Return (Snape x Male Reader)

xx

3rd pov

y/n's eyes opened slowly, and he blinked rapidly as golden sunlight shined into his eyes. he took a deep breath and then sighed right after, stretching his body.

his lower back was sore, and the skin on his hips was tender. he smiled lightly and turned his head to the side, severus asleep beside him. y/n sat up and stared at him for awhile, taking in his features.

he then slowly got up, making his way to his wardrobe to find clothes. he slipped into a pair of boxers and light blue pajama pants, but decided to leave his torso bare. he stepped over to his nightstand and carefully opened one of the drawers, grabbing the half full pack of cigarettes he kept in it.

only on special occasions did he smoke, and today was the anniversary of his parents' death. he pulled a cigarette out of the pack and grabbed his wand, making his way to the balcony doors of his room. he turned the knob, gaze kept on severus to make sure he was quiet enough not to wake him up.

he felt the warm summer air hit his skin and he sighed, stepping through the doorway and onto the balcony. he silently cast incendio, a small flame bursting from the tip of his wand. he held the cigarette to it and inhaled immediately after it was lit. y/n flicked his wand to extinguish the flame, then slipped it into the waistband of his pants.

he leaned on the balcony rail and took a long drag from his cigarette, looking out at the forest line. the same forest he'd gone into and almost died in to try and get severus potion ingredients. y/n huffed out a quiet laugh.

he heard severus stir behind him and looked back to see the man sitting up. y/n turned around to give him privacy, the only thing between severus's naked body y/n's eyes his thin bed sheets. not that severus would mind him staring, probably.

he heard more shuffling and then footsteps towards the balcony.

"good morning," y/n spoke softly, inhaling from his cigarette immediately after.

"good morning, y/n," severus said, his arms gently circling around y/n's waist. he kissed y/n's shoulder and rested his chin on it after, looking up at him as he exhaled smoke from his mouth.

y/n was a serene and matured version of the person severus knew 8 years ago. it was like he wasn't even the same person. nonetheless, he was y/n, just a bit different.

"since when have you smoked?" severus asked.

y/n leaned back into severus and sighed. "since my parents died. i've toned it down though, i only smoke a few times a year now."

severus hummed. "it's today, isn't it? the anniversary."

"yeah," y/n replied, clearing his throat and thrumming his fingers on the balcony railing. "i'm going to visit them today."

"okay," severus said, planting another kiss on y/n's shoulder.

"i want you to come with me," y/n sighed, smoke leaving his mouth. he leaned his head back on severus and closed his eyes, returning the cigarette to his mouth.

"you do?" severus asked, holding onto y/n a little tighter, his heart swelling in his chest.

y/n hummed yes in response, smothering his cigarette on the balcony railing. "do you want to come?"

"of course," severus replied, ghosting his lips along y/n's neck. y/n sighed at the touch, tilting his head to the side to give severus more access to his neck. severus trailed his hands up and down y/n's chest, causing him to fully relax into his hold.

"if you want me there, i'll be there," severus said, pulling away as y/n turned around in his embrace. y/n wrapper his arms around severus and buried his face into the crook of his neck.

"thank you," y/n said.

***

the trip to y/n's parent's burial place didn't take very long, just an hour long train ride and a detour to a quaint flower shop.

y/n and severus stood before two headstones, the only thing filling the silence were the soft chirps of birds and the wind rustling tree leaves. the day was cloudy but sunny, orange rays of sun casting down on marble of the headstones. y/n sighed and set down a bouquet by each of their headstones, then took a seat in front them, drawing his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them.

severus remained silent, taking a gentle seat beside y/n. y/n sniffled softly and reached into his coat pocket for his cigarettes, and snape already had his wand ready.

"thank you," y/n said, lighting his cigaratte over the flame of severus' wand.

he puffed the cigarette and exhaled the smoke, then inhaled more as deeply as he could. he let the smoke seep slowly out of his mouth as he studied the stone of his parent's grave.

"i hadn't talked to them for months before they died," y/n said, picking at the grass below him.

"...why?" severus asked hesitantly.

"i was always the one calling them and sending letters. i decided one day that i wanted them to go out of their way to talk to me... and, well," y/n said, laughing bitterly, "i get that they were busy with work, but they had just as much obligation towards me as they did their jobs."

"did you get to see them during the summers when you weren't at hogwarts?" severus asked, leaning back on his hands as he looked at y/n.

y/n shook his head no, in the middle of taking a drag. "i always had the house to myself. they're lucky i'm gay, who knows how many grand children they would have had had i liked women."

severus's jaw went slack. "fantastic."

y/n laughed a bit and snubbed out his cigarette butt in the dirt, then placed it in his pocket to throw away later.

"no wonder you were always so disruptive in class, you were practically dying for some sort of attention," severus said, changing the subject.

y/n tilted his head to the side and nodded in agreement. "yeah. i was hoping that if i'd gotten into enough trouble, they'd have to respond to the school's letters. they didn't even care when i fell out of that tree, or when i got into a fight with those other two students."

"ah, i remember that. quite clever what your friend did to find you, using the owl to lead him to you. do you still talk to him?" sever asked.

"i do. things were pretty rocky at the start when we first started talking again, seeing as i'd left hogwarts without even a goodbye— i mean, he'd been my friend since 1st year," y/n said, drawings his knees impossibly closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around them tightly, "but he's forgiven me since, and i visit him and we exchange letters often."

severus hummed, noticing y/n's increasingly closed off body language. "i remember him not always being the most academically gifted— what is he up to now?"

y/n lit up, a proud spark in his eye. "he's a magical engineer, now. he finds magical solutions to magical and non magical problems. he works mostly freelance and makes really good money for it."

"that's brilliant. i'll have to come with you when you visit him next," severus suggested, bumping his shoulder into y/n's lightly. y/n chuckled and leaned into severus, resting his head on his shoulder.

this chapter was so hard to write mb for taking so long guys