A/N: Thank you to everyone who is staying so engaged with this story - I hope you all enjoy the last few chapters. Please continue to let me know what you think!

Accio-broom is always super helpful in the beta process, but special thanks to her for helping me sort out the tone of this chapter!

Without further ado, let's see what Ron and Hermione have to talk about…

April 29, 2013, 7:05pm

My mouth was bone dry, and my mind went blank. I tried stammering a response, but no sound came out. The edges of my vision blurred, and I had to place a hand against the wall to keep myself from falling.

What the fuck is going on here? How is this possible?

"Ron? Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

Shaking my head, I ran a hand through my hair and papered over my confused expression with a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Umm, h-how are you?"

"I'm fine as well," she replied, her lips curling up. "I apologize for the surprise, but…well, I wasn't sure if you'd come any other way, and I was really hoping to talk with you."

"Uhh, yeah, I see."

Why weren't my lips working? And why do they feel all weird and numb?

"I'm sorry, maybe this wasn't fair of me," she said as her cheeks flushed and her brow furrowed. "This isn't what you want, I apologize. If you'd like to turn around and leave, I wouldn't blame you one bit. Actually, I'll do you one better, I'll just go-"

"Hermione, no," I stated, my voice finding its strength.

She stopped gathering her coat and glanced back at me with trepidation. "No?"

"I'm sorry, no, please don't go. It's just not what I was expecting. I thought this night was going to be…you know what, never mind. But, yeah, let's talk."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Do you want to grab a table or something?"

"Sounds good."

Tingles zipped down my scalp and throughout my body. Is this really happening? The familiar scent of rosemary and citrus wafting behind her would have been exhilarating if I hadn't been so confused. Confused, but also…kind of excited. And, as my senses returned to me, kind of pissed as well. She hasn't said a word in almost half a year and then this? Out of nowhere? What the hell was she expecting?

Together we climbed up the stairs and made our way back to a small booth tucked away in the corner of the restaurant. I could barely keep my thoughts straight as I followed her. What should I say to her? What does she want to say to me? Can we ever really work again?

A small stained glass pendant lamp hung above the table, casting a warm rainbow pattern onto the table. The nook was laid back and cozy; romantic, even, if you were with the right person. Inside my head, of course, I was anything but laid back, but I sat down across from her nonetheless, shooting her a quick grin as I settled in. We sat in silence, both perusing the beer list until a waitress came, took our orders, and headed back down to the bar.

"So…" I offered. I wanted to be more gregarious, but even though my heart rate was gradually slowing and my brain had started working again, I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the situation.

"Sorry again for the shock," she replied, twisting the silver ring on her index finger. "Probably should've thought this through a little better."

"It's okay. It's, uhh, really great to see you."

"You too."

"And…you're looking great-err, looking well. You're looking….you know, really…healthy."

Healthy? The fuck is the matter with me?

"Thanks," she replied, unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes just a little bit. "You look good too."

"Thanks, yeah, been good."

"That's good to hear."

The tension hovering over the room was oppressive, and I had trouble taking normal breaths. I knew that any reconciliation would be a slow process, but I didn't think I'd act this crazy. If I didn't try to get to the point soon, she was liable to think I'd suffered brain damage with the way I kept rambling.

"Umm, so I guess I'll just ask…how? How did this," I started, gesturing ambiguously between the two of us, "happen?"

"Well, it was Harry, actually."

"Harry?"

"We talked over the weekend and he said he would arrange everything. Not that I'm surprised, but it's good to see he's a man of his word."

I scoffed and shook my head. Fucking Potter, of course he would. He's always trying to push us together no matter the fallout. Or maybe it's just his idea of a hilarious joke. "Right. I see."

"That said, I know you weren't exactly expecting me. So I suppose that explains your reaction."

"Yeah, I got a different message."

"Right."

I chanced a glimpse of her when she accepted her drink from the waitress. Her hair was straighter than it had been when she was younger, but she otherwise looked exactly the same. The dark brown cashmere sweater she was wearing brought out her bright chocolate eyes, and her smile was as dazzling as ever. She even still wrinkled her nose when she took a sip of her beer. To protect it from the bubbles, just like always.

Ugh, fuck, how does she always do this to me? I've been miserable for months because of her, but then I'm reduced to a pile of incoherent goo as soon as she shows up? Fuck, I'm pathetic.

"So, uhh, what's up?" I asked, saying the first thing that came to mind just to give me something else to do besides stare.

"Not much," she said, stiffening her posture against the bench. "How have you been?"

