Cage Him Not.

[pekeleke]

Title: Cage Him Not.
Author: pekeleke
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape.
Rating: PG.
Warning(s): Angst. Pining. Pre-snarry.
Word count: 365
Disclaimer: Don't own these characters. No money is being made out of this work.
Written for: hogwarts365 Prompt #126#3: Essential.
Summary: Harry sought someone better for years, someone willing to give him the love without the cage.

Cage Him Not.

Harry Potter loves risk, thrives on it, needs it even. He's been accused of getting off on danger many times -and he does- but that doesn't mean he'll choose peril over safety in every aspect of his life.

He needs his heart to be safe. He chose Ginny and Oliver because they were sane, stable, lovely people. They were beautiful inside and out, heroes fit for The Savior; but they tried to 'rescue' him from his weird addiction to danger. They'd promised him marriage, children and the essential vanilla future that all heroes -and Saviors- deserve if only he turned his back on risk, but that had struck Harry as too steep a prize to pay for the kind of love that's built on boundaries and conditions.

He sought someone better for years, someone willing to give him the love without the cage. He consistently shied away from comfortable, tender and romantic until his heart finally settled for cold, acerbic and so-ridiculously-out-of-touch-with-his-own-emotions-that-the-dammned-things-might-as-well-be-bloody-aliens.

Harry's heart has chosen well, but it's made the fatal mistake of falling for the kind of hardened warrior who wouldn’t recognize a happy ending if it punched him on the nose. So Harry thinks he has the love, and suspects he'll never face the cage, but wishes Severus would tether him with every breath he takes.

“Severus! I thought you were too busy grading to come over.” Harry smiles brightly, welcoming the only man he'd ever settle for a vanilla future with -and the only one who'll never offer it- into his flat.

“I'll grade here instead. I realized I haven't seen you in ages and Merlin knows you get into enough trouble whenever I turn around. No untreated injuries, I hope?” Severus asks quietly, raking Harry's body in search of 'trouble' with painfully familiar obliviousness.

“Three days is not 'ages.'”

“It sure feels like it.” Severus mumbles distractedly, and although Harry's heart begs him to kiss his love breathless and confess the feelings burning the tip of his tongue, he doesn't dare to risk it. He needs his heart to be safe. He needs Severus to be safe. And he knows that Severus, war-wary, twice-owned, emotionally-fragile Severus, won't survive another cage.

 

Comments

[alisanne]

Oh! *clutches chest* That was gorgeous. :)
Harry is wise, he knows his Severus. And he will win his man.
Just lovely!

[pekeleke]

True. Harry is wise, and patient enough to realize he needs to give Severus some emotional space. :)

I'm thrilled that you enjoyed this little drabble so much, ali. Thanks, as usual, for your kind and lovely comment. <3

[adafrog]

Poor broken kids. *hugs them*

[pekeleke]

War does that to those who fight it, doesn't it? The boys seem to be coping, though. In their own, unique, way, so things will get better for them both in the end.

Thanks, as always, for taking the time to both read and review another work of mine, ada. Your lovely comment was greatly appreciated. :D

[teryarel]

At first I thought that this is a sad story, seemingly set up to end in loneliness or heartbreak. But - yay for you, pekeleke, and the little spark of hope that still might turn into a bright light! (That's good enough for me, I'll take it as a happy ending.)

This seemed to be a very unsual Harry at first, one who seeks and thrives on danger. But then he somehow changed and had a change of heart. And now he seems to thrive on the mere presence of Severus. I hope he will change his mind about love and safety being like a cage and start to woo his Severus.

Because, even if Severus himself (or both of them) has apparently not yet realized it, even a hardened warrior who is emotionally oblivious can (unintentionally? subconsciously? distractedly) acknowledge that he missed Harry. Well, that's almost like a declaration of love coming from Severus! ^^

Thank you so much for this story dear pekeleke!

[pekeleke]

I think fighting a war changes those who fight it forever, and it's rarely for the better. Trust becomes an issue. As does commitment and the way one feels about risky things like love and danger. One becomes more aware of what it means to be tied to others by emotions, and it may not always feel comfortable. I rarely put the boys in this particular frame of mind, but I need to see it out there every now and then because it reminds me that they'd been soldiers, and that they'll probably always be, even though they've earned the peace they have now.

I'm glad the angst in this drabble didn't put you off, and it's true that Severus' last words are a declaration of love if I ever saw one. Thanks, as always, for taking the time to both read and review another work of mine, teryarel. Your kind and lovely comment was greatly appreciated. :D

[ajatshatru]

How very beautifully true. Wonderful.

[pekeleke]

I'm thrilled that you found this drabble so beautiful, ajatshatru. Thanks so much for your kind and lovely comment. :D

[keyairreem]

Perfection! They both have their issues and insecurities yet they are absolutely perfect for each other-now if only they saw that as well as the rest of us do. Thank you for sharing.

[pekeleke]

It is true that they both have their own issues and insecurities when it comes to romance. It's also true that they are perfect for one another, and it looks like they're managing to be happy together in this strange sort of 'non-relationship' they've got going, so maybe they'll figure out the rest at some point. :)

I'm glad that you enjoyed this drabble so much, keyairreem. Thanks, as always, for your kind and gorgeous comment. :D

[sarahsezlove]

You do broken so well.

[pekeleke]

LOL. That's a way to put it, I suppose. The truth is that I sometimes need to remind myself that cannon would have treated Severus terribly, had he survived. There wouldn't have been much forgiveness, acknowledgment, or even gratitude for him. Sometimes I even doubt that Harry would have believed him about the 'you must let the Dark Lord kill you' bit, if Severus hadn't already been dying when he shared that information. I hate that cannon-that-wasn't, and my wish to change it to something a bit fairer towards Severus is what drives me to write snarry, but it's also what makes me put the boys back in these sort of situations every now and then, like a loop of sorts, I think. A 'this is the sort of fate I'll help them avoid when I write them next', sort of thing.

Thanks, once again, for taking the time to both read and review another work of mine, my friend. Your kind and lovely comment meant the world to me. ;)