The Beach Towel
kneazle-is-me
Based off of me and my ex...just without the fluffiness and the proposal. Those were entirely products of my imagination.
"Give me the towel!"
Harry grinned, clutched said towel even tighter, and shook his head. "I've told you, no, I will not give you my towel. And incidentally, it is a cape. Not a towel."
Ginny sighed in exasperation. "I told you, people don't wear towels as capes. I don't care what you say, a towel is not a cape. Now give me the towel."
She lunged forward, grabbing onto the towel with both hands. Harry pulled at it and started to run. Or, attempted to. His girlfriend had such a strong grip, he couldn't move very far. She grinned, and yanked on the towel, unintentionally sending Harry flying by her.
A manic game of tug-of-war began. Harry was very determined to keep posession of the towel, but Ginny wanted it gone. They wrestled on opposite ends of the towel for control.
The two were at the beach nearby Bill and Fleur's cottage, where the whole Weasley clan plus Harry were staying in celebration of Ron and Hermione's wedding. The ceremony was in a day, and both Ginny and Harry had been helping Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen, until in a fit of nervousness, the anxious mother had banned everyone from the kitchen until the wedding cake was completely finished.
As that had been midmorning, Ginny and Harry took the opportunity to pack a picnic basket and escape from the hustle and bustle for a while. They walked to the closest trail down the cliffs, and had reached the beach in only ten minutes. After having lunch, no doubt an effect of the hot sun and the infectious good feelings surrounding a wedding, Harry picked up the towel, declaring that it was his cape, and what did Ginny think of it?
"Harry, you're insane. Give me the towel."
At which point she had begun to chase him around the beach.
After a few minutes, Ginny had to stop. She was winded and not as good of a runner as Harry, plus he was still holding on as tight as ever.
"Harry, seriously, why do you want to wear a cape?"
"Why not? It's fun! You should wear one too."
Ginny snorted. "I most certainly will not, and you're not going to either. Now stop and give it to me."
"Five minutes, then? Please?" Harry pouted. She sighed again, let go and said, "Just a few minutes. Then, take if off!"
Harry grinned and tied the ends around his neck. Ginny shook her head and sat down on her towel, pondering what on earth had gotten into her boyfriend's head. Harry walked along the beach into the wind, laughing as the 'cape' billowed behind him.
"Harry, it's been five minutes." Ginny jumped up and went to untie the towel for her own sanity's sake. But Harry stopped her and ran away. "Got to catch me first!"
Ginny growled in frustration, then ran after him and grabbed the bottom of the cape. She worked her way up the cape as Harry struggled. "If I choke, Ginny - "
" - it'll be your own fault for tying it around your own neck and refusing to take it off. Now stop it and take it off."
Harry untied it, but kept a grip on it. 'It's my towel, let it go!" He tried to prise off Ginny's fingers but couldn't. They went around in circles, tugging at the towel from both ends like before.
Suddenly it struck Ginny how stupid and silly the whole argument was. She started to laugh, her grip slackened, and Harry yanked, laughing too.
Still loosely holding on, Ginny flew forward and knocked Harry backwards with the force of her movement. They fell on top of each other on the sand, still laughing.
Ginny realized first how close their faces were, and stopped laughing. She looked into Harry's face, still lit up with glee.
Then Harry stopped laughing, still smiling up at Ginny above him. He reached up, closing the space between them with a hand in Ginny's hair, then, with his lips.
He broke away for a moment, murmuring an "I love you" before reaching back to reclose the gap.
Another moment later, he pulled away and sat up, still holding Ginny's hands. He reached into his pocket with one hand, bringing out a small, black box.
Ginny stared, her mouth opening into a silent "O".
Harry opened the box to reveal an elegant yet simple engagement ring. "Ginny?" He said no more, not needing to. Ginny flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly, whispering "Yes, of course!" into his ear.
The next day at the wedding reception, Ginny and Harry were just as radiantly happy as Ron and Hermione. Ginny's ring sparkled as she and Harry whirled around the dance floor. And whenever someone asked how Harry had proposed, she would smile and and say only "He wore a cape."
She left them to figure out just what that meant.