westernredcedar (westernredcedar) wrote in lupin_snape, @ 2008-08-31 18:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | fic: pg, prompt: fantasy fest 08 |
Fantasy Fest FIC: Already Standing (On the Ground) (Part 1/5, PG)
Title: Already Standing (On the Ground) (Part 1/5)
Author: westernredcedar
Summary: It was just a road trip...
Quote: “Severus Snape?” Remus asked, his mind whirling. “You want to hire me to travel to the States and collect potions ingredients with Severus Snape?”
Rated: PG
Warnings: Nah, not in this part.
Word count: ~5,000 (this part)
Prompt: S&R on a cross country road trip. As much mayhem and mischief as possible. Bad map reading, questionable truck stops, trying to fix car problems with magic, quirks coming out of the woodwork. At least one hexing and woods!sex a plus.
A/N: Thank you to the magical blpaintchart for betaing and being inspiring and wonderful as always!
Once again, my pledge to never post a WIP has been defeated by a fest deadline, but I hope to post one part per week (if not more) from here on, until this is complete. The five parts is an estimate, but I think that is realistic...I do have a full outline! :D
I must apologize to the residents of Zanesville, Ohio, where I once spent a night on a road trip and enjoyed a delicious margarita. Remember that Remus and Severus's opinions may not reflect that of the author...lalala.
Although both Remus and Severus were gripping, white-knuckled, at the steering wheel and the dashboard respectively, neither of them made a sound until the vehicle stopped swerving and had come to rest in the gravel at the side of the road.
The sudden quiet was eerie. “What was that?” Severus was masking the worry in his voice with cool annoyance.
“I’m not sure, but the car is not moving forward anymore, so I’m thinking it wasn’t anything good,” Remus replied.
“Insightful, as always, Lupin.”
Remus ignored the comment and opened the door, stepping out into the empty desert landscape. There was no other vehicle in sight, and he estimated he could see for several miles in every direction. He sun was just touching the horizon, and a golden glow illuminated the endless roll of sage and rock laid out before him, as vast as the ocean.
Remus turned back to the car. The problem was obvious.
“Our tyre is deflated, Severus!” he called, kneeling on the gravel at the side of the road.
“I hope you do not expect me to do anything about that,” Severus replied, still seated.
Remus sighed, rolled up his sleeves, and walked to the boot. How had he managed to get himself into this?
Who was he kidding? He knew exactly how he had ended up here.
Two weeks earlier:
“I have a job for you, Remus, if you are interested.” The twinkle in the headmaster’s eye was rather more pronounced than usual.
Remus had arrived at Hogwarts precisely at the time requested in Albus’s message, hoping the meeting was about something like this. He needed paid work. Yesterday.
“I would be,” Remus replied, his mouth full of toffee. “I’m…between jobs at the moment.” As if that was not painfully obvious by the tattered state of his robes, and the speed with which he was going through Albus’s dish of sweets. “What is the position?”
“Have a seat, please." Albus indicated an intricately carved chair across form his desk. Remus sat. "There is exciting news afoot for your kind, Remus. I have word from an old student of mine, Damocles Belby, that he is close to a breakthrough on a potion that could control your transformations.” Remus sat up at that, and felt his heart accelerating. Albus raised one eyebrow and smiled. “I thought this might interest you. Belby is confined to a wheelchair, and he needs some assistance at this critical time. The job would require that you travel for two weeks. A rare ingredient has just been made available by a foreign government, and he needs someone to collect it for him. The process is very precise.”
Remus sighed and fell back in his chair. As much as he wanted to help and needed the work, he was the wrong person for this sort of task. He was hopeless at potions. “Albus, that is a very generous offer, but I’m not sure I have the technical knowledge to properly collect…”
“Oh, no, my dear boy, you misunderstand me. You would not be expected to do any of the potions work. You would be traveling with a potions expert who would take care of that. In fact, your primary role would be as chaperone.”
“Chaperone?”
“The wizarding branch of the American Department of State is not willing to allow a former Death Eater into the country without an escort.” Albus sat back, a hint of smile on his lips. “In fact, they will not allow a former Death Eater to use any magic at all within their borders. Quite strict about that rule. Then again, they will not allow a visiting werewolf to keep possession of his wand or perform any magic, either, but, knowing Severus, he will prefer to travel with a companion who is equally hindered, rather than one who has an advantage over him. He cannot go without an escort, and he is the only one available that Belby or I trust to do the job properly. Considering the nature of the potion in question, I immediately thought of you.” Albus grabbed a toffee and leaned back in his chair, staring at Remus over his spectacles.
