Fic: The First Summer
Title: The First Summer, Part One. Author: Ellid Rating: NC-17 Pairing: Snape/Lupin Summary: The first summer holiday after Snape and Lupin move in together. Note: this is part of the Motherless Child timeline. It takes place in the summer of 2002, a few months after Mating Season.
This was originally written for pervy_werewolf's Lusty Month of May, so is a bit episodic. I hope it still makes sense.
Does it really matter what these affectionate people do-- so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses?
Mrs. Patrick Campbell
"Pride Day?" Severus curled his lip at the Pink Parchment. "Proud of what?"
"Us, love." Remus appropriated the tabloid and stepped into his lover's arms. "You know, 'we're here, we're queer, get used to it'? It's a way of showing the Wizengamot that yes, gay wizards exist, and we're not going away."
Severus scowled for form's sake as the werewolf pressed against him and began to frot. He wore a sleeveless vest that showed off his tattoo (and his wiry, nicely muscled chest), extremely tight jeans, and a quiet, slightly smug expression. His grey streak was dyed a soft lavender.
"I have my position to think about - stop doing that. You - " He gasped as Remus straddled his thigh, undid his flies and began fondling him. "What are you - "
"Trying to get us both off. You had a long day and you need to relax." Remus swallowed his moan with a kiss. "That's right, let go - "
"You perverted - "
"And proud - "
He was forty-two and shouldn't have been able to climax so quickly, but Remus knew exactly where to pull and when to press. Before he could protest again Severus was coming with a quick jerk of his hips, arms tightening about Remus as the other man gasped and spilled on Severus' wool-clad leg.
"I'll come with you - wipe that look off your face! - on one condition." Severus ran his fingers through the lavender hair. "Clean us up."
"Gladly," said Remus.
*****
But seduction isn’t making someone do what they don’t want to do. Seduction is enticing someone into doing what they secretly want to do already.
Waiter Rant
"No! Absolutely not!" Severus, naked and clean after a scented bath, threw the mess of silk and lace in Remus' direction. "Have you lost your mind?"
"Why not? It's Pride Day, for heaven's sake. You won't be the only drag queen there." Remus held up the filmy bias-cut frock. "But you'd be the most beautiful."
Severus backed up until he hit the wall. "I've never worn drag in my life. If the Governors find out - "
"It's a Muggle Pride March, love," said Remus. He slowly, so slowly, ran a matching scarf over Severus' chest and throat. "Doesn't it feel nice and soft? Think how lovely it be against your skin - "
"No." Severus closed his eyes, shivering despite himself as the filmy cloth slid over his nipples and neck. "Please - "
"Or if you don't like the dress, you could just wear the knickers under those tight, tight jeans you wore the last time we went to a Muggle area." Remus was all but growling now, his breath hot against Severus' ear. "Only we'd know they were there." He fluttered the knickers against Severus' belly. "So much softer than your jeans, and only we'd know."
Heat washed through Severus at the thought of smooth, rich silk encasing his balls and his prick. Remus could and easily did wear him out during the waxing moon, and he moaned at the thought of how good soft fabric would feel. "Our little secret? Is that the idea?"
Remus chuckled. "Oh yes. And then I could take them off with my teeth when we got home, bit by bit."
It was ridiculous, almost unmanly, and so very tempting. Severus plucked the knickers from his lover's hand and stepped into the leg openings, one by one.
Remus smiled.
*****
"I'm a terrible lover. I've actually given a woman an anti-climax."
Scott Roeben</i>
"I still don’t know why you wanted to come here so badly. The noise, the crowd, the smell - " Severus rolled his eyes as Remus blissfully licked candy floss off his fingers. The lavender streak in his hair had turned an intriguing purple in the sun, and he'd already had half a dozen lesbians, two drag queens, and a self-proclaimed bisexual lesbian in a male relationship ask him about the phoenix tattoo on his shoulder. "Everyone seems more - silly - than proud."
