Just One Kiss That's (not) All it Is (A Snily One-Shot)

Lily hefted her books over her shoulder, signaling across the Hall at Severus. She saw his dark brown eyes light up in a smile as he caught sight of her, then saw his dark hair weaving through the crowd of bustling students until he arrived at her side. "Hey, Sev," Lily greeted him, smiling.

She watched his eyes, usually so guarded, as he let down the walls he usually kept locked up tight. Severus only opened up around Lily. She liked that he only trusted her with his deepest secrets, though. Ever since that first day he had called her a witch, she'd seen it. When it was just them, his eyes seemed to be a shade lighter and a lot brighter. Since that first day, Lily had always set aside time to talk with him, loving the sound of his soft voice as it spoke words that she knew had only echoed around his mind before he'd found her. More than anything, though, she liked him.

She felt the familiar flutter in her stomach as he replied, giving her a slightly crooked smile, the corners of his thin lips twisting up. "Hey Lily. How are things going? Are James and Sirius still giving you grief about saying no to Potter's latest attempts to get you to date him?" His face darkened, and he threw a scowl at Potter and his gang, who were currently putting a permanent sticking charm on Slytherin boy's robes as he sat on the bench.

Heaving out a sigh, Lily started out the doors to the Entrance Hall. "Yeah. I don't know why he keeps trying. I mean, I've made it clear I would never date a stupid wart like him, anyways!" Kicking moodily at the dusty ground, she cast a shy glance at Sev's face. He always tried to hide a smile when she insulted James, but she  saw it in his eyes nonetheless. She continued with her rant, periodically glancing at Severus just to watch his face lift from its usual sad state, savoring the light that glowed in his features as she spoke. His cheeks gained a rosy tint, his eyes shone, and his pale, thin lips parted for just a moment as her own mouth formed each word. Try as she might, she just couldn't stop herself from pausing for a moment to watch him,  her insides fluttering, before continuing. However,  Sev caught her eye and she looked down,  her cheeks red,  and began speaking again.

"He can't even go a single week without hexing someone because I wouldn't go out with him! It's despicable! If I wanted first years' pants hung on the common room lamps, with the first years still in them, I would have had someone who was at least adept enough at charmwork to do it so that they wouldn't sprout great red wings as well! I don't know what to do anymore!" Her earlier  nervousness was lost in the red tide of anger that arose with her complaints, and she threw her hands up in frustration. "What am I supposed to do? It's not like he'll just give up." As her hands fell back down, she felt Sev give one of them a squeeze, his soft skin brushing against hers for just a moment before disappearing again,  and her anger was replaced by nervous flurries in her stomach.

She looked shyly up at Severus, but he just kept walking.  "You'll show them someday," he said. "Or rather, I'll show them today for you, if I run across them. They need to learn to respect you." his eyes flashed before he switched to a new subject. "Honestly, though, he can't even do a simple Levicorpus correctly? It's so easy, though! My god, what a dolt." Severus laughed, then sat down by a tree, moving over to make space for Lily.

She sat close beside Sev, relishing the feeling of warmth as it flowed off of his body in the cool autumn breeze. "Well, Sev, how are you?" she asked, scooting closer to hear him over the strengthening wind. As she made herselfcomfortable, she felt her hair flying around her face, and attempted to wrap her scarf around the ends to tame the errant strands.

"I'm fine," he said. "Well, except for the fact that Potter and Black cursed me again last night on my way back from dinner."

"Oh, no!" Lily's hands flew to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Sev! I feel so bad that they do that. I think James thinks I'd rather date you than him." She saw Severus's face fall, then noticed her slip and backtracked quickly. "I mean, I would, but they don't need to get so touchy about it." She paused to push another stand of hair behind her ear,  but it just feel back out, whipping mockingly in what was quickly turning into a harsh wind.

Severus laughed. "Um, well, it's okay. That they hex me, you know. Not that--I mean, it is, but--I mean--" His pale face turned pink as he fumbled over his sentence, then he reached out and pushed the strand of Lily's hair back in the scarf, his fingers lingering on her cheek, just barely there,  softer than the wind but with a more noticeable touch.

Lily's breath caught in her throat, and she leaned towards him ever so slightly, but he took his fingers away, looking bashfully down, his face redder than ever.

In the following silence, Lily fished desperately around for a less awkward subject. "Er....H-how's Filch been? Has he kept you in detention for as long as he said he would?" she asked, her voice higher than usual. The other day, Sev had been caught tracking mud in from an Herbology lesson, and Filch had given him a week of detention for it.

Severus's shoulders seemed to relax. "Nah, Slughorn talked him out of it. Mind you, I think a few bottles of Rosmerta's mead changed hands, but I'm not complaining. I don't want to spend any longer than I have to helping McGonagall transfigure chairs for her seventh-years."

Lily gave a nervous laugh. "Yes, Slughorn is a bit...bit..." Her voice trailed off as she saw Potter and his gang walk through the doors and out onto the grounds. "Oh, no," she whispered. "Oh, I hope they don't come over here." She watched with apprehension as James pointed at them, then laughed with Lupin and Black as Pettigrew hovered around them. "l hope James doesn't try to ask me out again."

Severus took her hand again, offering an encouraging smile. "It's okay. We have our wands, if we need to hex them." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Sev, we can't just hex them, no matter if they hex us. We can still keep the moral high ground." Despite this, however, she patted her robe pocket, checking that her wand really was there, just in case. Annoyingly, her hair fell out of her scarf again. "Ugh!" She reached up and pushed it back, but still to no avail.

Severus smiled and reached over, pushing it back under her scarf as the rushing wind blew it around her face. His hand stayed on her cheek this time, warmth flowing from his palm onto her face. Lily could see every fractal of light flashing in his eyes, and every highlight on his eyelashes. The wind fell into nothingness behind them, and Lily could just make out James openly staring across the grounds at them. Suddenly, she really wanted Severus to kiss her. She looked into his eyes and leaned in, feeling his warmth with every inch crossed. She could see the warmth in his eyes, a warmth that was so rarely shown. She leaned in,  closer,  closer,  closer.

And then she felt his soft lips against hers, just for a second, and it was over. She smiled shyly at Sev, her face pink. She could see James pushing at his friends to get a better look, but she could care less. Severus smiled back, then dropped his hand from her face.

"Just a kiss," he whispered, but she knew it was so much more.