#I proposed to my husband spur of the moment while we were playing video games together | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

matrixaffiliate · 5 years

Text

Patient

Chapter Update! FFN and AO3

Thank you to everyone who wanted to see this continue! I'm really touched by your enthusiasm for this little fic. A Hinny wedding will be the end of this baby, and then I think I'll give myself a break from these long Hinny stories and do some short one-shots for a while. ;)

Next chapter goes up July 27th.

Chapter 6

Harry wondered if this is what it felt like to be losing your mind.

In a moment of inspiration, or perhaps weakness, or maybe downright insanity, Harry "borrowed" a ring Gin sometimes wore on her ring finger. Then he took an heirloom ring from Grandma Mia that Ginny had swooned over when he'd pulled it out of one of the boxes, and had it sized to the same as Ginny's ring. Ginny's ring was back in her flat within the day.

But Harry's head and heart had declared war the moment he set Gin's ring back on her dresser.

His head told him he was being ridiculous. He was still working through his grief and wasn't in any place mentally to be a proper husband. Besides, he and Ginny hadn't talked about marriage at all in their time dating, which was less than a year, his head would always remind him. And the only time he'd gained any insight into her thoughts on the matter was finding out at dinner with Nev and Hannah that Ginny hadn't thought about her own wedding. If she hadn't thought about it, then Harry's head told him that she probably wasn't thinking of marrying him either.

But Harry's heart fought back with gorilla warfare. He'd have dreams of Ginny and him together in his new (or more accurately old) home with children that looked like their own running around. His heart would whisper how being with her always lightened the grief and seemed to fill the hole that had been in his chest since the night his family died. When she said she loved him his heart would beat faster and he would feel adrenaline pumping through his system, spurring him to either kiss her or beg her to be his forever.

He was kissing Ginny a lot lately.

What was more, Harry's heart would whisper hope in his ears whenever he thought about her, and that was a lot. Even while his head tried to show him the logical arguments against proposing, his heart murmured quietly about how much he loved her, relied on her, how devoted he was to her, and how time and time again, Ginny had proved her devotion to him too.

And this war between his head and his heart was going to drive Harry mad.

Teddy's wedding probably could have been a great distraction, if Harry's girlfriend wasn't so amazingly proficient. She was mildly stressing over the wedding being perfect, but Harry had never seen such efficiency. He had always thought that the days leading up to a wedding were supposed to be busy, but if anything Teddy seemed to have more time on his hands. Enough so that he managed to move the majority of Harry's things to his new home on his own in a single day. And Vic didn't seem to be any busier.

Ginny had everything under control, and Harry was very much in awe of it all. She even had time to help him unpack and get settled into his new place just days before the wedding.

That was still an odd feeling, living in the home he grew up in but not living in the home he grew up in. Nev assured him with time it would get better, easier, and for now to allow what emotions came to come. Harry had expected to see the echoes of his past any time he looked around the house, as he had when his parents had first passed away. But the past didn't haunt him like it used to.

Not just at his home, but in everything. He felt lighter. He felt like he could breathe. He had hope.

And having Ginny in his home only stoked that fire of hope in his heart.

"I really love how the sunset looks over the trees in the back."

Ginny grinned at him from the blanket he'd laid on the ground. It had been something his parents had done. They'd lay a blanket out on the back lawn and lounge while he played.

"I've missed this," Harry nodded and pulled her closer to him.

"Me or the sunsets?" Gin chuckled and laced her fingers with his.

"I'm going to sound sappy no matter how I answer that question."

"Maybe I want sappy," Ginny looked up at him with a teasing pout and Harry felt his chest tighten before he leaned down and kissed her.

She needed to stop looking at him like that. He was already losing his will to wait to propose till... whenever it was right to propose. But if she kept looking at him that way he was going to beg her to marry him right then and there.

"Alright, sappy," Harry grinned when he pulled back, "how about, I always miss you when we're not together?"

