He could barely make out the sound of the front door clicking softly. He watched her traverse to the other side of the yard, away from all the noise and people. He could see her cross her arms from the wind and then saw her wipe what he knew were tears with the back of her hand, still holding the shoes. He had always been the one to hurt her the most. Quietly, he banged his fist on the counter and rested his face in his hand, sighing.
Hermione was now silently crying. It was uncontrollable and every time she tried to stop, her eyes would blur again. What was she expecting, and now of all times? She should have known it wouldn't be any different with Ron.
Ron. Ron. Ron.
She could just tell him. She could. But she refused to let herself go. It always came down to this, through all the fighting, the bickering, the bantering. It would lead to coldness, to tears, to walls being built up. But they were just too stubborn to admit anything to one another. And she was tired of it. She had believed that after their last year, things would change. She thought that they had grown past it all, and they did. Yet, here she was again. Hermione was tired of fighting. Tired of hiding, of trying to protect her feelings when only they were oblivious. It took her so long to open her eyes.
But was this all they were? She rejected the idea that if they ever both let it all go, they wouldn't have anything left to keep them together. And that is what scared her the most. Because he was the only one she kept coming back to.
Ron finally was able to exit the house after several moments of agonizing mental arguments. He paced outside a bit before he began to walk over to where Hermione was standing, in the secluded part of the yard away from everyone else. He could hear the reception off in the distance and it took every ounce of his courage to walk towards her. He could not keep her waiting anymore. He could not risk never telling her, it had been far too long.
With recklessness and bravery coursing through him, Ron strode over to where she was standing, lightly illuminated by the moonlight and dancing fireflies. "Hermione.." He said as he took hold of her arms. The movement was so abrupt that as she turned, she let go of her shoes and dropped them to the grass. She looked up at him, with out any sign of recognition, for she hadn't expected his presence. Ron then grabbed her face his hands, wiping tears away from her face and roughly bent down and brought his lips down onto hers, letting years of pent up emotions out in heated passion. She let out a small cry of surprise against his lips and rash movement. But she soon wrapped her arms around him, tangling her fingers in his hair and returned the kiss, crying again as he held her waist tightly and pulled her closer to him.
Once they parted, she was left breathless and weak in the knees. She leaned forward a bit, lightheaded and disoriented, and he had to catch her, chuckling softly. Ron looked at her and could not think of anything to say to her. No words could express how he felt. But she was okay with that, because her king had finally come. She didn't need a lengthy speech, or roses, or anything but him.
She looked up at him and realized that his eyes were a bit misty, causing fresh tears to flow free. Her eyes were red and puffy and she sniffled again. They both let out a deep sigh of relief in unison and all he said was "God, you're so beautiful.." And he leaned in to kiss her again each time saying three words in between. "I love you…" "I love you…" "I love you…"