Love Takes Time

The book was heavy in his lap. He fingered its edges lightly as his eyes kept going back to the same lines. 'This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.' They stood out from the others, as if the ink on them was darker, though that was not so. It was no publishing error, nor a situation where the part was one of his favorites – but it was no accident. A witch had done this…and he knew exactly what witch.

She was standing in his kitchen this very instant, working on their lunch.

He closed his eyes and put his fingers against his temples, moving them in a circular fashion in an attempt to ease the pressure he could feel setting in. A draught would do him good, but he felt no inclination to take one. And he refused to take the blasted medicine that the healers wanted him to take. No, he preferred a different method of relief.

As he closed his compilation of Shakespeare's works and stood, it hit him why she had magically highlighted Polonius' few words of wisdom. She knew him better than he thought she did. The woman, it seemed, was even smarter than he had given her credit for.

When he entered the kitchen she had her back to him, a variety of ingrediets for some pie or another spread out before her. He paused in the doorway for a moment to observe her, eyes catching the way her hips moved when she shifted her weight and leaned to the right to open a cabinet and grab another bowl. It was a sight he never tired of.

But he did tire of delaying his (and her) gratification, so with swift and silent strides he crossed the tile separating them. He slipped his arms around her, hands clutching her wrists to still them, and gave her jaw a slight nip. The smirk she wore he could practical feel. "So you wish me to be true to my nature, Ms. Malfoy?" His voice was low in her ear.

And she turned her head just enough to be able to see him. Now he could see the smirk and felt a jolt in his stomach. "I do, Mr. Snape."

"Then so it shall be." He kept his hold on her tight, pictured the all too familiar gates of Hogwarts. Seconds later, there they stood.

Narcissa arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in a silent question, received a smoldering look that made her want things to get started already. In a short enough amount of time they did. Minerva McGonagall swept toward them, ever eager to admit the black-clad war hero.

"Severus!" The headmistress's tone was one of pleasant surprise, perhaps even some warmth. She may not admit it openly but she did quite like her former colleagure. "Narcissa." Her tone was cooler. "To what do I owe the honor?"

The prior employee gave her a small bow, straightened back up. "I have need of my office today. Ministry is demanding another report and I find that I concentrate my best here." He gave the blonde beside him a sidelong look. "Narcissa has decided to see what exactly it is I do when I abandon the house for hours." It was impressive, really, how well he could lie.

"Swell." Minerva opened the gates. "Did I miss your owl?"

And the conversation went on. Narcissa walked along in silence, paying little attention until they reached the castle itself, and they were left alone again. "I confess that I am a bit confused, Severus..."

His eyes slid to her again, snapped back to the way they were walking. Students coming up from the dungeons nodded to them respectfully, continued on their way. It appeared they really were going to his office... but then he took a left turn, down another path.

"Severus. Your office?"

He graced her with a smirk, paused at the entrance to the Slytherin common room. And he could tell when she understood. Her eyes flared with suprise and sudden knowing as he made sure no students were in the dorms and warded the entryway. A fire crackled in the grate, throwing shadows on the greenish walls. "Of sorts."

Turning around, he fingered the first of his buttons before undoing it. Her eyes darkened as she stepped forward, slapped his hand away. He smirked as she took over the work herself. Ever ready she was. When his chest was bare he shrugged out of his shirt, started fiddling with her dress. He didn't bother with being very gentle with the clothing; he would just mend it when they were through. He undid the clasps of her bra swiftly, brushed fingers over already pebbled nipples.

She shuddered, suddenly wound her fingers in his hair until he relented and moved his touch elsewhere so she could think. Practically panting already, she untangled her fingers and made quick work of his trousers to reveal what she was really wanting: his manhood. Touch still slightly unsure, she wrapped one of her hands around him lightly, touching, exploring. She could feel the change in him when his breathing shifted, becoming deeper. It was astonishing that she could have this effect on a man, particularly him.

"Quit it." It was a growl in her ear, a nudge against her hand. He lowered her to the ground, on a rug right in front of the long couch facing the fire and then seemed to change his mind when his eyes flickered to the furniture. Lifting her onto it, he pushed her back and knelt. But she knew what he was about to do.

"You didn't let me do it to you. Hands only, Severus." A torture she didn't really want but that she was going to deal with, because it was a punishment to him too.

With a quiet sort of resolve he settled for his fingers, the long joints making swift work of the assurance of her own arousal. She was dripping when he finally stopped, and she gave a sob of frustration when she felt his finger gone. What came next more than made the change okay; there was a little bit of a hesitant pressure and then a firmness inside her that seemed to complete her. He placed his mouth over hers, absorbed whatever noise she was about to make.

They were sweet and gentle, fast and hard, all of a sudden and yet all at once – and she had never felt so fulfilled. This was what she had been missing those years with Lucius… This was what she had been trying to achieve. Her breaths were ragged and then she was crying out, a scream that she just couldn't hold back. The next instant found Severus right there with her, her orgasm sending him over the edge.

"I didn't know about this side of you," she breathed, clutching him to her.

He rolled them to their sides, kept them together, rubbed small circles on her back. "None did." Their eyes met, a burning connection.

"There are many things you've kept hidden." She brushed a strand of his black hair from his cheek.

"Such as the fact that it was you who saved me?"

"There's that…" She kept a hand on his cheek, leaned forward to kiss the scars along his neck. "And how you felt about me."

He closed his eyes. "Well, married woman that you were, I could hardly admit it."

She got closer to him, if that were possible, shifted her hips. She knew he'd look at her if she did that, and she was correct. "Lucius is dead. He could hardly hold you back now."

There was tension, a moment of silence, and then he was putting his lips to her ear. "I love you, Narcissa. I have since the first moment I set eyes on you, and I will until I can't see you anymore."

She smiled, placed a sound kiss on his lips. "And the same is true of me, Severus."

For the first time since his teenage years, he felt content.

A/N: I wrote this months ago but just found it again (bloody files like to hide). It was a birthday present that I wrote for my dear friend, . Hope all the readers enjoyed! As always, feedback is appreciated.