AN: This is just a small one-shot/side story I felt like doing. It has nothing to do with the plot, Fred or Hermione.
Spring was Ron's favourite season of the year. Nobody really knew that, and if they did they wouldn't know why, because Ron wouldn't likely tell a soul the reason he liked it so much. Ron loved the snow melting and the flowers coming into bloom, he liked how much everything came to life regardless of how dead they had once seemed.
They were now in the start of spring, and Ron was incredibly happy to be there. Frankly, Ron would have been quite happy regardless of the season, but it certainly helped boost his already high hopes. One may ask why Ron Weasley was so happy, if not for his secret love for the Spring; and if one were to ask he would giddily tell them what had happened.
Luna Lovegood kissed him!
While Harry was off being a champion and Harry Potter, and Hermione was off with her own love affair with his brother, Ron had been hard at work trying to win the affections of a certain Ravenclaw. It began with them harvesting mushrooms that peaceful Saturday in the Winter. Ron learnt that Luna was actually a neighbour of his, and that her father was a publisher. As strange as it was, everything about Luna appealed to Ron- she was blunt, funny, smart and adventurous. So when the girl asked Ron to join her and Neville in the greenhouse the following week, Ron was eager to comply.
He learnt that Neville was actually quite smart with plants, and that he was cultivating a plant called Gillyweed, which would later be used to save Ron, ironically. Him, Neville and Luna attended the Three Broomsticks later that day, and Ron wondered how different life would be if they were his Harry and Hermione. It didn't take much time for him to contently learn they weren't- because Neville was too passive and Luna was too hazy, but that's what made them Neville and Luna.
They only ever met up on the weekends, and while Ron often had other things to do, he always showed up outside the Ravenclaw common room on Saturday mornings to accompany Luna on her own day-to-day activities. Ron was a different person around her, and he knew that, but he also knew that it wasn't like he was faking a personality around her. Ron was still himself, just gentler.
It was on their third weekend in a row together, they were on the outskirts of Hogsmeade in a snowy meadow where small bee-like insects were swarmed inside a hollow tree. Luna explained to him what they were and why they lived inside hollowed trees when Ron finally asked.
"Would you like to go on a date with me, Luna?"
The abundantly blonde girl stared at Ron with wide, unreadable eyes, and smiled softly. "Not quite yet," she answered. The embarrassment was painful to Ron, though he tried not to admit it. Instead, he stayed quiet for the rest of the day until they finally parted ways. Luna asked if he'd still come back around the next week and Ron agreed.
In the week that followed, he finally came to terms with what she had said, and decided the romantic thing to do was to continually ask her until she was ready. Ron didn't actually know if this was the romantic thing to do, but Harry figured it'd be okay and Hermione was off somewhere pretending not to be with Fred, so her opinion never ended up being brought to the table.
Despite his insecurities, Ron still made his way to the Ravenclaw common room, where Luna stood outside waiting for him. As they walked along, Ron asked out of the blue the same question, and Luna gave him the same answer, "Not quite yet." Ron's defeat wasn't as heavy as the previous weekend, and they continued on as if nothing had happened. That weekend they didn't go on any adventures, but just sat together at the Three Broomsticks talking.
"I often wish a life where I had siblings like you," Luna admitted as she drank her butterbeer peacefully.
"You wouldn't say that if you got them- they're shockers, really," Ron replied. He was no longer hesitant around Luna, and while he liked her, he never felt too nervous to say anything. "If I could wish for something, it'd be that we'd met as kids. At least then you could have come around and then left when you got bored."
"That would have been quite fun. Though as hard as I could try, I couldn't imagine what it'd be like being around that many people as a child too," Luna said. From everything Ron had learn't about her, it was certain that she had been a lonely child. Ron didn't ever want to ask her if she was still lonely and it was mainly because he feared her saying yes. While he didn't know it himself, it was he more so feared not being enough to make her feel accompanied.
