Fic Request Fulfilled for butterfly_kate
Title: A Perfect Vacation
Author: Margot/midnight_birth.
Beta: Patrick
Rating: R
Word count: 7,042
Warnings: Fluff. Themes of sexual nature. Mischievous whale.
Summary: Ron and Hermione go on a summer holiday with a very young Rose, but they swiftly discover the difficulties of doing so. Tensions run high and the vacation threatens to become a disaster, but an unlikely third party intervenes to make the vacation one Ron and Hermione would never forget.
Notes: Places and names of destinations, habits and descriptions of the humpback whales and spinner dolphins, and the history of their evolution briefly mentioned are all based in geographical and scientific facts. The only fictitious fact is the week-long whale-watching vacation tours, which, in fact, are not as of yet offered from the island of Kauai, and usually last at most a day. I’m sorry I couldn’t fit in very much comedy, but aside from that, I think I managed to hit most things you wanted. I really hope you enjoy it!! ♥
I would also like to thank the amazing mod for her incredible understanding and help when I really needed it.
~*~
“I do not actually own a bathing suit, do I?”
Hermione smiled to herself and waved her wand at the pile of clothes folded on the bed and levitated them towards the open suit-case.
“You do have one, Ron. But you’re definitely not going to find it in my underwear drawer,” she noted, and giggled when he gave her a look. “Accio Ron’s bathing suit,” she said when his face relaxed into a smile, and Ron’s swimming shorts zipped through the room and landed on top of the bed.
She smiled contentedly and tucked away her wand. Uncharacteristically, she left the packing to the last day, but that was why magic was so convenient, she reminded herself. She had changed the rules of their little agreement of a magic-free “Muggle” vacation to allow herself to use magic on their last night before departure. She had definitely forgotten how tedious packing especially could be without “Accio” and “Wingardium Leviosa,” particularly after two days of Ron staying at home and watching Rose so she could wrap up her cases at the Ministry before the holidays. She was quite certain that without magic, the place could never be made to resemble their usually tidy and comfortable home again.
She walked over to the bed, folded Ron’s shorts, placed them carefully on top of the clothes and shut the two suit-cases. She looked over at Ron, who was leaning on the wall and watching her.
“We’re set,” she said. He nodded and looked away. She could always tell when he was restless. “You’re still not as excited as I would like you to be for the first real vacation we have had in six years since our honeymoon.”
“Has it been that long?” He walked over to the bed and lifted the baggage off. “Maybe that’s why. Feels almost unnatural.” He turned around to face her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I feel almost bad leaving Harry to deal with all those cases alone, especially with Malfoy trying to dump all the boring cases that the Hit Wizards think they’re too elite to do on our department. And we’re horribly understaffed as it is with more cases of our own than we can handle.”
Hermione smiled up at him and ran her fingers through his hair. Over the years, and since their school years, Ron hadn’t changed a lot, but in one respect, he had changed considerably. She remembered how, when they were at Hogwarts and she realized that she wanted to spend her life with no one but him, she worried about his lack of ambition when it came to their future in comparison to her abundance thereof. He seemed to be very laid back, and his plans for the future - becoming an Auror - corresponded with Harry’s because, she was sure, he didn’t care very much, wanted to be at least as good as Harry was, and it was generally a good choice after all they had been through. She was convinced he did not have a drive or a passion beyond the idea of making something of himself.
After the war was over, however, she found out to her extreme surprise and delight that she was wrong. Ron had a passion for his job, and he was good at it. He strove to be better at what he did, and graduated Auror training with his own honours. Ones that didn’t have anything to do with Harry or anyone else. Ones he deserved by doing an exceptional job on his cases, in which he was no longer a side-kick, but a leading man. Ones he couldn’t have gotten without complete dedication to and great love for his job. Hermione felt at peace to see that finally, for the first time in his life, Ron was not secretly threatened by Harry. Even if Harry was the head of the Auror Department, they were equally good at their jobs. And while Harry would always be “the famous Harry Potter who defeated the Dark Lord and brought peace to the Wizarding World,” Ron was “the famous Ronald Weasley, one of the best Aurors the Ministry had ever seen, in league with ones such as Alastor Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, and Harry himself, outstanding Aurors and war heroes.”
“I know it’s hard for you to leave your job for a whole week, but they’ll be fine without you for a little while. You know Harry grumbles about the amount of work, but secretly loves it as much as you do. And you get to spend time with your family, relax, and,” she got on her tip-toes and bit his ear-lobe, causing him to inhale loudly, “spend some romantic time with your wife.”
Ron grinned and slid his hands under her shirt, running them up her back slowly.
“Are you sure we can’t just Apparate to a quiet beach somewhere in the Tropics, have Harry and Ginny watch Rose for a couple of days and just be...” Ron blushed and looked away. “Just be romantic with just each other for a few days? This whole Muggle vacation sounds awfully difficult, with the cars and the planes and boats and the tickets.”
“I really think we should spend some time together as a family,” Hermione stated, undoing the buttons on Ron’s shirt slowly. “And I miss doing things the Muggle way for a change. You’re forgetting I am a Muggle-born, and it’s a big part of me. It’s going to be very fun. The cruise is going to be fantastic, and I still booked the honeymoon suite. And we’ll get to see the Humpback Whale, hopefully. Just imagine how magical it must be, and romantic. And I promise there will be more romantic time than you can handle.”
Ron smiled and caught her lips in a passionate kiss as she removed his shirt and her hand opened his fly and slipped inside, cupping his erection. They had eyes for no one but each other, but as of late, it seemed to them, sex was put on the back burner, to be replaced by more urgent things - work, and Rose with her lengthy and difficult chicken pox, to only name a few. They were up all night with Rose and sleep-walking through their jobs during the day, hardly able to remember their own names by the time bedtime rolled around. It was because of this that Hermione insisted on taking a holiday with Ron as soon as Rose was healthy and happy again. They both really needed it, and were yearning for a chance at family time, rest, and intimacy. Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was less than happy to have two of his favourite and best workers in a comatose state for weeks, was only too happy to oblige them with vacation time.
“Daddy!”
Hermione stopped and glanced up at her husband. Rose did not wake up after she had gone to bed often, but when she did, only Daddy could talk her back to sleep, especially if she had a nightmare.
Ron closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Hermione’s, removing his hands from underneath her shirt and willing for his erection to go away while Hermione zipped him up.
“Daddy!!!”
“I better go.” Ron gave Hermione another long kiss and sighed. “We have to get up early tomorrow, so go to bed and don’t wait up. We’ll continue this tomorrow.”
Hermione watched him walk out of the room and sighed. She couldn’t wait to start their holiday. It was going to be absolutely perfect. After all, their honeymoon had been, and this was not much different. Sure, Rose was coming with them, but she was, in general, a quiet and calm child who took frequent naps, slept soundly through the night, and adored her parents. Hermione expected their trip to go flawlessly.
~*~
Hermione had to admit, she was never completely comfortable with flying. All of her experiences with flying were far from pleasant so far in her life, though that could be because she did most of her flying either on the back of huge, winged, unbalanced animals, or, very seldom though it was, on a thin handle of a broomstick that she had no idea how people held themselves up on or controlled the motion of.
Rose seemed to share the uncomfortable feeling with her mother. She cried, did not sit still, and threw her pudding at the stewardess before Ron had the chance to sweep her into his arms and start talking quietly but sternly to her.
Ron himself was fascinated with the plane, the airports, the flight attendants, the baggage checks, and pretty much everything they encountered on their journey, down to the Muggle airport bathrooms, which he swore were distinctly Muggle to him, and nothing like ones he’d ever seen before. Hermione enjoyed Ron’s excitement. Even though Ron traveled quite a bit on his cases, it was usually by Apparition or Floo, and he had no chance to enjoy or study the places he went to, nor any will to, she’d come to realize. It was certainly his first time on a plane, and it would be his first time on a cruiser as well. Hermione planned the “Muggle” vacation because she knew that for Ron, the journey itself would be more exotic and interesting than the weeks he spend in Egypt with his family in the pyramids when he was younger.
They were flying to the island of Kauai in Hawaii, from where they were going to take an extended cruise of one week along the Napali Coast, one of the main purposes of which was to see the humpback whales and spinner dolphins up close. The cruises usually lasted a few hours, but a new vacation opportunity was launched to make it possible for vacationers to combine whale-watching and vacation cruises. Hermione was sent the pamphlet by her parents, and she immediately booked tickets.
