InsaneJournal

Welcome to Brookwood Manor - Snape/Sirius/Remus
First posted: 12-19-2006

Title: Welcome to Brookwood Manor
Author: Rain ( iheartbowie )
Pairing: Snape/Sirius/Remus (with bits of Snape/Sirius and Sirius/Remus
for fun)
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 6,883
Summary: AU. Take a walk through Brookwood Manor, and see who lives there.
Author's Note: I originally dabbled with the idea of taking one of the daily_deviant's Merry Smutmas challenges with this fic. However, I was a wee bit worried that it would satisfactorily cover the prompt's requirements. Hopefully it will still be thoroughly enjoyed. Also many, many thanks to my betas imwithharvey, madsophiehatter, and asrai99.


Brookwood Manor was the home of three very different individuals. The name for the sprawling house was hardly appropriate; it was a large home, but it was nothing at all like any of the real manors that those three had seen or lived in. The name created the feel of something more flashy and expensive than it really was.

Upon entering the Manor, one would notice that there were three coat hangers with three different cloaks waiting for their owners. The first was a worn brown floor length coat. It was thin and patched in some places, looking to be the
most comfortable of the three. The second coat was waist length and made of midnight black leather. A pair of matching leather riding gloves hung out of the coat pocket. A pair of black sunglasses stuck out of the other pocket. The last coat was an impeccably tailored full length coat. It appeared to be the best cared for of the three coats,
made of a moderately expensive wool material. It was fairly plain in black with the only sign of flair being at the cuffs where a black snake coiled almost invisibly around the sleeve. It was obvious from that alone that the three people living in this house were completely different. One warm and comforting, the second wild and occasionally dark, the third stiff and formal. Despite the odd combination, everything seemed at ease. Well...for the most part.

"One would have hoped that over the course of the last several years you would have gained an ounce of common sense!"

"You bloody ass! I didn't spill the damn coffee on purpose!"

"I do not know how it is possible that you can function properly with the way you constantly leave destruction in your
wake."

"I told you I'd bloody well fix it! Just shut up already!"

On the kitchen counter was a soggy mess of parchment covered by a freshly overturned coffee pot sitting on the counter. The coffee was beginning to drip onto the floor in little splatters. The three occupants of the house were scattered about the room. A tall man with limp black hair hanging around his piercing black eyes stood by the doorway to the hall. He glared angrily at another who stood motionless by the mess. The other man was about as tall as the first one with long black hair pulled back in a loose braid that hung down his back. His grey eyes were filled with frustration and he returned the stare from the first man. The third occupant was seated at the kitchen table, holding a cup of tea in his hands. His shoulder length brown hair was highlighted with more than a few strands of silver and was loosely held with a black hair tie. He had a small smile on his face as he watched the pair silently.

"Severus," the otherwise quiet man said, "it was an accident. Sirius had no intention of ruining your work and you know it. If you want to take your foul mood out on someone you have more constructive means of doing so."

Snape turned to sneer at the quiet man. "I have no intention of taking it out of your rear, Remus," he spat before turning on his heel and storming from the room.

Remus simply shook his head before taking another sip from his tea cup. Sirius sighed and resumed cleaning up the mess of coffee and parchment. He pouted a bit as he cleared away the mess with a few short spells. He banished the remains of coffee and then began the tedious task of trying to remove the stains from the parchment.

"He's always so bloody well convinced that I do this on purpose," Sirius muttered.

"You just happen to be an easy target because you fight back," Remus said, shaking his head. "He's been upset since his proposal to the Hall of Alchemy was turned down. Things are just difficult for him."

"It doesn't mean he should treat me like that," Sirius said with a pout.

*

The kitchen was a rather cozy room, with two sets of windows lined with thin, beige curtains that could not block the light from filling the room. Other than the spill that Sirius was working on, the entire room was neat and tidy. A kettle sat on the stove (surprisingly a Muggle gas stove) waiting to be refilled or heated at any time.