Luna didn't ask if he'd be back the next weekend, but sure enough he was there in the early Saturday, ready to spend the day with her. Sometimes Ron wondered what Hermione and Harry got up to on Saturdays. There was once a time they'd spend them together- usually uncovering horrendous scandals and crimes, or being attacked, or getting in trouble- but since the tournament, things were different. Harry was studying more often and Hermione was, well, living her life. They still spent most of their time together- literally every meal and near every class, but Ron sometimes worried that they were growing apart as friends. It was ridiculous, but there were worse things he could let his mind wander to.
That Saturday they spent their day by the lake, where the ministry was setting up stands for the second task that was going to happen on the following weekend. Harry and Hermione eventually joined the two by the lake and sat around wondering what the treasure was going to be. Ron tried to hide it, but he was happy to be spending free time with them- even if it was in the cold by the lake watching a bunch of old folks organise an event. The four eventually found their way to the hall to share a meal, sitting at the Ravenclaw table for a change. Harry was the only of the three Gryffindoor's to feel uncomfortable, as Cho Chang- the girl he had once liked, sat holding onto Cedric Diggorys arm.
They hadn't seen much of Cedric since the world cup- except in passing. He had put his name in the goblet, and his house was quite upset when he didn't get it, but for the most part he and Cho were both doing great. Harry didn't say it, but Ron knew his best friend wished they weren't so great.
On account of their company, Ron waited until he could walk Luna back to her dorm to ask her out for the third time and third week in a row. Luna smiled and kissed Ron on the cheeks, making him blush brightly. "Not quite yet," she replied, before scurrying to the entrance of her dorm.
For the first time since the Yule ball, Ron didn't come to Ravenclaw. This didn't surprise Luna very much, but as she met up with Ginny and waited for the event to start, she couldn't help but wonder where in the world he had gone- neither Neville nor Ginny knew either. The answer eventually emerged when the ginger haired boy was pulled out of the water, Harry and another girl with them. Luna cheered for Harry and Ron, and decided silently that it was best they put off their hanging out for that Saturday.
Luna went back to her common room after lunch, and the chatter was quite vibrant and lively over the event. It contrasted greatly to the day the names were pulled. While nobody Luna knew of in Ravenclaw had put in their names, nobody was very happy that Fred and Harry were called upon. After the first task things got more positive about their school representatives, and now everyone was excitedly talking about what they thought of the two boys and who they thought was better. Luna sat alone, reading a small editorial about ogres, when one of her senior approached to tell her that Ron Weasley was outside waiting for her.
When she exited her common room, the girl smiled brightly at the sight of a redhead standing a fair ways away from the entrance- likely scared off by one of the paintings. She wasn't expecting to see him that day, but was glad that he had made the effort to at least say hi. The conversation was brief, as Ron admitted that he had to head back to his own common room for a celebration. Luna understood, and thanked him for finding the time, insisting that it wasn't necessary and could be considered a waste. Ron said otherwise.
"I know you've said no three times already," Ron began, shuffling his feet awkwardly. He no longer blushed when he asked her this, but he always looked somewhat worried. "But would you like to go on a date with me?"
"Perhaps some other time, but not just yet," Luna replied. Ron accepted this, and after a few more words, they parted ways- no kiss that Saturday.
After the second task, Ron and Luna continued their weekly routine. Ron picked Luna up on the Saturday morning, and Luna would take him on a small adventure to investigate or collect some kind of creature, ingredient or plant. If they were near Hogsmeade, they'd grab a pint together, and if they came across others, they'd invite them. Over the following weekends they had taken Dean and Seamus far out of Hogsmeade, Harry to the woodlands by Hagrids, and even Hermione and Viktor Krum joined them on one occasion to the back of the Hogwarts kitchen. Ron wasn't particularly fond of that day, and was certain Viktor was flirting with Luna, though never brought it up and pinned it more on paranoia.
