The following day, Ron and Hermione had set up a spot on the beach, and Ron found himself lounging on one of the towels, watching the ebb and flow of the waves as Hermione sat next to him reading a book. Considering it was a weekday and the start of the colder season for Australia, the beach wasn't terribly busy. It was definitely warmer, as Jean said it would be, and Ron was comfortable in his new swimsuit and tee. That meant it probably wouldn't be likely he'd see the coverup dress Hermione was wearing come off so he could see her swimming costume.
He let his mind wander to last night, to that mind blowing kiss somewhere along this stretch of sand. Ron was hopeful that they'd pick up where they left off upon entering their flat, and they had for the most part. He closed his eyes and replayed their clumsy walk to the couch where the snogging continued. It was going well until their hands started to wander, and then Hermione excused herself to use the loo. She moved so quickly that Ron worried he'd done something wrong, not that he had a chance to ask her.
By the time she came back out, she suggested they watch a movie. Hermione found something fairly quickly, and the moment was gone. So he'd settled on wrapping his arms around her as they got comfortable. He tried to find anything off in her facial expression, but he wasn't successful. What had changed?
"Do you need more sun cream?" Hermione asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"I dunno, do I look red?"
"No, but it's not like sun potion, where you take one dose and you're fine all day. And I don't particularly want to deal with your whining if you get a sunburn," Hermione said sarcastically. He knew she was joking because she was trying not to laugh.
"Well, in that case, I'll take some. Besides, I'm getting warm," Ron said as he grabbed the back of his shirt and slid it off. "Can you get my back?"
"Um, sure," Hermione said as Ron reached for the sun cream and began reapplying the lotion on his arms and face.
"Am I making you uncomfortable or something?" Ron said as he flashed his lopsided grin at her.
"W-what?" Hermione said as she hastily tried to make herself look busy by setting her book down.
"You're staring," Ron laughed. "Like something you see?"
He saw the blush coat her cheeks and grinned even wider. "I- er- y-yes, I suppose so" she stammered, trying to save her dignity with that little quip at the end.
"Well, I'd hope so, seeing as we are dating," he teased as he handed her the bottle and turned so she could apply some of the lotion to his pale, freckled back.
"You are quite fit, you know," Hermione braved, using talking to his back to give her the courage to say something so forward to him. "I just wish I could have done more for your splinching. I'm sorry I left you with such an awful scar."
"Hermione, don't worry about that. You kept me alive, didn't you? I'd say that's a job well done. What do you say we go put our feet in the water?" It was really hard to focus with her hands rubbing his back. He could use the potential chill the water could give him to cool down.
"I don't know...it's probably rather cold," Hermione said hesitantly.
"Won't know until we try," Ron pressed.
"Well, alright, but if it's too cold I'm coming right back," she said as she stood up.
She started to walk to the water before she turned around and noticed Ron was still sitting there casually. She gave him her typical 'what are you waiting for' look instead of actually asking.
"You're going to go down to the water like that?" He observed casually.
"Well, why not?" she asked in a huff.
"Unless you want to get your dress all wet," Ron said with a smirk.
"One, it's not a dress, it's a cover-up, and two, I wasn't planning on getting more than my feet wet, Ron," Hermione put her hands on her hips, no doubt becoming frustrated.
Ron figured he shouldn't test his luck, so he stood up and began heading toward the ocean. He kept walking past Hermione, figuring she would follow, but when he didn't hear her behind him, he stopped and turned around. She looked conflicted, but before he could tell her to forget it and come on, he watched her reach down to the hem of her coverup, and lift it up over her head. The lack of coverall revealed Hermione in a bikini.
If Ron thought seeing Hermione last night for their date had rendered him speechless, he was fairly certain his voice box had completely disappeared as he felt his eyes bug out of his head. He'd never seen such perfection in his life. Ron knew he was staring, but he couldn't take his gaze off of her.
