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Torn	By : starstruck86 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Snape/Ron Views: 3458 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
�No,
Severus, don�t make me tell you again.�

�But- oh duck ib, ACHOOarghanbfuckbisoo�ellanback.�

�You are ill,� Ron said loudly and pointedly over
Severus� grumbling which followed the sneeze. �You are snotting up more than a
Bat Bogey Hex, your temperature is up, you will not stop shivering and you both
sound and look like you�ve gone three rounds drunk with an overenthusiastic
bludger. You are ill, Severus, now for the love of God, before I hex you to
make you, stay in the damned bed!�

Severus
angrily swiped under his nose with a tissue and sniffed hard. �I�b nob
ill,� he said, completely bunged up. �I�b
jus� gob a colb.�

�A what?�
Ron raised his eyebrow.

�A colb,� Severus� face screwed up in frustration.

�If you can pronounce the word �cold� then I will let you up,� Ron smugly
folded his arms over his chest.

�You�re a basbarb!� Severus declared and ungracefully sneezed again.

�No no, my parents were married,� Ron sighed. �Look, Severus.
Just lie down and rest, for God�s sake. You don�t want to spend your holiday
ill, do you?�

Severus
glared at him a second longer before the fight went out of him and he sagged
back on the pillows of their bed. �Habe
bein� ill.�

�I know, it makes you feel weak and at a disadvantage in the world,� Ron
recited. �But please,� he leant over his husband and kissed his forward. �Just
rest and get better.�

�Dun �iss me, you�ll geb ill,� Severus
jerked his head away.

�It�s a bit
late for that,� Ron rolled his eyes. �I feel fine. You, however, do not. So. You�re going to stay in bed like a good little patient
and go back to sleep, and I�ll bring you lunch in a few hours with the potion
I�m brewing that�ll make it all better.�

�Soub?�

Ron fought
down his laugh, still not entirely able to believe he could revert back to
normal after the events of the past few weeks. �Soup, yes.�

�Goob.� Severus blinked up at him, looking purposely
pathetic. �Nighb nighb.�

Ron kissed
his forehead again and left the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

Oh God I really do hate being ill, Severus rolled onto his back and
stared glumly at the ceiling. His forehead was prickling with sweat even though
his body felt ice packed. He tugged the duvet tighter around his body and
swallowed. At least the sore throat had passed, that had been agony and he couldn�t
even speak in pathetically clipped words. Wizarding
Flu is an absolute bitch.

Severus
couldn�t remember the last time he�d been this ill, and it was even longer
before he could find a memory of someone actually caring him through it. And
Ron was doing an absolutely sterling job of that, he would make his mother
proud. Severus sniffed heavily and thought back on the past few days. It was
the day before Christmas Eve, and nearly a week after Ron had come to him in
his office. They had talked the back end off a hippogriff about what had
happened and yet they didn�t seem to have reached the point where they felt
normal with each other.

Well, that�s not true. I feel normal
with him but he�s being reserved and that�s setting me on edge. I wish he�d
just loosen up.

Severus
hated that he was lying in bed instead of being up helping Ron prepare for
Christmas. He still had shopping to do and he was in bed instead of fighting
the droves in Diagon Alley and Muggle London.

Actually, I might like being ill
more than I thought.

He snuggled
down the bed a bit further and closed his eyes.

***

Ron
straightened and mopped his forehead with the back of his arm. He had washed, dried, ironed and folded four lots of washing,
scrubbed the bathroom viciously clean and was halfway through the kitchen. It
was harder than it should have been due to the fact that George consented to
prance back and forth across the wet kitchen floor as Ron mopped. The dog still
hadn�t forgiven him for leaving and all the mean words that had crossed his
lips before he had done so.

