Part Three
Christmas Eve, 9:32pm
"Alone at last!" Harry exclaimed as he and Severus entered their cottage. Its warmth was even more welcoming than usual after having just trudged through the cold from the Apparition point located just beyond the protective wards of the cottage grounds.
Staggering slightly as he crossed the great room – an unfortunate side-effect of Apparating with a stomach full of champagne – Harry whirled around and then collapsed on his back onto their four-poster, both hands coming up to fold beneath his head with elbows sticking out.
"Honestly, Sev," Harry added, sighing tiredly, "I thought they'd never let us leave the Burrow. If you hadn't insisted that we'd miss our international portkey if we didn't get going soon, I think we might have been stuck there all night. Not that I didn't enjoy the party, but seriously! Three hours of drinking champagne while reminiscing about past potion class fiascos and debating which former Defense professor was the most twisted is a bit much."
Severus chuckled as he approached the bed and sat down, leaning forward to remove his shoes and socks before straightening back up and loosening his tie.
"It was your wedding reception, Harry. You can't expect your friends – the Weasleys, in particular – not to indulge in a bit of nostalgia with you and you certainly can't expect them to let you go without some protest. It's only logical they would want to celebrate with you as long as possible. However, I wasn't about to let them keep us from our honeymoon which is why I felt the need to issue that polite reminder."
"Speaking of... why are you getting so comfortable?" Harry asked, sitting up and gesturing toward Severus' discarded shoes. "Don't we have a portkey to catch? I thought we only came back to the cottage for our luggage."
"Actually, I floo-called the Center For International Wizarding Transport yesterday and had our departure time changed. They're now expecting us at the site tomorrow morning at nine-thirty instead of tonight at ten. That should afford us plenty of time to check in to our rental and still make it to the beach by noon," Severus explained, standing up briefly to remove his robe. After folding it neatly and placing it in one of the drawers in the bedside table, he sat back down before turning halfway toward Harry, his dark eyes cast down and fixated on some random spot on the comforter. "I hope you don't mind, Harry... but I thought perhaps it would be better to spend our first night as a bonded couple in our own bed."
Harry smiled, finding the thought wonderfully romantic. He was about to offer his wholehearted agreement, his thoughts already straying to how he could use this time together in the comforts of their own home to bring up the subject he and Hermione had discussed this morning – namely, the possibility of Harry taking his husband's male pregnancy potion so that they could start a family – when a sudden blast of nervousness assailed him through their sensory link.
Blindsided by the seemingly out-of-the-blue emotional surge, he closed his eyes and breathed out a shaky breath, his own anxiety now spiking along with Severus'. When he opened his eyes, he saw his new husband rigid with tension, head still lowered and eyes seemingly frozen to that same spot on the bed.
"Hey, it's fine with me, Sev. I'd love to spend our first night here," Harry quickly reassured him.
Crawling closer on his hands and knees, he embraced Severus from behind and pressed a kiss to his temple, feeling the tremors that shook the lean frame. He leaned forward enough to see those ebony eyes squeezed shut now and a lower lip captured between crooked teeth.
"Sev, you're nervous. Why? Please... talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."
Severus slowly opened his eyes and turned in Harry's arms to face him, those dark orbs taking on an anxious expression as they gazed deeply, piercingly, into Harry's.
As the seconds stretched on amid a tense silence, waves of Severus' acute apprehension continued to pummel Harry through their link, dousing him in something like icy dread, his own body beginning to shake in reaction.
At length, the muscles lining Severus' throat tensed in a tight swallow and his thin lips released a shaky breath, raspy words tumbling out with it in something less than a whisper, "Do you want children, Harry?"
Harry's breath caught in his throat at the unexpected question and then his eyes widened, sweet relief flooding him as he realized his husband's mounting anxiety involved nothing too serious. For a moment there, he had been imagining all sorts of horrible and far-fetched scenarios...
Still, his relief was short-lived, replaced almost instantly by a wave of utter confusion. He knew that Severus had considered the subject of having children at great length over the years – his invention of a potion to enable a male to conceive a child was proof of that. But why was he so damned distraught when he asked that loaded question, glazed-over ebony eyes emanating something that looked suspiciously like fear – fear that Harry could still feel barreling through him in thick, caustic waves via their link.
