He sat on the wooden floor in the shadows near the fireplace, turning his face away, marked by a relatively fresh wound. The Nagini's venom had long since subsided, but it had already done a lot of damage before they could save the professor. And it was highly likely that he would never be rid of the scars running from his throat to his cheekbone. No, he didn't care about that that much. All that mattered was that he could be here and now. That he could finally have what he never had before.
He had already collected so many scars in his life that he lost track of them. And whether they were actually visible or not, it didn't matter anyway. He was never such a handsome man that he cared about it. People's values were measured by different virtues, and physical beauty certainly wasn't one of them. According to his standards, the most beautiful man was the one who was with him and made him feel unconditionally beautiful.
Everything happened so fast that he still couldn't believe that he wasn't dreaming.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes.
He vaguely remembered that after Potter had left him with his memory during the battle of Hogwarts, everything had gone black. He resigned himself to the fact that death had come for him and the burden he had carried on his shoulders all his life would finally be lifted. He deserved a rest, he had played countless games of chess over the years and felt too tired. Reconciliation was easy, he even managed to finally forgive himself.
But then a worried face appeared above him, and someone began to move him. He heard a soothing voice and soft pleas.
"I've got you!"
The hands that held him - and got him, were firm and determined. The thumbs that traced his face were distinctly masculine, yet gentle and kind. The snake venom was already too strong for Severus to tell who they belonged to, but in his heart, he was grateful that he was not alone, and that it was worth saying goodbye to someone. Only at the very end could he finally know what it was like to mean something. At least to someone. This touch of humanity made him smile melancholically. He would die with a smile on his lips, with dignity and a sense of recognition.
His slowing heartbeat pounded in his ears until it finally faded.
When he woke up in the hospital bed a week later, he was confused. The afterlife couldn't be like this. He certainly hadn't dreamed it. He took a breath to say something, but he seemed unable to do so. The healer explained that he had damaged his vocal cords and it would take some time for him to recover. It took another month and he never sounded the same. But in time he got used to his hoarse accent.
Still, he had a visitor that night. It surprised him. And he was even more surprised when he saw their face behind the white hospital screen.
As he later learned from the staff, this man saved his life. He couldn't express his gratitude aloud, but it seemed that he didn't have to say anything. Both of them were silent together. They just looked at each other with shy smiles curled on their lips. Expressions of mutual respect. And in that moment, something broke between them. And Severus got the urge to live again. And to make up for all the wrongs that had been done to him by Dumbledore's manipulation.
Argus Filch was always protective of Severus. Even in the days when nothing intimate was growing between them. He often tended to Severus' injuries when he returned from the Dark Lord. They spent their evenings in friendly silence, never needing to say anything because they always understood what the other was thinking. And Severus, in his infatuation with Potter's mother, didn't even realize what he had been looking at all along.
Severus turned to lean against the warm legs hanging from the couch behind him. He touched one knee with the palm of his hand and leaned happily into the fingers that combed through his untidy black hair, which reflected the flames from the fireplace. He could spend hours like this. Just exist. No worries. Feel the connection. Enjoy the pampering while trying to pay back the interest. To many, Argus was just a rough, grumpy janitor whose cat frightened the students, but no one else saw beyond the well-built facade. Precisely because of those superficial values that hypocrites use to create prejudice. Argus Filch was not traditionally handsome, not even unconventionally handsome, but to Severus, he was irreplaceable and unique.
And he knew exactly what was hidden in him. It was what made his being whole. The absent half that he had been missing all his life.
He and Argus were two lost souls who had found each other in the darkest hour. To finally find in one another a reward that could not be weighed in gold.
Love.
Even with scars.
And without conditions.