gaius (ex_gaius583) wrote in snark_n_bark, @ 2008-03-01 18:42:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | complete, gaius, serenus, severus |
What do you get when you put three Snapes in a pool?
Characters: Severus, Serenus, Gaius
Summary: The brothers celebrate the fact that Gaius isn't cursed
Gaius looked at the bottles of wine lining the shelf of the shop, mulling over the choices and trying to decide which would be the best vintage for a celebration. After Severus, Serenus, Remus and Tybalt had examined him thoroughly, they had determined that he wasn't cursed, and so it seemed that the weird happenings didn't have any relation to him whatsoever. That was the good news... the bad news was that they were no closer to finding out if there was a connection between the strange goings on or not.
Finally deciding that only champagne would do, he picked out a magnum and headed toward the counter where a young woman was bagging up a bottle of Reisling for a middle aged woman. He waited patiently behind her, then approached when the dark-haired girl smiled at him and beckoned him forward.
"Oh, champagne... are you celebrating something?" she asked, raising a brow in friendly inquiry, although he couldn't miss that she checked him out with a quick flash of hazel eyes. Gaius was in no way offended, and it was an innocuous enough question, but since this was a Muggle shop, he could hardly elaborate on what the occasion was.
He gave a slight shrug and a smile. "Not really. Having an evening with my brothers, and I like champagne," he replied.
"Sounds like fun," she said, and he saw the glance she gave his left hand as he pulled out the wallet where he kept his Muggle money. "So there are more like you at home, then?"
Gaius was no stranger to attempts at pick ups, even from women. "Yes, but they're both married," he drawled, unable to resist teasing just a little bit. Of course, he wasn't being literally true in Severus' case, but close enough.
"You're not?" she asked slowly, glancing at him through her lashes as she pushed the wrapped bottle of wine across the counter. "You're not English, either, with that accent."
"Not English, not married... but not single either," he said as he picked up the wine.
"Oh." Her tone was disappointed, but she licked her lips, and he gave her points for effort. "Well, your girlfriend is a lucky girl."
Gaius' smile became wicked. "I'll tell him you said that," he drawled, giving her a wink. "Although I'm not certain he'll like being called a girl."
"Oh!" Her eyes widened, and she flushed. "Oh, I see. Well, then..."
"No harm done," Gaius replied, bowing to her with great charm. "I'm flattered. Have a lovely day, miss."
"Thanks."
Her chagrined tone followed him out of the shop, and he chuckled to himself once he was out on the street. It really was flattering to have a young woman give him the once-over, and he couldn't help grinning as he rounded a corner, finding a secluded alleyway so he could Apparate to Snape Manor.
A moment later, he appeared on the steps of Severus' house, lifting the knocker and rapping it smartly against the door. Lurch opened it as quickly as though he were standing on the other side waiting, and Gaius nodded a greeting to the taciturn butler before stepping past him into the foyer.
"Severus! The party can start, I'm here now!" he called out. "I'm sure you're beside yourself with joy at my arrival."
Severus emerged from the parlor to greet his younger brother. "I'm awash in ecstasy," he drawled as he approached. "But only if you brought good alcohol. Otherwise, you can turn right around and not bother coming back until you have some."
Gaius stepped up to his brother, rising on tiptoe to press a kiss to Severus' cheek. "Is champagne good enough?" he asked, holding up the paper-wrapped bottle and batting his eyes. "Don't send me back out into the cold, scary world! There are desperate females out there, lying in wait to ambush unwary men who don't having rings on their left hands. One of them might steal me off to her lair and do things to me... horrible, unspeakable things!"
Severus bent a little to accept the kiss, but he rolled his eyes too. "Not so horrible or unspeakable," he replied tartly. "But fortunately for you, champagne will do, and I won't be so cruel as to throw you to the women, tempting as it may be." He gestured for Gaius to follow him back into the parlor. "You could always wear a decoy ring," he pointed out. "You are in a..." He grimaced. "Committed relationship. It might not be a marriage, but Remus and I aren't married either, and we wear rings as a sign of being unavailable."
Gaius trailed along, frowning thoughtfully at Severus' suggestion. "I suppose I could, but... I don't know. Sirius has never suggested it, and even though I know he's committed to me..." His voice trailed off, and he shrugged. "Perhaps I'll bring it up, but it doesn't really matter. The young woman wasn't overly aggressive, and I'm actually rather flattered that I can still excite some interest, even though I'm getting older." He made a face.
