Severus never even knew he had fallen asleep. But when he awakened, his ankle no longer throbbed, and he was covered in a small, patched blanket. He looked down at himself, and his body felt as if it were in the same position for hours.
A few candles were lit, casting a bit of light over the dark basement. He looked over to a small table that was now beside the cot, and a teacup was perched on it, and by the looks of it, the tea was stone cold. Severus rubbed his eyes and sat up, still feeling incredibly exhausted. For a moment he was disoriented, then finally settling on clarity, he remembered that he was in Remus Lupin's house.
Suddenly there was a rap at the basement door. It wasn't particularly hard or menacing, but it did call attention.
"Severus...?" Remus' voice asked, "Hello? Are you all right in there? ...Still sleeping?"
Severus grunted a reply, and Remus cracked the door, looking down at the man on the cot.
"I'm alive, if that's what you're asking." He said, then sat up. Remus seemed to ignore Severus' less-than-friendly answer.
Severus looked down at his feet, noticing that they were bare. His boots and socks were neatly set aside. He looked up and met Lupin's eyes.
"When did I fall asleep?" He asked. Remus opened the door completely and came down the stairs.
"About six hours ago." He answered, "It's now dark outside." Severus grumbled, then looked towards the tea. His stomach rumbled and Remus' eyebrows jumped.
"Hungry?" He asked, but Severus looked at him, his eyes narrowed in defense.
"No." He snapped.
Remus raised his eyebrow slightly, "If that wasn't your stomach, then what was it? A frog? Or perhaps an invisible creature?"
Severus frowned. "Yes, fine. I am hungry. But I will not impose upon you, Lupin." He said, then his eyes hit the floor. Remus sat next to him on the bed, and Severus moved back an inch or two. He thought that was an incredibly personal action. Remus didn't seem to notice.
"You're not imposing, Severus. You have no idea how long I've waited to see you..." He began, and Severus' eyes went slightly wide, "...I wanted to know the truth about Albus.
I wanted to know the truth about you and Voldemort." He said, and Severus inwardly flinched.
"Now you know." Severus said flatly. He motioned for Remus to get off of the cot so he could get up. Remus obliged, and Severus stood, his bare feet on the cold floor.
"It's freezing down here." He said, looking outraged. Remus shrugged, "When I'm a wolf, I have fur. I don't notice..." He said, the cleared his throat, "What would you like for dinner. I have to admit that I'm a bit ravenous myself." He said. Severus raised an eyebrow, and folded his arms.
"What food do you have?" He asked flatly, as if asking a student what ingredients he was lacking to make a Potion in class.
"A bit of chicken..." Remus said, scratching his chin, "Vegetables... maybe a bit of cooking wine." Severus' eyes narrowed, and the he abruptly headed towards the stairs.
"Come with me."
Remus stared for a moment, his brows furrowed, then followed.
"Severus–" He started, but Severus swept into the kitchen, opening cabinets and examining the contents. Remus stood helplessly, his hands in his pockets.
"Severus-" He tried again, only to be interrupted.
"I am going to prepare dinner." Severus announced. Remus' eyebrows jumped.
"What?" He asked, tilting his head forward, perking his ear. Severus sighed, turning to the werewolf.
"I am going to prepare dinner, Lupin." He said, as if he was teaching someone that refused to listen, "You know. Food." Remus pursed his lips, looking unsure. Severus rolled his eyes.
"I am not going to poison you. If I wanted to do that, I would have a long time ago." He said, smirking at Remus' shocked expression.
"Oh don't look so surprised." Severus said, annoyed. He tapped his wand against the old, dusty stove, and a hearty fire began to burn. Remus frowned, watching Severus. He took out a large knife, enchanting it to chop raw vegetables as he nosed through the spices, sneering or smirking at certain ones. When he finally had a few that he liked, he turned to Remus, crossing his arms.
"Going to breathe down my neck the entire time? Or shall I have privacy?" He asked, eyebrow raised. Remus sighed.
