Authors notes:
So.
It's been pretty much a year, and i apologize for that. I am a terrible procrastinator. I also don't remember if I fixed the page breaks in the previous chapters. I will get on that. Also I didn't do a great self-betaing job on this (or any of the others really) so I'm sorry for that too. I have half of the next chapter done so it should be done fairly soon, feel free to send me angry messages if a month or two passes. So yeah... enjoy, and remember to review, even if i don't really deserve it for taking so bloody long then coming up with a fairly short chapter.
When they dismounted a half hour later Severus felt stiff, tired and embarrassed. Three of his least favourite feelings. He slid off the bike and barley managed to keep his knees from giving way beneath him. Stumbling away he stood as rigidly as Black set up the tent, it was brand new. Figures, Petunia's family was far too fat to enjoy things like camping. When Black had finished setting up the tent he turned to face Severus pity shining through his stormy grey eyes. He hated pity; he hated it even more then being embarrassed. It meant they looked down on you, that you were somehow inferior to them.
"Can I borrow your wand?" He asked cautiously.
"What? Why?" Severus snapped glaring.
"So I can enlarge the tent and conjure some beds." He explained in the same cautious tone.
Severus wanted to snap that he was perfectly capable; but the truth was he wasn't. So instead he sighed and handed his wand over.
His mask was tired, it needed rest, it could come back up tomorrow.
"Thank you." He said briefly taking the wand from him he conjured two four poster beds into the tent he then enlarged.
He then handed the wand back quickly, nodding before heading inside.
Severus followed slipping into the bed on the far left falling asleep instantly.
PAGE BREAK Sirius pov
Sirius watched Snape slip into bed fully clothed, he was out like a light within moments. Stripping down to his boxers he slipped into the remaining bed quickly falling asleep.
LATER THAT NIGHT
Sirius awoke to the sound of trashing and the names of people he had never met. Rolling over he saw Snape punching people who weren't there, eyes squeezed tightly shut against the imaginary demons of his subconscious.
"Snape?" Sirius called across the tent.
He continued to thrash; Sirius rose with a sigh. He crossed the room and shouted his name again, still he continued.
"Snape! Severus Snape! Wake up!" He shouted in his ear reaching out to shake him. Still he slept on.
Out of ideas he reached out and hugged the man to his chest whispering comforting words in his ear.
Severus stilled and snapped awake. "B-Black….?"
"Are you okay?" He asked him slowly letting go of him.
"Wha-what the hell are you doing?" He stuttered quickly pulling out of his embrace.
"You were thrashing in your sleep, so I woke you up." Sirius explained carefully.
"Why…?" He asked still shaking as he sat up to face him.
"Because that's what you do when someone's having a nightmare, you wake them up." Sirius said as if explaining something to a small child.
"Oh… Go away." He said in a rather lost voice.
What? Ass… not even a thank you? Sirius shrugged and sighed, turning and going back to bed.
SEVERUS POV
Severus turned away from Black still shaking and breathing heavily. He had forgotten the silencing charm… as if the bike incident hadn't made him look pathetic enough… he shivered despite the warm blankets, Black had been so warm… childish as it might be he wished Black would come back, not because he was Black but just because he was cold... right?
THE NEXT MORNING
Sirius awoke with a yawn rolling over he misguided the distance and fell flat on his face.
He heard a nasty snicker from the other side of the room; looking up he saw Snape sitting on his bed with the book open on his lap.
"Weren't so cocky last night…" Sirius snapped irritably.
A strange expression past over Severus's face before he went back to the book. Sirius's stomach growled loudly and he groaned.
"What are we going to eat?" Sirius asked him making an effort not to sound ticked off.
"We'll see if we can get food at the nearest archaeological dig. I believe the oldest Weasly works not too far from here." Severus informed him, he was practically gawking at his still bare chest.
Not being able to resist, "What you looking at Snape?" he snapped before he could really think about it.
Snape looked away quickly returning to his book.
Sirius sighed, being angry all the time was going to get tiring, he could tell. Throwing his clothes back on he returned to the still book bound Snape.
"So where's this Weasly?" he asked.
