Challenge(s)/Prompt(s): 100 Little Things Challenge(Bubble Baths), Anime Quote Boot Camp("It's when you say 'no need to worry' that I worry the most." – Johanna, Pokemon Season 10), AU Diversity Boot Camp(Chest), Book Quote Boot Camp(Nothing that's worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that.), Character Diversity Boot Camp(Smile – Seamus), Character Trait Boot Camp(Charming!),Disney Character Challenge(Heimlich: A very hungry caterpillar. Write a story with a lot of food in it. Alternatively, write about Ronald Weasley), Family Boot Camp(Caring – The Weasleys), Fanfiction Dominoes Challenge(Seamus/Ron), Favorite Era Boot Camp(Chocolate – Trio Era), Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge(Hector – the favourite son of King Priam of Troy, and the leader of the Trojans in battle. Write about Ron Weasley. Alt; write about a favourite character.), Harry Potter Chapter Challenge(The Silver Doe – Write about trusting something completely. Write about Ron.), Holiday Spirit- Christmas Boot Camp(Mistletoe), If You Dare Challenge(#114-My oh my), Journey Through Hogwarts(Diagon Alley-D-Write over 1000 words), Minor Character Boot Camp(Bubbles – Seamus), Movie Quote Boot Camp(Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.(The Pride of the Yankees, 1942)), Non-Traditional Boot Camp(Room of Requirement), Pairing Diversity Boot Camp(Butterfly kisses), Pick a Card, Any Card Challenge(Two of Diamonds-Ron), Pottermore Challenge(Ron gaining something of great value), Prompt Relay Challenge(Time Is Love), Setting Boot Camp(December – Hogwarts), Slash/Femmslash Boot Camp(Graceful), Song Fic Boot Camp(Baby It's Cold Outside – Treasure), The title challenge(In Too Deep), and Unusual Ships Challenge(Seamus/Ron).
Length: Oneshot – 1922 words!
Rating: M
Pairing or Characters: Seamus Finnigan, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter. Mentions of Ginny Weasley and the Weasley Family.
Thanks: To my incredible beta Katie, for taking time out of her day/night to look over my work for me. Also thank you to my good friend Jess for giving a few wonderful suggestions for this story. Hopefully they do you proud!
Disclaimer: Though it pains me to say so, I do not own the rights to anything that belongs to the Harry Potter universe, nor do I make any money from writing about them. The only thing(s) that I can claim as mine own are the ideas and/or characters that may be woven into the wonderful world of all that is Harry Potter. Everything else is used in the spirit of good-natured fun or naughty shenanigans. What can I say? I just like to play!
In Too Deep
Great big snowflakes fluttered in glittering white crystalline wisps from an ashen sky chock-full of gloomy clouds. The nipping gobbets fell in a steady assault, making it hard for Ron to see his fellow teammates across the Quidditch pitch from where he hovered at the goalposts. It was far too cold to be playing Quidditch! Ron felt numb from the chill of the wintry December winds that battered him back and forth in a furious onslaught. Surely the weather had taken a turn for the worst throughout the hour they had been on the pitch, and Ron would have bet anything that the rest of his team was ready to call it a day. Besides, Ron was anxious to get back up to the castle.
This is mad! We wouldn't be playing in this kind of weather, Ron thought as he wiped the snow from his face with a forearm. He had a moment of thinking that he was well over freezing his arse off. Then, leaning low over the handle of his Cleansweep Eleven, he sailed across the pitch to find Harry, who was talking to Ginny about invasive manoeuvring. When he drew up even with them, Harry cut off in mid-sentence and lifted a questioning brow at him.
"Listen, mate, I know I need to put in the hours," Ron called over the wind. "I need to practice like everyone else. But that can be done some other time. The storm's too bad to be training!"
A look crossed over Harry's face that made Ron wonder if he'd said the wrong thing. But a moment later he shook his head and called with a known grin, "Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with Seamus leaving tomorrow for Christmas holiday?"
