Elusive // The Weasley Twins

75. Priorities

"Barcaster Gardens," Nick dropped down a copy of the Daily Prophet, startling Cosette. She put down her drink and reached for the paper, noticing that one advertisement was circled with red ink.

"What about Barcaster Gardens?" She asked, reading the same title.

"Have you heard of it?"

Cosette nodded, "Wizarding neighborhood, West Sussex, right?"

"They have-" he reached down and pointed at the circled ad, "-units available. A flat, three bedrooms. You can use the third one as a study or I can use it as a weight room, we'll work out the details later."

Cosette raised her eyebrows at Nick, surprised that he was coming to her with this suggestion, "You want to get a place together?"

"I can't sleep on your couch forever, Sets," Nick looked around the mall house, using his hands to emphasize just how cramped the place seemed now that Nick had taken up space, "I just think we could both use the upgrade."

She glanced at the papers. The thought of moving out of the house she had been in for the last three years was never one that had crossed her mind. This wasn't even her house, she just rented it from a muggle.

But she liked it. She was content with this place. Granted, she did only move out of her father's house because she felt the need to get away, specifically from Nick and any other ties she had. So it was strange to think that now, Nick was wanting to purchase a flat with her.

"Each unit comes with a fireplace, specific for floo-powder use," Nick continued to try to sell the place to her, "Monthly payments are affordable, we'd split it of course, once you start working again, but it's reasonably priced so we'll be fine on my paychecks for now. There's a grocery store down the street, a few pubs, and it's safe too. The crime rate is incredibly low."

Cosette read over the ad a few times, either waiting for some new information to magically appear or for Nick to say that he was just messing around.

"What do you want me to say?" She asked him.

Nick paused for a moment, confused on why she wasn't on the same page as him, "I want you to say 'Wow Nick, this is a great idea let's go check the place out.'"

Cosette snorted, "If you like it so much why don't you just get it yourself?"

"Well I-" Nick stammered over his words, "I don't think- I just..."

She raised her eyebrows. Seeing Nick struggle to get a sentence out was rare. Not many things bothered him to the point where he couldn't talk about it, "Spit it out."

"I don't really want to live alone," he finally said and Cosette nodded slowly, inhaling a heavy breath. Nick had never been on his own before. He spent seven years in a dormitory at Hogwarts and aside from that, he lived in that same childhood home his whole life.

He sat down next to her on the couch, his knee knocking against hers.

"You're also all I've got, Sets,"

Cosette understood what he meant. While he did have friends, most of them from his Quidditch team, they weren't people he would consider close to him. There were a few exceptions, Elliot being one of them, but aside from him, his other friends all had lives of their own. They had significant others, some of them even had families.

The only family Nick ever knew for the longest time was their father and now that was gone.

"I know," she turned her head and smiled at him, "You're all I've got too."