Author's Note: A little hidden moment from Deathly Hallows before the hunt. Ron and Hermione are so in love and obvious, just kiss already.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or these characters!

Hope you enjoy and leave a review if you'd like :))

Soon Soon Soon

Hermione exited the canopy to step out into the fresh air. There was a buzz and energy behind her as Bill and Fleur's wedding continued in full swing. She smiled back at the beautiful scene of friends and family, all somehow celebrating and enjoying themselves in what seemed like an impossible time. Her gaze fell on Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as they danced with one another like a couple much younger than their age. They were so full of adoration and youth; the image made her heart swell.

The thought of her own parents popped into her mind, wondering how they must have looked on their wedding day. Did they dance all night long? Did they laugh uncontrollably? Did they hug one another with no intention of letting go? Did they safely make it to Australia? Did the spell work properly? Are they alive? Are they alive? Are they alive? Are they al-

"Oi, you disappeared…" came a concerned voice, halting her growing panic.

Hermione turned to find Ron, making his way over to her with two cups of water. "Hey, yeah, sorry," she said, with a small smile.

He handed her a cup. "I was worried my dancing may have scared you off—hey are you okay?" He asked, looking at her closer with sudden worry.

Hermione hadn't noticed the tear that was falling from her eye; she quickly went to wipe it away but it had fallen off her cheek already. "Oh, shoot, yes…yes, I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Mione, what's going on, are you alright?" He set his cup on the grass to place both hands on her shoulders, rubbing the tops with his thumbs as he leaned down for a closer look at her.

His gesture made Hermione's heart flutter, his gentle touch and sweet concern quickly soothing her. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, Ron. Thank you," she nodded to him, then tilted her head back toward the tent, "Your parents are really adorable to watch, you know."

Ron looked back to the dance floor where his parents were still spinning and twirling around each other. He chuckled, "Yeah, they're pretty brilliant at parties. We'll never get them off of there…" he turned back to Hermione, resuming his close look at her. "You sure you're okay?"

She looked up at him but quickly had to look away, something in his worried eyes made it impossible to lie to him. She let out a quivering breath, looking up into the night sky as she tried to calm the tightness in her throat. She drank her glass of water in one gulp. Her shaky hands dropped the empty cup to the ground. "Shoot," she said, looking down.

"Hey," Ron whispered, crouching down just below her eye level, his hands sliding to her elbows, "look at me."

Hermione took a deep breath, closing her eyes in an attempt to trap any moisture that may have been forming. When it felt safe, she looked down to see Ron gazing up at her, his eyes full of sincerity. "They're okay, Hermione. Your parents are okay." He tightened his grip on her elbows.

She nodded at him, her eyes beginning to fog. "Yeah, yeah I'm sure they-"

"No, I know, Mione. I know they're safe and exactly where they're supposed to be," Ron interrupted sternly.

She could almost smile from his sureness. "Yeah, how? How do you know?"

Ron just simply shrugged, as if it was the simplest question she could ask. "Cause you're brilliant, Mione. That's all the assurance I need."

The two shared a prolonged look and Hermione couldn't stop a smile from forming across her face. Ron smiled in return, squeezing her elbows one last time before dropping his hands and standing back up.

Hermione collected herself, looking around and shaking the tingling feeling from her fingers. "Thank you, I-I needed that."

Ron slowly reached toward her to lightly stroke the tip of his thumb along her cheek. The contact was so soft, Hermione could barely feel it, just the burning linger his touch left behind. "What are friends for, yeah?" Ron whispered. They looked at each other knowingly, knowing they were friends for now because they had to be; because there was no other possible option at this time. Hermione couldn't help but sigh sadly at the thought.

"Well we should probably go back, don't you think?" Hermione asked, pointing toward the lively tent.

Ron looked back but didn't make an effort to return to the wedding. "Ah, I doubt they'll notice we're gone for a bit. Do you-do you wanna go for a walk?"

"A walk?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Yeah, a walk", he chuckled, "not a long one, the protective spells don't go much further than the Burrow, but there's a short trail to a pond pretty close by."

Hermione giggled, did he seem nervous? "Yeah, I'm aware, Ron. I spend most summers here, remember?"

Ron let out a strained laugh, "Right, yeah." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "So…shall we?" He nudged her shoulder with his as he made his way towards the pathway. Hermione snorted and followed.

