Who: Romana and Severus Snape What: Valentine's Day date Where: A restaurant When: Backdated to VD Rating: G Status: Complete
Severus arrived home from work. He dropped his keys into the basket in the entryway, then headed into the kitchen to set down his jacket on the back of a chair. “Ro? Did the sitter take Daisy to her sleepover?” He asked. A quick glance at his wristwatch told him that they had an hour until their dinner reservations.
All day she had been wondering where they were going for Valentine’s Day. She even got herself all dolled up in order to go. As much as she could when she was this big. But still. She was very nearly ready, just had to get him to put on her shoes since she couldn’t reach them anymore. She was reading a book when he came in.
“Hello dear. Yeah she took her to the sleepover. You just missed them actually.”
“Not a problem. I told Daisy this morning that I wouldn’t see her until tomorrow. She seems too excited about the sleepover to care that she won’t get to see me.” Severus chuckled, moving closer to where Romana was sitting so he could help her get her shoes on. “I’ll just change. Our dinner reservation is for seven.”
Romana laughed a little. “They get to a certain age and they don’t care at all that you’re gone. Any chance to get rid of us. Just wait until she’s a teenager and she can’t stand to be seen with us.” She lifted up her feet and put them on his lap so that he could help her with the shoes. “All right. By the time you’re done, I should actually be up on my feet and have my things together.”
“Bite your tongue. She’s always going to want to hang around us both.” Severus teased, putting the shoes onto her feet and then bending down to kiss her knees. He sat back upright again. “I’ll just hop in the shower.” He added, then climbed up off the bed so he could go into the master bath. His plan was to shower and dress quickly, with minimal fuss. He was a minimal fuss sort of man.
“You keep thinking that,” she teased right back. She remembered being downright awful to her parents and hated being seen with her parents when she was a teenager. Romana smiled at him and thanked him and nodded. “Okay, I’ll be here.” She wasn’t getting up until they were ready to go. Too much up and down made her back hurt. And it was hard work. She kept reading while she waited for him to get ready.
Severus came out about ten minutes later, and dressed. Dress slacks, black button-down shirt, black belt. Black shoes and socks. On anyone else, it might look like he was going to a funeral, but Severus Snape had a way of pulling off black that no one else seemed to be able to do. He ran both hands through his hair, giving it a little straighten, but didn’t bother messing with it too much. Minimal.
“Are you ready?” He asked once he was ready to go. Holding his coat over one arm and a hand out to her. “Dinner at seven, then an early bedtime. I’ve got a room booked. And spa treatments tomorrow.”
When he came back out to the living room, Romana whistled. She didn’t normally, but it was kind of fitting. “You look gorgeous as always.” She took his hand and then let him hoist her up to her feet. “Early bedtime? Well then. I guess we’d better get this night started. Spa treatments sound lovely.” She smiled and then got on her coat. “And a room? Oh my.”
Severus actually blushed. His hollow cheeks went slightly pink, and he chuckled softly. “Nowhere near as gorgeous as you.” He hoisted her up to her feet and wrapped both arms down and around her to keep her upright and sturdy. He knew that having such large cargo in her tummy set off her balance a bit sometimes. He released her so that she could get her coat, and helped her on with it, then pulled his own on. “...I know. I may have gone a bit overboard.”
The two wandered out the front door and to the car, and Severus opened her door for her.
“And yet you don’t resemble some kind of beached whale,” she pointed out and then kissed his cheeks because he was blushing and that was cute. “I don’t mind when you go overboard. It’s nice.” And honestly she could use a rub down. On pretty much every inch of her body. Though some parts she would leave to her husband. “It’s Valentine’s Day, you’re allowed.”
Following him out to the car, she climbed in and tried quite hard to put the seatbelt on before settling back.
“I think you may be more beautiful now than I’ve ever seen you.” Severus said. “Honestly, Ro. You become more and more beautiful to me every day.” He said, wrapping his arms down and around her when she kissed his cheeks. He paused for a moment, held her closely, and then stole one more long, meaningful kiss to her lips.
