For Friends - PG-13 - H/R
Title: For Friends
Author: shocfix
Pairing: Harry/Ron
Words: 1635
Rating: PG-13

Many thanks to matildabishop for the bunny.

What?

Yes, you did – a year ago, on the same post where I was given Nuts and Bolts.

This is the 100th Harry/Ron fic that I have started – not including Godric’s Hollow or the Smutlets, so it isn’t really all that significant – except that that makes it the 250th!

Except that I haven’t counted the Christmas Fix.

And, OK, seven are unfinished, but so what!

It’s for the First time at Valentine's! Challenge at harry_and_ron.

Betaed by the lovely magicofisis, who actually passed out laughing at one point, so that is a good sign!!


For Friends
****
It wasn’t as if I had a death wish, or anything.

I’d have been only too happy if the bloody locket hadn’t exploded in my face.

But I’d insisted on being the one to try and destroy it.

I had one rule on this stupid Quest – I was going to protect Ron and Hermione if it killed me.

Ron, especially, the oblivious git.

Oblivious to every hint I dropped about still liking red hair and freckles, even if I wasn’t with Ginny, anymore.

Oblivious to the way I hung on every word he uttered.

Oblivious to the whimper I bit back when he climbed back out of the well behind the Hog’s Head, unwrapped the locket, handed it to me and said, “Hey, Happy Valentine’s Day, mate!”

And I’d tried to destroy it and the blasted thing had exploded, and I’d been knocked off my feet, and come to to find Hermione hovering over me and flailing, while I lay with my head in Ron’s lap.

I bit back the words, “Get lost, Hermione!” and let Ron help me to sit up.

“Wow!” I said, shaking my head to get rid of the last of the sound of the explosion.

“You OK?” Ron asked, one hand on my back to steady me.

“Yeah, fine,” I said, throwing him a half smile.

Hermione grunted.

“We should have given that a little more thought,” she said.

I shrugged.

“You are far too impulsive, Harry,” she said sternly.

“No, I’m not!” I protested. “That wasn’t too bad – and when else did I last do something impulsive?”

“You know I didn’t approve of you using Sectumsempra.”

“No one approved!” I snorted. “And that was nearly a year ago!”

“Ginny defended you,” Hermione said stiffly.

“Yeah, well, she thought I needed buoying up and stuff.”

It was probably a good thing I didn’t have a girlfriend anymore, especially one who was so rash, herself.

“Nevertheless…”

“Oh, give it a rest, Hermione,” Ron interrupted. “Yes, it was a shit spell to try out at random, but he was about to be Unforgiveabled, and it did say for enemies.”

Hermione sniffed.

“And you enjoyed it when he randomly used Levicorpus on you, did you?” she demanded.

Ron shrugged.

“Could have been worse,” he said.

“How?”

“It could have said Rectumsempra – for friends,” he suggested.

Hermione’s eyes grew so wide I thought they’d pop pout of her head and I gave a snort of laughter.

“I cannot believe you said that,” she gasped. “Harry could have been killed and you make arse jokes.”

“Hey, there’s nothing funny about having your arse slashed – even by a friend,” Ron said solemnly.

Hermione’s eyes narrowed and I bit my lip.

“Yes, well,” I said. “C’mon, let’s get back home.”

“How can you make arse jokes?” Hermione repeated. “Don’t you take anything seriously?”

“I take my arse very seriously,” Ron said. “It’s called a joke. Harry liked it, didn’t you Harry?”

He gave me a broad, encouraging smile and I nodded.

Hermione snorted.

“Well, we don’t all think as highly of your arse as Harry does.”

There was a ringing silence, during which I stared at my feet and reconsidered the whole ‘protecting Hermione’ thing.

“Very funny,” I said.

“What?” Ron said.

“Oh, Harry, I’m sorry,” Hermione said.

There was a worse silence, during which I considered Apparating straight to Voldemort and being put out of my misery.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” Hermione said.

“Hermione, you’re making things worse,” I said.

“Hermione, go home,” Ron said.

“What?” Hermione and I gasped.

I finally looked up and met his eyes. They were very wide and blue and I wanted to drown in them. Which was pretty much my base state, but usually in a sappy rather than suicidal way.

“Please go home, Hermione,” he said, not looking at her. “It’s fine, but I need to talk to Harry.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered and Disapparated with an apologetic pop.

“Ron, please, don’t… I’m sorry… I…” I babbled.

“So, she’s… right?” he interrupted.

“Isn’t she always?”

“Well, about homework and Horcruxes and stuff,” he said. “But this is important.”

I gave a strangled laugh.

“But what about … Ginny?” he asked.

“Um, sorry?” I said. “She’s… she was… I mean, she’s great, but she’s… the wrong Weasley?”

“Wow!”

“I’m sorry,” I repeated desperately.

“Stop apologising,” he said. “I’m just, you know, surprised is all.”