The table in the kitchen was where most of the meals were served. The use of a dining room simply seemed excessive to them; it was homier to gather around the table in a room warmed by and full of the scents of cooking. Usually it was a peaceful room, unless moments such as this one led to squabbling. It was one of the rooms that they would meet together as their usual hobbies and jobs kept them busy most of the time.

Between the kitchen and the hallway was the living room, which was most commonly used in the evening. The room had more than enough to entertain the three men. There was a shelf of books against one wall. There was a sofa and a coffee table positioned in the center of the room. Beside the sofa was a rather uncomfortable looking straight-backed leather chair, something that fit surprisingly well with the otherwise soft room. A small television was seated on a TV tray with a few VHS movies piled up beside it; the VCR sat under the television amidst a mess of wires and cables that did not appear all that necessary.

A letter slipped through the fireplace which had suddenly lit up with a bright green blaze. It lasted only a brief moment and the letter sent through floated to rest on the rug, covered in dog hair. The house's occupants would not be aware of the silent arrival.

Continuing through the house was a second hallway. There were two rooms off this hallway, one a communal bathroom intended for when they actually had guests in the house. A faint odor was emanating from the second room. A faint curl of smoke rose from underneath the doorway alerting the person at the door that there was work being done in the
room.

Sirius stood in front of the door, looking a bit nervous. In his hand was the stack of parchment, dry and only a faint scent of coffee marring their once pristine state. After a moment, he lifted his hand and knocked lightly on the door. Once he heard the stiff response of "Come in," he pushed the door open slowly and stepped into the room.

The workroom was small and organized. The room's single window was completely covered with thick black drapes ensuring that the only light came from the lamps placed at equal distance from one another throughout the room. The walls were a dull color. A few failed experiments had caused them to lose their original pleasant sheen. Along one wall were several shelves of ingredients, each bottle carefully labeled in small, neat handwriting. On the opposite wall were other necessary supplies; different cauldrons, stirring rods, protective equipment, cleaning supplies, etc carefully placed on shelves or hung on hooks. Everything had its place and everything was laid out with detailed precision. The center of the room had two worktables in order to complete multiple projects as necessary.

Snape was huddled over a cauldron at the back table, carefully stirring the boiling contents. Sirius waited by the door until Snape put down his stirring rod and turned to face him. He held out the parchment to him and took a few
steps towards him.

"I'm really sorry...about all that. I got rid of the stain. The...ink faded a little in the process. If you want I can rewrite it all for you," Sirius said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No. That should be fine," Snape said, taking the offered parchment and moving to his desk to place them away from anything that could damage them further.

Sirius shifted briefly from one foot to the other for a few moments. "I guess I'll just leave you to your work then," he said, turning to leave the room.

A hand reached out closing around his wrist, stopping him from going anywhere. Sirius turned to look back at Snape, and his chest suddenly slamming into Snape's. In the moment that he was too startled to respond, Snape reached around to place a hand at the base of Sirius's neck. The kiss that followed was long and deep, enough to make Sirius's legs nearly collapse under him.

Snape spun them around quickly, taking advantage of the daze that Sirius was in. He propped Sirius against the table he was working at, pinning him there with his hips. Snape trailed his kisses, burning hot, down Sirius's throat, smirking just faintly at the trail of kiss marks he left in his wake. Sirius panted and moaned, clinging to Snape's back, digging his
fingers into the robe that covered it. With the daze that he was slipping into, he had no way of knowing that Snape was working his way through the buttons of his shirt.

"Oh gods..." Sirius sputtered as his shirt was suddenly tossed aside and Severus turned his attention to the pert nubs that he revealed. One hand alternately tugged and flicked at the dusky pink nub while he focused on the other with tongue and teeth. "Oh...! Oh gods...don't stop!"

With practiced ease, Snape continued his assault and completed disrobing Sirius. Sirius arched desperately into Snape, as a wild heat chased away any thoughts that he might have needed to hold onto. There had been a reason for him being in the room before, but he certainly couldn't state what it was at that moment. No, Severus was there and his hand was...oh...

