For the past month Hermione had been engrossed in her work, staying at the office late bringing work home she had basically consumed herself in it. And it was all for her big promotion that she recently gotten approached to about basically being told that if she was able to win the next big upcoming case that the position was hers. She was more than thrilled this was what she'd been working for since she started. Ron came home to the sight of Hermione at the kitchen table with papers in stacks looking through all of them. He sighed, he hated when Hermione brought home work, as he walked into the kitchen he didn't get one word of acknowledgement from Hermione which annoyed him.
"Hi hun" Ron said rather loudly, Hermione spun around shooting him a look.
"What?" she said as if speaking to Ron had been the last thing on her priority list. Not even being home ten minutes Ron was beginning to get irritated.
"Just saying hi…" Ron said dryly it was taking all of his energy to not start a fight.
"Oh…ok" Hermione said flatly as she read, Ron shook his head throwing his head up in defeat. He didn't know what to do anymore it was like he was nothing to Hermione anymore. He understood that she needed to work more for this promotion but she was taking it to another level. They hadn't had a real conversation in weeks, he could've even remember the last time he kissed her let alone had sex. These frustrations had been building up inside Ron for a while now, he tried his best to keep them to himself but every once in a while they would come out starting a fight between them.
"Thought you said you weren't bringing home work tonight" Ron said repeating what she told him earlier.
"I changed my mind" Hermione said simply
"Don't you think it'd be nice to have a night just the two of us" Ron said trying to stay clam going over to Hermione and rubbing her shoulders. Instantly she flinched under his touch,
"Ron! Can you not touch me while I try to do work" she demanded as if she touch was the plague.
"Are you fucking kidding me Hermione!" Ron yelled Hermione turned around to look at him.
"What?" Hermione said clearly not understanding why Ron was so upset.
"What? Seriously. Hermione we barley talk anymore, when we do talk it's either you giving me half ass answers or us fighting and honestly I'm getting sick and tired of it!" Ron said enraged.
"Ron listen I'm sorry but you just don't know what it's like to be in a position where you have to work a little extra in order to get what you want. You know that if you were in the same position I would support you one hundred percent" Hermione said trying to be calm.
"What are you saying? I can never get a promotion? You're the only one capable of that?" Ron growled,
"What no Ron I didn't mean it like that, it's just hasn't happened yet" Hermione said trying to back track.
"Yeah I'm sure" Ron snapped, turning away from her.
"Ron right now is not the time to be all moody" Hermione said making Ron even angrier.
"I'm not fucking moody Hermione! I am genuinely upset that I've lost my girlfriend to fucking paper work! Do you realize we haven't had sex in almost two months! Two fucking months Hermione. I'm not saying we need to fuck every night but I mean two months that's fucked up!" Ron shouted
"Of course it's about sex, it always comes down to sex with you!" Hermione yelled back
"No Hermione it's not just that! I haven't had a decent conversation with you about something besides work in I don't know how long. When was the last time I even kissed you? Or even hugged you? If I get anywhere near you it's always 'get away I'm working' or ' stop your going to distract me' I feel like you don't even love me anymore!" Ron bellowed
"Ron you are being ridiculous! That's not true!" Hermione defended.
"Oh yeah? Then tell me that last time you showed me one ounce of affection?" Ron demanded, Hermione opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. Ron had been making good point but she didn't want to admit it.
"Exactly" Ron spat before turning away
"Ron I do love you" Hermione said quietly
"Yeah well ya know what I'm not sure if I can love someone who treats me like this" Ron spat.
"Ron you're being an asshole! You know this is only temporary!" Hermione shouted enraged by his accusations.
"I don't fucking care anymore" Ron said in defeat getting his coat, Hermione looked at him in panic not sure what was happening.
"What are you doing? Where are you going?" Hermione asked frantically.
