Starts With A Spin, Staff Edition

There were voices. And movement. Then a long period of nothing.



Then curiously…licorice.



Snape inhaled deeply and took in the scent. He had pictured Heaven to smell much less practical, all Fizzing Whizbees and Chocolate Frogs.



His eyelids fluttered open and he strained to focus. Beside him on the table sat bundles of black licorice sticks tied with thick, pink ribbons. Something beside the table twinkled and Snape did not have to focus to know what it was.



"Albus." He croaked.



"Severus!" smiled the old Wizard, "welcome back."



Snape rubbed his now frighteningly unshaven face then winced.



"Madam Pomfrey was able to extract most of the toxins," he continued, "but I\'m afraid that it will still be some-time before you\'re completely healed."



Snape tried to move his other hand and had a brief moment of panic before realizing that it was held tightly in someone else\'s. His gaze followed the hand down to the arm and shoulders to the mess of dirty blond hair.



Lupin was sleeping half off his hair and half on Snape\'s infirmary bed. The memory of their last heated exchange came back to him and Snape frowned in surprise.



"How long has he been here?" he asked.



"Oh, the entire time." Said Dumbledore, grinning.



Snape pondered this a moment until realization dawned.



"Of course," he said, the usual skepticism in his slowly strengthening voice, "the binding spell. He had to stay."



"Well, technically," said Dumbledore smiling even wider, "that ended two days ago."



Snape\'s brow creased. "Do you mean to tell me that I\'ve been in the infirmary for…three days—Hold up a minute—what do you mean, \'technically\'?"



Dumbledore\'s smile spread into a full-on shit-eating grin. "Well, \'technically\' if I had cast that spell it would have ended two days ago."



Snape\'s lips all but disappeared into a tight line.



"But you did not?"



"No. I did not."



"You are a sick, twisted old fuck. You know that, don\'t you?"



Dumbledore smiled all the more and nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I\'ve heard that on occasion."



There was a long silence while Snape digested this information.



"So Albus," he finally sighed, "what do I do now?"



Dumbledore gave Snape a level look, and he could tell that the old man was fighting the compulsion to ruffle his hair.



"That, my boy is entirely up to you."



Remus shifted in his sleep and Albus settled for a gentle pat on Snape\'s shoulder. "I\'ll leave you to it, then."



And with those words, he departed.



Remus stirred again, giving a long, slow stretch. He untwined his hand from Snape\'s then traced a pattern along the length of the potion stained fingers, sighing heavily. The toll of worry and sleepless nights was evident on his scarred features.



He slowly looked toward Snape\'s face and jumped in surprise to see that he was awake. He jerked his hand away and blushed, embarrassed to be caught touching him.



They regarded each other for what seemed an eternity, and although Snape purposefully kept his expression neutral (well, snarky-neutral), he did not require Legilimens to read the emotions that played across the open book of Remus\' face.



Surprise, relief, uncertainty, a long moment of what might have been hope, or possibly gas (or both), and then a look that Snape took to be resolve.



He was probably steeling himself for the finale of the tirade that had begun before Snape\'s unfortunate fall.



Eventually, Snape spoke.



"I fail to see what would compel you to carry out a bedside vigil."



When it was obvious that Lupin had not grasped the point, he continued. "Let me be more precise. What in Merlin\'s name do you see in me? What attributes could I possibly possess that keep you coming round?"



The corner of Lupin\'s mouth curled into a shy grin and he replaced his hand on Snape\'s.



"Are you fishing for compliments, or do you really want to know?"



Snape snorted.



"Fishing for false praise is not within my character. I am truly perplexed as to what you think I can offer you. I\'m sure there are other... suitors more befitting your tastes."



Lupin\'s grin widened. "My dance card\'s a little empty at the moment. But besides that, I want you, Severus."



When Snape raised a skeptical brow, Remus did not falter.



"I happen to be attracted to prickly, stand-offish gits, alright?"



Hmm. Yes, they do hold a certain charm, don\'t they?



"Lupin, I\'m sure that you are well aware that I shoulder an excessive amount of baggage--from a myriad of childhood traumas to my tenuous affiliation with the Dark Lord. Add to that, my penchant for privacy and my solitary lifestyle, I\'m sure you will agree that our…union is highly impractical. Not to mention," he said, suddenly indignant, "how can you be so sure that I am even attracted to you?"



