Chapter Text
Minerva had always despised valentines day. Always. It was the worst day of the year to be a teacher. The absolute chaos that ensued as the students rushed around handing out valentines day gifts. There was of course that one year that Sirius, James, Peter and Marlene decided it would be hilarious to give her gifts. She actually didn't mind the box of chocolates and the Teddy bears she found laid on her desk with cards. She still had them somewhere. And the Teddy bears were put on a shelf in her classroom.
Poppy liked valentines day. She liked any excuse to spoil Minerva rotten. She liked being able to make her blush. She liked the fact that Minerva would finally give into her demands of relaxation. Poppy had told her this on many occasions. And Minerva liked seeing Poppy happy. So she'd grin and bear it as Poppy cooked them a meal and danced around the kitchen to whatever vinyl they were in the mood for, Poppy twirling in her stunning blue dress to build me up buttercup and sweet Caroline and everything else in between. She'd committed each and every instance of it to memory. She adored that blue dress that hugged her hips and felt like water underneath her finger tips. There was of course that one year that Minerva had convinced her to try on that yellow mini dress once again. Just out of curiosity she had told her. It still fit her perfectly. And dinner nearly got ruined. Not that Minerva regretted it. Not a chance.
This year was different though. Minerva had come home from work, bits of red and pink confetti sticking to the bottom of her shoes to find Poppy fast asleep on the couch with tear stains on her face. Must have been a bad day at work. Tim had come to greet her and she happily picked up the old cat. He purred as Minerva stroked behind his ears. She leaned down next to Poppy and gently shook her awake. The woman groaned as she rubbed her eyes and sat up.
"Hey love, I didn't hear you come in." She said with a forced smile.
"That's because you were dead to the world, dear. Bad day?" Minerva reached a hand up to stroke her cheek. Poppy nodded.
"I'm okay though. Just give me a moment to wake up properly and I'll get started on dinner." She leaned into Minerva's hand and closed her eyes. She looked so stressed.
"Not a chance. We're doing things differently this year. I'm going to spoil you because you've had a tough time and deserve something good." She smiled and leaned up to press a soft kiss to her lips. "And you're going to tell me what's happened because I know that you'll just let it eat you up."
"...A young man came in by himself at the start of my shift. He had a fever. He'd been told just a month before that his T-cells were normal. He was so scared, Min." She began crying. Minerva took her in her arms and allowed her to sob into her shoulder.
"Hey love, it's okay, I'm here." She rubbed small circles into Poppy's lower back until her breathing started to even out a little. "Do you want to continue?" She felt Poppy nod against her shoulder and sit up. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed gently at her eyes.
"He had a lung infection. He had to be rushed to the ICU and...and...a friend from that ward notified me that he'd…" Poppy didn't need to finish that sentence. Minerva was more than well aware of how badly every death affected her. Especially the ones she can't prevent. Especially the ones that die by themselves. Especially the ones that made her worry for the safety of Sirius and Regulus. She worried about them too. She sat next to Poppy and pulled her as close to her chest as physically possible. Minerva couldn't tell how long they stayed like that.
"I'm really sorry for ruining today." She finally whispered.
"What? Poppy, you haven't ruined anything. Something happened that genuinely upset you and I can hardly blame you for that. So just let me take care of you okay?" She planted a kiss on her forehead and smiled as Poppy nodded. "I'm going to run you a bath, okay?"
"That sounds lovely." Poppy answered honestly. She felt the woman smile as she let go of her waist.
Minerva wasted no time in preparing a bath for her. She filled it with bubbles and let it fill as she gathered clean pyjamas and a towel for Poppy. Tonight she wouldn't have to worry about anything. She could just relax while Minerva pampered her. She'd do absolutely anything to make her happy again. Even celebrate this godforsaken holiday that she only put up with because Poppy loved it. She lit a few candles and placed them on the windowsill. Lavender scented. That would help her relax. She called Poppy and gave her a soft kiss before exiting the bathroom, leaving her to get a little bit of peace. She made her way to their bedroom to change into her own pyjamas, Tim following closely at her heels. She chose soft flannel pyjamas. Something cosy and comfortable for her hip. The next step was to make the living room perfect. That would be easy. Blankets. Pillows. Snacks. Oh. That was the problem. No snacks. Minerva mentally cursed herself. She took a few blankets downstairs and headed towards the phone. She knew one person who could help her. She dialled the number and waited with the phone to her ear.
