A/N: We've finally made it to the last chapter. Thank you SO much for reading this fic - I can't tell you how much the support means to me! Thank you thank you thank you!

And especially to my beta, adenei - couldn't have done it without you!

On to the final moments - who could use a little more fluff?

Chapter 20: "Will you, Hermione Granger, continue to be my tutor?"

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

Holy SHIT!

Hermione could barely think straight as she tried to catch her breath. Laying sprawled out on her back, her legs were still tangled up with Ron's underneath the wrinkled sheets, their hands clasped tightly together. His thick forearm was draped over her waist, and his finger was tracing looping patterns across the skin of her belly. He rested his chin on her shoulder, day-old stubble scratching against her collarbone. Rapid puffs of his warm breath rolled across her upper chest in a rhythmic pattern as proof that he'd put in as much work as she had.

The past thirty minutes had been an education in passion. Hermione had never experienced such intense emotions in her life, and waves of pleasure were still pulsating through her body. For his part, Ron was the model of a perfect gentleman; he was sweet and patient but also eager to please. Her gratification was clearly his top priority, and she'd never felt happier or safer with him. Everything that had been building up for the last six months came pouring out of both of them as they ripped into each other, never satisfied, never able to find enough contact or friction. His hands had explored parts of her body that she hadn't even discovered herself, and the payoff took her breath away. It had been frenzied and clumsy and exciting and painful at times…and absolutely, mind-blowingly amazing.

She could feel a grin spreading across his face as he cleared his throat. "So…I think your pacemaker did just fine, don't you?"

His head vibrated against her body as she laughed, running her hands through his damp hair. "It sure did."

"And you're sure you're okay? Nothing feels weird or abnormal?"

"Oh, that was highly abnormal, but in the best way possible."

Propping himself up on his elbow, he kissed her on the forehead and helped her unstick her hair from her face and sweep it behind her ear. "And how about…down there? I know the first time can be painful."

"It hurt a little at first, but by the end…distant memory. Still, thank you for being so gentle," she said, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

With a shift of her body, she rolled toward him, snuggling under his arm and against his chest. She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent, the scent she'd come to think of as more comforting than any other. As a teenager, she'd always daydreamed about staying wrapped up in bed with her crush for the entire day, his body keeping her warm. For years, it had felt like an unattainable pipedream, never destined to come true as boy after boy showed no interest.

But not anymore. I finally have it, and it's so much better than I ever imagined it could be.

Ron leaned back and met her gaze, both of them breaking out into wide smiles. "Do you think it would be alright if…if I stay here tonight?"

In response, she hugged him even tighter. "Don't you dare go anywhere."

"Nowhere?"

"Nowhere."

"Not even to get the rest of the champagne? Maybe a snack or something?"

Their mostly fully wine glasses had been happily abandoned when they moved into the bedroom, but after all of that activity, a cool drink sounded perfect. "Oh, that's right! Alright, getting snacks is fine."

With a quick peck on her cheek, he rolled off the bed and put his boxer briefs back on before padding out to the living room. Hermione couldn't help but admire his sculpted body as he walked past, each glimpse reminding her of how that part of him had felt against her skin.

As soon as he'd gone and she was alone in her room, though, memories of a conversation with Parvati started coming back to her, firing off a warning that she'd kept tucked away for years.

"When you finally have sex with a guy, Hermione, remember to pee as soon as you're done or you'll definitely get a UTI. It totally happened to me after senior prom, and my crotch was on fire for our entire fucking graduation ceremony."

With her roommate's words echoing in her mind, she snuck out of bed to use the bathroom. Dishes were still clattering around in the kitchen by the time she came out and flopped back on the mattress, giggling to herself with sheer elation as she looked at the rest of their clothing littering her floor. How had she gotten so lucky?

Ron rejoined her a few moments later, carefully balancing two full glasses of bubbly liquid and a plate piled high with grapes and sliced cheese.

"Your French picnic, my dear," he said, handing her the champagne and rejoining her under the sheets.

Her eyes widened and she licked her lips as she sat up, taking in the whole scene. It almost seemed too good to be true, too cliche to be real.

A nearly naked man bringing me a snack in bed after making love to me? I could get used to this…

"Ooh, merci beaucoup!"

Ron took a swig of champagne and picked up a small bunch of grapes. "Want me to feed them to you like you're Cleopatra or something?"

Nearly spluttering, she choked out a laugh. "I don't know, I don't have any palm leaves handy that you can use to fan me. Without that, the whole experience would be ruined."

