Who: Romana, Severus Snape, Zuko and Draco Malfoy When: Late February Where: The Snape Household What: Double Date over Dinner Rating/Warning: Low/None Status: Complete
Daisy was already in bed. Severus was working in the kitchen. He’d just finished cooking some vegetables to pop into the lasagna, and was layering them with cheese, sauce and noodles. The whole thing was coming together beautifully, and he was starting to get hungry. Only forty minutes to dinner, he had to keep reminding himself. Then he could eat.
“Ro?” He called out for his wife. (Not too loudly. Didn’t want to wake the little one.) “Did you pick up dessert this afternoon on your way home?”
Having been in the other room, trying to clean up after Daisy once she was in bed, Romana heard her name called. “One second,” she called back as quietly as she could. Finishing up with the toys and everything else that needed to be put away, she went over to the kitchen and peeked her head in. “Hm what was that? Oh the dessert.”
She had to think a moment and then went to get the cheesecake that she had bought out of the fridge. “It’s raspberry.”
Draco had decided to apparate them to the Snape house, it seemed to make more sense than driving especially as it wasn’t too far. “Ready?” he called out to Zuko before whistling as he emerged from the bedroom, “If we had more time I’d be taking that off you again right now” he teased moving to steal a kiss from his husband.
“Yeah,” Zuko said with a laugh, adjusting the collar of his button up shirt and fixing Draco a look that spoke every volume of sarcasm he knew. “I bet you say that to all your husbands. Let’s just go, huh?” He wasn’t the best in social setting with other people’s friends, but he was doing his best and he was fairly sure that counted for something. Right? Right.
The good news was that Zuko wouldn’t be the only one who wasn’t great in social settings. Severus Snape, though he was very different from the Dream World, was a bit… cold. Perhaps he and the fire starter had more in common than previously assumed? In any case, Severus gave a nod to Romana, and the corner of his lip twitched into an almost smile at the sight of the cheesecake. It looked delicious.
“Thank you for picking it up.” Severus leaned over to tap a kiss against her cheek, then finished the last layer of cheese in his lasagna before slipping it into the preheated oven. “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now.” The due date felt like it was sneaking up on them.
Romana put the cheesecake back in the fridge to make sure it didn’t get all melty or whatever it was that cheesecake did. “You’re welcome.” She glanced over at him and hmph’d. “That had better not be some kind of pregnant fat joke.” In fact she reached over and gave him a pinch. “I’m not an invalid. Do you need help getting anything together?”
Draco had taken hold of Zuko with a whispered thank you into his ear before apparating them. He appreciated Zuko going along with it especially since he knew he wasn't a fan of evenings like this. Raising his hand he knocked on the door.
It was okay. Zuko tolerated a hell of a lot for his husband. An outing to dinner wouldn’t even top the list (although living with a sister in law and walking in on her in the bathroom was definitely up there).
He cleared his throat before anyone answered the door and folded his hands neatly in front of him. “We should have brought something,” he said, but then shrugged the idea away. Too late now.
A chuckle escaped Severus at the pinch from his wife. Ah, if only Draco could see him like this. He wouldn’t believe it. The Severus in his Dreams was so drastically different from the man he was right here and now. And he owed it all to--well, to Lily not dying. And to Romana, of course.
“Not any kind of fat joke, I assure you.” Sev shook his head a little, wiping his hands on a dishtowel. “You could answer the door, though,” he added, after hearing the knock.
“Good because our dinner would soon turn into something much more unpleasant,” Romana said with another Look. “You’re lucky they’re here. I’ll remember all of this.” She teased lightly and then went to go answer the door. She smiled when she opened it. “Hello. Please come in.. I’m Romana. It’s lovely to meet you both.”
“Hello Romana, it’s lovely to meet you too” Draco said politely, “I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Draco and this is my husband, Zuko, who has also just reminded me we’ve been terrible guests and not brought anything. I’m afraid we aren’t very practiced at this” he added charmingly.
“We’re awful people,” Zuko agreed, solemn as anything even as he offered a hand for a quick shake (as was polite and customary). “But we’ll do our very best to impress you with our wit and charms instead.” He smiled, just barely. “Which means Draco will be speaking from here on out and I’ll do my very best to fade into the background.”