"Umm, you know. Can't complain. Work is work, things haven't changed much at Cisco like usual."

"You know, I never thought I would, but I miss it there sometimes. That's a fun group of people."

"It is, yeah," I said, my palms sweating as I considered that I thought I was supposed to be going out with one of them at the moment. Wait, did she know that?

"And your place? Are you still in the same apartment?"

"Umm, for now, I guess. I don't know, my lease will be up in a few months."

"Kind of weird there without Harry?" she asked.

I nodded. "It is. Makes me feel dumb and co-dependent to say it, but it is."

"No, I get it," she replied with a muted laugh. "You guys lived together for a long time. Do you think you'll stay there?"

"Seems kinda silly to stay by myself, but who knows. Moving is such a hassle."

"Tell me about it."

"Oh," I replied as I decided to play dumb, "did you move recently?"

"I, uhh, I did, actually. Just after the New Year."

"New Years? Wow, so it's been a while…"

A guilty look appeared on her face as she looked down at her lap. "Umm, yeah, I guess it has."

"Yeah, uhh, well that's cool. I take it you're still, you know, around, though? Like, you live nearby?"

"Yeah, right around here. It's fun, I always liked exploring new neighborhoods, so…might as well, right?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Andersonville is a cool spot."

"Mmhmm," she said with a nod, peering out the window on the other side of the room.

I found myself at a loss for words again. It still bothered me that I had no idea why she was here, no idea why she had used such a cloak-and-dagger approach to meeting up with me. If she'd just called and asked, I would've agreed. But now I was stuck, engaged in small talk with someone I'd known my entire life, unable to move the conversation forward without knowing why we were there in the first place. What's worse, that same person had been kind of making my entire existence sad and lonely for the last several months, albeit indirectly. Being with her was driving me crazy in more ways than one, and my facial nerves twitched despite my attempts to maintain a neutral expression.

"So it got cold again, don't you th-" she started.

Something inside of me snapped, and I was blurting things out before I could stop myself. "Hey, Hermione? What's going on here? This is really…"

"Out of the blue?"

"Really awkward, actually," I replied, finally meeting her gaze with a degree of determination I didn't think I had in me. My head was spinning with so many thoughts, all of which needed to get out somehow. On one level, it was nice to finally be sitting and talking with her again; it's what I'd wanted for months. And after all, she went to all this trouble to meet up with me, and that must mean something, right? And her smell…my God, that smell.

No, snap out of it! If therapy had taught me anything over the last few years, it was the value of my own self-worth. I never deserved to be ghosted for six months. I made a mistake and apologized for it, and she did the same. That should've been the end of it. Where the hell has she been?

Across the table, Hermione's cheeks flushed. She swallowed as her chin dipped down and her eyes flicked around the room aimlessly. "I know. Trust me, I know."

"Okay, so…what? What gives? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see you, but I haven't heard from you for almost half a year and now we're just…casually having drinks together? What changed? Why now? And where have you been?"

She took a long pull of her beer and sighed, folding her hands on the table in front of her. "Those are fair questions. Honestly, Ron, I've been wanting to try to meet up for a while now, but I couldn't figure out how to go about it. It's been so long and I wasn't sure I could just, you know, call you up or text you or whatever. For all I knew, you were furious with me."

Her apologetic tone immediately caught me off guard. I was half expecting her to put up a bigger fight, get mad, tell me that at least she was trying now or something. With conversations like this in the past, she would've come in guns blazing. There was no doubt in my mind that she'd changed, and it caused my resolve to soften. "I mean, I was never furious with you, per se…"

"I know that now…probably knew it back then, too, but it was almost like I wouldn't let myself take a chance knowing that things could have gone south again, you know?"

I raised my eyebrows and nodded. "I'm very familiar with that feeling."

"Because the truth is that part of me wouldn't have blamed you if you'd just wanted to move on, go our separate ways."

"Move on from us?" I asked.

"Well, yeah? Or from…whatever version of us you, uhh, thought about."

"I mean…we've been friends forever, of course that's not what I want."

"That's what I assumed, but these…seeds of doubt still festered. You know as well as I do that sometimes your mind can play tricks on you in situations like that. Make you overthink things, if that makes sense."

Wow, did that sound familiar. "Yeah, I get it."

I should've stopped there, but part of me, the part that had suffered through a period of sleepless nights, decreased appetite, and a complete absence of motivation, simply had to say its piece. Setting my jaw, I took in a deep breath before launching into my diatribe.