I don�t think he�s ever going to
forgive me. Ron
grabbed the mop again and set himself to task, trying to bat away the memory of
the conversation which kept on coming back to him, over and over, taunting him�

�You really did hurt me,� Severus had said. �I didn�t think that I could� that I could
ever feel that rejected again, and then in one fell swoop you had me broken.�

�I don�t know what to say, Ron had thought it best he was
honest. �I can only apologise but I�ve done
that so many times it�s not��

�Valid?� Ron remembered the large sigh
Severus had given. �I know you mean it,
Ron, and I know sometimes there aren�t words big enough with which to
apologise.�

�Do you still love me?� It sounded even more pathetic in
his head than when Ron had actually asked the words aloud.

�Of course I bloody do,� Severus had rolled his eyes. �Did you expect, even if you had left me,
that I would actually stop loving you?�

Severus had
meant it as an assurance, Ron knew. He buffered the mop along the side of the
cupboards noisily. But all those words had done was bring down immense guilt on
him like a tonne of bricks. Severus would have loved him forever with the same
possessive, stubborn fire he had loved Lily once upon a time, and Ron hated
the thought of that. He assumed that not having the answers made him a bad
person. It made him feel like a failure as a husband that he couldn�t magically
fix the problem he had caused.

Magic� fix� oh God, it�s not that
simple is it?

Ron almost
dropped the mop as he thought over all of their conversations in the last week,
and how there had been one subject they had very carefully and purposefully
skirted around discussing.

Fuck it, that�s it! That�s how I
make it up to him. I swallow my fear about it being abnormal and I�

There was a
great surge of heat in Ron�s chest and for the first time in days his ribs
stopped aching. He dunked the mop back in the bucket and swilled it around
before squeezing out the excess.

He knew
that he was still acting in a reserved manner around Severus, and he hadn�t
known exactly why.

�Please, Ron, stop it. I�ve always
loved your sense of humour� don�t hide it because you want to be more
respectful of me. Be yourself.� Severus had pleaded with him more than once.

Ron hadn�t
answered him with anything more than a smile, a silent promise to try. And try
Ron certainly had, but he�d really not found it easy to slip back into his
happy persona. He had begun to wonder if it was completely banished. That was
worrying Severus, he knew. But it didn�t feel right to laugh and joke and poke
fun at him just yet, not so soon after they�d reconciled.

Well, either way. Normal starts now. Ron mopped the last part of the
tiles and opened the back door to lob the dirty water onto the grass.

***

�Oh thanb Gob,� Severus took the glass which Ron handed him
gratefully and drank it one big gulp, gasping for breath as he finished.

�You should
be back to normal by the morning,� Ron grinned brightly, and took the glass
back off him. �And then maybe we can have a conversation without me wanting to
burst out laughing.�

�Shub ub,� Severus glowered,
though his eyes watched Ron carefully, seeing the genuine crinkling at the
corners of his eyes and the way his smile seemed warmer than it had that morning.
�You alrighb?�

�I�m
great,� Ron leant forward and kissed his husband�s forehead.

�Why?�
Severus� suspicion only succeeded in making him sound rather cute.

�Never you
mind,� Ron winked. �And go back to sleep.�

�No! I�b gebbing ub!�

�You bloody
are not, my sweet, if slightly snotty, darling. I laced that with sleeping
potion. You�re going buh-byes in approximately five
minutes.�

�Knob!�

�You can
have that when you�re better,� Ron said airily and got up, levitating the tray
out of the door. �Do you want anything else, I�ve got something I need to
practice down in the cellar this afternoon and won�t be able to hear you if you
call?�

Severus
shook his head. �I�b fine.�

�When you
can pronounce your m�s, d�s
and t�s again, you�ll be fine, Severus, but not a
moment before,� Ron laughed, shaking his head.

He turned
to leave, but remembering he was going to try and get back to normal, he turned
and blew Severus a kiss off his hand. Severus couldn�t help responding in the
way Ron had taught him was polite; he reached up and grabbed at the air as if
to catch the kiss within it. Then, he kissed his own fingers and blew the kiss
back. Ron beamed at him and disappeared.

