Distract me from my thoughts, once more.

[nymphadorauror]

Date: Thursday May 18, 2000
Time: 6ish pm
Place: London, Charlie’s shack
Characters Involved: Charlie and Tonks
Rating: PG-13?
Complete

Comments

[charlie_weasel]

Days in England, without employment, were dreadfully long and droll. At first, it could be fun, relieving even. But this time was different- this bout of unemployment seemed, to Charlie, dark- forboding. He felt as if he was in for a long run here. No one wanted to hire a drunken, artist/ex-Seeker, lazy Weasley

[nymphadorauror]

Tonks had stepped away from the door, to anxiously glance around the area, as if she was waiting for something to happen while she stood outside. When the door finally opened and she heard Charlie’s rather annoying greeting, she stepped back up to the front door with a lopsided grin

[charlie_weasel]

Charlie squinted for a minute, trying to figure out who was interrupting his date (yes, it was with himself. But.). Then he heard her voice. Oh good.

"Why, Tonks. I didn't think I'd be seeing you for a while," he said, taking a step outside and closing the door slightly behind. His face acquired a look of slight worry, mixed with regret (odd combination). "Actually... You are interrupting. I have a- a friend over."

He let himself grin sheepishly as he let the thought sink in on Tonks. Then laughed.

"Actually. Just booze tonight." She looked sad. "And of course you can come in." Charlie pushed the door open and stepped back into the light. He raised an eyebrow. "Drink?"

[nymphadorauror]

Tonks didn’t try to hide her shock when Charlie pretended to have company. Her jaw loosened and her eyes grew wide, not knowing what to say or do in response to her ‘interruption’. He had caught her completely off guard, and his expression, as he spoke, was not helping.

What a minute….

“You bastard.” Tonks muttered breathlessly as she realized Charlie had teased. His expression had lightened, and soon she heard him laughing, which made her reach over and playfully hit him on the arm. “That was awful!” she commented, with more volume then last she had used.

When he reopened his door and offered a drink, she blew past him quickly and welcomed herself into his house, especially since there was no ‘company’ and his teasing was solely for his own enjoyment. That selfish pig!

“Yes….. that would be nice, since you are obviously starting the night early!” She stepped passed the front entrance and moved into his flat without looking back at him, but instead surveying the house in its current condition. She noticed there was plenty to

[nymphadorauror]

Tonks witnessed Charlie’s actions again; the way he was drinking and his expressions easily told her this was something serious. It made her question herself, wondering if she was making Charlie uncomfortable by just asking him about this mystery woman. -- And why did Tonks care, anyway? She knew Charlie’s life was full of women, what was one more to the list?

She eased into her chair, trying to calm her confusion as Tonks listened to Charlie begin the tale- but he ended his introduction with an odd fact. How old? Age difference was not something Tonks ever worried about, not with men she began to love, but Charlie? Since when did he not care? Was this woman not just another one nighter? Had he loved her as Tonks had loved (and still did) someone older than she? Much older

[charlie_weasel]

Charlie inwardly screamed at himself for being so-- so emotional about this. It wasn't that he minded emotions or showing them-- Normally. But this wasn't normal; Charlie sharing details about something he was trying very hard to forget to Tonks was not normal. It was so far from it.

To give himself a moment to think about Tonks' questions (which were really much closer to accusations), Charlie forced himself to drink what he had slowly. His throat seared and surprised Charlie by not bursting into flame.

"I-" Had he just choked up? Charlie blamed it on the drink. "Yes. I did. I think she was the first person, too. At least, the first I loved honestly. Sometimes-" His pulled a small smile. "I say things."

As if this was news to Tonks. Ha.
Charlie felt the small buzz move from the back of his head to behind his eyes.

If you cry, Charlie A. Weasley, he warned himself. I'll kill you. His rational thought had stepped out for the moment.

[nymphadorauror]

Tonks watched Charlie with unblinking eyes, not sure what she was seeing was believable, or if her drink was affecting her perception. But Charlie spoke, and his voice mimicked his troublesome expression, and the tone was unmistakable. Something horrible had happened, for why else would it be so hard for him to talk about it. Tonks realized this wasn’t something he told just any one, by the way he kept drinking his fill.

“Charlie… you don’t have to tell me anymore… I mean it’s not right for me to prod at this because of my own curiosity. Seems like both of our ‘first’s’ went horribly wrong…” She tilted her head. This was a subtle way of asking him if something bad had happened by her assumptive speech. If he agreed, then she knew what she was piecing together was correct.

“You say things, eh? Charlie Weasley depends on false words to get what he wants?” She teased lightly; even her voice was sort, trying to ease away the uncomfortable things she presumed Charlie was feeling.

[charlie_weasel]

Charlie gave Tonks a smile and a small wink, teasingly. Her words had let some of the tension out of the air and he'd felt suddenly relaxed- or at least, a little more relaxed. It was like pressure had been sucked away and gave him room to move. "That's right. And usually, it works."

Shifting to a slightly more comfortable position in the hard chair, Charlie heaved a sigh and swirled the small amount of liqour left at the bottom of his glass around. He looked preoccupied. "It wasn't 'wrong' at first. I mean. We got on well. I moved in after a few months- although, it wasn't really a 'move,' as I was there most of the time anyway."