The two made their way through the short trail relatively quietly. Every so often Ron would teasingly bump Hermione's arm with an elbow and she would quickly return the favor, causing the two to snicker. Hermione had noticed that Ron started, well, touching her more recently. It wasn't exactly something she could overlook. Throughout their friendship, the two had hardly exchanged so much as handshakes with one another, with each accidental contact feeling like an electric shock ran through the pair. However, that seemed to have changed lately. She could probably pinpoint it to Dumbledore's funeral. Ron simply refused to leave her side and made a point of taking her hand or rubbing her shoulder when her emotions surfaced. Hermione appreciated the moments so dearly and somehow grew to crave his casual touches even more than previously.

They reached the pond eventually, the sounds of toads and insects blended into the distant music of the wedding so seamlessly. Hermione took in the sight of the moon reflecting off the still water. "It's lovely out here," she said, looking at Ron.

"Yeah, it is," Ron responded, gazing at her.

A moment of silence fell upon them as they just looked at one another, smiling sweetly and bashfully.

"So…are you enjoying yourself?" Ron asked, breaking the silence.

"Tonight? Of course, it's all been so wonderful, a good…a good distraction," she smiled at him. She could tell his question was an attempt of just that, a distraction. She did her best to continue it, "Your um, Aunt Muriel is quite a character.

"Bloody hell that's one word for her," Ron laughed, rubbing his reddening neck. "She wasn't rude to you, was she? No filter on that one…"

"Oh just something about skinny ankles and knobby knees, nothing inaccurate," she said casually, looking back towards the pond.

"That's rubbish," Ron responded, joining her more closely by the water.

Hermione looked up at him and gave a goofy grin, "you think so?"

Ron snorted a laugh while tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "I know so."

Ron's new habitual touches were setting a fire in Hermione's belly. She wanted desperately to return them, to stroke his hair, to cup his stubbled cheek, to do anything to show him that she knew exactly what he wanted and that she wanted the very same. The real truth was Hermione was terrified of moving forward with Ron; to finally cross over into that territory she wanted so desperately. And it wasn't the unknown terrain of a relationship holding her back; something told her that would come so easily with Ron; like a puzzle piece finally falling into place. It was everything surrounding them that petrified her: the war, her parents, Voldemort, Harry, this unknown hunt; everything demanding every bit of her attention, and one moment's distraction could mean death, Ron's death. Her worst nightmare.

Suddenly the idea of Ron's lifeless body couldn't escape her mind, the thought of trying to live without him, wanting to live without him being an impossibility. She'd never survive it. Her heartbeat began to pound incessantly, she could feel it pulsating in her ears as her chest began to tighten.

"I can see your mind racing, Mione, what's going on?" Ron asked suddenly.

She looked up at him but couldn't seem to speak. Her mouth went dry and her palms began to sweat.

"Hey," Ron said, holding his hands to her red-stained cheeks, stroking her hair continuously behind her ears. "Tell me, please. I'm right here."

Hermione felt her bottom lip quiver, as she found the words that had been choking her, "I'm scared, Ron. I-I'm so scared."

"Oh Mione," Ron whispered, wrapping her in a tight hug. Hermione buried her face into his chest, clutching at his jacket to stay as close as possible. Ron continued speaking into her thick curled hair, "We're going to be fine. You have to know that. You, your parents, Harry, we'll be okay."

"You, Ron," Hermione stated suddenly, looking up at him fiercely. "YOU, need to be fine. Y-you need to-to l-live-" she could hardly bring herself to say it. She just pressed her palm into his beating chest. "Y-you have to promise me…", she tried to continue.

"Hermione," Ron said, covering her hand above his heart with his own. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm living." He threaded his fingers through hers and grasped tightly. "I'm living because you're living, and I'm making sure of that. You understand?" He asked gently but full of certainty.

There was nothing left for Hermione to add, that's all she needed. She could bring herself to accept whatever outcome as long as Ron kept that promise. She closed her eyes and nodded, resting her forehead against his chest.

They stayed that way for a while. Wrapped in each other's arms, listening to the sounds of the water and wedding. Ron began to run his hands continuously up and down Hermione's back, so calming and lovingly, she found herself sliding her arms around his neck to get even closer to him. Neither made any sort of movement to part, and soon in the comfort of one another, the pair began to sway to the distant music still playing from the tent. Ron's hands came to a rest at the top of Hermione's hips, as she moved her head slowly to look up at him.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Ron asked, continuing their slow sway.

Hermione nodded with a smile.

The tips of Ron's ears began to redden, the nervous giveaway even noticeable in the moonlight.