“Severus Snape?” Remus asked, his mind whirling. “You want to hire me to travel to the States and collect potions ingredients with Severus Snape?”
“Without magic. Yes.” Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. “What do you say?”
Remus could think of a long list of things he wanted to say to that suggestion, many quite crass, but there was only one he was willing to say out loud in front of his respected mentor.
“Thank you for the opportunity, Albus. I’ll take the job.”
*
Severus had refused to speak at all when they met at Lufkin International in Edinburgh, stalking away towards their portkey departure point once Remus had come into view.
Remus had not seen Severus for upwards of seven years, since the end of the war, but he would have recognized him anywhere, even in his unaccustomed Muggle clothing. He still needed to wash his stringy hair, although he was wearing it shorter than he had back at school, which suited him. His face had thinned and he had grown taller; not as tall as Remus, but few people were. He walked with the same determined hunch, leading with his chin.
He had grown up into himself, Remus thought. As a student Severus had always looked like he didn’t quite inhabit his own skin, like his own body was an uncomfortable itch he had to put up with. Now he looked more solid, more finished. Remus didn’t dwell on why he had thought so much about Severus’s appearance back at school; that was a hundred years ago. But it appeared that peace and Hogwarts were a good fit for the man now.
“Severus!” Remus trotted to catch up, shouldering his bag. “It’s been a long time. How are you?”
Severus didn’t respond, just plowed through the crowds of travelers, eyes fixed ahead.
Ah, Remus sighed inwardly. So this was how it was going to be.
A boarding announcement for the one-forty to Washington D.C. blared through the terminal. They hurried to their departure point, and for the moment, Remus ignored Severus bloody Snape and let himself focus on the trip ahead. He’d have plenty of time to worry about Severus once they were in the US. He took his place around the smooth steel portkey ring and grabbed on.
They were off.
*
Minutes later, they were stepping through the glass doors of the portkey terminal in the US capital. Remus’s mind was fogged and his body felt heavy from the sudden, violent trip. Traveling made him weary, and he had done far too much of it in the last few years.
Severus had still not said a word, slinging his small bag onto his back and striding as fast as possible away from Remus once they landed. Remus struggled to shake off the queasy after-effects of the portkey and keep up.
As they passed into the outdoors, Remus almost crashed into Severus, who had stopped in mid-stride. It took only a moment for Remus to register why he had stopped; exiting the door to the outside felt like stepping into a sauna. Heated by an inferno. The thick, heavy air stuck to Remus’s skin.
“What the bloody fuck sort of weather is this?” were Severus’s first words to Remus. He hastily removed his jacket and squinted towards the morning sky, as if an explanation would be found there.
“It’s hot,” Remus replied.
Severus swung his dark gaze towards Remus, and opened his mouth to speak. Luckily, whatever searing retort Severus was about to make was cut off by the appearance of a sweaty wizard in sunglasses and a full Muggle-style business suit, which was soaked through at the armpits. He was waving them down.
“Mister Lupin, Mister Snape. Mike Thompson, State Department.” He held out his sweaty hand and Remus shook it, and after a moment Severus did the same. Following a damp handshake, Remus tried to wipe his sticky palm off on his trousers without Mike Thompson noticing. Severus was not so subtle. “I’m here to take you to headquarters for debriefing. Welcome to the United States.”
As they were led towards an enormous black car, Remus and Severus continued to loosen and remove layers of mid-summer London clothing. “Why did you damn colonials want this bloody country anyway? This heat is oppressive,” Severus muttered. If Remus hadn’t already been red from the temperature, he would have flushed in embarrassment.
Mike Thompson, however, just let out a booming laugh and chucked Severus on the shoulder. “It’s our strategy to be sure you lot don’t want the place back! I like your style, Mister Snape. Follow me.”
Remus took a deep breath and followed. He already wanted to go home.
*
Their debriefing took place in a magically cooled room at the Pentagon, an enormous building that had expanded before their eyes into a hexagon as their car approached, the sixth side of which, Thompson informed them, housed a large portion of the United States wizarding government.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Remus asked, but Severus was staring out the opposite window, still refusing to acknowledge that Remus was there with him.
Remus sighed.
