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Yet another late-night meeting with the Order had devolved into both Sirius and Severus bickering with one another. It was the same as always; one moment everything was fine until one of the two, usually Sirius, made a jab at the other, and everything would just go downhill from there. You could tell everyone in the Order was annoyed by the two's inability to turn the other cheek for the sake of having a peaceful and productive meeting. The irritated looks on some of their faces, and the clear discomfort in their body language were what gave it away, but usually no one ever said anything.
“Whatever you say, Sniv—” Sirius began to say, but he was immediately interrupted.
“Enough!” You yelled, standing up and slamming your hands on the table, now drawing everyone’s attention to yourself. “Can you two cut it out already? Especially you, Sirius, stop calling him that ridiculous name,” you said, scolding the two of them, but mostly Sirius.
“Me?” Sirius asked, standing up as well.
“Yes, you!” You retorted. “We have actual important things to discuss here, but you can’t help poking at Sev every time you get the chance!”
“Sev? You’re defending him like you’re in love with him,” Sirius snickered.
“So? And what if I am?” You replied, not even thinking it through or realizing what you had said until you heard Sirius laugh again.
“You’re serious?” He asked jokingly before erupting into another fit of laughter. “I knew it; I could never prove it, but I always knew it!”
“Oh come on! That’s not—” You tried to argue back but gave up.
“Oh, wow, I never thought I’d see the day,” Sirius said, still laughing as he leaned back in his chair. “You're in love with Snivelly.”
At this point, you weren’t sure what was more annoying, Sirius just laughing at you or the fact that he couldn’t seem to stop using that stupid nickname for Severus.
“I told you to stop calling him that!” You snapped.
Severus, who had stayed quiet and still through the whole ordeal but was growing more irritated by the second, finally decided to speak up, clearing his throat to get the attention of you and Sirius.
“Will you two be finished anytime soon?” He asked, although the question was mostly rhetorical.
Without saying another word, you grabbed a crumpled-up sheet of parchment that was conveniently on the table in front of you and tossed it at Sirius, hitting him in the head with it before you turned around and left the room. The door closed behind you loudly as you stormed out and into the hallway, leaving Sirius and Severus in the now silent room with each other, along with the rest of the Order, as you made your way to the living room.
You slumped down onto the couch and let out a frustrated sigh. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” you said aloud to yourself. “Out of all the things you could have responded with, you had to say that,” you continued, scolding yourself.
You weren’t sure if you were ever going to tell him, as Severus had always been hard to read, and you just assumed your relationship was nothing more than platonic to him, but if you were to tell him, it wouldn’t be like that.
After a bit of sulking, the door creaked open as Severus walked out into the hall and made his way over to the living room, his cold eyes locking onto you as you sat on the couch. He stood there for a moment, not saying anything, until he finally spoke.
“Are you planning on returning?” Severus asked, his voice as monotone as ever.
You averted your eyes from him, not wanting to look at him right now out of embarrassment. “No,” you replied curtly.
Severus raised an eyebrow, taken aback a little by your answer. “And why not?” He questioned, crossing his arms.
You shifted uncomfortably in your chair, still avoiding his gaze. “I’d rather not talk about it, Severus,” you said, hoping he would just drop it.
You were still embarrassed, and he knew that; there was no way he didn’t, because he had watched everything go down. Though he didn’t seem to have much of a reaction during the ordeal, he just remained seated with an unpleasant expression on his face.
“That’s not adequate,” he stated plainly.
You groaned. “Fine,” you huffed, finally looking up at him. “I don’t want to go back in there because I’m embarrassed. Happy now?”
“So it’s true? It wasn’t some sort of joke that Black was coming up with,” he asked, able to read you effortlessly.
“Does it matter? He shouldn’t have even—never mind, I guess I shouldn’t even be surprised; he’s pulled stuff like that since we were kids,” you sighed.
“Well, I suppose I can understand that; it is in his nature,” Severus said, disdain evident in his voice. “Though I wasn’t aware you grew up together.”
“Our families were really close, so there were a lot of gatherings where we saw each other. He always loved getting on my nerves; I guess he found it funny,” you said.
Severus nodded as he took in what you said. “I see,” he said simply. A brief silence fell between you two before Severus spoke again, his tone softer this time. “Do you want to discuss it? Your confession?”