Snape smirked at the garble of profanity that spilled from Sirius's kiss swollen lips as he closed his hand on the already
hard length. Sirius's cries continued as he gave one...two...three torturously slow strokes.

"Oh gods don't just tease me like that, you bastard!" Sirius growled.

Perhaps that was the magic word that was required, although it would certainly not be considered the most common
way to request something. Snape pulled away only long enough to turn Sirius to face the table and brush aside his own robes. He slid into him roughly and without warning, causing Sirius to cry out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Sirius bit down on his lip to prevent the loud cry from being wrenched from his throat.

Snape pressed against him, fully sheathed but unmoving. "Stop holding it in. I can wait as long as it takes," he breathed against Sirius's ear.

Sirius glared at him over his shoulder and refused to do so. Instead he clenched his muscles around Snape, tightening his hold on him. The black eyes looking at him seemed to unfocus for a surprised moment. Snape collected himself quickly and grabbed the braid hanging down Sirius's back, pulling his head to the side in a harsh jerk. Sirius let out a strangled yelp of surprise that melted into a long groan as Snape bit down on his now exposed throat.

"That's better," Snape purred viciously before he began his slow rhythm. Sirius arched into him to meet each stroke, but
found no satisfaction as Snape managed to pull away just enough to lightly tease the hidden gland.

His breath came out in a series of whimpers and pants. That glorious sensation was so close that he could taste it. No matter what he did to try to draw it near, Snape was already two steps ahead of him dragging it all out. The next step was to beg and Sirius was not about to stoop to that indignity. Snape's rhythm was slowing to a crawling stop. He would not be able to hold out any more than Sirius would. The only difference between the two was that Snape had the patience that Sirius did not.

The next seconds ticked by slowly. The only movement was the rise and fall of Sirius's chest as he tried to will himself to calm down. Sirius stared blankly at the ceiling his fuzzy thoughts tried to focus on something to pull himself from this haze. Nothing could drag from him the feeling of being filled and being so close to the edge.

"...Please..."

"Say it again."

"Oh gods, please! Do it!"

The plea set him off and Snape pounded deeply into him, sending stars across his vision. Sirius leaned over the table, his fingers clenching and opening in the air as if he were trying to reach something. Snape easily found the spot inside him and he felt as if his entire body was going to simply explode from the sensation. Sirius met him thrust for deep thrust, willing Snape to be pulled over the same edge that was looming so close.

It was finally Snape's release that sent him tumbling blindly into the whiteness. He nearly landed head first into the table, but something caught him before he could hurt himself. Sirius couldn't think or move for several long moments, and before he could register what had happened, he was pressed against Snape. Robe covered arms snaked around him and held him tightly enough to ensure that he didn't fall over.

"Couldn't you just apologize like normal people?" Sirius asked finally, glancing over his shoulder at Snape.

Snape was already unmussed from the exertion, his robes straightened and in their usual pristine state. Snape resumed his grin and shook his head. "You prefer it this way," he commented.

"Whatever," Sirius said brushing it aside for the moment. He turned to face Snape and kissed him hard. "I suppose for now I'll forgive you."

Snape snorted and pulled away returning to his cauldron, which was surprisingly untouched. Previous lessons had obviously shown Snape that he could not be too careful. Sirius collected his clothing and tugged on his pants once again. He undid the tie holding his hair in the braid, as it was a rather unmanageable mess at the moment. He would fix that once he had left.

"Are you going to want something for lunch later?" Sirius asked.

Snape only grunted briefly in response. Sirius just nodded, understanding the lack of response for what it really meant. He turned and left the room as quietly as he had come in.

*

Off the main entranceway into the house was a door leading into the garage. They, of course, had no vehicle and as such Remus decided to convert the space into an office for himself. Remus was not generally the kind of person who enjoyed living off of other people's means. He was also the kind of person who preferred to always have something of
importance to do. After the war there was no longer a need for werewolves who possessed too much knowledge of the dark arts and how to fight them.

