"Mmmm...good morning." Severus opened one eye as a warm hand worked its way across his chest, grazing a nipple before drawing him close.

"Good morning to you to," he replied with a sleep smile. Even after nearly five years of marriage, he still found the sight of Hermione's curly mop more endearing than infuriating.

A warm kiss pressed to his shoulder. "Happy birthday, love."

He huffed out a breath. "Thank you. No surprises this year, right?"

A throaty chuckle rumbled through her. "Not after last year. It took Ronald three weeks before the limp went away last time."

"You should know better than to throw a surprise party for a former spy. You're lucky I didn't curse all of our friends into bits."

She made an agreeable little noise in her throat. "Actually, I think Harry rather enjoyed himself. It's rare that he gets the chance for a good duel these days. I think you and Filius are about the only ones that can give him a run for his money, and Filius isn't as quick as he used to be."

Severus shrugged, but silently preened under his wife's compliment. "Age catches up to us all."

He looked down at his smirking wife as she wormed her hand under the covers. "Hasn't caught up with you yet, has it?" The feel of her dainty fingers brushing over his sex sent a shudder of pure pleasure through his spine.

"With you around, I doubt that will ever get old," he said, flipping her onto her back and nestling between her legs. He was gratified to find her wet and more than willing as he slid home. He thrust against her gently, thinking all the while of how lucky he was to have this woman in his life - this brilliant, beautiful, mad-haired, bossy woman who'd made his life too complete for words.

Happy birthday to me indeed.

❈ SS/HG ❈

Much, much lated they emerged from a shared bath. He smiled inwardly at the sight of his naked, pink-skinned wife rooting around in the bottom drawer for a pair of the ever-present pajama bottoms that she wore around their rooms. Her pert, heart-shaped bottom had a certain somebody stirring once again and Severus wondering if he might convince his wife to go for round two before brunch.

After all, it was his birthday.

The quick glance she sent him as she shimmied into the stretchy leggings (yoga pants, she called them) and a skimpy little tank that left nothing - including his wife's response to the room's ambient temperature - to the imagination, had him adjusting himself slightly and standing at attention. She giggled and walked forward, placing a little kiss on his lips. "Somebody's feeling frisky today."

"It's my birthday," he said with a lascivious sneer. "And you are the one who insists on celebrating it every year."

"Well, we can't neglect the birthday boy, can we?" she purred, skimming her hand over his rapidly swelling cock. "It's a good thing I didn't plan a birthday brunch instead of a birthday dinner. Come on, you, back to bed." So saying, she walked him backward until his knees hit the bed and he fell onto the soft mattress with a muffled oomph. She then proceeded to use her lips and hands and fingers to such great effect that he was positive she must be possessed by the kinky spirit of some long-dead Hogwarts ghost.

They didn't get to brunch for quite awhile.

❈ SS/HG ❈

Severus' birthday afternoon was spectacular.

Truly, truly spectacular.

His wife had treated him to an all-out fuck-fest the likes of which he hadn't experienced since their too-short honeymoon nearly five years before. First she'd slipped him something vaguely fruity tasting in his morning mimosa...then they'd proceeded to devour one another in multiple permutations on the settee, on the counter of the kitchenette, against the study door, then on the study floor, on the bloody balcony (thank Merlin for warming charms), in the bath, and finally back in bed.

"What the hell was in that mimosa?" he finally panted, desperately hoping that his back wouldn't give out.

Hermione gave him a look that could only be described as cat-in-cream. "The first half of your birthday present - a little concoction that I brewed up that acts as one part endurance potion, one part lust potion, and one part intermittent muscle relaxant." He cocked a brow at that last. "So you wouldn't cramp up!" she giggled.

"If you bottled that and sold it we'd be rich inside a week."

She laughed outright. "If I bottled that and sold it half of Britain would be waked within that week. No, that brew is my little secret and only for very special occasions." She sat up and gave his arse a very satisfying thwack before moving toward the armoire. "You should get dressed. With have dinner with the gang in an hour."

He pouted, though his would be the first hex if anyone had dared called it that. "Must we?"

"Don't you want the other half of your present?" she asked innocently.

He sneered ."Is it anything like my first half?"

"Maybe. But you won't find out until after dinner. Come on, love. Time to be sociable."

He heaved himself out of their very rumpled bed with a little sigh. "You knew when you married me that I'm not exactly what one would call sociable."

"Ah, but you knew when you married me that I am…and that I am also exceptionally bossy." She moved toward the bath to apply her makeup calling over her shoulder, "wear the green shirt. We're going Muggle tonight."

With an exasperated shake of his head, Severus moved to the armoire to comply.

❈ SS/HG ❈

Dinner had actually been very enjoyable. They'd gone out to his favorite restaurant for a formal Moroccan meal. Tagines of lamb and chicken curries, couscous, and vegetables had littered the table as everyone scooped the delicious offerings up with warm bread and sipped at mint tea. Conversation had roamed form a discussion of the Longbottom children's latest accomplishments, Ronald Weasley's experience testing the newest Nimbus broomstick, Harry and Draco's planned vacation to the Bahamas the next week, and Hermione's plans for the Transfiguration curriculum next year. By the time they'd consumed the traditional shortbread and sesame cookies and stuffed dates, they were all feeling sated and overfull.

Severus clutched a bag of gifts from all who'd attended the meal - books, mostly, though Neville had included some dried moonflower petals that would be very useful in one of his experiments. They bade the other couples a good night at the end of the meal and ambled their way toward the apparation point before going their separate ways.

By the end of the night, a very happy, very full, and very sated Severus was curled up on the bed with his wife, watching as she managed to wrangle her hair into a messy plait. "So I hate to ask," he began, "because it seems ungrateful after the wonderful day you've given me...but you said something about part two of my gift?" He gave her a look that was equal parts practiced disinterest and twelve-year-old boy waiting for a treat.

Hermione snickered and reached into her nightstand, pulling out a flat wrapped gift. "It's actually something for both of us, but it isn't ready yet."

Sending her a curious look, Severus unwrapped a stiff envelope with from a Muggle photoshop. WIth furrowed brow, he tore the envelope open and removed the photo.

Slowly, he raised his eyes to Hermione's face, an incredulous smile spreading across his features. "Our side project?"

"We've finally had some success, yes," she said with a smile of her own.

"When?" he choked out.

"Late June."

Severus reached for his wife, his love, and buried his overlarge nose in her hair, breathing in her sweet scent as he uttered the only thing he could think of. "I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Severus," she said in reply. A wave of her hand extinguished the candles that lit their room as her husband tucked her into his embrace more tightly. The photograph fluttered to the floor, a stray shaft of moonlight illuminating the simple image on its front.

A little piece of plastic shone under the glossy finish with the word "Pregnant" clearly visible under its clear window.