It's your fault, your fault….your fault…YOUR fault….don't run….it's your fault….YOUR fault…your fault, your fault….YOUR fault…..don't you see Severus? It was always your fault….YOUR fault….

Severus inhaled sharply and sat up in bed confused. He blinked and looked at his surroundings. This was not the hospital bed. He was not in Ward 49. He was back in his bedroom. He winced and run his fingers through his heavily sweaty hair. The room was partially dark from the heavy curtains that were drawn. The bed covers were a tangled mess at the foot of the bed. He was sitting there in his pajama pants, half naked and panting like a fish out of water.

What time is it? Why am I here?

In his confused state and used as he was to living alone and depending on no one it didn't cross his mind to call out anyone's name. He took it for granted that he somehow ended up in his house without anyone's help. He looked down at his body. His pajama band was heavily stained with sweat. Ample rivulets were trickling down his sides and back. He looked at his shoulder and frowned. His fingers traced the raw scar that extended from his shoulder down to the top of his chest. It looked red and angry, but it was not open neither swollen. He pushed gently expecting it to scream in agony, but it only felt slightly raw.

Then he probed his forehead carefully. He felt the deep gash which was cutting his brow in half and ended up just above his eye. A few inches to the left and that eye would have been gone. There he felt almost no pain at all. Just numbness of the skin, which would probably never go away as the nerves were permanently damaged.

It's your fault…how did you end up here?

He observed his room. It looked clean and tidy, except his bed. Apparently he had a very serious argument with those bed covers during his sleep. He turned around and placed his feet on the floor. He didn't feel any muscle pains, nor the scorching heat of fever. He pushed and stood up expecting himself to collapse, but his legs felt rather able to take him towards the bathroom, which he desperately needed to use. His bladder was screaming in agony.

He walked around his bed and opened the door. The moment he stepped on the corridor the smell of bacon that came from the kitchen made his memory return with the speed of light.

Hermione…

She brought him here. He was not alone in his house. She was there with him….surprising as it may seemed.

Still here….

And apparently cooking bacon and eggs in his stove. He walked as quietly as possible and stood under the archway that led to the kitchen. Then unable to use words to make himself known he resulted in clearing his throat.

She turned around and smiled. "Well hello Professor. Welcome back to reality. How do you feel?"

He frowned at the heavy shadows he saw around her eyes. The etched lines of fatigue upon her face. "I thought ..." He left the sentence unfinished.

Hermione served two plates and gave him a tired smile. "Waking up in your home must have been rather surprising."

"I thought I was alone…" He continued feeling lost.

She placed the pan down and wiped her hands on a towel. "That also…" Her smile never faded.

He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I mean I was surprised to be here instead of the hospital….and not to be alone." He hesitated on the second part.

Hermione placed her hands on the counter and her eyes lit up for a moment. "You forgot you applied for me at the Wizengamot? We are forced to stay together Professor…right?"

He closed his eyes and exhaled. "Forced…correct."

She pressed her lips and looked at the counter.

"You brought me here?" He asked quietly as he walked towards her.

She signaled him to take a seat and he did. Then she placed the plate in front of him along with a glass of pumpkin juice. "Eat…you need to gain your strength back. Yes, I brought you home. Miriam and I decided it was okay to do so after two days. You were well on your way to recovery. You simply needed ample rest and I was more than able to take care of you. I thought you'd appreciate waking up in a familiar environment."

He picked up his fork with a frown. "Two days? I was out for two days?"

"Four." She took a bite of her eggs.

"Four?" He scowled.

She looked up and shrugged. "Two in the hospital and two here."

The egg took the wrong turn and he coughed. She quickly offered him a glass of water and he took several sips. "I was out for so many days?" He whispered bewildered.

She sat down again and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I know it seems a lot, but you have no idea how serious your wound was. Your body needed to mend."

He nodded softly and then pushed his plate away, not in any mood to eat. "What happened with the trail? The church? Did Mister Potter go there with Kirke?"

Hermione pushed the plate back to him. "You have to ask them in person. I don't know."

He looked at his plate mutely.

"You need to take a few bites. You haven't eaten proper food for several days. My spells and Potions can only do that much. You are weak." She said softly.

"I don't feel weak." He rebuked.

"Yet you are. You may have not scraped shoulders with death, but you had a close call back there Severus." Her face was solemn.

He picked up the fork and forced a couple of bites down his throat. "It is tasty…" He trailed off.

"You don't look like you mean it." She smiled.

