geri_chan (geri_chan) wrote in lupin_snape, @ 2012-09-16 11:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | fic: pg, prompt: love/not love |
FIC: Love/Not Love Part 3 of 3, PG
Title: Love/Not Love, Part 3 of 3
Author: geri_chan
Rating: PG
Pairing: Snape/Lupin, Harry/Draco
Word count: ~5,930
Challenge: Love/Not Love
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Author's note: Semi-DH compliant, not counting the epilogue.
Summary: Snape moves in with Lupin and Teddy, and Harry brings back some unexpected memories of the past.
Part 1, Part 2
Now that they'd gone public, there was no reason for them not to move in together, something Snape was a little nervous about. He had promised Potter that he would not mistreat Teddy, but secretly he had worried that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from resenting Tonks's child.
His fears had been alleviated somewhat once he'd spent some time with Teddy. He was sweet-tempered and intelligent, and although he had the mischievous nature of both his parents, he didn't get into too much trouble as long as he was watched closely--which Snape supposed was true of most toddlers. Teddy's habit of changing his hair color and facial features was a bit disconcerting and sometimes brought back awkward memories of his mother, but Snape tried not to hold it against him. He had even grown a little fond of the boy, though of course he would never admit it publicly.
But living with Lupin and Teddy full-time and becoming a stepfather of sorts? That thought was rather intimidating. He was much more comfortable with the idea of being the feared and hated Potions Master than he was with being a parent.
Well, he wasn't really Teddy's parent, Snape reminded himself. He would do his share of the household chores and look after Teddy when necessary, but he would leave most of the parental duties up to Lupin. Teddy could treat him like an uncle or a family friend--that would surely be best for everyone concerned, Snape decided. After all, who in his right mind would regard Snape as a suitable father figure?
But it turned out that he needn't have worried so much. Snape found that he secretly enjoyed playing storytime with Teddy, although he acted as though he was doing Lupin a huge favor by keeping Teddy entertained. Lupin would just smile and thank him, and more often than not, join their storytime himself--he seemed to take a rather perverse pleasure in acting out the story of Little Red Riding Hood, to Teddy's delight. (And occasionally, he and Snape acted out a more adult version of the story in the privacy of their bedroom.)
Snape learned to enjoy going out on picnic lunches with Lupin and Teddy on the weekend. And he found that he didn't mind reading Teddy a bedtime story and tucking him into bed on the nights when Lupin was a wolf, or when Lupin was feeling sick just before the full moon. He was even beginning to find Teddy's ever-changing hair color endearing instead of disconcerting. Teddy frequently changed his hair and nose to mimic Snape's, which Snape loudly grumbled about but was secretly rather proud of.
Teddy was a good child, but he wasn't perfect, of course. Sometimes he got cranky and threw a temper tantrum, especially when he missed his afternoon nap. And sometimes when Snape and Lupin were trying to make love after Teddy had been put to bed, he would very inconveniently want a glass of water or need comforting after having a nightmare. But the longer Snape lived with Teddy and Lupin, the more insignificant those inconveniences seemed.
He would have been content to continue thinking of Teddy with a vague, undefined sense of fondness indefinitely--until one evening Teddy wandered into his workshop. Teddy enjoyed watching Snape work on his potions, but he never allowed the child in his workshop except under strict supervision, due to the number of things that were potentially hazardous to a child's health, ranging from open flames and boiling liquids to fragile glass containers and toxic ingredients.
Normally he kept the room locked, but just this once he was careless and left the door closed but unlocked while he dashed to the kitchen for a quick snack while one of his potions was simmering. He had assumed that Teddy was safely upstairs in his bedroom playing with his toys, and reasoned that he would only be gone for a minute. But his assumption was wrong, and one minute was more than enough time for an inquisitive little boy to get into mischief...
He returned, sandwich plate and tea cup in hand, to find Teddy wobbling precariously as he stood on tiptoe on a stool, trying to reach a shelf filled with brightly-colored bottles of potion ingredients. Teddy tumbled off the stool at the same time that he knocked over a glass flask of highly corrosive Peruvian Vipertooth dragon venom. Snape dropped his snack without a thought and rushed forward to sweep Teddy up into his arms before he hit the ground, but wasn't fast enough to catch the flask before it shattered on the floor. He hastily jumped backwards, but a few drops of the venom splashed on his trousers and burned through the cloth.
