Hovering indecisively between the door of his flat and the sofa, Fred considered his options for the evening. He could head out, either to Diagon Alley or the muggle parts of London, and find somewhere to drink, dance, or possibly both. With no one left to answer to besides himself and the occasional disgruntled customer, his late nights were no real problem, though he wondered if he'd eventually tire completely of the endless strings of birds, sometimes blokes, and evenings spent keeping company with a bottle of scotch or firewhiskey. Granted, there was firewhiskey in his cupboard, and staying in would bypass the issue of having to actually talk to anyone.

Though he noted absently that he likely ought to visit home sometime soon, he vetoed that as a possibility, as showing up in his current frame of mind would only provoke tongue-clucking and hints about needing to take better care of himself from his mother. With a resigned sigh, Fred grabbed his jacket from the chair where he'd thrown it the night before and strode through the flat's tiny kitchen. He was brought up short as his hand met the doorknob by the sound of knocking, the vibrations traveling through the wood and metal to be transferred to his fingertips. Blinking, he pulled the door open.

Ginny pushed past him, arms full of grocery bags. "Well, get out of a girl's way or take some bags off her hands, will you?" She shifted the bags when he grabbed one from her. She set the bags on the small table in the kitchen, immediately starting to unpack them. She grabbed a pile of carrots and asparagus from the bag and opened the ice box, putting the vegetables inside. "You know, you need to come visit Mum. She's harping about you. Every time I talk to her, you come up in the conversation, and it's rather quite annoying. Besides, Dad has a new muggle contraption he wants your expertise on." She looked over her shoulder as she started filling his cabinets with canned goods. "Yes, that's what I said. What expertise?" She snorted, turning back to the cupboard, pulling out a rotten loaf of bread and grimacing.

"And besides, I'd rather have you there so we can de-gnome the garden together. Mum's talked me into it, and having you there will make things go much faster, I'd say. You know what a good team we make." She grabbed the bags, balling them up and throwing them into the rubbish bin before sighing at him. He was still standing there, bag in his arms. She crossed the floor, grabbing the bag before smiling at him. "I'm fine, and how are you?"

"Confused," Fred managed, pushing the door closed with one hand and flinging his jacket at the coat rack in the corner. "As to why you're taking over my kitchen and have picked up volunteering me for chores as your new favorite hobby." He scowled at himself and rearranged his expression and demeanor into something more pleasant. "Sorry. I'm... here." He shrugged, glad to see his little sister but not quite sure what he was meant to say. "I was going to go out, but mostly for lack of anything better to do. Hungry? I suppose I could make you dinner, since you brought food."

She laughed, putting the milk away. "Oh, Fred. Seriously? You, make me dinner?" She laughed again, putting her hand on her hip and pointing to the table. "Sit. I'll make you some alfredo."

Ginny got more like their mother every day, it seemed, and Fred couldn't quite decide whether it was cute or disturbing. He rolled his eyes, retorting, "I'll have you know I can make a perfectly edible omelet, among other things, but if you're going to throw out the trump card, so be it." Disobeying orders for a moment, he snagged Ginny around the waist and gave her a proper greeting, complete with lung-squishing hug. "It's good to see you, bite size."

The nickname still almost made him wince, remembering George's fond tease that Ginny ought to be careful at school or the giant squid might decide she'd be a perfect snack. He felt off without the echo, only one set of thoughts in his head, and squeezed his eyes shut as he bent to kiss Ginny's forehead.

She squeezed around his middle, closing her eyes and sighing. She'd been working so much, she'd missed seeing her family as often. Fred seemed to have drawn back from the family. It was palpable, his sense of loss, and she'd been trying to do everything humanly possible to make it better. If that meant keeping his cupboards fully stocked, then so be it.

Ginny pulled back and smiled up at him. "Do you want to toast some bread while I make the pasta?"