Remus turned to the only option available to him at the suggestion of Sirius. As it was too difficult for a werewolf to hold a job, he found a way to be his own boss. Remus turned to his love of books and began to deal in used and rare books. His Muggle background made things easy for him as he took to their technology easily. It was easy enough to arrange for packages to arrive via Muggle post at Arabella's home (since she still lived on Privet Drive.) Remus would drop off shipments once a week and collect all of the new arrivals at the same time. His office was full of books and only a small desk stood in the corner. The desk held his handwritten ledger as well as his computer where he did all of his work. An ancient looking heater also sat under the desk, charmed to not only run without electricity, but to not burn anything of value.

The room was extremely messy and with as many books scattered across the room as there were, it was surprising that Remus was able to find anything in it. He had an excellent memory however and he could remember exactly where he had left anything and everything. The only reason it still took him ten minutes to find something was simply because it was usually buried under several dozen books.

Remus happily spent hours working through orders, setting aside what he would need to ship out the following Tuesday, checking in what had just come in earlier that week. For the most part, neither Sirius nor Snape truly understood how he did everything that he did. They knew that he visited Arabella on Tuesdays with a large stack of books to be sent out. When he returned he usually had more than he had to begin with. It seemed strange to them that Remus seemed to spend more money on purchasing books than he received in selling them.

Remus had attempted to explain what he did once, going into detail about things such as Amazon.com and other such websites. Sirius had replied with a broad grin that he imagined she must have been an attractive woman to keep Remus's interest for so long. Remus refused to explain what he did for a living after that.

The kitchen was in the back of the house and as such, led out into the back yard, which wasn't so much a yard as of a long field surrounded by woods. There were no neighbors for at least 50 miles on any side. They were truly out in the middle of nowhere.

Just out the door, several yards of garden had been laid out by hand. To the right was a series of vegetable plants; tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and carrots. To the left grew the less pleasant plants. These were frequently used potion ingredients and it was more cost effective to grow them than to continually purchase them.

In the late afternoon, Remus would often spend an hour or two tending the gardens. He had recently decided that they needed to expand their food garden to include some fresh herbs and he began to lay in the ground work to extend the
garden to include the new plants.

With the sun just hitting the trees behind him the weather was perfect, not too hot nor too cold. The sun wouldn't be too bright and he could manage to finish all of his work before dinner. It was often messy work, but it was fulfilling to be able to literally enjoy the fruits of one's labor. Remus had moved outside after several hours of being locked in his office and was ready to enjoy the remainder of a pleasant afternoon.

He placed a small Muggle radio beside him on the ground, and a classic rock station began to play its songs. Remus had a few sets of rosemary and basil that he had been growing in a set of shallow pots. It was a good start for them, but they would grow better and more if he added them to the garden. He would start on a few other herbs after that. There was a
part of him that was contemplating growing more adventurous plants, and he supposed that he should probably start small first and then try bigger projects.

Singing along to the Rolling Stones, Remus put the finishing touches on the herbs that he had been transplanting. There was a sudden roar from the shed where Sirius spent his days. He looked up to see Sirius starting up the latest bike he had refurbished. The former tool shed behind the house had been rearranged to suit Sirius's hobby of tinkering with motor bikes. Occasionally he would take on a commission to complete one for someone, be they Wizard or Muggle. He simply enjoyed the work and would spend hours trying to improve his replacement for his old bike.

The shed sometimes held several bikes in various states of disrepair. It was currently home to the bike that he was working on for a Wizard, complete with flying and invisibility charms. His own bike was properly covered and parked in the shed as well. There were an odd assortment of Muggle and Wizard tools to assist him with his work, littered haphazardly around the shed as well as where he was working in front of it.

Sirius was straddling the bike he was working on, his hands closing gently around the steering handles. The bike under him seemed to purr contently now that it was running properly. It was becoming increasingly difficult not to stare as Sirius had taken off his shirt at some point while he worked and was covered by a light sheen of sweat.

