Severus walked into the room, dragging his feet as it was like he could feel the burden on his shoulders suffocating him, leaving no space for him to breath. His heart was troubled, and he hoped the war could end soon, hence he would not have to face these terrifying thoughts in his head anymore.

He could feel something was not right. Suddenly he was so afraid, if he was not able to come back home after the war. There was a tug on his heartstrings, telling him that the day of the war could be his last day breathing. Severus had dedicated his life to the Wizarding World, and he wondered if he was willing to die for it too, sacrificing his future for others.

His future, the one that he wanted to live with you after everything was over.

Severus walked towards the kitchen, following soft humming which he recognised so well, bringing a smile upon his face. Your sweet voice calmed him, and he watched as you made yourself a cup of coffee, humming a song under your breath to break the silence. He wanted to walk over to you and pull you into his arms, but he decided to watch you for awhile, thinking that it could be the last time he would be able to adore his lovely wife.

"Severus, look at my marks!"

You almost shoved your papers in his face, a grin was painted on your face as you were eager for him to see your marks. You had improved a lot since your friend decided to tutor you, and you would be lying if you said that you did not owe him anything.

"This is incredible, Y/N."

He muttered, his eyes widen when he saw your marks. You were a smart student, but on that particular subject, both of you knew how awful you were and Severus helped you a lot to improve your marks.

"Thank you for helping me."

You thanked him, kissing his cheek softly as a childish giggle erupted in your chest. Severus' face flushed, and he avoided your gaze, hoping that you were oblivious to his feelings for you.

"Anything for you."

He replied, trying to hold back a smile that was growing on his face. The young boy surely were falling for you, and he was not planning to stop.

"I think I can beat your marks next time, Snape."

You said smugly, making Severus rolled his eyes dramatically.

"In your dreams, L/N."

You were always the light in his darkest hour, a walking ray of sunshine for his cloudy days, ever since both of you were in school. He was not an easy person to deal with but you stood by him for years, not even once did you think to turn your back on him and Severus was a lucky person to have you as the love of his life.

You turned around and realised your husband was watching you with a smile on his face. It was as if he wanted to remember every feature of yours so that when he was gone, you would always be etched in his mind. You did not know what was running through his head, the fear of losing you, and the fear of leaving you behind when he was forced to leave.

Severus opened his arms for you, his smile widen as a grin creeped out on your face. Squealing, you ran towards him and threw yourself into his arm, your husband immediately planted a kiss on your head, wrapping his strong arms around you.

"I've missed you so much."

You mumbled, making a chuckle escaped his lips.

"I've only been gone for a few hours, love."

"A few long hours without you is tormenting me."

You argued, kissing him as he wrapped his arms around your waist to pull you closer against his chest. Severus kissed you back with the same passion, his fear slowly subsided as his love and affection for you were taking over his mind. Perhaps time stopped when his lips met yours, and he wished he could stay that way forever, together with you.

"What do you think about our future?"

It was during one of your dates with Severus at the Astronomy Tower when you asked him the question. One question that could send warmth crawled over his chest, realising that you wanted to have a future with him.

"Our future?"

"Yes, ours."

You nodded, smiling sweetly at your boyfriend. Severus' breath hitched as his words were caught up in his throat. He never thought that such a beautiful person like you would want to have a future with him. A soft smile found its way on his face and he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to his side.

"I just know that you are my future, Y/N."

Severus pulled away from the kiss, breathless, taking in everything about you in his mind. Tomorrow would be the day when he put his life on the line, and he was sure he would be thinking of you. If he died, he wanted to die with you as his last thought, and if he lived, he wanted to live for you.

"Are you alright, love?"

You caressed his face gently, sensing that something was troubling him. Severus felt a lump in his throat, and he needed to look away from you, avoiding himself from breaking into tears but he could not.

He was staring at you, tears welled up in his eyes, unable to tear his gaze away from the sweet angel in his arms. Severus thought he was ready to face the war, and he was ready to lose everything to save the others but now, he knew he was not ready to lose you.

Severus was not ready for you to lose him.

"Please talk to me."

You pleaded, worried to see the tears in his eyes. Severus nodded weakly, he kissed you, and he kissed you again, a steady stream of tears started to roll down upon his cheeks as your lips moved with his perfectly.

"I love you, Y/N."

He muttered against your lips, not minding his tears. It shattered you to see him that way, as you had never seen him cry before. You quickly wiped his tears away, looking him in the eyes, silently telling him that you would always be there for him, no matter what happened.

But Severus' heart was wrecked, knowing that he was the one who was leaving, and he would not be there for you anymore once tomorrow comes to greet him.

"You cannot do this to me, Severus."

You said sternly, but Severus could hear the breaking of your voice, no matter how hard you were trying to hide it, he knew you were devastated with his decision.

"We can't be together anymore, Y/N. I don't want to put you in danger—"

"I would die for you, Severus Snape. But I'm not leaving."

You stood in your place, watching him with so much intensity in your eyes when he told you to leave him, doomed with his fate during the first war. But it surprised him when you stayed, and you were never leaving him.

"I don't want you to leave."

"Then why are you asking me to leave?"

You questioned, walking towards him with a sad smile on your face. Severus did not wait any second to pull you into his arms, regretting his absurd decision to let you go, when he knew that he needed you to go through everything in his life at the moment.

"I'm not leaving you, love."

Severus loved it when both of you were settled in bed, he rested his head on your stomach while you ran your fingers through his hair. It was his comfort, he felt so safe and loved, and it saddened him to think that it could be his last time feeling that way with you, that tomorrow you would be alone in bed.

