Why Now (Part 2 of 3)
Author/Artist: Hannah
Pairing: R/D
Rating: PG-13 for language
Warnings: (If any)
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: Why Ron wanted Draco to tell him…
Concrit: Yes
A/N: None

Why Now
By: Hannah

Dumbledore once said to Harry that his greatest strength was love. At first when Harry told Ron that, he thought. The old man has completely lost it, because how can love be a great strength. Love wasn't going to protect you when some Death Eater was hexing you into oblivion, love wasn't going to save you if you fell off your broom during a Quidditch match and plummeted a hundred feet. Of course he was a child then and love was the last thing on his mind.

I can't believe you had the nerve to
Say the things you said, they hurt so
Bad that they ended our relationship I
Can't believe it, four years gone down
The drain...

"Ron!" he squeezes the pillow harder against his head. "RON!" his blanket is whipped off his body and the cold air shocks him into life.

"Bloody Hell, Ginny!" he grumbles at his sister.

She stands glaring at him and from this angle on the couch he can already see the bat bogey itching to be cast from her lips. Who would've thought he'd ever be really scared of his little sister. "Get up!"

He groans and sits up his hands rubbing furiously at his face, "What's the matter?"

She stomps over to sit in a chair facing him, "It's been two weeks and you've been sleeping on my sofa and stinking up my house."

"Our house, love." says Harry coming out of the kitchen with a nice cup of tea.

Ron accepts it smiling at his best friend. "See this," he says holding up the cup for Ginny to see, "this is how you should wake someone up, before verbally abusing them."

She rolls her eyes at him. "As I was saying before being so rudely interrupted," Harry arches a brow at his wife before sitting on the seat next to her. "When are you going to stop being a prat and go back to Draco?"

Oh, how I wish things would of
Happened so differently, I tried to
Save it so many times but you still
Couldn't see.

"Ginny," Harry says turning to face her, "this is Ron and Malfoy's business we shouldn't be involved."

Ginny looks at him and Ron smirks watching them as they begin their little power play, it's always the same in this house. Harry tries to tell Ginny to stay out of other people's business, though if Ginny get's involved it's usually serious and she really does mean well. But, Harry hates butting into other people's private lives, because he hates it when it happens to them. But, the look Ginny is giving him, it's that look that says 'If you plan on having sex with me in the near future, then you best shut up and let me work' and she always wins. And this time is no exception, because Harry just shakes his head and leaves the room.

Ron's tempted to follow, but the bat bogey is still lingering in the air. "Gin, you just don't understand."

"Well – if you explain it to me, I will."

And now you're insisting and resisting
That you would not fall again, and now
You're trying to tell me that you're sorry
And you're trying to come back home,
You're telling me you really need me,
Crying, begging, both knees are on the
Floor, but baby I...

"You know I've always known that his family was cold – I mean I could see it when we first met his father in Diagon Alley, remember when you were just about to start school." she nods and he takes a sip of his tea, "the way his father just pushed him aside with that fucking cane, like he was a piece of garbage and he was trying to move it as to not mess up his expensive Italian loafers. But I still fell in love with him."

"So then what's the problem? If you knew all this, why can't you accept that he just can't say the words?"

Don't Wanna Try, Don't Wanna Try
No more, you keep insisting when you
Know our love is out the door, Don't
Wanna Try, Don't Wanna Try, cause all
We do is fight and say the things that
Hurt so bad to where we both begin to
Cry...

"Let me ask you something – say it was you and Harry, and for four years you put your heart and soul into your relationship and all you want is to hear those three words – three fucking words and he won't even say them," he's up now and he's pacing the floor, "not even once, Gin – tell me could you stay?"

Don't Wanna Try, Don't Wanna Try
I about just had enough it's been a rough
Road baby, just let it go, Don't Wanna Try
Don't Wanna Try, Don't Wanna Try no More
Tell me what's the use of holding on when
All we do is hurt our love.

She's quiet...biting her nails, it's what she does when she's thinking really hard. "I – if I really loved him – I mean you've been together so long – if you really loved him, you'd give him another chance."

