Christmas morning
"Severus," Remus whispered. He lifted up on one elbow to peer down at his sleeping lover, then leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Severus, wake up. Presents."
"Prh-hns?" Severus uttered into his pillow, one eye opening a crack. He shifted a little and breathed deeply through his nose.
Remus kissed his cheek. "Happy Christmas," he murmured.
"Hpy hismas," Severus mumbled, opening the other eye slowly.
Laughing, Remus snuggled up to Severus and slid a hand down along his body to stroke other parts of Severus into wakefulness.
Severus took in a sharp breath as a jolt went through him, and he blinked both eyes blearily. "Mmmm." He shifted against Remus' hand encouragingly.
"Here's your first present," Remus murmured. He began dropping kisses along Severus' body, pulling the covers back so he could make his way lower.
Severus let out a little groan of anticipation, his mind waking up much faster now as his body began responding to Remus' lips. "Ohhh yay presents," he managed.
Remus smirked and stuck his tongue in Severus' navel, stroking his hand slowly along his lover's cock. Then he moved all the way down and took Severus in his mouth.
"Nnn, 's the best present," Severus groaned, shifting to give Remus easier access and arching under the onslaught of pleasure. "Merlin, your mouth."
Humming, Remus licked and sucked, wanting Severus' orgasm to be quick and strong.
"Oh God," Severus gasped, tangling his fingers in Remus' hair. Pleasure had him tensing already. He was going to come ridiculously fast; he could feel it all the way down to his toes.
Feeling wicked, Remus took Severus deep and growled around him, sliding a hand down to stroke along the back of Severus' knee.
"Fuck," Severus cried, half in pleasure and half in surprise. His knee jerked a little at the unexpectedness of that, but fortunately he managed not to kick Remus. "Oh fuck, Remus, so good," he babbled, tugging on Remus' hair as his pleasure built rapidly.
Perfect, Remus thought, and swallowed, stroking the knee some more.
Severus' orgasm built so abruptly it was almost painful, and with a wordless cry of release, he came hard down Remus' throat.
Gasping and panting as the shivers of climax left him, he decided this was going to be an excellent Christmas.
"Mmm." Remus pulled slowly away, licking Severus clean and then crawling his way back up his lover's body to kiss him. His own erection pressed against Severus' hip and he rubbed gently against him.
"God, Remus," Severus murmured, getting his arms around Remus and holding him tightly. He rubbed his thigh against Remus' erection, still a little too overwhelmed from his own climax to do anything more than that.
"Sexy thing," Remus groaned in his ear, panting. He rubbed with more energy, his breath hot on Severus' neck.
"Nnn, yeah, Remus, want to feel you come on me," Severus murmured, scratching down Remus' back with one hand.
Remus exhaled sharply as a shiver of almost violent pleasure went through him at that. "God, Severus," he managed, riding Severus' thigh enthusiastically.
"Feels so good on my skin," Severus uttered, nipping Remus' ear and scratching over Remus' arse. He gave it a squeeze.
"Ah!" Remus managed, arching. "Yes, more!" he begged. He was close...
Severus dug his nails into the sensitive skin of Remus' arse. "Feels like you're marking me, claiming me, so I'm no one else's. I love it," he murmured, then nibbled along Remus' jaw and nosed into the crook of his neck to bite there.
Between the words--and the meaning behind them--and Severus' teeth on his neck, Remus was lost to the pleasure. He tensed and then came hard, arching his head back and grunting Severus' name.
Severus rubbed the indents from his nails from Remus' skin as he came, holding Remus tight. He licked his teeth marks in Remus' neck, then smeared Remus' come over his skin. "Love you."
Shuddering and breathing heavily, Remus stretched out on top of Severus, clinging to him, "Oh, God, yes, love you," he panted.
Severus' tongue flickered out against Remus' mouth a little. "Happy Christmas."
Remus growled happily and kissed Severus, his mouth hungry but not demanding.