For the most part, she insured that the vacation would be ideal for her family, and especially for Ron. She really wanted him to enjoy it and love it, considering that, for a man who really loved his job, taking a vacation from it had to be absolutely great to be fully appreciated. The whale-watching component of the vacation, however, was just for her, and was one of the main reasons she jumped at the opportunity when she got the pamphlet. She fully realized that for Ron, who was brought up in a world where dragons, hippogriffs, giant squids, giants, thestrals, and centaurs were as real and most as calmly accepted as dogs and cats in the Muggle world, a whale would not be anything to marvel at. But she had dreamed of seeing one since she was a child, and after seeing a dragon and flying on one, she could not find a good excuse for never having seen a whale -common enough in comparison.
After the seventeen-hour flight, Hermione was prepared to rip her hair out, and could see that Ron looked exhausted and desperate. She did not take into consideration how long the flight from London to Hawaii would be, and how a small child might react to sitting in a seat for almost a day in the air. She could see that Ron barely got through it. His fascination of looking out the window at the clouds waned sooner than she thought it would, and he became restless.
Turbulence made Rose scream for a full hour, and, along with calming Rose, Hermione had to somehow manage to try and calm Ron, who was convinced the plane was falling and ran the length of the plane a couple of times before she could catch up to him and calm him down. She was only too thankful that he hadn’t thought to whip out his wand in his panic, as the last thing she wanted was to get the Obliviators involved. As it was the Muggles were looking at them strangely, though Hermione managed to convince the stewardess loudly enough for others to hear that her husband was just very afraid of and unaccustomed to flying.
They were finally boarding the ship at sunset, and Hermione was excited. She hadn’t expected to arrive at night, but they seemed to arrive just in time for the most beautiful phenomenon of the day. Rose was sleeping in Ron’s arms, and Hermione knew that if they put her down for the night, she wouldn’t be a problem. She smiled at the woman who took their tickets and handed them her room key, and looked over at Ron.
“What do you say we order room service and have a romantic dinner?” she whispered to Ron while he looked around the ship with big eyes, gently steering him forward. “I can guarantee she’ll be asleep until the morning, and we have some business to finish from last night.”
She had steered him through the deck and up the stairs, finally reaching their second level two-room suite, smiling at the passing passengers, who seemed touched by the small sleeping child, and quite amused at Ron’s flabbergasted look.
Ron nodded absentmindedly as Hermione opened the door and let them into their suite. The suite was on the second level of the cruiser, and had a small balcony. Their windows were facing the front of the ship, exposing the water, the sunset, and the beautiful cliffs of the Napali coast. They had two rooms, one of which was tiny and probably was a spacious closet that had been turned into a room. Hermione was quick to charm the small space into an accessible and appropriate space for a child and waved to Ron, who was looking out the window, when the bed was ready. Ron put Rose down and left the door opened slightly, turning off the lights. The small space, thanks to Hermione’s crafty wand, looked like a smaller version of Rose’s room at home, and Hermione hoped it would calm Rose when she woke up in a strange place in the morning.
“I’m going to the shower,” she whispered quietly, planting a small kiss on Ron’s cheek. “Get ready. I’ll call room service when I’m out. I won’t be long.”
She gave Ron her best seductive look and disappeared into the shower, enjoying the desire in Ron’s eyes as he followed the swaying of her hips until she was out of sight. Being so busy with work and Rose, she hadn’t even fully realized how much she missed her husband in every possible way. She had to concentrate on the sole task of showering and not letting her hands slip lower down her body when she thought of Ron’s body close to hers. She took her time standing under the hot water, letting it fall down her body, enjoying the clean, fresh feeling it left behind.
When she was done, she stepped out of the bathtub and reached for her clothes, but stopped mid-way, a mischievous smile lighting up her face. She dried her hair and body thoroughly and then hung the towel on the hook at the back of the door, enjoying the breeze on her naked body. She remembered telling Ron she would be right in on their honeymoon in a suite just like this one, and emerging from the bathroom clean and nude. She got a tingling between her legs when she remembered his shocked face quickly overshadowed by lust, and felt herself blush as she remembered the hours and hours they spent in bed afterwards.
She left the bathroom feeling better than she had in a long time, but her smile soon faltered and disappeared at the sight that met her. Ron was lying on the bed, naked but very fast asleep. She had no doubt he was waiting for her and, by his appearance, she knew that he was thinking of their honeymoon and that particular night as well.
She lowered herself onto the bed beside him as quietly as she could and brushed a strand of his hair out of his eyes gently. His face looked peaceful, and there was a smile playing on his lips. She felt disappointed, but she didn’t have the heart to wake him up. She knew he was exhausted, taking care of Rose for hours, and both of them hadn’t slept for almost a day now because of this. Hermione, due to her job and a lot of practice from her school days, could stay awake and feel adequate for days. Ron did not have such a gift. If he didn’t sleep well, and enough, he could barely function. She was, in fact, surprised that he lasted as long as he did.
She sighed and covered both of them with a blanket, snuggling close to him. He felt warm and it took all her self-control not to let her hands roam, or to press herself close to Ron in an entirely different way than she did. She shrugged off the disappointment, since, with her, the logical overpowered even the sexual. They had a week together, after all. Ron was exhausted today, but he would be fine tomorrow, with no planes to worry about. Hopefully, Rose would also go back to her sweet, independent self. The romantic scenery and their wonderful suite promised an adventure to remember. She supposed it would even be wise to sleep well tonight and continue this in the morning, or the following night.
She reached for her wand and magicked some pyjamas for them both, then closed her eyes and started thinking of the last proposal she had had to write about bettering the Muggle protection laws. As she expected, she was asleep in a matter of minutes. Faintly, through sleep, she felt the boat leave the harbour and set course for their perfect family vacation.
~*~
Hermione woke up with a start, a scream, and a jump as freezing cold water poured over her face and chest. For a long time, staring around her without seeing anything, she could not remember where she was. When her eyes came into focus, she could finally see Rose standing by her bed with the now empty cup, and Ron rushing towards the bed.
“I’m so sorry!” he burst, sweeping their laughing daughter in his arms. “I told her to put it on the bedside table, and she must have accidentally tipped it.” He put Rose down, took the cup from her hand and nodded at her room. “Go get out of your pyjamas and we’ll be right in to help you dress. Can you do that?” Rose grinned and nodded, then walked slowly towards her room.
“You should’ve known she’d drop it or tip it, Ron,” Hermione noted irritably, wiping herself down with the towel Ron handed to her. “She can’t balance things yet, you know that. That was not a pleasant way to wake up.”
Ron smiled apologetically and kissed her cheek. Hermione got up, quickly changing out of her wet clothes into a summer dress. The one Ron had given her for her birthday and the one he loved on her. She smiled to herself when Ron’s eyes lit up when he looked at her. She felt almost bitter that she could not reach out and touch him like she wanted to until Rose would be asleep that night, but chose not to think about that. They had the whole day to explore the ship, take in the entertainment, marvel at the view, and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company. She also knew very well that the more they both wanted it and the longer they waited, the more satisfactory the end result was going to be. And she only had to wait a day.
They were sitting around a table on the deck waiting for their breakfast when Hermione noticed that Ron was looking intently into the water, craning his neck and sighing irritably.
“Something wrong?”
“Trying to see a whale.” He sighed and took a sip of his coffee, smiling down at Rose, who was blowing bubbles in her orange juice. “Maybe then I’ll see what the big deal is about. From what you’ve shown me, all it is is a gigantic fish.”
“It’s a miracle of nature, Ronald,” Hermione snapped with mock sternness. “It’s magical without magic. Whales - well, blue whales - are the biggest mammals in the Muggle world. In fact, they are bigger than many dragons.”
“Yes,” Ron conceded, “but dragons fly and breathe fire and are dangerous. What’s so great about whales?”
Hermione sighed and shook her head.
