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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
- 6
- 7
- 8
A/N: Hellooo! I am so thrilled with your responses to the
last chapter. I�m sorry that I seemed to make most of you have a good weep.
(Well, let�s be honest, no I�m not, because it was my intention� *whistle*).
Thanks so much for your reviews:

Kai �I�m glad you
liked the way Severus handed him back. It just seemed the sort of simple plan
he would think of and work with finesse.

Anon �Thank you
for reading, apologies about the tears though!

Sheree
�Severus is so� Severus, though, that for a while he will see around a corner
as the same as downhill, I think. Read on. Oh, and perfection? *big fat blush*

Qtness.Quill �Wow, thank you so much! I�m glad
you�re enjoying the less confident Severus and more dominant Ron. But despite
his lack of confidence I like to think that S has still played the role of
aggressor, too, which is also new for me.

Lady Zombie �Your
guts recovered yet? Hope so. But they might get squeezed again.

HairsprayX12 �Oh lordy, not the dreaded snotty cry! Well� I did warn, I
suppose, right back before this had even begun. ;)

Davinci
�They both have very long healing roads ahead of them. But then whether they
chose to take that path together or apart would make the difference to just how
long it would be�

Abbi cee �Sorry!
*makes you a new, better cup of tea to read the fic
with*

Talley -*pokes* G�wan, you can admit it if you cried ;) And as for rainbows
and kitties and such� you know me, very few stories I churn out are ever full
of those�

On with the show, which I have split into
a last chapter and a little epilogue. I get the feeling that plenty of
you have consigned yourself to one kind of ending on this. See my note at the
end for more. Thanks so much for all your support �as ever, I�ll be back with a
new R/S sometime soon, I expect! xx

--------

Severus was well aware that the generic term for what he was
doing was called �wallowing�. Three days had passed since he had walked out of
the sub-par muggle pub leaving Ron at the mercy of his family. He hadn�t
washed, he�d barely eaten though he had drunk plenty of alcohol, and he hadn�t
bothered to keep up his usual regime of cleanliness in the house because there
was little point when all he was doing was lying in bed bar his trips to the
bathroom.

The curtains had stayed closed; the thumps on the door and
steady pinging alert of the Floo went ignored. He had sent one owl, and that
was to the Ministry requesting some long overdue holiday time, which had been
granted.

Severus had celebrated by cracking open another bottle of
whiskey and falling asleep for the better part of the day.

But Severus had suddenly hit a very large snag in his plan
of self-punishment: he had run out of alcohol. So, he found himself horizontal,
wrapped snugly in his duvet, book long finished resting on the side of the bed that
he seemed unable to consider as anything other than Ron�s, and was bored out of
his wits.

People make a living
out of doing nothing, out of slumming around their own homes. How on earth do
they do it? I�m going round the bend!

It had been fine whilst hovering in a drunken trance,
because drinking whiskey had an overall soporific effect on him, and therefore
knocked him out for a good few hours.

But before that we
have the usual self-flagellation which even I was starting to find somewhat tedious by the end.

Severus huffed to himself and closed his eyes to the
ceiling, trying to keep his thoughts away from the redhead haunting his every
waking breath. However, with each fresh attack of longing it was harder to
fight the onslaught, and biting down hard on the inside of his cheek, Severus
growled in frustration.

This is absolutely
ridiculous �rendered bedridden by a starved, gangly ginger whore who is nothing
but a good fuck.

The words were loud and firm, even in his brain, but they
were soon replaced by a softer tone and a warm feeling spreading through his
chest.

Except
he�s not just a whore. He�s a
beautiful young man with an arse you could balance a bottle of ale on, let it topple
off his rounded fucking cheeks and spend an hour licking the spilled mess from
his crack. Of course, then you�d have to add some more and�

Infuriated with the way he couldn�t keep his mind out of the
gutter for more than a minute at a time, Severus threw himself over onto his
empty stomach and buried his face in Ron�s pillow.

I thought we had
established that it was, in fact, not
his pillow. It would be easier to believe that if the blasted thing didn�t
stink of rose and vanilla.

He wasn�t quite sure how it did; Ron had only used it four times
and actually, when he thought about it, at least half of those nights had been
spent cuddled into Severus� body, sharing a pillow between them.

And sweet Circe, how
much better this wallowing would be if he were here with me to keep me
occupied.

Severus let out a derisive snort at his mind�s idea of
�occupied�. Once upon a time that would have been brewing a particularly
difficult potion, or reading new research in a far flung field of science. Now,
�occupied� was solely associated with gasping breaths, sweating bodies and a
shuddering, climaxing redhead.

I don�t have to do this;
I could get up, wash, eat, tidy the house and go into work for the afternoon.

For a moment, Severus seriously considered it and even went
as far as tautening his muscles with the aim of
pushing himself up onto his hands and knees ready to leave the bed. But then
the fight sapped out of him and even though he already lay flat out on it, he
seemed to sink further into the mattress.

Mattress smelling
decidedly unpleasant after three days and nights of unwashed man�

�Fuck it,� Severus swore loudly, his voice muffled by the
pillow. �I fucking deserve to wallow. I haven�t let myself wallow since
nineteen eighty-fucking-one.�

There was very great truth in that. Severus couldn�t even
really remember the last time he had thrown himself to the lions of misery
quite as willingly as he had done the night he had walked out on Ron. He didn�t
even particularly want to. But he couldn�t deny that whilst drunk the whole thing
had been rather marvellous, when sober it was fast becoming decidedly dull.

And then what do I do,
hmm? Go to work, see Bill Weasley in the corridor, nod politely and never ask
how he is? If he stayed? If he
didn�t run outside and hang himself from a fucking tree?

His body shivered involuntarily at the very idea of Ron�s
tall corpse swinging from a rope and he groaned again, hating the way his mind
could make the distressing images so vivid that he even thought of the greyish
pallor of the man�s skin and the way that the flesh beneath the rope would be
purpled and bruised.

And that has always
been my ultimate problem �over-thinking everything, underestimating everybody
and never having the luck to make things right for myself.

He laughed at himself then, thinking of luck when he knew
there was no such thing, only players, winners, losers and the lazy. Severus
ignored the fact that those who believed in luck were the ones that seemed to
have it. Sighing, he rolled onto his side, grabbing at the duvet childishly so
that no part of his body became uncovered as he rolled, and stared at the
glowing red figures telling the time on his bedside cabinet.

What�s he doing?

The thought was one he had had often over the past days,
normally always accompanied by �where is he?� and �is he alright?�

Severus didn�t realise how much of a full-time occupation
his anxiety for Ronald Weasley had become. As he had lain in bed, both drunk
and sober, his thoughts fixated on the tall, willowy man. He considered his
hair, the way it waved the closer it got to his shoulders, and his neck, so
manly and yet delicate at the same time, leading to collarbones which were
forced into prominence by his thinness, but were delicious to lick and nibble.

His physical attachment to the redhead was something that
shocked him greatly. Severus had never been one to pine merely for good looks
alone. Wryly, he thought back to the gorgeous spectacle Sirius Black had been,
with his olive toned skin, gleaming black hair, and full lips set off to
perfection by deep grey eyes. He had been physically attractive, as every
red-blooded teenager in the whole of Hogwarts had known. But Severus knew that
hadn�t been his primary attraction �the chief appeal, as twisted as it made
him, had been Black�s ability to use his quick mouth, his wit and his charm to
get what he wanted and to get those around him acting as he desired. The power,
Severus realised, was what he had longed for. The handsome wrapping served
merely as a bonus for his right hand to play with whilst his teenage hormones
rampaged. And Lily, Lily he had loved for everything, not just her beautiful
face. Her power had been her kindness, a power he had no experience of.

Severus narrowed his eyes at the clock as he considered why
he should be so physically infatuated with the redhead, then. Maybe he had had
power in the whorehouse, but not out of it, Severus knew. In the brothel he had
been king, analysing Severus� every move to determine what kind of lover he
required, what would make him feel relaxed and overall, what would make him cry
out as he reached orgasm.

Ron knew all that in spades, Severus conceded. He knew how
to cuddle up to his cold Potions Master to make him feel warm and wanted; he
knew how to curl his tongue off the head of his cock to make him writhe.

But what the fuck else
does the boy have? He�s emotionally stunted, living for friends long gone, he�s
let his body be used and abused by all and sundry. He�s at best mentally ill
and at worst completely fucked. But then, I suppose, my own odds at his age
were hardly any better. And I�m still breathing.

Severus exhaled loudly to prove his own point, and then
closed his eyes to the blurred digits on the display.

If he came back, what
could we have? I am older, bitter, set in my ways, and he is young and deserves
to find his niche in the world. Holding him back would only hurt him; not to
mention that letting him in only to have him leave three years down the line
would just about kill me.

