(no subject)
Title: Babysitting
Author: Margot/midnight_birth
Written for: Rain/iheartbowie.
Pairing: Snape/Remus
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,763
Era: Post-Hogwarts, canon compliant except both Snape and Lupin survive the war.
Request: Any sort of mushy (i.e. romantic) moment between Snape/Remus.
Summary: Remus talks Severus into keeping him company while babysitting little Albus Severus, assuring him that they would have a lot of “alone time” while the kid sleeps for most of it. Except Remus has an ulterior motive for wanting Severus to bond with his namesake, and babysitting the youngest Potter is not as easy a task as it seems.
A/N: You gave me a lot of room to play, so I had total liberty for choosing the scenario/plot, so I hope you like what I’ve come up with. It’s short (for me, anyway), but the plot took me that way, and I didn’t see a way to make it into a very long elaborate fic. But it’s as mushy and fluffy as I could make those two by keeping them in character! ;)
“I cannot believe that you talked me into doing this,” Severus grumbled, pulling his cloak tighter around himself with a shiver and shooting Remus a venomous look. “Why do you have to babysit another one of his brats anyway? He can’t manage his two kids by himself?”
Remus smiled and patted Severus on the shoulder. “Harry has three kids, Severus, and he barely ever asks. They’re taking Lily and James to the World Cup, but Albus is sick and way too young anyway. It would be a pity for the whole family to miss it just because nobody can watch little Albus Severus.”
“The fact that the brat is named after me is not going to make me think it’s a good idea,” Severus mumbled, but somewhat more complacently. He pulled his cloak over the lower part of his face and continued to grumble about the ridiculousness of having so many children into the cloth as they walked up to the front door of Harry’s cozy-looking house and Remus rapped his fingers on the door.
The door swung open almost instantly, and the two were met with a dishevelled looking Harry.
“Just on time!” he said cheerfully and enveloped Remus in a tight hug. Severus growled quietly. He wasn’t an affectionate man by nature and disliked public displays thereof, but more than that, he disliked when people touched his things. “What an unexpected surprise,” Harry continued, pushing past Remus and wrapping his arms around Severus, at which the latter winced and stiffened. He hated when people touched his things or him, but after the war, for whatever reason, Harry assumed that Severus really liked him at the bottom of his heart and treated him like a dear friend.
Severus studied the small boy with big, inquisitive eyes and a drooling mouth - disgusting, he noted - while Harry listed the details of where they were going, how they could be reached, what Albus Severus liked and disliked and every other tiny detail he could think up before Remus, catching a dangerously irritated look from his partner, assured Harry that they would manage and practically stuffed him in the fireplace.
When Harry was finally gone, Remus made his way to the play-pen, in which Albus sat looking up with curiosity but obvious distrust at the black-cloaked figure towering menacingly above him.
“Now what?” Severus asked, frowning. “We’re not expected to... entertain the creature, are we?”
“You know, luv, being a professor your whole life, you have a frighteningly cold outlook towards kids.” Remus chuckled and snaked his hand around Severus’s waist. “Though I suppose you’ve never had to deal with them this young. What gives, then?”
“I’ve seen what they grow up to be, and judging from the way the genes work in the Potter family, this one will grow up a copy of his father.”
“I hope so.” Remus smiled down at the child and Albus smiled back.
“So the way this works is thus,” Severus stated, gripping Remus’s arm rather roughly and leading him to a nearby couch. “It entertains itself. If it needs something, you provide it. I recall you promising me that I will have to do nothing, and in general, babysitting is pretty much a whole lot of sitting around doing nothing while the kid does its own thing or sleeps.” He pushed Remus down on the couch and glared at him, a small smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. “And you and I have unfinished business to see to.”
Remus tried to protest, pointing out Albus, who was watching them attentively, but his protests were quickly muffled by Severus’s mouth, coming down violently and possessively. Remus should have known - “no” for Severus was all the more reason to continue. And perhaps it wasn’t such a big deal. Albus was too young to really understand what he was seeing, and, recalling babysitting James and Lily, he was assured that Albus would play until he fell asleep, after which he could be put to bed and would probably not wake up until morning.
Except it seemed that Albus was not like James and Lily at all, because when Remus felt Severus’s hands clawing up his shirt, a piercing shriek made both of them jump so violently that Severus tumbled off the couch and whipped out his wand. Albus was sitting in the middle of the play-pen, his fists clenched, and screaming at the top of his lungs.
“My God, is he hurt?” Remus was off the couch in a second, jumping over the play pen and kneeling by Albus, who paused for a second to consider him and went back to shrieking.
“Well, he bloody well better be, screaming bloody murder like that!” Severus snapped, picking himself up from the floor and tucking his wand into his robes. “I was under the impression we were besieged by a Banshee. In fact, you may want to check if he’s swallowed one recently.”