Their instructions in the debriefing, offered by Thompson and another man who was Thompson's doppelganger, were clear and to the point.
“No magic, under any circumstances, gentlemen. We’ll be watching you.”
Thompson had prepared a map of the three locations, all in the western part of the country, at which the rare plant, know as bindweed or tarroot or sister’s folly, depending on the region, could be collected.
“You’ll have to do some negotiating with the local tribal government here,” Thompson said, pointing to one of the dots on the map, “but otherwise the paperwork we have for you will give you full access to all protected areas. You shouldn’t have any trouble. They’ll be expecting you at the bureau in San Francisco in two weeks. You’ll be able to reclaim your wands at that time, before you head for home. Is that clear?”
Remus nodded, but Severus only stared. Thompson continued. “It is in all of our interests that this project succeed.” He eyed Remus warily.
“Is the map charmed to guide us on the best route?” asked Remus, brushing aside Thompson’s glance, and looking at the dizzying maze of roads that scarred the enormous country. They were being given a car called a Taurus, a bit of cash, a bank card with unlimited funds, charmed shackles for the full moon, and an emergency beacon. Besides that, they would be on their own.
Thompson looked at him with brows raised. “Was there something about ‘no magic’ that was unclear to you, Mister Lupin?”
“Oh. No. My apologies.” Remus felt his cheeks burn red, and the wolf inside him stir, but he gritted his teeth and smiled and sat on his hands. He was not losing this job.
*
Remus had learned more about Severus Snape in the past two hours than he had in the seven years they were students together at Hogwarts.
For example, he had not previously known that Severus had no tolerance for warm temperatures, in particular stifling humidity. He also had remained blissfully ignorant of the fact that Severus sweat like the Fountain of Magical Brethren when subjected to said heat and humidity (not that Remus was fresh and dry himself, but Severus was fairly dripping.)
Remus was quite surprised to learn that Severus knew how to drive, but less stunned that he seemed to think cars had only two speeds: ear-screamingly fast and abruptly skidding to a halt.
Severus's short temper was something Remus already knew about, but he was startled that, for a highly academic and cerebral man, Severus seemed to have no sense of direction. The combination of those two facts was posing somewhat of a problem so far. Their drive into the American west had started to the north and east towards Delaware at ninety miles an hour, until Remus unobtrusively pulled out the maps provided by the State Department, and carefully and quietly advised a better route. Severus’s anger at having to follow Remus’s navigation was expressed in a series of sharp, squealing turns that made Remus grip the door handle until his fingers ached.
The most fascinating thing Remus had learned this day, however, was the extent of the crimes Severus had been accused of after the war. Mike Thompson had listed them all, from petty theft to murder, staring down Severus as he drawled each one.
“All charges were dropped and I was vouched for by Albus Dumbledore, as you know very well, Mister Thompson,” was the only reply Severus gave, his dark eyes never leaving the official’s ruddy face, and Remus was impressed. He himself might have broken down under such a litany. “I would never have been allowed this far if you simply intend to send me home.”
The rest of the debriefing had gone much more smoothly after that.
And that reminded Remus of something that he had learned years before: Severus Snape would not back down for anyone.
*
They had swerved and squealed and raced their way to a major highway called 76, after having crossed into the state of Pennsylvania, the border of which was announced by a large sign post. Remus was a bit uneasy about the toll ticket they had been forced to take to enter this road, but otherwise, the initial misery and tension of their tour of Maryland was dissipating. Remus was not having any luck getting used to Severus’s lead foot on the gas pedal, but at least now they were headed in the right direction. He finally felt like he could put the map away. He sighed, and sat back to take in exactly where they had ended up. He’d hardly looked out the window or taken a deep breath for hours.
Trees. Miles of identical trees lined both sides of the highway as far as he could see, blocking out any view. He was driving through the United States of America with a man who wouldn’t speak to him except in angry glares, and he could see nothing but trees. And he was ravenous. And needed the loo. Bollocks.
“I’m hungry,” Severus announced suddenly.
Remus snapped out of his reverie.
“What?”
“I require food. And the car needs fuel.”
Remus nodded, relieved. “I’m hungry as well. Any ideas?”
Severus nodded towards a sign indicating something called a Service Plaza.
“That sounds fine,” Remus replied, and then braced himself against the dashboard as Severus veered the car across two lanes of traffic, up the exit ramp, and then finally, blissfully, applied the brakes.
