A/N: Much thanks to my lovely Beta, YumeNoTsuzuki, for her (usual) perfect job! And also thanks to Lady DestinyHope for the story prompt for this chapter, way to go girl! *winks* (oops, I kinda assumed you're a girl ^_^; Sorry if I'm wrong)
Most importantly: Happy Birthday to Severus Snape! *pops cracker and gives Harry to our snarky professor* Eh, what…? It's your turn to top? *backing away* Erm, sorry, Professor, no time to write for smut... Oh, look naked Harry! *neko apparated away before Professor Snape could curse her sorry hide*
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Chapter 9
Severus's POV
"Do you, Severus Tobias Snape take Harry James Potter to be your lawfully wedded husband?" said the over-cheerful vicar with twinkling blue eyes.
Severus inhaled sharply, feeling trapped. He was being swept by the whirlwind called Harry Potter. He silently recalled how their recent make up had lead to him to this - standing in a small chapel somewhere in California beside Potter, taking his nuptial vow by an old vicar who looked more like Merlin on an extreme sugar-high rather than a proper priest.
He admitted that he hadn't been thinking clearly when he agreed to spend the rest of his holiday in San Francisco two days ago. Then again, Potter could be very persuasive when he wanted something. He seriously doubted any living man – that's unfortunately including himself – could think straight when his lover's sweet mouth was wrapped around his shaft. But never had he thought that Potter would bend on his knees and propose to him as soon as they had arrived in San Francisco.
He raved and ranted about how it was a foolish idea to get married to him. What would Lily say if she knew that her son would get leg shackled to him? An old man who would never give him a child, instead of beautiful young girl? But one hurt look from his green eyed lover made his determination melt faster than ice under the sun.
Still, guilt and doubt hung heavily on his chest. It is too fast, he told himself. Potter had no idea what he was doing. His lover was only entertained by the notion of forever and more because of their recent break up. One of them had to be sensible enough to choose the right decision.
He knew he was supposed to say no, but his heart constricted almost painfully when he looked at those wide green eyes stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to say the word that would bind them together. And if he was honest to himself, there was nothing he wanted more in this world than to take Harry Potter as his. Today, Severus Snape, for once in his life, decided to follow his heart.
He swallowed hard and answered, quietly but clearly, "… I do."
Potter looked noticeably relaxed when he said that then squeezed his hand gently as if he was saying thank you.
"Will you love, respect and honor him throughout your years together?"
"I will," Severus said this time in a steady voice.
His heart skipped a beat as he stared at those smiling green eyes. This one came more easily to his tongue than the first one because he knew deep inside that – marriage vow or not – he would keep true to those words.
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Harry's POV
Harry sat alone in the hotel's restaurant, feeling somehow that he was being punished right now. It would seem his new husband wouldn't join him for dinner. One would have thought that newlyweds were supposed to be all cheerful and happy together, not being miserable, but Severus Snape was too stubborn for his own good.
The older man had been so silent after the marriage ceremony they had partaken in this morning and made up a new policy – keep Harry Potter at arm's length – which he disliked with passion. He couldn't help but think that Severus was waiting for him to change his mind and annul their marriage.
Right, so much for trust… He grumbled silently.
Regardless of what Severus might think, being married to him wasn't one of his rash decisions. He only found no reason to wait to tie the knot. And that didn't essentially mean he was being reckless, really.
He was different from other men who were afraid of commitment. He actually sought for a bond that would tie him tightly and wouldn't let go; wished for a bond that would last a lifetime. His parents' death taught him that life was short. Too short to spend it apart from the people he loved. Each minute, even each second was meaningful and precious, and he wanted to spend time as he could with his loved one. It didn't matter that his most loved one turned out to be Severus Snape - who was very much a male, old enough to be his father, and on top of it all, had a difficult personality.
It was regrettable that both of them being male meant that there would be no little boy or girl that would carry Severus's DNA—or his own, but there was in no way he could ever choose someone else other than Severus. He felt too much and cared too much for him.
