Rating: PG-13
Genres: Romance, Angst, Fluff
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: Severus has been hurt and vows to never fall in love again. Then he meets Harry.
Song: Falling for You
Artist: Jem
Author's Note: Originally a songfic, the lyrics have been removed from this fic to comply with FF rules. Song lyrics can be found here: www (dot) azlyrics (dot) com (slash) lyrics (slash) jem (slash) fallingforyou (dot) html
For the original version of this fic, please check out my livejournal:
www (dot) livejournal (dot) com (slash) users (slash) Harry (underscore) sev (slash)
Lucius Malfoy was an extremely handsome individual. He had perfect skin, silvery-blond hair, and piercing silver eyes. Everyone in Slytherin wanted to be with him, which was why Severus was astounded when the man chose him. But he was happy, nonetheless.
xxx
Well, happy until he realized that Malfoy didn't really want him. All Malfoy wanted was to get more people to join this man he called the Dark Lord. Severus wasn't sure exactly what this Dark Lord wanted, but if it would make Malfoy love him, then Severus would do whatever was asked of him. He soon realized that Malfoy didn't care for him at all, but was simply using him. He also realized that this Dark Lord wasn't nearly as great as Malfoy was always pretending. Severus realized what a huge mistake he had made, and went running to Dumbledore for help.
That was the day that Severus Snape vowed never to fall in love again.
xxx
Now it was almost thirty years later, and Harry Potter was teaching at Hogwarts. Severus cursed his luck. Of course the brat would be teaching beside him. The boy just couldn't move on like everyone else in his year did. No, of course not. He had to stay here so Severus would be forced to be near that beautiful creature day after day and not be able to do a damn thing about it. After all, he knew that Harry would never want to be with him. Besides, Severus had made a promise to himself, and he wasn't about to break it.
xxx
He didn't know how it had happened, but somehow he found himself in a relationship with Harry Potter. But he wasn't falling in love. No, not him. He and Harry had a strictly physical relationship. The reason Harry stayed curled up around him afterward was simply because he didn't want to be caught roaming the halls after dark.
Severus sighed. No matter what he told himself, his heart knew the truth. He was falling deeply in love with Harry, breaking his own rules. He knew that their relationship wouldn't last forever. Harry was young, and young people didn't stay in relationships forever. They had flings, and when they grew tired of one partner they moved on to someone new. Severus knew this, and therefore knew that his days with Harry were limited.
xxx
Harry noticed that Severus seemed worried all the time, but he didn't know why. The only thing he could think of was that Severus was worried about their relationship. Not really knowing what to do, Harry tried to assure Severus of his love all the time. He made sure to touch Severus outside the bedroom in little ways, so Severus wouldn't think that Harry only equated touch with sex. Harry made sure to always show his support when Severus appeared to be having a hard time. He told Severus about his friends so that Severus would feel like he was a part of Harry's life. And in case all that didn't work. Harry told Severus that he loved him almost everyday.
But nothing seemed to work. Severus pulled away from all of his touches. He never talked to Harry about what was troubling him, and he looked annoyed whenever Harry started to talk about his friends. Worst of all, Severus would turn his back and ignore Harry whenever the younger man would confess his love. As time wore on, Harry became more and more positive that Severus was only interested in him for sex, and therefore he became depressed.
xxx
Severus could see Harry's hurt whenever his sentiments went unreturned. He saw the sadness whenever he pulled away from Harry's touch. He saw the pain in Harry's eyes whenever Severus seemed bored with Harry's friends or didn't share his problems. Severus felt guilty. He now admitted to himself that he loved Harry, but he was still afraid. He remembered the last time he had gotten into a relationship, and that hadn't ended well. But Harry wasn't Lucius Malfoy, of that Severus was certain. He therefore vowed to try harder to show Harry that he was loved.
xxx
As the next few weeks passed by, Harry noticed a definite change in Severus. For starters, the man shared more of the things that happened with Harry. He complained about the kids and the other professors and Dumbledore.
Severus asked how Ron and Hermione were and didn't look as if he were about to fall asleep whenever Harry talked about them. And he didn't pull away from Harry's touches anymore. On the contrary, he seemed to go out of his way to touch Harry whenever possible, and not in a sexual way.
He still hadn't confessed his love for Harry, but the younger man was ecstatic about the improvements Severus had made. Harry made sure that Severus knew his effort were appreciated. Harry made sure to kiss Severus whenever he could, and he smiled a lot more than he had in a long time. xxx
Severus lay in his bed, his arms wrapped tightly around Harry. Severus prayed to any deity that was listening that his love wouldn't leave him. He didn't think he could take that hurt again. Severus looked down at his sleeping mate and pressed a chaste kiss to his head and whispered, "I love you."
Severus was just about to fall asleep when he heard Harry whisper, "I love you, too."