He's pulling away before I've even fully registered what he's said, but I have enough awareness to grab him, to hold him still.

'What - '

'Forget it, Weasley.' His voice is harsh and cold, and I almost recoil. But I force myself to stay, to pull him back as he makes for the edge of the bed. He keeps trying to get away, so I roll him onto his back under me and pin him there. He tries to push me off, and I catch his wrists and hold them against the mattress, either side of his head. He's looking everywhere, anywhere, but at me.

'Did you mean that?' My voice sounds slightly desperate, even to my own ears.

'Does it matter?' he spits, finally meeting my eyes, and I can practically see the walls he's put up in his mind. My heart lurches, and I find myself a little breathless, but I press on.

'Of course it matters, Draco. Say it again. Please.'

'Don't.' A flash of the pain that he's trying to hide from me makes its way onto his face, and my chest tightens further.

'Why not?'

'Because ... ' He looks away again and takes a deep breath. Then I see the exact second that he decides to throw everything into this moment. He meets my gaze, and his voice is steady as he says, 'Because I don't know if I could stand it if you didn't feel the same way.'

'How will you know unless you try?' My voice is calm, because his admission has brought to light what I already knew, deep down. It just took one of us to say it for me to realise. And I want him to know, but I need to be sure that he truly feels that way, that it's not simply a result of what we've just done. 'If you really do feel it, then say it again.'

His stare is appraising, fearful but interested, as if he's trying to weigh the cost and benefit of his next move. He seems to decide that it's worth the risk, and his silver eyes soften slightly as he sighs, 'I think I love you, Weasley.'

'Well, thank Merlin, because I'm pretty sure that I love you, too,' I murmur, and lean in to kiss him softly. 'Gods help me, I never thought I'd be saying those words, but I do. If I'm honest with myself, I've probably loved you since the night you put me back together after that mission.'

'You're not just saying that?' There's such doubt in his tone that I scrunch up my freckled nose at him, confused.

'What would I gain from lying about this, Draco? Is it really that hard to believe?'

'Yes.' He shifts a little under me, and I release his hands now that he doesn't seem as keen on running away from me. 'It does. I've done enough bad things in my life, and many of them to you and your friends, that I know I don't really deserve to be loved. Especially by you.' I frown, but he just shrugs passively.

'So I'm not allowed to love you because you still feel guilty for things that you did when we were children?' I demand, frustrated. He rolls his eyes at my simplification of the problem, but I grasp his pointed chin and make him look at me. 'You're not that person any more. You asked me to believe that when we first started this. When are you going to accept it?'

His eyes scan mine, and I see something shift in his gaze. I can tell my words have hit home, just enough to make him see what I'm trying to tell him. And although I know it's not going to happen overnight, that it'll take a long time for me to get him to accept it, at least it's a start.

I get off him, allowing him to get up too, and we sit opposite each other on the bed, just looking. His white-blonde hair is still mussed from our activities, his cheeks still flushed, his silver eyes still a little wary as he watches me taking him in. I smile, and hold out my hand. He places his slender, trembling fingers against mine, and I pull his hand towards me and press his palm to my lips.

'So now what?' he breathes, and I consider his question.

'Well ... ' I trace patterns into the back of his hand as I think. 'Now, I suppose I'd better tell my family.'

'Alright.' His voice is cautious.

'I can just tell them about me, if you like. I'm happy for them to know about us, but if you're not ready for that then I can wait.'

'I ... ' He swallows thickly, and his eyes are wet as he squeezes my hand. 'I want them to know. I want everyone to know. I want to tell every person I see from now on, Weasley.' I laugh, and his mouth curls up in a smile.

'Good, then I'll tell them.' I think about it for a moment, then ask, 'Would you like to be there?'

'I think it's quite a ... personal thing,' he says slowly. 'It might be an easier conversation without my presence.'

'I think I would probably find it easier with you there,' I grimace, and he nods solemnly. 'But I know what you mean.' I take a deep breath and blow it out, sending it upwards to ruffle my fringe. 'Alright. I guess I'm going to be coming out to my family, then.'

'I know you can do it,' he says quietly, and reaches forward to brush my hair out of my eyes. 'You have incredible strength, Ron.' I smirk and mock-flex a bicep, and he rolls his eyes and bats playfully at me. 'Just had to take the piss and cheapen the moment, didn't you?'

'Of course,' I chuckle, and drop his hand to reach for his hips. I pull, and slide him into my lap so that he's straddling me, and nuzzle my nose into the hollow at the base of his neck, inhaling his sweet, woodsy scent. He winds his hands into my hair as his body settles against me, and the heat of him makes my cock respond. I grip his hips and press him down against me, so that he can feel the growing hardness under his arse, and he groans softly as he leans back to look into my face.

'You know it's not just the sex, right?' I raise an eyebrow at him, and he smiles softly as he plays with my hair. 'That's making me say I love you, I mean. I don't want to make your ego any bigger than it already is, but it's that you're incredibly kind, and loyal, and funny, and you have this ... easiness, this acceptance of things that is so uniquely you. I'm not doing justice to how I feel or why I feel it, but that's at least the small part of it that I can manage right now.'