"That I can do," Fred agreed, ruffling Ginny's hair as she turned away and taking a quick hop to the side to avoid her swat. He pulled the loaf of bread she'd brought down from the cupboard and commenced slicing it, slightly impressed that they were mostly the same size and shape. Once he'd cut enough for both of them and located a tray on which to toast the slices, he popped the lot into the oven and leaned against the counter, watching his sister engage in the arcane art of alfredo-making. No matter how many times their mum had tried explaining it to him, the technique never stuck, and he'd given the gluey, unappetizing results up as a lost cause.

She set the noodles to quick boil, the one charm she'd learned to perfection. "You'll never guess who I saw on Saturday night, big brother." She grabbed the ingredients needed for the sauce and set about mixing it. "I really do want you to try and guess, if you're wondering. I want to see you rack your brain."

Snorting quietly, Fred began making a list of unlikely candidates. "Still enjoy causing me pain, I see," he jibed. "Rack my brains, indeed. How about... Angelina? Though I suppose any of the old Gryffindor team would be too obvious. Hmm."

"No. Not Angelina. Definitely not." She shook her head, grinning to herself as she strained the pasta.

"Well, that makes me think it's a bloke, so let's try that again. Not Lee. That Neville chap, maybe? Nah, you wouldn't taunt me with it." Fred frowned slightly. "You're not off running around with people you ought not to be, are you?"

Ginny turned, her mouth agape. "Like I would do such a thing." She grinned, the flavor of the name on her tongue, and the shock she knew would come with her statement, making her enjoy the suspense.

"Draco Malfoy."

Looking some mix of horrified and scolding, Fred sputtered, "Well obviously you would! Malfoy? Malfoy?! Did you actually speak to him, or just see him in passing?"

"He was touching my knickers." She cocked her head to the side, thoughtful. "In passing."

She turned back to the pasta, smothering the noodles with the sauce. She could practically feel the shock radiating off of him. She grinned to herself again, enjoying the over protective-brother thing he did so well. After she'd broken up with Harry, she'd neglected to tell any of her family who she'd been seeing. It seemed better that way. But running into Draco Malfoy while shopping for knickers? That was too good of a taunting to pass up.

Fred managed to wait until such an action wouldn't make Ginny burn herself, barely, then seized her arms and spun her to face him. "Excuse me?" he demanded, aware in the back of his mind that she was likely winding him up, but unable to override the instant urge to go find Draco Malfoy and hex him into a pile of ash. No one besides Ginny herself and possibly their mother, if she started kidnapping the wash again, should be having anything to do with his baby sister's knickers.

Ginny laughed, throwing her arms around his shoulders. "Calm down, Red. It was nothing. Me and Luna were shopping, he almost knocked me over and my bags went all over the sidewalk. He actually helped me pick them up." She was a horrible person for baiting her brother, she knew this, but she couldn't help the surge of love she felt, knowing that he was still there to defend her honor, if needed.

"It was... odd... actually. He didn't seem the same." She pulled back, face beaming. "I mean, he was still a git, obviously, but less of a git then he was in school. I actually didn't feel the need to hex the nose off his face or throw another bat-bogey at him, so I guess that's an improvement." She let go of him when her charm signaled that the mixture was ready. "Dinner's ready. How's that bread coming?"

His mouth working soundlessly for a moment as he processed Ginny's explanation, Fred growled his irritation, dropped a stasis charm on the dinner preparation, and grabbed Ginny, throwing her over his shoulder before she caught on to his intent. A few long steps and she was dumped unceremoniously onto the sofa, his hands darting expertly to her sides to begin a vicious tickling. "You snotty little thing!" he exclaimed, half-laughing himself as she shrieked in indignation. "Touching your knickers in passing, my freckled arse... he'd be a stain on the cobbles, missy!"