As every weekend came and went, Ron found a way to ask Luna Lovegood on a date, and she would politely postpone the idea. It was no longer hurtful to Ron, and frankly he would feel bad if he didn't ask. He still liked Luna and awful lot, and meant it every time he asked her, but the time they were spending together was good and fun and he didn't feel the need to demand an answer.
It was the very first Saturday of Spring and the weather was still cold. The snow had started melting, but still had a long ways to go before the flowers could bloom. Ron didn't know how many Saturdays they'd spent together, but it was enough to last the entire Winter, and his feelings were still unwavered. More than ever, Ron Weasley was certain that his feelings for Luna were true. He liked everything about her from her looks to her attitude. She brought out a side of Ron that he didn't know existed, and he was more than grateful. It was hard to wait, but he was sure she felt the same.
Luna waited for Ron outside the dorm room. There were some days she did that and some days she didn't, but Ron had no idea what made the difference. She held a picnic basket and swung it in her hand as she walked up to him and the two continued over to a small orchid by the kitchens. They had gone there once before to talk to the house elves with Hermione and Viktor, but hadn't returned since. To Rons surprise, one of the previously barren trees was now bearing fruit. While he didn't know much about plants, he did know that the cold was no place for them to thrive, and smiled in amusement at it. Upon closer inspection, he soon realised it was a dirigible plum, which Luna once told him her father grew. Luna plucked two off of the tree kindly, and left behind a small pouch at the stump of the bush.
"Quail bones," Luna smiled, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Ron accepted her answer as she handed him a plum and bit into her own. The two walked and ate in silence until they reached a patch of fully thawed out grass. The sun was out and beaming brightly on the two- highlighting their equal paleness. While it was still cold, they both silently appreciated the sun above them, and how peaceful it was to be away from everyone else.
Now felt as good a time as any to ask Luna the question, though it mightn't of been the one she expected.
"Luna?" Ron began as he sat across from her, watching her face the sun and smile brightly, pretty and vibrant as always. "Why won't you go on a date with me?"
Luna neither flinched nor looked away from the sky as she basked in the warmth of the sun. "For someone so bright, have you ever been told how brainless you may be?"
Ron blushed- something he hadn't done in far too long around Luna. "Well Harry and Hermione certainly think I am," he joked not knowing exactly what to say to her.
"That doesn't surprise me one bit. I mean, really, whats the difference between a date and what we do together every other Saturday?"
Ron went from red to redder as Luna turned down to face him, that sweet and gentle smile on her face as she giggled at the boy who sat across from her. Luna didn't mind that it took him so long to catch on- it made her happy in a strange way, that he was so far from conceited that he never realised they'd been going on dates every weekend for three months.
"I'm… so stupid, aren't I?" he managed, completely taken aback by the revelation in front of him.
"Not stupid, you just lack the arrogance a person needs to think everything is theirs," Luna replied sweetly. As she did so, she turned on her butt and lowered herself onto Rons thigh, looking up at him with the captivating eyes that made Ron's heart melt.
"So by saying that, are you admitting that you're arrogant?" he retorted, looking down and taking in as much of her face as she could.
"I don't think I'm any more arrogant than anyone else," she replied. The two continued to stare into each others eyes, embracing the warmth of the sun, before Luna finally sat herself up and kissed him. Ron was startled at first and at first flinched, but as he realised he was finally where he had wanted to be all this time, he quickly leaned back in and continued the kiss, brushing a hand through Lunas hair and holding her head up steadily.
After their kiss, the two adjusted so Luna could lay on his stomach, letting him play with her hair as they stared up at the clouds in silence. They didn't even realise they'd missed lunch as well as the rest of the day until the sun began to dim and the evening grew. They parted ways in the castle when Luna said she needed to rush back to her dorm room. They farewelled the same they did every other Saturday, and Ron smiled in a daze as he entered the great hall and found his friends, all eagerly waiting to know where he had been all day and why he had that silly look on his face.
"Luna Lovegood kissed me!" he eventually announced to them, looking sick with love as he stared off thinking about the strange girl he'd grown to admire.