Chapter 20

"Luc, why are you so nice to me?" Severus asked one day as the blond man brought breakfast to the table, "I mean, I know we're best friends, but…you treat me like…like I'm special."

"You are special, Sev," Lucius said, looking up from his cup of coffee.

"I'm not," the dark-eyed man said, shaking his head, "I'm not special. I'm just…I'm a burden and…and a poor excuse for a man…I-I can't do anything right, but you still treat me like I'm important. I don't understand."

Lucius's heart broke at the honestly confused look on his friend's face. "Sev…I know that no matter what I say, you won't believe me, not now anyway, but I need you to know that everything Lily said to you over the past four years was a lie. You are very special and important and wonderful. I know it's going to take a while to convince you, but you didn't deserve to be treated so horribly. You did not deserve that. You deserve to be treated like the prince you are."

Tears filled obsidian eyes as the dark-haired man shook his head. "I-I'm…I'm not…I-I don't−"

"Shh," Lucius said, reaching across the table and taking Severus's hand in his own, "I know you don't believe it now, but let me prove it to you. I've seen the curious glances and the subtle hints, and my feelings for you are no secret. Let me love you the way you deserve to be loved, Sev."

"I-I don't know, Luc…I'm still a little confused about my feelings, and it's only been a couple of months since the divorce was finalized…I don't know."

"All I'm asking for is a chance to love you, Sev. We can take things slow. I just want to take care of you. You and your son."

"O-okay," he said unsurely.

"We'll take things slow, Sev, I promise," Lucius said, bringing his friend's hand up to his lips and lightly kissing his knuckles, causing Severus to blush furiously, "Would it be okay if I took you out tonight?"

"L-like on a d-date?"

"Yes. Both of the kids are with their grandparents so we don't have to worry about them. Let me take you out on a date.

"O-okay," Severus said, biting his lip.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. It's just…Lily didn't like to be seen in public with me. I think she was ashamed of me. I…I don't blame her."

Lucius wanted to tell his friend that he was in no way ashamed of him, but he knew that he wouldn't believe him. "Would it make you more comfortable if we just stayed in?" he asked carefully.

"−Y-yeah, we can just−I mean, it's fine. Okay," Severus said, trying to not to sound too hurt. Of course, he changed his mind about the date, he thought sadly, I'm such an embarrassment. Why would he want to take me out on a date? It was stupid to get my hopes up

"I'm not breaking the date, Sev," Lucius said, noticing the hurt look on his friend's face, "You just didn't seem very comfortable with going out, so we were going to have our date here at home."

"Oh." Severus felt so dumb.

"Unless you want to go out. It's up to you. Whatever makes you comfortable."

"I-I'd like to go out," Severus said softly, "I haven't gone out and had fun in a long time."

"Then we're definitely going out," Lucius said, smiling, "I want to see you happy, Sev. I haven't seen you truly happy in a very long time. I want to see you smile."

"I…I want to be happy. I-I want a reason to smile," he said quietly.

"I'll give you a reason," Lucius promised.

Severus spent most of the day worrying about his date with Lucius. What's it like going on a date with another man? Is it like going out with a woman? Where are we even going? What should I wear? I need to know where we're going so I know how to dress. What if I over dress? What if I under dress?

Running a hand through his hair he went in search of Lucius. He looked all over the house, but he couldn't find the blond man anywhere. Maybe he stepped out, he thought, Well, I have to get ready soon. It's almost six o' clock.

By six-thirty, Severus was dressed in an emerald green cashmere sweater with a pair of black fitted trousers and black casual-type dress shoes. He had borrowed a bit of Lucius's volumizing shampoo so his long ebony hair fell to his shoulders in silky waves. He was standing in front of the mirror running his fingers though his hair when there was a knock at the front door. Wondering who it could be and still wondering where Lucius was, he went to answer the door. Opening the door, he was surprised to find Lucius standing there in a pair of black trousers and a grey turtleneck jumper underneath a black blazer.

"I don't usually bring my date flowers, but I thought you might like them," Lucius said, holding out the bouquet to the shocked man.

"Thank you," Severus stammered, taking the flowers, "They're beautiful, but…what's going on, Luc? Where have you been all day?"

"At my mum's house getting ready for our date," he said, grinning, "I know it sounds sappy or cheesy, but I wanted to come pick you up and surprise you with flowers like a real date."

"That's sweet," Severus said softly.

"So, are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah. Just let me put these in some water and grab my jacket." Severus quickly found a vase and filled it with water before he stuck the flowers inside and grabbed a light pea coat jacket.

Lucius locked up the house before leading Severus to his car and opening the door for him.

"Thank you, Luc," he said softly as he got into the car.

"You're welcome, Sev. And by the way, you look gorgeous," the blond said, grinning as his friend/date ducked his head to hide the blush on his cheeks.

"Y-you look really nice too," Severus mumbled, biting his lip.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I, Sev? With the flowers and compliments and stuff?" Lucius asked worriedly as they rode down the street.

"N-no…no, I'm just…I'm not used to it."

"Not used to sweet gestures or not used to them coming from another man?"

"Um both…Even before things went…bad with Lily, I was the one who did stuff like that, not her. It's…different having nice things like that done for me. It's almost like…I'm the woman. A-am I?"

"No, Sev. Just because two guys are together, that doesn't mean one of them has to be "the woman." That's not how it works. Look at your friends, Remus and Sirius. Do either of them act more feminine than the other?"

"No, they both do sweet things for each other."