"That's one of the points, I suppose. Showing that we aren't ashamed to be what we are." Remus waved to a group of former Holyhead players who had started out as part of the traditional Dykes on Bikes and then shifted to brooms as the Wizarding folk in the parade split off for their own march through Diagon Alley. "See? It's not so bad."
Severus dodged a skipping little girl in a "I have two mummies!" t-shirt. "That is debatable, although I must admit that your sartorial choices have merit."
Remus grinned and pulled him into an affectionate hug. "I told you'd like the silk underwear. Dora swears by it."
"I really wish you wouldn't bring up your former girlfriend," said Severus. Remus and Nymphadora had had the world's most amicable breakup, followed closely by the polychromatic Auror hosting the world's least surprising coming out party for her alleged love. Severus should not have been jealous, but some part of would never quite get over the stories of how close they'd come to marriage. "She does have good taste in underwear."
"I started that, you know," said Remus. "I was so pathetic in bed with her that I started buying her pretties to make up for it. Soon she was wondering why I didn't wear the tap pants myself, and - "
"We don't need to share the details with half Diagon Alley!" Severus hissed. He had spotted a familiar bushy head coming round the corner, doubtless full of good "I am a gay ally" intentions. "Here, this looks interesting!"
"A sex shop?" Remus' eyebrows rose as Severus yanked him into the brightly lit establishment. "Why Severus, I never knew!"
Neither had Severus, but he was not about to admit that he hadn't had a reason to use butt plugs or fur-lined paddles in years, let alone a beautifully crafted leather harness and matching motorcycle cap. "There is much you don't know about me, Lupin," he said in his loftiest voice.
"I should say." Remus fingered a velvet bondage rope, the tips of his canine teeth showing slightly as a familiar, and arousing, gleam came into his eye. "Black, green, red, gold - you'd look good in some of these, you know."
Severus froze. "I would?"
"Green and black, I think," said Remus. He brushed past a woman examining a strap-on and summoned a blindfold. "You'd be completely at my mercy, you know. Tied up and blind, maybe with a cock ring to keep you from coming until I gave permission - "
His voice had taken on the low, rumbling growl that always made Severus want to bare his throat. He swallowed and did his best not to squirm as his cock filled and pressed against silk and denim. "Remus - "
" - maybe with one of these inside you, or something longer - " A shopping basket had appeared from nowhere, and now held the ropes, the blindfold, a matching cockring, two butt plugs, and a dildo with a built-in inflation and deflation charm. Remus dropped in a tube of self-warming lubricant and stood on his toes to whisper in Severus' ear.
"You'd scream, you know. I'd make sure of it."
A shadow with too much hair had appeared in the doorway. Severus threw a handful of coins at the nearest clerk and grabbed Remus by the wrist. "Let's try it and see," he ground out, and disapparated before Hermione Granger and a very subdued Ron Weasley noticed them.
*****
"There is nothing safe about sex. There never will be."
Norman Mailer
Remus insisted on being left alone to "set the stage" with their new toys while Severus made tea. "Finger foods only," he'd said, with a leer that was almost sweet. "We'll need to keep our strength up."
And so Severus had even more time to be nervous as he waited for the kettle to boil, laid out the biscuits and grapes and hothouse berries, and cast non-spill charms on the teapot, sugar bowl, and cream pitcher.
It's not that I don't trust him. I do. But this -
He had spent most of his life under the thumb of two demanding masters. One was benevolent and one was cruel, but neither had given him any breathing room. It was only now, after nearly dying, after house arrest, after enough tragedy that the likes of Potter would have cracked long ago, that he was able to live as he pleased, where he pleased, with the person he chose. He finally had control.
And now Remus was asking him to give it up, even if only for a few minutes. What would happen? It could be very good indeed, or it could be a disaster, and the only way they'd know would be to -
"Ready, love?" Remus stripped to the waist, leaned over his shoulder and snagged a chunk of fruit. "Everything is set."