Lupin stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Even Snape had to chuckle a bit.



"All right," he conceded, "that point aside, I\'m not sure that I posses the skills, social and otherwise, to give you what you want."



Lupin still had a goofy grin plastered across his face.



"How do you know what I want, Severus?"



Snape considered this for a moment. "Point taken. I was presuming that you would want…well…I suppose I thought you would want what I want."



"And what DO you want, Severus?"



Snape sighed and scrubbed a hand across his eyes. This conversation was draining him of what little energy he had.



"What I want right now, Lupin," he said with great seriousness, "is a hot shower and a shave."



"Well, you\'re in luck because I happen to have access to both of those things." He gave Snape a quick wink and checked over his shoulder. "And if we hightail it right now, we might be able to sneak out before Poppy gets back."



"Yes, very wise. I\'m sure we\'ll hear her protestations all the way to the dungeons."



With Lupin\'s help, Snape gingerly got off of the bed and they left the room, but not before grabbing his ribbon wrapped bundles of black licorice.







Once the hot steam had warmed the room, Snape let Remus remove his nightshirt and lead him into the shower. The long walk to the dungeons had been taxing on him, and he\'d had to stop on two occasions until he\'d felt sturdy enough to continue on. And now, with the hot water penetrating his tired muscles, he sank to a sitting position and let the warmth flow over him.



Eventually, sensing his weakness and his inability to ask for help, Remus joined him, situating himself behind the tired man, allowing him to lean back against his chest. They both sat in the soothing stream until Snape jerked, coming out of a pre-sleep dream. Silently, Remus uncapped the shampoo and worked it into Snape\'s hair in long, slow circles. Snape let his head fall forward and Remus worked the suds lower to his stiff neck and shoulders. He then abandoned the shampoo for a bar of honey-scented soap and lathered Snape\'s shoulders, back and arms.



Snape sighed deeply and made a concerted effort to not moan. Despite his bone-crushing exhaustion, Lupin\'s efforts were whipping more than just his back into a froth. He had never had someone else shampoo his hair (hell, he barely did it himself), but the benefits of scrupulous hygiene were suddenly apparent.



"Arms up," Remus instructed, giving him a pat on the shoulder, and Snape obediently raised his arms above his head. Remus scrubbed his underarms, neck and chest, and Snape did moan as the slippery caresses neared his navel.



Remus smiled as he spread the bubbles lower, over Snape\'s hips, then down to his groin.



"What have we here?" he purred into Snape\'s ear. "I daresay, Professor, you\'re a very dirty man, and I think you need a thorough washing up."



Snape snorted, too tired to muster a proper laugh. "Remus, you are a walking cliché. Next, you\'ll be teasing me about the length of my wand."



"Or perhaps," Lupin whispered huskily, "if I\'m very, very naughty, you\'ll give me a detention."



"Or put you over my knee?" he asked, angling himself around to be nearer Lupin\'s mouth.



"Ooh, corporal punishment!" he smiled, gently pushing Snape down onto his back and sliding up his foamy body so that they were face to face.



"Oh Gods, you feel good," said Snape, relishing the feel of warm, wet skin on skin.



"You feel pretty good yourself, for a prickly, stand-offish git." He slid up even higher and Snape\'s breath caught when Lupin\'s hard prick rubbed against his own.



"Wolf," was all Snape could manage and he let his hands slide down Lupin\'s broad shoulders, past the valley of his back to grip the firm rise of his buttocks. He pressed Remus to him and ground against him from below.



"Git," Remus said, then found his mouth and pushed into him, tongue probing and exploring. The kiss, slow at first, grew in momentum as their bodies slid together--Lupin\'s hands in Snape\'s hair and Snape\'s hands firmly on Lupin\'s hips.



Eventually, Remus broke away and reached around behind himself to re-soap Snape\'s cock. The suds were deliciously slippery and Snape squirmed with pleasure beneath him.



Lupin soaped himself up as well, then firmly grasped the base of Snape\'s prick before positioning himself on top of it. He made a point of catching Snape\'s eye before slowly leaning back.



"Remus, you don\'t have to do this."



Lupin just smiled and winked. "Oh, but Severus," he said, lids heavy with desire, "I want to."



