undunoops (undunoops) wrote in lupin_snape, @ 2011-01-10 02:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | fic: r |
Fic: And Sometimes Darkness, part 6, SS/RL, R
Title: And Sometimes Darkness
Author/Artist: undun
Rating: mature/adult content, R
Pairing(s)/character(s): Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Nymphadora Tonks, Harry et al.
Summary: After the War against the Dark Lord, some are left behind. Not forgotten by everyone, as Severus Snape finds out.
Disclaimer: Not-for-profit fan creation.
Warnings: I hate warnings. There may be unpleasant stuff in here. There, that’s it. Anything else would be a spoiler.
Notes: A story that didn’t begin its life as an AU, but is now certainly in that category.
Words: 1,947
6. Safety in Objects
He wrapped his sandwiches and dropped them into his worn backpack.
“My, my. Don’t you look… uniformed.”
He sketched a little bow, smiling with arms outstretched. “So, what do you think, Severus, is it true what they say about a man in uniform?”
“And what would that be? That they only follow orders?”
He laughed and pointed at the stove. “That stew will be done in about thirty minutes and if you find it in your heart to leave me some for breakfast I would be most grateful.”
“What time do you expect to be home?”
“Usually around six, unless the unheard of happens and we actually have a break in,” he replied, hefting his pack and picking up his house keys.
“Is there any way I can contact you?”
Remus stopped his progress out of the kitchen. Severus seemed as if he was determined not to sound apprehensive; his question was laced with bored sarcasm. He frowned, digging in his pocket and pulling out his mobile phone.
“I usually use this for work but I’ll just tell them I forgot to take it.” He wrote a phone number on the doorjamb with his ballpoint pen. “All you do is put the number in, like this,” He leant close to Severus to demonstrate, “and press the call button, like this, and when someone answers – it might be me – just ask for Rod Lucas.” He handed it to Severus who stared down at the small device as if it might explode.
“Thank you,” the man murmured.
“Not a problem,” he assured him, “and my wand is in the bedroom if you need to use it for anything. I don’t take it to work.”
“Isn’t that a bit risky?”
“I don’t think so – I have capsicum spray and a big stick,” he smiled in reply.
The man scoffed, “I’m sure you think it’s big.”
He laughed and walked to the door. “You behave yourself while I’m gone – no parties!”
“Hmf.”
~~~^~~~
He received the phone call at 1am. Holding the receiver to his ear he heard fast, short breaths.
“Severus?”
The lack of response didn’t really surprise him.
“It’s quite normal to be anxious, Severus.” He paused, wondering what he could possibly say to push back the horrors that obviously haunted the man. “I’m halfway through my shift, it’s been unrelievedly boring for the most part – I’m considering taking up smoking just to have the distraction of feeling my lungs slowly filling with toxins.”
There was a soft snort in the receiver and then a click as the line went dead. He smiled and put the phone down. A frown followed shortly after and he stared unseeing at the array of CTV screens in front him.
~~~^~~~
He walked through the front door trailing an infant day behind him. He croaked through a yawn – “I need a cup of tea with all due haste.”
“On the table.”
He blinked at the scene greeting him in the kitchen. Severus sat sipping from one of his mugs while another sat brimming with tea in his own place. “Oh, you’re up,” he observed redundantly.
“Very good. I take it that you are soon to be down?”
“Tea first,” he rasped, sitting down abruptly and taking a mouthful from the mug. “Aaah,” he moaned blissfully, tipping his head back and feeling the jolt of several vertebrae realigning.
“I heard that.”
The man’s voice sounded vaguely disapproving, as if Remus was somehow to blame for his own fatigue after a twelve-hour shift. Feeling not the least guilty, he put the cup down and rolled his shoulders back, treating his audience to a cacophony of osteo-crackling.
“That’s disgraceful!”
He shrugged, which prompted a short crunch from his shoulder blades. “Not much I can do about it – it’s a long shift and I get criminally stiff sitting through most of it,” he responded mildly. He took another gulp of tea and sighed in pleasure.
“Any more?”
Severus pushed the teapot closer to him.
“Lovely!” He poured the dark brew until his cup was once more brimming and hummed happily as he swallowed down half of it.
“Breakfast?” The question came from his dark observer.
He yawned, blinking to keep his eyes focussed. “Ah, no. Too tired. Lovely tea,” he offered and then drained the cup.
“You’d best go up to bed then,” the man ordered, though without a staircase he wondered what Severus meant by ‘going up’.
“Er,” he began vaguely, then promptly forgot what he was about to say. “I’m going to bed,” he announced.
“Just so.”
Was Severus laughing at him? He decided not to be annoyed. In fact he quite liked that Severus sounded amused. He staggered upright and made his way to the door. “You coming?” He looked back at the man, who suddenly didn’t look very amused at all.
“What?”
“You tired? Did you sleep last night?” he clarified, wondering foggily if he had said anything offensive.
“Ah. Yes, I did sleep eventually. Perhaps I will nap later in the day.”
“Oh. Right then. See you,” he waved like a badly coordinated puppet and staggered off to launch himself lustily at Morpheus.
~~~^~~~
“It’s Friday,” Remus remarked.
“It has been all day, so I believe.”