“No bruises,” Remus mumbled, ignoring Severus’s obvious contempt and inspecting the squirming and screaming child. He sniffed him. “Doesn’t need a diaper change. And he’s only just been fed, too, Harry said. Can’t be fed again for a while.”
“Well, shut him up before I do.” Severus produced his wand. “Nothing a little silencing spell won’t - “
“You cannot use silencing spells on children, Severus!” Remus stood up, clutching Albus to him tightly and started swinging slowly from side to side, which only resulted in louder shrieks. “Kids scream because it’s the only way they can let adults know something’s wrong.”
“Or, in this case, what spoiled brats they really are,” Severus pointed out and snatched Albus out of Remus’s hands. “Tell me what you want,” he growled, holding Albus in front of his face. Albus stopped yelling just long enough to give an audible burp, size Severus up, and go back to screaming. “Stop it!” Severus roared, and Remus seemed to have grabbed Albus out of his hands just in time.
Severus’s tantrum seemed to cheer Albus up, because his screams were replaced with happy giggles almost instantaneously. Remus laughed nervously.
“You see? He likes you.”
“Sod off. I’m going home. Another one of those tantrums and I may just throw him out the window.” Severus made for the door, but the moment he was out of Albus’s view, a scream ten times louder than the last ripped through the house.
“Luv, come back here!” Remus called out pleadingly. “If you leave me he’s going to continue screaming himself hoarse. He doesn’t seem to want you to go.”
Severus groaned and stuck his head back into the living room. Albus stopped screaming immediately and outstretched his hands towards him. Severus frowned at the puppy-like hopeful look in Remus’s eyes.
“I’m not holding this thing, if that’s what you’re asking,” he stated flatly, walking back into the room hesitantly. “I don’t do well with children. You knew this when you dragged me over here.” Albus continued to reach out, now starting to whimper. “Oh give it here!” Severus grabbed Albus and held it under the arms at an arm’s length, but Albus seemed to be content enough even with that.
“I know you don’t like children.” Remus sighed sadly. “And that’s... kind of why I brought you here, actually.”
“Sadistic little puppy, are we?” Severus couldn’t hide a smirk. “Anything else that I don’t like and should be looking forward to in the nearest future?”
But there was something about Remus’s downcast look and sincere sadness, almost, that made Severus’s next snide remark die in his throat without ever making it out. Usually, Remus blew past everything Severus said, rolling his eyes and chuckling occasionally, but this time it seemed that it made him utterly depressed. That was not a usual reaction, and, as unfamiliar as the feeling was, Severus felt badly.
He sighed and put Albus back into his pen, giving him a look that indicated murder if he gave a peep, which Albus seemed to understand, because he sat down and reached for his toy cars, keeping one eye on Severus to make sure he was still in the room.
“I don’t hate the kid, Remus.” Severus shrugged and took a step towards him. “If you’re so sad because you think the story with Harry and I will be repeated with his children, I can guarantee you that...” he trailed off as Remus’s eyes met his. It was a lightning-fast connection, but Severus saw. “My God, it’s not even about that, is it?”
Remus stepped back, letting Severus’s arm fall limply to his side, looking down in almost embarrassment. “I wanted to see if, perhaps, you don’t hate children as much as you claim to by bringing you here,” Remus said quietly, still not meeting Severus’s eyes. “I heard Albus was an angel and everybody loved him, so I thought - “
“That I would too?” Severus finished the sentence for him. “Remus, you want one of these, don’t you?” Remus continued to look down. Severus gripped Remus’s jaw tightly and forced his head up until their eyes met. “Now you listen to me,” he said quietly. “You know me. I’m not one to love easily. In fact, I haven’t loved anyone since my youth. Not until now.” Remus’s eyes opened in surprise and he moved toward Severus, but the painful grip on his jaw froze him in place. “Neither of us is exactly young, but... But you want this?”
“You love me?” Remus asked the moment Severus released his jaw.
“You want this?” Severus repeated insistently.
“I’m happy and I don’t have to ask for more, really.” Remus smiled and took a step towards Severus and wrapped his arms around him tightly. “But... there was a but?” He looked at Severus with surprise. “You would consider something like this for me?”
“I am in Harry Potter’s house, babysitting his kid with my husband, Mssr. Moony, whose friends made my youth a living hell and who nearly ate me twice throughout my existence.” Severus sighed and raised a brow. “If you went back in time a few years and told me this, I’d say I wouldn’t be surprised at anything anymore.”
“You are a remarkable man,” Remus said, putting his head on Severus’s shoulder and smiling when Severus finally brought his hands around his waist.
In the background, Albus started sniffling.
“Cry now and I’ll hex you into tomorrow,” Severus growled, and Albus was the only one to see the contented smile that passed over the older man’s face as he hugged Remus tighter and closed his eyes.
