"Chrysanthemum." Severus Snape x reader fanfiction.

Swan song.

* TW: smut, descriptions of sex.

                    You had to wonder how Severus managed to maneuver himself within such a tiny bathroom, feeling extremely cramped already as he gently set you down on your own two feet. He kept his large hands braced at your hips just in case you started to fall, but you kept your balance this time. He turned and reached into the nearby tub, twisting the silver knob until a steady stream of hot water was flowing from the spout.

The silence was only a little bit awkward, considering the bruised state of your body and the lingering emotions of what had just previously transpired in the adjacent room. You fiddled your thumbs in a circle as the water slowly started to fill the tub, Severus turning to face you with that all too familiar stare. The somewhat cold, depressed sort of stare.

"Get undressed," he spoke in a lower register than you were expecting, dark and thick brows pulled together.

You blinked a few times and lifted your hands up to grip the hem of your sweater, fumbling with the slightly frayed material with your fingertips. The corner of Severus' lips twitched upward into the faintest of smirks.

"Or...shall I?"

So, he was deciding to be cheeky? Now of all times? You were only a little bit annoyed at his impeccable timing, but it didn't take you long to relax and comply, your own lips curling into a grin. You nodded slowly, raising your arms up and above your head as a signal of approval.

He reached out and hooked his fingertips beneath the hem of your jumper, slowly lifting it up and off of your frame. He made an effort to fold it neatly before sitting it aside on the counter, dark eyes scanning the newly exposed bits of skin — the dip of your shoulders, the deepening valley between your breasts, to the shadow of your belly button.

His fingers trailed along the lacy outline of your bra straps, breathing slow and soft as he took his time indulging in everything you were in this very moment. Dark bruises painted the skin just beneath your rib cage and along the side of your neck. It pained him to see you as hurt as you were.

The intensity of his stare caused the heat to build within your cheeks, painting them a rosy shade of red. You could feel him brush along the jagged shape of your bruises before eventually reaching around to unhook your bra and sit that aside as well. Severus didn't feel that same burning sense of lust he had those previous times of coitus. No, this was an entirely different form of longing. It was soothing and melodic, a symphony of low resonating notes that flowers across line after line of sheet music.

It was driven by more than just a physical attraction this time. And you most certainly could tell. You felt incredibly vulnerable as he dropped to his knees and removed what was left of your undergarments, sitting your panties aside. His warm breath tickled the skin of your inner thigh, lips pressing tender kiss after kiss in their wake.

Your eyes fluttered closed, head daring to tilt back as a deep breath expelled from your slightly parted lips. You pulled yourself together just long enough to steal a glance at the sight before you — Severus gazing up at you like a hungry little puppy, his large hands and splayed fingers traveling up your hips. His mouth inching higher and higher as the tip of his nose brushed along your skin.

"I was foolish..."

A soft, low whisper shook you out of your arousing daze as you popped your eyes open. Eventually his darker gaze met yours again and you could feel your heart skip beat in your chest.  He could sense you weren't exactly following his train of thought.

"I was foolish to kick you out of my office," he repeated himself with an uncomfortable sort of grumble.

Admitting to his wrong doings wasn't exactly the easiest of tasks, but he owed you that much at the very least after everything you had been put through.