There was one thing that Severus was certain about: if Ron
did return to him, it would be the end for any further romantic prospects, for
the rest of his life. Having the redhead in his arms would be heaven, and yet
if it were to be taken away, Severus knew he would never fully recover. He had
thought that where Lily was concerned, and to his word it had taken him over
twenty years to patch up his soul with careful needlework. But Lily had died.
If Ron were to leave and be alive, merely bored and looking for another man to
cuddle up to, Severus knew what that would mean for his life, for his essence.

Always been your
problem �when you fall, you fall hard and fast and Merlin help
anyone with other plans.

His mind drifted to the first day he had ever laid eyes on
Lily Evans. Her red hair had been long, even then, tied back in a skilfully
worked plait and tied with a band with a fake flower on it. He remembered
watching it dance about as she jumped her way through the hopscotch grid she
had chalked out on the pavement. His dark eyes had followed the little flower
and by the time Lily had reached the end of her game, that had been it �he had
been in love with the kind-looking girl who seemed to radiate warmth.

As I
said, hard and fast.

Severus wasn�t foolish enough to believe that he was in any
kind of love with Ron at that moment, but he knew it wouldn�t be long before
the content feelings in his chest blossomed, should the redhead visit him a few
more times.

And yet there�s been
nothing, no word for three days. He knows how easy it is to converse with me by
Patronus, we�ve done it countless times since Christmas. He knows I will always
answer, no matter what time of night he sends that bloody mutt.

He had given up wondering how on earth he had reached the
point that he had, merely waiting for the call of a whore to drag him from his
self-imposed stupor.

You must stop referring to him as a whore,
because he no longer is one. And hopefully he never will be again.

Severus couldn�t deny that there was a thrill that went
through him at referring to Ron by his old title, if only because he knew he
was now the sole beneficiary of his talent. He couldn�t stop the shiver of
delight possibly because of the element of possession it afforded him.

And alongside falling
hard and fast, you have always been a possessive lunatic. Ron should run far,
far away whilst he still can.

Not to mention the
fact that you are his only link to the past five years, the last client
lingering on� if he wants shot then it would hardly be the time to dig your
heels and claws in considering the bridge you have burnt and built anew for him.

With a heavy sigh, Severus landed on his back, where he had
started, and blinked up at the ceiling. His movement caused the air to stir in
the duvet and he flinched at the stench rising from his armpits.

Filthy
hypocrite. Remember the grief
you gave him for laying around in his filth!

Severus swallowed hard on his painful throat, remembering
that nobody was there to smell him, and pathetically yanked the duvet up over
his head to blank out the room he was bored of looking at.

***

Ron fiddled with the cuff on his new robes, trying to keep
his mind on the conversation which Kingsley was trying to hold with him.

�I�ve worked with the press to minimise the attention,� the
black wizard said carefully. �But Ron, you have to expect a certain amount.
Both good and bad� Not everyone will understand the reasons you had to
disappear.�

Ron tried to answer him but found his throat fogged. He
cleared it and kept his eyes on his arm when he spoke. �I get that, Kingsley,
and I�m grateful for what you�ve done so far. Thank you.�

�You haven�t heard the rest yet,� Kingsley sent a grimace
that Ron�s diverted eyes did not see. �I think, to stop them hounding you, the
best way to do this is probably to organise a press conference, and we�d select
who was there, allow a very short question time with pre-submitted questions
which you can approve, and then we�ll
tell them that�s it.�

�Sounds good,� Ron nodded a few times and fell silent.

He wasn�t trying to be deliberately rude, or even
deliberately quiet, but he couldn�t keep his mind on the meeting when he
considered what he had planned for after it. Ron raised his other hand to his
mouth and traced his fingertips lightly over his lips, the silver cuff he had
willingly submitted to on his wrist flashing in the lights of the Minister�s
warm office.

�Did your family ask you to do that?� Kingsley motioned to
it, a strange expression on his face.

�Oh, what, this?� Ron waved his arm
in question. �No. It� well. It was my suggestion to put their minds at rest.
Five years and suddenly I�m home again, I don�t blame them for being terrified
I�d run away.�

�What are the conditions of it?�

�Nothing really, I�m not restricted to anywhere but it does
detect my bodily reactions, moods�anything below �sad� sets the damn thing off
alerting half the bloody family and everyone upwards to Merlin himself, I
think. I can�t remove it; if I chop my arm off it�ll just tell them I�ve done
it� and it�s got a tracing spell so they could even retrieve my severed limb.�

Kingsley laughed, the low deep sound filling the room. �I
think that was a very� well, I think that was very good of you. You are, after
all, a grown man now and your life is your own.�

�Not in their eyes,� Ron said quietly. �Because
I didn�t grow up in front of them. I expect the rest of the wizarding
world will be much the same.�

�Things are peaceful,� Kingsley shook his head. �And the
people love it. You may find that their attention peaks for a while and then it
dwindles, because they don�t want to be reminded of the horrible times your
memory will bring up.�

�Charming,� Ron snorted, and finally looked up at the man,
who laughed with him.

�So, are we in agreement on the press conference? You think
it�s a good idea?�

�Why are you even asking me, Kings, you�re the bloody
Minister for Magic,� Ron pointed out, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

�Because I�m determined, Ron, that you won�t become some
Ministry pawn to be shunted from pillar to post. I would never have allowed it
to happen to Harry, and I will never allow it to happen to you, now you�ve
returned.�

Ron bit into his lip, trying to think of ample words to
convey his gratitude. Kingsley just waved him away and shuffled the papers on
his desk.

�Of course, the money you were designated at the end of the war is still
waiting for you, you realise?�

�Yes, my pay off for risking my life for a whole year,
camping�� Ron raised his eyebrows sarcastically.

�There was public call for it,� Kingsley shrugged. �And we
acted. It�s all yours �and it�s for a hell of a lot more than camping, as you
well know. I�ll have it transferred to your account by the end of the day.
You�ll probably be surprised to find yourself somewhat richer this evening than
you were this morning. Enough that you�ll not have to work for a few years��

�Oh, yeah, like my mother�s going to let that happen,� Ron
laughed, and got to his feet, the new robes falling fluidly to the floor.

Ron hadn�t protested when his mother had taken him first to
Diagon Alley, and then muggle London,
to re-furnish his wardrobe. The robes were of a deep blue to enhance his eyes
and were of better quality than any he had ever worn before, seeing as they had
anticipated he would be in and out of the Ministry for a few weeks.
Surprisingly high necked with delicate silver buttons, Ron felt like he floated
as he moved.

He reached forward and shook Kingsley�s hand with a small
smile.

�It�s amazing to see you, Ron. And if you think, a few
months down the line, you would like to have the Auror position which was
always going to be yours� just say the word.�

With a nod, Ron left the office, closing the door with a
gentle click behind him. Finding renewed purpose, he turned left and headed
towards the back route to be able to locate the Department of Dark Magic
Investigation and Registration without an audience. As he stepped into the
cooler corridors off the beaten track of the Ministry, he took in several deep
breaths.

If he was honest, Ron didn�t feel like his feet had touched
the ground since the night in the pub. He had floated along, taking everything
in with good grace, the hugs, the tears, the heartfelt words of his family. He
had imparted, shed and said a good few of his own, too, but it still hadn�t
anchored him to the reality. He knew there was only one thing that was really
going to, and that was seeking Severus out and talking with him.

The letter was, as it had been since he had read it for the
fortieth time before forcing himself out of the bathroom, folded up and kept
close to his heart. He knew it was a sentiment that Severus would never have
approved of, but he couldn�t help the way he had become attached to the
increasingly ratty looking parchment. As he walked he could feel it burning
against his skin through fabric. The hem of his robes swished about his ankles.

It feels so fucking good
to be covered up, to know I never have to show myself off again if I don�t want
to�

The high neck on his robes hadn�t been a completely innocent
choice. All he had wanted to do for three years was cover his body up, to stop
putting himself so brazenly in the limelight. The robes, with their soft and
swishy fabric, were the perfect place to hide and he felt confident in them as
he moved through the ministry, keeping his face to the floor.

His hair was the same, though his mother had been eyeing it
continuously. George had commented that it made him look rather poncy and poetic, and Ron had snorted and ignored him.

If that�s what Severus
wants, poncy and poetic, I�ll never cut it again.

Even as he walked up the long, steep staircases of the
Ministry, never used by those that worked there, Ron couldn�t help but wonder
about the dark-haired Slytherin�s motives, in
everything.

The first night that he had returned, he had lain awake, crying
quietly in his bed a never ending waterfall of salt which made his head throb
painfully, but refused to stop. That night, he had just missed Severus.

The second night, he had managed to stop the flow of tears
but in their wake there formed a steady flow of questions �where was Severus,
what was he doing, who was he with, was he alright? The man�s face had hovered
Ron�s mind�s eyes, and it was not the sexy, post-coital hazed expression which
made his cock twitch in his boxers; it was the pained, devastated look Severus
had sported as he had left the pub.

