It was uncomfortably silent, the sound of the clock on the far wall ticking softly the only sound permeating it.
Shifting in his seat a little, Severus watched from a distance as the woman sitting on the sofa across from him had a staring contest with the cat who had taken up residence there. He had invited Hermione back to his flat without really taking into consideration the implications of such an offer. If he had anything other than tea and maybe half a pint of milk in his refrigerator he would have been surprised; his food shopping day was a Sunday and he normally subsisted on take-away on weekends.
Suddenly Hermione sat up and stretched out her back, causing him to jump in his seat a little. She rolled out her shoulders and turned to look over at him with a smile. His heart stalled in his chest. She was so lovely.
'I think Cat and I are going to get along famously,' Hermione commented as the kitten moved from the sofa onto her lap, following her hand in search of more attention.
'It does seem that way,' he agreed, his mind immediately searching for a deeper meaning hidden within her comment.
What did it mean that she and the cat were going to get along? Did she intend to stop by more often? Severus certainly hoped so. Flustered, he stood up from the armchair he had been anxiously occupying, and crossed the room to the doorway leading to his kitchen.
'Would you care for some tea?' he offered. He needed to do something to distract himself.
'I'd love some,' she responded, flashing him another dazzling smile.
He filled the kettle, switching on the hob and setting it to boil. As he was fumbling around in the cupboards looking for his tea and mugs, Severus heard a soft meow at his feet and looked down to see Cat had followed him in. The creature twined around his legs twice before settling on rubbing her face against his trousers, getting fur on them. She was probably hungry, he realised.
'Alright, give me a minute,' he grumbled, setting about retrieving a tin of cat food from the cupboard, summoning her bowl from its mat so that he could portion some out for her.
As he leaned down to replace the bowl while the hungry feline continued to make excited chirping noises, he caught sight of Hermione in the doorway from the corner of his eye. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she watched with an amused smirk. Straightening out, he turned back to the kettle which had started to whistle. Switching off the flame, he filled the teapot he'd prepared, a fragrant waft of the tea curling up to meet his nose.
'Earl Grey?' she asked, walking over to him and peering over his shoulder.
'Good nose.' He smirked at her.
'Severus?'
'Yes?'
'Relax,' Hermione told him, placing a hand on one of his as he turned around to face her properly. 'I don't bite.'
Severus took a deep breath and nodded at her sheepishly. He must have been incredibly nervous if she had been able to see through his act. He had no idea what he was doing. What did she want from him? He'd brought her to his home without a clue as to what she wanted from this visit other than to meet Cat. Did she want something? He wasn't sure what she might expect. Would she expect him to make some sort of move? Was it too soon for that? How the hell did people navigate their way through all of the bullshit that accompanied dating?
'I can practically see the cogs turning, Severus,' Hermione chastened.
He breathed out the breath he hadn't even realised he was holding. 'Right.'
Turning back to the tea, he removed the strainer and poured it into their mugs, adding a slice of lemon to each. It was the only proper way to drink Earl Grey after all. He handed one of the mugs to her and Hermione wrapped her fingers around it, lifting it to her face and taking an appreciative sniff before sipping at the hot liquid carefully.
'You'll have to divulge where you get your good tea from,' she murmured. 'I haven't found a single decent English Breakfast or anything else since I moved here. Other than what I've mooched off you, I've been living off jasmine and Bai Hao Yin Zhen.'
'Both acceptable options, but it's not the same,' he agreed.
There. Tea was a safe topic, but sadly one that would not sustain them the length of her visit, however long that should be.
'Let's go sit back down?' she asked.
He nodded, wordlessly following her back to his sitting room. This time, she shifted across so there was space for him beside her on the couch, and Severus knew it would have been awkward if he didn't accept her wordless invitation to sit closer to her. Berating himself internally, he perched on the opposite end of the chair, blowing on his beverage so he could take a sip without burning his mouth.
'This has been nice,' Hermione commented, cutting through the silence once more.
Although he had been awkward and feeling very much out of his depth the entire time, Severus was inclined to agree. It had gone a great deal better than he could have expected. Watching as she set her mug aside on the coffee table, she scooted towards him and pried the mug from his fingers, placing it beside hers on the table. He felt the breath shudder backwards in his throat.
Hermione smiled at him, lifting a hand up to gently brush a lock of hair out of his eyes, tucking it behind his ear before leaning up to press her soft lips to his.
Bliss.
He returned the pressure of her mouth, choosing to let her take the lead, following her eagerly like a lost puppy. Hermione parted her lips and soon he felt her warm, wet tongue teasing at the seam of his mouth. Gasping, he opened to her, and she languidly caressed his tongue with hers. It was a sweet, sensuous, unhurried kiss, and he lost himself in it, being swept up in the sensation of such a beautiful, fascinating woman wanting to be close to him that way.
Severus placed his hands at her waist, drawing her closer as they continued to mate their mouths together. After a long while, they drew apart, breathing deeply. Her lips were plump and pink from their exchange, and he felt the powerful urge to snatch her up and carry her off to his bedroom, but resisted. It was definitely too soon for that. He had spent far too long pining after her to rush things.
They quietly finished their tea together, sitting close and leaning against one another, soaking in the other's presence. Cat returned from the kitchen, jumping up onto the sofa and trampling all over Severus' lap for attention, looking far too pleased with herself when Hermione scratched under her chin. A short while later, Hermione kissed him goodnight and Apparated home, thanking him for dinner and the tea.
Severus went to his bed that night with a giddy smile on his face.
The two weeks following their date, Severus and Hermione were both distracted at work with classes and marking, both of them having to invigilate mid-term exams.