Severus returned the kiss, then smiled and growled playfully back. He thought a great Christmas present would be to stay in bed all day.
That sent a thrill through Remus, and he growled again and nipped at Severus' jaw. It occurred to him suddenly to wonder just how wolfish Severus had become. He eyed Severus for a moment, then nipped harder and threw himself out of bed, darting out of the room.
Severus shot into a sitting position, for a moment compelled to follow, then blinked and wondered why Remus had run off. Did he need the loo? No, he'd turned out of the door the other way. He must want to be followed, Severus reasoned, though he really wasn't keen to leave the bed.
Still, where Remus led, he wanted to follow. He got up, too, and hurried out of the room, completely starkers, wondering where Remus had gone.
When Severus didn't chase him, Remus decided he must not have acquired the hunting instinct. So he waited outside the door, and when Severus followed, he pounced, kissing him enthusiastically.
Severus wound his arms around Remus tightly and kissed him back, leaning back against the wall so he was pinned.
"Mmm, love you," Remus said, pressing against him.
"Love you too," Severus gasped, liking their naked bodies pressed together like this. The wall was cold against his bare back, but he liked that too. "Let's just shag all day," he suggested with a smirk.
Remus arched an eyebrow, then smirked back. "What a tempting thought. But then you won't get the rest of your presents."
"Mm, I don't know if there's a better present than shagging all day," Severus teased, his smirk widening. "Okay, how about we do presents, and then we shag all day? I'll do whatever you want..." he wheedled.
Remus nuzzled Severus' jaw, then nipped lightly. "But we have Christmas dinner with my friends," he murmured. "God, now I don't want to go. Just want to stay home and make you fuck me while I'm tied up. And then do whatever you want in return."
Severus groaned at the thought of that. "Yes, just send our apologies because we're too busy shagging," he said, nipping Remus' lower lip.
"Mm, they'd be scandalised," Remus said. He slid an arm around Severus' waist. "I'm sure they think we're still at the holding hands and kissing stage."
"Nnn, well then, tell them I'm going to tie you down and hold your hand and kiss you," Severus teased, liking the arm around his waist.
Remus snorted and nipped at Severus' ear. "Prat," he murmured affectionately. "Why don't we go have a shower? Or should we do that after presents?"
"Are there more sex presents?"
"There are always more sex presents," Remus promised. "But there are a few you can take out in public, as well." He kissed Severus.
Severus laughed and kissed him. "Well, I just thought, if we were going to need another shower by the end of the presents, we ought to wait until then. If not, we could have one first."
Remus grinned. "Excellent logic, as always, my love." He kissed Severus again. "After, then."
"Oooh, all right," Severus said, intrigued and wondering if there really were more sex presents to come. "Sounds good."
Remus' grin turned smirky, though if he were honest with himself, he was a bit nervous about one of the gifts under their tiny tree. "It's cold in here," he announced unnecessarily--he was sure Severus felt it, too. "Though I'd prefer to go to bed, we should get dressed and start on presents so we'll have time for them all."
Severus liked Remus' smirk, and grinned a little himself. "Yes, presents, excellent." He needed to do a cleaning charm, anyway; he was sticky.
He waited for Remus to let go of him, then followed him back into the bedroom to get dressed.
Pants, jeans, and a jumper would do, Remus thought. Then he got out to the stairs, which were wood, and went back for socks. "What d'you want for breakfast?" he asked, already looking forward to his first cup of tea.
Severus had shimmied into the tight jeans Remus had transfigured for him a while back and had a black jumper on with that. "Tea," he announced, following Remus downstairs. "And sausage and toast and beans and tomatoes."
"Oh, Merlin," Remus said, staring at Severus' arse. "How'm I supposed to make breakfast with you looking like that? Mmm."
Severus tried to look innocent, but the effect was ruined with the way he kept smirking. "I don't know what you mean," he said.
"Prat," Remus said, his tone affectionate. He groped Severus' arse and went around him to the fridge to get the bangers. "D'you think you can manage toast these days?" he asked. "If supervised?"