Ginny laughed, "Not too shabby, Potter, but pretty amateur. Are or are you not nearly two years away from being forty? Surely you can do better."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Alright, you asked for it, but I will not be held responsible for any outcome of my sappiness." He took a moment to gather his thoughts before laying it on for all he was worth.

"I've missed the sunsets here; I've missed them because they're a part of my growing up and living in this home. But I've missed most that they were something I counted on. They were constant. And when I left, when I sold it off, that constant in my life became my grief. But now, now my constant is you. So yes, I miss you whenever we're apart because you are my constant, you are who I can count on the way I can count on the sun to set each evening over my back garden. And I want to be who you count on too. I want to be your sunset."

Ginny stared at him with blazing eyes for an intense moment before pulling him down to her, lips finding his, her heart beating against his chest as he moved over her. Harry couldn't help the smirk that pulled on his lips even as he kissed her. His heart whispered that this was exactly the sort of proof to counter all of his head's arguments that a proposal was unprecedented. He was hers. He belonged to her. He should make that blatantly obvious to the world. He loved this woman and would always choose her, no matter the struggles and problems that may come.

That conviction started to take control, and even while Harry's head insisted that he keep kissing her rather than propose to her, Harry's heart started making plans.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy knocked on Harry's door right on time. Vic and Teddy had decided that they would spend their last night before their wedding with their families, rather than in their home.

"How was your stag do last night?" Harry asked as he took Teddy's tux and started up towards the guest room.

"It was great," Teddy grinned, "you should have come."

Harry laughed, "What's the point of being in my late thirties if I can't get out of a party by claiming that I'm too old?"

"You're not old," Teddy threw his duffle bag on the bed as he laughed. "You're more active than half the kids I go to uni with."

"Well, I figured it would be better for your old godfather to just enjoy the evening before your wedding with you rather than try and get a word in edgewise among your mates."

"Last night as bachelors," Teddy followed Harry down the stairs, and Harry was glad to have his face away from his godson because he hoped to join Teddy's ranks as a married man sooner rather than later.

"Are you hungry?" Harry quickly changed the subject.

"I could eat," Teddy shrugged. "What were you thinking?"

"I thought we'd go grab anything you'd like and then bring it back here. Maybe find a match to put on or a movie, whatever you're wanting to do tonight."

Teddy focused his gaze on the counter to his left and didn't look up at Harry, "Whatever I want to do tonight?"

A small part of Harry told him to think before answering, but Harry didn't heed it and nodded at his godson, "Yeah, I figure this is your night."

Teddy looked up and grinned, "Grab your keys."

Harry was lulled into a false sense of security when Teddy took him to a restaurant that had always been a favorite of theirs. But when Harry moved to walk to his car when they finished, Teddy grabbed his arm.

"Whatever I want tonight?"

"Yeah," Harry pulled his keys out of his pocket and went to say more when Teddy cut him off.

"Then come on," he pulled Harry's arm again.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"I want to show you what my stag do was because I think you'll like it." Teddy pulled him further across the parking lot.

Harry looked around, trying to determine what of the surrounding buildings could be Teddy's destination, then Teddy pointed them towards one building in particular.

"You're showing me the laser tag place you went to?"

"No," Teddy's grin reminded Harry of when he used to manage to sneak cookies out of the cupboard. "I'm taking you laser tagging."

"I don't know Teddy," Harry hedged.

"You're not afraid, are you?" Teddy tried to goad him.

"No, I'm not afraid of infrared beams being directed at me."

"You said whatever I want," Teddy pulled the guilt card quickly, which told Harry how important this was to him. He was going right for the heart, and Harry felt his resolve crumbling.

"You really want to go laser tagging, when you already went this week?"

Teddy shook his head, "No, I want to go laser tagging with my godfather."

And that did it. Harry would have been hard-pressed to deny his godson anything in that moment.

"Well, then I guess we'll see who's the better shot."

"Oh, you're on," Teddy grinned.

