The living room was lit purely with artificial light, the fire was burning away and the lights were turned on diminishing the shadows cast by the fire. Bright blue curtains were pulled over the window, blocking out the wind, the rain and the darkness.

It was well past midnight, in a few hours the sun would be rising. Ron sat hunched over the dining table, which was unrecognisable as parchment was sprawled over it, covering every inch of the wooden surface. His wand lay forgotten by his left arm, his eyes scanning the parchment, occasionally rifling through them to find a particular one. But apart from that the only sound was the scratching of the quill and the crackling on the fire.

The clock chimed 3 am, although its' chiming barely penetrating Ron's mind. He was nose deep in paper work and he wasn't even half done. He had already sacrificed his entire week working nonstop, while parchment after parchment accumulated on his desk.

"Come to bed." Hermione said from the bottom of the staircase, her hair was bushier than usual and she wore a tired expression on her face.

"Soon." Ron answered not looking up, but continuing to write at an increasing pace.

Hermione sighed, folded her arms and slowly approached the fire. She wasn't warm enough in one of Ron's tee-shirts which she became accustomed to wearing when he was out late for work. They smelt like him and it made him feel close.

"You said that at 11." Hermione muttered, crouching down and warming her hands.

"So.." Ron said distractedly as he hunted through the pile for a piece of parchment.

"That was four hours ago!" Hermione exclaimed as she straightened up.

"Bloody hell." Ron muttered, looking up finally.

He turned to look at the clock behind him, his surprise furthering as he found out it was indeed 3 am. Then he turned to Hermione, who was standing in front of the fire, her arms crossed, with large bags under her eyes.

"You need to get some sleep." Ron said, turning back to the table.

"So do you!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I'm not even tired, you look exhausted." Ron said. He dipped his quill in the ink before grabbing a fresh piece of parchment numbering the corner and beginning to write.

"I don't sleep well when you aren't here." Hermione stood behind Ron now, draping her arms around his neck before kissing him on the cheek. "How much more do you have to go?" She whispered into his ear.

"A lot. I was gone for a week." Ron said, pulling away from Hermione as he continued to write.

Hermione stepped back and looked at him incredulously.

"Really? That's news to me." Hermione almost yelled, her face growing red.

Ron rose from his seat, and took a step towards Hermione. Wrapping his arms around her waist, she pulled him close to him. Moving one of his hands up to her face, he traced her jaw before pushing a piece of hair behind her hair.

"I missed you." Ron whispered. She could feel his hot breath against her skin and his heart beat pulsating through her hand that rested on his chest.

"I missed you too." Hermione whispered. His lips found hers, pulling her into a passionate kiss, their tongues battling in their mouths, their hands exploring each other's bodies after 7 days of separation.

To Hermione's disappointment Ron tore his lips from hers after only a few minutes, and turned back to his work, flopped himself down on the chair before resuming his writing.

Hermione sighed, this was not what she had in mind for his first night back. Even though she was at work most of the day, coming home to an empty house night after night wasn't something she enjoyed doing. She missed his smile, his laugh, his touch, his voice, his lips on hers.

Happy as she was that he loved what he was doing, she couldn't stand the danger he was on every day and she especially despised the missions. Some lasted a few hours, others a few days. His longest one yet had been 9 days, which ended only two days before he left for another 5 days.

What she hated most was not knowing how long they would be, there was no way for Ron to contact her, so she just had to wait.

Today at work he had come back during lunch, they shared a hug and a passionate kiss before she was pulled away to a meeting. She came home before him, thinking that he would already be home. She searched the house before taking a bath. By the time she got out he was downstairs, buried in paperwork. But that was hours ago now, he even missed dinner before she gave up and went to bed, after he promised that he would be up soon.

"Come to bed." Hermione repeated as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I have to finish this." Ron replied, not slowing down, his quill racing across the page.

"Ron…" Hermione moaned into his ear, sending shivers down his spines, he missed her voice, her touch and how he could make him feel among other things.

"Who would've thought you would be persuading me to stop working." Ron said, ignoring the goosebumps covering his body.

"Things change." Hermione whispered, breathing him in. his shirt wasn't enough of him, it had lost its scent over the past week.

"The sooner I finish it…" Ron started, attempting to remain firm.

"The sooner you start more work. It's never ending sometimes." Hermione grumbled, she hated how hard they both had to work, it meant they had less time together.

"Hermione.." Ron whispered. As Hermione's hand wandered beneath his shirt he took a sharp intake of breath.

"Why don't you take a break?" Hermione whispered into his ear, her arms still wrapped tightly around him, as she ran her fingers slowly up his chest.

"I can't" Ron said, trying desperately to focus on his work. He didn't have time to be distracted.

"I've heard that physical activity can stimulate the brain. It can clear it." Hermione nibbled on his ear as she spoke.

"Does it?" Ron said, his eyes still looking down but he was steadily losing his resolve.

"Uh huh." Hermione nodded against him. Lightly kissing down his neck she paused at his collar bone and sucked before she whispered, "I know what you can do.."

"What's that?" Ron said, closing his eyes, focussing on breathing in and out.

"Me." Hermione whispered, her fingers trailing down to the top of his jeans.

Ron strained to keep his attention on the mountain of work he still had to finish, but this became increasingly difficult as Hermione played with the buckle on his belt.

"Bloody hell." Ron said as he opened his eyes, stood up swiftly and turned to face Hermione. A brief smile flickered on her face, as she knew she had convinced him. Bending down he swept his arm underneath her leg and picked her up in one smooth motion.

"Finally!" Hermione exclaimed kissing him as he carried her up the staircase.

Ron nudged the door open with his foot before he strode in and sat Hermione on the bed, pulling his shirt off her immediately. Hermione hurriedly undid his belt and pulled his jeans and briefs down as he ripped his top off.

"Bloody hell." Hermione muttered, breathing in sharply. His body was covered in a whole new layer of cuts, bruises and general abrasions, but more impressively, his body had become more muscular since she had last seen him, and she chose to focus on that.

Reaching her hands out she grasped his neck and pulled him down on top of her, wrapping her legs around him as she kissed him.

Hope that you liked this :)
I was going to have a bigger gap between chapters, but I couldn't wait to update.
Please review I love knowing what you think…
Also I am currently writing a multi-chapter christmas drabble for Romione so keep an eye for that, early December :)