Whenever they were by the pond at the Burrow, she never actually had a swimsuit of her own, so she used an old pair of shorts and shirt. He remembered because he'd always inwardly curse that it was dark enough to not reveal anything underneath, but it still clung to her skin in a way that made Ron crazy. But now, now one of his dreams had been realized, as she was standing there in that sky blue swimsuit, revealing more skin than he'd ever seen from her before. He'd only ever had the opportunity of imagining it in his dreams, and he knew instantly that this was much better.
He watched her bite her lip as she stood there awkwardly. Hermione, who was always the source of confidence in almost everything, was suddenly standing there, quite vulnerable to the world, and to him. She twisted the fabric that was only seconds ago covering her in her hands, and he could clearly see she was having doubts about what she'd just done.
Without thinking, he walked the few paces back to her, and reached out one hand, gently prying the coverup from her fingers as he tossed it back onto their towels. He then replaced the empty space where she'd clung to the cotton with his own hand.
"Let's go," Ron said as he leaned down slightly.
He wanted to tell her how amazing he thought she looked, but anytime he thought of what to say, the words caught in his throat. They were still navigating that part of their relationship which allowed for compliments and praise. It was something neither of them tended to give very often, probably because in true teenage fashion, they were afraid they'd give their true feelings away.
So, instead he opted for a joke that he determined could not be taken the wrong way. "So, you think you'll wear that at the Burrow when we go for a swim instead of shorts and a tee this summer?" He tried to make his facial expression portray the hope of the possibility as there was a small glint of desire in his eyes.
"Is that an invitation to stay with you at the Burrow until my parents return to England?" She responded as they stopped just at the edge of the tide.
Ron pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms loosely around her neck. The contact of so much of her skin against his shot a feeling of desire straight through him, and he had to focus on his response to prevent his thoughts from becoming evident to the world.
"Where else would you stay?" he asked playfully, but then a thought washed over him that made everything seem cold. "You aren't planning to stay here in Australia with your parents, are you?" Merlin, please, no. Not once we've just sorted things out, Ron found himself thinking.
Hermione looked at the ground and turned her body out towards the ocean, breaking their contact. As the wave rolled in, she moved her foot out and dipped her toe in the water as it came dangerously close to where they were standing.
"Hermione…"
"I don't know, Ron," she answered honestly.
"Have your parents asked you to stay?" He wanted- no, needed- to know.
"Well, no, but-"
"Are you expecting them to?"
"I have no idea, Ron, I really don't! But what if they do? What if they expect me to stay?"
"But your life is in England!" Ron couldn't believe this was happening.
"It wouldn't be forever. Just until they came home.."
Ron stared at her. "So you've decided you'll stay if they ask, then," Ron said.
He let her hand go, and took a few steps in the water. They'd walked over here to take a dip in the ocean, after all. He felt the waves crash against his shins. If the water was cold, he couldn't tell. How could his life go from finally feeling like the pieces of his life were falling into place, only to have it all ripped from him before it'd barely begun.
"Ron," she heard him call, but he kept walking out into the water. He didn't want to row with her now.
By now, the water was up to his thigh. He was about to dive under and let the salty water distract him when he felt her hand wrap around his arm.
"I never s-said I was going to s-stay!" Her teeth were chattering as she was looking intently up at him.
"But you never said you weren't. C'mon, let's get back to our towels, the water's cold," Ron told her.
"No, we need to talk about this!" She was pleading with him now.
"Hermione, I can see the gooseflesh on your skin, you're freezing. Stop being so stubborn."
"Why won't you j-just talk to m-me!"
"I will! Just not in the middle of the bloody ocean!" Ron could not believe that she was insisting on having this conversation as the cold water slapped their skin every few seconds. It didn't matter that the warmth of the sun was shining down on them.
"Why n-not?" she pressed.
Ron had had enough. He refused to have this conversation here while she froze. With a grunt, he stepped forward, his arms extending out as he lifted her up and placed her over his shoulder.
"What do you think you are d-doing?" Hermione said as she tried to push against his back. He couldn't help but laugh inwardly at her meager attempts despite how angry and disappointed he was. "Ronald Weasley, you put me down right now!"
