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Don't Let The Whirlwind Pass By	By : starstruck86 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Snape/Ron Views: 5611 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 2
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A/N: Morning all! Another chapter.
Thank you all for your reviews! :D

Sheree �Cheesecake *snort* I have
a feeling you�re going to shout at me.

Badkittyuno �hello *waves* Thanks
for reading and I hope you like this chapter.

Kai �How could I not continue when you asked so nicely,
though? ;) I am working on the ending. At this point it could go either way. Hmmmmm.

Davinci �Severus agrees with a lot
of your analysis, read on and see� And, for a little
more normality, only the beginning of this chapter takes place in the
whorehouse.

Talley �Much more from Severus in this chapter!

This one turned out a bit differently, I had to bump a
planned event back to the next chapter. So you get to see S in his normal life
and home and an insight into how his visits to R are beginning to affect him.
Also, Patronus issues! Thank you all so much for reading and voting. Lots of
virtual cupcakes heading out ;) xx

-----

Firm hands gripped in his hair and Severus moaned at their
pull. He possessed Ron�s mouth with what seemed like untamed strength, keeping
him pinned to the bed with his body, his forearms pressing over defined
collarbones to hold his head in place.

Severus wasn�t quite sure which part he was paying attention
to more �the kiss, the desire in the sapphire eyes looking back at him or the
fact they were fucking so very differently to any of their previous attempts.
Despite the power he was exerting, the atmosphere in the whorehouse room was of
overwhelming tenderness. Reluctantly he broke for air and wasn�t surprised when
the hands kept him firmly in position.

�Don�t you dare move,� Ron muttered, and Severus watched
with disbelief as the redhead�s eyes closed, not before he could see that they had
rolled back in his head, his slender body thrust upwards and he yelled with
satisfaction.

Severus couldn�t blame him; there was something which had
seemingly set them both on fire that evening. His name was a breathy choke in
the air and he felt his stomach flood with wetness as he watched the man
beneath him shatter with his orgasm. The deep cries and moans only edged him
nearer to his own finish but he was too wrapped up in seeing the pale skin
flush, the face contort with pleasure and the thin form sink bonelessly back into the mattress.

�Sweet fucking Merlin, Severus�� he panted, cracking open
his eyes the tiniest fraction and desperately licking his lips.

Simply blown away by the exquisiteness, Severus was frozen,
his hands still locked in place with his fingertips dabbling in fiery locks of
hair. Eyelids opened all the way and then Severus felt the legs thrown about
his waist tighten once more, urging him on, and he bent his head to claim
inflamed lips with his own. He heard Ron moaning again and wondered how he
could find the strength to do anything
after an orgasm that Severus was fairly sure had made stars explode in his
vision.

The thought that he was the reason for such vocal exertion
did everything for his ego and erection, but what finally grabbed him, two
sweaty minutes later, was the fact that Ron suddenly latched onto his throat
and sucked, his teeth grazing the skin as he did so. Severus jerked out of his
rhythm and yelped slightly as the first pulse of climax left him. He buried his
face in Ron�s shoulder and ended up continuing to do so with every throb which
racked through his cock.

He didn�t remember when Ron detached from his neck but his
first hint were the warm hands sliding over his sweat-dewed back, one settling
at the base of his spine whilst the other ran up and sank into the hair at the
nape of his neck. The ability to make noise had deserted him by that point; all
he could do was breathe.

They lay there together until
he felt Ron try to stretch out awkwardly beneath him and he realised how
trapped his body weight must have made the redhead feel. He rolled sideways
without a word, landing gracefully on his back, his hair spilling out on the
sheets. Severus heard the gentle purring growl he was growing used to
associating with Ron�s stretches and couldn�t hide the minute upturning of the
corners of his mouth.

�You always smile when I do
that,� Ron commented, Severus didn�t need to open his eyes to know what was
coming next and the smile, however small it was, did not fade from his face.

He felt Ron�s body weight
crawl on top of him, and then felt the gentle brush of cotton on his upper arms
as Ron wrapped them both in the top sheet of the bed, before he rested his head
down on Severus� shoulder. They let out an appreciative groan in unison.

�I wish you could stay
tonight,� Ron whispered up, pressing his lips onto a collarbone.

Severus grunted his assent and
lazily reached around to grab the ends of the sheet and tug it tighter around
the thin body on top of him, which experience told him would probably start
shivering if it wasn�t kept warm enough in the immediate aftermath of orgasm.

Neither of them had exactly
mentioned how frequent Severus� visits were becoming. There was one week left
until Christmas and despite all of Ron�s protests about the money, Severus had
booked his last slot for the holiday as well.

�I don�t see who would be so
terribly important that they have to take my spot,� Severus muttered finally.

�Heh,�
Ron snorted. �Someone who really
doesn�t want to be seen here, Severus, that�s who.�

�And you won�t give me even
the smallest of hints?�

�Would you like it if I were
giving my other clients hints about who you were?� Ron�s voice bordered on the
edge of testiness and Severus sighed inwardly, knowing he�d been got.

�No,� he answered resentfully.

�Good, because I don�t, you
know. And after that little mishap I don�t even bring my book with me any
more.�

�I wish you didn�t do this,�
Severus knew it must have been the thousandth time he�d spoken the words, and
he also knew they would do nothing to improve Ron�s tone.

As he�d expected, the redhead
neglected to answer him and instead shifted his thigh to run on the outside of
Severus� hip, throwing their sated and still dirtied groins together.

�Are you warm enough?� Severus
asked, tightening the material in his fingers.

�I�m fine,� Ron assured him,
his voice quiet with, Severus assumed, the awkwardness which he couldn�t seem
to shake at finding someone actually caring about his needs.

That reminded Severus of
something else, but he wasn�t quite sure how it would be received when he brought
it up. Four visits in total had taught him that more often than not, Ron didn�t
actually seem to eat in a day, until he got to the point where he had to eat
anything he could to keep going. After the last visit of watching him almost
shaking with the hunger, Severus had had enough.

Let�s not go into how fetching food for anybody is completely and
utterly out of character for you, Severus�

He couldn�t deny that it was.
Since the war he had shut himself away from human companionship, other than
those that he was forced to work with, and as such his relationship skills were
as defunct as they had ever been. Certainly before the war he had cared in his
own way, always working away in the background clearing the path for those whom
it needed to be cleared. He had spent many minutes awake at night thinking how,
inadvertently, Ron had been one of those people, even
back then. Further minutes were spent trying to figure out just why he felt the
need to act as he was towards the redhead which was,
with every further visit, increasingly tender and caring.

It�s clear the man�s fucked up. You�re just responding to that. Because
you�re fucked up too and you know how soul-destroying it is to be alone.

But lying there, wrapped up in
the soft sheet on which they�d just copulated Severus� mind kept throwing in
the suggestion that it was more, that there was more to his want to help than he had yet realised. And why there was a box of food shrunken in
his coat pocket, so hidden that the witch running the brothel would not have
seen it as he entered.

In the slower moments at work,
or again at night when he waited for sleep to come, Severus couldn�t deny that
he had tried to find a way to get Ron away from it, all of it.

�What�s on your mind?� Ron
asked perceptively, raising his head a little to shoot Severus a just-shagged
foggy kind of smile. �You keep tensing up.�

�Trying to decide how to voice
something,� Severus replied quietly, prompting the redhead to sit up and lean
on one arm, looking back down at him worriedly.

�What?�

Severus couldn�t believe the
amount of fear the blue eyes now held, possibly the first he had ever actually
seen cross them. �You don�t eat,� the words were blunt and he winced at their
brashness.

�I eat,� Ron frowned.

�Really?�
Severus challenged. �Healthily?�

�I eat when I remember,� Ron
shrugged, and broke out of the sheet completely, slipping off the bed to reach
for his cigarettes, which instantly told Severus just how he felt about the way
the conversation was going.

�Don�t light that,� Severus
instructed, and heaved himself off the bed, tugging the sheet with him and
wrapping it around himself.

�Christ, I don�t eat, I shouldn�t light my fag� what�s next, Severus?� Ron
asked, keeping his face pointing out of the window though somehow the defiant
set of his jaw came through in his words.

