AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
Severus didn't know Hermione had a lucky song. He believed she was above thinking that a song could bring any kind of good fortune. Yet, her eyes glistened as the radio in the pool area blared.
"And we can build this thing together, standing strong forever! Nothing's gonna stop us now!"
"Doesn't hearing this song again give you some kind of feeling that things are going our way?" Hermione slipped out of her flip flops.
"No, it makes me think that muggles like this song and play it at every opportunity."
"Maybe, but it still gives me a sense of optimism. If we won money while this song is playing, then surely hearing it again will mean we're on the right track with our jobs," she said.
"I hardly consider almost getting caught with our faces plastered over a billboard to be lucky," Severus took off his boots. Call him a traditionalist, but he refused to indulge in sandals. His boots would suffice for any circumstance, even a pool.
"Yes, but we got out of it, meaning the song is lucky." She kicked her flip flops under an odd white chair. Instead of being solid plastic, the chair had a metal frame, with thick plastic strips serving as the bottom and back. It did not appear sturdy, but he couldn't see any evidence of it being cracked, nor were the similar chairs around it any worse for wear.
"The song had little to do with our good fortune," he replied. "Your quick thinking is what saved us. Never attribute to a song what you accomplished on your own."
"I won't," she stretched. "It's just fun to have a lucky song. I haven't had one since I was a girl."
"What was your lucky song then?"
"I Want to Break Free, Queen."
"Really?"
"Yes," she answered. "I always danced when it came on, even if it was in the middle of the Tesco. It drove my mum crazy when I was six."
"I see." Severus couldn't help but imagine a full grown Hermione dancing in the Wal Mart to the song. Merlin knew it would be more dignified than the man in a two sizes too small tank top rummaging through the meats, checking all the dates.
"I don't know if they'll ever play that song, but if they do, well," she gave him a small blush. "I'll dance to it again."
"I will put in a special request for it at the front desk."
"Oh no, I don't want to dance on a wet floor, not so close to a pool."
"Probably the better part of wisdom." There were puddles surrounding the pool, a few in the shape of small footprints, no doubt left by the children they'd seen on the way out.
"Speaking of pools, you can take off your dress shirt. It wouldn't do to go swimming in it."
"It would be inadvisable to take it off," he argued. "The scars on my chest from the war would raise more than a few questions, as would the mark on my arm."
"I hadn't thought about those." She bit her lower lip. "Though wearing a dress shirt in a hot tub is unorthodox."
"If you wanted an orthodox man you should not have agreed to go on the run with me. I have never conformed to the standards of others."
"I know, which is one of the many things I admire about you."
"You admire me?"
"Yes, I thought I'd made that clear over the years."
"I always thought you admired my work, which was thrown into question after you discovered I was brewing illegal potions."
"No, I've always admired you as a person," she said. "You're a good man at heart. Even if you make some questionable decisions, I know you're a good man."
"I try to be around you, anyway."
"You succeed most of the time," Hermione didn't move towards the hot tub in the corner of the room. Instead, she kept her eyes on the large pool in front of her. It was an oval which took up half the room. On one end was a wide staircase leading into the water, while on the other end was a metal ladder. The water was clear enough, but Severus didn't trust it to be clean, not even with the overwhelming stench of chlorine.
"Could you do me a favor?" She asked.
"Yes," he drawled.
"Could you keep guard while I do a few laps around the pool? Just hold my towel and if someone is coming closely, warn me so I can put it back on."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not ready for the hot tub yet. I want to swim first."
"So you'll risk being caught?"
"I won't risk getting caught if you're a good lookout."
He gave her a sideways glance. If she was anyone else, he would berate her for being a dunderhead and taking too many unnecessary risks. She'd had so few joys in life though, especially in the last few weeks. There was hardly anyone around either. Surely it couldn't hurt to be her lookout.
"If you want, I can keep a lookout for you when I'm done so you can do the same," she offered. "You'll be able to take off your shirt and enjoy the water."
"That won't be necessary. I've never cared for swimming. Sitting in a hot tub will be sufficient."
"Even in a shirt?"
"Yes, I will be more than fine risking the ruination of this shirt to enjoy a hot tub in the pleasure of your company."
She stared at him, as if trying to discern how honest he was.
"I will be your lookout provided you put your towel back on in the hot tub."
"Deal." She tore her towel from her head and gave it to him. Then, she rushed over and jumped into the water, leaving a big enough splash to touch Severus' toes.