Well, that was almost normal. Severus felt the sleep potion start
to dizzy his head slightly and he lay back on his pillows. He blew me a kiss. And he laughed. Good God. Is there some semblance of
normal returning? Ah fuck, I bet I�m
just high on sleeping juice.

***

Ron was not
in the cellar, as he�d told Severus. The house was clean and he was free of
domestic obligation for the afternoon as his husband slept off his fever. So
Ron had sprawled himself on the carpet in front of the fire, and surrounded
himself with the books and essays Severus had collected on magical conception.
He had a re-filling mug of coffee by his side and a sandwich he�d made but left
untouched.

It was
untouched because Ron found, as he got into the reading, he was absolutely
fascinated. He thought he might have to bolt his stomach in place to read about
the procedures but he was being pleasantly surprised at every turn.

�Prospective parents are greatly encouraged
to spend time with their growing babies whilst they are housed in the replica
womb. Studies have shown that babies who are read, sung and simply talked to
are far more responsive in the first months after birth than those who are
not.�

Ron read
the passage again. He�d not even thought of that. All he had been able to
consider was how cold the process had seemed, how clinical. But they could go
and spend time with their child as it developed. Ron was struck with a lovely
image of Severus sitting there, reading to their baby, setting in stone his
role before he was even born.

Whoa, wait, he? Ron checked himself and took a sip
of coffee. This might not even work, you
might not be fertile enough, and you�ve decided it�s a boy? A boy not even
conceived yet?

The book
slipped slightly from Ron�s hands as he entered his thoughts, a slight smile
spreading on his face considering the little boy he might have with Severus.

He�d have red hair, that gene gets
in everywhere. And he�d have Severus� paleness, and
only a few freckles over his cheekbones. And he�ll have really dark blue eyes,
a mix of us both. He�ll be a total heartbreaker. And of course, he�ll have a
natural aptitude for chess and Quidditch� and he�ll be a prefect, and Head Boy�

Ron grinned
broadly at the realisation he was creating expectations for the poor baby
before it was even a twinkle in his fathers� eyes. But he couldn�t help it, as
he sat there.

And, of course, he�ll love us both
equally because we�ll be great fathers.

Ron knew
without a shadow of a doubt that Severus would make the most smashing father
when it came to it. Firm but fair when he liked you (and he has to like his own child, he�s had first hand experience of
being hated by a parent, he�d never do that to our kid�) and always
comforting and loving.

He put the
book aside and picked up a pamphlet detailing the process. At that current time
there was a four year waiting list for the facility, and it set Ron on fire.
He�d spent ten minutes debating whether to go in and demand Severus spunk into
a cup before marching off to the Ministry and St. Mungo�s
then and there to register them. But then Ron had remembered he was trying to
be endearing and romantic, not obsessive and psychotic, and had calmed down.
And then he�d noticed that he needed to obtain the registration paperwork from
the Ministry first anyway.

He had his
cloak ready and waiting for when he was finished reading. He picked up another
book detailing on what kind of genetics the baby was likely to carry.

�It has never been known for any
number of multiple babies to be conceived through magical conception. Research
on achieving such aims is understandably hindered by parental protest at having
embryos manipulated beyond the necessary means to conceive a child. The
Ministry has not attempted to further their research; at least, none has been
displayed to the public.

The genetics of child are completely
up to chance, just as with standard conception. As there is always be a
feminine and masculine force present, the genetic lottery is as fruitful as
ever with magical conception. Traits which run in one line may well be present
in the child, or they may be absent in favour of characteristics from the second
line, or they may be evenly mixed together. There is no evidence of genetic
trending, that is �no pattern of particularly maternal or paternal featuring,
in magically conceived children.�

Ron tapped
his thumb on the book as he read on.

�On the subject of health issues in magically
conceived children, it is proven that there is a distinct advantage. The
constant monitoring of the replicated womb allows for swift action should
problems occur, and the child is in much less danger than in a conventional
pregnancy.�

His heart
positively thrummed at that idea, that his child would be safer than it could
possibly be during the gestation period.

