Today would be Eloise's fifth attempt to reach out to George since his birthday. She had stopped by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes after work a few times over the last three weeks, but each time she was met with the sight of Charlie and Verity frantically trying to manage the business on their own with George nowhere in sight.

While George had grown used to spending each day secluded in his office since returning to work after the war, he still managed to make contact with the owners of Zonko's and stay on top of inventory. But that began to change after Ron's birthday when he started working half days thanks to his new habit of sleeping in well past noon. It only got worse after his own birthday though, when he stopped working all together and locked himself in his bedroom for days on end.

Charlie and Verity just couldn't handle the full days on their own any longer. Without consulting George, they agreed to start closing up two hours earlier than normal so they had enough time to take inventory and restock for the next day.

Eloise entered the shop on a Tuesday afternoon, close to their new closing time of 4:30 pm. She couldn't explain why she kept trying to see him when she knew that it would most likely lead to disappointment every time. It was partially out of pure stubbornness, but she felt like he needed someone in his life who wouldn't give up on him.

"Sorry, we're closed! We'll be open tomorrow at ten!" she heard Charlie call from an aisle across the shop.

"It's me, Charlie."

"Oh, Eloise hey," he replied, poking his head out from around the shelf, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but George is still in a bit of a slump."

"Do you mind if I see him anyway?"

Charlie set down the box of Canary Creams that he had been restocking and stepped out from the aisle. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck as he tried to think of how to tell Eloise no, and she could sense that's what he was doing.

Every time she visited the shop Charlie would be the one to greet her. Despite how busy he was, he'd always make time to let Eloise down easy and tell her George wasn't in a good mood but he always encouraged her to try again another day, so she did. But this time felt different, she got the sense that he was about to tell her it was a lost cause and she should give up.

"I know you don't think it's a good idea, but I've been worried about him. If he tells me to leave, I will. I promise I won't push him."

Charlie glanced down at the blonde for a moment and saw a slight look of desperation in her eyes and knew immediately that he wouldn't be able to bring himself to reject her. A thought suddenly popped into the back of his mind as he gazed down at Eloise; maybe there was a chance that she would be the only person who could actually get through to him. There was no way of knowing unless he let her into the flat.

He ran his hands through his red curls and let out a sigh, "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Charlie dug through the pocket of his maroon blazer and held out a large silver key with an orange 'F' dangling from the key ring towards her.

Though it seemed odd to some people, Fred and George preferred to keep their flat locked with a key rather than using their wands. There were no other keys out there like them, only two in the entire world, and they couldn't be duplicated thanks to the security charm on them. It was Fred's idea originally, as things got worse and worse with the war, he just wanted the home he and George had worked so hard for to be safe.

When Eloise went to grab the key Charlie pulled his hand back slightly before she could grasp it. She paused and looked back up at him with her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Before you go up there I have to tell you he's in a really bad state, it's the worst I've ever seen. Even worse than he was right after the funeral, and he hasn't been getting any better. I think the whole birthday at the Burrow thing was a lot for him - we've all felt awful for pressuring him to even go to that night, so just... be patient with him, yeah?"

"Of course."

Internally she began questioning if this was even a good idea. She couldn't help but feel like her kiss with him near Fred's grave was a contributing factor to his recent mood. But Charlie didn't know that, none of the Weasleys knew it happened - not even Fleur.

But she meant what she had told Charlie, if George really didn't want to see her, she wouldn't push him. Even though his rejection would no doubt hurt her, his feelings were more important to her than her own in this moment.

Charlie reached forward and dropped the keys into her open hand. He gave her a sad sort of smile before returning to restock the Canary Creams. Her eyes instantly fell on the spiral staircase and she felt her heartbeat in her throat.

Making her way up the steps she tried to shake the nervous feelings forming in her body. She told herself over and over the worst that could happen would be him telling her to leave. That was the worst thing that could happen, right?

With a shaky hand, she inserted the key into the lock and turned the handle of the flat. As she stepped inside memories came flooding back into her mind.

