After a moment, Severus' hands gripped his shoulders, pulling him in close as that slender mouth opened to him. It was a long time before Harry pulled back for air. When he did, the panic seemed to have left Severus' gaze. In its place was something new and fragile, a glow that Harry had never had directed at him before.
Sensing how easy it would be to shatter this moment, Harry held still, willing that glow to last.
Eventually Severus broke eye contact, his gaze moving to the nearby nightstand. A muttered spell had the drawer opening, then a small brown jar floated up and over to Harry.
Harry fetched the jar out of the air, before giving Severus a questioning glance.
Severus was still flushed with traces of that blown-away expression lingering in his still open face. After a moment, Severus spread his thighs.
Harry gave a helpless grunt as his erection lost the hard muscle it had been pressed against as his hips fell between Severus' splayed legs.
Shaking with need, Harry opened the jar and drew a generous amount of the white cream onto his fingers. Shifting a bit, he reached between Severus' legs, feeling around until he found what he was looking for.
Severus was as tight as he'd been their first night together. Harry didn't know if it were nerves or if Severus really were that tight naturally, but it was almost like taking a virgin every time.
Tonight was no different. Harry had to work to make that wonderfully snug passage open up to him. They'd never done it face-to-face before. This was the first time he was able to see Severus' expression as he moved his fingers inside him. The only description he could come up with was incandescent. That wonderful glow was back tenfold.
As their gazes touched, Harry had the horrible feeling that this was another thing that most of Severus' previous partners either skipped or rushed through. He knew how easily it could happen. Severus' harsh personality defied tenderness, and most wizards weren't interested in anything but fucking when they encountered someone willing to bottom.
When he felt Severus was loose enough, Harry quickly coated his own cock. He hardly ever did it in this position, so there was a moment of awkwardness as he moved between Severus' legs.
To his relief, Severus brought his knees up to his chest, tilting his butt upwards for easy access. Taking hold of Severus' bony hips, Harry positioned himself and carefully nudged into Severus. He'd never been as conscious of anything as he was that dark gaze watching his every move.
The resistance was greater face to face, the penetration deeper. It was a slow glide inwards. Harry looked up at Severus' face, hoping that he wasn't hurting him, and found himself snared by those glittering black eyes.
He literally felt like he was falling into Severus' gaze. Only, it wasn't dark and bottomless like it always seemed. Tonight it was warm and embracing. As Harry sank deeper into Severus' body, pressing in until his pelvis bone and balls were crushed tight to Severus' butt, he'd never felt more welcomed anywhere.
Harry strained forward for a kiss, but he was too damn short to make the stretch. Severus' hand left his shoulder to cup the back of his head, and then Severus was straining up to meet his mouth.
Their lips locked onto each other. Severus gave his cock an internal squeeze, and then Harry began to move, his tongue mimicking the motion of his hips. In and out, over and over, they rocked together for what felt like an eternity.
More than the mere physical pleasure, Harry was nearly overwhelmed by his emotional response. Those warm protective feelings were back, only they had sharp edges now, hooks that were digging into his heart and soul, anchoring him to this man and moment as he'd never been tied to anyone or anything in his life.
Harry knew he didn't want this feeling to end, ever. This wasn't like anything he'd ever known. There was a tender quality to it, a totally impossible innocence, that was ripping him to pieces inside. But it was a good kind of destruction, the kind that made way for new growth.
Severus' fingers tensed on his shoulders, those neatly trimmed nails digging into the skin. A heartbeat later Severus broke the kiss with a cry, spraying his warm seed onto Harry's chest.
The tight channel gripping him quivered in reaction to Severus' orgasm, the sensation pushing Harry over the edge. Burying his face in the nook of Severus' shoulder and neck, Harry groaned as his body shook with pleasure. He felt liquefied. Like every bone had melted under the blazing ecstasy, and all that he was rushed into Severus as spurt after spurt of delight rocked through him.
When it was over, he collapsed on top of Severus. Severus spread his knees wide apart so that Harry landed on his chest rather than on his bony legs. Then those long legs wrapped intimately around Harry's waist and Harry was cocooned in that beloved scent and warmth.
