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[thecoolone]

Bill's thoughts are not fit for public consumption. They're barely fit for his own: he paces the floor of Room 42. Back and forth, back and forth: does she think he's stayed away this whole time over a buggering fight? Has she got his letter yet? Does she have a sense he's trying to reach her and can't? All the thoughts, of course, are punctuated heavily by fuck! and bloody hell! and damn! and his brother Charlie's favourite, fuckity fuck fuck!

He's miserable. Completely, utterly miserable and frantic. It's a bloody fuck of a good fucking thing she's as good a witch as she is. Fuck's sake, she saved his life. Twice.

And this is how you repay her, Bill. How very genteel of you.

He's so caught up in angry thought that he doesn't even hear the door opening.

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[leplusbeau]

She hovers in the doorway, her hand on the knob. Anxious, "Are you all right? You are not hurt?"

[thecoolone]

Thank God.

"Fleur! You're..." What's that sound, Bill? Is it your conscience? It smells like some sort of doom. Who owes the apology here? Who is it that called the Order something like 'another Dark Lord?' It wasn't you.

Half of him wants to rush straight into her arms. The other half, unfortunately, seems to be mired down in stubbornness and so he stands and watches her feeling very much out of his element.

"You got my owl. I didn't mean to stay away."

[leplusbeau]

She almost glares. "Juste now. We seem to have...how you say? Iz it juste missed each other? I came looking for you here when you did not come home. I thought. Nevah mind." She shakes her head, but still anxious for an answer. "But you are all right?"

[thecoolone]

"You came here?" His face falls. "But I've been here and didn't see you. Unable to leave; the door won't open for me. I don't know what that's supposed to be trying to tell me, but..." Glancing down, he studies his own hands. "Other than that, I'm all right, I suppose."

He's not sure if the anger he feels toward her is still justified or if it was ever justified, for that matter. Regardless, he's hugely glad to see her. Sitting on the bed, he covers his face with his hands. "Listen, love. I allow myself moments of anger; we all do. But I would never walk out on you and not come back like this." Glancing up at her, he continues. "Still, I need to know that you believe in me and in what I'm doing. Because if you don't... well... perhaps there are some things I need to reassess."

Bill realises fully that what she hears versus what he says is up for grabs. She's still glaring at him, after all, and she can be a fierce and unyielding presence when she wants. It's one of the things he loves about her.

Still.

[leplusbeau]

Her expression softens just a bit more. Now, she just looks incredibly tired. "You, I trust. You think I would marry you if I did not? Iz." She looks back down the hallway, both ways, before finally coming into the room and closing the door.

She turns around, debates the idea, then leans back against the door. "You are a good man, a very good man. I know you try to make the world better. I know our friendz do. I trust them to do their best. But your Order? No." She holds up her hands and waves them. "Juste. Wait. I have to think. Iz hard, you know? The english wordz."

She squints at the far wall, trying to put the words together right. "Iz like. When I came to England, and 'arry Potter had hiz name drawn from the cup, I thought 'they make thiz little boy do it for punishment. Silly boy. He might die.' And I thought it waz cruel, but they can be very savage in the world, you know?" She bites her lip then goes on. "And, after the first task, I think 'he iz not that bad. He tried to help Cedric since no one would help him. Iz fair. He might make it.' I liked him after the second task because he. We all took it so seriously, and people laughed but. They did not fight a dragon. They might juste have hurt... My little sister, ma p'tit chou, juste for some game. And when Cedric..." She does break off there, blinking. The floor is much more interesting to watch now. "They did. They used us. They knew from the start that, You-Know-Who had somehow gotten 'arry into it, and they kept him there. He waz bait, and we were pawnz that were juste fine to lose. And I saw that teacher stun me. I saw him, and I am supposed to trust him now?"

"And when you--" She jerks her head up and breaks off again when she looks at him. "You did not remember for so long after, and when I asked Tonks if it had been some Order thing gone wrong, she would not, could not answer. I had to ask Dumbley-dore, to be sure. Because if he can put hiz favorite boy through hell for his cause, what would stop him from." She takes a step forward and stops.

"I love you. I know you love him." The floor is much more interesting again, and she doesn't know what to do with her hands. "But I will nevah trust him blindly. He iz juste a man."