The third night, Ron hadn�t started off with tears; he had
merely lain awake, staring at the ceiling of his childhood bedroom, thinking.
He thought about whether Severus had ever truly enjoyed his attentions, whether
he kept coming back for more because he liked
the feel of Ron�s hands on his body and his tongue in private places, or
whether he returned because his plan of salvation had already been formulated.

And Ron had only cried on the third night when his mind
convinced him that the latter had been the truth.

Bitter tears had fallen again and as he had roughly shoved
them away, he�d decided that he couldn�t wait any longer. He had not contacted
Severus before out of a mark of respect, giving the man time to think, if that
was what he needed. Ron was somewhat sure it would be, after all, Severus
seemed so methodical and deep that time would surely help.

But Ron had had enough of time; he had had enough of giving
the man leeway. And that was why he was headed towards the DDMIR. Surprising
Severus in the middle of the workday was probably not the best of times, Ron recognised, but he didn�t want his
family to know he was visiting.

He had come to the conclusion that if Severus had really
only ever been acting to pull Ron out of his sordid life of punishment, then he
need not ever tell his family the odd relationship that had struck up between
him and his old professor. He�d find a way to deal with the hurt, the rejection
and the lies and keep it to himself, and seal away that part of his life, for
good.

But if he wants me�
then I�

His mind listed all the difficulties their furthered contact
would cause �explaining his sexuality, explaining how he and Severus had come
to know one another, how they had come to sleep together�

He shook his head and turned off into the corridor where he
thought he might strike gold. The investigation quarters of the Ministry were
large and vast, and he ambled along the corridors looking at the plates next to
the office doors. Some were open, some were closed, and some had humorous signs
stuck on the wood.

Of course, he could have just asked any of his four family
members that worked in the Ministry where the office he was looking for was
located, but that would have meant admitting he was looking for Severus. His
family had largely stuck to their word of leaving the past alone, but Ron knew
they were just bursting to ask questions, and if he had told them he was going
to speak with the man that had returned him to them, he felt sure their well
restrained curiosity would finally have ruptured at the seams.

And one day it will.
Maybe one day you�ll tell them.

Ron knew that day wasn�t at any point in the near future,
however, and he rounded the corner with his stomach squirming at the thought of
how that particular conversation might play out. It hurt too much to even
really consider, confessing to his family �his wholesome, loving family, that
he had made a living for three years taking it up the arse, sucking cock and
being a good little whore to a wide variety of male wizards.

Oh, and that Italian
vampire. He was pretty hot.

Ron thought about the mysterious man who had visited him a
few times, and even fed from him lightly, sending him into a dizzy world of
erotica previously unknown. But then the vampire had moved back to his homeland,
and Ron had never seen him again. He had been kind and gentlemanly, a soft
lover and overly sensual.

Thinking on it, the man reminded him of how Severus had
grown to be through the course of his visits.

Not the Severus you
got at first, the shaking, whimpering Severus who nearly died when you stuck
your finger up his arse�

Ron had to double back then because his eyes alighted on the
gold plaque outside an office with a closed door. He read the words again,
checking to see that he had really found the right place in the maze of
underground rooms.

He stared at the door, wondering what was in store for him
behind it, not least because of Severus, but because of the fact that his older
man worked with Draco Malfoy.

The news of his homecoming was slowly spreading, he knew,
the newspapers tittering about the possibility. Once Kingsley scheduled the
press conference they would burst into frenzy, Ron guessed. But he wasn�t sure
if Malfoy would yet have heard of his return from the apparent dead.

Even if this goes tits
up with Sev, the look on that dickhead�s face will probably be worth the wasted
trip�

With a lopsided grin hitching up his lips, Ron extended his
arm, the one with the sensory cuff dangling from it, and rapped his knuckles
hard on the wood.

�Come in,� an imperious voice drawled and he fought hard not to roll his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he reached for the handle and pushed
the door open, keeping his head raised as he stepped over the threshold. His
eyes fell on two empty desks, and then he turned to the figure sitting in the
one behind the opened door.

The shock registered on Malfoy�s
face and Ron was thrilled that the blonde did not disappoint him.

His hair is longer,
and his chin�s more defined�shite, Malfoy�s actually
rather fit. When did that happen?

�W-Weasley?� the question was a stammer and Malfoy jumped to
his feet, painfully slamming his thighs into the edge of the desk in his haste.

�Yes, it�s me,� Ron confirmed pointlessly, and then he did
something which knocked them both for six.

Ron extended his hand out for Draco to shake, where the
shorter man stared at it as though it were a dragon-pox infested tissue. After
a faltering second, though, ever the socialite, Draco pulled himself back
together and reached out to give his hand a demure shake.

�I heard the rumours but I didn�t believe them,� he visibly
swallowed. �I� well, what do you want in here?�

�I came to see Severus,� Ron turned and looked down at the
empty desk, marked by Severus� name. �But I see I�m unlucky.� Disappointment
undulated through his bloodstream, threatening to drag him out into the sea of
misery which he had been poised over for five years. �Do you know where he is?�

�If I did, why should I tell you?� Draco frowned, and Ron
had to wonder if his voice was familiar to his old enemy.

It was certainly lower than it had been at school, with a
rougher, more gravelly tone. Ron had known his worth as a whore by the fact he
could bring most men down with a bat of his eyelashes and some seductively
uttered words �a technique which, he was sure, would shame Severus to know he
had completely submitted to.

But then it�s not like
you�ve not shivered and come from his own voice� that posh English drawl...

�Is he at home? I�ll catch him there,� Ron turned to the
door. He wanted to throw in a sarcastic comment about a towel, but he didn�t
think that Severus would appreciate him joking about such a thing with his
godson.

�Well, if he is there, he�s not answering the door,� Malfoy
answered bitterly. �Or at least, not to me, anyway.�

�You�ve tried?� Ron asked, concern marring his face.

�Yes, at least twice, it�s not like him to take holiday� but
he took a week and I�ve not heard anything.�

Ron recognised worry in the grey eyes and was almost alarmed
by it, but then he realised he had never actually seen Malfoy worried for
anything other than his own skin before. He had been too busy escaping
Fiendfyre to notice any of his remorse during their last talkative interaction
in the battle.

�Weasley�� Malfoy�s voice trailed
off and Ron looked up at him questioningly. �Say the world �towels� for me.�

Oh, fuck.

�Towels,� Ron said and put his lips into a grimace with
raised eyebrows.

Draco�s jaw fell again and his eyes gaped slightly, a little
colour flooding into his alabaster cheeks. His eyes ran up and down Ron�s body,
no doubt taking in the new stylish robes and the professional cut of his hair.
Ron couldn�t help it that, with a force of habit he knew, he wondered what
Malfoy thought of him.

�You� but you� Granger?� Draco
spluttered without tact.

�What about her?� Ron heard his own voice harden and he
pulled himself up to his full height so that he towered over Malfoy.

�Nothing,� Draco said softly, his eyes on
Ron�s robes once more. �Nothing, I apologise, Weasley, I imagine those
questions are the last thing you need at the moment.�

Taken aback at the blonde�s thoughtfulness, Ron didn�t know
how to reply.

�We�ve all changed,� Draco informed him. �I�m not what I was
at school. I don�t think you are, either, from the looks of you.�

Ron�s face flooded with colour at what he perceived to be an
insult, and he instantly turned to leave the office.

�I didn�t mean financially,� Draco sighed. �I meant� you
hold yourself differently.�

Why on earth am I
hanging around listening to this physical critique when Severus could be doing
god knows what to himself? I�ll give that bastard hell, the bloody lecture he
gave me about shutting myself away. Ooh, I�ll slap the stupid bugger-

�What are you doing with him?� Draco asked shrewdly.

�I, uh� well. Not that it�s any of your business, but that
was why I came to find him. We need to talk about things.�

�It is my business,� Draco�s face honed into the sort of
glare Ron was used to seeing between a Malfoy and a Weasley. �He�s my
godfather, and, though he�d never want me to admit it, a friend. So yes, he is my business.�

The words were tinged with loyal harshness and Ron was
shocked to find that they shot straight to his core.

When was the last time
that anybody snapped at you which wasn�t part of a power play resulting in a rough shag? Or wasn�t Severus?

His breath caught in his throat and he was forced to swallow
hard to keep his dignity in front of his old childhood nemesis.

�Right, um, of course. I get that� I�ll��

�Merlin�s balls, Weasley,� Malfoy breathed, clearly in shock
at Ron�s reaction to his words. �Don�t cry, for Godric�s
sake.�

�I�m not crying,� Ron tilted his jaw upward. �I�m leaving.�

�If you need to win him round to something,� Malfoy called
as he was halfway through the door, �Take him cheesecake. It always helps when
he�s in a bad mood.�

Ron called back his acknowledgement. The cheesecake was, he
admitted, a brilliant idea, knowing how much Severus enjoyed it. But to obtain
one he would have to brave Diagon Alley alone for the first time, and he wasn�t
sure he was ready to handle it.