Christ, did I just use the words
�gestation period�? Holy batshit.
I think I�ve finally grown up.

Ron�s smile
grew ever wider and he shut the book. He had read enough. He stretched out his
legs to regain feeling in them and took a mouthful of coffee, preparing to rise
and head for the Ministry before Severus could wake up. But the Floo in front
of him flared green and Ron looked up in surprise.

�George!�
He said warmly, looking at his brother in the grate. �How�re you?�

�Are you
reading?� George asked incredulously, brushing soot off his cloak. �Agh, shit, sorry, got some on the carpet.�

�Severus is
asleep, don�t worry about it,� Ron dismissed him.

�Asleep,
what�s he doing in bed in the middle of the afternoon?�

�Wizarding
Flu,� Ron grimaced. �Pretty nasty bout. The remedy�s
taken two days to brew because he simply refused to drink a pre-made one, but
he had it with lunch, he should be right as rain by the morning.�

George sank
down to his knees and picked up one of the books Ron had been reading. ��Magical Health Advancement�? �Growing Children: A
Practical Assessment of Magical Conception�? What are you reading these for?�
he asked incredulously.

Ron
swallowed another mouthful and licked his lips. �I�m going to register Severus
and me into the waiting list to use the womb facilities at the hospital,� he
said quietly.

George
looked at him with raised eyebrows. �But I thought you� I thought you weren�t
keen on that?�

�I wasn�t,� Ron shrugged. �But then I actually sat down and read the stuff like
he asked me too, and it�s not so scary� in fact, it�s pretty fucking amazing,
George.�

�He asked
you read these?�

�Well, he
did, before mum died. Up until now I haven�t felt able to.�

�So what changed?� George leafed through the book even though he wasn�t really
looking at the words.

�I need to
make things right again between us,� Ron said delicately. �And whilst� normally,
signing up for a child probably isn�t the right way to fix your marital
problems, I think for us, it will be.�

�Do go on,�
George looked at him.

�Its how I
show him I�m back and I�m willing to give this a hundred percent again,� Ron
traced a finger over the carpet. �It�s what we wanted before, a child together,
and I know we both still want it �I know that because we�ve both been too
scared to raise the subject in case we find out the other doesn�t want it.�

�Well, I
suppose that makes sense,� George nodded with a shrug. �But how are you going
to do this without Severus� signature?�

Ron sent
him a little devilish grin. �I can do a convincing copy.�

�They don�t
need a magical signature?�

�Not for
putting names on the waiting list, I checked,� Ron shook his head. �They only
need that when you take your�sample in.�

�God, it
sounds so weird� you catch your jizz in a cup and
then hand it over and nine months later, there�s a baby.�

�Not quite
as quick as that,� Ron looked at him sadly. �There�s a four year waiting list.
It�s why I want to do this before Christmas, and it�ll sort of be a bridge...�

George
smiled over at him and Ron felt uncomfortable. �Don�t go getting all proud of
me, George. I made a terrible fuck-up and I�m trying to atone for it. I want
this as much as he does� so it�s not as if it�s a selfless deed.�

�No, maybe
not,� George levelled with him. �But at the same time, you�re going to make him
very happy, and you�re compromising on the method.�

Ron said
nothing and looked at the carpet again.

�So come on
then,� George�s voice took on a childishly questioning tone. �Is it going to be
a boy or a girl?�

�A boy,�
the smile burst on to Ron�s face.

�You can
choose?� George asked, surprised.

�Oh, no.�

�Then how on
earth do you know it�ll be a boy?!�

�I just
know,� Ron smiled. �I had a dream the other night where we had a little boy�
and my dreams have been right before.�

�Aye, I
suppose they have,� George laughed. �So are you going today?�

�Right after you tell me why you�ve popped through the fireplace.�

�Dad wanted
me to find out what you and Severus are doing for Christmas, is all.�

�Translation:
Dad sent you check up on me.�

�Well, I was being nice about it, but yeah, that�s pretty much it.�

�Well, I
haven�t spoken to Severus about it yet. But I�d like to come home if I�m
welcome. It�s going to be tough for Dad and he�ll need us.�

�Tough for
all of us,� George said. �How are you holding up?�

Ron blushed
slightly as he said his next words. �When I go to the hospital to hand the
forms in, I�m going to go to the therapy unit and find out about some sessions.�

�Oh Merlin,
you�ve not gone and given yourself something horrible like an eating disorder,
have you?� George eyed the untouched sandwich with fear.

