Lovely weather today. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Magic of RR (Reciprocation Recipe)

It was a bright sunny day. Summer refused to be over. Its rays persistently reach every nook and cranny of the bustling woodland – all except an abandon-looking cabin that stood between two maple trees. Its gray curtain gently swaying from the summer breeze. Every now and then, a shadow could be seen roving about, followed by a flash of multi-colored sparks.

Severus continued stirring while floating unidentifiable objects were dropping themselves in the sea-green concoction. Swirls of pink steam rose lazily up as bubbles gaily popped at the edge of the cauldron. He paused every now and then to jot down some notes on an old beaten-up book.

A sharp rap on the window startled his reverie. The curtain was pushed to reveal a sheepishly grinning Lily holding something in her hands. He rushed to arrange the place without making the least bit of noise. After seeing that it was at least presentable, he made a quick fix on his attire and hair. Pausing at the door, he took several gulps of air before he opened the door.

"Something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

She held the box in front of him. Peeking at its side, she replied, "Peace offering." She saw that his face looked even more confused and giggled. She gently shoved the box to his arms. "It's a beautiful day! Why don't we have a picnic?"

He looked at her incredulously. "Now?!"

She nodded.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Never been better! Come on!" she urged, pulling his arm.

"Hold on a sec," he said, trying to pull away from her grasp. "I'm in the middle of brewing –"

"It still has to simmer, am I right?"

"Well, yes but –"

"For about 2 hours?"

"Yes, and I –"

"Good. Then let's go!"

"Wait! My wand –"

"You won't need them silly"

"But what if..."

"Really Severus. You should learn to loosen up or are you just trying to avoid me?"

He sighed in defeat. "Alright. Let's go." Muttering to himself, he hurried to catch up.

She led him into a quieter section at the edge of the forest. The view looked magnificent. The whole town, surrounded by luscious vegetations, could be seen from above. The pale sun shone near the mountaintops, its rays spreading the yellow glow. It was indeed a beautiful afternoon.

Lily laughed as she plopped herself at a grassy area, trying to catch her breath. Severus, in the meanwhile, walked a bit slower, now that they had arrived at her so-called picnic spot. He sat down beside her cross-legged while he observed her as she took out tinier boxes from the box she brought.

"Here, have some," she opened one and offered it to him. It contained 4 slices of chocolate cake with white fillings in between.

"Baked them myself," she said proudly. "Go on"

He took one and took a bite. Lily looked at him in anticipation. He gave a small smile and swallowed it.

"Well...?"

"Did you, by any chance, placed alcohol in it?". She thought for a while and shook her head.

"For a moment there, I thought you finally discovered a way to smuggle vodka to school."

Perplexed, she took one and ate it. The whole piece. He watched her eyes as it went big, her face red. She stood up, near the edge, to spat the remains. Grabbing the bottle of water from the box, she drank it hurriedly. Gasping for breath, she turned and saw Severus laughing his head off.

"That isn't funny," she pouted, punching him.

"You should have read the label before you pour them," he remarked, wiping tears from his eyes. "Was this your 1st time?"

"Second. And I did read the label. Someone must have switch the contents."

"Okay. Alright. I get it." He tried hiding a smirk. "What happened to the 1st time?"

She could barely look at him in the eye. "It was a disaster"

"Surely, it wasn't that bad."

"Yes it was," she snapped, "Damn it!" She hit her fist in the ground.

My god, she going to cry any minute soon. For heavens sake, Severus do something! People should have written books about how to solve this kind of crisis. Then again, I wouldn't have the nerve to buy it either. He reached out and gave a stiff pat. "I guess brewing cakes is out of the question."

She gave a small smile. "You could make a nice gello cake."

"With spider legs and beetle wings?"

She chucked. "If I ever do make one, I'll be sure to let you have the first bite."

"Oh, so I'm the official taster now?" He raised his hands in mock exaggeration. "You ought to pay me for this service."

She gave him a playful shove. He poked back. They looked at each other, both having a mischievous grins in their faces. Lily grabbed a handful of grass and flung it at him. Severus responded with a spray of dirt and gravel. She looked at her now dirtied skirt in disbelief. Spotting a pool of wet mud nearby from where they sat, she quickly stood up and raced towards it. Seeing what she was about to do, he grabbed her. Both collapsed on the ground; she struggling to get out, he trying not to let go. Both in a giggling fit.