"Oh ha, ha," Severus said flatly. "I will make the best bloody toast you've ever eaten," he boasted, and got out the bread.
"Ooh, good, I'll get out the jam then," Remus said hopefully.
Severus approached the toaster and took a deep breath to bolster his confidence. He dropped in four slices and depressed the lever, then stood back quickly.
Nothing exploded. That was a good sign.
Remus set about starting the range and getting things set up. "Once you finish the toast, you might start water for tea, too," he suggested. "But don't try to do both at once."
Severus' jaw dropped, and then he glared at the back of Remus' head. "You are a git."
Remus laughed and glanced over his shoulder, trying to look coy. "Oh, perhaps you should punish me later."
"I may just," Severus threatened darkly.
Remus waggled his eyebrows and turned back to the range. "Tomatoes are done. Sausages still need some time."
Severus turned to pout at the toaster. The toast jumped up a moment later, and he got a plate to put them on, setting the plate down on the table with particular relish. "There. I can make toast."
Remus inhaled and smiled. "Smells very toasty," he said, and brought the tomatoes over. "Good job."
"Yeah, it was nothing," Severus said dismissively, but there was a definite swagger to his step as he went to get the water ready for the tea.
Still smiling, Remus finished up the rest and set the table.
Severus made the tea and joined Remus at the table with it. He surveyed the food hungrily, scooping sausages onto his plate.
Remus started with toast and beans, because he wanted Severus to know he appreciated it. He was hungrier than he'd realised, and tucked in with vigour.
Severus served himself a portion of the rest and tucked in, wolfing down his food.
"I think Lily and James are expecting us around one for dinner," Remus said after a time, "and hopefully we'll be home in time to have our Christmas tea ourselves. We could tell them we're going to meet one of Tobias' relatives for tea or something."
"Oh yeah, have to do family stuff," Severus agreed. "Very important, family rubbish. If it gets us out of there, anyway."
Remus grinned and stretched his leg out enough to touch Severus'.
Severus took a drink of tea and smiled at him. "So we ought to be able to get a shag in after presents, hm?" he asked hopefully.
"Oh, yes, I should think so." Remus sipped calmly at his tea, though his stomach gave a little jump. He hoped Severus might want to use one of his presents, though he knew he shouldn't get his hopes up.
"Oh good," Severus said eagerly, wondering if Remus really did want to be tied up. Anything to do with sex and Remus he liked. He just hoped Remus liked the presents he got for him.
Remus grinned at Severus and finally jumped up. "Right, I can't wait any longer, we'll have to have presents now."
Severus laughed and got up, too.
Flicking his wand to clear the table quickly, Remus then grabbed Severus, kissed him soundly, and said, "Come on." He led the way into the front room, where another flick of his wand lit the fairy lights on the tree.
Severus stopped at Remus' side, his hand curled lightly around Remus' arm, and appreciated the tree. The room was only dimly lit, and the fairy lights sparkled, casting a soft, inviting glow around the room.
Remus leaned lightly against Severus, resting his head on his lover's shoulder. It was perfect.
"Mmm, now we just need a fire," Severus said. He used his wand to banish all the light not coming from the tree, then to start a fire in the grate. "There, now it'll warm up, too." He was comfortable in his jeans and a sweater, but he thought a nice fire at their back would be good as well.
Smiling, Remus lifted his head to brush a kiss across Severus' cheek. "I'm so glad to be spending Christmas with you," he murmured. "I love you."
"I love you too," Severus said, leaning against Remus. "And this Christmas there won't be any unfortunate interruptions." It was their second Christmas together, he'd almost forgotten.
"Yes, exactly," Remus said. He wrapped his arms around Severus for a moment, then kissed him again quickly. "Presents," he reminded Severus, as if Severus needed reminding, and tugged him over to sit in front of the fire, levitating their presents in front of them.
Severus settled next to Remus, eyeing the boxes piled around them. "You go first," he said, watching Remus nervously.
