It's Better If You Do

"I was not going to get a paper cut!" Fred yelled, laughing loudly, before smiling cheekily to himself once she dissapeared into the flat. George was glaring at his brother, looking highly put out.

"You told her about the book?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Fred shrugged nonchalantly, while George huffed. "She's going to tell Bellamy."

"No she isn't. Good grief, mate. Rose is on our side." Fred said lazily, leaning back in his chair, not worried in the slightest. He had given her the chance to get rid of the book, but she had laughed and said it was clever. His brother didn't seem to take his view on things, but held his tongue, knowing that it wouldn't do any good to argue. Besides, as long as they had the book, it would be useful.

Meanwhile, Bellamy and Rose were discussing the finer details of the date that had taken place last night as they washed the dishes at a much slower pace than was their standard.

"How did you two end up the door... like you did?" Bellamy asked quietly, staring into the dish water. Even when she had been dating Julian, she and Rose had only skimmed over this topic, since Bellamy was even more secretive than Rose about her love life. She was happy to answer questions that had no basis to do with her, but otherwise it was slightly taboo, especially since last summer.

Smiling small, Rose spoke in an even softer voice than her sister as she washed plate she was holding, "He was... teasing me about walking up the stairs loudly, and I pouted a bit, so he apologized and we started kissing... I wasn't even shy... it was... strange, but wonderful."

Bellamy merely nodded, taking the plate from her, hoping her expression wasn't full of pain. That was how it had been between her and Julian. Everything had just been so natural, and then he had just left... found someone better, no less. She noticed that Rose was watching her carefully, and she quickly said, "I'm happy for you. Just keep your snogging to a minimum around George and I, please."

"Yes, please," came a voice from behind the girls, and they whirled around to see Fred punch George playfully in the arm, though from George's grimace it may have been a bit harder than intended. Fred grinned and shrugged at Rose, who was blushing a great deal, since she had no idea just how long they had been standing there or what all they had heard.

"Oh well. The just means we get to go out more." he said, giving her a wink. She looked down, a big smile on her face. Bellamy shook her head slightly, and gently pushed through the three of them to get to the stairs.

Rose watched her sister go, before turning to the boys, asking, "Is it time to open the shop yet?"

"About." Fred said, having grabbed George's wrist to check the time.

"Is there anything specific you want me to help out with?" she asked, her eyes wide and sincere. He smiled and went to answer, but George cut him off.

"You could carry Frenchie around the store to show off the Pygmy Puffs. That'll take care of that for a little while, because it'll be a few weeks before we have the Puffskeins bred down." he said with a satisfied smile.

"Alright, I'll go get-" Rose stopped, her eyebrows knitted together. "Where did I put him again?"

"Oh, I was carrying him around last night. I think I put him in the box... with the other puffskeins-" his eyes grew wide, and they all threw hurried down the stairs to go look into the box. Rose gasped. There were tiny little purple and pink baby pygmy puffs along with the rest of the normal cream colored ones, but they looked much smaller than they should have been. George groaned, and smacked his forehead. "Damnit. Miniturized Pygmy Puffs. That's the last thing we need."

"How on earth did they breed so fast?" she asked, slightly appalled. Ryussi was rolling around happily, as a normal sized puffskein rolled around beside him, looking distinctly female.

Fred was trying not to laugh, as he said, "They're like rabbits. You can't ever keep their population down. Well, we'll be able to sell these in a week. People'll never know the difference. We'll just say they're small for their age."

"Well, he grew up fast," she muttered, frowning. The boys laughed, wide grins spreading across their faces.

"I guess you're a grandmother, Rose," George said, elbowing her gently. She merely sighed and shook her head.

"Ryussi, you bad boy," she said scoldingly, picking him up. A chorus of squeaks rang out, and the babies all crowded towards the edge. She gave George a beseeching look, but he shrugged, walking into the shop.

"Just put him back. You can show him off some other time. He's a family man now," Fred said, laughing loudly at the thought. She huffed and put him back, crossing her arms.

"Now I don't even have a pet anymore," she grumbled. "He's got himself a wife."

"Pesky things, wives are," Fred teased and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.

With a small half smile, Rose wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him softly, her head against his chest. After a moment, she pulled back, gnawing on the inside of her cheek. She hesitated, "Fred?"

"Yes, Rosie?"

"Ermmm..." she bit her lip, unsure of what exactly to say. Fred pulled back, smiling at her encouragingly. Blushing, she looked down and mumbled something he couldn't quite hear.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Ohh," she huffed, her cheeks a bright red. He lightly touched her cheek, smiling widely.

"If you keep on, they're going to be as bright as your skirt... or my hair," he added with a laugh. She laughed too, but it was a nervous sound. He twisted his mouth, scrutinizing her. "What's on your mind, chérie?"

"I was just wondering..." she trailed off into silence, her hair falling into her eyes. He pushed it back gently, trying to see her face.

"Rose," Fred murmured, "Tell me."

She exhaled in a rush, and quickly said, "Iwasjustwonderingwhatweare."

Pursing his lips, it took all he had in him not to laugh at the nervous girl in front of him. Not because she was nervous, but because it was extremely cute, as she stammered and mumbled. "Sweetheart, I couldn't understand that."

Sighing dramatically, she stared at her feet as she said slowly, "I was just wondering what we are."

"Oh," he said, realizing what she was getting at. The tips of his ears turned a little bit pink, but he smiled all the same. "Well, I would like it... if you were my girlfriend. Is that... alright with you?"

"Yes! I mean, yes. It is." she said quickly, a wide smile on her lips. He grinned at her, and nodded.

"Good. That's settled then." he said cheerfully, before kissing her softly.

"OI! Time to get to work, love birds! Quit your snogging!" yelled George scathingly, as his head poked through the curtain. He shook his head in mock shame. Fred scowled at his twin, but laughter was glinting in his playful brown eyes. He deliberately leaned down and kissed Rose a bit deeper than before, causing her cheeks to burn a bit more, and heard the gratifying blech.