Progress?

Closing the door, he cursed Malfoy under his breath. What was he supposed to do with this information? As the clang of cups and water rang out from the kitchen, Kanda flopped onto the sofa, his eyes closed and let the domestic atmosphere wash over him.

"Sorry if he was a bit eccentric. He gets like that" he heard Snape approach and cracked open an eye to watch the man dry his hands on a towel, his expression one of concern. He closed his eye once more,

"It's fine. He reminds me of Lavi anyway so I'm used to it" he remarked and heard Snape's sigh of relief.

Then the man sat next to him on the sofa and his mind reeled slightly, Lucius's words repeating in his head and he cursed the blond again. But he cracked his eyes open slightly and noticed Severus's hand beside his on the brown leather.

Swallowing lightly, he shifted his own hand lightly and slipped his fingers between Snape's paler ones, startling them both at the contact. Severus looked across at Kanda who met his eyes with a challenge and a silent question. Is this okay? In answer, he smiled down at their joined hands and laced their fingers closer together. Kanda relaxed back into the sofa and it was a long time before either party tried to move.

When they eventually did, their hands were still joined. Kanda started to loosen his hold to leave for his room but Severus tightened his grip and pulled him closer and, using up his daily quota of courage, pressed a light kiss to his lips,

"Goodnight Kanda"

"Uh um goodnight Severus" Kanda replied, cringing at the shaking in his voice. Severus smirked and squeezed his hand before letting go and heading into his bedroom. Kanda watched him go, slightly stupefied. Wasn't he supposed to be the one 'making a move'? Shaking himself lightly, he headed into his own room and numbly went through the motions of bedtime. Mugen gave him a look from his cat bed that was conveniently ignored. Eventually he lay down in bed and covered his face with his arms, grinning.

Severus lay face down on his bed, groaning into the pillow. Kanda liked him back, it seemed, which should have filled him with joy. And it did, to a degree; but this meant that he no longer knew how to act around the man. Did they hold hands more now? Would they kiss again? Would they go on dates? He groaned again.

This was the downside to being a nerd as a child (and a spy from then on) - his dating skills and romantic knowledge were nonexistent (apart from one accidental drunken kiss with Andromeda Tonks nee Black at a Christmas party which was thankfully never mentioned again). Well, he couldn't worry about it too much - he had Potter and Co. coming over tomorrow so (hopefully) romance would be the furthest from his mind.

This plan was fine. Except for the fact that the trio would not be arriving until after lunch. And he didn't have any brewing scheduled as an excuse to avoid his apprentice - and he could only just about use marking or scheduling as an excuse. Since Kanda had arrived - and lent a helping hand with both tasks - he had a lot more free time on his hands.

All of these thoughts flowed through Snape's mind as he stood in the shower the next morning. The part that brought so much worry was the lack of words that they had shared. They had held hands and shared a very chaste kiss. This confirmed nothing except the possibility of shared emotions. It did not state a concrete relationship standard that he could follow or a title for said emotions.

Grumbling to himself to just face the music, Severus forced himself out of the shower and into his robes for the day. He had contemplated ditching the black buttoned robe but decided that any sense of normalcy would help to prevent any larger freak out in the young Gryffindors. Leaving the long outer robe off, however, he stepped out of his bedroom to Kanda entering the living room after his training, sweaty with flushed skin.

Kanda spotted Severus and gave him a soft smile,

"Morning" he greeted him and headed towards the kitchen where Snape started brewing his morning coffee. Feeling cheeky (and still high on adrenaline), Kanda snuck behind the older man and wrapped his hands around his waist and gave him a peck on the cheek. Severus started and whipped his head round, cheeks flushed when he realised how close their faces still were.

"Sorry, was that too much?" Kanda asked, not sounding sorry at all but his eyes widened as Severus spun in his hold and wrapped his own hands around his damp back.

"Just wasn't expecting it" he remarked, still unsure of what to do.

"What if I give you a warning?"

"Warning for what?"

"Another kiss. Can I?" Severus stared at him warily for a moment before his expression softened and nodded. Kanda smiled, giving him a kiss that lasted a little longer than the previous night.

"Right well, as much as I am enjoying this, I really need a shower" Kanda apologised and dropped his arms from Severus's waist. Snape tightened his for a moment and Kanda was once again struck speechless when he was kissed again before being released.

"Okay." he smirked at the expression on Kanda's face before poking his chest.

"You going for a shower?" Kanda shook his head, chuckling,

"Alright I'm going" and headed into his own room.

Severus took his coffee and sat at the small dining table before sliding it away so he could faceplant the oak top. So much for 'no romance'. Though, in his defence, he hadn't known that he would be so affected by a post-workout Kanda. Or how forward the other man would be in the mornings. Or himself apparently - what was that all about? He looked up at the time and sighed; he would have his living room invaded by Gryffindors in less than an hour. Well, this is what he got for waking up later on a weekend.