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Best Served Cold	By : KohakuShadow Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Snape/Sirius Views: 12564 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters, nor am I making any money off of it. It's called FANfiction because I DON'T own it, right? Right. Good that we're clear.

Chapter List
- 1-1
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 12-12
- 13-13
- 14-14
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-Epilogue
- 19
- 20
- 21
Chapter
20

“Well, Mr. Snape...”

“Professor,” Severus said tightly. He was proud of the
title, damn it.

“Ahem, yes, Professor Snape, it would appear that your health
has made a drastic improvements this month, in spite of your best
efforts to the contrary.”

“I assure you I have behaved in a perfectly responsible manner.
Him, on the other hand...” Severus glared at Sirius, who
was in the corner with his hands over his mouth, blatantly trying not
to die of laughter.

Okay, let's rewind. Half an hour ago, Severus had been sitting in bed
with a rather engaging book when Sirius did what Sirius always did
when things were quiet for more than ten minutes: he got bored.
Severus had been doing much better, and hadn't taken his potion in
over a week. He could even get around the house on his own, though
he tired quickly and still spent most of his time in bed. To
celebrate his improved health (and with his improved health, his
improved temperament, Sirius had leaned in and started kissing the
side of his neck. It all went downhill from there, and just downward
in general.

Severus rather lost track of time, and was, much to his utter
humiliation, in the middle of an orgasm that Sirius was happily
sucking out of him when the good doctor – expecting the worst
when no one answered the floo – rushed into the room, wand
already drawn.

After a fair bit of humiliation and stuttering, Severus managed to
get himself properly clothed and the doctor managed to perform an
aura scan and check his temperature (understandingly, a bit on the
high side), and thus, he found himself in the present –
properly humiliated, but at the very least not dying.

The Healer cleared his throat. “Yes, well, in any case, I
suppose there's not much point in living without something worth
living for,” he said. “I am going to take you off
of the potion. You should be fine taking something over-the-counter
from the apothecary at this point. Just check the ingredients to be
certain it doesn't have any gurdyroot extract – it may
interact badly if there is any venom remaining in your system and
cause some inflammation. I also suggest some mild physical
therapy.” He turned to Sirius. “Get him outside, take
short walks. If the muggles have a public pool...”

“No,” Severus cut him off before Sirius got any funny
ideas. “No pools.” Nobody needed to see his scrawny
body in a pair of swim trunks, and no one was going to if he had any
say in the matter.

“I can take you to the beach,” Sirius declared, sounding
entirely too happy about his 'compromise'.

“No apparating, either,” the Doctor said firmly. “But
I think the bandages can go during the day – let your wounds
get some fresh air. I would suggest continuing to bandage yourself
while you sleep for a while yet, though – for the sake of your
bed linens. They are scabbing nicely now, but can still rip open and
begin to bleed again if you aren't careful with them.”

None of this was news. Severus had been keeping a very close eye on
his own health, but he didn't want to be sent back to the Hospital,
so he was as agreeable as he could stand while the doctor was
present. Once he left, all bets were off, and Sirius had been on the
butt end of a series of 'no one knows my body and what it needs
better than me. I'm the one living in it, aren't I?' rants. He'd shut
the man up more than a few times with his lips and his hands,
demonstrating just how very well he knew his love's body, too. After
getting walked in on by the doctor, he didn't think such attentions
would be welcomed at the moment, though.

Once the doctor left he settled into bed next to the snarky professor
(though all he was professing these days was his eternal annoyance)
and said, “I guess we really ought to research some good
wards.” He looked far too pleased with himself though. How
could he not be? Severus was doing quite well, and he still had the
man's taste all over his lips and tongue.

“Exhibitionist,” Severus muttered irritably.

“Prude,” Sirius quipped, planting a soft kiss on the
man's cheekbone.

Severus quirked his brow. “Prude? Now we both know that is
blatantly untrue.”

“Is it?” Sirius asked playfully. “Sure, when we
were kids you were a little slut.”

“Sirius...” Severus warned, but as always, Sirius Black
would not be swayed. “You could go at it over and over.
Remember? We had such fun. But now you're all grown up and
bitter and it's like pulling teeth to even get a kiss,” he
mock-complained. “What happened to our shag-a-thons, hm? Now
that I'm old and scruffy, I'm not sexy anymore?”