He took the bike for a very short ride around the shed, to ensure that everything was in working order. He would have to take it for a drive through the country side the next day. The longer ride (while completely enjoyable for him) would also help to ensure to him that his client would receive exactly what they would need and he also would not have to fix it again in just a few weeks.

It was a familiar and appreciated sight, the topless pureblood astride his roaring beast. His
blue black hair flew out wildly behind him and for a moment it was easy to forget that he was no longer a young man with the crazed idea of doing nothing more than ride for the rest of his life. By the time Sirius skidded to a halt in front of the shed, Remus was waiting there for him, having reached him without even realizing it.

Sirius grinned broadly. "She'll make Eriksson a very happy man," he said proudly, patting the bike lightly.

"I'm sure she will," Remus said, not really looking at the bike. "I take it you'll probably be off tomorrow trying her out?"

"The sooner, the better. I promised to have this finished in three weeks and it turned into a much bigger project than I thought. I hadn't anticipated having to take apart the engine and buy as many new parts as I did. Eriksson might be all right with waiting for it to run perfectly, but I don't want to make him wait longer than I have to," Sirius said.

Remus took a few steps closer, not really caring what Sirius had to say. It was all Greek to him anyway; he understood the mechanical work that Sirius did no better than Sirius understood how he worked his computer. His fingers were itching to run along his tanned skin and follow where that drop of sweat was falling into his waistline. Sirius was still talking however, and he simply nodded occasionally as if he understood.

Sirius's hand snaked out suddenly, pulling him up against the bike. He leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "Shall I take you for a ride?"

Remus let out a shuddering breath. Sirius was already trailing several sucking bites along his neck. He reached out to drag his fingers down the slick chest in front of him, producing a growl from Sirius. Remus let his head roll back, exposing more of his neck as he began to claw at the tanned chest. The harder his fingers dug into the skin the harsher the bites became.

The werewolf could often be an impatient lover. He would rush through the foreplay wanting to bury himself inside or be filled by his lover. Remus could growl and tear away at restricting clothing in his mad rush to his completion. Currently he was doing just that, popping the button off of Sirius's jeans in his rush to retrieve the prize inside. Sirius had done away with his underwear at some point in the day and Remus vaguely suspected it was because he knew it would come to this.

Sirius cupped Remus's bottom in both hands lifting him onto the bike. Remus straddled the still humming monstrosity and quickly muttered a spell to rid himself of his own pants. It would be too much work to tug them off at this point
and he was too close.

The smell of sweat and motorbike could do nothing to overpower the scent that was simply Sirius. He leaned forward, drinking deeply of that much beloved scent. He was ravenous, capturing Sirius's lips with his own. Remus ground into Sirius roughly and dragging a long moan from the animagus.

"Lean back," Sirius said, pulling away from the kiss. He wrapped his hands around Remus's lower back to hold him steady.

"Gods yes..." he growled, leaning back just enough for Sirius to be able to slam into him to the hilt. Sirius
clamped a fist around his length, using the other hand to pull him forward once again.

Sirius laid several more love bites along Remus's throat, letting Remus set their furious pace. Remus clawed at Sirius's back as the sensations began to boil within him to overflowing. "More...more..." he cried out. Their matched rhythm accelerated that much faster.

It was only a few moments more before everything reached its dazzling peak. Remus came with yet another growl as Sirius dug his teeth into his shoulder. He barely registered that Sirius had climaxed as well, the familiar warmth filling him as he floated in the aftermath.

He slumped against Sirius, nuzzling his shoulder with his nose lightly. He had a rather content smile on his face.

Sirius chuckled a bit at that, shutting the bike off finally. "How do you manage to get any work done?" he teased.

"If you didn't work shirtless all the time, it would be much easier on me," Remus retorted with a hint of a grin.

"I wouldn't want to end up with one of those atrocious 'farmer's tans,'" Sirius scoffed.

