A/N: I love Harry and Ginny! I always picture them to be a carefree couple, doing things the simple and easy way. Reviews are good for the environment! ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Question
By: ameo
The audacious smell of breakfast for dinner coming from the kitchen was enough to make Harry's mouth water from his small office at the other end of the apartment. He looked down at the small pile of paperwork plaguing his desk, briefly contemplating whether or not it was worth skiving for some bacon and eggs.
Harry could hear his girlfriend add more bacon to the anticipated piping-hot pan on the stove, the sizzling echoing into his taste buds. His stomach groaned; the mere image of the delicious greasy crisps was enough to send his stomach off the edge.
He convinced his stomach that it must contain itself for the next few minutes in order to finish the last of the bloody paperwork currently sitting murderously on his desk. Harry sighed and rubbed his temple with one hand, picking up a quill with the other. He began writing--
More sizzling = more smells of unhealthy grease = more images of crispy bacon.
He couldn't take it anymore! He quickly scrambled from the desk, his stomach jumping for joy and the paperwork left behind glaring at his retreating figure. The smell became much more delicious when he exited the hallway, his nose directing his feet to the kitchen.
The first thing he saw was his girlfriend standing at the stove with her back facing him. She was wearing his Quidditch boxers and his oversized shirt. Her hair was tied in a knot at her head, bouncing as she bobbed her head from side-to-side while she hummed a merry little tune to a song he didn't recognize.
He snuck up behind her as she began doing a two-step dance with the spatula, much to his amusement. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around her waist, making her jump and squeal in small fright.
Harry chuckled into her ear. "Ginny Weasley, you certainly are one-of-a-kind."
Ginny pushed him away playfully and turned to face him, her arms around his neck. "Harry Potter," she mimicked. "You certainly are mean to sneak up on the ones you love while said loved one is cooking you dinner."
"Breakfast for dinner," he tilted his head to the side, grinning. "What's the special occasion?"
Ginny shrugged. "I was craving bacon."
Harry laughed again, gesturing at the stove where there were currently 3 frying pans filled with cooking bacon. "Darling, it had to be more than a simple craving."
"Yes, I imagine it was my urge to destroy the face of the world." She crinkled her nose and wrinkled her forehead. "Errr… that sounded better in my head."
"Don't worry, Gin, your plan has begun to succeed," he reassured, and upon her questioning look, he added: "Now I'm craving bacon!"
Ginny tilted her head back and laughed. She gave him a peck on the cheek, unwrapping her arms from his neck and turning back to the stove. "Would you be a dear and fetch us plates and silverware?"
"Yes, ma'm!" He mock saluted. He set the two plates next to the sizzling stove, and Ginny scooped scrambled eggs with cheese onto them, then covering it with at least a dozen slices of bacon each.
Harry stole a piece of bacon from Ginny's plate, ignoring her protests and taking a bite of the crispy food.
"You jerk!" she protested. "That was supposed to be my piece!"
"I love you." He shrugged and ate another, this time from his own plate. "You gave yourself more than me."
"You're lucky I love you!" She laughed and chewed on her bacon slowly, enjoying the crunching sound.
"I'm so lucky to be loved by you." He told her.
She blew him a kiss. "So, anything going on tonight with you?"
Harry swallowed and took a sip of orange juice. "I have to finish up some paperwork, and your brother wanted to meet me later tonight for a drink."
Ginny's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Which delightful brother of mine requested your presence for a time like this?"
"Ron did," Harry filled in. "By owl. His writing was messier than usual." He added.
"His handwriting has always been messy," Ginny commented. "Are we talking messier than the norm?"
He nodded. "Definitely."
"Must be something important, I reckon." She stabbed her fork into her scrambled eggs. "Only Ron would write an important message in un-interpretable writing."
"Agreed. What do you think he needs?" Harry asked.
"Who knows." Ginny munched on another piece of bacon.
"He's your brother." He said.
"Yeah? He's your best mate." She pointed out.
"Yeah? You've known him longer."
"Yeah? You had to tolerate his 'pleasant' company for an entire year during the war."
Harry opened his mouth to rebut, but she continued.
"And to top it all off, you had to be in the same vicinity as him and Hermione when they were obviously dealing with sexual frustration throughout school." She finished smugly.
