Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all the characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Good Night, My Rose

Turning the sign over so that the 'Closed' side faced the street, Rosie Weasley stared out through the glass before spinning around on her heels with a huff. Doing her best to ignore the knowing looks of her employees Rosie wasn't going to admit, even for a second, that she was the least bit bothered by the fact that Sev Daimon had stopped coming by her store. And if she was a little bothered than that was only logical, she thought stubbornly, as she gave her shop one last look over for anything that needed to be dealt with. After all, the man had been practically stalking her since their seventh year at Hogwarts and that had been three years ago. Anyone would feel a little out of sorts if someone who'd been hounding them that long suddenly decided they weren't worth being hounded anymore.

That must be it, Rosie thought as she automatically pushed some stray hair back into their pins. He'd just gotten sick of chasing after her and had given up, which was what she'd been telling him to do for three years anyway. She should be absolutely thrilled that he'd finally decided to listen to her for once.

So why did she feel so damn miserable?

As mad at herself as she was at the Slytherin Rosie headed to the back of her bakery, all but ripping her apron off as she absently returned the good nights of her departing staff. Alone with her thoughts once they were gone Rosie couldn't help but notice the three large bakery boxes sitting on one of the counters, taunting her. Daimon's bakery boxes. He'd always come in every day for treats, buying so much of her stuff that Rosie figured he was pure metabolism to not be fat at this point. That or he wasn't human, which was far more likely in her opinion.

Walking over to them angrily Rosie ran a finger over the top of one of the boxes. She should have stopped making extra for him after the third day he didn't show up. But it was so automatic to her now that she didn't even think about it any more. And what was she supposed to do with all this chocolate?

The longer Rosie stared down at the boxes the angrier she became. Sev Daimon could just go to hell as far as she was concerned. He'd be right at home, the bastard. And damn him, he was going to pay for the time she'd spent making him things he couldn't be bothered to come and eat!

Determined and with a plan now Rosie got her jacket and bag and then lifting the boxes into her arms headed out of her shop and into the cool evening air.

She was a woman on a mission.

)

The former Slytherin lived less than a block away from her home, a deliberate choice on his part. Daimon was-he had always, Rosie corrected, used that as an excuse to come over and nag her into providing him with food and conversation. He knew her townhouse as well as she did and he'd even had the nerve to tell her how she should have decorated it. Like he knew anything about decorating! She'd been to his townhouse too and it was about as welcoming and homey as a hospital. All the essentials were there, but that sure as hell didn't make it a place you'd want to live. Not that he spent much time in any of the rooms except for the lab he'd built in the basement. She had a sneaking suspicion that he even lived down there and only had a bedroom to appear somewhat normal. Not that she'd ever seen his bedroom except for that one time and that had just been…curiosity. And he sure as heck hadn't been with her when she'd snuck a peek.

If it weren't for his house elf the whole place would probably be a complete mess, with him never coming out of the basement for anything but food.

Abruptly remembering him mentioning the recent death of said elf Rosie wondered if that might not be why the man hadn't been around lately. Maybe he was too lazy to hire a new one and had been trying to take care of himself. Stupidly happy to have come up with such an explanation the elation quickly died as Rosie reminded herself that the man was far too arrogant to let himself be reduced to menial tasks. Anything not lab related was pretty much beyond his notice or care.

Well other than her and her baking, but apparently it was just his lab now, the jerk.

Marching up to his door Rosie shifted the boxes to one hand so that she could ring his bell. When there was no answer she knocked loudly and then rang again when there was still no answer. Frowning when he still refused to come to the door Rosie considered the possibility that he'd gone somewhere and hadn't bothered to tell her about his plans. He wasn't normally that inconsiderate though.

And if that was it…and he still wanted her to marry him…wouldn't he know better than to go away considering her birthday was in two days? You did not show your love and desire by ditching a girl just before a special occasion and even he knew that.

Not that he desired or loved her. He reserved those emotions for her brownies.

)

Knowing how to find out where he was Rosie set the boxes down on the stoop and then sat down beside them, pulling out her cell phone from her jacket. Dialling her cousin's home number Rosie was grateful when it was Scorpius who picked up, since he was the one she needed to talk to. And who would have thought a Weasley would ever be glad to speak to a Slytherin, the Gryffindor thought with a smile as she returned Scorpius's hello. But since the Slytherin was living with someone who was half Weasley Rosie supposed he didn't count.

"Hey, Scorpius, I just have a quick question for you."

"Shoot." Scorpius returned and then mouthed Rosie's name to his man as Albus came over to find out who was calling them. Smiling as his lover's arms wrapped around him Scorpius leaned back against Albus's broad chest as he listened to Rosie's question about Sev's whereabouts.