"I mean it…I am just…you don't understand…I just woke up from four days in oblivion Hermione and I don't know what is happening with the traces I found in the Underworld. Neither do I know what is happening with Conroy…" He winced and picked up his glass in order to wash away the taste, which admittedly was very good. Unfortunately his stomach disagreed to food at the moment.

"You woke up healthy that is all that matters to me. Forgive me for not asking Harry about the Underworld. My main concern was your health and I dedicated myself to that solely." She said sternly.

His lips turned down at the gentle scold and he remained silent.

"As for Conroy, he woke up in a rather bad mood, which all things considering is excused." She smirked.

He looked up sharply. "Woke up?"

"He is awake and rather pissed off that we are still keeping him in Ward 49. He wanted to come see you yesterday, but Miriam and I told him that was out of the question." She shrugged as if what she just revealed was non important.

"He is awake?" Severus felt his breath catching and didn't care that he sounded like a buffoon by repeating everything that she was telling him.

She tilted her head with a satisfied smile.

His brows met. "You used Death Magic on him." His voice was barely heard.

She raised her hand austerely. "No…don't dare berate me about that Severus. You chose to enter the Underworld despite my pleads. I chose to save Conroy by using Necromancy despite yours. We are fair and square."

His face clouded.

"And both thankfully alive…" She added.

"Despite the dangerous choices you've made." He rejoined sternly.

"The dangerous choices we made." She corrected calmly.

He lowered his eyes.

"I don't know what you have learned to expect from your relationships Severus…" She paused and gazed at him.

His stare was burning.

"…I don't know what you have learned to expect from the people in our life Severus…" –She corrected- "…but I only know how to deal in fairness."

He held her eyes for several tense moments before looking towards the window.

She crossed her hands under her chin. "We are alive. Can we at least appreciate that and put our need to reprimand each other aside?"

He turned to her and observed the fatigue upon her face. "Conroy is awake…." He muttered.

A ghostly smile appeared on her lips. "And in the company of his family. Ebra is over the moon and Jody cannot stop thanking you."

"Me? I was not the one who saved her husband." Severus frowned.

Hermione pressed her lips. "It matters not. They are happy."

"Have they seen you?" He scowled.

"What do you mean?" She looked up.

He stood up, unable to hide his agitation. "Has Jody seen your face? How dark your eyes are, how broken your features?"

She waved him off. "One cannot tamper with Dark Magic and get away unharmed. I am fine and more than happy to see Conroy awake."

He gritted his teeth. The emotional relief of Conroy's recovery washed over him for a few moments, before anger fired up in his heart for seeing Hermione so hurt by using the Dark Arts despite his disagreement. "You were right when you spoke about fairness, but you cannot compare me entering the Underworld with you using the Dark Arts."

She pushed her plate back and stood also. "Why?"

"This is my work!" He barked.

"And healing people is mine." She retorted and placed their plates in the sink.

"I am twice your age and I have been working in the Underworld since before you were born!" He spat.

"You are not twice my age and when you went in this time you were seriously wounded. What you did was stupid." She turned and faced him boldly.

In two steps he was upon her. Grasping her arms tightly. "Have you seen your face? When you touch the Dark Arts they don't let go of you."

"At this moment I'd prefer if you let go of me." She said strictly.

He swallowed heavily and released her. "Why did you do it? You shouldn't have ever been touched by Darkness. You don't belong in it."

"Because my job is to do whatever it takes to save people Severus." Her face mellowed.

"Not like this…" -His voice broke as his eyes jumped around her exhausted face- "I don't want to see you like this."

She looked down for a brief moment before meeting his eyes again. "He is awake and close to his family once more. Isn't that what you wanted?"

He felt his eyes welling and took a step back. Suddenly a torrent of emotions emerged from the depths of his soul. "I never wanted you to do this for me." He spat.

"That is unfair Professor. Unfair and painful." She said gravely.

"And what you did is utterly foolish." He rebuked hard.

"Then we are fair and square once again. One fool against the other." She tilted her head proudly.

He took a step back and closed his eyes as unexpected emotions choked him. "I need to…. ". He pointed towards the bathroom.

She scowled and made to approach him. "Do you feel alright?"

He didn't raise his eyes to her. He didn't want to see how shadowy her usually bright face was now that she had been touched by the Dark Arts. All because of him…because he sent Conroy in the Underworld instead of going himself. He failed all of them and now he was failing her too. He turned around and rushed towards the bathroom.

The door crashed behind him.

