Mended

Twenty-Six

A gentle spring breeze flutters through the opened window, bringing with it the soft scent of lilac from the garden and the earthy, fresh scent of a passing rain still far off in the distance. The sun had already set below the rolling hills of the valley. Lorna is long asleep, Bram is prowling the garden for any trace of gnomes, and Danu and Severus trace one another's skin with their fingertips while whispering together.

Severus is sprawled across her nude body, his skin molding perfectly to her flesh. It is not a moment of ecstasy or passion, but a primal need to be as close to one another as possible, to feel every inch and imperfection of the others body against their own. The moments in which he allows himself to be vulnerable, to be pampered and comforted in any way are few and far between, but tonight, something inside of him yearned for it as desperately as she had. He had allowed her to strip the cotton shorts he had been wearing from his still reddened thighs, and watching intently as she pulled her silk nightgown over her head, he did not flinch or pull away when she gripped him by the shoulder and pulled him down on top of her, where he still lay, their limbs tangled together as she gently scratches his scalp with her fingernails and trails her fingertips down his shoulders. His warm breath between her breasts becomes a low moan each time she scratches the crown of his head, yet he will never admit just how much he enjoys the feeling. His thumb periodically draws a line across her rib, the callous on the side of thumb still feels foreign on the newly grown and raised flesh there from the splinching incident.

She tucks the hair behind Severus' ear and runs her finger along the long, thin scar on his neck from the snakes bite, which had almost taken his life. Despite it being many years at this point, the flesh is still raised and a silvery blue color that stands out drastically against his pale skin. He keeps it hidden with high collars and strategic placing of his hand or hair, but there are times when it peeks out beneath his protective shields, and she's reminded once more of what she almost lost that fateful night. Severus often runs his long, nimble finger over it while reading silently in bed next to her, then will jerk his hand away quickly as if the reminder of the pain he had endured had transferred into his hand. The first time Lorna had seen, or really noticed the scar, she had been lying on his chest as he read to her, her small fingers reached up and brushed the raised flesh tenderly and planted a quick, soft kiss there. Severus' throat bobbed and a look of terror briefly flashed across his face before continuing with the book.

"You don't need to feel guilty, Severus." Danu murmurs against his hair before kissing him gently on the top of his head. The guilt and horror had radiated from his core since he came through the door shortly after dawn that morning, freezing cold and barely able to move. "You think that you're the first parent in the world who's shouted at their child? She's okay, you didn't hurt her."

"I frightened her." Severus states plainly, his Adams apple bobbing against her breast at the effort it took for him to get the words out.

"You didn't, at least not long term. She isn't afraid of you, she loves you. She ran right into your arms the moment she saw you this morning. She wouldn't have done that if she were afraid of you."

"Perhaps she shouldn't." Severus murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Shouldn't what?" Severus doesn't respond, his finger stills on her skin, no longer drawing that line against her mauled flesh. "Are you saying that she shouldn't love you?"

Severus' eyelashes flutter against her skin as the clouds finally break, sending a strong gust of wind through the room, the soft putter of hammering rain across the thatched roof is all that could be heard. Danu places her hand beneath his chin and forces him to look up at her. His eyes are hollow and red rimmed with deep, dark circles beneath them.