Title: Bittersweet torture

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x Reader

Word count: 3.1k

Published: 27 September 2021

Author: Heloise Daphne Brightmore

Request: [Tumblr] - I didn't specify the reader's house. Also I took the liberty of changing the idea a bit as I explained in my reply to the ask, because I couldn't bring the original idea together with the song. 

"Could you do this with Charlie Weasley X Hufflepuff!reader?Something super fluffy and maybe some kissing ? Preferably during Hogwarts years when he becomes obsessed with dragons or something? Song: Ant Saunders - Yellow Hearts."

Warnings: Mention of food

Notes: If you enjoy my stories, please consider donating and supporting me on Ko-fi. Of course, it's completely your choice, I will continue updating for free anyway :) Thank you <3 [ ko-fi.com/heloisedaphnebrightmore ]

Charlie Weasley was utterly, completely, and hopelessly in love with you. Your sweet little smile first thing in the morning and your heavy-lidded gaze at night meeting his made his heart flutter. His feelings haunted him day and night, leaving him desperate for a concrete answer. The place in-between a friendship and a romantic relationship wasn't enough for him anymore. He wanted to be beside you, he wanted to support you and offer you unconditional love, but he couldn't handle being only a mere friend to you anymore. Not when you laid your head on his shoulder in the library whilst getting lost in a book or kissed his cheeks with a vivid smile across your face. Not when all that little attention meant more to him than to you.

"Are you still with me?" Your giggling woke him from his deep thoughts, his eyes meeting yours as you studied his face with that endless joy on your face. He knew he'd do anything to keep that expression across your face, to make you smile as much as humanly possible, to make you feel content. But he knew once he gained his courage and confessed his feelings for you, he would never be able to make you the happiest person alive and the task would forever fall on someone else. "I'm starting to worry," you narrowed your eyes, fixing your gaze on him. Charlie was about to go down that road again, admiring how adorable you looked when confused, head tilted to the side, but he quickly stopped his self-torturing.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked, blinking repeatedly to wake himself from his self-pity.

"I asked if we are still on for Hogsmeade for the weekend, but— You know you can talk to me, right? You seem a bit off." A deep frown spread across your brows. Charlie wanted to reach across the library table to smoothen the skin between your brows, but he quickly shook the thought off.

Whilst it was always natural for you to hug him, kiss him on the cheek, even sleep beside him on occasions when you spent your summer at the Burrow, to Charlie it was a bittersweet torture. Seeing your relaxed, sleeping form beside him made his heart thunder in chest, leaving him awake for the rest of the night. Watching your eyes flutter open first thing in the morning, greeting him with a vivid smile before you hid your mouth behind the cover, rushing to the bathroom to brush your teeth left him a chuckling mess, finding you absolutely adorable. To him those were memories he'd forever treasure, but a part of him could barely contain himself from giving into the heartache, reminding him that he could only experience those precious moments as a mere friend, never more.

"Okay, now I'm getting really worried." Concern laced every word leaving your lips as you stood up and walked around the table to take a seat beside Charlie, the chair's loud scraping noise against the floor earning you a strict glare from Madam Pince. But you only offered her an apologetic look before you stared at your friend once again, your gaze demanding.

"Yeah— yeah, we are on," he said with a small smile as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his side, kissing the top of your head. Though he only did it to stop you from trying to read how madly in love he was with you, he couldn't deny how right it felt to hold you in his arms, the feel of your warmth against his own body making him genuinely happy.

"Are you sure that's all?" You asked with the same frown growing even deeper as you managed to look up at him, but Charlie only nodded, trying to reassure you. Once a tiny smile started curving in the corner on your lips, he let out a heavy, but content sigh, never wanting to see that joyful expression disappear.

The next day Charlie tried to contain his heavily thudding heart, his pulse rushing through his veins as though it was having an individual competition. But he couldn't ignore how right it felt when you walked through the Gryffindor common room, sat down beside him on the couch and pressed your lips against his cheek with a slobbery, smacking kiss, making him chuckle and jokingly wipe the skin.

"I'm trying not to be offended," you scoffed, folding your arms in front of your chest, pouting.

"Come on, I was only joking," he grinned at you, but you just turned your gaze away and held your head high. Charlie tried to find a way to ease your sulking, but he couldn't come up with any ideas. His mind was blank, only occupied by you. For once he didn't even think of his love for dragons, all the applications he wanted to send to conservatories around the continent, all the knowledge he wanted to squeeze into his mind to understand them. No, it was you only, occupying each thought as though you owned him.

He sat beside you, staring at you as if it would change your behaviour, but you were stubborn, and he knew damn well you'd stay that way for as long as you could just to rile him up. With the shake of his head, he leaned closer and returned your previous gesture, hinting a small kiss on your cheek, before he pulled away with a gentle smile, watching you turn back to him with the same cheerful grin that you arrived with.

"Much better," you huffed, earning a soft chuckle from him.

"You are insufferable," he said as he leaned back against the sofa.

"That's why you love me," you said with a giggle, leaning against his side as his arm wrapped around your shoulder. Oh, how right you were. But the love you were talking about wasn't the one he harboured.

