FIC: Cygnus atratus (2 of 2), Severus/Remus, NC-17, for dark_cygnet
Title: Cygnus atratus (part 2 of 2)
Author: rose_whispers
Pairing: Severus/Remus
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 13,008
Summary: After the war, Remus' jealousy is sparked when a dark, mysterious stranger attaches herself to Severus
A/N: A gift fic for dark_cygnet for being my online motivator and cracking the whip whenever I was procrastinating on school work. Thanks so much, hon! And huge thank you to my ever watchful and brilliant betas, thescarletwoman and elspethsheir
(the first half can be found here)
Remus and Severus listened to Argus Filch verbally eviscerating them at the next staff meeting, during which, due to a mysterious shortage of chairs, Severus had to sit next to Remus. Odile reposed at his feet, hissing at the caretaker. When he stopped for breath, Severus cast him the deepest, most loathsome sneer Remus had seen from him in quite some time.
"That vile creature attacked my swan, Filch. If you bellyache about this one more time, I shall apply the same thumbscrews to you with which you constantly threaten the students."
Remus bit back a snort of laughter, and for one moment, Severus looked strangely gratified. But then his face composed itself once more into a sneering mask, staring Filch down.
The rest of the staff meeting progressed without incident, though Remus could not fight the prickling awareness of how close Severus was seated, and how often those dark eyes flashed toward him. Severus had barely looked at him in weeks. By the time the last item, regarding the removal of one particularly rude statue of a fwooper near the owlery that had taken to making rude gestures with its claws, had been checked off, Remus felt very hot under the collar. And very aroused. God, he hoped he could escape quickly. The effect of Severus' proximity and non-hostility had been profound, and he desperately needed to get to his rooms and have a good wank. But as the rest of the professors scraped their chairs back noisily and bustled out of the room, Severus' fingers curled about Remus' wrist. Remus froze, eyes wide, though Severus remained inscrutable.
"I wished to..."
Remus waited for more, but now Severus looked distinctly uncomfortable. The staff room emptied, leaving only the two of them and Odile, who was busy pecking at the hand-embroidered rug by the hearth. "You're welcome for saving your swan from the mangy maw of death, Severus," Remus said at last, taking pity on him.
Severus nodded curtly. "Yes. That. She's nearly healed but that creature might have damaged her further."
Remus took a deep breath, and twisted his hand in Severus' grip, twining his fingers with the Quidditch coach's. Though Severus' expression was stunned, he didn't jerk his hand away. Heartened, Remus stroked the pad of his thumb against Severus' knuckles. "We could have dinner some time. Away from the castle."
"Lupin, I do not think that-"
"Don't think," Remus cut him off, and without waiting, he leaned upward and brushed his lips against Severus'. This kiss was slower than their first, and Severus, though unyielding, wasn't insulting him and retreating, either. Remus' exploration became bolder, running his tongue against Severus' lips, their hands still clasped between them, and with a shuddering breath, the Quidditch coach's mouth opened against Remus', inviting him in. It was better than Remus had ever imagined as Severus started to respond to him, his lithe tongue caressing Remus'. Long fingers crept into Remus' hair, stroking and pulling him closer, and Remus wrapped his arms around Severus' waist, bringing their bodies into fuller contact. He couldn't help the moan that slipped from his mouth into Severus' as his arousal pressed against the Slytherin's hip. Severus jerked backward, panting, a wild look in his eyes.
"Lupin, no."
"Excuse me?" Remus blinked, dazed.
"I will not do this." Severus was gaining control of himself once more, no longer looking like Odile trapped by Mrs Norris.
"But why?"
"I needn't justify anything to you." The familiar sneer was back in place, and Severus brushed by him, out the door. It took Remus a few moments to realise that Odile hadn't immediately followed as she normally did. Instead, she nudged him sympathetically with her beak, honking plaintively.
Severus returned a moment later, white-faced with rage. "Lupin, give me back my swan."
"I'm not keeping her from you," Remus replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
"This isn't funny, werewolf."
"Am I laughing?"
Odile stayed crouched by Remus' feet, looking at Severus mournfully.
"You take everything from me," Severus growled, advancing. "My dignity as children. My sanity as professors. My... my swan now! You will not do this to me!"
"Your sanity?" Remus didn't understand what the man was raving about. "For heaven's sake, Severus, I'm not trying to hurt you! Have you no idea how I feel about-"
Severus interrupted him with a flick of his wand, and wordlessly a jet of dazzling light streamed forth, forming into a solid shape. Severus' Patronus. An icy, silver-white swan.
The Patronus glided toward Odile, and they cackled and honked at each other. Remus' jaw dropped, totally gobsmacked.
"They can talk to each other?"
Severus smiled nastily. "I am able to communicate with her through the medium of my Patronus, yes."
"But-"
"She's told me the most interesting things about you." The smile grew more jaggedly, like something Remus didn't want to catch himself on or he would start to bleed. "Naughty littler werewolf, entertaining some evil thoughts and sharing them with my swan."
Odile squawked sharply, and Severus frowned. The Patronus clicked its beak.
"She's told you what I said?" Remus gaped, embarrassment flashing through him.
"She intuits feelings and intentions behind people's speech and behaviour. She cannot understand most words. You disgust me, Lupin!" Severus grabbed Remus by the collar. Remus wrapped his hands around the other man's slim wrists, his rarely-provoked temper exploding within him. Odile had reported Remus' feelings to Severus' and the bastard had been playing with him! How dare he taunt and flirt when he had no true feelings for Remus?
"I should have known better than to trust you!" he raged. "You slippery, suspicious son of a bitch. You've been able to talk to her all this time and you've used that advantage to spy on me!"
"And I do not care for what I have learned!" Severus seethed unrepentantly.
"But-"
"That you wish, to translate crudely, to overtake and nest with me for a night."
"That isn't-"
"Despite the fact that you view me as an enemy even now!"
"No, I-"
"You conveyed to her more than once your hatred for me mingled with a desire to use me. I have learned all I care to about you through this exchange, wolf." The Patronus evaporated and Odile waddled forward reluctantly. Severus lifted her up, holding possessively. "Stay away from my swan, and stay away from me."
"Gladly!" Remus snarled. He pushed past Severus and Odile, leaving them in the staffroom and slamming down the staircase to find Charlie.
~*~
Charlie took Remus down to the Three Broomsticks that evening. After they had muttered back and forth to each other about the pros and cons of consuming several litres of alcohol each, Remus found himself with a large granite stein of grog before him that he hadn't ordered. Remus was still furious at Snape's treachery, and fuming at himself for believing that the son of a bitch could ever feel anything for him but cold disgust. He gritted his teeth at the notion that he might be more than a little heartbroken too. He would deal with that only after he was good and drunk.
"We need to get you laid," Charlie declared as he started in on his third stein, and Remus spat his mouthful of warmed grog out to stop himself from choking on it.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Get you over this Snape obsession." Charlie waved at Madam Rosmerta for two more, despite the fact that Remus had barely touched his first. "You deserve someone who isn't a fucking ugly, mean-spirited old psychopath with an avian fixation."
"Concentrate on getting yourself a good shag," Remus replied, watching in surprise as his friend drained both the stein that Rosmerta brought for him as well as the one she'd placed before Remus.