Harry frequently joked about his age, but walking into the laser tag arena, he quickly felt like he was closer to eighty rather than forty. He was most probably the oldest person there that day. But once the round started, Harry found that his age seemed to give him a slight advantage. He may have been the oldest one there, but he was also the most patient. He didn't try to run around and recreate a video game, but his hiding spot managed to get him more hits than anyone else that round. Teddy seemed to pick up on the idea, and they teamed up on the next round, becoming their own little dynamic duo, and Harry loved it. They played four rounds before Harry reluctantly told Teddy they should probably head home.

"See, it's fun!" Teddy laughed as they climbed in the car.

"I'll admit, I was not expecting it to be fun, let alone that much fun."

Teddy grinned, "We make quite a team, yeah?"

Harry paused and looked at Teddy, swallowing the lump that was quickly forming in his throat. "We really do."

When they finally pulled up to his house, Harry pulled on Teddy's arm. "I have something I want to show you."

Teddy followed Harry through the house and into the back garden but laughed when Harry started climbing up the treehouse ladder. "Are we going to fit in there?"

Harry kept on going, "Of course we are, the Marauders used to use this place while I was at school."

Harry hoisted himself into the treehouse and turned to offer Teddy a hand in.

"I've never been in here," Teddy mused as he looked around.

Harry let out a slow breath, "Actually you have, just once, but you have."

Teddy looked over at him, eyebrows raised, "When?"

Harry moved to the trunk of the tree and knelt next to the spot where he carved Teddy's name. "The night I watched you, I brought you up here and carved your name in the tree."

Teddy joined Harry on the floor and ran his hand over his own name.

"I promised you then that you could come up here whenever you wanted," Harry sighed. "It didn't work out that way, but I'd like to make that promise again. You and Vic are always welcome here, and I hope you'll make time to keep my old arse in your life."

Teddy continued to look at the carving and Harry worried his silence was a bad omen when finally Teddy let out a long slow breath. He looked up at Harry with unshed tears standing in his eyes.

"You're not ever getting rid of me Harry," Teddy gave a wet chuckle, "I'll be around, probably more than you want me to be."

Harry swallowed the tears that threatened to come rushing out and pulled his godson into a hug.

A major consequence of Harry's grief was that he refused to let himself consider Teddy his own. Teddy wasn't really his, he just had the misfortune of ending up with the man responsible for the death of his parents. But now, so far into this process of healing, Harry realized that he did consider Teddy his own. Edward Remus Lupin may not have been his son, but Harry cared for this wonderful young man as if he were. He dedicated his life to taking care of this fellow orphan, and as far as Harry was concerned now, Teddy was as much his son as any future children he may have. And owning that feeling only strengthened it.

"I am so proud of you," Harry said quietly.

"Thank you," Teddy choked, "thank you for being there for me, thank you for being my family."

Harry knew the tears would fall if he even attempted to speak, but his godson deserved to know, regardless of if it made Harry look like a leaky pipe, "Thank you for being my family, I love you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day dawned with text messages and continued with text messages. Harry wondered if Ginny had them all typed out months in advance with preset times for them to send because she seldom responded. But each text told Harry what to do with the groom and groomsmen, where to have them, when to have them there by, and what they all needed to have with them.

Harry's home was base camp for the groomsmen. They all arrived in time for a lunch of take-away pizza and then set up gaming consoles with all of Teddy's favorite games. Harry had to laugh at how fast time seemed to pass as everyone played and shouted and laughed racing around courses and shooting digital bad guys. He was almost surprised when Ginny's text to get dressed and head to the venue arrived. Harry somewhat gratefully shut himself in his bedroom and breathed in the moment of silence. Then he caught sight of a box on his nightstand and began to brood over the war that was still battling within him.