“Okay. Let’s go have dinner.” He closed the door behind her, jogged around to the driver’s side, slipped in and helped her with her seatbelt. (Lap belt under the baby bump.) Then he put on his own. “I hope you’re hungry.” Though, there was a baby pushing against her stomach. He knew they’d have to get a doggy bag.
Her cheeks flushed in just about the same way that he had just done a minute ago. “I know that I married the best man in the entire world. You’re such a flatterer.” She held onto him as tightly as she could with their son between them and then leaned in to kiss him soundly. Not that she would ever doubt marrying Severus, but it was times like this that she knew she had picked the right guy.
“I’m starving.. I’m always starving.” She said that now but who knew how much she was going to eat. There was no stuffing her face anymore.
Severus turned on the car and pulled out of the driveway. The ride to the restaurant would take just about as much time as they had, and he went through a couple of yellow lights to make it. On the way, he fiddled with the radio to find some music, something he knew she would like, and left the station for her to play with, if she wanted.
Finding a nice station, Romana settled back as they drove to the restaurant. She tried not to fall asleep or anything. The car always made her lull into a sleep of sorts. “So what sort of fun spa treatments are you going to get? Or is this all for me and you’re just going to watch?” she was half teasing.
Severus chuckled softly. “I signed us up for couples massage. I’m not sure exactly what it all entails.” It was something that he should have done when Romana was pregnant with Daisy, but never did. Now he was trying to pamper her like the goddess she was. “And you have a manicure and a pedicure, and a hair styling.” He added. “I can just watch those.”
“Oh that sounds lovely.” She wasn’t sure what that entailed either, but she figured that it had to do with them both getting a massage at the same time. To be fair she would have liked any kind of massage that she could possibly get. Though she did wonder how they did the massage since she clearly couldn’t lay on her stomach. “Oh well thank you, dear. Aren’t you sweet?”
They have a hole in the table for her belly. With some stretchy fabric to provide support, but not constrict. Severus asked all about it when he made their appointments. “I like to think I am,” he responded, teasing just a little bit, as he pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. One of their favorites, but one where they could only go when Daisy was being watched.
He stopped the car, hopped out, and came around to help Romana out of her seat.
Romana would look forward to finding that out for herself. That was pretty ingenious. “You certainly are.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek as they parked the car. She was helped to her feet, and then shut the door behind them. “All right, let’s go eat. I’m famished and I really need a drink. Not a real drink, but you know what I mean. A nice glass of milk.”
She laughed and then headed inside with her husband.
Severus grinned as he followed her into the restaurant.
A few minutes later, they had their coats off and were sitting at their table toward the back of the restaurant. It was a special Valentine’s Day menu, so they only had to choose between a couple of options. Vegetarian, chicken or beef. Cesar salad or house dressing. Chocolate cake or peach cobbler for dessert. It was nice not having to scour the menu, Severus thought.
The waiter came by and brought them water, and took their orders, then left again. They were alone, in a candlelit (albeit, slightly noisy and crowded) restaurant. Severus reached across the table for Romana’s hand.
Oh very nice, a valentine’s menu. That was easy to pick from then. The options looked good too. Too bad she couldn’t have one of everything. She settled with the chicken and then handed over the menu. This place was pretty fancy though. Lots of other couples were being cute as well.
She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I love you, you know.”
Severus got whatever Romana didn’t. That way they could share. She’d inevitably decide she wanted whatever was on his plate more, anyway, so he was prepared. He squeezed her hand. “I love you, too. More than anything.” He gave her a soft smile. It was strange to him, after so many dreams of misery and loneliness, that he should be so happy with her like this. But he wasn’t really complaining.
Sharing food was one of her favorite things. She liked that he already knew to get something else so she could do just that. Romana could understand that too, being alone and lonely. Time Lords weren’t exactly known for settling down. She was glad that his had happened before all of her dreams had. Otherwise she didn’t know if she would have responded to him the same way. This was much better. “Happy Valentine’s Day dear. Do you want your present now or later?”
Sev’s eyes lit up a little. “I get a present?” He asked, sounding a little more excited than maybe he should have. Of course, he’d gotten her something. It was wrapped beautifully and waiting at the hotel room on the bed. He’d give her hers later.