Ginny kicked out, growling when he caught her legs and pinned them, his fingers still assaulting her sides. "STOP!" She was laughing, her stomach seizing. She shouted, finally grabbing onto his wrists and pulling them away from her sides. She was panting with laughter, her face flushed. "It was just a thing. Seriously. How would you like it if I threatened every girl who talked to you? I'd be killing people right and left." She laughed, reaching up and gripping his chin in her hand. "It's hard being as pretty as you are, isn't it? Must be torture."

Figuring she'd had enough, and wary of getting her going enough to induce a vomit, which had happened before, Fred let Ginny hold his hands away from her, smirking. "I'd probably laugh myself sick, honestly. And there's two main problems with even the logic, there. One, I'm a bloke and no one needs to protect my virtue, not that I have any. Two, I'm your big brother, and looking out for you by hexing guys who look at you funny is in the job description. Handling your knickers definitely counts." He chuckled and rearranged them into a sitting position, mussing Ginny's hair affectionately. "It's terrible, I'm telling you. You'd be better off if you'd taken after Ron."

"Oh, wouldn't we all." She sighed, her sides aching in a good way from the tickling and the laughing. She looked over at Fred, suddenly confronted with the reality that he lived alone in the flat. "How are you doing? Really. Don't lie. You know I can tell. Seriously. I will tell Mum if you're lying." She smiled slightly at him.

"Because that's encouraging..." Fred muttered, rolling his eyes at Ginny. "I'm... walking and talking, Gin." He shrugged, not sure how else to explain his method of coping with life. "I know I need to visit home, and I will. Just not today. I'd only have gotten myself a lot of sighing and well-placed hints from Mum today." He knew she wasn't kidding about being able to tell if he was lying, which was why he'd basically given up on it once she'd learned to talk well enough to turn trouble on him. Without George to play off of, it was just another of many things that didn't work quite right anymore. Realizing Ginny was probably waiting on more of an answer, he added vaguely, "The shop's doing well... the Snackboxes are still a big hit with the Hogwarts crowd, and I've been fiddling with some additions. Other than that, I'm either here or out. Nothing really going on, or nothing newsworthy."

Ginny nodded. She sighed, leaning in so she was resting her head on his shoulder. "I know. I mean, I don't know, but I know, you know?" She shook her head. She was pants at this part, she knew it. "It's not better. It'll never be better, but I swear to Merlin, if I have to keep showing up here with bags of groceries because you haven't come over or owled, I will bring prunes next time, and I will make you eat them. Seriously. Mum taught me the charm that she had to use to get your boys to eat your vegetables when you were little. I'm not too proud to resort to magic."

She snuggled into his side, the spot familiar from having done it so often. How many times had they done this at the Burrow? How many times had they stared into the fire, Fred telling her about the jokes he'd been pulling at Hogwarts, her desperate to be able to go with him and visit, sad that it was just her and Ron at home. Fred was her closest brother, it had always been that way, and seeing him in this much pain made her physically ache for him. "That's my threat. Prunes."

"You're a cruel woman, Gin," Fred teased, wrapping her in his arms and leaning his cheek against her hair. "I'll try to do better, promise. I do miss you, y'know, just... sometimes I don't feel like seeing anyone at all, or at least not anyone I know. And you don't have to feed me. I know enough to eat on a regular basis." He felt bad that Ginny was so worried; she'd lost two brothers herself, and he was older, but she still tried to take care of him. It was who she was; their mother's daughter, but it was a reminder of how fucked up his life had become without his twin that she felt the need to mother him. He sighed and hid his face against the top of Ginny's head for a moment, breathing the familiar scent of her shampoo.

Ginny closed her eyes, remembering times when it was easier. It was hard to remember them, actually, but she could remember how they made her feel. Safe. Loved. She always felt that way with her family. She supposed she was lucky, in that way, and she really felt it. She sat there for a few minutes, just being with him. She hadn't been able to do that for a while, just sit with someone and not have a million other things on her mind.

"You know... we do have dinner in there waiting for us."