"It's as you see." Severus cleared his throat. "Let's get on with it, shall we? There's a faculty meeting tomorrow, you know."
He gestured at the tray, which started to rise. Remus frowned and counteracted the spell. "It's Saturday, love. Minerva doesn't schedule meetings on weekends"
"I'd like to - "
Remus sighed and wrapped his arms about Severus, bare skin rubbing lightly against Severus' t-shirt. "We can do this some other time if you're nervous. I think you'll enjoy it, though."
"I'm not nervous," Severus said, a bit too quickly. The silk knickers had been wet since they'd arrived at that bloody sex shop, and now the zip on his jeans felt uncomfortable against his nascent erection. "I'm - "
"Nervous?"
"Bloody terrified," he mumbled. Only Remus could do this to him. Normally he welcomed it, but this time - would it ruin all that they'd built? Erotic play was one thing, but the last time he'd been restrained it had been by the Aurors, and it had not been erotic.
"I was afraid of that," said Remus. He turned Severus so that they were facing. "You can use a safe word, something you'd never normally say. 'Nazi,' for instance, or 'Voldemort.'"
"You must be mad if you'd think I'd ever say his name in bed." Severus pressed his forehead to his lover's. "Safe word?"
"It's your safety valve, love. Just say it and I'll stop, no matter what we're doing." Remus drew him down into a teasing kiss. "Your way to stay in control."
Control. Severus stood very still as arousal overcame the last traces of nerves. "'Nazi,' eh? As long as you don't expect me to speak German, that should work."
"Good," said Remus. He levitated the tea tray. "Shall we?"
Severus nodded and let himself be guided up the stairs.
*****
"I've tried several varieties of sex. The conventional position makes me claustrophobic and the others give me a stiff neck or lockjaw."
Tallulah Bankhead
The toys were laid out carefully on the bed, the velvet ropes woven securely through the headboard. A single candle burned on the bedside table, its flame fluttering gently as the smoke from two cones of musky incense drifted through it.
"Well?" said Remus.
"Who knew you were such a sensualist?" Severus cautiously eased himself onto the mattress. Remus joined him, reaching under his clothing to stroke his chest and stomach. "You were always so - "
"Bland?" The husky voice could become unnervingly erotic unnervingly fast. "Is that what you were thinking, love?"
Severus removed his own t-shirt and leaned into a kiss that took his breath away. "Quiet. Calm." It was hard to think of the words as Remus finished undressing him. "R-retiring. You never took the lead with your friends, so - "
"That was the problem." The phoenix tattoo unfurled its glowing wings. Remus skinned out of his jeans and drew Severus down beside him. "Too passive back then. Too - God, your hair smells so good - "
"Not greasy?" Severus ran his hands through the streaky brown-and gray/lavender hair. "Not a git?"
Remus half-winced, half-chuckled. "I always loved the way it smelled, but Sirius - he was a homophobe, did you know that? Offered to send me to St. Mungo's to be 'cured.'" He straddled Severus and summoned the first rope. "If he were back he'd never understand that I'd always liked men better than women. Always. I tried women, but it was never the same."
"Perv," breathed Severus. The friction of Remus' body against him felt wonderful. He raised his other wrist into position without being prompted. "Sensualist."
"And proud," whispered Remus. He sat back and ran an admiring hand down Severus' body to his erection. "So is something else. Want to have the orgasm of your life?" He dangled the laces of the cock ring over and across Severus' balls.
Severus shuddered. The velvet ropes had just enough give to keep him from panicking. "Yes."
*****
"There's nothing inherently dirty about sex, but if you try real hard and use your imagination you can overcome that."
Lewis Grizzard
The salamanders were mating in the downstairs floo, so the firelight was dimmer. Remus had become a shadow as he positioned the cock ring and teased Severus until he ached. His features had disappeared except for an occasional flash from his eyes.