"Tomorrow is going to be my last time fighting."

He whispered, thinking of how the second war could go horribly wrong, and somehow he could see his cruel fate unfolded before his eyes that he would never get to see you after the war ended.

"Everything is going to be fine and we'll be able to live without any fear."

Your sweet voice calmed him, but he knew soon he would be missing it, and he was not ready for it. He wanted to live with you forever, loving you for his whole life, and he never wanted his life to end so soon.

"I don't want to leave you, love."

He said, his fear was slowly resurfaced, as his eyes met yours. He quickly sat up in bed, concerning you with his behaviours. You were scared too, but you believed that your husband would be safe and sound. You needed him to be safe and come home to you.

"You're not leaving me, Severus."

"What if I don't come home to you tomorrow?"

His words struck your heart, and tears pooled in the corner of your eyes, pondering about his question. Severus lived a dangerous life, but he always come back to you, and he never left you alone. How could you live without him?

"You will come home to me."

You assured him, and yourself too, as you held back your tears. Severus shook his head, as much as he wanted your words to comfort him, he realised the world was not built for the two of you.

"What if I don't?"

His defeated whisper was breaking your heart, and you cursed the war for doing this to your husband. He was supposed to have a future with you, and you wanted to have a future with him, but now he was doubting it.

"If you don't, then I'll hunt you down and I'll take you home with me."

You said, chuckling softly to lighten up the mood. Severus smiled at your words, but you could see he was not convinced. His heart was heavy, and he was dejected to know that it could be his last encounter with his loving wife.

"I love you, Y/N."

"I love you too."

Severus wanted to scold you for being reckless while you were brewing potion but he could not, as he saw the torrent of pain on your face. He sighed, healing you immediately and you winced, making he shook his head.

"You should be more careful, love."

"I was careful!"

You fought, but you lowered your gaze when Severus sent you a glare to shut you up. You smiled when you noticed how focus he was while healing you with some spells, and it took everything in you not to shower him with kisses at the moment.

"This is not the time for kisses, my love."

Your face turned red as you realised he had been reading your mind, and you rolled your eyes playfully.

"I can kiss you whenever I want."

You mumbled, and Severus let out a chuckle, unable to hide his love and adoration for you. He lectured you about how worried he was and how you should be more careful while working, but you were too busy adoring him, and before you could stop yourself, your words astounded him:

"Marry me, Severus."

The Potions Master was flabbergasted, and his eyes widen, staring at you as if you were insane. You cleared your throat and took his hands in yours, making him realise that you were being genuine.

"Marry me?"

You asked again, and Severus' heart skipped a beat. He was expecting himself to ask you the question, so when he heard it from you, he was not sure what to do. He was over the moon, and he nodded, a soft smile was appearing on his face.

"If you insist, Y/N."

He answered, making you hit his arm playfully, and Severus laughed. His future was much better now than he had you with him, and there was no way he was letting you go.

However, you had to let him go.

You could see the dejection in his eyes as he had to leave that morning. Perhaps in the eyes of others, Severus was being his usual self, with his stone cold look on his face. But you knew him too well to recognise his fear and sorrows as he looked you in the eyes.

"I have to go now, love."

He whispered, as if he was afraid you would break if he raise his voice at you. You smoothened his robes gently, and your hands moved to caress his face like you always did. Severus shut his eyes, wanting to remember your soft touch against his skin.

"I'll be waiting for you to come home."

You knew the war was going to rob so many lives, but you never thought it would rob your husband from you. You believed in him, and you knew your love would win, bringing him home safely to you.

"I love you so much."

He said, desperate for you to know how in love he was with you. He wanted you to remember it for the rest of your days, even when he was not there to utter those magical words to you.

"I love you too."

You shared a last kiss with him, the one that he poured his heart and soul into it, wishing that the memory of the kiss would comfort you once he was not there to hold you in his arms during your bad days.

Severus turned around to take a last glance at you, tears boiled in his eyes as he saw your enchanting smile for the last time.

"Take me home with you, Y/N."

He said, leaving before you could see him breaking into tears once again as he realised he was not coming home to you, and you were the one who needed to take him home once it was over. You stood there, his words hung over you, and you tried to push your fear aside, hoping that your husband would come back to you after the war was over.

Little did you know Severus had seen it far sooner than he would not be able to come home to you, as he fell on the floor, blood gushing out of his wound, and his mind was filled with the thoughts of you. His pain was leaving his body as he felt himself slipping away, and it would be the last time that he did not come home to you.

He could see Potter came to him, and with his strength that was left in his weakened body, he took off his wedding ring and put it in the boy's hand. Tears stained his cheeks as your name rolled out of his tongue, loving how perfect you were to him, even during his last moments.

"Give it to my wife."

He breathed out, gesturing at the his wedding ring which was bloodied. Severus knew you loved it when he had it on, proud to tell everyone that you were his wife and he wanted you to know how proud he was to call you his, even during the days when he was gone, and he was not there to tell you about it.

"She will take me home."

As he took his last breath, at the thought of you, Severus hoped you would not be angry at him for leaving you. He did not want to, but he had no other choice, and you knew it as you received the news.

A strangled sob escaped your throat as you took his wedding ring, staring at it while every single memory that you created with him flashed through your mind. There was no new memories would be created with your husband, and you had to live your life without him.

He knew he was not coming home to you, and as you promised him, you were going to take him home with you.

-
22nd February 2021