This is my little story for the HPRomione Discord Popcorn.
remedialpotions gave me the prompt "You can't just keep pretending things are fine!" and I originally wanted to write some HBP angst, but then changed my mind and wrote this.
She had it all planned out.
Every little detail, every single thing Hermione needed to buy or prepare for tonight had been neatly written down in handy list form, categorized and sorted.
Around noon it actually looked like everything would be ready when Ron would come home from his Auror mission this late afternoon. Behind half of the points on said list Hermione had added a green check mark. The sight of her lists, especially when some of her tasks on it had been checked off already, always had something oddly satisfying.
To have enough time to prepare everything, she left work early today, stopping by the grocery store on her way back home to buy the last of the ingredients she needed for the roast she planned to make for dinner.
Cooking wasn't really Hermione's forte. When Ron was home and didn't have to work ridiculous hours, the flat was always filled with the scent of some delicious meal or another, and on weekends they often enjoyed a cake or some cookies fresh out of the oven. In the last two months she sure did cook for herself every now and then but she got to admit that these meals mostly consisted of pasta and sandwiches.
When she planned this day she first considered to go with take-away, which she was sure, Ron would've been more than fine with. But then she quickly dismissed the idea, figuring that following the instructions of Mrs Weasley's cookbook couldn't be that hard. It might not win a contest but she was sure to manage something eatable, at least.
Before she went into the kitchen to start preparing the roast, Hermione observed their living room, mentally going through her list again.
On their couch table Hermione had set up the brand new chess set she bought last week while shopping with her mother. Hermione had discovered the set in the display window of a small, cozy shop she would've completely missed it if weren't for the unusually bright colours catching her attention when she walked by. As soon as she had seen the chess set, she made her way inside the shop right away because it practically screamed Ron Weasley. While not exactly the same bright colour of the Chudley Cannons, the usually white squares and wooden game pieces were painted orange. If she wouldn't have purchased it from a Muggle, it could've been easily merchandise of Ron's favourite Quidditch team.
Hermione walked over to the couch table and placed two tickets for the next Chudley Cannons game this upcoming weekend onto the chess board. A smile split her face when she thought about his reaction later. Over the past six months the Cannons actually showed some kind of potential to not end up at the bottom of the league at the end of the season, resulting in the tickets to have gotten a little harder to come by. At least, for top games and derbies.
She knew it was probably a little over the top, considering they had been separated for much longer than eight weeks over the last years, but the constant worry and the almost non-existent possibility to talk or write to him during these missions, increased her excitement for Ron to come home ten-fold.
Yes, Hermione definitely felt slightly ridiculous when she placed a giant red bow around the TV and put the fancy Muggle beer into the fridge, but Ron's absence caused a restlessness she had to overcome somehow. It also didn't help that the few letters she got from him made Ron sound mentally and physically exhausted. Even though she knew next to nothing about this mission, she could tell it affected him more than usual.
That's why today was all about distracting Ron from work, and what would hopefully be the start of a long, stress-free weekend.
But, of course, it would have just been too perfect if anything went according to plan. Because one hour before Ron was due to arrive at home, everything started to blow up in Hermione's face. Literally and figuratively.
While she tried to research a way how to fix overcooked meat, Hermione cursed herself numerous times for not doing a test run first. Hermione had plans for everything but when it came to cooking she was obviously rubbish.
I should have just ordered Pizza. Ron loves Pizza.
Giving up on the meat's consistence she quickly decided that spices and a good sauce could somehow safe this. Just as she was about to add all kind of spices, she heard the fireplace roaring to life.
Ron was here. And he was early.
Forgetting all about the roast, she bolted out of the kitchen and into the living room, almost tripping over one of the loosened bindings of Ron's 'Kiss the Cook' apron she borrowed. And there he stood, shaking the floo powder out of his hair and off the Auror uniform.
When he looked up at her she didn't waste another second and jumped into his arms. Something between a sob and a laugh escaped her when Ron hugged her close and she felt him kiss the top of her head.