You hesitated, unsure if you really wanted to discuss it. “I mean, if you want. I wasn’t exactly planning on ever telling you, or anyone, about it, especially not in such a way, but I guess I failed miserably at that.”
“It was unexpected,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “But not unwelcome.”
You knew what he was trying to say, and you couldn’t help the small smile that formed on your lips. “Maybe I would’ve said something sooner if I’d known you’d take it so well,” you admitted. “You’re hard to read, Severus; I didn’t think you were the dating type.”
Severus exhaled through his nose, almost letting out a rare laugh. “I am not the type for grand romantic declarations,” he said dryly. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel things.”
It didn’t sound like much, but having known Severus for so long, you knew it meant something coming from him, and to you, that was special. You didn’t have anything to say, so you just looked at him with soft eyes before slowly getting up from the couch and closing the distance between you two and wrapping your arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.
Severus froze for a second. Physical affection wasn't something he was used to; he’d gone his whole life without it, but slowly, his arms came up around you, too, one hand resting on the back of your head, holding you against his chest. The hug lasted for a few moments, neither of you being in any hurry to pull away. Eventually, Severus tilted his head slightly and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head.
It was clear that he wasn’t used to affection and had spent so much of his life pushing people away both emotionally and physically that even something simple like hugging someone felt foreign to him.
Severus broke the silence first, his voice quiet and unusually tender. “I’ve never had something like this,” he admitted, still holding you close.
You didn’t pull away; you just nuzzled your face into his chest. “I know; it’s alright,” you said reassuringly.
Severus exhaled softly, the tension in his shoulders easing a little. He rested his chin on top of your head, just enjoying the moment, the warmth, the closeness. It was nice.
After another minute or so of holding, he finally spoke again. “Do you want to go back inside? The meeting isn’t over yet.”
“We probably should, but I’d rather just stay here with you,” you replied, not in the mood to be questioned by Sirius or the others about what had just happened between you and Severus.
Severus hummed in agreement. “Then we won’t go back, not tonight at least,” he said, no longer caring about the meeting in session. “We’ve done our part for tonight’s meeting.”
Instead, Severus guided you to sit back down on the couch before taking a seat right next to you. He didn’t say anything else and just stayed close to you, his hand finding yours and lacing his fingers with yours.
You kept a tight grip on his hand and leaned on his shoulder, sighing softly. “Thank you for taking it well,” you said.
Severus glanced down at you, his expression softening a bit, something that rarely happened. “It wasn’t something to take poorly,” he replied simply.
The two of you sat there in comfortable silence, enjoying the quiet until a thought crossed Severus’s mind. “So what happens now?”
His sudden words snapped you out of your trance, and you turned to look at him. “What do you want to happen?” You questioned in response.
You knew what you wanted from him; you wanted to be with him, if possible, forever, but you just weren’t sure if that’s something he wanted too. He took your confession well, which did make you feel a little more hopeful, but that didn’t necessarily mean he would be open to a romantic relationship. There was still always the chance it would just lead to the two of you feeling awkward around one another, and that worried you more than you’d care to admit.
“I’d like to court you properly,” he said, carefully choosing his words as always, though it sounded a bit awkward coming from him as he wasn’t used to romance at all.
“You want to court me?” You giggled softly at how formal he was being about things. “You make it sound so serious, Sev,” you said, still smiling.
Severus shot you a look, unamused by your giggling, but not angry. “It is serious,” he said firmly, but there was no real anger or annoyance in his tone. “I don’t do things half-heartedly.”
You bit your lip to suppress another giggle, seeing how serious he was about this. “I know you don’t,” you said, finding his seriousness endearing. “And that’s one of the things I like about you, Severus.”
He wasn’t used to people liking his seriousness; most people found him cold and intimidating, but you never did. You always liked him as he was and didn’t make him feel like he needed to change. “So is that a yes?” He asked.
“It was a yes from the moment you told me you didn’t mind my little slip-up," you replied.
Severus's lips curved slightly, almost into a smile. It was rare for him to show any kind of expression, but around you, he felt comfortable enough to let his guard down. Without another word, Severus leaned in and pressed his lips against yours in a gentle kiss. It didn’t last very long, but that was to be expected as you were still getting comfortable with one another.
“I was thinking we should go on a proper date. Just us tomorrow evening,” he suggested.
“That sounds perfect.”