One Last Chance for the Two
Imagine… meeting Severus Snape a few years after the Battle of Hogwarts
Warnings: more crying here
Part II (Part I >>>)
“So, how’s the school?” he asked reservedly, looking at you across the small kitchen table as you took a sip from the cup that he gave you.
Talking to you again felt so odd and unusual, Snape didn’t know what to say. It’s been way too long – too much time’s been wasted. Too much time’s been spent blaming himself for the terrible things he’s done to be easily reassured it was not his fault. It was, and nothing could change that. Over the years, he convinced himself he deserved nothing but hatred and contempt, and now it was so hard to accept that you were not despising him. Snape thought he’s become a stranger to you, there was nothing left from the man you used to know, so he believed, and if you haven’t realized it yet, you’d certainly do.
“I quitted,” you answered grimly. “Couldn’t stay there. Everything reminded me of you, everything!” your voice quavered. “Neither could I take it in the Ministry. They’re still haunting some of the Death Eaters, you know. Still haven’t caught them all. And your name, it sounded from everywhere, in every investigation there was a mention of you! I just couldn’t, that was way too much…”
He stretched out his hand and rested it on top of yours. Poor consolation. Unfortunately, that was all he could offer. If only he had known how much his life might mean to you...
“When they said you were a double agent...” you paused in attempt to pull yourself together. You could no longer breath, so you had to exhale through your mouth. “You have no idea what I’ve been through...”
Tears streamed down your cheeks.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why, Severus? Everything could be different…”
“I had to protect you. Keeping you uninvolved was the best I could do.”
“But at what cost!” you exclaimed in a fit of wild emotion.
“Your life was worth any price.”
“Really?” you shook your head in disagreement. “For such a life as mine has become, it wasn’t worth a grain of effort!” you shouted. “My life ended that very moment they said you were dead!” You pulled your hand out of his grip and covered your face. The pain that overflowed your heart was now pouring out in uncontrollable howls and sobs.
Snape left his seat and rushed over to you. He knelt down before you and rubbed your thighs, desperate to comfort you, but actually having no idea how to do it. You had no more power to manage your feelings, so you just sagged on the floor next to him and let him hold you.
“If you decide to protect me again… maybe from yourself, I don’t know… if you say you’re unworthy, that I better not mess with you, or whatever shit you come up with,” you swallowed tears, “maybe you’d ask me first? If I want this at all?”
He stroked your back, your head, clenching you tight in his arms and hating himself for hurting you again.
“Because all I want is you, Severus!” you whined, mumbling into his collar. “All I need is you, all I’ve ever needed…”
Suddenly, you felt his shoulders shudder as his weight pressed upon you, and it stunned you. You held your breath and froze, entirely forgotten about the tears you were shading.
No one’s ever known what a severe heartache was torturing his soul and his mind, what a violent disturbance was raging within his chest – he’s always made an impression of a strong man, there seemed to be nothing to put him out of control. But he was just a human, and yet he broke down. The stone his heart had become, hardened against hatred and misunderstanding over decades, crumbled to dust, exposing a knot of flaring feelings. For this to happen, he just had to hear that he was needed! If you had told him you were leaving, he wouldn’t have flinched, but confession coming from the bottom of a bleeding heart shattered the wall he’d put up between himself and the rest of the world to protect a vulnerable soul longing for love.
Crying silently, he buried his face in the crook of your neck, squeezing you tighter, as if he was afraid you’d slip out of his hands. He shuddered harder, no longer trying to hold back, because he just could not. His tears were your relief, your solace, your assurance that from now on everything was going to be all right.
You didn’t try to stop him, giving him as much time as he needed to cry his pain away, to free himself from the heavy burden he’s been carrying for an eternity. It should’ve happened long ago, before you’d accused him in all earthly sins, before you’d left him, and then you’d probably wouldn’t have to go separately through the hell your lives had become.
When there were no more tears left, he breathed heavily, still holding you firm in his arms, unwilling to pull away, ashamed to look you in the eyes, embarrassed by his weakness. But you took it gratefully, with tenderness, compassion and sympathy. You softly stroked his head, gasping for air once in a while, but with ease at your soul. Your palms still preserved the memory of so much missed sensation of his skin against yours, and now feeling the warmth of his body seemed like going back in those days when you believed you could hardly be happier.
Without breaking apart, you moved aside ever so slightly just to see his face. He reluctantly allowed you, keeping his eyes low to avoid your glance. Not a single person has ever seen him like this. Revealing his true self for your judgement wasn’t easy, but he found the courage to look you in the eyes, open and honest. He had nothing to lose anymore – he’s already lost your respect, your trust, your love – losing the remnants of his dignity was nothing in comparison to all that.
He looked so lost, so confused, and you pitied him with sincerity and commitment, wholeheartedly wishing to console him, to assure him that from now on he was not alone. There were still traces of tears on his cheeks, same as on yours. You cupped his face and pressed your forehead against his. You smiled, still sobbing, and reached out to kiss him. Your swollen lips brushed sloppily against his, but he accepted it with infinite gratitude and answered your kiss selflessly.
When you broke off, the silence filled the air, but it wasn’t awkward, in this silence there was a harmony of unity, understanding and acceptance. Snape lowered his head, rose to his feet with little effort and helped you up. He turned away, and you heard him sniff quietly as he rubbed his nose. He didn’t know what to do next, how to behave.
“Why would you need me?” he shook his head in disbelief. “Look what I’ve become...”
He turned around dejected by guiltiness and self-contempt, but met your loving gaze.