"I do, indeed," he breathed as he kissed the top of your head, his gaze distant, his words heavier than ever.

As the weekend arrived, you headed down to Hogsmeade to grab a butterbeer and buy some sweets. You linked your arm with Charlie's as you dragged him along, from shop to shop, leaving him chuckling at your eagerness. He couldn't stop himself from staring at the content smile across your face, the little giggles that left your lungs when he acted as though he was growing tired. Oh, no he wasn't. He'd have gone wherever you wanted him, but he knew you found it funny when he grew grumpy and on rare occasions, he played the part just to see you smile. As bittersweet as each smile left him, he never wanted you to ever stop, because even if only as a friend, he wanted to make you the happiest person alive.

"Charlie," you called as he leaned against the wall beside the entrance of the Three Broomstick, looking around the crowded little village whilst you quickly popped into Zonko's.

"Hmm?" He arched a brow, watching you run up to him with a bag in your hand that screamed trouble. "What's that for?" He asked suspiciously.

"I bought this for Georgie and Freddie," you smirked at the boy, imagining the happy expression across the twins' face, unlike their parents.

"Mother will kill you," Charlie shook his head, but he couldn't stop the little curve tugging in the corner of his lips.

"Molly loves me, so I doubt it," you shrugged with a smug grin, earning a not-so-subtle eye roll from him.

Once you were in the Three Broomstick, you gobbled down a whole meal in a matter of minutes, leaving Charlie to admire you whilst your focus was completely and utterly taken by your food. Once you finished, it was time for butterbeer after butterbeer. You couldn't contain your giggling, making Charlie blush at your silliness, your whole presence radiating warmth.

As you finished and stepped out of the pub, the chilly air hit you, making you slightly moan at the pleasure. Charlie couldn't deny how deeply that tiny sound affected his already heavily beating heart, so to stop you from any further noises that might just kill him, he pulled a candy out of his pocket, unwrapped the package and not-so gently pushed it through your parted lips. Eyes wide in surprise, lips still parted as you moved the candy, Charlie chuckled at your stunned face.

"For the first time you were finally quiet, and I wanted to enjoy it a bit longer," he chuckled as you gaped at him. Before he could have even defended himself you gently punched his shoulder.

"You're mean, Mr. Weasley," you said as you shook your head, but your small smile quickly returned. "You're lucky I'm having a good time," you huffed as if you were still sulking, but Charlie knew you better.

"As always when I'm around," he joked, earning an incredulous scoff from you.

"Your confidence never ceases to amaze me," you said as you linked your arm with his and started walking along the path leading back to the castle. For a moment there was silence, a comfortable, content silence. "Thank you for the candy," you spoke up and rose on your tiptoes to press a kiss on his cheek, only to find him facing you. It was too late to turn, too late to react and once your lips met the corner of his own, Charlie felt like his knees would buckle.

"I'm so sorry!" Your tone was high-pitched, panicked and Charlie could have done anything to travel back in time and avoid seeing that terror across your face as if what happened was something criminal, something illegal.

"It's fine," he shook his head with a heavy sigh, turning his gaze away as he nudged you to walk beside him, your arm still around his, enough to get you moving.

"I really didn't mean to. It was an accident. I'm so sorry, Charlie, please don't be mad at me," your pleas, the begging undertone of your voice, the fear he could hear through every single syllable made his inside churn.

"I told you, it's fine. Stop apologising," his voice was weak against the pain he felt at the thought of you being so disgusted with such a small matter, but clearly it was something that you were appalled by, and he couldn't stop his throat closing in on him, his mouth growing drier as it hit him.

"But Charlie, I feel so bad. I didn't mean to do it, it just happened," you continued, his pain growing with each word, his chest tightening, caging his breath in a hold he could barely access.

"Stop, stop, stop," he breathed, a heavy sigh leaving his lungs as he shook his head and gently removed your fingers from around his arm. "Please, stop apologising," he shook his head, trying to clear his mind, but he could only think of the terror in your eyes. He didn't look at you, he couldn't get himself to. He fixed his gaze on the ground, attempting to collect his thoughts. "I understand it's not something you wanted to happen. It was an accident. But can't you just act like it didn't happen? Do you really have to act so disgusted by it?" He asked, each word hurting him even more, the previous panic he saw in your eyes fuelling his aching heart.

Once he lifted his gaze, you looked at him with a stunned expression, one that had no reminiscence of your previous fear, but complete surprise. "Do you really think I'm disgusted?" A frown spread across your brows as you studied the boy with an intent gaze.

"I don't know what to think. You looked terrified, you kept apologising and went on and on and on," he replied with a heavy scoff. "Frankly, my first thought upon seeing your panicking was that you were disgusted." His honesty once again stunned you.

"Charlie, you completely misunderstood," you shook your head as you stepped closer to him, staring into his eyes as if you could read what he was thinking. "You looked at me like you have made the biggest mistake of your life, when in fact I was the one being careless. What was I supposed to do? I felt like I had done something horrible, because the only thing I could read off you was— it was like— like you were about to tell me to never ever try to get close to you again, to disappear from your sight," your voice shook as the words escaped you.