-.-

Hermione stood like a buffoon looking at the empty corridor. She knew their conversation when he woke up would be hard, but she never expected it to end up with him running away. Usually it was him trying to make her run away. She looked at their half-eaten breakfasts and then at the closed bathroom door.

She listened at the muffled sounds of running water and twisted her fingers nervously.

She had the choice to clean up the kitchen and wait for him to finish….yet that is not what her body was telling her to do. She didn't want to allow this kind of distance to form between them at this moment. She nibbled her bottom lip, forcing herself to put her own stubbornness aside for the benefit of their relationship…whatever form that had at this moment. She was not a woman that gave up easily on anyone. Especially on him.

She threw the towel upon the counter and walked through the dark corridor. When she reached the door she placed her palms on it and listened in. The running water was falling steadily. She knocked lightly. "Severus?"

No answer.

She pressed her lips and leaned her forehead on the door. She inhaled deeply and knocked again. "May I come in?"

Still no answer.

"You are not well enough to take a bath alone yet. Let me come in please." Her voice was softer than she wished.

No one replied.

She put her hand in the handle. "I am coming in." She said and counted to ten. When there was no answer still she opened it.

She paused at the entrance and her hand twisted tightly around the handle. He was standing in the middle of the shower naked. His arms were leaning against the wall and his head was drooping between them. The water was pouring down his back, which was way more muscular than she would have ever expected. All those layers of clothing had truly managed to hide his strapping physic admirably well all these years. Seeing snippets of his body when she was healing him couldn't compare with gawking to the whole of him. Her eyes rolled shamelessly on his sculpted buttocks and then his strong thighs.

However the broken stance which he had and the shocking scars between his well-formed shoulder-blades, didn't allow her to enjoy his admirable built. Her lips parted as she looked at lines upon lines, crisscrossing each other, etching his skin with deep scars that seemed endless. From the edges of his shoulders down to his waist, the mended skin created deep maroon ridges and streams.

Hermione's mind shuddered at the idea that they resembled whip lashes. The sphere like indentations that appeared here and there indicated that a cat-o-nine-tails was also used upon him. She cupped her mouth and felt her eyes tearing up at this painfully unexpected sight.

He heard her entering, but didn't move.

She lifted her eyes to his face, which was hidden by the abundance of his long wet strands. "Severus?" It was so much easier to get out and forget what she saw here…but she couldn't.

He didn't reply, but she heard his strained breathing.

Her heart rushed to him, quicker than her body. Without hesitation she took off her sweat pants and socks. Then she entered the tub with him, not caring about wetting her t-shirt. She felt the tepid water hitting her head and then her back. She approached and her hand lingered over one of the deeper scars that looked ever so painful. "Severus…." She repeated.

His breath hitched and she heard him swallowing a sob.

Just the realization that he was crying silently, alone in the bathtub, while he had been so deeply hurt in the past made her heart falter. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his stomach. Then her head leaned upon his back gently and she closed her eyes while the water cascaded down her face. "It's okay. You are not alone. I am here. Let it all out." She cooed gently.

The tremble that shook his whole body made her tighten her arms around him. Then the torrent of tears was released and it came from every corner of his soul. He allowed the water to wash away the guilt, the fear, the dissapointment, the loneliness, the remorse and the endless sadness. The never ending gloom that covered his heart since forever. He pushed back to her, trying to steal away something, anything to keep him grounded. He cried hard for the unfulfilled love with Lily. He cried for his desolate days with the Death Eaters. He sobbed hard for his nightmarish years as a double spy, were he felt a stranger to both sides. He cried for all the deaths he had caused in the past…..for his own death and revival. For his return to the world with a burning need to atone himself once more by helping others. He cried for what he saw in the Fifth Level a few days ago. For Conroy's trauma, Garrett's death, the girl's eyes that would always haunt him. He cried for Ebra's truthful words, for all the people he failed, for his parents that were always disappointed in him, but above all he cried for her. For the darkness he saw in her eyes, for the weariness on her face and for the dark threads that had been circling her body ever since she was touched by the Dark Arts.

Hermione felt her tears drift away with the running water and she kissed his trembling back. She held him for what seemed like an eternity before his sobs finally quietened down and then stopped altogether. When she felt it was safe enough, she leaned her forehead on his back and her fingers caressed his stomach. "Are you feeling better?"

His choked voice was barely heard. "Yes."

Her lips touched one of his scars gently. "What are all these Severus?" She whispered.

He tensed.

She didn't yield. "Who did all this to you?"

The word stuck in his throat for several moments and it scraped his tongue when it came out. "Me."