She never used his full name. At least he knew he had her attention now. He continued walking back to their towels. Ron set her down when they reached their spot on the beach and leaned over to pick up her towel. He shook the sand off it and wrapped her in it, ignoring her huffs and attempts to reignite the conversation as he rubbed her shoulders briefly to help her warm up faster.
Satisfied she was warming up, he picked up his own towel and began drying off the excess water before wrapping the towel around his waist. He put his shirt back on and placed the rest of their scattered belongings in the beach bag, including Hermione's book and coverup.
Hermione watched in confused silence. "What are you doing?"
"Packing up. I think we should get back to the flat."
"W-why?"
"Do you really want to talk here? In public? Let's go, Hermione. The mood's gone, anyways." Ron slipped on the sandals he'd purchased with Hugo yesterday and placed the bag on his shoulder. He waited for Hermione to wrap the towel around herself and slip her own flip flops on before he began making the short walk back to their flat.
It wasn't until they were safely behind the closed door of the tiny apartment that either one of them spoke. "I don't have to stay here. They'll understand. I'll go back if that's what you want," Hermione spoke.
He could tell she was trying to control her emotions, that she'd thought about those few sentences the entire walk back. Ron was sure she thought that's what he wanted to hear. "I don't want you to feel like you need to come back because of me."
"Don't you want me to go back?" she asked, clearly not expecting him to say that. Ron was desperately trying not to notice how her towel was slipping as Hermione loosened her grip on it.
"Of course I do! But I want you to come back because you want to. Not because you feel like you have to!"
"I do!"
"That's not what it sounds like," he muttered.
"Oh, so you think I want to stay here just when we've figured things out? Excuse me for anticipating that my parents might want me to stay and I can begin to repair the relationship I've caused a giant tear in because an evil wizard was trying to kill us!" Her voice was starting to rise dangerously high. "Don't you realize how hard that decision would be if they ask?" She looked desperate for him to understand.
"Do you really think your parents would make you choose, Hermione? But I don't want to talk about them. That's not really what this is about, is it? Considering they haven't even asked you to stay. I don't know what to say, Hermione, because I don't know what you want! But seeing as how we've somehow managed to start a relationship, I was hoping you might actually include me in what you were thinking." He stood there, staring at her anxiously, waiting for her to say something.
"You're right." Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I-what?" Ron looked at her in disbelief.
"I'm scared," she said. There was a slight tremor to her voice, and it wasn't from the cold she'd experienced on the beach. He waited for her to go on. "I know we talked about it last night, but I- I've spent so long hoping that we could be something, and now that we are…"
Fuck, no, was she saying she didn't want this? Merlin, he was used to their constant bickering, but he didn't think he could survive if she decided she didn't want this.
"...I don't want to lose you. What if I choose you over my parents and you change your mind? I've already abandoned them for a world they'll never be able to understand."
Ron stared at her. How could she ever think he'd change his mind. He had to explain. Had to help her understand that that would never happen. "Hermione-"
"-I'm terrified that I might lose you. That you'll realize I'm not what you wanted after all."
Tears were pooling in her eyes as she spoke to him. He knew him leaving had done a number on her, but the fear was turning out to be deeper than he'd expected. The short distance between them felt like kilometers, and Ron couldn't spend another moment without her in his arms. It only took two steps with his long legs before he wrapped her tightly in her arms.
"That's never going to happen," he whispered into her hair. He felt her tears soak his shirt as he shifted and cupped her face gently in his hands. "I promise, Hermione. I promise. I love you."
Of course, he'd wanted the first time he said it to be special, but he didn't regret it. In all honesty, he knew it'd been a long time coming.
"I- I love you, too." Hearing her say those words would be the only thing he needed to fuel his patronus for a long time. This was their story, and so far, he wouldn't change a single thing. Ron felt his lips meet hers. His hands moved of their own accord as he felt himself lifting her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he moved them both toward the bedroom.