Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Severus?” You barrelled into the private room to the side of the hospital wing, eyes wide. “Is he…” you turned to madam Pomfrey as you saw the empty bed, your mind instantly jumping to the worst conclusion.

“Am I what?”

You let out a shuddering breath as Severus returned from the en-suite bathroom, a glass of water in hand. His voice was hoarse (no surprises there, given the scarring around his throat) and through his treatment and trial he had gotten skinnier, more scrawny and haggard but… he was your Severus and he was back.

“Poppy, am I free to go home to my wife, or do you need to pour more potions down my poor throat?” He asked the mediwitch, a good-natured glint in his eye.

Poppy rolled her eyes and swatted his arm gently, warning him not to strain himself, though her words fell on deaf ears as she watched you retreat, Severus’s arm wrapping around your waist, holding your firmly to his side.

***

“Fuck,”

The curse tumbled from your lips without a second thought as Severus backed you up against the bedroom door. His long fingers worked their way up your blouse, until it fell to the floor, while you were extremely grateful for his choice to wear a loose T-shirt rather than his usual buttoned frock coat. As his chest was revealed to you, you bit back a gasp; although you were used to the silvery scars on his abdomen, nothing could have prepared you for the full extent of Nagini’s bite. Though the initial would had scabbed and scarred over, his sallow skin was bruised, his veins showing black from where the venom had seeped. “Poppy says it will take months to heal completely,” he murmured as you’d fingertips ghosted over the spider’s web of veins that spanned across his shoulder and chest.

“My… beautiful, brave husband,” you whispered, looking up at his dark eyes and blinking away tears as you lowered your head to ghost kisses over his chest. “So strong,” you said. “I love you, Severus,”

Severus gave a small sigh of relief. “I love you too, YN. I kept going only for you,”

You were both crying, your tears mingling as you kissed. Your heated fever from before had dissipated into slower, gentler passion, yet it burned hotter than ever. You helped each other out of the remainder of your clothes, stopping to kiss and caress each newly revealed bit of skin, re-familiarising yourselves with your bodies.

As Severus lay back among the pillows, you moved to straddle him, gently lowering your weight onto him, and he whined at the feeling of your wetness on his shaft after so long, his hips bucking subconsciously, wanting to be inside you, for your bodies to be joined once more.

“YN, please,” he groaned, his fingers scrabbling to hold onto your hips. “I-I won’t last long,”

“It’s fine, Sev,” you whispered, guiding him into you. As you slowly slid down onto him, you let out a long moan, mirrored by Severus. Gasping, you began to rock your hips slowly, not wanting to go full throttle just now; it had been so long, and you wanted to feel truly connected with your husband for the first time in almost a year.

Admiring your heaving breasts, Severus took hold of your hands, intertwining your fingers before kissing your knuckles gently, and you allowed yourself to fall forward, knowing he would catch you. You buried your head into his neck (the ‘good’ side), kissing his throbbing pulse over and over as your hips rocked and circled along his length, aided by his slow thrusts. Severus moaned, burying his face into your hair and kissed the top of your head, his arms wrapping around you and holding you impossibly closer to his body, rubbing soothing circles as your breathing grew louder and more laboured, and he felt your knees gripping his hips, your heat gripping his length.

He could not warn you that he was about to come, his breath catching in his throat as his toes curled and he spurted his release into your waiting channel. You whimpered into his neck, and with a few more wriggles of your hips (and his thumb pressing against your clit) you too were tumbling off the edge of pleasure, fresh tears streaming down both of your faces as you called out your love for one another.

Gently, you dismounted, snuggling into Severus’s side as he cast the cleaning and contraceptive charms with a well practiced flick of his wand.

“I’ve missed you,” you whispered, reaching to squeeze his hand.

“I’ve missed you too,” he replied, swiping away your tears with his knuckle, despite the tears glinting on his own cheeks. “I’m never leaving you again, my love,”