"Oh no...of course not," Remus said with his own laugh. "Your vanity would not allow it."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at Remus for that, causing them both to laugh. Sirius leaned back against the seat back that the bike had, allowing them a moment to simply relax together. Remus shifted to a more comfortable position, detaching himself from Sirius long enough to clean them both and put his pants back on; the seat was a bit too warm for his naked bottom.

"We should do something for him," Remus commented once he was comfortable against Sirius once more.

"Huh?" Sirius asked. He had been lulled into a peaceful half doze and had not been expecting Remus to want to talk.

"Severus," Remus explained rolling his eyes. "He has been rather upset about his proposal."

"You're probably right. He's always miserable while they dance around the subject," Sirius said with a faint sigh. "It's not his fault.

After the war, rather than celebrate his work and the effort that he put into protecting everyone they shunned him. They're only afraid of him because of what he can do, which is utter rubbish," Remus said with a shake of his head.

"Since the Ministry dips its hands into everything not even something that is supposed to be as unbiased as a group of
scientists discussing a way to improve Wizarding society, is possible," Sirius answered.

"His work is all that he has left," Remus added.

"Well...not all..."

"No, I suppose you're right. Sometimes I wonder if he forgets that we're still here."

"He can be bloody morose at times."

Remus stretched his arms over his head and finally got up off the bike. "Maybe he should try to put his application in with another country's Hall of Alchemy. If it was people that had no interaction or knowledge of his history, it might work better for him."

"Maybe to America or Canada?" Sirius suggested.

Remus nodded. "We'll have to ask him before dinner."

"It's your turn to cook dinner," Sirius reminded him. He stretched his arms over his head briefly. "I'll need to take a quick shower so that neither of you have any reason to complain about my company."

Remus grinned and shook his head. "So kind of you to offer," he said. "I don't know how anyone could manage to enjoy dinner while being overwhelmed by the scent of sweat and motor oil."

"Well...might be less dinner eating and more-"

"Bloody vain berk. Just for that I should force you to sleep alone on the sofa tonight," Remus said rolling his eyes.

"Lucky for me, you wouldn't do such a thing," Sirius said, flashing a dazzling smile.

"Just watch me," Remus retorted. Before Sirius could offer any more ridiculous comments, Remus returned to the house. He collected the radio and his tools, pausing to leave them on the kitchen counter on his way into the living room. He
intended to select a cookbook from the shelf and then return to the kitchen to put everything to right.

Halfway to the bookshelf he realized however that the crinkling noise was not supposed to come from
the carpet. He stopped and picked up the letter that had been lying on the rug by the fireplace all day long. Remus's eyes widened and he quickly turned to the hallway.

"Severus!"

*

Dinner inevitably was nothing at all like they had planned. A few boxes of take-out sat on the kitchen table while Remus paced impatiently. Upon reading the note, Severus had immediately left to respond to the summons in the letter. The sender had obviously hoped that by sending it through the Floo, it would not be found in time. The letter had come from the Hall of Alchemy and they were obviously more interested in Severus's recent findings than they had shown previously.

"Please stop pacing. You're making me nervous," Sirius said from his spot at the kitchen table. He
put down the box of fried rice that he had been picking at and summoned the tea kettle to the table instead. He refilled Remus's cup and offered it to him.

Remus sighed, but sat down with the cup. "What could possibly be taking them so long?" he asked.

"This is a rather large finding, and they probably have a lot of questions for him," Sirius reasoned.

"It's been over three hours!" Remus insisted. He looked about ready to jump out of his skin.

"Don't you dare stand up," Sirius said. "He'll be back in a bit and you can fret all over him better as soon as he's here."

Remus sighed again, staring into his cup. "What if it doesn't turn out to be a positive discussion? What if they
turn him away again?"

Sirius reached out to put a hand over Remus's wrist lightly. "Then we'll work through it. If we have to leave the
bloody country in order to make it work then we will. One setback isn't going to hurt us. We've been through too much for that to happen."