Harry gave a mental start at the adjective his pleasure-blasted mind had chosen to define Severus' familiar smell and heat. Beloved. He'd never been close enough to anyone to employ that word before. As weird as it was to even consider using it to define Snape, there was no way Harry could deny the truth throbbing through his veins with every rushed beat of his heart.
'Beloved' fit. It wasn't something he could ever tell Severus, but it was true and Harry didn't even try to deny it as he laid there totally drained, waiting for the world to realign around him as he fought for each breath.
The oxygen finally seemed to return to the room. Thinking that Severus might like to sample some of it without eight stone weighing down his chest, Harry shifted most of his weight onto the mattress, leaving only his right side resting gently against Severus.
Only afterwards did Harry realize that it was unusual that Severus hadn't pushed him off before that. However, when he glanced up at Severus' face, Severus appeared as overwhelmed as he felt.
Normally, as soon as they ended, they'd be at it again. Tonight was different. Harry felt like every ounce of his energy and magic had been transferred into Severus when he came, and Severus' weary, wary expression seemed to indicate that he was suffering a similar drain.
This was when Harry would usually clear out, when the sex was over for the night, as it now seemed to be.
Severus seemed to be waiting for him to do just that; although the tension gripping his body and the tight set of his face told Harry that it wasn't something Severus particularly desired.
They'd broken through a lot of barriers tonight, gone places that neither of them had ever imagined visiting, at least not together. Harry figured that smashing down one more wouldn't be that big a deal. Or at least he hoped it wouldn't. He felt so open right now that a rejection might crush him.
Reaching out to brush the long hair clear of Severus' eyes, Harry softly asked, "Can I stay?"
"What?" Severus appeared completely distracted by the touch.
Encouraged by that helpless reaction, Harry explained, "Can I stay the night here with you?"
Even after what they'd shared, Severus seemed surprised by the request. Total shock passed across those strong features before they were schooled to their usual bland set. Severus might be able to control his expression, but he could do nothing about hiding what his eyes revealed.
Even before Severus opened his mouth to speak, the shocked pleasure in his gaze gave Harry his answer.
"If you must," Severus answered, trying for a nonchalance he never achieved.
Grinning, Harry bent down to kiss those pursed lips. It was supposed to be a fast, chaste thank you, but when Harry finally emerged for air a long time later, they were both breathless.
Settling his head on the pillow beside Severus', Harry slung an arm and leg intimately over his companion before letting his eyes sink shut. He thought he could feel Severus staring at him as he drifted off to sleep.
*~*~*
Even before he was fully conscious, Harry was aware that he was under observation. After being an Auror for so long, his self-preservation instincts were as honed as his reflexes. Yet, even as he acknowledged that he was being watched, part of him relaxed as he breathed in the familiar scent on the pillow his nose was squashed against. He couldn't ever recall having known anyone well enough to recognize their scent on the sheets, but even after only a week, Severus' scent was becoming a comforting constant.
Harry cracked an eyelid open. Sure enough, Severus was lying on his side several inches away, observing him from across the pillow as though he were the most fascinating sight in the universe. Even half-asleep, Harry couldn't help but note how good Severus looked with his hair all mussed from sex and his naked form peeking sensually out from under the duvet. Unfortunately, Harry's favourite bits were covered.
Grinning, because it felt incredibly decadent to wake beside a lover, Harry croaked out a raspy, "Good morning."
"Mmmmm," Severus gave a non-committal reply.
"Did you sleep at all?" Harry asked.
"Some. I'm not accustomed to sharing a bed," Severus admitted.
Failing to find any true irritation in Severus' voice, Harry said, "Neither am I."
"Yet, you slept like the dead," Severus observed.
Harry smiled. "Guess you wore me out."
To his delight, Severus' cheeks filled with colour. Clearly unsure how to handle this, Severus glanced away.