Severus squirmed as the straps bound his cock erect. The silk, the dirty talk, the bindings - he'd been in a low-grade state of arousal all day, and now it was coming close to unbearable. "Remus - please - "
"Please what?" Remus murmured against his belly. He began licking his way up Severus' body, inch by torturous inch. "Take you? Get inside you? Let you come?" He laughed softly. "Not yet, love. Soon, but not yet."
"Sadist." Severus could not help moaning as Remus drew his tongue across a nipple and then blew a gentle stream of air across the wet flesh. "No wonder this has a - questionable ohhhhh reputation - yes, just like that, don't stop don't stop don'tstop - "
"That's what I like to see." Remus kissed him, whispering the preparation spells against his lips. "Shh, it's all right. If it's too much just say the word - "
"Don’t stop." Severus gasped, back arching upwards as Remus finally, finally eased into him. He bottomed often enough that the sensation of being filled was blessedly familiar and safe, even if he couldn't move, couldn't claw and bury his fingers in that thick graying hair and roll Remus over and pull him in as deep as he could.
Sparks seemed to dance along every limb as he reached the edge and stayed, unable to do more than groan and buck and beg as Remus sped up, thrusting harder and deeper and harder and deeper and -
Remus stiffened and cried out, a gut-deep moan as he came. Severus yanked at the bonds, thrashing and begging for relief. Remus, still panting, swallowed his words with a kiss that that was almost violent.
"Ready? Ready?"
Severus could only nod, beyond speech, beyond anything but sensation. Remus, face stretched in a grin of delight, said a word and the cock ring disappeared.
*****
"For flavor, instant sex will never supercede the stuff you have to peel and cook."
Quentin Crisp
"Aren't you glad I took my time?" Remus held out a ripe, slightly soft strawberry. He looked pleased, sated, and somewhat smug. "I knew you'd like it."
"Hm." Severus wanted to complain about the lack of clotted cream, but the berry tasted too good to carp. "It was enjoyable."
Remus smoothed his hair back from his face and laughed. "I think you shook the plaster loose. Be glad the neighbors are away for the weekend."
Severus shrugged. "Moony can knock over their dust bins if she complains." The neighbor and her Tricky-Woo clone were the last thing he wanted to think about. He was still glowing from the sex, even though Remus had untied his wrists and licked him clean long since. "You didn't use all the toys, you know."
"True." Remus glanced over at a gleaming chrome butt plug that bore a startling resemblance to a rocket ship. "Poppy might ask questions if you showed up with a back strain from too much sex. Besides, why rush it? We've plenty of time."
"Mm." Severus picked up a glistening chunk of pineapple. He pressed it to Remus' lips and waited for his lover to nibble. "It should be an interesting summer."
"That's my intent," said Remus. He made a little sound of pleasure at the sweetness of the fruit. "If that makes me a perv, I plead guilty."
Severus pulled him into a sticky, juicy kiss. It would be an interesting summer indeed.
*****
Remus woke just before dawn. The sky had started to lighten from full black to dark grey, and the first songbirds twittered and chirped and called in the bushes behind the cottage. Severus, who had learned long ago to sleep when he could, stirred slightly and pulled the sheet up over his shoulders. His hair, lopped to shoulders for the summer, was slightly matted from sleep.
The light had taken on the faintest hint of pearl. Remus rolled onto his side, one hand under his head, and stared out the window. Yesterday had been intense, almost too intense. Severus had nearly passed out from the force of his climax, and he wondered if it had been too much too soon.
Remus thinned his lips. He rarely let anyone see his kinkier side, and of course he’d had to throw everything but the butt plug at Severus the first time they’d done anything more advanced than a bit of dirty talk in the shower.
You should have introduced him to it gradually. He clearly had never done this before. Serves you right if he won’t let you near him for a week.
The male salamander made the little noise that meant the fire was being banked for the day. Remus sighed. For the first time in months he wasn’t looking forward to breakfast with Severus.
