Dancing in the Dark - A Severus Snape Love Story

7 | A Place to Start

a/n

Wow, we're already over 200 views! This is crazy to me. Thank you so much for reading and thank you for being patient. Enjoy these next two chapters hens ;)

- Sincerely Slytherin

My eyes blinked open the next morning with a slight heaviness, like opening doors that had been shut tight for quite some time. As my vision focused more I began to get my bearings and recalled what had happened.

I spent the night in Severus's room.

Last evening we had shared such intimate moments. Although we didn't say it directly, we had just admitted some very serious feelings for one another. When Snape stood up from my lap he took my hand and led me to his bedroom, a place I had imagined visiting many times in my head.

It was a reasonably large room for one person, filled with dark furniture and even more candles. There was a small wardrobe to the left of the bedroom door. I didn't look inside but I can't imagine he needed much space for clothing. Two windows lined the far left wall, thick curtains covered whatever they faced outside. A large, canopied bed sat against the middle of the wall opposite the door. Two small bedside tables sat on either side of it. One had a small, ornate clock sitting on it while the other had various books and papers, none of which looked like light reading. A single painting sat on the wall to the right of the door. The image was a simple line of rundown row houses. It seemed like a common English landscape, but it must have meant a great deal for Snape to hang it in his bedroom.

Severus offered me a pair of his pyjamas since I had nothing but my ballgown with me. Though they were a little big, I accepted. Any chance to wear a piece of him made my heart swirl with adoration, I just couldn't get enough of his scent. He grabbed a pair of pj's for himself and rushed out of the room so I could change in privacy. If this had been any other night, I would have put on the charm and asked him to undo my dress for me. But it just didn't feel right after how vulnerable he had been.

This was a heart I needed to be careful with, not a silly little fling.

Snape was also kind enough to offer his bed to me. I was expecting us to both sleep in it after he asked me to spend the night, I could see in his eyes that he wanted to. But he chickened out at the last second and went to sleep on the couch. It was disappointing, but I couldn't push him to do something he wasn't yet comfortable with. I still clearly made him a little nervous.

That's why it was so surprising to find his arm around my waist and his face nuzzled into my hair this morning.

I didn't dare move a muscle, this feeling was something I could have lived in until the end of time. His arm was strong and held me closely into his own body. His warmth soothed me like no blanket ever could and the rhythm of his breathing could have lulled me back to sleep if I focused on it long enough. Looking at the clock, I saw it was only 5:15 in the morning. I could go back to sleep and enjoy this a little longer...

Then I felt Snape begin to stir against me. Holding my breath I waited to see if he was waking or just shifting. I closed my eyes to pretend I was sleeping, hoping he would stay this way with me. The change in his breathing let me know that he was awake. I could feel his weight shift so he could get a look at my face, though he was careful to not move me. Once he had confirmed I was asleep, I felt his lips softly plant a kiss on my cheek. His breathing was shallow as he leaned into me, his lips lingering near my face. For a moment I thought I felt something hard press against my lower back. But before I could confirm it, he let go of my waist and moved himself to the other side of the bed.

Don't let him leave.

I should have won an award for the fake waking up performance I gave. Slowly my body turned to face in Snape's direction. I fluttered my eyes and tried to make cute wake up sounds, though I'm not sure they were. As I finished the performance I fully opened my eyes just in time to see Snape was watching me. His face flushed red as we made eye contact for the first time. Before I could even say "good morning" he was scrambling to get out of bed.

"I'm sorry..." He headed towards the door without looking at me.

"Wait!" He stopped but did not turn around. "Where are you going?" I pleaded in my mind for him to stay, hoping he was actually listening to me.

"Back to the couch. That was highly inappropriate of me. I apologize." He began walking again and reached the door.

No, no, no. Don't run.

"Severus..." He stopped again. "Please stay with me." I sat up in the bed waiting to see if he would return.

But he didn't.

I felt my face flushing with rejection as he walked out of the door. 

What was wrong with me? Why didn't he want to stay? 

Deciding to get more comfortable, I took off the black pj pants and tossed them to the floor. Enjoying the feel of the cool sheets against my legs, I allowed myself to take in his scent and tried to fall back asleep.

But just as I was nearly back in dreamland, I heard Severus enter the room.

My eyes sprung back open to see him next to me. He cleared some space on the bedside table nearest me and set down a cup of tea, then he moved to the other side to set down his. Snape gently lifted the covers and crawled back into bed with me.

"I thought we could use some tea since we're both up" He said with a fraction of a smile. I smiled back and took a sip, letting the warmth of the herbal tea radiate within me. We sat there in silence for a long time, drinking up our tea and each other's presence. When we had both finished, I finally turned my gaze back to him.

"May I?" I gestured towards him. He set down his cup and nodded. I scooted over to Severus and nudged his arm with my head. As he lifted it, I tucked myself into his chest and pulled his arm back over me.

We fit together like the last two pieces of a puzzle.

His heartbeat was steady as I laid on his chest. I felt his hand tracing my arm, running down from my shoulder to the tips of my fingers. It was the kind of thing that gave you goosebumps all over.

Noticing it felt nice for me, he began to trace my shoulder and neck. Finding all of the lines and ridges that made up my body. Getting more confident, he began tracing up and down my back. I could feel the butterflies growing wild as his hand explored me. Reaching down to trace my leg, he was met with my bare skin. With a startled inhale, he pulled his hand away quickly. Realizing what I had just realized.

Oh shit.

"Please excuse my directness but... where... are your... pants?" I could hear his heartbeat quicken. Was he turned on or just scared? Probably both. I sprung up from his arms and faced him, my own embarrassment matching his.

"I uh... I took them off. It was more comfortable for me... Is that okay? I- I can put them back on..." I turned to crawl to the other side of the bed but felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Uh.. no.. no! I want you to be comfortable." His voice was breathy and heavy. Turning back to him, I could see his face had changed. There was a lust in his eyes I hadn't seen since we danced last night. I made my way back into his arms and found that his heartbeat had not settled down. 

Taking a chance, I took his hand and laid it back down on my leg. He took a sharp breath in when our skin made contact.

"It's okay. Touch me Severus..." 

He slid his hand up and down my leg. I lightly hummed into his chest to let him know how great it felt. I could feel his confidence returning. He ran his hand up my leg to cup my bottom, but it did not move any further. His breath was now shaky under me. "I... I don't know how...". I sat up and looked into his unsure yet hungry eyes.

"Then let this be your first lesson." I smirked as I moved to straddle his lap.