Romione Week - Moments in Time
A New Relationship
In the days following the Battle, Ron and Hermione, quite literally, can't keep their hands off each other. They take every opportunity they have to find a secluded spot to snog, neither willing to be apart from each other longer than is deemed necessary.
It's during a particularly lengthy snog session that Hermione begins to dwell on where they currently stand with their budding relationship. Their bodies are pressed together in a heated embrace against an oak tree on Hogwarts grounds after spending the day restoring various parts of the castle.
She finds it incredibly difficult to concentrate on any task at hand when she's apart from Ron for more than a few minutes. All she wants are his kisses and hugs, and to see him smile in that boyish way that makes her heart flutter.
With every passing day, the intensity of their relationship only grows stronger and that single thought terrifies her. She's not used to them being on such solid ground.
Ron presses his hand against her lower back and pulls her in tight. She wants to taste him, to feel the movement of his body as she rubs her thigh against his grass-stained jeans. He trails a lazy finger down the length of her arm, creating little pimples of gooseflesh along its path. Hermione can smell the sweat of the day's work on him, and hear the thud of their combined heartbeats from the closeness. His lips are so soft and pillowy against her own, and she can taste their shared breath.
Her fingers card through his ginger hair, a warmth blossoming in her chest. Ron explores her face by peppering kisses on the corner of her mouth, jawline, then down to her neck. She leans into those kisses, eyes rolling blissfully back into her head. The desire building within her runs from her heart all the way down to her inner thighs.
Her heart is about to beat out of her chest as she angles her face towards him again until their lips touch. Kissing him for even just a couple of seconds is energizing on its own, but their recent snogging sessions have proven to be on another level.
Ron grins against her mouth, wrapping his arms around her as if he wants their tangled limbs to be closer than they already are — if that's even possible.
His musky scent makes her intoxicated brain swell. The heat of their kisses pulls her into a heady trance, lips tasting so sweet with a feeling that she'd rather die from than to ever have to let go of. Each kiss soothes the flames burning between their bodies, and she can only hope that the closeness doesn't trigger further panic within her.
After all, everything they're experiencing is completely new to her. So here they are, starting something so unfamiliar and bold that it seems crazy, but at the same time is so wonderful and natural.
For the first time in a long time, Hermione can see a glimpse of her future and she wants it — more than anything else.
It's hard enough to be emotionally vulnerable, but here she's having to be that person with her best friend. She wants to be so confident with him and to not let any old insecurities come back. For a moment, after their passionate kiss in the heat of the Battle, Hermione was scared that the door that had opened for them would close before she had a chance to fully walk through it. She operated on hope that the spark between them wouldn't flicker and extinguish before they truly had a chance to figure it all out.
Days later, the only thing they've managed to figure out is how to kiss each other. The attraction is most certainly there, but they have yet to talk to each other as best friends do. They've been through a lot, have lost a lot. Although they've both managed to escape the Battle with nothing more than a few scrapes and cuts, some scars are invisible, and she knows Ron carries his fair share.
Desperate to take the keen edge off, she kisses him back with much more passion than ever before, interlocking her fingers behind his neck to pull him in as close as humanly possible.
"Okay, wait."
Ron drags his lips away from hers, panting, deep concern etched between his brows. "What changed there?"
"Is it so wrong of me to want to kiss you?"
His face flushes crimson. "No, it's just I thought we were already doing that. Then-well…" he rubs the back of his neck, "We were doing that."
She knows that Ron can tell by the expression on her face that there is a lot going on in her head. The thought alone of him thinking about what she's thinking about is enough to consume her mind once more.
"Okay, stop it. You're overanalyzing this, aren't you?" Ron questions.
"Am not!"
"Are too."
What does he mean by overanalyzing? That I'm thinking what's happening between us is more than what it really is? That our snogging might just be a means to blow off steam?
"Hermione, you're doing it again."
She huffs, sitting up to press her back against the bark of the tree with her arms crossed in indignation."Well, I'm sorry if I take offense to you saying I'm overanalyzing us — as if maybe you feel like there isn't really an us and that this is just-"
"Don't." There's an unhindered look of irritation on his face. "After all this time, how could you possibly believe that I think this means nothing? You know it doesn't."
"I just don't want you to…" Her voice is much smaller as she bites down on her bottom lip. "...lose interest."
"That's not possible."
"Well, it certainly is."
"Again. Not possible. Trust me."
"And how do you know that?"
He answers her question with a kiss so immaculate and passionate that it would knock her off her broom if she was on one. Before she can even fully process how simply amazing it is, Ron pulls away again, fixing her with a hard stare.
"You feel that? That's how I know."
Her glazed-over eyes are proof that she most definitely did.
"Now, are you quite done ignoring me for your thoughts, or do I need to spell it out a bit more for you?" His eyes promise a rising sense of warmth, steadying her heart in a way she's needed for so long.
Her dazed expression is quickly replaced by a coy smile. "I don't know. I think learning a new skill always requires practice."
He flashes her his signature lopsided grin that ties her stomach up in glorious knots. His lips are just as alluring as they are familiar each time he descends them upon her own, illuminating the love and joy that she had forgotten was inside of her.
Their story will continue to unravel, each day discovering something new about each other that will only strengthen their relationship. For now, they will remain happily absorbed in feelings of love.