Pivoting sharply, Severus rested his hand in the curve of Gaius' neck and frowned sternly at him. "You're a Snape. You will always excite interest, and it has nothing to do with your face, although I'm certain you will age well like the rest of us."
Gaius couldn't help but laugh at the way Severus looked so stern, although his eyes were warm with appreciation for his brother's comforting words. "Speaking from your vastly superior nine months of seniority?" he asked, then turned his head to press his lips to the back of Severus' hand affectionately. "Thank you. I'm not as worried about it as I might have been, really. I never considered myself the monogamous type, actually, but I suppose even I have grown up a bit. You're right about Snapes, though... I've seen the looks you and Serenus both get as well. We're a stunning lot, if I do say so myself. Especially when you two have lookers like Remus and Tybalt panting after you constantly."
Severus drew himself up, a small but smug smile curving his lips as he thought about Remus and their healthy sex life; they managed to find time for intimacy of one type or another even with three small children, a criffler, and a kitten in the house. "The flame certainly has not gone out," he said, sounding as pleased as he looked. "I imagine if they were asked, Remus and Tybalt would agree that we Snapes are a stunning lot, and I'm not inclined to argue with their opinion, biased as it might be."
"That's my agreeable brother," Gaius drawled, then pressed another kiss to Severus' cheek. "And biased or not, it's the truth. If you two weren't my brothers, I'd have been tempted to make a play for one or the other of you myself. So, speaking of that, where is our third? I'm dying of thirst, and we have a celebration to start!"
"I'm sure he'll be along in a moment," Severus replied, squeezing Gaius' shoulder briefly before lowering his hand and moving over to the sofa. "I told him to be here ten minutes ago."
Just then, the flames in the fireplace flared green, and Serenus stepped through and dusted himself off swiftly. "Sorry I'm late," he said, hurrying over to kiss Severus and Gaius on the cheek. "Etienne was being irascible, and I wanted to make sure he was calmer before I left. Tybalt and Remus have enough on their hands with the rest of the brood without having their ear drums shattered on top of it."
Gaius hugged Serenus, beaming at him. "You're a good papa - both of you are, of course." He smiled at Severus as well. "It was nice of your partners to let us have some time together. I definitely owe payback babysitting. Now we have champagne, so what do you say we drink to fraternal bonds and the strengthening thereof?"
"Excellent idea!" Serenus wound one arm around Gaius and drew him over to the sofa, pulling Gaius down beside him. "Let's get cozy and tipsy. Or tipsy and cozy. I'm not particular which order we follow as long there is booze and cuddling."
"Booze and cuddling is perfect," Gaius said, settling down next to Serenus willingly. He grinned. "I get the middle, of course. Not only am I the baby brother, but being in the middle of a matched set is quite a charming idea."
"Double the fun," Serenus agreed cheerfully as he slipped off his shoes and curled up close against Gaius. He glanced at Severus, exchanging a brief, knowing look; he didn't have to ask because he knew Severus was also thinking about Remus and how he would agree with Gaius' sentiments completely.
Summoning a corkscrew, Severus busied himself with opening the champagne; he'd already brought in glasses, along with slices of cheese and fruit on a chilled platter as well. Gaius' words did indeed remind him of Remus, and his smug smile didn't fade as he poured the champagne and passed along glasses to both of his brothers. Once his job was done, he settled back with his own glass and took a sip, nodding his approval of Gaius' choice.
"We will do our best to be charming," he said dryly.
"I've no doubt you will succeed with your typical brilliance," Gaius said, snuggling down happily between his brothers, enjoying the warmth and closeness. He sipped the champagne, enjoying the sensation of the bubbles against his nose. "Now this is the life, I say. Three gorgeous men, a bottle of fine wine, stimulating conversation, and cuddling. As a professional hedonist, I pronounce this evening off to a spectacular start. So, what shall we talk about first? Severus and I have already covered the incredible sexiness of all that is Snape, although it's a topic that we can certainly go over again and again."
Laughing, Serenus shook his head. "No, I'm content to let that go," he said, taking a sip of champagne. "We could cover 'business' first, if you have any new odd occurrences to report."
Severus nodded, giving Gaius a questioning look. "We have at least established that you aren't cursed, but that doesn't mean the oddness will stop. Has anything new happened?"
