InsaneJournal

"Have I got mail?" asked Charity of the man at the hotel desk. "I'd meant to inquire last night, but we got in rather late and it slipped my mind."

The clerk checked the box for their room. "Yes, ma'am," he said, handing Charity an envelope.

"Wonderful! Thank you." She slipped the envelope into her purse, glancing at Severus.

He raised an eyebrow.

Charity smiled at him. "I'm starved. Let's go."

Severus walked with her to an outdoor deck overlooking the beach. As he and Charity seated themselves at a table, Severus wondered who his lover's mysterious correspondent might be.


* * *


All his life he'd yearned for recognition: just to be recognized, to be truly seen, even if by only one person, to know that his existence mattered, if only to that one person.

He'd long ago grown accustomed to being invisible--if he was lucky--when Charity entered his life.

She was curious about him. She wanted to spend time with him, talk to him, get to know him. She even appeared to desire him.

Obviously the woman was delusional.

So he deluded himself, until he saw himself through her eyes.

She saw him, and did not push him away.


* * *


Still, two years of affection was a paltry counterweight against a lifetime of worthlessness. Severus could not help but feel a familiar surge of alarm, twisting him inside, at the least hint of a diversion of Charity's affections. Absurd though it was, Severus still harbored a fear that it was all too good to be true.

Git. He scowled, loathing himself for his foolish weakness. Knowing Charity, the envelope contained information about some Muggle tourist attraction even more absurd than his own adolescent insecurities. Severus picked up the newspaper and paged through it, wondering if their breakfast would ever arrive.