�When are you going to get
over your inhibitions and realise that you have somehow landed yourself a
client who actually cares about your
health and state of mind?�

�Well, I can tell you now not
to waste your breath about my state of mind,� Ron snorted, lighting the
cigarette anyway. �We both know it�s a lost cause, Severus. From one damaged
person to another��

Severus threw him a filthy
look that Ron didn�t see at the open declaration that they were both as equally
broken as one another, an assessment that Severus couldn�t quite acquiesce
with. After all, he was no longer waking up screaming, he wasn�t the one
starving himself and he wasn�t the
one whoring his body night after night.

�You can stand there and think
I�m wrong all you like,� Ron�s voice grew icier with every single word he spoke
and Severus immediately knew he should have kept his mouth closed. The
beautiful tenderness had long gone. �But Severus, you�re the one using this
place, using my body to fulfill needs you refuse to satisfy elsewhere. Don�t stand
there and tell me you�re not broken.�

Severus hated how Ron could
stand there and talk about the fact that his life was in tatters as though it
were nothing more than a hastily scrawled note somewhere, so inconsequential
that it didn�t warrant tact or softness. Severus recognised it was the truth
about his own life, but he was quite
sure he would never be able to stomach hearing it from the man in front of him,
no matter how many times it was said.

�Anyway, back to my original
point,� Severus ignored Ron�s light scoff when he pointedly changed the
subject. �I thought you might like some nourishment��

He reached into his coat and
pulled out the box, still hot thanks to the heating and preserving charm. He
located his wand in the inside pocket and enlarged it to normal size before
walking back to the window and pressing it into Ron�s hands.

�And if you don�t eat that,
I�ll be bitterly offended and I�ll cancel my Christmas session and never come
back,� Severus shoved an edge into his tone, hoping to convince Ron that he
meant it, that if the man didn�t start to show more regard for himself then
they would never share what they just had on the bed again.

Maybe Ron believed him, there
was a flash of something in the sapphire eyes that Severus didn�t quite
recognise. Either way, Ron kept hold of the box and reached out to set the
cigarette in the ashtray.

�We�ve only got about ten
minutes left, so hurry up,� Severus motioned to the clock, eyes narrowing with
loathing at being constrained to a time schedule.

�It feels weird knowing you
won�t be here the whole night,� Ron looked at him, almost sadly. �Oh Merlin,
Severus, do you know how long it�s been since I had a fucking sausage
sandwich?�

Severus gave him a tight
nervous half-smile and turned away, looking randomly
at anything he could to avoid having to look at the redhead as he ate.

�How did you know it should be
tomato sauce?� Ron asked through a mouthful.

�Call it a hunch,� Severus
replied without looking around.

�You really didn�t have to do
this,� Ron said softly, Severus heard the bed creak as it was sat upon. �But
I�m� thank you.�

The words were thick, clouded
with either emotion or masticated sausage, Severus couldn�t quite tell. �I
don�t need your thanks, I need you to eat,� he answered honestly. �And when
you�re done with you�re going to tell me what you like so I can bring you more
next time.�

�And if I say no?�

�Then there won�t be a next
time,� Severus answered firmly.

He heard the gentle sounds of
chewing through the silence and wondered if his bluff had been accepted. Of
course he�d come back, there was no way he would give up the best form of
release he�d had in years over a matter of food. But Ron had no need to know
that and Severus wasn�t going to volunteer the knowledge.

�All right,� Ron swallowed. �I�m done.�

�You can�t possibly be,�
Severus finally turned around but saw that the box was empty. �Where�s the rest
of it� it doesn�t count, Weasley, if you vanish the food.�

�I ate it,� Ron looked at him.
�Surely you can remember the way I used to devour half the Gryffindor meal
table?�

Severus thought back and
remembered all the times he�d seen the boy version of the man naked on the bed
stuffing his face.

�If you like food so much, Ron,
why don�t you bother to eat it?� Severus asked,
tugging the sheet tighter about his shoulders, seeing that he had approximately
five minutes before his time was up.

Ron set the box down and wiped
his mouth with the back of his hand. �I do eat.�

�Why don�t you eat properly
then, how about that? You seem like you had a healthy upbringing, you know you
need food to survive, so why do I only ever see you eating rubbish?�

�Why is this even an issue,
Severus?� Ron asked wearily. �My hair is shiny, my nails are strong and all
that bollocks��

�Your ribs show more each time
I lay eyes on you,� Severus continued airily.

�Well you�re one to talk,� Ron muttered, getting to his feet and summoning his
robe. �Skinny as a bloody rake.�

�But I�m that with eating. You
were too, once upon a time. Now it simply looks as though you are skinny by
choice.�

�And if I am?� Ron shrugged
into the robe.

Severus had no words for him
then, the fight gusting out of him as he reached to dress.

�I appreciate you bringing the
food, I really do,� Ron said warmly. �But Severus� this isn�t a relationship. It�s not even a friendship. It�s business.�

Never in the world would
Severus have expected those words to sting as much as they did.

�I see,� he answered in a
non-committal tone, stepping into his trousers and doing up the fly. He reached
for his shirt and pulled it on, his fingers stiff with the shame creeping
through his body.

Ron let him dress in silence,
and when Severus finally turned to retrieve his coat from the stand in the
corner of the room, the redhead was just standing there, shooting spells with
his wand to freshen the room for his next client. He picked up the box and handed
it to Severus without a word. He shrunk it and slipped it back into his pocket
and turned to leave.

With what had been spoken, he
was surprised when Ron�s hands shot out and latched onto his arm, pulling him
close. Severus raised his eyes to look into the slightly anxious face
before he was kissed, gently, and the hands smoothed over his back and tangled
in his hair.

�Thank you,� Ron whispered,
leaning back in for another kiss.

Severus wasn�t sure but he
thought he felt a purposeful nudge of the long nose on his own, but then Ron
had pulled away and there was planned distance between them.

�I�ll see you soon,� Ron gave
him a curt nod and disappeared into the tiny bathroom.

Severus quietly exited the
room, heart seemingly thumping extra hard. He reached up and rubbed his chest
through his coat, still feeling the imprint of those hands on his back.

***

Sitting at his desk on what
was essentially his last day at work before the Christmas break, Severus felt
utterly shattered. He had apparated home from seeing Ron and proceeded to get
incredibly drunk on a very old bottle of wine he�d forgotten he owned. He
didn�t remember what the hour had finally been when he�d stumbled up to bed,
only that he hadn�t achieved sleep once he was there. He had tossed and turned,
knowing he should get up for a sleeping draught but for some reason he had
denied himself.

That in turn had only made him
think of Ron and everything the redhead deprived himself of. And when he was
done fretting over the man�s mental and bodily state, Severus� fingers had
crept south and he had thought of their exploits that night, the strong, hot
kisses and lingering touches. He�d kept at that until he spilled over his hand
panting Ron�s name to his empty bedroom.

Once he was down from the
high, he had flung his face into the pillows and growled at himself for being
as stupid as to think of a man he could only ever have if he paid for the
pleasure.

Possessive idiot. He growled the
words inwardly and yawned, his hand barely making it to cover his mouth.

�Someone�s tired this morning,
late night?�

�You have no idea,� Severus
moaned, letting his face fall forwards into his hands.

�Tell your godson everything,�
Draco drawled from behind his own desk.

Severus hated working at the
Ministry. If they had offered him anything
other than Azkaban he would have taken it. Even in his youth he had been opposed
to a career within the magical government, which so many of his school peers
had strived for. He could see nothing but the corrupt nature, the sleaze and
the lies, even at the tender age of fifteen during his first careers meeting
with Horace Slughorn.

And most of all he hated that
he was forced to work with Draco Malfoy, who had been offered the same terms
for his own safety. Technically his godson for reasons Severus had never
understood other than Lucius� need to
ensnare him further in the incestuous web of Death Eaters he wove, Draco had
been changed by the war, as everyone had. But he still retained many of the
qualities which made most people want to smash his head into a wall.

�I�m telling you nothing,�
Severus said pointedly, and prised his face out of his fingers to reach for the
cooling mug of tea off to his left.

The clock on the wall read
half past eleven, even though he felt as though he�d been there for a whole day
at least. Assessing the late hour he assumed that the two of them would be
alone for the rest of the day, their third colleague being absent. Again.

�You�re dull, Severus,� Draco
warned him, and tipped back his office chair so that he was lounging with his
own mug of tea resting on the arm.

