Here is another installment of this as I procrastinate writing the angst of the next PS chapter (sorry)

For the sake of this story, the Weasleys have a million animals and basically live on a farm.

oOo

"You're late."

Ron gave a sheepish grin as he entered the kitchen of his childhood home. "Sorry, Mum. I was out last night and time got away from me. I forgot to set my alarm and woke up late."

Frowning, Molly Weasley pulled him in for a tight hug. "Well, don't let it happen again," she chastised.

"Course not." Despite being twenty-eight years old, Ron continued to abide by many of his mother's rules, and among those rules was the expectation that he would be present at his parents' house every Sunday precisely at 11 AM for family lunch.

"Why were you out last night?" his mother questioned as she stepped away from him, her eyes narrowed.

"Just chess at Dean's, Mum," he said as he pulled a beer from the fridge, "Nothing too crazy."

"I was hoping you'd say you met someone."

Knowing it would only get him in trouble, Ron refrained from saying something sarcastic. "I already told you I'm not looking for anyone right now. I'm just enjoying life and not worrying about finding anything too serious."

"And let's be honest, what sane woman would want to spend the rest of her life with this tosser, anyway?"

Ron turned to see his brother, Fred, enter the kitchen behind him, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, hush!" his mother snapped. "Any woman would be lucky to call Ronnie her own." Fred sniggered as Ron groaned in embarrassment. "I'm going to take the salad out to the backyard," she continued, "You two grab the napkins and the silverware, and meet us out there."

"Yes, Mum," the two brothers muttered dutifully before picking up the aforementioned items.

"Hey, isn't Charlie coming today?" Ron asked as he grabbed a large stack of white napkins. Charlie was his second eldest brother and lived the furthest away. Usually, because of his distance, he skipped Sunday lunches with the family.

"Yeah," Fred said as he grabbed handfuls of silverware and stacked them in his long arms, "He's out back chatting up the bird Ginny brought with her."

Ron's curiosity was instantly piqued. "Bird? What bird?"

"I dunno. Someone Ginny works with."

Ron hummed. The woman was most likely a teammate on Ginny's volleyball team. "What's she like?" he asked.

Fred shrugged. "She's not my type but she's decent enough, I suppose. Charlie's scoping her out, though, so you're probably out of luck."

"Charlie scopes everyone out," Ron said, rolling his eyes. Eager to get outside to see this mysterious woman for himself, Ron led the way and opened the backdoor, Fred right on his heels. As soon as he rounded the corner of the garden, he came to a dead stop. "No fucking way," he muttered. In front of him, seated at his family's large picnic table between Ginny and Charlie, was Hermione Granger.

Behind him, Fred thudded into his back with a loud grunt. "What the hell, Ronniekins?"

The loud insult caused the rest of the table to turn towards the brothers, and Hermione's eyes widened as she locked eyes with Ron. "Hello," he managed, unsure of what else to say.

Hermione's cheeks turned pink.

All was quiet, every member of his family casting puzzled glances back and forth between him and Hermione.

"Do you two…know each other?" Charlie asked, breaking the silence. He was seated snugly at Hermione's side on the bench and Ron was hit with a sudden bolt of jealousy.

Seemingly embarrassed, Hermione brought her hand to her mouth and gave a soft cough.

"Oh yeah," Ron said, a smile lighting up his face. Napkins still in hand, he walked over and took an empty spot across and to the right of Hermione. "Hermione and I are great friends."

Hermione glared at him and he only smirked in response. "Hardly," she supplied, finding her voice, "He tried to steal my cat."

Ron's smile fell from his face as all eyes once again landed on him. "I was hired to steal her cat," he corrected. "But I didn't because she was able to prove to me that she was the rightful owner of said cat. And I apologized," he added.

His brother George burst out laughing. "That's a great story to tell your future kids."

Hermione looked mortified and Ron couldn't help but chuckle. "If you haven't figured it out by now," he said as he started to load his plate up with food, "my real last name is Weasley."

"I don't know why the idea never crossed my mind," she replied, rather stiffly, "You two have the same hair color, and I knew Ginny had a lot of brothers."

"Small world," Ginny cut in after taking a bite out of her corn on the cob. "Hermione's the sport's manager for my team," she explained, "I've been inviting her here for weeks, but this is the first time she's been able to make it."

"Ah," Ron remarked. "That makes more sense that you're a manager. Somehow, I didn't picture you being the sporty type."

"I'm not," Hermione admitted. "But," she said after a moment, "I find it rather interesting that you have tried to figure me out." Ron could tell she was attempting to feign annoyance, but he couldn't help but notice she also appeared pleased.

"Oh I have," he responded with a grin. "I'm a detective, Hermione. Figuring people out is part of my job."

