The clock ticked obnoxiously above Hermione's head, taunting her with the fact that it was way too late on a Thursday to be at her office. According to her calculations - because actually looking at the time would increase the guilt and anxiety tenfold - Ron would've already been done with his paperwork atleast two hours ago, and even that was a stretch knowing Ron's complicated relationship with paperwork.
Well, it's not that complicated. He just didn't like doing it all that much.
He'd popped in 4 hours prior, fresh off his raid and thankfully completely unharmed save for a bruised shoulder and a few scratches under his chin, which she made him promise he would cautiously pass over with their dittany.
She'd promised him that morning she wouldn't overwork herself over this case, just like she promised she would be back at a reasonable time when he came around, and though his amused sceptical look irked her somewhat at the time, it felt - frustratingly, as always - perfectly reasonable now.
The sun had long set and her office was bathed in the orange glow of two candle sconces. Ron was probably sitting on their lovely sofa, waiting for her with a comfortingly hot cup of tea, as she continued to stubbornly stand him up, delaying sending the patronus she was now sure was inevitable. Only two months into her job, and here she was struggling.
Not that she expected it to be easy. Well, maybe she did, but she didn't want to come off as pretentious. She was just sure she could fulfill any objective by relying on determination and hard work, like always. And if these… pig-headed halfwits, (Ron's words not hers), managed to work here, she'd have a field day. Or she was supposed to anyway.
Her self-inking quill continued scribbling away furiously on the parchment of notes, when a playful knock sounded on the door - four quick taps, pause, two more - and she immediately inhaled, preparing for the excuses and apologies to flow out as soon as the door swung open.
"Before you say anything, I'm really sorry, I know, I know… you were right, and I know I should push myself less-" she rambled on, eyes still focused adamantly on her parchment, as the door clicked shut, "-but you know how important this case is. Pinwickle handed it to me specifically, right after I made that whole speech about being just as competent as the male employees, and I thought it'd be easy but it turned out be be a lot more complicated-"
"Hermione," he interrupted soothingly, chuckling lightly, "take a breath, it's okay, I kind of figured this was gonna happen, anyway."
"You did?", she finally looked up, momentarily distracted, to see him place something on the chair in front of her desk and head towards her.
He offered her one of his signature lopsided grins. "I know I can be a little slow, but I'd hoped my emotional range had grown to atleast a ladle," he crossed his fingers sarcastically, gently turning her swiveling chair to face him.
The crease between her brows softened slightly, "You're not slow."
"As much as I'd love to disagree, let's save this fun argument for another day," he rolled his eyes, still grinning.
"You're not," she stated heatedly, squeezing one of his large hands. "And I'm sorry… I just-this is really important, it's my first big case where I'm not just listed as a consultant but as the official litigator," she paused, "the only litigator actually."
"I know that, but you look exhausted, 'Mione," he brushed away a stray curl.
"Thanks," she huffed half-heartedly.
"Will it help my case if I say you're stunning even when you're tired?"
She rolled her eyes, but struggled to contain her pleased smile, "It would definitely earn you some bonus points with the prosecutor."
"That's always a good start."
"But Ron…," she sighed, placing a hand on his wrist that was still cradling her cheek, "I can't just leave. I need to get this done. And if I can't argue the case and win tomorrow, it'll just prove Pinwickle right and I'll be back to square one."
His hands slipped away from her in a startling motion as he strode around her wooden desk again.
"Which is why," he exclaimed resolutely, "we're not going anywhere until you figure this out, and you will figure this out because you're Hermione Jean Granger for Merlin's sake!"
She had little time to fully process his words before he was talking away again.
"We're staying right here," he grabbed the mysterious bag off the chair, moving the seat to the side of her desk and hence closer to her, "all night,... and morning to be fair. You have to present before the Wizengamot at 10 right?"
"Yeah," she mumbled uncertainly, dazed by all the sudden commotion.
"So," he plopped his entire ginger self haphazardly onto the aforementioned chair, bag firmly in his lap, "We're having dinner," he motioned to the bag, "and then I'm helping you tackle this never-ending pile of the thickest books I've seen in my life, you're figuring out a brilliant solution with your brilliant brain, we're celebrating with a congratulatory snog, and then concluding this session with a solid power nap on this pitiful attempt-at-a-loveseat," he gestured to the admittedly ragged sofa. "And then you're absolutely blowing those gits' robes off with your arguments." He smiled and nodded, satisfied with his declaration before moving some of the stacked volumes off the table to begin unpacking the brown bag.
She didn't realise she was ogling him and holding her breath, until one single word escaped her breathlessly, "we?"
He looked at her liked she had grown a second head. " 'Course. You didn't think I'd leave you with all this crap on your own, did you?"
There was literally nothing more she wanted than for him to stay. It reminded her of his touching offer to help with Buckbeak back in third year, and she knew he could never understand how much it really meant to her then. How much it still means to her now. But arguing was what she did best, so she had to try, "But-but you must be tired, from your raid…and you have work in the morning too…"
"Pfft," he waved her concern off. "Don't worry, I had an extremely refreshing shower. Besides, it's," he looked behind her, "9 o'clock! Merlin, that's late for a Thursday! Anyway… I've done most of the paperwork before I came up with this brilliant plan. And the couple of files I had left I casually slid onto Harry's desk with his," he winked at her.