Realizing that Severus was waiting for a reply, Harry opened his mouth to speak, but found he could voice nothing more than a few stammered syllables, his mind still too perplexed as to what had caused his lover's intense anxiety to speak properly.
"I… Sev, I-I don't... I don't underst–"
"I should have asked you this before," Severus cut in, turning away from Harry sharply. His voice was stronger now – stronger, but self-damning, an abrasive note of deep remorse edging his tone. "I-I'm sorry, Harry. Our wedding night is a terrible time to bring this up but I… I had thought… the way you look at Teddy…. I had convinced myself… but, I… no, it's of no consequence. It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have–"
With a shake of his head, Severus made to stand, the action fracturing Harry's state of sluggish confusion and propelling him toward the hazy beginnings of comprehension. Suddenly, his disjointed response and feeble dismissal made perfect sense to Harry who was convinced Severus had hoped for a very long time – perhaps as long as twenty years – that if Gray Skye were to one day return to him, they could have a life together – a real life with a home, a marriage and children of their own. And even though Severus had been blessed enough to realize two of those three dreams, the third and most daring one now felt like too much to wish for, too much to even consider asking his soulmate and husband for, despite all the steps he had taken over the years to make that dream possible.
In a rare flash of insight, Harry realized this also explained Severus' long-held reticence in the matter, the reason why he hadn't once brought up the subject all these months following Gray's return from the past. Severus was afraid that Harry would not want to have children with him or that if he did, he would never agree to being the one to carry their child to term. And now, he must be thinking that Harry's silence and his own presumption – maybe both – had just cost him that dearly longed for dream.
But he couldn't be more wrong.
Quickly grasping onto a pale wrist, Harry pulled his husband back onto the bed and into his arms, placing a swift kiss to his downturned lips.
"Yes! Yes, I want children with you!" he blurted out. "And…" He pulled back enough to gaze into those dark eyes that were now brimming with hope, open and vulnerable, wanting. "And I want to be the one to carry our child, to give birth to him… or her. I-I want to take your potion, Sev."
Ebony eyes widened, the hope within their depths obscured now by genuine shock. "You… you know about the Geno Virilus Potion? How?"
"I only found out today – this morning, actually. Hermione told me about it," Harry explained, hurrying his words in his haste to reiterate his heart's desire. He needed Severus to believe that this was truly something he wanted and not something he was willing to do simply to ease his husband's distress. "Severus, I really, really want to do this, despite only just learning of the possibility of it. I want to have your child – our child. I want–"
"No."
Harry drew back at the unexpected dismissal and stared at Severus, his burgeoning excitement grinding to a painful and abrupt halt. That single word from his husband's lips, sharp and direct, felt like a puncture wound to his chest.
"Come here," Severus whispered. Grasping onto Harry's tense shoulders, he pulled him closer, sliding his hands down the length of Harry's arms until their hands met and joined, their fingers sliding between each other's. "You misunderstand. But that's my fault. I should have explained all this to you months ago."
Still confused and hurt, Harry shook his head, unable to grasp where he could have gone wrong in his assumption. "But I thought… I thought you wanted to have children. Isn't that why you invented that potion? So that we could–"
"Yes, Harry, on both points," Severus interrupted.
"Then you're right – I don't understand. Because I just told you that I want to do this for us. I truly do, Severus. Don't you believe me?"
Severus shook his head, his features taking on a pained expression. "You can't, Harry. I'm sorry. It would be too dangerous for you to take that potion."
"What? I–"
"Avery's curse," Severus added, voice tinged with regret now, his words spoken with a slight tremor. "Your nerves. Although it is true they have been healed and are now functioning nearly at one hundred percent, they would not be able to withstand the physical stress of carrying a baby to term and most definitely not the process of labor and childbirth. If you were to take the potion and become pregnant, you would suffer a relapse and the damage to your nervous system could very well be worse than before. You could even be rendered partially paralyzed."
Holding Harry's shocked gaze with his own, Severus paused before whispering, "I'm sorry, love, but you cannot take the Geno Virilus Potion."