He must have drifted off, because the next time Remus opened his eyes it was full morning. He was not surprised to find the other side of the bed empty; Severus, used to waking early so he could be at Hogwarts in time to glare at the students over breakfast, usually was up, dressed, and coherent well before Remus could stagger downstairs.
The usual dose of painkiller for his arthritis waited on the bedside table. Remus gulped it down and waited for it to dull the familiar ache in his joints before getting out of bed, pulling on his dressing gown, and heading for the bathroom. The smell of something meaty and marvelous – eggs and sausage? – floated up the stairs as he washed, and he took a moment to drink in the scent.
However else he felt this morning, clearly Severus was in the mood to cook.
Remus by identified the meaty smell as all-beef sausage as he walked down the stairs, and that was indeed what sat waiting for him in the kitchen next to scrambled eggs, a pot of extra-strong PG Tips, and toast on the warming rack. Severus, also in his dressing gown, was reading the front page of the Prophet and sipping a cup of sweet, milky tea. He shifted occasionally in his seat as if trying to find a comfortable position.
“Good morning,” said Remus. He waited for the teapot to pour him a cup before sitting down. “You’ve been busy.”
“You’ve been a slugabed, as usual,” Severus said without heat. “It’s nearly nine.”
“I must have lost track of time.” Remus took his first bite of eggs and sighed with pleasure. They were peppered exactly the way he liked. “This is wonderful, love. What’s the occasion?”
Severus lowered the paper and gave him long, steady look. “After last night, do you really need to ask?”
Remus lowered his fork. “You enjoyed it?”
“No, it was horrible. I usually scream myself hoarse for the sheer perversity of it.” Severus snorted and gestured at the food. “Of course I enjoyed it. It’s not necessarily for every day, but as an occasional thing? Oh yes.”
Remus got up, walked around the table, and gave Severus a long, lingering kiss. “I’m glad. I’d wondered if it was too much, too soon.”
Severus snorted again. “Silly wolf. If I’d disliked it you’d have found stale bread and old butter waiting for you, not a full breakfast.” He leaned against Remus for an instant before jerking his head in the direction of the food. “Said full breakfast is getting cold, by the by. I’d suggest eating it before the sausage congeals.”
Remus chuckled and did as he was told.
*****
The next few days were quiet. There was a sudden and unseasonable heat wave that some attributed to Muggles mucking about to the atmosphere, then a drenching thunderstorm that broke the heat in a lightning show that made the Prophet. It was too hot to work in the garden or go for a walk, so they’d stayed inside and experimented with their new toys.
They made love the day before the thunderstorm, hot and sweaty and with enough grit that Remus almost had an orgasm from all the scents rising from their bodies. Afterwards they lay quietly, unwilling to touch in the heat.
“Your imagination will never cease to amaze me,” said Severus. He crossed his arms behind his head. “One wonders what you’ll come up with next.”
“And that’s without magic,” said Remus. “Be glad I haven’t asked you to use femina vera or androgynus.”
“Oh yes. I’d make such a lovely woman.” Severus snorted and rolled over into his usual sleeping position. Clearly for him the discussion was over.
A hot breeze blew in from the window. Remus draped himself up against Severus’ back and took a long, long sniff of his hair. “I don’t know about that. Slim hands, graceful walk, long hair – I still think you could carry off drag, especially if you cast depilatus.”
Severus snorted again. “Six foot women with hooked noses are so attractive.”
“The potion would soften your features,” said Remus. He began playing with the nearer nipple. “Narrower shoulders, broader hips – you’d have breasts, small ones, but probably just as responsive as - “
“We just had sex, are you – ohhhhh – “ Severus’ sigh was more than half moan. “Stop that.”