*
“So, here we are,” Remus said as he licked the last salt from his fingers and leaned back in his bolted-down, plastic chair, nervous eyes on Severus. The harsh fluorescent lighting in the place gave Severus’s pale skin a greenish tinge.
“Indeed,” Severus replied, taking another bite of his hamburger and staring past Remus.
“Is this your first time to the States?” Remus asked, cleaning up his wrappers and napkins and returning them to the tray their “food” had come on. His mind and body were finally settling down from the whirlwind day of portkey, debriefing, manic driving, and being half-way around the world. And Severus. Severus, who looked up as if Remus had just asked him to announce his darkest secrets in the middle of the restaurant.
“Yes. It is,” he replied at last.
Remus raised an eyebrow. “Mine as well.”
“Hmm.” Severus took very large bites, Remus noticed, with that wide mouth.
They had eaten in near silence, but Remus’s patience for Severus’s dismissive demeanor was wearing thin.
He sat up and grabbed his soda cup, pulling on the straw for emphasis. “You know, Severus, we’re going to be stuck together for two weeks whether you like it or not. We are going to have to speak to each other at some point.”
Severus took another bite of burger and chewed slowly. Remus sat back and crossed his arms. He could wait.
Severus finally swallowed. “Go on. What would you like to talk about, Lupin?” he asked, before taking another large bite. His black eyes glittered.
Remus held his breath for a moment to keep from spouting a smart response. He wouldn’t let himself get pulled into Severus’s snarky little game. In his friendliest voice, he said, “How about supper? How’s your hamburger?”
Severus chewed and swallowed and sat back in his chair, considering Remus for a long moment. “Greasy and inadequate,” he said as he grabbed a handful of chips. “How were your…nuggets?”
“Disgusting. I think they might have been made from woodchips,” Remus replied.
Severus rolled his eyes. “Fascinating. I’m so glad we are speaking now, Lupin, if this is the sort of insight that will result,” Severus snarled as he sucked the last of his soda through his straw.
Remus felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. “Oh. I see. We can only speak if it is deep and meaningful? Fine,” Remus grabbed a handful of chips himself. “Why don’t you tell me about all of those crimes you were accused of after the war, then? Quite a list.” He bit down on the chips, and felt better.
Severus’s face was like stone. “I suggest you stick to food and the weather, Lupin.”
Remus suppressed a smile. “Hmm. Very well. Easy topics then. Hot out, isn’t it?” he said.
He could almost hear the grinding of Severus’s teeth. “Miserable,” he muttered, and finished his burger in one bite.
*
Remus didn’t want a fight, so he left Severus to work out the petrol pumps on his own. Instead, he took a few minutes to stock up on some snack items and beverages for the car, and bought a small cooler box and some ice, just like his maternal grandparents used to use when they took him camping as a child.
When he walked out to the petrol pump, Severus was brushing his hands on his black jeans, looking pleased with himself.
“Sort it out?” Remus asked.
Severus nodded. “What did you purchase?” Severus eyed the cooler box.
“Snacks for the road, and this container to keep them on ice,” Remus said, placing the box on the rear seat of the Taurus.
Severus gave him a look then that might almost be interpreted as approval. “That will be useful,” he said.
Remus felt a disturbing little tightening of his chest at Severus’s praise, but quickly dismissed it as an after-effect of the chicken nuggets. “I’ll drive the next bit, if that’s all right.”
He expected Severus to protest, but instead he said, “If you do not kill us in a fiery crash, I will be astonished,” and threw the keys to Remus.
On the road again.
*
Remus continued to drive long after dark. He was starting to get a sense of the scope of this enormous country, and how long it would take to follow certain lines on the map. The further west they could get in a hurry, the more time they would have to find and collect the plant they were after. He could not bring himself to drive as fast as Severus, but he surprised himself several times by driving well beyond the posted speed limit. The road was so straight and flat and dull, it was difficult not to.
There had been only one bad moment in the drive so far, and that had been at the toll plaza as they left the turnpike. There was a mad scramble for their cash, followed by panicked investigation of each bill and coin for denomination. Severus had been quite liberal with his cursing throughout the ordeal, including damning Remus and all his kin to the miseries of eternal toll plaza traffic, but Remus had managed to stay focused on his driving and they had successfully paid and been allowed to pass through.