Harry breathed out a shaky breath and lowered his gaze, unseeing eyes fixed on their gold bonding rings as he tried to process this unexpected bit of agony. He'd only been contemplating the idea of carrying their baby for something like fifteen hours now, but somehow he felt like he'd been issued a great loss, like a part of his heart had withered and died. He wanted so much to have a child with Severus – a child that was truly theirs – and now that possibility had been stolen from them. He knew they could adopt – and he supposed they would – but the dream, short-lived though it was, had felt so real for a while, so wonderful, so right.
But something still didn't make sense. Severus must have known all along that Harry was physically unable to bear them a child. After all, he knew all about Avery's curse and its physical side effects. He'd even created a potion to cure Harry of the worst of those side effects. So, why then did he also create this other potion that made it possible for a male to give birth to a child? He'd already admitted to Harry that he invented it so that they could have their own children.
Unless…
Harry's head shot back up, emerald eyes as wide as galleons as he stared, gaping, at his husband, realization slamming into him at long last.
"You?" he breathed out. "Severus… did you invent that potion so that you could…?"
"Bear us a child?" Severus finished for him, his lips curving into a hesitant smile. "Yes. That was my intention. Would you be alright with that? I know I should have asked you earlier and I'm not even certain why I didn't. I was fearful, I suppose, of how you'd react."
"Oh my God!" Mindless with joy, his heart now racing a mile a minute in renewed excitement, Harry launched himself into Severus' arms with such force, he knocked them backwards onto the bed. His lips found Severus' and he kissed him deeply, his heart light again, his soul stirring with hope and eagerness as he spoke against his lover's mouth in between scorching kisses. "Yes! Of course, I'm alright with it! Severus, I love you… I love you so much…"
Harry withdrew from their passion abruptly and sat up, his mind all of the sudden inundated with new questions brought about by this stunning news. "But wait… wait… what about your job? Being pregnant will surely hinder your ability to teach dueling techniques in your Defense classes. And… Oh God… wouldn't that endanger the baby? Not that I'm asking you to quit – I'm not – but – and how do you feel about carrying a bump? I don't think I've ever seen any pregnant wizards around – I didn't even know it was possible until this morning – and – oh, that means you won't be able to brew any potions, doesn't it? It could be dangerous! And what about–"
"Harry," Severus interjected, chuckling over his husband's sudden frantic state, "I've already discussed the possibility of a leave of absence with Minerva. If the potion works and I find myself pregnant with our child, I will take a sabbatical. Since I've never before indulged in one and considering my tenure, I've banked at least two years worth of time."
"O-o-oh." It was a long drawn out 'oh', Harry relaxing and leaning forward to let his body melt atop Severus' as he breathed out a slow, easy breath of soul-deep contentment. Strong arms folded around his lower back, drawing him closer until Severus' soft lips brushed against his own while a teasing tongue ran slowly, sensually, along the seam of his lips. Opening his mouth at his lover's silent request, Harry surrendered to the sultry, unhurried kiss, feeling his skin begin to tingle with warmth and arousal. He felt a hand slide up his back to grasp a handful of his hair, pulling him closer, forcing their mouths to meld as the kiss became hungry.
Abandoning its teasing caresses, Severus' tongue was now eager and strong as it drove into Harry's mouth again and again, deepening both their desires which coursed through their link in driving pulses of rolling pleasure.
When the kiss ended, Severus breathed out a ragged breath and placed his hands on either side of Harry's face. The ebony orbs gazed at him with a look of intense longing, yet there was something else flickering within the dark depths – some unexplained yearning and eagerness that Harry had never seen there before.
Seconds away from inquiring about the strange look, Harry's unvoiced question died on his lips when Severus spoke in a hoarse whisper, the hushed words tinged in barely restrained anticipation.
"Do you want to try for a baby tonight?"
"What – now?" Harry blinked down at Severus, confusion replacing his elation once more. He was sure Hermione had said that Severus' potion took time to manifest the correct alterations to its drinker's anatomy. "Don't you have to take the potion for at least two months before a pregnancy can occur?"