He ignored the sarcasm and elaborated, “Tonks usually rolls up with a curry at dinner time.” Though perhaps she might not today, he thought, considering that their last meeting at the Ministry had been somewhat heated, at least on his part.
“I see. Perhaps it would be best for me to remain in the bedroom then.”
“Severus! That isn’t necessary, I –”
“Of course; you’ll be using the bedroom. Perhaps I could just sit out in the garden shed? Can you light a candle in the window when you’re done?”
The sarcasm was thick enough to slice and make sandwiches. He took a deep breath to control his temper.
“What I wanted to ask was whether you liked curry.”
“Whether I liked curry,” Severus repeated in complete disbelief. “You can’t mean –”
“There is always too much for the two of us to finish anyway, and I just wondered if you would mind joining us for a meal,” he asked.
Privately he wondered if Tonks would behave and keep her personal prejudices to herself for the duration, but he might as well get the encounter over and done with. He intended to have Severus around for quite a while and his friends must either get used to it or cross him off their Christmas card list.
“I quite enjoy an occasional curry, actually,” Severus finally said.
He looked back down at his newspaper and smiled. “Good.”
~~~^~~~
So far Tonks hadn’t made the evening into a complete disaster. As usual she’d arrived at seven-thirty with takeaway bags from The Curry House. He’d had an anxious moment when he’d first informed her that Severus would be joining them, but then she’d shrugged and rolled her eyes, saying “He’s not a stray puppy, Remus! He’s a dark wizard down on his luck – and trust you not to know the difference.”
That had been the worst of it so far; a muttered response of “And if you’d remember that I’m a Dark Creature then maybe you will understand why he’s here,” seemed to have silenced her complaints.
They had each finished a bowl of curry and rice, Tonks and Remus were helping themselves to seconds, when, with a sense of inevitability, Remus watched as Tonks upended an almost full carton of rogan josh into Severus’ lap.
“Shite!”
“Fuck!”
That combination of alto and bass is really quite lovely, he mused, momentarily dumfounded at the sight of Severus wearing curry.
Tonks looked over at him whilst trying to mop at Severus’ lap with paper serviettes; he was just as determined to prevent this action, batting away at her hands with increasingly heated expostulations.
“Do you bloody mind?”
“Sorry, Snape. Remus? Tea towel?” she pleaded.
Finally his brain managed to re-engage and he dragged his eyes away from the disaster long enough to stand and fetch some towels. His wand was still in the bedroom.
“Here, Severus.” He handed the towels to the man. “I’ll get my wand and you can clean up properly. Has it burned you?”
“No, it’s cooled somewhat since we started eating.”
“Good thing I didn’t think to do a heating charm,” Tonks remarked.
“Indeed,” Severus sneered.
“Oh alright, Snape! It’s just a little spill – it’s not like I cut your legs off!”
Remus stared in shock, his eyes unblinking as he looked from one to the other. Why? Why would she say that, he thought helplessly. Was he the only one that gave Severus credit for real human emotions? Did everyone else think him devoid of such vulnerabilities? For the first time he realised what a true act of sacrifice it was for the man to have struck down Albus Dumbledore with the killing curse; he had eliminated his one staunch supporter – the one wizard Severus knew without doubt would fight for him.
Severus had not responded to her outburst. He sat mopping at the mess she had left on his robes, his movements conveying a violent energy.
“Tonks–”
“Look, I think I’ll go home, Remus. It’s been a long day.”
He felt instant relief. Tonks scrambled to gather her cloak and bag.
“Well, thanks for dinner, Tonks.” Remus shrugged awkwardly; he realised he actually didn’t want her to come back next week, but didn’t know how to say so – especially with Severus in the room.
“Take some of this with you,” he said, gathering up the containers still half full on the table.
“Ta. That’s lunch sorted for tomorrow.” She kissed him on the cheek then took the cartons from him juggling them in such a way as to make him break into sweat of apprehension.
“Snape,” she murmured stiffly without looking in his direction before turning to the door. Severus didn’t look up.
On the doorstep, out of earshot of the kitchen, he finally spoke up.
“You know, Tonks–”
“No need, love,” she pre-empted him, “this is the end. The real end, isn’t it?”
“What?” He’d just wanted to stop her visits while Severus was staying with him. He didn’t hate her!
“I mean… you’ve moved on at last, and there’s really no room for me here now,” she added with a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.
He was dumbstruck. Unable to respond, he stood on the step with his mouth half open ready to say something but, having no instruction from his brain, was instead rendered mute.
“You, my dear Remus, look like the dictionary definition of clueless,” she chortled, this time sounding genuinely amused.
“But–”
“Take care, love,” she said softly, leaning in and giving him another kiss, this one full on the mouth. She hadn’t done that with him for a very long time, and he responded automatically, his hands coming up to her head, her shoulder, then down to her waist…
She broke away at last, breathing quickly; vestiges of their initial chemistry working a kind of magic on them both. He felt dizzy.
“Uh-uh. That way lies madness,” she whispered, closing her eyes. She Apparated with a sharp crack.
He supposed she wouldn’t be back next week.
He wandered inside again, determinedly not thinking about what she said. He retrieved his wand from the bedroom and wordlessly handed it to Severus, receiving another swelling sense of something as they each paused a moment, holding the wand together. He let go and stared down into those dark, dark eyes, which held secrets at which he could only guess.
~~~^~~~