"Mmh? Oh. That's why I put a stasis charm on it. I'd have blown up either the kitchen or the lab at least a dozen times over by now if that wasn't my first reaction." Fred squeezed Ginny gently, then drew back enough to sit up, stretching the beginning of a crick from his neck. "Thanks, Ginnybean," he said sincerely, knowing his life would be empty without her, perhaps to the point where he'd stop caring enough to take care of himself. He'd been there once before and knew it wasn't a happy place. Losing his sister didn't bear thinking about.

Ginny held up a hand, waiting for him to pull her up. He pulled a little too hard, and she laughed as she almost tackled him in the stomach. "It's my job, you git. Ginny Weasley. Healer. Sarcasm Bearer. Dominatrix. Brother Cheer-er Upper." She laughed again, scooting quickly away to avoid his hand. She made her way into the kitchen, releasing the stasis charm. The smell of the alfredo filled the small space and she smiled. It smelled like home.

"Oi!" Fred groused, following Ginny back to the kitchen. "Some things I don't need to know, especially if they're true. The dominatrix bit is one of them." He smirked over at her, then started getting plates and flatware out to set the table. "I know there's butterbeer or lager," he offered, though it was still odd to list alcohol in things she was allowed to drink. "Not sure I'd trust anything else in the icebox unless you brought it today."

"Butterbeer is fine." She levitated the pot of pasta onto the table, setting it on a hot pad before taking the seat across from him and spooning a healthy portion onto her plate. She grabbed the butterbeer he handed her and popped the top, taking a long drink before smiling over at him. "You could see me as a Dominatrix? Really?" She laughed when he looked up at her in alarm. "Kidding. I enjoy healing, thank you very much."

Rolling his eyes as he set the tray of bread on a tea towel on the table, Fred seated himself and opened a lager. "I'd ask where you got all that cheek but I already know it was G... George and me," he finished quietly. He cleared his throat and grabbed the pasta spoon, filling his plate. He'd gone so long not even mentioning his twin's name that he ended up talking like they were still one unit, and then got hit full blast with the ache of his absence. "How's St. Mungo's treating you, anyway?" he asked, needing to redirect the conversation.

Ginny smiled slightly, glad she could attempt to put a smile back on his face. "Actually, I've started to look into starting my own practice. I have a little money left over from the Ministry scholarship, and I've been thinking about doing it for a while now. I'm just looking into stuff, start up costs, potions cost, stuff like that, but it's pretty exciting." At the way he'd reacted to her talk about Malfoy, she didn't think about telling him she'd met with Blaise Zabini earlier in the day. Zabini had quite the reputation...

Fred blinked slowly, having heard nothing of this previously. "You're serious?" he asked, impressed with her ambition and planning. "That'd be brilliant, Gin, and I'm sure you'd be great; you ought to already know, but the Wheezes would be proud to sponsor your practice... if nothing else, I know a bit about looking for premises, and I've been in business in Diagon a while now." A smile curled his lips as he thought about it, his little sister a healer with her own clinic.

Ginny rose an eyebrow. "Where do you think I get my start-up attitude and good sense for business? Growing up with two successful brothers helped quite a bit." She smiled softly at him before taking a bite of alfredo. "I might need your help looking for a premises. I have no idea where to start, not to mention I'll need something that can accommodate a full potions lab." She grabbed a piece of toast, biting into it. She wasn't sure how she felt about Fred sponsoring her business. She loved that he'd offered it, but she was hoping not to need anyone to help. She wanted to do this on her own. Something of her own, like they had with Wheezes.

She sighed, looking down at her plate. Years had passed, and she still referred to Fred in the plural. She didn't think she'd ever be able to change that. She wasn't sure if she wanted to.