"Yes. And that's exactly how long I've been taking it," Severus paused for a beat after his confession, a guilty look passing over his features. "I'm truly sorry, Harry, for not telling you earlier… for not asking for your opinion. I should have. And if you're not ready yet, that's fine. I have another potion that I can take right now that will prevent pregnancy for at least the next twenty-four hours. I can take that daily – until you're ready – with no ill-effects. Or we can just skip the potion and I could make love to you tonight instead."
"Wait... you mean…" Harry said and then faltered, his mind spinning now, heart thundering wildly in his chest, "You… you mean you could get pregnant now – tonight?"
"Yes, love, but if you're not ready, we can wait. I've at least two more years before my age becomes a hindrance, so we needn't rush into it." Sighing, Severus shook his head roughly as if chastising himself, his eyes squeezing together briefly before opening again and pinning Harry with an earnest look.
"Harry, I do realize you're just eighteen – a fact I often forget since there was a time when you and I were the same age – and some would surely be of the opinion that because of that, you should not yet be contemplating parenthood. I wouldn't blame you if you thought the same. Being parents would entail sacrifices and limitations and I wouldn't want you to look back on your decision with any sort of resentment or regret. It's been just over half a year since you defeated Voldemort and now that you're almost finished with school, you might want to travel and do things you never had the chance to. Perhaps I am utterly mad to propose such an endeavor so soon after our bonding and with you still in school, but I had thought since both of our childhoods were such disasters, that you – like me – might be more eager than most to start a family of our own... to give our future child the love and affection and security we never had. But Harry, it truly is enough for me that you want it... some day. It doesn't have to happen tonight or even–"
"I'm ready," Harry cut in, unable to hold his tongue any longer. He'd listened intently to his husband's long and heartfelt speech, to his cautionary words detailing all the reasons why others would expect them to wait, but none of those reasons swayed his heart's desire in the least. None of them changed the fact that he truly wanted this and whether he and Severus were lucky enough to achieve this miracle two years from now, next month, or tonight was irrelevant. Severus was right; growing up in a loveless home only made his wish to have a child with his husband – a child who would never want for love and affection like they did – much more meaningful and deeply longed for. As far as Harry was concerned, society's notions of proper relationship chronology need not apply in their case because quite frankly, they never had before. The only thing that mattered was that both of them loved each other enough to want to share that love with a new life, a child of their very own. It was the ultimate expression of love – time, history and age be damned.
"Are you certain?" Severus asked, his eyes once again showing that hopeful, yearning look.
"Absolutely – yes! I'm certain. I want to try tonight."
"It may not take on the first try," Severus warned. His usually pale cheeks were now tinged pink, whether from arousal or from eagerness for their future child, Harry was unsure. Either way, it looked stunning on him and Harry found himself leaning down for another kiss, pausing just long enough to whisper against those soft, thin lips he loved so dearly.
"Well, then we'll just have to keep on trying, won't we, Mr. Potter-Snape? I take it this was the special thing you had planned for us tonight? Our first attempt at conceiving our child?"
A tremulous whimper issued from Severus' throat just before he choked out a breathy "yes," his lips crushing against Harry's in the admission's wake.
Lost in the sheer ecstasy of Severus' tongue once again dominating his mouth, Harry was surprised yet again when the arm wrapped around his lower back tightened suddenly and he was flipped over. His squeak of surprise was muffled by the press of Severus' lips on his, but the kiss only lasted a moment before Severus withdrew and straddled his hips. The action caused their clothed erections to press against one another briefly before Severus straightened up more fully on his knees.
"Oh, Sev..." Harry breathed, looking up at his lover with hooded green eyes, heart pounding hard against his ribs. "I want you so badly."
Severus smirked as he brought a hand up to his loosened tie and slid it from his collar with one yank. He then unfastened the top button of his shirt with nimble fingers before moving on to the next one and the one after that. Once all the buttons were undone, Severus let the shirt fall from his shoulders, the fine fabric sliding down the porcelain skin of his arms like rivulets of water over polished stone. The teasing exhibition continued as Severus moved on to the next item of clothing, his fingers unbuttoning the top button on his trousers in one quick motion before pulling down the zipper at a slow, torturous pace.