Her breath hitched and her caress stopped. If that revelation was not enough to send away, he didn't know what would be. Surely she would understand how messed up he was. She'd realize she didn't belong here with him. That she should return to the light. His whole body tensed, expecting her to pull away.

Instead he felt her hands tightening upon his stomach. "No…no…no…" She whispered and planted kisses, which send shivers chasing his skin.

He gritted his teeth and his hand came around to grasp tightly both of hers when her lips started pecking softly each and every scar. He opened his eyes and saw it then. Dozens of beautiful energy threads, tainted with burning sexual tension were twisting like a snake around him, reaching for his loins. Threads of the deepest sadness slithered up his stomach and towards his chest, trying to find his heart. Emotional cords of protection wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him invisibly back to her. It was as if she had opened up her very soul to engulf his. He looked through teary eyes at the black stains of Dark Magic upon all those threads, but they were so weak in front of her blinding golden life force. No…no darkness would never manage to break this woman.

He'd never allow it.

"Hermione…?" His voice was hushed.

Her lips parted and her tongue traced his spine softly. Her hands pressed his gently before escaping from his hold in order to plane down the dark line of hair that led to his loins. She found his hardness, slowly arousing from her ministration. Her thin fingers stroke his length softly and ended up between his legs, cupping his scrotum. His eyes squeezed tight as he felt the warmth of her palm supporting the heaviness of his sack.

"Never again…" She whispered and her tongue tasted the sweat between his shoulder blades.

His grunt showed how deeply he appreciated her attentions the moment her other hand encircled his erection firmly.

"Never shall you punish yourself in this manner again." She whispered on his nape.

His breath became strained when her hand slid over his length a couple of times only to stop under the tip. Then her thumb touched the slit and spread his pre-cum around the head of his stiff member. His thighs shook and he turned to her with eyes searing with longing.

She met his gaze bravely and a gentle squeeze on his balls signaled her own wanton. He turned around slowly and forced her to release his hardness. They stood in front of each other panting, looking hungrily toward at each other greedily.

He saw the powerful sexual pull pulsating between her legs, sending threads around his midsection, but his eyes turned to her revealed arm which bore an offending scar. His fingers stroked the word on her skin. Muggleborn. It was oozing with shadows she couldn't see. His heart suddenly felt more alive than it had been in ages. His emotional threads were added so unexpectedly on his already stirred sexual energy that he frowned. They looked so vibrant and strong…so unlike him…they were wrapping around her body, pulling her in…trying to find her heart, twisting behind her neck, entwining through her thick hair.

"You were touched by Darkness in the past." He whispered and his forefinger traced the first letter of her scar.

Her eyes were teary. "I am not afraid of Darkness."

"That is because you are surrounded by light. I can see it…it is golden…it is striking." His features were twisted in rapture.

Her hand touched his bicep gently. "What else can you see?"

His hands came up her forearms and locked around her elbows. "I can see the shadows that linger in you after what you did with Conroy."

She licked her lower lip enticingly.

He came closer and loomed above her. "Were you careful when you used that magic?"

"I always am Professor." She tilted her head up provocatively.

He leaned down and his lips grazed hers, making her breath catch. "No, you are not. You are carelessly reckless."

"Why?" She exhaled softly upon his lips.

He pecked her gently and her eyes closed in delight. "Because you are still here."

"The Law binds us." She whispered softly.

"The Law?" He frowned.

"The Law indeed." -She sighed as his hand got buried under the small t-shirt and slid up her flat stomach- "Without it I wouldn't be here."

His wide palm cupped her breast, squeezing appreciatively. "Me neither." He replied breathless and his tongue came out to taste her lips.

She let out a shuddering breath. "I know."

He released her breast and his fingers stroked the skin around her nipple softly enough to make her insides melt with want. His eyes closed as their kiss got enriched with a passionate depth, which send jolts of pleasure at his loins. His hand encircled her breast and his fingers pinched her nipple making her gasp upon his mouth.

His groan demanded a deeper kiss, which she instantly gave him. As the tip of his forefinger and thumb begun a torturously endless caress upon the hardness of her breast she rocked against his thigh, which was buried between her legs. He cupped her neck and pulled back from their kiss. Her iris were dilated with passion. He pushed her head back until it laid upon the tiles and then pecked her jawline.