Romana laughed. “Yes you get a present, it’s Valentine’s Day. But I can give it to you now or wait until after dinner. Up to you.” The present was in her bag. It was really cute how excited he was about presents.
“...well…” Severus was much like a small child. He could feel the ‘gimmie gimmie gimmie’ instinct kicking in. After all, it wasn’t until he was an adult--pretty much until he and Romana were together--that presents became something that happened in his life. His mother would slip him things when he was small, but they didn’t make a fuss out of birthdays or Christmas. They never had the money to, and his father would fly off the drunken handle if any gifts were exchanged.
But now… now he had Romana and Daisy, and they would throw big parties and have all the presents they wanted. “...maybe we should exchange them together? Yours is at the hotel.” He said, softly. It was a hard thing to say, but logically it was the most fair. He didn’t want to open his while she didn’t get to open hers until later.
It was really cute the way she could tell that he just really wanted his present. Though she knew his background and how much presents meant to him, it was still really cute to see. She almost wanted to give in and just give him the gift because clearly he wanted it so much. However he did make a pretty good point. There was no rush. It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to give it to him. “Okay, we can wait until the hotel then.” Unless he really couldn’t wait, but she’d just have to play it by ear.
“We should have asked if they could give us dessert first.”
He could wait. He really couldn’t wait for dessert, though. When the waiter brought out some more iced water for their table, Severus took hold of his arm in a gentle but assertive way. “Excuse me, my wife would like her dessert first. Please tell me that’s possible.”
The waiter glanced at Romana. His brain was processing. Baby Bump. Dessert first. A little smile broke out across his features. “Of course, Sir. Not a problem at all. I’ll put a rush on it.” He gave the two a wink, and headed off to the kitchen.
They had desserts in front of them within thirty seconds.
Oh good. A great big smile broke out on her face and she couldn’t help but look completely pleased about having dessert first. “Thank you.” Okay so maybe this whole baby bump thing came in handy sometimes. Not that it would have made her upset or angry or anything, but this was definitely better.
When the chocolate was placed in front of her, she picked up her spoon. “I’m not even sure I care if I’m too full for dinner.”
Severus chuckled softly. He picked up his own spoon to sample his dessert, then took a bite of hers, too. “...I think yours is better,” he commented. “The chocolate is fantastic.” He didn’t mind going dessert first. It was Valentine’s Day, afterall. They could work it off later.
She mm’d a bit and almost pushed his hand away, but in the end reached forward and took a bite of his dessert. “I think you’re right. I like mine better. I mean yours is good, but chocolate.” She’d given up feeling guilty about foods she was craving. It just went with the territory. “I should try to bake more at home.”
Severus chuckled. “What’s Valentine’s Day without chocolate.” Severus said. He leaned back a little in his chair and continued eating his own dessert slowly. Of course, if they’d ordered two of the chocolate ones, she probably would have wanted the cheesecake. “I’m sure Daisy would love it if you baked more.” He was an excellent cook--after all, cooking was a lot like chemistry or potions--but he wasn’t as much of a baker as his wife was.
“Exactly. I’d cry if there were no chocolate.” Not literally, but still. It was true, she could have eaten both desserts. But then she definitely wouldn’t have wanted to eat dinner. This was better. She didn’t need all of that sugar. “Yeah. I should teach her how to make cookies.” Daisy could help mix the bowl and put stuff in the bowl and all of that stuff. “It’s nice to be out just the two of us.”
Severus gave a little chuckle. “Good thing there’s plenty of chocolate cake here.” He said. “I’m sure she’d love to make cookies with you.” Not like she could make potions with him. “It’s been a while since it’s just been the two of us.” He added, “It’s a bit freeing.”
“Yeah it is. If she was here, she would be wanting to run around and making a mess and most importantly, trying to eat my cake.” Romana laughed and finished up the last of her dessert. She was actually still hungry. Good thing dinner was on the way. “I do like it when it’s just us. We probably won’t get to have a lot of these coming up soon.”
