Fic: Too Late (1/1)

[fiery_flamingo]

Title: Too Late
Characters: Percy Weasley/Penelope Clearwater
Words: 334
Disclaimer: Not mine, all JKR.
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Author's Note: Written for hp_humpdrabbles with the song "I Was Wrong" by Sleeperstar as the prompt.

 

---

Percy was only dully surprised to see the boxes in the darkened hall when he stepped into his flat. It was the thing to expect at this point, he supposed.

Sighing, he let his briefcase fall to the floor and tip-toed through the obstacle course that included not only the boxes but also the wreckage of a set of china he'd never really cared for. Cause and effect, all there on the floor for anyone to see.

He pushed the bedroom door open slowly, dreading that some other bit of crockery would come flying at his head that night.

Instead a quieter, sadder sight met him; Penelope lie asleep, head pillowed by some files she'd been working on. A bottle of wine and a half-empty glass sat on the nightstand.

Percy realized with a start that she'd been crying--her Muggle make-up had run, leaving rather unflattering tear tracks--because of him. Something in his stomach clenched.

Trying as hard as possible not to disturb his probably ex-girlfriend, he took off his shoes and Ministry robes.

Her eyes fluttered open when he settled onto the bed. He waited to be kicked out, for the cold stare he'd become so accustomed to in the past few months. The last thing he'd expected  was the hand that took his own.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, covering a multitude of sins in two words. His obliviousness, his selfishness, his stubborn ways. A hundred little things that had amassed into a mountain.

"Me too," she replied, before pulling him down into a kiss. An apology and a benediction between two pairs of lips.

And even as his hand traveled the curve of her hip and the swell of her breast, he knew that the apologies had come too late. No amount of sorry could undo the damage they'd wrought. But her hips slid beneath his and her legs wrapped around his waist and they silently agreed on one last moment.

Tomorrow they'd untangle their bodies and their lives and move on.