The last chapter of You Don't Bring Me Flowers! Thank you for all of the reviews and support, and I hope that you enjoy the final chapter. :)

Chapter 5

Hermione lie awake in her bed at the Burrow. A ball of blue fire hovered above her head, the same spell that she had used when she was eleven to set fire to Severus' robes when they had thought he was trying to kill Harry. She would have smiled at the thought of it, if perhaps the thought of Severus didn't weigh so heavily on her mind as it was. A swift flick of her wand vanished the heatless fire, and she found herself in thick darkness.

It had been a week since their conversation in Minerva's office, over two since the start of the entire debacle between the two of them. They had been civil, even more so over the past week. Severus had never pushed her or asked when she was coming home. He had honored her request for space, although he still greeted her at every meal and made small talk.

The first few days after their conversation had truly been for thinking, but the rest of the week had been purely selfish. She wanted to make him wait, partially to give him time to think about their relationship as well and partially because she wanted to see if he would truly honor her request. So far, he had, and as she stared up at the ceiling that she knew was somewhere above her in the dark, she missed him deeply. Lying in a bed that wasn't hers without him by her side bored an aching hole deep within her soul.

She got out of bed and crept down the creaking stairs to the kitchen to fix herself a strong cup of tea. She hoped that the smooth bergamot of Earl Grey would soothe her racing mind. The kettle whistled on the stove, and she poured a steaming cup and stepped out into the field behind the house, surveying the stars twinkling down on her from above, both hands wrapped around the mug to stave off the winter chill. Her eyes sought out Canis Major, the constellation she would never forget; its brightest star, Sirius, the dog star, fittingly enough – in fact the brightest star in all the sky aside from the sun – seemed to wink at her, and her mind wandered briefly to Harry's godfather. She spared a small grin for the memory of the man, lighthearted and mischievous despite the taint of twelve years' time in Azkaban.

Her eyes found Hydra next, the great water snake that stretched across the winter sky. Severus had pointed it out one January a few years ago, on a camping trip that they had taken when he was out harvesting a rare ingredient for a potion that he had been developing.

She took a sip of tea, and as the warmth settled into her stomach, so did the firm realization that she wanted to go home. Her bed would always feel too cold and empty without him. The hole in her heart would only be filled by the pleased smirk that captured his face when he made her laugh.

Something clenched in her chest at the thought of his smile, especially at the thought of someone else seeing the smile that he reserved especially for her. The smile that she hadn't seen in weeks.

Tea forgotten, she was at the fireplace in an instant, throwing a pinch of Floo powder into the flames. She stepped into Minerva's office as quietly as the whoosh of green flames would allow. The office was dark, as it should have been in the wee hours of the morning. She crept from the room and quickly strolled towards the dungeons.

By the time she reached the door to her quarters, the bells in the clock tower were striking two. She pushed the door open quietly to find a dark apartment. Severus hadn't slept well since the war, so she was genuinely surprised to find their living room absent and the grate dark and cold. She walked down the hall, but the lab was spotless and their bedroom empty, the bed lying cool and untouched in the dark room.

A cold feeling that matched the temperature of the quarters filled her stomach. A twinge of bitterness settled over her and a wave of hurt crashed down on her as she realized that he was gone. Her mind snidely whispered that this time it truly was her fault, for she had pushed him away and made him wait even when she had been the one to make the hurtful accusations of him in the first place. Because he should have been sleeping or sitting in the armchair having a drink or brewing for the Hospital Wing or anywhere but gone. Because she had lived with him for four long years and she knew that he didn't patrol on Thursdays, that he should supposed to be here. And it hurt.

She walked numbly to the living room, where he still hadn't touched the book that she had left there after their fight two weeks ago, when she foolishly accused him of cheating on her with Rosmerta when she should have known in her soul that he would never even look at another woman. The hardbound textbook sat harmlessly on the couch beside her favorite spot in the quarters – on the couch directly in front of the fire.

She trailed her fingers over the forest green cover, already accumulating dust. With a sigh, she picked it up and settled back onto the couch. Her legs curled under her as her book fell open to her bookmarked page.

oOoOo

Severus strode purposefully through halls of the dungeons, back towards his quarters. An exhaustion seemed to have settled into his very bones, and he couldn't wait to turn in for the night, perhaps after strong cup of tea or a stiff drink.