The corner of her lip twitched, but she didn't respond and began filling her plate like the rest of his family was doing. The table was full of friendly chatter as they ate, and Ron kept sneaking glances over at Hermione, who was now talking animatedly with Ginny. His brother Percy was rambling on to him about his job, but Ron barely paid attention as he attempted to make out what Hermione and Ginny were talking about, though he could hardly discern any of it.

"How's Rat, dear?" Molly asked Bill, who was seated at the other end of the table.

"Rat?" Hermione repeated, her eyes going to Pig, who was, as usual, resting on Ron's shoulder.

"Bill's snake's name is Rat," George explained. "He hasn't been feeling well."

"Rat is fine, Mum," Bill supplied.

"Ron's rat's name is Pig," Fred said.

"Well then what's the pig's name?" Hermione questioned as she gestured to the pig pen in the distance.

"His name is Horse," Charlie told her.

"The Horse's name is Frog," Percy continued, "And the goat's name is Cat."

Hermione looked stunned. "How on earth do you remember all of this?"

"We used to have a frog, and his name was Goat," Ron went on.

"And after Goat died, we got a dog-" Ginny piped up.

"And his name is Cow," Ron's dad finished.

"And the dog we had before that? His name was Snake," Fred said.

"And we also have a rabbit, who is called Duck," his mum said, her eyes lit up with amusement.

"And a duck called Chicken," George shouted.

"And let me guess," Hermione voiced. "The chicken's name is…..Rabbit?"

"No," Ron said. His tone was serious as his eyes bore into hers, "his name is Bob."

It was silent for half a second before the whole table burst into laughter, Hermione's eyes locked on Ron's as they laughed together.

oOo

"So," Ron drawled as he and Hermione circled the pond nestled at the back of his parent's property. "This makes three times we've ran into each other. What are the odds?"

"Technically, it's twice," Hermione corrected. "The first time was no accident."

He sighed. "How much longer are you planning to hold it against me for attempting to steal your cat?"

She hummed. "I guess that depends."

"Depends on what, may I ask?"

Hermione stopped walking and turned to face him. "Who's lipstick was on your face?"

Ron smiled. He'd been wanting her to ask him that very question. "Ah. Well, sorry to disappoint, Miss Granger, but I don't kiss and tell."

Hermione nudged him hard on the shoulder and he laughed. "Fine," he relented. "The offending lips belong to Lavender Brown, my employee.

"Do you often snog your employees?" Ron definitely detected a hint of jealousy in Hermione's question.

He shook his head. "There was no snogging. Lavender kissed me on the cheek- as she does every day."

Hermione hummed again. "That's a lot of kisses."

Ron nodded. "They do add up, yeah."

"I'd wager she has a crush on you," she went on, "I mean, if she's kissing you every day, there must be some feelings there."

"Well," he said in a slow voice, pretending to think the idea over, "she does refer to me as her 'hot boss' and has a tendency to voice her dissatisfaction about my lack of a marriage proposal."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Forget fancying, this woman is head over heels in love with you!"

Ron started to laugh in earnest. "I can assure you that isn't the case."

"I can assure you that it is," she countered.

"Listen. If Lavender had to choose between sleeping with me or sleeping with you, she'd definitely pick you over me," he stated.

"Oh." Hermione's lips formed into a cute little 'o' shape as she came to realization. "I see."

He chuckled. "Thanks for letting me make that clear the other day, by the way," he teased. "You could have run off in a huff, but instead you didn't and allowed me to explain myself."

Her cheeks reddened. "I am a facts-oriented person! I saw the evidence and came to a conclusion."

"The wrong one."

She huffed. "No one can be right all the time.

"Speaking of kissing," Ron said, changing the subject, "Can I kiss you?"

"I…" she trailed off. "Now?"

"If you want. Not gonna lie, I've been dying to kiss you all evening, and unless I'm totally misinterpreting things, you want to kiss me too."

To his surprise, Hermione didn't deny his statement. "It's been a while," she said in a soft voice.

"Been a while?" he repeated, "Surely not long enough that you don't remember how to kiss?"

She laughed. "No, probably not."

And then Hermione was stepping towards him, leaning her body into his. Ron wrapped his arms around her, bending his knees in order to accommodate their height difference. When her lips touched his, they were warm and soft, and ridiculous as it was, Ron didn't think he'd ever had someone fit him so perfectly. As much as he wanted to deepen the kiss with his tongue, he held himself back, allowing her to remain in control. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, only that when they finally broke apart, he felt just as dazed as Hermione looked.

"That was amazing," he breathed.

She nodded in agreement. For a moment, he thought she was going to kiss him again but to his disappointment she pulled back. Ron loosened his hold on her, allowing her to step away from him.

"Don't worry," he said with what had to be a ridiculously goofy grin, "you haven't forgotten how to kiss."

"That's a relief," Hermione said with a laugh before taking his hand in hers. "Ronald Weasley," she said, "Will you go on a date with me?"