They were in Ohio now, and Severus’s snores echoed through the car. He’d drifted off, head lolling against the window, not long after the toll plaza. At first Remus had been amused, and entertained himself by peering over at Severus’s stern face in this relaxed and vulnerable state. However, the snoring had put a damper on his enjoyment. Remus told himself that he would have to learn to operate the radio in the morning, in case this ever happened again. He’d never wanted a silencing charm more.
The dark, solitary drive did allow Remus time to dwell on his history with Severus, however, at least between snores. He found his mind suddenly preoccupied with the last time he had seen Severus, with Dumbledore, days before James and Lily had died. Severus had been shut down and silent, wrapped in his enormous cloak, eyes sunken and dark. Remus did not know what he had expected upon seeing Severus again, but he'd hoped that steel veneer Severus had built up at the end of the war would have broken down by now. It appeared he was wrong.
After a particularly violent snore, Remus had had enough. The rapid deceleration as he exited the freeway woke Severus with a snort.
“You were snoring,” Remus said.
“I do not snore,” Severus replied, wiping at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Snoring and drooling.”
“Shut up, Lupin. Where are we?” Severus asked, sitting up and peering out the window into the darkness.
“Zanesville, Ohio, apparently,” Remus said, taking an extra moment to reaccustom himself to driving on the wrong side of the road before turning the car down a street bright with signs for “motel”, “gas”, and fast food. “I suggest we select a place to stay and get some sleep. Obviously you need it.”
Severus let out an annoyed grunt but did not protest.
“Any thoughts on which of this array of motels would be best?” Remus asked, overwhelmed by the choices.
Severus immediately pointed. “Not that one,” he said.
Remus could not see anything that distinguished the Sleep Inn Motel from any of the others. “Why not?”
“I refuse to set foot in any establishment whose name is a pun,” Severus said, as if he was stating one of the basic laws of the universe.
Remus bit his lip. “Does that rule apply to all sorts of places, or only hotels?”
“All sorts, Lupin.” Severus leaned his head back against the seat with a sigh.
“Ah.” Remus swallowed his grin. “How about this one, then?” He turned the car into an innocuous looking parking lot. “Best Western. That’s not a pun, is it?”
Severus was quiet, which Remus took to mean approval. He pulled the car into a parking space and turned it off. They both sat for a moment in the soothing quiet after the day of traffic noise and chaos.
“This whole damn trip is bloody insane,” Severus said at last. He opened the door and stepped out of the car, striding towards the lobby with his distinctive hunch.
For once, Remus felt no desire to contradict him.
*
“Tea.” Severus’s voice was edgy and hard, and the waitress scurried away to fill their drink order, her eyes wide.
“You scared her, Severus,” Remus said, looking up from his big plastic menu.
“I suggest you do not attempt to be humorous this early in the morning, Lupin,” Severus snarled.
Remus had not meant to be funny. He swallowed down a retort. “Did you sleep well?”
“What do you think?” Severus’s eyes were like coal.
“No?”
“Genius.”
Remus had slept hard and deep after the exhausting day before, but he decided not to share that information with the rumpled creature sitting across from him.
They had suffered through one last difficulty the night before as they checked into the motel. When the clerk had asked them how many rooms they wanted, Remus had said “One,” simultaneous with Severus’s sniping, “Two.” Remus had quickly corrected himself and muttered, “Oh, yes, sorry. Two,” even as his heart sank. He’d realized suddenly that he had assumed he and Severus would be sharing living space at night, and was oddly disappointed that he would have to spend his nights in a lonely single room.
He’d been living in solitary rooms for so long, he’d been anticipating having a roommate again, even a miserable, grouchy roommate who hated him. He didn’t let himself consider any other reasons he might have been disappointed.
Regardless, he had slept well in the simple, tidy room, too exhausted to worry about the scratchy sheets and pink and aqua decor.
More worrisome was being awakened by Severus pounding on his door at six a.m. Severus stubbornly insisted on waiting in the corridor, fully dressed and ready to leave, under a delusion that they had agreed to be ready to leave at this hour, while Remus quickly showered and packed. They filled up the cooler at the ice machine as they left, Severus silent and sneering and bleary-eyed.
Remus quietly suggested they try the restaurant next to the motel for some breakfast, and Severus had narrowed his eyes, slammed the car door like he wanted to punish it, and then strode off towards the restaurant without a word. Remus trotted off after him.