"What if we each open one at a time?" Remus said instead, but he started tugging at the Spellotape on one of the packages. He couldn't get past his habit of saving the paper and folding it, but in a short time he was looking at a mystery novel he'd never read before. "Thanks!" he said, grinning at Severus. "I haven't read this one."
"Oh good," Severus said, his nervous expression smoothing into a small smile. "You still like mysteries, right?"
"Mm, I love them," Remus said, leaning over to kiss Severus. "I've heard this one's very good."
Severus returned the kiss, relieved. "That's good. The bloke at the shop said it was." He watched Remus for a moment, then grabbed one of his presents and unwrapped a pair of jeans. That made him smirk, and he checked the size, further amused. More tight jeans.
"Is this a request for a rent boy encore?" he asked, smirking.
"Mmm, it's just a silent tribute to your fantastic arse," Remus said, "though I wouldn't object to my own personal rentboy making another appearance." He paused. "That's not the other sex present, though." And smirked.
Severus snorted in amusement, his gaze wandering over the other boxes, trying to guess which one held the sex present. "Thank you very much."
"Very welcome." Remus flipped the pages of his book for a moment, then set it gently aside to reach for another box. This one was a jumper, in a texture that he liked very much. He pressed his face against it, rubbing the nobbly fabric on his cheek.
Severus watched Remus happily, glad he obviously liked the jumper. He felt a bit silly, always getting Remus jumpers, but Remus looked good in them and he was very cuddly in them. Not that he would ever admit to anyone that 'cuddly' was a drawing point for anything.
"What colour is this?" Remus asked suddenly, though he didn't look up from where he'd closed his eyes happily. "And I'll ask Lily when we get there, so don't bother lying."
Severus laughed. "It's a dark, kind of forest-y, green."
Remus grinned at him. "Thank you," he said. "I like how it feels."
"I'm glad," Severus said, watching him still. "It's not Slytherin green, by the way. Just in case you were wondering. You just look good in those sorts of colours."
"Thanks," Remus said. He leaned over and kissed Severus. "I like that you buy me jumpers."
"Oh, good," Severus said, relieved. He found it difficult enough to shop for Remus without having to give up one of his gift-giving staples.
He picked up another box and opened it, thinking it was a likely candidate for a sex present, and blinked down at what appeared to be silk pants. Well. That probably counted.
Remus grinned. "Mmm, more tribute to your arse," he said.
"Oh, this is the 'silent tribute to Snape's arse' Christmas, of course, how could I forget?" Severus asked dryly, smirking in amusement. Then he scrutinised the pants a little closer. "Are these knickers?"
Remus whistled and looked elsewhere.
"You bought me knickers!" Severus glanced up at Remus in surprise, and Remus' seemingly innocent expression told him all he needed to know. He held a pair up, staring at them incredulously.
"I thought they'd look good," he said.
Severus dropped the shiny red knickers back into the box and closed the lid on it. He wanted to ask if Remus had found someone to tell him the colours when he picked them out, but then decided maybe he didn't want to think about that particular shopping event. "Your turn."
Looking very satisfied with himself, Remus found another one to open, and was pleased to find a little wolf figurine nestled in a cushioning charm inside the box. He picked it up carefully and it howled at him, wagging its tail. "Severus!" he gasped.
Despite himself, Severus' resentful expression melted a bit, seeing Remus' reaction to the little wolf figurine. "I couldn't find Cthulu," he explained, wondering if Remus would remember that.
Remus stared for a moment, then laughed loudly. "This is..." The little figurine began gnawing on his thumb. It felt more like a tickle than a pain. "...it's just wonderful."
"According to the little card inside, he'll play fetch, too," Severus said. "There's actually different ones in that series that you can collect, and they'll form a pack if you do." They were quite dear, though, so Severus unfortunately had only been able to afford the one.
Remus' laughter was delighted. "They'll form a pack? How perfectly marvellous." He tried to get it to play fetch, but it decided it was time to let out another howl, then curl up on the palm of his hand. He cradled it carefully, very pleased.
