Chapter 21 - I Would Rather Go Blind
Whoo, whoo, I was just, I was just, I was just
Sittin here thinkin', of your kiss and your warm embrace, yeah
When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now, baby
Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah
Etta James - I Would Rather Go Blind
After a silence that felt perhaps too long for comfort, Severus took a swig of the amber liquid swishing around in his proffered glass and cleared his throat.
"Coltrane?" was all Severus could muster to say, a quizzical eyebrow raised as he looked at the other two men, bouncing back from his moment of weak indulgence. Sirius barked a laugh and summoned an ornate wooden box to his lap. Severus watched him open it with interest, a strange pungent aroma hitting him in the nostrils.
"Sirius! That's contraband!"
"Oh Sevvie, don't be such a stick in the mud! Besides, he started it…" Sirius pointed childishly at Lafayette, who seemed to be simply riding the wave of a high he was sure he would regret at some point. Lafayette feigned innocence, slowly swishing his fan and taking a long draw from his already lit joint. There was no smell or smoke, but it was clear that the room had been charmed to shield it from smokiness. Remus was sitting in an ancient and comfortable looking padded, deep red armchair, one leg crossing the other, his glass of Firewhisky in his hand and his joint sitting patiently in the ashtray on the arm of the chair. In the light of the room, he appeared to be the only adult when his partner and the new guest were clearly languishing in their intoxication. Severus was far from impressed, and Remus seemed to pick up on his disdain.
"Oh come on, Snape, we aren't 15 anymore, all of us are consenting adults who can handle their...little vices...from time to time. Now will you relax, your nerves are creating a vacuum."
Sirius handed Severus a rolled joint, a roguish grin across his face.
"Joooiiiiinnnn uuuuuuussssssss" he hissed playfully, and Lafayette let out a deep, honey-dipped laugh that once again had Severus looking over at the man, his reserve beginning to break as he watched Lafayette playfully approach Sirius mid-hip sway and ruffle his rougish locks with another, more guttural chuckle, the kimono framing him like ethereal wings in the flickering lamplight, the moon cracking through the open curtains and illuminating his perfect skin, dancing across the contours in a way that made Severus gulp a much too large mouthful of Firewhisky in thirst.
The dance and song ended, and as a familiar string introduction to an Etta James classic filled the air, Lafayette turned, his kimono spread open as he allowed the music to slowly fill and consume him. He looked at Severus, properly, for the first time since the man had entered the room some 45 minutes ago, and decided the dark man needed to loosen up. The slow, paced, rhythmic sadness of the song seemed to evoke something in the room and, as Sirius too seemed to be watching the sultry dance in appreciation, he soon joined in on the merriment, though Remus was his object of desire. As if they had rehearsed it, Lafayette and Sirius breathed in with Etta James and began singing along, all the while keeping their eyes on their chosen prizes. Sirius lifted his arms above his head and brought one slowly down to his waist, a move he had seen many burlesque dancers use, as he moved his hips in the way that, from the corner of his eye, Lafayette was impressed with for an older man. Remus's face as he watched his best friend and lover move seductively, seamlessly skirting between masculine dominance and feminine repose, towards him had changed, Severus observed, from appropriate adult to borderline feral, his eyes darkening in the centre and seeming to be slowly developing a yellowish sheen. A slow, dare Severus say wolfing, smile curved the corner of his mouth to reveal slightly irregularly sharpened teeth, and this seemed to send Sirius into ultimate seduction mode.
Lafayette had simply been riding the wave of the song, especially waiting for the chorus to focus his attention fully on Severus.
"At last, my love has come along…".
The two male sirens harmonised in a melodic baritone that vibrated amongst the music in the air, and their equally seductive movements seemed to be having their desired effect, even with trying as Severus might to keep his usual stoic cool. He could feel his resolve slowly chipping away with each sway of the hip, each subtle swish of the kimono against beautifully defined muscles, glowing skin deepening and shining in the shadows cast by the candles, shimmering, almost, in the dusky haze. It was the spectacular performance that came next that Severus would swear into his hundreds was possibly the most erotic moment of his entire life, and he honestly could never understand how what felt like only a short while ago he had been in the hut, sharing his dying memories with Potter as he prayed for the cold embrace of death to just end it. He shook the train of thought from his mind and, against his better judgement, he took a toke of the joint now nudging his index finger persistently. He saw the mirth in his seated companion's eyes, but he would never clarify whether or not this was his first time smoking pot. He was half-blooded, an ex-Death Eater and he had grown up as a working class child in the smoke of Cokeworth's warehouses and factories, and pulled his father out of many cigarette fume-filled pubs when he had gotten so drunk he could barely find the wallet in his pocket. A bit of pot was nothing compared to that. Little did Sirius know about Evans, clearly…but none of that.
