(Author's Note: This is another M chapter...you know if you're uncomfortable with reading it or are too young for it...if so, skip ahead please...carrytheotter)

Chapter 26: The Start of Their Week Together

Thinking back on it, Hermione had been thrilled with Ron's reaction when she'd asked him about her mum's request to take Hugo on the planned trip for the Easter holiday. It hadn't really occurred to him to think about time alone for the two of them. Instead, his first thought had been of how Hugo would handle it, especially with his nightmares. He and Hugo then talked about Ron being available by facetime and phone, and that he could apparate to Hugo if he needed it, as well as Ron sending some dreamless sleep potion for the trip with Mrs. Granger. Hugo and Rose were thrilled to also learn they would be back in time for Easter Dinner at The Burrow, where they would see Lilly and Al, but also get to play with the kids who would be home from Hogwarts on break.

The four of them had been sitting at the kitchen table in Hugo and Ron's house when the kids were nattering away about the trip. Rose had made a comment to Hugo about feeling sorry for Hermione and Ron for not getting to go since they would be bored at home all alone when Hermione saw the light bulb click on in Ron's eyes. His expression was priceless, and she was thrilled to have witnessed it. She had been watching him look back and forth between Hugo and Rose as if he was watching a tennis match. But, at Rose's comment, his eyebrows shot up, and his head snapped back. A second later he shot his eyes over to Hermione's face and broke into a lopsided grin. Hermione gave him a laugh back.

Later as the kids were carrying the dirty dishes up to the counter, she leaned over and quickly whispered in his ear, "I was wondering when you were going to figure that out." He laughed, with his ears turning beet red as she messed with his hair before she carried her own plate up.

They'd only been able to steal a few kisses here and there since their date, so the idea of an entire week together was almost hard for Ron to picture. But in the weeks leading up to the holiday, he was doing his best to imagine it. He wasn't quite sure what Hermione wanted to do with their time together. They both had to work the whole week, but they would at least have most of a weekend together before then.

As much as he was looking forward to some time with Hermione, he had mixed feelings about being apart from Hugo for a whole week. There had not been a night since the accident when Hugo hadn't woken up in a nightmare needing Ron's comfort. And, while he yearned for a full night's sleep, he had grown to love being there for this little boy whose heart had been so broken. He didn't think he could have loved Hugo anymore if he'd raised him from the day he was born. So, to send this little piece of his heart off with the Grangers was harder than he had anticipated.

The Saturday of the trip arrived, and Hugo was up before the sun bouncing in excitement. Ron had carefully bottled 7 individual pediatric doses of dreamless sleep potion for Mrs. Granger to give Hugo at bedtime. And he'd drilled into Hugo's head that he could call anytime, and Ron could apparate and be there. But Hugo kept insisting that he was a big kid and he was going to be fine but would absolutely call Ron each night. And he made Ron promise not to read ahead in the latest Roald Dahl book they had started. When they had the kids packed into the back of the Granger's car, and Ron had triple checked that Hugo had Simon the bear and Mrs. Granger had the potions, he hugged both kids and kissed Hugo one last time. Finally, he shut the car doors and waved as they pulled out of the drive and down the street. He was surprised at how emotional he was watching Hugo go.

Hermione walked up behind Ron, wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly. "It's hard the first time you watch them leave the nest. But you did a fantastic job. It is only because you have been such an amazing parent to him these past few months that he feels safe enough and strong enough and loved enough to stretch his wings and do this."

"I didn't think it would be so hard to watch him go today."

"I know. It's like being sucker punched. There is a lot of that in parenting in my experience."

"It's not that I'm not excited about spending the week with you," he said as he turned to face her suddenly worried he'd screwed up.

"Ron," she laughed, "I get it. You don't have to explain it to me. I'm sad to be apart from Rose too. It's just not my first time experiencing it. Trust me, I understand. That girl is my life. Has been for a decade. And this week is like a scary preview of my life come September."

Ron wrapped his arms around her, and they held each other for a while in the driveway. "I was not prepared for how much of your heart goes with them," he confessed. "I really didn't get it until today. I'm sorry. I really underestimated what Rose going to Hogwarts would mean for you. This was hard this morning. And I've only been at this a few months." He kissed her forehead as she held him tighter.