“I haven’t even gotten below your waist.” Remus pressed closer, his hand straying down Severus’ body to his genitals. He carefully stroked his balls until he felt the first faint stiffening. “No prick, I’m afraid, but you’d have a clitoris, and those – well, I’ve always envied women for two things, and multiple orgasms is one of them. I’d love - “
Severus twisted in place and looked over his shoulder. “As much as I’d love to hear about your fantasy, we’ve had enough for today.” His voice softened, and he lifted Remus’ hand to his mouth and carefully, almost delicately nibbled at the fingers for a moment. “Tomorrow.”
Remus shivered at the nibbling. He released Severus’ hand and softly kissed him. “Count on it.”
*****
Severus made a striking woman: tall, imperious, with pale olive skin and long, clean limbs. Remus all but salivated as she ran her hands down her new body and raised an eyebrow.
"Well. It seems you had a point." Her voice was higher pitched but still made a shiver run down Remus' spine. "Not bad, even if sitting down to use the loo will be an adjustment."
"Mmm." Remus cupped her soft, small breasts. She was shorter and slighter than Severus the man had been, with finer skin, and she moaned at the first delicate touch to her nipples. "How long will this potion last?"
"A few hours," whispered Severus. "Shall we make the most of it?"
Remus swept her up into his arms and carried her to their bed. She was already wet, breath coming in pants as he laid her down and slipped two fingers inside her.
"Yes," he whispered against her breast. "Oh, yes."
*****
"So." Severus looked at himself in the full-length mirror, then back at Remus. "I was a lovely woman in your dream?"
"Oh yes." The heat had broken during the night, and the morning air verged on crisp. Remus stepped up behind him and ran a hand down his body. "You were beautiful, love. I couldn't keep my hands off you."
Severus nodded. "And I enjoyed it?"
"You nearly screamed yourself hoarse - I think you came at least three times." One hand began teasing Severus' nipples while the other played with his navel. "Please?"
"Very well." Severus made a little sound of pleasure at the attention to his nipples and pressed his arse back against Remus. "I'll start brewing after breakfast. Femina vera for me, contraceptus for you - should be ready this afternoon."
"I look forward to - contraceptus? I thought femina vera was time-limited."
"It is, unless I happen to transform during what would be my ovulation cycle." Severus placed his hands over Remus'. "Then I'd either stay entirely female for nine months, or revert only enough to allow me carry the child."
Remus gaped at his reflection. "Child? You mean I could - "
"Get me pregnant? Rare, but possible." Severus deliberately arched his back so his abdomen curved slightly outward. "Not that you'd seem to mind, the way you're acting. One would think you'd enjoy seeing me up the duff."
A vision flashed before Remus' eyes:
Severus-the-woman, heavy with child, slowly easing herself down onto his dripping erection. She smiled faintly, one hand circling her shallow navel, then leaned forward so Remus could feel the weight and swell of her pregnancy against his own abdomen as he thrust upward -
He clutched at the flat, almost concave belly under his hand, cock suddenly so hard it hurt. "Maybe I would - oh God - "
"You are a pervy werewolf, aren't you?" Severus turned, grinning at the instant erection. "I never dreamed you found pregnancy arousing - stretch marks, swollen ankles, mood swings - "
Remus yelped as Severus swallowed him without warning, dark head bobbing up and down as he sucked and licked and murmured. "Christ, Severus, what are you - "
"Yes! Oh God yes!" Remus howled as orgasm hit hard. Severus, looking incredibly smug, swallowed down every drop. "You'd do that for us?'
Severus kissed his stomach and looked upwards, batting his eyes slightly. "Who said I was talking about myself falling pregnant? You have broader hips, you know."
Remus hadn't expected to try out the new paddle quite so soon, but no one could say Severus didn't deserve a good, hard spanking.
*****
Severus indeed made a striking woman, and Remus made very sure that she knew it. He also made very sure that he took his contraceptus while Severus - Severa? - watched. The idea of getting Severus pregnant had aroused him greatly, but unless Severus himself truly wanted a child and was willing to do all the work (and possibly risk his job if the Governors invoked the morals clause in his contract for falling pregnant outside of wedlock, not that two men could marry in Britain anyway), it wasn't worth pursuing.
