Time Slipped By

I've been trying my hardest to update this story—and my other GOT story—weekly, but as student teaching looms closely in the distance, I'm very distracted from workshops and such, so I'm definitely running behind. SORRY! Hopefully this chapter will reap forgiveness? It does have mentions of sex and kissing. You have been warned! This is also the last chapter solely in Hermione's POV. The last five chapters are from a 3rd POV or a mixture of both of them. Happy Reading!

Chapter 10: One Night of Laughing

Hermione was a firm believer in not saying things she didn't believe one hundred and ten percent. So when Fred told her he loved her—and then spent two weeks thereafter convincing her he wasn't barmy—she found herself not being able to say it back. Sure, she had had a major crush on him since she was about fifteen years old, but fancying someone and then telling them those three big words? No, those were definitely two separate things.

And so they dated. At least once a week they would go out on these beautiful dates. For two months they would end with a simple hug; Hermione being too afraid to let their lips meet. But then once she allowed that, kissing was something that happened quite often. She was a bit ashamed to admit that she was quite obsessed with snogging Fred Weasley. It had become a bit of an addiction, really.

She was also quite bashful to admit that she didn't even last four days after their first kiss before she wanted to—and consequently did—take their relationship to the "next level." And still, even with those major steps in the relationship, she refused to say the words "I love you."

Hermione would be the first to admit that she is a strong and empowered woman! So she knows that she has every right to shag someone and not have it be all about love. It doesn't even have to be with someone she is more than just attracted to! But she was more than attracted to Fred. She would even admit that she more than fancied him. But "love" was a big word and she refused to say it if she wasn't certain.

Fred, for his part, didn't seem to particularly notice her lack of that four letter word. He said it all the time, and whenever he did there never seemed to be any expectation behind those words. He never paused after saying them to listen for her reply. Never raised his eyebrows to question if she would ever say those words back. He just said them, and moved on to a different task. Usually continuing to snog her or…well other equally enjoyable things. He wasn't shy about his use of the word, though, and said it to her at least once a day.

Maybe saying it was easier for him. He grew up in a big, warm family that was not afraid to show affection for one another. And while Hermione grew up with two very loving parents, it was just the three of them, and their love was more shown in actions than it was in words. It wasn't cold in anyway, they just were more do instead of say sort of people. Very stereotypically British.

So maybe that was the problem. Or even not so much the problem, but rather why Fred didn't push it. He had known her since they were children. He knew what kind of person she was. If she wasn't saying the words "I love you" maybe he got the idea from her actions. She was very physically affectionate. She loved snogging him and once sex came into their relationship, she quite enjoyed doing that whenever they had the opportunity as well. And Fred always made sure they had the opportunity at least a couple of times a week. There was this one time in the workshop in the back of WWW where he just….wait. She was getting off topic.

Shaking her head of her more sexy ruminations, Hermione focused back on the issue at hand. Three words, eight letters. I mean, really, she should be focused on Fred right now. And how he was laying half on top of her on the couch in the twins' apartment. How he was running his lips up and down her neck; nipping the skin every so often, followed by a flick of his tongue to soothe the reddened skin.

"Honestly, love. I'm doing some of my best work here, and you're thinking through all of it." Fred's voice was teasing, but there was definitely a concerned edge to it.

"No, I'm not." With those words Fred pulled his face from her neck and raised a brow in her direction. "Really! I'm….well, I'm always sort of thinking now aren't I? That's not unusual!"

Fred smirked, "It is when my lips are on you.'

Hermione gave him a half-hearted glare. She knew he was right. The moment his lips were on any part of her, her mind usually ran blank. It was the best part of being physically intimate with him. Her mind turned off and suddenly she was free. It felt like flying without the fear of falling. Hermione was certain there was nothing better on this planet than snogging Fred Weasley, except for maybe that other physical things she does with Fred Weasley.

"I'm sorry. My mind is….elsewhere."

Fred's face morphed into complete concern now, "Is there something wrong? Bad day at work? Did Ron say something stupid, again? You know, I've told that arse time and time again to think before he speaks…."