The first time she had visited the flat she was meeting Dhani for the very first time. A feeling of guilt rose up in her chest, as she remembered how she used Dhani as a distraction to try and get over her feelings for George and here she was still pining after him months later. Even though she had remained on friendly terms with Dhani, it still didn't make her feel any better about the situation.

The second time was on Valentine's Day, when she and George had spent a lovely evening together. After that night George seemed to be in much better spirits compared to when they first met. The thought of how quickly his mental health seemed to deteriorate since that night was jarring. It felt like it had all happened so suddenly, as if it was just the flip of a switch.

As she made her way through the living room and past the kitchen she remembered exactly which room was George's from when she had been helping Charlie prepare for his date with Verity on Valentine's Day.

The task of knocking on the door seemed so simple on paper, but in reality it felt quite daunting. In her mind she told herself that if George didn't respond, she would just give up and leave and it would all be over. No harm done.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before she raised her knuckles and knocked lightly on the door.

"Fuck off, Charlie." George's muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

"I - uh, it's Eloise."

A moment of silence fell and she started feeling as if there were miles between them rather than just the dark purple door in front of her. It had been thirty seconds at most, but it felt like an eternity before she heard him speak again.

"Why are you here?"

"I've been worried about you, I've visited twice a week hoping to see you." she spoke softly, trying to fight against her voice shaking from how nervous she was.

George let the silence fall between them again, and Eloise didn't quite know what to do. He didn't tell her to leave, but he certainly didn't ask her to stay either. An internal argument was starting in her brain as she tried to figure out what to do when she suddenly remembered another reason she had been hoping to see George. There had been a gift wrapped in orange paper and tied with a purple bow taking up space in her handbag for weeks.

On his birthday he didn't even make it all the way through dinner before making up an excuse to leave abruptly, so there was no time for her to even think about giving him his present. Although after their kiss she felt too awkward to initiate a casual conversation with him let alone try to give him a present, regardless of if he had stayed.

It certainly would have been much easier to just send him an owl with the gift, but she subconsciously held onto it as if it was the only way she could have an excuse to see him.

"I also brought your birthday gift. I can just leave it on the kitchen table on my way out."

"Wait."

Eloise heard the sound of rustling behind the door before he opened it to step out into the hallway. Charlie was right when he said George was in rough shape. His hair was tangled and unwashed, he had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked like he had been in the same set of pajamas for at least the last few days. But none of that mattered to Eloise, she was just happy to see him.

"Hey." she said with a soft smile.

"Hey, Elle."

Their gaze lingered on one another for a moment before Eloise decided that staring into his honey brown eyes was a dangerous game. She cleared her throat before looking over towards the kitchen, searching for a distraction.

"Tea! I mean, uh, do you want me to make us some tea?" she asked as she left him standing in the hallway, not really giving him a chance to respond.

"Yeah, sure."

Eloise quickly walked into George and Charlie's small kitchen and pulled the kettle from the stove to fill it up with water. George silently made his way to the opposite side of the room, leaning against the wall with the hands in the pockets of his pajama pants as he carefully watched Eloise's every move. As she set the kettle back on the stove to heat up, she turned over her shoulder to see George's gaze trained on her.

"Um, which cabinet do you keep your cups in?"

"The one to the right of the stove." George replied, nodding his head in the general direction of the cabinet.

Eloise turned back and opened the cabinet, reaching for the first cups she could find but was stopped when she felt George quickly walk up behind her and grab her wrist.

"No, not those ones. Nose-biting teacups." he said before releasing her wrist and grabbing two safe mugs and setting them on the counter next to her.

"Thanks." she whispered, not realizing she had been holding her breath.

Her body relaxed as she felt his presence behind her disappear, the sound of wood scraping against the floor let her know he was sitting at the kitchen table now, but she could still feel his eyes on the back of her head.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that the sound of the kettle whistling made her jump slightly. She quickly reached over to turn off the heat before grabbing two random tea bags from the tin the boys kept on the counter and placing them into each mug.