Neither brought up the subject for another week. There was too much to do: working on the garden, fixing a broken slate on the roof, preparing for a werewolf rights conference (Remus), going on a charity hike (Severus), and of course using their new toys. Severus was enjoying himself so much that he'd ordered a copy of the Wizarding Kama Sutra, which Remus had never thought would happen.
Remus was out in the grape arbor going over proposals for a panel discussion on medical management of lycanthropy when Severus dropped a magazine in front of him.
"Remus. Please read the article on page 79."
"Medical Potions Monthly?" Severus was pale under his hiker's tan. "Is something wrong? The Wolfsbane - "
"Read it. I'll be in the house." Severus disappeared back into the house before Remus could say a word.
It had to be bad. Remus shoved aside his paperwork and opened the journal. If the Wolfsbane had some lethal side effects on long term use….
*****
It was a cloudy day that promised rain. Severus waited on the front porch, idly wondering if the copper beech trees that gave the cottage its name needed to be pruned. Remus would need something to keep him occupied once he'd read that article, and a spot of hard work might do the trick.
The front door opened. Remus, potions journal hanging limply from one hand, emerged from the house. Severus did not say a word as Remus joined him on the steps.
"You've checked the statistics?"
"Of course."
"And?"
"Accurate." No doubt Potter would have wanted him to tell Remus that of course he could find a way round the study, and of course he'd be willing to martyr himself to give Remus what he wanted.
Potter could stuff it.
"God." Remus leaned against him, shoulders slumping. "I never thought I'd have a child, you know. Not many women will marry a lycanthrope, and of course I'm more queer than anything else. So I told myself for years that I'd be someone's favorite uncle."
"I read the article when it came out, but we weren’t together a year ago. I wanted to be sure of the facts before I gave it to you." Severus carefully wound an arm about Remus' waist. "After the way you acted when I told you about the possibility of having a child under femina vera or another gender change potion, letting you hope would have been cruel."
Remus leaned into the touch. "I kept thinking that surely there was a way around it. Those figures - " His voice sounded almost as gray as his hair. "Seventy percent odds against a viable baby is bad enough, but the paternal mortality rate - I couldn't ask that of you, or anyone else."
There was nothing to say. Severus waited until the first drops of rain began, then extracted the quarterly from Remus' hand and dropped it into the dust bin. It was still open to Male Pregnancy: Hope and Reality.
"The men affected and their survivors have brought suit against the brewer, for what it's worth." He gestured at the magazine, which crumbled to dust. "Eighty percent of the gestational parents dying or suffering permanent health damage was too much for the Wizengamot, even if they're only talking about gay men being killed by a quack."
"Always us," said Remus bitterly. "First AIDS in the Muggles, and now this. No wonder you and Poppy are the only healers I trust."
The rain had gotten heavier, the occasional drop splashing onto the porch. Severus blinked as water spattered his hair. "There are alternatives. Surrogacy - "
"Dora wants her own baby and Hermione may not be capable of bearing a child after the injuries she suffered in the War. They're the only women I can think of who'd be willing."
"In vitro gestation is tricky but possible."
"We don't have the money for it, love." Remus lifted his head. His clothing was wet from the rain. "Besides, I thought this was my fantasy, having a baby, not yours."
Severus thought back to how Remus had reacted to the thought of him carrying a child. The idea of his body changing so dramatically had never appealed to him, to say nothing of childbirth and all the fuss his condition would cause, but the longing in Remus's eyes at the mere thought of him with a big belly was another matter. "You want a family. The least I can do is investigate the possibilities."
Remus managed a slight smile. "Thank you." He stepped out of Severus' arms and tugged at his hand. "It's pouring. We should go inside before we're drenched."
"A cup of tea would not be amiss," said Severus. He let Remus lead him back into the house. "There is always adoption, you know."
"Not unless we adopt a werewolf," said Remus. "You know the law."