Hermione finally said, "Well, we can't be mopey the whole time they're gone. Let's go do something fun today. It's still early this morning, any ideas?

After thinking a moment, Ron said "You know, I have never played tourist in London before. I mean, I've worked there for years, but let's go pretend we're on holiday from somewhere else."

Hermione laughed. "Should I put a camera around my neck to look like a tourist?"

"If you must," he joked.

"I'll pass on the camera strap. But, I love the tourist idea. Let's go poke around Covent Garden this morning. We'll see what there is to see at the market, pick up some lunch and go from there."

"Perfect."

After their day traipsing around London, they were both tired. Ron asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner, but Hermione said she'd rather pick up a few things and make soup and sandwiches at home. They were thrilled to get a call from the kids, who were having a grand time settling into their vacation cottage in the countryside. When they hung up, Hermione kicked her shoes off and put her feet up on Ron's lap.

"It was a good day," she declared with a smile.

"I agree," he said as he started to rub her feet.

"Oooh, even better day," she sighed. "If the whole chasing down dark wizards thing doesn't pan out for you, you've got a real future in foot massage."

He laughed and kept massaging her tired tourist feet.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?"

She thought about this for a minute, not wanting to admit what actually came to her mind. "Maybe a slow morning is in order after today."

"Maybe I'll fetch pastries on my way over," Ron suggested.

"Actually," Hermione said as she bit at her lower lip, "I was sorta thinking maybe you could stay here tonight."

Ron looked at her, trying to read her face to better understand what she had meant. Unable to read her, he said slowly, "I am sorta thinking I like that idea."

"Yeah? Maybe I just want you to stay so you'll keep rubbing my feet."

"I'd be ok with that," he said with a smile.

"You would be, Mr. Too-Good-To-Be-True."

"That's a new one," Ron laughed. "Best not let my sister hear you call me that."

"Oh Ginny doesn't scare me."

"Really? She scares me."

"You probably tormented her growing up. She's just still extracting penance."

"Possibly. But I admit nothing."

"Right, as a solicitor, my professional advice would be to stick with that tactic."

"Sorted," he nodded, smiling.

"Back to the other conversation," she said blushing. "I was thinking you might just stay here while they are gone. But, only if you want to. I mean, I don't want to assume…"

"Hermione," he interrupted her. "Are you mad? Of course I want to. I just don't want to push things faster than you are comfortable with. I love you. And, whatever pace you want, then that's what we'll do. But, yeah – I definitely want to spent as much waking time, and sleeping time for that matter, with you while we have the chance."

She smiled, relieved he was on the same page as her for the week. She was still slightly anxious about the evening, as she was still unsure of how far she felt comfortable going with him sexually. Fighting her instinct to plan out everything ahead of time, she decided to try to just live in the moment and decide things when the time came.

Ron tried to read her face. Decades of auror training had enabled him to often gain more understanding from someone's body language than from their words, but Hermione remained a mystery to him in many ways, which is perhaps one of the reasons he was so captivated. She clearly wanted him to stay, but he could feel her continuing tension about it and couldn't figure out exactly what she wanted.

"How about this," he offered. "Let's clean up dinner and then why don't I pop home for a bit and pack up a bag for the week. Should only take me half an hour or so." She agreed, and they cleaned up the kitchen before he headed off to gather his things.

As soon as he left, Hermione started to get nervous. She ran upstairs and did a quick cleaning of her bedroom. She realized no one besides Rose, her parents and maybe Hugo had ever been in there, and she tried to imagine what Ron's impression would be, or wondered if as a bloke he would even think about those things. She was also trying to figure if she should change clothes. She didn't even own anything that would remotely be considered sexy lingerie, but settled on at least a clean and matching set of black knickers and a bra. She would never be mistaken for a Victoria Secret model, but she thought it gave her at least a small boost of confidence. She threw her clothes back on and ducked into the bathroom to freshen up her make up. While still in the loo, she heard Ron come back through the front door.

Ron came in and didn't see Hermione, but he heard the water in the upstairs loo. Wondering if he should wait downstairs or go up and find her, he settled on slowly heading upstairs. As he was walking up the stairs with his duffle bag, she came out of the bathroom and smiled at him.

"I wasn't sure where to put this," he said uneasily, gesturing to his bag.