“You know damn well that isn't even remotely true or the Healer
would never have had to endure such a...display.”

“Endure? You with your clothes skewed, arching up into my mouth
and crying out in ecstasy isn't a 'display', Sev, it's a work of
art.”

“Only to you, fool,” Severus sighed, but didn't protest
when Sirius straddled his lap – for no reason whatsoever –
and gently brushed his hair back to inspect the scabbed wounds on
Snape's neck. Severus didn't miss the way his lips pursed a bit in
worry. He was beginning to think the man was libel to fret over a
paper cut. 'If I was the one who had it, he would, in any case.
But when he's so busy taking care of me, who is seeing to his needs?
Potter? Too busy being famous to pay much mind to what goes on in the
house, I imagine.' More like too busy being normal at
last, Snape – doing things normal kids do – going to
parties, dating, studying for the Auror examinations, not worrying –
for once – about being killed. Try not to blame everything on
Harry forever. “It is fine, Sirius. Stop pouting,”
he said at last.

“It's healing so slowly though,” Sirius protested.
“You'll definitely have a scar.” Not that there was
anything wrong with that. It was proof that he'd lived through the
battle, proof that he was brave.

“Obviously,” Severus answered. “I should be dead
after a blow like that.” He was very conscious of the fact.
He thought about it often, how if Sirius hadn't arrived when he did –
so immediately after the fatal blow was struck – he would be in
a grave now, not in another man's bed. He owed his life to yet
another Gryffindor. This time, though, he planned to repay the debt
in full. He would stay with Sirius until the day he died, and take
care of him...if Sirius didn't get sick of him and kick him out
before then.

“Don't.”

“Don't what? Speak the truth?”

“Don't say you and dead in the same sentence,” Sirius
complained, petting his hair. “Living, breathing, and being a
bastard who keeps his teddy bear side buried deep under layers and
layers of intellect, angst, and biting sarcasm – that's the way
I like you best. And alive. Above all else, alive.” He
caressed Snape's cheek and kissed the corner of his mouth.

Severus leaned back a bit, “My 'teddy bear' side? I have no
such thing.”

“You do,” Sirius laughed. “You're hiding it, but
it's there. It's that goofy kid that never got to be a kid because
his life was shite, so now, he secretly loves hugs and cuddling and
sweets and is a closet romantic, but refuses to admit it because he
thinks it's childish and stupid.”

Sirius had him pegged. He never felt more content than when the other
man was sleeping against his side, or nuzzling into him as if he
were a pillow, or just kissing him. Oh, the more intimate things –
he rather looked forward to being well enough to thoroughly
enjoy those once again, of course, but it was the little things, like
Sirius's blatantly puppyish nature that truly brought him happiness.
And he wouldn't admit to those thoughts, because they were
childish and stupid. It was bad enough that Sirius had figured out
that he fancied pastries. Now that he could eat solid foods again,
it was as though Sirius was trying to fatten him up with shortcake
and biscuits. Speaking of, “Have you eaten yet today?”

Sirius blinked. What? Food? Why the hell did Severus care about food
at a time like this? Sirius had just been thinking about picking up
where they left off when the Doctor so rudely interrupted.
Okay, so the man had a scheduled appointment. So what? “You
mean other than you?” he replied with a smirk.

“Obviously,” Severus answered dryly.

“Hmm. Don't think so,” Sirius replied playfully. “Was
rather more absorbed in other things, wasn't I?” He kissed
Snape's jaw and started to lean in for his lips when the other man
pushed him back. “I am going to bathe,” Severus said.
“Try to make yourself presentable. You are going to take me to
one of these muggle cafes in town for lunch.”

Sirius blinked. “You mean, like a date?” he grinned.

Severus pushed him off, but gently. “Try to make yourself
presentable, or the muggles will think you've escaped the local
sanitarium.”

“I love you too, prat,” Sirius said with ill-concealed
laughter.