No, I�m not ready for
it. There was no point wasting time over dithering on the matter, so Ron
headed towards the atrium to the public Floos. A few people stared at him as he
went, their heads turning, some people doing complete double takes as they
recognised his hair, his face, realising that the youngest Weasley son and boy
hero was walking amongst them once more.

Whispers followed and Ron forced himself to ignore them as
he marched purposefully through the corridors, though his spine crept with
sweat and his palms were clammy. He knew he had thrown himself in the deep end
without a lifeline in terms of integrating back into wizarding society, but he
didn�t know how else to do it.

His mother had told him that if he sat at home, thinking
about it, he would only become afraid of it, and his father had agreed. His
brothers, one by one, had pledged their support of instantaneous help whenever
he felt the need, and he was grateful, though it would seem like a failure to
call on them.

But as he tossed a few knuts
in the donations box which revealed the stash of powder, he gritted his teeth
and scooped some up, preparing to do christen their offered generosity. The
flames turned green and he steadied his stomach, calling out the address of
George�s shop.

�George?� He called, stepping instantly off the hearth so
his new robes wouldn�t catch fire. �You busy?�

�Never too busy for you,� George stuck his head in the back
room, his eyes greedily raking over Ron�s form, clearly still unable to believe
that his youngest brother had returned. �What�s up?�

�I need a favour?� Ron implored him with wide eyes.

Damn, Ron, you need to
stop employing your whore tricks. They�re going to twig any day.

The first realisation he had had that he was using his art
of seduction to get what he wanted was when he found himself leaning his body
towards Charlie almost provocatively the second night he had been at The
Burrow.

And I wasn�t even
fucking trying to get anything; I just wanted him to pass me the bloody tea
towel!

A slightly dirty tea towel really hadn�t warranted the full
blast of ammunition that Ron had sent at his brother, and it had made his chest
tighten as he wondered if any of them noticed his different actions.

�What do you want? You don�t have to bat your bloody
eyelashes like that,� George disappeared back into the shop and missed Ron�s
deep blush at his spot-on assessment.

�You know the bakery just up the way?�

�Uh-huh, the one that sells the best cream cakes in the
world, you mean?�

�Yeah, that one,� Ron walked out onto the shop floor of
Wheeze�s for the first time in nearly six years and found himself overwhelmed
by the colour explosion. �I need you to go down there and get me a full sized cheesecake, a raspberry topped one, and bring it back here
for me.�

�Er, why?�
George laughed, running his hand through his hair.

�Just do it?� Ron asked enticingly.

�What�s in it for me?�

�You�ve not bloody changed, I see,� Ron muttered with a grin,
and reached into his pocket for some money. �You can buy yourself a cream
cake?�

�Like I�m not minted enough to buy my own,� George indicated
his rather full till. �But sure, cream cake sounds good for the repayment of my
heartfelt worry and fear for five years.�

George winked at Ron, took the money and passed him, walking
to the door of the shop. He passed out without further comment, flipped the
sign on the door to �out of my mind, back in five minutes� and disappeared out
of sight.

Ron exhaled, alone for the first time since he had woken up
that morning, and buried his face in his hands.

�Oh, fuck, I can�t do this, I can�t do it� they all want to
know� and when they find out� oh��

His resolve was weakening and he forced himself to finger
the silver encircling his wrist, making himself remember what it was there for
�the promise he had given his family that he was sincere about remaining with
them.

And Ron did want
to remain with them. He was surprised with the ease that his longing for
punishment had abated, though he wasn�t fool enough to think it would never
return. It was to that end he had let his mother accompany him to St. Mungo�s
the day before to discuss healing treatments for depression and to discuss therapy
on her tentatively posed suggestion.

Won�t that be fun? �Tell
us where you�ve been for five years, Ron�� Probably fucking your second cousin
and your brother��

He groaned and slumped against the counter, his fingers
still smoothing over the bracelet on his wrist. Ron had never been a fan of
blokes wearing jewellery, but he found himself miraculously at peace with the
charmed metal.

All I want is to go to
his cottage and sink onto his stupidly comfortable sofa and hide my face in his
shoulder. Is that pathetic?

Thinking of Severus reminded him of what Draco had actually
said �that he had taken holiday when he never normally did so. Worry made his
skin tingle and he suddenly wished that George would return immediately so he
could apparate off to the middle of the frozen Sussex countryside.

And what if he says no?
Ron blinked at the wall and ran his fingers through his hair. What if it was all just a calculated act to
get you back home to mummy, away from the nasty brothel? If the kisses meant
nothing, if the touches meant nothing, if the whispered names when he came were
nothing�

His grip on his hair became too tight for comfort and he
instantly let go, knowing that if his heartbeat propelled any faster he was in
danger of invoking the sensory magic on his arm, considering his less than
savoury thoughts.

Ron closed his eyes and focussed on breathing in and out
whilst he waited for his brother to return, making himself count inanely in his
head to control his compunction to forgo the cheesecake bargaining tool and
just run hell-for-leather for the cottage without a care for who he ran down on
the way.

The bell tinkled above the shop door and he jerked out of
his trance.

�You alright?� George asked softly,
drawing level with him. �You weren�t that pale when I left.�

�I� it�s hard,� Ron mumbled with a swallow, and held his hand out for the
cheesecake box.

�I know,� George handed it to him, but instead of moving
away, he flung an arm around Ron�s shoulders and gave him a squeeze. �I get it,
Ron. I�ve not exactly been the life and soul of the party in your absence, either��

�Leaving you behind was always my biggest regret,� Ron kept
his eyes down on the box in his hands. �I�m sorry.�

�You being here wouldn�t have brought him back,� George
sighed. �I would have been cheerier, but still� I� nothing could have stopped
the natural course of my grief. Hey, at least that�s what my therapist says.�

Ron snorted at his suddenly upbeat tone and cheesy thumbs-up.

�Who�s it for, Ron?� George smiled at him.

�Severus,� Ron answered without missing a beat, feeling that
he owed George a little honesty after what he had just been given.

�And you�re buying him cheesecake why, exactly? A thank you gift? Bit unusual but hey, who doesn�t love a
good dessert by way of gratitude?�

�He likes cheesecake,� Ron smiled sheepishly.

�And you like him,� George replied in a slightly sing-song voice. Ron nearly
dropped the box.

�W-What?�

�Oh, come on, little bro. The burning eyes and dramatic exit
in the pub were a dead giveaway. Don�t worry, Bill and I haven�t told a dicky bird but still� don�t bother lying to us. We�ve
pretty much guessed.�

�I�� Ron didn�t know what to say; he suddenly hoped that
when he came face to face with Severus the words would flow easily �they had
already failed him twice that day.

�Its fine,� George waved him off with a derisive sound. �You
are what you are, as mum always says, right?�

�But he�s��

�Snape, I know,� George gave a theatrical shiver. �But,
beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that crap, yeah?�

�Right,� Ron nodded, and stood up straight.

�Should we expect you home tonight?� George asked astutely,
fixing Ron with a teasing stare. �You know, just don�t want the women to get
the screaming abdabs thinking you�ve done another
bunk.�

�I don�t know,� Ron flushed. �I�ll� I�ll send you a Patronus
if I�m not coming home.�

�Hah, I�ll leave you
to explain that one to mum,� George laughed. �Get out of here and let me make
love to this cream cake in private.�

Oh, hell. I wonder
what he�d say if he knew I�d had more whipped cream around my cock than I care
to remember?

�Well, don�t make a mess,� Ron smirked, and turned into the
back room. �Can I apparate out?�

�Yeah, fancy wards because I�m fabulous,� George called.

Yep, you really
fucking are, George.

***

�Fuck off!� Severus growled at the thumping he could hear on
his front door, and buried his head further under the pillow.

Whoever was at the door had refused to give up for the past
ten minutes and he was sure that their fist must have been bloody by that
point.

And it would serve
them fucking right! FUCK OFF!

Through the fibres of the pillow he heard a muffled shout
which might have been his name and he tensed, listening for the call again. It
didn�t come, but what did was the sharp snapping of something bouncing off the
window.

�Oh, this is just absolutely ridiculous,� Severus threw off
the duvet and flew to his feet, a blood rush assaulting his head.

However, Severus didn�t make it to the window before there
was sharp crack followed by the immediate sound of shattering glass, and the
cold breeze from outside blew the curtain inward as his window pane entered the
great deceased beyond.

�WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU�RE PLAYING AT?!�
Severus bellowed, yanking back the curtains and stepping carefully around the
shattered glass which had bounced off the wide windowsill onto the carpet.

