LMOM #14
Title: Dread, II Author: Ellid Rating: PG Pairing: Snape/Lupin Kink(s): Reference to mpreg, gender switch. Warning for angst. Challenge: Lusty Month of May 2009 Word count: Note: not DH compatible in the slightest.
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 -
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, until I read the statistics." His voice sounded almost as gray as his hair. "30% odds of 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 in 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. "80% of the test subjects 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 a drop spattered into his hair. "There are alternatives. Surrogacy - "
"Dora wants her own baby and Hermione may not be capable of having 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 baby. The idea of his body changing so much was not appealing, not to mention childbirth and all the fuss his condition would cause, but the gleam in his lover's eye at the mere mention 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 find a baby werewolf somewhere," 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."