"I know you're right, but it certainly does nothing to make this wait better," Remus nearly whined.

Sirius smiled fondly at that. "You'll send him into a seizure if he heard you talking like this," he said.

"I wouldn't call it a seizure..." Snape commented coming into the room. He was actually smiling, a true smile that they had rarely seen before. It lit up his dark eyes with an attractive gleam.

Remus was up in a flash and at Snape's side. "What happened? Did everything go all right? Are they going to listen to you?"

"They have accepted my application and they will begin to work with me to properly patent my research," Snape said.

"Oh Severus!" Remus exclaimed happily, throwing his arms around him tightly. "I'm so proud of you. This is wonderful!"

"It's about time they actually listen to you," Sirius agreed with a smile. "It appears that the Ministry has backed off from their...meddling and the Hall has been able to properly review my findings. Within the next few months they will attempt to administer the first round of doses," Snape said.

Remus pulled away, looking up at Snape. "This calls for a celebration. I'll run upstairs. You should come up in just a moment." Remus was rushing out of the room and down the hallway half a moment later.

The remaining pair laughed at Remus's enthusiasm affectionately. Snape turned to Sirius with a raised brow. "Celebration?"

"You certainly deserve a good dose of victory sex for this one," Sirius said with a grin. He stood up and moved to Snape's side. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough."

"Good, I don't want to have to repeat myself too much. We'd already talked about going to the States or Canada if it came to it," Sirius said.

"Thank heavens that was not necessary," Snape said shaking his head briefly.

"You've earned this. They never should have held this up for as long as they did. People that truly needed your potion could have benefited from it," Sirius said.

"The only regret that I have is that it may not be enough. While it will be able to ease and in most ways expedite
the recovery of someone that has had the Cruiciatus Curse inflicted upon them excessively, I cannot be certain that it will assist someone that has been...healing for long periods of time," Snape said.

"As long as it helps someone. If it can prevent another case like Alice and Frank...then everyone will be grateful for it," Sirius said. Sirius slipped his arms around Snape, drawing him slowly closer. He brushed his lips across Snape's cheek and let his forehead come to rest against Snape's. "You've done something really amazing and we're both really proud of you."

Snape returned the embrace lightly. "I have...needed that," he admitted. "I do not believe I would have been as successful if you both had not assisted me as you did."

"Hey, that's what we're here for," Sirius said. He pulled back and took hold of his wrist. "Come on now, we can't keep Remus waiting for too long. He might do something foolish in his excitement."

At the end of the hallway, just past Snape's workroom was the staircase leading to the second floor. This floor held only two rooms, the master bedroom and the master bathroom that was situated on the far side opposite the stairs. Sirius
stopped at the top of the stairs long enough to remove Snape's over robe. Snape headed into the room, more than a little surprised at the work Remus had put into their "celebration."

The room was sparse, save for the oversized bed that they somewhat contently shared. It was extremely difficult to find sheets for and they were forever transfiguring new sheets to fit the transfigured bed. There simply wasn't any bed size that was truly appropriate and Sirius had simply transfigured the king size bed they had attempted to share. He had
placed several permanent charms on it to ensure they did not have any problems with it in the future.

There were not that many more furnishings. There were three dressers opposite the bed. Each was the same style; however the contents differed for each man. The most obvious being Sirius's as clothing hung half out of each of the drawers. There was a single trunk locked and left in the corner of the room. The nightstand held their clock, a lamp, and a few items from their pockets on occasion.

Remus had collected a large assortment of candles and lit them throughout the room. The bed was turned down and a few bottles of pleasant smelling oil were left on the night stand. Remus stood nude at the foot of the bed with a warm smile. The werewolf took several steps forward, reaching out to take Snape's hands into his own.

Sirius was pressed behind him and wrapped his arms around the tall thin body to begin to remove Snape's clothing. It was not often that he was in the center of their shared attention. His first instinct was to tense, but that was calmly and carefully eased away by Remus peppering several sweet kisses to his knuckles.