'Draco ... ' I blink away the slight burn in my eyes that rose with his words, and tilt my head upwards in a silent request. His lips meet mine eagerly, and the kiss is slow, laguid, yet searing. It makes me want to claim him entirely. My cock twitches again at the thought, and he sighs into my mouth. I can feel him hardening where he's trapped between us, and I moan into his mouth as he rocks his hips slightly against me. I wrap an arm around his back and lift him, causing him to yelp in surprise as I quickly shuffle my way back to lean against the headboard of his bed. When I lower him into my lap again, his eyes are ablaze.

'OK, I'll admit that your physical strength is also somewhat impressive,' he murmurs.

'Oh, but I already knew that. All that talk about my shoulders kind of gave you away.' I wink at him, and he chuckles as his presses his lips to mine again. His tongue dances across my lower lip, and I open my mouth, tangling my tongue with his. He sucks it, hard, and I grunt as the feeling shoots a bolt of electricity through my body and right down my member, causing it to pulse.

'Gods,' he breathes as he rocks his hips again, and I can feel his damp head sliding against my stomach.

'Draco ... ' His shaft throbs, and I tilt my head back to look into his eyes. 'You really do like to hear me say your name, don't you?'

'I just love the way you say it.' His eyes are dark with lust again, but there's that warmth in them once more, and this time I recognise that look. It had been harder to place before, but now I know that it's definitely love.

'Draco.' He sighs, his head tilting back, and I drop my head to his neck, kissing and nipping the soft skin at his throat as he grinds against me. I grasp his hips in my hands, and run my mouth up to his ear. 'Tell me what you want.'

'I want to ride you.' His cheeks flush at his own words, but he leans back to make eye contact, his gaze unfaltering.

'Such dirty words from that pretty mouth,' I tease, and he bites his lip at my tone. I kiss him, hard, and murmur against him, 'Ride me, Draco.'

He whimpers softly, but he's kneeling up almost immediately. I reach down between us and hold my stiff shaft straight, and he slowly begins to lower himself onto it. I growl when I feel that he's still slick with my last release, and he gulps as he eases himself down, inch by inch, until he's fully seated in my lap once more. He pauses there, his hands on my shoulders, rolling his hips slightly while he adjusts to my girth stretching him in this position. He lifts up, and slowly lowers himself, then repeats the motion, setting a slow, easy pace. My thumbs trace circles against his sharp hip bones as I help him to move, and my eyes rake across his body, drinking in the sight of him.

He's panting, his chest rising and falling rapidly, and I can see his stomach muscles rolling with his movements. That delicate flush has spread down his neck, and his lower lip keeps disappearing between his teeth. His eyes are almost completely black now, and the passion that burns there makes it hard for me to resist flipping him over and taking control. But I know how good this is making him feel, can see and feel the evidence of it as his fluid seeps from his head, swollen and red.

'You're so fucking beautiful, Draco,' I breathe, and his blush floods onto his chest. I reach between us and grasp his member, and he shudders in my lap as I slick his pre-cum up and down his length. I raise my hand and lick my wet thumb, and growl, 'And you taste fucking incredible.'

'Ron ... ' His eyes are glazed, and I know that he's struggling to form the words, to tell me what he needs.

'Cum for me, Draco. Cum when you're ready.' His movements become a little shaky, and I slide my hands under his arse to help lift him, thrusting up to meet him each time he drops. His head falls back as he loses himself, and when he's close I move one hand to grip his impossibly hard cock tightly and pump him in my fist. The knot of my own release builds as he cries and whimpers, his pace quickening as he thrusts into my hand, then back down onto me. He's completely engulfed in his need, and as he leans forward to press his forehead to mine I can feel the first flutters of his orgasm as he starts to clench around me. 'Fuck, Draco ... so fucking good ... I'm gonna ... '

It's his little lust-addled cry, wrapped around my name, that makes me lose it. I thrust up into him, hard, and then he's painting my chest and clenching around me, pulling my release from me as I spill deep inside him once more. He slams down onto me a few more times, then his lips find mine in a desperate, breathless kiss as the last of his cum shoots from him. I hold him up as we catch our breaths, as he shakes and shivers from the power of his orgasm, his oversenstive tip twitching against me where it rests on my stomach as he softens. When I can breath normally again, I gently nudge him off me and help him lower to the bed. He moves stiffly, and I'm cautious to move him too much, so I roll him onto his side before sliding my legs out from under him.

On weak legs I head for his bathroom and find a flannel, wiping myself down before I rinse it out with warm water and return to the bedroom. I lean over him and carefully wipe his shaft, then his entrance. He hisses slightly, and I immediately still.

'Did I hurt you?'

'No, Love,' he murmurs. 'Just ... sensitive.'

'Sorry,' I breathe, and he smiles softly as he takes the cloth from me and finishes cleaning himself. I wait to take it back from him, but he just drops it on the floor and opens his hand to me, an invitation to join him on the bed. I quirk an eyebrow at his sudden disregard for tidiness, and he narrows his eyes at me.

'Don't make me regret my decisions, Weasley,' he huffs, and I laugh as I slip into the bed beside him and pull him to my chest. His nose rubs against my shoulder, and he sighs contentedly, his eyelashes fluttering closed as sleep rolls over him.

I kiss his forehead gently and tuck his head under my chin. The intimacy of what we've just shared threatens to choke me, and as if to release some of that pent up emotion I find myself whispering, almost subconsciously, 'I love you.'