Hello everyone and welcome DarkStarsInBlacklight!
Remember that bolded sentences mean that particular bit is spoken in portuguese. Review if you can, I'd love to read what you think!
VI
Delight
"THAT IDIOT! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Juliana screamed, enraged. Still muttering curses in Portuguese under her breath, she started to look for something on her bag. Severus had some time to cool off already, but she was still fuming. Although, he had to admit that seeing her getting so worried and angry at someone because they hurt him felt nicer than he would've thought. It seemed that she'd found what she was looking for because she walked to him with a small bottle on her hands. When she handed it to him he took it without asking; if he'd been in better conditions he would have taken a potion of his own, but he hadn't even thought about it. She sat beside him on the couch and he moved so his head now rested on her lap. She began running her hands on his hair, relaxing him in a way only she was capable of. She was still pissed, but it was hard to remain that way when they were in such a nice position, in such a nice place, with only the sounds of birds and the breeze in the air. They stayed like that for a while until he fell asleep. Then she began to move away, but before she could stand up he opened his eyes and stopped her.
"No... stay." Severus mumbled and closed his eyes again. Juliana smiled and leaned down to kiss his lips briefly, enjoying how the corners of his mouth curled upwards immediately.
"Do you wanna take a bath? We still have to wait more than an hour and this house has an amazing and big bathtub." She suggested after a few moments. He opened one eye and smirked.
"Is that an invitation?" He asked with a spark on his eyes.
"You bet." She replied with a smirk that mirrored his own.
...
"I don't have summer clothes." Severus complained.
"Oh, no! What are we going to do?" She asked sarcastically, raising up her arms dramatically. "I wish you were a wizard who could transfigure a pencil into a pair of shorts! We have to cancel everything." He rolled his eyes at her antics and she gasped in fake realization. "Severus… I think—" She whispered and moved closer, as if she was going to tell him a secret. "I think this might actually be the end of the world."
He laughed at her and she smiled back, dropping her act. She helped him with the clothes and they dressed together. Shortly after they were prepared and ready to go.
"Ready?" She asked with a soft smile, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Ten seconds left."
"Ready." He replied and a moment later they both put their fingers on the broken cup on the table. As soon as they did they felt like they were being pulled from their legs and stretched like a rubber band. Thankfully, before they could get accustomed to that dreadful sensation they arrived to their destination, falling ungracefully into the ground. Severus landed on his back, with Juliana landing directly on top of him. They groaned in pain and Severus was a bit disoriented at first, but after a few seconds felt her getting up and began to open his eyes. What greeted him was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen: an enormous beach with crystal blue water and what he thought was the bluest sky in the world. He had to cover his eyes a bit because the sun was too bright for him— but other than that everything was perfect. Juliana helped him up and then locked her fingers with his, kissing him softly on the cheek.
"Welcome to Rio." She whispered on his ear with a smile. "Now let's go inside before you get sun burnt." She turned him around and he saw a house a few meters away. Since it was the only house relatively close, it was safe to assume that was where she lived. Just as they were about to reach the front door, a woman who looked to be about forty or forty five years old opened the door and yelled something Severus didn't understand. She had to be her mother; the resemblance between them could not be missed. Juliana waved excitedly with a smile before she whispered on his ear again.
"They might say is that you are too pale at some point. Don't get offended— you are. It's not a bad thing; they're just not that used to see it." He nodded and held her hand tightly. He wasn't scared— he was downright terrified.
What if she didn't like him? What if she forbade him to see Juliana again? What if she already had someone in mind for her daughter? What if it was someone from there— someone better looking than him?
Juliana's mother hugged her daughter and said something he didn't understand again. When she pulled away, she fixed her eyes on him and he swallowed.
"You are Severus!" She said excitedly with a very thick accent. He nodded, nervous. "Don't be shy; Juliana says so much about you I feel I already know you. I'm Isabel, her mother." She came to him and gave him a kiss on each cheek. He looked surprised and Juliana bit her lip to not laugh.