Severus, arms laden with something other than pajamas for the first
time in months, headed toward the bathroom. He paused long enough to
cast a smirk over his shoulder, and for an instant Sirius thought he
might say it, those three words, but the smirk was his only reward.
When the door closed between them, Sirius buried his face into his
pillow and squealed like a giddy schoolgirl. 'Ah, to be in love,
and have that love returned,' he thought, laughing at himself for
acting like such an idiot over a boy. But love was like that,
he supposed, better still for the long wait and all the hardships
he'd had to endure. “Well, I guess revenge isn't the only dish
best served cold,” Sirius told himself, recovering from the fit
of girlish squealing and sifting through the wardrobe for his nicest
muggle robes. It was hard to tell which ones those were, really. He
didn't know the difference between what a muggle would wear to a
sporting event versus what they would wear to a fancy restaurant.
Lily had tried to teach him and James once, but it was dreadfully
boring and they'd lost interest almost immediately. 'We were such
jerks,' he reminisced as he he pulled on a pair of black jeans
and a maroon button down shirt, brushed his hair and used the second
bathroom to trim his beard into something a bit less 'escaped
convict'. No shaving it off, no. He'd made a deal – he would
shave it off when Severus told him he loved him and not a moment
sooner.

*

An hour later they were sitting under the umbrella of some outdoor
seating at a nearby cafe. Severus didn't seem like the outdoor
seating type, but it would be good for him to get a bit of sunlight.
Sirius couldn't be happier than sitting here watching the man pick at
his tuna sandwich, really. Even if he didn't have much to say, he
didn't protest Sirius's babbling and offered a snide remark now and
again. It was heaven. It was better than heaven, it was a date.
A real, genuine, actual date – which he wouldn't mention out
loud, because if he did, Severus might get embarrassed and call it
off.

“Harry is moving out, by the way,” Sirius said as an
afterthought to a completely unrelated conversation. “I guess
I can't blame him. He wants to live with his friends, so they've
found a flat that will be closer to the main office when they pass
the Auror Exams. A bit sad, really, I'm finally able to be his
godfather and he's already too old to need one.”

Severus sighed and lowered his tea. “I won't pretend that I am
not relieved.”

“You and Harry will learn to get on eventually, if you just
give him a chance. You and I did,” Sirius replied.

“That's not what I was referring to.” It was a valid
point, though. In spite of what Sirius said, Snape couldn't imagine
ever forming any kind of amiable relationship with Harry, even now.
“I was simply saying it is more convenient for both of us if
you live alone.”

'Alone?' Sirius thought.
'Oh.' “Oh!
Well...” he hedged. “I don't really like being alone...I
always just sort of thought, you know, when you were better you could
just...stay.”

Severus tensed a bit. He had
thought about it too, staying with Sirius in Grimauld Place, but it
wasn't a choice he could take lightly. It was true that he had no
real attachment to Spinner's End or the rabbit hole of a house he'd
grown up in, but it was the freedom of having a place of his own that
he was hesitant to let go. 'And why? You love him, don't
you? You've already decided to be with him as long as he'll have
you. You just never thought he'd actually ask, did you? Even after
saving your life, nursing you back to health, and dealing with your
foul temper for months on end, you still thought when all was said
and done, he would send you on your way. ...that's exactly what I
thought, isn't it? It could still happen. Once he realizes all my
worst traits aren't wholly the result of being so ill, he may still
get sick of me, and what will I do then, if I've burnt my bridges
behind me?' He was so lost in
thought he didn't realize it took almost five minutes of
uncomfortable silence before he offered Sirius any kind of reply.
“Aren't you making that offer a bit soon?”

Sirius's stomach fell. Severus was
always like this, trying to keep him at arm's length. 'So
afraid of being hurt,' Sirius
reminded himself to curb his own temper. “I don't know, is
twenty-some-odd years too soon?” he answered, unable to keep
the bitter sting from his voice.

Snape heard it and fixed him with an unreadable expression. “You
spent twelve of those years in prison,” he reminded.

“And you spent all of them
imprisoning yourself,” Sirius snipped. “What more do I
need to do, Severus? We've been through enough, haven't we? Is
doing something that will make you
happy for once so terrifying?”

'Yes,' Severus thought
immediately. Even as a child he'd spent more of his time concerned
about making Lily happy than about making himself happy. 'But,
wait. Is this any different from that? I would be happy to stay with
Sirius, yes, but more than that, if I stayed, it would make him
happy. Isn't that what I'm trying to do?'

Sirius somehow managed not to laugh at Snape trapped deep in thought.
He was always thinking too much, too hard, weighing every last
possible outcome before committing to any of them. Occupational
hazard, he supposed. But when the man seemed to have a sudden
epiphany, he was just so unbearably cute – like an awkward
little boy all over again, that Sirius had to repress the urge to
giggle – you know, in a manly sort of way. He reached across
the table and put his hand over the other man's. “Earth to
Severus...” he whispered with a bemused smirk.