Apparently, Severus was not a morning person.
“Where are you two from?” the perky waitress, Sherri according to her nametag, had asked when she returned with their drinks.
“A lovely place where people don’t pry into other people’s personal lives simply because they are employed by a greasy restaurant with sticky menus and no black pudding,” Severus muttered at his menu.
Remus looked up at the confused waitress. “London,” he said with a smile.
“Oh wow!” The poor girl’s eyes grew wide. “That’s so cool! Why in the world would you come to Zanesville?” she asked, letting out a little giggle at the end of each sentence. Severus snorted.
“Just driving through,” Remus added, attempting to stare down Severus, but the black gaze strategically avoided him.
"What is this?" Severus asked in his snide tone, pointing at his drink, an icy brown beverage with a straw and lemon wedge.
"I'm sorry, is there a problem? I could swear you ordered a tea," Sherri said, all apologies.
"Yes. I did. What is this?"
"Um. Tea?" Sherri explained, still smiling.
Remus bit his lip. "I think that is...iced tea, Severus."
Severus looked at him as if he had just started speaking in Arabic. "Why would it be iced?"
"Did you want something different, sir?" Sherri’s smile was plastered to her face.
"I would like tea." His voice dropped to a mutter again. "What is wrong with this country? TEA."
Remus looked at the poor girl with sympathy. "Hot tea, if you have it."
Sherri’s face relaxed. “Oooh! That's right. You English people all drink hot tea! I’m a dope. I’ll be right back with that!” she grabbed the offending iced tea from in front of Severus. “Do you want milk and sugar?”
Severus looked up at her, his jaw pulsing. “Milk," and as his voice dropped to a hiss he added, "idiot."
Sherri paled. “Coming up, sir.” She almost ran into the kitchen.
"Hmm. Well managed." Remus said, eyes on his menu.
Severus grunted.
"You do realize that that nice, smiling girl will be spitting in your food unless you attempt to treat her like a human being when she returns?"
That made Severus look up. He shifted in his seat, and the plastic of the booth squeaked. "What?"
Remus wanted to laugh, but was wise enough not to. He nodded instead. "You heard me. I worked as a dishwasher at The Leaky Cauldron for several months just after school. I know what goes on."
Severus's eyes narrowed. "I'm so glad you suggested breakfast here, Lupin. It's a delight."
But Remus watched, amused, as Severus sat up slightly and almost, almost, nodded in thanks as Sherri delivered his tea, hot, with milk.
*
As both the motel clerk and Sherri had insisted that they could not leave Zanesville without driving across something called the Y-bridge, Remus felt they had no choice. Sherri had volunteered to draw a little map on a napkin, ignoring Severus, but more than happy to share a giddy smile with Remus. As they left the restaurant, Remus informed Severus he would drive them on a short tour through their first American town before they got back on the highway. Remus ignored Severus's glare as they started out.
"Wide streets," Remus noted.
"Indeed," Severus replied. He had the window rolled down and was leaning out, peering around with his brows tightly knit. "What is the point of this detour, exactly?"
"To see America, Severus." Remus loved driving in the warm morning air with the windows down. The town itself was still and quiet. He rested his elbow on the windowsill and smiled. "We're here, we might as well."
"This sodding bridge had better be worth it," Severus replied. After finally achieving his three cups of tea at breakfast, Remus could sense that his companion was oddly agreeable for the moment.
However, the bridge was not worth it.
"It's interesting, Severus. See how you can drive in two directions, right here in the center of the river!" Remus tried, but even he was underwhelmed. "I've never seen anything like it!"
Severus rolled his eyes. "Promise me we will not have to visit every useless local wonder that a flirtatious waitress suggests to us," he sniped.
Flirtatious? Remus paled. "Um, it wasn't just...the motel clerk also suggested...."
"Lupin. It is a road across a river. We have a job to do, far from here."
Remus sighed and followed the Y-bridge as it turned to the right. "Fine. You're right. But I insist we see a few sights along the way, Severus. I don't know that I'll ever come back here again."
"To Zanesville? I hope not, unless you've done something very wrong and need to be punished." Remus was not sure if Severus meant to make a joke or not, but he was tired of swallowing every emotion he had simply to appease Severus, so he threw back his head, and laughed. Severus rolled his eyes but did not comment further.
Falling into a peaceful quiet, Remus drove out of town and onto the open road beyond. They were on their way.