�Well, after all these years,
I�ll take it,� Severus muttered and ignored Draco�s answering snort.

�Funny, the last few weeks
you�ve had a bit more spring in your step than usual, not bellowing as much��
Draco mused, his grey eyes flickering over Severus� face. �Any
reason?�

�If there was, Draco, do you
really think I�d take the time out of my incredibly busy day to detail it to
you?�

�Has that bitch from accounts
been spreading rumours again?� Draco asked.

�No, I think you firmly closed
her mouth when you threatened to put it about that you�d caught her with the caretaker
after hours,� Severus shot him a rare grateful smile.

With their past it had always
been inevitable that their presence in the building would not be welcomed, even
though they were paid by the same employers as everybody else. Severus had
always thought that having �Department of Dark Magic Investigation and
Registration� on the door never really helped their popularity to rise.

Might as well nail an effigy of the Dark Lord�s dead body to the door�
He scowled down into his tea before taking a mouthful.

�I�m not surprised, he�s got
the face of a troll,� Draco yawned.

�I hate this,� Severus burst
out angrily.

�What, this beautifully
compact office, your job, the world?� Draco took random stabs in a sardonic
voice, plucking ideas from Severus� past rants.

�All of it. And I absolutely
bloody loathe relationships and love
and happy people.�

�I must say, Severus, that�s a
not particularly a new development,
is it, really?�

�I don�t give a fuc-�

Draco coughed loudly then and
Severus� head snapped up, he locked eyes with the person just about to knock on
their open office door.

Long red hair, black quirky
robes and an earring with a fang dangling from it were the defining features of
the man standing with his hand raised.

�Sorry to interrupt,� he said
politely.

�Ignore him,� Draco said
ruefully. �I think somebody might have drugged his morning tea with bitching
solution.�

Severus ignored the small talk
that followed, and even sidelined the amazement which always overcame him when
he saw Draco talking politely to anybody
on the side of the Light, the people that had robbed his family wealth in the
declaration of punishment. He found himself very much occupied with another
thought �that which screamed in his mind:

I know where your brother is�

It sounded so sordid that
Severus almost laughed before he remembered that actually it was every single
bit as sordid as that. He wondered how Bill Weasley would take the news that he
had been fucking his youngest brother for the past few weeks, feeding the
corrupt brothel in which he worked with his ministry earned money. Severus
swallowed nervously as the blue eyes, a lighter shade than Ron�s, turned back
to him. They were kind and un-accusing after five years, after the truth was
accepted, but it only made him feel guiltier.

�Hope your day gets better,�
Bill raised his eyebrows as he turned to leave.

�Doubtful,� Severus managed to
get out and gave the tall, thin man a nod of his head.

How have I never noticed how alike they were? God.

He tried to mentally calculate
Bill�s age. He must have been over thirty by that point, considering Ron�s
twenty-three years.

Severus was jerked from his
musings by a screwed up ball of parchment flicking into his face. He jumped and
slammed down his mug on the desk.

�What?!�
He half-roared.

�What the fuck is wrong with
you today?� Draco�s handsome face creased into a frown and Severus found it odd
to see. Despite everything that had happened, somehow the blonde had managed to
find his peace and it wasn�t often such expressions crossed him anymore.

�Didn�t get any sleep,�
Severus picked up the ball of paper where it had fallen. Normally he would have
sought retaliation by charming it to burn and have it chase Draco around the
tiny office, but he found he didn�t have the energy to reach for his wand.

�Thank fuck for imposed
Christmas holidays, yes?� Draco asked him.

�I�d rather be working.�

�So, let me get this
straight,� Draco sat up properly in his chair. �You hate being here, but when
faced with time off, you just want to come back to work? Sadist.�

�I don�t even know what that
word means,� Severus shot back sarcastically. �What did Weasley bring?�

�Just the report on that
bracelet that turned up in Borgin�s,� Draco waved at
the parchment. �Which you�ll have to deal with because you know I�m��

�Banned,� Severus threw in
with a vicious smirk.

�Shut up,� Draco glowered.
�And let�s just put it to some ridiculous metaphor about water and bridges and
leave it at that, shall we?�

Severus said nothing but didn�t
wipe the smug look off his face.

�I don�t like you
sleep-deprived, you�re mean,� Draco
threw him a childish eye roll.

�I was always sleep-deprived
at Hogwarts.�

�And ask anybody and they�ll tell you they feared seeing the word �Potions� on
their timetable.�

�Did you?� Severus raised an
eyebrow.

�Fuck no, best entertainment
of the week watching you rag on Potter, Weasley and Granger.�

�You should watch your
language in the workplace,� Severus said stonily at the mention of Ron.

�Oh, please, because they�re
all dead I have to be all reverent and caring now?� one perfectly shaped
platinum eyebrow rose with disdain. �I�d never have thought you�d get all
�respect for the dead� over Potter�s corpse.�

�Three of
them?� Severus backpedalled. �Weasley survived.�

�And then disappeared, never
to be heard from again,� Draco�s voice lowered as he obviously looked out into
the hallway to check that the eldest Weasley brother wasn�t lingering. �He must
be dead, he�s never come back. Coward.�

Severus fought off the impulse
to pick up his remaining tea and throw it in the pale face. �I don�t think
that�s particularly fair, Draco.�

�Nothing�s fair,� Draco
reminded him with a glint in his eye.

�Well quite, what happened to
him is proof of that,� Severus looked down at the desk. �Can�t have been easy��

�Why do you care?� Draco�s
voice was full of incredulity.

Because I�m fucking him, you idiotic blonde
bimbo.

�I don�t, I just think it�s
easy to sit and judge if you haven�t been through a situation.�

�This, from
the most unsympathetic man in the world?� Draco laughed then. �This from the man who
doesn�t sign the department birthday cards or contribute to the present funds?
Really, Severus, the change of heart is touching but I have to say I don�t
believe it for a second.�

Severus shot him a glare and
said nothing.

�I think there�s something
going on that you�re not telling me,� Draco mused, and
with his wand shut the door without moving from his chair. �Severus, we both
know that we�re all the other has left, so come on��

�Your parents are still alive
Draco,� Severus pointed out.

�In a quiet village in Europe and I see them
on birthdays and Christmas if I�m lucky,� there was scorn diluting into Draco�s
well-polished tone.

�Either way, I�m not telling
you anything because there is nothing to tell, and if you know what is good for
you, you will stop talking this instant and disregard it,� Severus glared some
more, simply for effect.

�Suppose this isn�t the right
time to tell you I�m going out for lunch today?� Draco made an apologetic face.

�But its Friday!� Severus protested automatically.

�I know,� Draco flushed in his
apology. �But� you know� Asteria wanted to meet and I
really think this is going somewhere, Severus. I�m not going to fuck it up
because you can�t do without your Friday Fix of crappy muggle food.�

Severus knew he couldn�t fight
the analysis. Draco had the chance for something he did not �a loving partner,
and as much as he wanted their usual Friday gorge at the nearest
all-you-can-eat muggle Chinese, he wouldn�t begrudge him it.

�Fine,� he sighed, slumping
back in his chair, positively loathing how the only remaining shining light in his
awful day had been snuffed out.

�You could always go by
yourself?� Draco suggested.

�There is nothing sadder than seeing someone dining alone,� Severus dismissed
him.

�Actually I think it�s rather independent and stylish,� Draco objected. �Take a
book, bury your nose in it and stick two fingers up to the rest of the world
�you�re above their company.�

�Only you could see that as a
positive outcome,� Severus rolled his eyes, watching as the blonde got to his
feet and reached for his cloak.

During the time they had been
talking the hands on the clock seemed to have jumped forward to midday.

�Well, either way, it looks as
though I�ll be participating in such an independent lunch in the bloody
cafeteria,� Severus grumbled, throwing him another filthy look.

�I think I might owl ahead and
get them to lace your food with cheering potion,� Draco sighed. �Because it�s going to be a fucking long afternoon if you keep this
up.�

He threw Severus a pointed
look and strolled from the room, his stylish cloak flapping around the door
frame as he disappeared into the corridor.

Left alone in the office,
Severus looked at the small space and wondered how his life had become so
impossibly dull. Even teaching the wizarding world�s spawn had been preferable
�at least there the food was free and his office magnificent.

The yellowed walls of the workspace
smaller than his living room were certainly a come down.