"Because that's what I thought." He wanted you to believe it was the biggest mistake of his life because it was. He couldn't ever pretend to be your friend again, to stay beside you and act as if his feelings were merely platonic. But he couldn't stand the sight of you tearing up, your lips wobbling. He couldn't stand the shaky breath that escaped you, the smile he wanted to see so desperately seemingly impossible to appear. "That is exactly what I thought because I can't stand pretending anymore," he said as he shook his head, stepping back to create more distance just as he was about to do more damage that he knew he'd never recover from. "I can't stand acting like I'm your friend anymore. I can't take your kisses when I know you do it merely as a friend. I can't accept your hugs when I know the way I embrace you isn't how friends should hold each other. I want more, I have wanted more for so long I can't even remember being your friend anymore."

"Charlie—," his name was a silent whisper, but he didn't want to hear it.

"Don't," he shook his head, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, just long enough to think about how to phrase what he had to say. "You are important to me, and you'll always be. I couldn't change it even if I wanted to. But I can't keep torturing myself for the sake of this friendship, I can't hurt myself any longer."

"But Charlie—," you attempted to speak again, your voice stern this time, but he didn't let you.

"No, please. Let's just end it here and go our separate ways without it getting ugly. It's better for both of us," he said, before turning away from you, heading towards the castle. His heart felt like it was slowly splitting in two, as if mocking him for taking so long to finally do the right thing and end it.

"Charles Weasley," you called after him in a tone that Charlie was sure his mother would have feared if she heard. "Get your ass back here now," you demanded and as if he was under a spell, Charlie turned around with wide eyes, completely stunned at your outburst. "Well, thank you," you said with a smile that could have scared him away if his legs weren't frozen in their spot. "Now that you so selfishly finished your little monologue, I'd appreciate it if you let me talk as well. Unless you have anything else to say," you arched a brow, challenging him to talk.

He hesitantly shook his head, not daring to open his mouth.

"Brilliant," you hissed. "Whilst I understand why you're upset, you've no right to run away from me without hearing me out." Taking a step closer, you pointed your finger at him. "Firstly, I'm trying to decide if you are blind, oblivious or just painfully dumb," you scoffed as you took another step closer. "Secondly, do you really think I just go around kissing boys? Frankly, you aren't my only male friend, but you are the only one I kiss every single time we meet. The only one I hug whenever I want to just feel closer and you're the only one I slept beside. I don't waltz into boys' rooms and crawl into their bed for the fun of it. I have done everything to make you see that you're special to me, that you meant more than a bloody friend. But you—," you hissed as you closed the gap and stood right in front of him, looking up at his confused face, poking his chest accusingly, "you were so painfully blind, I had no way to get through that thick skull of yours." An incredulous huff left your lungs and as your frustration started to subside, tears welled in your eyes.

Charlie wanted to lift his arms and cup your cheeks, wanted to comfort you for his own stupidity, but he couldn't move, your words stunned him beyond his expectations.

"I thought I'd forever stay only a friend to you. So when we accidentally kissed, as bad as it might sound, I felt like the happiest person alive. But then I looked at you and it felt like a slap on the face." Tears escaped down your cheeks, Charlie's thumbs arriving just in time for their rescue, gently rubbing your cheeks.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," he said as he pressed his forehead against yours with a heavy sigh leaving his mouth, tickling your lips. "I'm so sorry for being oblivious, for not seeing the signs, for not understanding you. I'm so sorry for trying to push you away."

"Charlie—," you started, and he knew better than to interrupt you this time. "Stop apologising and kiss me already," your voice was barely a whisper and as his gaze fell on your mouth, the sight of them made his blood boil. Oh, how long he wished to feel them, taste them, completely devour them. With the force of a wild beast, he captured your lips in a feverish kiss. There was no place for gentle pecks and sweet, tender brushes. It was filled with hunger and need, repressed feelings that all came crashing down on both of you, desperately clinging to each other for more.

As you parted, Charlie's ragged breathing mixed with your laboured breaths, but your joint gaze couldn't be more alive. "Woah—," Charlie started, but he couldn't find the right words.

"Yeah," you nodded, still out of breath. "That— that was something," was all you said as a silent giggle escaped you, no evidence of your sadness anymore.

"I wish we'd done that before," he said, once again pressing his forehead to yours. "I wish we hadn't wasted so much time."

"Well, I guess we just have to work extra hard to make up for it," you chuckled, earning a head shake from Charlie, but he couldn't mask the utmost excitement in his expression at the thought of having you all to himself.

"You better buckle up then, because I don't plan on letting you go," he said jokingly, though he meant every word of it. At last, he wrapped his arms around your waist, securing you against him and pressed his lips against yours, beginning to make good on his promise.

Notes : If you enjoyed reading this little piece, please don't forget to leave a like and/or comment. Thank you ^^

If you enjoy my stories, please consider donating and supporting me on Ko-fi. Of course, it's completely your choice, I will continue updating for free anyway :) Thank you <3 [ ko-fi.com/heloisedaphnebrightmore ]