Charlie snorted, his open face flushed, tracing the tracks in the dull wooden table with his flame-scarred fingers. "Can't."
Taking a breath and a gamble, Remus said, "He wouldn't want you to stop living your life, Charlie. He wasn't that way."
Charlie's head dropped into his hands. "I... D'you know, I didn't even know him all that well until he was eighteen? He came to Romania after those bloody bastards took the dragons. Believe me, mate, I was a mess. I barely had any skin on my face."
Remus nodded. How had he missed this, his best friend and his childhood best friend's son? His own anger dissipated completely as he focused on Charlie's grief instead.
Charlie's gaze was far off as he finished the fifth helping of grog. "He was just Ron's friend, really, until that visit. We couldn't- he insisted that You-Know-Who's followers couldn't know that he l-" Charlie's drink-slurred tongue stumbled. "That he loved someone, or it could be used against him. I think that he was worried what the rest of the fucking world would say, too, though. He wanted to be a good example. He didn't think you could be queer and a role model, maybe."
Eighteen. So they had had a year, maybe fifteen months together, before the end. "Charlie, I'm so-"
"I hated Snape for not saving him," Charlie said bluntly. "I thought about going after him when he went free. I wanted him as dead as Harry."
"I was there," Remus whispered, finishing his own stein at last. "It was horrible, Charlie. But Severus- Voldemort didn't even see him coming. He didn't see the painkilling potions Severus poured down Harry's throat when his back was turned, and he didn't see the way Severus lent his own strength to Harry when I myself could not, trapped in that anti-magic bubble as I was. Most of all, he didn't see Severus cast a stunning spell at him. He bought Harry time, which meant that Harry could finish it. It was just all too much for him afterward. We tried to..."
"I know," Charlie mumbled at his hands, head drooping. "God, I know. I just couldn't believe it then." He looked up, his eyes fiery. "He was taken from me, Remus. I have no choice now but to go on without him. But you- you have a choice. Snape is right there and you want him. I didn't know how deep your feelings for him run."
"He made it clear just now how uninterested he is in me," Remus reminded him, ignored the painful twist of his heart the words provoked.
"Oh come on, Remus! He's scared, that's all! He wants you too. Forget what an idiot he is and just go get him, if that's what you truly want."
Charlie slumped in his seat, resting his head against his hands, leaving Remus staring at him. Well, hell. If he put it like that...
"Madam Rosmerta," Remus called. "I doubt I'll be able to get him back up to the school like this. Can we...?" He gestured at Charlie.
"Of course," said the matron, still beautiful after all these years. "You take one arm, I'll take the other."
Between the two of them, they manoeuvred Charlie up the stairs to the rooms above the pub and deposited him in a neatly made bed. Remus unlaced and removed his boots and set a monitoring charm on him, to alert both Rosmerta and himself if Charlie had any difficulty as he slept it off. He kissed Rosmerta on the cheek and left the Three Broomsticks.
Snow was floating gently toward the ground as he made his way through the village, as though it was in no particular hurry to reach the ground. Remus sped up, his breath puffing out in visible clouds before him. He ignored the curious stares he garnered as he jogged past the periphery of the village. He could feel the burn of Severus' glares, hear the way the Quidditch coach had said his name to Filch. "If Remus hadn't been here..." His feet sped him up the winding road to the school and he berated himself the entire way for being a coward.
"Shouldn't even call yourself a Gryffindor," he exhaled. When had he broken into an all-out run? "He was civil to you all year. He laughed- he laughed- with you in the hospital. Remus, you're a bloody fool." When had Snape ever laughed freely with anyone? And that soft, harsh groan when he'd finally, all-too-briefly kissed Remus back. And oh god, that kiss itself could fuel his fantasies for a year.
But fantasies weren't enough, he thought as he performed the correct spell to open the gates to the school. They magically clanged shut and resealed themselves behind him, and he pelted up toward the castle. He passed The Hut, where Fang woofed a greeting before turning his attention to snuffling about the pumpkin patch. No, fantasies couldn't be enough, not when Charlie's love was dead and cold, not when the one man Remus desired was locked up, probably brooding away in Odile's company, somewhere in this castle. Remus wrenched the heavy oak front door almost off its hinges. It was past ten, and the hall was deserted, the torches dimmed, splashing oddly distorted shadows across the stone floor. Remus immediately reached into his pocket for his map, not in the right frame of mind to search on his own.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he chanted, and tapped the soft parchment with his wand. He could barely wait as the map inked itself into being. He hunted for the small dot labelled "S. Snape". Not in his chambers, his lab, the staffroom… Ah. There he was, in the Quidditch locker rooms. With a triumphant, predatory grin, Remus wheeled around, straight back out the door. The cool air welcomed him back as he stalked toward the Pitch, even-paced now that he knew where Severus was. A shadow crossed the lawn, a large bird flying past the moon just before he entered the locker room. No light appeared, and Remus whispered a lumos spell. He checked the map before wiping it clean- Snape was definitely here. He crept past the Quidditch coach's office, gradually becoming aware of the sound of spraying water.
Oh god, Remus thought. The showers. He closed his eyes, his hand finding the wall to steady himself. He couldn't go barging in there to find a naked Severus. Probably wet, maybe soapy... Remus swallowed. No, he couldn't go in there, especially after accusations of wanting nothing more than to use him. And where had the swan picked that up? When Remus had said he wanted to jump Severus? Or was his desire that easy to read in his body language? Had she misinterpreted his intentions, or had his own confusion about what he wanted clouded them?
The water snapped off. Remus froze. He counted his breaths in the darkness- twelve inhalations before Severus emerged with a black towel wrapped around his slim hips, wet, black hair glossy and clinging to his neck like Odile's feathers. Dark eyes alighted upon him immediately.
"Lupin, must I hex off your genitalia to get you to leave me alone?" He sounded irritated but just underneath was something a bit more uncertain.
"No hexing," Remus said, moving forward slowly as his vaunted Gryffindor courage finally caught up with him. He stepped forward slowly so he didn't startle his quarry. "No overthinking. No rationalizing away."
"What the hell are you-"
"No teasing, no ignoring me." It was Remus' turn to interrupt Severus' protests. He stopped half a foot in front of the other man, arms akimbo. "No pushing me away when you don't really want to." He ran his finger tips along Severus' damp cheekbone, the rasp of stubble intoxicating and so real.
The Slytherin squawked, startled by the intimacy of the caress. "Lupin, cease-"
"And most of all," Remus said, leaning forward and whispering the words against Severus' lips, "No more talking."
Severus took a breath as if he was going to protest, and Remus sealed their mouths together, his hands cupping Severus' face gently. The kiss was soft, undemanding, a declaration of everything Remus wanted to say and Severus had fought so hard not to hear. Remus wove his fingers through Severus' dripping hair. He was light-headed from the heady sweetness of it until, of course, Severus stepped back, eyes flashing.
"What do you want from me?" he said, and Remus wondered if he'd ever heard the other man sound quite so lost before.
"I want you to stop fighting whatever this is," Remus answered.
"This? This is folly. Once your bizarre fascination for snogging me against my will vanishes, you'll realise how mad this is."