"Hello?" Peter answered. He sounded pretty happy.
"Peter! It's Minerva. I have a huge favour to ask." She kept her voice low so Poppy wouldn't hear her.
"Jesus, can't a man enjoy his day off in peace?" The amusement was clear in his voice. "What do you need, Minnie?"
"Snacks. Poppy has had a rough day and I want to do something nice. And the only thing we have is maybe some popcorn and a few Mars bars. And fruit. But I think junk food will be better." She said in a rushed tone.
"Alright, I've got some cookies here so I'll bring them over. I've also got some strawberries and chocolate I need to get rid of so I'll do something with those. How long do I have?" His tone was upbeat and excited.
"I'd say about just over an hour. She's in the bath at the moment." Minerva fiddled with the chord and sighed.
"Perfect. I'll stop by the shop too and see what sweets I can find."
"Peter Pettigrew, have I ever told you that you're the favourite child?" She teased. Peter snorted.
"I'll see you later, Min." She heard a click and put the phone down.
Peter was there forty-five minutes later. He held out a box of cookies to her and carried the rest of the stuff in the living room.
"It looks nice." He said as he examined the room. Minerva had completely covered the sofa in blankets and pillows. Tim had taken to napping on the armchair. She muttered a thank you as she laid everything out on the coffee table. "I have to admit, I don't know if I should be offended or not by the fact you automatically assumed I wouldn't have plans for today." He grinned at her.
"You would have been calling either me or Sirius to freak out about it if you did." She smirked as Peter rolled his eyes.
"Okay, I'm going to head out now, before I get mentally scarred by whatever antics you have planned." A grin crept onto his face and Minerva stifled a laugh.
"Thank you so much, Pete." She pulled him close and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Hm, don't say I don't do anything for you." He grumbled as he broke away and moved towards the door. "Have fun, Min. Now I've got to stop by Marlene and Dorcas's flat. I promised them a cake." Minerva waved as he walked down the path.
"Who was that?" Poppy stood on top of the stairs. She looked a little more relaxed in her pyjamas...and Minerva's cardigan. She couldn’t fight the smile that grew on her face.
"Just Peter." She said, "He helped me get some things ready for you."
"You didn't need to go to any trouble, love." She began to descend the stairs with a soft smile.
"How many years have you been going through all this trouble for me? You know, the nice meals...the blue dress? Just let me do this one thing for you." Minerva reached out a hand and pulled Poppy close to her chest as she swayed them back and forth.
"Nearly twenty two years." Poppy mumbled.
"Hm?" Minerva pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"We'll have been together twenty two years this June." Poppy looked up with a soft smile.
"That's right. Perhaps we should dig out that mini dress again so we can properly celebrate." Minerva smirked as Poppy rolled her eyes and laughed.
"You're a nightmare, love." She lightly punched her shoulder and made her way towards the living room. "Now come on. I want to sit down."
Minerva quite liked having Poppy cuddled into her side, arms wrapped around her waist as her head rested against her chest. She played with her soft blonde hair as some old film played in the background. Sure, there wasn't a blue dress and fancy meals. But Minerva had the woman of her dreams in her arms, a rather spoiled cat at her feet, and a smile plastered back onto Poppy's face. It was purely perfect. Maybe valentines day wasn't so bad. Not when it was like this. She turned her head to plant a soft kiss to the top of Poppy's head.
"I really love you, Poppy Pomfrey." She whispered. Minerva felt Poppy begin to stir and look up at her.
"I love you too, Minerva Mcgonagall." She cupped her face with a smile and pulled her in for a gentle kiss.
Yeah. Valentine's day maybe wasn't so bad after all.