“Let’s get our priorities straight. The cake is absolutely the most important part of that scenario.” Severus said, nodding solemnly. He broke into a smirk at the very end, then gave a sigh. His cheesecake was only half finished. “We’ll have to get used to being a family for a while. I hope you don’t get sick of me.”
“You’re definitely right about that.” Tsk tsk. He was going to have to eat that cheesecake, or she was going to have to eat it for him. “I’d never get sick of you, don’t be daft.” She leaned over and kissed him. “Besides, you’re the one that got me into this mess. You’re going to have to be there to take care of him.”
Ah, kisses. Sev enjoyed those. A lot. He returned her kiss, then grinned at her when it was finished. “Of course. I will. Day and night.” He lifted his water glass as if in a toast.
The waiter came over and set their main courses in front of them. Severus picked up his fork to have a bite.
“Good because I remember the last time, and I’m going to want to sleep for a week at least after I have him,” Romana pointed out.
Oh good. Food. Good thing she didn’t wear pants that needed buttoning up. She dug into her food, noting how good it tasted. “How’s yours?”
“We can make that happen.” Severus said, smirking softly. Of course, Daisy would surely have something to say about that. She wouldn’t let her Mum sleep for a week straight. Not without plenty of cuddle time. He took another bite, then gave a nod. “It’s very good. And yours?”
It was but a dream that anyone could sleep for a week straight. Romana wasn’t looking forward to being sleep deprived, but then she’d pretty much been that way since Daisy was born. “Good thing Time Lords don’t need that much sleep.” It was nice that way. “It’s really good. Want to taste mine?”
“You’re the lucky one. I’ll have to depend on Pepper Up potions and Red Bull.” Severus smirked, then slid his plate a little closer to her, having translated ‘want to taste mine?’ as ‘I want to try yours.’ He reached forward for a fork full of her food, and she was welcome to do the same with his.
“I think you’ve got the better meal tonight,” he commented gently once he was finished chewing.
“Yeah having two hearts is actually coming in handy.” Sometimes she wondered just how much she was a Time Lord, but it wasn’t like she was going to test it out. She slid her plate a bit closer and then reached over to take a bite of his food. It was pretty good. “Mm.. I don’t know, I like yours too. They’re both good. You picked a really good restaurant.” It was nice to splurge once in a while.
Both of the meals were good, only hers was slightly better than his. He didn’t mind sharing, of course. She was the pregnant woman, she was allowed to eat as much of whatever she wanted.
“Good. I’m glad that you like it. I have to admit, I came here once without you to scope out the place.” In his preparations for tonight.
The band started to play, and some couples got up and moved to the dance floor.
“Scope out the place? You mean like to make sure that they weren’t running an illegal operation?” she teased lightly with a smirk on her face. “No but really you did a good job.”
She glanced up at the people getting up to dance. “Would you want to dance with me?”
“Yes.” Severus teased. “That’s exactly what I did.” He said, then shook his head a little. “Silly.”
Then he nodded, stood, and held out a hand to help her up. “Come dance.”
Getting up to her feet, she held onto his hand and went to the dance floor. She put her arms up around his neck and smiled. “This is nice, even if there’s a kid between us.”
Severus was fairly good at wrapping his arms around his wife, even with a huge baby bump. He did so, cuddling close and gently swaying to the music. Either he was paranoid, or there were a couple of other couples watching them with ‘aww’ looks on their faces. It was sweet, he thought, for a man and his obviously pregnant wife to be out on Valentine’s Day for some good dinner and cuddles.
“It is nice.” He agreed, turning to press his nose into her hair.
She swayed along with him, pressing up against him as much as she could so they could dance together. If people were paying attention, she didn’t notice. Romana was just focused on him. She put her head down against his shoulder and then kissed his cheek. “It is. I love you.”
Sev cuddled close, swaying gently from side to side with her, and lifted his hand to run over her hair. “I love you.” He whispered. “Let’s go to the hotel. We can wrap up our leftovers and eat them later.”
Giving him a nice kiss on the lips, she nodded a bit and let him go. She definitely was ready for some alone time with her husband. After paying and getting their food, she followed him out to the car and then off to the hotel.