Delighted with how much Remus seemed to like that present, Severus reached for another one of his, but was stopped from opening one of the last two boxes with a hand on his arm.
"Wait, open that one last," Remus said when he looked up questioningly.
Shrugging, but curious, Severus grabbed the other present, which was much heavier. He slid it across the floor to himself and then pulled the paper open, 'Oooh'ing over a book with a very well worn leather cover whose gold leaf title had nearly all worn away. In fact, he couldn't tell at all what it was from the outside.
A check of the inside revealed that it was called Advanced Potions Theory and Formulae for the Distinguished Potioner and that it was published in 1804. "Wow, where did you find this?" Severus asked, impressed but wondering how Remus had afforded it.
"I was just browsing the shelves at Forbish and Banks, looking at some of the old books, and this one sort of jumped out at me. Erm, not literally, that was the first edition Monster Book of Monsters, but this one caught my eye." Remus smiled. He'd had to save money from his wages for three months, but Mr Banks had agreed to take his deposit and hold it while Remus made payments on it. "Poppy said it wasn't in the library at Hogwarts, so she didn't think you would have ever read it."
"No, I haven't," Severus said, turning the pages carefully. If it was a book even Hogwarts didn't have...
He scanned the table of contents greedily, looking for new information. There was plenty here. That was excellent. Besides which, it must be quite a valuable book, and it would make an excellent addition to his collection.
"Thank you so much, this is brilliant."
Remus beamed at him. "I'm glad you like it. I wanted to find something perfect for you."
"It's wonderful," Severus assured him.
He stared nervously at Remus' last box. He just hoped that it wasn't crossing a line, but he didn't think so.
"I have one more for you," Remus said, glancing at the box. Oh God, he hoped Severus didn't hate it. It was sort of a present for both of them, after all.
"I see that," Severus said, tugging it over. He waited, though, nodding to Remus' last box. "Your turn."
Remus nodded and picked up his last box. He wished he could open it last. What if Severus hated his present? That would put a damper on the rest of the day. But he obligingly picked at the wrapping paper and began peeling it carefully away.
Severus watched Remus, wondering why he was hesitating.
Feeling Severus' eyes on him, Remus tried to hurry his movements, and the paper tore all the way across. He chuckled nervously and shucked the paper aside, then opened the box. He stared at the brown leather lead for a long moment in stunned silence, then grinned broadly.
Severus held his breath until Remus grinned, then let it out in a relieved whoosh. A grin couldn't be bad. He wasn't quite expecting a grin, but at least it wasn't a frown or a scowl.
"Sex presents," Remus said in a pleased voice. And so very familiar, he wondered if they'd done their Christmas shopping at the same store. "Open yours," he said, nodding at the package.
Severus arched a brow, but did as he was told. He blinked in surprise to see the very same leather lead in his box, though it also contained wrist and ankle cuffs. Had Remus bought Severus things to use on himself? Severus laughed.
Remus' grin widened. "I think you must have been reading my mind," he murmured.
"I guess so," Severus said, smirking. He glanced up at Remus. "Well, damn, you don't need two leads."
Remus eyed it speculatively. "If you used the non-metal end, you could try flogging me with it," he said after a time. "I'm not sure how I'd like it, but I'm curious. I think."
Severus blinked in surprise. "Yeah, I could," he said, though he had no idea how to go about doing such a thing. "We can try it." He didn't think that hurting Remus would turn him on, but if Remus did like it, giving him pleasure would always do the trick.
With a shrug, Remus said, "Or we could take it back and shop together this time." He waggled his eyebrows.
Severus let a smirk spread over his face. "Something for me to wear, maybe?"
"Don't like your knickers?" Remus teased.
Severus let out a groan and fell over onto his side dramatically. "I'd almost blocked those from my mind."
Remus laughed and pounced, leaning down over Severus and kissing him deeply.