Severus startled from his thoughts, but still managed to maintain his
stoic expression. It didn't matter, Sirius had learned to read the
little shifts in his posture and sparks in his bottomless eyes, so
even the slightest change was telling, and right now Snape was all
about awkward embarrassment. “I had intended to re-apply for
my old job at Hogwarts,” he answered.

“You really do love school,” Sirius teased.

“It is my home,” Severus answered quietly.

Sirius nodded and smiled. “I know exactly what you mean. I
spent the best years of my life at Hogwarts. After we graduated, I
found myself really missing it. Hey, that's why you applied for a
teaching position, isn't it?” he asked, his own epiphany
underway. “You just wanted to go home.” Sweet, really.
It was a rare view of the softer side of Severus Snape that Sirius
couldn't help but relate to. “I should have done that too,
instead of mooching off of James and Lily.”

“Should have? You aren't dead yet, Sirius.”

Sirius blinked. Of course. They
would be looking for a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,
wouldn't they? And he'd been cleared of all charges – it was
probably the one instance where breaking out of Azkaban would look
good on his resume, really. He'd never taught anyone anything
before, but it had
always been his best subject. And he would be able to stay with
Severus, without Severus having to give up any of the things he
loved. He might even be able to bully the man into being a little
gentler with his students. Then again, that
might take a miracle. “I dunno,” he grinned. “I
mean, a Gryffindor professor snogging the head of Slytherin
House...that must go
against House rules. What would the students think?” he joked.

“I think if the war has taught us anything, it is that some
rules were made to be broken – most especially those involving
matters of House.”

“You know, that was a really long-winded way of saying 'it's
about time',” Sirius laughed.

“Just because you have the vocabulary of a second year does not
mean that I am required to ignore the subtleties of the English
language,” Severus huffed.

Sirius only laughed a little harder. “It's nice to see you up
to your old tricks, is all. It wasn't long ago you couldn't get out
four words in a row without gasping for breath.” His expression
softened. “You had me really worried, you know. If you'd
died, I...”

Snape turned his hand over to grasp Sirius's hand. “I know,”
he said. “I've no idea what I've ever done to deserve it, but I
know.”

“Well, that's the thing about love isn't it? Whether you
deserve it or not makes no difference.”

“Are you saying I don't deserve it?” Severus asked dryly.

“I'm saying, I think, that you deserve some of that cherry
cheesecake they've got on display in the window, for being cute.”

“I am not...!” Severus hissed, but Sirius was already
waving the waiter over.

“We'd like some of that cheesecake, please, and more tea.”
He turned back to Severus almost immediately and said, “you
just shut up and let me spoil you, mister.”

“I am not accustomed to...”

“I know,” Sirius interrupted with a soft smile. “But
you're just going to have to get used to it. I gave up on you once,
Sev. And then I nearly died, and you nearly died, and everything
went crazy...”

“I don't need a recap of my
own life, Sirius. I was there,” Snape said, looking amused as
the waiter returned with their cheesecake. It did
look delicious.

Sirius took a bite, trying to gather his thoughts and not make even
more of a fool of himself. “What I mean to say is just that I
like spoiling you, I guess. It's my way of showing you how happy I
am that you're here with me.”

Severus reached over and lifted
Sirius's hand, laying a soft kiss on the palm. It was an
uncharacteristic gesture, and one he didn't feel was appropriate in a
public place, but it felt right.

“S-Sev?” Sirius turned a pretty shade of pink that made
the risk worth it.

“My way of saying that I am happy to be here with you,”
Severus purred quietly.

Sirius wriggled a little. “No fair,” he whined softly.
“Seducing me in a public place.”

Severus quirked a brow. Seducing? Hardly. It was just one little
kiss and a few honest words. “Then I suggest you finish your
cake and we return home, so that I can seduce you in private.”

Sirius grinned.

“Don't smile as if you haven't done your share of seducing
these past months,” Severus protested.

“It's not that,” Sirius answered.

“What then?”

“You just called it 'home'.”

“...I suppose I did.”

To
Be Continued...
- 19
- 20
- 21
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