"What should I do with you, my friend?" Harry pulled the ring box into his hand and opened it to gaze down at the old ring. He didn't have many memories of Grandma Mia. She had passed on when he was eight. He didn't actually remember the ring. But he remembered her hugs and the peppermint candy she always kept for him and the sense of excitement anytime she came to visit. Mia had been one of those women who ran full speed right until her time on earth was over. She never slowed down, a lot like Harry imagined Ginny would never slow down either.

The ring caught the late afternoon sun from his window and cast a few small rainbows around the room. Harry didn't really think much about signs but his heart fluttered with excitement all the same...like maybe the ring was answering his question, maybe it was responding, telling him to get a move on.

Harry had thought about it a lot, about proposing at Teddy and Vic's wedding. It felt right, seeing as their wedding was the only reason Harry had met Ginny at all. Harry's head started to object, to throw as much fear of rejection at him as it could, but for the first time, Harry felt calm about it. Harry loved Ginny, he knew he loved her, and he knew that marriage was something he wanted with her. If she didn't want that with him, it would be best to find out now, when they wouldn't be required to see each other for wedding things, when it would be easier to let each other fade into memories. Harry felt his resolve cementing as he slid the ring back into its box and the box into his pocket.

His heart had won the war.

Most of Harry's nerves slipped away as the hustle of getting the groom and his groomsmen to the venue took over. Once they were all there, Harry barely got a kiss out of Ginny as she directed and called out orders.

"You're in charge of making sure I have access to Ted whenever I need him." Ginny pulled away almost as soon as her lips touched his.

"Aye, aye, Captain," He managed to pull a smile from her as he saluted sharply.

"Florist is in the ceremony hall, herd those boys that direction," she pecked him on the lips and was off again.

Harry sighed, he wasn't sure that he would get the chance to propose tonight at all if she was going to be this busy the entire evening. But she'd asked for his help and he was keen to deliver, and with a firm voice and an old man joke, he managed to get Teddy and his mates all into the ceremony hall and flowers distributed among them. Just as he finished that, the photographer walked in with direction from Ginny to start on the pictures of the groomsmen and the groom's family. Harry hadn't had his picture taken since before his family had perished aside from quick shots Teddy would snap with his phone from time to time, and the process felt very strange to him. On more than one occasion the photographer actually grabbed his face to point it the way they wanted. But just as Harry was ready to say something, his phone buzzed with Ginny's text to tell him it was time to grab Ted and the photographer and come to the gazebo in the gardens.

"What are we doing?" Teddy asked as they left his groomsmen behind.

Harry shrugged, "Following Gin's orders."

The photographer positioned Teddy to stand in a specific place and then politely but firmly asked Harry to stand very far back. Harry remembered to breathe deeply and not ruin his godson's wedding before it had even started. He was focusing on some of the breathing that Nev had taught him when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The photographer had placed Ted's back to the entrance to the gazebo and was taking pictures, and Harry finally saw the purpose behind that.

Vic was walking towards him.

She was radiant and stunning in a way that reminded Harry of Remus and Tonks' wedding. And Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the memory didn't overwhelm him. It felt more like an old friend than a knife wound now. Then the photographer told Teddy to stay just as he was before moving to get the shot that Harry could see had been the point of this whole situation. Harry smiled as the photographer asked Teddy to turn around.

Teddy's eyes fell on Vic who was now only ten feet away from him, her wedding dress draped behind her and her hair was piled on top of her head with a tiara that Harry had been told her mother wore at her wedding. Teddy's smile lit up his face as he stepped down all three gazebo steps at once and crossed the ten feet to his bride in two nearly leaping strides. Harry smiled as he watched the young couple kiss, and chuckled when Vic pulled away too quickly for Teddy's liking.

"We have to take pictures," she laughed when Teddy moved to kiss her again. "You can mess up my makeup after you say 'I do' not before."

Teddy groaned and ran his hands around her waist. "Alright, pictures, ceremony, and then I want to kiss you till all of this makeup comes off."

Vic blushed beautifully and the photographer snapped a picture.