"That's the custom here, love." Juliana whispered with an amused smile.
"Come! We need to introduce you to everybody! Juliana never brings a boyfriend to meet the family." She said with a smile and walked ahead of them.
"You never brought anyone before to meet them?" He asked her with a furrowed brow.
"No. No one was special enough." She answered and held his hand again. The corners of his mouth lifted up. "This is something that never happened before and that's why I'm sure there are more people than just my mother waiting inside, but don't worry, you can trust them. They're probably just my aunts and uncles, and a few cousins. Also, you will be kissed like before by all the women on the room. I thought you should know."
"WHAT?" He gasped but didn't have time to say anything else because she opened the door and they were greeted by a group of people— and there were definitely women there— on the living room waiting for them.
"HELLO!" They all said at the same time and Severus took a step back. Juliana gave his hand a firm squeeze and brought him to her side, making sure their bodies were extremely close so he could feel her reassurance.
They all started talking at the same time, making it even harder for him to even catch a word of what they were saying. To his surprise, he heard his name being said quite a lot, which meant they were actually talking about him.
"This is my boyfriend Severus. He's overwhelmed because all of this is new for him. People on England act different, so please calm down and don't make him uncomfortable. Also, he only speaks English. Please be nice and respectful." Juliana said with a pleading smile, and with that everyone started introducing themselves to him. Most of them spoke English— some better than others but he was in no position to complain— and they all told him that they were thrilled to finally meet him. It was hard for Severus to believe anything of what was happening, but handled the situation the best he could.
After a while, Juliana sat on a chair and just looked at him, not being able to stop herself from smiling. He had begun to feel more and more comfortable with the people on the room; he was opening up more easily. But then again, that wasn't too hard with these people. They were nice and loving and where trying really hard to make him feel at home. Severus hit it off right away with her uncle Henry— the owner of the cottage who was actually her aunt's American husband and also a Potions Master. She couldn't say she wasn't expecting it.
They had dinner outside, and by then he was feeling more comfortable than he'd thought possible. He laughed, smiled, and even cracked a joke or two without thinking it twice.
A while after dinner, Juliana moved closer to ask him if he wanted to go for a walk on the beach, to which he eagerly said yes. It had been all amazing, but he needed some space and quiet for a while. They both excused themselves and walked slowly to the water. They went barefoot, so they could enjoy the feeling of the water and wet sand. The moon was up in the sky and the sight of the stars reflecting on the sea was breathtaking. They walked on comfortable silence for a while, until Severus finally broke it.
"Thank you." He said looking down with his hands shoved inside his pockets. Juliana looked at him and smiled. They sat on the sand and she rested her head on his shoulder. "I can't remember the last time I felt like this." He whispered and she hugged his middle, snuggling closer to his body.
"How?" She questioned softly.
"Happy." He replied, turning to look at her. She brought her face closer to his and just as they were about to kiss they heard a noise on the bushes behind them. Juliana sighed with a smile and pressed her forehead on his for second before looking over her shoulder.
"Come out. We can hear you." She said and Severus raised an eyebrow. Nothing happened. "I will tell your mom you were following me again."
The sound was heard again, only this time a little girl appeared. She slowly made her way to where they sat, with a piece of folded paper on her hands. "Severus, remember Teresa, my cousin?" He nodded. She had been the only one who didn't talk to him before. "She's almost four, and she sure loves following me around." Severus waved his hand awkwardly at her and she looked down, blushing.
"Why did you follow us?" Teresa said something on Juliana's ear that made her laugh. "Okay." She replied and looked at him. The little girl handed him the folded piece of paper. "Take it." Juliana instructed. He did as told and opened it. It was a drawing of him and Juliana, holding hands. It had weird colored doodles everywhere, but Severus couldn't help but feel very touched at the gesture.
"Thank you." He said to the little girl like Juliana had taught him to. They heard her name being called— by her mother, most likely— and she hugged him quickly before running away. "Why did she give me this?" He asked after a moment.
