InsaneJournal

delivery for: Karasu_hime

Gift For: Karasu-hime
Title: Matchmaker's Reward
Author/Artist:
Pairing(s): Snape/Lupin, with a side of Lily
Summary: Lily likes matchmaking. Even more, she likes the side perks.
Rating: um, pg-13 for slight suggestiveness
Warnings: wet t-shirt contest? *cough* nothing really, brief mention of adult activities.
Author/Artist's notes: The hardest part was KEEPING IT SHORT. I, um, had to cut out the pron to make it fit.....no one minds, right?? *whistles innocently*



Remus liked watching Severus; behind the lank hair and hawk nose, the dark eyes were piercing and dared the world to take him lightly. He walked with an economy of movement; he could change from blending into the background to dominating the room. And unlike James and Sirius, Severus did it by sheer force of personality alone. Take away their looks, and they would be far worse off than Snape.

Not that he thought Severus was unattractive. He still blushed with shame remembering the time James and Sirius had used Levicorpus on the unsuspecting Slytherin - Remus had refused to speak to the other Marauders for nearly a month after that stunt - but at night, in the privacy of his own bed with curtains drawn, he let himself remember what he'd seen. Long, pale legs and a narrow, lean arse, and the sparse, dark trail of wiry hair leading down...

However, he was certain that Severus didn't return the interest, especially knowing his 'furry little secret'. So he went to the person who could help: Lily Evans.

*****

Lily liked watching people. Particularly, she liked watching Remus watch Severus; her fellow Gryffindor was not as subtle as he thought he was. The hunger and longing was a barely banked fire that would take very little stoking to turn into an inferno. The animosity between Severus and the Marauders was so legendary, though, Lily only had to wait for Lupin to ask for advice. He eventually caught her in the library while she studied, sliding into an adjacent chair and cracking open a textbook - Potions, a class Lupin was bombing this term due to watching a certain Slytherin instead of his own cauldron.

"Hey Evans, I need some advice," he opened conversationally, tracing text with an ink-stained fingertip, acting as if he were asking for homework help.

"How to catch your Slytherin?" she mimicked his off-hand tone. "Play more quidditch, especially when it's raining. Stop exploding your cauldrons in Potions. And for Merlin's sake, stop wearing the orange cardigan. I don't care how comfortable it is, it makes you look jaundiced and it's absolutely ghastly." She lifted her eyes from her own homework to meet his stunned expression. "Close your mouth," she told him fondly, struggling to not laugh.

*****

Severus liked watching Lupin. It had begun out of a sense of self-preservation; the Gryffindor was a sodding werewolf, after all.

But something changed. The werewolf stopped staring at him constantly; he even started to pay attention in Potions. While the werewolf still consistently produced sub-par results, at least the number of exploding cauldrons was greatly reduced.

Then Lupin started joining in the Quidditch pickup games. Specifically, Quidditch in the rain. Severus hadn't meant to watch, but then Lupin had swooped low to intercept a bludger - almost close enough to touch. The cold rain plastered trousers and shirt to skin; Severus could actually see the Gryfindor's nipples, the wet fabric clung so - and when Lupin soared back up over the pitch, he was treated to a good view of cloth clinging to firm, muscular arse.

One week and seven wet dreams later, he finally admitted he wanted the Gryffindor to look at him again. But he was certain Lupin would never look twice at 'Snivellus'. So he turned to the only person he trusted: Lily Evans.

*****

If Lily wasn't watching Remus watch Severus, she was watching Severus watch Remus. When she saw the glazed look in Severus' eyes after a particularly memorable rainy day, she knew it was only a matter of time. A week later he caught her alone after Arithmancy; she was impressed he'd held out that long. "I need advice," he asked abruptly.

So different from Remus, she thought with good humor. "Show a little skin; this isn't the Victorian era. Use some of the aftershave lotion you brew. And use the corridor past the Owlery the day before the full moon." He was more subtle than Remus about showing his shock; Slytherins learned to mask their expressions earlier than other houses. Still - he'd known her how long, and was still surprised? "Being sorted into Gryffindor didn't suddenly make me stupid," she added, with a teasing smile.

He snorted, even as he made a face. "I'm sure that's what they all say," he sneered, but it didn't have the force it had with the other Gryffindors.

*****

Severus wasn't sure showing skin was a good idea; after all, Potter and Black took a distinctively malicious glee in reminding him of his visual lack of appeal on a nearly daily basis. Still, as the full moon drew nearer, he gathered his courage, and splashed on some of his special aftershave - it was a scent he'd developed; it reminded him of the woods after a good rain, with just a hint of smoke and musk. It evoked good memories and calmed him - something he apparently needed, since his pulse was racing at the thought of Lupin.

He compromised on Lily's first suggestion, unbuttoning the top of his robes, exposing his neck and the top of his sharp collarbones. After an hour of waffling, he gave in and removed his other clothing, leaving only the robe to preserve modesty - Lily had said 'skin', after all.

Then he took to haunting the hallway Lily had mentioned.

It only took him twenty-seven circuits of the drafty corridor to run into Lupin.

*****

Lily liked watching Remus and Severus watch each other; but even better was watching them actually get it on. Luckily, the hallway she'd suggested had a small storage closet with a sagging door that, when armed with an invisibility cloak (dating James had its perks, after all), offered a perfect view.

Grinning to herself, she silently warded the pair with a notice-me-not spell; it would be a shame to have them interrupted, when she had a front-row seat. She'd have to find a way to thank them....later. She didn't often get such sexy material to masturbate over!