"Ahh, good point," he responded, popping a slice of cheese into his mouth. "Maybe I could use one of these millions of books instead?"

"Excuse me! I removed all of my books from the bed before…you know?"

She immediately regretted her choice of words as he turned to her with a playful grin. "Before you mounted me like a bull rider?"

"I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"More like climbed onto it, if I remember correctly…"

"You're impossible!" she answered, rolling into him yet unable to contain her smile. He placed both of their wine glasses on the nightstand and wrapped her in a big hug. Before she knew it, she was being peppered with kisses again, trying to break free when he started to tickle her side. The way he kept grabbing her almost made her consider an encore, although they were probably both too tired for that.

For now…

After another handful of grapes, she settled back into the crook of his shoulder. His bicep hardened as he laid his arm over her chest, and she couldn't help running her fingers over the firm muscle. Not only was it incredibly sexy, but it represented the security she felt for the last several weeks. Everything about the night was just perfect, and she never wanted the feeling to end.

"Hey, can I be honest with you?" she asked, trying not to shudder as his fingers danced over her skin.

He placed one more kiss on top of her head and pulled her closer to him. "Of course."

"When we first got home and I came in here, even though I'd…already made up my mind, I was still freaking out. If you could've heard my internal dialogue…well, you would've thought I was even more neurotic than you know me to be. My hands were shaking the whole time I was lighting these candles."

"Well, can I be honest with you?"

"It's only fair…"

"When you dragged me in here, I was freaking out a little myself. In a good way, of course, but still…"

"Really?"

"Absolutely. I mean, look, I had such an amazing time with you tonight, and it's not as though it never crossed my mind…especially when I saw you in that dress. But still, I never would've assumed anything. Even though we've been friends for a while now, us…together…well, it's only been a month or two."

"I know, but–"

"–And I never wanted you to think that I was only in it for, you know, that last part there."

"Oh, Ron, I never thought that. I promise, I didn't. You've been nothing but kind and respectful throughout. And just so you know, you looked pretty spiffy yourself tonight, which made it nearly impossible for me to keep my hands off of you. By the end of the night…well, I thought that I might just explode if we didn't…"

"Right," he said with a chuckle. "Me too."

"And I'm sorry if I didn't really, err, know what I was doing."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm obviously not very experienced or anything, so I just had to kind of…go with the flow or something."

"Hermione," he whispered into her ear, "I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. Everything about that was fantastic. Not that I was surprised, of course. You've always been a very quick study."

She craned her neck to peek at him, beaming as she tried to withhold a giggle. As she shifted onto her side, he followed her, his chest flush against her back. She fit perfectly in his arms, and she wouldn't mind sleeping like that every night. Somehow, the rest of the summer was looking like it would be even better than the first part.

Her eyelids were getting heavy, and even though she knew she should get cleaned up and brush her teeth before going to bed, she felt too peaceful to move. Everything else drifted from her mind; medical school applications, schoolwork, research…none of it mattered at the moment. He mattered…they mattered. The future could wait; the present was too enticing. As far as she was concerned, she had everything she needed right in her bed.

"Hey, Hermione, guess what?" Ron said, closing her apartment door shut behind him. "Really big news!"

Hermione flew out of her room and greeted Ron with a kiss. He was sweaty, like he had run all the way there from across campus, but she didn't care. The way his eyes lit up told her that something important had happened, and she couldn't wait to share in his excitement.

They were only a month or so into the new school year, and while they were both busy with classes, they still made time to see each other every day. More often than not, he ended up in her bed for the night. She always slept better on those nights. During the day, though, they would spend their time studying together or preparing for exams. Ron was taking a physiology class, a chemistry class, and a couple of intro engineering classes, and he needed all the time he could get to keep up with the work. Hermione's schedule wasn't quite as bad as she'd already completed the hardest of the pre-medical coursework, but continuing to serve as a TA for Dr. Sprout in addition to her full load of classes kept her quite busy as well.

Which is not to say they didn't find time for each other. Every week, they made sure that there were at least three nights that they had dinner together, ignoring everything related to school as they cooked and shared meals with Parvati, Harry, and Seamus. One time, the five of them had all eaten together, and while they weren't quite sure what happened afterward, Seamus and Parvati couldn't keep their eyes off of each other the whole night. Since then, they'd seen a bit less of their respective roommates and shared the same suspicion as to why.

