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

Epilogue of Fluff

A/N: This will be the final part. The story was originally intended to be  a one-shot, but due to high demand and unexpected free time, I'm adding an epilogue :) Enjoy!

Lily lounged beside the lake after a late dinner, her head on Severus' lap. They were idly tossing scraps of food they had stolen from the table into the waiting tentacles of the squid, with an unopened book on Lily's chest. Severus was reenacting how a first-year had fallen into the mashed potatoes the night before, and Lily was watching his eyes.

She felt as if she could look into the depths of his eyes for the entire evening, and never see the same shade of brown twice. The hues in his irises constantly shifted along with his expression, and Lily found herself nodding absently as her stomach swooped along with the changing colors. Flicking her wand, she sent another piece of beef into the water for the squid, but never moved her gaze from Sev's.

She couldn't seem to keep her mind off of the kiss they had shared three days ago. Had it truly only been a kiss? She had surely felt a deeper connection between them than just that of their lips. But maybe Sev didn't feel so deeply; maybe he just wanted to make James jealous. She gave her wand another flick, but with her mind so set on Severus, the beef flew onto his shoulder instead of into the lake, and he jerked away.

"Hey! What was that for?" he asked, tossing the meat back at her. "That was most definitely uncalled for." A mischeivous glint entered his eyes, and he pulled out his wand, brandishing it in a lighthearted manner. 

"Your story was just so riveting! I couldn't take my mind off of the hilarious image you were painting!" Lily sat up and adjusted her scarf before pulling out her own wand. 

"Ha-ha," Sev said sarcastically. "Now, which spell should I cast on you to exact my revenge? A tickling jinx? Perhaps turn your hair blue for a day?" He laughed as he pretended to mull over his choices, only to be bowled over as Lily sent a kitten flying into his stomach.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, putting the cat gnetly into his pocket. "I'm the one who's getting revenge! I was the one who got pelted by leftovers, remember?" He shot a quick tickling jinx at her, and she doubled over with laughter, unable to choke out a counter-curse. 

"Stop--it!" she managed to gasp out. "I can't--stop laughing!" She curled up on the ground, tears in her eyes as she laughed. "Stop!"

"Okay, okay." Severus cast the counter-curse and Lily lay on the ground, giggling and catching her breath.

"You're evil!" She accused. "Give me that kitten back, It needs a scarf or something to keep it warm." 

Severus rolled his eyes, but pulled out the little tabby, their hands brushing as he exaggeratedly set the kitten down. "It was fine in my pocket, I'll have you know. I think I'll call him Sylvester."

Lily smiled at the name and transfigured a twig into a green-and-red scarf. "There. He has green for Slytherin and red for Gryffindor, since I made him and you're keeping him. And it's getting close to Christmas." She wrapped the kitten in the scarf and set him in Sev's lap, then cuddled up next to him in the cold evening air. 

"The stars are so beautiful here," she commented once they had settled down, her breath misting in the cold air. "Back at home, there's so much light you can barely make them out. Out here, though..." She let the sentence hang in the air as twinkling stars appeared one-by-one. They sparkle like your eyes, she added in her mind, tilting her head to gaze back at his features. The kitten cuddled up under Sev's robes, mewling slightly beneath them.

Severus looked at the stars. "Yeah. They are pretty here." Lily saw him glance down for a moment, and she quickly averted her eyes, stroking the kitten's head for a moment before looking back up.

Should she mention the kiss? She bit her lip, watching his expression. His arm was at his side; his fingers brushed the back of her hand whenever either of them moved, sending racing tingles from her hand to her heart. Surely Sev could feel her rapid pulse when he was so close; Lily could feel her blood rushing as clearly as she could see the stars and Sev's eyes. She decided to test the boundaries. She moved his arm around her body, snuggling up to his chest.

"It's so cold out here," she said as an excuse. "I'm sure Sylvester understands."

Sev laughed and picked up the kitten. "Yeah, but he has a scarf. A special scarf. He tightened his arm around Lily. "You made it from both of us, which must make it that much warmer." Sev rested his head on Lily's and shut his eyes for a moment, and Lily knew.

Lily knew that he had meant the kiss. She licked her lips, remembering how it had felt. She moved her head and looked into Sev's eyes apprehensively.

"The stars are perfect," she reiterated, placing a hand on his shoulder without shifting her gaze. He moved his hand to her waist. Her pulse pounded behind her eyes and she watched the reflections of the stars in his eyes, and the slightest smile tugged at her lips. The stars really are perfect. They sat there, watching each other, for minutes.

And then Lily spoke in a whisper. "I meant it when I kissed you." Her cheeks reddened and she moved in slightly, biting her lip apprehensively.

"Me too."

The night air chilled around their motionless bodies, the lake sloshing gently in the background.

Lily parted her lips, almost speaking. The words hung, unsaid, not thought of, in between them. She moved in slightly again, her breath a fog as she watched Severus' face for a hint on the next move. Mere inches separated them, and she could feel the tension crackling from his hand on her waist to her hand on his shoulder.

Sev shut his eyes for a moment, then spoke, his voice a mere wisp in atmosphere. "Should we...?"  His suggestion faded in the air, but the fog he had exhaled hung between them, asking the question again and again and again and again until Lily had to answer the insistent question, the whisper hanging in the air.

"Yes."

She leaned in and Sev leaned in and his hand pulled her up to his mouth and Lily pulled his shoulder down to her mouth, all separately and slowly until their lips hung millimeters away and their breath mingled in the no-man's-land of a decision that had yet to be acted upon. Lily moved in and took a breath, her eyes closing as their lips met and answered the question that had been plaguing them both for the past three days, and yes, they really meant it, and no, it was never just a kiss, and yes, please hold me because I want you to and yes, Valentine's Day is so close and of course we can go together, all in the convergence of their lips in that cold night air with Sylvester the kitten mewling beneath them wearing a scarf representative of their joined hearts.