Secret Santa for Verity Grahams! I hope you like it 3

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The morning air lay with a heavy chill over the thick comforter, biting at any exposed skin, but Severus couldn't find it in himself to move. The pile of schoolwork to mark was an ever present weight on his mind, old habits tightening his chest at the thought of the indulgence of a lie in, but beneath the nest of patchwork quilts, he was warm and comfortable.

Lily was awake. She had let out such a heavy sigh that Severus fancied it would stir the curtains when she first woke up, in anticipation of having to rise immediately, but had settled back into his arms when she realised what day it was. Unplanned and empty stretches of time lay before them, a rare luxury, given Severus' job as a teacher at the local secondary school and Lily's position as an accountant necessitating long hours.

The house was blessedly quiet with Harry spending time at his father's for the holiday week as per their custody agreement. Water gurgled softly through the pipes, the cat — determinedly Lily's but she would laugh until she was pink in the face when she caught sight of it curled up on Severus' lap despite his best efforts at disapproval — prowled downstairs, the bell on it's collar chiming. It wouldn't be long before the wretched creature began to yowl outside their door in hopes of breakfast or attention, but for now Severus was content to stay exactly where he was.

"What time is it?" Lily's voice was muffled and slow with the sleep she was clinging to. Her face was half buried in her pillow, a blanket pulled around her neck with a stranglehold on the fabric. Her knees were bent to push her freezing feet onto Severus' thighs, her socks pulled off at some point during the night and balled up at the foot of the bed.

Severus kissed the back of her head as he moved to peer at the clock, smelling the artificial strawberry scent of her shampoo. "Nearly eight."

"We should be getting up soon." Lily made no attempt to move, her whole body tensing and relaxing as she yawned, wriggling further into the nest of blankets she was creating, determined to stretch out the lazy morning for as long as possible. "Lucius and Narcissa will be here soon."

"In the afternoon," Severus reminded her, pulling her closer even as she grumbled in annoyance at his cold hands on her stomach. "We have time until then."

⁂

"Tea."

Severus blinked, the motion sending a spike of pain through his head, eyes feeling as rough as sandpaper. "Hmmm?"

Lily laughed, a slight chuckle in the base of her throat. Her hair was loosely tied up in a bun, but sections had fallen out, loosely curling around her cheeks. She raised the mug — shaped like a cauldron — in a quiet salute, before carefully placing it next to him. "Thought you would be needing one around now."

"I love you." The words still felt awkward to say, not quite fitting correctly in his mouth but he would try for her. Her grin was as blinding as the sun, filling his chest with warmth, more than the tea he took a hurried sip of. She moved to the desk on the opposite wall, humming idly under her breath as she began to work on her computer, fingers flying over the keyboard.

Her perfume was subtle, a faint floral scent, but it was more than that. Her mere presence behind him was a comfort, something settled in an ever changing world. Severus took another sip of his tea, feeling the lines of tension eeke away from his shoulders.

"When are Lucius and Narcissa arriving?"

"Ummmm." Severus could hear the rustle of fabric as Lily peered at her watch, the tapping of her nails against the surface of the desk as she studied it. They both knew that she knew exactly how long it would be until they arrived, even without checking. "Three hours. How's the planning coming along?"

"Slowly," Severus groaned, running one finger down the colour coordinated schedule — always so much to do and barely enough time, but he would manage.

"I will be okay hosting by myself, if you need more time."

Severus shook his head. "No, they're my friends too. I want to see them."

"The offer's there, if you need it."

Silence fell over the two, once more, both lost in their focus, but still glad for the company.

⁂

"Lily! Darling!"

Lily nervously smoothed a hand over her hair as Narcissa swept through the door, perfectly poised and dangerously sleek, and wrapped her up in a hug. Her skin was faintly chilled as her cheek was pressed to Lily's as they swayed, the powder on her skin smooth. Narcissa drew back, dark eyes carefully inspecting Lily's face.