"No, he should be there. Maybe he's out getting food since he still hasn't replaced his house elf yet. You know he hates to cook." Which made no sense, given Sev's love of mixing up potions, but apparently the man only liked making things that had repercussions to the consumer. "He didn't say anything to me about going anywhere."

"That's what I figured, but I thought I'd ask."

Like everyone else Scorpius knew that Sev had worn Rosie Weasley down to the point that only pride kept her from accepting one of his friend's many and creative proposals. She was head over heels for his best friend, but refused to admit it to anyone, least of all herself. The whole family was betting as to when she'd give in, and Scorpius had a feeling that might be sooner rather than later when Rosie explained how he had stopped coming around her shop. Looks like Charlie would win the pot, given how upset her voice was. Sev would be thrilled to learn he'd been missed.

"Hmm, that isn't like him." Scorpius agreed finally, doing his best to ignore Albus's lips, which were currently paying loving attention to his neck. "Would you do me a favour and check on him, just in case? You know some of the stuff he handles is dangerous and he mentioned he'd given you a key in case of emergencies."

He hadn't given her the key; he'd snuck the key onto her key ring without her noticing two years ago.

But Scorpius did have a point, Rosie thought as she absently chewed on her bottom lip. Daimon was far too arrogant and cocky, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that he'd gotten in over his head with one of his experiments. What if he was hurt? What if he hadn't been able to come to her store because...

"Okay, I'll let myself in and make sure he hasn't turned himself into a pile of slime." And that better be the worst he'd done to himself or else.

"Thanks." And since Albus was currently undoing the buttons of his shirt Scorpius figured it was wise to say good bye and hang up before he wasn't capable of talking in even sentences. Quickly saying good bye Scorpius assured her that if Sev had turned himself into said pool of slime he'd come over and deal with his messy best friend.

Pressing the off button after saying good bye Rosie sighed, returning the phone to her jacket pocket. She was stuck and worried now.

Shaking her head Rosie retrieved her key ring and selecting the right one inserted it into the lock, opening the door wide before entering with the boxes. Not bothering to call out Rosie headed straight for the kitchen, not surprised to see not a single sign of recent use. She doubted anyone had touched it since the poor elf had passed away. The moron had probably been living on take out ever since.

After depositing the baked goods on his counter Rosie headed for the door that led down to the basement, knowing that that was the most logical place to start looking.

As soon as she opened the door Rosie reeled back from the smells that assaulted her senses. Eyes widening Rosie couldn't say the various scents were unpleasant, but there were so many of them, all competing for her to register and appreciate them. What on earth?

Forcing herself to ignore the smells Rosie headed down into the lab, spotting the man immediately.

The Slytherin was slumped over the desk with his head rested against his folded arms. His hair was horrible mushed, there were some interesting stains on his shirt, and the papers beside the man's head shifted with his slow, even breathing.

He'd fallen asleep while working.

Shaking her head Rosie walked over, curious to see what he was working on that had so consumed him. Well that and he had a large quill nearby in some ink, stirring within her the childish urge to use it to write all over the berk's face for worrying her even for a moment.

Resisting the childish urge Rosie reached out to pick up the papers, brows drawing together as she saw that it listed the ingredients for a potion and then detailed the scent the ingredients created when mixed together for said potion. Flipping through all the sheets she found that they were all the same in that aspect. A list of ingredients and than observations about the scent, how long it lasted, and it's appeal.

"What on earth are you up to?" Rosie murmured to herself as she looked up from the sheets to stare at him.

Wandering over Rosie studied the vials around him, determining that they were indeed filled with various herbs that were often used for their appealing scents, like roses, cinnamon, lavender and such. But why would he care about how they smelled? It wasn't like Daimon was in the…perfume business.

Blinking Rosie looked all around, understanding dawning. That was what he was trying to do. He was trying to create a perfume of some sort. But why?

Crossing her arms in front of her Rosie moved to study the rest of the lab, her eyes catching sight of an ornamental glass bottle whose middle was shaped to resemble a rose. Hurrying over in delight Rosie lifted it off it's shelf to get a better look, her eyes widening when she saw what was written at the bottom of the bottle.

Her name.

"Oh."

Placing her free hand over her mouth Rosie stared at the bottle, all the pieces falling into place as she turned to glance in the man's direction.

That was what he was working so hard on.

He was creating a perfume for her. For her birthday.

