight of Fred and clapped his back, following the echoes of the girls' voices, the four of them buzzing around the twins' flat, everything unwinding so beautifully.
_
Well into the evening, they found themselves curled up on the couch, absolutely hysterical over some story about a kid tripping over some fireworks that got caught on his shoelaces and he proceeded to fly around the store, only brining more people in. Which reminded Selena of their fourth year, when George had that unfortunate event with her hair and Sarah of the time Augustus blew up a Procedure room, that was empty but impossible to use for a while, because he'd tried to do Hippocrates' hologram charm.
"Speaking of," she mumbled, glancing apologetically at everyone, "You all might be starting work and training at nine, but I need to be at the hospital by six in the morning."
There was a round of displeased and regretful whines, that just made her raise her shoulders and smile. She didn't want to leave, either.
"Come on, I'll walk you," said Fred, squeezing her arm gently, automatically smiling when she looked up at him and nodded.
She hugged Selena and George goodbye and left with Fred, still in awe of him and these moments, aware of how much she loved him and feeling the sentiment intensify by the second.
"You know I almost kissed you in this stairwell last week," said Sarah, looking up at the flickering light in the hallway of her building.
"That's so funny because I almost kissed you, too. Wish you had, though," he chuckled softly.
She smiled and got in his way before he moved up another stair and just like that they were in about the same place as last time, "Why don't I mend to that, then?"
She leaned in and kissed him, Fred slid his arm around her waist to bring her closer, spent a handful of wonderful moments moving his lips against hers.
Fred let out a sigh when they pulled apart, the sight of her faint smile every time it happened filled his heart with utmost love all over again, "Six, you say? Such a shame."
She brushed the tip of her nose against his and pressed another soft kiss on his lips, "Yes, I know."
"How am I supposed to just go about my days, now? Being completely in love with you and knowing you love me back just as much?" he stepped up a couple stairs as he talked and ended up wrapping his arms around her again, "I'm not sure I can, I might burst out into song and scare off the customers."
"You're a good singer. You'll manage," said Sarah with a wide smile, pushing back some small locks from his forehead. She tried to turn around but couldn't, felt his arms tighten around her.
"You seem to be under the impression that I'll simply let you walk away. Problem is, my feet have stopped working. Troublesome, isn't it?" said Fred with a knowing smirk on his face.
"Fred," she shot him a deadpan look.
He twisted his arms and lifted her off the ground, "Oh, I love that."
"What?" she asked.
"My name," he said, pressed a lingering kiss on her jaw and smiled fully at her, "When you say it."
Sarah smiled, too, and with wide grins, they walked up the remaining stairs, Fred kissed the top of her head, took both her hands in his, "Good night, McCauley."
"Good night, Weasley," she answered softly, unsuccessfully trying to stop beaming because her cheeks hurt.
"Walk away," said Fred, glancing at the door.
"You walk away," she challenged.
Fred shook his head, "We both walk away at the same time. Now." Neither moved.
Sarah's eyebrows shot up, "You didn't."
"Neither did you."
They chuckled softly, Fred rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "I love you."
She breathed in delight and tilted her head up slightly, "I love you."
"Okay, I'm gonna start running, otherwise I don't see myself step away from here," said Fred, pulled back to grin at her.
He pressed a soft kiss on her hands before letting go, on her head, cheek, lips and then started running, leaving Sarah feel so light she might just lift off the ground on her own.
She walked into her flat, like she'd done numerous times before, but this time, some fog seemed to have lifted. Her hand went over her chest, needing to hold her mother's medallion close to her heart, then she got out the velvet box from a little cupboard in her living room and held them both, letting them know in a way of how completely joyful and wonderful she feels right now.
There was still a light whiff of Fred's cologne around the rooms. That night, although she was alone, she didn't feel like it, not anymore, and fell asleep with a smile on her face. Her worst fears and memories trumped down by thoughts of Fred and simply faded into the darkness of the night, while she drifted off into another world, a world of fearlessness, set in a bright chromatic, a world she hadn't stepped into for a long time. A world of hopes and dreams.