Minerva instantly pulled her hand away and stood up.
"I should probably leave, though I'd like to run another spell before I retire just to ensure everything is heading in the right direction." She refused to look at him, instead busied herself with re-organising the empty vials on the tray.
"Cast away." Was his reply, his eyes following her form. She turned and approached him, wand aiming directly at his chest. With a deep breath he felt the magic coursing through his body, he was determined not to close his eyes, instead he focused them on her once more.

Watching as her wand moved along his body, her eyes focusing on where to go next. Whether she was oblivious or not to his state she didn't show it, instead she continued the job at hand until she was finished, a satisfied smile on her face.
"All good news, a little slower than I'd like but then again you are the worst patient imaginable, who listens to nothing I say." Finally she looked at him, those eyes found his.
" I have you know, I listen to every word you say. I just don't follow them."
A chuckle passed her lips as she shook her head.
"That makes it even worse. Maybe I should inform Poppy, perhaps she'd have a better chance, not to mention she's more advanced than myself."
"I guarantee if you were to involve Poppy, I would listen to her even less. As a matter of fact, I'd just flee the scene, so to say."
"And what if I outright refuse to help you." Minerva arches her brow.
"Then I'd die." He said flatly, Minerva's heart sank at those words, and the truth behind his eyes didn't help the situation. No doubt he would. He was a truly stubborn man.
"And you would, wouldn't you? Just let yourself die."
"I trust no one more than you, especially now Minerva." he looked up into her eyes, reaching out to caress her arm that rested in a clenched hand position in front of her, wand already in her pocket.
"But what if I was unavailable and you needed immediate attention." He could see the worry in her eyes, and found the need to hold her growing even more. His hand wrapped itself around her arm and gently pulled her closer to him.

"Minerva, you're worrying far too much." Sitting Severus wasn't much shorter than her, his face was level with her chest, though his eyes remained lost in hers.
"That's because you're an insufferable pig headed man!" She said frustratedly, her brows knitted together. A wry smile was evident on the man's lips, it was true of course, he was very pig headed, that he couldn't deny. He pulled her closer again until she came to stand between his legs, he reached for both her hands, holding them in his own.

To say this man puzzled her would be a large understatement, she watched him curiously as he took interest in studying her hands, turning them around in his own before bringing them to his lips, much to Minerva's surprise who found herself becoming more speechless by the second. He placed a kiss on each palm,  then nudged his head into them. Minerva bit her lip, trying her best not to react at the unusual though not unwelcome interaction. Severus wasn't overly keen on physical contact, he never had been even as a youngster, though over the years she's found he takes some form of comfort from her. She never pointed it out of course, he was a lonely man, distancing himself from most everyone and focused all his attentions on his potions and teaching, so if she was able to offer him some form of comfort she wasn't about to stop him. Especially not now, thanks to Dumbledore. Oh how that man made her blood boil. Dictating everyone's life, how could he possibly put such a terrible suggestion out on the table, as if Severus hadn't been through enough already.

"You're angry?" His voice brought her back to reality, she glanced down at the man, meeting his gaze. He still held her hands in his, his face hovering just above them.
"Not at you." She wasn't, not really, worried more than anything. His eyes tugged at her heart strings and she found herself stepping closer again, her hands coming to tangle in his hair as she pressed him against her front in an embrace. His own hands wrapped around her mid section, holding her tightly. Severus nestled his head against Minerva's chest, closing his eyes and relaxing against her.
In her embrace the world stopped. Time ceased to exist, and his burdens began fading away.
For a moment Severus found himself at peace, hugging was something he'd been deprived of as a child, and the older he got the less he found the need for physical contact, until she turned his world upside down.

She was just a young girl herself when she started teaching at Hogwarts, barely older than the last years. He remembered when Dumbledore introduced her to the body of students, she was a picture then and nothing has changed, except their...relationship, if you could even call it that. Despite Lily's many attempts at hugging Severus, Minerva was in fact the first person to ever actually hug him, it didn't last long, he pulled away as soon as he found himself relaxing into her warm gentle embrace. His grandfather had just died, and he refused to go home. Professor Mcgonagall made it her job to ensure he was aware that he didn't have to go through this in silence or alone. That her door was always open. He had mocked her of course, she was after all a Gryffindor and barely much older than himself and still despite his behaviour she did her best.

The low grumble and vibration brought him back to the present, a smile tugging at his lips. Despite purring again, she made no effort to move, for that he was grateful, he wasn't ready to let go yet. She was so warm and soft against his rigid self, he had wondered that had his mother been the hugging sort would it have felt anywhere near as good as this? As warm and gentle as her? He felt her delicate fingers glide across his head, running through his hair, her nail every now and then gently scratched his head.

He came to the strong conclusion that it wouldn't, no one could replicate Minerva's warmth and gentleness mixed with her stern no messing nature. That was uniquely her.
That was Minerva.