It's Better If You Do

"I feel like a mother," Rose whispered with a grin to Fred, who grinned in response. She was laying down on Fred's bed with her head propped against the headboard and Mavise curled up asleep on her chest while Fred laid next to her, his chin in his hand and his elbow resting on the bed as he watched the kitten's deep breathing.

Mavise was tuckered out, and had a right to be so. Fred had taken one of his shoe strings and they had taken turns playing with the small ball of fur, who pounced, pranced, and scampered back and forth across the bed to capture the elusive string. It had made both of them laugh so hard their sides were hurting. Finally, after over an hour of fun, Mavise had just laid down and quit playing. Rose then hurriedly got her a small bowl of milk and Fred and Rose had laughed even more at the speed in which she had lapped it up. Now the kitten was dreaming happily, with her paws twitching every now and then. Fred gave her a crooked grin, and nodded firmly as if he were deciding something.

"That cat is going to be so spoiled," he whispered playfully, and she grinned before petting Mavise lightly along her back, to which the kitten purred, even in sleep.

"Mothers are supposed to spoil their children," Rose said with a quiet laugh, and Fred snorted and shook his head, raising an eyebrow and smirking at her.

"I was never spoiled, that's for certain," he said, making it sound like being spoiled was a horrible thing indeed. Rolling her eyes, the blonde bit her bottom lip against a wide smile.

"You're just mad because I'm spoiling Mavise instead of you," Rose teased, causing Fred to lightly scowl at her. Not once had she snogged him since she said she wasn't going to, and that had been several hours now. Not even a peck on the cheek. She was determined to prove herself, and it was putting Fred out considerably. He sighed dramatically, and flopped onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. Rose's mouth twisted thoughtfully as she studied him.

Would it really hurt to give in? Merlin knows they would only be alone for a little while. A quick snog couldn't hurt... No, no, she thought firmly, shaking her head. Fred would rub it in her face for the rest of their lives if she did. Seeming to sense her weakness, he looked over at her with a sincere smile, and she felt herself soften and she began to smile back when she suddenly frowned and glared at him.

"I know what you're doing," she said in a stern voice, though it had absolutely no affect on the red-headed boy laying beside her. "And it isn't going to work." His eyes widened innocently, but the hint of the smirk on his lips ruined the affect.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Rosie," came the simple reply, and Fred smiled wider. Huffing slightly, she startled Mavise, who let out a small meow. Deciding she would let the kitten get her rest, she slowly stood up, cradling Mavise carefully, and walked over to her cot. Pulling back her dark blue sheets, Rose tucked the calico kitten in carefully. She was back to asleep in less than a minute. She turned to look over at Fred, who was still staring at the ceiling, his long legs stretched out and his feet dangling over the bed.

Chewing on her lip, she decided she was going to read one of her books. Walking over to her trunk, she crouched down beside it and made her way to the bottom, looking at her selection. With a nod, she picked out a small, white book and made her way back over to Fred's bed, sitting down beside him. Leaning against the headboard, Rose opened to the first page and began to read.

Fred looked over curiously, but he couldn't see the title of her book. Propping himself up on his elbows, he leaned over but he didn't recognize the name of the book, and didn't really care to know. A slow mischevious smile crept over his face, and he lightly began to brush his fingers up and down her arm, grinning once he felt her stiffen. Rose ignored him, and his hand slowly brushed to her shoulder and neck, his nails trailing lightly over her pale skin. Raising an eyebrow sourly at him, she said, "I'm trying to read."

"Well I'm bored," Fred said softly, his eyes glinting with humor. Shaking her head, Rose laughed softly.

"So go play with Mavise," she suggested as she turned the page. Fred shook his head slowly.

"No, I don't think I want to," he said in a solemn sort of voice. His hand continued down her neck and towards her ear. She gave a sharp inhale, her nails curling sharply around the book as she closed her eyes. Fred swiftly took the book from her and dropped it to the floor.

"I was reading that," she said in a dissaproving sort of voice voice, as she frowned at him. Shrugging, he leaned over and brushed his lips along her arm, kissing up it softly. Rose took a deep breath and bit her lip softly. As much as she would vehemently deny it, her self control was rather lacking. Rose blamed this on her inexperience, and she had to fight severely against the urge to just give in.

"Why don't you entertain me? I bet that'd be a lot more fun," Fred murmured, and she looked down at him with a rather put out sort of expression.