He took the towel and went over the the pool's edge. He saw a tangled mess of hair grow wider, until she stuck her head out. After gasping, she shook her head and pulled clumps of hair away from her eyes.
"Are you injured?" Severus asked.
"No, quite the opposite, I feel great." She smiled. "This water is warm."
"It is?"
"Yes, you should consider jumping in when I'm done."
"As I said, I am fine."
"Then at least stick your toes in."
He sat on the edge and put the towel on a dry spot behind him. Then, he allowed his feet to go over the edge. As she said, the water was lukewarm. Tolerable, but not enough to entice Severus to jump in.
"It's been so long since I've had an actual swim." She did a backstroke towards the staircase. "I hope I remember how to do everything."
"If not the water appears shallow enough for you not to drown."
"I should be fine." She sat on the staircase before taking a deep breath. Then, she swam underwater towards the other side.
Severus watched her, cursing the urge to jump in and join her. It was one thing to stand in that bikini, but to move so gracefully, to appear so happy...it was more than Severus' lonely heart could take. Not for the first time, he wished he hadn't occluded away his emotions for so long. If he'd learned how to properly deal with them, he may not have such an urge to jump into the pool, raise her out of the water, press his lips against hers, tell her how he felt about her, and carry her to the hotel room where he would tenderly lay her upon the bed…
"Severus?"
He returned to the present moment.
"What are you thinking about?" She frowned.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" She floated on her back.
"Yes."
"Okay, but you've been quiet for awhile."
"I apologize. I was simply meditating on how much I wish I could swim."
"You don't know how to swim?"
"I only know the basics of how to swim. I was never proficient at it, in part because my parents couldn't afford swimming lessons."
"Oh," she paddled herself closer to him. "I hadn't thought of that. My parents were rabid about giving me swimming lessons. If we were going to visit the beach, I needed to learn how to swim properly."
"The lessons were a good investment. You enjoy water," he said.
"I enjoy water when it's not frozen anyway."
"I suppose you would."
She turned herself until she was facing him. Then she stood at the edge of the pool, her hands on the ledge. "I feel free when I'm in the water, like the world doesn't matter."
"I can tell."
She cocked her head, as if trying to determine how positive a statement that was.
"It is nice to see you swim, and see you enjoying life. Even after everything you can find joy in life," he said. "I admire that."
The music slowed into another song, one Severus recognized from the recesses of his young adulthood. Every time he heard it, he fantasized about dancing with a woman to the song. At first the woman's face was unclear, but now that blurry image had been replaced by Hermione.
"I do feel freer than I have in years," she said. "That doesn't mean I've made things easy on you this trip."
"So long, I've been looking too hard, I've been waiting too long. Sometimes I don't know what I will find, I only know it's a matter of time…" the song began.
"What do you mean?" He asked. "You've been an exceptional partner in all this."
"I don't feel that way when I'm panicking because I slept on you, or when I'm going on about my insecurities. If you had to go on the run with someone, I'm sure you would've preferred someone more confident, someone who wasn't releasing years worth of emotional issues on you at once."
"Actually, I would prefer to go on the run with someone who tolerated me and was willing to kill an auror for me. That way, I know we could be partners, and she would stay by my side for the duration of our misadventure."
"We are partners, and I will always be by your side. I meant it when I said if you were to ever go missing I would tear up the state of Wisconsin to find you."
"You would be quite the formidable force."
"I would make them wish they'd never heard our names."
"I'm sure you would."
"I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life. I've been waiting for a girl like you, your love that will survive," the song continued.
"I would tear up the entire United States to find you, if there was ever a need for me to do so. If something were to happen to you, I would never forgive myself," Severus said.
"Then I hope nothing happens to me, because you don't need another reason to beat up on yourself," her voice grew softer. "God knows I'm not someone worth beating yourself over. I'm no perfect woman like Lily."
"Do not ever compare yourself to Lily again," he lowered his voice. "You are an incomparable woman. What I feel for you is nothing compared to how I felt for Lily. What I feel for you is much deeper, much more intense."
"I've been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive. Yeah, waiting for a girl like you to come into my life," the song crooned.
"What are you trying to say?" Hermione asked as she tilted her head towards him.
"I've been waiting, waiting for you, ooh…"
"What I mean to say is that when I'm with you I lose all sense of rationality," his voice was soft. "You touch me in a way no other woman has. You…"
The door clicked open.
"Quick," he whispered, "yell, 'Stephen you bastard, and dunk your head when I give you the cue."