"You've earned a bit of attention," Sirius said softly, his lips a breath away from his ear. "Leave everything to us."

The last of the tension left him at that and Snape allowed his eyes to close. Sirius removed Snape's over-robe and the shirt he was wearing beneath that. The clothing was tossed to the foot of the bed and forgotten about a moment later. Remus trailed a series of kisses down Snape's chest and came to rest on his knees before him. A faint rush of
warmth struck him with a soft sigh as Remus paused long enough to press his face into Snape's groin, taking in his scent. Remus slowly undid his pants and drew them down with his underwear. Snape stepped out of his shoes and then his pants, still leaning into Sirius's embrace.

Remus pulled Snape forward then to give Sirius the opportunity to take off his own clothing. "Lie down," he said, pushing Snape onto the bed lightly. Snape was arranged on his stomach with his cheek pressed into the mattress. Remus sat by his feet and took up a bottle of lightly scented oil. With sure hands he began to work the muscles of his feet and then up his legs. Sirius took the place by his head and worked from the shoulders down.

It was heavenly to be pampered in such a way. Most of the time shared in this room was either sleeping or keeping one another too preoccupied to sleep. Moments such as this reminded him that this wasn't simply about sex, but something much deeper. Snape was wanted there because of himself.

Snape was content and felt as if he were melting into the featherbed. His heavy lids slipped closed over dark eyes. Sirius was working out the last hints of tension in his fingers. Remus was concentrating momentarily on his hips, teasingly tracing a finger down Snape's bottom. His whole body hummed pleasantly after their careful work. Every touch seemed to draw a content sigh from him. They finally turned him onto his stomach, abandoning aside the oil in favor of lips and teeth.

Remus settled at his head this time, drawing deep sighs and groans as he gently teased his pert nipples to hardness and nipped at his throat. Sirius nipped at the inside of his thighs, occasionally pressing a kiss mark on the pale skin. He was swept up by their steady care, slowly rising with the waves of passion. So complete was his moment of relaxation that he did not realize that he was being pulled up and moved into another position.

Fingers slipped into him, gently stretching and brushing against his prostate. He arched back to meet each brush wanting to draw all of that delicious feeling into himself. The fingers were gone for a moment and Snape let out a faint cry of distress. As quickly as they vanished they were replaced and the world seemed to settle properly upon its axis.
His oil slicked back rubbed perfectly against a hard chest and he let his head fall back contently.

"Gods..." Snape sighed out, reaching around and digging his fingers into blue black hair. His eyes opened to thin slits as Remus crawled across the bed to him. His lightly tanned hands ran their way up his thighs, to his chest and came to rest deep within his inky black hair. Snape groaned as Remus latched onto his neck with his lips and teeth.

"Sirius has been a bit enthusiastic today, I think," Remus commented, running his hands up Snape's chest slowly.

Snape was up on his knees on the bed, being held up by the combined effort of Sirius and Remus. Sirius's large hands traced across his abdomen and he started rocking into him in a slow rhythm. Sirius's body seemed to fit perfectly to Snape's wrapping around him tightly. Remus knelt in front of him and matched that fit to his chest, locking lips with him and stealing his sounds of pleasure. Remus matched their pace, grinding length against length.

The dual assault was incredible and it became impossible for them to remain at that slow pace for long. There were lips on his throat, his chest, his face. Fingers dug into his skin and played his body like an instrument. Snape's groans and panted breath grew frantic and quick. It was all too much for him finally and he spiraled into his release becoming limp between them.

There was a briefly fuzzy moment where it appeared they also shared a release and then they were lowering him down to the bed. Snape felt more sated than he could have remembered feeling in the past. Sirius and Remus curled up against him and he smiled faintly.

"Congratulations, Severus."

The bed contained three very different people. Despite these differences they had made a life together. They lived together in this house and found a way to work smoothly with one another. It was hardly perfect, but it was enough.