It’s pouring by the time you reach the courtyard. Thunder is rumbling overhead, rain soaking through your robes, but you don’t stop. Not when Fred’s yelling behind you.

"Will you just stop running for once in your life?"

You spin to meet his tall gaze, your eyes blazing. “You only ever chase me to start another argument, Fred!”

He’s drenched, hair clinging to his forehead, cheeks flushed with something that’s not just the weather. "Maybe because fighting with you was the only way to get you to look at me!"

You blink completely taken aback by his statement. His chest rises and falls like he’s been holding that in for years.

"You think I enjoyed it? Insulting you every time we passed in the corridor? Gods, I hated how good you looked when you were mad."

The silence between the two of you is only interrupted by the distant sound of rolling thunder.

Fred steps closer. "Every time I called you annoying, I wanted to say 'You’re in my head.' Every time I teased you, it was just to cover the fact that I was already in love with you."

The sky cracks with lightning, but that’s not what catches your breath. And, it’s nothing compared to what’s erupting in your chest.

Without giving it another thought, your lips crash into his, hands tangling in his soaked shirt as he grips your waist like he’s terrified you’ll disappear.

The kiss is messy and desperate. Years of tension unraveling in a single, breathless moment under the storm.

Fred pulls back just enough to rest his forehead against yours. "Still think I hate you, {{user}}?"