Fortunately his trousers absorbed most of the venom, and he suffered only a few mild blisters that should heal quickly. However, Snape barely noticed the pain because he was too busy clutching Teddy to his chest as his heart pounded frantically. If Teddy had been hit with the full brunt of the spilled venom, it would have burned right through his skin and left scars that even magic couldn't cure--after weeks of painful healing. If it had hit his eyes, he would have been permanently blinded.
"Haven't I told you that you are never to enter my workshop without permission?!" Snape shouted, and Teddy burst into tears.
"I just wanted to play potions like you," he sobbed. "I'm sorry, Unca Sev'rus!"
Snape realized that he was more angry at himself than Teddy, for stupidly failing to lock the workroom door. "I'm sorry, too," Snape whispered, loosening his painfully tight grip on Teddy into a more gentle embrace. "But you really scared me just now. That was dragon venom that you knocked over, and you would have been badly hurt if it spilled on you."
"I'm sorry," Teddy sniffled in a muffled voice against Snape's chest. He clung to Snape as he wept, and Snape awkwardly patted him on the back to comfort him. His heart rate slowly returned to normal, fear being replaced by a strange, yet not unpleasant emotion: an overwhelming sense of tenderness, similar to what he felt for Lupin, yet subtly different...
Lupin rushed into the room, shouting, "What happened? Are the two of you all right? I'm so sorry, Severus! I thought Teddy was in his room and I--" His rush of words came to an abrupt halt when a tear began to trickle down Snape's face. "Oh, Merlin! Are you hurt? Is Teddy hurt?"
"No," Snape managed to reply, his voice husky with emotion. "It's just..."
It's just that I realized I'm not merely fond of Teddy--I love him, as much as I love you, Snape thought, but couldn't bring himself to say right at that moment. Instead, he freed one arm to pull Lupin into an embrace, while still holding Teddy with the other.
And Lupin seemed to understand what he couldn't say, because he wrapped his arms around Snape, kissed his cheek, and whispered, "We love you, too, Severus."
***
Snape still found it difficult to say the words "I love you," but from that day forward, he referred to Teddy as "our son" rather than "Lupin's son," and he became "Papa Severus" (or just plain "Papa") instead of "Uncle Severus."
And although Lupin never complained about being called by his last name, Snape knew he thought that first names conveyed more familiarity and affection. So he started making the effort of referring to Lupin as "Remus" instead, even though it felt a bit awkward. Out of habit, he often forgot and went back to "Lupin," but Lupin...no, Remus...was remarkably touched that he was even trying at all. He expressed his gratitude quite ardently, in the privacy of their bedroom, so Snape felt more than compensated for whatever awkwardness he might have felt.
Remus had always called him "Severus," so naturally that didn't change, but Snape had few close friends and was accustomed to being called by his last name by most people. It didn't really bother him either way, but he found that as he spent more time socializing with Remus's friends and acquaintances, they started calling him by his first name, too. He would have been annoyed if they had meant it to be sarcastic or disrespectful, but it seemed to be a gesture of genuine friendship, or at least acceptance.
"You make Remus happier than I've ever seen him," Arthur Weasley told him. "And you seem much more happy and relaxed, too, Severus. I admit that I was surprised when I first heard the news about you two, but you and Remus suit each other." He beamed and added, "Like me and my Mollywobbles."
That was a rather dubious compliment in Snape's opinion, but refrained from expressing that opinion out loud, for Remus's sake, if nothing else. In any case, he gradually became accustomed to being "Severus" instead of "Snape" (which had often been prefaced by "that greasy git" or "that traitor" in the past). Some of his former students were still too intimidated to call him anything but "Professor" even though his teaching days were long behind him, but it was nice to still be feared, just a little.
