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Post by Gideon Prewett on Sept 9, 2008 23:45:00 GMT -5
Gideon showed Molly the way to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department, where he intended to give Arthur Weasley a lava lamp one of his employees had mistaken for junk. He knocked on the door to the tiny office. "Arthur's a real nice guy, Molls. I think he might be single too." He gave Molly a wink, thinking he was doing a rather good job at being sly.
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Post by Molly Prewett on Sept 10, 2008 0:09:00 GMT -5
Molly gave him a look. Why was everyone trying to set her up with Arthur? Ted had tried, Andromeda, and now Gideon... Merlin. She wished they would let it go.
Then a thought struck her... had Arthur put her brother up to this? She'd kill him if he had.
"Come off it, Gid. You'd have a right fit if I was dating anyone, nice guy or not. It's that big brother instinct in you."
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Post by Gideon Prewett on Sept 10, 2008 0:20:13 GMT -5
"I think you've confused me with someone else. Fabian perhaps. I know we look alike Molls, but by now I had hoped you could tell us apart." He laughed and knocked on the door again. "Hey, I'm just pointing things out. You know, like a tour. There's a fake plant," he pointed to a potted plant down the corridor. "Arthur's single," he gestured to the office door. "That's a memo," he pointed to the little paper bird that flitted across the room.
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Post by Molly Prewett on Sept 10, 2008 0:23:18 GMT -5
Had she not been so concerned over his odd behavior, she might have laughed. And why on earth would a wizard have a fake plant?
"How well do you know Arthur?" She asked. She shut up quickly, though, when he knocked on the door. Maybe she didn't want to know.
At any rate, all she could do now was hope that Arthur had already left for the day.
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Post by Gideon Prewett on Sept 10, 2008 0:27:55 GMT -5
"We've spoken a few times, but never outside of the office. You don't have to go out with him Molls. I was just mentioning it. I'd prefer you to stay a spinster for the duration of your life." He winked at her. "But I thought I'd try being the supportive type. I know, it doesn't suite me. Just let me give this to him and we'll go eat."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 10, 2008 22:08:28 GMT -5
Arthur was just finishing up some paperwork when he heard the knock on the office door. At the moment, he couldn't quite get up, because he had an impatient owl awaiting a response. The bird had already bitten his hand once when he stopped to scratch an itch on his elbow, and he didn't want to make it wait any longer.
"Be right there!" he called, but he wasn't sure if anyone could hear him through the door. Quickly he finished the letter and attached it to the owl, which flew off in a rush of feathers.
Rushing over to open the door, he was surprised to see Gideon Prewett, holding an interesting looking contraption. "Oh, hello, Gid--" he trailed off as his eyes fell on the person standing behind Gideon. Molly. He broke into a shy smile and immediately tried to smooth out his hair. "Molly. What a surprise... I'd been thinking about sending you an owl."
In fact, it had been all he had thought about all day. He didn't want to seem too forward, but the evening he had spent talking to her was one of the most pleasant he had experienced in a long time.
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Post by Molly Prewett on Sept 10, 2008 22:37:48 GMT -5
Her stomach did a sommersault when the door opened, and she dropped her eyes quickly lest he see what he did to her. Why was she so nervous to see him? It was getting to the point of ridiculous.
She looked back up, glanced at her brother, and then let her eyes settle on Arthur. In an instant, she could see how this was going to pan out, and she started to silently will her brother not to invite Arthur out to eat with them.
"Hi Arthur," she said quietly, and gave him a reserved smile.
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 10, 2008 22:51:07 GMT -5
Arthur felt like his smile was pasted on his face. Could she tell that his heart was pounding in his ears? She was even prettier than he'd remembered. "Hi, Molly," he repeated stupidly. He had already forgotten that Gideon was still standing there, holding the odd contraption in his hands. "It's nice to see you again... I really enjoyed our conversation the other night."
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Post by Molly Prewett on Sept 10, 2008 22:58:49 GMT -5
Did you? She wanted to ask. Enjoyed it so much that he felt compelled to wait those obligatory three days... or had it already been longer? She wanted to be mad at him for making her think about him all the time. It was a feeling she didn't quite undrstand yet, and she wanted to hate him for it, but one look at that face, that nervous, genuine smile... and she couldn't be angry at all.
She didn't know what to say, so she simply nodded and nudged her brother.
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 10, 2008 23:11:23 GMT -5
Arthur didn't know what to say, either. He wondered if she had been thinking about why he hadn't sent her an owl or anything. The truth was, he'd wanted to, many times. In fact, he'd written at least 50 different drafts of the letter to her. But he didn't know what to say. Everything he had written sounded lame or corny, and he wanted to do better than that. He wanted to give her a reason why she should go out with him on a real date. Instead all he came up with were stupid-sounding lines.
His palms were sweating, so he stuffed them in his robe pockets and stood awkwardly in the doorway, willing someone else to speak.