"She liked you. She said you were pretty." His eyebrows shot up.
"Pretty?" He asked, making her roll her eyes.
"Hey, don't blame the translator." She said with a smile. A few seconds passed before she spoke again. "You know… everyone liked you." He sighed at her words and leaned back into the sand, inviting her to do the same with his look.
"That never happened before." He said with a trace of sadness on his voice. She placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face so he could look at her.
"Maybe you haven't been given a chance to be liked." He moved a strand of hair from her face and left his hand there.
"I love you so much." He said suddenly, his voice low.
"I love you more." She replied and quickly kissed him, stopping him from saying otherwise.
...
After they got back, most of Juliana's relatives were already gone and those who weren't, were about to leave. Once they got inside, Severus finally asked a question that had been on his mind for a while.
"Where am I sleeping?" Juliana turned around to look at him and frowned, clearly confused.
"With me, of course. Unless you'd rather sleep somew—" She began to say but he interrupted her.
"With you?" He asked, surprised. "Your mother is okay with this?"
Oooooh… it's because of that, she thought.
"Sex is not a taboo on my family. As long as we keep it private and are careful, she doesn't mind." Severus mouth fell and his eyes opened wide. He didn't know what to say.
"I'm very uncomfortable right now." He creaked out, his face pale as a sheet.
"Oh no, no, don't be!" She cried out as she grabbed his face on her hands. "Love, you don't have to sleep in my room. I'm sure I can—" She began to say but he interrupted her again.
"That's not what I meant! Of course I want to be with you." He whispered with worried eyes, making her smile lovingly before giving him a soft and short kiss on the lips.
"Well... come on then." She told him just as her mother entered the house.
"We're going to bed. Goodnight mom." Juliana said and her mother smiled.
"You better sleep tonight," Isabel said to Severus, "because I know tomorrow a long day awaits you." By now his face was as red as a tomato, so he just nodded, afraid that his voice might be higher than usual. Juliana grinned as they went up the stairs, Severus' trunk floating behind them.
"This is it." She said as she opened the door of her room, closing it again once they were inside. It wasn't big but it was really nice. The walls were white with baby blue flowers on the middle. She had two more doors inside, one to her closet and the other to her bathroom, he assumed. Her bed was big enough for both of them, and she had a big window with a balcony where you could see the sea. Severus enjoyed the cold night air on his face and closed his eyes. Juliana walked to his side and he draped an arm across her shoulders. She hugged him close and he kissed the top of her head.
"What are we doing tomorrow?" He asked moving to hold her waist and kiss her neck. She buried her fingers on his hair while she bit her lip to stop herself from moaning. She moved his head up to join their lips, and they kept kissing slowly for quite some time.
"Do you get tanned?" She asked after a while.
"What? Uh…no, I don't think so. But I never went to a place where the sun was strong enough to do it." He answered.
"Yeah, I don't think so either. You will probably end up all red and in pain. It doesn't matter. And tomorrow we are scuba diving."
"Scuba diving? What's that?" He asked.
"Oh, tomorrow you'll know." She answered with a playful smirk.
"Okay." He replied without giving it much thought and began kissing her again, until she abruptly pulled away.
"Wait! I want..." She said going inside quickly and appearing with a camera on her hands. "A picture of you and me kissing."
"What?" Severus asked surprised.
"Please! Pleeeeeease. Pleasepleasepleaseeee." She begged with a tiny pout.
"Fine!" He said, laughing. She smiled victoriously and left the camera floating on the air to go stand in front of him. She looked up and locked eyes with him.
"What's wrong?" She asked when he didn't come any closer.
"I— I just don't want to ruin it." He confessed, embarrassed. Juliana smiled sadly and moved her face closer to his. His hands instinctively moved to caress her cheeks and he slowly placed his lips on top of hers. A sudden light made him pull away from her and she smiled. She took the camera and pulled the picture out.
"How bad is it?" Severus asked with a half hearted smile, not really joking.
"It's perfect." She answered and kissed him again, this time without any interruption.
