A/N: This is my first attempt at a Ron/Hermione piece and it's a oneshot. I'd make it longer but I really have no time. This idea came to me when I was listening to the song Drops of Jupiter by Train. Listen to it, it's really good!

Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I own it…oh alright I don't own it… chill!

It's Always Been You

Dear Ron,

It's been so long since I've seen you! How are you? I'm writing to let you know I'll be returning home next week. I hope we can see each other, I've got so much to tell you! Traveling around the world was wonderful! You should do it sometime, maybe we could go together!

I hope your family is well, and give them my love.

See you soon

Love,

Hermione

The letter had arrived five days ago and Ron still hadn't responded to it. Hermione was coming home after two years of traveling the world. She'd wanted to learn all about the magical cultures in foreign lands. And now she was coming home. Ron didn't know what to make of this. Ron had feelings for Hermione during their Hogwarts days, and the same was true for Hermione. They'd admitted this to each other during their last year at school, but nothing ever came of it. The war that eventually defeated Voldemort had been roaring, and then when it was over, Hermione decided it was time for a change of scene. How could she just walk back into his life? Ron thought to himself. Would she still have feelings for him? He pondered. He knew that he still had feelings for her, and although he had dated a few witches during the two years she'd been gone, he always found himself comparing them to Hermione.

Ron sighed.

"Morning." Harry said through a yawn. His hair was sticking up more than usual and his classes were slightly askew. He walked to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Morning." Ron replied gloomily.

"What's up mate?" Harry asked his best friend.

"Hermione's letter." Ron replied simply. Harry understood what he meant immediately.

"Oh come on, it'll be fine, you'll see her, sparks will fly, and before you know it wedding bells will be chiming." Harry said with a chuckle.

"You've been spending too much time with my mum." Ron muttered. Harry was marrying Ginny in three months and wedding plans were all Mrs. Weasly seemed able to talk about.

"Ha ha." Harry said dryly.

After Harry and Ron had defeated Voldemort, they'd moved into an apartment together, they liked to call it their "bachelor pad". In reality it was Ron's 'Bachelor pad', Harry was already tied down when they moved in, and Ron rarely invited a girl to their apartment, so it really wasn't what one would expect from a bachelor's pad.

"I guess I should write back to her and tell her that I'd love to see her…right?" Ron asked in an unsure voice.

"Course you should. I'm gonna go get dressed, I'm meeting Ginny and we're talking about wedding china, why do we need separate china for the wedding? I mean honestly! What's wrong with paper plates, I know it's not the best for the environment, but we're wizards! We can fix it with a flick of our wands!" Harry said loudly.

"Don't let your fiancée hear you say that." Ron said dryly.

"Oh come off it Ron! Everything's going to be fine. I'll see you later." And with a pop, Harry disapparated.

Ron grumbled, and then sat down and wrote back to Hermione.

Dear Hermione,

You're coming home! That's great. Can't wait to see you.

Ron

He attached the letter to Pig's leg and sat down on the couch and began flipping through the channels on the television he'd become obsessed with when he and Harry had gone shopping in a muggle store.

----------------------------- TWO DAYS LATER-----------------------------------

"Hermione! You're here!" Squealed the voice of Ginny Weasly.

"Ginny!" Hermione yelled. The two woman embraced and would've started chatting a mile a minute had the rest of the Weasly clan (with Harry) hadn't come running in to see Hermione. Everyone seemed to bombard Hermione with hugs and questions, except for one.

Ron had decided to stay back, timid about her reaction to him. It was a good ten minutes before everyone was seated in the living room drinking tea that Mrs. Weasly had made and listening to Hermione talk about her trip.

"It was absolutely wonderful! I loved every place I went, but I must say, New York City, in America, had to be one of my favorites. I've never seen such a huge city. The shopping was fantastic, and there were so many museums that talked about the history of magic in New York and all of America, oh and their pizza was to die for. There was a point where I was eating pizza two times a day!" Hermione said with a giggle.

During this entire conversation, Ron remained silent. The time ticked on, and soon the sun was setting.

"Oh my! I'd best get dinner started!" Mrs. Weasly said, clearly not noticing how long they'd been talking. "Arthur, would you be a dear and help me?" Molly asked her husband.