Everyone other than Narcissa and Poppy seemed surprised that Severus turned out to be a loving (though still strict) stepfather, but they accepted that in the same bemused way that they had accepted his relationship with Remus. Once she got over the shock, Andromeda actually seemed pleased that Teddy would have a Slytherin influence in his home life. So Severus and Remus and Teddy settled down into a life of contented domesticity, something he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams.
***
To the surprise of almost everyone in the wizarding world, Draco and Harry eventually settled down into a stable and loving couple. However, Remus was not surprised, and Severus supposed in hindsight that he shouldn't be either, since he and Remus were an equally unlikely pair. The two young men became frequent visitors to the Lupin-Snape household, partly because Remus and Severus were family friends, and partly for the obvious reason that they were unlikely to judge Draco and Harry for their relationship. It had been four years now since Potter and Ginny's breakup, and Molly Weasley was still holding a grudge. And Potter had lost a few of his friends over the relationship, people who couldn't see Draco as anything but a Death Eater.
Draco usually called Severus by name, although he occasionally called him "Professor" out of affection or sarcasm (or a combination of both). Over time, Potter became less intimidated and more relaxed around Severus, and started following Draco's example. Severus would grumble sourly that Draco was a bad influence and that Potter was a cheeky, impertinent brat.
But in spite of his grumbling, Severus was beginning to see that Potter wasn't as much like James as Severus had always assumed, and that there was something of Lily in him other than his eyes. He had his father's knack for getting into mischief, but unlike James, he was never deliberately cruel. Severus would never in a million years admit it, even to Remus, but he had secretly grown a little fond of the boy. He'd even unbent enough to start calling him "Harry" instead of "Potter," although he passed it off with the excuse, "If you're going to be rude enough to use my first name without permission, then I shall do the same...Harry."
"As you wish, Severus," Harry had replied with a cheeky grin, while Draco and Remus had exchanged knowing smiles.
***
One day Draco and Harry came over for one of their usual visits, bearing gifts for Teddy as Severus grumbled, "You'll spoil the boy."
"He's my godson; I'm entitled to spoil him," Harry retorted good-naturedly.
"Wow, thanks, Uncle Harry--this is so cool!" Teddy exclaimed as he unwrapped a Quidditch action figure on a broomstick that could actually fly.
Harry smiled proudly as Teddy sent the toy whizzing around the room, but the Quidditch figure was quickly abandoned when Draco presented Teddy with a toy potion-brewing kit.
"You're the best, Uncle Draco!" Teddy said, giving a startled Draco a quick hug. "Now I can practice making potions like Papa does! I'm going to be a Potions Master when I grow up, you know."
He ran off to play with his new toy, leaving the action figure lying on the living room floor. "Looks like I've been upstaged," Harry sighed ruefully.
"That's because, like a typical Gryffindor, you just don't think, Harry," Draco replied smugly. "Teddy adores Severus and always wants to imitate him, so it's only natural that he'd prefer a potion set. Honestly, you could have figured that out just by noticing that Teddy's hair is black more often than not these days. You just gave him that Quidditch toy because you like Quidditch."
"Well, Teddy likes Quidditch, too," Remus laughed. "But I must admit that he does love potions even more." He smiled fondly at Severus, who tried not to look too smug, without much success.
"I, uh, have something for you, too, Severus," Harry said awkwardly.
"Really?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not Christmas or my birthday....what have I done to earn such benevolence?"
However, instead of responding with his usual insolent cheer, Harry just gazed back at him solemnly, and a little anxiously. "Here," Harry said quietly, handing Severus a rectangular wooden box that was slightly larger than a textbook. Etched on the lid was a simple, stylized design of a flower--of a lily, specifically.
Severus nearly dropped the box when he recognized it as Lily's, a gift from her parents on her thirteenth birthday. She had used it to hold her jewelry and small keepsakes--or at least, that was what she'd used it for back when they had still been friends.
This is Lily's, Severus tried to say, but the words got stuck in his throat and all he could manage to stammer out was a hoarse, "This...this..."
