A/N: UGH! I feel like it's going to get harder and harder to write from Albus's POV because I honestly and not a fan of Albus at all. But, here we are! Writing this made me super happy

It was clear Remus's presence had put a strain on them, not just from the outright arguments between him and Severus, but from the way Severus slowly regressed, pulling himself away from the staff events Albus knew he had secretly grown to enjoy over the years. Minerva looked more exhausted than he had seen her in years and was slowly losing the color her relationship with Severus had brought to her face over the passing years. As much as Albus had been wary of the relationship, he had grown to see its value and importance to his two right arms. A guilt had slowly taken over him seeing what its fracturing was doing to them- the two people he considered the closest thing he had to friends.

Albus knew it was his doing, in part. Putting Remus on staff, in the position that Severus so dearly coveted, and having Severus make the Wolfsbane potion which, though hard to come by, could have been found elsewhere for the year. Though neither Severus nor Minerva would see the value in the stress that the year had brought, Albus did. The connection he would need Severus and Remus to have in the coming years, the presence of Remus with Black on the loose, it all mattered. As much as Albus tried to separate his plans with his personal relationships with those it involved, something he'd become skilled at over the years, even he couldn't completely shake the guilt that he felt seeing their relationship withering away.

It came to a head one night, when Albus had been making his way to the staff room late at night to decorate the room as a surprise for the staff. With the stress and confusion of Black's escape, the public fighting between Severus and Remus, and the clear tension between the opposing heads of house, Albus felt he had neglected the rest of the staff. A little Christmas cheer would never hurt.

It was close to midnight, and Albus had assumed that the staff room would be empty. His teachers had usually given up on their work for the night, or had, at least, retreated to their comfort of their own rooms to finish up last minute marking. As he reached for the door knob, a familiar voice shouting brought his hand back so quickly one would have thought that the knob was hot.

"I don't know what you want anymore!" Minerva shouted. "I'm trying, Severus. Merlin, I've tried with you. But, you haven't come to bed with me in weeks…not a drink, not even a meal together…"

Against his better judgment, Albus didn't soundproof the room, wanting desperately to know what was going on between the two lovers, both as a friend and as someone who desperately needed them both to be in a sound state of mind with a criminal on the loose. Unable to look in the window without being noticed, the Headmaster resolved to sit outside the door, casting a weak amplifying spell on the wall. The staff room was intentionally placed far away from any student dormitories, so there was no risk of a student listening in. "Please go, Minerva," came Severus's voice, quiet and low. "I have marking to do."

"I am not leaving this room until you have a conversation with me."

"I don't want to have a conversation with you."

"Yes, well, you don't seem to want to do much of anything anymore," she snorted.

"Astounding observation." The sound of his quill against the parchment was the only sound for a few moments. "You can go."

"No!" she shouted. Albus could hear his parchments being crumpled, and he knew she had taken them from him. "I understand that this year is difficult on you. Maybe I didn't make that completely clear at the beginning of the year. I didn't…I could have been more sympathetic to you."

"Admitting you were wrong? Not very valiant of you, Min."

"Enough!" Though he couldn't see her, Albus could practically picture the expression on his Deputy's face- her cheeks red, hair beginning to come out of its constraints. Her temper was always the same when it flared. "Ten years! Ten years of…sharing our beds, our lives…and you're going to throw it away because a childhood bully is back?"

"You really are Albus's right hand," he snapped. She'd hit a nerve. It was apparent in Severus's voice.

"And what does that mean?"

"After everything…everything I told you…you still think this is a childhood quarrel." His voice was biting, but there was hurt underneath it. Albus knew it well. His relationship with Severus was a constant pulling back and forth. "You've chosen your side. I should have known- the valiant Gryffindor until the end."

"Chosen a side?" she asked. "This isn't a game- there's no choice to be made."

"You've made your choice, but whatever dream you came in with, thinking suddenly I'm going to throw my arms around the man who tried to kill me, you're out of your god damn mind. Get that through your thick head."

