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westernredcedarTitle: But if You Try Sometimes
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r_grayjoy
Prompt: fortune, bookends, and "under the circumstances"
Characters: Snape/Lupin
Summary: The night before he starts a new job, Remus gets a surprise visitor.
Length: 810
Rated: PG
Notes: Rowan, I’m sorry this took so long! I got obsessed with using all 3 of your prompts, and then the LJ blackout threw me off my game. But here I am at last! Enjoy.
Remus settled the bookends into a tattered cardboard box, making sure they would not rattle around and get damaged during transport. He’d carried them with him through every move in the past ten years, across Europe and beyond. They were heavy and impractical (cut and polished geodes, purple and gray), but he loved them and he was not about to leave them behind now.
There was a sharp knock on the door, likely the manager of the rooming house looking for the final night’s payment. Remus wiped his filthy hands on his jeans and opened the door.
A stiff figure in black stood in the doorway, arms crossed and eyes dark as an angry raven. Remus choked back a laugh and crossed his own arms.
"Severus. I knew I’d be hearing from you," Remus said, leaning against the door frame. "I didn’t imagine you’d arrive in person, though."
"You cannot come, Lupin." Severus Snape did not move an inch.
Remus smiled to himself. "You know, I also knew that was exactly what you were going to say. Perhaps I should take up fortune telling?"
"Indeed. A far more fitting career for you," Severus said. "I support your decision and will inform the Headmaster immediately." He turned as if to leave.
Remus rolled his eyes and grabbed at a swirl of black cloak, holding him back. "Severus, for gods’ sake, come in and sit down for a moment."
After a hesitation and a dramatic sigh, Severus spun around, pulled himself free of Remus’s grasp, and sulked into the small room, arms still firmly crossed.
"Severus, I’m taking the job, whether you approve or not," Remus said as he shut the door. "It means a roof over my head, food on my plate, and galleons in the bank. Not to mention a much needed dose of self-respect. Do you know," he added, "I think I’ll even enjoy the work."
Severus was posed like a mopey statue next to a stack of Remus’s boxes. Remus could see the pulse in his jaw that signified he wanted to respond, but was hesitating.
"Severus, there is nothing you can say that will change my mind."
"There is a curse." Severus’s tone was clipped and flat.
Remus paused. Leave it to Severus to actually give him pause. "A curse?"
"On the position. They never last out the year."
"What do you mean?" As Remus responded, he noticed Severus’s shoulders relax slightly.
"They are killed, maimed, executed, sent to Azkaban, turned into newts, exiled to Siberia."
"Who?"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts Professors, of course," Severus snapped. "I’ve wanted the position for years, but Dumbledore won’t allow it. He claims I’m too important."
Remus tried not to dwell on what it meant that Dumbledore was more than willing to give the position to him. He swallowed hard.
"So, then, the reason you are here is because..." Remus bit his lip as he realized. "...because you’re worried about me?"
"No," Severus said sharply. It seemed for a moment as if he were going to say more, but instead he pressed his lips into a thin line, and looked down into the open box of Remus’s belongings, running a long finger along the smooth face of one of the bookends.
"Oh," said Remus, and this time he couldn’t stop his smile.
The silence stretched for a moment, and then Severus seemed to find his footing. "Therefore, under the circumstances, you must not..."
Remus interrupted. "Severus, I’m taking the position. I cannot turn away from a steady pay cheque for a year, curse or no curse." He paused. No response. "Surely the benefits of having me live up the stairs from you must be worth some risk?"
Severus would still not meet Remus’s eyes, but a deep blush started to creep up the pale skin of his throat.
"Besides, I’m confident you can come up with some clever way for me to leave the job after a year without being maimed or murdered," Remus continued, sidling closer to Severus.
Remus could hear nothing but their slow breaths for a moment. Then, abruptly, Severus lifted his head, eyes ablaze.
Oh damn, Remus thought, he’s come up with a way.
"Very well, Lupin," Severus said in a suddenly off-hand tone. "If you insist on taking this risk, I will not stand in your way." He strode towards the door, but Remus intercepted him.
"Remember, I’ll be just up the stairs," he said, and then grabbed Severus by his robes and kissed him, hard.
Severus grappled at Remus’s shirt for a moment, then kissed him back rather forcefully before pulling away and swiping a hand across his mouth. "How could I ever forget that, Lupin?" he replied, and then he swirled out the door and right back into Remus’s life.
Remus closed the last of his boxes with a grin, then trotted off to dig up his ticket for the train.
