Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Pairings: HP/SS, SB/RL

Rated: NC-17 (For FFnet purposes, strong M)

Category: Romance, H/C, Drama/Angst, First Time (Slightly AU for future, and Sirius' being alive. Completely ignores HBP and DH due to the fact that I'm lazy and started writing this before they came out.)

Summary: Harry Potter finds Severus Snape's emotional side after the Death Eaters discover Sev is a spy. What next? Warning: Detailed rape/Very emotional and traumatized Snape.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: Now we're getting somewhere! grins

Chapter 9: Confessions

Severus did not answer his door when Harry knocked, which made Harry impossibly more nervous.

He ran the entire way to his rooms on the third floor of the castle, only to find Severus at his door as though awaiting his return.

When Harry approached, he seemed rather shaken, as though he had something tremendously important on his mind. His eyes showed he had recently been crying, and Severus was immediately concerned.

"Severus – I - was looking - for you." He magically unlocked his rooms and allowed the older man to follow him inside.

When he closed the door behind him, Severus allowed his full concern to take over.

"Harry?" Severus approached the slightly shaking man slowly, placed a hand on his back, 'At least he didn't flinch . . .' and helped him over to the couch beside the fireplace to sit down. He placed his hand gently under the other man's chin, tilted it upward so he could look into his eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked, mimicking one of Harry's questions the first night they'd begun to understand each other.

"Wrong, there's – there's nothing wrong, per se. I-" He took a deep breath. "I have something extremely important I've been meaning to tell you."

"And what might that be?" The older man asked lightly, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"I-" Harry seemed on the verge of tears, so this was either really good news or really bad news. But Harry had said nothing was truly wrong. So Severus could hope for the former. "I – I'm falling i-" He paused, took another breath, and let it out all at once.

"I'm falling in love with you." But Harry looked up in surprise when he said it. Because another voice had chorused it with his own.

"Are you serious? I – because that would be a really horrible joke if you were, Severus, tell me you're no-"

"Shhh." And since that didn't quite cut Harry off, Severus leaned in, tilted Harry's chin up again, very gently, and kissed him.

It was a very tender, very slow, somewhat tentative kiss, one between two people who may not have quite been sure what they felt for each other, but one thing was certain: it was not simply friendship.

Despite it's slight awkwardness, Harry felt himself drowning in the kiss, wishing it would never end, because if it did, that would mean that Severus would say it was all a joke, and that Harry was crazy for falling in love when all Severus wanted was friendship, and that he would leave and Harry would never see him again, never get the chance to prove it. If the kiss was endless, then Severus would love him forever, and Harry would never know that Sev didn't love him back.

It was foolish, but it was the only thing he wanted right now.

When they parted after some time, Harry very reluctant, Severus whispered in the other man's ear, "I am serious. I love you. I have for some time now. I didn't think you'd ever feel the same."

"You had no idea -" Harry whispered, holding onto the other man for dear life as though this would all disappear and he would wake up to find it had all been a dream if he were to let go.

For the first time since the night Harry found Severus in his rooms crying, Harry was able to hold Severus in his arms and not worry about the other man feeling threatened, or concerned for Harry's sanity.

And Severus seemed to have no problem with his clinginess. He wrapped his arms around Harry's body, and leaned back so that he was almost laying down, holding Harry securely against his body.

"I love you," Severus reasserted in a whisper.

"I love you, too. I could get used to hearing that."

"I could get used to saying it."

Harry smiled. "So could I."

A/N: Sweet? Sappy? Too sweet and sappy? Let me know by clicking that little button down there that says REVIEW!