AN: Thanks to urbanmama1 for the speedy beta and support - and to Dove for all her encouragement.

Prompt: #14 at the rhrlove [dot] com Valentine's Challenge, "You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how." -"Gone With the Wind"

…..

"Do'ya have any more 'Liquorice Lace Twisted Knickers'?"

Ron paused in his restocking of the '24-Hours of Lovin' Longevity Elixir' display to respond with a curt wave of his hand. "Third aisle over, next to the 'Edible Faerie Dust' – can't miss it," he grumbled.

Despite the festive Valentine's atmosphere of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Ron Weasley was in a decidedly unromantic mood. Cherubs floated in the air, rose petals rained from the ceiling – and he wanted to kick the next love sick soul he encountered.

It was Valentine's Day – his first Valentine's Day with a girlfriend (well, first with a girlfriend he actually wanted as his girlfriend) – and, rather than meeting Hermione in Hogsmeade as originally planned, he was stuck replenishing the shelves and running the shop until George got back from lunch with Angelina.

Ron had been reluctant to alter his plans with Hermione; he'd told George to wait until the shop closed and take Angelina out for Valentine's dinner – a luxury Ron didn't have since his girl was back at Hogwarts. But when George sheepishly replied that dinner seemed too much like a real date, and he didn't know if he was ready for that, Ron grudgingly agreed. George was finally opening up and becoming more social, and Ron didn't want to give him excuse to retreat back into himself. Plus, Ron knew Angelina was good for George; she brought a spark to his brother that had long been missing.

Hermione had been very understanding and more than generous in her praise of Ron's perceived 'maturity' – which she promised to reward most thoroughly when she saw him next.

"Excuse me sir," a timid voice called out, interrupting Ron's work. "I need a pink Pygmy Puff."

"Pygmy Puffs are in the front of the shop," Ron replied tersely.

"But there aren't any pink ones. I need a pink one..."

With a sigh, Ron looked over his shoulder to face the persistent customer – who turned out to be a boy of no more than ten. Standing up from the crate he was sitting on, Ron towered over the boy. "Why does it need to be pink?" he asked, somewhat exasperated. "I'm certain we've plenty of purple ones left, even some of the new blue ones."

"'Cause girls like pink. Everyone knows that." Ron tried not to laugh as the lad rolled his eyes at Ron's obvious naiveté on the subject of females.

"Hate to break it to you, but not all girls like pink; not all girls are the same," Ron explained. "Take my girl for example. She cannot stand the colour pink."

"Really?"

"Yup." He could tell the boy was still wary, so Ron continued, "You need to figure out what your girl likes."

"Well, Amanda always wears a blue ribbon, so I guess that means she might like blue..."

"Excellent deduction!" Ron clapped the boy on the shoulder and steered him toward the front of the shop. "Verity!" Ron called to the shop assistant, "Get this lad one of our limited edition blue Pygmy Puffs – and make sure he gets the Friends and Family discount!"

"At least someone's having a good day," Ron thought to himself as he watched the boy make his purchase, a huge grin lighting his face. Ron turned to resume stacking the Longevity Elixir, but stopped suddenly when he saw who was standing in front of the display.

"Hermi–" Before he could even finish her name, Hermione launched herself at Ron, her arms latched tightly around his neck – and her lips pressed firmly to his.

The force of Hermione's attack caused him to stumble slightly and back into the shelves behind him. The resulting rain of 'Daydream Charm' boxes caused Ron to reluctantly release Hermione and guide her away from the mess.

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you" – Ron took the opportunity to look gratefully (and rather hungrily) over Hermione's body – "but what the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Hogsmeade? I told you I'd be there by–"

"I couldn't wait," Hermione huffed, looping her arms around Ron's neck again.

"Won't you get into trouble?" Ron asked, his one arm now wrapped around Hermione's back, dipping dangerously close to the curve of her bum, and the other playing with her hair.

"I doubt anyone will even notice I'm gone." She smiled up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "People are used to me disappearing on Hogsmeade weekends, especially when you're expected to meet me there."