Her exhalation was deep and long as his mouth explored downwards slowly. Planting dozens of wet kisses and gentle bites on her neck, before worrying her collarbone. Then his hands took precedence by pulling up her t-shirt up and leaving it crumbled under her neck, while his mouth travelled to her peaks and offered them tantalizingly soft lashes. A suppressed yelp of frustration escaped her and her fingers tightened around the roots of his hair. His lips formed a faded smile as they slid sensually down her stomach and pulled her panties down. Then his mouth lingered hot above the pruned patch of brownish hair between her legs.

His hands opened her legs and he breathed heavily upon her core. She opened her eyes and looked down keenly. Her hands kept him there strongly as he rubbed his nose upon her wet slit and grunted impatiently towards her musky womanhood. If nothing was able to send him reeling into madness that did the trick. She was looking at him in disbelief, trembling in expectation. When his tongue touched her most intimate place her voice altered into something animalistic that woke up the most forgot carnal part of himself.

Her head collided with the tiles and her fingers twisted on his hair. He knew how to work on her. He had done it so many times before, but never had he felt such an overpowering urge to see someone come undone. Never had he yearned to taste another person so much. He got lost in the sounds of pleasure that she was making and on the way her hands pulled his head fastidiously. He smiled gratified with the way she was trying to open up her legs for him and how she was unwillingly grinding on his face. He kept up the slow, steady built up, not caring about her efforts to make him go faster. He brought her closer to the edge with a slow pace that he knew was maddening. When she pulled his hair too hard, he grunted upon her core. "Rough little kitten."

She shuddered hard as her body objected at his momentary withdrawal.

He took her hands away from his head and pinned them against the tiles. Then he resumed his steady lapping until she exploded on him with a flurry of moans and groans that spoke to his heart. He looked up and found her eyes, which were red. Her body was twitching in front of him, grateful of his treatment. Yet those sexual threads were still there, pulling him in. However they mattered in comparison to all those enchanting emotional cords interweaving with his so heartily. He stood up slowly and his body rubbed against hers catching another sigh of pleasure from her chest.

His lips lingered hot over hers.

Her chest was undulating passionately under him. "Professor?" She mewled.

"Miss Granger…" He shushed wickedly. His hands wrapped under her buttocks. He pushed her against the slippery tiles and her legs wrapped around his hips.

A soft grunt escaped from her as his length slid between her folds, teasing her.

"So willing…" He murmured upon her parted lips.

Her moan was long-drawn as he got buried inside her slowly.

"So wet…" He pulled back out with devilish calculation.

She tightened her fingers around his neck and winced. "Please…"

"So hot…" He thrust in her agonizingly slow.

She roared in pleasure and her nails clawed upon his shoulder.

"I can see everything that you are feeling…" –He panted as he pulled back and rolled his hips against her again- "You are intoxicating…"

"Don't torture me anymore…" She gasped.

"Show me more…and I shall give you everything you wish." His hand circled her breast and pressed it hotly.

Hermione's cry was sensuous and got lodged in his throat as her mouth opened up to consume his.

Just before he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be consumed by her incomparable heat Severus saw all those threads that were engrossed with his, pulsating with a blinding light that felt like a soothing balm above his tormented heart. He closed his eyes and took her with a deprived hunger. With an emotional starvation that he endured his whole life from everyone in it. He had many women in his life. Most of them willing partners to his depravity during his Death Eater days. Women who wanted to be fucked by him roughly and were disposed to allow him to take out all his sick fantasies upon their bodies. He found pleasure then, but it never lasted. It was fleeting, just there for a single moment as he was emptying himself. He never found that sentimental attachments were useful during his association with women and especially during sex.

However this time it was different. As he was taking this woman against the wall, feeling her skin slippery from the water and their sweat something was stirring inside his dead heart. As her hotness was engulfing his length and his loins were aching for release, he knew this coupling was more than sex. More than he had bargained for when he stepped in to save her a few months ago. This change was obvious by the passionately caring way with which he was kissing her as his hips rolled against hers. It showed plainly at the gentleness with which his hands were caressing the peaks of her breasts and how his tongue lavished at the taste of her skin when he bit gently at her throat. How his heart came alive when he felt the openness of her body, its eagerness to take him in.

Now with his eyes closed he didn't need to see that their respective emotional threads were buried into each other's chest, wrapped tightly around their hearts. He didn't have the courage to say it, but he knew it was there. He felt the undeniable tug in his poor damaged heart. He leaned his head upon her temple in abandonment and his hand pressed her full breast. He lunged in her, chasing her pleasure like a madman, yearning to feel it. He opened his eyes and gazed down at her. "Look at me …" His voice was raspy and thick with longing.