“I knew they wouldn’t interest you. They don’t do anything you’d find particularly fascinating. But they’re beautiful, and I would love for Rose to see one, since I really wanted to see one when I was a little girl. They’re also scientific puzzles, you know,” she continued after Ron shrugged. “They’re mammals that live in water. The same with dolphins. And nobody knows how that happened, since mammals all evolved and live on land. But whales were once walking, breathing creatures. In fact, the most recent dinosaur ancestor of whales, while an underwater mammal, had toes, knee-caps and a pelvis!.And its earliest ancestor was something akin to a wolf-like creature. It’s fascinating.”
She could see by Ron’s impression that, in addition to not knowing quite what she was talking about, he also sincerely didn’t care to figure out, so she gave up. Instead, she opened her pamphlet and busied herself in studying all the attractions the tour offered.
“How about a nice swim in the pool?” she asked after a while.
“You know how Rose hates swimming,” Ron replied. Hermione frowned. She hadn’t gone swimming in a long time, and she enjoyed it more than any other kind of exercise. “How about you go, and Rose and I play by the pool-side and tan? It’s okay,” he hurried to add when he could see that she was about to refuse. “We’ll be right there, and I know how much you’ll enjoy yourself.”
“Just don’t burn like last time.” Hermione giggled. “You know you don’t tan.”
It was thirty minutes later, at most, when she lay on a floating mattress in the enormous pool and relaxed in the sun. She felt surprised at how natural rest and relaxation came to her. Usually, she was so caught up in her work and her family that having anyone suggest taking a nice long break and do nothing would sound like a distraction to her. She didn’t like to stop and lounge around like Ron did. But she had to admit, sometimes even the most driven and ambitious needed a rest. She found it extremely easy to forget all her cases, files, due work, and proposals. The Ministry and everything in it seemed miles away to her.
She was surprised when she realized another floating mattress was floating right beside her, and an elderly, plump, happy-looking man was observing her with a smile over his sunglasses. She smiled back unsurely.
“You really look like someone who needed this rest badly,” he spoke finally.
“You’ve got me.” Hermione nodded and sighed. The old man reminded her of her grandfather, with his kind smile and the way he looked at her as if she was just a little kid. Kind of like the way Arthur looked at Rose, though this man was noticeably older than Arthur. “What about you?” she asked, when the man didn’t say anything else.
“Me? You could say I’m a regular.” He chuckled. “I study whales. Have my whole life. Humpbacks in these parts have been my particular passion in the last few years. I’m old now, of course. A little too old to go in the field and underwater as I used to. I handed it over to the younger ones. I mostly enjoy whales now. Observe them. This tour is one of my favourites for this.”
“I love whales,” Hermione said with a smile. “My husband thinks they’re boring, but... I love them.”
“Boring?” The man laughed. “There is nothing boring about whales. I studied them for years and always found something new and different. I still probably don’t know all there is to know about them. Nowadays, though, I’m coming to realize that their ways of life, mating rituals, all the other things I studies don’t matter to me very much. That’s not why I come here.” He looked over at her and Hermione was touched to see him look as if he was talking about his own children. “They are just so darn beautiful.”
They floated side by side for a while, the man seemingly sinking into a deep reverie of times passed and discoveries made. Hermione looked at her watch and decided it was time to get back to Ron and Rose.
“So there are lots of whales to see?” she asked before leaving. The man looked over at her as if not understanding quite what she was asking. “I mean, I just haven’t seen anything but a few dolphins yet. Do you think we’ll get to see whales? They told us it’s hit and miss, but I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’ll be damned if you don’t get to see Hugo sometime soon,” the man replied after a few moments of contemplation. “He’s the resident whale here. Must be as old as I am by now, but still the kid he’s always been. Loves people. I haven’t been on a cruise yet where he hasn’t made quite the appearance. He just loves to show off, our Hugo. Keep your eyes out, and you’ll see more than you thought you ever would.”
Hermione thanked the man and manoeuvred her mattress to the side of the pool, where she got off, smiling happily. She felt somewhat reassured by the old man with his talk of whales. She didn’t resent Ron for not being interested, but she did wish he could understand why she was so excited about the whole thing.
She grew worried when, walking full circle around the pool, she didn’t find Ron nor Rose. She looked around unsurely, but they were nowhere to be found. She frowned worriedly, but figured they had probably gone to the bathroom, and decided to run to their suite and change into something more comfortable than a wet bathing suit. She didn’t expect to find Ron and Rose sitting on their bed, Rose sniffling loudly.
“What happened?”
She made her way to the bed and gasped. Rose’s arms, from the shoulder down, were deep red. She had been wearing pants and a shirt, with her hands being the only things exposed to the sun, and she now sported what Hermione was sure was a fairly serious sunburn.
“I’m sorry,” Ron mumbled, rubbing moisturizer into Rose’s arms, Rose looking up at him miserably. “I meant to put sunblock on. I was so sure I did, but then we got caught up playing...” He trailed off, and looked so guilty and miserable that Hermione’s angry words died on her lips. She knew it was not out of malice, of course, or even out of lack of care that Ron had forgotten. He would never do anything that he thought could hurt their daughter.
Rose sniffled and snuggled into her mother’s arms, and Hermione stroked her hair and soothed her quietly.
“It’s okay,” she told Ron with a sigh. “It happens. I should’ve put sunblock on her when I put it on myself before I went swimming. It will be gone in a couple of days with a few cool baths and a light moisturizer.”
She hoped it would be that easy, but it was not. As she suspected, Rose, being very young and having very sensitive skin, started itching, burning, and peeling almost immediately. And even though it was good news in a sense that it indicated that it would be over quickly, Rose was in incredible pain, and, being as young as she was, she couldn’t figure out why.
The next couple of days and night were spent trying to take care of Rose’s sunburn, and the only way the child would even go to sleep was in Ron and Hermione’s bed. Hermione felt frustrated, and could see that Ron was also very tense. It wasn’t frustration at her daughter, but frustration in general. At the circumstances. She realized that she had expected this vacation to be similar if not the same as their honeymoon. But that could not be. They had Rose now, and they had been married for quite a few years and had become a family. They couldn’t just spend the whole day in bed having sex and talking and experimenting. Hermione realized that, more than anything, she and Ron were trying to relive something only meant to be lived once.
But the fact that all she wanted was to have sex and be intimate with her husband and the opportunity didn’t present itself for many days now was wearing on both of them. She noticed that Ron was short and irritable. He wasn’t excited at the view and the dolphins, and he had stopped even looking for whales. Hermione was afraid that their vacation was half over, and Ron was already thinking about work and wanting to go back to his cases.
When Rose fell asleep in between them on their fourth night of the cruise, Ron reached his hand and cupped Hermione’s face in it awkwardly, trying not to wake Rose.
“I love you, Hermione,” he whispered. She smiled. “Tomorrow, I want to show you how much.”
She fell asleep convinced things were about to change for the better. Rose’s sunburn was healed, and she was perhaps finally getting what she so badly craved.
~*~
“No!”
It had been two hours, and neither Ron nor Hermione could talk Rose into going to bed. She wanted to sleep with them, but both of them were intent on not letting that happen. Hermione thought she could see Ron’s hands actually shaking a little when he clenched them around his pants.
Rose was upset, and the more upset she got, the less likely she was to settle down quickly. Both of them knew that. Ron looked over at Hermione questioningly, but she shook her head. Rose was crying now, and, if they didn’t find a way to calm her down soon, she would become hysterical and throw a tantrum. Hermione nodded for Ron to join her right outside the room and he quickly complied.
“We should’ve never let her sleep with us,” Hermione said miserably, shaking her head. “She’ll always want to sleep with us now! And I just can’t let her go on crying and screaming like this.”
“So you think we should just let her sleep with us again?” Ron asked, his feelings about that perfectly clear from his voice. He looked angry now, something he never allowed himself to even show in front of Rose. “It’s been four days, Hermione! And it’s been over a month since I’ve had sex with my wife! I can’t accept that! It’s our vacation, and we should be allowed to do at least that!”
“I know!” Hermione snapped. “But you can’t tell her that. And it’s not her fault. We’ve just been expecting something of this vacation that can never come true. It’s different now that we have Rose. It’s not easy to travel with such a young child, and perhaps it was a mistake. She’s two. It doesn’t matter to her where we are, what we do, or what we see.” She sighed. “I’m going into the bathroom for a minute. Try to talk to her again, and if your best persuasive skills have no effect, just bring her to our bed.”