Harry seemed to understand what he meant, and confirmed, "It belonged to my mum. You see, I've been spending my days off at my parents' house in Godric's Hollow, making repairs and going through their belongings. I should've done it years ago, I suppose, but there was just so much to do after the war ended..." His voice trailed off and he grimaced. "No, that's not true," he admitted, looking a bit shamefaced. "It was just too hard, looking at the wreckage and imagining how they died."
"There's no shame in that, Harry," Remus said gently. "We all mourn in our way, in our own time. I'm sure that James and Lily wouldn't hold it against you."
"Yes, well, I finally felt up to going back to the house," Harry said sheepishly, though he seemed reassured by Remus's words. "Ron and Hermione and Draco came with me for moral support, which helped a lot." Draco placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and Harry smiled at him gratefully. "Anyway," Harry continued, "I found some things of my mother's that I thought you should have, Severus."
Severus stared at him uncomprehendingly. "But...why should I have them?" Severus asked, guilt making his voice sharper than he'd intended. "We hadn't spoken to each other in years before she died." He could still remember the last time Lily had spoken to him, down to the exact year, day, and hour--and probably even the minute. It had been that night during their fifth year, when he had tried to apologize for calling her a Mudblood, and they had argued not just over the insult, but over his would-be Death Eater friends.
Remus, Harry, and Draco were all staring at him in concern, so Severus shook off those bitter memories and said harshly, "Her belongings should go to you, her son, not me."
"No," Harry said, quietly but firmly. "These things were meant for you--you'll understand when you see them." He and Draco exchanged a significant look, then Harry cleared his throat and said, "Well, Draco and I will go play with Teddy for a bit."
Severus managed to summon up a wry smile as they left the room. "Typical Gryffindor subtlety," he said. "Or to be more accurate, lack thereof."
"Directness has its charms, too," Remus chuckled, then asked gently, "Do you want some privacy, or should I stay with you?"
"Stay with me," Severus said immediately, giving no thought to his pride for once. He normally hated to admit weakness even to Remus, but he knew that he didn't have the strength to face Lily's memory alone. Without thinking, he reached out for Remus's hand. Remus squeezed his hand reassuringly, and while his feelings of guilt and dread did not vanish, they receded slightly--just enough for Severus to force himself to open the box.
Inside were two bundles of letters, each held together with a faded ribbon, and assorted miscellaneous objects. He immediately recognized them as things that he had given her in the past: a flower (now dried and brittle) that he had conjured for her as a child, a small glass vial that still held the lingering scent of the flower-scented perfume that he'd brewed for her as a birthday gift, a raven's feather quill pen that he'd given her one Christmas that was now rather tattered and ratty-looking, and a few other small trinkets. They were all cheap or homemade since Severus hadn't possessed much money at the time, and he'd assumed that she had thrown them all away years ago. It brought tears to his eyes to know that she had saved them, as he had saved the keepsakes she had given him, although they were currently locked away in a box gathering dust in the back of the closet.
With a trembling hand, he untied the first bundle of letters. It contained every birthday and Christmas card that Severus had ever given Lily, along with letters he'd written to her when she had gone home for the holidays while he had stayed at Hogwarts. And also the letters of apology that he had sent her after the "Mudblood" incident, although she had never responded to any of them. He had thought that she'd thrown them away unopened.
The other bundle contained letters that Lily had written to him but never sent. Among them was an invitation to her wedding; he would not have attended even if he had received it, which was no doubt why she had never mailed it. With it was an accompanying letter that said: Oh Severus, this is supposed to be the happiest day of my life, and I truly am glad to be marrying the man I love, yet I feel so sad to know that my best friend will not be by my side. I know that James was cruel to you in the past, but I wish you could see how much he has changed; he is no longer the arrogant bully that he used to be. Though to be fair, he also sees only the worst of you, and not the dear friend that I remember from my childhood. I still don't understand how this happened, that two of the people I love most ended up hating each other so much...
In the past, Severus would have bitterly ranted about all of James Potter's faults and the many reasons he'd had to hate the man, but right now, all he could focus on were the words two of the people I love most. "She still loved me," Severus whispered. All these years, he had thought that she had hated him...