"He didn't ruin your makeup," they said, "so let's have you two come up into the gazebo."

Harry smiled as he watched the photographer position the couple and allowed his thoughts to wander to what Ginny may want if she were to marry him. It was a rather entertaining game, thinking up what a wedding coordinator would want at their own wedding. Harry realized quickly that he wasn't very good at the game. Aside from feeling pretty sure she would want it to be small, he wasn't sure about anything else. He knew about the details of most of the weddings she'd coordinated, from completely posh for some minor aristocrats to helping an American girl recreate what she called a "backyard barbeque," Ginny had coordinated just about everything Harry could think of, but none of it felt like her. Maybe she wouldn't want a traditional wedding? Maybe she would want a small destination wedding? Maybe she'd want to get married on a beach at sunset? Or on a mountain top at sunrise? Maybe she would just want to sign the paperwork and have a dinner?

"Deep thoughts, Mr. Potter?"

Harry smiled as Ginny wrapped her arms around his middle, blazing brown eyes staring up at him.

"Just thinking about you," he pulled her closer and kissed her lips, sighing when she deepened the kiss instead of pulling away immediately as she had when he first arrived.

"Did you like Vic's surprise?" Ginny murmured as Harry continued to kiss her.

Harry hummed, intent on not breaking the private bubble he had been imagining was around them, keeping the rest of the world out.

"Harry," Ginny laughed and pulled away.

Harry sighed, "It was pretty special, but isn't there a thing about not seeing the bride until the ceremony?"

"When have you ever known Vic to let tradition get in the way of what she wants?" Ginny chuckled. "Yeah there's a thing, and Vic decided that it was rubbish to her and planned everything out with the photographer."

"It was brilliant," Harry pulled Gin closer, resting his hands on the small of her back, "I think Teddy was ready to take her away right then."

Ginny grinned, "Then it went exactly as Vic hoped it would. Now, if you'll excuse me, we're going to do the bride's family pictures now."

She reached up and kissed him before pushing away and walking towards the spot Vic and Ted were. It wasn't until she was a few feet away that Harry realized how good his imaginary bubble had been. He felt like he was suddenly surrounded by a sea of Weasleys.

And he loved it.

Kids were running every direction, all the adults stopped a moment to talk to him before trying to herd the group into the enormous family picture. After a few moments, the photographer motioned Harry over.

Harry felt a pain of sadness that he was the only one there to stand for Teddy. But he felt a bit of strength from the number of people who surrounded and loved his godson in that moment. Yes, he was all Teddy had left from his parents and the Marauders, but Teddy was not lacking in family now.

He was enveloped by it.

The whirl of family pictures was quickly over and Ginny was barking orders for everyone to get to their seats while Fleur ushered Vic back inside the venue to touch up her makeup and hair. And for the first time that entire day, Teddy looked a touch unsure.

"Nervous?" Harry put a comforting hand on Teddy's shoulder and led him away from the Weasley clan.

Teddy chuckled, "A bit. I'm suddenly realizing that I'm marrying my childhood sweetheart and that she might just wake up one morning and realize how much she's settling."

"You know," Harry smiled as he led them into the venue, "you're dad said basically the same thing on his wedding day."

Teddy looked over at him eagerly, "Yeah?"

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, and Dad and Sirius told him he was right, but that they had managed to keep their wives and he was a right side better than the two of them so he should have it in the bag."

"Oh man," Teddy laughed, "I can't imagine that helped him at all!"

"It made him laugh," Harry smiled as he remembered the way all four of them had laughed as they dressed in their suits. "But I think Dad and Sirius had a point, Mum and Marlene and your mum were all pretty amazing women, but they loved their husbands, and as long as you continue loving Vic as you change and grow together, I think you'll find it easier than you think to keep her around, you may even find that she wants to stay." Harry nudged Teddy with his elbow.