)

Waking with a groan a groggy Sev slowly got to his feet, wincing as he tried to stretch out the kinks without much luck. He was starving and nearly back asleep on his feet, he thought with tired amusement. Thinking to grab a quick bite before heading to his bed Sev took in his appearance with a shrug, tugging off his shirt as he walked. It smelled like all the damn scents he'd been creating and it made his head spin. Tossing it over a cabinet Sev was too tired to care about putting it somewhere properly.

Making his way up the stairs with the help of the railing Sev let himself out, blinking as he looked blearily around in a daze. Inhaling deeply at the smells that seemed to be coming from the kitchen Sev's eyebrows hit his hairline as he staggered over to the kitchen doorway, spotting the causer of the smells.

Staring into the room Sev blinked several times, staring in shock at the foreign sight in front of him. There, standing at his stove, was Rosie Weasley. She was wearing an apron and appeared to be cooking something. She was dressed in casual clothes, her hair falling out of the pins she used to keep her hair out of her way when she was working. He loved her hair when it was falling out of its pins. So sexy.

Opening his mouth to ask her what she was doing in his house, in case she was a mirage or a result of inhaling too many fumes, Sev found himself blurting out something else entirely. "Please tell me you're going to feed me."

Without turning around Rosie pointed in the direction of the three bakery boxes. "Nibble on those. Dinner will be ready in five minutes."

Giving thanks to all the spirits and powers known to man Sev stumbled over to the boxes like a man having found an oasis in the desert. Ripping off the top of the first box Sev moaned in thanks and began stuffing himself, not able to remember the last time he'd had something decent to eat. And damn but he'd missed her baking so much! It had been pure torture not going to the bakery for his usual chocolate fixes, having to hold up in his lab since her damn birthday present was giving him so much trouble.

Perilously close to crying when Rosie came over and closed the box Sev gave her a kicked puppy look, grimacing when she dragged him over to his kitchen table where she'd laid out the stew she'd apparently been making. Which did smell incredible, even if it wasn't made of chocolate.

Scooping up the stew Sev soon got busy with that, mumbling some thanks when she brought over some warmed bread and butter. Taking a slice when she offered it Sev worked his way through a whole bowl before he spoke again.

"Is there more?"

By way of answering Rosie reached out and retrieved his bowl, taking it over to the stove to refill herself. Bringing it back to the table Rosie watched him dig in, getting great pleasure from his love of her cooking. She'd only seen a couple take out containers in the lab, he'd obviously been skipping a lot of meals recently. Shaking her head at his stupidity Rosie turned her attention back to her own dinner and enjoyed the companionable silence. She always liked the man more when he wasn't talking.

Dunking another slice of bread into the stew Sev finally remembered his earlier question. "So what are you doing here? Somehow I doubt you suddenly got the urge to cook for two." But he liked it, her cooking for him because she wanted to. That was a rare thing.

"Scorpius asked me to check on you."

"Oh." That figured. Then another thought occurred to him, one that had panic entering his eyes as he dropped his spoon back into the bowl. "What day is it?" If he'd missed her birthday her being here and cooking for him was understandable. She'd poison him without a qualm.

Understanding him well by now Rosie smiled as she buttered a piece of bread. "Don't worry, my birthday isn't for another two days."

Breathing a sigh of relief Sev picked up his spoon again. He still had time to come up with the perfect scent for her.

)

Finally the stew was all eaten and Rosie got to her feet, walking around the table to hold out her hand to the sleepy, well fed Slytherin. "You're ready to fall asleep in that bowl. Let's get you up to bed, shall we? I put on fresh sheets for you earlier when I was tidying up."

Nodding in agreement Sev let her pull him to his feet, appreciating her arm around his waist as she herded him towards the stairs that would lead to the second level. It was really a shame, Sev thought sleepily, that she only wanted to see his bedroom when he was too tired to take advantage of her. He had yet to find out if Weasley women were as good in bed as she'd claimed all those years ago, but he'd caught her in a weak moment enough times to have gotten a taste of her potential passion.

Hence the fact that he was still trying to marry her despite everything else.

Finally they arrive at his room, stumbling in as Rosie led him over to the bed as he faded out on her. Turning with the intent to slide him down and onto the bed Rosie yelped when he simply flopped down onto the bed, taking her with him in the process. Crashing up against his chest with a thud Rosie's cheeks went pink as his arms came around her, snuggling her close like she was a teddy bear.

"Night, My Rose." He mumbled, falling into slumber as easily as a child.

Sighing Rosie nuzzled her face against his bare chest, relaxing against him as she accepted that she'd never really stood a chance of getting away.

"Damn. Looks like Uncle Charlie's going to win the pot."

The End