Nodding as he chewed and then taking a sip of his lager, Fred offered, "Well, how about I scout around a bit this week and see if there's anything that might work in the Alley? Even if you're not sure about timing, it'll give us an idea of what's available and what pricing is like." He smiled wistfully, remembering the mad search he and George had undertaken when Harry had gifted them with his Triwizard winnings. Having a project, even though it wasn't his, gave him something to focus on, and he'd found that to be an excellent way of ignoring things that bothered him. He'd spent the week of the anniversary of George's death last year alternately too drunk to think and working furiously in the lab of the shop. Perhaps helping Ginny to start her own business would help him skip the downward wave he could feel approaching.

She nodded, smiling. "Thanks. You know I've always relied on the kindness of strangers." She shook her head at herself, damning Harry for making her watch muggle movies with him. She ate another bite of her alfredo. She pointed her fork at him. "Owl Mum."

"You've known me as long as you've been alive, or did you forget? And I know I'm odd, but that's not how the word's generally used," Fred puzzled aloud, missing her reference. He started to dodge as she waved her fork, then nodded. "I will. I'll actually do one better and visit. Soon."

Ginny nodded at him, taking a bite of the alfredo. She grabbed a piece of toast and took a bite of that too. "If you want someone to go with you to visit, I'll see if I can find the time." She knew how hard it would be, being back at the Burrow, knowing George and Percy would never be there again. It still felt like home, but it felt a little less like home than it used to. "Besides, I'm due back anyway. I think I have a few more boxes of clothes in the attic that the ghoul wouldn't let me take last time I was there. Maybe you can distract him while I sneak past and grab the boxes."

Fred shrugged, not wanting Ginny to feel like he needed an escort to visit their parents. "If you're planning on going, that's fine, but no need to go out of your way. It's Mum and Dad, not people I've never met. Though the ghoul seems to enjoy my juggling, so if you need a distraction, I'm your man." He smiled for a second, thinking of a prank he and George had pulled on Percy with just such a distraction handy, then realized where his mind had been headed and shook himself. Memory lane was draped in all sorts of unpleasant shadows, it seemed. "Maybe Mum'll teach me to not burn the porridge more often than not, while I'm there."

"Probably." She finished her piece of bread and brushed her hands on her jeans. "Were you planning on going out when I got here? There's still time. It's a pretty nice night out."

"Only for lack of anything better to do... I'm glad you came by; I'd much rather see you than a bunch of other people who haven't got anything keeping them at home on a weeknight." Fred wasn't particularly surprised that it was absolutely true; he was closer to Ginny than any of his other siblings, save George, obviously, and even when she tried to mother him, he liked having her around. "I might loaf around and listen to the Wireless a while instead."

"Well... I've nowhere to be. We can listen to it together." She smiled, taking the last bite of her alfredo. She was rather tired, and had to be up early for a shift at St. Mungo's tomorrow, but she could see it in Fred's eyes. That haunted look. She didn't like that look, especially on people who had always been able to make her laugh. If he couldn't be that person for her right now, she'd be that person for him. "We can listen to the naughty programs they have at night."

Rolling his eyes, Fred nodded and began banishing their dishes to the sink to be washed. "I'm pretty sure I was over that around age thirteen, but sure, why not?" Once the dishes were scrubbing themselves, he switched the radio on and returned to the sofa, stretching out and holding his arm out to Ginny, thinking how long it'd been since they just lazed around together. He'd avoided his family for the longest time, until it became obvious he was stressing their mother to the point where he couldn't bear it any more. They'd all lost enough without his moodiness causing problems, and returning had been painful but right, and had given him his baby sister back. "Y'know," he mused aloud, "I didn't realize how much I'd miss you until I hadn't seen you for so long that I started forgetting why you're my favorite."

"I'm all you guys' favorite sister." She snuggled into the crook of his arm, a Celestina Warbeck song coming out from the speakers. It was one of her mum's favorites and she smiled. "You know, Mum's been talking about us all going to see Gilderoy Lockhart at St. Mungo's. She's worried he's not getting enough visitors."

