This is pure fluff/cheese. I am not sorry! This chapter is really long too, but it felt natural, so I decided to keep it this way :)
The rest of their first term back at Hogwarts had gone pretty smoothly. On their way back to London at the end of the term, Hermione had actually started moaning to Ginny about how boring it had been. Professor McGonagall had agreed to let Hermione move back to the Gryffindor dormitory just before Halloween, and Hermione had found the nightmares had eased significantly with company. She had tried to brush it off that she was just so used to having other people around; but she was scared to be alone and also missed Ron terribly.
Christmas at the flat had been a lot quieter than what they were used to. True to her word, Mrs Weasley had visited the day before Christmas Eve; leaving them with a fully stocked kitchen and a pile of presents to leave under the tree. The small group of friends had gotten up late Christmas morning, warmed the food Molly had prepared for them and spent the day watching Muggle Christmas TV shows and stuffing their faces. Everyone agreed that the peace and quiet was exactly what they needed.
Hermione had enjoyed spending time with everyone but, despite the fears that seemed to surface when she was in the castle, she was grateful to find herself with a quiet afternoon the day before she was due to go back. They'd held a rowdy New Years Eve party the night before with some of their old school friends, and she had a bit of a sore head post party. Harry and Ginny had decided to spend their day with Andromeda and Teddy, and Ron had been called to the shop to help George stock up ready for the new school term.
She had spent the morning pottering around and tidying up the remnants of the party. Once she had finished and was satisfied with it being mostly tidy (Hermione had made a mental note to leave the boys with a list of useful household charms), she had settled on the sofa with one of Ginny's muggle romance novels.
She was only a couple of chapters in before she was disturbed by the doorbell ringing. Sighing, she marked her place in the book with a bookmark, before getting up to answer it.
"Luna... hi!" Hermione frowned slightly as she answered the door. "Did you leave something here last night?"
"I needed some fresh air..." Luna pushed her way in without waiting for an invitation. "I may have had one too many firewhiskys last night; I blame Seamus and Neville. Anyway, Daddy said the Dirigible Plums that can be found around Hyde Park are super tasty if they're picked around mid-afternoon on the first day of the year. I thought you might appreciate the walk too..." Luna took Hermione's winter coat from the hook next to the door and held it out for her. Hermione considered trying to make up an excuse, but then decided it wasn't worth the hassle; and actually some fresh air might be a good idea.
Three hours later, Hermione returned to the flat in a foul mood. Her relationship with Luna was rocky at best normally, and Hermione's hangover hadn't helped as Luna described the plethora of magical creatures she was planning on hunting out once the school year was over. To make matters worse, the Dirigible Plums were actually just blackberries and they were far too early to harvest them.
She left the blonde at The Leaky Cauldron just as it was starting to get dark and let herself into the flat, hoping she could at least have a quiet hour before everyone else came home. She threw her keys down on the side and started to toe off her boots, not even noticing the change in the decor of the room until the sound of Ron clearing his throat made her look up.
Hermione's mood changed drastically as she finally looked around the room. Every surface had been filled with jars of her signature Bluebell flames. She looked eagerly for Ron, and finally locked eyes on him stood by their small kitchen table. Instead of the usual haphazard collection of kitchenware, the table had been dressed in a white cloth and lit with a single candle. Ron was dressed in a smart shirt and one of his tidier pairs of jeans. She smiled to herself as she noticed that he'd even combed his hair.
"Hi..." Hermione said breathlessly, quickly closing the gap between them. "You look smart!" She ran her finger over the collar of his shirt, a small smile playing on her lips.
The familiar pink colouring flooded back into Ron's cheeks. "Mum brought it back for me from France." He gave her a quick kiss before pulling out a chair for her.
Hermione took her seat. "I thought you were at the shop?"
Ron tapped his nose knowingly. "I asked George very nicely for the afternoon off a few days ago. We finished the restock before the party yesterday, and officially I guess I've stopped working for him now that Auror training starts next week." He pushed Hermione's chair to the table then took his own seat, pouring them both a drink.
"So Luna's visit this afternoon?" Hermione pondered with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah - I had to get you out of the flat! Was it unbearable?" Ron threw her a guilty look.
"I'll forgive you, I guess..." Hermione teased. "What's all this about anyway?"
"Can't a wizard treat his favourite witch?" He smiled as Kreacher brought over a tray laden with Hermione's favourite foods. "And before you ask, Kreacher is helping us willingly with the food. I asked Harry permission to ask for help cooking and he came willingly. I'll pay him appropriately, don't you worry..." Ron laughed as Hermione opened then closed her mouth again, doing her best impression of a goldfish.