He groaned and dropped his
face into his hands again, mind swimming with the tiredness and worry. Severus
would never admit to the redhead just quite how much time he spent thinking
about him, and thereby worrying about him, during his waking hours. It
surprised him enough without letting
anybody else in on the secret. As Draco had so tactfully implied, he was not
one for sob stories.

Or any kind of stories� heroes� love� birthdays� rubbish, all of it.

Sitting there he was overcome
with the urge to seek out the supposedly missing redhead and hold him. It
scared Severus into leaping out of his seat and almost jumping out of the
office, away from the terrifying thoughts which indicated just how attached he
had become to his whore.

You don�t even know where he lives.

He walked quickly through the
maze of corridors in the Ministry, keeping his eyes glued on the carpet so that
he might escape being drawn into any infuriating conversations for the time
being. The one in his own head was far more
interesting.

You could send a message�

He dismissed the thought as he
took the back staircase up to the next level, not being a fan of the haphazard
lifts, one of which had become stuck the day before. Tight enclosed spaces with
annoying faces were definitely not what Severus needed.

One little message�

Severus found himself wanting
to beat the notion out of his own brain, which was not only ridiculous but
borderline abusive. His nose caught the scent of the food hall and pushed
through the doors, the inane chatter of hundreds of ministry workers with
nowhere better to eat assaulting his exhausted head.

He purchased his lunch with
barely more than a few nods and a glare at the server glaring back at him. He
paid, sought out space in a corner and sat, listlessly dragging his fork
through what may or may not have resembled Shepherd�s Pie. It was hard to tell.
He took a mouthful of pumpkin juice and tried to calculate the percentage at
which it had been watered down.

Do they think we don�t actually notice when they do this? Ridiculous
budget cuts and-

Severus cut off his mental
rant about the Ministry�s food provision for its workers by two men settling
into the table in front of his. Both of them had gleaming red hair, one man�s
long and straight, the other�s impossibly curly and unruly. He nearly choked on
the doctored pumpkin juice with the realisation of who they were.

Fucking Weasleys just will not leave me alone! He scooped up a
forkful of food and kept his eyes on it, so that it wasn�t obvious he was
listening to their somewhat low and whispered conversation.

�You know what she�s like
around now,� the one with the curly hair spoke, Severus wanted to call him
Charlie but wasn�t sure.

�Well it�s hardly unexpected,�
Bill answered him. �And anyway, it doesn�t help when George is off the planet.�

�I know. She�s only lost one
son officially and yet it�s pretty much three, isn�t it?�

�It was four until you dragged
your backside home from Romania,�
Severus picked up resentment in that tone.

�Sorry for having a life,�
Charlie muttered.

From his position Severus
could see the way that one of the taller redhead�s knees knocked against the
shorter man�s, an unspoken gesture of solidarity, he assumed.

�So please, don�t leave me
alone with them for Christmas,� Charlie�s voice had turned to begging. �Bring
Fleur, and we�ll just get through it together. I can�t do it, Bill. Not with Perce floating around like nothing�s wrong, like nothing
was broken, Ginny being away and just��

�Alright,� Bill snapped, and his head jerked up. �Shut up, Dad�s coming.�

Severus ate
the rest of his food quickly then, eager not to be noticed by the three
redheads at the table. He was rather confused, he had thought that
Charlie had lived abroad working with dragons, but it seemed he had permanently
transferred to England and worked at the Ministry if he was eating in the
godforsaken cafeteria �Severus could find no other reason why anybody would
willingly put themselves through it.

A strange thought struck him
then, that Ron had absolutely no idea of what his family were doing, how their
lives had evolved since the end of the war, but Severus now had the power to
tell him if he wanted to hear it.

The urge which had attacked
him in his office came back with force and he stood up, grabbing the tray and
floating it off to the designated disposal area. He hurried away from the
corner and found himself in the corridor before he could believe he�d gotten
out of the room without the redheads spotting him. Being forced to make small talk
would have just been too much.

Hurrying through the labyrinth
he made for his office, knowing he still had approximately fifty minutes left
of his lunch hour, but he didn�t care, just wanted the sanctuary of the room
he�d needed to escape only ten minutes before. The door came into sight and he
pushed it open, glad to see that Draco had not returned.

His eyes caught sight of the
fireplace in the room which was used for messages only.

Well that�s out, you don�t know his address.

Severus didn�t want his
address, either. Severus didn�t want anything to do with him outside of the
brothel, and that was all he was likely to get anyway.

You want him outside the brothel.

His day was clearly doomed to
the dregs and he fell into his chair and laid his forehead down flat on the
wood of the desk.

Wand. Patronus. Done.

Severus would never want to
admit how long he considered the idea before dismissing it.

Friday night� all alone� nearly Christmas� company is good for you�

He wasn�t quite sure who the
hell was talking to him in his brain but Severus wished they would desist; they
were weakening his resolve with every whispered word.

Send the message� he�s probably working� and he�ll say no� and you can
forget the idea�

His wand was in his hand
before he even really thought past that. If the redhead said no then it was
nothing more than just a bad idea, and Ron had told him anything between them
was strictly professional.

Except his is the only profession where that
does actually mean fucking each other during working hours�

He looked at the wand in his
hand.

***

Ron was half-buried under one
of the pillows on the bed when he felt something cold brush across his bare
upper arm. Every single inch of his body ached and he knew when he looked in
the mirror he was going to find a veritable mess. He�d only been in from work
for three hours and he had fallen face first into the bed and spelled off his
clothes.

Jerking his head up he looked for the source of the
coolness and nearly jumped out of the bed when he saw himself staring at the
shimmery translucent form of a cat. He blinked at it suspiciously. Ron had
never seen the particular cat before, but then he wasn�t sure he wasn�t asleep.
And then the thing spoke, and his ears were filled with the velvety rich voice
he�d been inexplicably longing to hear since eleven o� clock the night before,
when the owner had strode away from him, leaving him to an evening of absolutely
hellish work.

�Ron, forgive me if this oversteps the boundaries of our contract, but
I am unable to get you off my mind today. Why, I�m not entirely sure. But I
would like to meet you tonight, if you�re not working. Let me know. I will be
alone for the next half an hour.�

The cat then faded and Ron let
out a groan of desperation and flung his face back down into the mattress.

�Whhhhy?� his voice was muffled and his lips scraped
over the sheets. �Fuck. Being a whore is not
meant to be this complicated.�

He wasn�t surprised,
however, that Severus had sent the message. With each passing visit he had felt
more warmth in their embrace and seen the growing glitter in the dark eyes. Of
course, he couldn�t shy away from them for fear of hurting the man or acting
out of line in regards to his contract. Normally Ron had absolutely no problem
giving them what they wanted �the bruises covering his body were testament to
that. It was just that none of them had ever come to him wanting what Severus
seemed to, which was very obviously a lover, from Ron�s point of view.

Breaks all the rules to go� His mind was sluggish from his
tiredness. But then� I offered to give him a free session when
he dealt with that nightmare and I punched him in the gut� Ron winced hard
at the memory. That night he had made a solemn vow he would never drink in
Severus� presence again. He, of all the clients Ron could have fitted on in the
middle of the night, should not have had to deal with the nightmare that he
had.

Not that he seemed to care� just wanted me calm and safe�

Which is why this is stupidly fucked and you should by no means answer
that Patronus.

Ron coughed and his neck
muscles ached. Fucking
bastard. I wish I could kill
him for what he put me through last night�

He chased the thoughts away,
knowing he had no right to moan about the damage caused by his last client of the
night when he could easily have protected himself from it, but he chose not to.
If he chose to answer Severus�
Patronus he would have to spend a good few hours healing himself, which he
hated doing, preferring to let nature take its course as long as he could.

He would go absolutely postal if he saw you
like this� Ron knew turning up unaltered wasn�t an option, and remembered
the night when Severus had seen the fresh marks around his neck from a slightly
over-enthusiastic client two slots before. His face had transformed into the
angry man Ron remembered from his school years and he had actually been quite
chastened by it.

Don�t make him wait, it�s cruel.

Ron groped sideways for his
wand, which he vaguely remembered chucking on the bedside table. With a clatter
the alarm clock went flying onto the floor and he moaned. At last his fingers
curled around the stick of wood.