"Dunderheads."
"No argument from me, love." Remus stopped in the front hallway and pulled Severus into a hard, fast kiss. "Thank you."
"For disappointing you?" Severus frowned. He would never understand Gryffindors, not even Remus.
"No." Remus kissed him again as the rain began in earnest. "For being willing to try."
*****
It had been a week, and Remus was still not himself. Periodically he would rouse himself long enough to go for a walk or firecall a friend, and one afternoon he spent several hours with Minerva going over the Defense syllabus in case Colton Travers, the self-described "urban cowboy" from American who would be teaching that fall, turned out to be a bust. Most of the time, though, he spoke little, read a great deal, and went to bed well before Severus did.
It was not acceptable. And since Severus did not have the clearance to apparate directly into the Zauberschwartzberg Prison and eviscerate Herr Professor Doktor Kindhersteller for being a vicious fraud, something else would have to do.
The hotel room was large, luxurious, and drenched in sunlight. Severus drank deep of the Mediterranean breeze wafting through the French doors. He wore nothing but the silk knickers and his hair, which he had deliberately left unwashed because of Remus' ridiculous obsession with its scent. The entire contents of the toy drawer and three tubes of lube lay neatly laid out on the quilted silk coverlet, while a tray of fruit and cheese and a bottle of good white wine charmed to the correct temperature waited on the sideboard.
The clock chimed three times. Severus shook his hair back from his face and did his best to strike a dramatic pose. Five…four…three…two…one….
Remus appeared with a flash of light. He whipped out his wand, portkeyed note fluttering unnoticed to the floor. Severus accio'd the wand and let it dangle between his fingertips.
"So glad you could join me," he purred.
*****
Remus blinked as first his wand, then his clothes disappeared at a crisp "Evanesco!" Severus strode across the room, tipped his chin up, and kissed him, long and hard. Remus stood frozen for a moment, then his arms went about Severus and he began kissing back with something close to desperation.
Severus pushed his thigh against Remus' prick and slowly, so slowly, began sliding it up and down. Remus whimpered at the pressure and dug his fingers into Severus' back. "What - Severus - "
"Be quiet. You've needed this." Severus began nibbling on the shell of Remus' right ear. "There's more to life - more to us - than whether you can get me up the duff. It's time you remembered that."
Remus gasped at the delicate nips and licks. His voice had dropped to a husky groan. "Oh God feels so good - "
Severus lifted his leg an inch and rocked forward. Remus arched against him, trembling as climax neared. Severus wrapped his index finger and thumb about his erection just below the glans and squeezed, hard. "Not yet. We're going to be in that nice comfortable bed that cost me a week brewing fripperies for Mrs. Parkinson, not standing up."
Remus sucked in a breath as his cock deflated enough for him to be walked over to the bed. "A week? Is that all?" He managed a breathy laugh. It was the first happy sound he'd made in days. "What does she do, bathe in the stuff?"
"Far be it from me to ask." Severus eased him down, began to stroke and kiss and lick. The phoenix tattoo pulled its head out from under its wing and began to smolder. "You're much more interesting than Hydrangea Parkinson's foaming asses' milk bath."
The phoenix had unspread its wings by the time he finished teasing Remus to the point of begging. Severus slicked himself with the lube he'd prepared the night before, gave Remus a long, lingering kiss, and thrust home with a single long, smooth push.
Remus yelled and grabbed at his arms, legs wrapped firmly over Severus' thighs as he arched upward. What had been intended as slow, tender lovemaking turned fast and hard, and Severus found himself coming as the first drops from Remus spattered their flesh.
He stared down at Remus, hair hanging into his face. His lover, face alight, pulled him down and buried his face in Severus' hair. "Love you."
"Yes." Severus shifted aside before they were stuck together, wincing slightly as he softened and pulled out. "Don't forget this time."
The phoenix preened and began grooming its ashy feathers. "Promise," said Remus.