"This is all I wanted to do during the Yule Ball…I…I just wanted to dance with you. Maybe if I wasn't acting like such an arsehole that night we would've been able to…" He closed his eyes and hung his head a bit lower.

"Hey," Hermione whispered, moving her head up to rest her forehead against his, "I really wanted to dance with you too, I'm glad we're making up for it now." She smiled at him as Ron opened his eyes to return it with his own. "And you weren't a total arse…" she cheeked.

Ron raised his eyebrows in amusement, "is that so?"

"No…just a partial one…as usual," she said, beaming up at him.

Ron released a laugh, "Alright, cheeky woman, I'll take that." He shook his head with a chuckle, then pressed her head to rest back on his chest and grabbed one of her hands from his neck. "Well if I'm making up for a missed dance, we'll do it properly, yeah?" He said, now swaying them more from side to side while moving his feet.

Hermione fell right in synch with him, laughing against his chest as she responded, "Yes, very proper."

So they danced, slowly and peacefully under the moonlight. Every romance novel Hermione had read, every fantasy she had conjured up, didn't compare to the actuality of being in Ron's arms. The warmth, the safety, the tenderness, it could never be duplicated or accurately described; it was just Ron.

She released a shaky breath, almost overwhelmed by the ease and normalcy of being with him. If only this could just be their life.

She kept her eyes closed, listening to the steady beating of his heart as she spoke, "I have to thank you again, Ron…"

Ron was resting his cheek against her hair, he made no movement in his reply other than resuming rubbing his hand up and down her back. "For what?"

"For everything. For everything you've given me tonight…I didn't know how much I needed it," she whispered, keeping her eyes closed and pressing her ear to his chest.

She dropped his hand to circle her arms around his torso, halting their dance to squeeze him tight in a hug once again. Ron returned it before moving his hand to tilt Hermione's chin to meet his eye level.

He gazed down at her, with nothing but love and devotion in his eyes, "I needed this too, so much."

A whimper escaped Hermione's lips. Their foreheads were once again pressed to one another's and she could feel Ron's warm breath against her face, against her lips. His hand was still placed so softly under her chin. He slowly, so agonizingly slowly—perhaps worried he would scare her—moved his fingers delicately across her jaw. He moved as if she were made of glass, carefully and steadily, as if each moment of touching her required great attention and care.

He cupped her jaw, leaving his thumb to resume stroking her burning cheek. Hermione found herself arching further into Ron's body, now on her tiptoes to be closer to him. He held her steady with his strong arm across her back, allowing her to lean up and into him. The movement pushed their noses together, softly nudging and rubbing against each other as they subtly moved their heads from side to side in unison. Ron's thumb trailed ever so slightly downward, moving just below her bottom lip, pushing it up in an almost pucker. The intimacy in his maneuvers was driving Hermione positively mad. As she felt the tip of Ron's thumb brush so impossibly lightly across her lip, she didn't know how she would possibly have the strength to stop.

She could nearly feel the motion of Ron's lips as he whispered, "Hermione…I-I won't unless…"

His words momentarily broke the impossible spell their closeness had put her under. She knew just what he meant; he wouldn't move forward unless she told him to. She would be the one to tell him it was okay to cross that barrier. And she knew so tragically that they couldn't just yet. The realization fogged her eyes in utter despair.

"Ron… I-I…we…"

Ron knew immediately what she meant. He moved his head just slightly away from hers, giving him room to breathe heavily. "I know…I know, I know, I know…" his eyes were shut in defeat and tragic understanding.

"I-I can't, Ron, I can't. If-if we start now, I won't…I won't be able to stop…" she paused to look at him, "I won't be able to go back, and…and I'm so afraid I would be selfish. I-I…I wouldn't want to go with Harry, I'd want us to run…hide away somewhere and just…live as long as we could together...", she shut her eyes in shame.

"And we can't do that, can we…" Ron murmured, knowing the answer.

She looked into his eyes, this time not fighting her tears as she shook her head at him.

He nodded, threading his fingers through her hair to hold her face towards his. "Soon though, yeah?"

Hermione smiled through her falling tears, "So soon."

Ron used his big thumbs to wipe her tears away and kissed her forehead, quickly but sweetly before pulling away. "I can wait then."

She smiled up at him, as best she could. "So can I."

He smirked at her, holding his hand out as he turned his direction back towards the wedding. "We'll see about that, Granger," he winked.

She laughed, taking his hand and letting him lead their way back up the trail.

Soon. Soon. Soon, repeating in her head.