"Of course she loved you," Remus said gently, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She was angry with you, but she still cared about you. She didn't speak of it in front of James because...well, let's face it, he wasn't exactly unbiased, and he would just tell her that she was better off without you. But she confided in me that she missed you and mourned the loss of your friendship."
Remus had never told him that before, but they rarely spoke about Lily, since Severus found the subject too painful. He had tried to move on and put the past behind him, and console himself with the knowledge that he had fulfilled his vow to protect Harry. Even if Remus had told him that Lily had still cared about him, Severus wasn't sure that he would have believed it...until now.
There were more unsent letters announcing Harry's birth (I wish that you were here to be his co-godfather along with Sirius, although I suppose that wouldn't go over so well with Sirius) and documenting his growth and achievements, such as they were (He's started crawling and gets into all sorts of mischief if we're not careful...Harry performed his first act of wandless magic today--he summoned his toy Snitch when it fell out of the crib...Harry started teething and is very cranky...)
And then there were the letters that Lily had written while she and James and Harry had been in hiding. She wrote of her fear--not for herself, but for her family. She wrote of the tension and strain of living in hiding with no definite end in sight, and the frustration of not being able to fight alongside the friends and comrades who were risking their lives in the war against Voldemort.
She also wrote about her concern for Severus: I have heard the rumors, of course, that you are a Death Eater. I know that you were friends with people who professed their ideals, and that some of those friends have since been proven to be actual Death Eaters. And yet...I still find it hard to believe that you are one of them. That you could support their ideals of pureblood superiority, yes, but not to condone and take part in the murder of innocent people. Perhaps it is only that I do not want to believe it and am being naive, as James says. Perhaps it is because the thought of meeting my old friend in battle, the possibility of having to hurt or kill you, terrifies me. Only slightly less terrifying is the thought of hearing the news that you were killed by an Auror or one of my fellow Order members. Maybe I am foolish, maybe I am naive, but I want to believe that you are not a Death Eater, or that if you did join them, that you would have left them once you understood what they were really about. I want to believe that someday after the war is over, both of us will be alive and well, and we will be able to resolve our differences and become friends once again. Along with seeing James and Harry live safely through the war, that is my dearest wish.
The ink on the last line was smeared slightly, as if Lily had shed a tear or two while writing it. It was the last letter in the stack--in fact, it might well be the last letter she had ever written to anyone, as it was dated only a few days before her death.
Severus very carefully replaced the letters and trinkets back in the box and closed the lid, and only then did he bury his head in his hands and weep. He could sense Remus's concern as he laid a hand on Severus's shoulder but said nothing. That, too, was a form of love, Severus supposed--knowing one's partner well enough to understand when a silent presence was needed more than words. Remus was there for him, and that was all that mattered. Besides, Severus had never been much good at discussing his feelings.
Still, he knew that Remus was worried about him, and he knew he ought to reassure his lover that he was weeping not so much out of sorrow or guilt, but out of sheer relief--relief to learn that Lily had not hated him as he had thought, but had in fact still loved him as he had still loved her. James had never believed that Severus's love for Lily had been platonic rather than romantic, and in hindsight, maybe they wouldn't have been such fierce rivals if James had understood that. At the time, Severus hadn't wanted to give his worst enemy the potentially damaging information that he was gay, knowing that the Marauders would no doubt use it to make his life miserable, but...
But there was no point in wondering "what if" now; regrets wouldn't change the past or bring Lily back. Severus would always hold himself responsible for her death (and Potter's too, as little as he had liked the man), no matter that Harry had forgiven him. But while that burden would never be completely lifted from his shoulders, it suddenly felt much lighter, and he could now remember their past friendship with joy as well as grief.
But he couldn't convey all this to Remus at the moment because he couldn't manage to get the words past the half-choked sobs that were tearing at his throat. Before he could manage to pull himself together, he heard footsteps running towards him as Harry called out, "Teddy, wait!"
Severus looked up, his eyes too blurred with tears to see clearly, but he felt small hands clutching at his own as Teddy asked anxiously, "Papa, why are you crying? Are you hurt?"
"Sorry, Severus," Draco apologized as he tried to coax Teddy away with promises of playing with Harry's Golden Snitch. Normally, he would have dropped everything he was doing to run off and play with Uncle Harry's Snitch--not just a toy one, but a real one that Harry had captured himself in his very first match.