Hermione went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. She was sure that when she was overloaded with work at the Ministry and with Rose and the chicken pox, she wasn’t half as tired or irritated as this. She could hear Rose yell No even louder, knocking her fists into the wall. And then, suddenly, it stopped. As if she was cut off, or her voice went unexpectedly. Hermione rushed out of the bathroom. Ron was quietly closing the door to Rose’s room.
“She’s sleeping,” he said simply, but she could see by his guilty face that there was more to it than that.
“Ronald.” She exhaled and commanded herself to stay calm. She wouldn’t jump to conclusions until he said it. “Did you do something?”
“I made her sleep,” Ron said quietly.
“You put a spell on our daughter?” Hermione exploded, aware of how hot her face had become.
“It’s... It’s a safe one. Dumbledore put it on you, didn’t he, during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and on me? I’m sorry, Hermione. I don’t know why I did that.”
Hermione had not felt so angry in a long time. She knew the spell was harmless, of course, and she could see that Ron felt worse about it than he should have, but all the frustration and inadequacy of their vacation so far was bubbling and spilling over, and she couldn’t help it.
“I cannot believe you would do that! She’s our daughter, a child! You cannot put a spell on a child just because you don’t want to deal with her anymore!”
“That wasn’t the reason! She was crying herself hoarse and she wouldn’t have stopped even if I got her the moon she worked herself into such a rage. I thought it would be better for her.” He took a step toward Hermione. “And we can finally be alone now. She won’t wake up for hours.”
He slipped his hand around her waist, but she pushed him away and stormed out of the room. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she didn’t want to take everything out on Ron. She would never approve of him putting a sleeping spell on a child who refused to go to sleep, but it was so much more than that. Every single little thing - the fact that he fell asleep on their first night, the fact that he didn’t care for whales, and this fight, of course, was making her want to scream at him more than he deserved at the moment. And they almost never fought. It was surprising, considering how much they bickered in their school days, that they fought very little as a couple. Hermione was very strong-headed, but Ron adored her more than anything and let more things slip than she ever realized.
She found herself on the almost empty deck, leaning over the railing, watching the shimmering water, and breathing deeply. It was still light outside, though after sunset, and there was a huge concert being held in the main dining hall, which accounted for nobody being outside. No whales had been spotted the whole day, and people didn’t expect to see them late at night. She could hear his footsteps running around the deck until he spotted her, and turned around.
“She’ll be fine for a little while,” he said quickly before she had the chance to say anything. “Hermione, please.” He took an unsure step towards her but didn’t reach out, for feat of her taking off again. “I’m a git. I deserve you being mad at me. I’ve been the worst father ever the last couple of days.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ron,” Hermione snapped at him, but only half-heartedly, and it came out kinder than she intended it. He looked at her sheepishly. “It’s partially my fault. I planned a vacation not suited for our new family. These kinds of things are for newlyweds and couples. But we’re not just a couple anymore.” She looked down. She wondered, with a hint of terror, whether Ron had ever regretted having children. She didn’t think she would ever be able to live with the thought.
“I just feel like the worst person in the world!” Ron continued bitterly. “This vacation is going really badly, I think. And it’s all my fault. And I want more than anything for us to just be together, the three of us, and be able to do everything we want and be happy. And I think I may have screwed it up so badly that -”
His words died in his mouth and his eyes widened to thrice their size. He was looking past her, Hermione realized, into the water. She whipped around quickly and gasped.
An enormous whale had made its way very close to the cruise ship, and was now swimming beside it, turning over in the water and flapping its front white fins. Its tail was hitting the water now in powerful downward strokes, sending up cascades of water, the small drops of which Hermione could feel on her face.
“This is it, Ron,” Hermione whispered to him, forgetting everything they were just talking about, looking over at his astounded face. His mouth was hanging open and the shocked expression on his face seemed frozen there. “This is it.”
All of a sudden, the whale disappeared under the water and then shot out in a graceful jump, arching its back and throwing its fins apart, making a full circle with its body before crashing back into the water, the tail hitting the water with a tremendous splash. It reappeared shortly and swam on its side, and then twirled around in the water. Then, just as unexpectedly as the first time, it shot out of the water again. It seemed as if the whale was doing a choreographed performance, and Hermione couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s Hugo,” she said happily, turning back to Ron.
“What?” Ron ripped his eyes away from the prancing, jumping whale and looked at her with confusion. “Who? Where?”
“The whale, Ron. His name is Hugo.”
“It’s...” Ron seemed at a loss for words. “It’s the most magnificent thing I have ever seen,” he said finally.
“More magnificent than a dragon?” Hermione teased.
“A dragon is nothing in comparison.” Ron smiled, but then his face grew suddenly serious. “Hermione, I don’t want us to fight anymore. We’re not just a couple, you’re right; we’re a family. And I love the two of you more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life.” He laughed. “Though, actually, I think I have loved you for most of my life, those ten first pathetic years aside.”
The whale did a last beautiful jump, flipped in the water, and disappeared. The two waited in silence, but Hugo was gone. His performance was over. And it was as if he knew. Hermione, years later, looking at her beautiful son, was convinced that he did.
She felt Ron grab her by the hand and Apparate her back to their room. She looked up at him, wondering what she could say or do to make him realize how much she loved him. How much it didn’t matter to her that this vacation didn’t pan out to be all they thought it would, or that she wasn’t at all mad at him for anything. But before she could organize her thoughts within her head, Ron’s lips were on hers - passionate, desperate, claiming.
His hands slipped under her dress, dragging it up slowly, eventually slipping it over her head and throwing it aside. Hermione didn’t even bother with the buttons on his shirt, ripping it open in one swift movement. She couldn’t believe how good it was to press her naked body against his, to feel his growing erection on her thigh, his strong hands around her waist, and his hot lips on hers.
She felt overwhelmed with how much she loved him. And this was Ron. The boy who’d loved her since before he knew what that meant. The boy who’d always copied her homework and bickered with her about the smallest things. The man who was the father of their daughter and the best husband she could ever hope for.
He walked her over to the bed and laid her down gently, coming on top of her and entering her, making her arch her body into him and sink her nails into his back. He moved slowly, gently, until he couldn’t contain himself any longer and became faster and rougher, making her gasp and scream with passion. She was screaming his name and he was biting her neck when her orgasm shot from her to him, making both of them shudder and quicken their pace until Ron collapsed on top of her, spent.
He turned on his back and she snuggled in the nook of his arm, running his hand up and down his chest.
“We didn’t use protection,” she said quietly, when his orgasm shocks subsided. “Let me get my wand.”
“No.” Ron stilled her hand as she reached out to the bedside table.
“Are you serious?” Hermione looked into his face with surprise. She was afraid that after this vacation that he would regret having any kids at all.
“Yes.” Ron grinned. “I want a big family, Hermione. With you. If you... want, of course. But I’m thinking it would be really great if Rose had a little brother.”
“A brother, huh?” Hermione asked gently, pressing herself harder against him.
“We don’t have to talk about this now. The spell would work for the next two days. We should really sleep now. It’s just... Sometimes I catch myself thinking of boy names. And what it would be like to have a little boy.”
Hermione pulled herself up and looked down into Ron’s face. She loved this man, she realized, enough to give him another child. Another child that she also wanted and thought about. She would give him a hundred children if he wanted it. She had never had a big family of her own, but the Weasleys were as close as it would ever come. And a big family was a Weasley tradition.
“So you’ve been thinking about names?” she asked, and he nodded. “Landed on anything good?”
“Not really.” He chuckled. “You know how bad I am with names. If it was completely up to me Rose would be named something ghastly, I’m sure.”
Hermione laughed and kissed the tip of Ron’s nose, making him squint in that adorable manner she always loved.
“What do you think about Hugo?”
------------------------
ORIGINAL REQUEST
Briefly describe what you'd like to receive: Ron and Hermione go on holiday with a very young Rose, they swiftly discover the difficulties of doing so.
Preferred Genre(s): Comedy, fluff, smut.
Preferred Rating(s): PG-13 - NC-17
Canon or AU?: Canon
A specific you want: Sunburn
Deal Breakers (what don't you want?): Strong kink, too much angst (a little is okay), incest. Anything that looks like H/Hr from any angle whatsoever!
