Don't Stand So Close to Me

Chapter 6

Kisses Come in All Colors

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Snape woke slowly, but years of training had taught him not to move a hair or make any noise until he got his senses together. He almost broke that training, however, when he remembered where he was.

Bloody hell, he groused. As he woke, he took in the fact that it was cooler than it had been before, the air had a definite bite to it, and the sun was not so bright against his eyelids. His mostly-accurate internal clock informed him that it had been about four hours since he fell asleep on this godforsaken beach. He realized that he was a little stiff.

He also realized that there was someone watching him. This someone was also lightly touching his shoulder, and smelled like...

Cotton blossoms?

With a huge amount of willpower, he forced himself to sit up quickly, noting absently that his body hurt. He grabbed the girl's wrist as she reached out to touch him again.

"Professor?" He glared at her.

"Yes, Miss Granger? I suppose you have a reason for disturbing my rest?" Did she look concerned? Why would she?

"Er, Professor...have you been out in the sun long?"

Snape frowned. Nosy girl. And he really wished she would stop leaning over him like that. It was very distracting. Oh, wait...bloody hell! The reason she hadn't stood up was because he was still holding her wrist tightly.

Perhaps Snape was vulnerable to sunstroke, but he certainly did something then that he would not normally do. He gave in to an urge. A ridiculous, dangerous, unnatural urge.

He didn't let go. He kept holding her wrist, though perhaps a little more gently.

Merlin! What am I doing? Snape shook himself mentally. He was vastly disappointed when she tugged her hand away, but it gave him a strange chill as his fingers slid across hers. Wait...she had asked a question!

"Yes, Miss Granger. What is it to you?"

"Well, sir, you appear to have a sunburn. Look at your skin." Hermione said, looking the slightest bit amused. Snape looked down and recoiled in horror. His once-pale skin was a bright tomato red!

"Did you remember to use a spell or potion to protect your skin, Professor?"

Snape was definitely not pleased. His skin was bright red, not to mention the fact that he had just made an idiot of himself in front of Hermione. Snape almost groaned aloud. This vacation idea was a complete and utter disaster. He decided to add insult to injury in favor of less pain. But that didn't mean he had to surrender all of his dignity.

"So what, exactly, would you suggest I do, Miss Granger?" he asked icily. She gave something uncomfortably similar to a smirk and pulled a bottle out of her beach bag.

"This is a potion I made during my second year for sunburn. It'll help. Don't worry, kisses come in all colors."

"Excuse me?" Snape sputtered. Why's she talking about kisses?!

Hermione laughed. "It's a muggle children's book I read once, about how it didn't matter what color you were. It was terrible, really, but judging by your skin I think it applies to your predicament. Now hold still, it'll feel better in a moment."

To Snape's shock and dismay, she immediately began smearing the thick, light green potion across his shoulders.

"Miss Granger!" he yelped in surprise. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I was helping you, seeing as how it works much better when someone else puts it on your back! If you would prefer to be in pain, that's fine with me!" she snapped defensively. Snape winced. He did not like being yelled at by females. The high, screechy voices really got to him. In order to avoid both that and pain (so he told himself) he submitted to her ministrations.

"Fine," he growled, "But quickly, I have things to do." He could almost feel her disbelieving look despite the fact that his back was to her. In fact, she was probably biting back a retort, something along the lines of 'So that's why you were sleeping.' Damn her. She was the one person who was intellectually capable of drawing any sort of conclusion about him, and yet she was the one he was hiding that same conclusion from. I'm not sure that made sense, Snape thought bemusedly. Merlin! Her hands, once again covered in the cool potion, had touched his back again, more hesitantly this time, as though he was about to snap at her again. She rubbed the potion into his skin, and he could feel it soothing his red, burnt skin instantly. As the pain and discomfort receded, he became aware of something else.

He was definitely enjoying the feel of her hands on him.

Snape felt a sick feeling settle in his stomach. What had come over him? This was wrong. All wrong. He shouldn't be enjoying this. Hermione was his student! He had agreed to this bloody vacation to get away from this very problem – to try to get back to normal! Damn that Dumbledore! Snape swallowed hard and closed his eyes. By now, it was impossible to pretend he didn't care. His body wouldn't let him. As her hands slid over his shoulders, he felt himself flush.

This is all wrong.

He closed his eyes tighter, wishing that this would all go away. He had faced Death Eaters, he had faced Voldemort...but nothing made him turn tail and run like strange emotions did.

Her hands were moving down his back.

Oh, Merlin.

He opened his eyes a crack and looked down at his hands. They were shaking. As Hermione gently rubbed the potion into his shoulder blades, Snape decided it would be better if his eyes were shut. If I can't see it, it's not happening! he thought, somewhat hysterically.

She's still doing it.

It was all wrong. He shouldn't appreciate this. He felt like the gangly first-year here. It was Hermione who didn't know what was going on. It was him. He was absolutely clueless. She, on the other hand, was completely in control. She probably didn't think a thing of it. She probably did this for her parents and friends. He was like her father – an authority figure, an adult, someone you had to put up with, and wouldn't necessarily choose to.

But she did choose to! the besotted part of his mind argued. She chose to come over here and help you!

That's because she's nice! he shot back. She is a considerate person. She would do this for most people, it can't possibly mean anything to her.

If Snape had seen her, seen how her hands shook, maybe he would have thought differently. If he had heard her conversations late at night with the other Gryffindor girls, maybe he would have known better. But he hadn't, and so he agonized in a way most unlike Severus Snape.

Oh, Merlin! how far down is she going to go? he thought, panicky. Her hands were at his lower back now, still rubbing in small circles. She expertly pressed her palms against him, massaging the potion into his sensitive skin.

She really didn't need to continue. He felt fine now. In fact, he felt better than fine. Adrenaline seeped through his body, making him tingle. It was a feeling he hadn't had for a long time. It was...energy. Not the energy that came in the heat of a battle, or the feeling he had felt after successful missions spying for Dumbledore. This was eagerness, this was intoxicating and delicious, this was....

Over? Snape was rudely interrupted from his reverie by the 'thunk' of Hermione's bottle of potion being thrown back into her beach bag. He thought he let out a sigh, and was immediately mortified at the thought. He couldn't let her know how he had felt – she'd be disgusted. Any decent person would be!

"Well!" she said cheerily, sounding disgustingly like Poppy Pomfrey. "That fixes you right up! I imagine you're feeling much better now, Professor."

"Ah, yes, quite. Thank you, Miss Granger," he said, more stiffly than he intended. Despite that, her face lit up at the thanks he had offered. She smiled a little.

Oh, Merlin, she's looking at me!

Wait. Stop that! You're Professor Snape! Pull it together!

But as she walked away, Severus Snape, who had faced death, evil, and hell itself, buried his head in his arms.

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I really hope y'all liked this scene. It was difficult, and I'm not completely satisfied with the result. Please be merciless!

Love goes out to:

KeitaEleven (Snapes never waltz! ROTFL, now you have that image in my mind, too!);

Kerichi (The amorous couple is from personal experience! I was up until three in the morning! No snogging here, but there is a little mm-mm);

cecelle (I had my brothers and dad in mind when writing that!);

Sabrina, Natsuyori, k8ebug, Hello Baby Hello, alliebeme, Artemis Moonclaw, and Madelynn Rae (I'm glad you guys like it! Your encouragement helps so much!)