"Even in first year?" he questioned.
"Sexual frustration speaks in many ways, Harry."
"…You win."
"Don't have to tell me otherwise," she said nonchalantly. "I always win."
Harry sat up straighter. "Oh, really now? Always win? Do tell." He teased, having heard her go on many times before.
Ginny nodded in a manner showing she had a really big theory about the subject, and it was correct. "Think about it, Harry! I'm the only girl in my family, so at home, I always won. Dad simply couldn't stand to see his 'little girl' be picked on by her rotten brothers."
"Your older brothers picked on you? I never would have guessed." Harry said dryly.
"Mum's always wanted a girl, so she naturally favored me." Ginny continued her expression deep in thought of her childhood days.
"Naturally."
"And at school no one could beat me. Marks, Quidditch, you name it." She finished. "Hence, I always win."
"Agreed," Harry grinned and added. "You won me, after all."
Ginny beamed and laughed at him. "Oh, Harry, way to make a girl feel accomplished!" She leaned across the small table to give him a peck on the lips, the front of her oversized shirt getting covered in her plate's bacon grease.
"You got my shirt dirty!" He said when she cleared the plates with a wave her wand, sending them to the sink.
"You never wear this shirt anyway." Ginny said, indifferent. "Besides, nothing magic can't handle."
She stood up, showing off the stain. She straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and into his hair, their foreheads and noses touching.
Harry captured her lips. "Fine, you win."
"Twice consecutively, Harry, you're getting rusty." She said softly, returning the kiss. "What time do you have to meet Ron? You might be able to beat me a third try."
Harry stood up and Ginny's legs tightened around his waist to stay up. One hand on her bum, the other in her hair. Their lips remained interlocked all the while.
"Nine-thirty." He swatted her bum, and she broke away with a squeal.
"It took me seven times to defeat Voldemort," he said huskily, whisking her away into their bedroom.
"In that case, we better keep competing past the twentieth try."
By the time Harry met Ron at the sports pub, it was nearing quarter to ten. Ron didn't even protest at his best mate's slightly late arrival. Harry found him sitting at the bar, sipping on a frothy alcoholic drink.
After ordering himself a bottle of beer, Harry turned to Ron, who was nearly finished with his own drink.
"What's up, mate?" Harry asked, moving his paper coaster with his fingers on the wood counter.
Ron sighed and didn't say anything, but instead reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box, handing it to Harry.
"Wha…?" Harry opened the box, revealing an undoubtedly gorgeous diamond ring. He put two and two together.
"You're going to propose to Hermione?" he grinned, closing the box, sliding it along the bar into Ron's waiting hand. "That's fantastic!"
Ron grinned back, almost goofily. "I was going to ask her tomorrow night."
"Congratulations, Ron." Harry accepted his drink from the bartender and took a swig.
Ron opened the box again; he stared at the ring as he answered. "It took me months to save for this ring." He hesitated, then added: "Do you think she'll like it?"
"Are you kidding? She'll love it." Harry reassured him.
Ron closed the box and slipped it back into his pocket. "I found it in Diagon Alley at a small shop in the back streets." He said. "The second I saw it, I knew." He waved the bartender over for another beer.
"How'd you know?" Harry asked.
"I just…knew." Ron said. "I can't explain it. I'm just…in love with her. Why wouldn't I want to spend the rest of my life with her?"
"Okay." Harry said, finishing off the last of his bottle. "Let me buy you a round, then!" He gestured to the bartender again. "Can I get a round of shots of your specialty?"
"Sure thing." He replied, taking out two shot glasses and pouring different liquids into the two.
Harry and Ron each grabbed a glass. "To…finding the love of your life." Harry said, raising his glass.
"Who just so happens to be the pain in your life, too." Ron added, also raising his own.
"I'll drink to that." The two boys snapped their heads back and downed the drink in one swallow, clanging the glasses on the bar.
"How're you gonna ask?" Harry said, knowing Ron probably wanted to relay every detail to make sure his plan was perfect enough for Hermione. He accepted another drink from the bartender, as did Ron.
Ron dug right into his plan. "I'm taking her out to this fancy restaurant in London, sort of near the entrance to Diagon Alley."
"Which one?"