For:
r_grayjoyPrompt: fortune, bookends, and "under the circumstances"
Characters: Snape/Lupin
Summary: The night before he starts a new job, Remus gets a surprise visitor.
Length: 810
Rated: PG
Notes: Rowan, I’m sorry this took so long! I got obsessed with using all 3 of your prompts, and then the LJ blackout threw me off my game. But here I am at last! Enjoy.
Remus settled the bookends into a tattered cardboard box, making sure they would not rattle around and get damaged during transport. He’d carried them with him through every move in the past ten years, across Europe and beyond. They were heavy and impractical (cut and polished geodes, purple and gray), but he loved them and he was not about to leave them behind now.
There was a sharp knock on the door, likely the manager of the rooming house looking for the final night’s payment. Remus wiped his filthy hands on his jeans and opened the door.
A stiff figure in black stood in the doorway, arms crossed and eyes dark as an angry raven. Remus choked back a laugh and crossed his own arms.
"Severus. I knew I’d be hearing from you," Remus said, leaning against the door frame. "I didn’t imagine you’d arrive in person, though."
"You cannot come, Lupin." Severus Snape did not move an inch.
Remus smiled to himself. "You know, I also knew that was exactly what you were going to say. Perhaps I should take up fortune telling?"
"Indeed. A far more fitting career for you," Severus said. "I support your decision and will inform the Headmaster immediately." He turned as if to leave.
Remus rolled his eyes and grabbed at a swirl of black cloak, holding him back. "Severus, for gods’ sake, come in and sit down for a moment."
After a hesitation and a dramatic sigh, Severus spun around, pulled himself free of Remus’s grasp, and sulked into the small room, arms still firmly crossed.
"Severus, I’m taking the job, whether you approve or not," Remus said as he shut the door. "It means a roof over my head, food on my plate, and galleons in the bank. Not to mention a much needed dose of self-respect. Do you know," he added, "I think I’ll even enjoy the work."
Severus was posed like a mopey statue next to a stack of Remus’s boxes. Remus could see the pulse in his jaw that signified he wanted to respond, but was hesitating.
"Severus, there is nothing you can say that will change my mind."
"There is a curse." Severus’s tone was clipped and flat.
Remus paused. Leave it to Severus to actually give him pause. "A curse?"
"On the position. They never last out the year."
"What do you mean?" As Remus responded, he noticed Severus’s shoulders relax slightly.
"They are killed, maimed, executed, sent to Azkaban, turned into newts, exiled to Siberia."
"Who?"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts Professors, of course," Severus snapped. "I’ve wanted the position for years, but Dumbledore won’t allow it. He claims I’m too important."
Remus tried not to dwell on what it meant that Dumbledore was more than willing to give the position to him. He swallowed hard.
"So, then, the reason you are here is because..." Remus bit his lip as he realized. "...because you’re worried about me?"
"No," Severus said sharply. It seemed for a moment as if he were going to say more, but instead he pressed his lips into a thin line, and looked down into the open box of Remus’s belongings, running a long finger along the smooth face of one of the bookends.
"Oh," said Remus, and this time he couldn’t stop his smile.
The silence stretched for a moment, and then Severus seemed to find his footing. "Therefore, under the circumstances, you must not..."
Remus interrupted. "Severus, I’m taking the position. I cannot turn away from a steady pay cheque for a year, curse or no curse." He paused. No response. "Surely the benefits of having me live up the stairs from you must be worth some risk?"
Severus would still not meet Remus’s eyes, but a deep blush started to creep up the pale skin of his throat.
"Besides, I’m confident you can come up with some clever way for me to leave the job after a year without being maimed or murdered," Remus continued, sidling closer to Severus.
Remus could hear nothing but their slow breaths for a moment. Then, abruptly, Severus lifted his head, eyes ablaze.
Oh damn, Remus thought, he’s come up with a way.
"Very well, Lupin," Severus said in a suddenly off-hand tone. "If you insist on taking this risk, I will not stand in your way." He strode towards the door, but Remus intercepted him.
"Remember, I’ll be just up the stairs," he said, and then grabbed Severus by his robes and kissed him, hard.
Severus grappled at Remus’s shirt for a moment, then kissed him back rather forcefully before pulling away and swiping a hand across his mouth. "How could I ever forget that, Lupin?" he replied, and then he swirled out the door and right back into Remus’s life.
Remus closed the last of his boxes with a grin, then trotted off to dig up his ticket for the train.