He hated to admit Sirius was right. It didn't sit well with Severus, but their growing friendship had opened Severus's eyes to how much the mongrel had sincerely changed in his years following Azkaban, to the point where he felt a touch of shame at his previous blinkered hatred. True, Sirius had suffered from the same tunnel vision of hate, but that wasn't the point. Severus had realised upon his "awakening" that he had been a complete hypocrite. He had always thought himself to be the bigger man, the better man than Black, who had the pedigree but no class at all, a scrub who would always be a nasty bully, whereas Severus was replete in his efforts to fit into the world of Pureblood society as if he truly belonged there, even if he said actually carry half blood status. He envied Sirius for his bloodline, and never once tried to see what it was like for Sirius, and it only took years of spying and nearly dying for Severus to truly accept that it just…wasn't worth it. None of it mattered, as Severus grew to become a scrub for two psychotic masters and a nasty bully, a man he barely recognised. None of it. Tom Riddle had always been wrong. So why couldn't Severus have been wrong also, about Black.
As this ideology grew within Severus, he was able to actually acknowledge the man had many pleasant, sometimes downright annoying, but usually at least passable qualities that made him a person he could spend time around. It was different to comfortably build any friendship outside of his own house, he had found, since he and Lily had fallen apart. Even that friendship had been shrouded in a toxic dynamic, so inevitably it was doomed to fail. Sirius, and Remus, were different now, and so was Severus. Not to mention, both men had grown into very good looking silver foxes (or maybe just silver canines, Severus chuckled internally).
Lafayette had kept a keen eye on the man in front of him going through some internal crisis. Did he think he was being slick trying to hide behind that cold mask? It really was obvious that he was so used to closing himself from the world to protect himself from the outside that Lafayette felt a strong pang of empathy. He kinda reminded him of Eric a little, a little of Alcide, but this man was an altogether different creature. Behind the impenetrable fortress was someone good. Who he was good for, Lafayette couldn't say just yet, but with everything else going on why not give himself over to absolute pleasure. He wanted to know this dark gentleman, with his velvet voice and milk pale skin.
"You keep lookin' like you do there, and I may take offence. Don't you like my dancin'?"
He chuckled and, taking the initiative, did something that shocked the other three men, especially the Dark Stranger. He grabbed Severus by the hand, pulling him up in one strong, quick movement to be against him. Not to be caught off guard, Severus scowled at Lafayette, however he instinctively assumed the position of dominance as he gracefully spun Lafayette around so his back firmly pressed against Severus's chest, one long, ebony clad arm crossing the technicolour dream-body of the American in Scotland. Lafayette rested his head back, luxuriating in the overpowering scent of cedarwood and spices he could not identify, tinged with danger, and he felt the excitement rise in him, the thought of being possessed by such a man, of possessing him, rising to an overwhelming height in his mind as Severus sensually snaked him around the make-shift dance space. He looked over through hooded lids at Sirius and Remus, both of whom had now, also, joined Severus and Lafayette, all swaying to the melodious background of jazz and the muted hollers from the Forbidden Forest, a sensual cacophony of Hogwarts By Night. Nothing could break this moment, Lafayette thought, closing his eyes again as Severus moved him like a marionette in ways he, honestly, wasn't expecting.
"It is the done thing in high wizarding society, to learn how to dance." Severus murmured in his ear, a deep rumble that seemed to slide seductively down Lafayette's spine. He couldn't tell if it was a combination of the booze, the - as Sirius called it - "Weasley's Wizard Weed" (but Christ knew what it actually was), the company or just the overall magic of the place, but the sound travelled directly to his groin, nuzzled in and waited for the fun to really start.
"Well, I wouldn't know nothin' about all y'all's society. But I know a thing or two about dancin', and havin' a good time…"
Lafayette turned and looked into the deep obsidian pools of Snape's eyes.
"I'll be guessin' you ain't had a good time for a while, have you my Dark Stranger? I could show you, if you want…"
Severus tilted Lafayette back as if he were light as a feather, his mouth grazing the shell of his ear as he murmured, mesmerising Lafayette's mind and melting him like the candles that floated above and around then, bathing them in light and heat.
"You have no idea…".