Pulling back, Hermione took Ron's face between her hands and tugged him down for a kiss. She waited far too long for this.
When they finally broke apart to come up for air again, Ron softly kissed her forehead. "Fuck, I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too," Hermione said, "And I have a surprise for you!"
"So, you cooking isn't the surprise?" Ron grinned at her.
"Oh, shut up!"
"Do I have time for a quick shower before dinner?" Ron asked as he shrugged out of his cloak.
"You do. And please take your time."
Ron couldn't decide if he was more amused or felt more sorry for Hermione as the 3-course-dinner turned into a small disaster.
With the soup it had been rather easy. It was incredibly salty and he probably dehydrated this very second, but with a good amount of bread and large swigs from his beer, he was able to pretend he liked it quite easily.
But then Hermione served the main course. As soon as Ron took the first bite he wanted to spit it out right away. It was absolutely inedible and he wondered how he could pretend to eat something which wasn't tasting like a the sole of his trainers.
Very slowly he reached for his beer, figuring it would be easier if he swallowed the bite without chewing. Just as he was about to take a swig, Hermione gave up all pretense.
"Oh my God, this is a complete disaster," she whined, spitting the piece of meat into a hand towel, "Ron, you can give up the act now."
As he too spit the overcooked shoe sole out of his mouth, he couldn't stop the chuckle escaping him, and reached for Hermione's hand.
"Not all is lost," he reasoned, a little bit surprised about her being so upset about this dinner. Hermione's attempts to cook or bake usually made for a lot of entertainment for both of them. "There's still desert, isn't it?"
"Yes, right! Dessert!" She jumped up from her seat and ran into the kitchen with a hopeful glint in her eyes.
"NO," Ron heard Hermione cry from the kitchen and he immediately jumped up to join her, "No, Pig! No, no, no, no, no!"
As Ron got into the kitchen he saw Pig sitting in a bowl full of what looked like vanilla cream, happily hooting at Hermione who appeared to be on the verge of tears now. Of course, Pig chose this very moment to finish his bath in their pudding as he flew out of the bowl with wildly flapping wings, coating both Hermione and Ron with a good amount of vanilla cream; Hermione's hair getting the worst of it.
Ron slowly lifted a finger and swiped some cream from his cheek, licking it off as he was wearing a thoughtful look. "That is pretty good, actually."
"Oh, stop it!" Hermione let out a resigned sigh. "You can't just keep pretending things are fine! You have some terrible weeks behind you, and then you come home to your girlfriend serving you food that makes you probably crave the tasteless snacks they feed you with on these missions. I should've just-"
"Oi!" Ron interrupted her, not quite being able to hide his amusement. "Stop the rambling, barmy woman." He took her face in his hands and leaned down, so he was at eye level with her. "All I wanted for today was finally seeing you again, Hermione. You never before got upset about bollocking up some cooking. What's the matter?"
"I- I just wanted to distract you from this mission and make this evening somewhat special, and by now, Pig most likely decorated the whole living room with our pudding."
Ron simply kissed her. His hands went from her cheeks inside her curly hair, changing their angle a bit to deepen the kiss. As Hermione let her hands wander from his chest back to his shoulders blades and down to the hem of his shirt, Ron decided to make it very clear to Hermione that everything he really needed to feel better, was her. This mission forced Ron to see things he'll have nightmares about forever, and the only reason he was able to power through all of it, was the prospect of coming home to Hermione. To her touch, to her kisses, to her ramblings about work, to the simple comfort of just having her beside him.
With one swift motion he swooped her up in his arms. "For such a smart woman, you can be very daft sometimes, love," Ron said as he walked out of the kitchen.
"I know," Hermione sighed as she took advantage of her position in Ron's arms, and left open kisses along the side of his neck and his throat.
Without bothering to clean up the mess in the kitchen and living room, Ron walked them straight to the bedroom, leaving behind a merrily hooting Pigwidgeon who hopped and danced on top of Ron's new chessboard, coating it with the only eatable dish Hermione produced today.
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