Loving this unexpected, bashful side of Severus, Harry leaned in to kiss Severus' cheek, wanting to spare the man his morning breath. But Severus' hands rose to frame his face, and the next thing Harry knew, his mouth was being taken in a deep, wet kiss. Neither of them had brushed their teeth yet or performed a teeth cleansing charm, so they were both predictably rough. Still, it was a taste Harry thought he could get used to. He was still a little awed that Severus would initiate the kiss. Up until now, he'd been the one to begin most sexual contact.
He didn't resist as Severus drew him closer, guiding him until he was nestled on top of him. Severus was a somewhat bony cushion, but Harry loved the heat and intimacy of it. Still locked in the kiss, their groins settled carefully together in a sensual press. Harry began to rock his hips, and the world swirled around him as the gentle motion set off blast after blast of delight.
He'd never had a sleepy morning lie in with a lover. Hell, for that matter, he'd never had a lover, not one like Severus, who welcomed him every night and didn't require him to live up to his press. This was . . . wonderful, absolutely perfect.
His body apparently agreed, because within moments, he was spraying his seed over their tight pressed bellies. Since Severus immediately followed suit, Harry didn't feel an apology necessary.
Severus was regarding him as though he expected one to be demanded of him. He looked as though he couldn't quite believe his own temerity.
"God, you're amazing," Harry sighed once they managed to rip their mouths away from each other. To his relief, the worry instantly left Severus' eyes, to be replaced by that light Harry had noticed last night. He wondered if his own reaction were that obvious, and he suspected that he was probably much worse since he'd never been good at hiding his feelings.
"That head injury was quite serious, wasn't it?" Severus shocked him by joking. Beneath his outer cool, Severus looked like he was ready to burst from excitement.
"Sure feels serious from where I'm lying," Harry replied, the words taking on another meaning entirely as they escaped his lips.
Severus' eyebrows tried to climb off his forehead as he obviously absorbed the deeper meaning.
Recognizing his mistake, Harry tried to back paddle with, "Ignore me. My brain doesn't start functioning until my first coffee."
Everything feeling deadly serious at the moment, Harry held his breath, awaiting his fate.
After the longest pause in the history of the universe, Severus offered a painfully self-conscious, "Yet, truth so often seems to escape when we are not at our best."
Severus looked as panicked as Harry felt, even though his face was locked in that non-expression.
The tightness in Harry's chest slowly unfurled as he untangled what the words were really saying. Snape had courage; Harry had to hand it to him. Every time Harry did something stupid and expected Severus to bolt, Severus surprised him by handling it. It meant a lot to him that Severus would offer him that comfort after he'd so stupidly babbled out something that every wizard over the age of fourteen knew better than to voice.
Harry knew the ball was back in his court. He could laugh the whole thing off. That would be the wise thing to do. Instead, he held Severus' gaze and offered a quiet, "Yes, it does."
Right choice.
Though the emotions were clearly too much for Severus to openly address, the way the tension seemed to seep out of his tight-held form spoke volumes.
"Er, what are your plans for the day?" Harry asked, hoping to put things back on a normal footing, as if there were any such thing after waking up in Severus Snape's bed.
Severus drew in a deep breath. "Beyond working in the lab, I hadn't any." Seeming to be mentally reminding himself that conversation was a two-way affair, Severus visibly forced himself to ask, "And you? What are your plans?"
"I play in an amateur Quidditch league. We practice every other Saturday morning. I'll, er, need to get moving soon," Harry said, wishing he could beg off the Quidditch, but he'd been injured two weeks ago and missed the last game.
"Yes, of course," Severus replied, his eyes shifting away, but not before Harry saw the regret in them.
Hoping he wasn't making another tactical error, Harry found himself asking, "Would you like to come watch? A lot of the blokes bring friends and family down. It'll be cold as hell and we'll doubtless freeze our balls off, but I thought we could have lunch afterwards and then maybe take in a show or something."
"A show?" Severus questioned.
"I sometimes go to the Muggle theatre. Hermione used to like it. She said a little culture never hurt anyone. I guess I grew used to going," Harry offered defensively, waiting for the scalding diatribe on what passed for Muggle culture that he knew Snape would have given years ago.