His angry words died in his throat when he looked down into
his front garden and saw Ron standing there, looking horrendously guilty,
dressed in fine blue wizarding robes and holding a familiar looking box.

Severus simply stared down at him in shock and couldn�t make
his body move. Ron stared up with equally wide eyes. But he, however, was the
first to recover the power of speech.

�I didn�t mean to break your window,� he offered croakily. �But you wouldn�t
answer the door.�

�I�m clearly an imbecile,� Severus choked, and the words
forced the life back into his limbs.

He tore out of the bedroom, hoiking
up the loose bottoms he was wearing, and flew down the stairs, taking them two
at a time, his hand barely gracing the banister. His fingers fumbled with the
lock of the front door, either through their stiffness or it�s own, and when he
finally flung the door open he smashed it into his knee in his haste.

�Ow, shit, fucking hell,� he gasped, hopping slightly on his
one good leg and braced his hand on the doorframe.

�Bad time?� Ron raised an eyebrow.

They looked at each other for a split second before the
cheesecake box landed with a thud on the floor and they reached with grabbing
hands for equally thin bodies. Ron made it first, his arms wrapping tightly
around Severus� torso and forcing his arms to his body, as large hands firmly
gripped his back.

It was only a second longer before they were kissing, a kiss
that Ron thoroughly dominated, his tongue licking with purposeful thrusts,
moaning his worship straight into Severus� mouth. Severus wanted to fight, he
wanted to force his way out of the tight grip and lay his own claim on their
reunion, but he found himself limp in Ron�s arms, letting his suddenly merry
breath be snatched straight from the source.

Ron continued to pour adoration into his mouth and Severus
forgot everything �the broken window, the dropped cheesecake, the way they were
on his front doorstep, the way he stank of sweat and the way his hair flopped
with greasy lankness... He let the hands massage his back and simply absorbed
himself into the kiss.

Finally forced to draw back to gasp in some air, Ron moved
only a fraction, and his lips were parted as he looked into Severus� eyes.

�I dropped the cheesecake,� he groaned, eyes closing with
regret.

�We�ll eat it out of the box,� Severus murmured, and took
his chance to snatch a light but meaningful kiss from the redhead. �Lick it
out, if we have to.�

�That sounds like a plan,� Ron smiled, and then stepped back
properly, stooping to pick up the box.

Severus moved back into the house, suddenly ashamed at the
state of it. All the curtains were drawn, the air heavy for lack of
ventilation, the fire was dead, there were clothes draped over the back of the
sofa and empty bottles and dirty glasses on the coffee table. Books and
magazines were out of place and the sink was full of washing up yet to be
completed in the kitchen.

Ron stepped over the threshold and kicked the door shut
behind him. His eyes alighted on the mess and then he turned. Severus closed
his eyes in shame and lowered his head.

�Hypocrite,� Ron sighed, and Severus heard his footsteps
into the kitchen, and his swift �fucking hell� at the extent of the mess.

Severus didn�t feel he could do anything more than arrange
his face into an apologetic look and wait for Ron to return, so that was what
he did. When the redhead rounded out of the kitchen, he was stood waiting with
one arm across his chest, hand holding onto his marked arm.

�Sev, all those times you gave me lectures about looking after
myself,� Ron stepped close and brushed back his hair. �And the first chance you
get, you�re holing yourself up and letting everything go to shit?�

�I was�� Depressed? Lonely? Lost? �Wallowing.�

�Good old wallowing,� Ron said softly, raising his
fingertips to dabble lightly in Severus� chest hair. The hand then flattened
completely against his breastbone. �I wanted to come sooner, but I thought we� I thought we would both need time to think.�

�I�ve thought entirely too much and not nearly enough,�
Severus sighed.

�You�re surprised I came,� Ron stated, raising his eyes to
look into Severus� again.

�I am,� Severus confessed. �I hoped that you would, but I��

�Your pessimistic mind wouldn�t let you believe that I
actually would,� Ron finished for him. �Why on earth would I, a young, lithe
man, come back to an old, bitter husk of a man with nothing to offer and no
love of any worth to give?�

Severus blinked, well aware of the care Ron had forced into
his tone to show that those were not his own thoughts, merely his impression of
Severus� own. He was hard pressed to deny that they were startlingly accurate.
He nodded pathetically.

�Well, Severus, I�ll tell you why I came,� Ron reached the
fingers up further to rest over Severus� thin lips. �Because all I�ve wanted to
do since you left, was to find you again.�

�I wanted to be found,� Severus whispered quietly.

�I�m glad,� Ron moved the fraction closer which caused their
bodies to touch completely. �I missed you, Sev, I missed you like hell.�

Wrapped in the redhead�s embrace again, Severus knew he had
to force his will to wrap his own arms around the thin body. It was his time to
step forward and fight, as Ron had done by coming to him.

�I don�t take to my bed in a fit of despair for just
anybody,� he muttered into Ron�s ear, and kissed it gently.

�Oh, your wonderful way with words,� Ron snorted. ��I missed
you too� would have sufficed.�

�And then I would not have been myself,� Severus closed his
eyes and buried his face in Ron�s hair, inhaling the heady rose and vanilla
scent as much as he could.

�I love the way you do that,� Ron blurted awkwardly. �I love
the way you smell me like I�m some sort of flower. Like you
can�t get enough of me.�

�That poem�s gone to your head, hasn�t it?� Severus gripped
a little tighter. �Sent you all bloody limp lettuce?�

�You were the one
that wrote it down,� Ron reminded him with a cheeky pinch of his backside. �So
don�t start on me about being slushy.�

�Did you like it?� Severus couldn�t help but ask.

�Godric�s balls, it was the most depressing thing I
think I�ve ever read,� Ron breathed.

�Good, I felt the same way. It was meant to give you a good
kick up the arse.�

�Did it do that for you?� Ron asked shrewdly.

�Well, not in the direct sense but it did help me with you,
so, I suppose yes, in the long run, I should consider my backside kicked. It
would be fitting to thank Albus Dumbledore�s love of old Irish love poetry, I
suppose��

They were stood wrapped around one another in the hallway of
the house and Severus didn�t dare to presume about Ron, but he felt that he
could stay there in the redhead�s arms forever.

�God, I�m sorry, I�m a wreck,� he muttered when he caught a
whiff of his own stench.

�Well, you don�t smell of roses, that�s for sure,� Ron
laughed, and stroked a gentle path up Severus� spine, making him shiver. �But I
don�t care.�

�Well, I bloody do,� Severus said loudly.

He abruptly pulled back out of Ron�s embrace and held him at
arm�s length, his hands clasped firmly over the curves of the redhead�s
shoulders.

�I will feel much better if I�m facing this like my normal
self,� Severus told him firmly. �Do you have anywhere you need to be, or have I
got the time to wash away the proof of my idiocy with the promise you�ll still
be here when I walk back down those stairs?�

Ron snorted and reached up a hand to smooth over Severus�
stubble. �I�ve nowhere else to be, Severus.�

�Good,� Severus turned his head and kissed the hand on his
face, and made to pull away, but Ron grabbed his arm.

�Severus, the last few days� I�ve had to promise everybody
something. I� now I need a promise from you.�

�What do you mean?� Severus felt the blush in his cheeks.

�I need you to promise me that when you�ve showered, you�re
not going to push me out of the front door and tell me never to come back?�
Ron�s voice was filled with almost hollow hope which made Severus� heart thump.
�Because I won�t wait, if that�s all you want to say to me��

He found that he had no problem in granting Ron what he
wanted. �I promise you,� he gave a gentle nod to seal the pledge.

Ron released his arm with the smallest of smiles, and then
watched him up the stairs.

Severus ducked into the bathroom and reached for the shower
over his bath, turning it on and letting the water heat up. Shoving the loose
cotton bottoms down to the floor he kicked them up and caught them, sending
them flying into the washing bin.

He tried desperately hard to keep his mind clear and
focussed as he washed his hair, lathered his body and let the hot water carry
away the evidence of the last three days of dejection. All he had spent those
three days doing was hoping that Ron would come back to him, and now it was
time to discern what on earth they would say now that he had.

With a final scrub of his face Severus turned off the water
and dried himself so fast he was sure that he probably missed most of the
droplets quivering on his body. The little room had become heavy with steam and
he reached for the window, pushing it wide open to let in the freezing January air.
He could hear a soft whistle from the lower level of the house and smiled to
himself.

God, he looks fucking
wonderful in those robes.

Severus viciously brushed his teeth, wondering if it was
just his imagination that Ron�s face already looked a little fuller. Spitting
in the sink he dropped his brush back in the holder and made to turn away, but
then he saw something which made his heart stop and accelerate all at once.

The mirror had steamed up due to his hot shower, but on the
fogged glass there was a very clearly written message, a precise finger having dragged
through to leave it.

�Don�t push him away.�

�Oh, come on,� Severus rolled his eyes, and held his breath.
�Mirror messages?�

Severus watched in fascination as another message trailed
out in the steam.

