AN: Everyone else seemed to be using Lily for today's prompt and I just wanted to have a reason to write more Remus :)
Day 11- Old Friends
Severus sat quietly in his armchair in front of the fireplace. Remus occupied the other and they both held tumblers of Firewhiskey from the bottle that sat on the table between them. It was getting quite late, but tomorrow was Saturday and neither had anything in particular to do.
"Do you remember that day," Remus suddenly said, "during the summer before our seventh year, when we borrowed Mrs. Oreson's car?"
Severus nearly spit out his drink. When he finished coughing and spluttering, he glared at Remus. "I remember you stealing her car and dragging me along."
Remus waved away his words. "You were a willing accomplice and you know it. Anyway, it was your fault that we crashed."
"We didn't crash. We… slid. And it wasn't my fault. I told you that you were pressing the wrong pedal."
"Into a telephone pole and you said the brake was on the left. And you were wrong because the klutch was on the left, not the brake." He raised his glass and took another drink.
"Yes, well, I had never driven a muggle car before."
Remus laughed. "Neither had I!"
Severus finished his drink and poured himself another. After taking the first sip, he grinned, "I thought Mum was going to murder us."
Remus nodded. "Me too. When that policeman brought us home and his partner was following in the car, all I remember thinking was that I wished Dad hadn't been called out to the Ministry that night."
"Dad was always so much better to have around when we were in trouble."
"Usually anyway," Remus agreed.
After a few quiet moments, Remus asked, "How do you think it would've been if we'd never been adopted?"
"I'd be dead," Severus answered solemnly.
Remus didn't negate that fact because he knew what Severus meant. They had talked about it before. About how Tobias Snape likely would have killed him before he reached adulthood.
"Okay, but what if you had been adopted but I hadn't? Do you think we ever would have gotten past our differences on our own and become friends? Or would we have just kept hating each other forever?"
"You're not the one who is supposed to be a sad drunk," Severus said as he gently took the glass from Remus who gave no protest. "No more for you."
"I'm serious, Sev," Remus continued. "We've had a lot of good times together that might never have happened if things had worked out differently."
Severus sighed. "I think," he said quietly, "that I'm just glad that it worked out how it did. I don't need to imagine my life without you in it to know that it's something that I would never want."
Remus hummed in response and they both grew quiet once more, each lost in their own thoughts.
Several minutes later, Severus glanced over to see Remus asleep, his head lolled over against the side of the chair. He stood up and vanished the Firewhiskey and glasses before taking the blanket that Harry kept on the couch and spreading it out over Remus.
"Good night, brother," he whispered as he left him there to head to his own bed.