"It won't vanish." And Remus knew it was true. He brushed a kiss against Severus' lips, and his hunger spiked as he felt the other man almost respond. "Since we were students here, and again the first time I came back to teach. We've been doing this dance around each other for years, Severus." Another kiss, this with teeth at the end, a light nip against the Quidditch coach's lower lip. "Whether we've loathed each other or..."
"Or?"
"Or didn't. Loathe each other." He brought their lips together once more, and this time Severus did respond for just a moment, mouth moving against Remus'. The friction was delicious, and when they parted, it was a natural break.
"You're not a stupid man," Remus whispered, leaning his forehead against Severus'. Severus didn't back away. "Your intelligence is part of your attractiveness."
Severus snorted, though Remus ignored the sound in favour of gliding his fingers down Severus' damp, bare arms. "And what does my legendary intellect have to do with the matter at hand?"
The fact that the man could speak in such a normal voice impressed Remus, especially when his own was rough with need. "I don't know what exactly you gathered through your Patronus, but you must be able to discern for yourself that I'm not interested in a one night stand." Remus managed to still his fingers before they moved too low, settling his hands on Severus' waist. "And to deduce that what I want- all I've wanted for some time now- is you."
There: the truth laid bare before Severus, and now it was up to the Slytherin to respond or reject him. He'd done all he could do.
Severus' face was nearly impassive, though the dark eyes glittered while he pondered Remus' words. And so quickly that Remus barely had time to register the movement, Severus surged into his arms, baring him backward against the bank of wooden lockers reserved for use by the Slytherin Quidditch team. He impacted against them, gasping in surprise, but the gasp was stolen away when Severus placed his forearms on either side of Remus' head and leaned forward to slither his tongue into Remus' open mouth. Remus recovered in an instant and sucked it in with a greedy growl, folding his arms around Severus' torso to urge him closer, sandwiching himself between Quidditch lockers and Quidditch coach. Severus had come alive under his touch, and Remus curled his fingers into warm, naked skin, moving restlessly along the planes of the other man's shoulders, the orbits of his ribs, the ribbon of his spine. Severus groaned deeply, plunging his tongue deeper into Remus' mouth. They moved against each other, Remus' shirt wet with water from Severus' chest and dripping hair. Remus wondered vaguely just how tightly cinched that towel around Severus' waist was.
"Severus," Remus breathed.
"Hmm?" Severus took the opportunity to track sideways across Remus' cheekbones and toward his ear, his wicked teeth playing with Remus' earlobe.
Arousal speared through him, and his voice broke in a short, startled moan. Gathering himself, he managed to say, around the mind-numbing distraction of Severus' tongue mapping the contours of his ear, "You changed your mind quickly enough."
"You'd like me to stop?" Severus taunted, tangling his hands in Remus' silvering hair.
"I'd have to hex you." The last word came out a breathy whimper.
"That's very- OW!" Severus bellowed, pain and shock crossing his features. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Remus took a breath, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. "What?"
But Severus wasn't looking at him. He was glowering down at Odile, his left calf bleeding from a nasty beak injury.
"She attacked you?" Remus gawked.
"Insane swan," Severus scowled, sitting down on one of the benches. Remus couldn't help but notice that his towel was still tented, and the sudden cold of not having an aroused Quidditch coach pressed against his body bit into him.
Odile hissed, shuffling to stand in front of Remus, her wings outstretched protectively. Remus looked from one dark head to the other. "Is she guarding me?" Her wingspan, free at last from the magical green sling, was formidable.
"I'm not attacking him!" Severus said, exasperated.
"He's really not," Remus added gently, crouching down to stroke her soft head, cool from the evening air. This must have been her first flight since being injured.
With a huff that screamed 'make up your mind!', Odile ruffled her feathers and turned her back on them both. Severus rolled his eyes as she toddled out of the locker room, and Summoned his robes, wrapping them around himself. Remus tried not to be disappointed as the other man's lean body disappeared from view.
"Would you like me to heal your leg?" Remus offered. "I've had to deal with a number of similar incisions, you know."
"I shall take care of it myself," Severus replied, not unkindly. He focused once more on Remus' face, and the look caused Remus' flagging arousal to bloom anew. "She nattered at me all night about you."
"Yes?" Remus prompted.
Severus quickly healed his leg. "Perhaps I was hasty in my earlier accusations." His eyes sought Remus', blazing with intensity. "I do not desire a short, meaningless affair, Remus. I cannot-"
"It's not what I want either, I swear it," Remus said. He straddled the bench, settling close to Severus. "Believe me."
Severus studied him silently for a moment. "I do."
Those words took hold of Remus, flaring to life deep in his heart. He launched himself forward along the bench, clutching Severus' shoulders and hauling him close into a toe-tingling kiss. Severus responded immediately, his body twisting to pull Remus nearer to where he sat, urging Remus' tongue into his mouth. Remus obliged with a growl. Severus' teeth scraped his lip, and Remus groaned. He needed more, and he needed it now. He couldn't live on infrequent fleeting touches any longer, and he scrabbled at Severus' loosely tied robe, shoving it off the Slytherin's shoulders. Severus allowed it to drop to the floor, and after one long, considering moment, he let the towel drop as well.
Remus' breath caught. Severus was even more sensual than he remembered, all hard, toned angles and healthy, pale skin accented by dark hair on his chest and growing more lightly on his arms and legs. A delectable trail from his stomach led downward to thick nest of black curls and Severus' prominent erection.
"Severus," Remus whispered, drinking in the embodiment of his desires.
"Why are you still dressed?" Severus demanded critically.
Remus blushed. "I am, aren't I?"
"Must I do everything myself?" Severus grumbled, though Remus could interpret his teasing tone just underneath. Before he could respond, Severus had methodically unfastened his robes and went to work on his shirt.
Remus distracted him.
"Lupin- oh! How can I- ah- concentrate when- mmmmmm." He surrendered to Remus' ministrations, Remus rolling one nipple between thumb and forefinger while he dragged his tongue against Severus' stubble-roughened throat.
With a surge of energy, Severus hooked his thumbs into Remus' belt loops and pulled him roughly forward. Too much energy, perhaps, because Remus fell against him and they both tumbled off the bench and onto Severus' discarded robe on the floor. Remus' robe and shirt joined it in a matter of seconds, and Severus rolled Remus beneath him, straddling his waist.
Remus reached up to run his hands along Severus' torso, inflamed by every bit of smooth, heated flesh he touched. The Quidditch coach hissed with pleasure and bucked his hips leisurely against Remus. Remus gasped, thrusting upward to enhance the incredible pressure on his erection. He raked his nails across Severus' ribcage and nearly jumped out of his skin when Severus' long, cool fingertips danced across his own bare chest.
"Lupin," Severus groaned, bending forward to suck on his collarbone.
"Remus," Remus said determinedly, arching against that clever mouth. He buried his hands in Severus' hair, half dry now, driving his pelvis upward against Severus' once again. He craved a steadier rhythm, and with a twist of his hips, he rolled them, pinning Severus beneath him. Severus took the opportunity of transition to unfasten Remus' fly, and Remus shimmied out of his trousers, socks, and shoes only a little clumsily. Severus writhed beneath him, taking advantage of the wiggling.
