Back to Yule

Remus ran his fingernail over a leaf of the ivy spray Severus had laid across the mantle. It was their first holiday season together and he had been counting on Severus' taciturn nature to bring them through it with a minimum of fuss.

"What?" Severus asked when he walked into the room and caught the moue of distaste on Remus' face.

"I'm just surprised, that's all. I didn't think you'd decorate for Christmas."

"Actually, I observe Yule."

"Still...." Remus let his thought drift away and whispered instead. "I hate the holidays."

Severus scowled and sat in his leather, wing-backed chair before the fire. "Oh, and you assumed the great dark git would feel the same way." He picked up a journal and surreptitiously watched Remus while pretending to read. His face held an uncharacteristically stormy look. "Out with it, then, you know you're going to bore me with the details eventually. I would prefer it not happen later when I will be trying to get some sleep."

The other man sighed, silent a few moments longer before giving in. "The holidays are a time for families and I have no family. Haven't for years, since my mother died our fifth year," Remus admitted. He refused to wallow further into his usual seasonal malaise by saying anything more, especially as it would mean dragging Severus into his bad mood. Brushing a kiss on Severus' temple, Remus went up to bed early instead.

It would have been easy for Severus to be insulted at Remus' assumptions, to scowl and use the excuse of Remus' admission to avoid all the traditional holiday activities he assumed he would be taking on when they moved in together. Instead, the former spy calmly closed his journal, listened for the sounds of activity upstairs to cease, then stepped outside and crossed the yard to the small greenhouse he maintained in the back of the house.

*****

Remus only woke when Severus lifted the muffling charm and cleared his throat loudly a few times. He smelled pine and cinnamon first, then opened his eyes to find their bedroom filled with flickering light from a score of floating candles. Every surface was festooned with ivy and berry-laden holly, as well as pine fronds and delicate stalks of wheat. "Severus-"

The darker man laid a finger over Remus' lips, then shrugged off his simple black robe and lifted the covers to settle, naked, beside Remus, taking him into his arms and kissing him deeply.

"Why?" Remus asked through gasps for air when he was allowed to breathe.

"I am your family now, as you are mine. It is time for you to celebrate again."

It was no special day, just one of dozens in the holiday season, but as they joined in the richly scented, warmly decorated and lit room, Remus felt the kind of soul renewal one was meant to find in master days. From that year forward, Severus made the holidays a celebration of their love, and Remus observed every moment of them with joy.