Severus kissed Remus hungrily in return, sneaking an arm around him. He wanted to get shagged, but judging by his presents, he was going to be the one doing the shagging. And it would not be in silky red pants.
"Love you," Remus murmured between kisses. "Love your presents. Makes Christmas so wonderful."
"Yes," Severus agreed. "Let's stay in and play with the presents." He grinned.
Remus snorted and nuzzled Severus' neck. "We'll stay in until half-twelve, then we go to Christmas dinner." He nipped Severus' earlobe. "And then we come back, and whoever didn't get shagged earlier gets shagged then."
"Mmm, okay, that sounds good," Severus agreed. "Just as long as these tight jeans were not worn in vain."
"Oh, definitely not," Remus said. He growled at Severus and murmured, "So who gets fucked first?"
Severus groaned quietly, liking Remus' growl as much as his blunt speech.
Though the fact that Remus just saying the word 'fuck' could affect him like that was rather incredible.
"I don't know. How eager are you to try out my new present?" He grinned.
"Mmm, very eager," Remus breathed. "But I want what you want."
"I can't think," Severus said. "I think my jeans are too tight." He laughed breathlessly. "Oh, maybe you ought to fuck me first, and then after dinner I shall be cognizant, and we can take our time, and do it properly, and it will be lovely."
Remus laughed. "Thinking with your cock again?" he murmured. "Severus." He nipped at Severus' jaw.
"That's usually how it goes around you," Severus admitted, smirking, and squirmed under Remus so he was on his back.
"God, I love you so much," Remus breathed. He paused to look down at Severus, stroking his hair back away from his face. "I feel so lucky to have you in my life. And you've put up with me for more than a year now. It's...God, it's just incredible. Thank you, Severus."
Severus snorted. "'Put up with'. Right. You're welcome for putting up with me."
"I mean it," Remus said softly. "Don't make fun of yourself--I feel special because you love me."
Severus suddenly felt the hot, prickling rush of tears, but the tightness in his throat luckily kept them back. "More than anything," he managed to utter quietly.
Remus kissed him several times, short, hungry kisses. "Me too," he murmured in between. "Love being with you, love holding you."
"M' so lucky," Severus gasped, tightening his arms around Remus.
"Love sharing a bed with you. Love fucking you, too." Remus pulled back to give Severus a wicked grin.
Severus grinned in return. "How would you like to fuck me?"
"Oh, Merlin," Remus groaned, "how can I decide? How d'you want it?" he asked, then hoped it wouldn't make Severus go all awkward.
Severus tensed, though he wondered - how did he want it? He wanted Remus to like it, but that wasn't really an answer to the question. Why did that question always bother him so much? Why couldn't he just think and answer? Maybe he should have said he'd fuck Remus first. Why did he suddenly feel as if he'd done something wrong? He didn't want to bloody ruin a shag and Christmas morning by being insecure over something stupid.
He thought quickly, pushing those thoughts away. "Why don't you fuck me here on the floor?" It wasn't terribly interesting or different, but that he didn't really care about so much. He just wanted Remus to have him.
"Yes," Remus growled. He kissed Severus eagerly. He would have been pleased with any suggestion, he thought, but shagging on the floor in front of the fire on Christmas morning sounded wonderful. "Want you." He stroked his hands up under Severus' jumper to bare skin.
Sometimes hearing that made Severus feel just as emotional as declarations of feelings. He smiled up at Remus.
Pleased at how happy Severus looked, Remus kissed him, then nibbled his way down his lover's neck. His hands stroked lightly over Severus' warm skin.
"Love you," Severus murmured, holding Remus, but loosely, so he could still move where he wanted.
"Nnh, these jeans," Remus murmured, stroking a hand down to Severus' zip.
Severus smirked. "I love that you like them so much."
Remus slid his hand inside, curling his fingers around Severus and massaging lightly. "Oh, yes," he breathed. He kissed Severus' chest. "They turn me on." He smirked up at Severus. "Now I'm going to turn you on."
(continued in Part Two)