Thanks for participating in the Love in Full Bloom Exchange!
Author: Margot/midnight_birth.
Beta: Patrick
Rating: R
Word count: 7,042
Warnings: Fluff. Themes of sexual nature. Mischievous whale.
Summary: Ron and Hermione go on a summer holiday with a very young Rose, but they swiftly discover the difficulties of doing so. Tensions run high and the vacation threatens to become a disaster, but an unlikely third party intervenes to make the vacation one Ron and Hermione would never forget.
Notes: Places and names of destinations, habits and descriptions of the humpback whales and spinner dolphins, and the history of their evolution briefly mentioned are all based in geographical and scientific facts. The only fictitious fact is the week-long whale-watching vacation tours, which, in fact, are not as of yet offered from the island of Kauai, and usually last at most a day. I’m sorry I couldn’t fit in very much comedy, but aside from that, I think I managed to hit most things you wanted. I really hope you enjoy it!! ♥
I would also like to thank the amazing mod for her incredible understanding and help when I really needed it.
~*~
“I do not actually own a bathing suit, do I?”
Hermione smiled to herself and waved her wand at the pile of clothes folded on the bed and levitated them towards the open suit-case.
“You do have one, Ron. But you’re definitely not going to find it in my underwear drawer,” she noted, and giggled when he gave her a look. “Accio Ron’s bathing suit,” she said when his face relaxed into a smile, and Ron’s swimming shorts zipped through the room and landed on top of the bed.
She smiled contentedly and tucked away her wand. Uncharacteristically, she left the packing to the last day, but that was why magic was so convenient, she reminded herself. She had changed the rules of their little agreement of a magic-free “Muggle” vacation to allow herself to use magic on their last night before departure. She had definitely forgotten how tedious packing especially could be without “Accio” and “Wingardium Leviosa,” particularly after two days of Ron staying at home and watching Rose so she could wrap up her cases at the Ministry before the holidays. She was quite certain that without magic, the place could never be made to resemble their usually tidy and comfortable home again.
She walked over to the bed, folded Ron’s shorts, placed them carefully on top of the clothes and shut the two suit-cases. She looked over at Ron, who was leaning on the wall and watching her.
“We’re set,” she said. He nodded and looked away. She could always tell when he was restless. “You’re still not as excited as I would like you to be for the first real vacation we have had in six years since our honeymoon.”
“Has it been that long?” He walked over to the bed and lifted the baggage off. “Maybe that’s why. Feels almost unnatural.” He turned around to face her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I feel almost bad leaving Harry to deal with all those cases alone, especially with Malfoy trying to dump all the boring cases that the Hit Wizards think they’re too elite to do on our department. And we’re horribly understaffed as it is with more cases of our own than we can handle.”
Hermione smiled up at him and ran her fingers through his hair. Over the years, and since their school years, Ron hadn’t changed a lot, but in one respect, he had changed considerably. She remembered how, when they were at Hogwarts and she realized that she wanted to spend her life with no one but him, she worried about his lack of ambition when it came to their future in comparison to her abundance thereof. He seemed to be very laid back, and his plans for the future - becoming an Auror - corresponded with Harry’s because, she was sure, he didn’t care very much, wanted to be at least as good as Harry was, and it was generally a good choice after all they had been through. She was convinced he did not have a drive or a passion beyond the idea of making something of himself.
After the war was over, however, she found out to her extreme surprise and delight that she was wrong. Ron had a passion for his job, and he was good at it. He strove to be better at what he did, and graduated Auror training with his own honours. Ones that didn’t have anything to do with Harry or anyone else. Ones he deserved by doing an exceptional job on his cases, in which he was no longer a side-kick, but a leading man. Ones he couldn’t have gotten without complete dedication to and great love for his job. Hermione felt at peace to see that finally, for the first time in his life, Ron was not secretly threatened by Harry. Even if Harry was the head of the Auror Department, they were equally good at their jobs. And while Harry would always be “the famous Harry Potter who defeated the Dark Lord and brought peace to the Wizarding World,” Ron was “the famous Ronald Weasley, one of the best Aurors the Ministry had ever seen, in league with ones such as Alastor Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, and Harry himself, outstanding Aurors and war heroes.”
“I know it’s hard for you to leave your job for a whole week, but they’ll be fine without you for a little while. You know Harry grumbles about the amount of work, but secretly loves it as much as you do. And you get to spend time with your family, relax, and,” she got on her tip-toes and bit his ear-lobe, causing him to inhale loudly, “spend some romantic time with your wife.”
Ron grinned and slid his hands under her shirt, running them up her back slowly.
“Are you sure we can’t just Apparate to a quiet beach somewhere in the Tropics, have Harry and Ginny watch Rose for a couple of days and just be...” Ron blushed and looked away. “Just be romantic with just each other for a few days? This whole Muggle vacation sounds awfully difficult, with the cars and the planes and boats and the tickets.”
“I really think we should spend some time together as a family,” Hermione stated, undoing the buttons on Ron’s shirt slowly. “And I miss doing things the Muggle way for a change. You’re forgetting I am a Muggle-born, and it’s a big part of me. It’s going to be very fun. The cruise is going to be fantastic, and I still booked the honeymoon suite. And we’ll get to see the Humpback Whale, hopefully. Just imagine how magical it must be, and romantic. And I promise there will be more romantic time than you can handle.”
Ron smiled and caught her lips in a passionate kiss as she removed his shirt and her hand opened his fly and slipped inside, cupping his erection. They had eyes for no one but each other, but as of late, it seemed to them, sex was put on the back burner, to be replaced by more urgent things - work, and Rose with her lengthy and difficult chicken pox, to only name a few. They were up all night with Rose and sleep-walking through their jobs during the day, hardly able to remember their own names by the time bedtime rolled around. It was because of this that Hermione insisted on taking a holiday with Ron as soon as Rose was healthy and happy again. They both really needed it, and were yearning for a chance at family time, rest, and intimacy. Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was less than happy to have two of his favourite and best workers in a comatose state for weeks, was only too happy to oblige them with vacation time.
“Daddy!”
Hermione stopped and glanced up at her husband. Rose did not wake up after she had gone to bed often, but when she did, only Daddy could talk her back to sleep, especially if she had a nightmare.
Ron closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Hermione’s, removing his hands from underneath her shirt and willing for his erection to go away while Hermione zipped him up.
“Daddy!!!”
“I better go.” Ron gave Hermione another long kiss and sighed. “We have to get up early tomorrow, so go to bed and don’t wait up. We’ll continue this tomorrow.”
Hermione watched him walk out of the room and sighed. She couldn’t wait to start their holiday. It was going to be absolutely perfect. After all, their honeymoon had been, and this was not much different. Sure, Rose was coming with them, but she was, in general, a quiet and calm child who took frequent naps, slept soundly through the night, and adored her parents. Hermione expected their trip to go flawlessly.
~*~
Hermione had to admit, she was never completely comfortable with flying. All of her experiences with flying were far from pleasant so far in her life, though that could be because she did most of her flying either on the back of huge, winged, unbalanced animals, or, very seldom though it was, on a thin handle of a broomstick that she had no idea how people held themselves up on or controlled the motion of.
Rose seemed to share the uncomfortable feeling with her mother. She cried, did not sit still, and threw her pudding at the stewardess before Ron had the chance to sweep her into his arms and start talking quietly but sternly to her.
Ron himself was fascinated with the plane, the airports, the flight attendants, the baggage checks, and pretty much everything they encountered on their journey, down to the Muggle airport bathrooms, which he swore were distinctly Muggle to him, and nothing like ones he’d ever seen before. Hermione enjoyed Ron’s excitement. Even though Ron traveled quite a bit on his cases, it was usually by Apparition or Floo, and he had no chance to enjoy or study the places he went to, nor any will to, she’d come to realize. It was certainly his first time on a plane, and it would be his first time on a cruiser as well. Hermione planned the “Muggle” vacation because she knew that for Ron, the journey itself would be more exotic and interesting than the weeks he spend in Egypt with his family in the pyramids when he was younger.
They were flying to the island of Kauai in Hawaii, from where they were going to take an extended cruise of one week along the Napali Coast, one of the main purposes of which was to see the humpback whales and spinner dolphins up close. The cruises usually lasted a few hours, but a new vacation opportunity was launched to make it possible for vacationers to combine whale-watching and vacation cruises. Hermione was sent the pamphlet by her parents, and she immediately booked tickets.
