*exhales* Wow. So I am not a fan of BDSM and I want to state that up front so that you know I went into this with my doubts, but I have to say, this was a gorgeous character study. This Severus makes sense and his decisions (inasmuch as they were his) made sense, too. Maybe that's my issue with BDSM? Sometimes it feels like an excuse to hurt the characters, but this was an explanation and a celebration of them, and it made sense. Also? I love this Harry, so strong, so...accepting. Nothing about Severus shocked him, he just wants him to be content, happy, and I love that he's prepared to do whatever he needs to do to make that happen. And he's very much Severus' safe place, isn't he? Lovely job with this. I really enjoyed this story.