Side By Side.

[pekeleke]

Title: Side By Side.

Fandom: Harry potter (Snarry)

Characters: Harry Potter, Severus Snape.

Author: pekeleke.

Rating: G.

Word count: 906.

Disclaimer: Don't own these characters. No money is being made out of this work.

A/N: Unbetaed. Written for the adventdrabbles 2012 Prompt 8: Cuddling under the covers for warmth.

This is the eighth part in my Seeking Home series.

Summary: There's trouble ahead. It's time to stand together, side by side...

 

Side By Side.

Severus had been cuddling under the covers for warmth when the owl carrying The Prophet finally flew in. He rose from his bed, wrapped himself in his robe, and pulled the paper out of the bird's claws with a firm jerk of his hand. He'd been awake for hours, anxiously waiting the morning. Needing the opening salvo of his upcoming war against public opinion to be fired already. He disliked drawn out battles on principle. True to his slytherin nature, he never bothered to strike unless he was certain of success and, therefore, most of his actual battles lasted only seconds. He expected this particular fight to be long and painful. An insidious, heartbreaking, campaign that could cost him... everything.

 

“Severus... are you there?”

 

The sudden flare of his floo connection distracted him from his careful examination of the article in question. He dropped the paper as soon as he recognized Harry's voice and walked towards the fireplace, encountering a pair of dull green eyes that examined him anxiously.
“Have you seen the paper? Rita Skeeter wrote an awful article about us!”

 

“Not us, Harry. Me. She wrote an awful article about me”

 

“We're together now. There's no you anymore. She wrote this about us, Severus. She wrote it to hurt us both and she's nuts if she expects me to sit back and let her print... trash... about you!”

 

Severus sat in his fireside chair, rubbing his forehead wearily.
“It's not trash. It might be a slightly distorted version of the truth, but nobody can deny that I treated you appallingly during your school years. I was a Death-eater. I murdered Albus in cold blood. I allowed the Carrows into the school and turned a blind eye, whenever they abused students in my presence... I've done every single thing she claims I did.”

 

“You've done a million others she doesn't mention! Look... can I come in? Trying to defend you from yourself is hard enough without adding the stress of doing it from the wrong side of the fireplace”

 

“Of course you can come in. Just... could you wait a few minutes before coming through? I'd like to order breakfast and change. I don't want to have this particular conversation in my PJ's.”

 

Harry's gaze raked his seated form with unquenchable hunger and the appreciative smirk that appeared on his face took Severus' breath away.
“You don't have to change on my account. I like you in your PJ's, Severus. They make you look... rumpled.”

 

“Potter!” He growled with flustered embarrassment. “This isn't the right time to leer at me.”

 

Harry laughed with the delighted glee of a child pursuing a kite.
“I'm not sure about that. I haven't found the wrong time to leer at you yet, Severus. It's an inspiring pastime, you know?. Informative, too. I can't actually believe that even your PJ's are black...”

 

“Would you stop that nonsense already? We're both in serious trouble. Your reputation is being... tainted... by our alleged association”

 

The gryffindor's good humour died so fast that Severus blinked with shock. The messy head inside his fireplace jerked violently upwards, as if its owner had been rudely prodded with a hot rod. An awful little silence spread between them like a threatening dark cloud before Harry's thunderous roar shattered it:
“Oh, fuck it!... I'm crossing over right now. I'm not letting you think like that a single second longer!”

 

A tangled mass of absolutely incensed gryffindor tumbled onto his hearthrug almost immediately and he swallowed with discomfort when Harry failed to raise from his undignified position on the floor. Having the Saviour of the Wizarding World literally at his feet was a disturbing experience. One he didn't particularly enjoy, to be honest.
“Should I assume you don't want breakfast?”

 

“Listen... you've got to stop trying to side-track me. I know the idea of counting on me frightens you, but you need to give it a go. I'm fighting on your corner, Severus. This is now my corner too. There's nothing alleged about our association. We've gone past mere association as far as I'm concerned. We have a partnership, a developing relationship that I treasure very deeply and I'm planing to defend with tooth and nail. You are the man I love. I realize you don't believe this but I know you inside out. Rita Skeeter's poison won't change my mind about us.”

 

Those fierce words soothed Severus' worst fears and he closed his dark eyes with relieved gratefulness. Harry's protectiveness was unravelling his defences layer by layer, burrowing under his skin, seeking blood and muscle, reaching heart and mind... It was aiming straight for his soul, trying to brand it indelibly.
“You could still deny this. Reject the idea of us as a couple. You'll save yourself a heap of trouble by publicly laughing off these claims...”

 

“Never!. I won't ever deny loving you. Not in this lifetime and not in the next, Severus. Not for all the gold in Gringotts or the power of the Founders. I'm in love with you and I want us to stand side by side. I want us to dream our dreams and fight our battles together. I want us to build a world that belongs only to us. You are my choice. My life. My future. You are the man my heart desires and I won't give up on you for anyone or anything, least of all for Rita Skeeter!

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