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rarepair_shorts2009-06-23 07:58 pm
WISHLISTS: Fortune and Men's Eyes (McGonagall/Snape)
Author: Kelly Chambliss
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kellychambliss Recipient:
therealsnape and ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
third_times Title: "Fortune and Men's Eyes"
Pairing: Minerva McGonagall / Severus Snape
Request:
therealsnape asked for MM/SS with no de-aging; third_times invited readers to take one of her WishList pairings (of which McGonagall/Snape is one) and "run with it."Rating: R
Word Count: 928
Summary: Severus upon waking. . .
Author's Notes: I hope you don't mind the joint gift,
therealsnape and third_times ! (And I hope that's allowed, mods)"Fortune and Men's Eyes"
Heat. He is first aware of heat on his face, then a reddish prickle across his eyes.
He knows the red is not blood -- he's a connoisseur of blood, and this is not wet enough to be fresh or sticky enough to be old -- but otherwise, he cannot immediately place it.
He lies still, keeping his breathing even, his eyes closed. Severus Snape has long since learnt never to open his eyes as soon as he awakens. Far too often, he comes to consciousness with no clear memory of when or where he'd gone unconscious; he could be waking to anyone or anything. So he waits until he's sure of what he'll be seeing, and only then does he risk looking upon the world.
Just now, he knows beyond a doubt that he is not in his quarters in the Hogwarts dungeons. The light against his eyelids is too bright, the pillow too soft.
Pillow. Well, at least now he also knows that he isn't lying at the Dark Lord's feet or in one of his dungeons: Voldemort's amenities tend not to run to pillows. The absence of blinding pain is another clue to Snape that he has emerged safely from his most recent encounter with his Master's displeasure. Instead of the sickening, stabbing aftermath of the Cruciatus or worse, he feels only the mild aches of newly-healed wounds.
He cautiously sniffs the air -- if he's going to be Albus Dumbledore's lapdog, he may as well act the part -- and catches a hint of citrus and spice.
Ah. He knows now where he is.
Minerva's bed.
---///---
He opens his eyes.
The heat is sunlight; the reddish glow is the effect of the sun streaming through a gap in the curtains. It is morning, and he is in Minerva's bed, and she is sleeping beside him.
He is surprised, for he never spends the night here. They share her bed only for sex, and when they finish, he leaves, before any comforting post-coital languor can tempt him to lose himself in shadows and her arms. Until now, he's never even been in Minerva's rooms in daylight.
He comes here only in darkness, after he meets the Dark Lord, after he reports (if he is able) to Albus. He comes to Minerva, and she heals him.
---///---
The first time he came was by accident. He had been on his way to the hospital wing when his curse-weakened legs had given way outside her chambers, and she had tended to him. She had been surprisingly good at it: efficient and unfussy, with no trace of judgment in her voice.
He returned to her after the Dark Lord's next summons; it seemed less official than going to the hospital wing, and Pomfrey was given to hovering. He returned the time after that as well, and finally every time.
It was several months after his first visit that the touch of McGonagall's calm hands lifted his nerves from pain into searing pleasure, and he had kissed her.
---///---
Severus is not adventurous about sex. He wants the bedcurtains closed, he wants the candles snuffed, he wants to be on top. He wants to feel Minerva firmly beneath him as he thrusts; he wants her long hair loose in his hands. He wants, for the brief time that she yields to him, the illusion that he is keeping someone safe.
---///---
He raises himself on an elbow and looks down at the sleeping woman, letting his eyes follow the still-lovely curves of her breasts. He likes that her body is not young and that she doesn't care; he knows that she will ask no perfection of his.
---///---
He knows what he wants from her; what he does not know is why she is willing to give it.
When she had readily returned his first kiss, he'd found himself angry. He'd thought she was offering sex the way she would offer a potion, as another healing medicine, and he had pushed her away, hard.
"Charity for the wounded, Minerva, like the Muggle Red Cross?" he'd snarled. "You've already bandaged my arm; I don't need you to wrap my cock, too."
She'd looked him in the eye, always one of the few who would. "You have rather an exalted idea of the sort of charity you might be due," she'd said dryly and then had shaken her head. "Don't worry, Severus; I have no pity for you. Not for choices freely made."
She'd stood and waited, letting him know that the choice was his once more. So he'd made it, had pulled her to him, had kissed her again, and then had led her into her own bedroom.
---///---
He doesn't know why, but she does seem to want him, even on his strict terms: he thinks he can read real desire in the way her body arches to receive him, in the way her legs curl round him, drawing him into her, in the way she holds him when she comes, crying out softly against his neck.
They never speak of other lovers, of their pasts, of themselves. And they certainly never speak of any future. He assumes she knows, as he does, that each coupling may be their last.
---///---
He does not wake her, does not touch her as he leaves her bed and steps into the sunlit room. He will be back, he hopes, but in the darkness.
He will have no part of Minerva's morning.
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The prose is beautiful, the characterizations wonderful, and I just love it. Excellent work.
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I really appreciate your feedback.
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Delicious.
He likes that her body is not young and that she doesn't care; he knows that she will ask no perfection of his.
Perfect. :)
Very well done!
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The language is lovely here, with lots of insightful phrases to admire, but I think the single most impressive part here is the way you've captured Snape's POV. It's very much him, very insightful and in-character, down to the last prickly detail.
Brava!
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I loved the way you make their relationship work. Very believable. And, as always, perfectly in character.
Lines I loved especially:
he's a connoisseur of blood and the description!
He cautiously sniffs the air -- if he's going to be Albus Dumbledore's lapdog, he may as well act the part --
and and Pomfrey was given to hovering. Fits my idea of Snape exactly.
He wants, for the brief time that she yields to him, the illusion that he is keeping someone safe.
. This line too, though. 'safe'. Yes. As four-letter words go, that one is acceptable. /g/
He likes that her body is not young and that she doesn't care; he knows that she will ask no perfection of his.
Sorry for being boringly repetitive, but it's really great.
and last but not least: "You have rather an exalted idea of the sort of charity you might be due,"
Thank you so much! It's such a lovely gift!
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And thanks, too, for galvanizing me with this prompt.
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Nope, open to the public! Recc'ed here, if you're interested. :)
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First, thank you, truly and deeply, for this, and my apologies for finding it so late. Vacation and much-needed time away from work have left my past month something of a mess.
Second, just wow. This is Severus and Minerva, perfectly. I love their unspoken feelings, the logic and the pure need behind their nights together, and the last line - so gorgeous. I'll definitely be reading this several more times, and reccing it to whoever will stand still to listen. :)
Again, thank you so much. This was brilliant. ♥
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I appreciate the review; thanks!
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Someone on Potter_Place suggested this to read
Re: Someone on Potter_Place suggested this to read
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Great language, wonderful atmosphere, could quote a lot of lines but will settle for this one:
"She´d looked him in the eye, always one of the few who would." Yes, YES!
Keep ´em coming!
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That's my fiendish plan!
This story was the first SS/MM I wrote, and I haven't been able to stop since. Thanks for reading and commenting.