Could it really have been this easy all along? Or maybe they had to take that winding road to get to this.

Ron couldn't say.

All he knew was now that Hermione was his-unequivocally his-he wouldn't trade a single moment of their journey. It was theirs, after all, and in the quiet hours of the morning, wrestled together beneath the covers of their bed, everything made sense.

Hermione sighed in her sleep, pulling herself closer to him so that her body lay flush against his. It was sinfully sweet, he decided, how perfect she melted into him. Her every inch and every curve felt like a puzzle piece finally matched to his own. How had he never noticed it before? Doubt, most likely, kept any such thought from ever revealing itself to him, but now, it's all he could think about.

With Hermione, things were potent. Every particle in the air felt sweeter, somehow. Every fiber of his clothes would press against his skin, each thread revealing itself to him. Hermione had always been a part of his life, sure, but now that she was his life, he couldn't help but see everything with new clarity.

It was as if her love opened his mind to all these possibilities.

The sun wasn't up just yet, but the room still danced in the mid-morning glow. Shadows played across the room like rolling hills. He could just make out the pile of Hermione's books atop her nightstand and the chess game they began the night before still abandoned on the floor.

She would be leaving for work soon, he knew, once her alarm clock rang out and signalled the start of a new day. It would be their first morning in their new home though, so that was something to think about. Something to make this morning last just a little longer.

"What're you thinking?" Hermione's words tickled at his neck.

He pulled back from her embrace, allowing himself to look into her eyes. She blinked back the last of her sleep, both hazelnut orbs peering up at him through dark lashes. Ron's stomach fluttered. Could this really be his life?

"Didn't mean to wake you," he wrapped an arm around her waist, letting his hand rest against the bare skin of her back. Her shirt must have slipped upward in the night, because he could feel the smoothness of her stomach pressed against his own. He had to hold back the shiver running up his spine.

"You didn't," she smiled, returning her head to the crook of his neck. Her bushy brown hair tickling against his chest. Ron shifted.

"Sorry," she murmured, her voice still heavy with sleep. "It's a mess in the morning."

"I like it," he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I like you."

He could feel her smiling against his chest, could imagine the way her nose crinkled in delight.

"I like your skin," she said, planting a soft kiss against his collarbone.

Merlin, his brain melted to jelly when she did things like that.

He whispered back, "My skin?"

"Mhmmm," and she kissed him again on his collarbone, a little open-mouthed peck that made his toes curl. Her lips moved to his neck, the crook of his jaw. When her lips finally found his own, Hermione had pulled him on top of her. Ron kissed her slowly, sweetly, letting her take the lead. She placed her hands against his bare back, rubbing circles along the freckled skin.

"I like how smooth you are," she said between languid kisses that made his whole body heat. Her hands moved around to his chest.

Ron propped himself up on an elbow, breaking the link between their lips and giving Hermione access to continue.

"I like the way your skin pulls taught over your shoulders, the way it feels to run my hands down your chest. Like marble," she ran her fingertips over him as she spoke, slowly. Tantalizingly. There was a glint of fire burning in her eyes, and Ron watched with anticipation as her hands continued downward, each gentle brush of her fingers igniting him.

Then her eyes locked onto his, the fire replaced with just a hint of mirth.

"I like your belly button."

In one quick movement, Hermione slipped her finger into his navel. Ron jerked back, laughing. He pulled his free hand away from her waist and blocked her from entering his belly button again.

"You tease," he grinned, looking down into her mischief-riddled eyes.

"Told you I'd get you back for last night," she giggled, attempting to pull him close to her again.

"No way," he laughed. "I can't trust those hands after that little stunt!"

"What?" she said, a coy smile playing at her lips. "Of course, you can trust me."

"Oh, really?"

She bit her lip, her eyes still dancing. "Of course…"

Her scream echoed through the halls of their home. Ron attacked her with tickles and kisses, poking her in the sides until she laughed so hard, tears were streaming down her face.

"Okay, okay," she gasped. "You win!"

Ron collapsed in the bed beside her, his arm now draped across her stomach, a hint of a smile still playing at his lips. Hermione turned to look at him.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too."

A/N: Written for the QLFC Daily Prophet challenge Here a Drabble, There a Drabble...

Chudley Cannons Captain

Written for the fluff category.

885 words