"Exactly. It doesn't have to be that one does more for the other or one's more feminine or anything like that. It's just that I'm more experienced than you. But once you're more comfortable, you are more than welcome to take me out and buy me flowers. I just don't expect that of you now because you're still figuring this out. You might even realize that you don't even want this or that this isn't for you."

"It's not that I'm confused about because I'm not, at least, no anymore. I like you, Luc. I know that. It's just…different. But I want to get used to it because I don't want to stop liking you. Liking you makes me happy."

"Liking you makes me happy too, Sev," Lucius said, smiling and grabbing Severus's hand with his free hand.

Smiling shyly, the dark-haired man intertwined his fingers with the blonde's. "Luc, where are we going?" he asked after a few moments.

"You'll see."

Realizing that that was all he was going to get out of the grey-eyed male, he looked down at their intertwined hands in his lap, absently playing with the blonde's fingers.

Glancing at his date out of the corner of his eye, Lucius smiled as how unbelievably cute he was. Has he always been this adorable? He thought to himself.

After several more minutes of driving, they finally arrived at their destination. Severus's eyes widened as he stepped out of the car, aided by Lucius. He made no move towards the building with the fancy sign that read Coraline's.

"Luc, how−This is one of the most prestigious restaurants in the city. How did you get reservations here? And on such short notice?" he stammered.

"Remember my cousin, Cora?" Lucius said, grinning.

"Cora−you mean, Coraline is…This is your cousin's restaurant?"

"Yes, and I've ensured that this will be the night of your life, Sev," he said, grabbing his hand and leading him inside, where they were immediately seated by Coraline herself.

They got a few looks as they never let go of each other's hands even after they were seated. Lucius was able to ignore it, but Severus was hyper aware of the people watching them. He bit his lip as he pulled his sweaty hand from Lucius's grasp. Lucius wasn't bothered until he noticed his date turning an embarrassing shade of red.

"Sev, what's the matter?" he asked worriedly.

"People keep…looking at us," he whispered, "I can feel them staring. Doesn't it bother you?"

"Only because it's bothering you so badly."

"I'm sorry. I'm just not used to being stared at like that."

"Do you want to leave?"

"No," he said quickly, "no, I've always wanted to come here. I won't let them ruin this."

"If you're sure."

"I am," the dark-haired man said, smiling timidly.

He looked so cute, Lucius wanted to kiss the shy smile right off his face, but he knew it was too soon for that.

As dinner went on, Severus began to relax a bit more. He eventually forgot about being watched or stared at as the date went on. That was until music began to play and Lucius dragged him over to the dance floor.

"Luc," he stammered, "I don't think−I mean, I don't even−I haven't danced in−"

"Severus, hush, calm down, and dance with me," the blond said in a calm voice.

Shaking and eyes still wide, Severus allowed Lucius to lead him onto the dance floor. Unsure of what to do, he let Lucius position his hands. He was a bit shocked when his hands were placed on the other man's shoulders and Lucius slid his arms around his waist. But as they swayed to the music, his shock turned into contentment, and he found himself resting his cheek against the blonde's.

When the song ended, they made no move to pull away from each other. They just continues to sway gently to the next song and the two after that. After the forth song, they finally pulled away from each other to stare into each other's eyes. As grey bore into black, their faces began to come together until their lips touched lightly in the gentlest kiss either man had ever experienced. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to leave their hearts racing and their lips tingling. They were both lost in their own thoughts as Lucius paid for dinner before they left.

I'd follow this beautiful man anywhere, Lucius thought, He has no idea the hold he has over me.

That kiss…it was short but intense,Severus thought, I could honestly see myself falling for Lucius. Though what he sees in me, I'll never know.

"Where are we going now, Luc? Is…is the date over?" Severus asked hesitantly.

"It's not over yet. At least, not exactly," the blond said, "I know you said you wanted to go out, but you know I'm the biggest homebody you'll ever meet, and I want nothing more than to go home, get into out pajamas and curl up and watch a movie with you."

"I-I like that idea," Severus said, smiling shyly.

"Good," Lucius said, smiling as he grabbed the dark-haired man's hand and kissed it.

When they arrived home, Lucius told Severus to change into something more comfortable while he did the same.

When Severus returned to the sitting room, he found Lucius searching through his collection of movies. He had already changed into a pair of blue plaid pajama bottoms that hung tantalizingly off his lips and a black sleeveless undershirt that stretched deliciously across his broad chest, and his long blond hair was thrown up into one of those perfectly messy ponytails. Severus felt exceptionally plain and unattractive in his plain white t-shirt and faded checkered pajama bottoms that were an inch or two too short. That was, until Lucius turned to him with the biggest smile he had ever seen and said, "I can finally tell you how cute you look in your pjs. Want to pick the movie?"

He didn't see what was so cute about old pajamas that he'd had for almost eight years but the fact that Lucius did made him feel a bit better. Nodding, he went over to where Luc was standing with the movies.

"Pick whatever you want. I'm going to get a sweet," the blond said, giving him a peck on the cheek before heading into the kitchen.

Severus watched him go, his eyes glued to the bit of pale skin visible between the form-fitting undershirt and the low-slung pajama bottoms.

When Lucius returned from the kitchen with a handful of chocolate chip biscuits, Severus was curled up on the sofa staring at the DVD menu for Love Actually. "Nice choice, love," the blond mumbled around a mouthful of biscuit as he sat down beside Severus.

"You have chocolate on your mouth, Luc," was all that the dark-haired man said.

Instead of wiping away said chocolate, Lucius leaned over and pressed his lips against Severus's, smearing chocolate on his mouth as well.

Severus just blushed and grabbed the remote to start the movie.

Lucius laughed and wrapped an arm around the other man, pulling him against his side.