�Maybe if you weren�t so mentally
challenged on the subject of ghosts, I wouldn�t have to resort to mirror
messages.�

�I bet you�re dancing with glee, Potter, able to insult me
when I can do nothing to hurt you. Would exorcism work, I wonder?�

�Fuck no, Snape. Now. Don�t push him away.�

�Or else?� Severus raised an
eyebrow, rather amused. �You�ll haunt me until the day I die, something like
that?�

�I wouldn�t waste my
time.�

Something in the atmosphere changed then and Severus knew if
he spoke again his question wouldn�t be answered. With a shaking hand he wiped
the messages off the mirror and his pale face came back into view, his dark
hair clinging to his head. He looked down at his naked body and realised that a
spiritual Harry Potter had just seen everything there was to see of his thin
frame.

Wonderful,
just wonderful.

He crossed the tiny landing to the bedroom and reached for
his wand, drying his hair with careless haste, one hand searching for clothes
in his wardrobe.

Finally dressed, Severus took a deep breath at the top of
the stairs and paused, wondering just what exactly waited for him at the bottom
of them. He descended the old rickety steps and looked around for Ron.

�Oh, did you have to tidy up? You�ve just made me feel unbelievably
slovenly,� Severus groaned, seeing the way that Ron had cleared the coffee
table, folded the clothes, lit the fire, thrown open all the windows, done a
quick cleaning charm and set a broom to sweeping the floor.

Walking into the kitchen only found the redhead next to the
now-empty sink and cleaned surfaces waiting for the kettle to boil, with two
mugs ready for tea, and the ruined cheesecake on the side with two spoons. The
cat was scoffing a bowl of food on the floor.

�Thank you,� Severus said, lowering his voice to a softer
tone as he wrapped his arms around Ron from behind and rested his chin on his
shoulder.

Something told him that he should not mention the mirror
messages to Ron, and he simply stayed quiet as the man made tea still wrapped
in his embrace. His eyes were caught by the silver bangle on Ron�s thin right
wrist and he reached out and grabbed it, lifting it up so that he could
inspect.

�Explain,� he said immediately, not releasing the limb.

�It was my idea,� Ron said quietly. �They all keep looking
at me like I might disappear into a cloud of smoke, as they have every right
to. I thought this might be a good way of setting them at ease. It�s charmed to
chart how I feel, if I get too upset then the right people are alerted. Also has
a tracker spell on it and if they need to find me quickly, then it can be
activated by spell into a portkey straight to the
hospital.�

�Clever,� Severus surmised, fixing his eyes on it. �But not
exactly the actions I expected from a man who not five days ago wanted to murder
himself?�

Ron gently moved a teaspoon around one of the cups, clearly
thinking on how he should answer that.

�Well, no. But then I�m not the same person as I was five days ago,� he finally
murmured.

�How so?� Severus tightened his grip,
ever-so-slightly, and leaned a little closer for the answer.

�Five days I ago I wasn�t dosed up to the eyeballs on
anti-depression potions or being force-fed sleeping draughts by my mother,�
Ron�s mouth was a lopsided smile. �Nor was I under the watch of my family
again,� he waved his wrist. �And nor had I willingly submitted myself to the
mercy of the St. Mungo�s mental health wards.�

Severus couldn�t deny that he was thrilled to hear that news,
but there was something eating away at him that he had to voice. �But why, Ron? You� you told me you would never seek that
help.�

�Well, I wasn�t counting on somebody throwing me back to my
family,� Ron spoke with a little edge to his tone. �I didn�t think anybody
would care enough to make the step that I wouldn�t force myself to take.�

�And then someone did�� Severus pressed forward, unsure
whether he should be worried by Ron�s refusal to name his part in the last few
days.

�And now I have my mother breathing down my neck, commenting
on how thin I am, how pale I look, how my clothes hang off me�� Ron squeezed
the teabag against the side of the cup and placed it on the little saucer to
the side. �So, for her, and for the rest of them, and you, I�ll do it.�

�Not for yourself?� Severus sighed sadly.

�Not yet,� Ron admitted.

�But maybe one day?�

�Yeah, maybe,� Ron nodded, and finished with the other cup.

And like Albus said to
me, Ron, for you, that�s a pleasant enough start.

Ron turned around in Severus� arms and hugged him. Severus
accepted a soft kiss with good grace and enjoyed it, taking comfort in the warm
body resting against his own.

�Gods, I really did miss you,� he breathed, his eyes closed.
Resting his forehead against Ron�s, Severus couldn�t help another deep
inhalation of his scent.

He was shocked when he heard Ron make the same move, and
felt the air sucked from his skin. The tiny shudder which followed the action
made him almost melt.

�Well, I�m not going to lie and say that washed Severus isn�t
far preferable to unwashed Severus,� Ron gave a cheeky laugh. �Glad you left
the stubble, too.�

�Oh�� Severus realised he had completely forgotten to shave.
�I forgot that.�

�Leave it,� Ron begged in a whisper, and kissed him again.

�For now,� Severus indulged him. �Later it goes.�

�I can live with that,� Ron murmured against Severus� lips,
his hot breath tickling the sensitive skin.

They stood there in their not-quite-kiss for over a minute,
simply searching the other�s eyes for the answers to questions that they didn�t
feel brave enough to broach. Severus suddenly became impatient with the
indecision and fully claimed Ron�s lips for his own, swiping his tongue against
them and demanding entry. Ron granted it and clutched at his waist tighter,
sending sparks of crackling energy up and down Severus� spine.

Groaning, he pulled back, feeling twitching in his underwear.
Both of them had to remain decidedly un-stirred if they wanted to resolve
anything.

Of course, you want
the resolution to involve you being completely hard, but that�s another matter�

Severus reached around Ron and grabbed his tea, walking to
the sofa without another word. Ron followed and perched somewhat awkwardly on
the opposite end, but their separation felt far too chaste after everything
they had done together.

�This is daft,� Ron declared, reaching forward and setting
his tea mug on the table. He lowered his hands and unlaced his boots, toeing
them off onto the rug.

Severus welcomingly lifted his arm and waited with growing anticipation
as Ron arranged himself alongside him, so close that he might as well have been
sitting in his lap. Long legs swathed in expensive fabric bent over his thighs
and socked feet dipped down in the gap between Severus and the arm of the
chair. Strong arms wrapped around him as Ron nuzzled against his shoulder.

�Quite done fidgeting yet? You�re worse than the bloody
cat,� Severus snarked, taking a mouthful of tea and
trying to ignore how having Ron draped around him so intimately made his crotch
take note all over again.

�Well, you�ve always said that my stretches sounded like
one,� Ron pointed out. �Who knows, in a past life, maybe I was feline?�

Severus snorted and levitated his mug to the coffee table so
that he could hold onto Ron with a stronger grip. Silence descended around them
again and Severus got the distinct impression that they were both waiting for
the other to speak. The absurd thing was that he had no idea what he wanted Ron
to say.

�Severus�� the redhead began, and stopped again.

�This is ridiculous,� Severus breathed. �We�re grown men.�

�Grown emotionally
stunted men,� Ron pointed out, as though it might help.

�Well, that�s true,� Severus conceded with a tilt of his head. �But still� I
imagine you have questions?�

�Oh, hundreds,� Ron snorted. �Probably not even the right
questions, I�m sure.�

�Well� start and we�ll see,� Severus said apprehensively.

�Okay,� Ron murmured, lowering his eyes. �When did you know
that you were going to contact my family?�

�The day I did it,� Severus answered, hoping that his
earnestness was apparent. �Before then I had no real inclination to contact
them, I only enjoyed my time with you.�

He heard the soft gush of exhaled air and forced himself to
look into Ron�s face.

�I thought that maybe� well, I thought that maybe you only
ever came to me to get me to trust you, after the first time, so that you could
get me home again,� Ron lowered his eyes. �I didn�t know if you really wanted me�so I left you alone for
three days, breathing room� time to think, I guess� but then�well� I got
impatient.�

�I appreciate your consideration,� Severus swallowed. �But I
don�t really see that I have anything to think about. I don�t think I ever
did.�

Ron looked at him questioningly.

�Well, the first night that we saw one another,� Severus began tentatively. �It
was� you remember my nerves, how unwilling I was in the bedroom? The things you
had done to me combined with the pity I felt for you had me instantly ensnared.
I knew I would come back to you again. I guarded that card you gave me with my
life, even though there was no possible harm that could have come to it.�

Ron fidgeted and played with his sensory cuff, chewing on
his lip.

�And then from there everything took off, I simply wanted
more of you.�

�But now you don�t?� Ron�s voice wavered.

�Why would you assume that?� Severus sighed.

�Because you sent me back to them,� Ron pointed out. �Is it
that you didn�t want to deal with my problems any more, Severus? Was that it?�
His voice rose with fretfulness.

