Barbarism to Decadence.

((A touch smutty at the end, as well as angsty.))

Halfway through his review of the exams he heard the knock on his classroom door and chuckled to himself, turning the parchments over before leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on his desk.

"Come in, Severus." The door opened and the DADA professor strode in, closing the door behind him and eyeing Vance with a faint sneer. "How did you know it would be me?"

Vance flashed his most charming grin and shrugged one shoulder, tossing his hair from his eyes. "Because, I knew Mr. Malfoy would rush to tell you about the exam the moment he'd completed it. Really, Severus, do you think I'm that clueless?"

Severus scowled and moved forward, eyeing the parchments on the desk, then folding his arms across his chest. "No, but it could have been one of your students. Perhaps Miss Granger?"

He blinked and his smile grew as he shifted his feet down and stood, sauntering around the desk to circle the dark-haired wizard, boldly trailing his fingers across his shoulders. "Why, Severus, if I didn't know better, I might think you were jealous!"

He felt the man tense up and swallowed a chuckle when his hand was shaken off, inky-black eyes narrowing on him dangerously. "This has nothing to do with jealousy, Mr. Price. If you are having an illicit affair with a student, then I will have to inform Albus and the proper consequences..."

Vance laughed and shook his head, reaching up to stop Severus' words by touching his lips. "You're becoming redundant and boring, Severus. Every time you come see me it's to warn me that you will tell the Headmaster one thing or another. Do you realize how immature you sound, threatening to tattle on me to Daddy?"

He was rewarded by a deep flush and a shocked expression, taking advantage of Severus' mouth falling open by removing his fingers and leaning in to flick his tongue over that tempting bottom lip. "Mmm...You shouldn't make yourself so irresistible, Severus."

The Potion Master remained frozen for a moment, then jerked back, stumbling and finally catching himself to straighten and glare murderously. "If you ever touch me again, I will deal with you myself, Price. I refuse to play these games with you. I merely came to make sure you are not conducting inappropriate relationships with the students. That, and to see the exams."

Vance smiled gently and nodded, moving around to settle behind his desk, folding his arms behind his head as he leaned back. "I am not 'conducting inappropriate relationships' with anyone, Severus. If you'd like, I will attest to such under Veritaserum, or allow you to use Legilimency on me. I have nothing to hide from you." He flashed a suggestive smirk and shifted in his chair, hips rocking up as he purred quietly.

"As for touching you...well, you are so terribly hard to keep from touching, Severus. I'm not sure I have the willpower to resist you. However, I will make my best effort." He sighed and closed his eyes, expressing just how difficult he would find it.

------

Snape stared at the perfectly formed man who did seem to genuinely be coming on to him, but the very idea was so impossible to believe that he shoved it away. He wasn't about to set himself up for humiliation if he was being played with, it had happened once in the past and he wasn't about to endure it again.

"And the exams?" He made his voice as chilling as a polar wind and almost snarled, wanting to get away from this arrogant, irreverent man before he lost his temper entirely.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't let you see them, Severus. I can give you a blank exam, but I wouldn't be so crass as to reveal such intimate secrets about my students to another person. Even you." The amused light filtered out of the man's golden eyes and was replaced with a serious glint, his smile fading. He reached out to place his hands on the stacks of parchment. "No one but myself will ever set eyes on these exams, understand?"

Severus found himself stunned into speechlessness, staring at Price as he tried to regain his bearings. He'd never anticipated that there was a serious side to the man, but the sight of it pleased him in some indefinable way and he longed to explore that hidden man beneath the laughing boy.

"Of course. Might I have one of the blank exams, for my own interests?" He mentally scolded himself at the soft tone of his voice, and it was only with supreme effort that he managed to fight off the urge to return the smile he was granted.

"As you wish, Severus." Price stood and Snape found himself following the man's body with his eyes, enjoying the catlike grace and the way his ridiculous Muggle clothing showed off his flexing muscles. "Severus?" He blinked as the man was suddenly directly in front of him, looking at him somewhat knowingly and holding out a sheet of parchment.

"I...Thank you." He snatched the exam from his hand and turned to escape the scent of leather and honeysuckle that surrounded the man, his heart pounding furiously in his chest.

------

After finally weeding out all but thirty students from the stack of exams, Vance left the classroom and walked to his suite, humming under his breath. He couldn't help remembering the brief flicker of heat that had warmed Severus' eyes just before he had fled the classroom. He knew the man's walls were crumbling and he was looking forward to the moment his control snapped and he came ready and willing into his arms. Still, half the fun was in the journey.

He closed his door and began shedding his clothing on the way to his bathroom, letting his mind wander over the delicious mystery of what was hidden beneath the DADA professor's robes. A wicked smile bloomed on his face as he imagined slowly stripping the man to the skin and letting his lips trace over each bare inch of flesh until he could draw a map of the man's body blindfolded.

Was there anything sexier than a man so self-contained and determined to keep his emotions in check? He sighed pleasantly as he turned on his shower, testing the temperature on his wrist and stepping in to let the water roll over his smooth, olive skin. He turned his back and canted his head to soak his hair, breathing in the tropical air with a groan.

He knew that once Severus let go of the reins, he would be a wild, thrilling lover. Just the thought of it was enough to make his cock jump and he stroked his hands over his muscular chest, teasing his nipples until they stood out hard from his pecs. His breath became ragged and harsh, mind filled with the thought of what Severus would feel like stretched out atop him. Skin to skin, his lips on his neck, their hands exploring as they writhed together in cool sheets.

A shudder raced up his spine and one hand slid further down his form, following the dark line of hair that led from his navel to the base of his cock. He wanted to see Severus unleashed, wanted to watch the man lose all control in the blind passion of their bodies, longed to watch his face as he climaxed. His groans joined the sounds of the shower in a familiar music as his hand curled around his length and began to stroke slowly.

"Mmm...Severus!" He fell back against the wall of the shower, the hot spray striking his twitching abdomen and flowing down to ease the passage of his fist over his shaft. He let the hand on his chest climb up to caress the side of his neck, tilting his head and whimpering as he imagined the touch coming from his obsession. The man filled his dreams, swept him away each time their eyes met, and he found himself in this situation much more often than usual.

"Severus...Severus." The name was a prayer, whispered in fervent need as he felt himself growing ever closer to his climax, trembling and bucking his hips. Tears sprang to his eyes and joined the water dripping from his hair to roll down his face. His lips moved, calling his passion's name soundlessly as ecstasy tore through him and erupted between his fingers in a blinding flash. He jerked and arched, sobbing once before falling back and sliding down to sit on the floor of his shower, legs bent and his head hanging over his knees.

He hated this. The only time he was ever lonely was in this moment, when there was no one to hold him, no one to kiss him, to connect with, only himself and the shower. He pressed a hand to his lips and bit back the sobs that longed to rise from his throat, trying to fight off the wave of despair that threatened each time he found himself in this situation. He'd been alone for so long, it had become too easy to acclimate himself to the feeling of emptiness that came in the night. He was tired of everything being so damned easy.