Title: There Are Times
Author: Sonata Night
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Harry/Ron
Summary: There are times when Harry needs someone, and Ron has been there for him, and then things change, but in the end, Ron always is still there for him.
Notes: Somewhat of a WAFFy fic. Set after HPB, sort of if they were on the run from Hogwarts.
Disclaimer: Fish are friends, not food - Erhm, I mean, all of this is purely from my imagination.
Archive: If you think it's good enough, drop me a line at jiradamister@writing.com and archive away.



There are times when Harry is scared and Hermione isn't exactly the best person to help him out. Yes, she's a great friend and a lot smarter than Ron when it comes to figuring thing sout, but sometimes he needs someone he can just go to and who'll really comfort him in no way than someone who is your best friend can do. And that person is Ron. And they were good until recently, when both he and Ron had hit their teens and become not necessarily pleasant with each other sometimes. But then in the end, it worked out.

And so every now and then, he'll go to Ron's bedroom and sit with Ron and they'll talk quietly, about everything except the real problem until it finally comes down to it. And neither of them really know what to say then, but they try to, and Harry thanks Ron for that. And sometimes he'll wake up, not sure where he is because he's fallen asleep next to Ron and Ron is snoring loudly in his ear, and with a start, he'll jerk away and then realise what's going on. He'll settle back, but it's too late and Ron will have woken up and be looking at him blearily, sometimes annoyed, sometimes confused, and then there are times like tonight.

Harry had been thinking about things. It had built up on him. So many deaths of the people he knew and loved, and how much fear was surrounding him. He had been thinking about it all the time, but then came tonight when he couldn't take it anymore. Hermione was in her own room, crying, scared. They all were scared. Only today had they heard about Professor Flitwick, who'd been killed. And so Harry had gone to Ron, sat there, looked at him, and they'd sat in shocked silence for a time. They hadn't really talked tonight.

Harry had finally wiped his hand across the back of his eyes, swiping tears away that threatened to give away whatever semblance of control he had, but then saw Ron doing the same thing and smiled at Ron gently, met Ron's eyes, and sighed heavily. "So, what are we going to do? What can we do about this?"

Ron couldn't answer and neither could Harry. So Harry settled in beside Ron. They lay there, on the bed that was too big for one of them but not quite large enough for two of them, and attempted to sleep. Ron fell asleep first, out of exhaustion. He was under a lot of stress, just as much as Harry, but he wasn't as good as dealing with it. Not that Harry was necessarily an expert.

He dreamt of Ron dying, his body lying limply on the ground while Snape stood over him. As Snape turned to him, he realised that it was not Snape any longer. It was Voldemort and Snape was holding him down. And Harry jerks awake, tries to pull away from the person behind him, still thinking it was Snape. It is Ron, and he realises it only a moment too late, trying to lay his head down and settle in with his friend, finding something that would have been before quite strange (or maybe not, he's always been close to Ron and found this alright), a comfort. But Ron is awake, raising his head and staring at Harry in fear as Harry tilts his head back carefully to peek at his friend.

"Are you alright, Harry?" He asks. Harry sighs heavily. "Dreaming?"

Harry nods and looks at him. "You?" Ron shakes his head. "That's probably for the best." He answers and Ron looks at him for a moment more before squeezing his shoulder. However, Ron is clammy with sweat and Harry doesn't believe that Ron hasn't been dreaming for a second. He heard Ron start to whimper and felt him twitching after he fell asleep. They've all been having bad dreams lately, none of them sleeping too well.

He decides to check on Hermione while he's up and tells Ron, who nods and comes with him. It is one, probably because Ron is scared after the dreams they've both been having, and two, for safety. If by some chance someone does find them, two is better than one in a fight. So they make their way across the hall to Hermione, who is lying in exhaustion on her bed, tears having streaked and stained her face. Harry wipes at them, but it does nothing as they have long since dried. She twitches in her sleep and rolls over, and Harry removes his fingers, because she looks as if her dreams are at least peaceful for now.

So they go back to Ron's bed and Harry curls up on it, and Ron curls up next to him, their knees bumping. Ron's hand finds Harry's arm again and rubs it for a second, and Harry is so glad that Ron is still there. He doesn't know what he'd do without Ron. Things have changed between them in the last few months. He doesn't know how, but one day found him crying and Ron awkwardly putting his arms around Harry, and Harry holding onto his arms weakly and feeling completely broken. But he wasn't.

Harry had been hiding feelings for Ron forever, and his body reacted to this. Because maybe it was stress and he wanted relief and this was something simple and pure between them, but he reacted, and he tried to hide his problem but he couldn't, and Ron pulled back as Harry shifted uncomfortably. And Ron looked down, flushed, and Harry tried to cover himself up. He remembered Ron hiding his chest from Hermione when she woke him up that one time, and he understood why. But then Ron laid down next to him, ignoring it. He's Harry's best friend and that was what Harry was wishing he'd do. However, he didn't expect Ron to slide his hand along Harry's lap and up Harry's chest and hold him close.

A slow careful kiss to the back of Harry's neck and Harry turned his head, looks at Ron. "What?"

Ron lifted his own eyebrows. "Yeah." And then he nervously moved in. They bumped noses and then kissed, and it was alright. It wasn't perfect, but then again, Harry had only kissed Ginny and Cho, and Cho was barely even a countable kiss. So he kissed Ron again. Time to learn how with Ron.

And now, a few months later, here they were curled up with each other. And Ron touched Harry's face, kissed him, and tugged him closer. "Don't worry, Harry. Just sleep. I'm here." Ron said. Harry sighed. He might not have the best dreams but he would at least have Ron for now.