"Here you is, professors!" Winky says as she pops into the room with lunch. "I brought professors tea also."
"Thank you, Winky. That's all for now." Rolanda dismisses Winky. The tray is laden with food. She doesn't know how they're going to eat it all.
Severus groans. "It smells so good. I'm so hungry." He watches Rolanda slide off the sofa and sit on the floor to eat her lunch. Severus mimics Rolanda's actions. He crosses his legs under him.
"Do you want wine with lunch?" Rolanda asks as she picks up a plate.
"That would be nice. I'll cast a warming charm on the teapot so we can have it with dessert." Severus smiles at Rolanda.
"Accio red wine. Accio wine glasses." Rolanda summons the items she wants. The red wine and two wine glasses fly across the room. She pours each of them a glass of wine. "Cheers."
"Cheers." Severus clinks his glass against Rolanda's. He cuts into his lasagne and steam issues from the top. He leans over the dish and breathes in the scent of the rich marinara sauce. "Oh, it smells so good."
Rolanda has to agree with Severus. The meal does smell exceptionally good. She is a bit concerned about all the garlic in the meal, however, since it could make kissing rather awkward. She shrugs off that feeling since they're both eating garlic and digs into her lasagne. She's trying to be dainty while she eats but the cheese is making it difficult. She can see Severus smirking at her out of the corner of her eye and it bothers her. "Quit watching me!" Rolanda gives Severus a playful shove. He can make her feel self-conscious without meaning to.
"Shall I show you the trick for eating lasagne?" Severus asks teasingly. "There is a trick you know."
"Do you know the trick for everything?" Rolanda asks teasing Severus back. He always seems to have the solution.
"No, not everything, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve yet. I'm not out of tricks to show you yet." Severus says mysteriously. He moves over and sits behind Rolanda with his legs on each side of her. He cuts into her lasagne with her utensils, stabs her fork into the piece he cut off, turns it quickly, and carefully lifts with no stringy cheese trailing off it or dripping sauce everywhere. "There. See? Easy."
"How are you allowed to be so elegant? You make me feel so inadequate sometimes." Rolanda says grumpily.
Severus feeds Rolanda the piece of lasagne before he sets down the cutlery, wraps his arms around Rolanda's waist and leans his chin on her shoulder. "You shouldn't feel inadequate about anything. I'm sorry I make you feel that way. You sometimes make me feel that way, but you shouldn't feel that way with me. You are not inadequate, not in any way, not in my eyes." Severus says seriously.
Rolanda leans her head back on Severus' shoulder. Severus is being so sweet. She appreciates the effort he's putting in to this relationship.
Severus softly kisses the top of Rolanda's head. "I wish we could stay like this forever. Just freeze time in this moment right now."
"But, if you freeze this moment you'll never know if there a better moment yet to come for us. We have to continue to live our lives." Rolanda says seriously.
"My little philosopher; that was very well put. I think I need to remember to appreciate what I have with you. It's been rare for me to have such a positive force in my life." Severus contemplates carefully.
Rolanda shifts back up to sit on the couch and finish her wine. Severus mimics her actions and sits next to her. Rolanda loves that she and Severus don't have to speak when they're together to have a good time. She picks up the chocolate cake and two forks and passes one to Severus.
"Oh, that looks so good. I think I'll have to go for a run after this. Do you want some tea?" Severus asks.
"I'll have tea after I have dessert. I don't like mixing sweets and tea, unless it's something not overly sweet." Rolanda explains to Severus.
"Hmm, I think you're the first person I've ever heard say that." Severus teases Rolanda.
"Oh, stop! You're terrible! Eat your cake!" Rolanda gives Severus a playful shove. "Who are you and what have you done with Professor Snape? You're usually the terror of the school. I watch students blanch when they see you."
"Professor Snape has taken the weekend off to spend with his girlfriend. The person here with you now is Severus Snape. The other me is merely a persona, something I put on to make students respect me. The me I am with you is the real me. It's been a long time since I've been this person." Severus admits.
"Since Lily?" Rolanda asks softly. She doesn't want to press too hard.
"Yes, probably since Lily and we both know how long ago that was. I buried this side of myself because it was easier. Being a spy for Voldemort required me to be tough. This side of me couldn't shine through." Severus quietly admits.
"I'm glad I get to see this side of you. It's good to let your inner self show sometimes, even if it is just on the weekends." Rolanda teases. "I know it's hard with everything you've been through to just be you."
"Well, evenings and weekends maybe. I think I can stretch to that." Severus smiles at her. "You deserve to have me stretch to that. You're important enough to me to try."
"You deserve to just be you. Don't just do it for me. Do it for yourself. You've been doing things for everyone else since you left Hogwarts. Live for yourself. That would make me happy too." Rolanda says seriously.
Severus nods solemnly. "You're right. I'll see what I can do. Can we go for a walk? Try and burn off some of this lunch."
"Sure. Let's collect our cloaks and meet in the entryway in 5 minutes." Rolanda concedes that Severus doesn't want to talk about his feelings anymore.