For the most part, she insured that the vacation would be ideal for her family, and especially for Ron. She really wanted him to enjoy it and love it, considering that, for a man who really loved his job, taking a vacation from it had to be absolutely great to be fully appreciated. The whale-watching component of the vacation, however, was just for her, and was one of the main reasons she jumped at the opportunity when she got the pamphlet. She fully realized that for Ron, who was brought up in a world where dragons, hippogriffs, giant squids, giants, thestrals, and centaurs were as real and most as calmly accepted as dogs and cats in the Muggle world, a whale would not be anything to marvel at. But she had dreamed of seeing one since she was a child, and after seeing a dragon and flying on one, she could not find a good excuse for never having seen a whale -common enough in comparison.
After the seventeen-hour flight, Hermione was prepared to rip her hair out, and could see that Ron looked exhausted and desperate. She did not take into consideration how long the flight from London to Hawaii would be, and how a small child might react to sitting in a seat for almost a day in the air. She could see that Ron barely got through it. His fascination of looking out the window at the clouds waned sooner than she thought it would, and he became restless.
Turbulence made Rose scream for a full hour, and, along with calming Rose, Hermione had to somehow manage to try and calm Ron, who was convinced the plane was falling and ran the length of the plane a couple of times before she could catch up to him and calm him down. She was only too thankful that he hadn’t thought to whip out his wand in his panic, as the last thing she wanted was to get the Obliviators involved. As it was the Muggles were looking at them strangely, though Hermione managed to convince the stewardess loudly enough for others to hear that her husband was just very afraid of and unaccustomed to flying.
They were finally boarding the ship at sunset, and Hermione was excited. She hadn’t expected to arrive at night, but they seemed to arrive just in time for the most beautiful phenomenon of the day. Rose was sleeping in Ron’s arms, and Hermione knew that if they put her down for the night, she wouldn’t be a problem. She smiled at the woman who took their tickets and handed them her room key, and looked over at Ron.
“What do you say we order room service and have a romantic dinner?” she whispered to Ron while he looked around the ship with big eyes, gently steering him forward. “I can guarantee she’ll be asleep until the morning, and we have some business to finish from last night.”
She had steered him through the deck and up the stairs, finally reaching their second level two-room suite, smiling at the passing passengers, who seemed touched by the small sleeping child, and quite amused at Ron’s flabbergasted look.
Ron nodded absentmindedly as Hermione opened the door and let them into their suite. The suite was on the second level of the cruiser, and had a small balcony. Their windows were facing the front of the ship, exposing the water, the sunset, and the beautiful cliffs of the Napali coast. They had two rooms, one of which was tiny and probably was a spacious closet that had been turned into a room. Hermione was quick to charm the small space into an accessible and appropriate space for a child and waved to Ron, who was looking out the window, when the bed was ready. Ron put Rose down and left the door opened slightly, turning off the lights. The small space, thanks to Hermione’s crafty wand, looked like a smaller version of Rose’s room at home, and Hermione hoped it would calm Rose when she woke up in a strange place in the morning.
“I’m going to the shower,” she whispered quietly, planting a small kiss on Ron’s cheek. “Get ready. I’ll call room service when I’m out. I won’t be long.”
She gave Ron her best seductive look and disappeared into the shower, enjoying the desire in Ron’s eyes as he followed the swaying of her hips until she was out of sight. Being so busy with work and Rose, she hadn’t even fully realized how much she missed her husband in every possible way. She had to concentrate on the sole task of showering and not letting her hands slip lower down her body when she thought of Ron’s body close to hers. She took her time standing under the hot water, letting it fall down her body, enjoying the clean, fresh feeling it left behind.
When she was done, she stepped out of the bathtub and reached for her clothes, but stopped mid-way, a mischievous smile lighting up her face. She dried her hair and body thoroughly and then hung the towel on the hook at the back of the door, enjoying the breeze on her naked body. She remembered telling Ron she would be right in on their honeymoon in a suite just like this one, and emerging from the bathroom clean and nude. She got a tingling between her legs when she remembered his shocked face quickly overshadowed by lust, and felt herself blush as she remembered the hours and hours they spent in bed afterwards.
She left the bathroom feeling better than she had in a long time, but her smile soon faltered and disappeared at the sight that met her. Ron was lying on the bed, naked but very fast asleep. She had no doubt he was waiting for her and, by his appearance, she knew that he was thinking of their honeymoon and that particular night as well.
She lowered herself onto the bed beside him as quietly as she could and brushed a strand of his hair out of his eyes gently. His face looked peaceful, and there was a smile playing on his lips. She felt disappointed, but she didn’t have the heart to wake him up. She knew he was exhausted, taking care of Rose for hours, and both of them hadn’t slept for almost a day now because of this. Hermione, due to her job and a lot of practice from her school days, could stay awake and feel adequate for days. Ron did not have such a gift. If he didn’t sleep well, and enough, he could barely function. She was, in fact, surprised that he lasted as long as he did.
She sighed and covered both of them with a blanket, snuggling close to him. He felt warm and it took all her self-control not to let her hands roam, or to press herself close to Ron in an entirely different way than she did. She shrugged off the disappointment, since, with her, the logical overpowered even the sexual. They had a week together, after all. Ron was exhausted today, but he would be fine tomorrow, with no planes to worry about. Hopefully, Rose would also go back to her sweet, independent self. The romantic scenery and their wonderful suite promised an adventure to remember. She supposed it would even be wise to sleep well tonight and continue this in the morning, or the following night.
She reached for her wand and magicked some pyjamas for them both, then closed her eyes and started thinking of the last proposal she had had to write about bettering the Muggle protection laws. As she expected, she was asleep in a matter of minutes. Faintly, through sleep, she felt the boat leave the harbour and set course for their perfect family vacation.
~*~
Hermione woke up with a start, a scream, and a jump as freezing cold water poured over her face and chest. For a long time, staring around her without seeing anything, she could not remember where she was. When her eyes came into focus, she could finally see Rose standing by her bed with the now empty cup, and Ron rushing towards the bed.
“I’m so sorry!” he burst, sweeping their laughing daughter in his arms. “I told her to put it on the bedside table, and she must have accidentally tipped it.” He put Rose down, took the cup from her hand and nodded at her room. “Go get out of your pyjamas and we’ll be right in to help you dress. Can you do that?” Rose grinned and nodded, then walked slowly towards her room.
“You should’ve known she’d drop it or tip it, Ron,” Hermione noted irritably, wiping herself down with the towel Ron handed to her. “She can’t balance things yet, you know that. That was not a pleasant way to wake up.”
Ron smiled apologetically and kissed her cheek. Hermione got up, quickly changing out of her wet clothes into a summer dress. The one Ron had given her for her birthday and the one he loved on her. She smiled to herself when Ron’s eyes lit up when he looked at her. She felt almost bitter that she could not reach out and touch him like she wanted to until Rose would be asleep that night, but chose not to think about that. They had the whole day to explore the ship, take in the entertainment, marvel at the view, and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company. She also knew very well that the more they both wanted it and the longer they waited, the more satisfactory the end result was going to be. And she only had to wait a day.
They were sitting around a table on the deck waiting for their breakfast when Hermione noticed that Ron was looking intently into the water, craning his neck and sighing irritably.
“Something wrong?”
“Trying to see a whale.” He sighed and took a sip of his coffee, smiling down at Rose, who was blowing bubbles in her orange juice. “Maybe then I’ll see what the big deal is about. From what you’ve shown me, all it is is a gigantic fish.”
“It’s a miracle of nature, Ronald,” Hermione snapped with mock sternness. “It’s magical without magic. Whales - well, blue whales - are the biggest mammals in the Muggle world. In fact, they are bigger than many dragons.”
“Yes,” Ron conceded, “but dragons fly and breathe fire and are dangerous. What’s so great about whales?”
Hermione sighed and shook her head.