You approached him. “Just don’t say anything,” you whispered, stroking the strands of hair from his face, and he instinctively placed his hands on your waist. “I don’t want to hear any more reasons why you think you’re unworthy. I just found you and I’m not going to lose you again!” you softly kissed his lips, and he couldn’t resist.
“I’m exhausted…” you let out a sigh feeling your eyelids get heavier. The last few hours were overwhelming.
“No wonder,” there still was bitterness in his tone. Getting rid of guilt that rooted into him during the years wasn’t easy. Snape knew it was him to blame you were in such condition. “Come now, you really need some rest.”
He led you to his bedroom. Tiny it was, just as the rest of the house.
You sat on the edge of the bed and softly ran your hand over the mattress, thinking about numerous nights you were crying your eyes out, while he was lying here, on this very spot, left on his own, abandoned by everyone he knew. You looked up at him. He stood at the door and watched you. Tired, his eyes still red. You knew you looked no better, but you were not ashamed of your appearance. You pursed your lips into a faint smile.
“Will you stay with me? Please?”
He made a step forward, and you shifted to give him some space. Snape came up and sat next to you. You tilted your head to rest on his shoulder. He wrapped you into his hold and leaned against the headboard, where the two of you nestled comfortably on his only pillow. He squeezed you tighter, and you closed your eyes, finally finding peace on his chest.
“I missed you so much,” you admitted quietly.
“Me too,” he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. “It’s been not a single day that I wouldn’t think about you…”
“Don’t let me go, Severus, never again, will you?”
“I won’t,” he promised, tightening his grip. “Never.”
You nuzzled into his robes, taking in the sense of his proximity, his warmth, his scent, the beating of his heart. Cradled in his embrace, you felt safe again, you felt alive.
Snape didn’t say anything; all the words had been spoken, all the feelings had been exposed. He just held you tight, relishing the feel of your body in his arms. A whirlpool of emotions still raging in his soul, he couldn’t believe you were beside. All this time he yearned to see you, but never expected this to happen. Everything seemed like a dream, too good to be true, one of those that brings pain and disappointment after waking up. But he wasn’t sleeping.
“Do you know that you were proclaimed a hero?” you broke the silence.
“I do,” he sighed. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m also a murderer.”
“Why didn’t you report yourself? Nobody would judge you.”
“My name’s already made too much noise. I don’t want any more attention. No, I’ve had enough. There’s no more Severus Snape.”
“But not for me, right?” you looked up at him.
He squeezed your hand, that rested on his chest –
“No, not for you.”
You rubbed your head against his shoulder, curling up closer. Drained emotionally and physically, you yawned and closed your eyes. So many more questions were spinning in your head, but you will ask them later. Everything shall wait. Just one thing mattered now – he was alive, and he was yours.
You drifted to sleep in no time. To the beating of his heart, you slept so well like you haven’t for ages.
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so, inspired by the warm welcome the captain received with that rough doodle i posted, i made an updated design for Ki'ita as well (basic and with clothes)
i removed the piercings she had bc considering that they spend the majority of their time in arctic waters i think having metal directly in your skin is a bad idea, no matter how thick your blubber is; i also gave her typical white markings a green hue bc ... i liked how it looked and makes them stand out a little more
(i will not repeat what i wrote on the post about the captain but wanted to add a bit of more info about Ki'ita herself)
(i dont have ALL of their backstory done yet but) the captain and Ki'ita worked together in another organization, one in which the father of the captains child also worked at, before being betrayed and barely managing to escape, after which the both of them founded their pirate crew (possible name is the Solar Pirates bc of their solar powered boat stuff); since the captain had her daughter shortly afterwards Ki'ita managed most of the organisational matters at first, including the construction of their base on an abandoned island they had initially fled to
over the years they invented the solar powered ships that allowed them to gain control over a large part of an important trade route, leaving normal ships (mostly) alone but attacking those of hunters and similar, rescuing demons and mutants, even some humans from them, most of which also join the crew and it quickly lead to them becoming their own little community
Ki'ita does not like to spend alot of time among large groups of people, no matter how much she cares about them, and her originally being from norther lands gave her the idea to explore, and if viable, do underground missions in those norther areas to disrupt the infrastructure the hunters had built in recent years and overall keep the crew informed about things that may otherwise stay hidden; with each of their travels her time absent from the base increased but the patience of the captain is wearing thin so its likely a serious talk is underway
on Ki'itas third solo mission she nearly died due to entanglement in abandoned nets made by hunters from an unknown material that she could not break, the massive scars on her tail especially come from that, only surviving bc the date they were supposed to return to the crew had passed and the captain grew to worried about her and made the entire crew rush into an emergency search, including the captain herself and her toddler, who were not suited for the cold climate just like the rest of crew, taking a huge risk that Ki'ita still feels ashamed of for causing; they stayed within the base for a whole year afterwards, not just to recover but also as a silent apology, taking time preparing herself to ensure theyd not get into a situation like that again
(before departing on their next mission the captain gifted her a sword with the blade made from the material of the net, a wooden handle, bc of the cold, and a blue wrap around it reminiscent of the captains striking blue teeth; a reminder of what had happened, a means to defend herself when their strength and teeth are not enough, and also a promise to always return again)
the oldest members of the crew know Ki'ita well and treat her like an old friend, among the newer members she has more of a .. cryptic status, the mysteriously absent vice-captain who only appears every few months or so out of thin air, throws a big party, sleeps for a few days and then vanishes again, the only hint to when they will return soon again being the captain getting noticably grumpier
(OC art, Ki'ita, she/they)
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