Since the first time he realized he fell in love with the older man, he had never stopped yearning for him. To this day, his mouth still watered and his pants were tight when he imagined a naked Severus, and he got the urge to kiss him every time his older lover rewarded him with his rare smile.
There was something about the way the older man tried to hide his insecurity by wearing the disguise of coldness and indifference or even contempt that made Harry want to take him into his arms and protect him from the world – which, if he thought carefully, was ridiculous because Severus was perfectly capable of defending himself.
Well, if that wasn't love, then he didn't know what love was. The problem was that Severus wouldn't come willingly to him when it came to the case of being married. Their previous talk revealed that the older man thought he wasn't good enough for him. That it was better if he sacrificed himself and let him go. It was one of the reasons why his lover didn't even try to justify himself when the cheating incident occurred. And it was quite annoying that Severus was waiting for him to bolt out for freedom – while all he actually wanted was the opposite –when they had just made up.
Severus wasn't perfect and Harry loved him just the way he was. But he wasn't a princess that would wait silently in a tower, if Severus wouldn't come to him then he would be the one who chased and tied him down. He huffed with satisfaction. That was precisely what he had done. The sooner Severus accepted it, the better it would be.
No, I'm not wrong, Harry tried to convince himself. He'll come around. After all, he had dropped the hints – subtle or not – that he wanted to marry him since before their temporary break-up. He sighed softly and had the urge to bang his head to the table. He had repeated that to himself so many times ever since his husband had given him the cold shoulder.
Harry slouched forward and mumbled, Snape, you're a right foul git!
He was about to say more nasty things when he heard footsteps coming closer to their table. He perked up, forgetting his frustration at once and turned his head to greet his brooding husband. However, his smile was soon turned into a dark frown.
"What are you doing here?" He hissed, faintly noticing that he had repeated the same sentence a few days ago.
"What a coincidence," exclaimed Riddle, giving him an innocent smile.
"Coincidence, my arse!" Harry said, gnashing his teeth in annoyance.
"May I sit here?" asked Riddle and before he could say no, the other man already sat in the place where Severus should be.
"No!" Harry growled and threw him a look of deep dislike. "Sod off, Riddle!"
"Ah, but we never managed to finish our conversation before," said Riddle smoothly.
"I'm not interested," snapped Harry.
"But you should!" Riddle raised his voice aggressively for once, which startled him a bit, before continuing more calmly. "You haven't heard my offer."
"Sleeping with you? No, thanks," Harry imbued his words with as much contempt as he could muster before rising to his feet.
"Wait," said Riddle and took a hold of his wrist, stopping him. "I heard – that you're going to transfer to other hospital."
Harry tried to pull his hand from Riddle's grip. "It's none of your concern."
"I have an offer for you at Gaunt Hospital," said Riddle, smiling confidently. "You'll find the pay will be more sufficient than at public hospital."
Harry raised his eyebrow. Not succeeding with his charm now Riddle was resorting to financial offer. He wondered silently why Riddle was so desperate to have him. The other man didn't seem to be someone who lacked admirers. Riddle had a beautiful, masculine face, and that alone would make many men and women throw themselves to his feet. Combine that with a good amount of money and social position, the attraction would be irresistible. Even though he didn't like Riddle, he had to admit that the other man had all those three.
Or maybe it's a matter of pride, Harry mused silently, because I refused him.
If that was so, too bad then because he wasn't a person who looked for a quick tumble in the bed, his heart belonged only to one person, it was never for sale.
"I would appreciate if you let my husband go, Dr. Riddle," said a cold voice from behind him.
Now he shows up! Harry rolled his eyes at the mention of his married status and had the urge to hurt his husband.
Riddle's eyes widened with disbelief. "Your… husband?"
"Yes, Snape here is my husband," Harry said with a scowl and tugged his hand off Riddle's slackened grip. "Or rather he only just remembered that he has a husband now, when it's convenient for him," He added angrily before striding away.