If it had been anyone else, Lily would have felt like she was a specimen in a lab, pinned for study beneath a microscope. She had seen Narcissa turn that cold stare of hers on others, reducing them to fragile, broken heaps, but never her. They were friends, after all, both holding the same secret — although Lily suspected that Severus had worked out who had carefully pulled the strings to push him towards Lily in the wake of her divorce. Harry was too young to remember Narcissa's help, her own toddler carefully balanced on one hip as she had nudged past Lily into the house. Their friendship had a rocky start, but it was something Lily had grown to count on.

Narcissa smiled, looking almost vampiric, and carefully tucked a loop of Lily's hair back into the clip it had escaped from. "You look absolutely beautiful, darling."

"Thank you for having us," Lucius added, passing her a bottle of wine — the label covered in flowing French text and Lily knew it would be expensive — scanning the rooms behind her for Severus, a grin slipping across his face when he spotted the other man. "Severus! What a pleasant surprise."

"Is it, Lucius?" Severus drawled, briefly squeezing Lily's hip as he joined them, clasping Lucius' hands in both of his. "I do live here after all."

Lily let the noise of their voices wash over her, Narcissa shrugging off her coat and passing it to Lucius in one fluid motion. He took it without breaking his argument with Severus, the words holding the note of a long practiced routine.

"Come on," Narcissa muttered, linking her arm with Lily's, "You must tell me what has been going on with you since we last had the chance to talk. Those two will work out where we went eventually."

"We spoke yesterday," Lily chuckled, but let the other woman steal her away, the bottle of wine still clutched in her arms.

It tasted just as good as she thought it would, deep and rich and made better with good company.

⁂

"Pick one."

"What are these?" Lucius selected one of the face down cards Lily offered him , and pulled a face—carefully sculpted eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline. "Are they secret?"

"Not those ones, no." Lily offered the set to Narcissa—the large sofa creaking as she leaned forward—admiring her nail polish once more as she plucked one. "But the big sheets will be."

"Show me," Narcissa demanded, an almost manic look of glee on her face at the sight of her husband's long suffering expression. He complied, and she burst into a peal of giggles.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "This will be interesting."

Lily's cheeks were flushed when she offered him the cards, but her eyes were bright with excitement, barely able to sit still. Her earrings moved like liquid gold, brushing the curve of her shoulders.

He took a card and Lily selected her own.

"There's still some left so two people will play two."

"Yes, please." Lucius held out his hand to take a card, delicate silver metalwork wrapped around each knuckle like snakes coiled around his hands, and glanced at it expectantly, only to hiss at the picture.

"I'll take the other," Narcissa said, leaning to peer at Lucius' card and starting to laugh once again.

Lily grinned despite herself, carefully flicking through the larger character sheets, glancing over at Severus to gauge his reaction. Severus smiled at her, a small motion but his entire face softened for a moment. His eyes that were normally so sharp and steely almost seemed to be like liquid night. Lily's smile widened, crinkling her nose, and she turned back to the papers, passing them out.

"Okay, so the set-up for this murder mystery is…"

⁂

"Are you sure I can't swap with you?"

"No, dear. You can't." The smugness in Narcissa's voice was layered on so thick it could have been cut with a knife. Lucius cast a desperate glance at Severus, but was met with a sly grin and a shake of his head.

"Any thoughts, Lucius?" Lily asked sweetly, propping her head on one hand as he sighed, glancing over his character sheets once again.

"How is it that out of three women in this game, I've got two of them?" Lucius asked, narrowing his eyes at Severus who only raised his own character sheet to cut off his view. Lily could still see his grin, reminding her of the schoolboy he had once been, wriggling through the hedge that blocked off one side of the park to see her, twigs in his hair and dirt smeared behind an ear where he couldn't see it.

"I don't know, my love." Narcissa's hand blurred as she snatched up Lucius' character cards from the small side table in between the two armchairs. He tried to grab for them, but wasn't fast enough, the wine in his glass sloshing dangerously close to the edge.

She held them both up: a faceless woman in a form fitting black dress and an oversized dramatic hat; and a faceless woman with black hair piled on top of her head, and a loose purple dress. "I think the purple dress would look quite fetching on you."