"Oh, here," she said. She turned and headed into her room, and he followed. She reached for his bag, and soon had cleared a space on a chair in her room for his things. The awkward tension in the room finally made them both laugh.

"I don't know why this feels weird," she admitted.

"I don't have to stay if you are re-thinking that," Ron said.

"No," she said adamantly. "I definitely want you to stay. It's just, well, oh - bugger it all…." With that she took several steps towards him, quickly reaching her hands up to his neck and kissing him passionately. After a stunned moment of surprise, he responded enthusiastically, engulfing her in his arms as he pulled her close to him.

"God, I have missed this," she panted between her heavy breaths.

He moaned slightly, and soon the two had moved to her bed where she quickly removed his shirt and was now helping him remove her own. Ron was moving his lips across her creamy, smooth stomach while she drew her fingers through his hair. Trailing his nose along her skin, he moved back up to her mouth, and soon they had tumbled over so that she was on top of him. Relishing this new angle, Hermione sat up while straddling him and felt a surge of confidence run through her as she felt him responding to her.

"You are so fucking beautiful, Hermione," he said as he stared at her face framed by wild curls and her pale skin flush with passion. He reached up to stroke her breasts, and she gently moved his hands around to her back so he could unhook her black bra. Once he had removed it, he was soon focusing his attention on her pert nipples, which had her quickly squirming in pleasure.

"Oh my God that feels amazing," she admitted in a flustered voice.

"Just getting started, Love. All I want tonight is for you to see stars," he said as he licked and nipped at her breasts as he rolled her onto her back.

She closed her eyes in disbelief that this was actually happening and wasn't some fantasy in her head. She reached her hands up to rove them across his scarred, toned torso. Moving her hands down his sides, she found them roaming over Ron's bum, pulling him closer and closer to her. Before she could talk herself out of it, she found her hands moving around to Ron's belt buckle, fumbling with its clasp. He sat up and looked at her questioningly, and she said confidently, "these have got to go." He smiled and quickly helped her remove the offending garment leaving him in only his pants. Then she moved to her own belt. He swiftly moved to assisted her with it, sliding her trousers down and off and then kissing the length of her leg back up to her black knickers, which was all that she still had on.

Delighting in this new sensation of body on body, they remained intertwined, the heat growing between them as they kissed and explored each other. She felt him increasingly harden and throb between her legs, and realized she was instinctively grinding against him, with only the thin fabric between them. His hand moved down slowly and began to stroke her over her knickers, causing her already sensitive skin to jump in reaction.

"Don't stop," she urged.

He moved his mouth back to her left breast, but continued to gently stroke her core, causing her to arch her back and writhe in delight beneath him. His fingers soon dipped beneath her soaked knickers.

"Is this ok?" he asked, wanting to be sure he didn't push them too far.

She opened her eyes to look at him and lifted her bum off the bed in order to peel her knickers off completely. Quickly helping to pull them off her legs, he turned to look at all of her spread out beneath him.

"Oh my God, Hermione, you're perfect," he said, his eyes wide with lust. She was breathing so fast and was so focused on his reactions to her that she realized she wasn't nearly as nervous as she thought she would be. Smiling at him, she lifted her hand up to his face, pulling him back down to kiss her again. He soon dragged his mouth back down her, leaving a trail of heat as he moved. Leaving one hand on her left breast, flicking her erect nipple, he moved down until his face was positioned between her thighs, using his other hand to gently pry them wider. Moving his tongue to her throbbing, swollen center, he began to trace over her, sending her hips bucking up quickly.

"Oh God," she moaned.

As he continued to lick and suck on her most sensitive parts, he moved his hands down, dipping a finger into her, causing her to arch her back and breathe even faster. He soon increased to two fingers, not stopping his tongue's work and began quickly moving in and out of her wet center, turning his long fingers up inside to tease her sensitive core. Feeling her begin to quiver, he increased his speed, and felt her soon clenching around him, throbbing and pulsating as her orgasm shot through her. She was moaning and crying out as he continued with his tongue, until she finally fell back against the bed, quivers still erratically shooting through her as she recovered from her release.

"Oh my God. That was incredible," she finally stammered. Ron simply smiled at her, kissing her gently as she regained her breath.

"I love you so much, Hermione Granger," he said as he continued to kiss her body tenderly.

