p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Harry shifted awake, rubbing the crick from his neck. It was the fifth time that he had fallen asleep in the chair beside Severus, but he couldn't bring himself to leave when he knew that his submissive would have nightmares. The Malfoys had left for a trip to France, leaving the two dark haired men alone in the cottage./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Harry told Jiffy to alert him when Severus woke as he rose to get ready for the day and cook breakfast for them both. Severus was shuffling to the land of the living just as Harry popped in his room with eggs and bacon. He was happy with Severus' slow but steady progress, moving to solid foods and being able to stand for very short periods of time./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Severus shifted so that he was sitting up, blushing nearly unnoticeably when he realized that Harry's eyes were on him in his mussed state. Harry scooped him up bridal style without any hesitation, it being habit now to carry his mate to the loo before they began their day. Severus didn't speak, keeping his mouth closed./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Harry supposed that he did this to keep from alerting Harry to his morning breath, as he wouldn't even open his mouth anywhere near the other man until having brushed his teeth. Harry stood outside the door, rushing in as soon as Severus told him it was clear so that he could support Severus as he stood at the sink to brush his teeth./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""I can stand by myself, Harry," Severus said softly after clearing his mouth of suds./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Harry rolled his eyes, taking Severus back to his bed before setting his tray atop his lap. "It is my duty to take care of you, and you will allow me that right. This isn't debatable." Severus jolted forward, jarring the tray on his lap in his anger./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""You're going to take care of me, are you? Where was this attitude when I was at the end of the Dark Lord's wand? Where was your sense of duty, Dominant, when I was suffering every damn day?!" Harry growled, feeling both hurt and the desire to soothe his mate of his hurt./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""If you would give me a chance— "/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""A chance to what? Torment me? Leave me dependent but without you? Not likely."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Harry's growl was low in his throat this time, but he was visibly calmer even as he took firm steps forward./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""You will never be without me again, little one."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Severus' lost his anger to uncertainty, hesitance in his every move as he nodded slowly. Harry sighed, lifting the other's chin to wipe away the small line of tears that had made their way out of him during his tirade. He brought him into his arms, holding him close to his chest./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Hush, sweetheart."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Severus went to pull away, and Harry let him, easing him down onto the pillows./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"He stood up, casting a warming charm over their breakfast before picking up his own and making his way to the door./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""I'll give you time to yourself for now. We can talk later. Use Jiffy to summon me if you need me, pet."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"SSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHP/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The troubled ex spy rolled the stress ball that his godson had gotten him around in his hand as he mulled over his thoughts. Staying cooped up in the bed was getting rather boring, but he'd be damned if he asked Harry for help getting anywhere else in the house. He amused himself with the books that Harry kept leaving on his nightstand, but the young man hadn't brought a new book that day as he was "giving Severus time to himself."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Severus sighed as he reiterated the words Harry had said in his mind. He wanted to believe Harry, he did, but Severus Snape hadn't ever been able to really believe anyone without getting stabbed in the back. Not to mention, Severus didn't want to be a boy half his age's submissive./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"His heart winced at the half hazard statement./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"It wasn't that he didn't want to be a submissive. He was a submissive. It was ingrained in his blood, in his soul, in his magic; however, being the boy who lived's submissive was a whole other situation. Harry would probably want to hide it. He'd want them to be seen as equals, or worse… he wouldn't want their relationship to be public at all. What if the man didn't want a romantic relationship at all? What if he would only be his dominant in the social aspect, without ever fulfilling his needs as a romantic partner?/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Severus almost threw up at the thought of becoming nothing more than Potter's slave. Surely, the other man would consider him a friend of some sort, or some version of a ward, but the great Harry Potter could never consider Severus his submissive./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The older man felt his eyes mist at his own conclusion, certain that it was true. His dominant would find some fetching young thing to satisfy his carnal urges. He may even have a family and leave Severus as nothing more than a charity case that he visits to stay sane every now and again./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"A sob tore from his throat when he realized that he didn't want this to happen. He didn't want to just deal with their bond, tolerate the connection and live their lives separately. He had grown… dare he say it? Attached to the secure feeling of being cared for by none other than Harry fucking Potter./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"It was nearly four o'clock when Severus Tobias Snape came to the frightening revelation that he had to piss./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Now./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"He usually slept well into dinner, but his emotional turmoil had led him to exhaustion, and therefore he fell asleep a good two hours before he usually did, and woke before his dominant was prone to coming in to see him. Of course, he could always summon the man with the help of a house elf, but he didn't want to admit that he couldn't even take a wazz without the aid of him, so he simply chose to wobble himself over to the loo by himself./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Now, Severus was a smart man. Why, of course he was. He was the youngest potion master of the century, and he was also the only known spy of the Dark Lord that had survived BOTH wars. That's quite a feat if he did say so myself./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"That being said, Severus was an overly proud man, and this seemed to get him into quite a bit of trouble. You see, per Madame Pomfrey, Severus was not to go walking by himself for another week. He simply wasn't steady enough to make it more than a couple of steps, and the loo was a good fifteen feet from the bed./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"This is why, at 4:20 pm, Harry rushed into the room of his submissive to find the injured man sobbing openly on the floor, halfway through the doorway to the loo./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Harry could have screamed. He wanted to be angry at the man for not listening to Poppy, for not listening to him, for being so prideful, for hurting himself… but he couldn't./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Looking at his long-limbed mate, all he felt was the intense desire to scoop him up and make everything alright—so that's exactly what he did. It was after he did so that he smelled the odor, and in turn realized what happened to his stubborn charge./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"He cast a light scourgify over the man and the floor, adjusting Severus in his arms so that he could look at him properly./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Severus was a slight man, somewhat lean around his upper half but being curvy and bow legged, and he seemed even smaller in his injured state, looking to all the world like he hadn't eaten in days despite having eaten just that morning. Harry held him close, feeling a surge of protectiveness like he never had before./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"This man, this spiteful, cunning, broken, cluster of a man, was his./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Are you feeling any pain, luv?"/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Severus only continued to cry, finding that now that he had finally let go after years of holding onto his iron façade even when alone he couldn't stop for the life of him. Harry ran soothing fingers alone his scalp, setting him up on the bathroom counter with him in between his mate's legs. He found it ironic that at any other time he thought that he would be dancing with joy to find his mate willingly in such a submissive position, held against him and protected. However, he found himself missing the hard glare the man usually gave him in comparison to the broken man before him./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Severus? Severus, darling, I need you to settle down. Breathe, baby. You're going to hyperventilate."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"A calming drought was summoned and spelled into his stomach, the gasps slowing into more steady breathing. Harry just kept holding him, not finding it in himself to let go./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""What can I do for you, pet? Are you hurting?"/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"He was quite for a long time, the only sound between them being his shattered breaths and Harry's calming hums./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"When Severus spoke, it was barely a whisper, but it carried loud and clear to Harry's ears. "Dominant?" he entreated, looking away. "I could use a bath."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"TBC/p