It takes her a moment to fully wake up, to process it all.
Yesterday...or was it this morning ? Does it matter ? Not really. They accomplished their goal, the one they've been building up to for months, for years really. Voldemort is dead. Harry lived. As optimistic as she could be, she barely tried to put her hopes on Harry making it out alive. She thought she'd die in the battle. She feared Ron would have crumbled under a deathly spell. She never dared to dream of the three of them surviving this war. They are broken, but they are alive. They can rebuilt and look ahead to their future now that they had one.
She feels his breath on her face and slowly opens her eyes to look at him. Ron. They fell asleep on a random bed in the Gryffondor dormitories, hours ago, their body tangled up in each other. He's still asleep, releasing deep peaceful breaths. Their heads are inches apart and she can study him without fearing his questioning look. Her eyes travel on his face. She wants very much to kiss every freckles on his nose, to stare endlessly at his long eyelashes only to get lost in the blue pool of his eyes once his eyelids open...her eyes travel lower to his lips. She can't resist tracing the outline of his mouth, her fingers brushing the soft edges of his lips. He stirs, she removes her hand quickly, holds her breath and watches him opens his eyes in confusion.
"Hey" she softly murmurs.
"Hey" he replies as quietly.
They look at each other and she sees his eyes smiling at her despite the deep sorrow he's trying to preserve away from her. He lifts his hand to her head and she feels the lightest caress of his thumb on her cheekbone, the warmth of his hand millimetres from her jaw.
She feels her heart beat faster than ever before. His eyes bore into hers and she suddenly needs to remember how to breathe. Her hand is shaking but she doesn't seem to care as she grab his to bring his palm against her mouth, kissing it softly. She's still looking at him as he closes his eyes and release a shaky sigh. He brings his forehead to hers, and at last, she closes her eyes too, letting the warmth of their tangled bodies envelop her.
"I love you"
He barely spoke the words but she hears them nonetheless. She draws back slightly to look him in the eyes again. He's looking at her conveying more love than she ever seen in him before and she knows she didn't just dreamt those words. She replies before she even realised she has.
"I love you too"
He releases a breath she didn't know he was holding and she tries to swallow away the tears she feels in her eyes. This is finally it. She has wanted him for so long now that she has troubles remembering a time when she didn't love him. They have so much more to figure out about themselves. They grew up too fast, went to hell and back, lost more than their childhood along the way. Yet, knowing that they'll be together to continue this journey that is their lives, makes every nightmares they'll have, every tears they'll shed over loved ones lost forever, much more bearable.
She curls her lips in a slow smile and finds that lopsided grin she loves so much, making its way on his face before he bends down to kiss her.
Ronald Weasley is snogging her.
Her brain can't seem to process it and she doesn't even try to. Her hands find his hair and she lets herself being lost in their second kiss.
"We should get up" she suggest reluctantly when his lips leave hers to find her neck. She hears herself moan in approval.
"Yes we should" he tells her, inching his lips back closer to hers, not meaning any word he just uttered.
She lets him kiss her for a little longer, for once she knows that the hard reality of their achieving journey left a world to rebuilt, a world that she wants to built with him.