He let the tip of Snape\'s cock slide into the cleft of his arse until it was aligned with his opening. Snape closed his eyes and reflexively gripped Lupin\'s hips. He pushed back, pausing slightly as the soapy head breached his opening, then pressed back some more.



Snape emitted a parseltongue-worthy hiss, and Lupin smiled as he lowered himself until the cock was completely sheathed within him.



Snape\'s brain began to mis-fire. Physical exhaustion coupled with the stimulation overload of water, soap and Lupin sitting on his knob were almost more than his grey matter could handle.



The weight of him.



The scent of him.



The exquisite closeness…



Realness…



…Tightness of him were overwhelming, and when Lupin found his seat and began to move up and down over his shaft, Snape\'s mental faculties packed up their shit and took an early spring break.



He moaned out his approval and thrust his hips to probe deeper into that tight arse. The sensation was magnificent and it forever raised the bar for future sexual relations.



His standing as a Death Eater was quite low, and therefore he was always a bottom, never a top. Although it occurred to him, lying on the shower floor with Lupin above him, riding the baloney pony, Is it still called topping when you\'re on the bottom?



A particularly deep thrust brought him back from his reverie and he cried out with the pleasure. Lupin grabbed his own soapy prick and began to stroke it in time with his downward thrusts. Part of Snape\'s mind recognized that he should probably be the one stroking him, but he was helpless to release the death-grip on Lupin\'s hips.



He pushed his arse off the floor, bucking manically into Lupin, and his partner answered with a gasp and a sharp cry as he shot his milky seed over Snape\'s chest and stomach. The sight of his face, twisted with the pleasure of his hard prick slamming inside of him was enough to push Snape over the edge. He cried out Remus\' name as he, too, spilled himself inside the tight flesh.



Remus fell forward, his face in the crook of Snape\'s neck, and they both lay that way for a while-- shaky and short of breath, the warm water rushing over them, washing away the evidence of their lovemaking.



Eventually, Remus looked up, face still flushed, and kissed Severus. He rubbed one cheek across the stubbly chin and grinned.



"Well, that was the shower part, now how about that shave?"



He got up and dashed to the loo, rummaged about for a moment, then returned with a shaving kit in one hand. Inside sat a razor, lathering soap and a badger hair shaving brush.



"A bit old-fashioned, but it will do."



Snape struggled into a sitting position.



"Really, Remus, I\'m quite capable of shaving my own-"



"Bollocks, lie back and let me have at it."



He pushed Snape back down and he was too weak to do more than protest.



"There\'s no need-"



Remus straddled him and shut him up with a kiss. He did not pull away until he felt Snape relax beneath him.



"Trust me, I won\'t hurt you."



He wet the shaving brush, swirled it in the soap until a thick lather formed, then applied it in tight circles under Snape\'s jaw, along his chin, then to the hollows of his cheeks. After holding the razor in the shower\'s spray to warm it, he placed it at the base of Snape\'s neck, poised for an upward stroke.



"Funny, this," Remus said, a sweet grin on his scarred face. "A marauder with a razor at Severus Snape\'s throat. A bit bizarre, don\'t you think?"



Snape grinned back.



"Personally, I find the circumstances leading to my dick being up your arse a bit more astounding."



"Touché!" he agreed, leaning in for one more soapy kiss, then he began to shave his partner.



The experience of being taken care of was both foreign and peculiar, but it was something that Snape took an immediate liking to. He had all but fallen asleep when Remus left to find some towels, the warmth of the steam and the drumming of the water against his tired skin helping him slip from consciousness.



His lowered awareness and relaxed state made the sudden, sharp pain all the more surprising. He clutched an arm across his chest and cried out through clenched teeth, writhing and jerking in agony. The burning was so intense and so…utterly unexpected that he was helpless to choke back the sobs.



Why now? Oh god, oh shit, why now?



He tried to control the spasm before Remus returned, but before he could get on top of the wave, Remus was at his side, grabbing him, shaking him, and speaking frantically in his ear.



"Severus? What happened? What is it?"



When the pain abated enough for him to answer, and before he was commanded again, Snape thrust out his arm, wrist up, for Remus to see.



The macabre skull pulsed as if alive, and the silver snake hissed as it undulated through the blackened eye holes.



"They\'re calling me. I have to go."