Ron had to admit, she did make an excellent point. They barely made an appearance in the wizarding village when he visited, before they found a more private venue for their reunions. Even so, they always stayed in Hogsmeade, never venturing far from a rented room above The Three Broomsticks.

"Yeah, but still–"

"Oh do shut up," Hermione interjected, using the hands around his neck to pull his head down to hers. Ron found himself unable to protest further, nothing but a suppressed squeak escaping his mouth as Hermione kissed him hard on the mouth. His muffled objection quickly became a moan of satisfaction as Hermione's tongue seductively slid into his mouth, teasing his own before retreating and challenging him to follow.

Never one to back from a challenge, Ron quickly pulled Hermione tight against him, her soft body cradling his hardening erection. The pressure of his lips against hers slackened slightly, in direct contrast to the increased strength of his embrace. Using the decreased tension between their mouths to his advantage, Ron sucked lightly on Hermione's bottom lip until she gasped with need.

A disapproving cough from somewhere behind him reminded Ron that they were not alone and it might be a bit unseemly, not to mention rather bad for business, for him to ravish his girlfriend up against the shelves of the shop – even if it was Valentine's Day.

"I didn't think you were much for public displays of affection," Ron teased as they broke apart. He stole a quick glance over his shoulder and noticed several customers walking past. Taking Hermione's hands, he drew her further back into the aisle.

"I'm not a fan of others publicly displaying their affection for you," Hermione said, wrinkling her nose at the memory of Ron in someone else's arms, "but when it's us, I really don't mind."

As if to prove her point, Hermione pressed her cool hand to the back of his neck and brought his mouth to hers again. Ron groaned in frustration and reluctantly stepped back, almost tripping on the overturned crate he had been sitting on earlier.

Undeterred, Hermione moved closer. Kissing her way across his jaw, Hermione whispered, "Lavender was right about one thing, you should be kissed ... and often." Sucking a mark on the sensitive patch of skin just under his ear, she added, "And by someone who knows how."

Pulling back to stare at his mouth, Hermione traced her thumb slowly across Ron's parted lips and continued, "Of course, no matter how experienced she may have been, it's obvious she didn't know the first thing about kissing you."

Ron regarded Hermione curiously. "What are you on about?"

With a hand on his chest, Hermione gave Ron a gentle shove until he was seated on the crate behind him.

"All those months, watching the two of you thrashing about–"

"We didn't thrash..." Ron meekly offered.

An arching of her eyebrow caused Ron to quickly silence himself. Hermione continued as if he had said nothing, "–I had the chance to observe that, while no doubt enthusiastic, Lavender went about kissing you all wrong."

Unable to keep from staring at Hermione's mouth – and remembering the feel of her lips gliding against his own, the sensations so very different from any other experience – Ron simply nodded his head dumbly in agreement.

"I noticed you never seemed to touch her hair," Hermione observed. Ron's mind flashed back to one of his first experiences kissing Lavender, threading his fingers in her hair and pulling back in confusion at the straight silky texture – in his mind it should have been fuller, softer, more... Hermione. Embarrassed that he had momentarily forgotten who he was kissing, Ron didn't comment when Lavender admonished, "Don't mess my hair, Ron."

Clearing his throat, Ron returned to the present day. "She, uh, didn't like me to touch her hair."

"Unlike you," Hermione said, running her hand through Ron's ginger hair, stopping to scratch his scalp lightly, causing him to groan in appreciation. "Must have been difficult for you..." she noted wryly, obviously referring to Ron's inability to keep his hands from tangling in Hermione's unruly hair.

"Not at all," Ron said, reaching up to tug on one of Hermione's curls, smiling as it sprang back into shape. "Her hair was all wrong – not at all tempting."

Taking an unsteady breath, Hermione returned to her lecture. "You know, to give someone the kiss they deserve, one that's meant just for them, you have to really know a person."

"Oh really?" Ron teased, intrigued by where this conversation was going.

"Indeed." Hermione stepped closer between Ron's splayed legs, while he brought his hands to rest on her hips.

