A horcrux and a revelation
Ron sighed heavily, Gryffindor sword in his hand, cold sweat on his forehead weighing the same, his body shivering from anger rather than the freezing weather and the fact that he is soaking wet, however, he was relieved that this has finally came to an end. He had always known his fears, thought about them, talked out to himself about them even, but visualizing them, hearing those nasty voices, this made him shatter from the inside. This was definitely worse than he had imagined.
He had totally forgotten about Harry's presence, and wasn't paying attention to him talking and wearing his shocked expression and harsh voice, until he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure standing beside him; slim frame, big brown hair and brown skin that was matching the teary brown eyes staring at him in disbelief. He felt his heart skip a beat, face turning ten shades of red, body temperature surging up that he could have hyperthermia, and his blue eyes started to well up. His breathing has hitched, until he found himself hyperventilating, he was about to crumble on the wet earth beneath his feet. It was clear from her pale face that she had seen everything, obvious from her muffled sobs that she took in the entire scene, her facial expression portrayed a serious blend of hurt and anger, empathy and frustration. He was extremely sure that she would be mad at him for his abandonment, how couldn't she? He was away for weeks.
He just stood there: still, like an old tree, he felt his feet buried in the ground underneath him. He didn't have the courage to start a conversation with her, he felt weak and defeated in front of her presence, despite the fact that he had just destroyed the troublesome locket that kept three of them sleep-deprived for several nights.
Watching her upset and standing distantly was battling his emotions and killing his patience, which was starting to wear thin. He wanted her to yell at him, to start a fight with him, to get her wand and jinx him, he wanted to make sure that she's okay, that she would understand the reasons behind leaving her, and how the horcrux was affecting him the most, he wanted to expose the whole truth in front of her, and pour it all on her lap. After long seconds-that-felt-like-hours have passed by, he couldn't take it anymore, he called her name in his low, hitched, slightly-shuddering voice, and as if this was the trigger for the breakdown, because the next second, Hermione was flying into his arms and sobbing loudly in his chest.
"Hermione …I am s-" Started Ron.
"How could you think that? How could you possibly think that we were doing better without you?"
"Hermione …. I- "
"How could you possibly think that I was off happier without you? …." Sobbed Hermione, clutching to his jumper more tightly.
Ron stammered and was out of words in attempts of calming Hermione down, but he stopped in his tracks when he glanced down and caught a glimpse of the look that she was giving him, gifting him with, if the words were to describe his thoughts, a look worth thousand words; words she spoke out loud, without speaking out loud. Her stunning brown eyes carried the enchanting sunrise scenery and confined it within her tears, and Ron's heart felt like it has been "incendio-ed ", skipping a beat. And then it hit him, hard but rather alarming, agonizing but rather heart-warming: Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of her age is preferring Ron Weasely, choosing him, and that he has not only destroyed part of Tom Riddle's soul by stabbing the locket, he has also eradicated his fears with it.
With this, Ron let out a deep sigh of relief, hardening the grab on Hermione's body, clinging himself to her stronger, letting her hair to stroke his face and neck, allowing himself to take in her scent, and finally feeling safe, feeling himself at home, despite the fact that their horcrux hunting mission was cloaking three more horcruxes for them to find, let alone destroy.