Ron felt his cheeks warm with an embarrassed flush. Not meeting Harry's eyes, he said, "That might be another reason. But it really is freezing. You'd have to be a complete nutter to stay out here in this."
Harry gave a good-natured chuckle. "I knew it! You just want to sneak away to spend time with Seamus before he leaves."
The blush on Ron's face deepened at Harry's ribbing, and he had a hard time fighting the smile that was trying to pull at the corners of his mouth. Ron finally lost the battle, and a sheepish grin danced across his lips. "Tease me all you like, Harry. But time is love, and I've got to run. I'd love to hang out longer; however, I have someone who waits for me, and right now he's where I need to be."
"Are you trying to rub it in or something?" Harry called over another gale of wind. He wasn't in a relationship with anyone and seemed a tad jealous of Ron's relationship.
"Of course not! But you don't have to be single. There are plenty of girls who want a piece of famous Harry Potter." Ron winked at him with a cheeky grin. But as a parting gab he called over his shoulder, "I'm off! In the time that we've been talking, do you know how many kisses I've missed?" Ron didn't wait for a speechless Harry to respond. Instead he zoomed off as quickly as he could toward the castle.
[:x:]
Ron had taken the stairs three at a time to reach Gryffindor Tower as quickly as he could manage. However, when he got there the portrait of the fat lady swung open and Seamus came through the hole. The brunette immediately launched himself at Ron to give him a deep, searching kiss.
When the kiss broke Ron held Seamus to his chest and said, "You have perfect time. I was just coming to find you."
"Well, I found you first . . . thanks to this." Seamus pulled the Marauder's Map from his robe pocket to show Ron.
"How did you know about that?" the redhead asked in confusion. He had no idea that Seamus even knew the map existed, let alone how it worked.
A charming smile played across the brunette's face as he stepped away from Ron to tuck the map away. He looped his arm through Ron's and began pulling him down the corridor. "Don't worry about the map. Harry knows that I've borrowed it. He's the one who showed me how to use it."
"But why?" Ron asked with a lifted brow.
"Never you mind. Now, I have a surprise for you." With that Seamus gave him a quick kiss and continued along the halls, all the while looking like a cat that got the cream.
[:x:]
Ten minutes later Ron was standing in the Room of Requirement with a look of awe on his cold face. The chamber looked nothing like he'd ever seen before. In the center of the spacious room was a large sunken bathtub filled with hot, steaming water topped with colourful bubbles. Hanging above it were large bushels of mistletoe, which made Ron chuckle when he saw them. To one side of the tub there was a great hearth in which a fire crackled merrily. Just beside the fireplace there was a massive Christmas tree decorated in scarlet and gold. There were boxes stacked beneath the tree, and from what Ron could see, they all had nametags that flashed Ron. On the opposite side of the bath there was a velvet lounge chair big enough for two. Beside it on the floor stood a stack of fluffy ruby-red towels. There was also a candlelit table laden with all of Ron's favorite foods sitting off to one side.
"Shay, what is all of this?" Ron asked, his mouth hanging open.
"This is your surprise. I knew we would have to spend Christmas apart, and I thought it would be nice to do something special." Seamus leaned into Ron as he spoke; then he leaned up to give Ron a deep, probing kissing. "Now, would you like to eat first? Or jump straight into the tub?"
Ron blushed at Seamus' words. Looking away, he said, "I'm freezing, love. Let's start with a bath and work from there."
"My, oh my, someone's eager," Seamus said as he planted gentle butterfly kisses along Ron's turned face.
"Maybe, but I am cold," Ron said. He pulled Seamus against him and gave the man's firm bottom a squeeze.
Seamus merely chuckled and pushed away from him. "Uh-uh, you've got to get undressed and in the tub before you get any more of this tight bum." He spun around on the spot, leaving Ron to stare after him with heated eyes. In the corner Seamus was winding an old record player. Ron hadn't noticed it before, but this was the Room of Requirement; perhaps Seamus had just thought it into being.