It was only then that he
realised he wasn�t sure if he could bear viewing the happy memory used to drum
up the required Patronus.

He closed his eyes and
prepared to hurt a whole lot more than he had in the entirety of the bruising
session the night before.

***

Severus� head snapped up the
second he caught sight of the gleaming silver Jack Russell Terrier.

I suppose that�s ironic, cat and dog Patronuses.
A sign, probably.

His own
Patronus had morphed back to its original form two years before. He had been
shocked the first time he had cast it to find the cat looking back at him and
immediately he was filled with a longing for his silver doe and everything it
meant. The cat meant undoubted newness, that somehow, with his survival in the war
his love had finally lessened its grip on his soul. He had never felt lonelier.

Not to mention the ribbing you took when Draco found out the great Potions
Master�s inner soul resembled a tiny black kitty cat.

The dog spoke. �Where do I meet you?� Ron�s low
rumbling voice was music to his ears.

As so often where the redhead
was concerned, Severus knew he would never admit just how many somersaults his
stomach performed on hearing the words, on learning that he would be able to be
around the man without the stigma of the brothel attached to it. He immediately
pulled out his wand and drummed up the cat again.

***

Ron scribbled down the address
the best he could on a tissue from the side of the bed. The cat repeated it
three times for him and then, after saying that he looked forward to it, it
faded out.

He peered at the address. Ron
had never asked where Severus lived but had foolishly assumed he lived in the
city. But the address was marked as Surrey. He
remembered Harry telling him his family home was up north.

He picked up his wand next to
the tissue to answer.

***

Severus was waiting for the
dog that time.

�Okay, I�ll be there at seven. Looking forward to
seeing you. Is there anything you�d like me to bring?�

***

Ron actually smiled when the
cat turned up again.

�Just your usual attractive nature and maybe a
bottle of wine. My time alone is nearly up; my colleague will be back soon, so
I�ll see you this evening.�

He picked up his wand again,
his lips curving up more.

***

�I like the cat.�

Severus couldn�t help it; he
blushed, with what might have been pleasure wholly unrelated to sexual pursuits.

Fucking bastard can still get me and he�s not even truly here. Shit.

***

At five to seven, Ron popped
out of thin air into the freezing December blackness. He had landed on the
tarmac of a narrow country lane, it seemed, and it wasn�t until he�d turned
round that the saw the house. His mouth might have fallen open, he wasn�t sure,
but he certainly hadn�t expected to find his client and ex-professor living in
the middle of nowhere in an idyllic red-brick cottage.

He checked the tissue in his
hand once more to check that he�d read it correctly.

Inside, Severus tapped his
wand to clear the sensory alarm which was beeping subtly to alert him to
someone�s presence inside the wards of his perimeter. He had all but thrown
himself out of the office at the end of the day, not bothering to stop and look
in on the Christmas party that Draco had tried to entice him to, and instead
had apparated home to try and wade through the mess in his living room.

He�d lost count of how many
times he�d asked the cat how one man in his forties and herself
could make so much mess. At points he was almost convinced she was going to
answer. Severus looked at the black tiny creature, remarkably similar to his Patronus,
cleaning herself in front of the fire.

�Couldn�t you find a less
obvious focal point in the room to do that?�

Chiding a cat� this is where the boy knocks on the door,
finds out you�re really a mad old spinster and runs far, far away�

Severus had to confess there
was a very great chance of that without even taking his conversations with the
cat into account. He heard the thudding of a fist on the front door and walked
slowly into the tiny hallway, very purposefully not checking his appearance in the mirror. He couldn�t help the
nervous breath before he pulled back the heavy old door, though.

Ron stood on his porch, his
pale skin illuminated in the light spilling out from inside the house. His hair
was shining.

Oh, fuck.

�Hello,� Severus said
awkwardly.

�Hi,� Ron smiled at him. �Bit
weird doing it this way, right? I don�t think I�ve had to do the �turning up on
a doorstep� thing in years.�

Severus gave him a small smirk
of appreciation and stepped back, waving him in.

�So� this is where you live?�
Ron asked, his voice low and it seemed to seep
straight into the walls, like it belonged.

Trying very hard not to focus
on that fact, Severus motioned for his coat. �Yes. Small but
enough for me.�

�It�s great,� Ron was looking
interestedly around at the old walls and the beams in the ceiling. �Has a lot
of character. Oh!�

Severus looked back to the
redhead and saw him looking down at the carpet, where the cat was doing her
usual trick of staring in an intimidatory fashion up
at their guest, her tail flicking slowly behind her.

�You never said you had a
cat!� Ron crouched down on one knee and reached out to tickle the dark ears.

�When in the four times we�ve
seen each other has there ever been
the opportune moment to talk about pets?� Severus raised an eyebrow and Ron
laughed.

�No, guess you�re right,� he
murmured, and then he stood up, Severus was shocked to see, with the cat in his
arms. �What?� he frowned when he realised that Severus was staring.

�My cat hates people,� he
breathed. �Actually hates people. She
barely lets me hold her let alone anyone else.�

�Funny, they say animals are
like their owners,� Ron shot him a wink. �There�s nothing wrong with you, is
there sweetie?�

Severus proceeded to watch in
utmost astonishment as the cat threw her head back and nuzzled it against Ron�s
neck. �Well. Christ.�

�Does she have a name or is
she simply �cat�?�

�Well, she does, but it�s
never used because she doesn�t answer to it anyway,� Severus took a step closer
and reached out his hand, but then the cat hissed loudly at him and returned to
purring against Ron�s neck. �Looks like you�ve got a new best friend,� he gave
a bitter tut.

He didn�t think of the words
as he said them and at first didn�t understand the slightly stunned look on
Ron�s face. Severus immediately felt like a fool. �I�m sorry, I am not used to
having to guard my tongue in my own home, nobody ever comes
here� terrible excuse, I know��

And now you�re babbling. Spade�s in the shed,
Severus, keep digging till you reach the other side of the world and then you
might have stopped blushing�

�Its fine,� Ron gave him a
somewhat serene smile and placed the cat gently back on the floor, where she
pounced on his bootlaces and meowed.

They were then interrupted by
a loud dinging from the kitchen. �Sorry, that�s dinner,� Severus explained.

�You made me dinner?�

There was a frown on Ron�s
face which was almost funny and Severus had to fight down his nervous laughter.

�Yes, what did you think I�d invite you here for?�

�A continuation of what you
come to me for...� Ron hedged.

�Oh.�

Severus thought back over his
messages and instantly felt furious with himself �he
had never actually clarified why he
was inviting Ron to his home. Of course he
would have interpreted as just a private session�

�So you� you didn�t invite me
here for that then?�

�Well,� Severus took a step
closer and dodged the cat. �I�m not ruling anything out.�

Ron fixed him with glittering
blue eyes. �I�m glad I wasn�t working tonight.�

�I�m glad you weren�t either,�
Severus nudged him back against the wall and let his hands trail up his sides.
�I must say I prefer you in clothes to that blasted robe.�

Ron didn�t answer; he simply
kissed Severus and threw his arms around his torso. They stood there for a few
moments, each stealing the other�s breath away, and Severus suddenly realised
both his palms had landed flat on the wall and his body trapped Ron against it
completely.

The noise rang out from the
kitchen again and Severus swore under his breath, pushing off the structure of
the house and breaking their lip contact. �I should sort that out.�

�Mm,� Ron smiled at him, and
followed him off the wall into the living room. �You never did tell me the
cat�s name,� he said, his eyes examining everything he could see.

It was most odd for Severus to
see someone in his house, looking in wonder at the things that were there. He
didn�t have very much, and had certainly neglected to take most of the items
from Spinner�s End.

�When did you move here?� Ron
asked from where he stood looking at the photographs on the fireplace, casually
nosy with his hands rammed in his jeans pockets.

�About six
months after they found me. I didn�t want to live in my old family home
so I stripped it and sold it, and bought this one,� Severus called from the
kitchen.

The house was old and had been
almost derelict when he�d moved in; the estate agent seemed to think he was psychologically
challenged for even considering it, but with magic the improvements had barely
amounted to a full day�s work.

�It�s really� homey,� Ron
said.

�That surprises you?� Severus
asked quietly.

�No, I just� never really
given much thought to where you lived, is all.�

�There�s not much to it,
living room, kitchen, hall, bedroom upstairs and a bathroom. Enough
for me and the cat.�

�It�s nice,� Ron assured him
and Severus saw the awkwardness in the man�s stance.

