Title: Origin of Love
Author: Rheenie
Pairing: Harry/Ron
Rating: umm, PG I guess. Mostly for the boy-kiss.
Summary: Ron thinks about a bedtime story and figures out that he's in love
Warnings: Fluff, slash, and mild HBP spoilers
Word Count: 1,891
Notes: This plot bunny would not be thwarted, damn fluffy little thing. Also, the bedtime story being told here is actually a song taken from the move 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' which is based on a story from Plato's Symposium.
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, I'm strictly playing with JKR's toys here. I also don't own Hedwig and the Angry Inch, if I did it wouldn't be nearly as good.
Ron eyed Harry's sleeping form with a mixture of love and exasperation. He and Hermione had convinced him to return to the Burrow for Bill and Fleur's wedding, and the sneaky little git tried to leave before the reception even started. Hermione had caught him and set him straight. There was no way he was going to leave without the two of them with him. Harry was looking extremely haggard when he arrived, so after the ceremony Ron had had Hermione mix up a sleeping draught for Harry. Ron also made sure she added something to get rid of the dreams that Ron knew were bothering Harry so frequently.
Looking at Harry now Ron was again struck by a need to protect him. Ron knew that Harry had wanted to keep Hermione and Ron here to make sure they wouldn't be in harm's way. What Harry didn't seem to understand was that the three of them were in this together and that Ron would give his own life to protect Harry's. If it came to that, and Ron thought it might, the one goal he had for this trip was to keep Harry alive.
Ron leaned back onto the headboard of his bed and listened to Harry's steady, even breathing. Ron was reminded of when he was young, sitting in his quiet, comfortable room. Back when his mum would tell him and Ginny bedtime stories. Well, she would tell Ginny the stories, but Molly knew that Ron secretly enjoyed them so she would make sure there was a clear path for her voice to carry so that Ron could hear her too. Ginny had a particular favorite and Molly would tell it often, usually getting all misty-eyed as she was telling it. Watching Harry sleep he thought of that story, he could almost hear his mum's voice.
"A very, very long time ago. Way, way back when the earth was still flat and gods still lived in mountains that stretched up the sky, sometimes even higher. There was no such thing as love, and people were very different than they are now."
Sometimes Ron wished things were that simple again. Voldemort wouldn't be rising to power and the life of his best mate wouldn't be in danger.
"Now, back then people walked around on the earth with four legs instead of two, and had four arms, and two faces. And back then there were three kinds of people instead of two like there are now."
Ron smirked to himself. He had to admit that this was a good story. And his mother told it very well. In his mind's eye he pictured the 'children' in the story.
"The first kind of people were called the children of the sun. They looked like two men glued up back to back. The second were the children of the earth, and they looked like two girls rolled up into one. The third were the children of the moon. The children of the moon were a mix of the children of the sun and the earth. Part daughter, part son.
Ginny always giggled at this play on words. Ron tried to picture himself and Hermione as one of the children of the moon. The two of them glued together at the back. It was awkward even in his imagination. He loved Hermione, he really did, but being glued together with her would be trying to say the least. It seemed much more natural to him that he and Harry would be a child of the sun. The two of them were together all the time anyway. And it would be wonderful to be together with harry, talking and laughing, and him beating Harry at chess. Ron laughed to himself at that thought.
"Well, all these children were very strong because of their togetherness The gods grew scared of them and the god Thor said "I'm gonna kill 'em all with my hammer!" but the god Zeus, the most powerful god, said "NO, I'll use my lightning like scissors. Like I cut the legs off of the whales when they tried to defy me. I'll cut those children right down the middle! That will teach them to try to defy the gods!"
Ginny always gasped at this, acting scared for the children in the story, even though she knew how it ended. Even for Ron this part of the story always made him sit up a little straighter in bed, hoping that the children would be all right. Now, looking back on it, he knew he should be scared. Not for the children of the story but for all the people now, especially Harry, who were stuck in this war.
"Zeus brought up a big storm and sent lightning bolts flying down at earth and cut all of the children in half. Right down the back he sliced them! Then he sewed them all up and moved the scar around to their bellies. Then Zeus called up his friends, the gods of the Nile, and they made a big hurricane with big tidal waves and scattered all of the children to all the corners of the earth."