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Post by Gideon Prewett on Sept 11, 2008 19:35:49 GMT -5
"Hey Arth-" Gideon stopped talking abruptly as Arthur and Molly started acting weird and shifty. They had met before?! Gideon felt a fool. He had talked up Arthur to Molly, and here she had already gone on a date with him. And from what Gideon could gather through the awkwardness, it hadn't gone well. He looked back and forth between the two, giving them both odd looks. "Hey," he started slowly. "I just...wanted to stop by...and say hi, Arthur."
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Post by Molly Prewett on Sept 12, 2008 0:13:39 GMT -5
Molly felt instantly bad and took her brother's hand.
"Can we go, please?" She whispered to him, hoping Arthur couldn't hear her. She didn't want to admit to the butterflies that seeing him put in her stomach. What was worse was the smile that he made her want to wear. But all of it added up to a general, anxious unease.
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Post by Gideon Prewett on Sept 12, 2008 0:33:50 GMT -5
Molly was clearly uneasy and he hated being the one to put her in that situation, even if it wasn't he that was making her feel that way. He nodded discretely to her, then handed the lava lamp to Arthur. "One of my guys thought this was trash, but I didn't agree. Thought you might like it. I think the muggles call it a volcano light, or something like that. I don't know why."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 12, 2008 23:36:49 GMT -5
Arthur was still staring at Molly, and reacted slowly when Gideon handed him the lamp. Taking it in his hands, he turned it over and examined it carefully. "It's marvelous, this," he said. "Thanks, Gid." He looked over at Molly again. "Molly, I..." He sighed, not sure what to say. He wanted her to know that he'd been thinking about her, and that he'd agonized over how to ask her out. Finally, he made a decision. "Wait here a second." He hurried back into his office, set the lamp down on the table, and went to his trash can, fishing out 6 or 7 crumpled-up balls of paper. He opened up each one, flattening it on his desk. Then he took the wrinkled pile back over to her and handed it to her. "Molly... I've been trying to come up with a way to ask you out that didn't make me sound like a total git. Every time, I failed. Take a look."
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Post by Molly Prewett on Sept 12, 2008 23:49:55 GMT -5
Molly seemed to let out a breath when he went back inside, and she tugged on Gideon's hand slightly, indicating that they should go soon, as soon as possible, anyway.
When he came back, her eyes reluctantly met his, and she really had no choice but to take the crumpled papers from his hand. Her eyes held his for a moment before she looked down. She didn't read them, not completely. But they were all addressed to her, all half written.
She glanced back up, biting her lip as she looked at Arthur. Taking a deep breath, then releasing it slowly, she asked, "Can I keep these?"
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 14, 2008 12:24:16 GMT -5
Arthur flushed red as he looked at her, causing him to resemble a tomato. He had no idea if he was making an impression on her, much less if it was a favorable one. Maybe she just wanted the papers so she could laugh at him later. But somehow, he couldn't quite believe that of her. "Yes... if you want," he said. "But... they're all rubbish. I couldn't find a way to tell you how much I enjoyed talking to you the other night, without sounding like a prat."
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Post by Gideon Prewett on Sept 16, 2008 0:01:32 GMT -5
Gideon felt awkward watching this. Definitely more awkward than either Arthur or Molly could be, no matter what Molly claimed later. He fidgeted with his robes a bit, looked at the ground, kicks the floor with the toe of his shoe. Basically anything to stay out of the conversation without leaving. Leaving, at this point, might be construed as rude.
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Post by Molly Prewett on Sept 16, 2008 12:59:56 GMT -5
Molly just shook her head. How could she tell Arthur that no matter how he had asked, he couldn't have failed? He was charming in his own awkward way, and she wished he knew that.
She sort of forgot that Gideon was there, and she knew herself. She took ages to get involved in the few relationships she had been in (very few) but Arthur seemed to be the same way.
She didn't want to scare him off, but she needed a way to tell him he could relax around her.
She leaned forward and kissed him. On the lips, and very briefly. "I wish you had sent one of them."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 16, 2008 23:32:18 GMT -5
You could have literally knocked Arthur over with a feather when Molly kissed him. He had to clutch the handle of his door to keep from losing his balance after she pulled away. Flushing beet red, his mouth dropped open and he stared at her. "I.... I.... Wow..." he stammered.
Breathe, Arthur, breathe. He took a deep breath and slowly regained at least some small portion of his composure. Smiling, he said, "You're... you're right. I should have sent one. I wanted it to be just right, for it to be worthy of you. But maybe the wording isn't as important as actually saying the words. I... I like you, Molly."
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Post by Molly Prewett on Sept 17, 2008 10:40:11 GMT -5
Oh Merlin, her poor brother, she thought, her eyes turning to him. "I'm sorry, Gid," she mouthed, and her eyes were drawn back to Arthur.
"Okay," she said, unsure where the word even came from. "Okay." Her heart was starting to beat faster. She didn't know where she had found the courage to kiss him, because she didn't even have the courage to look at him right now.
"Well, Gideon and I were on our way out... so..."
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