“I knew they wouldn’t interest you. They don’t do anything you’d find particularly fascinating. But they’re beautiful, and I would love for Rose to see one, since I really wanted to see one when I was a little girl. They’re also scientific puzzles, you know,” she continued after Ron shrugged. “They’re mammals that live in water. The same with dolphins. And nobody knows how that happened, since mammals all evolved and live on land. But whales were once walking, breathing creatures. In fact, the most recent dinosaur ancestor of whales, while an underwater mammal, had toes, knee-caps and a pelvis!.And its earliest ancestor was something akin to a wolf-like creature. It’s fascinating.”
She could see by Ron’s impression that, in addition to not knowing quite what she was talking about, he also sincerely didn’t care to figure out, so she gave up. Instead, she opened her pamphlet and busied herself in studying all the attractions the tour offered.
“How about a nice swim in the pool?” she asked after a while.
“You know how Rose hates swimming,” Ron replied. Hermione frowned. She hadn’t gone swimming in a long time, and she enjoyed it more than any other kind of exercise. “How about you go, and Rose and I play by the pool-side and tan? It’s okay,” he hurried to add when he could see that she was about to refuse. “We’ll be right there, and I know how much you’ll enjoy yourself.”
“Just don’t burn like last time.” Hermione giggled. “You know you don’t tan.”
It was thirty minutes later, at most, when she lay on a floating mattress in the enormous pool and relaxed in the sun. She felt surprised at how natural rest and relaxation came to her. Usually, she was so caught up in her work and her family that having anyone suggest taking a nice long break and do nothing would sound like a distraction to her. She didn’t like to stop and lounge around like Ron did. But she had to admit, sometimes even the most driven and ambitious needed a rest. She found it extremely easy to forget all her cases, files, due work, and proposals. The Ministry and everything in it seemed miles away to her.
She was surprised when she realized another floating mattress was floating right beside her, and an elderly, plump, happy-looking man was observing her with a smile over his sunglasses. She smiled back unsurely.
“You really look like someone who needed this rest badly,” he spoke finally.
“You’ve got me.” Hermione nodded and sighed. The old man reminded her of her grandfather, with his kind smile and the way he looked at her as if she was just a little kid. Kind of like the way Arthur looked at Rose, though this man was noticeably older than Arthur. “What about you?” she asked, when the man didn’t say anything else.
“Me? You could say I’m a regular.” He chuckled. “I study whales. Have my whole life. Humpbacks in these parts have been my particular passion in the last few years. I’m old now, of course. A little too old to go in the field and underwater as I used to. I handed it over to the younger ones. I mostly enjoy whales now. Observe them. This tour is one of my favourites for this.”
“I love whales,” Hermione said with a smile. “My husband thinks they’re boring, but... I love them.”
“Boring?” The man laughed. “There is nothing boring about whales. I studied them for years and always found something new and different. I still probably don’t know all there is to know about them. Nowadays, though, I’m coming to realize that their ways of life, mating rituals, all the other things I studies don’t matter to me very much. That’s not why I come here.” He looked over at her and Hermione was touched to see him look as if he was talking about his own children. “They are just so darn beautiful.”
They floated side by side for a while, the man seemingly sinking into a deep reverie of times passed and discoveries made. Hermione looked at her watch and decided it was time to get back to Ron and Rose.
“So there are lots of whales to see?” she asked before leaving. The man looked over at her as if not understanding quite what she was asking. “I mean, I just haven’t seen anything but a few dolphins yet. Do you think we’ll get to see whales? They told us it’s hit and miss, but I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’ll be damned if you don’t get to see Hugo sometime soon,” the man replied after a few moments of contemplation. “He’s the resident whale here. Must be as old as I am by now, but still the kid he’s always been. Loves people. I haven’t been on a cruise yet where he hasn’t made quite the appearance. He just loves to show off, our Hugo. Keep your eyes out, and you’ll see more than you thought you ever would.”
Hermione thanked the man and manoeuvred her mattress to the side of the pool, where she got off, smiling happily. She felt somewhat reassured by the old man with his talk of whales. She didn’t resent Ron for not being interested, but she did wish he could understand why she was so excited about the whole thing.
She grew worried when, walking full circle around the pool, she didn’t find Ron nor Rose. She looked around unsurely, but they were nowhere to be found. She frowned worriedly, but figured they had probably gone to the bathroom, and decided to run to their suite and change into something more comfortable than a wet bathing suit. She didn’t expect to find Ron and Rose sitting on their bed, Rose sniffling loudly.
“What happened?”
She made her way to the bed and gasped. Rose’s arms, from the shoulder down, were deep red. She had been wearing pants and a shirt, with her hands being the only things exposed to the sun, and she now sported what Hermione was sure was a fairly serious sunburn.
“I’m sorry,” Ron mumbled, rubbing moisturizer into Rose’s arms, Rose looking up at him miserably. “I meant to put sunblock on. I was so sure I did, but then we got caught up playing...” He trailed off, and looked so guilty and miserable that Hermione’s angry words died on her lips. She knew it was not out of malice, of course, or even out of lack of care that Ron had forgotten. He would never do anything that he thought could hurt their daughter.
Rose sniffled and snuggled into her mother’s arms, and Hermione stroked her hair and soothed her quietly.
“It’s okay,” she told Ron with a sigh. “It happens. I should’ve put sunblock on her when I put it on myself before I went swimming. It will be gone in a couple of days with a few cool baths and a light moisturizer.”
She hoped it would be that easy, but it was not. As she suspected, Rose, being very young and having very sensitive skin, started itching, burning, and peeling almost immediately. And even though it was good news in a sense that it indicated that it would be over quickly, Rose was in incredible pain, and, being as young as she was, she couldn’t figure out why.
The next couple of days and night were spent trying to take care of Rose’s sunburn, and the only way the child would even go to sleep was in Ron and Hermione’s bed. Hermione felt frustrated, and could see that Ron was also very tense. It wasn’t frustration at her daughter, but frustration in general. At the circumstances. She realized that she had expected this vacation to be similar if not the same as their honeymoon. But that could not be. They had Rose now, and they had been married for quite a few years and had become a family. They couldn’t just spend the whole day in bed having sex and talking and experimenting. Hermione realized that, more than anything, she and Ron were trying to relive something only meant to be lived once.
But the fact that all she wanted was to have sex and be intimate with her husband and the opportunity didn’t present itself for many days now was wearing on both of them. She noticed that Ron was short and irritable. He wasn’t excited at the view and the dolphins, and he had stopped even looking for whales. Hermione was afraid that their vacation was half over, and Ron was already thinking about work and wanting to go back to his cases.
When Rose fell asleep in between them on their fourth night of the cruise, Ron reached his hand and cupped Hermione’s face in it awkwardly, trying not to wake Rose.
“I love you, Hermione,” he whispered. She smiled. “Tomorrow, I want to show you how much.”
She fell asleep convinced things were about to change for the better. Rose’s sunburn was healed, and she was perhaps finally getting what she so badly craved.
~*~
“No!”
It had been two hours, and neither Ron nor Hermione could talk Rose into going to bed. She wanted to sleep with them, but both of them were intent on not letting that happen. Hermione thought she could see Ron’s hands actually shaking a little when he clenched them around his pants.
Rose was upset, and the more upset she got, the less likely she was to settle down quickly. Both of them knew that. Ron looked over at Hermione questioningly, but she shook her head. Rose was crying now, and, if they didn’t find a way to calm her down soon, she would become hysterical and throw a tantrum. Hermione nodded for Ron to join her right outside the room and he quickly complied.
“We should’ve never let her sleep with us,” Hermione said miserably, shaking her head. “She’ll always want to sleep with us now! And I just can’t let her go on crying and screaming like this.”
“So you think we should just let her sleep with us again?” Ron asked, his feelings about that perfectly clear from his voice. He looked angry now, something he never allowed himself to even show in front of Rose. “It’s been four days, Hermione! And it’s been over a month since I’ve had sex with my wife! I can’t accept that! It’s our vacation, and we should be allowed to do at least that!”
“I know!” Hermione snapped. “But you can’t tell her that. And it’s not her fault. We’ve just been expecting something of this vacation that can never come true. It’s different now that we have Rose. It’s not easy to travel with such a young child, and perhaps it was a mistake. She’s two. It doesn’t matter to her where we are, what we do, or what we see.” She sighed. “I’m going into the bathroom for a minute. Try to talk to her again, and if your best persuasive skills have no effect, just bring her to our bed.”