�Ron� I don�t really know why
I asked you here tonight.�

�I don�t know why I came,� Ron
answered him, the honesty seeping onto his face. �This is against the rules.
Home visits are strictly out.�

�Why would I pay to come there
if you could come here for free, right?� Severus asked astutely.

�Got it in one,� Ron sighed. �Hey, um, Severus? Why do you have a picture of you with Draco
Malfoy on your mantelpiece?�

Severus put down the plates he
was holding and returned to the living room for the awkward moment. �He�s my
godson,� he said quietly. �And colleague at work. They offered him the same
ridiculous offer of sanctuary as they presented to me.�

�Right.�

Severus noticed how the
redhead�s back had stiffened since he had found the photograph. �If it helps,
you can turn it to face the wall, I do that� sometimes I find his arrogant good
looks and bloody perfect blonde hair far too much to handle when I roll out of
bed in the morning looking like a mad banshee.�

Ron laughed then, his voice
filling the room in rich waves. �You� gods.� He shook
his head.

�What?� Severus asked
curiously, moving forward and putting his hands on the back of the sofa.

�You�re just so� so much more
confident here, Severus,� Ron waved a hand at the room. �I never really knew just how much the brothel affected you
and your nerves but coming here and seeing you in your home� you�re like a
different person. You even move differently.�

�Probably to my detriment, as
well, within the walls of this house I appear to be unable to control my bitter
nature and general distaste of everything.�

�Well, I�ve not seen your
bitter nature or general distaste yet,� Ron pointed out.

�I�m being nice. Get your
boots off my rug, Weasley,� Severus turned and walked back into the kitchen,
cursing his pedantic personality.

�There, better?� Ron appeared behind
him a few minutes later in the kitchen minus his boots and having gained a
bottle of wine. �I got this as requested.�

�I wasn�t being serious,� Severus rolled his eyes.

�Yes you were, about the boots
and the wine,� Ron told him, setting
the bottle down with a knowing smile. �So� what�s for dinner?�

�Not much,� Severus dismissed
it but then he felt warm arms wrap around him from behind and lips kiss into
his neck and he shivered all over.

Nobody has ever been around to kiss me as I cooked. Ever.
Oh, Merlin�s arse this was a bad idea.

�What?� Ron whispered, sensing
the way he had tensed. �Is this� do you want me to stop?�

�No, I don�t want you to stop,
that�s the problem,� Severus gave the pan of bolognese a stir and stared at it.

Ron didn�t move away but chose
not to speak again either, and Severus wondered if their night had already
taken a nosedive into a disaster. He turned down the heat on the other boiling
pan and sighed.

�Would you like me to leave?� Ron asked gently, his face pressed into Severus�
dark hair.

Washed especially for him. Severus, what�s that saying? No fool like
an old fool�

�Severus,� the word was a
quiet rumble in his ear and it made him shiver again. �I don�t know what you
expect from tonight, or why you really invited me here. But I have to admit I�m
happy that you did.�

The arms gave him a tight
squeeze and then they were gone, and he heard soft retreating footsteps to the
living room, where Ron spoke to the cat.

He worked methodically,
serving dinner and trying not to think too deeply about the evening ahead of
them. If Ron was willing, Severus was ecstatic -not that he�d admit it.

�That smells really good,� Ron commented, re-entering the kitchen with, Severus saw as he looked
over the shoulder, the cat back in his arms. �Me and
kitty are incredibly hungry.�

�Heh,
kitty cannot handle cheese,� Severus admonished. �And her name is Artemis. But
she never answers to it so you�ll find there�s little point in trying.�

�Artemis�
goddess of hunting, right?� Ron asked with a grin.

�Yes, after the finding the fifth half-chewed field mouse on the floor it
seemed appropriate.�

Ron laughed. �God, I haven�t
been around a cat since�� he trailed off.

�Since
when?� Severus asked, rubbing parmesan over the cheese grater.

�Since Crookshanks,�
Ron�s voice had quietened. �Hermione�s cat. I fucking
hated that cat at first. I thought he ate my rat.�

�Who then turned out to be a
man,� Severus pointed out.

�Yeah, stuff of nightmares,
right, finding out that Peter Pettigrew�s probably seen your bits more often
than you have?�

Severus turned around and
looked at him, mid-grate, sending a shower of cheese onto the floor which
Artemis immediately struggled to get to. Surprised at Ron�s strength and
courage when faced with cat claws, he charmed the spilt cheese to fly into the
bin and the cat huffed at her lost chance.

�Cats don�t eat cheese,�
Severus muttered quietly and extended a finger with a tiny shaving on it, which
she immediately licked off.

�Oh, well, if that�s just not
the cutest thing I�ve ever seen,� Ron snorted. �Who�d�ve
thought it, eh, Severus Snape: Cat Lover.�

�Shut up, Weasley,� Severus sniffed haughtily and turned back to the food.
�This is ready. Put her down and let�s eat.�

Severus watched over his
shoulder as the redhead ghosted a gentle kiss onto the cat�s head before
placing her on the floor. Not sure which he was more shocked about �the fact
Ron had done it, or the fact the cat had let him �Severus handed him a plate.
�I don�t have a table, so sofa it is� which probably wasn�t smart when I cooked
spaghetti��

Rambling awkwardly� this is why you�re not married. Or
attached to anyone. Or even getting second looks.

�Its fine,� Ron flashed him a
brilliant smile and turned away. �If you knew how long it had been since
anybody cooked me dinner, Severus, you�d know I�m just grateful.�

�Well how long are we
talking?� Severus asked, following him into the living room with his plate in
one hand and his wand levitating wine and glasses with the other.

�None for me thanks,� Ron
waved his hand when the wine began to pour.

�What?� Severus arched a
disbelieving eyebrow.

�After the last time I�ve
promised myself I won�t drink around you, Severus,� Ron answered him solemnly.
�I don�t want you dealing with my night issues again. I don�t want you dealing
with any of my issues, but because
I�m sitting in your living room with my boots off whilst your cat chews their
laces, I think it might be a bit late for that one.�

�Bloody cat,� Severus sent a
chasing gust of air out of his wand and stopped when he heard her angry hiss.

�You�re mean,�
Ron laughed, and dug into his food.

They ate in silence for a few
minutes, each of them making good headway into their meal.

�This is really good,� Ron
said appreciatively. �You�re a good cook.�

�Well I would starve if I
couldn�t feed myself.�

�Why don�t you have a house
elf?� Ron asked quietly.

Severus looked at him. �You
think I condone slavery?�

�I didn�t mean�� Ron faltered,
a great nest of spaghetti falling off his fork back onto the plate. �I just
thought� you were half-blood and a Slytherin so you might, but I get it. My
family never had them either.�

With those words Severus lost
his grip on his plate; luckily it landed the right way up in his lap with
nothing spilt but he instantly knew he wouldn�t be able to cover up his lurch.

�What was that?� Ron looked at
him curiously.

�I saw� well, at work today,
one of your brothers dropped in.�

Ron choked on his mouthful and
coughed ungracefully, leaving Severus cursing his awful timing as a lump of
tomato and mince mixture flew through the air and landed on the carpet.
Grabbing out for his wine Ron broke his no drinking rule in three gulps as he
drained the glass. His face was beyond pale.

�You didn�t, Severus, please, you didn�t say anything?� He leapt forward in his
seat, perched on the edge as though he were ready to bolt at any minute.

�I thought you trusted me?�
Severus asked him quietly, fixing him with dark eyes. �This isn�t a trap, Ron;
I didn�t say a word other than what was polite.�

Ron looked at him nervously
but finally sat back. �Sorry for choking up on your carpet.�

�It needs a clean anyway,�
Severus waved a hand and looked at him. �Your brother dropped by our office to
put some paperwork in. And then at lunch, I saw him with your second oldest, Charlie?�

A frown marred the beautiful
face as Ron thought. �What the hell was he doing there?�

�He was wearing robes, I think he might work there now?�

�Never,� Ron shook his head
and ate another mouthful. �Charlie was born to work outside.�

�Well he was eating lunch in
the food hall with everyone else� it really did look like he worked there,�
Severus finished quietly, guiding spaghetti onto his fork.