�No,� Ron
shook his head. �I was hungry when I made that, and then I started reading and
got distracted. But I just think�I know I refused to talk about everything at
the time of the attack. Now with mum as well and how� awful I got, maybe it�s
time to pull my head out of my arse and help myself.�

�I think
that�s a sickeningly grown up decision,� George smiled. �Who are you and what have you done with my little brother?�

Ron
snorted. �Given him a much needed kick up the backside.�

�You�re too
hard on yourself,� George reached out and grabbed his shoulder. �We all go off
the rails once or twice, Ron.�

�Oh please,
when have you ever gone off the rails?� Ron scoffed. �And you�re one of the
troublemakers of the family?�

�After Fred
and I left school,� George said calmly. �I was away from mum and it just�
blossomed I guess. Notice how I don�t drink much these days?�

�Oh,� Ron�s
voice was soft in realisation. �Was it bad?�

�It certainly wasn�t good,� George laughed. �But see, we all go a bit mad
sometimes. And Dad knows that, and he didn�t want to be so harsh on you� but he
didn�t want to see you lose Severus.�

�Good old Weasley Interventions, eh?� Ron gathered the books up into a
pile and sent them back down into the cellar where he�d collected them from. �Right. I�m going to register me for a baby.�

�I�ve got
nothing to do,� George got to his feet. �Want some moral support?�

�Yeah,� Ron
said, with a broad smile.

***

�You want a
re-fill?� George reached for his wallet.

�Yeah, g�wan then,� Ron grinned at him gratefully from where he
was on page four of ten of the registration form. �They�re weeding out the ones
who don�t really mean it with this piece of crap, I�m sure of it.�

George
snorted and walked away to get more drinks. They were in one of the coffee
shops in Magical London�s restaurant quarter, so Ron could fill out the forms.
It was packed with resting Christmas shoppers. Ron paused filling in his
immediate parentage and grand-parentage to look at two men who were laughing at
a table nearby, hand in hand. One of them caught Ron�s eye and winked suggestively.
Ron smiled in return but looked back down at the table and the sheets which
would lead to his future.

�I hate
Christmas shoppers,� George returned with two oversized mugs of hot chocolate
topped with whipped cream and tiny marshmallows. �I hate them, I hate them, I hate them. An old biddy just ran over
my foot with her fucking shopping trolley.�

�Well, good thing you own a popular shop on England�s most lucrative wizarding
High Street then, isn�t it?� Ron said to the papers, jotting in the name of
Severus� parents and grandparents.

�You know
all this stuff about him?� George looked at what he was writing.

�Well,
yeah,� Ron frowned, looking up. �We�ll have been together three years in May,
that�s conducive to a lot of nights talking.�

�Oh,� George
flushed a bit.

�Why, do
you not know this stuff about Seamus?�

�No,�
George looked determinedly out of the window.

�You�re
still in the honeymoon period,� Ron said gently. �And� if I
remember rightly, that just involves a lot of sex.�

�It�s a
year in January though��

�So what?�
Ron shrugged. �I hope you�re not using me as your be all and end all model of
homosexual relationships, George,� he gave a laugh. �I slept with my Professor,
then I moved in with him, and then I got tragically mutilated for him, which
caused us to get married, and then he went to Azkaban, and then we moved house
which we could only afford to buy with the payoff for said tragic mutilation.
And then I�ve nearly gone and fucked it all up.�

George
looked at him for a second before snorting with laughter. �All
right, point taken.�

Ron grinned
as he started a new line of the form. �Oh, here�s the fun part. �Reason for applying for facility�.�

�You�d
think from the fact both occupants are male they�d figure it out,� George
lazily leaned back on two legs of his chair and took a mouthful of hot
chocolate.