Severus snorted, and Lily ducked her head to hide her grin as Lucius looked wounded, mouth twisting into a deliberate scowl before taking another long drink.

"I still think it's the butler," Lucius said, waving his notes in Lily's direction.

"Really, Lucius? How stereotypical can you get?" Severus replied. "Is this your approach to your novels as well?"

"I told you that in confidence, you traitor." Severus easily caught the pillow Lucious threw at him with one hand, eyes alight with quiet joy.

Lily took a moment just to watch him. The lines of tension had slipped from his shoulders and the perpetual scowl on his face—mouth naturally drawn downwards, brows pulled closed together with a crease between them she would kiss when she noticed it—had softened. She knew others wondered why she had chosen him after their fight, after being estranged for so long, and she couldn't fully explain it herself. But she loved him. She chose him, and would keep choosing him everyday for the rest of her life. Severus caught her eye, and he tilted his head in a silent question. Lily couldn't put words to emotion that flooded her chest—something deep and nameless—but she blew him a kiss and watched his cheeks bloom with colour.

He busied himself with his character sheet, but not before Lily caught sight of his ears blushing pink. Narcissa winked at her when Lily looked up, looking almost inordinately proud of herself.

"Your pseudonym is Cole Bonnefoi, dear," Narcissa consoled her husband, "It's hardly a huge leap of logic."

"Yours is hardly much better, dearest."

"No, but no-one admits they read my books, while you try too hard." Narcissa reached across to smooth Lucius' hair over one shoulder. "It's the curse of success. I think it was the son, some good old fashioned patricide."

"A family tradition of yours, Narcissa?" Severus asked, toasting her as she turned to him.

"Nothing that can ever be proven, Severus. You know that." Narcissa took a sip of her wine, but smiled. Lily would never quite get used to their relationship, supportive and yet almost hostile at times.

"Thoughts, Lily?"

"Oh." She glanced over her notes, twisting a lock of her hair around one finger as she thought.

Severus watched her, out of the corner of his eye. He could watch her forever and still see the beauty in every small movement. The light overhead highlighted the gold in her hair, turning it into fire.

"I think it was the brother. The shoes could just be circumstantial or planted, and he doesn't have a solid alibi. Sorry." She shrugged at Severus, who had picked that character.

"I think it was the wife of the dead man," Severus said, sipping at his wine. The bottle Narcissa and Lucius brought was empty by now, carefully tucked beneath the table, but its presence was remembered in the heavy scent that lingered and the flush that had settled in the Malfoy's pale cheeks.

"Okay." Lily shifted in her seat, manually dragging her unfeeling feet out from beneath her, heels long since kicked off. "Ready for this?"

⁂

Severus shut the doors behind the Malfoy's and let out a long sigh, resting his head briefly against the cold glass pane of the inside door. The chill seemed to sink into his bones, breath fogging and highlighting the fingerprint smudges on the glass. As he stood back up to his full height, one in particular caught his eye.

Through his work as a teacher, Severus had learnt to recognise handwriting with an eagle-eye. His students came and went, but Lily's handwriting was one he would always be able to recognise. The heart she had drawn was slightly crooked, but instantly recognisable.

Lily was nearly asleep when he returned to the sitting room, eyes half-lidded as her head slowly drooped.

Severus placed his hands on her shoulders, carefully running them down her arms to take hold of her hands. Her eyes flickered as he did so, locking onto him for a moment before she broke into a yawn. "Come on. Bed."

"Mmm'kay."

Lily yawned again, leaning into Severus as they slowly made their way upstairs. Severus' heart beat faster in his chest and he felt like he was falling in love all over again.

"I had a good time," Lily mumbled, her words slurring slightly. "Did you?"

"I always have a good time with you," Severus kissed her forehead. "And yes, I enjoyed the murder mystery."

"Good. Love you."

Severus bit the inside of his cheek as Lily flopped onto the bed, her dress pulled off and unceremoniously tossed to one side, and rolled herself up in the sheets. She still left a space for him, and he leant over to kiss her gently before getting ready for bed himself. She fit into his arms like it had been made for her, and Severus Snape fell asleep, content and loved.