�What were they talking about?� Ron asked, his eyes on his food.

�I think they were talking about Christmas� I don�t think Charlie wanted to
spend it with your mum and dad on his own with George and Percy. I think I�ve
got all the names right.�

�Where�s Gin?� there was alarm
in Ron�s voice.

�They said she was away,�
Severus soothed him. �And anyway, she�ll be training for the Boxing Day match.�

�What do you mean?� Ron
frowned.

�Quidditch,� Severus looked up
at him and then his heart sunk when he realised that Ron didn�t know his little
sister played for one of the best teams in the league. �Ginny plays for the
Holyhead Harpies� she has for� well, the last four years, I think. She helps
them win.�

�You�re joking, right?� Ron�s
voice was hoarse and he abandoned his plate in his lap.

Severus shook his head
silently, his hair swishing as he did so. �You� you played at school, I thought
you would have known��

�I stopped picking up the
Prophet,� Ron closed his eyes; Severus noticed his fists had clenched. �Because
it was only telling me things I didn�t want to know� and I don�t listen to the
games because the wireless signal in my flat is shite� just like everything
else in it.�

�I�m sorry,� Severus sighed.
�I shouldn�t have said anything, but you caught me out and I...
Ron?�

�I�m fine,� he insisted, and
then he exhaled, opened his eyes and picked up his plate again. �Did they look
well?�

�Yes,� Severus assured him.

�Good,� Ron�s smile was
genuine. �Did they talk about George at all? I�ve always wondered, after Fred��

�They didn�t much, but from
what I heard I don�t think he�s too well.�

�I know it was selfish to leave
him,� Ron swirled food onto his fork. �I just��

�You don�t have to explain
your actions any further to me, Ron,� Severus reached for his wine, feeling
like he�d need it if the night was going to continue down this vein. �Your
decisions were your own regardless of whether I agree with where they�ve led
you.�

�To a whorehouse and your
bed,� Ron commented and shoved the forkful in, possibly to stop himself adding anything spiteful, Severus decided.

�Well, yes,� he conceded. �I
make no concessions on my own part of this. I know I�m a hypocrite and I don�t
need you to point it out.�

Ron fell silent at the remark
and ate through his food without saying another word. When he was finished he
got to his feet and took his plate into the kitchen, leaving Severus behind on
the sofa wondering if he could get away with a joke about how well-trained Ron
appeared to be.

�Thank you for dinner, it was
nice,� the low voice spoke again as Ron lowered himself back down on the sofa
and picked up his re-filled wine.

�You�re welcome, and you�re
not done yet,� Severus jerked his head at the kitchen. �You still have pudding
to go yet.�

�Are you on a mission to feed
me up whilst you�ve got me?� Ron smirked at him.

�Yes,� Severus answered
honestly, setting his own empty plate on the coffee table. �That is exactly my plan.�

�Ah, don�t do that, I�ll lose
all my clients if I put on weight.�

�Are you being serious?� Severus asked, aghast.

�Have you ever seen a fat rentboy in there?�
Ron raised an eyebrow.

�You would have to put on several
stones before you even reached the land of �well-built�, Ron��

�Still, I won�t take any
chances,� Ron shrugged.

Severus scowled into his glass
of wine.

�What?� Ron asked him
exasperatedly.

�I don�t see why you don�t
just quit and go and get yourself a normal job which doesn�t risk your life
every night in the muggle world,� Severus kept his eyes on the white liquid in
the glass.

�Because they don�t pay as
well as what I do,� Ron shrugged.

�But you never get to spend
your money because you work every night,� Severus shot at him. �Unless you
spend the night with them and get the next day off, of course� I presume that�s
how you�re here? What time did you get in this morning?�

�Look, Severus, can we not to
do this?� Ron pleaded. �You have no right to ask this stuff, no right to judge
it. Just let me be, please?�

�No,� Severus� temper snapped.
�I�ve thought about you all day, wondering how last night went, if you were
alright, if he was good to you� and that is so
unbelievably preposterous, Ron, I�m not man that cares. I�m not!�

He got to his feet and grabbed
his plate, marching it to the sink where he set it down with a louder bang than
would generally have been considered necessary. Bracing his hands against the
metal basin he let his head drop down so that he could feel the muscles
stretching. He jumped when suddenly there were warm hands caressing them.

�I can�t stop,� Ron told him.
�And I don�t want to, Severus.�

�Do you enjoy it?� Severus
demanded, keeping his head down.

�No,� Ron answered truthfully.
�Most of the time I go to work thinking if I look at one more cock or see one
more hairy fucking arse I�m going to go mad.�

�So why do it?� Severus whirled around and dislodged the heavenly hands. �There
are other ways you could have chosen to take your penance, Ron, you could have�
I don�t know, become a do-gooder and helped the
homeless or something supposedly satisfying like that! Why did you have to give
yourself up to being nothing more than someone�s weekly fuck?�

�Is that all I am to you?� Ron
asked softly, though there was no accusation in his face.

�No,� Severus muttered,
somewhat bitterly. �No, you�re fast becoming much more.�

Ron stepped closer then so
that their noses touched. �I can�t be that, Severus. I can�t be more than that.
You pay, we fuck. That�s it. That�s all it can be.�

�Why, because you think that
somehow chasing everyone away and going it alone will make the pain go away?�
Severus narrowed his eyes. �You think that being alone makes it better, what happened?�

There was no answer and
sapphire eyes were shuttered away behind slightly lilac coloured eyelids.
Severus looked at the way the redhead was holding himself then, and it seemed
as though he were making a great effort to stand. Surreptitiously, whilst the
man�s eyes were closed, he took a long look at his skin, looking for signs of
abuse. He could only see Ron�s face, neck and forearms, but there was nothing.

Sighing, he chased it away,
knowing if he asked the redhead would only get confrontational. So instead he
placed gentle hands on slender hips and pulled him closer.

�If you really want to go,
Ron, please do. I won�t be offended. I understand that asking you here tonight
has jeopardised your job and I respect your decision if you want to go home.
And if you want me to cancel my Christmas slot, I will.�

Ron opened his eyes then, and
they were obviously confused. �I assumed you�d cancel that anyway,� he frowned.

�Why?�

�Because I� I could just come
here, and I�d make sure my man on Christmas Eve stayed the night so I wouldn�t
have to work.�

�Come hell or high water, Weasley, I will be with you on Christmas night in
that godawful little room,� Severus hissed at him in
a tone which made the blue eyes widen. �Do you understand me?�

Ron shifted his weight
uncomfortably. �The money, Severus, it�s so much, it must be bleeding you dry��

�Let me worry about the
money,� Severus brushed some hair away from Ron�s eyes and tilted his head to
observe him properly. �I want to be with you, make the miserable day better,
somehow.�

�Severus, I don�t understand
you,� Ron said quietly, closing his eyes again. �You don�t� when you�re there,
you�re a nervous wreck. You look like you�re about to break down half the time.
And yet you�re crawling back for more torture.�

�Well maybe I am simply rather
partial to my torturer?� Severus pointed out.

�You shouldn�t be,� Ron shook
his head. �No good will come of it.�

�You say that but you haven�t
tasted dessert yet.�

Severus took heart in the very
small twitch of Ron�s lips that comment drew out.

�You are so different here,� Ron sighed. �I can�t get over it. Yeah you�re a
snarky bastard but you�re also quite� funny� and you have a cat� and a great
house��

�Oh, stop, you�ll give me a
heart attack from all the energy expended with the sarcastic eye rolls you�re
earning from this ridiculous speech.�

�As unable to take a
compliment as ever, though,� Ron snorted, and then he laughed properly again.
�Why don�t you serve this mystery afters, then, whilst
I use your loo?�

�Are you going to throw your
dinner up or something tragic like that?� Severus raised an eyebrow calculatively. �Because I stood there and cooked it, so it
would be rude to throw it up merely to maintain your figure, Weasley.�

�You think I�ve got an eating
disorder?� Ron laughed.

�I know you do,� Severus rolled his
eyes. �Maybe not in the normal manifestation, but you definitely have one.�

�And what exactly is this
mystery eating problem?� Ron asked indignantly.

