Disclaimer: Not my verse, belongs to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: this is a short drabble about immediately after the war. Not my best work, but I haven't posted anything in awhile, so here it is. :)
Time Between Breaths
Ten seconds. Tick, tick, tick. Ten seconds. The rest of the world counted on him in these ten seconds. Tick...tick...tick. Close your eyes, he told himself. Breathe. Ten seconds. That was enough time. Open your eyes, he reminded himself. Ten seconds. Starting now.
"Avada Kedavra!" It was said in unison, but that did not matter. It only mattered whose curse hit first. Five seconds, the light travelled. Tock, tock, tock. It met in the middle. Prepare yourself, he breathed quietly. Tock...Tock...Tock. Raise your chin, watch him as he falls, he thought proudly. He fell. Ten seconds, and the world was saved.
The cheering erupted, but he was mute to it. He knew he was injured. He felt the blood running down his back. But he couldn't move until someone did it for him. He didn't know who grabbed him or who dragged him away, all he knew was that he was thankful for whoever it was. He closed his eyes and let himself be led from the chaos. He needed to find Ron and Hermione, he thought vaguely. But the thought was quickly replaced as he was let into a warm room that smelled of cinnamon and mint and something spicy. Ron and Hermione could wait, they could all wait. After all they had time, now. More than ten seconds.
"Mr. Potter," The voice said and it was familiar but Harry realized he couldn't see who it belonged to because his glasses got lost in the battle. He vaguely wondered when that had happened. "You foolish boy, you utterly idiotic Gryffindor."
"Severus." Harry breathed. Ten seconds. The pounding in his ears was back. Ten seconds. Tick, tick, tick. Tell him how you feel, his mind screamed. Tick...Tick...Tick. The thin lips are curled into a snarl. Kiss it off, his mind whispered. He had ten seconds or the man would leave. He reached out. Ten seconds. Starting now.
The kiss was fervent and short and Harry pulled back almost immediately. Five seconds, Severus opened his mouth. Tock, tock, tock. The lips returned and Harry gasped. Kiss back, his head told him. Tock...Tock...Tock. Breathe, he reminded himself. He pulled back, panting. Ten seconds, and he was complete.
The clothes started to vanish, but he was intent on those lips. He knew that he should stop and talk. He heard the voice in the back of his head scolding him. But he couldn't think, not yet. So he melted into the other man and sighed. He needed to talk to Dumbledore's portrait. He needed to find Ginny. But he just melted into the other man. It could wait. It could all wait because he had time, now.
"How much time do we have?" The question broke through Harry's lusted mind. A more rational part of his brain knew that the question was how much time they had until Harry had to go answer to the public. But, he was anything but rational at that moment. He did not think when he finally answered. The word just slipped past his kissed lips.
"Forever."