"No!" Teddy shouted, on the verge of tears himself. "I want to be with Papa!"
Severus felt guilty for causing his son distress, yet at the same time, deeply moved by Teddy's concern. He gently freed one hand so that he could wipe his face on his sleeve, then lifted Teddy up onto his lap, holding the boy close.
"I'm all right, Teddy," Severus reassured him. "I am not hurt. I was just...a little sad, because I was reading some letters written by an old friend who died many years ago."
"Oh," Teddy said solemnly, calming down. "You mean Uncle Harry's mum?"
Severus and Remus exchanged a look; Teddy had picked up on more than they had realized. "Little pitchers have big ears," Remus murmured, affectionately ruffling Teddy's hair.
"Pitchers have ears?" Teddy asked in a puzzled voice. "I guess you could cast a spell to make a pitcher grow ears, but why would it need to hear?"
Teddy's literalism made Severus smile slightly, and he planted a kiss on top of Teddy's head, then explained, "It's just a saying, Teddy. It means that children hear more than adults realize. And yes, the friend I was talking about is Harry's mother, Lily."
"And you're sad because she died?" Teddy asked. "Even though it was a long time ago?"
"I still miss her very much," Severus replied. "I am sad that she died, yes, but also because we had quarreled before her death, and I never had the chance to make up with her before she died. However, her letters said that she forgave me...or at least that she still hoped we could become friends again someday. So I was crying as much with relief as with sorrow."
"So...you're okay, then?" Teddy asked, still a little uncertain as to whether crying with relief was a good thing or not.
"Yes, I am," Severus said firmly, realizing that it was true and that he was more "okay" now than he had been for the past two decades.
"That's good," Teddy said and gave Severus a hug, as if to comfort him.
Harry said quietly, "After I saw your memories in the Pensieve, I misunderstood and thought that you were in love with my mother, but I wasn't completely wrong. Even though your feelings weren't romantic, you did love her very much, and I wasn't surprised to learn that she loved you, too."
Love, Severus thought. Ever since Lily's death--or actually, before it, when their friendship had ended--he had denied himself any semblance of that emotion. He had told himself that he didn't want to get close to anyone only to have them turn against him as his childhood friend had, or that he wasn't worthy of being loved, after indirectly causing the death of that former friend. Both of which were partly true, but he admitted to himself now that it was also due to cowardice--he had been too afraid to allow himself to care about anyone as either a friend or lover, for fear that they would hurt him.
Except that he'd been fooling himself along--he had fallen in love with Remus in spite of himself, although he had pretended that it was nothing more than lust. He had come to care about Poppy and Minerva as friends, even while trying to keep them at a politely remote distance. He had still cared about Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco, knowing that he would probably have to betray them someday. He had even cared about Albus, although those feelings had often been mingled with resentment.
Severus had once planned to merely tolerate Teddy, thinking that the boy came along with Remus as a sort of package deal. But now Teddy was as much his son as Remus's, and he could not imagine what his life would be like without him.
Even Harry had become a part of Severus's life--though not as much as Remus and Teddy were, of course. For a long time, he had protected Harry grudgingly and only out of loyalty to Lily, but somewhere along the line he had come to care for the boy, as Albus had so astutely observed (damn that meddling old man, who was undoubtedly stirring up no end of trouble in the afterlife). Severus now had to admit, if only to himself, that he had come to like Harry for himself, not just for Lily's sake--maybe even love him a little, the way he might have loved a nephew if he'd had one. He supposed that in a way, Harry was his nephew, since he had loved Lily like a sister.
Merlin, he was getting as soppy as the werewolf! On the other hand, so what? It wasn't as if the world would end just because he was getting a little sentimental. At worst, he'd suffer a bit of embarrassment if it became public knowledge, and besides...maybe Remus deserved some soppiness. Severus loved Remus, and Remus knew that, but he had never actually said the words "I love you" aloud in all the time that they had been living together. Remus was quite expressive with his own affections, and Severus knew that he would probably--no, certainly--like to hear the words, even though he had never complained or even hinted about it. Remus and Teddy had brought so much happiness into his life, and maybe it was time for Severus to return a little of that happiness to them.