"Oh now you fucking care about what I'm doing?" Ron said shaking his head as he headed for the door. Hermione began to follow his grabbing his arm to stop him,
"Just let me go" Ron said pulling his arm from her grasp before he walked out the door with a slam. Hermione stood their stunned that Ron had walked out, they have had bad fights before but never to the point where he just left. She suddenly felt the reality of the situation thinking back to what he had said that they had in fact not had sex in two months. That is fucked up, Hermione thought. She knew going after him now wasn't going to do any good, she sat back down at the table attempting to go back to reading but thoughts of 'what if Ron never came back' began to haunt her, what if that was his last straw, what if that was his way of breaking up with her. Tears began to rush down her face. She quickly got up from the table rushing over to the cabinets hoping there was still a bottle of Ron's whiskey left over, and she was in luck. She pulled it from the shelf unscrewing the top and taking a swig from the bottle. Her face instantly turning up into a sour expression, she never knew how Ron drank this but right now it was all she had.
She forced herself to knock back swigs until she couldn't taste it anymore, she sunk down to the floor leaning against the cabinets as tears streamed down her face. She was such a bitch, she hated how she got this way and the sad part was she didn't see anything wrong with it until just now. Until Ron had to physically leave her to get the message across, she didn't bother wiping the tears away simply letting them fall as they did she drank herself into oblivion. She sat there on the kitchen floor staring at the front door waiting for it to open again to see Ron but she had no luck. She had passed out before Ron had come home. Ron walked through the door an hour later, barley getting home due to the amount of alcohol costumed at the bar. He stumbled his way to couch not even noticing Hermione sleeping on the kitchen before he passed out himself.
Hermione awoke in the early hours of the morning the sun barely raising, she picked up her head feeling she was still drunk. Flashes of her fight with Ron and him leaving flooded her thoughts causing her to panic again running over to the bedroom to see if had come home but finding him on the couch instead. Slightly relieved she made her way to the bed not wanting to continue to sleep on the floor. Luckily it was the weekend and she didn't need to get up early, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
For the next week or so Ron and Hermione had been walking on egg shells with each other neither of them had decided to bring up the fight they had. Hermione did apologize for working but told Ron he needed to understand it was something she had to do. In Ron's eyes it wasn't much of an apology but he took it not trying to start anymore fights but simply waiting out till Hermione got her promotion. They tip toed around each when they were at the house together, Hermione every once in a while trying to make small talk but Ron simply not interested this time. Their relationship was at an all-time low.
One day Ron came home beaming, Hermione sat at the table doing work as she always did but at this moment in time Ron didn't care.
"Hermione! I need to talk to you I know you're working but it can't wait" Ron said happily Hermione looked at him slightly confused considering he hasn't been like this in weeks.
"What is it?" she asked looking at him with questioning eyes.
"I got a promotion! They want to be a head of field investigation!" Ron exclaimed Hermione's face broke out into a smile.
"Oh Ron that's great! Oh I'm so happy for you!" she said giving him a big hug and kiss for the first time in weeks.
"I know! There's just one catch but I know you'll love it" Ron said trying to contain his excitement.
"What is it?" Hermione said confused.
"Well their transferring me out to Ireland, and I know you have this big promotion thing but I've already asked and you can be transferred too!" Ron said with a smile, but Hermione's face instantly dropped causing Ron's too as well.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Ron said searching her eyes for answers he could tell Hermione wasn't happy.
"Ron I can't go…to Ireland" Hermione chocked out, Ron frowned his brow in confusion.
"What do you mean? I told you they can transfer you out there too it's fine!" Ron reassured but Hermione simply shook her head.
"Ron the promotion is strictly for this district in England, if I transfer out everything I've been doing everything I worked for is gone. Sure I'll have a job but I'll be basically starting from the bottom" Hermione said delicately knowing that she was crushing Ron, he simply sat in the nearby chair having nothing to say.
"Ron I'm sorry we can't go but maybe you can talk to them and they'll give you something here" Hermione said trying to be comforting be Ron didn't take it as that.
"Oh what so now me getting a promotion isn't as important as yours? You know I work just as hard as you! I go out in the field for days at a time on cases working my ass off twenty four hours around the clock! And just because you bring some papers home you believe that you're entitled to this more than me! You didn't even get the fucking promotion yet! I fucking did!" Ron shouted standing up now.
"Ron! You can't do this to me I've work so hard and I'm so close I know I can get it I know I will! Don't make me chose!" Hermione begged.
"It would be a different story if you've gotten it already but you haven't they keep putting it off telling you to do more and more work and yet never actually giving it too you!" Ron said.
"It takes time Ron! I need to prove myself and I am proving myself!" Hermione yelled Ron shook his head this was the last thing that he thought was going to happen. After everything that had been happening with them the past two months this was his breaking point.
