Title: The Promise
Author: shiori_kawaii aka Anastasia Malfoy McKay Luthor. I know isn't it a mouthful?
Fandom: Crossover BTVS/Harry Potter
Pairing: Rupert Giles/Severus Snape
Rating: PG
Prompt: Friend: "You should do a crossover!" Me: "Yeah what fandoms?" Friend: "Oh I dunno. HP and Buffy? Since you love them so much." Me: "Hell that's not such a bad idea. Ok!" And thus this little story was born.
Summary: A man who has seen too much comes back to a man that has never stopped loving him.

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"So I see you've gotten yourself into something you can't get out of."

The dark haired man glared at the other, silently wishing the entire time that he didn't make that promise oh so many years ago. Staring at the other man now, he realized that time does indeed age a person. But Rupert seemed to have aged with dignity. Unlike himself.

He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, feeling very uncomfortable in his newly bought muggle outfit. But he couldn't wear his wizarding robes outside of Hogwarts. He had a hard enough time there to get people to stop looking at him funny. He definitely didn't need it here on the other side of the ocean.

"I can get out of it just fine. I just thought that I'd make good on that promise I made so that I won't have it hanging over my head."

Rupert just smiled at him. Didn't do anything but smile. To a man like Severus who lived his entire life surrounded by people who couldn't even stand him much less smile at him it was starting to get unnerving.

"Well you certainly picked a long enough time to do it. Waiting all these years… You know you could have come to me sooner don't you?"

Severus stilled himself from fidgeting like he wanted to. The only other man who had ever unnerved him so was Dumbledore. Oh how he despised this man.

"I felt that I had the situation under control. At least to my satisfaction."

Severus tried so very hard not to but he tensed up anyway when Rupert began walking around him like he was the prey. The nerve of that man…

Rupert slowed to a stop a few inches away from Severus. Way too into his personal space for his own liking Severus tried to back up a bit unnoticed. But Rupert…he could always see him like no one else.

"But look how tense you are…" Rupert reached out and touched his arm as if to make his point clearer than it already was. "I've been sitting here all this time, waiting for when you would come back to me again. Why Severus? Why did you wait so long?"

Severus opened his mouth to reply but found that he couldn't. It was a very valid question after all. Why had he waited? All those years…wasted. All those lives…lost. Over fifteen years and counting…

He could feel the tears well up in his eyes and became furious at himself for doing so. He hadn't cried since he was boy at his mother's knee. Before she became indifferent that is. He tried to say something, anything to distract the other man from the fact that he was going to bawl right on his doorstep.

Turns out, Severus didn't have to do a thing.

Rupert reached out and took Severus' hand, drawing him inside his foyer. Before Severus could say anything nasty he found himself buried within the man's arms. He was too shocked to do anything but just lie there within the circle of his arms, listening as the man he loved and lost so many years ago took him back as if nothing had changed. He was stroking his hair and whispering the promise they had made to each other those many years ago over and over.

Severus thought he could listen to him forever.

"I promised you didn't I? I've always loved you. No matter where I am or what I'm doing you can find me. I will never turn you away. I promised…You promised."

Severus felt his head being lifted up and that's when he realized he had buried his head onto Rupert's shoulder. He hadn't even noticed…

"Never you hear me? I will never turn you away."

Severus nodded and let himself be lead into the house. Maybe now he could stop the nightmares. Maybe now he could stop the screaming, the ramblings of a crazed man, the dirty looks he still got to this day.

Maybe now he could just…be.