“Ah, that’s quite all right. I’m also in a marriage where one partner has enough wit and charm for the both of us,” Severus said, stepping from the kitchen into the entryway. He had the kitchen towel now draped over his shoulder and wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t frowning, either. His lips might have been described as being in a half smirk. “Draco, good to see you. And Zuko, nice to meet you.”
“I sincerely hope that it’s all good, or he’s going to be in trouble,” Romana commented with a small smirk. “It’s quite all right, I think we’ve got pretty much everything we can to eat and drink too much.” She shut the door once they were both inside and led the way back towards where Severus was. “Wit and charm is all any of us has in this house. Well except for Daisy, I suppose. Can I get either of you something to drink?”
“All good I assure you” Draco replied smiling, nodding to Snape as he appeared. “Wine or soda would be great” he said as he followed Romana into the house.
“Nice to meet you,” Zuko echoed, stepping further into the house and looking around. It was nice enough. A little obvious that there was a child somewhere on the premises, but that wasn’t really a bad thing.
“Oh, uhm. Whatever you get for Draco, I’ll take too.” Hey, he could be easy.
Severus nodded. “I’ll get it.” He disappeared into the kitchen from the entryway, motioning for the guys (and Romana, obviously) to make themselves comfortable in the living room. “Dinner’s in about half an hour,” he called from the kitchen. He was pouring them all some soda. Since Romana couldn’t drink, he wasn’t drinking either. And he would feel better if she was off of her feet.
Not just one in the house. Clearly another on the way. Romana couldn’t hide being nearly seven months pregnant. “Oh all right. Well then have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.” She went to sit down in one of the chairs, and sat back. “So how did you two meet?” Might as well start off with some nice ice breaking questions, right?
Draco smiled as he sat down on the sofa, arm sliding automatically around Zuko next to him. "Zuko heard me playing in the park one afternoon and found himself drawn to it" he grinned, "we got talking and became friends then everything led from there"
Zuko nodded in agreement, scooting just a little bit closer to Draco, but not too close where it seemed impolite or strange in company of others. He’d been raised with excessive manners, after all.
“Basically that,” the japanese boy agreed, looking around the living room thoughtfully. “We get on pretty well. I think I’ll keep him.”
Severus came back into the room with four glasses of lemon lime soda over ice on a tray. He set it on the table, then handed Romana her glass before taking his own. “Just randomly met in a park?” He asked, perching lightly on the arm of Romana’s chair.
“Oh that’s lovely. Severus told me you played, though he didn’t go into much detail.” Hardly surprising. She took her drink with a nod of thanks. “People do meet in the park in random ways. I think you might be grilling them a little.” She nudged her husband just so, but gently.
“I play piano and guitar, and I’ve been known to sing” Draco told her with a smile, before he laughed, “Just randomly in a park” he confirmed easily, “I’d like to think it was destiny”
Destiny was fine and good, he supposed. “If you’d prefer to think of something more gripping for our meeting, feel free,” Zuko said, taking one of the glasses of the clear, fizzy soda. “Craigslist. Secret Spy Mission. Whatever.” But really, he’d just walked up to Draco and stared one day. It wasn’t the most entertaining of stories but it was the truth.
“I’ll think of the two of you as Secret Spies.” Severus said, then gulped from his soda. It went along with some of his dreams of Draco, anyway. The undercover work that the harried boy was doing behind the scenes. He turned and pressed a kiss against Romana’s hair.
“I guess that’s a much more interesting story to tell grandchildren,” Romana agreed with a smile. “The destiny thing is good. I like that.” She supposed she could say the same of her own meeting with Severus. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened really.
It may not be entertaining but it was theirs and Draco was happy with it though he smiled at Zuko and Snape’s idea of secret spies. Draco found it ironic and somewhat worrying that children had been mentioned again but showed no outward sign of it. “So how about you two?” he asked, “What’s your exciting story?”
Zuko felt likewise, but hid it well enough with a thin press of his lips together. He nodded, bumped his shoulder into Draco’s and rose an eyebrow. “Impress us with your tale,” he agreed lightly.