"What happened to when I get a promotion you would support me hundred percent" Ron spat remembering her words from their prior fight.
"This is a special circumstance!" Hermione yelled.
"Of course it is" Ron yelled throwing his hands in the air.
"Ron you're being so selfish! Trying to take this away from me like this!" Hermione yelled, Ron let out an exasperated laugh.
"I'm selfish! Really? Me Hermione? I've been the one trying my best to not scream at you every single night for ignoring me, trying to understand that you need your space to do work. I've given you all of that for weeks now! And you didn't appreciate it one fucking bit because as soon as I was fed up and yelled at you I was the fucking bad guy but guess what Hermione you're being a self-absorbed bitch! Have you even asked me once how I've been? Cause I've been fucking terrible!" Ron shouted slamming his hands on the table.
"Ron I know it's been hard but I've said I was sorry I don't know what else you want from me!" Hermione yelled looking at him for answers.
"I wanted an hour of your time a day! Fuck half hour would've been fine just some time to fucking talk to you! I feel like I don't even exist to you anymore! I'm just this tenant you live with!" Ron spat.
"That's not true Ron I've talked to you!" Hermione said
"Bullshit! Maybe to tell me to shut up so you can work but that's about fucking it!" Ron said angrily before walking away from Hermione. He couldn't stand to be around her right now.
"Ron I'm sorry I really am I've just been so stressed! You know this isn't fun for me either!" Hermione yelled out, Ron simply shrugged he didn't care anymore. Hermione made her way toward Ron feeling tears well up in her eyes.
"I really am sorry we can fix this I know we can" Hermione said grabbing his hand making him face her. She looked up at him with her big brown eyes full of sadness and regret. Ron dropped her hand from his sitting down now on the couch putting his head in his hands letting out a deep breath.
"Please come with me" Ron said roughly trying to hold back his tears knowing that these next moments would be so crucial to their relationship. Hermione simply stood quietly not saying anything, the silence killing Ron every moment longer it lasted. He looked up at her eyes were glassy as a tear streaked down her face.
"Ron….I can't…." She croaked out not knowing what was going to happen next. Ron shook his head his heart breaking in that very moment, he felt a pit in his stomach as a hot tear stained his face. He got up without saying a word heading for the bedroom Hermione following close behind.
"Ron..." was all she could said tears streaming down her face now, trying to get him to look at her and once she did what she saw torn her apart. Hermione knew his mind was already made up, that he was going to Ireland with or without her.
"Don't…don't go!" Hermione pleaded, Ron shook his head as more tears began to fall down his face.
"Ron! That's not fucking fair!" Hermione screamed desperately.
"No Hermione you're not fucking fair! The fact that you're going to simply rob me of an amazing opportunity like this over something you 'think you have' is utter bullshit" Ron spat back before ripping his shirt off as he got changed for bed.
"So what! Are you just going to leave me!" Hermione yelled
"Hermione I never intended on leaving you! I wanted to bring you with me!" Ron yelled back getting rather close to her face.
"Did you even put any thought into my job!" Hermione said
"Yeah! I fucking did the first thing I asked was if you could be transferred with me! How the fuck was I supposed to know that this fucking promotion was only here!" Ron spat as he slammed the dresser draw. Hermione stood their silence speechless, Ron pushed past her as headed back out into the kitchen making himself is nightly cup of tea. He heard Hermione come up the behind him as the floor boards creaked under her feet. He didn't turn around he wanted her to speak first.
"You're going whether I go or not aren't you?" Hermione said through a shaky voice, Ron swallowed hard clenching his fists.
"I've already accepted" he said simply. He didn't turn around because he knew the look on Hermione's face would kill him. He heard he sob slightly, and then the creak of the floor boards again. He turned around confused, as he saw her walking away towards the bedroom once she reached it she slammed the door closed. He broke down immediately, tears streaming down this face. He was so mad and so hurt he never thought Hermione could cause him this much pain. He slammed his fist on the counter, knowing that this wasn't how it was supposed to go at all. He wasn't supposed to take a job in Ireland to get away from Hermione he was supposed to take it take get away with Hermione, to rebuild what they had lost so much of. And now their relationship was completely shattered.