"Nothing I can put my finger on, no," Gaius said, sipping his glass and frowning thoughtfully. "Not that I keep count, but it does seem that the students are bungling more spells and doing so more spectacularly than normal, but that could be more the fact that I'm now looking for it, rather than just brushing off incidents as I would in the past." He shrugged. "Hagrid seems to think that the Thestrals are more restless than normal, but no one else wants to get close enough to them to find out. There's always so much going on at Hogwarts, it's difficult to determine if there is a change or not for certain, but I really feel there is. I've seen the ghosts whispering together, but then they always stop if they notice I'm watching them."
"That does seem suspicious," Severus said, frowning as he mulled over what Gaius had said. "But without any concrete information to work with, all we can do is watch and wait. Perhaps documenting anything that seems out of the ordinary would be a good idea for all of us to start doing."
"Agreed." Serenus patted Gaius' leg, smiling fondly at him. "I'm glad it wasn't a curse, but that does leave us with no real answer for what's going on and why."
"And the ballroom was incredibly difficult to clean up," Severus grumbled. "I don't care to experience anything like that again."
"I definitely agree. I'll start keeping notes about what I see and let you know," Gaius said, laying his hand atop Serenus' where it rested on his thigh, squeezing lightly as he looked between his brothers. "I'm just glad that Cymbeline took it all in stride. It would have been a complete disaster if she'd felt that her birthday was ruined, but thank goodness she seemed to think it was exciting." He smiled at Severus sheepishly. "How are she and Cyanide getting on? I assume you aren't too upset with me about the kitten, since I didn't see you slip anything into my drink in retribution."
Severus raised one eyebrow and gave him a bland look. "Who says you would have seen me do it?" He paused to take a sip of champagne and let that sink in; he hadn't slipped anything into Gaius' drink, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to remind both of his brothers that he had once been an adept spy, and spies didn't last long if they got caught. "Cymbeline and the damned furball are getting on just fine," he continued. "She is a bit young to take full responsibility for a pet, thus we have kept a close eye on her, but she has done well so far, and she is quite attached to it."
Gaius shivered, but it was only for show; he didn't actually believe Severus would hurt him no matter how angry he might be, but the point was well taken. Clinging to Serenus, he stared back at Severus with wide eyes. "Well, that's good then," he murmured, wiping a hand across his brow as though he'd been worried. "I'd hate to think what I'd go through if she hadn't liked the kitten. Not from you, either, mein bruder - frightening as you can be, Cymbeline absolutely terrifies me. I'm glad she likes 'Uncle Kitty', because I don't even want to know what it would be like to be on her bad side!"
"It would be like father, like daughter, I suspect," Serenus said, chuckling as he wound his free arm around Gaius. "She will be formidable in her wrath once she grows up enough to hone both her vocabulary and her magic. But she's a good girl, and I don't think she bestows her affection or her anger capriciously."
"No more than any other child," Severus said, regarding Gaius' mock-cowering with amusement. "She's more volatile in her temperament than Lysander or Gaia, but that seems to be a family trait, one that also manifested in Etienne."
"Indeed it did!" Serenus smiled fondly at the thought of his cantankerous son. "I'm morbidly curious about what's going to happen once he's old enough to walk and talk. Either he and Cymbeline are going to band together with fierce and undying loyalty to each other and conspire to take over the world, or we're going to need a referee in place every time they're in the same room together."
"I'm not certain which would be worse," Gaius said, shaking his head ruefully. "But I think they are both good children, so hopefully we'll be able to keep them from taking over the world or tearing down the house."
He relaxed back against Serenus, sipping at his champagne, relaxing in the comfort and company of his brothers. This is what he had missed growing up, without even knowing what it was he was yearning for. His mother was the only person he had been able to be so completely unguarded around, and he was grateful that after having lost her, he had found Severus and Serenus. And Sirius as well, of course, but there were things one could share with brothers that couldn't even be shared with a permanent lover.
"I'm glad you two had the children, so that I can dote on my nieces and nephews," he said, eyes twinkling with amusement. "Hopefully now you both will discourage any further requests for me to 'have kittens' for the family, since we have a precedent for what I will do to please my little ones."
"No more kittens," Severus said firmly, his brow furrowing in a warning glare.
