Work Text:
Severus watched the battle of minds unfolding before him: portrait versus witch, greater good versus staunch defence of Severus Snape. No one had stood up for him before, unless it served their purposes. Against many attacks, he had developed defences, but not this, leaving him vulnerable and raw inside.
How dangerous, he thought, to finally have something worth losing everything for. He could not even contemplate sacrificing her for Lily’s son if it ever decided between saving Potter or Hermione. She had crawled under his skin and carved her name into his heart with sensibly manicured nails throughout their secret partnership, first brewing together, then exchanging messages. It was irreversible, and he was an otter-marked man.
When she turned her back on Albus, brown curls sparkling with magic still and a satisfied look in her amber eyes, Severus stumbled to her on unstable legs.
“You are magnificent,” he said, cradling her cheeks in shaking hands. “I don’t des—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Severus Snape. You deserve everything and I won’t hear otherwise.” Hermione pressed her lips to his, wrapping him in an embrace he couldn’t deny himself anymore. Her soft warmth ignited something like hope in his chest.