"The one that's the most expensive: otherwise known as La Fornaretta. It's an Italian place. She loves Italian food." Ron said. "You know how much she loves tiramisu."
Harry nodded. "Sounds great, mate."
"When they serve the tiramisu, I'm going to charm it so the ring is inside her dessert." Ron continued. "When she discovers it, I'll…err, you know, ask her to marry me." He finished with a grin.
"Which thereafter, she'll start to tear up and say 'Yes!' and then you'll be off to your flat to have mind-blowing sex the rest of the night." Harry raised his glass in affirmation. Ron raised his own, and they took a drink simultaneously.
There was a comfortable silence between the two best mates as they sipped their beers. Harry thought of Ginny, who was back at their shared apartment. She was probably getting ready for bed by now, he thought.
"How's it going with Ginny?" Ron asked.
"I'm still in love with her." Harry grinned, knowing this would make Ron laugh.
Ron snorted into his beer mug. "Good."
Harry laughed.
"Are you ever going to propose to her, Harry?" Ron said, and upon Harry's raised eyebrows, he added hastily: "I mean, you guys have been dating as long as Hermione and I—five years—and you've been living together for three."
"I can't lie and say I haven't thought about it," Harry said. "Because it's hard not to think it."
Ron sipped his beer again. "Fair enough." He answered, and that was fine with Harry. They fell into another comfortable silence.
Harry enjoyed his friendship with Ron. It was so simple yet so complicated. They joked around together, laughed together--and when it came to important matters like the one tonight, they drank together and didn't dig deep into it. They just talked, and that was it.
Harry drained the last of his own beer and stood up. "I better head back, it's getting late and I don't want Ginny to worry."
Ron drained the rest of his own too. "I should tuck in, too. Say hello to Ginny for me?"
"Sure, and you Hermione?"
"Will do, mate."
They paid for their orders and left the pub together, both Apparating to their separate homes as soon as they walked out the door.
Harry entered his shared apartment quietly so as not to wake Ginny if she was asleep. He slipped off his sneakers and hung his cloak on the hook by the door before heading into the bedroom.
The room's light was left on, but Ginny seemed to be asleep, so Harry was careful not to make much noise as he undressed down to his boxers and a t-shirt. He slipped into bed next to Ginny, waving his wand to turn out the light.
He rested his head back into the pillows and put his arms around Ginny, who gladly snuggled into his chest.
"What'd Ron want?" she murmured against him, surprising Harry, as he thought she was asleep.
He kissed the top of her head. "Nothing, really," he whispered. "Just wanted to tell me he was going to propose to Hermione tomorrow night."
Ginny sleepily chuckled. "Good for him."
Harry nodded. There was a silence, and he was comforted by the way their breathing somehow synchronized together; as if their lungs were working to help each other live. He thought how lucky he was to be in love and loved by this woman lying in his arms.
He kissed her on her head again. "Ginny?" he said softly.
Ginny grumbled. "What."
"Want to get married?"
"Sure," she replied, then paused. "I've always thought it would be fun to elope."
"Elope? Why?" he was smiling.
"It just sounds like loads of fun." She said. "You know, spur-of-the-moment marriage because you're so in love that it doesn't matter how you marry, it just matters that you do marry. And, the fact that the entire family would go bonkers if I did, me being the only girl and all." She added as an afterthought.
"Why would we elope?" he asked.
"Because let's face it, Harry, you're deathly afraid of my family."
Harry chuckled quietly. "What if we just had a small wedding?" he suggested. "The theme could be 'eloping.'"
He felt her smile into his shirt. "Sounds like a fantastic idea."
"So is that a yes?"
"Of course it's a yes, you twat." Ginny briefly maneuvered to plant a chaste kiss on his lips.
"I love you, Ginny." He whispered.
"I love you, too, Harry." She replied. "Now if you don't stop talking to me and don't start making love to me, I won't marry you." She teased, her hand straying to the band of his boxers.
"And if I don't?" Harry said, his hand already travelling up her night shirt.
Ginny's hands tugged his boxers off and caressed his neck. "I'll just have my wicked way with you."
Merlin, Harry loved this woman.
And the next evening, as Ron took Hermione to the fancy restaurant to ask her the big question, Harry and Ginny were preparing breakfast for dinner for the second night in a row.