The first contact of skin against skin made Remus' eyes flutter closed, and he stretched himself out on top of Severus, rolling their hips together to bring their cocks into sudden, wonderful connection.
"Oh god," Severus gasped, and Remus grinned triumphantly.
"You like that."
Severus managed a decent withering glare. "Of course I do. Do it again." He arched against Remus' fingers, kneading Remus' arse as they undulated against one another, a slow burn years in the making. Remus settled between Severus' thighs and his hand found its way down the plane of Severus' stomach to touch his cock at last, feather light. Severus groaned with frustration.
"More, damn you."
"Such pleasant manners," Remus said sweetly, rubbing his thumb across the ridged head. "What's the magic word?"
"Fuck, now!" Severus commanded.
Remus descended to claim Severus' mouth to kiss him deeply as his hand wrapped around the other man's cock, caressing him with decisive strokes. The Slytherin tilted upward, giving Remus full access. He twisted his wrist with each upward stroke, dizzy from the needful noises Severus was making as he squirmed beneath Remus' touch.
"Now," Severus groaned again, and Remus knew what he meant. They were both quivering with need, and Remus kissed those demanding, haughty lips once, chastely, before pulling back.
"Up," he said, urging Severus' hips forward
Severus complied without argument for once, rolling away from Remus and pushing himself onto his knees.
"Lube," Remus said desperately.
Severus gave him a dirty look. "And you call yourself a gay wizard." He fetched his wand out of his discarded robe pocket and pointed it at himself. "Contentus lubricum."
"What-?"
"A spell of my own devising," Severus assured him, and he turned to rest his elbows on the bench, spreading his legs wider. "Now, if you please..." The ragged note of desperation belied his flippant words.
Dubiously, Remus ran his index finger along the cleft of Severus' arse, sucking in a shocked breath as his finger slid easily inside.
Severus groaned and thrust against his finger. "More!"
The Quidditch coach was warm and tight, but stretched and slick as well. "I should add that to the Charms syllabus," Remus quipped as he added a second finger, moving slowly and determinedly, his fingers crooking on each inward stroke, seeking-
"Oh bleeding hell, Remus!"
Severus' whole body jerked as Remus found his prostate as if electrified. Remus bit his lip to stifle his own groan. He'd always taken pleasure in giving pleasure, and to see and hear Severus Snape so wanton, so demanding... Remus couldn't remember when he'd been so aroused.
The Quidditch coach was panting, his knuckles white where they grasped the edge of the bench, obviously trying to maintain control. He bit back a harsh gasp as Remus added a third finger and allowed his rhythm to speed up marginally. Severus pushed back against him, his body language demanding more, while his vocal chords seemed to have stopped working, but for the tiny noises escaping his lips now and again. At last, Remus gave into both Severus' need and his own and withdrew his fingers.
"All right?" he asked, taking his cock in hand and aligning it against Severus' arse. He received an affirmative grunt in reply and began to press forward. And then there were no more words. Severus drove back against him, slowly impaling himself until they were flush against each other, Remus deep inside Severus' body. One hand settled on Severus' hip to steady himself, the other snaking around to find Severus' cock. And Remus began to move. Remus hadn't realised how delicious harmony could be. They rocked together in unison, Remus pressing kisses against Severus' shoulders and neck. Severus' body welcomed him, working with him, drawing him further inward, further upward in their mutual pleasure. Remus' fingers stroked forward, orbiting Severus' hip and across his lean stomach to find Severus' cock once more. He wrapped his hand around it, hot and heavy and so hard, and stroked Severus in cadence with their movements.
"Yes!" one of them groaned starkly as Remus slammed forward again and again, Severus' body squeezing him as Remus continued to stroke his lover's cock. His lover. Oh god.
"Severus," Remus cried, his thrusts speeding up, his eyes fluttering closed. His mouth found every bit of naked skin he could, tasting Severus even as his other senses left him. He couldn't see, couldn't process anything but the feel of Severus beneath him and around him, and the sounds they made together. His hand movements sped up, and he felt Severus' fingers twining with his, both of them stroking Severus' cock until Severus' body snapped rigid and he came with a strangled shout.
Belatedly, Remus realized that shout had been his name, his first name, and that knowledge overwhelmed him completely, toppling him into ecstatic oblivion, finding his release with a long, low howl. He held Severus tightly as they floated in the mind-numbing warmth of completion. Severus' back was sweaty and sticky against Remus' chest, and as Remus slowly came back to himself, he licked away some of that salty sweat. He pulled his softening, sated cock out of Severus only reluctantly, and the moment Severus turned around, he pounced. He pulled the Quidditch coach into a deep, addictive kiss, his tongue stroking languidly against Severus', and the two of them sank back down onto their sullied robes without letting go of each other.
When at last Remus broke the kiss to suck in a lungful of oxygen, he laid back against the hard floor. It took only a little tugging to get Severus to lay down with him, his head on Remus' shoulder, his elegant fingers running along Remus' stomach. His hands were wind-chapped and wonderfully rough, just as Remus had always suspected, and Remus kissed his dark head lazily.
"Did Odile tell you that I'm in love with you?" he asked cautiously.
"She managed to convey it this evening," Severus admitted. "She did not approve of you at first, you know. She told me that you wanted me only for fleeting pleasure. Well, that isn't exactly how she put it, but I understood the meaning well enough."
"Her tune changed after I rescued her from Filch's cat?" Remus guessed.
"It did. And then I did not want to believe her."
A heavy admission. "Why?" Remus asked, rubbing Severus' shoulder gently.
"I thought you had something with Weasley, and that you wanted a mere dalliance with me."
"I love you," Remus said simply. "Charlie is my friend. Nothing more."
Severus was silent for a time. Remus was about steal a peek to see if he had fallen asleep when a voice muttered into his chest, "We should go back to the castle. It is chilly here, and it would be catastrophic if we were to doze off and be discovered like this in the morning."
"The poor children," Remus chuckled. "Come for a Quidditch lesson only to discover their middle-aged professor naked, well-shagged and asleep in a tangle on the floor."
"They should wish for such a sex life," Severus smirked, sitting up and pushing Remus off his robes. "Lup- Remus."
"Yes, Severus?"
"My quarters, if you'd like to adjourn there..."
Remus kissed him softly. "I'd like nothing more."
Epilogue- 2 Years Later
The day after the Halloween feast, Severus and Remus stood by the large arched window in their sitting room, watching Odile circling gracefully above the lake. Remus' hand found Severus', smiling at the sensation of the ring on his lover's finger, identical to his own ring. They were each engraved with the image of a single swan feather.
"I always imagined when we told this story to people in years to come, it would end with Odile flying away forever in a flurry of feathers and symbolism."
Severus snorted, squeezing Remus' fingers affectionately. "Certainly not. She has far too much sense- she knows precisely how good she has it here."
"True."
"Besides, Cygnus atratus are not migratory birds. Perhaps she was drawn here from her original home when she was in trouble because of my Patronus, but she isn't about to leave."
"This is home now," Remus said simply, grazing a kiss across Severus' cheek.
