Epiphany

Severus woke groggily from his sleep and covered his eyes with one arm. He hadn't closed the blinds the previous night, and now the sunlight was pouring into his room, illuminating everything, and showcasing the dust strewn around. The room desperately needed a cleaning, but he was far too tired to do that at the moment. As he attempted to wake himself fully, there was a sharp knock at the door.

"Severus, wake up! Your breakfast is getting cold," called the bright voice of Molly Weasley.

Severus mumbled something indistinct and made a rude two-fingered gesture at the closed door. Molly merrily tromped off as Severus stood slowly and looked for his robes. He had been wearing casual clothes, not his usual robes last night when... Remus had come to see him, had woken him up, and then had carried the majority of the work he had been doing into his room. Severus had a memory, a brief flash of a smile and too-pale face made to look like china in the starlight. He shook his head, and decided to just wear the black turtleneck sweater and black dress pants that he'd been wearing yesterday.

When he went down to the table, he found an equally groggy looking Remus attempting to focus his eyes on the newspaper in front of him. He looked up and smiled at Severus.

"Good morning. Did you sleep alright?"

Severus nodded curtly.

"Quite well. Thank you again for aiding me."

Remus smiled again, nodding his head.

"Anything of interest in the news today?" asked Snape, taking a seat beside Remus.

Remus shook his head.

"No, today seems like a quiet day," he said, sighing contentedly.

Molly came in, beaming, holding a plate of eggs and bacon in each hand.

"Breakfast, gentlemen! You two seem to be the only ones present today."

Indeed, that was true. Arthur had taken his children, along with Hermione and Harry, on a driving tour of England that promised to last for the better part of a week. Albus had been called away to meet with Minerva, who had been sent on a quest for information earlier that same week. Severus suspected that Molly was waiting for them to finish breakfast before Apparating to be with her family. She confirmed this thought by putting on her coat and smiling at them both.

"Well, I'll be off! Promised Arthur I'd meet up with them in Surrey. There's quite a bit of food in the fridge and pantry. Surely you can fend for yourselves for a few days, eh?"

Remus nodded politely as he ate his eggs.

"Quite so, Molly. I'm not a bad cook, and I'm sure Severus will share cooking duties with me. Isn't that right, Severus?"

Severus rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"As much as I don't enjoy cooking, I will help."

Molly grinned.

"Oh, good! Well, goodbye. I'll see you when we're all back."

Molly Apparated, leaving Severus and Remus to eat breakfast quietly. Severus frowned. He'd been thinking more of his former colleague of late than he had been for a while. It seemed as if they were working together far more often recently then they had been for quite some time. Remus also seemed to be going out of his way to be nice to him. That was quickly explained away in Severus' mind. I was an available shoulder to cry on. He appreciated it, and now he's being nice as repayment. Severus looked Remus over, his eyes taking in all of the scars on his hands that he'd never noticed before. Maybe he doesn't have any motives for being nice. Remus, as if feeling the heat of Severus' gaze on him, looked up and flashed the other man a smile. Severus quickly busied himself in the cutting of his eggs. There was a rustle of paper as Remus looked up, a questioning look on his face.

"Severus?"

Severus took a sip of his coffee.

"Yes?"

"Did Albus ask you to do anything for him today?"

"No, I don't think so." Severus looked curious. "Why?"

"Well," began Remus, "I realized we've never spent any time together, outside of the Order and Hogwarts, I mean. I really enjoy our conversations, and I though maybe we could do something, you know, just as friends. Go somewhere away from here."

Severus was shocked by the invitation. Please don't let my jaw be on the table. He thought about it for a few moments before speaking again.

"Go somewhere? With me? Are you sure?"

Remus nodded, smiling.

"Perfectly sure."

Severus mulled it all over.

"Alright. You can decide where we'll go, and we'll go. But a little later. I'm going to need time to get ready," said Severus.

Remus beamed.

"That's fine. I'll go use the shower first, if that's ok with you?"

Severus nodded, and Remus walked off. Severus blinked a few times. What did I just agree too? We're going out somewhere, as friends. Friends. Severus couldn't remember if he'd ever had anyone he could really call a friend. He was nervous, the feeling rising from the pit of his stomach. There was something else there too. Could I be... happy? He shook himself. Now, let's not be hasty. Let's just see how this goes.