Yours, SS [Book 1]

Chapter 27

Severus woke up to part of the bed being cold. He stretched and sat up; he squinted through the sheer drapes trying to make out any shape. The water was not running, so she was not in the bathroom. "Where are you?" he cocked his eyebrow a little, wondering if she was trying to scare him like she often tried. He slid out of bed and placed his feet on the cold floor; he could smell coffee wafting up the stairs. He got dressed and wandered downstairs.

He found Amilia dressed and standing in front of the small stove. She was humming to herself as she scrambled the eggs. He leaned against the doorway and watched her as she placed them on the counter. "You were sleeping pretty hard. I figured you would want to sleep in." she said without turning around.

"How did you know I was standing here?"

She giggled, "I know the feeling of your eyes on my body." She placed the pan in the sink and set the charm for them to be washed. She turned around and handed him a plate, "I hope ham and eggs are okay. It's all I found in the refrigerator."

"It is just fine." He leaned around her, pouring himself a cup of coffee, and followed her to the sitting room. They both plopped down into the chairs, and Severus set his mug on the little table. Amilia eyed it, "I'm going to fix that later."

Severus nodded his approval as he ate his food. "Make sure you get dress Muggle like, we need to get a few items for the house."

"Paint colors?"

"I will get the little color cards later, we can look at those when we have some time during the rest of the school year. Today, I want to focus on some furniture, there is an empty room after all."

"A new mattress would be ideal." Amilia picked up his mug and took a swig.

Severus scowled at her, "That can be arranged." They finished eating and headed out the door.

Amilia and Severus left the store with scowls plastered on their faces. "You could have let me pay for a few things!"

"No, and that is final!" he snapped.

"Ugh!" Amilia threw her hands in the air, "You are insufferable." She stalked away from him.

"I am insufferable!" Severus stomped behind her, "You stood there and argued with me about the prize of the table and chairs! How is my wanting to be cost wary being insufferable!?"

She spun around on him, "I told you, money is not an issue!"

"Yes. It is."

"Why? I have plenty for the both of us!"

"Because it is my house, I want to furnish it the way that I see fit."

"It's my home too!" Amilia snapped.

"No."

"No what?"

"No, it's not your home. It is my home. I am just letting you stay there, I asked for your help because the house needs a facelift...to erase some memories. I want you to be comfortable during your stay there." His black eyes were hard a steel as he stared at her.

Amilia felt the weight of his words fall on her like a ton of giants. Her mouth gaped open, "I...then...just..." she let out the breath she was holding, "What?"

"At some point, yes, I would love for you to completely move in." Severus stepped forward and reached out for her hands. Amilia shied away from his touch, looking around at the faces staring at them. "I want you to be comfortable, I want your opinion on things because I do want you to move in at some point in our relationship. But not right now. And I don't want you to pay for things. I don't want you to push something that I don't want. I have been alone...for a long time. I will do my best to compromise, but..."