"Yes," Severus agreed, and he led Remus away from the window, toward their bedroom. "This is home."
Fin
Author: rose_whispers
Pairing: Severus/Remus
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 13,008
Summary: After the war, Remus' jealousy is sparked when a dark, mysterious stranger attaches herself to Severus
A/N: A gift fic for dark_cygnet for being my online motivator and cracking the whip whenever I was procrastinating on school work. Thanks so much, hon! And huge thank you to my ever watchful and brilliant betas, thescarletwoman and elspethsheir
(the first half can be found here)
Remus and Severus listened to Argus Filch verbally eviscerating them at the next staff meeting, during which, due to a mysterious shortage of chairs, Severus had to sit next to Remus. Odile reposed at his feet, hissing at the caretaker. When he stopped for breath, Severus cast him the deepest, most loathsome sneer Remus had seen from him in quite some time.
"That vile creature attacked my swan, Filch. If you bellyache about this one more time, I shall apply the same thumbscrews to you with which you constantly threaten the students."
Remus bit back a snort of laughter, and for one moment, Severus looked strangely gratified. But then his face composed itself once more into a sneering mask, staring Filch down.
The rest of the staff meeting progressed without incident, though Remus could not fight the prickling awareness of how close Severus was seated, and how often those dark eyes flashed toward him. Severus had barely looked at him in weeks. By the time the last item, regarding the removal of one particularly rude statue of a fwooper near the owlery that had taken to making rude gestures with its claws, had been checked off, Remus felt very hot under the collar. And very aroused. God, he hoped he could escape quickly. The effect of Severus' proximity and non-hostility had been profound, and he desperately needed to get to his rooms and have a good wank. But as the rest of the professors scraped their chairs back noisily and bustled out of the room, Severus' fingers curled about Remus' wrist. Remus froze, eyes wide, though Severus remained inscrutable.
"I wished to..."
Remus waited for more, but now Severus looked distinctly uncomfortable. The staff room emptied, leaving only the two of them and Odile, who was busy pecking at the hand-embroidered rug by the hearth. "You're welcome for saving your swan from the mangy maw of death, Severus," Remus said at last, taking pity on him.
Severus nodded curtly. "Yes. That. She's nearly healed but that creature might have damaged her further."
Remus took a deep breath, and twisted his hand in Severus' grip, twining his fingers with the Quidditch coach's. Though Severus' expression was stunned, he didn't jerk his hand away. Heartened, Remus stroked the pad of his thumb against Severus' knuckles. "We could have dinner some time. Away from the castle."
"Lupin, I do not think that-"
"Don't think," Remus cut him off, and without waiting, he leaned upward and brushed his lips against Severus'. This kiss was slower than their first, and Severus, though unyielding, wasn't insulting him and retreating, either. Remus' exploration became bolder, running his tongue against Severus' lips, their hands still clasped between them, and with a shuddering breath, the Quidditch coach's mouth opened against Remus', inviting him in. It was better than Remus had ever imagined as Severus started to respond to him, his lithe tongue caressing Remus'. Long fingers crept into Remus' hair, stroking and pulling him closer, and Remus wrapped his arms around Severus' waist, bringing their bodies into fuller contact. He couldn't help the moan that slipped from his mouth into Severus' as his arousal pressed against the Slytherin's hip. Severus jerked backward, panting, a wild look in his eyes.
"Lupin, no."
"Excuse me?" Remus blinked, dazed.
"I will not do this." Severus was gaining control of himself once more, no longer looking like Odile trapped by Mrs Norris.
"But why?"
"I needn't justify anything to you." The familiar sneer was back in place, and Severus brushed by him, out the door. It took Remus a few moments to realise that Odile hadn't immediately followed as she normally did. Instead, she nudged him sympathetically with her beak, honking plaintively.
Severus returned a moment later, white-faced with rage. "Lupin, give me back my swan."
"I'm not keeping her from you," Remus replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
"This isn't funny, werewolf."
"Am I laughing?"
Odile stayed crouched by Remus' feet, looking at Severus mournfully.
"You take everything from me," Severus growled, advancing. "My dignity as children. My sanity as professors. My... my swan now! You will not do this to me!"
"Your sanity?" Remus didn't understand what the man was raving about. "For heaven's sake, Severus, I'm not trying to hurt you! Have you no idea how I feel about-"
Severus interrupted him with a flick of his wand, and wordlessly a jet of dazzling light streamed forth, forming into a solid shape. Severus' Patronus. An icy, silver-white swan.
The Patronus glided toward Odile, and they cackled and honked at each other. Remus' jaw dropped, totally gobsmacked.
"They can talk to each other?"
Severus smiled nastily. "I am able to communicate with her through the medium of my Patronus, yes."
"But-"
"She's told me the most interesting things about you." The smile grew more jaggedly, like something Remus didn't want to catch himself on or he would start to bleed. "Naughty littler werewolf, entertaining some evil thoughts and sharing them with my swan."
Odile squawked sharply, and Severus frowned. The Patronus clicked its beak.
"She's told you what I said?" Remus gaped, embarrassment flashing through him.
"She intuits feelings and intentions behind people's speech and behaviour. She cannot understand most words. You disgust me, Lupin!" Severus grabbed Remus by the collar. Remus wrapped his hands around the other man's slim wrists, his rarely-provoked temper exploding within him. Odile had reported Remus' feelings to Severus' and the bastard had been playing with him! How dare he taunt and flirt when he had no true feelings for Remus?
"I should have known better than to trust you!" he raged. "You slippery, suspicious son of a bitch. You've been able to talk to her all this time and you've used that advantage to spy on me!"
"And I do not care for what I have learned!" Severus seethed unrepentantly.
"But-"
"That you wish, to translate crudely, to overtake and nest with me for a night."
"That isn't-"
"Despite the fact that you view me as an enemy even now!"
"No, I-"
"You conveyed to her more than once your hatred for me mingled with a desire to use me. I have learned all I care to about you through this exchange, wolf." The Patronus evaporated and Odile waddled forward reluctantly. Severus lifted her up, holding possessively. "Stay away from my swan, and stay away from me."
"Gladly!" Remus snarled. He pushed past Severus and Odile, leaving them in the staffroom and slamming down the staircase to find Charlie.
~*~
Charlie took Remus down to the Three Broomsticks that evening. After they had muttered back and forth to each other about the pros and cons of consuming several litres of alcohol each, Remus found himself with a large granite stein of grog before him that he hadn't ordered. Remus was still furious at Snape's treachery, and fuming at himself for believing that the son of a bitch could ever feel anything for him but cold disgust. He gritted his teeth at the notion that he might be more than a little heartbroken too. He would deal with that only after he was good and drunk.
"We need to get you laid," Charlie declared as he started in on his third stein, and Remus spat his mouthful of warmed grog out to stop himself from choking on it.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Get you over this Snape obsession." Charlie waved at Madam Rosmerta for two more, despite the fact that Remus had barely touched his first. "You deserve someone who isn't a fucking ugly, mean-spirited old psychopath with an avian fixation."
"Concentrate on getting yourself a good shag," Remus replied, watching in surprise as his friend drained both the stein that Rosmerta brought for him as well as the one she'd placed before Remus.