"But…look," I splayed my hands out onto the table, trying to demonstrate to her somehow that I was being as honest as possible, "I do think it was crappy to leave someone you consider a friend just hanging like that. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know if I'd ever talk to you again or if you were still in the area or if you were even okay! You know how much I care about you, Hermione! Do you have any idea how hard that was for me? Do you realize how much I discussed you and us with my therapist just to try to get my head right again? I mean, who does that?"

Shut up! What are you doing? She's finally trying to apologize and you're yelling at her? Don't drive her away!

As soon as I finished speaking, her face crumbled in front of me. The pain inside of her was obvious as she grimaced, shifting uncomfortably in her seat and wringing her hands together. Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes, and she sniffed as she turned away and wiped her eyes before facing me again.

"You're right, it was. I have no excuse. I left you in limbo for a long time, a really long time, and I'm so sorry for doing that," she said, her cadence speeding up as she tried to keep from crying. "I know now that it was absolutely the wrong way to handle things, but it was the best I could come up with at the time. I was so scared of…losing momentum or falling back into old habits or…I don't know. It doesn't matter now, because it was all nonsense and I was so stupid to wait this long. Recently, I've been thinking a lot about how I treated you…not just that night or the last few months, but really for the last several years, and I just realized how unfair our whole relationship has been to you."

She paused, taking a deep breath and recomposing herself. "You were so…constant, such a good friend no matter what, and I used your kindness and patience as an excuse to just flit in and out of your life when it suited me. It was arrogant and rude, and I can't tell you how sorry I am that I acted that way."

In my darkest moments, sitting in my room and stewing by myself, I'd accused her of those exact characteristics in my mind. I'd poured more vitriol into my recollections than I'd like to admit. It had felt as though our relationship, which had been one of equals in high school, had skewed during college and the several years thereafter, and she often hadn't participated as fully as I had. There was a time when I thought we would never get ourselves back into balance.

But hearing her recognize that out loud gave me hope in a way that, if I was honest with myself, I hadn't had in over a decade. Maybe we really could make things work.

Hermione sat across from me, tears trickling down her face, and I thought back on our relationship. Ever since I met her, all I wanted to do was be there for her, especially in her moments of need. I'd done my best to comfort her for years, and the feeling was swiftly returning. But we weren't at that point yet. For the moment, just a positive first step.

"Thank you," I mumbled. "It means a lot to hear you say that."

"I should've said it a long time ago."

The conversation fell back into silence, but a more acceptable one. A more tolerable silence. The kind of silence where everyone had a moment to take stock of the situation and collect their thoughts. When I lifted my head back toward her, she gave me an apologetic, watery grin, and I couldn't help but return a smile.

"Look," I said. "You asked for time and I wanted to honor that request. I wish we could've at least kept in touch a bit during that time, but now…I mean, I am happy that we're getting back to a place where we can be friends again."

"Thanks, Ron. Me too," she answered quietly, biting her lower lip. God, that move always drove me nuts. "I've wanted to reach out. I was just scared or I couldn't muster the courage, one or the other."

"Yeah, it was a weird place we left off."

"Still, it's no excuse. I promise you it won't happen again."

"That sounds good."

"Okay, good," she said, taking a deep breath in and out and shaking out her hands. "Sorry, I feel like I'm doing this all wrong. It was my idea in the first place and I'm just babbling on."

I held up my hand to slow her down. "It's fine, don't worry. And I'm really glad you're here. I've, you know, I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too, Ron."

Our eyes connected for a split second, but that's all it took for the spark to return deep inside me. I had always been a sucker for her eyes, and when she paired that quick glance with her half-smile and a bat of her lashes, I knew I was going head over heels all over again.

"Uhh, s-so your new place," I stammered. "How is it?"

"It's still a work in progress, but I like it a lot. Cozier, less…opulent, shall we say."

"Downsizing a bit?"

"More than a bit. When I finally forced myself to go through it all, I had so much crap that I didn't want or need that I nearly filled our building's dumpster all on my own."

"That's an impressive purge."

"Yeah, and it felt great. Super cathartic. More than anything, it made me think about what was actually important, you know?"

"Which is?"

She turned away, trying to hide what was an obvious blush. "People. Friendships, not stuff. Things I can actually count on to make me happy."

"I see," I responded, giddiness rising in my stomach.

"I don't know if you remember this, but you said something to me in the car just after Thanksgiving. Something that's kept coming back to me recently."

"Oh really? What was that?"

