Don't Think I Can Fight This Anymore

February 9, 2005

Dear Danny,

Thank you so much for your blessing, even though you keep saying you gave it to me years ago. Please tell me you didn’t let anything slip to her - I really want it to be a surprise.

I also wanted to thank you for that recording you made all those years ago. I think it’s time that she finally hears it.

Your brother,
Charlie

Daniel Finch smirked and shook his head at the closing of the letter. “Such a fucking romantic.”

“Who is?”

Daniel looked up at his older sister, leaning against the doorframe to his tiny barracks. Sherlock, ever the faithful friend, sat at her side. He folded the letter and tried to act nonchalant. “No one.”

She looked suspicious. “Right.”

“You’re heading out?”

“Soon. Just wanted to say goodbye.”

Daniel had an odd moment then, as he looked at his sister. He barely recognized her. She was dressed in jeans and a cashmere sweater, revealed by an open black pea coat. She had the tiniest touches of makeup on.

But what made him pause was how relaxed she was. Even when they were kids, she always looked slightly worried. Probably worried about him, more than anything else. And then in school she worried about not being good enough. She worried about him until he was old enough to go to school as well. She had balanced out a bit when she joined the military. And then after the war, she worried about Quinn Tracy and Lestrange and a million other things.

But finally, on her way home to Charlie, she was relaxed. There was nothing to worry about, except maybe which socks Charlie had managed to lose in the wash while she was gone and if he had eaten properly. In spite of the hard exterior she had built, she was such a caretaker. But finally she found someone who would put her first.

“What’s with the stupid look on your face?” She asked.

Daniel shook his head, trying to clear it. “You just seem really grown up.”

She laughed. “Okay, LITTLE bro. Come here and say goodbye before the tears start.”

Daniel hugged his sister tightly, then knelt to pet Sherlock. She turned to leave, but he called, “Hey, sis?”

“What?”

“Happy Birthday.”

She paused, and looked at him. “You know that it’s my birthday?”

He chuckled. “Evs, just because I managed to be sick every year on February 9th doesn’t mean I didn’t know it was your birthday. And then when I got old enough to actually buy you gifts and cake and shit, you never wanted any of that. So here it is, twenty-eight years too late. Happy Birthday.”

She smiled, and her eyes looked watery for a moment. But Daniel decided it must have been a trick of the light. “Thanks, Danny. I’ll see you in two months.”

“Yeah.”

She walked down the long hallway, Sherlock trotting behind her. Daniel turned back to his bunk.

She was finally ready.

~*~

Evelyn sighed as she walked up the path to the cabin in the middle of the Romanian forest. It had been a very long trip home. She had to wait three hours for her portkey, and then another two hours to be cleared by security once she was in Romania. Sherlock was already at the door, waiting for her. Through the windows, the house was dark but it looked like Charlie had lit some candles.

I swear to god, Evelyn thought unhappily, if he’s trying to pull birthday shit there’s going to be a serious problem. All she wanted was to take a bath, eat something, and maybe have sex. Maybe not even in that order. Maybe two of those could be accomplished at the same time.

“Charlie!” Evelyn called, pushing open the door. Lit candles rested on every flat surface. She tossed her duffle bag on the floor. “You home?”

Sherlock sprinted into the bedroom, but Evelyn was distracted by the kitchen table. The majority of the table was covered in candles, but there were also stemless flowers spread around. Orange and yellow ones, not unlike the ones she had once bought for this cabin. As she stepped closer, she saw letters. Tons and tons of letters. All the letters she had ever written him were spread out of the table.

“He’s always been a romantic,” Bill sighed in her head as Evelyn approached.

The first and last letters she had written him were clear favorites, as they were on top. She didn’t fail to notice that her final letter had been crumpled and then smoothed back out. Resting on top of all of that was a silver voice recorder. Was it finally time to listen?

Evelyn picked up the recorder, and pressed play.

“That’s a cute house.” Daniel’s voice came through, clear as day.

“My older brother’s place.” Charlie replied. “On the beach.”

“My sister always loved the beach. Our aunt had a house in Florida, right on the water. We’d go there on vacation. Evie would get up in the middle of the night and disappear. Be no where in the house. Then you’d find her out walking in the tide, just staring at the horizon. She was a lunatic like that even when we were kids.”

Charlie laughed.

“You should take her sometime. To the beach.”

“Your sister broke up with me. I doubt she wants me to take her to the beach.”

“She loves you.”

“She doesn’t love me.” Charlie said. “She came for Lestrange, not me. You didn’t see her there. She wasn’t...she was the Second Lieutenant, not Evelyn.”

“Well, you love her.”

“Of course I love her.” Charlie said bitterly. “Look I know she’s your sister and all but...being with Evelyn is like finally finding the eye of the storm. She’s a natural disaster but you’d found the good and calm in the middle of that. She’s terrifying and enchanting and wonderful and she doesn’t care about me. But that’s okay. If she doesn’t love me, I don’t care. At least I got to stand in her rain. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I loved her and I’ll never love anyone this much again.”

