Wuah, this is really fluffy stuff!

Long Since Overdue

And they sat like this for an eternity, just kissing each other lovingly…

Some time later they had to breathe again and broke apart.

"This was long since overdue." Hermione whispered kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, you're right." Ron answered and looked into her eyes again.

"I thought we might finally be together after I kissed you that night… remember?"

"Of course I do, how couldn't I?"

"It seems to me… I have been wrong."

"Well… I didn't know what you meant by the kiss. I thought maybe you had done it out of the heat of the moment. I thought you might think it was a mistake… I was so sure you were truly in love with Harry…"

"Oh Ron, you are so thick sometimes! I thought I had made my intentions pretty clear!"

"Yes, you have. I'm sorry, I got it wrong as always… But… I still can't imagine that… you want to be with me?"

He glanced at her sadly. "You deserve so much more." He said looking away.

It nearly ripped her insides apart. "Don't say that."she said softly. Her eyes were wet as she continued.

"Ron, you are such a wonderful and loyal person. You always make me smile and even if we fight I still think you're amazing. When I deserve you, there's nothing more I could ask for."

She stroked his cheek while she spoke.

"You could have rich guys like Krum. Or more handsome guys. You could have everyone, Hermione, I can't offer you anything." Ron said seriously.

"Don't you want me?" Hermione asked.

"What?! No, YES! Of yourse, I do!" Ron blurted out.

"Then will you just accept that I want you as well?"

He could not help but smile. He couldn't believe this was happening!

"Yes, I will."

She beamed and hugged him tightly. "We're together now." She whispered into his ear.

His heart beating faster than ever he said: "Yes, we are."

He kissed her slowly and it was more intense than before. It felt so right to have her in his arms. Everything fitted perfectly.

Hermione's hand moved through his hair and he rubbed soft circles on her back.

"How are we going to tell everyone?" Hermione asked against his lips and they broke apart once more.

"I don't know. Maybe we could tell Harry and Ginny first and then…"

He paled slightly.

"… then my parents."

"Well, you know… if we tell your parents we won't have a moment alone anymore…"

"You really say that we shouldn't tell my parents?!"

"No, I'm sorry, of course we have to…"

"No, I think you're right." He grinned. "We shouldn't tell them all too soon. We just tell Harry and Ginny and nobody else."

"We can't do that, can we?" Hermione said worriedly.

"Yes, we can! We keep it secret for a while, okay?"

"Well, we can try…"

"That's my Hermione!" Ron grinned and sqeezed her.

Butterflies raced through her body once more at the sight of Ron's smile and at the way how he had said "my Hermione". She was truly his Hermione now and she liked it. It had really happened. Finally! She had been near to giving up hope and moving on. Fortunately, she didn't have to try, because it would not have worked anyways.

"I've wanted this for a very long time now, Ron."

"Me too."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Of so many things… I was scared it might destroy our friendship. I was scared you might ignore me then. I was scared you would say 'I'm so sorry, Ron, but I've been secretly going out with Harry for a few months now.'"

"How did you ever get the impression I would be in love with Harry?"

"Well, it just seemed… sensible. He was so popular, famous, rich… always the hero, not exactly ugly… and I was just his stupid friend, nothing special."

"I was never in love with Harry, Ron, and I'll never be. He's like my brother. I think you are very special. To me you are. But why didn't you say anything after I kissed you? It was pretty hard to build up the courage to do it, you know?"

"I thought you wanted to forget about it or something…"

"I didn't."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

They smiled at each other and Hermione rested her forehead against his.

Golden rays of sun began to crawl into the Burrow's kitchen. They had sat like this the whole night, Hermione on Ron's lap. Now they were fast asleep in each others arms. The peaceful stillness was suddenly broken by Ginny who came down the stairs looking rather sleepy.

She saw Ron and Hermione and gasped. "Oi!" she called out and Hermione woke with a start.

"Who's there!?" she called confusedly and looked around. When she saw Ginny she relaxed. The next moment she looked alarmed again, as she realised that her arms were still wrapped around Ron's neck and they both weren't wearing many clothes.

"Explain." Ginny grinned raising her eyebrows.

Hermione grinned from ear to ear. "We're together." She simply stated.

Ginny gave a squeal of excitement and jumped into the air. Hermione gently released Ron who was still snoring and ran over to hug her best friend.

"What are you doing up so early?" Hermione asked.

"It's so terribly hot in my room and there is a midge that is really annoying." She answered. "And why are you two here at this time of day?"

"We both couldn't sleep last night and then we met down here coincidntally. Well and then… we started kissing." Her smile grew even wider. "And we fell asleep, I guess."

"Aww, cute." Ginny said and hugged her again. "How are you going to tell everyone?"

"Well…"

"You are NOT going to tell everyone!?"

"We just wanted to tell you and Harry and keep it secret for a while from your parents."

"Hm, I guess that's sensible if you want to have a chance to snog. Mum won't leave Harry and me alone in the same room for more than two minutes. It's annoying. We always have to sneak out at night…"

"See, I don't need to worry about that now."

"Well thought, as always." Ginny smirked.

More softly she added. "You are happy now, right?"

"Yes." Hermione said. "I'm very happy."

"Me too." Ginny said. "I'll go upstairs and you wake him up. Mum will be down here any moment and she'll wonder why you two are sleeping here in your underwear."

"It's not my un-"

"See you later!" Ginny teased and went for her room.

Hermione walked over to Ron's sleeping figure and stroked his hair.

"Ron, you need to get up."

He did not stir.

"Ron!" she said louder and began to shake him gently.

Slowly he opened his eyes and yawned.

"I never want to sleep on a chair again." He said sleepily. He then looked shyly up at Hermione. "Morning." He said quietly and stared at her amazing form in front of him.

"Morning." She said warmly and bent down to kiss him. They stayed like this for a moment or two until Hermione spoke again. "We need to get to our rooms before your mum comes down."

"Okay." He answered and stood up. "Do you want to go to the lake with me this afternoon?"

"I'd love to." She smiled. Hand in hand they walked up to Ginny's room.

"So, see you then." She said, kissed him and walked into the room.

Ron stood in front of the door. "Yeah." He mumbled. "See you then."

A new discovery had stunned him.

Thank you for reading! As always, I love reviews!

saule-pleureur