"No kittens for us either," Serenus said, stroking Gaius' arm idly. "Tybalt has mentioned wanting a dog a couple of times, and I've decided to get him one. It's too long until his birthday, so I may surprise him soon without any particular occasion." He drained his glass and set it aside, snuggling against Gaius with a sigh of contentment. "He wants something small and cuddly, which surprised me. I would have guessed that he would want a big dog, like a German Shepherd or a mastiff."
Gaius held up a placating hand, nodding at Severus' pronouncement. "No more," he agreed. Instinctively he leaned into the caress of Serenus' hand; his feline side made him enjoy stroking a great deal even when in human form. He hummed with pleasure, snuggling happily with Serenus and holding out an arm toward Severus to invite him into the cuddle.
"I'm not surprised Tybalt wants something small and cuddly - doesn't everyone?" he asked, raising a haughty brow, the expression belied by the twinkle in his eyes. "Big and boisterous has its place, of course, but little is much better for laps."
"I wouldn't know," Serenus replied, a mischievous twinkle in his own eyes. "Tybalt is big and boisterous. Severus has something small and cuddly, though, don't you, Severus?"
"I have something small that likes to cuddle," Severus said tartly, giving Gaius a dubious look, but then he heaved a put-upon sigh and scooted closer. He knew the futility of trying to avoid a determined cuddler, and after all these years with Remus, he had grown far more used to cuddling than he cared to admit.
"Perfect!" Gaius gave a sigh of complete contentment, wedged between his two brothers and more than happy about it. "And even if Tybalt is big, little Serafino seems the cuddlesome type. And if you want something just a bit bigger, there's always me. I don't think I'm capable of turning down a snuggle."
Severus' sigh didn't faze him in the slightest, and Gaius leaned his head on Severus' shoulder, rubbing his cheek against it and giving a purr. "I'm sure that Cyanide is a cuddler, too. No doubt for you, especially - white cats are irresistibly drawn to people who prefer dark fabric, I think."
"Imagine my joy," Severus muttered sourly. "As if I don't have enough fur shed all over me between Winslow and Remus. At least Remus only adds to the household hairballs once a month."
Serenus laughed and shook his head. "Poor Severus, doomed to attract ever more snugglers and devoted followers. It's because you're a curmudgeon, you know. If you were nice and even-tempered, this wouldn't happen. As it is, you present too much of a challenge."
"Then I will have to remain doomed, because the one time in my life when I tried to be nice, I nearly had a nervous breakdown from the strain," Severus retorted. He had tried to be a calm, amiable sort years ago when Remus had lost his memories for fear of frightening Remus off with his real personality, but he hadn't been able to maintain the facade very long or very well.
"Poor Severus," Gaius said, stroking Severus' arm gently. "You shouldn't fight your nature, it's not healthy. Which is why I simply cuddle where I must. if I were to fight it, I'd be a very unhappy person. I'm just lucky that my long-suffering brother is willing to indulge me. Both of my brothers, that is."
"Speaking of indulgence, could we go up to the pool?" Serenus peered around Gaius to give Severus a hopeful, appealing look. "Gaius and I have never seen it."
"If you like," Severus replied. "We could take the food and champagne upstairs and continue the evening up there. I have no objections to it if the two of you want to have a soak."
Gaius debated briefly; he was warm and comfortable now, but he also loved the water, and he'd heard quite a bit about this infamous pool of his brother's. "Wonderful, let's have at it, then."
He rose to his feet, stretching languorously before gathering up the bottle and their glasses. He didn't have bathing suit, but he could always transfigure one if either of his brothers had a sudden and inexplicable attack of modesty. Somehow, though, he didn't think it would be an issue.
"Lead on, Severus," he drawled, waggling his brows playfully. "Show us to your parlor, Mister Spider."
With a flick of his wand, Severus levitated the tray of fruit and cheese, letting it bob along behind him as he led the way upstairs, going through the master bedroom to the private pool room beyond. Once there, he lowered the tray to the edge of the small sunken pool and made a sweeping gesture to encompass the room.
"Here it is," he said, proud to show off one of his favorite parts of the house. "It isn't big enough to swim laps in, of course, but it's bigger than the average jacuzzi and has quite a few more features as well."
He levitated several thick towels from the shelf to the edge of the pool and then set about filling the pool with steaming hot water. "Are we in the mood for bubbles or bath oil?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at his brothers.
