It was done. Harry had followed Kingsley's advice, and Dudley had signed the termination contract (after spewing a ton of foul language, baring his teeth, and showing some birds you don't see out in the wild). Dudley and his goons had packed up their offices and stormed off before the clock hit noon. Harry liked to think that his detailed Powerpoint presentation about the number of assaults and food poisoning at the county jail (with pictures of their potential cellmates) had something to do with their lack of resistance. Or it could have been the two security guards stationed outside the room. It didn't really matter. They were gone.

All Harry had to do now was call in the cleaning people to clear up the mess they'd purposely left behind in their offices and pay the security guards overtime. He was under no illusion that Dudley and his buddies would do the smart thing and cool off at home. Undoubtedly, they were nursing a beer or two at some bar, and Harry could only imagine what "brilliant" ideas would pop into their heads after an hour or two. Just in case, he wanted some people around to make sure nothing fishy was going on.

Despite the trashed offices and uncertainty about what backlash was yet to come, Harry felt relatively relieved. Just having them out of the office and having the bank back in his control had put him at ease. He felt like he would actually start enjoying coming to work again, something he hadn't been able to say for over two months.

"They're finally gone?" Luna asked as she popped into Harry's office later that afternoon.

"Yes, they're gone," he answered, grinning like a fool. How he loved saying those words.

"That's wonderful, Harry!"

"I feel like we should have a party," he joked, placing his arms behind his head and leaning back in his chair. He even went so far as propping his feet up on his desk. "I've got champagne in the office kitchen. Why don't you call Neville over?"

"You still have one last meeting," the blonde needlessly reminded him.

Harry already knew he had one meeting left. That's partially why he'd brought bubbly to work today. If things went to hell in a hand basket in the next hour, he planned on getting blackout drunk in an attempt to mentally erase his embarrassment and humiliation. And, on the off chance that things did go well, he'd genuinely be able to celebrate all of his good news.

"Do you have the contract?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it's right here." She handed him a fancy folder with Godric's logo in the center. Harry grabbed it and slipped a little paper behind the sheets on the right side. "And Severus is waiting for you outside whenever you're ready."

"Fuck," he cursed. "Really?"

Harry looked down at his watch, cursing himself for losing track of time. Their meeting was scheduled for four in the afternoon, which he thought was enough of a gap between his ten o' clock meeting with Dudley, Andy, Eddie, and Jordan. If his heartbeat was any indicator, the scheduled gap had not been long enough. He needed more time. Could they reschedule for tomorrow? Or next week? Or next month? (And why in God's name did Severus have to show up thirty minutes early? There's punctual and then there's "Do you even own a clock?")

He shook his head. No, he could do this. He'd rehearsed this in front of his mirror last night. He could do this. He could do this. He could do this. He could do this. He could do this. He c-

"Harry?" Luna interrupted. "Shall I tell him you're free now?"

"Yes! Yes, bring him in," he instructed in a rush. Now that the words were out of his mouth and Luna was out of the door, he couldn't take them back. (Though he could hide under his desk if he really wanted to…)

When the next person came into his office, it was none other than Severus Snape. The man was clad in a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow, a grey vest, and a simple pair of slacks. He looked absolutely amazing, and Harry instantly felt his mind boggle that he'd lasted as many days as he had without the older man's presence. He was also reassured that he'd made the right decision by asking Severus to come over. The fact of the matter was that Harry wanted a life with this man. That was the simple answer to Hermione's questions. (The long answer involved a few more "stupid, arrogant bastard"s.) He could only hope that Severus would be amenable to the idea…

"Why did you call me here, Mr. Potter?" Severus asked right off the bat. He had his arms crossed and looked like he was in no mood to chitchat.

"Hello, Severus. It's good to see you. How have you been?" Harry tried.

"Is there actually something productive we are supposed to be doing right now or are you going to talk about the weather next?" he inquired tartly.

Harry sighed. Fine, they could talk about business. He picked up the folder Luna had just given him and held it out for Severus to take. When the man made no moves to grab it, Harry waved it up and down until the man growled and snatched it away.

"I called you here because I personally wanted to let you know that I kept my promise."

Severus looked at the folder like it was a filthy magazine and didn't even bother opening it. "What promise?"

"I promised to fix the mess with you and your loan."

Something flashed in Severus's eyes. "And how ever did you manage to do that?" he drawled.

Harry put his hands in his pocket and did his best to sound nonchalant, which shouldn't have taken that much effort because this was the only part of his plan that he'd half-bothered memorizing. The part where he proposed they get back together? That would be entirely unscripted…and probably a complete disaster. Oh, God.