The combination of fast movements followed by languid ones drove Harry's excitement even higher, his eyes riveted to those long, clever fingers and the tantalizing pale skin they revealed.
"Mmm..." he murmured, shifting below his husband, his hands sliding up and down the still-clothed thighs spread above him, "Severus... you're killing me here..."
"Impatient, Harry?" Severus baited, his smirk devilish now. "Can't take a bit of teasing?" As his lips formed the last word, he lifted up enough to pull his trousers and boxers down past his buttocks, freeing his hard length.
Harry let out a sharp breath, his pulse speeding up to breakneck levels when Severus then proceeded to take himself in hand, his long fingers wrapping around his weeping shaft and squeezing it before sliding up and down in a series of slow, tight strokes. Mindless with arousal and now desperate with need at the intoxicating sight of Severus pleasuring himself in front of him – something he had never done before – Harry reached out a shaking hand, longing to feel the silky skin covering that hard-as-steel length. He ached to run his fingertips through the moisture leaking from the tip and then curl his hand around its girth, palming it as he pumped the swollen flesh just as slowly as Severus was doing now… just as tightly…
"No," Severus grunted, wicked smile still in place as he grabbed Harry's hand and lowered it back to his thigh, "Just watch, Harry. I want you to see what you do to me... how aroused you make me."
"Oh God! I need you..."
"And you'll have me, love. I promise – just a little while longer," Severus panted, his smile beginning to slacken. The breaths leaving his parted lips were shorter and harder now, the pale skin of his chest and neck imbued with red blotches of deep arousal as his gripping hand moved faster and faster.
Despite the fact that Severus had yet to touch him, Harry was drowning in pleasure, each squeeze and jerk of Severus' hand prompting a new blast of blissful sensation to reach out to him through their link. Gripping Severus' thighs, Harry writhed beneath him, powerless to tear his gaze away from the rousing display. He could do nothing but watch and wait with barely controlled anticipation for their promised release – a slow, sweet, calculated torture that only made him want the man on top of him more.
"Please…" Harry panted, feeling them draw ever closer to the edge.
Severus threw his head back, his hand giving one final upward stroke before withdrawing abruptly. Then he crumpled forward to lay on top of Harry, their mouths meeting in a wild, breathy kiss, unsated erections colliding with only the thin material of Harry's trousers separating them.
"Why'd you stop?" Harry managed to voice around their merged mouths and heaving gasps.
"I don't want us to come yet," Severus answered, breathing hard into his mouth as he leaned to the side to snatch up his wand from the bedside table. Propping himself up on his left elbow, his wand in his right, he whispered the now familiar incantation to remove clothing. A second later, Harry was divested of all barriers separating him from his husband.
"From now on, love, when you come, it will be inside me," Severus breathed into his ear, placing a soft kiss below it. Then he straightened up once more, bracing himself on his knees and shins again. He pointed his wand at both their groins, whispering yet another familiar incantation – one that slicked both their throbbing erections with warm lubricant.
Harry reached a hand to the slickness now covering his own length, intent on coating his fingers with the lubricant so he could prepare his lover, but once again, Severus denied him, grabbing his wrist and gently pulling his hand away.
"No, Harry. Remember... you're to be at my mercy tonight."
"But Sev, I need to prepare you."
Severus shook his head and then edged forward on his knees so that he was now straddling Harry's stomach. Reaching behind him, he wrapped long fingers around Harry's slicked length while he re-positioned himself. Placing his left hand on the mattress beside Harry for support, he rocked forward a bit on bent knees, his back curled over and head bent low, dark eyes locked with green ones beneath him as he pressed the head of Harry's erection to his entrance.
"Sev, no! I'll hurt you… no, please… let me…" Harry protested, his hand raised again, poised to intervene.
"Harry, trust me – it will be fine. I'll take it slow. Any pain I feel, you'll feel, too, remember? And you know I would never do anything to hurt you. So just relax and let me join us."
Despite Harry's fear about penetrating Severus without preparation, he trusted him and he knew – above all else – that Severus would never knowingly cause him any undue pain. In fact, he could tell by that familiar look of wily determination in those ebony eyes, that Severus had a plan, one he'd most likely been developing for some time. Harry may not have complete faith in this mystery plan – whatever it may be – but he did have faith in his husband.