She did so with misty eyes full of yearning.

He gritted his teeth and thrust in her harder, feeling her inner muscles tightening around him. He knew she was close and his groan of fulfillment echoed in the bathroom. His hand twisted securely around her buttocks and that is when he felt her eruption and his heart filled with bliss. He groaned alongside of her, feeling her muscles constricting around him, milking him…and suddenly he was following her to oblivion. Her release triggered his and he was unable to stop. His lunges became consuming and uneven as his need to empty himself became uncontrollable. As his want got buried inside her, his legs almost gave way from the ecstasy that spread in his body. Usually at this point he would have pulled back, satisfied to see the last of this woman, or at least claim his personal space. Not now though. This time he kept on pumping in her whatever was left of him until he was limp and useless.

Even then his hands kept her there firmly, not wanting to allow her to pull away. He tried to catch his breath upon her collarbone and enjoyed how her body was still clutching for his with her waning orgasm.

It was Hermione who spoke first with a guttural voice. "Heaven above with Merlin and all the Wizards that came before him….Are you alright?"

He inhaled deeply and looked up. Then he pushed several wet strands away from her flashed cheeks. "Don't I look alright?"

Her smile was adorable. "You are still recuperating."

"Did that feel like I need to recuperate?" He frowned playfully.

She chuckled. "No, that felt absolutely amazing."

"Grant me points then." He raised his brow.

She pecked his lips softly. "Fifty points to Slytherin."

He pulled back with a scowl. "Only fifty?"

She giggled and threw her arms around his neck. "I grant you as many as you wish. You deserve them."

His smile melted into a serious frown for several tense seconds. "I am sorry I was so rough before."

She twisted her lips testily. "I am getting used to your bipolar moods. You are a difficult man Professor. I won't lie."

He looked at the tender skin in the base of her neck thoughtfully. "Forgive me…."

"For what? For acting like a prick to me on several occasions? For entering the Underworld despite my advice? For making such solemn efforts to become as unpleasant as possible?" She smirked.

"For everything…but above all for getting you tangled in the Dark Arts." He rejoined gravely.

"I did that on my own accord. I am a grown woman Professor. I make up my mind and I usually follow through my decisions." She rebuked steadily.

He humphed. "I am aware."

She licked her lips and averted her eyes for a few moments. Then her hands left his neck and planed down his sides until they touched one of his scars. There she stopped breathless.

His eyes engaged hers.

"I am sorry for what happened to you." She said softly.

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on hers. "Don't go there, please."

Her nod was soft. "I won't…unless you wish to take me there."

He swallowed audibly. "Thank you for saving Conroy."

"It was my pleasure." She smiled and her fingers caressed the small hair on his nape gently.

"Thank you for healing me." He continued quietly.

Her smile melted into a serious frown. "More than my pleasure."

Another long pause. "Thank you for….being here."

She pulled him in and embraced him tightly. "Thank you for being here…too." She murmured and waited breathlessly for his embrace.

When it came she felt blessedly boneless, as if she had no care in the world, when she knew that was a lie. However for that moment alone she wanted to enjoy this heaven. After a while when she was thoroughly satiated by the generosity of his hug she pulled back and cupped his cheeks. "You said that you can see everything that I was giving to you."

He smiled.

"What did you mean?"

"I see energies, emotions…It is tough to explain." He said.

"Through spells?" Her eyes opened up, showing her never ending eagerness to learn.

His thumb caressed her smooth jawline. "It is a natural ability, enhance by magic."

Her face lit up. "So what did you see in me?"

"You are more powerful than you will ever imagine." His brows met when he remembered her golden aura.

Her laughter melted in a thoughtful smile. "Did you see everything you wished from me, like you said?"

He cupped her cheek and leaned her head back. "I saw more than I would have ever hoped for." He said and kissed her softly.

She mewled in pleasure. "I wish I could see it too."

"It's not always nice." He frowned and pulled back.

"Do you see it all the time?"

"Most of the times I can control it. When I cannot…it is a nightmare." He said quietly.

She inhaled and pulled him for another tight hug, which he reciprocated. Then she closed her eyes and tried to image what it would feel like to reside inside his complicated mind. On one hand that thought was tantalizing as she'd be able to tap into unlimited knowledge. On the other it felt terrifying at the prospect of meeting the nightmares of his past, among them the ones which had scarred his back.

With that thought she drew him in a kiss that was meant to comfort, but ended up enticing his wicked ways upon her once again. And she responded at him….with all her heart.

-.-