HPRomione Popcorn Drabble - my prompt was “I see the truth in your eyes.” Thanks for the tag, @mertronus!
Up next: @remedialpotions ! Your prompt is: Tent.
(It can be any old tent, the tent, or even a loose definition of tent. You pick!)
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Just A Walk
(#NSWF, just to be safe!)
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Ron forgot how creaky the Burrow’s stairs were, especially at half-past two in the morning when the rest of the house was asleep. It seemed that every step squeaked and sagged as if they were itching to tell the whole house his secret — that he just shagged Hermione Granger underneath the stars.
They had paused on the landing for a kiss goodnight, which immediately clouded Ron’s mind with the memory of his hands in her hair back in the gardens, her warm breath against his neck, and the way her bare legs wrapped around his waist.
Of course he didn’t remember which stairs to avoid for a quiet climb, or where the floor buckled in the hallway, or that his bedroom door creaked when opened too wide, and at night, the sound would echo through the house.
He shouldn’t have been surprised when he re-entered the attic, and Harry was lying there awake, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. Ron’s eyes traveled to the open window, and he wondered if that patch of soft grass that he and Hermione had just defiled was hidden enough. For the first time he could remember, he resented the expansive view from the attic window.
“Fancy seeing you here,” said Harry, his tone lightened with a smirk.
“Hey mate,” said Ron as he quietly closed the bedroom door. “Thought you’d be asleep.”
“Ha. Good one.”
Neither Ron nor Harry had slept for the first few nights after the battle, and even now, Ron’s mind still jolted him awake at every sound, interpreting every whistle from the wind as a threat.
It was a good thing there were distractions at night — but over the last few weeks, late-night living room chess matches with Harry had turned to excursions to the treehouse with Hermione.
And soon enough, ‘excursions’ became snogging sessions, and then much more. It was behind an oak tree after midnight when Hermione first let him slide his hand underneath her shirt. The far side of the pond was where their pants came off for the first time. And tonight, in a grassy clearing, underneath the stars, they finally made love.
Sleep was easy after nights like these.
“I’m sorry,” said Ron. “I just went on a walk with Hermione. I should have stayed back. We could have played chess or something.”
Ron braced himself for an angry retort, and he would have deserved one. When was the last time he had spent a sleepless night just talking with his best friend?
He could be more supportive. Harry needed him too, not just Hermione — she was too damn distracting.
To Ron’s relief, Harry laughed. “A walk? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
Ron could feel his neck getting flushed as he confirmed, “just a walk,” but his tone was far from convincing.
“You two just shagged, didn’t you?”
Ron paused. Was it that obvious?
His hesitation in denying it might as well have been confirmation. “First time?”
Ron narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “How did you know?”
“The truth is in your eyes.” Harry turned onto his side, facing his back Ron. “And your red face, your stupid smile, and the grass stains on your clothes.”
Ron, now changing into pajamas, looked down at his trousers in a pile on the floor. Harry was right; they were covered with evidence of an outdoor romp. “Oh.”
Harry chuckled as Ron slipped into his bed and turned off the light. “I’m happy for you.”
Ron grinned. “Thank you.”
“But I don’t want to hear about it,” continued Harry, his voice muffled with a yawn.
“Fair enough,” he said as he settled under his blankets.
Ron turned away from Harry to shield him from the goofy smile that Ron still couldn’t shake. He made a mental note to run a few cleaning charms on his trousers tomorrow, then let his mind drift back to the gardens.
Soon enough, he was distracted by thoughts of Hermione’s soft voice in his ear, the smell of her hair as he buried his face init, and the way her fingertips dug into his back when he pressed into her, and it wasn’t long before he drifted off to sleep, lopsided smile and all.