"Potter!" called Severus, coming after him. "Potter, wait!"
"You, stay away from me!" snapped Harry, evading his husband's hand that reached out to him. "And it's Potter-Snape now!"
"Harry…" Severus called softly, his voice dropping into an almost pleading tone. "I—I'm sorry."
"Yeah?" Harry grounded out angrily. "You think I'm a child who can't make his own decisions!"
"No – listen, I didn't mean –," said Severus.
"It's true! You never – I thought we were equals, Sev," said Harry, sending him a hurt look.
"We are…" said Severus quietly.
"Then why you're still doubting what I feel for you?" said Harry exasperatedly.
"… I don't know," Severus croaked after a short silence.
Harry was about to open his mouth again when he noticed a woman, who was standing near the door, peering at them curiously. Realizing that the hotel's hall wasn't a right place for them to quarrel, he pulled Severus into the open door that led to the hotel's garden. The garden was empty of people and it was utterly silent aside from the sound of waves crashing onto the rugged shores below.
He took a seat on one of the white benches while Severus stood stiffly, his back ramrod-straight.
"It works two ways, you know," Harry said with a sigh, breaking the silence. "I, too, am afraid… you'll love me no more someday."
"It is not possible!" snapped Severus at once.
Harry flushed slightly as he felt a rush of hope. "About you not loving me?" he said teasingly, his lips were stretched wide and he felt like he couldn't stop smiling. To his delight, Severus's cheeks turned red as a response. Harry pulled him closer then buried his head on the older man's stomach before saying softly, "You don't know how happy it makes me to hear that."
When Severus said nothing – and did nothing – Harry blew out a frustrated breath then lifted his head to look him in the eyes and said, "Sev, come on, tell the truth now. Do you seriously think that it's okay for Riddle to have me if I want him to?"
There was a flash of fury in those deep black eyes before Severus replied curtly in irritated tone, "No!"
"And anyone else other than Riddle if I want them?" he asked him again, feeling rather sick.
His heart was thumping rather too loudly under his ribs, constricting his air passages. And it felt like there were million butterflies in his stomach. He was really worried that Severus was going to say yes.
"…no," repeated Severus grudgingly after some time.
Harry let out a relieved breath. His lungs were finally working right again.
"There, you have your answer," said Harry, beaming at him, satisfied. "I do feel the same. I won't let anyone have you."
Severus snorted and said dryly, "That's hardly the case. No one – other than you – wants me."
"You just don't know." Harry shook his head mournfully, torn between feeling sad that Severus would never realize how popular he was among the hospital's staff – something about the temptation of taming a dark and brooding, sexy man – and at the same time happy that no one actually knew how wonderful Severus truly was despite of his cold appearance on the outside. He was after all quite an egoist to everything that was Severus's related. He would rather keep the man for himself. He shrugged in uncaring manner, "Well, it doesn't matter now."
"What do you mean?" asked Severus suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at him.
Harry grinned at him. "Nothing. Forget what I've just said."
"Will you always be this difficult, Potter?" said Severus, crossing his arms.
"Only if you stop being difficult," replied Harry innocently. "And it's Potter-Snape now, husband of mine."
"Touché," said Severus, his lips slowly curving upward at the corners.
And when that rare smile he loved the most twisted his husband's mouth, it was safe to say that words were no longer needed because he knew that – at long last he truly was home now.
End of Chapter 9
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Ahahaha, I'm back! X3 My stories didn't have a married Snarry couple yet, so I was really tempted to put it in this one. I'm sorry if it sorta skipped a few beat from the other chapter (shh… neko wasn't too lazy to write what happened in the in-between! It's just happened~ XD ). Well, you all can probably guess that the next chapter is going to be an epilogue. This journey is finally coming to an end, and all thanks to your support and love! *squish readers* (=^.^=) See you all in the next chapter. As usual any review will be welcomed very warmly.
