Blue Eyes and Freckles | Ron Weasley x Reader

Chapter 8 "Goodnight"

    Days passed with no moves made by Ron. You were beginning to doubt Hermione's statement. You tried to show Ron your feelings for him by staying close with him, touching his arm, and laughing at all of his jokes, but those were things you had been doing anyway, so he didn't take much notice. Finally, one day towards the end of November, Ron asked you something that hinted you were moving in the right direction.
    It had been early in the morning while you were waiting for the boys to come out of their dorms for breakfast. You had been sprawled out on the scarlet couch chatting away with Ginny and Hermione as drizzle tapped against the windows. Despite the gloomy weather, the common room still seemed to be glowing in natural light. You perked up immediately at the familiar sound of Harry and Ron's bounding footsteps, which were not moving as fast as they usually did. They appeared to be in the midst of a serious conversation as they came down the stairs. Harry gave Ron a pat of encouragement and set his sights on Ginny, who was beaming at him from the other end of the couch. When he got close enough, he whispered something in her ear that resulted in her smiling wider than you'd ever seen. You looked back toward where Ron had been standing, but realized he was a lot closer than you'd remembered. So close, in fact, that his scent of warm apples and crackling wood danced right under your nose.
    "Er.. Hey, y/n." He murmured, scratching the back of his head. "Every year for winter holiday everyone comes round to the Burrow. Would you, er, want to maybe come, too?"
    "Um..." You knew your parents wouldn't be home during the holiday, anyway. But still, you'd never been away for Christmas before.
    "I'd really love it if you could." Ron quickly added, as if trying to convince you as hard as he could. "Mum and Dad, well, they'd love you. You already know Fred and Ginny and George. You can meet Bill and Charlie. Maybe even stupid Percy will come."
    He clearly wanted you to come, so there was no way for you to even consider saying no(not that you wanted to say no). "I would love to come."
    He smiled at you with such a brilliant smile that you were sure your heart would stop at any given second. All you could do was beam back.
    With that out of the way, it was time for breakfast.

    Although it had been weeks since your incident with Draco, you were still struggling with being away from Ron for long periods of time. You ate all meals together, walked to class together, and you even switched seats with Harry in a few classes so that the two of you could be next to each other. You hated feeling so dependent on Ron, but you knew that if he was gone, your condition would be much worse.
    Ron didn't seem to mind being around you constantly. He came into your dorm every night to make sure you felt safe, and to reassure that if you needed anything or had any nightmares, than you could always come to him. You never did though. Nightmares about Draco had been an almost nightly occurrence since the event. You never went to find Ron because you didn't want to make him think you needed him for absolutely everything, even though you wanted to have him there. Allowing yourself to deal with your own nightmares gave you a sense of bravery that had helped them get better over time. Now, you were only waking up in the middle of the night calmly, rather than screaming and sweating. You called that progress.
    Even though you had always liked Ron as a little more than a friend, you were worried that you now felt obligated to like him rather than liking him because you genuinely liked him. But sometimes, you were so enamored by him that it took all that you were not to kiss him on the spot. However, he hasn't seemed to make any moves on you, which frustrated you. Hermione told you that he liked you, but he hasn't really shown it. You felt like his acts of kindness towards you were done out of pity and not feelings.
    You decided now was your time to start being more bold. If you figured out that you didn't actually like him, you would cool it, but for now, you were going to go all in.

    As the group of you were sitting in the common room after dinner that night, you plopped yourself down next to Hermione and Ginny on the couch in front of the blazing fire. Ron and Harry were playing wizards chess at a table a ways away, so you were set to tell them.
    "I have something to tell you guys— well mostly you, Ginny. Hermione already knows." You told them.
    "What is it?" Ginny asked as Hermione smiled to herself.
    "I like Ron." You said and you felt your face turn red. "Like, really like him."
Ginny's straight face bust into a wild smile. "Oh my god! Do you really? I think he likes you too, but I didn't want to say anything."
"Yeah, I have for a while now, I just wasn't totally sure. Now I am."
"Oohhh, you guys would be just the cutest." Ginny gushed. "Do you think he's gonna ask you out?"
"I don't know. I don't even know if he feels the same way."
Hermione snorted.
"What?" You asked.
"Well," She started. "I happen to know that he does feel the same way."
"Really?!" exclaimed Ginny.
"Yes. He told Harry and I a couple days ago. He wanted to know if you liked him too."
"What did you say?" You asked, eagerly.
"I told him I suspected it, but I didn't say it straight up."
"Thank you." You let out a breath of relief. You didn't want Ron to think you were drooling over him, which you totally were.
"Well, did he tell you if he was going to ask her out?" Ginny questioned, just as eagerly as you.
"No."
Ginny groaned. You were still giddy with the knowledge of Ron's feelings for you. It felt like someone had replaced your blood with pure liquid happiness and you couldn't stop smiling.
You were startled by a looming presence above you. You turned to Ron behind you.
"Ready for bed?" He asked. You looked at the clock across the room and were surprised to see how much time had gone by since you had been back from dinner. It was practically routine for Gryffindors to get ready for bed immediately after getting back from dinner, though you weren't sure why. Despite everyone being ready for bed, you all stayed up for many hours afterwards doing homework, chatting, reading, etc. You hadn't realized that you had been talking with Hermione and Ginny for almost 3 hours.
"Sure." He helped you up off the couch. You glanced back at the girls and gave them a happy smirk. They both gave thumbs up.
    "Why're you so smiley?" He noticed.
    "No reason." You said
As the two of you climbed the stairs, Ron's fingers brushed against yours, creating strange tension in the air between you. You decided the best thing to do was the bold option, and you embraced it. You tangled your fingers in his and grabbed on. He returned the gesture without saying a word. His silence made your stomach flip. He only let go to open the dormitory door for you. He locked his hand in yours again, this time slightly sweaty, and guided you towards your bed. You climbed in and he began his nightly speech.
"Y/n, you know you always have me just on the other side of the dorm if you need me. You can come to me for anything. I'll always be there for you. Is there anything you need from me before I go?" His blue eyes looked so sincere.
You thought for a minute before answering. "Yes."
"What is it?"
"Stay."
    "What?"
    "Stay."
    "Are you having nightmares again?" He sat down on the bed.
    You hesitated before quietly saying "They never stopped."
    "Why haven't you told me?" He looked genuinely hurt.
    "I didn't want you to worry."
    He grabbed your both of your hands. "Are you sure you want me to stay?"
    "Do you not want to?"
    "No!" He said quickly. "No, I want to. I just want you to be sure you want me."
    This made you smile. "I definitely want you." You told him, with a hint of seduction hidden in your voice.
    He reached foreword to brush a piece of hair behind your ear. You could feel his breath on your face. It was warm and comforting.
    "Would it be okay if I kissed you?" He asked, his voice barely in a whisper. You didn't respond with words, but instead closed the distance and put your lips on his, wrapping your hands around his back. It was a very sweet kiss, without much passion. You could tell he was holding back, and you were too. Before you could try to pick up the pace, he pulled back.
    "Hold on." He sat back. "I want to take this slow."
    "Take what slow?' You asked with a smirk.
    "Us." He was serious. "You want to be with me, right?"
    "Obviously."
    "Okay, then lets go slow. Is that okay with you?"
    "Yes." He got himself under the covers with you as you curled up. He fit his body to outline yours. His big arms wrapped around you, holding you in a cage. The sound of his heart beating led you into the first nightmare-less sleep you'd had in months.