Request: can you write "Everything alright?" "I just missed you." for romione pls, i love your writing btw đź’—

Hermione tossed and turned, twisting the bedsheets of her four-poster bed around her body. It was no good; she just couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the image of Ron lying in a hospital bed invaded her mind.

When they'd left the infirmary that night, Ron was still fast asleep. Hermione and Harry hadn't wanted to go, but Madam Pomfrey had assured them that Ron would be okay. Still, what if Harry hadn't found the bezoar in time?

Her stomach twisted with guilt as she considered what might have happened. What if Ron had…

Sitting up with a gasp, Hermione pushed her curls out of her face. She would drive herself mental if she spent the rest of the night considering what might have happened. There was only one solution—she would have to see Ron and clear the air with him.

She poked her head out of the curtains to check that Lavender and Parvati were still asleep. The lamps were out, and all Hermione could hear was the gentle snores of her roommates. Sliding out of bed, she grabbed her wand and shoved her feet into her slippers. After a quick stop to the boy's dormitory, she was on her way.

Given the late hour and Harry's invisibility cloak, Hermione was not surprised when she made it to the infirmary without interruption. Still, the thought didn't stop her from holding her breath and keeping her wand unlit. She slipped between the doors before locating Ron's bed. Even though he was the only patient there, she pulled the privacy curtain around them before setting a silencing charm just for good measure.

Shrugging off the cloak, Hermione didn't even notice Ron was awake until she heard his weary voice.

"Bloody hell, Hermione, what are you doing here?"

Another surge of guilt twisted her stomach, and she turned her attention towards the bed, opening her mouth to begin her apology. But then she laid eyes on him.

He was lying flat on his back, the sheets tucked in under his armpits, pinning the rest of his body to the bed. His eyes, usually beautifully blue, were darker than usual, almost hidden by the weary grey smudges resting on top of his cheekbones. A light sheen of sweat covered his forehead, and he looked close to passing out again. But more poignant to Hermione, Ron's arms were adorned with tiny scars, interwoven with the ones he got at the Department of Mysteries. It was the first time she'd seen them.

All the emotion of the past few months crashed over Hermione like a gigantic wave, almost knocking her off her feet. Not talking to Ron, cursing him with the birds, the burning jealousy every time she saw him with Lavender. How could Hermione have been so awful to the guy she supposedly loved?

Stifling a sob, Hermione threw herself at Ron's bed, burying her head against the crook of his neck. It was only when his familiar scent hit her, his sandalwood aftershave mixed with the nondescript smell of his shampoo, that she'd never quite been able to name and the underlying tone of sweat, that she allowed herself to cry.

"What the…" he trailed off. Hermione didn't need to lift her head to know that Ron was probably frowning, his light-coloured eyebrows knitted together. She hated seeing that look on his face, and it only made her cry harder to know that she was the one to blame for it.

Then Ron's arms came up, creeping slowly over her back as if testing the waters. Slowly, they wrapped around her, one hand remaining on the small of her back whilst the other tangled in her curls. He held her close, and she allowed herself the comfort she didn't even know she needed.

And he stayed quiet until she'd spilt all her tears and her sobs finally stopped.

"Everything alright?" he finally whispered into her hair.

"I just missed you," she mumbled in return. Now the emotions were entirely out; she felt stupid, and once against her cheeks began to burn.

Ron chuckled. "I've been right here, 'Mione."

Hermione didn't want to move from his arms, but if she was going to have this conversation with him, she needed to see his eyes. She wanted to see his reaction and know that she wasn't just making all of this up in her head. Sitting up, she wiped her eyes on her pyjama sleeve before making herself comfortable on the edge of the bed. She took his large hand between her own, gripping hold of it as she began to speak.

"I'm sorry that we've been fighting. We've barely spoken for months, and that's all my fault for being jealous."

"Jealous?" he croaked, his eyes widening in shock.

Ignoring his interruption, Hermione continued. "And I know you're with Lavender, and I'm not sure what happened, but I just need you to know that when I invited you to Professor Slughorn's party, it was because I wanted you to come as my date. I guess I've ruined everything now. I had to come and apologise to you. I didn't want anything else getting between us being friends. Even if that's all we're ever going to be. I miss you, and I want you back."

"Blimey!" Ron let out a hard puff of air, but she didn't miss the tightening of his grip on her hands. "Of course, I want that too."

She should have felt elated. She could have her best friend back, and without too much grovelling too. But all the words she just said hung in between them, remaining unanswered. She'd been open and honest to Ron, and he only wanted to be friends.

Ignoring the prick of tears behind her eyes, she tried to remove her hands from his grip. But instead of letting her go, Ron just pulled her back.

"Of course, there could be more?"

Hermione froze. Did she hear what she thought she heard? Or was the late hour and all the stress playing havoc with her brain?

"More?" She pushed the words out in a shaky breath, forcing her eyes to remain on Ron's, despite the intensity of his gaze.

"Yeah." The tips of his ears burned bright pink, but that familiar lop-sided grin appeared on his face, immediately reassuring her that everything was going to be okay. "Being poisoned kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it? And well, Lavender came around after you'd all left. Turns out she wasn't too happy with me declaring my love to Romilda earlier, even though I was under a love potion. So, we're over."

"Over?" Dammit, she could usually speak more than just one word at a time, but her speech failed her, making her look like a complete idiot.

"Yeah, completely over."

Hermione gulped. "Wow."

Done with the conversation, Ron used his grip on her hand to pull her more towards him. She wet her lips, her heart beating a furious rhythm in her chest. This was it. The moment she'd waited for since she was thirteen. Her breath hitched in anticipation, and her eyes fluttered shut.

Their first kiss was a lot more awkward than she'd imagined it. Frustrated with how long it was taking for them to close the gap, Hermione had pushed her head towards his at the same time he'd lifted from his pillow. Foreheads touched, noses brushed together, and their teeth clacked in an open-mouthed snog.

But it didn't matter to her that it wasn't something out of the movies. To Hermione, this felt like something so much better. As they got used to the texture of each other's lips, they fell into a rhythm, and all of a sudden, it felt like something she'd been doing all her life. Pulling away only to take a deep breath, she attacked their second kiss with a lot more ferociousness, delighting in the laugh that tingled against her mouth.

Kissing Ron Weasley was the best thing she'd ever experienced. Everything else disappeared from her brain, and she became focused on him.

And it was worth the wait.