Author's Note: This was so fluffy that writing it physically pained me at points. You have been warned.
"Ron?" Hermione called, walking into the dark common room.
"'Mione," Ron said, looking up at her.
"What are you still doing up? It's nearly three am," Hermione commented, lowering herself next to him on the couch.
"Couldn't sleep," he replied, smiling as she sat down.
"Do you feel alright?" She asked, frowning and looking closely at the dark circles under his eyes.
"Not particularly," he said with a sad smile.
Hermione placed a small, slightly cold hand on his forehead and frowned deeper, her forehead wrinkling as her eyebrows bunched together. "Your forehead doesn't feel too warm. What's wrong?"
"I just feel sad, generally. Everyone has more important things to spend time on than me lately," he muttered, blushing shyly.
Hermione's eyes widened then narrowed in confusion. "Ron what are you talking about? You're my best friend. There's not much more important than you these days." She murmured, reaching out to grasp his hand reassuringly
He frowned, looking away. "You're focused on your schoolwork, Harry is focused on, well, everything. This is the first time you've said more than 4 words to me in days, you know," he said quietly.
Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her limp, slightly dirty hair. "I suppose I have been a bit preoccupied lately haven't I? I'm sorry, Ron. I really am. But you shouldn't feel like that means you can't come find me and talk to me if you need to. You rank quite high above school in my book," she added quietly.
"I do?" he asked, looking at her with a slight smile.
"Yeah," she returned the smile for a moment before her frown returned. "Ron, I'm really sorry about everything."
"Oh, don't worry about it," he said, shaking his head.
"No, really," she persisted. "I've acted like a right knob. I've been ignoring everyone. Even Crookshanks is upset with me. I just..." she trailed off.
"What?" he asked, glancing at her curiously.
"I just feel really badly when I'm not at the top of the class... but I feel worse when I start disassociating with all my friends. Like I've really missed you the past few days but I felt so committed to being the best..." Her eyes welled up at her guilt.
"Oh, Hermione. We understand. I know that you want to be the best at your schoolwork. I understand," he reassured her, squeezing her hand.
"But.." She went on, growing more and more frustrated. "I want to be with you and Harry and I feel so bad at having ignored you. I should have known you were sad. I feel like this is all my fault." Tears began rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so, so bloody sorry, Ron."
He shook his head quickly and wrapped his arms around her. "No, no, no, 'Mione. This isn't your fault. Please don't think that," he whispered softly.
"I just want to be there for you," she mumbled, burying her face into his shoulder.
He rubbed her back softly. "You're here for me now," he replied.
She laughed softly through the tears. "I suppose I am," she replied, clutching him closer.
He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head gently.
"I really have missed you, Ron," Hermione began, "But you probably don't want to be kissing my hair. I haven't showered in two days and I'm pretty sure there's still cheerios from this morning tangled in there." She laughed, pulling away slightly and wiping her nose.
"I don't mind," he said, chuckling. "I've missed you, too."
Hermione leaned in and pressed her lips to Ron's suddenly, without realizing what she was doing. She pulled back quickly and covered her mouth, shocked at what she had just done.
Ron looked at her with wide eyes, a smile creeping into his face. "Bloody hell," he whispered in shock.
"I, uh, I- I'm sorry- I mean- I, uh," Hermione stammered, still wide eyed and aghast at herself.
Ron shook his head, smiling.
"I'm sorry," she squeaked, covering her face
"Don't apologize," he said, smiling. "That was my favorite thing you've ever done," he added, laughing.
"Really?" She asked, peering out from between her fingers, still blushing a deep red.
"Absolutely," he answered, still smiling at her.
She slowly removed her hands from her face and brought them down into his open palms. "Maybe... maybe I could do it again?" She proposed timidly.
"I would like that," he whispered, locking his eyes on hers.
She smiled slightly and leaned in, closing her eyes as she felt her lips crash into Ron's and a laugh bubble up between them. She felt completely euphoric and kissed him harder, throwing her arms around his neck and toppling them both onto the floor.
He smiled against her lips and pulled her closer to him, pressing his lips hard against hers.
She pressed every inch of her body against his. She felt like she just couldn't get close enough to him
He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly, kissing her harder.
She tangled her fingers in his hair and transformed the kiss into a series of pecks from his mouth to his jaw and neck, grazing her teeth lightly on his collarbone before rising back up to his mouth.
He moaned softly and let his hands wander around her back.
She suddenly broke off the kiss and rolled off Ron, laughing and gasping for breath. "That tickles," she said in between loud bouts of laughter.
He laughed deeply, sitting up. "Thank you for coming down here, Hermione," he said, smiling at her.
She smiled back and kissed him once more, briefly, before pressing her forehead against his. "I love you," she murmured.
He placed one hand on the small of her back, grinning boyishly. "Bloody hell."