It was silly. It really was, Harry thought as he trudged through the mud towards the forbidden forest. It was raining and he was drained. It was his own fault, though. Why in Merlin's name had he decided to storm outside after his argument with Severus? He could have gone to the astronomy tower or he could have visited his friends in their quarters. Hell, he could have flooed somewhere.
Maybe Severus assessment of him hadn't been that far off. A foolish, stupid child was just one of the things he'd called him. And if he was honest with himself, he was more disappointed by his partner than he was angry.
He had foolishly though that they were both adults and would be able to have a calm discussion about the state of their relationship. They had been a couple for over a year now, and Harry had felt comfortable enough to discuss what was bothering him with Severus. He had thought that Severus would be at least mature enough to have a civil conversation. He had though that they each could tell the other person a few things that were bothering them, so they could both work on it, together.
The conversation had been going alright until Harry had expressed that he would like a bit more romance in their relationship. He loved Severus more than he could ever express with words, but the man was rather pragmatic and affectionate actions were limited to their quarters. Going out for dinner or taking a walk around the castles grounds at night were things they'd barely ever done. He could count on one hand the times they had been out for dinner. He only needed three fingers.
Harry understood that Severus valued his privacy and he accepted it. To be honest with himself, he rather welcomed it. Harry had had enough experiences with having his private life plastered around newspapers. He wouldn't want to force his partner to talk about their relationship to the public nor did he expect Severus to accompany him to the countless gatherings and feasts the ministry invited him to. He didn't go there himself most of the times either.
All he had expected was a little effort of the man he loved. Harry didn't particularly like potions, but he made a point in asking Severus how his research was coming along. While he was a tidy person by nature, for Severus their quarters had to be pristine, so he made the effort to be an even tidier person. Harry liked his quarters to be tastefully decorated, Severus thought it was a waste of space and only cluttered the room, so Harry kept his decorations to a minimum of a few photos. He was making an effort to accommodate Severus' whishes, but he didn't feel like the other man was doing the same.
After Harry had expressed his wish for some more romance, Severus had just brushed him off and told him that romance was for foolish and stupid teenagers, that he was acting like a child, that he shouldn't act like a pathetic and needy woman. Harry had just sat there stunned, his mouth gaping at Severus' harsh and cold words. He had told his partner that his words had hurt him, but the man had just sneered at him and stormed out of the room, telling him that he should better leave if he wanted romantic dinners, because he wasn't going to get them here with him.
At first, Harry had felt the urge to cry. Then he'd grown angry. How could Severus so hastily throw away their relationship? He had done it with so much ease that Harry had wondered if this relationship had ever been something serious for the other man.
Harry hastily wiped his face, not that his tears would be noticed in the rain. He stopped walking and looked around, he'd lost track of his surroundings while he had been deep in his thoughts. If he were to take a guess, he'd say that he was somewhere in the forbidden forest. Sighing, he grabbed his wand to cast a lumos. The forest lit up with a gentle, warmly glowing light. Harry turned around to get a feeling of where he was.
Not recognizing anything familiar, his shoulders dropped and he started to trudge in the general direction he had come from. He'd only walked a few steps when something wrapped itself around his waist. His body went instantly rigid and he tried to turn around to face whatever was attacking him. The hold was too strong though, so he tried to be as still as possible. Whatever was holding him strengthened its hold and Harry noticed that it was rather large and solid. Just as he was about to try and fight again, he caught a whiff of a very familiar smell. Sandalwood, herbs, coffee and a slight bit of smoke. Severus!
He relaxed, before tensing again. The relief of not being attacked by something dangerous vanished and the anger and disappointment over their argument returned. Before he could say anything however, he felt how Severus nuzzled his face into his hair and let out a deep, shuddering breath.
"I am so sorry", his voice was raspy and full of emotions. "I didn't mean it."
Harry relaxed slightly. Severus had apologized and he sounded more than genuine. He'd never heard this much emotions in the other man's voice.
"Then why did you say it?, Harry asked after a few moments of silence.
"I was scared. I never had a relationship that was so important to me. While we were talking, I realized that you had put so much effort into our relationship to accommodate me and my wishes while I didn't even notice that you were missing something. I am so used to living alone and not having to compromise when it comes to my ways of living that it didn't occur to me, that your way of living would be different and we would need to compromise. I had the better end of this relationship all the time. While I was content and didn't have to change much in order to live with you, you felt uncomfortable and weren't very content with the way things were. I was scared that you wouldn't want to put up with it anymore, that you wouldn't want to put up with me anymore."
"Why did you tell me to leave?"
"I thought it would be easier to send you away than hearing you say that you want to leave. Stupid, right?" Harry tucked his wand away and placed his hands over Severus', which were resting against his stomach, squeezing them slightly.
"The most stupid thing I've ever heard you say", Harry agreed readily. He felt how his partner relaxed a little.
He was able to turn around now, so he did. He wanted to see Severus face, but took a sharp breath as he saw that he had been crying, too. Slowly his hands moved to gently grab Severus' face, brushing away the wet strands of hair that were plastered across his cheek.
"Oh Severus", Harry's voice was soft, a tone of sadness sounding in it. "I am content with how things are. I'm living with the man I love, I don't necessarily need anything else. Yes, I would like us to go out more and I would like to be able to decorate our quarters. But I can understand that it isn't easy for you to change how things are after living alone for such a long time. I know that you need time to adapt to this. That's why I wanted to talk about what was bothering us, so we could be on a common ground." His fingers gently caressed Severus face.
"I wouldn't leave you over something like that, you stupid git. I love you." Severus' hands came to rest over his.
"I love you too, Harry. I am sorry, I will try to accommodate more of your wishes and requests."
Harry smiled slightly and leaned in to press a gentle kiss against Severus lips. Strong arms were wrapped around his waist, pulling him close against Severus chest. After a little while Severus started to sway slightly, still holding him close.
"What are you doing?", Harry chuckled softly.
"You said you wanted more romance. I thought dancing in the rain underneath the full moon was quite romantic", a slight smile played around Severus mouth as he said this. Harry looked up, noticing the globes of warm light dancing around the forest clearing. Up above was the full-moon shining down on them, and Harry grinned as Severus flicked his wrist and soft music started to play around them.
"It's perfect!", he pressed another soft kiss against Severus lips before laying his hands on his shoulders and his head against his chest. Severus arms stayed wrapped around his waist, his face buried in Harry's hair.
That's how a certain tabby cat, whom Severus had sought out after their argument, left them as she slinked away: Dancing in the rain.