"For example," Hermione explained, "you tend to be a bit old-fashioned – you like to take the lead." Placing her fingers over his mouth to quash Ron's interruption, she continued, "Not that you don't appreciate a female taking initiative..." Ron smiled against her hand at the reference to their first kiss. "Or that you don't enjoy allowing yourself to give up control..."

Ron's smile turned decidedly wicked at the memory of Hermione sitting astride him, her hands against his chest, pressing him into the mattress; her wild hair tickling his thighs as she threw her head back in abandon; his hands tied to the headboard, totally at her mercy.

Hermione moved her fingers to trail slowly over Ron's panting lips. "You like to tease a little, pressing slow gentle kisses everywhere but where they're needed the most." Ron's eyes slid closed as Hermione's lips began covering his face with feather-light caresses, as he often did to her.

After ghosting her mouth over his, she pulled back with a sly grin before he could capture her lips.

"The secret to kissing you, Ron Weasley, is not to try to control you – and not to let you have too much control. You need someone to respond to you, to meet your passion and push you at the same time."

Ron's hands practically shook with his effort to control himself as he pulled Hermione's body closer to him, her breasts brushing softly against his chest.

"You know the most important thing in kissing you?" Hermione asked, her mouth a breath away from Ron's.

"What?" he asked hoarsely.

"That it's my lips doing it."

Ron felt a growl in his throat as Hermione finally pressed her lips against his. Foregoing any teasing, he quickly wrapped his hand in Hermione's hair, angling her mouth to deepen the kiss. He used the hand still on Hermione hip to pull her to sit on his leg then slid it to her breast, massaging it roughly.

Hermione arched her body to press more firmly into Ron's grasp. She rubbed her thigh against the throbbing bulge between his legs, the rhythm matching the stroking of his tongue against hers.

"Oh my!" someone suddenly shouted.

Ron quickly scrambled to his feet, holding tightly to Hermione's waist so she wouldn't fall and pulling his wand with his free hand.

"I, uh ... just wanted a Daydream Charm ... so sorry..." a flustered middle-aged Wizard stammered. "I'll just go..."

"Wait!" Ron shouted to the man's retreating back. With a flick of Ron's wrist, a brightly coloured Daydream Charm box flew through the air toward the embarrassed customer. "Take one – on the house."

"Th-thank you." The man quickly scurried toward the exit.

Taking a deep breath and running his hand through his already dishevelled hair, Ron let out a mumbled swear.

"I'm sorry Ron, I should have just waited for you." Hermione nervously adjusted her clothes as she spoke. "You have to work, maybe I should–"

Ron quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her out from among the shelves. Rather than leading her to the front door as she expected, Ron began marching toward the back of the shop, shouting as they went. "Sorry everyone, we're closing for lunch! We'll reopen at 2. Verity, please see everyone out!"

"Ron! What are you doing?"

Ron didn't answer as he pulled Hermione into the back office, performing silencing and protection charms on the door once he slammed it shut. He reckoned he'd owe George a serious apology – and probably have to work the next few weekends for free – but really, Ron knew he had no other choice.

"Shhh," he said, lifting Hermione to sit on the edge of the desk he used in when working at the shop. With his fingers tangled in her hair, he ran his thumbs slowly over her cheeks.

"I'm not the only one who should be kissed..." He punctuated each word with a gentle brush of his lips to her face – her eyes, her nose, the corner of her mouth – before biting lightly on her bottom lip. Soothing the tender flesh with a sweep of his tongue, Ron then let it slide into her mouth, causing Hermione to sign with relief.

"And often..." Ron mumbled into her neck. He trailed his lips down her chest as he unbuttoned her blouse, leaving faint love bites in his wake.

Hermione did not protest when Ron's questing mouth reached the waistband of her skirt. He swirled his tongue around her navel, as he slipped her knickers down her legs. Kissing his way up her inner thigh, Ron whispered, "And by someone who knows how."

Leaning back on the desk, Hermione happily let Ron prove his expertise.