"Want milk or sugar?" she asked George with her back still turned to him as she poured the hot water into the cups.

"No thanks."

Eloise turned around and placed one of the mugs in front of George before taking a seat across from him. He watched as she took three sugar cubes from the dish in the center of the table and put them into her cup before grabbing a spoon and stirring it together.

"Always three sugars?"

"Hmm?" Eloise looked up at him as she set the spoon aside.

"I just noticed you got three sugars in your tea at Night Owls on Valentine's Day as well, so I was curious."

"Yes, always three."

The two sat in silence for a while as they both drank their tea. They caught each other stealing glances at one another every now and then, but neither said anything. As George finally finished his tea, he decided he was sick of the silence. Silence allowed him to overthink, and all that was on his mind while he sat across from her was the last time they saw each other on his birthday.

"Listen Elle, I'm sorry for how I acted on my birthday and-"

"We don't have to do this right now, it's alright." she interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been going through a tough time. We don't have to talk about silly things like that."

"Silly?" he asked as his brows knit into a slight frown.

"I didn't mean- no, your feelings aren't silly. It's just... when you kissed me I know you didn't-" she stammered.

"I didn't what?"

She looked up at him and met his gaze, his brown eyes were focused on her with an intensity that Eloise didn't fully understand. Her heart was pounding loudly against her ribs and she wondered if only she could hear it or if George noticed it as well.

"You didn't mean it." she said in a near whisper.

"Yes I did." he said without hesitation, as if it should have been obvious.

If Eloise's heart could beat any faster, she was sure it would explode.

"You did..." she repeated with a slight nod as if the words coming out of her own mouth made it more true.

"When I kissed you it was because I wanted to. Hell, I've wanted to kiss you for a long time. But, I don't know..." he trailed off as leaned back in his seat and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Then why did you regret it?" she asked suddenly, the pain in her voice was slightly more obvious than she wanted it to be.

"I don't regret kissing you, I just regret how it happened. I shouldn't have taken advantage of an emotional situation like that... and I shouldn't have kissed you knowing that I don't want any sort of romantic relationship."

Though it wasn't his intention, the last sentence stung a lot more than she expected. It was as if he was shutting down a possibility that hadn't even presented itself yet. She didn't anticipate the kiss to be brought up this evening at all, let alone have the conversation go in this direction. It felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest.

Eloise couldn't form any words. She couldn't tell him it was okay and that she understood, because that would be a blatant lie. She couldn't ask him why he didn't want to be with her because who was she to assume that a relationship was ever an option on the table in the first place?

Her brain was moving a million miles an hour, but she remained silent as she kept her eyes on the table, mindlessly chipping away at her nail polish.

"Elle, can you please say something?"

"I don't know what to say." she answered truthfully.

"Are you upset?"

"No." she lied.

George let out a sigh and leaned forward as he grasped both of her hands firmly to stop her from the nervous habit he had come to recognize.

"Look at me."

When her blue eyes finally looked up to meet his, a lump suddenly formed in his throat. Her eyes looked just as kind and patient as they always did, but there was also a hint of sadness behind them. He could tell she was holding something back from him, he just didn't know what.

"Your friendship means more to me than I could ever describe, Elle. You coming into my life has been the saving grace during the hardest year I've had to live through. More than anyone else, you know exactly what to say to make me feel better. You make me feel like I'm not alone and I don't want to lose that. You understand, right?"

Eloise bit at her bottom lip nervously. She knew he was doing his best to let her down gently, but she began to wonder if she should be honest and confess her feelings despite this.

In her mind his feelings were much more important than hers. If the idea of her having feelings for him was causing him stress, then it would be better for her to convince him that her feelings for him were purely platonic. Even though it was a lie, she knew that's what she needed to do. It was for the best. She wanted him to feel better about the situation, regardless of it hurting her.

A slight smile formed on Eloise's lips and George furrowed his brows as he loosened his grip on her hands.

"We can pretend it didn't happen and go back to how it was before."

"I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea." he said softly, stroking a thumb over the back of her hand.