It had been a week since Hermione had told him that she needed space, and he was trying to be patient with her. He told himself that it didn't matter how long it took, as long as she came back in the end, but it was still difficult to watch her walk past him every day and treat him so differently than she had before.

Besides, a week was a long time to plan the big romantic gesture that Minerva had recommended that he put on for her, and he had certainly needed the time to think. He was far from a romantic man, and it was quite difficult for him to think of ways to win back his wife's affection, even if he had lived with her for years. A single rose? A bouquet of roses? A million red roses covering the stone floor? He was baffled.

He was just as baffled when he pushed open the door to find the lights on. His eyes fell on a bushy-haired witch curled up on the couch with a book, and the sight was so welcome to his eyes that he almost believed that he was hallucinating in his exhaustion. But Hermione was shaking slightly in restless energy, the fingers of one hand drumming on the coffee table beside the couch. It was out of character for her, and it alerted him immediately to her irritation.

The click of the door alerted her to his presence, and she turned to look at him. The book fell closed on the couch.

"You're back," Severus whispered, his hand still on the handle of the heavy door.

A deep line formed on her forehead. "I'm back? You're back! Where have you been?" Severus looked surprised but remained silent. "I come back and you're gone. . . What do you think I thought?"

It was Severus' turn to furrow his brow, and he brought his hands up in a display of innocence. "One of my first years had a nightmare; she was distraught. Her dorm mates summoned me as their Head of House to calm her."

Hermione's face softened, and she immediately looked ashamed at her accusation. Her face dropped. "I'm sorry, Severus. I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay, love. We just have to be careful. We're so defensive." One corner of her lips quirked up in acknowledgement of his truth. He approached her until he was standing across the couch from her and offered half a smile. "You came back too early. I was planning something for you, but I certainly wasn't expecting you at two in the morning."

She grinned at him fully this time. "And just what did this 'something' entail?"

He looked thoughtful and moved around the couch to eliminate the barrier between them. A few more steps and he had her nearly pinned to the wall. He reached behind his back and revealed a single, perfect white rose. "Roses, for my undying love. White for reverence, for sincerity, for a love as strong as death." He winked at her. "You were supposed to receive one hundred but you caught me off guard."

She took the rose and brought it instinctually to her nose, inhaling its fresh scent. "It almost smells like it wasn't just conjured from behind your back," she replied playfully, and he pretended to look scandalized.

His face turned serious again and met her gaze levelly. "The rose wasn't the only part of the something, Hermione, as you called it. The last few weeks have given me a lot of time to think.

"It seems like a lifetime ago that I found you in Diagon Alley after Weasley left you alone and heartbroken. Our relationship has been through its ups and downs. We've survived my trial, my house arrest, your insufferable Gryffindor tendencies, and – of course – my unbearable disposition. And now, we're surviving this. We've been happy with the old, but I want something new. I want to start over."

Severus knelt before her and gently held her hand in both of his. At her evident confusion, he murmured, "Marry me, Hermione." His face was free of any amusement as his eyes seemed to look into her very soul.

She snorted and attempted to pull her hand away, but he tightened his grasp slightly to prevent her from pulling away. "We're already married, Severus."

He rubbed one thumb gently over the back of her hand. "No, Hermione, marry me again. A new marriage. A marriage with no lies, no secrets, no unfounded accusations, no unannounced absences. I cannot promise that there will be no pain, nor can I promise that there will be no tears, but I can damn well promise that there will be a more loving husband waiting for you at the end of the day."

Hermione looked deeply pensive as she opened her mouth to reply. "Well. . ."

Severus stood quickly so that she was now forced to look up at him to see his face. "Wait, Hermione, don't answer me yet. I want you to truly think about your choice. Because this time, I'm all in. Every part of me. Always. And I expect the same." He brought his fingers up to caress one perfect cheek. "Hermione, it makes my day to see you here waiting for me. It takes my breath away to argue with you because I couldn't stand to lose you. I feel lower than I've ever felt in my existence when you have a problem I can't fix. My teeth clench and my chest tightens with anger to even think of you saying another man's name and touching him the way you've touched me. And if you don't feel the same way as I do – if you doubt even the slightest bit that I'm the one you want to be with for the rest of your life, then don't say yes. If you don't want to come home to me waiting for you every night – if you don't want my love – then walk out that door, and I'll let you go."