She lay there slowly catching her breath but knew the smile and flush must still be across her face. She had really never felt as happy, safe and treasured as she did at that moment, being held in Ron's arms. As she lay there with him, she knew in her heart he was the only man she would ever want. And she was done waiting for him. A few moments later, she sat up, kissed him slowly, and then she rolled him on to his back and straddled him.

"My turn," she said grinning. "But, I don't really know what I am doing here, so you have to show me." As she said that she leaned over him, grazing his torso with her breasts as she kissed a trail down his skin.

"You seem like you're doing pretty well on your own," he gasped as she reached down to his pants, shimmying them over his raging erection.

As she saw him fully for the first time, her eyes grew. "Ron, you are huge!"

Chuffed, he smiled as she lightly grasped him. He guided her hand, showing her how to stroke him, and then soon slammed his head back against the bed as she worked him. He was lost in the sensation, but snapped his eyes back open when he heard her say, "Ron, I really want you inside me."

Eyes trying to read her face, he said, "Are you sure, Hermione? We don't have to do this today."

"I am so sure, Ron," she said as she looked him in the eyes. "I love you, and I want this so much. I am literally, physically aching for you. Please?"

Ron sat up, wanting to be sure he could look her in the eye and understand what she really wanted. "Are you really and truly sure, Hermione? I know this isn't a light decision, and I really don't want to rush you at all."

"Ron," she said smiling touching her hand to his face, "I made the decision about who long before today. And once I knew the kids would be gone all week, I knew in my heart it would be now. I really, really want this – today, now, with you."

"I love you, Hermione Granger.," he said as he kissed her tenderly.

"I love you too, Ron, but I need you inside me now."

"If you are absolutely sure. Fuck, Hermione, I want you so badly," he panted.

"What about protection?" she responded in a similar gasp.

"One of the benefits of magic," he said as he reached for his wand in the pocket of his trousers now strewn on the floor. He said the charm, and gently moved her onto her back, holding eye contact with her dark, lust filled eyes the entire time.

"Are you absolutely sure?" he asked one last time.

Parting her legs and lifting her hips, she said, "I am so, so sure. Just go slow alright? You are really large, it will take me a minute to adjust."

"I don't want to hurt you," he said. "I will go really slow but stop me at any point, OK?"

She nodded, and then kissed him before laying back again. Ron kissed her lips again, slowly and reverently, trailing his fingers light as a feather over all of her. Soon they had built the heat back up between them, and he moved his attention to her breasts again and then entered her slowly. He felt her breath catch and watched as her face grimaced as she breathed through the initial discomfort.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked.

"No – keep going, just go slow for a minute," she winced as she tilted her hips up towards him. Ron froze over her, fighting every urge until she finally said, "Ok. That's better." Then her tone changed notably as she added, "Mmm, actually- that's incredible."

Exhaling, Ron began to rock into her, moving as carefully as he could. She met him, thrusting her hips up to him saying, "I'm good Ron, you can go harder and faster, Love. I want you to feel as amazing as you've made me feel tonight."

Groaning, Ron began pulsing into her, being urged on by the sounds she made with each of his thrusts. He wanted her to come again, and began also stroking her center as he pumped into her, causing her to arch her back up to him in pleasure. Soon he could feel her start to get close again, and he increased his rhythm until he felt her clench around him, causing him to spill into her in a final release as they both orgasmed. The electric chemistry that had shocked them at their first touch so many years ago seemed to flow through each of them as the pleasure coursed through them, only magnifying the sensations for both. Ron cried out in ecstasy as Hermione's moans climaxed to the point where no noise came out of her mouth. Their bodies seized in tension before they collapsed in exquisite exhaustion.

The only sound was the panting between them as they recovered. She held him tightly to her, and even as he went to roll off of her, she held him close, not letting him pull out yet. Eventually he rolled over, and she immediately curled up next to him, maintaining as much skin to skin contact as possible as she tucked her head onto his shoulder. He stroked her back and arms gently, as she trailed her fingers over his chest as they both lay there in a magical silence.

After a while he kissed her forehead and said, "I love you Hermione."

She smiled up at him, replying, "I love you too, Ron. That was amazing. I just – I just love you so much."

"Hermione, that was incredible. I still struggle to believe this is all real, you know?"

"I know," she nodded, kissing his shoulder.

Soon they had both fallen asleep, their bodies still wrapped up in each other.