Author: Margot/midnight_birth
Written for: Rain/iheartbowie.
Pairing: Snape/Remus
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,763
Era: Post-Hogwarts, canon compliant except both Snape and Lupin survive the war.
Request: Any sort of mushy (i.e. romantic) moment between Snape/Remus.
Summary: Remus talks Severus into keeping him company while babysitting little Albus Severus, assuring him that they would have a lot of “alone time” while the kid sleeps for most of it. Except Remus has an ulterior motive for wanting Severus to bond with his namesake, and babysitting the youngest Potter is not as easy a task as it seems.
A/N: You gave me a lot of room to play, so I had total liberty for choosing the scenario/plot, so I hope you like what I’ve come up with. It’s short (for me, anyway), but the plot took me that way, and I didn’t see a way to make it into a very long elaborate fic. But it’s as mushy and fluffy as I could make those two by keeping them in character! ;)
“I cannot believe that you talked me into doing this,” Severus grumbled, pulling his cloak tighter around himself with a shiver and shooting Remus a venomous look. “Why do you have to babysit another one of his brats anyway? He can’t manage his two kids by himself?”
Remus smiled and patted Severus on the shoulder. “Harry has three kids, Severus, and he barely ever asks. They’re taking Lily and James to the World Cup, but Albus is sick and way too young anyway. It would be a pity for the whole family to miss it just because nobody can watch little Albus Severus.”
“The fact that the brat is named after me is not going to make me think it’s a good idea,” Severus mumbled, but somewhat more complacently. He pulled his cloak over the lower part of his face and continued to grumble about the ridiculousness of having so many children into the cloth as they walked up to the front door of Harry’s cozy-looking house and Remus rapped his fingers on the door.
The door swung open almost instantly, and the two were met with a dishevelled looking Harry.
“Just on time!” he said cheerfully and enveloped Remus in a tight hug. Severus growled quietly. He wasn’t an affectionate man by nature and disliked public displays thereof, but more than that, he disliked when people touched his things. “What an unexpected surprise,” Harry continued, pushing past Remus and wrapping his arms around Severus, at which the latter winced and stiffened. He hated when people touched his things or him, but after the war, for whatever reason, Harry assumed that Severus really liked him at the bottom of his heart and treated him like a dear friend.
Severus studied the small boy with big, inquisitive eyes and a drooling mouth - disgusting, he noted - while Harry listed the details of where they were going, how they could be reached, what Albus Severus liked and disliked and every other tiny detail he could think up before Remus, catching a dangerously irritated look from his partner, assured Harry that they would manage and practically stuffed him in the fireplace.
When Harry was finally gone, Remus made his way to the play-pen, in which Albus sat looking up with curiosity but obvious distrust at the black-cloaked figure towering menacingly above him.
“Now what?” Severus asked, frowning. “We’re not expected to... entertain the creature, are we?”
“You know, luv, being a professor your whole life, you have a frighteningly cold outlook towards kids.” Remus chuckled and snaked his hand around Severus’s waist. “Though I suppose you’ve never had to deal with them this young. What gives, then?”
“I’ve seen what they grow up to be, and judging from the way the genes work in the Potter family, this one will grow up a copy of his father.”
“I hope so.” Remus smiled down at the child and Albus smiled back.
“So the way this works is thus,” Severus stated, gripping Remus’s arm rather roughly and leading him to a nearby couch. “It entertains itself. If it needs something, you provide it. I recall you promising me that I will have to do nothing, and in general, babysitting is pretty much a whole lot of sitting around doing nothing while the kid does its own thing or sleeps.” He pushed Remus down on the couch and glared at him, a small smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. “And you and I have unfinished business to see to.”
Remus tried to protest, pointing out Albus, who was watching them attentively, but his protests were quickly muffled by Severus’s mouth, coming down violently and possessively. Remus should have known - “no” for Severus was all the more reason to continue. And perhaps it wasn’t such a big deal. Albus was too young to really understand what he was seeing, and, recalling babysitting James and Lily, he was assured that Albus would play until he fell asleep, after which he could be put to bed and would probably not wake up until morning.
Except it seemed that Albus was not like James and Lily at all, because when Remus felt Severus’s hands clawing up his shirt, a piercing shriek made both of them jump so violently that Severus tumbled off the couch and whipped out his wand. Albus was sitting in the middle of the play-pen, his fists clenched, and screaming at the top of his lungs.
“My God, is he hurt?” Remus was off the couch in a second, jumping over the play pen and kneeling by Albus, who paused for a second to consider him and went back to shrieking.
“Well, he bloody well better be, screaming bloody murder like that!” Severus snapped, picking himself up from the floor and tucking his wand into his robes. “I was under the impression we were besieged by a Banshee. In fact, you may want to check if he’s swallowed one recently.”
