Payback.

[pekeleke]

Title: Payback.

Author: pekeleke

Characters: Harry Potter, Severus Snape.

Rating: PG

Warning(s): Angst, pre-slash.

Word count: 365

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

Written for: hogwarts365 Prompt #2 – Payback's a bitch!

Summary: When payback time finally arrives for Severus Snape he's shocked to discover that his own idea of what he deserves doesn't seem to match the Savior's...

Payback.

I can see Severus better whenever I'm not distracted by the sight of his enraged black gaze. By the broken sound of his, now, unlovely voice. By the knowledge that he's floundering like a lost child, resenting the unwelcome reality of his survival.

Yes. He survived, but he was so set on dying that he can't bear to be alive. He resents his lack of punishment, the respect his actions earned him and the care I can not hide.

“Leave me alone, Potter!” He growls, attempting to push me into leaving with heartbreaking defensiveness. Begging me to do the impossible with his painfully broken voice. Hurting us both equally with his stubborn desire to hold onto the kind of self-inflicted isolation that won't ever grant him the closure he so desperately seeks.

“I can't! I might have been willing to abandon you in the past, but now everything is different. I've finally met the man Albus Dumbledore trusted with his life and...”

“The man Albus trusted with his life murdered him in cold blood, Potter.”

“I know what happened. I was there, Severus.”

“And you're still here? You're more ridiculous than I ever imagined, then.”

“I'm not ridiculous and you're not a murderer.” I state calmly, ignoring his snort of disbelief.

“Go away. Or, even better, send me away. I have the right to stand trial, Potter. You can't refuse me the punishment I deserve...”

“Payback's a bitch, isn't it?” I respond as flippantly as I dare, smiling grimly at him. “You might think yourself a monster, but the rest of us have finally met the man behind your masks. Your survival isn't a punishment, Severus. It's your just reward. This is the future you deserve and I'll be dammed before I allow you -of all people- to jeopardize the happily-ever-after that you're entitled to enjoy.”

“You don't understand.” He whispers, insistently denying the truth. “I don't deserve...”

“You deserve to be happier than you are. You deserve to be loved beyond reason.”

Severus flinches away, wide-eyed and clearly flustered.
“No one could love a monster like me.”

“I can. I do. I love you.”

“You...?  That's impossible.”

“It isn't. It's payback, Severus. Your payback.”