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. I've barely slept since Friday because I was working on all of the fine details. I won't bore you with the whole story, though. Basically, I fired Dudley, the guy I'm not dating, and his friends this morning. That left me as the only person on the board, so I was free to edit your contract as I pleased. You can read about it in the letter and the copy of the contract – this time it's an authentic one – in that folder, but it boils down to you having the five percent interest rate as promised and getting back payment for all of the extra money you sent us before."

That was enough to make Severus's fingers start moving, but Harry frowned when all the man did was skim over the documents. (He'd worked hard on that revised contract!)

"Great," Severus deadpanned. "You did your job. What do you want? A pat on the back? A parade?"

Harry sighed. He should have known better than to expect a sign of gratitude. This was Severus Snape he was dealing with, a man that could be outrageously hard to please at the best of times.

"No, you're right," he conceded. "This was my job, and you don't owe me anything."

Severus sniffed. "I'm glad you understand that much. Now if that is all, I will see myself out. Unlike some people in this room, I actually have an honest business to run."

Harry caught Severus's sleeve before he quite made it out of the door and tried not to be hurt when he was shaken off. The older man was still in the office, so he focused on that positive fact.

This was it.

"There actually is one last thing I wanted to talk about..."

"Go on, Potter," he snapped. "I don't have all day."

"I want to apologize to you," Harry started. Severus raised an eyebrow. "Since day one, I was in way over my head with the contract fraud. At Molly's, you told me that you thought I could help, and I wanted to help you more than anything, Sev. Really, I did. I wanted to be the guy you trusted in, but I fucked everything up. I should have come to you for help, but I didn't want you to know how lost I really was. I didn't even admit that to myself. So I purposely didn't tell you that the real reason why I was hanging out with Dudley after work. You see, the plan was that I'd get on his good side and then get him to sign a contract that forgave your loan without him noticing. Yeah, I know. Neville had the same look when I first explained the idea to him. I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I just…I just kinda hoped that everything would magically work out, you know? But it didn't. It blew up in my fucking face. In less than twenty-four hours, I had managed to screw up the plan and lose you. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not telling you everything earlier. I'm sorry for thinking I had everything under control and not reaching out more to get help. I'm sorry that I ever made you feel like there was someone more important in my life than you. And I'm sorry that you felt tricked and betrayed. You don't have to accept my apology, and I don't expect you to forgive me. I just hope you know that I never purposely tried to hurt you."

There. He'd said it. He felt slightly sick, but he knew he'd done the right thing. Hours of self-reflection had led him to realize that he couldn't even begin to start things over if he didn't apologize for his own dumb mistakes first. To blame their breakup entirely on Severus was stupid when he'd been the catalyst that started everything.

"Potter, I know you weren't trying to hurt me."

"Huh?" (That was a shocker, Wasn't that why they'd broken up?)

"I've met Dudley before, remember? He's clearly heterosexual. Though I don't know a single man or woman on this planet who would want to touch him."

Harry didn't even bother masking his confusion. "Well, if you knew that, why did you blow up at me on Saturday?"

Severus sighed. "I didn't know it then."

"What?"

Severus wasn't making any sense, and Harry's head was starting to hurt.

"When the articles came out Saturday morning, I…I let my emotions get the best of me and wasn't able to process anything rationally. I was furious at you that day, Harry. I wanted to rip you apart."

"Hmm…Glad you didn't do that," Harry mumbled. He discreetly shuffled back a few inches.

Severus sighed. "There was just too much information to process. The night before I was fielding your drunk texts and trying to figure out what else your dirty paws had gotten into when I left you in my room alone. At the same time, I had just come to terms with my feelings for you and the fact that I was actually…looking forward to our trip. Imagine my surprise when I wake up the next morning and hear about your alleged love affairs. It was just too much. Before I knew what was happening, I was at your door."

He shrugged off the rest of the story, but Harry wasn't about to let him off that easy. It wasn't that he wanted to hear more about how livid Severus was, but he had to know.

"What feelings did you have for me, Sev?"

Severus glared. "They are irrelevant now."

That stung, but Harry wasn't about to give up yet. "Are they?" he asked.

"Yes, they are."

"Well, they're relevant to me. Tell me," he demanded softly. He had to know.

"It is none of your concern."

"Please." He was desperate.

Severus only kept his silence for a few moments. "I thought I was falling in love with you."

Harry's heart stumbled. "And now?"