The sound of Baby It's Cold Outside began to play once Seamus was done. Ron smiled as he undressed. "Very fitting."
"I thought so." Seamus grinned. He undressed in a matter of moments because he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing under his robes. Giving Ron a come-and-get-me look, he made a graceful dive into the inviting bubble bath.
As the other man surfaced, pushing his dripping hair out of his face, Ron slid down into the water. It was pure heaven! His entire body immediately began to relax into warm water, and he probably would have lost himself in the relaxing warmth, but Seamus pulled his attention to the stack of presents under the tree.
"Now, let's see about opening up some of these presents, shall we?" Seamus asked. He leaned over to grab the first present from under the tree. With an irresistible smile he handed it to Ron, who immediately began to open it.
"Shay, I don't have your present with me. It's in our dorm!" Ron suddenly blurt out. He felt terrible for opening up his packages when his boyfriend didn't even have something of his own to open.
"Don't worry about it, sweetling. Now, open your gifts!"
Ron spent the next fifteen minutes tearing open packages. By the time he was finished he had a chocolate chess set with edible pieces, two new Chudley Canons sweatshirts, the newest edition of Quidditch Throughout the Ages, multiple boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans, a box of chocolate frogs, liquorice wands, and case of butterbeer.
"I don't know what to say. Thank you so much, love," Ron said gently. "I feel like a sod. I only bought one gift for you, and it isn't as fantastic as any of these."
"You're all the present I need," Seamus said. He moved closer to Ron until their nude bodies were pressed together and he could wrap his arms around the taller man's neck. "How would you like to play a game of chocolate chess? Whenever a piece is taken you get to eat it, and I can't think of anything sexier than a warm bubble bath with my boyfriend, eating chocolate and snuggling together."
Ron nodded eagerly at the suggestion, and the two set up the board. Just as they were getting ready to begin, Seamus said gently, "I have one more special present for you, Ron." He reached over to one of the towels and pulled out a small box. His hands trembling just a bit, he murmured softly, "I—I know we haven't been together for all that long. But I wanted to give you this as a token of my love for you."
Ron's eyes widened at the sight of the velvet box. He took it gingerly out of his boyfriend's hands but didn't open it immediately. Seamus gave him an encouraging nod, and Ron opened the lid slowly to look down at it with eyes filled with emotion. It was a silver ring, wide enough so that two lion heads faced each other at the top, and around the band was the design of a never-ending knot.
In a voice filled with love, Seamus said, "I wanted to know if you'd do the honor of being the only man I wake up beside for the rest of my life."
Ron stared at the ring in shock for a moment. Then he plucked the band from with the box to slide it onto his ring finger. Looking up with tear-filled eyes he said, "Yes, of course! I'll treasure this ring and you for the rest of my life." With that Ron threw his arms around Seamus in a tight hug.
"Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth," the brunette whispered against Ron's ear.
The redhead paused with worry at Seamus' words, "Oh, love, you haven't even met my family. What if they don't understand that we're in love? I'm not sure what they will say when I bring a man home to meet them."
"No need to worry, sweetling. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that," Seamus murmured.
A frown spread across Ron's face, and he said, "It's when you say 'no need to worry' that I worry the most."
Seamus snuggled down against Ron's chest. "Don't worry, Ron. I've met some of your family, remember? From what I've seen, your family is caring, and they love each other. Why wouldn't they want to see you happy?"
Ron squeezed Seamus, pressing his cheek against the top of the other man's head, and said, "You know, you're right. I'm sure they'll love you, just like I do."
A/N: I really appreciate all of the people who take the time to read and review. I respect positive comments and constructive criticism. Both help to make me a better author which in turn makes my writing style improve for the better. On top of that I truly enjoy responding to all of your reviews. Also, thank you to those of you who favourite and/or follow any of my stories. It means so very much to me! So, thank you all so much!. You're all wee gems! =)