�That you don�t do it,� Severus said simply. �Starving yourself is just another
form of punishment. You think you can�t be bothered to eat, and you feed
yourself that lie. But really you�re just hurting yourself.� He looked Ron in
the eye for his last sentence. �And you know it.�

Severus wasn�t quite sure what
the redhead was going to do then �he knew his own reaction to such a mental
dressing-down would probably have involved his fist, and maybe once upon a time
Ron�s would have too. But Ron simply sighed, let his head roll down and he
reached back and rubbed at the nape of his neck.

�You�re right,� he said in a
desolate voice. �Totally right, Severus. As I�ve said
before, too astute for your own good. And it won�t do
you any favours.�

�No, but this cheesecake will
do you some, so go to the toilet and come back again,� Severus refused to
travel the road any further.

What are you doing, Severus? He�s so broken� he will never heal. He
doesn�t want to heal. He just doesn�t care and you won�t make him.

Ron stepped away with a
fleeting smile and Severus chased the discouraging thoughts out of his mind,
reaching for the muggle fridge he kept in operation. The house had been muggle
and he�d had to pay an extortionate amount for an electrician to sort out the
wiring, but over all it worked out cheaper than a constant supply of candles. And
there was something about his light dimmer switch that he liked very much.

�That�s not a cheesecake,
that�s a giant monster cheesecake, surely?�

Severus suddenly realised he�d
never quite gotten past scooping some of the topping off with his finger and
staring somewhat mawkishly out of the window as he ate it. He flushed at being
caught.

�Well, if you�re doing it,�
Ron muttered and reached around him, dragging his finger along the edge and
raising it to his lips. �Ohhhh godddddddd. Christ. Did you make that?�

�Fuck no,� Severus snorted,
language falling to pot with the need for more delicious dessert. �I ordered it
from Diagon Alley after I knew you were coming and before Draco got back to
harangue me into sharing.�

�I can�t believe you work with
him,� Ron said with raised eyebrows, taking another scoop.

�Neither can I, most days he drives me to insanity and makes me want to
throw myself off the top of the building.�

�Well, it�s good to know that
not all of my assumptions from school have been proved wrong,� Ron laughed. �Because my ones concerning you certainly were.�

�As were mine about you,�
Severus gave him a curt nod.

�Yeah but that�s only �cause
you found me working in a whorehouse,� Ron dismissed, dragging another finger
through and raising it to Severus� lips.

�Are you serious?� Severus
asked him with a sceptical face.

�Juuust
lick it,� Ron chided with an eye roll. �I washed my hands in the loo and plus,
you�ve licked a lot worse than my finger.�

Severus couldn�t help his
dirty smirk as he extended his tongue and curled the deliciously creamy gooey
mixture off Ron�s finger until it was clean.

�No,� Ron dug another into the
cheesecake �which was becoming vastly disfigured by that point,
Severus realised, and then raised it again. �You have to suck it off to get it
properly, Severus��

Shooting him an amused glance
with darkened eyes, Severus sealed his lips around the finger and sucked,
letting his tongue bat at the end of it. He wondered if Ron even knew he was
biting into his lip with anticipation.

�Better?� He released the
glistening digit.

�Much,� Ron smirked. �I think
of somewhere else you could lick it off, if you wanted��

He cast an eye back to the
sofa and cocked his head in invitation.

Severus swallowed. �No,� he
grabbed Ron�s hand and tugged him until he was able to push him down on the
sofa.

Ron landed with a loud exhale
of air and didn�t have the energy to protest when Severus undid the fly of his
jeans, pushed up the untucked shirt he�d been
wearing, and then shoved his hand down into his underwear.

Severus curled his fingers
around what he was delighted to find was a fast growing erection. He took the
initiative and leant in to give the redhead a kiss, moaning when he moaned at
the taste of lingering cheesecake in each other�s mouths.

�Fuck, Severus� dinner�
cheesecake� ahhh!� his hips bucked a little as
Severus formed a tight ring around him with his thumb and middle finger and ran
long luxurious strokes up and down his shaft.

�Nothing more than is polite
to offer one�s guest,� Severus replied with a wicked grin, and kissed him
again, looping his free arm around Ron�s neck and holding him in place when the
hand settled down on his shoulder. �Hands by your sides,� he commanded in a
whisper.

Ron looked at him with bright
eyes before complying, choosing to grab hold of the seat cushion on either side
of his thighs.

�You�re very obedient, I�m
impressed,� Severus whispered hotly into his ear, before kissing the shell and
speeding up his strokes.

Severus watched as the redhead
seemed to melt back into the sofa, his legs spread wide with his feet flat on
the floor as Severus worked with his hand inside his trousers. It painted an
almost innocent picture of exploration which was so different to their usual
exploits that he couldn�t help but decide to prolong it. He slowed right down
and finally released the ring he�d formed, before creeping his fingers south to
massage lightly at the balls neatly compacted by Ron�s underwear.

�Ohhh
so good�� Ron moaned, his body slipping so much that his
head rolled into Severus� armpit as he lounged. For Severus it only reinforced
the beauty.

Sitting there like that, he
finally felt that he was giving the redhead something back, something warm and
hot-blooded. Something that didn�t
equate overall to his own pleasure. The mewling stepped up a notch when he
skilfully managed to tilt his wrist to cup the sac in the palm of his hand and
he weighed the lopsided weight there.

�How are you doing that?� Ron
breathed.

�Doing what?� Severus murmured
down, pressing a kiss into his hair.

�Making me want to come just
from juggling my balls about,� Ron arched up with want.

�I�m talented,� Severus
smirked and released what he held, making his fingers wriggle even further down
to tickle lightly at the sensitive skin beyond.

The redhead writhed with
another moan, and then he thrust his own hand into his trousers and grabbed his
cock, wrangling it upright to work faster than Severus
had. With fascination Severus watched him wank himself whilst he set his own
hand to cupping again, pulling gently every so often and noticing how Ron�s
groans grew louder when he did.

�Harder,� he suddenly growled,
and Severus complied, wishing he could touch himself whilst watching the
sensual show of self-satisfaction before his eyes.

�Ohhh
fuck yes� more� harder, come on� harder��

Severus was sure he had
surpassed what must have been comfortable but from what he could see Ron was
only getting closer and closer to orgasm and the hand on his erection yanked
more roughly with every pull.

�Fuck yes,� he moaned; his head lolling back with abandon. �God, Severus, yes�
oh� fuck� fuck� FUCKITOHFUCK!�

Severus didn�t know where to
look, at his face, contorting with desire and need, or down in his crotch where
the long fingers had fisted and Ron was milking himself through his own orgasm.
Sent rigid by the hedonistic view, he couldn�t even really blink, let alone
free the testicles still held in the palm of his hand. They cooled against his
skin, dilating back out and relaxing. With an odd thought in his frozen state,
he realised that he was holding on to another man�s balls in the middle of his
living room.

Your timing as ever, so well placed for an obvious revelation!
Severus was even laughing at himself and he turned back to Ron, who had his eyes
shut and couldn�t see the smile on Severus� thin lips.

�Fucking hell� Dinner�
wine�cheesecake�you doing that to my
sac� Christ, I�ll come back more often.�

�You can add �watching me wank
off� to my pages in your book,� Severus advised.

�Really?�
Ron turned to him, eyes twinkling with badly concealed flirt.

�Definitely,� Severus
murmured, and bent his head to capture reddened lips �he realised Ron must have
been biting them.

�I wonder if you�d let me
watch you?� Ron raised a sultry eyebrow.

Severus coloured then and
swallowed nervously. �I�ve never��

�Well, it�s not like I�m going
to be reporting to the press on flawless technique,� Ron kissed him gently.
�You never know, you might like it.�

�I can think of something I�d
like a whole lot more,� Severus finally extracted his hand and ran his fingers
through the mess Ron had created on his stomach and raised them to the
redhead�s lips. �Lick.�

Ron followed his command with
unflinching obedience and cleaned his own come off the fingers.

Severus moved his mouth to
Ron�s ear and spoke straight into it with hot breath and a deep, rumbling voice,
�I�d like to slather that cheesecake all over you: on your cock, in your crack,
on your balls� and lick it off. And then I want you to return the favour.�

Ron shuddered in his arms.
�Fuck, Severus.�

�Maybe, if we�re still
standing.�

He crashed his mouth to Ron�s,
feeling the power of confidence burning through his veins.

�Mmmpfh,
so good� oh� fuck� get the cheesecake, Severus.�
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