Paper Airplanes- Ron/Harry
AU-
harry and ron don’t know one another. Harry was raised in India for a bit so went to school there. There was a war, but Harry isn’t the chosen one- Voldemort defeated by Order working to get horcruxes. He lost his dad in the war. It still haunts him.
Harry is working at the Auror office when he get a paper airplane memo- it’s orange and flies into his head relentlessly until he reads it. It’s multiple pages and not even meant for him. It’s addressed to some other person called ‘Fred’ and is just signed 'R.'
The letter goes on about something funny they noticed on the way home- describing in detail some funny kid pulling pranks that 'reminded me of you when we were kids!’ The letter went on and was charming and intimate, like a picture into someone’s life. Harry wasn’t much for reading books, but it read like a book he didn’t want to put down. He didn’t know who it was meant for- the letter was unsigned. He felt bad he couldn’t get it to its destination. He read over it again, but there were no clues he could follow.
A few days later another thick orange paper airplane hits Harry in the head. Like the last one it’s only signed 'R.’ Guiltily Harry reads over the letter, devouring every word. He thinks to himself he’s only reading the letter to figure out who it is and make them stop sending letters, but actually it’s just that he loves hearing what R has to say. He wishes he could know someone like R in real life, instead of just being alone all the time. Whoever R is, there’s something about them that speaks to Harry.
For weeks he gets the letters to Fred from R. They range from funny, to poignant, to everything in between. He gets clues about the identity of R. He has a sister named Ginny, their mum is an amazing cook, their brother George isn’t doing too well right now, he loves the Cannons (of all the horrid teams!) etc.
Another letter comes and this one is devastatingly sad. R is taking about how much he misses Fred. How his friend Hermione and his counselor thought that writing all these letters would be helpful to 'the healing process’ but all it really does is make him sad he can’t tell Fred this to his face. 'Why’d you have to go and get yourself killed?’ Harry suddenly understands R. even better. He knows the pain of losing someone you love. The letters and R mean even more to him now.
He tells his mum about the letters and Lily is just as intrigued as he is- though she does scold him for reading other people’s mail- her scold isn’t all that effective as she’s reading the letters with the same enthusiasm as him. So Fred’s dead? Wait! Harry can finally figure out who R is!
He starts looking through the archives for a Fred who died- who has a sister named Ginny and a brother named George. He finally figures it out. Fred Weasley! He knew some of the Weasleys by name from the Order! He double checks with his mum, who is mortified she didn’t think of it first, and then says 'oh! Then R is Ron Weasley, their youngest son!’
They figure out he works at the Department of magical games and sports. Harry gathers up all the letters to give to R.-no, to give to RON.
He gets to the front desk of the department but apparently he just missed Ron- he’s at the Ministry Quidditch Pitch. He’s there to return the letters then feels really weird about it… Maybe he shouldn’t? The letters mean so much to him, and Ron might feel it’s this huge violation that Harry’s been combing through them for weeks and weeks?
'You here to play?’ he hears a red head say from behind him. He is very good looking, and Harry feels his heartrate pick up as the guy gives him a lopsided smile. 'I’m Ron by the way. Ron Weasley.’
'Harry Potter.’
Harry quickly hides the letters and lies to say yes he’s just there for quidditch. Ron and the other people there are playing some pickup quidditch, and could use more players- so Harry joins them.
After they all go out for drinks and Harry is so excited to be spending time with Ron. He’s never enjoyed someone’s company so thoroughly. They chat about anything and everything, drinking a tiny bit too much. Harry and Ron talk about the people they lost in the war eventually. The night is late- they’ve been talking for HOURS. Harry ends up kissing Ron right outside the pub, and Ron returns the kiss. They shyly smile at one another.
They begin to see each other more and more often. The letters are more infrequent- but when they DO come Harry is excited to see he’s featured in the letters! But also guilty! Because now he’s basically lying to Ron? This is a HUGE violation of trust. He knows it! But what is he supposed to do??? Ugh. He sits on it.
One night Ron comes over to his place and they finally get very intimate and make love- it’s beautiful and loving- Ron says 'I know it’s quick, but, I think I’m falling for you?’ 'I love you,’ Harry blurts out. Everything is perfect. Until Ron discovers the letters in harry’s rolltop desk the next morning.
'What are these? How’d you get them?! I was sending these to the shredding room?’ Ron’s face is red and Harry doesn’t know how to respond at first. He tells the truth- somehow they were being directed to HIM- and Ron is furious with him. They have a big fight- Harry is desperate to make things right, but Ron says he’s not sure he can make something that fucked up ok. Like, he’d said a lot of things- private things! 'I know, but those letters were everything… They meant so much to me.’ But Ron is still mad, embarrassed, and a little bit creeped out that Harry was semi stalking him?
So Ron leaves and Harry is devastated. The letters stop coming. Harry avoids the quidditch pitch so as not to run into Ron.
He decides to write a letter- but to his dad. He tells his dad everything he did, what Ron means to him, how much he misses his dad and wish he could get advice from him on how to get out of trouble, how much he loves Ron and how he’s devastated he messed up the best thing that had ever happened to him. He pours his heart out to it. He signs it 'love, H.’ He turns it into a paper airplane and sends it to Ron.
Weeks go by and Harry’s feeling really low when an orange paper airplane hits him in the back of the head. The letter is still addressed to Fred. The letters goes off about how he was so mad about it, but how much he missed Harry, and that 'he might be a bit of an idiot… but I love him anyways. Guess I better forgive the scrawny git.’
Harry rushes from his office and finds Ron waiting for him not 15 meters away.
They reunite and all is well. :)