True to his word, Ron took Hermione back to the restaurant where they'd spent their first date as well, and they tried to have a real date night at least once every few weeks when there was a lull in exams. Hermione had never been happier, and it helped her realize how important it was to have balance between schoolwork and her personal life. That equilibrium had been missing in the past, and once he came along, she hoped it would never be missing again. Somewhere along the way, Ron had become her best friend, and she couldn't wait to keep learning more and more about him every day.

Pulling him by the arm into her room, "What? You have news? I have news! Okay, okay, go ahead, I'm ready."

"Really, you too? Wow, okay, umm…you can go first if you like."

She shook her head adamantly as he tossed his bag into the corner of her bedroom. "Nope, I insist."

"You're sure?"

"Out with it!"

"Alright, well…you know how Dr. Derwent and I have been working together, right?"

"Oh, really?" she offered with sarcastic excitement. "No, you haven't told me about it every night for the last four months!"

With a playful shove, he tackled her onto the bed, his lips finding hers as she wrapped her legs around his waist and laughed through the kiss.

"I'm serious!" he said, rolling off of her and sitting back up straight. "Well, she's been impressed with my work and my dedication, and she's suggested that I work with her a little more…permanently."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he started, barely able to slow himself down enough to speak coherently, "obviously I'm just starting my classwork in biomechanical engineering, so the offer is contingent upon me completing all of that in the next two years and graduating in good standing. But if I can do that, she's told me that she'll sponsor my application to the Biomech Master's program so that I can stay and continue to work with her!"

The gasp that came from Hermione's mouth could be heard throughout the whole neighborhood. "You're kidding? That's amazing!"

She leaned forward and hugged him tightly, her eyes stinging with moisture.

"It is, I know! I wasn't expecting anything like that…at least not this soon."

"And you're sure that's what you want?"

"Yeah, it really is," he answered. His tone sobered as he picked up her hand and caressed the soft skin of her pinky. "Hermione, I hope that you don't have to worry about any more health problems for a long time. Decades, even. But if you do, and if the time comes when you need something new, I want to be the one who helps make it for you."

Beaming back at him, she tugged him close to her again. "You're the sweetest man I've ever met, do you know that?"

"It's true, though. This is what I want to do. Thank you for helping me figure it out."

"Can't say I really did much besides exist…"

"Maybe…but that was enough."

Their lips crashed together again, quickly opening to allow each other's tongues to explore freely. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of allowing her hands to slide over his body, memorizing every contour as she went. And he returned the favor, sending shivers down her spine as he remembered each of the spots that drove her crazy.

"All right," he said, finally breaking free to catch his breath. "Your turn. What's your news?"

"Right! So, you remember how I planned to send my medical school applications to a bunch of schools but then ended up applying early decision to Angell?"

His eyebrows arched, and she was sure she had his attention. "Yeah…"

"Well…I just got an email from them with their decision."

The bed shook as Ron jumped off of it, scrambling to his feet with excitement. "And?!"

"And I haven't opened it yet."

"Wait, really? Why not?"

"I wanted to wait for you."

Sitting back down next to her, he placed his arm around her, still bouncing with enthusiasm. "Oh my God, isn't the suspense killing you, though? Let's do it!"

"I will, I will! It's just…look, I want you to know that no matter what happens, you are so important to me, and–"

"I'm going to stop you right there," he interrupted with a squeeze of her arm. "Let's not do that. No hypotheticals, okay? I have a good feeling about this."

Planning for every contingency ahead of time was one of Hermione's favorite things to do, but she understood where he was coming from. Why spend time thinking about a future in which they couldn't be together if it might not be necessary?

"Fine. You'd better be right."

"I will be."

Hands shaking, she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her laptop. Logging into the application portal, she saw a new message in her inbox, and an attachment at the bottom of the text caught her eye.

HGDecision pdf

"Ready?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, exhaling through pursed lips and trying to calm herself down. "Yes."

The message opened in a separate tab, and she started to read.

"Dear Miss Granger, we are delighted to inform you that–"

But she was unable to continue, swallowed up by Ron's embrace as he tossed her laptop onto the bedspread and held her tightly, cheering at the top of his lungs.

"I knew it! I knew you'd get in!" he cried. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

Shock had taken over, and she could barely speak. She returned his hug and smiled to herself, tears returning to her eyes. Medical school. She'd done it. So many years of hard work and sacrifice had paid off, and she was finally on her way to doing what she knew she'd love to do with her life. It didn't seem real, not yet. But she could be sure of one thing; Ron would make sure she celebrated her achievement.

Ron. He's staying too. Now we can have a real future together.

By the time they separated, her face was wet and splotchy, and Ron's eyes were a bit bloodshot as well.