Returning his hands to Severus' thighs once more, Harry ran his fingers up and down the clenching muscles as he forced his own body to relax and let go, his gaze never wavering from those resolute, dark eyes.
"OK," he whispered. "I love you."
In lieu of an answering endearment, Severus leaned forward and drew Harry's lips to his own in a slow, sensual kiss, all the while continuing in his endeavor to coax their joining.
After several long moments of this torturous knee-weakening bliss – of feeling the sensitive head of his slicked length pushed against Severus' entrance alternating with it being slid around the perimeter of that twitching muscle – Harry finally felt himself breach his lover. He gasped, jolted by a sharp twinge of pain resulting from the penetration, but that pain died quickly, masked by a burst of unfathomable pleasure. Severus had snaked his hand beneath Harry's neck and pressed his fingertips hard against that point at the base of his skull – one of his most potent erogenous pressure points, second only to the one on his lower back.
"Sev!" Harry panted, struggling to catch his breath through the ripples of raw pleasure surging through him – through the both of them. He reached up to grasp Severus' shoulders, fingertips delving into the lean muscles as Severus sank down further onto his length. Again, there was a jab of intense pain and again, Severus dug his fingers into Harry's neck, bringing another blast of breath-stealing ecstasy which instantly dissolved the pain.
The exchange between sensory extremes seemed to last forever, Severus lowering himself onto Harry at a painstakingly slow pace and then stimulating his pressure point to give them pleasure in the midst of their joint discomfort. Through the whole process, Severus' head remained lowered, his mouth close to Harry's, their lips barely touching with breaths mingling in an intimate merging of breath, body and soul. With each second that passed, their pain lessened and their pleasure increased, building into a massive inferno of blissful sensation, shared between them as sure as their heated breath.
Finally, Harry was fully sheathed inside Severus who relaxed his tight muscles, his body letting go of all resistance as he curled forward further, claiming Harry's mouth again. The kiss was deep and driving at first, as frenzied as their rapidly approaching release before Severus slowed the kiss, softening it to a caressing slide of lips and tongues, letting their breaths coalesce once again. Left hand still curled around Harry's neck, he pressed his thumb to Harry's pressure point again, watching with intense black eyes as Harry gasped and squirmed, flooding his mouth with a strained breath.
With a satisfied smile, Severus started moving, slender hips rocking in a slow, circular pattern.
Harry whimpered at the sensation of Severus' inner muscles squeezing and rubbing him, the friction and heat of their joining driving him to new heights of arousal. Without conscious thought, his hips began to rock together with Severus', the both of them soon adopting the same familiar rhythm, moving in tandem, each gentle and hypnotic motion bringing Harry closer and closer to the edge.
Eyes closed, Harry barely registered the hand inching from his neck to his lower back when all of the sudden, knowing fingers found his other erogenous point along the base of his spine and pressed hard. He climaxed almost instantly, a feral shout of pleasure escaping his throat as his back arched, causing him to thrust up into Severus further who clenched around him in reaction, his inner walls holding Harry in an impossibly tight squeeze. Clamping down on his heaving breaths, Harry's fingers dug into Severus' shoulders for support through the most intense orgasm he'd experienced since being cured of his nerve hypersensitivity. His body almost convulsed through the blissful onslaught, his teeth biting down on his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, eyes squeezed shut and muscles tight and trembling. He heard Severus cry out a heartbeat later, his powerful release rushing through their link and plowing into Harry, sending his climax soaring even higher.
They held onto each other as they rode out the sensations of raw bliss flowing back and forth through their channel for long, long moments, gasping for breath. Harry held onto Severus, relishing the embrace of long arms and legs around him and then Severus rolled them over so that Harry was now on top of him.
Bending down to capture his lover's parted lips, Harry kissed Severus slowly as their euphoric high receded, their breaths slowing and their bodies melting into one another. He made to pull out, but Severus prevented him from severing their joining with a swift squeeze of the muscles sheathing him.
"Harry, not quite yet. Stay inside me a little longer."