Hermione was crying now, fat tears rolling down her cheeks as she twisted her fingers into his starched button up and pulled him as close to her as she possibly could. His hand left her face to tangle in her hair and pull her face against his chest as he pressed a kiss into her hair.

He took advantage of their position and whispered into her ear, "I have been a slave for my entire life, my love. A slave to my abusive father. A slave to two masters. A slave to my position in the war. A slave to a promise I made years ago to a woman who would never forgive me, much less love me. And when the war ended, I vowed to myself that I would be unfettered for the rest of my miserable life." He paused, and she reveled in the sound of his heart beating in his chest, the soft susurration of his breath beneath her ear letting her know that she was finally in his arms again.

"But Hermione, somehow I have found myself a slave to you." She flattened her palms against his crinkled shirt and attempted to push away from his chest to protest, but he continued, "I am a slave to you, but if you handed me the keys to my shackles, if you even removed the chains from my feet, I would only use the freedom to run right back to you. And if you let the fetters fall away from my wrists, I would do nothing but hold your hand," – he laced their fingers together between them with a deep look – "touch you, and hold you to me for the rest of my days."

When Hermione shuffled back a step to look up at his face, his eyes were suspiciously moist, and she raised her free hand to rest it against the side of his cheek. He leaned into the touch slightly and sighed, never breaking eye contact.

"Severus," she whispered, her voice so soft that it was barely more than a sigh, a brush of breath against his skin. "I've been afraid of so many things, but I have never feared anything nearly as much as I feared losing you. Merlin, Severus, you're my entire world, and without you I have no reason to continue breathing. You're the breath in my lungs. You're my air, and without you I feel like I'm choking all the time.

"You've been my everything for so long. You've taught me everything. You taught me to control my tongue when I was in school, before I truly knew you." She trailed a finger along the line of his collar. "And without even knowing it, you taught me what it means to be brave when it seems impossible." Her finger continued to trace the line of buttons up and down his shirt. "You taught me how to be strong when I nearly lost myself after Ron left. You taught me how to face my own flaws as well as the flaws of others."

He brought her wandering hand up to his mouth and kissed it, the corners of his lips turning up into a smirk. "You have taught me the same, in addition to much more, Hermione. You have taught me the meaning of love when I thought it was forever lost to me. And you have given me a reason for living. Never doubt your importance to me."

"Then yes," Hermione breathed, and she reached up to pull his head down so that his forehead rested gently against hers. "Yes today, yes tomorrow, and yes every day for the rest of our lives if you'll have me."

Dark eyes softened with relief and adoration at her words. She met his gaze easily and felt his warm breath tickle her skin as he affirmed, "Always."

He bent his head to close the remaining space between them, and her blinding smile was swallowed by a pair of thin lips that were suddenly molded to her own. She reached one hand up to tangle in his lank hair – the other gripping a handful of shirt at his side – and responded fervently.

His tongue swiped playfully at her bottom lip, and she suddenly found herself pressed firmly against the wall of their living room, the stones cool against her back from the still-unlit fireplace. She smiled into the kiss and squirmed slightly against him as he gently tugged her hand away from his shirt and held it in his own, his long fingers lingering on the warm white gold band of her wedding ring that bound her to him for eternity.

She linked their fingers instinctively, delighted to see a side of the man that she hadn't seen in years – not since the trial had placed a heavy burden on their shoulders and perhaps even a doubt in Severus' heart that she could truly love him in light of his sins. She squeezed his hand tightly and arched into him, hoping to convey to him that she was his as long as he wanted her.

He seemed to get the message, for as he broke the kiss to lean down and nip at the soft skin of her neck, he softly growled, "Mine."

And she was. Now and forever. Always.

"Severus?" she asked breathlessly as he swiped his tongue across her collarbone.

"Hmm?" he acknowledged absentmindedly.

"I might take you up on those one hundred roses later."

Big romantic gesture blew up slightly, but I liked this better. :P What did you think?