InsaneJournal

                "Remus," said Moody, frowning and fidgeting a bit. "Just be careful."

                Remus laughed this off softly, "I'm a big boy now, Alastor."

                "What's this I hear about . . . him?" said Sirius. He hid behind his hair, which was growing out again, in a very Snivellesque way.

                "We're living together," said Remus. "Get a grip on yourself.

                "Living together!" Sirius yelped. "With him?!" And his mother promptly began to screech. People came into the room to see what was the matter.

                "Someone talk some sense into Remus!" cried Sirius. "He's living with Snape."

                Remus snarled at Sirius before turning to look at the faces of some of the other Order members.

                "Well, I trust Remus knows what he's doing," said McGonagall after a moment, "and, as his oldest friend, you'd do well to trust him as well."

                "Well said, Minerva," said Kingsley. "Now, let's let the poor man head home."

                "To a home with Snape," groaned Sirius, pressing fingertips to his forehead.

                "It's not such a bad idea," said Tonks, entering the room as the other two left. "Snape seems lonely. Are you two . . . together?"

                "I don't know yet," said Remus quietly. "Not as of right now, at least."

                "So are you...?"

                "Gay? No, not entirely." He smiled softly at Tonks.

                "I'll keep that in mind, then," she said with a wink, and then promptly tripped over a box on her way out.

                "See," said Sirius after a moment, "that's the kind of tail you should be after."

                "You just called your cousin 'tail'."

                "Yeah, well. Doesn't count if I didn't grow up with her, does it?"

                "Well, maybe I'll give her a chance after all."

                "I'd appreciate it."

                "But I'm not allowed to fuck the hell out of your old enemy?"

                "Moony!" yelped Sirius, plugging fingers into his ears.

                "Sorry," said Remus, smirking. But he wasn't sorry at all.

                "Going somewhere?" asked Snape, watching Remus as he got ready.

                "Date."

                "Ah."

                "How do I look?" Remus turned around to show Snape the full effect of him in his dress robes.

                "As best as can be expected," he said, though it seemed as if he were teasing Remus.

                "As best as can be expected, mm?" Remus grasped Severus by the front of his robes, pulling him closer. "How do I smell?"

                "Expensive cologne for such a shoddy everyday dresser, isn't it?" Snape nearly purred.

                Remus pecked him on the cheek. "Yes, well. I'm off." He pulled back a bit, smirking softly at the gentle desire he saw in Severus's eyes. "I should be back by midnight, but don't call around if I'm not."

                "Who is it?" asked Snape.

                "Nymphadora Tonks."

                "Isn't she a little—"

                "Female?"

                "I was going to say young."

                "Well, yes, I suppose she is. As for the female thing, I like both, but she can grow the right bits whenever she desires it. Not too shabby, being able to have both."

                "Interesting," breathed Snape. "You should head out now. You look nice."

                "Thank you," said Remus. He reached for one of Severus's hands and squeezed it gently before Apparating to Tonks's place.

                They arrived at the theatre together and, for once in his life, Remus felt pretty fancy and high class. They watched an opera called "The Golden Snitch". It was a very old wizarding opera bout a woman hiding her identity to play quidditch as seeker, who then fell in love with a player on an opposing team. When they hooked up, the man, Giorgio, turned the woman, Cassandra, in. When she was no longer allowed to play quidditch, she settled down with a man, had a few children, and was unhappy for the rest of her life—which turned out not to be very long. She swallowed a golden snitch and it opened up in her stomach and she bled to death. Her ghost watched over all the female quidditch players in the years to come.

                "Wow," said Tonks as they left, "that was beautiful."

                Remus nodded. "I loved the scene of her death."

                "I know, they did such a great job," said Tonks.

                They made their way to a little French restaurant and ate in a friendly silence before they parted ways, rather stuffed. They made plans to see each other again.

                "Maybe you could come over some time," Remus suggested. "I'm sure I could convince Snape to occupy himself elsewhere."

                "Or he could join us. He is your 'house guest', is he not?" She smiled at him softly. "There's something mysterious and beautiful about him."

                "You think so?"

                "Don't you?"

                "Well . . . yes."

                "There you are, then. I wonder how he'd feel about me joining the two of you, and yes, I do mean joining the two of you."

                "We'll see," said Remus, intrigued. "I could talk to him."

                "See that you do." She leaned in for a goodbye kiss, which Remus returned with fervor.

                "You waited up for me?" Remus raised an eyebrow as he saw Snape reading a book in the sitting room.

                "And if I did?"

                Remus slid out of his robes, unbuttoning his button-down shirt. "Have you ever thought about Tonks and the two of us?"

                "The two of us? What two of us? There is no two of us."

                "There could be, though," said Remus quietly, looking hopeful. "Look, I care for you. A lot, by now."

                "So did Rabastan."

                Remus gripped at the robes in his hand, looking down at them. "Severus, how could you even say that?" he ground out.

                "I have a knack for wounding people, I suppose. Look," he stood, closing the book, walking over to Remus. "There's no point in waiting patiently for me. I'm almost certainly not going to have sex with you."

                "Alright," said Remus, folding his dress robes carefully. "But it wouldn't have to only be about sex between us. Tonks really likes you as well if you like women."

                He paused, tracing a finger over his lip in thought. "So, you can honestly say you'd let my tired arse plant itself in your bed when the two of you could be off shagging like rabbits?"

                "Yes. I want to try and form a relationship with you. We can work out the details later."

                "You make no sense."

                "Tonks liked the idea," said Remus with a waggle of his brows.

                It was the craziest thing Severus had heard in a long time. To be with someone for them, for who they were, and not for sex at all, really. And for the someone to be, of all people, him, was . . . well, it was fairly ludicrous. "I . . . need to rest," said Snape awkwardly after a moment.

                "Come sleep in my bed, why don't you, then?" offered Remus carefully.

                It took Severus a while to relax, stiff in Remus's arms as they lay on his bed together. Snape was in his nightshirt, and Remus was wearing a pair of pajama trousers. Eventually, though, he settled into sleep. He woke, uneasily, in the middle of the night, long before Remus did. He frowned in thought as he rolled over, watching the werewolf as he slept. Gritting his teeth, he slowly crept out of the room and into the guest room he'd come to know as his own in the past few months.

                He packed rather haphazardly, but tried to do his best as his mind whirred, eventually Flooing back to Spinner's End, back in his real bedroom, tatty wallpaper and all, where old Grandfather Prince could not even hope to get in. It didn't much matter, though, because after his long stay at Lupin's, the ghost was set on ignoring him for a while. Good. Being ignored was always easier than any of the alternatives.