"Of course Molly." Arthur answered.

"Oh Harry, we should really look at the different flowers settings for the center of the tables!" Ginny said excitedly. "I've narrowed it down to lily's or roses, but I just can't decide!"

"Yes dear." Harry said, pretending this was a task that required quite a bit of effort. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him, and Harry began to move more quickly. "It was nice to see you Hermione, we'll have to talk again later, right now my bossy fiancé needs me." Harry said with a chuckle.

This left Ron, the twins, and Hermione alone in the living room.

"Oh shoot George! I told Angelina she could stop by to pick up some jokes! I've got to go, want to come?" Fred asked.

"No." Came George's reply.

"Alright, but she said she was bringing Alicia with her…" Fred said with a smirk.

"Let's get a move on Fred! There's no time to lose!" With a pop George disapparated out of the Burrow.

"I know him so well." Came Fred's chuckle, and he disapparated with a pop as well.

"So…" Ron began

"So…" Hermione said. There was an awkward silence between them

"Sounds like you had fun traveling." Ron said, trying to break the silence.

"Oh, yes, yeah I did. It was so much fun." Hermione said, her eyes shining once again.

"So… did you ever get err homesick?" Ron asked.

"Oh, there were times when I wished I was back in London, but for the most part no, I wasn't homesick."

"Well that's good." Ron said, angry at himself for not asking what he really wanted to know, whether or not she was seeing anyone.

"I did miss people you know." Hermione said, a slightly daring twinkle in her eyes.

"Really, who?" Ron said, before he could stop himself. If she didn't say him he didn't know what he'd do.

"Well, for the most part, I only really missed you." Hermione said shyly. Her cheeks turning a slight pink. Ron's ears turned red.

"You- you did?" He asked in a whisper.

"Of course I missed you, you're my best friend." Oh, so she'd only missed him as a friend, nothing more, Ron thought sadly. He had been so excited, he thought she'd say that she missed him because she loved him, not because he was her best friend!

"Well, I missed you too." Ron said gruffly.

"So, Harry and Ginny are finally getting hitched!" Hermione said brightly, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, yeah they are." Ron said quickly.

"They seem so happy." Hermione said, a dreamy smile crossing her face.

"They are happy, I haven't seen Harry so alive since I don't know when! She's done a load of good for him, won't take any of his 'I'm so misunderstood' crap". Ron said with a chuckle. Hermione laughed too.

"So, are you planning to get married any time soon?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Well getting married would require me to have a girlfriend, so no, I won't be getting married anytime soon." Ron replied.

"Oh!" Hermione replied with enthusiasm. "Me neither! I mean, I dated a bit while traveling, but it was nothing serious, I wasn't in one place for more than a couple of months, it wasn't long enough for a relationship…" Hermione babbled, cutting herself off.

Ron's bright blue eyes were looking intently into her brown ones.

"So neither of us are seeing anyone?" Ron said in a husky voice.

"Yeah." Hermione whispered, shivers going down her spine.

"You know, I thought you would have found somebody in one of those foreign countries that you would love more than me—" Ron cut himself off, but Hermione seemed to understand what he meant anyway.

"You know, I don't think I really wanted any of the relationships I had to work because I already knew who I wanted.

"You did?" Ron asked, his eyes going wide.

"Yes, I did. I'd known since I was in school." Hermione said, blushing.

"If you say Draco Malfoy I might cry." Ron said in a low voice.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Not Malfoy you prat! YOU!" Hermione said with a smile.

There was a moments pause before Ron said anything.

"Me?" He asked, clearly dumbfounded.

"You. It's always been you". She replied quietly.

Before he could think about what he was doing, or what the consequences would be, he captured Hermione's lips in a tender kiss.

Her words, "It's always been you" residing in his head.

The two broke apart, their foreheads touching. Word's weren't needed, their eyes said it all. They were clearly in love and had been since school. Ron captured her lips in his own one more time, before kissing her forehead and whispering,

"I love you." She looked into his eyes and responded,

"I love you too."

The two sat grinning sheepishly at each other, their fingers intertwined, both feeling complete bliss that only the love they had for each other could bring.

The End