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"It's almost ready!" Hermione called from the kitchen.
"All right," Severus answered as he gingerly took a seat at the dining table, which was dressed in an attractive hodgepodge of china and a centerpiece of fresh flowers. A garden salad and a loaf of warm French bread were already waiting for him. In spite of their lunch at a Chinese restaurant, Hermione had insisted on fixing dinner tonight, if only to prove to him her proficiency in the kitchen. Chicken Alfredo was on the menu, a dish Severus had never tried. Something about lumpy white sauce had always reminded him of the gravy his mother used to make. He grimaced at the thought of ingesting that again…
A timer sounded from the other room. He sighed and inwardly prayed that Hermione was as good in the kitchen as she claimed….
"Here we are!" she began as she triumphantly emerged from the kitchen with a covered dish.
As she set it on the table, Severus smirked, "You seem quite proud of yourself."
"Well, over the years I've perfected this recipe. I think it might even please the likes of you," Hermione replied as she took a seat.
"You're awfully confident," Severus answered.
She smirked. "Yes, though getting you to admit that you like it may be somewhat of a challenge."
"I'm not afraid to offer a well-earned compliment," Severus protested as she removed the cover. As Severus inhaled the aroma, he had to admit that it didn't smell completely unappetizing, although the white sauce was still off-putting.
Hermione served Severus, then watched intently as he expertly spun the pasta around his fork. He glanced up, raised an eyebrow and commented, "I've never before seen anyone so fascinated by my pasta technique."
She shrugged, feigning disinterest. "I'm just waiting for a critique, that's all."
Severus grunted as he lifted the saucy noodles to his lips. Initially the hint of garlic in the sauce was what commanded his attention, but soon its creamy texture wrapped his tongue in ecstasy. Combined with the slight chewiness of the al dente noodles, the result was quite… pleasant. He nodded, causing Hermione to smile.
"You like it?" she asked, then kicked herself for sounding too eager.
Severus looked at her thoughtfully before swallowing. "It's adequate. I'll admit that it isn't as horrid as I thought it would be."
Hermione's face lit up. "I knew you'd enjoy it."
She dug into her own plate of noodles, still beaming over her victory. Severus wondered how she could find such great satisfaction in something as ordinary as cooking a meal for him. Maybe there was more to the gleam in her eye… could it be she was anxious to please him? Especially since that was no small feat considering his infamous distaste for almost everything.
Perhaps her issue went deeper... Merlin knew she had taken a hit with Ron's rejection. Maybe this was about proving herself to be a worthy wife. The last thing she needed was confirmation that she wasn't good enough for Ron, for him, or for anyone. On some level, he could relate to her...
"Ummm… Severus? Where am I going to sleep tonight?" Hermione asked, interrupting his thoughts.
He returned his attention to her. Uncertainty loomed where playfulness had danced just a moment ago. Severus took a deep breath and replied, "I presumed that you and I would sleep in the same bed, considering that we are a married couple."
"Oh," she answered, taken aback.
Severus sighed. "Anything else would be a bit odd, don't you think?"
"Yes," she replied before contemplating her fork.
"Would you prefer to sleep in another room?" he asked.
"No!" she exclaimed as she shook her head. "Of course not. I just didn't know what you wanted."
"Well, what do you want?" he asked.
"A nice childhood for my child," she answered.
"But what do you want for yourself?" he asked.
She grew distant as she formulated her answer. Her eyes misted and she replied barely above a whisper, "I want what we had last night."
Thrown by her admission, Severus fought to mask his surprise. Hermione bowed her head, feeling uncomfortably exposed. "What made last night special for you?" he asked.
"You'll think I'm an idiot," she answered.
"If I thought you were an idiot I wouldn't have married you," he replied.
She looked up, gathering her courage. "It's just… you were so tender, so caring."
"I didn't want to make the experience more unpleasant than it had to be," he replied.
She swallowed uncomfortably. "I suppose all I want is for you not to use or abandon me."
In that moment, her vulnerability was fully exposed. One false word and she would shatter. Severus chose his words carefully and replied, "Hermione, I will never intentionally use you and I'm committed to you and to your child for as long as you'll have me."
"Me too," she whispered.
"If you want to indulge in… marital relations… then all you have to do is ask. We've promised each other that this would be an exclusive marriage, so I wouldn't be so unfair as to deny you."
"I know," she answered. "I'll make the same offer to you. Still, it all sounds so business-like, as if there isn't any emotion behind it."
"Trust me, there is emotion on my part," Severus assured her. "But you must know that I don't readily display my emotions. I never have."
"I can accept that," Hermione answered with a wan smile.
"Good," Severus replied. "So, now I ask you, where would you like to sleep tonight?"
"With you," she answered with confidence.
Suddenly Hermione sat up straighter, her eyes glistening. "The baby's kicking again."
Severus gave her a half smile. "It seems to be a very active baby."
"It is," Hermione cooed as she looked down at her stomach. Then, her face fell. "How are we going to break the news of my pregnancy?"
"Everyone who needs to know already knows," Severus answered.
"I wish that were the case, but the press has been all over this whole marriage thing… and the concealment spell will only work for another month or so," Hermione replied.
"I suppose if we don't tell the press, someone else will," Severus mused.
"That's what I'm thinking," Hermione said.
Severus was silent for a moment before proposing, "Well, there were several reporters clamoring for an interview on how our marriage came to be. I suppose we could select one whom we trust and who will be fairly accurate."
"I don't trust any of them," Hermione groaned.
Severus smirked. "Then we'll find one whom we can 'convince' to say exactly what we want him or her to say."
"How?" Hermione asked with interest.
"You worked in the Ministry. Surely you have some dirt on at least one of them," Severus answered.
Hermione's eyes shone. "Rita Skeeter! She's still an unregistered animagi! I think she's afraid that if she's registered then it would be public record and people would catch onto her tricks!"
"Then she's won the draw," Severus answered as his smirk grew.
"Yes," Hermione answered proudly. "I'll owl her in the morning."
"Good," Severus replied before taking another bite of pasta.
They ate in comfortable silence until Severus asked, "Hermione?"
"Hmm?" she asked as she returned her attention to him.
"I actually do like this meal."
He'd never seen her look happier.