Still holding Teddy, Severus turned to Remus and said, "I love you." It was much easier than he had thought it would be, the words coming out of his mouth without hesitation, and he felt as if another burden had lifted from his shoulders. Then he nearly laughed when he saw the gobsmacked look on Remus's face--and Draco's too, both of them staring at him in open-mouthed shock. Harry, however, grinned cheekily, and Teddy smiled serenely as if it were the most natural thing in the world for his Papa to tell his Daddy that he loved him.
And maybe it was. Maybe Severus could learn a thing or two from his son.
"Sev...Severus?" Remus stammered, shock beginning to give way to a look of incredulous joy. "Did you just say...?"
"I love you," Severus repeated, finding that it was even easier to say it the second time.
"I love you, too, Severus," Remus said, still looking a little stunned as he reached out with one hand to caress Severus's face. "But why...?"
"Why say it now?" Severus replied. "Because I've never said it, and I thought that you should know."
"I do know," Remus assured him. "You've said it all along with your actions, if not with words. But it does make me very happy to hear it."
He kissed Severus tenderly, and Teddy made a face and said, "Ick, they're being mushy again!" But he was laughing as he said it, and didn't really seem bothered by their display of affection. Which might very well change in a few years, but Severus figured they could worry about that when it happened. Besides, the elder Weasleys embarrassed their own brood all the time with their displays of mushiness. (Although Severus hoped someone would hex him if he ever lost his wits enough to start calling Remus anything resembling "Mollywobbles.")
"Oh, so they get mushy a lot, now do they?" Draco asked slyly. "I wonder what people would say if they knew that the infamous Severus Snape was secretly the mushy type?"
"Nobody would ever believe it, even if you told them," Potter said with a grin.
"That's right," Severus said, giving Draco a threatening glare. "Which is just as well, because I'd hate to have to explain to your parents why I turned you into a toad."
Draco just smiled back at him, thoroughly unintimidated, and Severus sighed. Perhaps he had lost his touch since leaving his teaching position at Hogwarts. There was a time when that glare would have had his students quivering in mindless terror.
As usual, Remus guessed what he was thinking. "Harry and Draco know you too well now, my love," he said, giving Severus another kiss.
"Cheeky brats," Severus grumbled, but since his reputation was already ruined, he kissed Remus back.
"Let's give them some time alone to be mushy, shall we?" Harry murmured, and he and Draco left, both grinning insolently and looking rather pleased with themselves.
"Should I leave, too, so you and Daddy can be mushy together?" Teddy asked, grinning widely--clearly Harry and Draco were a bad influence.
He started to climb off Severus's lap, but Severus held him close and said, "No, Teddy. Let's just sit here awhile, the three of us."
"Okay," Teddy said, looking a little puzzled, but content to remain where he was.
Severus cleared his throat and said, "Teddy...you know that I love you, don't you?"
"Of course, Papa," Teddy replied, giving him a look that seemed to say, Isn't that perfectly obvious? Parents can be so dense sometimes. "I love you and Daddy, too," he added, with an air of reassuring his dense parent of another obvious fact.
"And I love both of you!" Remus declared, wrapping his arms around them both and covering their faces with kisses as Teddy burst into a fit of giggles.
As for Severus, he embraced his lover and son, and if he shed a tear or two of joy...well, no one was there to see it other than Remus and Teddy.
-End-
***
Afterword: Originally I intended to finish the story within a few weeks of the first chapter, with a second of about the same length showing Snape bonding with Lupin and Teddy. Then I got the idea of Harry finding Lily's keepsakes and giving Snape some closure, so I had to develop more of a relationship between Snape and Harry as well. And then somehow, even though I never write Harry/Draco, those two insisted that they wanted to be together, which sent the story off another unintended tangent that I had to work into the main plot! (Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since whenever I decide to write "a short little ficlet," it tends to turn into a 10k+ epic.) Anyway, thank you for reading through to the end in spite of the long wait!