Charlie snorted, his open face flushed, tracing the tracks in the dull wooden table with his flame-scarred fingers. "Can't."
Taking a breath and a gamble, Remus said, "He wouldn't want you to stop living your life, Charlie. He wasn't that way."
Charlie's head dropped into his hands. "I... D'you know, I didn't even know him all that well until he was eighteen? He came to Romania after those bloody bastards took the dragons. Believe me, mate, I was a mess. I barely had any skin on my face."
Remus nodded. How had he missed this, his best friend and his childhood best friend's son? His own anger dissipated completely as he focused on Charlie's grief instead.
Charlie's gaze was far off as he finished the fifth helping of grog. "He was just Ron's friend, really, until that visit. We couldn't- he insisted that You-Know-Who's followers couldn't know that he l-" Charlie's drink-slurred tongue stumbled. "That he loved someone, or it could be used against him. I think that he was worried what the rest of the fucking world would say, too, though. He wanted to be a good example. He didn't think you could be queer and a role model, maybe."
Eighteen. So they had had a year, maybe fifteen months together, before the end. "Charlie, I'm so-"
"I hated Snape for not saving him," Charlie said bluntly. "I thought about going after him when he went free. I wanted him as dead as Harry."
"I was there," Remus whispered, finishing his own stein at last. "It was horrible, Charlie. But Severus- Voldemort didn't even see him coming. He didn't see the painkilling potions Severus poured down Harry's throat when his back was turned, and he didn't see the way Severus lent his own strength to Harry when I myself could not, trapped in that anti-magic bubble as I was. Most of all, he didn't see Severus cast a stunning spell at him. He bought Harry time, which meant that Harry could finish it. It was just all too much for him afterward. We tried to..."
"I know," Charlie mumbled at his hands, head drooping. "God, I know. I just couldn't believe it then." He looked up, his eyes fiery. "He was taken from me, Remus. I have no choice now but to go on without him. But you- you have a choice. Snape is right there and you want him. I didn't know how deep your feelings for him run."
"He made it clear just now how uninterested he is in me," Remus reminded him, ignored the painful twist of his heart the words provoked.
"Oh come on, Remus! He's scared, that's all! He wants you too. Forget what an idiot he is and just go get him, if that's what you truly want."
Charlie slumped in his seat, resting his head against his hands, leaving Remus staring at him. Well, hell. If he put it like that...
"Madam Rosmerta," Remus called. "I doubt I'll be able to get him back up to the school like this. Can we...?" He gestured at Charlie.
"Of course," said the matron, still beautiful after all these years. "You take one arm, I'll take the other."
Between the two of them, they manoeuvred Charlie up the stairs to the rooms above the pub and deposited him in a neatly made bed. Remus unlaced and removed his boots and set a monitoring charm on him, to alert both Rosmerta and himself if Charlie had any difficulty as he slept it off. He kissed Rosmerta on the cheek and left the Three Broomsticks.
Snow was floating gently toward the ground as he made his way through the village, as though it was in no particular hurry to reach the ground. Remus sped up, his breath puffing out in visible clouds before him. He ignored the curious stares he garnered as he jogged past the periphery of the village. He could feel the burn of Severus' glares, hear the way the Quidditch coach had said his name to Filch. "If Remus hadn't been here..." His feet sped him up the winding road to the school and he berated himself the entire way for being a coward.
"Shouldn't even call yourself a Gryffindor," he exhaled. When had he broken into an all-out run? "He was civil to you all year. He laughed- he laughed- with you in the hospital. Remus, you're a bloody fool." When had Snape ever laughed freely with anyone? And that soft, harsh groan when he'd finally, all-too-briefly kissed Remus back. And oh god, that kiss itself could fuel his fantasies for a year.
But fantasies weren't enough, he thought as he performed the correct spell to open the gates to the school. They magically clanged shut and resealed themselves behind him, and he pelted up toward the castle. He passed The Hut, where Fang woofed a greeting before turning his attention to snuffling about the pumpkin patch. No, fantasies couldn't be enough, not when Charlie's love was dead and cold, not when the one man Remus desired was locked up, probably brooding away in Odile's company, somewhere in this castle. Remus wrenched the heavy oak front door almost off its hinges. It was past ten, and the hall was deserted, the torches dimmed, splashing oddly distorted shadows across the stone floor. Remus immediately reached into his pocket for his map, not in the right frame of mind to search on his own.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he chanted, and tapped the soft parchment with his wand. He could barely wait as the map inked itself into being. He hunted for the small dot labelled "S. Snape". Not in his chambers, his lab, the staffroom… Ah. There he was, in the Quidditch locker rooms. With a triumphant, predatory grin, Remus wheeled around, straight back out the door. The cool air welcomed him back as he stalked toward the Pitch, even-paced now that he knew where Severus was. A shadow crossed the lawn, a large bird flying past the moon just before he entered the locker room. No light appeared, and Remus whispered a lumos spell. He checked the map before wiping it clean- Snape was definitely here. He crept past the Quidditch coach's office, gradually becoming aware of the sound of spraying water.
Oh god, Remus thought. The showers. He closed his eyes, his hand finding the wall to steady himself. He couldn't go barging in there to find a naked Severus. Probably wet, maybe soapy... Remus swallowed. No, he couldn't go in there, especially after accusations of wanting nothing more than to use him. And where had the swan picked that up? When Remus had said he wanted to jump Severus? Or was his desire that easy to read in his body language? Had she misinterpreted his intentions, or had his own confusion about what he wanted clouded them?
The water snapped off. Remus froze. He counted his breaths in the darkness- twelve inhalations before Severus emerged with a black towel wrapped around his slim hips, wet, black hair glossy and clinging to his neck like Odile's feathers. Dark eyes alighted upon him immediately.
"Lupin, must I hex off your genitalia to get you to leave me alone?" He sounded irritated but just underneath was something a bit more uncertain.
"No hexing," Remus said, moving forward slowly as his vaunted Gryffindor courage finally caught up with him. He stepped forward slowly so he didn't startle his quarry. "No overthinking. No rationalizing away."
"What the hell are you-"
"No teasing, no ignoring me." It was Remus' turn to interrupt Severus' protests. He stopped half a foot in front of the other man, arms akimbo. "No pushing me away when you don't really want to." He ran his finger tips along Severus' damp cheekbone, the rasp of stubble intoxicating and so real.
The Slytherin squawked, startled by the intimacy of the caress. "Lupin, cease-"
"And most of all," Remus said, leaning forward and whispering the words against Severus' lips, "No more talking."
Severus took a breath as if he was going to protest, and Remus sealed their mouths together, his hands cupping Severus' face gently. The kiss was soft, undemanding, a declaration of everything Remus wanted to say and Severus had fought so hard not to hear. Remus wove his fingers through Severus' dripping hair. He was light-headed from the heady sweetness of it until, of course, Severus stepped back, eyes flashing.
"What do you want from me?" he said, and Remus wondered if he'd ever heard the other man sound quite so lost before.
"I want you to stop fighting whatever this is," Remus answered.
"This? This is folly. Once your bizarre fascination for snogging me against my will vanishes, you'll realise how mad this is."