[thecoolone]

"Venez ici, mon amour." Holding out his hands, he reaches for her. "Did I get that right? My french is horrible. Much worse than your english." Bill tugs her towards him. "I wonder sometimes how we've all come to be such pawns in this game and there's no doubt it is a game. Unfortunately, I'm not one of the players. Your insights are perfectly right: you and Harry and Cedric and Viktor were all used, although it started out as simple sport. It only shows that no matter the level of protection, no one's invulnerable. I'm not, you're not, Harry wasn't and isn't, Dumbledore isn't. That there are no guarantees in life is a lesson I've learnt. I don't give blind obeisance; I do it with my eyes open and I usually know full well what I'm about to get myself into. All it takes is the opposing player moving to cheat, however, and that's what happened to me back there, when I was taken and held."

His voice, quiet and melodic, echoes round the room. "When I was there I kept thinking: just one more day, one more day. One more, and someone will come for me. Someone will find me. Surely they've not forgot about me. Surely at least Dumbledore will send someone to look. I don't know exactly how long I was there, but I do know that day never came." He squeezes Fleur's hands. "I was afraid to think of you. Afraid it was a weakness they could exploit. And so I didn't. For all those months, I refused to let myself think of you."

[leplusbeau]

"I wish I had known. I wish. I nevah knew anything waz wrong. I would have done something, anything." Her knees keep brushing his, her calf is snug against his, and she isn't sure if she is supposed to hover more or just throw herself into his lap and cover him with kisses. Because even when they bicker, they touch. This is weird, and she really doesn't like arguing with Bill.

"I am. I am so sorry that you... I am." She gives his hands a squeeze herself.

[thecoolone]

He doesn't wait another minute before he tugs her onto his lap, but he does wait a minute before he kisses her: there's something he needs to say.

"I'm sorry we fought, but I'm not as sorry about fighting with you as I am about leaving you behind. That was unfair and for that, I apologise."

Forgiveness would be a blessing, but his expectations are low. He's seen Fleur angry before and though he'd rather not see her angry again, he's relatively certain he will.

[leplusbeau]

Fleur has her arms around his neck in an instant! Husband!

She sighs and closes her eyes. "Just. Do not do it again. I mean. Try. Try not to." She opens her eyes and offers a bit of a smile. "Waz part that hurt most. That iz silly, no?"


Then, biting the inside of her cheek and addressing the wall a bit more than Bill, "I am sorry I called your favorite professor a Dark Lord thing. I should have been more. Tactful. With my disagreement. Instead of..." she waves her hands vaguely. And man that sounded like pulling teeth. But look at her try!

[thecoolone]

He opts to speak to her first statement rather than the last. "I'll try. I'll try."

It's what he can offer. Of all people, Bill knows that life isn't perfect nor is it charmed. He also knows that his bride is very, very young. There are cultural differences, of course, as well as age differences.

Still, he fell in love with her and he married her and they're having a child together and those things need to be the most important things of all.

"Fleur, I love you. I'm not perfect, but I love you. I can't promise we'll never fight again, but I love you and I said I would never leave you. I didn't intend to leave you this time. I just couldn't get back." With a sorry sigh and a shake of his head, he looks into her eyes. "And I don't know why that happened and I don't know if I can leave this place now. But there's one sure way to find out."

[leplusbeau]

"Oui. Juste...one moment? Please? Before we must worry about something else, if there iz something."

She hesitates a moment, then leans in to plant a warm, chaste kiss on his mouth. When she pulls back, her eyes flutter back open and she flushes, just the tiniest bit. "I miss you. When you are gone for long. Iz thiz thing. I love you, you see." And she puts a hand on her slightly bulging belly. "And say 'ello. I have been talking to him. Her. I juste say 'bebe'. I do not want to give um, them? A complex. And I found some people to look at! Healerz. We can look at them together and decide." This time, she grins from ear to ear. This baby stuff is growing on her a bit more.

[thecoolone]

Some of the hardness on his face melts away, but it's accompanied by the thought have I been gone that long? Long enough for her to find a new Healer? It's not a thought that makes him happy. But he puts his hand over hers and does what she asks: "Hullo."

He would say more, but he can't at the moment; anything that might have come next sticks in his throat. A moment passes, then two, then three.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers. "Can we go home now?"

[leplusbeau]

She flushes a brilliant shade of red and tugs on his hand. "Pardon. Oui. Let us go. I will make tea." She is tugging him toward the door.

[thecoolone]

Following her through the door and down the stair, he doesn't let go of her hand. His only hesitation comes when they stand by the front door; it hasn't opened for him in days. But he's paid his penance; when Fleur reaches for the knob it opens to the sights and sounds and smells -- most notably the smells -- of Luxor.

Thank heavens. Without a moment's hesitation or a backward glance, Bill follows Fleur through the door. His last thought before the door closes is that it's so, so good to be home.