"No! Don't be silly," she shook her head with an unconvincing chuckle, "I don't want to give you the wrong idea either, I'll always be your friend."

She realized the emphasis she put on the word 'friend' may have been a bit much as she watched George's expression fall slightly.

Eloise still could not read George to save her life, she had no idea what he wanted from her. She desperately wanted to say whatever it was he needed to hear, she just couldn't figure out what would make him feel better in this situation. She wasn't entirely convinced that he even knew what he wanted.

Little did she know that the broken man across from her was breaking a little bit more in this very moment. What he said about not wanting a relationship was true, he felt inadequate and incapable of giving her the love he knew she deserved. But that didn't mean he was prepared for her to act like she was completely fine when he told her that.

The two of them didn't realize it, but they had both just unintentionally closed and locked the door on something they both desperately wanted, but were too afraid to confess.

An awkward moment of silence fell between the two of them before Eloise remembered the gift she'd had in her bag. She pulled her hands away from George's grasp and leaned over to pull the box from her purse. When she sat back up straight she placed the gift on the table in front of her and slid it across to him.

"You don't have to open it right now. I just figured I'd give it to you before I forgot." she said as she slung her bag over her shoulder and began to stand up from the table.

"Are you leaving?" he asked with a slight tone of disappointment.

"Yeah, it's getting late. If I make Fleur wait any longer to eat dinner she'll kill me."

"Oh okay."

George stood up from the table to escort Eloise out, but as she reached for the handle he put his hand against the door, causing her to look up at him.

"We're alright aren't we?" he asked.

"Of course we are!" she smiled at him.

Though she was doing her best to comfort him, she didn't even fully believe her own words.

He pulled his hand away from the door and placed them back into the pockets of his pajama pants, "Thanks for coming to see me."

"Thanks for not kicking me out." she replied with a smirk as she pulled the door open, only to remember that she still had Charlie's key.

She reached around to her back pocket to pull out the key and held it out to George.

"I almost forgot. Don't want Charlie freaking out when he can't find it."

As he reached out to take the key from her, he let his hand linger on hers for a moment as their eyes locked onto each other.

The emotions that Eloise had been trying to suppress for the last hour were beginning to bubble up now that they were preparing to part ways. Before he had a chance to say goodbye, she pulled him into a hug. George was slightly taken aback, but the gesture wasn't unwelcome as he wrapped his arms around her in return.

The reality was that leaving the flat hurt Eloise, she didn't want to go, especially not with how their conversation had gone. She knew George didn't want to be with her, and for some reason closing the door to the flat made her feel like she was closing the door on a relationship that didn't even have a fighting chance from the start.

Eloise closed her eyes and buried her head in his chest, taking in the familiar scent of brown sugar and firewhisky, the latter of which was much stronger than it had been in the past. As she felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes, his hand found its way to her hair, stroking it comfortingly as if he knew she was upset despite not being able to see her face.

She didn't know it, but he was feeling all the same things she was. George desperately wanted to be with her, and holding her like this wasn't making it easy for him to let her go. But he believed their relationship would never work, in his mind he was too broken and she was too good for him.

They both knew that the two of them couldn't stay there holding each other forever despite how much they wanted to.

"I'll see you soon, right?" she asked after a moment, smiling up at him sweetly as she pulled away slightly.

There was a moment as she gazed up at him where he felt the strong urge to lean down and close the gap between them. To feel her soft rosy lips on his again and to taste the strawberry lip balm she wore that he still hadn't forgotten the flavor of weeks later.

But he fought it. The status of their relationship was already messy and confusing enough as is. Though they may deny it, they were never really just friends. The two of them always stood within some sort of gray area in between - never together but never strictly drawing the line at friendship either.

It was like being stuck in limbo from the moment they met. He knew kissing her now would just make everything even more complicated. The temptation was nearly impossible for him to resist, but he cared about her too much to risk ruining their friendship now.

He brushed a stray blonde curl behind her ear before responding, "Yeah, soon."