An urge to put his hands over his face forced Charlie to pour himself another drink. "But really. Everything was mint. I mean, sure we had rows and such, but only occasionally. And then-"

He couldn't even say it. How pathetic.

Charlie sipped from his cup. His face was oddly blank, while he fought to keep tragic expressions off. How unnecessary.

[nymphadorauror]

His laughter made Tonks laugh, and stagger a step back to where Charlie barely stood- in fact she could barely stand; the urge to sit down was extremely hard to ignore.

“OH, right… boring.. I forget.. you prefer lynching to breathing..” She snickered as her free hand lifted up and pretended to choke him with a gentle squeeze of her fingers, acting out his lynching fetish- well at least she loved to assume he had such a fetish, because that was hilarious to think.

“I’m sure you could prove something alright,” She added as she let him go and ran her hand down to his chest to give him a playful shove. “Prove how weak you are!” And then another shove, more forceful than the last, as her hand connected to his chest again. She tried to shove him down into his chair and prove his instability.

[charlie_weasel]

"That's right. Just how I like it," Charlie grinned boozily at Tonks and raised his eyebrows as her hand closed lightly around his throat. He laughed- and then stumbled as Tonks' hand gave him a push. The room turned- then came whipping back into its right place.

"Prove how weak I am?" Charlie had been wondering how one went about proving weakness when-- again the room seemed to go topsy-turvy as Charlie lost his balance and staggered backwards. Trying not to fall, he lashed out and grabbed whatever happened to be closest to keep upright- instead, he only managed to grab Tonks and pull into the chair with him. Painfully.

[nymphadorauror]

Tonks shook her head, as she chuckled at the idiot in front of her, but then he was grabbing her and pulling her down as he fell into the chair behind him. Cripes! That’s not what was supposed to happen!

She ended up dropping her mug to the floor- hearing a thick ‘clink’ when it hit the floor- as her hands reached out to try and stop Charlie from dragging her down with him, but to no avail. She ended up over top of him, sideways and twisted up- over his lap and half his torso. She twisted her arms out of Charlie’s grip and used her hands to push herself up and adjust her diagonal pose. All this was done with loud moans and groans, for Tonks felt bruised all over from her forced descend.

“What did you do that for?” She asked with a mumble as she lifted her head up to look at Charlie. Both of her hands had gripped the back of the chair to keep herself upright and off of him. All the while her legs were trying to untwist and find a good place on the floor to stand on.

[charlie_weasel]

Not exactly sure what had just happened, Charlie kept his eyes closed for a moment until he was faily certain the room had stopped revolving about dangerously. It took a moment for him to register the fact that he was in pain and that someone was climbing about on him.

"I'm- I'm not a mountain," he said, sounding exactly like he should: drunk. His eyes opened- and found, to their surprise, Tonks- who was attempting to untangle her limbs from Charlie's. "Sorry- Er. What are you doing?"

[charlie_weasel]

"Whoops is right." Charlie made a face at Tonks, as she seemed to be getting some disturbing sort of amusement from his torpid legs. He could feel her shaking slightly in his lap- but thought it was perhaps, her laughing. Why else would she be shivering, or whatever it was?

And then- suddenly, she started trying to get up- managing to elbow Charlie in the side in the meantime. But for some reason, she wasn't able to get herself to the floor. Charlie grinned. "You think?"

Wondering listelessly where Tonks thought she was going, he attempted to stand up- like he had before- but had a dizzy feeling of 'doom'- like he was standing on the edge of a cliff and a strong wind was picking up. So, he sat back down with a laugh. "I think I'm stuck too. If I get up, we're going to fall."

[nymphadorauror]

His words made her laugh erupt, and then Tonks fell back against Charlie just as he tried to lift upwards, which made her wobbly and nearly slip off him and the chair as well. Her legs were the first to go, which slanted off the armrest and pulled her sideways as they met up with one of Charlie’s legs

[charlie_weasel]

"I- can't tell. I can't feel them," Charlie said, looking at Tonks' left hand on his right shouler. He let out a small laugh (which sounded like a 'huh') and peered back up at her.

He gripped the armrests and, with a devious grin, stood again- still only a few inches off the chair, but this time he kept the hunched postion for nearly half a minute before allowing himself to return to his seat. His vision swam. "Oops-!"

[nymphadorauror]

Tonks gave Charlie a look at said: ‘You are a wanker’. But this look did not last long, and was abruptly replaced with a shocked and scared expression as Charlie rose from his chair and forced Tonks to fall, with a jagged tumble, from his lap and to the floor-landing on her derrière. OH that wanker! Of course it didn’t hurt, she was laughing too hard, one she realized what he had done, to notice the sting on her backside. Her hands drug away from Charlie as she lost her fight to stay on his lap, and now they walloped at his shins playfully.

“You…. you… wanker!” She cried out and then grabbed his legs before she would decide to lie down instead of sit up. She was feeling heavy all over. Her hands squeezed up at his knees.

“You better help me up-or not.. whatever!” She was getting no where as she tried to stand up, so she quickly gave up and put her hands to the floor to use it as support to get up.