“It’s not really all that impressive,” Severus said, though for a moment he imagined making something up might be more fun than telling the real thing. “There was this burning building, see,” he said, and turned to give Romana the tiniest of smirks--one that only his wife would recognise. “And an oak tree. Oh, and a red wagon.”
Romana snorted slightly and shook her head. “If there was a burning building, I’m afraid that I’d have to save you instead of the other way around. You’re hopeless.” Smirk or not, she laughed. “We were set up by some friends actually. Don’t you listen to him and his stories. Though I do like the idea of you being a damsel in distress, dear.”
"Having now met you, Romana, I have to say I can definitely see you as the rescuer rather than the rescued" Draco told her with a grin, "I imagine he'd be lost without you, I know I would be without Zuk"
This conversation had gone to the gods of sappiness entirely too quickly, and so Zuko only snorted out an embarrassed little laugh before sipping at his drink and paying some mighty special attention to his shoes.
Severus also didn’t really like the way the conversation was headed. First he was a damsel in distress, then there was sappiness oozing out of every word. He simply shook his head. “The important part was the wagon.” He argued, then shrugged his shoulders. “It was a business associate of mine, actually.” He didn’t really have friends.
Romana looked quite pleased that someone was agreeing with her. “Why thank you. I try.” And lord knew that she was a rescuer a lot of the time in her dreams. “Is dinner actually ready? Because I’m starving. And if you don’t feed me soon, I’ll just get myself something else to eat.”
Draco rubbed his thumb along Zuko's skin where his hand was resting partly in acknowledgement that he'd gotten a little sappy and partly in apology for it. "Sna...Severus says that you don't have too long to go now" he said gesturing to her stomach in a vague way, "Are you all ready?"
Severus nodded. “Make your way into the dining room. I’ll serve dinner in there. It’s ready.” He left the younger men alone with his very pregnant wife so he could go dish up the lasagna and put the plates on the table. It was already set and ready to go.
Romana hefted herself up out of the chair and gestured for everyone to follow to the dining room. “I have about ten more weeks to go. Which is both forever and far too far away and really close at the same time. It depends on what kind of mood I’m in. I’m definitely ready for this to be over though.” That was for sure. She sat down in her chair. “I guess we’re ready. They say it’s easier with your second, so I’m really hoping so.”
Draco stood and followed Romana to the dining room, hand in Zuko’s while he held his drink in the other hand. “I’m sure you’ll be absolutely fine. You house is lovely by the way” he added, in a slight attempt to change the subject. He didn’t want Zuko to think he was trying to talk about children, it just seemed rude not to mention it when she was so obviously pregnant.
Zuko didn’t really think that Draco was wrong on that account. He just had a hard time with vague pleasantries. Although he’d learned to be more polite and less blunt over the years, it was still hard to find a reason to actively pretend to care about things he wasn’t exceptionally interested in. It was no fault on anyone’s part, really.
“It smells good,” he attempted, sitting down and watching as Snape set everything on the table. “Whenever I try cooking, I end up setting things on fire.” No really, he did. Not even on accident: he simply just lost his temper and firebended things when he got annoyed.
“In my line of work,” Severus responded, not unkindly, “it’s very important to have things precise. Working in the kitchen is a lot like working in the lab. Following instructions is key. Knowing exactly how hot the oven should be, and how long the food should cook, et cetera.” He started in on his dinner once they were all seated and had plates in front of them.
“Thank you, Draco.” Romana nodded her head a bit in agreement. “It does smell good and I’m starving. I’m always starving. I have that habit of setting things on fire too.” Though she didn’t have any fire powers or anything. “He’s the cook, not me.” She gestured for them to go ahead and eat as she did herself.
Draco grinned at Zuko, remembering the incident with the saucepan - luckily it hadn’t been one he was fond of. “Yeah, either I cook or we get takeout” he said before beginning to eat.
“I don’t mind being hopeless,” Zuko said, spearing some lasagna with his fork. “That just means the local restaurants know me by voice when I call in.” There was something to be said about being predictable anyway.
“There’s something to be said for being known.” Severus responded. They all tucked in to their lasagna.