Teddy stopped them before they walked into the ceremony hall and pulled Harry into a hug. Harry found himself being pulled right back into those moments so very long ago when the small six-year-old boy would wrap his arms around Harry's legs or clasp him around the neck and hold on for dear life. Harry felt like he was holding on for dear life in that moment. Little Teddy was no longer little, the baby that had been thrust into his care was now a man, marrying the love of his life, and moving on to that next stage of life.

"Would Ginny kill me if you stood up with me?" Teddy asked as he let his arms fall from Harry's back.

"I thought Xander was your best man?" Harry shamelessly swiped at the unshed tears in his eyes.

Teddy nodded, "He is, but it's not like we have a whole lot of people on our side to sit with you, Ginny deliberately isn't doing a groom's side and bride's side because of it, so…"

"Yes," Harry clasped his godson on the shoulder, "I'll pay for whatever trouble it causes. I'll stand up with you."

Harry was certain that if they'd been outside Teddy's grin could have been seen from space.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It turned out that Harry standing up with Teddy only made Ginny cry, and didn't result in any homicidal feelings on her end. Harry somehow managed not to cry through the whole ceremony, just the end, when Teddy officially moved on to that next step in his life that truly left Harry behind. But while part of him mourned the way time had slid through his fingers, a larger part felt excited and proud and happy that Teddy's life was able to move forward without the chaos and hardship that had been Harry's norm at that age.

Ginny directed everyone into the smaller reception area for dinner, where Harry had hoped to sit with her, but there were several things to coordinate and Harry ended up with Teddy on his left and an empty place on his right.

That apparently was the theme for the evening.

At every point Harry had hoped to have Ginny with him, he found himself on his own. When the reception finally started with the Father-Daughter dance Harry stood with Teddy as they watched Bill and Vic spin elegantly around the room.

"Did you know your mum was a rather poor dancer?" Harry whispered.

Teddy raised his eyebrows at Harry, "What?"

"She stepped all over your dad's feet on their first dance and tripped over her own a couple of times. Your dad just smiled like it was the best thing in the world and held her up."

Teddy covered his mouth with his hand as he laughed. "Thanks, I needed that."

Harry grinned, "Just hope Vic holds you up."

Teddy stepped on his foot.

Once Teddy was safely in the arms of his new wife, Harry faded back towards the exit.

He was running out of time and he was running out of patience faster.

After scouring the venue he stepped outside and finally found Ginny sitting on one of the benches watching the sun as it finally sank below the horizon.

"Wonder Woman in the flesh," he slid onto the bench with her.

"It's beautiful," Ginny sighed, "I had to stop, just for a moment."

"It's constant, dependable, even if we can't see it or feel it, it's there." Harry pulled Ginny into him and smiled when she sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I love that."

"I love you," Harry took a long slow breath. It was now or never.

"Do you remember when I told you about the sunsets in my back garden, and how you're my new constant?"

Ginny hummed and nodded her head against him.

"I was serious when I said I want to be your sunset."

Ginny became very still for a moment before slowly moving her head to look up at him. Harry pulled the box from his pocket and slid down to kneel in front of her, the last rays of sunshine disappearing behind his back.

"I know I'm not whole, and I know that I'm sort of a lot to take on, but I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you and falling in love with you each day as we grow and change and learn to be whole together." Harry's hand trembled ever so slightly as he opened the box. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, will you do me the honour of letting me be yours forever?"

Ginny fell into his arms as she laughed and kissed him again and again and again.

"I'm considering this a yes," Harry murmured against her lips.

"Of course it's a yes!" Ginny laughed, and Harry had never been so happy and relieved to hear Ginny laughing in all his life.

#Patient #hinny #hinny fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #harry x ginny #harry potter x ginny weasley #harry potter #ginny weasley #tedoire #teddy x victoire #wedding coordinator au #wedding planner au #tedoire wedding #hinny engagement #this chapter is fluffy family feels and fluffy tedoire and fluffy hinny #i promise things get lighter from this point forward

14 notes · View notes