Gaius eyed the pool appreciatively and with no small amount of envy. He was the hedonist in the family, and here Severus had something like this? "Bubbles, to go with the champagne!" he said, placing the bottle and glasses near the edge and then clapping his hands with excitement like a small boy. "This is fantastic! Remus definitely spoils you rotten, mein bruder."
Grinning, he pulled his jumper over his head and stepped out of his shoes. He started to unfasten his trousers, then paused, raising a brow. "I take it we don't have to stand on modesty here? We're brothers, after all."
"If you see something you haven't seen before, throw your hat at it," Serenus agreed cheerfully as he began stripping off his clothes as well. He certainly had no qualms about being naked around Severus, and while he and Gaius hadn't shared the same level of intimacy, he wasn't embarrassed or shy about undressing in front of their baby brother either.
Severus turned on the tap that would add a froth of foamy bubbles to their water, and he turned on the water jets as well before beginning to undress without hesitation. He did pause long enough to summon a pair of hair sticks and put his hair up; as long as it was now, he didn't want to deal with heavy, wet hair in a pleasure-soak. Thanks to its built-in magic, the pool was quick to fill, and Severus wasted no time getting in and sinking down up to his chin.
Pleased that his brothers didn't seem hesitant at all, Gaius quickly stripped and stepped into the pool, moving to the side where Severus was and settling in next to him. The water felt fantastic, and he hummed softly, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the edge.
"I've just died and gone to heaven," he said, barely able to keep from moaning in pleasure as the water caressed his skin. "I have got to get one of these. I don't know that I'd ever come out again."
"Mmmm..." Serenus slipped into the water and sat down on the wide bench on Gaius' other side, smiling as he gazed at his brothers with half-lidded eyes. "This is wonderful, even better than the one in our hotel in Bermuda. Severus, you are indeed completely spoilt, and I'm never going home. Tybalt is just going to have to join me in here."
Severus smirked as he refilled their glasses and redistributed them. "It's one of the many secrets of this manor," he said loftily. "Consider yourselves very lucky I shared it with you instead of keeping this hedonistic delight all to myself."
"We are lucky," Gaius agreed, opening his eyes as he took the glass Severus passed to him. Between the water and the alcohol he was relaxing quite nicely indeed, and he leaned over to kiss Severus' shoulder. "Thank you for sharing with us. How can we make it up to you, show our gratitude for your generosity?"
Serenus gave a theatrical groan. "A dangerous question indeed! Be careful before you find yourself spending the next six months as his personal manservant."
"Would I take advantage like that? Especially of my own brother?" Severus widened his eyes disingenuously, but the look Serenus shot him in return made it clear what Serenus' answer to that was. "At any rate, I'm certain I will find a suitable means of letting you show your generosity."
"I could think of far worse fates than being Severus' personal servant," Gaius replied. "Mmmm...if I got to use this tub as part of my payment, I'd be more than willing." He batted his eyes at Severus. "So, what do you think? I'm sure you'd find some use for me."
Severus gave a derisive snort. "There is a considerable impediment in the form of your lover," he replied. "Somehow, I doubt he would be pleased by the amount of time being my servant and doing a good job of it would entail."
"Ah, well, I suppose you'll have to do without my scintillating presence," Gaius sighed. He turned to smile at Serenus. "Think I can get you to install one of these and let me work for you, then? Surely someone would like to keep me!"
Chuckling, Serenus reached out to stroke Gaius' hair affectionately. "You already have someone to keep you. Why don't you coax Sirius into installing one at Haven's Loft? I'm sure the two of you would find it as enjoyable as Remus and Severus do," he added with a wicked smile at Severus.
"Stop right there!" Severus flicked bubbles at Serenus, scowling fiercely. "Otherwise, I'll want to be Obliviated."
"Oh, you!" With a laugh, Gaius ducked out of the way of the flying bubbles, diving beneath the water and then coming up with a froth of foam all over his head and face. He wiped it away, then scooped up a handful of suds. "Ha, now I am the one on the attack. You're at my mercy!"
Severus and Serenus exchanged a look - and that was all it took for them to solidify their plans. Moving as one, they lunged forward and grabbed Gaius, ducking him under.
"We're at your mercy?" Serenus grinned, his eyes alight with mischief as he clutched Gaius' arm, ready to douse him again.
"Really, little brother, you should know better," Severus drawled. "Surrender now, and we might have mercy on you."