�Mmm,� Ron
agreed, and worked through the page. �Look, here�s the lovely part about which
one of you is going to be the female.�

�I think you�d look lovely in a nice dress and a pair of heels,� George taunted
him.

�I actually
don�t look bad in heels,� Ron raised
a knowing eyebrow and smirked as he wrote.

�Is there
anything you two haven�t done?�
George asked, somewhat breathlessly.

�Well I
hope so, wizards generally tend to live to over a hundred and I�d hate to be
bored,� Ron snorted.

�So can you
walk in them?� George asked curiously.

�Er, you really think I got that far?�

�What, you
fell over?�

Ron threw
his pen down and glared pointedly at George. �No, George, I meant got that far
before I was thrown into the mattress and pounded into the next week.�

George
coloured. �I really need more practice at this whole �being a sexual entity�
thing, don�t I?�

�You�ll get
there,� Ron said kindly, taking the pen up again and continuing the form. �I
was na�ve at first, too.�

�Good thing
Seamus knows what he�s doing,� George smiled wryly into his cup.

They fell
into contented silence and Ron managed to reach the last sheet of the form
before George coughed slightly and spoke again.

�So, how
are you going to tell him about this?�

�I don�t
actually know,� Ron worked his lower lip between his teeth before spooning some
of the whipped cream into his mouth. �It doesn�t seem very romantic to just
wake him up with a specimen cup.�

�Merry
Christmas: Say it with Spunk,� George muttered with a filthy grin.

Ron giggled
boyishly and hid beneath his hair.

�I� hmm.
Might have an idea, if you�re interested?� George�s eyes had taken on a gleam.

Ron
concentrated hard and signed Severus� name on the sheet of paper. �There we
are. I hope he�s not going to go psycho when he realises I did that.�

�That�s a
bloody good attempt, almost perfect,� George peered at it. �It�s not the first
time, is it?�

�Well, when you�re signing house deeds�� Ron trailed off airily. �And anyway,
he was in Azkaban. What was I meant to do? So, tell me, what did you have in
mind?�

�I�ll tell
you as we walk to Mungo�s. I�ll need to stop by the
shop if you want to use my idea, we can do it on the way back.�

***

Ron stood
in the kitchen, wiping tears off his face. He had had such a good day, but as
he�d stood making dinner the radio DJ had made the catastrophic mistake of
playing a song which could make a man weep without
the recent trauma of a family death. He sniffed, glad Severus was still asleep.

Fucking knob. Honestly. Who bloody plays this so close to Christmas?! Who?!

But, Ron thought as he viciously
chopped up a potato for the stew he was making, you haven�t turned the fucking thing off yet, have you? You�ll start singing in a minute.

�And I will
aaaallwaaaaaays looooooove youuuuuu.� Yep, told
you, there�s the singing.

He sniffled
and snorted his way through the rest, taking care that his tears didn�t fall on
the food. When the song finished he was relieved, and wiped his face on his
upper arm before turning his attention fully back to the food, and the next
song playing. The radio had spent so long turned to the muggle station which
only ever seemed to play older songs that he would be surprised if the dial still
moved. But at the moment they were heavily interlaced with muggle Christmas
songs and it was to one of those which the music turned next.

Ron grinned
and flicked his wand to turn up the volume. Severus claimed he hated this song,
it sent him into grumbles about generic cheesy music and how Ron�d never catch him dead singing to it. But each year Ron
had heard him whistling something awfully similar when he thought nobody was
listening. Ron knew the date of the release of the song coincided with when
Severus had ended his relationship with Remus, and that probably had a lot to
do with the supposed �hatred�.

�Laaast Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next
day you gave it awaaaay. This yeaaaaar
to save me from tears, I�ll give it to someone speciiiial,�
Ron found singing easier now he wasn�t crying, and allowed his hips to sway as
he chopped.

It was
lucky he didn�t start waving the knife around in loose rhythm, as he was known
to do when he danced cooking dinner, because at that moment he felt hands slip
over his hips, and a body behind him.

�Was that
you I heard murdering Dolly Parton�s good work?� Severus murmured silkily into
his ear.

�Oh!� Ron
jumped, and immediately turned the radio down. �Yeah, sorry, that was me,� he
could hear the thickness from crying obvious in his tone.

�You
alright?� the hands wrapped around his waist and pulled him tight.

�I�m good,
yeah,� Ron smiled. �Song just got me, is all. I hear you�ve returned from the
world of the accentually challenged?�

�I feel
much better,� Severus kissed the shell of Ron�s ear softly. �The house looks
spotless, is that what you�ve been doing all day?�

�Yeah, it
needed a good once over for the Christmas period,� Ron suddenly found himself
faced with a dilemma.

In his
stomach, what felt like thousands of tiny butterflies had erupted, buoying him
up with excitement. The bond would sense that, and his secret and present would
be ruined.

�What are
you so happy about?� Severus rested his chin on the shoulder in front of him.

Ron took a
deep breath. �I can�t tell you that.�

He felt
Severus stiffen behind him and quickly moved to explain.

�It�s a surprise, okay? And� I don�t want to ruin it,
but I�m not going to hide my excitement, either, because I�ve learned my lesson
about harbouring emotions.�

Ooooh surprise. Severus hated that his mind jumped at that before he
carefully considered Ron�s words, and felt a glow of pride for his husband. �All right. I�ll be good.�

Ron put the
knife down and turned to him, before realising that his husband was dressed in
his dressing gown and nothing else, and the belt about his waist had come
loose. �Mmm, now, look at that,� Ron turned and traced his fingertips lightly
over the revealed skin, which he was relieved to feel back to a normal
temperature and sweat free.

�I stink of
ill,� Severus muttered.

�Well go
and have a wash then, and by the time you�re out dinner�ll
be done,� Ron sent what he�d been chopping into the bubbling stew pot on the
hob.

�I�ll wait
until afterwards,� Severus shook his head and pulled Ron close to him, pressing
his naked anatomy up against his front. �And then you can come and join me.�

�Pfft,� Ron snorted. �And catch your ill germs? Yeah, right.�

Ron felt
the thrill of happiness run through his husband at the playful insult.

�So� does
this mean you�ve stopped being so ridiculously chaste and polite?� Severus
looked at him with anxious eyes.

�I don�t
know what you mean,� Ron winked. �I�ve just had a spell of trying out being
impeccably mannered.�

�And how did that work out for you?� Severus laughed.

�Bloody awful.� Ron shook his head. �Not for me, don�t
know how you do it.�

Severus
felt overcome in much the same way as he had when Ron had released his
resentment plainly, except that he wasn�t going to pass out at all. The feeling
of happiness was like elixir to his blood and it sang through every part of
him.

�What?� Ron
looked at him.

�Just
having a nauseatingly mawkish moment in my head, don�t worry,� Severus smiled.

�Oh,� Ron
slid his hands under the robe and allowed himself an appreciative groan as he
felt his husband�s body beneath his fingers.

�Please
tell me we can have sex tonight?� Severus asked.

Fuck, bollocks and wank it. Ron weighed up his options. �Well. If I said no, and said
that you can�t because it has something to do with your surprise, would you accept
that?�

�What kind
of surprise is this exactly?� Severus raised his eyebrow.

�You
promised me not ten minutes ago to be good,� Ron reminded him.

�You can�t throw a man a bone like that and expect him not to get curious!�

�I know, I
know and it�s all cryptic and making you wait another night is absolutely
heartless �and, one of the hardest things I will ever do in my life because I
really need you to jack me off soon or my balls are going to explode, but,
nevertheless� you have to be good and wait and see.�

�So when will I see the benefits of this surprise?� Severus covertly slid a
hand down between them and rubbed sensually over Ron�s crotch.

�No!� Ron
jerked away, back into the worktop, where he hit the chopping board and knocked
the knife flying, which landed dangerously close to both of their bare feet.

�So I can�t
even bring you off?!� Severus asked indignantly. He reached for the edges of
the robe and drew it shut, feeling ashamed of his nakedness now he knew he
couldn�t act on it.

�No,� Ron
growled, with obvious determination and regret. �Just wait and see. Please.
Trust me.�

Ron�s quiet
plea stopped Severus from becoming grumpy. Whatever
it is its obviously important to him.

�Fine,�
Severus relaxed and reached up to rub at the back of his neck. �But we could
still have a bath together later? We don�t have to end up like usual.�

Usual... Fucking like rabbits wherever we manage to reach before we give up
walking.

Both of
them thought the same thing, though they�d never know quite how in-sync their
thinking was. Ron smiled and gestured to the kitchen table. �I made you a get
well cake but you kind of beat me to it.�

�Awh, honey, you shouldn�t have,� Severus gave a sarcastic
roll of his eyes and moved to the table. �Oh, of course, it would be the famous
Walnut Cake.�

With a
sense of childish glee, Severus dragged his finger through the coffee flavoured
icing on top of the cake and raised it to his mouth.

�You know,
working hard on presentation is pointless with you around,� Ron gave a tut and turned to stir the stew bubbling thickly on the
hob. �I don�t know why I bother.�

***

�Water is
the most amazing thing on the earth,� Severus sank down in the bath and exhaled
gratefully.

Ron made a noise in agreement and turned so he was leaning with his back
against the side of the bath, sitting cross-legged beneath the water.

�You don�t
have to sit all bunched up at the end like that, you know,� Severus� voice was
amused. �You can come closer, I won�t ravish you.�

�Yes, you would, and what�s more I wouldn�t stop you, and that�d ruin the
surprise.�

�Whatever
it is, it�s very important to you�� Severus flicked some bubbles into the air
and watched them fall.

�It is,�
was all Ron imparted, before changing the subject. �So.
We should probably talk about what we�re doing for Christmas.�

�I�m a bit surprised,� Severus looked at him. �I expected to wake up and find
myself in an incarnation of Remus� house.�

Ron
snorted. �I thought about it. But I didn�t know if you wanted to celebrate so I
thought I�d wait.�

�I wouldn�t
have been offended by a Christmas tree,� Severus laughed incredulously. �Or that little gingerbread family you made last year, or their
house, for that matter!�

�You mean the house that made it halfway through Christmas Eve before
you cracked the roof off, ate it, and then blamed the dog?�

�I�m
telling you it was a vicious canine attack on the Bakery family over unpaid
debts,� Severus said shiftily.

�Right,
right, and the icing moustache you had? That just jumped on your face without
you knowing?� Ron teased him.

�The dog
set me up. He has a friendly reputation to uphold and I was an easy target as
an ex-Death Eater.�

Ron cracked
up at that and sent the bathwater rippling with his body. Severus followed and
picked up his mulled wine, chuckling.

�Alright,
I�ll make them tomorrow,� Ron licked at the corner of his mouth in thought.

�Don�t do
that, you look too fucking sinful for me to not have you when you�re parading
that tongue around in front of me,� Severus huffed. �Are you sure we can�t just
have a teeny, tiny little...�

�Fuck?� Ron laughed.

�Crude as ever, but fine, yes, fuck.� Severus even
tried lacing his tone with the most upper-class drawl he possessed, which Ron
could never resist on a normal day.

But it
wasn�t a normal day �it was the day before he would hand over his sample with
which to make his child. And the literature said no ejaculation at least twenty
four hours before sampling. So, Ron dampened the fire in his belly and shook
his head infuriatingly.

�You
fucking prick tease,� Severus glowered moodily.

�You�ll
thank me in the morning,� Ron winked.
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