“So, now that you’re back are you going to tell him?” Hermione asked casually, watching closely as Ron’s hands froze. “Tell him what?” Ron asked nervously, looking up with a faux confusion etched across his face.
“Oh please Ronald I can read you like a book, you know exactly what I mean. Maybe tell him the real reason you were in such a tizzy over us. He thinks it’s me you know,” Hermione sighed.
“I can’t Mione, you don’t understand,” Ron said with a sigh, shaking his head in frustration. He only looked up when Hermione stood placing her hands on her hips.
“What I do understand, Ron, is that we do not have time. We’ve had years together, days went by without a thought. But this is real now, war is happening, war is arriving each day.. knocking on our door and taking away our time,” Hermione paused, taking a deep breath.
“You have to tell him now Ron, because we no longer have time. There isn’t a single moment that we can waste, because any second, any day now, we could lose each other. Do you truly want to die without ever telling him the truth?”
Ron looked away again, running his hand through his properly dirty hair. Taking a few shallow, shaky breaths, “I don’t know how Hermione. It’s going to ruin everything. What if I tell him and he doesn’t feel the same way? What then? Things will never go back to normal.”
“Ron, he looks at you like you hung the moon and all the stars in the sky. When you left he was an absolute mess. Maybe you don’t see it, since you’re such a bloody bonehead, but he is just as in love with you as you him,” Hermione patted Ron’s shoulder, sitting back down next to him.
“You can’t know that Mione, I know you think you know everything, but you don’t. He looks at everyone like they hung the moon and all the stars in the sky, Harry just cares, it’s who he is. I’m not special..” Ron looked up as he got cut off by a loud scoff.
“Not special my arse Ron, honestly. The way he looks at you is not anyway close to the way he looks at me or anyone else. He hangs on to your every word, when you guys fight it breaks him Ron. You matter way more than you think you do, just TELL him!”
“Tell me what?” Harry said from behind them, making them both jump. Ron and Hermione stared at each other, and Hermione smirked, “well you two have a lot to talk about, have fun!”
Harry looked at Ron in confusion, raising an eyebrow, “wanna tell me what all that was about?” He laughed, sitting down next to Ron. When Ron didn’t respond Harry placed his hand on his shoulder, “come on mate, you know you can tell me anything!”
“Not this,” Ron muttered, placing his face in his hands. Harry rubbed his back a bit, trying to be encouraging, “you can do it, whatever it is I won’t judge you.”
“No, you will mate, it’s nothing,” Ron sighed, shaking his head. Patting Harry’s knee he went to stand up, but Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.
“Ron go on, you can tell me anything,” Harry said again, furrowing a worried brow, “can I though Harry?” Ron practically exploded.
“Can I look at my best friend, the only person in the world that means anything to me and lose him? By telling him that I love him, that I’m in love with him, just weeks after abandoning him alone in the woods in the middle of the bloody war times,” Ron stood up and started pacing.
“Can I tell you that it isn’t Hermione I was jealous over? That all these years it’s always been you? That every time you get even a little attention from someone else my skin feels like it’s shredding and my heart breaks a little more?” Ron looked up to meet Harry’s eye, “can I say all that and not lose you?”
Harry sat there for a moment, trying to process, “Ron I..” he started, and then stopped again. “Right, no I get it, just forget I said anything Harry,” Ron huffed, going to walk away.
“I love you too,” Harry said quietly, almost too quietly. Ron stopped in his tracks, turning around, “what?” He asked, unsurety in his voice.
Harry stood, walking just in front of Ron, “I love you too Ron. I have, for a while now. You’re everything to me, dammit. I thought you knew that, I thought you just didn’t feel the same. To think I spent all this time..”
“This isn’t funny Harry,” Ron started, making Harry look up into his eyes, “you don’t believe me?” Harry asked, scoffing when the red head shook his head. Harry leaned up a bit, placing his hand on Ron’s cheek gently as he connected their lips.
It was a soft kiss, full of both emotion and laziness. When Harry pulled away Ron’s hands found his hips, looking him in the eyes again. Searching for answers.
When Harry nodded, Ron leaned down to meet his lips again, pulling his body flush against his own. Ron’s hands traveled delicately around Harry’s torso, keeping him close.
“Do you really feel the same way?” Ron whispered when they seperated, resting his forehead against Harry’s, “no I snog all of my friends actually,” Harry teased, laughing when Ron shoved him a little.
“I can’t believe we felt the same way for all of this time.. I feel like, I don’t know I’ve screwed up so much lately but this.. you.. it’s always been the only thing about myself I’ve understood,” Ron admitted sheepishly, making Harry Smile.
“Me too, from the beginning,” Harry sighed, pulling Ron over to sit back down, “So what does this.. I mean.. what does this mean?” Ron asked, with even more uncertainty than before.
“I think it means you’re boyfriends, now let’s go to bed because we have a war to continue in the morning,” Hermione said from behind the boys. Winking at them when they turned around.
Ron blushed, and Harry smiled. “Yeah that sounds good,” Harry said, getting up to walk inside. He pretended not to hear when Ron whispered “boyfriends” to himself.
And when they laid down to sleep that night, if Ron pulled Harry into his chest and held onto him tightly.. well, no one had to know. Except Hermione of course, who covered them both up a little bit more.