�No, that wasn�t it-�

�Or was it that you were scared of what you were starting to
feel for me?�

�I will not deny that my fear of those feelings led me to go
and see Albus� portrait for the first time in years,� Severus told him
honestly. �I did not know how to handle the situation, and he assured me that
returning you to your family was the best way. He seemed to think that you were
inadvertently asking me for my help to make the jump, and that I should provide
it, even if you did not know you were asking.�

�And what about your feelings?�
Ron�s voice trembled slightly and still he did not look up, which Severus felt
grateful for.

�I would be a coward if I did not confess that I am still
completely terrified of what I might come to feel for you,� Severus kept the
words soft so that he could convince himself of his strength. �Or of what the
future would hold if we��

�If we what?� Ron looked up then, his sapphire eyes piercing
straight into Severus�.

�If we do what we both
want to do,� Severus looked dead back at him, forcing himself to take the upper
hand and raise the possibility first, �and turn this into more than just a
selection of heated fucks and sporadic soul healing.�

Severus let out a little shocked mumble when Ron grabbed his
face and kissed him, hard, knocking their teeth together as they met. When his
surprise faded, however, Severus raised his hands and sunk his fingers into
Ron�s soft hair.

�You are so stunning,�
he muttered, not even bothering to blush at what he would usually consider
outlandish praise.

�Really?� Ron breathed. �Do you
really think that, Severus?�

Severus blinked at him in confusion. �Of
course. Why would I have said it if I did not believe it? Have you ever
known me to mince my words, Ron?�

�No,� Ron said fairly. �But I need to know, Severus� that
you want me for me, and not me as a whore. Because whilst I can keep what I learnt
and I can sling my hips from side to side and bat my eyelashes and smile
seductively and give an amazing fucking blowjob,� Ron�s voice became breathless
as he rattled off the list of whorish attributes, �I need to know that it�s me that you want. And
not the whore.�

Not wanting to hurt the man with foolish hesitation, Severus
stumbled for the right words. He didn�t find any, so he simply leaned forward
and captured Ron�s lips again, holding his head in place with spread fingers
cupping the base of his skull.

He pulled back when he found something to say. �It would be
wholly you, Ron. You, the man who warms up the bed in two minutes flat, you,
who makes one of the best fucking cups of tea in the world, you, who can make
even a putrid cigarette look enticing��

Ron�s face flushed with pleasure and he lowered it slightly
to hide his reaction to the praise, but Severus grabbed hold of his chin and
tilted it upward. It wasn�t a graceful move by any means and Ron suddenly burst
out laughing at the way his face was awkwardly shoved skyward.

Severus laughed and dropped it, shaking his head and causing
his freshly washed hair to bounce around his face. He frowned when Ron groaned
but then realised why. The redhead leant forward and pressed his nose hard into
the hair, and inhaled.

�Fuck, you smell so good,� he gasped, sucking in another deep drag. �Tea, you
smell of tea and that�s all I�ve been able to fucking think of for three days.
I think my family were starting to think there was more than just grief and
depression wrong with me, I kept sniffing the fucking tea caddy.�

�Really?� Severus raised a teasing
eyebrow.

�Yes. I�m sure that it�s a more than coincidence that the primary brew of choice in our house, and always has been, mind
�is English Breakfast, and that�s totally what you smell of.�

�I find it odd that you can make the distinction,� Severus
admitted. �Tea is tea when you�re gasping for it.�

�No, all teas smell different; you�re a bloody Potioneer, for Merlin�s sake�� Ron shook his head
disbelievingly. �And English Breakfast packs the right
punch in the morning��

�Come on, hit me with some god-awful pun that for you I pack the right punch at any time of the day,� Severus smirked
expectantly.

�I would,� Ron sighed. �But you just blew my punch line.�

Severus snorted as Ron kissed into his hair and left his
face there.

�Severus,� the name was a mutter against his head and he
grunted his response. �Are you really saying that this is� that we��

�If you are sure that this is what you want,� Severus
answered carefully. �I am well aware, Ron, that I represent the last dregs of
what you were.�

�Are we back to the tea again?� Ron
smiled gently and pulled back. �You were never the dregs, Severus. Never. You were the second gulp.�

�Second?�

�The first is just the immediate relief,� Ron rolled his
eyes. �It�s always the second mouthful, when the flavour gets around your
tongue, when you really take comfort from it� that�s always the best, and
that�s what you were. And if I can carry you with me out of that hell then I�m
glad.�

�I thought we�d covered this before,� Severus looked up at
him sheepishly. �Nobody carries me anywhere.�

�I thought that was just when pissed?�

�No no, it applies to the sober as
well.�

�Shame,� Ron winked. �Because I�m not the only one who�s
going to be hauled over the coals in the next few months. I would have thought
you might have appreciated a lift off them every now and then��

�Where on earth are you getting all these sodding analogies from?� Severus dissolved into chortling
laughter.

�Fine, get burnt,� Ron replied wickedly, and his eyes
twinkled as he leant in for another kiss, which Severus eagerly took, enjoying
the way their tongues batted against one another with a splash more fire than
they had hitherto produced.

The heat eventually dwindled but they stayed close. Severus
wondered if Ron felt as relieved as he did to simply be near him again.

But it�s not even full
relief, far too many questions to be asked�

To that end, Severus decided to plough ahead. �How were your
family? What have you told them?�

�They were shocked,� Ron sighed, and leant back slightly. �As expected, really. Ginny is� she goes through fits of
shunning me, forgets herself and then goes back to not talking again. She left
for a week�s training in Wales
today, so hopefully when she comes back she might feel a bit more
accommodating.�

�How did she fare after Potter�s death?� Severus had to ask.

�Well, from what I can tell, she had her months off the
rails and then just� got on with it.�

�Maybe we should study and take notes?� Severus suggested
bleakly.

Ron laughed, �Probably. She�s seeing someone now, and seems
happy. I�m pleased for her.�

�Not met him yet then?�

�No, God� meeting my bloody nieces was bad enough!�

�You have nieces?� Severus asked, not knowing why he was
surprised �the Weasley clan had always been vast, and the younger generation
were bound to reproduce as they grew older.

�Yeah, Bill and Fleur�s,� Ron shot
him a grin. �Two little girls, Victoire and Dominique� like little miniature
Fleur Delacours with Weasley hair, it�s bloody weird!
And Remus� boy, Teddy��

�What about the others?�

Where Severus� curiosity was coming from, he wasn�t quite
sure, but he knew he should start as he meant to go on. If he wanted Ron in his
life, he felt he should at least acquaint himself to the inner workings of his
family tree.

�Charlie still unattached, much to mum�s annoyance,� Ron
snorted.

�Do they know about his sexuality?�

�Not sure,� Ron shrugged. �I guess I�ll talk to him at some
point. Percy�s married, a witch so utterly different to him it�s unbelievable�
she�s so laid back, carefree� he�s completely in love with her.�

�Opposites attract,� Severus reminded him.

�Hmm,� Ron fixed him with a pointed look. �I suppose that
they do, yeah.�

�George?�

�Alone, thin, obviously very hurt but getting there,� Ron
swallowed. �The other day mum threw her arms around me and said that even in
three days the changes in him had been huge� so I guess my going back did some
good for him.�

�And for yourself, too,� Severus indicated a hand at his
robes. �And you look healthier.�

�Because the woman is a food-shovelling machine,� Ron
muttered. �But if I won�t give them details on the
past, I can at least eat their food, take their potions and keep them happy��

�So you chose to hold it back, then,� Severus leant his head
on the back of the sofa.

�I took your advice,� Ron smiled at him. �Aren�t you
pleased?�

�If I were of that sort of inclination I would get up and do
a dance,� Severus assured him. �Luckily for you, I am not, so I will sit here
and smile smugly, hoping my joy radiates far and wide that way.�

Ron laughed and threw his head back, looking up at the
ceiling of the cottage.

�It didn�t feel real,� he whispered. �It felt like I was
floating along, tied down by my family. But it�s you, Severus, you�re making it
real; you�re holding me onto the ground. They�re the rope,
you�re the peg in the earth.�

�Enough,� Severus huffed. �Stop with the damned euphemisms,
Weasley, and give me another one of those blasted kisses that you�re so
talented at.�

Ron complied with a smile on his lips and tilted his head to
the side for better access, his tongue reaching deeper within Severus� mouth.
Groaning, Severus let him lick and suck, and didn�t bother to fight to rein in
his body�s reactions. He had one last thing to say.

�Ron,� he murmured, leaning forward for one last tacking
kiss before pulling away.

�Mm?� Ron�s eyelids were half
closed with barely cloaked lust. Severus could see his erection through his robes
and fought hard to ignore it and the wonder spreading through his body that he
had evoked such a sight.