Evelyn put a hand to her mouth, as if it would stop the tears from flowing freely down her cheeks. She couldn’t help it, it was just so overwhelming. She heard Charlie’s footsteps behind her and she turned to look at him. He smiled and took her other hand.

“You’re an asshole.” She whispered. The recording played on, but neither of them were listening.

“Why are you crying?” He asked, teasing but honestly in shock. “We haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.”

“I know what the next part is, and this is all just...so you, Weasley.”

“Alright, not what you would have gone for.” He conceded. “But not worth crying over.”

“Shut up and get on with it.”

He took a deep breath, and recited what he had worked so hard on for two years.

“I’m not getting on my knees, because you already know I worship you. And you always say you love me because I stand up to you. I worship you for a thousand reasons, and every day I find a hundred more. I never want to be separated from you again. No matter what storms you bring. So I’m asking you to please, please, take this ring, and say you’ll marry me, and never leave me again.”

Evelyn looked down at the gold claddagh ring with the red ruby as the heart, and choked. Molly’s ring.

“That’s your mother’s.” She whispered.

“It’s actually the family’s.” He smiled. “Mum and Dad decided it would go to you next.”

Mute and overwhelmed, Evelyn nodded furiously. Charlie gently slid it on her finger, and it magically resized to fit.

“Now will you please stop crying?” He half laughed, wiping under her eyes with his thumbs.

“I can’t help it.” She whispered. “I’m just...God, I’m so happy. I thought you’d never ask.”

“I’ve wanted to for two years.” He said honestly. “I just wanted to make sure you were ready for that.”

She snorted. “Stupid. I feel like I’ve been ready for you my whole life.”

He rested the back of his fingers on her forehead. “You’re being romantic. You feeling okay?”

She shoved him gently and he kissed her forehead. He kissed her mouth next, and then brought a hand up to kiss the inside of her wrist. Evelyn stepped further into his embrace and held on, never wanting to let go.

“When should we get married?” She muttered into his shoulder.

He thought for a moment. “July.”

“This July?”

He nodded.

She stepped away from him, wiping her face. “This July? Shit, Charlie. There’s so much to do and plan. I don’t know if - “

“I can’t wait any longer.” He said, cutting across her.

She sighed and crumbled. “No. I guess I can’t either.”

“We can start planning tomorrow.” He said brightly. “Come on, I’ll bet you want to take a bath. You always want a bath after you come home from Germany.”

“This is why I’m marrying you.”

He responded by scooping up her small frame and carrying her to the bathroom.

~*~

Evelyn made a deal with Charlie. She’d handle all the wedding planning. She had more time on her hands and she spent long enough in the service industry that she knew exactly what had to be done and exactly who to call.

Charlie had two tasks. First, he was required to write his vows, six words or less. Evelyn did not want to tell a room full of her friends and family that they were soul mates and she loved him from the beginning when he asked to write her and if she didn’t have him she probably would have drank herself to liver failure by now. That was for Charlie, and only Charlie, to know, and she’d tell him at some point. So they were doing six word challenges, short and sweet.

The other task was he had to plan their honeymoon. Which was good, because he could pick whatever he wanted and Evelyn would have to be okay with it. He wasn’t allowed to say anything about the million things she was organizing. But he had no idea what to do, which was bad.

“What’s this?” Nate asked, snatching a pamphlet out of his hands. “Goa?”

Charlie opened his mouth to berate his friend for taking his pamphlet, but sighed wearily and shook his head. “For the honeymoon.”

Nate turned over the pamphlet to read and sat on the edge of Charlie’s desk. Charlie sipped coffee. “Looks nice.”

Charlie took the pamphlet back and shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think she’ll like it.”

“You said you wanted to take her to the beach. Goa has a shit ton of beaches.”

“Yeah, but Evelyn will kill me if the only activities are necklace making and water skiing. I’m not quite sure what waterskiing is, but I don’t think Evelyn is fond of it.”

“I’m sure there’s other things to do.”

Charlie was not reassured. “She said, pick an adventure. I don’t think Goa will be an adventure.” He picked up Thailand instead. “This might be.”

“I ever tell you about my sister?” Nate interrupted.

Charlie sighed and put Thailand back down. Nate’s conversations were usually stories. “No.”

“She’s no-mag. Muggle. She went to college to study coral reefs. When she was in school, she went to Belize to help her professor with research. There’s some sort of half ecology research station half resort island. They’ve got a little bar, food cooked on the island. And all kinds of trips to other islands and the reef. It would be perfect for you two.”

“Can you get me the contact information?”

“Already did.” Nate said, handing him a slip of parchment. “I knew you were struggling.”

“Thanks, mate.”

“Hm. Did it for Evelyn, not you. Goa? Really? She hates Indian food. You know that.”

“I was running out of ideas!”