Hermione went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. She was sure that when she was overloaded with work at the Ministry and with Rose and the chicken pox, she wasn’t half as tired or irritated as this. She could hear Rose yell No even louder, knocking her fists into the wall. And then, suddenly, it stopped. As if she was cut off, or her voice went unexpectedly. Hermione rushed out of the bathroom. Ron was quietly closing the door to Rose’s room.
“She’s sleeping,” he said simply, but she could see by his guilty face that there was more to it than that.
“Ronald.” She exhaled and commanded herself to stay calm. She wouldn’t jump to conclusions until he said it. “Did you do something?”
“I made her sleep,” Ron said quietly.
“You put a spell on our daughter?” Hermione exploded, aware of how hot her face had become.
“It’s... It’s a safe one. Dumbledore put it on you, didn’t he, during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and on me? I’m sorry, Hermione. I don’t know why I did that.”
Hermione had not felt so angry in a long time. She knew the spell was harmless, of course, and she could see that Ron felt worse about it than he should have, but all the frustration and inadequacy of their vacation so far was bubbling and spilling over, and she couldn’t help it.
“I cannot believe you would do that! She’s our daughter, a child! You cannot put a spell on a child just because you don’t want to deal with her anymore!”
“That wasn’t the reason! She was crying herself hoarse and she wouldn’t have stopped even if I got her the moon she worked herself into such a rage. I thought it would be better for her.” He took a step toward Hermione. “And we can finally be alone now. She won’t wake up for hours.”
He slipped his hand around her waist, but she pushed him away and stormed out of the room. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she didn’t want to take everything out on Ron. She would never approve of him putting a sleeping spell on a child who refused to go to sleep, but it was so much more than that. Every single little thing - the fact that he fell asleep on their first night, the fact that he didn’t care for whales, and this fight, of course, was making her want to scream at him more than he deserved at the moment. And they almost never fought. It was surprising, considering how much they bickered in their school days, that they fought very little as a couple. Hermione was very strong-headed, but Ron adored her more than anything and let more things slip than she ever realized.
She found herself on the almost empty deck, leaning over the railing, watching the shimmering water, and breathing deeply. It was still light outside, though after sunset, and there was a huge concert being held in the main dining hall, which accounted for nobody being outside. No whales had been spotted the whole day, and people didn’t expect to see them late at night. She could hear his footsteps running around the deck until he spotted her, and turned around.
“She’ll be fine for a little while,” he said quickly before she had the chance to say anything. “Hermione, please.” He took an unsure step towards her but didn’t reach out, for feat of her taking off again. “I’m a git. I deserve you being mad at me. I’ve been the worst father ever the last couple of days.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ron,” Hermione snapped at him, but only half-heartedly, and it came out kinder than she intended it. He looked at her sheepishly. “It’s partially my fault. I planned a vacation not suited for our new family. These kinds of things are for newlyweds and couples. But we’re not just a couple anymore.” She looked down. She wondered, with a hint of terror, whether Ron had ever regretted having children. She didn’t think she would ever be able to live with the thought.
“I just feel like the worst person in the world!” Ron continued bitterly. “This vacation is going really badly, I think. And it’s all my fault. And I want more than anything for us to just be together, the three of us, and be able to do everything we want and be happy. And I think I may have screwed it up so badly that -”
His words died in his mouth and his eyes widened to thrice their size. He was looking past her, Hermione realized, into the water. She whipped around quickly and gasped.
An enormous whale had made its way very close to the cruise ship, and was now swimming beside it, turning over in the water and flapping its front white fins. Its tail was hitting the water now in powerful downward strokes, sending up cascades of water, the small drops of which Hermione could feel on her face.
“This is it, Ron,” Hermione whispered to him, forgetting everything they were just talking about, looking over at his astounded face. His mouth was hanging open and the shocked expression on his face seemed frozen there. “This is it.”
All of a sudden, the whale disappeared under the water and then shot out in a graceful jump, arching its back and throwing its fins apart, making a full circle with its body before crashing back into the water, the tail hitting the water with a tremendous splash. It reappeared shortly and swam on its side, and then twirled around in the water. Then, just as unexpectedly as the first time, it shot out of the water again. It seemed as if the whale was doing a choreographed performance, and Hermione couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s Hugo,” she said happily, turning back to Ron.
“What?” Ron ripped his eyes away from the prancing, jumping whale and looked at her with confusion. “Who? Where?”
“The whale, Ron. His name is Hugo.”
“It’s...” Ron seemed at a loss for words. “It’s the most magnificent thing I have ever seen,” he said finally.
“More magnificent than a dragon?” Hermione teased.
“A dragon is nothing in comparison.” Ron smiled, but then his face grew suddenly serious. “Hermione, I don’t want us to fight anymore. We’re not just a couple, you’re right; we’re a family. And I love the two of you more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life.” He laughed. “Though, actually, I think I have loved you for most of my life, those ten first pathetic years aside.”
The whale did a last beautiful jump, flipped in the water, and disappeared. The two waited in silence, but Hugo was gone. His performance was over. And it was as if he knew. Hermione, years later, looking at her beautiful son, was convinced that he did.
She felt Ron grab her by the hand and Apparate her back to their room. She looked up at him, wondering what she could say or do to make him realize how much she loved him. How much it didn’t matter to her that this vacation didn’t pan out to be all they thought it would, or that she wasn’t at all mad at him for anything. But before she could organize her thoughts within her head, Ron’s lips were on hers - passionate, desperate, claiming.
His hands slipped under her dress, dragging it up slowly, eventually slipping it over her head and throwing it aside. Hermione didn’t even bother with the buttons on his shirt, ripping it open in one swift movement. She couldn’t believe how good it was to press her naked body against his, to feel his growing erection on her thigh, his strong hands around her waist, and his hot lips on hers.
She felt overwhelmed with how much she loved him. And this was Ron. The boy who’d loved her since before he knew what that meant. The boy who’d always copied her homework and bickered with her about the smallest things. The man who was the father of their daughter and the best husband she could ever hope for.
He walked her over to the bed and laid her down gently, coming on top of her and entering her, making her arch her body into him and sink her nails into his back. He moved slowly, gently, until he couldn’t contain himself any longer and became faster and rougher, making her gasp and scream with passion. She was screaming his name and he was biting her neck when her orgasm shot from her to him, making both of them shudder and quicken their pace until Ron collapsed on top of her, spent.
He turned on his back and she snuggled in the nook of his arm, running his hand up and down his chest.
“We didn’t use protection,” she said quietly, when his orgasm shocks subsided. “Let me get my wand.”
“No.” Ron stilled her hand as she reached out to the bedside table.
“Are you serious?” Hermione looked into his face with surprise. She was afraid that after this vacation that he would regret having any kids at all.
“Yes.” Ron grinned. “I want a big family, Hermione. With you. If you... want, of course. But I’m thinking it would be really great if Rose had a little brother.”
“A brother, huh?” Hermione asked gently, pressing herself harder against him.
“We don’t have to talk about this now. The spell would work for the next two days. We should really sleep now. It’s just... Sometimes I catch myself thinking of boy names. And what it would be like to have a little boy.”
Hermione pulled herself up and looked down into Ron’s face. She loved this man, she realized, enough to give him another child. Another child that she also wanted and thought about. She would give him a hundred children if he wanted it. She had never had a big family of her own, but the Weasleys were as close as it would ever come. And a big family was a Weasley tradition.
“So you’ve been thinking about names?” she asked, and he nodded. “Landed on anything good?”
“Not really.” He chuckled. “You know how bad I am with names. If it was completely up to me Rose would be named something ghastly, I’m sure.”
Hermione laughed and kissed the tip of Ron’s nose, making him squint in that adorable manner she always loved.
“What do you think about Hugo?”
------------------------
ORIGINAL REQUEST
Briefly describe what you'd like to receive: Ron and Hermione go on holiday with a very young Rose, they swiftly discover the difficulties of doing so.
Preferred Genre(s): Comedy, fluff, smut.
Preferred Rating(s): PG-13 - NC-17
Canon or AU?: Canon
A specific you want: Sunburn
Deal Breakers (what don't you want?): Strong kink, too much angst (a little is okay), incest. Anything that looks like H/Hr from any angle whatsoever!
Thanks for participating in the Love in Full Bloom Exchange!