�Your inner whore,� Severus lowered his eyes. �Will he be
disappearing forever, do we think?�

Ron jerked his hair out of his eyes and fixed Severus with a
cool stare. �Why?�

�Well� I just feel that you� everything that has happened to
you in the past five years has brought you to this
point, and what�s more, it has brought me
here, too. I don�t think that you will ever successfully extinguish it from
your being. And to be perfectly honest with you, I don�t think you should.�

�I flirted with my brother for a tea towel,� Ron confessed,
shame creeping into his cheeks. �You�re one hundred percent right, Severus,� he
breathed.

�Well, I�m just suggesting that you� if you need an outlet
for him, if you need an outlet for the things you know through experience and need
to set aside in your day to day life� I�m here, but you know with confidence
that that side of your personality is not all
that I desire of you...�

Ron looked at him again, eyes penetrating right through to
Severus� soul. �Thank you.�

�Don�t thank me,� Severus shook his head minutely, and then
progressed to what he had wanted to say ever since Ron had crossed his
threshold. �Fuck me instead.�

Ron threw himself off the sofa and yanked Severus up with
him, nearly dislodging the mug on the edge of the table as he passed. Severus
went willingly, letting his body careen into the wall as Ron shoved it there,
and moaned throatily when a leg slid up in between his thighs and hands ghosted
over his hips.

They both vocally appreciated when Ron rocked his hips
forward and crushed their covered erections together, something Severus
instantly found himself wanting to remedy. His fingers were clumsier than he
could ever remember them being as they set about working on Ron�s robes and he
sighed in relief when the redhead pulled back and batted his hand away.

�This is fucking amazing,� Ron assured him, and Severus
watched as his index finger reached to the high collar of the neck of the robes,
gave a quick tug and then all of the material latches came undone in a sharp
snap.

Severus didn�t pause to comment on the wonders of wizarding fashion;
he merely shoved the robe off Ron�s shoulders and unbuttoned the jeans he was
wearing beneath them. Intermingled gasps and moans rent the air whilst they
kissed, slowly becoming more and more naked as they staggered up the stairs.
Severus wasn�t particularly sure that they were even going to make it to the
bed.

And the question is, do I really want to?

�Accio lubricant,� he muttered,
flinging out his hand to catch the jar as it hurtled out of the bedroom and
smacked into his palm.

�Here?� Ron gasped, his back
against the wall of the stairs.

�Anywhere,� Severus grunted and kicked away his trousers and
underwear, his undone shirt flapping around the thin frame of his torso.

Ron snatched the jar of lube off him and threw lid with a
clatter down the stairs, scooping out a globful and
without warning dumped the cold substance on Severus� cock. Instantly smoothing
the liquid out over every ridge and bump he could find, he masterfully worked
it to full hardness with a lustful smile on his face, causing Severus� breath
to catch with the intensity of his stare.

�It feels so good to know that�s the only cock I�ll ever see,
other than my own, again,� Ron murmured, his fingers slowing to a heartfelt
caress, and they slid beneath to Severus� balls.

�Really?� Severus shivered, the
words and the touch working together to wrack his body with pleasure.

�Of course,� Ron frowned, his pupils dilated with lust.

�No, I mean really, the only one��

�Oh,� Ron flushed at what he had said and bit down hard into
his lip.

�It�s� it�s� not important now,� Severus shook his head,
forcing the words out and snatched the jar back, taking his own fingerful. �On your knees.�

Ron sank fluidly down without removing his clothes the rest
of the way. His knees were trapped in his trousers; his robes were bunched
around his waist, top half completely bare.

Severus trailed a finger down between his buttocks and
pressed into him without fanfare, working his finger into the blazing confines.

�Moan for me,� he commanded, carried away by the fact that
they were about to fuck on the stairs of his house, in full view of the front
door.

And that is the
benefit to being a miserable fucking bastard �that door won�t open, nobody
gives a fuck other than the man in front of me right now.

He slid a second finger inward and trembled again when Ron
moaned in pleasure, thrusting his backside down on the digits in his body.

�Yesss, Severus, more,� he
murmured, his fingers scrabbling on the stair that he was holding onto. �More, please��

Severus gave him what he wanted and worked the three fingers
inward, before sliding out and beginning to pump them back and forth. The redhead
began to mewl under the pressure slamming into his prostate and Severus reached
down to fist his own cock in his free hand, biting back his vocal accompaniments.

�Oh, gods,� the whimper was high pitched. �Want you now.�

Unable to help his speed, Severus yanked his fingers free
and positioned himself, gripping onto Ron�s hips tightly. His knees ached on
the hard wood of the stairs and his sweating body stung in the cold air, but it
all evaporated as he plunged into the heat of Ron�s arse and he groaned out the
name of his lover to the house.

�Unnngh fuck it, say my name like
that again, say it�� Ron threw his head back.

Severus didn�t comply, but leant forward and kissed a hot
wet path up Ron�s spine, moaning as he did so, distracting Ron from the fact
that his hips were picking up pace. When Severus levelled off into a punishing
speed, making the skin of their thighs slap together indecently, Ron shuddered
and yelped in time to the beat, thrusting backwards, his shaking arms barely
managing to support him.

Lodged deep, Severus moaned with bitter regret that he was
about to come, wanting to drag out the sex for as long as he possibly could.

�Just fuck me and fill me with your come,� Ron hissed over
his shoulder. �You know it�s what you want, Severus, just fucking claim me�
stop pissing around and take what you want, take what you deserve��

Severus reached forward, trying his best to ignore the
difficulty of their positioning, grabbed hold of Ron�s erection batting
somewhat painfully against the rim of the stairs, and pumped it rapidly. He had
to slow down to manage his next move, but he manoeuvred to place his lips next
to Ron�s ear, his belly flatted over the redhead�s scarred back. He licked the
shell and whispered, �I�ll take what I want, you can be sure of that, Weasley��
He sucked on a soft earlobe, taking a deep draw of intoxicating rose and
vanilla once again as his tongue ravished the silky skin. �But only if you get
what you deserve at the same time.�

�And what�s that?� Ron whimpered, pushing back onto Severus�
cock and then canting his hips forward into his hand.

Severus let him repeat his pleasure a few times more before
he spoke again, enjoying the way Ron�s supple body grew tenser with every hip-swinging
push and pull movement, and the way the orgasm built so obviously in his torn
breathing.

�You deserve to come every.single.fucking.time,�
Severus hissed in his ear, making sure his hot breath blew directly into the
canal. �Every time, Ron�� he set his
fingers to manipulate Ron�s foreskin and slowed his hips to a deep rocking
motion to accompany the short, staccato movements he worked into the cock.

�Fuck, I�m gonna come�� Ron
choked, knuckles whitening with increased grip.

Severus wrapped his free arm around the redhead�s pelvis,
locking him into place. Keeping up the rocking motion and gentle but pointed
fondling, he licked down Ron�s neck. Kisses replaced his tongue on the ascent
and he nibbled at the spot just below his ear, not quite neck and not quite
throat, before clamping his mouth down on the no-man�s-land flesh and sucking.

The body beneath him gave way and Ron cried out as his cock
began to spasm. Severus held him firmly in place and when the redhead tried to
dislodge him by clamping down his inner muscles around the older man�s leaking
cock, he hissed with desire.

�Fill me,� Ron�s words hit the walls and Severus wasn�t
surprised that they completely unravelled him.

His hips jerked and come spurted from his body with deep
pulls from his stomach. Instantly beginning to quiver, he held on to Ron even
more possessively and growled and hissed as sated relaxation began to wash
through his body from his dick outwards.

�You really mean this?� Ron�s voice suddenly wobbled
significantly as his pained question burst out, and his head lowered to look at
the stairs, hair sticking to his sweaty skin. �You mean it? You want me? I�m
not just a fuck to you?�

Severus covered the redhead�s back with his body and leant
to his ear again, hoping that his voice was strong enough. �Ron, I don�t think
you were ever just a fuck.� He
pressed a kiss to his creamy shoulder, resting his head lightly against the
back of Ron�s.

�I don�t think you were ever just a client, either,� the words were a whisper, but they hit into
Severus� conscious as though they had been bellowed through a loudspeaker.

Ron turned in Severus� arms, his legs tangling in his
clothes and his head cracking painfully against one of the stairs, but he
barely noticed as he wrapped his arms around Severus� neck and kissed him,
bumping their noses together.

�In all my years fucking wizards,� Ron whispered. �I�ve
never done it on the stairs.�

Severus snorted and blushed. �I couldn�t quite control myself to formulate the
extra effort to get into the boudoir.�

Ron smirked, looked up from beneath his damp fringe, and
whispered provocatively, �Lose control more often, Sev...�

�Do you need a promise on that?� Severus quirked an eyebrow
and kissed him.

Ron drew in a few shaky breaths when Severus released him,
and shook his head.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Don't Let The Whirlwind Pass By