When the peals of laughter subdued, Severus realized how close they were to each other. His arms were still wrapped around her soft figure. Her hair was close to his face. He could smell her sweet scent of flowers and spices. He felt her breathing slowing down and gradually merged with his own. It felt comforting and peaceful. For some strange reason, he had an intense urge to bury his head and kiss that soft head of hers but resisted from doing so. Quietly, he savored the moment, yet apprehensive of her reaction to this turn of event. Strangely, she didn't move from her spot.

So, they stayed there, glazing at the sun setting. Watching its glorious slow descent down to the peaks of the mountains though preoccupied with their own thoughts. It lasted for a few minutes before Lily pulled away and sat across him. Without looking at him, she shyly said:

"About what happened yesterday, I wanted to apologize for my rude behavior. I guess—"

"It was nothing. Please forget it. There was nothing to apologize."

She toyed with the tiny stones beside her. "I wish it were that simple, because for me it wasn't just nothing."

He stared at her.

"There was something, wasn't it?"

He avoided her gaze. "I don't know what you are talking about."

She crawled near him and lifted his chin. Peering through his eyes, she looked at him inquiringly. Searching for the truth and the hidden meaning of it.

"Severus, something happened. I just know it. Didn't you feel it too?"

He refused to look at her. Ashamed of his feelings, frustrated at his lack of control over it, tensed at the situation being out-of-hand. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the rising turmoil of emotions but to no avail. He could feel trace of cold sweat from his forehead as he pondered on what to say.

To deny the truth or to accept it. But will she accept it? Questions began piling up as situations raced in his mind, each one outrageous than the last. Just as he was about to exhale in resignation, he felt something warm on his lips.

She kissed him.

Severus stared at her. She smiled at him tenderly. His fingers felt his lips, moist from the stolen kiss. As if she read his unsure mind, she kissed him again – longer this time. He felt his composure: his frustration and pent-up emotions crumble as he reciprocated.

When Lily pulled back, she saw tears glisten on Severus' eyes, and laughed in spite of herself. What am I doing? Am I in the right state of mind?

She had wondered that night before about what had happened during the walk up back to his cottage. When she felt his finger brushed against her hair, she trembled at his touch.

What is wrong with me? She wondered aloud in her bed. Am I now suddenly attracted to him? We've met and talked for like ages, why now? She wondered if she did the right thing when she turned away...before anything could happen.

His face looked so lost and confused...and so adorable. She never has seen him like that. Oh sure she seen him at school countless times. But all that time, whenever she talked to him, she could feel a barrier suddenly springs up and closed him from the outside. Not even a peek on his feelings. And here he is, looking at her...so helpless. She felt her stomach twisted seeing his face.

That why she decided to make it up to him today. To cheer him up and forget about what happened between them. She figured a picnic will do lovely. Baking seems to be easy, she saw her mum do it lots of time. Surely it 'aint that bad – or so she thought. She was careful on the measurements, making sure what happened to her last cake didn't happened again ever.

How wrong she was. The moment she took a bite, she knew. All because of a mistaken bottle content. How could I not have noticed its overwhelming smell? She thought about it but couldn't find an excuse. Maybe I was to busy checking on the cookies.

THE COOKIES! She forgot to give it to him. Then again, she rather not, after all that. That's the second time in a row. Then he started to console her. Just because she was a baby fussing over it.

That's when it happened. How could I miss it? If I knew this would happened I would have take the next port key home. Or disapparate for that matter. So why do I feel so alive? Why did I stay? Just because a part of me wanted to cuddle in his warm and comforting arms, doesn't mean I like him, right? Do I?

Yet she stayed. She watched the sun set with him. She glanced at him whenever she thought he wasn't looking. His face looked relaxed. His black hair tousled from the afternoon breeze. He looked cute that way...and happy. She sighed and smiled to herself, snuggling deeper in his embrace. It felt good to be in his arms.

Funny how I didn't realized it this sooner. I liked being with him. I liked being close to him, hold him, to feel him warm embrace.

She had loved him all the along.

He stared at her as if this wasn't real. Am I in a dream? She kissed him again just to be sure. Yep, they're real. And she laughed. Severus looked hurt. She shook her head as a means of saying everything is all right. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He smiled.

Everything is going to be just fine...

Awww...sweet bliss. Only manage 2 chapters. I promised myself to continue this but will leave this to your imagination on what happens next for the time being. Thanks for reading!