"You're our only sister. You're my favorite sibling," he corrected, poking Ginny lightly in the ribs. Snorting quietly in mirth and disbelief, he finally managed, "He accosts everyone who gets within a few rooms of him; I don't doubt he assumes they're all his personal fanclub, visiting to collect anther famous autograph. I'll put up with a lot of things for Mum, but that's not one of them. He's still entirely too full of himself."

Ginny batted at his hands, sighing when he finally subsided his tickle attack, curling back against his side. "Yeah." She listened as the song ended, followed by an ad for the new knickers store her and Luna had gone to. "I should do this." She pointed at the radio. "You know, when I open my own place? I should advertise on the wireless, get my name out there. Maybe take an ad out in the paper." She'd been thinking about her own place so often lately. It was dominating most of her waking thoughts. She looked up at Fred. "Would you come to me if you were hurt?"

Fred left off with his poking, knowing Ginny would move if he hassled her for too long, deciding to fiddle with the long ends of her hair instead. "That's actually a brilliant idea, on both counts. Tons of people listen to the Wireless, and read the Prophet, especially the ones who live around London." He frowned slightly at her question, surprised that she even thought she'd need to ask. "Of course I would. You're great at what you do, and friendly besides. I wish half the healers and nurses I've come across were as good as you are."

"Ah, but if they were, everyone would go to them, and not come to me. So, you see, it's a good thing they are mean and nasty hags with cold hands." She grinned as he played with her hair, closing her eyes, listening to the music. "You know if you ever need to get out of here, you can always come stay at Orchard's Gate with me and Luna, right?"

"Very cold hands," Fred muttered, twirling a strand of Ginny's hair around in his fingers. "Much as I hate being in hospital, and as often as I land there, I'd much prefer to have you around than those sourpusses." He shook his head minutely, knowing he wasn't likely to take her up on the offer, though he appreciated it too much to really say. "That's your place, and I'll visit, but this is mine, and... I dunno. It was ours. Like the shop."

Ginny nodded. She knew exactly what he meant. Whenever she thought of him being the only Weasley at WWW, her heart ached. It hurt enough that she'd seriously considered leaving Mungo's and working for him, just so there'd still be the plural in the name. "I know. I'd love if you visit, though. Luna's been doing wonderful things out in the garden. It's almost as good as mum's. I'm only good for the degnoming. I'm pants when it comes to things in the ground. Get me elbow deep into someone's chest, and I'm your girl."

Face twisting into a sort of amused grimace, Fred imitated a retching noise. "That's... thanks, Gin, not really an image I wanted of you. Is that even possible?" He tugged lightly at the lock of hair he'd captured, trying to imagine Luna, who was, from what he remembered, sweet but undeniably bizarre, planting things in a garden, and finally gave up before he wound up with a headache. "Can't really picture it, but I do promise I'll visit. If nothing else, you ought to feed me more often, since you're better at it than I am," he teased.

"Ah, I see. You just want me to cook for you. I get it. I see what your game is now, sir. Next week it'll be broccoli. That ought to serve you." She grinned, sighing against his chest. She was getting sleepy, and she'd always felt safe with Fred, no matter how untrue the feeling was. "And then brussels sprouts."

Chuckling, Fred asked, "What kind of healer are you, then? Trying to kill your own brother with threats of vegetables, really. You ought to know better, anyhow. I'll make them disappear and you can find them under your pillow later." He smiled and stroked Ginny's hair, noticing that she was starting to nod off. "I think brussels sprouts are nigh unto a death sentence."

"Cruel and unusual. Definitely. They should throw me... in Zakaban... for even mentioning it..." She was so warm and comfortable.

As content as he ever was while contemplating sleep without being able to hear George snoring, Fred shifted just enough to retrieve his wand, flicking the lights off and the Wireless lower. He settled against the cushions and let his eyes drift closed, murmuring, "Sweet dreams, Ginnybean," as the next song began.


{Summary: Ginny drops by to check on Fred. They catch each other up, have a tickle fight and some dinner, and remember why they love each other.}