Ron rubbed his stomach thoughtfully, feeling his belly button through his shirt. He looked over at Harry and looked back at all of the times he and Harry had almost been separated. Harry had been in danger so many times and Ron had always tried to be there for him. Going after the sorcerer's stone, down in the chamber of secrets, when he tried to step between Black, the man he thought would kill him, and Harry. In the department of mysteries, and now, going after the horcruxes. Ron would be there by his side no matter what. Harry looked so peaceful. Ron slipped quietly off of his own bed and sat on the edge of Harry's and touched him lightly on the stomach.
"That's why it can be so hard to find the person you love. It's hard to recognize someone that you've been separated from for so long. When you do find that someone you'll know. You'll know because you'll feel the pain you felt being separated. This pain will be so deep it feels like it's cutting right into your heart. That's because by looking into their eyes you can see that they are the one that you were meant to be with at birth. And you'll be able to see that they feel the same pain that you do. The fact that you have a bellybutton means that you have someone out there that is your other half and all you need to do is find them."
Ron sighed. He did feel a pain. He didn't want to lose Harry. He felt like Harry had already been the one that he had lost and now found. He gently brushed some stray hairs out of Harry's face, and felt the pain again. His mum was right, it did hurt. A lot. It was almost too much to bear. It had started slowly, because he just hadn't recognized his other half yet. Over the years his feelings had gotten stronger and it was like waking up one day after knowing someone for years and realizing, 'HEY! I knew I knew you from somewhere!'
Ron sighed again. It didn't matter. Harry didn't know that story, and even if he did . . . "oh, well," mumbled Ron, "At least I can be his friend. I can protect him, comfort him, keep him safe on this sodding mission of Dumbledore's". A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, he was talking to himself. Going mad because of Harry. He chuckled at himself. Harry looked so peaceful. Ron let his fingers brush Harry's cheek, imagining Harry's warmth spreading from his fingertips to his toes. Ron couldn't help himself; he leaned down and very lightly touched his lips to Harry's, thinking that at very least he would have one kiss from his other half. Harry didn't stir. Ron spared another touch and then crept quietly back into his own bed. He climbed in and got under the covers, he rolled onto his side, determined to get some sleep before they set out tomorrow. Well, it was passed midnight, so today.
Ron was just dozing off when he felt the bed dip under a new weight. "Ron?"
"Yeah, mate?" he asked, rolling over to face Harry, who was sitting on the edge of his bed. "Wassa matter?" he mumbled. He most definitely wasn't expecting what happened next. Harry touched his cheek and leaned down to kiss him softly on the lips. It was over almost before it started, mostly because Ron had been taken by surprise, he hadn't been ready for that. "Harry!"
Harry shook his head, "No Ron, don't say anything. Me too, but we can't, I can't. It's too risky, I. . ."
"Shut up Harry!" snapped Ron, "You are not pulling this crap with me. It's total bullocks!" Ron sat up violently, almost knocking Harry off the bed. Ron grabbed his arm before he tipped over, but didn't let go. "I can understand you breaking up with Ginny, noble PRAT that you are, because you didn't want to pull her into something that could be dangerous. But me an' Hermione will be with you no matter what. Especially me. I will follow you wherever you go, we're a team, damn it, and you are NOT going to get rid of me just like that. Not now, not ever, and not when you've just kissed me! We've been together since we were eleven and you'll be stuck with me for a long while."
Harry stared, open mouthed, at Ron, surprised at his outburst. Ron waited about half a second before wrapping his arms around Harry and kissing him. "I'm not leaving you," he said, "and you can't get rid of me." Harry let out a noise that sounded halfway between a sob and a laugh, and clung to Ron. Ron pulled him closer and pulled the covers up over both of them. The boys hunkered down hugging each other and enjoying the closeness. Ron stroked Harry's hair and kissed his forehead, wiping away the few tears that had fallen from those beautiful green eyes. Soon both of them were asleep, safe and comfortable enclosed in each other's arms. Secure in the knowledge that they had found their other half.
Molly closed the door to her daughter's room and looked towards her son's. She hoped that all of her children would be able to find their other half. She made her way back to her own room and saw that her husband was already lying in bed. She walked over to the bed and kissed him, "goodnight Arthur." Arthur smiled and leaned over to kiss her bellybutton. She laughed and shook her head. Arthur wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into bed, whispering in her ear "Once you find your other half you wrap your arms around them and try to put yourselves back together by making love. And never letting them get separated from you ever again." Molly laughed and snuggled into his arms. She fell asleep felling safe and comfortable enclosed in her lover's arms. Secure in the knowledge that she had found her other half.