The next morning, Harry awoke to the sounds of movement in the room above his. He thought that someone had broken in. He laid there, his body tense, waiting for a sound of someone trying to leave. He then remembered the previous night, and what Severus had promised him. When he realized who could have been in the house, he jumped out of bed, threw on a pair of lounge pants, and raced up the stairs.

"Severus! You're back!" Harry said, happily, as he burst through the door. He ran over to the older man and threw his arms around him. Severus chuckled and hugged the younger man in return.

"Good morning, Harry," Severus said, releasing Harry and continuing to put his things away. He didn't notice that Harry was watching him until he glanced over and saw him leaning against the doorframe in just lounge pants. "How did you sleep last night?" he asked, as he tore his eyes away from Harry.

"I slept alright. Better than I have in a few years now," Harry replied, stretching and yawning. He caught Severus staring at his bare chest and smirked to himself. "How come you came back already?"

"I felt like leaving you alone longer than necessary would be a bad decision," Severus replied, his eyes roaming the bare chest before him. When Harry stretched, the muscles pulled taut, showing every curve that much better. He had known that he was attracted to the man in front of him, but he had never realized how deep that went.

"And how long would have been too long?" Harry asked, smiling as his eyes glittering like they had last night. Severus visibly trembled before catching himself and looking away from Harry.

"I'd say any amount of time away from this house would be too long, Harry," Severus said, setting the last item in place. "The only true friend I have ever had not being in an area where I could easily talk to him for any amount of time would be horrible." He looked at Harry, and slowly began walking over to him.

"Oh yeah?" Harry said, amusement in his voice. He crossed his arms over his chest, causing his upper arms to flex. "How did you sleep last night?"

"I did not sleep. I spent all of my time going through my belongings and packing," Severus said as he stepped up to Harry. "I had too many thoughts running through my head about a certain dark haired man and what I'd sincerely like to show him." He slowly placed his hands on Harry's waist, drawing them together. Harry smiled and reached up to slowly place his arms around Severus' neck. When Harry was flush to Severus' body, the two stood in that position for a while, just enjoying the closeness and feelings between them.

"I'm starved," Harry said, slowly pulling away from the other man. "Let's go grab some breakfast."

"Sounds good," Severus replied, a smile on his face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After Harry and Severus had eaten breakfast, and Harry quickly dressed, the two men sat in the living room.

"What did you do with yourself for four years, Severus?" Harry asked.

"I spent the majority of it fighting the urge to come back here. I did not wish to show the weakness I had been afraid of showing for so long," Severus said, his eyes going to his lap. "I did not want to burden you further, and I feared my return would not be well accepted." Harry lifted Severus' chin gently, causing their eyes to meet.

"I wouldn't have minded you coming back, Severus," Harry said, gently. "In fact, I would have welcomed you with open arms and a smile on my face. I wanted nothing more than to have you around. If I hadn't, I would probably have left you in the shack." Severus' eyes closed, and Harry let his hand fall away from Severus' chin.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Severus said, quietly. He lifted his head, and opened his eyes to see Harry staring at a small burn in his carpeting.

"Severus, I lost everything after the war. The Weasley's blamed me for Fred's, Remus', and Tonks' deaths, as well as the numerous others who gave their lives fighting Voldemort. Hermione sided with Ron because they were together, and Ginny never so much as looked at me. I had already lost Sirius in my fifth year, and now the only family I had ever had turned their backs on me. I lost my three best friends because I was trying to make sure he would be dead. The only thing I still had was notoriety that I didn't want. The Ministry insisted that I work with them to show the wizarding community that everything was truly safe," Harry explained, his voice low and even.

"I gave up when you left this house four years ago. I stopped going to work, I stopped leaving to buy anything, and I stopped caring about anything but myself. Little did I know, there was still a place for you in my mind. For about six months, I found myself standing outside your door, looking at the things strewn about your room. I eventually closed the door to your room so I wouldn't stand there for hours, wondering what I had done wrong," he explained, his voice still even, though his hands were wringing together. "After that six months, I decided that I would only do what made me happy, and so I did those things. I started going to bars and getting stupidly drunk. I always regretted those nights, because I'd wake up a couple hours after and cry," he continued, his voice shaking towards the end of the speech. His hands were clasped together, and there were tears dripping from his eyelashes.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," Severus said, slowly moving to kneel in front of him. "Harry, please, let me in. I promise that I will never hurt you again. Please, trust me, Harry. I will do anything for you."

"I'm afraid, Severus. I'm afraid that you'll leave me when I need you most, just like everyone from school," Harry said, looking up at the man in front of him, his eyes lost. "I can't lose anything any longer. I can't be alone again," he continued, pulling the sleeves of his shirt up just enough to show the small scars along his forearms.

"Harry, why did you harm yourself?" Severus said, suddenly worried. He hadn't noticed the scars in his room before.

"I had nothing to stop me. Everyone left, and I was unhappy," Harry said, looking at the burn in his carpet again. "It was the only thing that ever dulled the pain long enough for me to think."

"Harry, why? Why did you even think that? All you had to do was write. I'd have come back," Severus said, his voice thick with worry.

"I thought that you were going forever, Severus," Harry said. "You left, just like everyone else. I was alone."

"I'm so sorry," Severus said, gently placing his hands on Harry's face. "I am so, so, so sorry."

Slowly, he moved closer to Harry. Harry just looked at him, his face helpless. Severus pressed his lips to Harry's in an attempt to show how much he cared about the other man. Harry was unresponsive for a short time, and eventually began to kiss Severus back. The two kissed for a bit, until Severus slowly trailed kisses down Harry's jaw line and to his neck. Harry's eyes closed, and his hands went to Severus' shoulders. Severus continued kissing Harry's neck, gently biting occasionally. Harry gasped at the bites, and Severus slowly moved away from Harry.

"I am so sorry, Harry," Severus said, gently taking Harry's hands from his shoulders and holding them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: So, there's a lot of angst in this chapter, but I needed it to be able to progress the story.

Enjoy!

--kd

(PS - You know you want to hit that green button down there. You know you want to!!)