"That's the thing, Gin – I've given him millions of chances, millions of opportunities and I've never pushed him to tell me – and I know he cares about me, more than anything in this world...my head tells me to go home to my dragon and kiss him until we both can't breathe – but my heart wants to hear those words and I have to hear them before I give him another chance."

You and I had many conversations on
The telephone talks about one day we
Having a place of our own, wake up in
The morning and have breakfast ready
On the table...

She stands up and smiles up at her big brother. Touching his cheek lightly and brushing the tear that has escaped him. She's never seen him cry before, not even when they thought Bill was going to die, when all of them shed some tears, Ron held it together. They didn't know that Ron was too busy thinking of Draco and his involvement with the Death Eaters to even think about his oldest brother mauled by a werewolf.

"What made you think of all this now – I mean Ron, for four years it never really bothered you, what made you want to hear him say it?"

But all that just seems so far away
From me, had to wake up face reality,
It all just seems to good to be true after
All you've put me through...

He wiped his eyes and went to sit back down on his makeshift bed. Rubbing his eyes he began to tell her the story that started it all...

He and Draco have been Aurors now for two years. Everyone thought that Ron and Harry would be the Aurors, but Harry has had enough of chasing Dark Wizards or rather being chased by one. So, Harry decided to become a Professor instead, he's been teaching at Hogwarts since a year after graduation.

Anyway, he and Draco are Aurors. The best team of Aurors since the war, so them going on a dangerous mission is nothing new to them. They were no longer scared to fight, Draco no longer complained about long stake outs, mostly because he and Ron would make out every thirty minutes. It was Draco's idea. And where Draco's concerned his ideas are always the best.

And now you're trying to tell me that
You're sorry and you're trying to come
Back home, you telling me that you
Really need me, crying, begging, both
Knees are on the floor, but baby I...

So, they were on a routine mission, staking out a suspected gang of dark wizards trying to bring together another Death Eater clan or rather something like that. And well when Kingsley led them all in to take them down, Ron wasn't as quick as they thought and was struck down by a nasty curse.

He laid there in a pool of his own blood and all he kept thinking about was Draco – he wanted to see Draco's face, he wanted to at least kiss him once more before he died.

Then there Draco was in his sight, in his face and he was checking to see how badly Ron was hurt, he could still hear Draco screaming for help. Ron reached up as he was turned and touched Draco's cheek, ruining the pale porcelain face with a streak of blood going from cheek to chin.

"You're alright, Ron – help is on the way," he said in such a soothing voice that always made Ron's heart beat fast and slow at the same time.

"I love you," Ron said smiling at the blond.

Draco smirked and just shook his head, "I know – just lay still."

"Draco – I love you," he said in a pleading voice, hoping that Draco would understand the need for Ron to hear those words.

"You're not dying, Ron – stop being a drama queen." Draco said smirking.

"Tell me," he whispered.

"Lie still – you're making it worse." he said putting pressure on his wounds.

"Please,"

Draco's face was expressionless. All he did was lean down and kiss him softly and Ron cried.

Don't Wanna Try, Don't Wanna Try
No more, you keep insisting when you
Know our love is out the door, Don't
Wanna Try, Don't Wanna Try, cause all
We do is fight and say the things that
Hurt so bad to where we both begin to
Cry...

Ron stared at Ginny and saw the unshed tears in her eyes. There. She finally understood and she leaned in wrapping her arms around him as Ron buried his head on her shoulder trying not to sob out loud.

As he lay there his head in Ginny's lap feeling all cried out, he thought about what Dumbledore told Harry. That love was his greatest strength, he didn't understand it then, but when he thought he was dying he did in that moment. And he wanted to hear it from Draco, wanted him to say those words to will Ron back to life.

All he wanted was Draco to say; 'Ron, I love you' and it would've been like a fairy tale, where the prince would bring his love back to life. But, life isn't a fairy tale and there are never happy endings. Three simple words and even faced with a chance that Ron might not make it out alive, Draco still couldn't say it. He may have walked out of there alive...but he also left with a part of him dead.

Don't Wanna Try, Don't Wanna Try
Don't Wanna Try no More, Don't
Wanna Try, Don't Wanna Try, Don't
Wanna Try...No...