Typical

For once, being overlooked was a blessing as they did not, in fact, get caught by anyone else. No one even noticed anything odd over dinner despite the way they couldn't entirely keep their eyes off each other. Percy had never been one to share his feelings, and Marcus had a bit of a resting basilisk face. Whenever Oliver spoke to Percy, Marcus glared at the keeper venomously, but Percy was given to understand that this was normal for the two of them and Oliver didn't talk to him particularly frequently with the whole family around.

Percy had been seated next to Marcus since the rest of the family disliked him. Conversation went about how Percy had expected, but at about the time he started to find it tediously depressing, Marcus slipped a hand under the table and squeezed his knee in acknowledgement. It was perhaps a bit forward, but it was the fun, gentle kind, not the kind that made him stiffen and balk.

Technically, Percy was seated across from George, who was a dangerous person to try to slip anything past. In actuality, Fred and George were both engaged with Oliver across the table and hadn't bothered to glance at Percy. Ron was across from Marcus, and a whole herd of hippogriffs could stampede past without him looking up. Ginny was on Marcus's other side and approved of their courtship (or at least her ability to hold it over their heads.) Oliver was on Percy's right and despite the fact that he and Marcus seemed to get on like hellhounds and kneazles, he was apparently also part of this whole scheme and did nothing more than drop a quick wink at Percy when he'd figured them out.

It had been a while since he last had a romantic dalliance, but even longer since he'd had one that involved stolen moments and hidden affection. (Ginny had caught him at that one too, which he trusted said more about her than about his ability to be subtle since she had been the only one to know for months.) It wasn't something a dynamic he'd want to maintain long-term, but there was a nostalgic thrill to sneaking around under everyone else's noses.

*

Once the Weasley portion of the evening wrapped up, Marcus invited Percy to come to the pub with himself and Wood. The twins and the youngest boy were utter prats about it, disparaging everything from Percy's priorities to their lack of mutual interests. Wood, however, cajoled Percy into agreeing and slapped his brothers down with a lofty "You'll understand when you're older" that made the seeker - Charlie - laugh.

Once out from under the eyes of his family, Percy relaxed only marginally. The pub, apparently, was no more his scene than the party was. Unfortunately for Marcus's jealous streak, Wood stopped pretending that he and Percy were mere acquaintances and focused the conversation on catching up. The bright side was that Marcus did not have to talk to Wood himself and it did help him learn about the mysterious Percy Weasley somewhat organically.

Still, Marcus would really have rather been on a first date that did not involve Oliver bloody Wood. He couldn't help but wonder why there was such a clear delineation between their close personal relationship and their behavior in front of the entire rest of the world. The rest of the family didn't appear to think they even much knew each other past proximity, much less that they held a genuinely deep fondness for each other. In their long, if antagonistic, years of knowing each other, Marcus hadn't heard Percy's name pass through Wood's lips once until Ginny had prompted him. (It didn't surprise him that Ginny knew. The little chit had a bloody mercenary nose for secrets and drama, as far as he could tell. They were all lucky she didn't seem interested in working in journalism because she could have made a killing in selling information rather than holding it as idle blackmail.)

Marcus understood what it was like not to agree with your parents about what your life should look like, so that part of it didn't surprise him. It was often easier to let those things lay like divination leaves at the bottom of a full cup than swirl them up and plaster them against the sides for everyone to read and debate over. He was an only child, so he didn't have much opinion on what sibling relationships should or should not look like. If Percy was happy with the shape of his life, there was something kind of nice about the idea of a shade-grown companionship, like the dreamy shadows of the garden they'd met in. If he felt caged by his small space, Marcus was equally happy to be thrust like a spear into the faces of those used to overlooking him. He would be fully capable of menacing them into backing off and letting Percy expand.

He settled in and sipped his firewhiskey while his rival and his imminent boyfriend gossiped, once again reaching out to brush Percy's hand in gentle affection. Without looking over, Percy pinked and rotated his wrist to open his palm to Marcus's touch. Marcus threaded their fingers together but kept up the slow movement of his thumb.

***

Marcus had been flattering but rakish at their first meeting, but today had born both Weasley family dinner and Percy and Oliver catching up a the pub with a steady grace that Percy appreciated. He leered a little when Percy invited him back to his flat after they left the bar and parted ways with Oliver, but still didn't really shift out of following Percy's lead. It was both appreciated from a convenience sense and deeply flattering.

Once they were securely in the privacy of his home, Percy finally allowed himself to give the man a very vulgar once-over. He was just slightly shorter than Percy and built like a mountain. His face was oddly angular in a square, flat way that would not be lauded by Witch Weekly. His eyes were bright, intense, and captivating. He was densely muscled and his arms were noticeably strong. His hands, though callused, had thus far been infinitely gentle. His legs, it could not be emphasized enough, were gorgeously massive and made Percy a little weak to think about. He was still nothing like handsome, but he was attractive in a way that came straight from Percy's hindbrain and charming in a cerebral way.

Marcus fidgeted slightly. "Still okay?" he asked.

Percy smiled warmly. "I would very much like it if you would pin me against that wall and ravish me, actually."

Shock flew across the man's face followed by a positively predatory delight. "Your wish is my command," he growled as he stalked into Percy's space and kissed him.

Later, they would talk. They'd go on an actual date. They'd see if a relationship was really something they wanted or not. They would very likely have to deal with the headache that was the fallout from informing his family.

For now, this moment tasted like happiness and potential, and Percy was entirely satisfied with the odd turn his life had taken.