Disclaimer: I don't own Ron, Hermione, or the song Chasing Cars.
Two days. For two whole days the war had been over. I'd spent it with my family, celebrating the end of the fighting and grieving our numerous losses. The hardest hit for us had been the death of my brother, Fred. The loss was so overwhelming that it almost didn't seem real. It seemed as though at any moment, Fred was going to walk through the door and ask us why we were crying on such a gorgeous day. I suppose I was still in the denial stage. I refused to believe that he was gone forever. Even thinking about him made me want to sob, and that's certainly saying something for me.
But I still thought about him. All the time, in fact. But I normally did it alone, out in the clearing by the lake. I'd watch the water and think about life, and death, for hours on end. No one had interrupted me, until this particular evening. In fact, on this evening, the stars were already beginning to show themselves as the sun set beyond the horizon. As I watched the glistening of these fireballs in the sky, wondering whether Fred was up there somewhere too, I heard the rustling of leaves behind me. "Ron?"
I had been prepared to tell the leave rustler to go away until I heard her voice. That tiny, timid voice was the only one I was ready to let in. After all, I hadn't given her quite enough attention since the war had ended. "Hey, Hermione." It wasn't until after I spoke those words that I realized they came out in a choked voice. I cleared my throat, then added: "You can sit with me, you know."
She sat down without a word. After a moment, she started to speak: "Ron, I'm really sorry about everything that happened and that I haven't really been there for you, but I don't know if anything changed with us and I'm not even part of your family and I just don't-"
"Hermione," I silenced her, realizing that she'd been holding these insecurities inside for the past two days and that she would possibly break down if I didn't interrupt, "Don't worry about it. It's partially my fault too, okay? Can't we just, I dunno, forget about it all for a couple moments?"
"Forget it all? But Ron, you've just been through-"
I raised my voice slightly: "Hermione, I know, alright? But I don't particularly want to talk about it yet."
She looked very awkward as she said, standing up, "Alright. I can just...go, I guess..."
No, no, that's not what I wanted! I caught her hand before she could walk away. "No, stay. I want you to stay. But can we just...sit?"
"You could sit on your own. You don't really need me here." But nevertheless she was beginning to take her seat next to me again. I still hadn't let go of her hand.
"Yeah, I do. I need you."
I looked straight into her eyes and tried to convey all the emotion I felt for her; how much I loved her, how much I really did need her right then. And I may have been mistaken, but I saw care and compassion in her eyes as well. And maybe I was just dreaming, but I could have sworn I heard her say: "I need you, too."
So we spent the next hour or so together. Not doing anything in particular. We lay on the ground, my arms wrapped around her, her head laying on my chest. I kissed her head every once in awhile, to show her how much I appreciated her just being with me. A couple of times, she would turn her head so that she could kiss me on the mouth. I can honestly say that just laying there with her and forgetting everything for awhile was the best way I could've filled that hour. And I will never forget the words we exchanged just before we got up to go back inside: "I love you."
A/N: Wow, that was way longer than the last few! I hope you like it. It's a lot like my one shot, Three Little Words, but I still think it's different enough to count as a "chapter" of this fic. Anyways, love you all and please keep reviewing!