"Okay." She took a deep breath and screamed, "Stephen, you bastard!"
"What is your problem? I thought you would appreciate a skinny dip."
"That didn't mean you needed to take off my bikini top!" She dunked her head underwater.
"What did ya do?" A familiar sing song voice asked.
Severus spun around and scowled. Of course it would be that meddlesome maid. "I was trying to show my wife how appreciative I was of her body. Unfortunately, my hand hooked on the edge of her bikini and plucked it off."
Hermione raised herself so only her face was showing. "I could kill you right now!" Then, she dunked underwater.
"If you don't mind, my wife would appreciate some privacy so she can think of ways to castrate me in peace," he said.
"I only need the towels." She turned to a pile of white towels on the floor. Then, she wheeled out a bin and put them inside.
"So you do," Severus grumbled.
"You seem a bit overdressed for a swim," Tracy noted.
"Unfortunately, I burned my left arm before I came here. I am a bit self-conscious about the marks."
"So you are," Tracy muttered.
"You are so going to get it tonight I will make you pay for that bikini stunt!" Hermione snapped before dunking herself underwater again.
"I look forward to dealing with you then," he called.
"If I were ya I'd be careful. There's nothing as enraged as a woman who's just lost the top of her bikini."
"I will survive my wife's wrath," his voice was quieter. "Or so I hope."
"I think your love could survive more than you think." She put the last of the towels in the bin. "If your wife believes ya need another room, just let us know. We have extra one beds."
"I will keep it under consideration."
"Oh no, I'm not paying money for him to have another hotel room," Hermione's face was sticking out. "He's sleeping on the floor!"
"Even better," Tracy gave them a small grin before exiting.
Severus watched her wander out of sight before strolling over and grabbing Hermione's towel. "She's gone."
"That was close." Hermione raised her head and stuck her finger in her ear. "I think I got water in my ears."
"I apologize for my lack of focus. I could have prevented that entire situation from occurring had I been paying attention." He handed her the towel.
"No, I was reckless." She stood and wrapped the towel over her hair. "I'll be more careful in the future."
"As will I."
"That's enough swimming in the big pool for today." She grasped the metal ladder. "Let's get into the hot tub. It will be safer, and slightly warmer."
"Has the water turned cold already?" He backed away so she could crawl out.
"Not cold per se, but the air isn't the warmest when it hits the bare skin." She went up the ladder onto the poolside.
"Indeed."
"That being said." She took his hand. "What were you saying earlier about me touching you the way no other woman has?"
Severus gazed into her eyes. He wanted to tell her everything, such as how she touched the very depths of his soul, how he didn't want to imagine a life without her, how going to Milwaukee had been the best thing to happen to him, how much he truly loved her. If he said those things though, she would probably steal both of their card keys, flee into their hotel room, and never emerge. No, best to pretend the moment never occurred.
"I simply meant we are friends, and you have no abandoned me after my foolish indiscretions. For that reason, I am more grateful to you than any other woman."
"Oh." Was that a look of disappointment on her face? "You're grateful."
"Yes," he took her hands. "I am grateful for you and your ability to think on your feet."
"Yes, grateful."
He kicked himself mentally. Of course he'd bring up the one word that had been weaponized against her for years. When would he learn to keep his foot out of his mouth?
"It scares me sometimes that I can pretend to argue with you so well," her voice was shaky.
"I consider what we do a game, not an argument," Severus said. "We are playing a game of hide and seek with the aurors and the mafia. We have to play our parts."
"Yes, our parts."
"The only thing which isn't a game is the friendship we've developed." He drew closer to her. "I cherish our friendship. It is the most valuable thing to me. Our friendship is not a game to me, and it never will be."
"No, our friendship is anything but a game to me too." Her smile returned.
A synthesizer began to play over the radio. Hermione's eyes lit up. "Oh my God, it's…"
"I want to break free! I want to break free!"
Hermione squealed. "It's my other song. My two favorite songs in one day!"
"I wouldn't dance on this wet floor," Severus advised.
"I'm not going to." She went into the hot tub and jumped in the center. "Turn on the bubbles! I want to dance with the jets going."
"How do you do turn this thing on?" He asked.
"It's that gray knob over there." She pointed to one on the wall. "Once you turn it on, come in and dance with me."
He walked over to the knob as she began kicking up the water and moving her arms in rhythm with the song. To anyone else, the scene must have looked absolutely ridiculous, especially once the bubbles began to cling to her bare skin.
To Severus, it was one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen.