What Happens in Denmark

4.

When Ron awoke to the sun glaring in
his eyes, he figured his snoring must not be all that annoying,
because he was still in bed. What was
annoying was the bloody sun deigning to come up over the horizon what
felt like several hours before he really wanted to be awake. He
grumbled a bit and sat up, tossing his long legs over the side of the
bed and raking his fingers back through his hair. He'd apparently
tossed his t-shirt aside some time in the night, but in the room it
was warm enough that it didn't particularly matter.

'Shower,' he thought
blearily, and stumbled clumsily to the restroom. He stubbed his toe
on the waste bin on his way and glanced over his shoulder, biting his
lip. The noise didn't seem to have disturbed Snape though, who
looked rather comfortable with his inky hair tossed about his
features and his large nose half-buried into the pillow. His lips
pursed, then parted softly. Ron smirked to himself. 'I bet
you could count the number of people who've seen him like this on one
hand and still have fingers to spare. He looks so...'
Ron struggled for the right word. He had half a mind to call it
'peaceful' because that's the typical word to fit into this type of
situation, but that wasn't exactly it. No, he looked unguarded.
His expression was lax, his shoulders and arms hanging loose. His
porcelain-pale skin made him look almost like a doll at rest, not all
that pretty, but close enough, Ron figured. 'The hell are
you thinking, mate?' the redhead
wondered and turned on his heel. Shower. After a shower, the world,
and his thoughts, would realign and his bleary sleep-induced
diversions would disperse as if they never existed at all.

But after his shower, Snape was
still curled up on the bed. Ron pulled on his jeans and checked the
time. 'If he doesn't get up soon, he'll miss breakfast.
I'm sure somehow that's going to be my fault.'
So he did the only sensible thing – he leaned down and put a
hand on the older man's shoulder. He opened his mouth, but barely
got the word 'Hey' out before Snape startled awake like a frightened
cat, almost jumping right out of his own skin.

“What?” he barked instinctively as his eyes focused and
realization dawned. “Oh. Weasley.” That's right. Hotel.
Brewer's Convention. Okay, he was all caught up now. “What
time is it?”

“Let's just say if you don't get a move on, we're going to miss
breakfast,” Ron answered. It was funny, really, the way Snape
skittered at first and clumsily erected all those walls around
himself. When half asleep, apparently they weren't quite as
effective as usual. It was nice to know the exquisitely prepared aura
of indifference Snape wore wasn't perfect.

Severus grunted. He fought with the
sheets a bit, which had tangled around his body as he slept, and
threw his legs over the side of the bed only to find himself facing a
slim torso and a pair of rosy nipples. 'Huh?'
It took a long moment for his brain to register what he was even
looking at, and by the time he corrected his gaze up to Ron's face,
the redhead appeared to be blushing.

“I, uh, you know, shower's free,” Ron stumbled. He
doubted Snape was really eying him like a piece of meat, but it was
hard not to feel the piercing heat of the older man's intense stare.

Snape grunted again and rose, a bit overly cautious to avoid contact
with Ron's bare skin. Ron only remembered too late that he should
step back out of the way and fumbled off another apology that the
older man ignored. Once the former Head of Slytherin House
disappeared into the bathroom, Ron waited a full two minutes after he
heard the water running to pick up the phone and order breakfast. He
had no idea what Snape would like, so he just ordered two of
'whatever's good.' And coffee. Merlin, he needed coffee.

He flopped back against the mattress and took a few deep breaths. If
they were going to be stuck in this tiny room together for the next
two months, Ron had a feeling it would be the longest two months of
his life.

On the up side, he hadn't thought about Hermione in almost a full
day. That, he figured, had to count for something.