"So you cooked yourself?" Hermione thanked the house elf as he placed a plate of food in front of her. She tentatively took a taste. "It's actually not that bad..." She laughed then tucked in eagerly.
"Ever the tone of surprise..." Ron, seeing Hermione was getting stuck into her meal started to eat too after thanking Kreacher. With a loud crack, the house elf disappeared, and the couple were left alone.
"Did you decorate by yourself too?" Hermione lifted her head after a while to smile across at Ron.
"Well mostly... Winky did help. I had to teach her the Bluebell flame charm though and I guess she got a bit overexcited..."
"It looks perfect..." Hermione finished eating and placed her knife and fork down carefully on her plate.
Ron took a bit longer to eat, which was unlike him. Once she was finished, he sat back in his seat. "I guess we've never had a proper date - snogging at the Burrow or in the Room of Requirements doesn't really count. I know how much you like Muggle traditions, but I didn't really fancy attempting to book a table at a Muggle restaurant. Then Ginny suggested I do this. She also suggested to Harry they spent the day away from the flat to give us some peace and quiet..." Ron realised he was rambling a little so stopped talking. He looked across the table at Hermione, desperate for her approval.
She met his gaze and smiled. She reached across the table to take one of his hands. "It's perfect Ron, nobody has ever done anything like this for me before..."
Ron smiled awkwardly and kissed her hand. "I'm glad, because I've got one more surprise for you before dessert..." He fumbled in his pocket for what seemed like an age before finally pulling out a blue velvet box. He tried to open it one handed, not wanting to let go of Hermione's hand; but after dropping it for the second time, Ron untangled his fingers from Hermione's and opened the box carefully.
Hermione's eyes grew wide, and she let out an involuntary gasp as she caught sight of the silver and emerald ring.
It took a while before Ron could bring himself to speak again, but when he did he was uncharacteristically quiet and deliberate. "Don't worry, I'm not getting down on one knee..." Laughing softly, he reached across the table to push a stray strand of hair out of Hermione's face so he could see her better. "I guess it's a bit like a promise. We are far too young to get married, even though my mum keeps telling me that her and my dad were already expecting Bill at our age..." Ron took a breath to steady his nerves. "I'm also very aware that I'm an idiot and I am shooting way above my level, but I want to be your idiot and I guess I just wanted you to know that what this is between us is serious for me..."
Taking the ring out of the box, he carefully started to push it onto the ring finger on Hermione's right hand. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is one day, Hermione Granger, I fully intend to make you a Weasley..."
"What about a Weasley-Granger?" Hermione laughed, despite the tears that escaped her eyes. "I didn't realise you were so sentimental..." She let him push the ring onto her finger before getting up. She moved around the table and pulled him to his feet, giving him a short kiss. She pulled away before either of them could get too into it and started to lead him towards their room.
"What about dessert?" Ron followed after her eagerly, despite his protests.
"Dessert can wait..." Hermione replied, almost breathless again. She got to their door and tried to push it open but was met with resistance. Frowning, she pulled her wand out of her jeans and used a wordless alohomora charm. She frowned as the door still didn't open.
"Oh, so this is what tonight was about then? Put a ring on my finger and then get me all wound up. Why is this door locked?!" She let go of his hand as she tried the charm again. She turned back around, her breath catching as she spotted him leaning against the wall opposite his room, a smirk on his face.
"Stop it!" She stomped her foot in play frustration at him.
"Stop what?!" His smirk widened and he lazily pushed himself off the wall, moving towards her. "What exactly am I doing wrong?"
"That!" Hermione's voice got very prissy very quickly as she watched him. "You're just standing there, looking all irresistible and I'm trying very hard to get into our bedroom..."
"I'm just being me..." He replied with a shrug. He placed both hands on her shoulders before staring deeply into her eyes. "Why are you so eager to get into our room anyway?" He bit his lip, trying not to laugh; knowing he was already pushing his luck, but she was looking sexier the more annoyed she got.
"I'll floo Harry and Ginny and ask them to come home early if you like? I bet you arranged for them to stay out late! I had a perfectly good book on the go before Luna whisked me away on a walk and I'd quite happily go back to that and you can spend the rest of the evening with Harry and your sister..." She gave him a mock threatening glare, trying her best not to laugh as Ron did. "It's not funny, open the door!"
