Chapter 22

Ron always woke first, always. Sometimes it was because his alarm clock would go off and he'd have to turn to stop it before the annoying buzz pulled Draco out of his dreams. Usually it was because something in him knew that he had to take in the sight of his lover wrapped around him before he had to go however many hours he was going to have to go without seeing that beautiful face. The pictures on his desk lulled the need, but after five years of being away Ron had a slight separation problem. Six months they'd been back together, his family had taken Draco in as one of the clan, and Ron knew that nothing was going to severe this again.

He brushed his hand over Draco's soft blond locks, pressing a kiss to his forehead and murmuring, "You are my forever."

Draco walked into the kitchen when he felt the mattress had grown cold on the other side of the bed. It being a Tuesday they both had to get to work within the hour, and knowing that made Draco pout a little. The sight he saw upon entering the kitchen caused that pout to increase. Ron was standing by the microwave, an ingenious muggle invention Ron insisted they needed. Magic was alright, but it did not get such an even cook through the food as this little black box did. Ron's strong hands were gripping the edge of the counter as he watched the green lights count down. His broad shoulders were hunched as he leaned over the counter. His freckled back and shoulders revealed by the lack of shirt. A thin strip of white backside was peaking out from his low slung boxers, the only article of clothing he was wearing.

Draco walked up behind him, wrapping his arms around Ron's waist and laying his head against Ron's back. Ron stood up, his hand falling on Draco's arms as his other reached up and behind to play with Draco's hair. Draco turned and laid a kiss against Ron's shoulder. Ron reached into the freezer they were standing in and pulled out a yellow box. He put two disk shaped food items into the toaster, another item he claimed they needed, and dropped the lever. Draco nuzzled into his back, "Thank-you."

"Gotta take care of my man," Ron shrugged, "make sure he eats a healthy breakfast." He paused, "Well, gotta make sure he eats breakfast."

Draco laughed, "Oh, and what do you have in there then?"

"Egg and sausage sandwich," Ron answered, defensively. "That's healthy."

"We eat processed foods for breakfast," Draco shook his head, "Can you imagine what your mother would say."

"Yep," Ron laughed, nodding as he turned and pulled Draco against his chest. He ran his fingers over the orange shirt Draco had pulled on over his black boxers. Kissing his head, Ron admitted, "You look good in my shirt."

"They smell like you," Draco shrugged. Ron tipped his head up for a kiss that was kept chaste by the beep of the microwave. Pouting, Draco told him, "I love you."

"I love you," Ron growled huskily as he leaned in for another kiss.

"Work," Draco said, avoiding the kiss and turning to grab a plate for his waffles.

"Hey mate," Harry said as he stepped up to Ron's desk. Ron looked up and nodded at his brother-in-law/best friend. Harry sat down at the chair in front of Ron's desk. "Gin and I are taking the kids to Seamus' arcade's grand opening, you coming?"

"We're thinking about it," Ron nodded. His family and Hermione had accepted Draco. Harry should have, he'd tried, but sometimes he did things that showed he wasn't as accepting. Whenever he asked questions like he just did and Ron replied in a similar manner, Harry would slightly grimace. Ron glared, "Harry, I'm stuck with you for life, but you're stuck with him too. Get over yourself, or get a new best friend."

Harry dropped his jaw, taken aback by Ron's declaration. He glared, "I'm the one that made sure the world knew he was a hero."

Ron nodded, "And I thank-you for that, but if you can't believe it...If you can't accept him, then there's no point. Harry's he's the one, he's always been the one. If you can't believe that the things he said in school aren't true...Harry, look what he's doing with the Malfoy fortune? Three months and we still haven't found them yet, but we're looking for his siblings. He doesn't call them Lucius' bastards, he calls them his siblings. Hasn't he done enough to prove to you that the boy you knew in school and the boy I knew in school are two different people and only one is real?"

Harry sat quietly for a while before nodding, "Yeah, Mate, I get it. It's just so hard to think that Malfoy is not, I don't know, Malfoy."

Ron shook his head and snorted a gust of breath, "Harry, he won't be a Malfoy long."

Harry looked up in surprise, "You're asking him then."

Ron nodded, "Yep."

"Faster than Fred and Hermione," Harry pointed out.

Ron shrugged, "I wanted it to be faster than Fred and Hermione. Course I don't know if the engagement will be faster. My Ferret has a higher taste preference than either Fred or Hermione do."

"Oh shit," Harry sighed, "I'm not going to have to wear something frilly am I?"

"I'm the groom, you jackass," Ron said tossing his quill at Harry. Harry tossed his head back in a laugh. Ron turned back to his paper and said, "Besides, I'm asking Hermione to be my best lady.'