"I can't believe it," she said, her breath hitching in her throat.

"I can. Absolutely I can," Ron replied, kissing her on the side of her head. "You've worked hard for this, and you deserve it. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more!"

"Oh really? And how many people do you know applying to medical school?"

"One, but she's, like, crazy smart."

She fell backward on the bed laughing, and he joined her, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward him. They both wound up on their sides, noses inches apart. He snuck forward for a quick kiss before running his hand up and down her side, eventually landing on her waist.

"You know what this means, right?" he posed. The way his lip curled up told her that he was already formulating plans in his mind.

"No, what does this mean?"

"It means we're going out tonight. You and me, anywhere you want."

"Oh, Ron, that's okay, it's a Thursday night, we both have classes tomorrow–"

His lips shot forward, stopping her mid-sentence as his tongue got in the way of her forming words. Was there really any use fighting him? And did she really want to?

"I'm. Not. Taking. No. For. An. Answer," he said, trailing kisses down her neck after each word.

A squeal escaped her lips as he found her ticklish spot, and she tried to push him away. "Okay, fine! Fine! But we have to be back at a reasonable time and make sure we get enough sleep."

Ron continued to slide his lips further down her upper chest, tugging at the neckline of her t-shirt to continue his southward trajectory. His other hand tucked under the lower hem and started slowly climbing up her belly. "Hmm, well, in that case, we'd probably want to make it a reasonable time plus an extra thirty minutes. As I said, all this good news deserves…commemoration."

The truth was that she would love to go out and have fun with him. But as his hands and lips continued roaming over her body, she was starting to have second thoughts.

Who says we have to go anywhere? Staying here seems like just as good of an option.

To her slight disappointment, though, he stopped himself, sliding back up the mattress until he was next to her again. "Gotta save something for later, right?"

"I mean…maybe?" she responded with a disgruntled huff. "But what do you expect me to say after you start doing…that?"

"I'm sorry, that's true. I'll behave, I promise."

"Only for now, though."

"Oh, I definitely won't behave later."

As he wrapped her in his arms again, they shared a laugh, melting into each other and into the bed. Hermione knew that she still had some work to finish up if they were going to lose a night of studying, but she couldn't move at the moment even if she wanted to.

"So you know," he said, his tone still mischievous, "it looks like we'll both be in town for the foreseeable future. Hope you're not getting sick of me yet."

"Never," she said, placing a kiss on his stubble-covered cheek.

"That's good, because I was hoping we could stay study partners."

"Study partners? Is that what you call this?"

"Among other titles…"

She rolled toward him, finding the space under his arm where she fit like a glove as a smile played across her face. "I don't know…I'm pretty smart, you know. Going to medical school soon, so…"

Ron grinned at her and poked her in the side, prompting a quick giggle. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. Plus, I have very specific requirements for a study partner."

"Okay, let's hear them."

"Hmm, let's see. First of all, they have to be tall, preferably with red hair. Lots of tiny freckles all over their skin is a plus," she said, connecting the spots on his arm with her fingernail. "Has to be serious, but not too serious…I need someone to help me realize when it's time to relax and have fun sometimes. Lastly and most importantly, and I can't overstate this last one, they have to be wearing a SpongeBob shirt at this very moment."

Glancing down at the yellow character splashed across his chest, Ron smirked. "Do they have to make it look impossibly dashing?"

"They'd better."

"Ahh, shit, I guess I'm out. Well, fair enough, it's probably for the best. This one time, I even needed a tutor to help me pass one of my classes. Can you believe it? Talk about a slacker…"

The smile she tried to repress shone through, and she grabbed his hand in hers, her heart feeling full. "A tutor? God, I bet she was a nightmare."

Placing a finger on her chin, he lifted her head to meet his gaze. "No, she was perfect."

A long, slow kiss followed, the kind of kiss they shared when she never wanted him to let her go. Time could have stopped entirely or rushed ahead by an hour, and she would've had no clue. All she could focus on was Ron.

"You know, now that I think about it, you kind of match that description perfectly," she said as they separated.

"You think?"

"Definitely."

"Hmm. Well, then you just might be stuck with me, then. God knows I could use the help. What do you say? Will you, Hermione Granger, continue to be my tutor?"

It was her turn to initiate, leaning up to reach his lips and running her hands over his rough cheek. When she finally opened her eyes, his bright blue eyes were staring back at her, exuding warmth and comfort. The answer was obvious, the question the easiest she'd ever been asked.

"I'd love to."