Laughing, Gaius gave token resistance, but he really didn't mind the ducking. "Never!" he cried out, shaking his head so that bubbles flew from his hair, splattering both of his brothers. "Take that! Ha! You'll never be able to hold me!"
Serenus sputtered, but Severus was not to be deterred by a few bubbles, and he wound his strong arms around Gaius, holding him tight. "Naughty kitties get spankings," he said, his voice a low purr in Gaius' ear.
"Oh, like that's a threat," Serenus said, rolling his eyes. "Threaten to take away his eyeliner and silk shirts if you want him to take it seriously."
"No, not my eyeliner!" Gaius moaned, but he didn't try to escape from Severus' grasp. He rather liked the purring, too; it spoke directly to a part of his sensual nature. Wriggling his arse, he looked over his shoulder at Severus. "Spankings sound good, though. I'll be very naughty so that you'll have to spank me very, very hard."
"I have a better idea," Severus said, keeping his voice in the same deep, purring tone. "Much better than a spanking." He tightened his arms around Gaius and met Serenus' gaze, trading another look with his twin.
"Tickling!" Serenus exclaimed, lunging forward to match word to deed, his long fingers dancing along Gaius' ribs.
Gaius went still, catching the look between his brothers, and his eyes widened. Severus' tone was positively wicked, making him wonder wildly what his brother had in mind. He found out soon enough, however, as Serenus began to tickle him, making him gasp and writhe in Severus' arms.
"No... fair!" he managed to get out, unable to catch his breath for the torment of Serenus' fingers. "GAH!"
Laughing, Serenus relented and stopped tickling, reaching out to massage Gaius' shoulders instead. "All's fair when it comes to little brothers," he said, bending to drop a swift kiss on Gaius' cheek. "But just think - you missed out on all this for nearly forty years. We have a great deal of fraternal tormenting to make up for."
Severus relaxed his hold on Gaius but didn't release him yet. "Yes, it's time we experienced the joys of having a younger brother to tease."
Still laughing despite the fact he was no longer being tickled, Gaius nodded. "I like it. Very much," he said affectionately. "I don't mind being tormented. I did miss this growing up, and if I have one true regret in my life so far, it's that we didn't get to share our lives as children." He sobered a bit, his smile becoming wistful. "I love both of you very much, you know. I know my mother would have adored you as well."
"I love you both too," Serenus said softly, moving closer so he could embrace both of his brothers at once. "And I also wish we'd grown up together. I think things would have been much different for all of us, especially Severus," he added, glancing at his twin. "I'm sure our mother would have loved you, as would our aunt. I wish they could have fought back against the bastard who fathered us."
"As do I," Severus said, frowning as old memories of childhood rose up. No doubt his life would have been much different if he had grown up free of his father's tyranny and with his brothers there for support. "But we have this now," he continued, turning his hold on Gaius into an embrace. "Better late than never, I suppose."
"Definitely." Gaius wound his arms around his brothers, holding them both tightly. "No matter what went on before, now we have each other, and we'll never lose that. And it's even better than I could have dreamed. I came in search of brothers, and I have them, but also their partners and a veritable herd of nieces and nephews. I'd always wished for a big family, and you've given it to me, and for that I am more grateful than you can imagine."
"Me too." Serenus smiled and hugged him tight. "I was always envious of my friends who had big families - or even one sibling, for that matter."
"I would not have regretted not being an only child," Severus admitted in a low voice, and then he cleared his throat. "Are you two finished being soppy now? If you keep it up, Remus will sense it and come in here with a camera to sigh and swoon all over us."
"Oh, all right," Gaius said with a mock-sigh, but he couldn't resist another tight hug, and he pressed his lips to two identical cheeks, savoring the closeness and affection. "So how about more champagne? We need a cabana boy to wait on us hand and foot. Hmmm... perhaps having Remus come in wouldn't be such a bad thing after all."
"Perhaps not," Severus agreed. "However, doting on all three of us is a daunting task. He should have help."
"Only if said help is scantily clad," Serenus said with mock innocence. "Well, we can't ruin our atmosphere, after all."
"Perhaps next time." Severus disengaged from the embrace to take on the task of serving more champagne himself, and he levitated the tray over to them, letting it hover just above the water. "Tonight is for us."
Taking Serenus' hand, Gaius pulled him back to the bench, settling down and accepting the glass. "To us," he said, lifting it high and grinning happily. "Fear the Snapes - we are not only brilliant, we are hot."