This was going to be a smutlet-by-request for icarusancalion, who asked for "Percy/Harry, incredulous." I'm fairly certain it would have ended up having a different title, and of course you can see where it's going: Harry and Percy have sex and then either discover a new lease on life and a new place in the war or a new reason to say, "Screw it all, we're going to Maui."
Incredulous [unfinished]
by Resonant
Every Weasley wants something he can't have. That passionate longing is what makes a Weasley.
Bill and Charlie, the oldest, want to be free, for a change. Ron and Ginny, the youngest, want to have someone's full attention, for a change. Fred and George seem to want to return the universe to a state of primal chaos, but this may just be an expression of a desire to escape.
And Percy? What does Percy want? To do the right thing. No, worse: the right thing done. Not much. He sighs and shifts, looking out the window at Ginny and Neville kissing in the garden while the gnomes move in unmolested. He's even more screwed than the rest of them.
Weasleys always get what they want eventually. Bill and Charlie go off to adventures in foreign lands, Fred and George discover that mayhem pays. Ginny finds Neville Longbottom and Ron finds Hermione Granger, lonesome only children who can give them all the adoration they crave.
But Percy doesn't. He won't apologize for being loyal to the legitimately elected leader instead of to a bunch of vigilantes, not even after the vigilantes turned out to be right, and so things are pretty rough with the family. Dumbledore brought him back into the Order when the vote of no confidence felled Fudge, but there, too, he gets suspicion and mistrust. Plus the Order is chaos, everybody can see that. Nobody was elected, nobody's really in charge, there are no rules except Dumbledore's whims, which have mostly proved right so far but are unpredictable.
Voldemort's dead and they're winning the war and Harry probably feels useless and Percy is utterly miserable.
A noise in the hall is Harry Potter, drifting aimlessly down the hall from the room he supposedly shares with Ron, but which he only uses to sleep, as Ron and Hermione are putting it to other uses the rest of the time. Harry has been drifting for some time; he out-duelled Voldemort with an ease that surprised everyone, walking away from the smoking remains of his adversary with nothing worse than shaky hands and exhaustion and a small scar on his wrist to match the one on his forehead. But in the days that followed, it became obvious to everyone that he hadn't expected to survive that confrontation, and that now he didn't know what to do with himself.
Seventeen is awfully young to be marking time until death.
Dumbledore assures Mum that Harry will get over it if they all give him time.
He drifts by again in the other direction, and on impulse Percy says, "Harry," and slides over to make room on the window seat.
Harry looks down into the garden for a moment without saying anything, and Percy tries to be subtle about looking him over. He doesn't look unwell and he isn't neglecting food or hygiene or sleep; he just looks like someone who's been woken unexpectedly, as though he doesn't quite know where he is or what he's doing there.
After a moment, Harry says, "Spring, isn't it?" For a moment Percy can't quite parse the question, but then he decides it really is as simple as it sounds; Harry has simply forgotten what season it ss. "Yeah," he answers.
"I tend to forget." Harry ducks his head forward, and Percy looks down on the top of his untidy hair, and feels a momentary surge of anger at Dumbledore, who knows exactly how to win back people with misguided loyalties, like himself and Snape, but hasn't the slightest notion what to do with Harry, and leaves him lying about on the carpet like a Christmas cracker that you've already set off and got your prize and your paper hat.
Percy doesn't care for being touched out of context, because lacking the proper response makes him uncomfortable, and so usually he's careful not to put others in that awkward position. But he puts his arm around Harry just then, the way he used to do to comfort Ron and Ginny and even the twins, before they decided they didn't need to be hugged by a hopeless ass.
Harry doesn't stiffen, and he doesn't struggle; he doesn't change his position at all, just goes on looking out the window as though no one has ever put an arm around him before. Percy had his doubts about the gesture even as he made it, but this lack of response, paradoxically, makes him more committed to it. Since Harry won't move closer to him, he moves closer to Harry, until they're pressed together side to side.
Harry finally responds with his own arm around Percy, hand shifting awkwardly until it finds a resting place a little too high on Percy's side, against his ribs.
"Sorry," Harry says. "Only I'm not used to ..." He trails off and looks at Percy with a sheepish smile.
Percy really doesn't know what makes him bend down and kiss Harry softly on the mouth.
"Oh!" Harry says, and blinks up at Percy. "Is that -- I mean --"
"I just wanted to. I've no idea why," Percy says. He's just now realizing how long it's been since he saw Harry's eyes really focus on anything. He smiles in a way that he hopes is encouraging. Harry smiles back wryly.
"I'm sort of hopeless at this sort of thing."
"What sort of thing?"
The smile broadens. "Human contact in general, really."
[skip some time]
lean hiim back against the wall, separate and come together again as the impulse strikes. He touches his fingertips to Percy's rough jaw, to the corners of his mouth, to his lips in the places where Harry's lips don't cover them, to Percy's tongue as it sweeps out of Harry's mouth -- his fingers taste of grapes. He makes a hissing noise when Percy turns out of the kiss to suck two of his fingers into his mouth, and stares at him, eyes very wide behind his glasses, so that Percy pauses and looks at him to be sure he isn't going too far.
"Feels good," Harry says wonderingly. "Percy, do you want to --" He rises up on one knee and kisses Percy harder, deeper,
-yes, that's it, sorry-
July 17, 2007
http://trickster.org/res/incredulous.html