Snape didn't look up, "A few kilometres west of here."
"Alright, let's get going. Care to pack up the tent?" He didn't wait for an answer, leaving to go start the bike. Oh the bike, how he loved it. Even though it killed his Snape free bubble, he didn't have a personal bubble as he normally didn't care.
A few moments later Snape emerged from the tent, he packed it quickly and walked over.
"We need to go that way," he pointed to his left, assumbily west, "it shouldn't be to far away."
"Right." Sirius climbed on the bike, followed by Snape.
Soon the wind was whipping through his hair and he forgot all about the man behind him and his growling stomach.
PAGE BREAK sev pov
Severus was once again reduced to clinging to his greatest enemy, it wasn't as bad as flying but he would still have rather walked. But the worst part of the whole ride is when Black stopped. In the distance he could be miniature pyramids and people, that was obviously the dig site. So why had they stopped.
He quickly let go of Black who turned to look as him.
"I'm a convict." He said, as if this explained everything.
"I had heard." Severus said dryly.
"The people at the dig will turn me in if they see me, so you have to drive the rest of the way there."
Severus froze. The blood drained from his face and he simply could not manage to say or do a thing.
Black slipped off and pushed him up into the driver's seat. He showed him the basics of driving the bloody contraption.
"Right, were only a few minute drive away. You'll be fine" he said reassuringly before he stepped back and morphed into his dog form.
Severus gulped and put his hands on the handles. Feeling like he was about to topple over at any moment Severus started to move. Slowly at first, then faster. The wind blinded him and whipped sand into his ears, mouth and nose as he went from five km per hour to ten. Beside him Black was keeping up in long strides.
Staying at a constant ten km per hour they arrived in just over eight minutes.
At last they reached the camp where Severus jumped off the bike and barely managed to suppress a sigh of relief.
He left the bike near some other vehicles, putting a steal proof charm on it, just in case.
He looked around, trying to pick out the tell tale red hair that would mark one of the many people at the dig site as the eldest Weasly child. He spotted him not too far away; he and some others were standing around a table with a chart or map of some sort on it.
Severus took a second to regain his composure after his short and scaring motorcycle ride before stepping up behind his ex-pupil.
"Mr. Weasly? May I have a word?" he asked in that way he had that suggested that it was not in fact a question but a command.
The red head turned with a look of surprise then smiled at him, "Of course, Professor. One moment." He added to the other men at the table. "Right this way, sir."
Severus followed the Weasly into a nearby tent, flanked by Black who was barking happily. The tent was mostly empty except the bunk bed style cots on either side of the tent and a large wooden chest against the far wall.
Black transformed the moment they entered the tent, looking expectantly between him and Weasly.
"Well, Weasly, we need any hieroglyphs in this book translated. How long would it take you?" Severus handed him the book as he spoke.
Weasly flipped through it and examined the contents, "Well, if I squirm out of this expedition we were going on today, by mid-day tomorrow."
"Do you have any food?" Black put in. His eyes were glazed over with hunger.
"Food? Oh course, one moment."
Bill handed the book back and left, returning only moments later with a canvas bag, "it should have a good three days worth of food in it. Granted, it's not the greatest food around, but no one will notice that it's missing." He tossed the bag to Black, took the book and left.
"Food!" Black exclaimed happily, he jumped and dived, despite the bag being in his hands, and practically stuffed his whole head in the bag.
Severus sighed inwardly; he grabbed the bag from Black and fished around in it. He withdrew what appeared to be an apple, but could be a pear; it was really hard to tell and shoved the bag back into Black's hands.
Having nothing else to do Severus slumped off to the left hand bed, sitting cross legged and ignoring the Gryffindor just across the tent stuffing his face.
PAGE BREAK
The next morning found Severus riding away on the motorcycle, Black running behind him, Bill had pointed them in the direction of a man named George, who works with Grigots near the Myan ruins, who would be able to translate for them. That, of course, wasn't where they were headed. Sirius wanted to go to Japan first. Who knows why. He had a feeling that the ride would be less then pleasant, there was no bridge to Japan, as far as he knew.