Ron laughed more. "It kind of is..." He grinned as the door suddenly unlocked itself and he carefully pushed her into the room. "Winky was decorating and she must have just needed a few more minutes. I told her she had until we had finished dessert, but you just couldn't wait..."
Although she wanted to hit him, Hermione resisted as she walked into the room with Ron. There were more Bluebell flames in jars and the bed had been made with fresh sheets. Ron's phone was docked in a speaker, and their playlist was playing quietly in the background. The room felt warm and comfortable.
"How did you know this was why I was coming to the room?" This time it was Hermione's turn to smirk. "I was only coming in here to find my book..." Catching Ron's eye, she laughed and pulled him further into the room. "But I guess since we're here and Winky made all this effort to decorate..." Hermione sat down on the edge of the bed with a happy sigh, watching Ron closely as he joined her.
"Tonight has been perfect Ron..." She gazed happily at him. "I do love you; you know that right?" Hermione gave him a shy smile.
"I know..." Ron gazed back at her until he couldn't wait anymore. He leaned towards her and started to press soft kisses against her lips. With a flick of his wand, the bedroom door shut and he pulled her closer, slowly starting to push the kisses deeper.
Hermione found it easy to sink into the familiarity of the kisses as she moved into his arms. Pressing her weight against him slightly, she felt her wand pressed between them and moved to pull it out of her pocket. This movement caused Ron to flinch and pull away, and she pouted as she found herself deprived of his kisses.
"What's wrong?" She fought to catch her breath, searching his face with bewildered eyes.
"You're not going to curse me?" He looked pointedly at the wand in her hands.
"Not tonight..." Hermione laughed as she placed the wand on the side and took advantage of the pause in kisses to pull her t-shirt over her head. Throwing it to the side, she sought out Ron's lips again; her fingers simultaneously starting to work on the buttons of his shirt. Lips and fingers entwined as she pushed the material away from his chest and the couple slowly worked together, clumsily and nervously undressing each other as the kisses got more passionate.
Once all of their clothes were piled on the floor, Ron pulled Hermione further onto the bed with him, tangling his body with hers as he started to kiss against her skin. He took his time to explore her body, marvelling in how new yet also familiar this felt to him. He noted the spots that caused her to let out a moan and spent longer in these areas, nibbling and sucking at her skin. Eventually he made his way back to her lips, pressing a few butterfly kisses against them before pulling away slightly.
"Are you sure?" He needed to be sure she was ready to go all the way with him. He gave her a shy smile as she nodded her head, her skin flushed with heat. He let her adjust her position so she was laying back in the bed then carefully moved over her.
Hermione wrapped her arms around him, letting out another soft moan at the feeling of his body pressed against hers. She kissed a trail to his left ear. "I love you." She whispered into it before rubbing her nose against his cheek with a smile.
Ron shifted slightly and slid slowly into her. He studied her face carefully as she let out a small gasp of pain. "You okay?" He frowned slightly but was placated as she lifted her head to kiss him. Hermione waited for her discomfort to subside and then slowly started to push her hips back against his. Ron took this as his cue to move with her, and after a few awkward movements, he soon found his rhythm with her.
Hermione threw her head back in a moan; she couldn't believe how perfect this felt to her. She'd done her research about how her first time would feel, but none of the text books had prepared her for the feeling of him inside her, or of how it made her feel that she had finally found her perfect match; like their bodies were made for each other. She clung to him as he picked up the pace, whispering words of encouragement to him.
She thought she was enjoying it a lot until Ron's thumb found that small bundle of nerves just above her opening. It didn't take long for her to hit her peak, and she called out his name as she came. This set off a reaction in Ron and they held each other close as they rode out the pleasure.
Hermione watched as he finally flopped down onto the bed next to her, beads of perspiration trailing over his pecs. She immediately shifted to press her body against his side and rest her head on his chest. Her fingers followed one of those beads of sweat as she let out a content sigh.
"You okay?" He finally whispered as he lifted a hand to tangle in her hair. She shifted slightly to rest her chin on his chest, gazing up at him happily.
"It was perfect..." She carefully reached up to kiss the bottom of his chin. "Much better than I expected it to be. I think the fact we waited helped; and all the effort you made to make it special for me..." She pushed herself up slightly so she could give him a long, drawn out kiss. Eventually she pulled away and started to sit up with a stretch. "Come on you... you deserve some dessert now..." She found his shirt in the pile of clothing on the floor. "It's getting late, and Harry and Ginny will be home soon..."
Ron glanced at his watch before smirking. "We still have time..." He pulled her back to him with a grin and pinned her to the bed, starting to attach her skin again with kisses.