"You're just trying to make me lose," Rose pouted, but made no advance to stop him. Taking this as a sign of encouragement, Fred sat up and gently tucked her hair behind her ear, leaning in and softly kissed against her neck.

"And if I am?" he whispered against her skin, and Rose gave a quiet laugh, full of mirth.

"Then... I don't know," she answered softly, tilting her head to the side as he continued to kiss her neck, moving his way to her jawline. Her resolve was so weak that it was almost completely vanished. The majority of her brain was screaming for her to give in, while the small, prideful remainder cried for her not to. It was rather confusing, on the whole and Fred wasn't helping her to clear her head. "Maybe I should stop you."

"Maybe you should," he agreed as he chuckled quietly, his warm breath splashing against her throat. "But you aren't." Rose nodded slowly, her eyes half lidded.

"This isn't fair," she protested weakly earning another chuckle from the boy. He pulled back and grinned at her broadly. She couldn't help but to smile back, though ruefully. Fred opened his mouth to answer, when a large thud came from above them, waking Mavise and startling the pair on the bed. Fred raised a brow, and looked up at the ceiling with a confused expression.

"What the-" he said, and as they listened closer, they could hear another person walking about and the very brief, muted sounds of laughing and talking. Sharing an anxious glance, Fred sat up and pulled Rose up as well. "I'm going to go check that out."

"Not alone you aren't," she disagreed with a vigorous shake of her head. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair and gave a brief nod. Wrapping his hand around hers, they apparated to the top of the shop were they found a rather funny scene. Bellamy was gulping at almost three quarters of a bottle of Firewhiskey while George shouted at her to leave him some, his words slurring as he stumbled toward her.

Biting her lip against laughter, Rose spared a brief look at Fred, who was mirroring her expression. When their eyes met, they burst into laughter, surprised the drunken pair. Bellamy almost dropped the bottle, and George seized his opportunity and snatched it from her.

"Ha!" he said triumphantly to the scowling brunette, and grinned at Rose and Fred. "Why hello, Rosie. Want some?" George asked, holding out the bottle. With an impish grin, Rose nodded, stepping forward and taking it from the drunken boy, which surprised Fred greatly. Bellamy frowned softly, though it wasn't as harsh as it normally would be.

"You know you don't tolerate alcohol well," she scolded halfheartedly, hiccuping at the last word. It shook her entire body and she began to giggle quietly to herself, her body leaning almost completely to the left. Rose grinned tauntingly at her and laughed.

"Looks like you're tolerating yours mighty fine, Bellamy. How long have you been drunk?" the blonde asked before taking a large swig of the Firewhiskey, coughing hard as it went down her throat. Fred hastened to pound her on the back while George roared with laughter. A slow lazy smile spread across her face, and Rose staggered slightly. Bellamy shook her head with a humored smile.

"Not nearly long enough," she said with a dramatic sigh. Rose hummed lightly, and held the bottle out to Fred, who took it cautiously, wondering if it would be wise to have all four of them drunk. Deciding he wasn't going to miss out on the fun, he took a large swallow and winced as it went down. Impatiently, Rose held her hand out again and he did a double take.

"I want to be drunk like them," she said with a pout, as George and Bellamy laughed together over something that Rose couldn't quite hear. A sudden laugh escaped Fred and he handed it over, shrugging his shoulders.

"Go on ahead, then. I'm certainly not going to stop you," he said with a gleam in his brown eyes and a mischevious grin. She nodded and took another long drink, not coughing like she did the first time, though she did wince a lot. George noticed, and frowned heavily.

"Hey, hey! Don't hog the Firewhiskey!" he said firmly, though it came out in a slush that had the three of them snickering. He sounded Cockney more than anything, and it was quite hilarious to watch his stammer with his ears profusely red. Rose tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You already had some. It's mine and Fred's turn. You want more? Go buy some." she said rather uncharacteristically, taking another swallow. This seemed to settle with George quite well. A mischevious smile spread across his face, and turning to Bellamy, he grinned.

"How 'bout it? I wouldn't mind another, especially if they're going to get drunk and start snogging. I'll need to be really drunk to tolerate that," George said with an exxagerated shudder. Fred scoffed before taking the bottle from Rose and downing a large bit of it. Bellamy's mouth twisted into a wry smile.

"Let's go see if the hag is still there," she suggested with a twinkle in her light brown eyes that was normally not there. George nodded, and they were about to apparate when Rose tilted her head confusedly.

"What hag?" she asked, and the pair grinned at her, before laughing and launching into their story, tripping over each other's words and cutting each other off all the while.