They would still meet and sit with one another in the staffroom to eat, and Severus found after the first couple of days much of the awkwardness had dissipated and he was more comfortable around her again. Dating one's colleague was a tricky business, and before he had even asked her to dinner with him he had taken the chance of things not going well between them into consideration, and he'd asked anyway.
When the Friday two weeks after their date came around, they were both done with exams and marking, and Severus was trying to work himself up to ask her out again that weekend. He hoped it wasn't too late to ask her; he'd barely had a spare minute to think about making plans when he'd been so busy with work.
Stopping by her office after their last class for the day, Severus paused in her open doorway, knocking on the doorframe to get her attention.
'Hello,' she greeted, smiling up at him.
Her mad hair was piled atop her head, wand tucked in to hold it in place. She was always so effortlessly beautiful it made his heart throb madly in his chest whenever he saw her.
'I––I uh, was just hoping to catch you before you left,' he said, nerves evident in his voice. Swallowing, he continued. 'You wouldn't happen to be free tomorrow at all?'
Hermione's smile widened. 'What did you have in mind?'
'I thought it would be amusing to do a few touristy Muggle things, like visit the Maritime Museum, go to Merlion Park, perhaps swing by the observation deck at Marina Bay?' he listed off.
'It sounds like a lovely idea,' she agreed. 'What time, and where shall I meet you?'
'How does one o'clock strike you? And perhaps, as this is a date, I should come and collect you from your residence?' he answered, opting for being straight-forward with her.
It seemed to be the right approach as she nodded. 'Alright,' Hermione said, grabbing a little note card from the top drawer of her desk and scribbling something down. She stood up from her chair and sauntered over to meet him in the doorway. 'Here is my address.'
He accepted the card from her, tucking it into the pocket of his robes. 'I shall see you tomorrow then?'
She nodded, reaching up to cup his cheek, running her thumb along his jaw. He felt his breath leave him even at such a simple touch. Before realising what was happening, Hermione pressed her lips to his own in a chaste kiss, before pulling back and sauntering back around her desk, resuming her seat.
'See you then' she told him.
Still a little gobsmacked at how lucky he had got, Severus left her office in a daze, making his way back to his own to collect his briefcase before returning home to feed Cat.
Their second date went better than the first; this time Severus had felt more prepared, and the anxiety over whether he had made a huge mistake had faded some.
He still couldn't believe that she actually liked him as well, though through the day she'd made plenty of excuses to be near to him or touch him, and he hadn't minded it one bit. Despite spending much of his childhood and adult life touch-starved, he hadn't really desired it all that much until Hermione had entered the picture. She was a very tactile person, and while she had been worming her way into his life as a friend, he'd grown used to her casual touches, so the affection she now turned on him through it was not unwelcome.
After he'd collected her at her flat, they'd gone straight to the Maritime Museum to enjoy reading and enjoying some of the interactive exhibits, as well as a little viewing and exploration of the ships anchored there. He'd decided against booking them into a tour group, not really wanting to get stuck with a bunch of other tourists as they made their way through. Afterwards they went to Merlion Park and Hermione purchased a disposable camera so they could take some silly, touristy photos at the attraction. Severus had felt decidedly uncomfortable to begin with, but Hermione's enthusiasm was both boundless and infectious, and he soon found himself leaning into it and indulging her.
They dined at Clarke Quay along the waterfront, and afterwards made their way to Marina Bay to walk along the canal and watch the sunset together.
He was more than a little surprised when her hand slipped into his as they slowly made their way along the water, pausing occasionally to observe some fish, or for her to point and launch into a long explanation on a particular feature of the area. He loved to listen to her, and enjoyed the feeling of her small hand in his, their fingers twined together.
'This was a wonderful day,' she told him when they paused to look out over the water, standing very close to him.
'I am inclined to agree,' he murmured, still holding her hand.
'Thank you for thinking of this,' she continued, giving his hand a squeeze. 'It's not often you meet someone who is willing to suffer through reading every exhibit at a museum. I tried to once with Harry and Ron once, but it was a miserable day and they complained the entire time.'
Severus chuckled. 'Why am I not surprised?'
They resumed their walk, and after the sun had completed its descent and the street lamps came on, Severus escorted her back to her flat. Apparating directly into her flat this time, he was surprised when his arms were immediately full of nice-smelling witch, her lips pressed hotly to his own. His groan was muffled by her mouth as she coaxed him into another passionate embrace.
This time there was a lot more urgency than the last, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to pull away from her. Was it still too soon? Would she be offended by the all-too evident excitement pressing against her? He tried to angle his hips away a little, embarrassed at his body's reaction.
'Severus,' she said breathlessly when they finally broke apart.
'Yes?'
'Stay.'
'Are you certain?'
'Yes.'
Her brown eyes were dark and dilated, though there was a fire that played in them at that moment. He was helpless to deny her, having wanted to be with her for so long. He pulled her closer again, answering her with a kiss and allowing her to lead him to her bedroom. Clothes were discarded hastily, and Severus vaguely thought it was a very good thing they had opted for Muggle attire that day as it was a lot easier to remove.
Much later, they lay together in the centre of her bed, the sheets draped over them as their breath and heart rates returned to normal, the sweat cooling on their skin. Hermione's head was tucked against his shoulder, her hand pressed against his breastbone. Her deep, even breaths indicated that she had drifted off to sleep, and Severus pressed his lips to the top of her curls and smiled.
Cat would likely be annoyed with him when he returned home the next day, but as he closed his eyes to join Hermione in slumber, he thought to himself that was a trade he was willing to make.
A/N: Many thanks to turtle_wexler for the speedy beta! x