“No bruises,” Remus mumbled, ignoring Severus’s obvious contempt and inspecting the squirming and screaming child. He sniffed him. “Doesn’t need a diaper change. And he’s only just been fed, too, Harry said. Can’t be fed again for a while.”
“Well, shut him up before I do.” Severus produced his wand. “Nothing a little silencing spell won’t - “
“You cannot use silencing spells on children, Severus!” Remus stood up, clutching Albus to him tightly and started swinging slowly from side to side, which only resulted in louder shrieks. “Kids scream because it’s the only way they can let adults know something’s wrong.”
“Or, in this case, what spoiled brats they really are,” Severus pointed out and snatched Albus out of Remus’s hands. “Tell me what you want,” he growled, holding Albus in front of his face. Albus stopped yelling just long enough to give an audible burp, size Severus up, and go back to screaming. “Stop it!” Severus roared, and Remus seemed to have grabbed Albus out of his hands just in time.
Severus’s tantrum seemed to cheer Albus up, because his screams were replaced with happy giggles almost instantaneously. Remus laughed nervously.
“You see? He likes you.”
“Sod off. I’m going home. Another one of those tantrums and I may just throw him out the window.” Severus made for the door, but the moment he was out of Albus’s view, a scream ten times louder than the last ripped through the house.
“Luv, come back here!” Remus called out pleadingly. “If you leave me he’s going to continue screaming himself hoarse. He doesn’t seem to want you to go.”
Severus groaned and stuck his head back into the living room. Albus stopped screaming immediately and outstretched his hands towards him. Severus frowned at the puppy-like hopeful look in Remus’s eyes.
“I’m not holding this thing, if that’s what you’re asking,” he stated flatly, walking back into the room hesitantly. “I don’t do well with children. You knew this when you dragged me over here.” Albus continued to reach out, now starting to whimper. “Oh give it here!” Severus grabbed Albus and held it under the arms at an arm’s length, but Albus seemed to be content enough even with that.
“I know you don’t like children.” Remus sighed sadly. “And that’s... kind of why I brought you here, actually.”
“Sadistic little puppy, are we?” Severus couldn’t hide a smirk. “Anything else that I don’t like and should be looking forward to in the nearest future?”
But there was something about Remus’s downcast look and sincere sadness, almost, that made Severus’s next snide remark die in his throat without ever making it out. Usually, Remus blew past everything Severus said, rolling his eyes and chuckling occasionally, but this time it seemed that it made him utterly depressed. That was not a usual reaction, and, as unfamiliar as the feeling was, Severus felt badly.
He sighed and put Albus back into his pen, giving him a look that indicated murder if he gave a peep, which Albus seemed to understand, because he sat down and reached for his toy cars, keeping one eye on Severus to make sure he was still in the room.
“I don’t hate the kid, Remus.” Severus shrugged and took a step towards him. “If you’re so sad because you think the story with Harry and I will be repeated with his children, I can guarantee you that...” he trailed off as Remus’s eyes met his. It was a lightning-fast connection, but Severus saw. “My God, it’s not even about that, is it?”
Remus stepped back, letting Severus’s arm fall limply to his side, looking down in almost embarrassment. “I wanted to see if, perhaps, you don’t hate children as much as you claim to by bringing you here,” Remus said quietly, still not meeting Severus’s eyes. “I heard Albus was an angel and everybody loved him, so I thought - “
“That I would too?” Severus finished the sentence for him. “Remus, you want one of these, don’t you?” Remus continued to look down. Severus gripped Remus’s jaw tightly and forced his head up until their eyes met. “Now you listen to me,” he said quietly. “You know me. I’m not one to love easily. In fact, I haven’t loved anyone since my youth. Not until now.” Remus’s eyes opened in surprise and he moved toward Severus, but the painful grip on his jaw froze him in place. “Neither of us is exactly young, but... But you want this?”
“You love me?” Remus asked the moment Severus released his jaw.
“You want this?” Severus repeated insistently.
“I’m happy and I don’t have to ask for more, really.” Remus smiled and took a step towards Severus and wrapped his arms around him tightly. “But... there was a but?” He looked at Severus with surprise. “You would consider something like this for me?”
“I am in Harry Potter’s house, babysitting his kid with my husband, Mssr. Moony, whose friends made my youth a living hell and who nearly ate me twice throughout my existence.” Severus sighed and raised a brow. “If you went back in time a few years and told me this, I’d say I wouldn’t be surprised at anything anymore.”
“You are a remarkable man,” Remus said, putting his head on Severus’s shoulder and smiling when Severus finally brought his hands around his waist.
In the background, Albus started sniffling.
“Cry now and I’ll hex you into tomorrow,” Severus growled, and Albus was the only one to see the contented smile that passed over the older man’s face as he hugged Remus tighter and closed his eyes.