"It won't vanish." And Remus knew it was true. He brushed a kiss against Severus' lips, and his hunger spiked as he felt the other man almost respond. "Since we were students here, and again the first time I came back to teach. We've been doing this dance around each other for years, Severus." Another kiss, this with teeth at the end, a light nip against the Quidditch coach's lower lip. "Whether we've loathed each other or..."
"Or?"
"Or didn't. Loathe each other." He brought their lips together once more, and this time Severus did respond for just a moment, mouth moving against Remus'. The friction was delicious, and when they parted, it was a natural break.
"You're not a stupid man," Remus whispered, leaning his forehead against Severus'. Severus didn't back away. "Your intelligence is part of your attractiveness."
Severus snorted, though Remus ignored the sound in favour of gliding his fingers down Severus' damp, bare arms. "And what does my legendary intellect have to do with the matter at hand?"
The fact that the man could speak in such a normal voice impressed Remus, especially when his own was rough with need. "I don't know what exactly you gathered through your Patronus, but you must be able to discern for yourself that I'm not interested in a one night stand." Remus managed to still his fingers before they moved too low, settling his hands on Severus' waist. "And to deduce that what I want- all I've wanted for some time now- is you."
There: the truth laid bare before Severus, and now it was up to the Slytherin to respond or reject him. He'd done all he could do.
Severus' face was nearly impassive, though the dark eyes glittered while he pondered Remus' words. And so quickly that Remus barely had time to register the movement, Severus surged into his arms, baring him backward against the bank of wooden lockers reserved for use by the Slytherin Quidditch team. He impacted against them, gasping in surprise, but the gasp was stolen away when Severus placed his forearms on either side of Remus' head and leaned forward to slither his tongue into Remus' open mouth. Remus recovered in an instant and sucked it in with a greedy growl, folding his arms around Severus' torso to urge him closer, sandwiching himself between Quidditch lockers and Quidditch coach. Severus had come alive under his touch, and Remus curled his fingers into warm, naked skin, moving restlessly along the planes of the other man's shoulders, the orbits of his ribs, the ribbon of his spine. Severus groaned deeply, plunging his tongue deeper into Remus' mouth. They moved against each other, Remus' shirt wet with water from Severus' chest and dripping hair. Remus wondered vaguely just how tightly cinched that towel around Severus' waist was.
"Severus," Remus breathed.
"Hmm?" Severus took the opportunity to track sideways across Remus' cheekbones and toward his ear, his wicked teeth playing with Remus' earlobe.
Arousal speared through him, and his voice broke in a short, startled moan. Gathering himself, he managed to say, around the mind-numbing distraction of Severus' tongue mapping the contours of his ear, "You changed your mind quickly enough."
"You'd like me to stop?" Severus taunted, tangling his hands in Remus' silvering hair.
"I'd have to hex you." The last word came out a breathy whimper.
"That's very- OW!" Severus bellowed, pain and shock crossing his features. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Remus took a breath, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. "What?"
But Severus wasn't looking at him. He was glowering down at Odile, his left calf bleeding from a nasty beak injury.
"She attacked you?" Remus gawked.
"Insane swan," Severus scowled, sitting down on one of the benches. Remus couldn't help but notice that his towel was still tented, and the sudden cold of not having an aroused Quidditch coach pressed against his body bit into him.
Odile hissed, shuffling to stand in front of Remus, her wings outstretched protectively. Remus looked from one dark head to the other. "Is she guarding me?" Her wingspan, free at last from the magical green sling, was formidable.
"I'm not attacking him!" Severus said, exasperated.
"He's really not," Remus added gently, crouching down to stroke her soft head, cool from the evening air. This must have been her first flight since being injured.
With a huff that screamed 'make up your mind!', Odile ruffled her feathers and turned her back on them both. Severus rolled his eyes as she toddled out of the locker room, and Summoned his robes, wrapping them around himself. Remus tried not to be disappointed as the other man's lean body disappeared from view.
"Would you like me to heal your leg?" Remus offered. "I've had to deal with a number of similar incisions, you know."
"I shall take care of it myself," Severus replied, not unkindly. He focused once more on Remus' face, and the look caused Remus' flagging arousal to bloom anew. "She nattered at me all night about you."
"Yes?" Remus prompted.
Severus quickly healed his leg. "Perhaps I was hasty in my earlier accusations." His eyes sought Remus', blazing with intensity. "I do not desire a short, meaningless affair, Remus. I cannot-"
"It's not what I want either, I swear it," Remus said. He straddled the bench, settling close to Severus. "Believe me."
Severus studied him silently for a moment. "I do."
Those words took hold of Remus, flaring to life deep in his heart. He launched himself forward along the bench, clutching Severus' shoulders and hauling him close into a toe-tingling kiss. Severus responded immediately, his body twisting to pull Remus nearer to where he sat, urging Remus' tongue into his mouth. Remus obliged with a growl. Severus' teeth scraped his lip, and Remus groaned. He needed more, and he needed it now. He couldn't live on infrequent fleeting touches any longer, and he scrabbled at Severus' loosely tied robe, shoving it off the Slytherin's shoulders. Severus allowed it to drop to the floor, and after one long, considering moment, he let the towel drop as well.
Remus' breath caught. Severus was even more sensual than he remembered, all hard, toned angles and healthy, pale skin accented by dark hair on his chest and growing more lightly on his arms and legs. A delectable trail from his stomach led downward to thick nest of black curls and Severus' prominent erection.
"Severus," Remus whispered, drinking in the embodiment of his desires.
"Why are you still dressed?" Severus demanded critically.
Remus blushed. "I am, aren't I?"
"Must I do everything myself?" Severus grumbled, though Remus could interpret his teasing tone just underneath. Before he could respond, Severus had methodically unfastened his robes and went to work on his shirt.
Remus distracted him.
"Lupin- oh! How can I- ah- concentrate when- mmmmmm." He surrendered to Remus' ministrations, Remus rolling one nipple between thumb and forefinger while he dragged his tongue against Severus' stubble-roughened throat.
With a surge of energy, Severus hooked his thumbs into Remus' belt loops and pulled him roughly forward. Too much energy, perhaps, because Remus fell against him and they both tumbled off the bench and onto Severus' discarded robe on the floor. Remus' robe and shirt joined it in a matter of seconds, and Severus rolled Remus beneath him, straddling his waist.
Remus reached up to run his hands along Severus' torso, inflamed by every bit of smooth, heated flesh he touched. The Quidditch coach hissed with pleasure and bucked his hips leisurely against Remus. Remus gasped, thrusting upward to enhance the incredible pressure on his erection. He raked his nails across Severus' ribcage and nearly jumped out of his skin when Severus' long, cool fingertips danced across his own bare chest.
"Lupin," Severus groaned, bending forward to suck on his collarbone.
"Remus," Remus said determinedly, arching against that clever mouth. He buried his hands in Severus' hair, half dry now, driving his pelvis upward against Severus' once again. He craved a steadier rhythm, and with a twist of his hips, he rolled them, pinning Severus beneath him. Severus took the opportunity of transition to unfasten Remus' fly, and Remus shimmied out of his trousers, socks, and shoes only a little clumsily. Severus writhed beneath him, taking advantage of the wiggling.