He searched Severus's face, hoping for any sign that his feelings were reciprocated. The other man studied him in turn. Nothing was said as they tried to figure out what the other one was thinking. At some point, Severus decided to break the silence, probably out of pity for poor Harry whose chest was doing some pretty crazy things.

The pub owner rolled his eyes. "It's something my therapist and I have been trying to work out, but I can now say that I am most certainly in love with you. I think that's proof enough that I've lost my mind, but she's still holding on tight to her prescription pad."

Harry's cheeks almost burned, he was smiling so wide. (Was giddy the right word to use?) "That doesn't sound that crazy to me."

"And you, brat?"

"Me? Well, I guess you could say Hermione is my therapist." Severus bared his teeth to show how well he received the joke. "I think she's wanted us to get together since the very beginning, which is convenient because I happen to be madly in love with you."

Harry paid careful attention to the man's expression and was pleased by the faint blush he found. Severus rolled his eyes at his reaction before moving in, grabbing Harry's chin, and pressing their lips together. Harry hummed in approval. (This. This is what he had been waiting for.)

Things started off slow and soft, but Harry quickly grew impatient. Tangling his hands in black strands, Harry tugged the man closer and deepened the kiss. Severus smiled as Harry's tried to fight for dominance and played along for a few minutes before effectively showing Harry who was in control. They tug, bit, nibbled, and licked at each other for what seemed like hours. There was also some serious groping done on Harry's part.

It was heaven.

When they finally broke apart, even Severus wore a slight smile. Drunk off their heated make out session, Harry was ready to start round two when a thought came to him. He squirmed out of Severus's embrace and took a few steps back, frowning.

"Wait a second, Romeo. You thought your slick words and hot ass could distract me, didn't you?" Harry asked. Severus narrowed his eyes at the last comment. "If you realized that I wasn't really cheating on you, why didn't you call me and say so before now? Do you know how devastated I was? And then, to be honest, I was just straight pissed off."

Severus grumbled something. "Does it matter?" he mumbled, which earned him a smack on the arm.

"Yes, you inconsiderate bastard! Were you just going to let our relationship end if I hadn't called you in for a meeting today?" The very thought that they could still be…not together…if Harry hadn't made a move both scared and irritated him.

"Blame Ben & Jerry."

"Blame who?"

Harry watched the man's chest rise and fall with the sigh. "I imagined that you'd be a bit, shall we say, choleric after you got over the initial shock of our breakup, so I knew I had to make a grand gesture of sorts to express my regret about acting so hastily."

The banker narrowed his eyes. "Uh huh. Continue."

"As I do not have much experience in the practice of courting nor in the art of making amends for my mistakes, I was at a bit of a lost. After some thought, I concluded that the safest option was for me to revert to a solution that had been tried and proved true in the past."

Harry fidgeted, tired of having to wait to get his answers. "Which was what?"

"Ice cream."

"Ice cream?!" That was not what he had expected.

"Yes, Potter. You ought to know the word by now. You've certainly consumed enough of it since I've met you."

"I know what ice cream is, Sev. I'm just surprised that that was your plan. You were going to win me back with ice cream?"

Severus wrinkled his nose at the judgmental tone. "Not the regular kind I used to bring you, obviously," he clarified snidely. "I developed a new flavor online with cookie dough, cake batter, brownie bits, sprinkles, and whatever else I thought a five year old might enjoy. However, after I placed the order, I was informed that it would take at least two weeks to be ready to ship, a delay I had not initially calculated. That forced me to revise my timeline, but rest assured that I would have contacted you as soon as the package was delivered."

"You made me my very own ice cream flavor as an I'm-sorry gift? Oh my god." He imagined Severus sitting at a computer and muttering about cavities as he clicked through all of the toppings. Boy, would he pay to have watched that! "That's so sweet, Sev! Pun intended."

The pub owner ignored the wink. "You're so dim-witted that I often wonder what brought us together."

"And you suck at communicating so badly that I often wonder how we managed to stay together this long," Harry retorted. "And then I remember that I'm here."

Severus faked a laugh. "What would we do without you, Potter?"

"I don't know about everyone else, but you would be a complete wreck," he teased, backing up until his back hit the desk.

The pub owner picked up on the cue and moved to help Harry perch on the desk before sliding in between Harry's spread legs. "You think so?"

Harry nodded.

For the next fifteen minutes, Harry showed Severus exactly how marvelous his life was with Harry in it.

A/N: I admit to being nervous about posting this chapter... Hopefully, it wasn't too disappointing.

Also, I wanted to announce that this is the second-to-last chapter. The next chapter will be a short epilogue. So thanks so much, all of you, for reading this story and staying with me until the very end. :)