Chapter 16: To Love Again
Rose opened her eyes and it all seemed so surreal. Severus wanted was kissing her. She stepped back dazed and looked into the eyes of the man who had stolen her heart when she was but a wee thing.
"Do you mean what you said Severus?"
"You are one hell of a witch, Rose…"
"No, last night, do you really want to give this a go?"
"Yes."
Rose wrapped her arms around his waist, lay her head on his chest and breathed him in. He smelled like sandalwood and musk. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and his chin rested on her head.
"I think we better tell Harry and you two need to come to an understanding. I will not have my two loves fighting."
"Rose can we work it out between the two of us before the world knows?" Severus pleaded. " I know I will have to share you with Potter and especially when school lets out, but can I be selfish and keep you to myself for a bit longer?"
His eyes pleaded to keep her a bit longer, to keep their hearts to themselves long enough to make sure they would not flounder.
"I don't want to keep secrets from him Severus. There has been too much of that in that poor boy's life."
"I know, Rose. I just want to make sure we are strong before we let the world try to pull us apart. It is no secret that Harry dislikes me. It is no secret that most of the Wizarding World in the English Isles dislikes me for being a former Death Eater. They will have a field day. You have seen the shit that Rita Skeeter writes about your nephew. Imagine what would happen if it got out that you and I seeing each other?"
"Alright, Severus, but I don't want to keep this from him forever. I promise to keep all of this quiet but we have to tell Harry before the year is out. I will not give you up for the sake of secrecy!" Her eyes blazed with determination. "I have always loved you, Severus. I will not pretend that I am ashamed of you or our friendship past and present!"
"I don't want you to be ashamed of me. I just want you all to myself for a bit longer. I want to keep this pure and out of prying eyes for as long as we can so we can be sure that this is how we this to continue. I will not give you up, but I will also not feed you to the wolves who work for the Daily Prophet or bring shame to you."
"I could never be ashamed of you," Rose whispered firmly.
She leaned in and kissed him softly. Showing him how much she loved him. Severus groaned and the kiss deepened. Everytime they joined it seemed as though time slowed to a stop and all that existed was this feeling of being completed. It ended all too quickly, the two of them panting knowing that all this was moving faster than they could handle.
"Severus, how are we going to do this?"
"One day at a time, but right now, I want to get back to bed and sleep. 3 hours just isn't good enough for this dungeon bat." He answered tiredly.
Rose took his hand and led him to her bedroom.
"Stay," she whispered. "Remember when we were kids and you got into a fight with your dad or I complained about nightmares because of Petunia. You would sneak into my room and sleep in the trundle bed next to me and hold my hand 'til I fell asleep. I miss our closeness. I miss having someone hold me while I slept and keeping watch over the horrors the dark held."
He smiled at the memory, he slid under the covers, grabbed her hand and pulled her in next to him. She lay her head on his chest and they both fell asleep knowing they were safe and at long last, love had found them.