"I do not think so," Harry disagreed. Tossing the quill back at Ron he said, "You got the ring?"

Ron looked up, "Nope, that's why we're only thinking about going tonight. I want to get the ring."

"So you might be late," Harry summarized. Ron nodded. Harry stood, "Well, I'm gonna go owl Gin and tell her I'll be late, and then send one to Hermione to tell her to be here at five-thirty."

"I'm capable of picking out the ring myself," Ron exclaimed.

Harry raised a brow, "Yeah, remember how you and me and her have this thing about doing big things together?"

Ron smiled as he nodded, "five-thirty."

"Why are there so many choices," Harry whispered to Ron so that Hermione couldn't hear. Ron elbowed him in the stomach as Hermione tried to help the sale's attendant explain why this style or that style would look better. Hermione was trying to convince Ron by telling him how good this band or that band would look on Draco's hand. The attendant was trying to appeal to Ron's sentimental side, telling him how each band will last through the ages, and blah, blah, blah. Ron usually just blinked at the woman as her voice turned into an unidentifiable buzzing.

He only enjoyed shopping with Draco, but he was not doing this shopping trip with Draco. He was glad Harry insisted on going with him. Correction, he had been until Harry started going on about he was hungry and he wanted to get to Seamus' arcade. Ron was glad Harry insisted Hermione come along, because she was the only one whose head was not threatening to explode. They were staring at the fifth long collection of rings, twenty on each collection. He just couldn't figure out which one said, "Draco."

He had started to narrow down his search. He knew that he wanted Draco's ring to be white gold, and it could not be simple or plain. This was Draco after all, it had to be something flashy but not gaudy. Something he could wear everyday, and would not blind the people he worked with or his customers. At the same time it had to be something that caught the attention of people and told anyone that was looking at Draco that he was definitely taken. His eyes raked over the fifth collection, he shrugged, shook his head and said, "No."

"Ron," Hermione sighed. Ron looked at her. She exhaled sharply, "Please, you didn't even look at them."

"I did to," Ron defended. "It just, none them are it. I'll know right?" He turned to Harry, "How did you know which ring was Gin's?" He turned to Hermione, "How did you know which ring was Fred's?"

Hermione laughed, "His ring is purple."

"No it isn't," both men disagreed.

"Yes it is," Hermione argued, "It's silver and purple, but the strips of purple are too thin for most to notice. Plus there's two, so you know," she shrugged, "It was just, Fred."

"See," Ron exclaimed, "my point exactly. When I see it, I'll know. It'll just be...Draco."

"These are not the right one's for Mr. Malfoy?" The attendant asked.

Ron shook his head, "These aren't right for Draco."

The attendant nodded as she put them away, "When we have shoppers come in that are uncertain of what exactly they are looking for, we ask them to visualize what it is exactly they think they want. Sometimes it helps."

Ron nodded his head and thought. He could see Draco walking to him, standing across an alter from him as McGonagall performed the ceremony. He could see him slipping the simple band onto Draco's finger, the one that would match the band Draco would slip onto his own later. There on his hand was the other ring though. The ring that Ron offered when he dropped to bended knee and asked the question he'd wanted to ask since he was sixteen-years-old. The ring that Draco loved. The ring that he would wear for the rest of his life.

"I've got it," Ron said when he opened his eyes. The attendant nodded as she pulled out the sixth collection of rings. Ron beamed, because there it was. The same ring that he'd saw in his vision was sitting on the fourth of five rows up, second to the left. It was white gold like he wanted, a simple band that would allow Draco to do his job without catching too many people off guard, but enough of an ornament that it would not only be something Draco liked but would also tell the world he was taken. The edges of the wide-band were silver and raised over a black background. Over the black background were two thing thin silver strips circling the ring. In the middle of these stripes were Celtic runes wrapping around the band. Ron pointed, "That one."

Ron looked at the ring again before clamping the black box shut. He smiled eagerly as he looked around the apartment for a place to hide it. He grinned, thankful that his lover was a good half-foot shorter than him. Going to the kitchen he went to the shelf that Draco always needed him to get things out of and slid it all the way into the very back corner. He was just about to fall back to his feet when the door opened. He quickly grabbed the closest item and smiled innocently at his boyfriend. Draco raised his brow at the look. "What are you doing?"

"Grabbing," He paused as he pulled the item out of his hands and grinned, "the noodles."

"We had noodles last night," Draco reminded.

Ron shrugged, "Noodles are good, and you can make noodles in lots of different ways."

Draco looked Ron up and down, frowning in suspicion before nodding, "Yeah, alright, grab the chicken behind you, then will you?"