It was an easy request to comply with and Harry only realized a minute or so later why Severus had flipped them over and why he now wanted Harry to remain inside him while he lay on his back, hips curved up, long, slender legs wound lazily around Harry's back. His husband was attempting to maximize their chances of conception, keeping Harry's release deep within him in the hopes that a new life would soon come into being. It occurred to Harry in that moment that he had no earthly clue how this whole process could possibly take place, fabricated womb or not – wasn't an egg and an ovary required? – but he ignored his curiosity, trusting that Severus would at some point explain it all to him. For now, he obliged his husband, pushing forward ever so slightly to deepen Severus' angled position, his arms sliding beneath those slender shoulders as he held his lover close. Then he kissed him, trying to show just how much this man – his husband! – meant to him with the soft touch of his lips and breath and the loving caress of his tongue brushing alongside Severus'.
"That was brilliant," Harry said, ending the tender kiss, "the way you diminished our pain with my pressure points."
Then he leaned on one forearm and brought his other hand down to his lover's flat stomach. His fingers caressed the taut skin, now slick with sweat and the cooling remains of Severus' release, smiling as he imagined that one day, their child would grow and be nurtured beneath the pale, damp skin.
"Do you think it will take this time? Do you think you'll become pregnant?" he asked.
Severus smiled up at him. "I don't know, love. But if it does, you'd best be prepared to experience some pain by proxy."
Harry tilted his head in confusion before Severus added, "Labor and delivery, Harry. I doubt very much we can bypass that particular shared pain through our link by simply experimenting with your pressure points."
Green eyes widened as Harry considered this latest bit of information. It made sense that he would feel whatever Severus felt and that included pain as well as pleasure. He would get to experience the discomfort of a body changing and stretching to accommodate new life, the pain of delivering that new life into the world, but also the exquisite sensation of their baby's first movements, the subtle fluttering of tiny arms and legs as they moved inside his husband.
All at once, joyous and grateful tears flooded Harry's eyes and his throat tightened with emotion, overwhelming him, his breath hitching. He looked up and saw that his husband's eyes were wet as well, the dark orbs glassy like shined obsidian. Harry might not be destined to bear their child... but because of his link with Severus, it would feel as though he were.
They would share in this experience – this miracle – together... as one.
Severus placed his hand atop Harry's which was still caressing his stomach. With practiced ease, his fingers found their way to Harry's bonding ring and he tapped it.
A rush of love barreled through Harry at the familiar caress to his 'point of love.' Tears sliding down his cheeks now, he laced their fingers, his heart fluttering in his chest, anticipation for their new life together rivaled only by the soul-deep contentment he found as he gazed deeply into the tearful ebony eyes of his husband.
"Thank you," he whispered shakily.
"For what, Mr. Potter-Snape?" Severus asked, a small smile curving his lips.
"For this gift – the most perfect Christmas gift I could ever receive."
Severus' smile widened, a tear falling from his long lashes as he asked, "The gift of a child?"
Harry shook his head, tears falling from his eyes in earnest now. "No, for the gift of love. Your love. And everything born from that love – our home, our marriage and our future child. Your love is the only gift I'll ever need."
"Then rest assured, husband mine," Severus whispered, pulling Harry down for a tearful kiss, "this particular gift will always be yours for the taking. Always."
Story End.
A/N: Happy holidays, everyone! I hope you're all enjoying this lovely festive season and that this story has added to that enjoyment! I must admit to you that at first, I was apprehensive about broadening the GSM world, but these two characters just refused to cease their niggling at my muse. They just kept demanding that more be written about them! So I obliged them, of course. What else could I do? That being said, don't be surprised if I drop another GSM follow-up story or two on you all in 2015. After all, it would be a crime to miss out on Severus' pregnancy and the birth of their first child, right?
Another BIG thank you to my Beta, Yen. Girl, I could not have done this without you. Seriously! This chapter in particular is SO much better with your additions and suggestions! THANK YOU! :)
For those of you following my Severitus story, Forsaken Scion, I'm sorry, but I have not even started the next chapter yet! As soon as the holidays are over and normalcy once again returns to my life, I will jump back into that project – I promise! :)
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year & Please Review.