Short Imagine
You sat on Severus' sofa, curled up in a blanket with a cup of tea in both hands as you sipped at it. Some times you would sleep on his bed on his bed and he would sleep on the sofa but you weren't as tired as he was.
As the rain poured down and pattered on the window you looked over at Severus, seeing him starting to toss and turn. This was a common thing to happen so you put your tea down and heard him starting to mumble.
All you could make out was the word "no". You got up, put the cup down and with the blanket still around you walked over to him, seeing him starting to sweat. His breathing started getting heavier and he started crying.
You couldn't stand to see this happening. You put your hand on his shoulder and shook him a little to hard. "No!"., he shot up and started panting. He put his head in his hands and started crying. You sat on the bed in front of him and he began sobbing loudly.
"He's never going to go away!"., he croaked out. You knew he was referring to his father and you shook your head., "do you want a hug?"., Severus looked at you and took a deep breath before shaking his head., "well how about a cup of tea?".
He nodded and you smiled at him, getting off the bed and going to the kitchen. Severus doesn't like being touched with hands, absolutely despises it. Nevertheless, putting that aside you are his girlfriend and have been for a year.
You two have never held hands, hugged or slept next to each other because he's afraid you will touch him when you move around in your sleep. When you do sleep with him he ties your hands up to his bed head so you don't touch him, that part you don't mind though.
Even though it's been a long time, you love him and respect his boundaries, happy to go at his pace. "Here you go"., you smiled, handing it over and sitting down on the bed. Severus looked at you and smiled softly. He didn't deserve you, anyone else would of left by now, but not you, you were patient with him and going at his pace and he loves you for it.
He of course has never told you this, maybe when you're asleep but never to a conscious you as he is afraid you wouldn't reciprocate. "Thankyou, my love. ..."., he smiled tiredly., "...What time is it?"., you looked at the clock., "just after 4am"., Severus sighed annoyedly and yawned.
"I have to go to Hogsmeade station in a few hours..."., he shook his head and put the cup on the bedside table., "...I can't go back to sleep though"., he moved to the right side and patted the spot next to him., "you should get some sleep though".
"Are you sure I can sleep there?"., he nodded and patted the spot again, grabbing the cup and daily prophet off the bedside table while you crawled over to the other side, curling up under the blanket you had around you.
You yawned, rubbed your eyes and started to fall asleep, more tired than you thought. Severus picked up the the cup and he took a sip. He looked at you, put the cup down and scooted down so he was laying on the pillow.
He took a deep breath in and let out a shaky breath as he kept his arms to his side. You furrowed your eyebrows together in confusion, opened your eyes and you smiled as he was finally laying next to you. You watched closely as he continued taking a few deep breaths.
You didn't want to point it out as it would it make him feel like he was doing something wrong before so you just closed your eyes and tried to go to sleep. Ten minutes went by and Severus reluctantly turned to face you, still feeling overwhelmed so he just focused on you.
He watched you as you slept peacefully, seeing you shiver a bit and sat up. He pulled the blanket over you and pressed his lips against your forehead., "I'm trying to be normal, love. ..."., he got up, starting to walk over to the sofa., "...I'm sorry to put you through this".
The morning came around, you stretched and sat up, seeing Severus asleep on the sofa. You sighed sadly and got up. You knew how hard for him it was and you wish you could help him in any way you can. It was time to get up anyway so you walked over to him and shook him gently., "it's time to get up, Sev".
He opened his eyes and sighed as he sat up., "good morning"., you smiled at him and kissed his forehead., "I'll make you some breakfast before you have to go"., "no, it's okay"., he yawned and got up., "I'm going in the shower, you make yourself something though, love".
"Wait, Sev. ..."., you stopped him., "...Are you okay?"., the sincerity in your eyes made him tear up and he took a deep breath, he needed and wanted to give you a hug. "Y/n, could you give me a hug?"., you smiled softly and nodded, standing on your tippy toes and carefully wrapped your arms around his neck.
He slowly wrapped his arms around your waist. "Just tell me when you want me to move"., from what you saw, you couldn't tell if he was uncomfortable or not. Your body was pressed against his and his thumb was rubbing small circles on your back.
He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw as your hands touched his neck. You saw tears streaming down his cheeks and your lips quivered, you hated seeing his like this., "do you want me to move?"., he shook his head and sniffled., "I'm sorry, I'm not normal, love. I promise I'm trying. You deserve to be with someone normal".
You shook your head and moved your hands so they hovered over his chest. "Can I put my hands here?"., you asked and he nodded. You rested them on his chest and looked up at him, giving him a reassuring smile., "Severus, you are normal".
"No..."., he shook his head., "...I'm nowhere near normal"., "this is not your fault. Everyone is different, Sev. There is no such thing as normal"., he rested his forehead against yours and shook his head., "thankyou, love. ..."., he whispered., "thankyou for being patient with me".
