"You'd better have coffee, Fred. Please, for the love of all that is holy, have coffee," Angelina pleaded.

Laughing, Fred slid from behind the counter to wrap his arm around Angelina for a quick hug. "I see what I'm good for." He led her to the back room and acquired a cup of coffee, handing it over with a grin. "Good morning. How've you been, aside from apparently caffeine deprived?" He was glad to see her; Angie generally had the effect of lifting his mood in one way or another.

"Mmmm," Angie savored the bitter coffee, feeling more awake from just the smell. She'd forgotten that with a normal job comes some early mornings which require caffeine. Thank Merlin she didn't have to be at work until noon. And now that she had caffeine, she could enjoy her visit with her favorite Weasley. "Hullo, Fred. M'alright. Thought I'd pop by to see you before I went to my new job," Angelina smirked, "with Snape."

Waiting out the general sputtering and grumbles, Angelina continued, "I'm also here to remind you that your favorite Amazonian femme fatale is entering her mid-twenties tomorrow."

Still grimacing over the idea of anyone having to face Snape nearly every day, Fred offered, "Sure you don't want something a bit stronger before your shift starts? I've firewhiskey upstairs..." He smirked as she mentioned her birthday. "And you thought you'd drop by to get your present early? I suppose I could consider that, though really I should make you wait until tomorrow," he teased. He summoned a small, neatly-wrapped package from his desk upstairs, holding it out in the palm of his hand, for her to take or not as she chose.

With a grin, Angelina snatched the gift from Fred's hand, "Well, since I'm here and all..."

Tearing into the present, she popped the box open to a pair of beautiful earrings, "Merlin's balls, Fred! They're beautiful! You picked these out yourself?" She held the box in better light to inspect them more closely, "What stones are these? Aquamarines?"

"Alexandrite, and yes, actually, I did." He smiled, pleased that he'd chosen well. "I'm glad you like them... one of those things that just caught my eye while I was wandering a few weeks ago, and I thought of you, so I got them." That was the way he always chose jewelry; it had served him well thus far and he didn't see any reason to modify his method until it stopped working. He had rare enough occasions to need to do so, anyway, though it was fairly failsafe as gifts went, which was always a plus when shopping for the women in his life.

"Oh, thank you, Fred!" Angie squeezed Fred in a hug, "With gifts like this, people may think we're involved." She then pulled him into a kiss, as a further show of her gratitude. She wouldn't want Fred to be unsure on whether she liked the earrings or not.

Fred tensed slightly as Angelina kissed him, his conversation with Katie still fresh in his mind, finally relaxing a bit as they drew apart. "Well, we have been, and it's not like no one's noticed," he pointed out, then smirked, cheeking, "Besides, they might just think I know you're gorgeous and ought to have equally pretty things to wear." He smiled past the tiny twinge of regret that the thought of ending what he'd had with her for so long created, adding, belatedly, "You're most welcome. Happy birthday, Angie."

Angelina pulled back, cocking an eyebrow at Fred's odd behavior, "And what have you been up to? It's been awhile again."

"A fair number of things, admittedly," Fred answered, knowing he was going to have to say something. "And it has. We have to stop doing that." It makes it infinitely more awkward to have to tell you things, in the long run.

"Oh, definitely. We get together too irregularly. I've been seeing Katie more often than you," Angelina commented ironically, then zeroed in on her friend's vague account of his life. "So, Fred, what kind of things? Meet a new girl? A new boy? You know you want to tell me. Resistance is futile."

Cracking a wry smirk, as he knew Angie was right, he shrugged and answered, "Both? Well, the girl isn't new..." Fred sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. "Fuck, Angie, I've little to no idea what's going on right now, just that I don't much mind or want it to stop."

Sounded like Fred had himself a live-wire. Angelina began to move in for the kill, she was going to know what Fred had been up to if she had to drag it out of him. Then she caught sight of the clock, "Oh bugger! I'm sorry, Fred. I'd love to stay and chat some more but I have to stop at Gringott's, my most favorite place on this earth, before work."

Finishing off her coffee and putting her new earrings in her purse, Angelina pecked Fred on the cheek and made her way to the front of the shop. Remembering another of her reasons to visit, she pivoted around, "Oy, Fred! Have any suggestions for trick potions to sell under Snape's name? He was a right arse last week so my coworker and I are looking for a bit of fun on his behalf."

Following Angie to the shop floor, waiting for his brain to catch up as he processed the fact that he was not going to have to divulge any of the information still flying round inside his head about Greg and Katie. Thoughts jumping to business, namely pranks, he looked around for a moment and then snagged two bottles off a nearby shelf, tossing them to Angelina. "Looks and tastes remarkably like a common pain potion. Turns people colors. That's the blue and the green you've got."

Angelina caught the bottles in quick succession, causing a flash of pride at still having the reflexes that made her great at Quidditch. "Brill! Thanks, luv. Chat later? Don't think that I'm done questioning you on your love-life, Fred!" Calling out a good-bye, Angelina swept out of the store, nearly jogging in her hurry to get to the bank.

Fred laughed and rolled his eyes at Angie's threat, well aware that she'd make good on it. "Later, Angie!" he called out the door, "have fun with Snape!"


{Summary: Angelina visits Fred at WWW. They chat and Angie gets presents!}