"Ron!"
"The git deserved it after barely missing me with his stunner! It was dark my arse…," he grumbled under his breath.
She shook her head slightly exasperated, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. But… are you sure?"
His goofy expression turned more serious as he clutched her tiny hand in his own, "I'd choose working overtime with you any day over sleeping alone in our bed. And believe it or not, I know this is important to you. So it's important to me too," he squeezed her palm reassuringly.
She couldn't help herself. It might've been the sincerity in the cerulean of his eyes or the comforting warmth of his skin against her own, or just simply her love for him overflowing and being reflected so transparently back at her.
In seconds, her hand was clasping the back of his neck and she was pulling him in for a short but no less passionate collision of lips. Upon pulling back, they were both undeniably flushed.
"Where can I get more of where that came from?", he breathed.
"I love you so, so much," she almost sobbed in relief. Only he could pull that vulnerability out of the depths of her subconscious, and she only wanted him to.
"I love you too," he smiled tenderly back at her, entwining his long fingers with her delicate ones and placing another peck on her dainty wrist. "And I'm assuming you're alright with this then?"
She nodded, "More than alright." He grinned, sneaking another chaste kiss on her lips. Marvelling at the turn of events and her undoubtedly lifted mood, Hermione contemplated Ron's ability to dissolve her anxiety at times. She'd become pleasantly accustomed to it over the time they had been dating, and sometimes, as was the case during her year back at Hogwarts, rather scared of how much she relied on that unconditional support. If she were stranded in the middle of the ocean, swimming futilely with no land in sight, Ron was her raft. Even more heart-warming was to know she was his too.
"Then, how about the food now? Why do I have a feeling you skipped lunch?"
"Your feeling may or may not be true," she shrugged guiltily.
Only giving her a partly chastising look he reached inside the bag. "No worries, I have made arrangements," he said proudly. "Tagliatelle," he pronounced in exaggerated Italian, "for the lady," he handed her the takeaway package and she took the warm container and its delicious scent gratefully. "Spaghetti Carbonara, for the dreadfully hungry bloke," he placed his own box on the table.
"Oh, Ron… Have I ever told you how ridiculously wonderful you are?" she whispered dreamily, opening her box of her favorite pasta, being assaulted with the mouth-watering scent of a fresh, creamy portion with grilled shrimp, pesto, cherry tomatoes and spinach. Her taste buds were salivating to the point where she was sure you would soon be able to see the drool rolling down her chin.
"I think you might've mentioned it once or twice," he grinned in smug complacency. "Then we also have two large cups of coffee," he pulled them out accordingly, "we'll need the energy boost later in the night."
She immediately took a sip of the soothingly hot liquid and sighed as it dribbled down her parched throat.
"Or now, I suppose," Ron laughed.
"This is incredible," Hermione breathed contentedly.
"A way to a Granger's heart is through their coffee. Your dad told me that one," she smiled wider at the comment.
"And, well, there's biscuits and a couple of bananas I got from our flat but I'll keep those in the bag for later," he concluded.
Handing her a metal fork she recognised as theirs - since she was the one who always insisted plastic forks are both unreliable and bad for the environment - he declared, "Let's tuck in! And as we do, tell me more about that prick Pindickle."
She was already stringing a piece of her pasta before he was done talking.
"He's obviously trying to set you up," Ron concluded.
"What do you mean?", Hermione took on a pensive expression, vanishing her empty container just like Ron had done a few minutes prior.
"Cases about Goblin rights have been open for years, just like this one. It's always been difficult to solve those cause most of the magical community is a bit divided on them. Goblins, I mean. And Goblin-wizard relations are… well, you've seen a bit yourself from our visit to Gringotts."
"I'd hardly call breaking-in a visit," she rolled her eyes.
He laughed, "I never said the complicated relations didn't have a motive."
She shrugged, "I suppose but, you were saying…"
"Oh! Yeah, pretty much he gave you a controversial case so you couldn't find any proof to back up your defense and even if you did find some discrete reason, you'd have a hard time convincing the cranky snobs at the Wizengamot…", he trailed off.
That sounded about right now that he said it. "So he'd make me look like an idiot who couldn't handle her first case and-"
"-use that against you whenever you try to argue with him again, yeah."
"That-that's-Ugh!", she huffed, slumping back into her chair morosely.
For some bizarre reason Ron grinned at her, and she was set to punch him right in his handsome, freshly-shaven face. "What?"
"There's something the old twat didn't count for."
"And what's that?"
"That he isn't dealing with just anyone. He's dealing with the brightest and most stubborn-but let's say persistent-witch of her age!", he raised his finger enthusiastically.
She blushed slightly while stating dryly, "I don't know whether to be flattered or offended," and he rolled her chair closer to him.
"Let's do this. I'm your servant for the next several hours, so you can order me to do your bidding, starting…" he paused dramatically to look at the clock, "…now."