The first contact of skin against skin made Remus' eyes flutter closed, and he stretched himself out on top of Severus, rolling their hips together to bring their cocks into sudden, wonderful connection.
"Oh god," Severus gasped, and Remus grinned triumphantly.
"You like that."
Severus managed a decent withering glare. "Of course I do. Do it again." He arched against Remus' fingers, kneading Remus' arse as they undulated against one another, a slow burn years in the making. Remus settled between Severus' thighs and his hand found its way down the plane of Severus' stomach to touch his cock at last, feather light. Severus groaned with frustration.
"More, damn you."
"Such pleasant manners," Remus said sweetly, rubbing his thumb across the ridged head. "What's the magic word?"
"Fuck, now!" Severus commanded.
Remus descended to claim Severus' mouth to kiss him deeply as his hand wrapped around the other man's cock, caressing him with decisive strokes. The Slytherin tilted upward, giving Remus full access. He twisted his wrist with each upward stroke, dizzy from the needful noises Severus was making as he squirmed beneath Remus' touch.
"Now," Severus groaned again, and Remus knew what he meant. They were both quivering with need, and Remus kissed those demanding, haughty lips once, chastely, before pulling back.
"Up," he said, urging Severus' hips forward
Severus complied without argument for once, rolling away from Remus and pushing himself onto his knees.
"Lube," Remus said desperately.
Severus gave him a dirty look. "And you call yourself a gay wizard." He fetched his wand out of his discarded robe pocket and pointed it at himself. "Contentus lubricum."
"What-?"
"A spell of my own devising," Severus assured him, and he turned to rest his elbows on the bench, spreading his legs wider. "Now, if you please..." The ragged note of desperation belied his flippant words.
Dubiously, Remus ran his index finger along the cleft of Severus' arse, sucking in a shocked breath as his finger slid easily inside.
Severus groaned and thrust against his finger. "More!"
The Quidditch coach was warm and tight, but stretched and slick as well. "I should add that to the Charms syllabus," Remus quipped as he added a second finger, moving slowly and determinedly, his fingers crooking on each inward stroke, seeking-
"Oh bleeding hell, Remus!"
Severus' whole body jerked as Remus found his prostate as if electrified. Remus bit his lip to stifle his own groan. He'd always taken pleasure in giving pleasure, and to see and hear Severus Snape so wanton, so demanding... Remus couldn't remember when he'd been so aroused.
The Quidditch coach was panting, his knuckles white where they grasped the edge of the bench, obviously trying to maintain control. He bit back a harsh gasp as Remus added a third finger and allowed his rhythm to speed up marginally. Severus pushed back against him, his body language demanding more, while his vocal chords seemed to have stopped working, but for the tiny noises escaping his lips now and again. At last, Remus gave into both Severus' need and his own and withdrew his fingers.
"All right?" he asked, taking his cock in hand and aligning it against Severus' arse. He received an affirmative grunt in reply and began to press forward. And then there were no more words. Severus drove back against him, slowly impaling himself until they were flush against each other, Remus deep inside Severus' body. One hand settled on Severus' hip to steady himself, the other snaking around to find Severus' cock. And Remus began to move. Remus hadn't realised how delicious harmony could be. They rocked together in unison, Remus pressing kisses against Severus' shoulders and neck. Severus' body welcomed him, working with him, drawing him further inward, further upward in their mutual pleasure. Remus' fingers stroked forward, orbiting Severus' hip and across his lean stomach to find Severus' cock once more. He wrapped his hand around it, hot and heavy and so hard, and stroked Severus in cadence with their movements.
"Yes!" one of them groaned starkly as Remus slammed forward again and again, Severus' body squeezing him as Remus continued to stroke his lover's cock. His lover. Oh god.
"Severus," Remus cried, his thrusts speeding up, his eyes fluttering closed. His mouth found every bit of naked skin he could, tasting Severus even as his other senses left him. He couldn't see, couldn't process anything but the feel of Severus beneath him and around him, and the sounds they made together. His hand movements sped up, and he felt Severus' fingers twining with his, both of them stroking Severus' cock until Severus' body snapped rigid and he came with a strangled shout.
Belatedly, Remus realized that shout had been his name, his first name, and that knowledge overwhelmed him completely, toppling him into ecstatic oblivion, finding his release with a long, low howl. He held Severus tightly as they floated in the mind-numbing warmth of completion. Severus' back was sweaty and sticky against Remus' chest, and as Remus slowly came back to himself, he licked away some of that salty sweat. He pulled his softening, sated cock out of Severus only reluctantly, and the moment Severus turned around, he pounced. He pulled the Quidditch coach into a deep, addictive kiss, his tongue stroking languidly against Severus', and the two of them sank back down onto their sullied robes without letting go of each other.
When at last Remus broke the kiss to suck in a lungful of oxygen, he laid back against the hard floor. It took only a little tugging to get Severus to lay down with him, his head on Remus' shoulder, his elegant fingers running along Remus' stomach. His hands were wind-chapped and wonderfully rough, just as Remus had always suspected, and Remus kissed his dark head lazily.
"Did Odile tell you that I'm in love with you?" he asked cautiously.
"She managed to convey it this evening," Severus admitted. "She did not approve of you at first, you know. She told me that you wanted me only for fleeting pleasure. Well, that isn't exactly how she put it, but I understood the meaning well enough."
"Her tune changed after I rescued her from Filch's cat?" Remus guessed.
"It did. And then I did not want to believe her."
A heavy admission. "Why?" Remus asked, rubbing Severus' shoulder gently.
"I thought you had something with Weasley, and that you wanted a mere dalliance with me."
"I love you," Remus said simply. "Charlie is my friend. Nothing more."
Severus was silent for a time. Remus was about steal a peek to see if he had fallen asleep when a voice muttered into his chest, "We should go back to the castle. It is chilly here, and it would be catastrophic if we were to doze off and be discovered like this in the morning."
"The poor children," Remus chuckled. "Come for a Quidditch lesson only to discover their middle-aged professor naked, well-shagged and asleep in a tangle on the floor."
"They should wish for such a sex life," Severus smirked, sitting up and pushing Remus off his robes. "Lup- Remus."
"Yes, Severus?"
"My quarters, if you'd like to adjourn there..."
Remus kissed him softly. "I'd like nothing more."
Epilogue- 2 Years Later
The day after the Halloween feast, Severus and Remus stood by the large arched window in their sitting room, watching Odile circling gracefully above the lake. Remus' hand found Severus', smiling at the sensation of the ring on his lover's finger, identical to his own ring. They were each engraved with the image of a single swan feather.
"I always imagined when we told this story to people in years to come, it would end with Odile flying away forever in a flurry of feathers and symbolism."
Severus snorted, squeezing Remus' fingers affectionately. "Certainly not. She has far too much sense- she knows precisely how good she has it here."
"True."
"Besides, Cygnus atratus are not migratory birds. Perhaps she was drawn here from her original home when she was in trouble because of my Patronus, but she isn't about to leave."
"This is home now," Remus said simply, grazing a kiss across Severus' cheek.
"Yes," Severus agreed, and he led Remus away from the window, toward their bedroom. "This is home."
Fin