“It’s not… I’m not… queer or something,” I muttered.

He frowned.

“You’re not?”

“Well, not for… Malfoy or anything.”

“So just... for me?” he asked.

“Um, Yes?”

“Wow.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Stop saying you’re sorry!” he snapped. “It’s not very flattering, is it?”

“Is what?”

“It’s like you wish you didn’t… like I’m so unattractive, or something.”

I snorted.

“I’m just sorry to put you through this,” I said. “I wouldn’t upset you for the world.”

“I’m not upset,” he said, shrugging one shoulder and frowning slightly. “I’m surprised. But not because you’re a bloke.”

“Oh.”

“Oh,” he echoed. “It’s just not something that I’d ever thought of. You and me.”

“Right, well, why should you?” I asked.

“How about, because you’re the most important person in my life?” he asked.

“Oh.”

“I mean, it’s like with Hermione,” he said. “I love Hermione, but…”

“I know you do,” I interrupted. “And I’d never…”

“Will you stop interrupting?”

“Sorry.”

“And apologising?”

I smiled.

“I love Hermione, and it would be easy to… sort of… fall over the edge into more than friends,” he explained. “But I don’t think that that’d be a good idea, because I don’t think we could go back to being good friends if something went wrong.”

That was something I’d always worried about, so I nodded.

“But it’s not the same thing with you,” he went on.

“I know that!” I said. “I’d never expect anything!”

“If you want to be kissed, you had better stop interrupting me!” he huffed.

I blinked.

Which was about all the movement I was capable of, because I couldn’t breathe and I was pretty sure my heart had stopped beating.

“That’s better,” he said calmly. “It’s not the same with you, because once we fall over the edge, well, that’s it, isn’t it?”

“It?” I whispered, which was pretty good going, considering I couldn’t breathe.

“Well,” he shrugged and ran a hand roughly through his hair. “No going back. It’s us. We’re already so much more than friends, aren’t we?”

I nodded slowly.

“So, just this one little extra thing?” He smiled. “What could go wrong?”

“Little?” I echoed. “Ron, we’re talking a bloke being in love with you!”

“I should hope so,” he huffed.

“You should?”

“Well, you’re not just… interested in my arse, are you? Because that would be shallow.”

“No,” I said weakly. “It’s a very impressive arse, but I’m not just after you for your body.”

He smiled, his eyes shining.

“Look how grown up we’re being?” he said. “And I’m definitely not after you for yours. Scrawny Seeker’s build.”

“Hey!” I protested.

“Well, you’ve got to admit you’re kinda skinny,” he said.

“Maybe.”

“No muscle tone in your stomach,” he sighed. “Bony shoulders.”

“Is this your idea of making a pass at someone?” I protested.

“I’m just saying! I’m not interested in the Chosen One crap or impressed by your body.”

“I hope there’s a ‘but’,” I said.

“There’s a ‘but’,” he said softly. “There’s ‘but it’s you’, Harry.”

I swallowed hard.

“But you never thought of this before,” I whispered.

“There’s that,” he admitted. “And there’s ‘but, once I did, it’s obvious’.”

I grinned insanely.

His hand came up to my face, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone as he leant closer and his lips touched mine.

There was an almost audible ‘click’ as we came together and my eyes closed as I drowned in him.

I’d been taught to kiss by his sister, and I’d watched him being devoured by Lavender, but this was different.

I was tethered to the earth by his lips and the hand touching my face.

He kissed me twice, thrice, is there even a word for ‘four times’? I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t remember my own name as his hand slid into my hair and he tilted his head and parted his lips and I tasted him.

I’m sure someone more poetic than me would say he tasted of summer, or promises, or something, but, to me, he tasted of ‘if we don’t get naked right now, my cock is gonna burst through my jeans’.

He pulled back and I leant with him, my lips desperately clinging to his and my hands grabbing a handful of his t-shirt.

He broke the kiss with a laugh.

“Easy, tiger,” he said. “We’re still in the garden behind the Hog’s Head.”

“No one came to investigate the explosion!” I said. “Would they really notice two blokes snogging?”

“But I intend to get you naked,” he said. “And they’d notice the glare off that dazzling white arse.”

“Ron! Home. Now.”

He grinned widely, snatched a kiss and Disapparated with a pop.

I sat and blinked at the space in front of me. We were really going to do this. Ron knew I was in love with him and he hadn’t freaked out.

He had kissed me.

He had said it was just a little thing and he had kissed me.

He had kissed me and said he wanted me naked.

He had kissed me.

He had Apparated back to where I was sitting and gawping and he was looking at me sceptically.

“Coming?” he asked. “Or am I supposed to start without you?”

I shook myself and blinked the world back into focus.

A world that looked a great deal better than when I’d woken up this morning.

One less Horcrux.

One more lover.

“Coming,” I said. “Yes.”