The room fell silent until Minerva slowly said, "I've always been on your side, Severus."

"You have been coddling him since he walked through the front door," Severus replied.

"I've been doing my job!"

"Why weren't you doing your job when they tried to kill me? All those years?"

Albus wished he could interrupt on Minerva's behalf. The Headmaster and his Deputy had spent countless nights arguing over her Gryffindors and Severus, and in every argument, she had pushed for a harsher punishment than they had ever received. She had always been on Severus's side. "I know you're hurting, Severus, but-,"

"It's nothing to you. You said it yourself, it's all about a childhood bully. You can't see past the end of your spectacles."

"I shouldn't have simplified it that way. I was angry; I'm sorry. I know there is so much more to this than that. I-,"

"It's nothing to you. Just like everyone else." Silence fell over them for a moment, their breathing the only sound in the room. "Please leave."

"You're something to me," Minerva replied, her voice more vulnerable than Albus had ever heard it. "And I'm losing you."

Severus made no reply, and Albus wondered if she had finally gotten through to him in some way. It was so rare Minerva showed such raw emotion. If Albus didn't know, he wouldn't have even thought it was her. "Maybe Lupin will keep you company."

"You're scared," she said in a way that sounded borderline clinical, like she was making an observation.

"What?"

"All of this...it's brought so much to surface, so much you've kept hidden over the years…from yourself…from me. They took so much from you, Severus," she said gently, sounding nervous. "Your best friend, the love of your life, your happiness, your school days, your safety at Hogwarts…you're afraid you're going to lose me too. Every time you met them, you lose something. Why not push me away before I'm gone? It hurts less."

"I…" Severus's voice trailed off, and Albus suddenly felt guilty for listening to them.

"I know…I know that this year has been hard," Minerva continued. "But, the pulling away…even after we had the talk and you told me more and I proved to you I'm going to defend you…you've still pulled away after I thought we had resolved all this. You're afraid."

"Don't be ridiculous," Severus muttered weakly.

"We don't have a happy ending ahead for us," Minerva cut in. "But, I'd like to continue to enjoy whatever this is…for as long as we can. I miss you, Severus."

"So un-Gryffindor of you to be begging," he said, his voice with a hint of his usual self.

"I only speak the truth."

The sound of lips meeting came for a brief moment. "I love you," Minerva said so softly, Albus almost didn't catch it. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard the words from her mouth.

"I've never…this…"

"I know," Minerva's voice came. "I know that you've never had anyone you've put so much trust into before…them being here…it brings up so much. I should have been more understanding…I'm sorry."

They kissed again, and Albus felt tension leave his shoulders, the small amount of guilt he'd felt unburdened. "I'd like to take advantage of being the one to take you to bed."

A small groan came from Minerva, and Albus felt himself blush. "Severus, are we…?"

"I'm here with you. As for the things with Remus, if you expect that I'm going to be running to make amends with him, I-,"

"No," Minerva cut in. "I'm not asking you that; I would never ask that of you. I've just…I've missed you; and believe it or not so have the rest of the staff."

Severus snorted. "Don't push it, Min."

"I'm serious!" she exclaimed, the sound of her slapping him echoing through the amplifying charm. "Filius missed his Christmas shopping partner."

"He buys the same three things every year; I'm sure he managed fine on his own."

"I suppose that means you didn't buy me anything this year," she said, the usual playfulness back in her voice. She sounded more like herself.

"I'll give you your gift a little early."

Dropping the garland and ornaments in his hands on the floor, Albus quickly used his wand to pull the amplifying spell as it became apparent what Severus's gift to Minerva was. There were some lines he didn't need to cross. The two had settled their differences, and that was enough for him.

However, the occupation of the staff room left his Christmas decorating plan fruitless. Perhaps the resolved differences between the heads of houses would be enough to bring some much needed lightheartedness to the staff.