"First of all, not servant, but assistant," she corrected pointedly. "And second… okay, let's do it," she smiled brightly.
"Right," he clapped his hands. "What do I do?"
And while previously she lacked the determination and so-called morale to actually get through this challenge, now it felt like she could take on the world. "So there are too many books containing Wizarding laws, you see, and the content is organised in such a poor manner, that searching for anything is really time-consuming," she explained, snapping right back into her authoritative self.
She grabbed one of the stacks nearest to her, "It'd be really helpful if we split up the searching process. So…, grab these… yes… And I'll take the ones over there," she effortlessly levitated the tall pile of books Ron had moved earlier.
"Alright, is there something in particular we're searching for?"
"Not really. As I said, they're awfully difficult to sort through. Honestly, I had a better system when I was thirteen," she shook her head in displeasure, and Ron chuckled.
"But, let's just say, whenever you see a law, or any annex, mentioning goblins, show it to me," she nodded her head in conclusion.
"Sounds like a plan." He reached out to take his large paper cup, rasing it up and handing Hermione her own. "Let the solving begin!"
She took a gratifying sip of the delicious black liquid, and smiled. Yes, the way he kept looking at her with an ever-present glint in his deep blue eyes, she definitely felt she could take on the world.
Leaning in, she landed her lips firmly onto his own once more, the taste of coffee mingling with their usual kisses.
"Now that's what I call a boost," she uttered pulling back at last, and they set off with their research.
"I got it…", she whispered almost reverently. They'd been sitting there for hours now, mind entirely concentrated on the task. She'd even been pleasantly surprised with how diligent Ron was with his own assignment, not attempting to distract her either like he usually would. The pile of dusty tomes was dwindling exponentially, admittedly at a much faster rate than before his arrival, and before she knew it, she was looking right at her holy grail.
"Hmm?", Ron glanced up distractedly.
"I got it!", she exclaimed a little more excitedly, and Ron's confusion stretched into unbridled glee.
"Yeah?"
"There, look," she offered him the paragraph for inspection, as she reached for some brand new ministry parchment, ready to word her appeal now that she had a foolproof legal source to back her up.
There was a moment of silence as Ron read it through before agreeing, "This is brilliant, seems like exactly what you need."
"It is!", she replied enthusiastically with more energy than she thought she could logically possess at this point. "Now all I have left to do is finish this formal statement for tomorrow, and we're done," she sighed in relief.
"Phew, this was a long night. Though I never doubted you'd figure it out."
She smiled and ten minutes later she signed off at the bottom, before standing up, casting a quick Geminio on the official document and putting one away into her desk, and the other into the file for tomorrow.
Turning around, she noticed Ron was standing up, vanishing their empty cups, and she ran headlong right into him. Auror reflexes and general familiarity with Hermione's impromptu acts of affection, allowed Ron to open his arms just in time to accommodate the tight embrace.
"Thank you," she mumbled against his collarbone, biting down a sob and nuzzling further into his warmth. The previously ignored exhaustion was steadily creeping up on her.
"I'd do it again any day, nothing to thank me for," he whispered against her bushy mane of hair.
Her arms tightened protectively around him, "Definitely something to thank you for."
"Well, I'm no fancy lawyer of course, but I still want to help you when I can, okay?" He run a hand through her curls, scratching her scalp delightfully.
"I don't want a fancy lawyer's help. I want your help." She could feel him smiling without looking.
"Good," he pulled away slightly to look at her, "I think it's time for that power nap now. Your eyes are drooping as we speak," he grinned wider.
"Mmm…maybe, what time is it?"
"Uhm, half past four."
She glanced at the cramped sofa, fraying unappealingly at the edges. "A nap sounds delightful," she grabbed his hand, "but we're not sleeping on that thing, let's go home."
"Yeah, I think you made a good call on that one," he nodded, "Our sofa is way comfier, and you'll get to brush your teeth properly with all your muggle gadgets in the morning," he kissed her cheek.
"Oh, yes, I forgot about that. That should've been the dealbreaker I think," she chuckled absently, leaning a lot of her weight against him.
"You or me?"
"I'm feeling a little unsteady on my feet frankly, so I'll let you do the honours," she smiled, squeezing his hand and wrapping her unoccupied one around his bicep.
"Gladly."
With a pop they apparated to their cozy apartment, barely taking off their shoes and cloaks before falling together onto the comfy three-seater. Hermione dimly heard Crookshank's disgruntled meow leaping off the couch as she snuggled back into Ron, somewhat aware of a woolen blanket draped over them and more importantly, his long arms hugging her close.
"Did you…," she murmured sleepily.
"Fed him before I left," he finished for her softly, stroking her curls, to which she hummed serenely.
Their heartbeats lulled in unison, and Hermione's breaths began to even out at his neck, inhaling the comforting scent and slowly losing her battle with sleep.
Her last thought before she fell into her subconscious for the next three hours was not of annoying bosses but of her lovely red-head.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the fluffy one-shot. Don't hesitate to leave a review letting me know your thoughts :)