"You said that you feel like a better person when we're on good terms. At first, it seemed obvious to me; fighting with your best friend is always going to dampen your mood. But recently I realized how true it was for me as well. I've always been at my worst when we're not talking and at my best when, well, when we are."

She looked away, twirling her hair between her fingers. I recognized the move; she only did that when she was embarrassed. The tips of my ears were burning and I could hear the blood pounding through my skull. A small snicker escaped my lips as my heart practically soared out of my chest. All the while, my brain was trying to keep the rest of me in check. Hold it together, Weasley. It's not what you think it is. Besides, she's hurt you before. Don't let your mind go there yet.

"Umm, yeah. I know what you mean," I replied.

Another silence dropped over the table, during which I downed most of my beer. Might need more than one tonight.

"You know I started seeing a therapist?" Hermione finally said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, and it's been really helpful. I think I was scared of it for so long because, I don't know, it felt like I was admitting I wasn't capable of dealing with things myself."

"I know what you mean. I was skeptical for the same reasons at first," I recalled, thinking back to my first sessions.

"I think I was just being stupid and ignorant. It's been so helpful, and I feel like I've been able to sort out so many things that were all jumbled up in my mind before. Family stuff, friend stuff, goals…you. We talked a lot about you," she finished, her cheeks turning a darker shade of pink.

My pulse sped up and I tried to hide a nervous snicker. "Umm, that's great. Yeah, I'm glad I gave it a chance, too. Really taught me a lot about how I could reframe the way I see things."

"Totally! I feel like I know myself and my tendencies so much better now, and that helps me manage things and keep myself more level-headed."

"Well, that's great, good for you. I'm happy that…well, that it's helping, I suppose."

"Thanks. I suppose I should thank my therapist for the fact that we're meeting here at all, honestly. I thought about you…a lot, but I never knew how to take the plunge and actually get in touch. If you only knew how many times I'd had a text fully typed and ready to send only to chicken out," she said, throwing me a sidelong glance. "Anyway, even though I'd been wanting to meet up for a while, she was the one who finally convinced me to pull the trigger, so to speak. She and Harry."

"Harry again?"

"Yes," she replied after swallowing a sip of her drink. "We happened to be in touch around the same time, so it just kind of happened from there."

"Well, you honestly could've just called me, but I'm glad that we're here now," I said.

"Me too. I only wish I'd had the courage to act on all of this sooner. Maybe we could've…well, never mind, I just wish I had been more thoughtful."

"Frizz, it's oka–err, I'm sorry, can I call you Frizz?"

She beamed back at me. "Of course you can."

A new round of adrenaline shot through my body, making me feel warm all over with a newfound lightness in my chest.

"Okay. Frizz, let's just say this. We've both made mistakes. Neither of us is perfect. And that's okay, that's life, right? Nobody gets through it without any bumps and bruises. God knows we've had our fair share. But I miss you, and I'd really like to be friends again."

"Oh, Ron," she replied, drying her eyes again and nodding. "I'd like that…more than you know."

"And, please, if something I do or say is bothering you in the future, just say something. I'd always rather address it than ignore it and let the negative feelings slowly intensify."

"I will, I promise."

Our gazes connected across the table once again, but this time they remained squarely fixed on each other. Both of us were still blushing furiously, but I didn't care. All I wanted to do was jump out of my seat, swing around to the opposite booth, and wrap her in a hug. And for the first time in ages, I was getting the impression that she might reciprocate. Reminding myself to breathe, I smiled at her, which she immediately returned. I felt like I was seventeen again, like I had just picked her up for the homecoming dance and was seeing her in a whole new light.

She was it for me. Nobody else would do.

"So…" I said, trying not to sound like a lovestruck idiot.

"So…"

"Umm, I've told you about me, but what about you? What have you been up to? You mentioned working with your therapist on your life goals…made any decisions?"

Her face twisted as she tried to conceal a smile, telling me right away that she was keeping something from me. I could practically feel her excitement. She had never been good at hiding big news. "Well," she started, shifting in her seat, "I suppose I have. I've actually been quite busy lately."

"Oh really? Busy with what?"

"Busy with my life. Getting things back on track. And…so, to be completely forthright with you, that's another reason why I wanted to meet back up now. Let's just say that the timing of this meeting is not strictly coincidental," she replied, the sly grin extending further across her face.

The muscles tensed in my face as my eyebrows knitted together, and I tilted my head and glared back at her. "I'm confused…"

"I figured you would be. Tell you what, are you up for a walk?"

"A walk?"

"Yeah. I have something I want to show you."