Fred's ranting was getting heated, so Hermione rushed to stop him, "No! No! Ron hasn't said anything stupid to me. Well, anything that isn't his usual shite. No, I'm just….it's work. Like you said. A new case has gotten me distracted. I'm sorry. Forgive me?" She followed those last words with a small smirk and a kiss to his cheek which slowly trailed down to his neck, and then to his bare chest. When had he taken off his shirt?

Fred's face before she started kissing him didn't look entirely convinced. But he let himself be distracted. Hermione knew that when she moved her lips to anywhere that wasn't his lips it drove him mad. Snogging could distract him, but kissing him elsewhere made him forget his name. A trick that Hermione wasn't quite sure Fred wanted her to learn about him. Certainly not less than a year into their relationship.

But it was something that came with the progression of their relationship. She knew so much about him now both mentally and physically. She was certain she could even outmatch George now in her knowledge of Fred. She was pretty certain George didn't know that Fred shivered when she licked at the skin behind his ear. Well…she hoped he didn't know that. Just like he hoped that Fred didn't share a lot of the intimate details of their relationship with his twin.

She knew George knew the basics. Especially when he wouldn't stop giving her knowing looks after their first kiss. And definitely not when he smirked at her the day after Fred and her's first time together. And whether it was because of Fred's natural exuberance over their physical intimacy moving forward, or because he actually told George, Hermione wasn't sure. But she knew that he knew, and that those were things Fred couldn't keep from his twin.

Fine. She knew that was one of the downfalls of dating a twin—especially a Weasley twin, but that did not mean she welcomed the idea of George knowing specifics. Like Merlin help Fred if she ever found out George knew about any part of her body hidden by clothes. Or what type of lingerie she wore for Fred. Or that she loved when he held her hands above her head during sex. Or that she was ticklish behind her right ear. Or that she cried at the end of Casablanca every time she watched it. Or that she hadn't told him she loved him yet.

And….she was distracted again. Thankfully, Fred resumed his earlier activities of kissing down her neck. But now he was starting to lift her shirt. She was certain he was distracted from her distraction. It seemed obvious he was on a one-track to getting her undressed as soon as possible. But then he stopped lifting her shirt just above her waist, and…

Hermione started to squirm and squeal as Fred tickled her side with his fingers, "Freddddd…..st—op! What are you do—ing….stoppppp!" Her words were broken up with giggles and the occasional snort.

"Maybe this will teach you to think while I'm kissing you! I'm insulted, really!" His last words were undermined by his chuckles as she continued to squirm and laugh from his actions.

"I'm sorry! I'll stop thinking! Ple—ase! Stop it!" Hermione's squeals echoed throughout the apartment, but with her promise he stopped his wiggling fingers.

"I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't even snog you anymore tonight. You obviously are not appreciative." Fred's mischievous smile following his words was enough to send Hermione into another fit of giggles.

"You are utterly ridiculous, Fred Weasley! I just….can't believe you sometimes." He wiggled his eyebrows in her direction.

"I know, love. I'm hard to believe. To believe I'm so ridiculously handsome and charming, that is."

"Yes, that is definitely hard to believe." Hermione's smirk made Fred break his cocky-facade and begin to chuckle. Soon they were both bowed over with laughter.

The time laughing seemed to go on forever. Once they were beginning to stop, one of them would make a face that would cause the laughter to continue. But soon their sides began to ache and they calmed down from their highs, and so the laughter quieted into the occasional chuckle.

Hermione, delirious from kissing, laughing, and everything that made up Fred Weasley, was absolutely, one hundred and ten percent certain of her words, "I love you, Fred Weasley. I really, really do."

The surprised, and slightly relieved, smile that crossed Fred's face was a look that Hermione was certain she would love to see for the rest of her life.

What did you think? Did you like that I alluded to sexy times? I'm going to be writing my first sorta smutty scene in chapter 12, and I'm a bit nervous! Please review! Thanks for reading!