Shade for Two
🐉 Charlie/Reader | Rated T | 2nd-person POV, female gaze | WC 1.1K
It’s far too early in the season for the temperature to be this hot, but there’s no denying the sun’s glare or the sweat trickling down your temple. You wipe at your brow and around your sunglasses with the hem of your shirt, now unbuttoned and trailing loose behind you. The tight vest beneath sticks to your skin; not even temporarily lifting it up is a relief. If anything, it makes the heat even more unbearable.
You’ve spent the past couple of hours clearing ground and digging holes for the posts that’ll increase the size of the hatchling enclosure. If only you could cast a cooling charm, but you don’t dare. This is a dragon reserve, which means minimal magic at all times. Even the smallest fluctuation in magical energy can set off a dragon, some of which are incredibly adept at camouflage. You might think them a safe distance away, only to suddenly be knocked on your arse when one emerges right beneath your feet.
“Charlie, do you have any more to drink…” Your voice trails off when you spot him across the enclosure.
In the time since you last looked his way, he’s removed his shirt. It’s tucked into the back waistband of his breeches, which in themselves hang far too low on his hips to be even remotely decent. Muscles ripple beneath the skin of his back, the shine of his perspiration only accentuating each ridge, and the low dimples peeking above his belt wink at you. So much naked flesh—
He turns to face you. “I’ve still got some if you don’t mind sharing.”
Good Godric.
You’ve seen Charlie Weasley bare chested before, but not like this. Not with the sun having kissed his shoulders a golden brown that goes hand in hand with the glossy sheen covering his entire upper body. If you didn’t already find his back impressive, then the sight of his defined torso—freckles, hair, and all—would do the trick. A smattering of scars cover nearly every inch of his body from the neck down, as well as several tattoos that you want nothing more than to get in close and personal with…to see better, of course.
Then, he’s striding towards you, the heat of that insane body scorching you as he sweeps a loose strand of hair from your face, settles his hand on your shoulder, and asks, concerned, “Are you alright? Do you feel faint?”
“I—” Your throat seizes, and he quickly brings a bottle to your lips. The water is cool, likely charmed earlier in the safety of one of their buildings, and drinking it does the trick. “I’m just thirsty. Sorry to alarm you.”
He sighs in relief, hand squeezing gently before dropping away. You wish he hadn’t let go.
“You scared me for a bit there, freezing up like that.”
“The heat might be getting to me,” you admit, then, once more, tug at your vest. Only this time, you pull at the scoop neck sitting just above your chest, and Charlie’s clear blue eyes flick down for the barest hint of a second, his throat bobbing.
“Why don’t you take a break? We’ve been working for a while.” He indicates the benches along the fence line where some of your other gear rests.
“A break sounds nice.” You start walking over, then glance over your shoulder to where he still stands. His eyes jerk up to yours when you stop. “Join me?”
“I, uh, just want to finish one more thing, first, then I will.” Squinting in the harsh light, he looks out to the far side of the enclosure.
“What happened to your hat?” you ask. Now that you think about it, it’s odd to see him, or any of the dragon keepers, without one. You have yet to find a brimmed hat to your exact tastes since transferring to Romania, which is why you still continue to wear your trusty aviators.
“Norberta took a bite out of it when I was too slow to scratch her where she wanted,” he grumbles, then looks back at you with a grin when you laugh.
“Thatta girl,” you say playfully.
“It was my favourite!” The two of you chortle together at the thought of the overly mischievous Ridgeback.
Another quick glance towards your gear shows that the spot is decently shaded beneath a tree, the perfect spot for a water break. You won’t need your sunglasses.
“Here,” you say, plucking them off your face, walking closer, and standing on tiptoe to begin sliding them onto Charlie’s, “go ahead and use these.”
Some of his longer hair catches beneath the hinge and temples. You don’t think twice about sliding a finger beneath to free them, brushing against his sweaty brow. There’s no need to run the rest of your hand through his curls, but you find yourself doing so anyway as you bite your lip in concentration.
“Thank you.” The huskiness in his voice is what snags your attention first.
You’re standing far closer than appropriate, not that any of the dragon keepers really care about that. Life out here has a way of drawing people together, and you’ve seen the others share their affections countless times in countless ways.
Somehow, this is different.
There’s an intensity in the bend of his head towards yours, despite the shades that disguise his eyes. Your breath catches as you stare back, hand slowly drifting down to your side. He doesn’t stop you as you take a step back, then another, but there’s no mistaking the way his body leans slightly forward.
“You’re welcome.” You let out a nervous laugh and shove both hands into your pockets.
He flashes you a grin, then strikes a pose, one hand behind his head, the other propped on a cocked hip. “How do I look?”
The combination of the aviators, his unruly hair, and the aforementioned masterpiece that is your favourite dragon keeper’s body makes the answer an obvious one.
“Like you should be on the cover of Witch Weekly,” you tease.
His grin widens. “Aw, yeah.”
Then, he’s back to work, all of his attention on driving posts into the ground, one at a time. This allows you to kick back and enjoy the show.
As the muscles of his back coil and release above a perfectly-framed arse, you change your mind about the unseasonable heat and manual labour—this is exactly how you want to spend the day. And, when Charlie finally strides towards you, pushing the aviators up and over his head as he reaches the tree’s shade, you don’t think you’ve ever seen him look more attractive.
You’ll have to remember to swing by Norberta’s cave later and reward her with an extra special treat.