"You don't need a hand...?" He asked. Severus scoffed, looking as if someone had asked him to share his favourite cauldron.
"Absolutely not." He said, and Remus, defeated, had no choice but to turn and go back to the sitting room. He rolled his eyes as he sat down and lit a fire in the grate of the fireplace next to him. He picked up a book of muggle philosophy–sometimes they did have good ideas–and began to read.
Aside from a few clangs and one muttered swear, Remus heard nothing. But soon he smelled, what was in his opinion, the best smell in the world. He stood, and walked towards the door. He cracked it a bit, watching Severus stirring over the pot, the steam making his hair flutter very gently around his face. His expression was pleased, and his lips curled into a slight smirk. Remus stared for a moment, then tore himself away. He shook his head. It was definitely the smell that made him want to stare at Severus for that long. The fumes of good food had gone to his brain.
Severus stirred with great concentration. The stew smelled near perfect as he added a pinch of basil.
Soon it would be done, and he, Severus Snape, would be sharing a meal with Remus Lupin. Severus inwardly scowled at the thought, but something in his stomach churned. It was his hunger. Yes. Hunger. He was so hungry that when he thought of Remus Lupin sitting across from him at the tiny kitchen table his stomach did turns. Sometimes the smell of food to a ravenous man drove them mad.
When the food – chicken breast with vegetables in a thick wine sauce -- was done, Severus located Remus' humble dishes, and set a neat table. He filled the plates with the hot food. He found a loaf of crusty bread in Remus' cabinet and sliced it, placing a hearty slice beside the plates. He some of the wine into glasses, apparently pleased with how the table looked.
"Lupin, dinner is complete!" He called, and Remus, still standing near the door, wafting that delicious smell to his nose, came in quickly. Severus frowned.
"Were you standing near the door?" He asked. Remus shrugged.
"Only for a moment. I just wanted to listen and see if you were getting along all right." His said, nodding in approval inwardly at himself for not exactly lying. His eyes then caught the food on the table. He couldn't help but smile. It looked just about as good as it smelled. All thoughts of poison in his food drifted off as Severus stuck a pale finger in and tasted it, nodding in approval. Remus swallowed hard.
They sat opposite each other, and started to eat hungrily. For a while, nothing was to be heard but the clinking of silverware and the sound of the occasional slurp. Finally, Remus spoke.
"It's delicious, Severus." He complemented, taking a sip of wine. Severus nodded.
"Thank you." He replied shortly, and began to munch on a piece of carrot. He then looked as if he were struck with a thought.
"What would you like in return?" He asked. Remus' head shot up, and his eyes widened.
"Pardon?" He asked, fork still in mid-air, chicken dangling off of one of the prongs.
"What would you like in return for me staying here?" He asked, placing his silverware down and wiping his mouth in a very gentlemanly way with his napkin.
"What do you mean?" Remus asked uneasily.
"Would you like me to cook? Clean?" He asked, looking very serious. Remus cocked his head.
"Well... perhaps... but I think that I might ask you to take up making my wolfsbane again. If you don't mind..." He trailed off, looking to the floor. Severus nodded.
"That is agreeable. I'm also going to cook, because I want to." He said, and Remus swore that he saw the slightest of smirks on the Potions master's face.
After dinner, they both retired to bed. Severus made his way down to the basement, and immediately started making wolfsbane. He conjured a cauldron and lit a fire underneath it. He took out a few ingredients out of his bag and let it simmer for an hour, the rich fumes from the Potion filling the basement rapidly. He looked after it and perfected all that he could before his eyes started to feel as if they'd dry up if he didn't go to sleep. He turned the fire down under the cauldron to a soft boil, and stretched out on the cot. The Potion took one week to make and was extremely complicated, but if anyone could do it, it was most certainly Severus.
He slowly drifted off to sleep, and for some odd and peculiar reason, the last thing he remembered dreaming about was Remus Lupin gently eating chicken, looking up at Severus gratefully, his blue eyes more clear and bright as he had ever seen them.
Severus wondered if Remus always looked that grateful looking up from something...