Rating: FRT/R

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended – Standard disclaimer.

Challenge: Five Chapter Challenge, by daysandweeks, on HP Fanfiction Challenge.

Warnings: Foul language and explicit sexual content between two males – slash; spoilers; AR.

Summary: One could say that Sirius and Severus are both strong-willed men, dealing with a slow change of the feelings that unite them, unable to understand those feelings and unsure of how to react—Or, one could say that they are both very stubborn and don't even know how 'horny' feels like anymore. Five ficlets that make a Snack for you.

Words: ~2,000

A Battle of Wills

By Dani-ko

1. Goodnight Kiss.

In retrospective, Remus admitted that they should have seen the signs. The entire two months had been marked by small clues that should have meant something. It was just like hot, humid weather predicted a thunderstorm—Sirius and Severus were fighting. All along Severus' forced stay at Grimmauld Place, number 12, both of them had been oddly well-behaved and restrained in their interaction. It had to blow off eventually, all the tenants accepted that with resignation.

However, this time, before any of them could cast a shield between the men, Sirius and Severus settled the score in a way other than with their fists.

They kissed.

Sirius rushed forward and took Severus' mouth with passionate abandon, plunging his tongue inside, tasting and coaxing Severus to kiss him back. The man was shocked into stillness for a moment, but, surprisingly shortly after, he kissed back with as much eagerness as Sirius. His hands found their way to Sirius' hair and he angled the other's head so that they could kiss deeper. Sirius tugged on Severus' shirt and brought their bodies closer, arousal shooting through both of them, and Sirius groaned his appreciation—

Reality hit them like freezing water. They jumped apart, gazing at each other with unabashed surprise, embarrassment, loathing and lust. Everyone else was trying to wrap their minds around what just happened.

"Bugger!" Sirius cursed and bolted to the door in a very un-Gryffindor-esque manner. Severus looked dazed for a moment, but, as his eyes fell on the people still sitting at the table, a tell-tale blush made its way to his cheeks and he followed Sirius out of the door, just as hurriedly.

The other tenants of Grimmauld Place looked at each other helplessly, at a loss of what to say. "Well, fancy that," Hermione breathed at last, while George broke out the heavy silence with a low whistle. All it took was Harry's snort for them burst out laughing at the unexpected turn the relationship between Sirius and Severus had just taken.

2. What happens upstairs.

Neither Sirius nor Severus left their rooms for as long as they could, and, when they did, was because they had basic human needs—like food. Andromeda was so sure that both of them had stubbornly told themselves they'd rather perish of malnourishment than face the humiliation of seeing each other again. Such lion bravery they possessed and it did them nothing good when matters of heart were concerned.

As it happened, their first meeting was just outside the bathroom on the first floor of the number 12. Each lost on their own thoughts, they didn't see each other until it was too late, and they bumped into each other, which sent them flying onto the floor, in a tangle of limbs and clothes.

Sirius propped himself on his knees and arms to look down at the scowling Severus, who had his arms crossed protectively in front of his chest. He looked rather sullen. The ex-Gryffindor found himself repressing a smug smile. "Are you mad that I kissed you, or that I ran away?" he asked, only half-jokingly, aware for the first time how familiar he was with the right buttons to push when it came to Snape.

That seemed to spur Severus into action, and he sneered. "Because you kissed me, surely, Black. Which reminds me—I demand you remove yourself from above my person."

Sirius chuckled and his reply was to lean in, slowly approaching his opponent again; this time he gave Severus time to pull away. But Severus didn't. From a hot snog on the first-ground floor, they reached the master suite in record time, and then the world faded into nothing but pleasure and the purest of instincts: to get closer.

Downstairs, in the sitting room, the china began to rattle with repressed magic. The tenants of the number 12 sighed. The fireworks had begun. Hopefully, they would manage to keep a safety distance from the spectacle.

3. Home alone.

Things hardly got better between the two old nemesis, the only difference being how they solved their strives. Harry was very sure children shouldn't be aware of their guardian's sexual habits, but he couldn't block out the knowledge—the noise, the magic and the blissful silence that followed. Hermione looked rather satisfied with the situation, just like Tonks. Women; go figure them out.

That day, George, Hermione and Harry were at their respective jobs, and Remus, Tonks and Andy were at a pre-natal Healer appointment. Which was just as fine, since Severus had the day off from St. Mungo's and Sirius—well, Sirius had all his days off, so—

They had fucked as loud as they could, several times, in several positions and with different degrees of roughness. Sirius only lamented that they hadn't discovered this compatibility between them sooner. It would've have spared him a great deal of sexual frustration.

Then again, this newfound attraction was fairly recent; when you faced an evil like Voldemort, certain petty feelings were put under perspective. They'd had no choice but to let go of their hatred. The intensity had remained, however, but Sirius wasn't complaining. Merlin knew he hadn't felt this good since—ever, actually.

He wandered off to the kitchen, starkers, searching for some bottled water and food for Severus, who was probably still unconscious on Sirius' bed. A rather fetching image these days. Sirius wondered if Severus would be into food play—"Merlin, Sirius!" yelled Harry from the doorway. "Put some pants on! A bloke comes home for supper and has to see this his own godfather—"

"Harry, Harry," the older man interrupted, passing by his godson unashamed, carrying some fruit, bottle juice, water and what looked like Andy's treacle pie. "No need to get upset. I'm going back to bed." He ignored the way all colour drained from Harry's face.

Honestly, one would think the boy was a virgin by the way he acted, and, if the sounds Sirius had heard coming from Hermione's room during one of his midnight strolls was anything to go by, that couldn't be farther from the truth. It had sort of put off Sirius and Severus from ever trying to shag in the sitting room again.

4. The necklace.

Sirius loved the summer. It meant hot days, fewer clothes, hot bodies, possibly the beach and—wait for it—his birthday! Sirius loved his birthday. It was an excuse to be pampered and to behave childishly, and nobody cared. Well, nobody except his sour lover, who happend to be rather fond of Cooling Charms. If Sirius hadn't already known what Severus hid under his robes, he would certainly begin to wonder—rightfully so.

In the morning of the 20th of June, Sirius woke up with the sunshine in his face and reached for Severus, deciding to demand a full birthday greeting—hopefully delivered in Severus' quite brilliant oral skills—only to find the bed empty and, worse, cold.

It was only after breakfast that he saw his lover again, sitting on his made bed, looking nervous and, Sirius noticed with an inner snicker, looking slightly un-hinged. Severus didn't do anxious well. "I was hoping to extort some sexual favours out of you with the excuse of my birthday," he commented lightly.

Severus didn't take the bait; he merely reached into his pocket and took out a long, ancient-looking box. He handed it to Sirius briskly. "Happy Birthday, Black."

Sirius was sure he wasn't supposed to feel this giddy with just a birthday gift. He took the box and opened it to reveal a man's necklace, in white gold, with a green stone sculpted into a rose and a dragon's claw holding it. His numerous History lessons as a child allowed Sirius to recognise the pendant as the seal of the Prince's family.

Sirius was at a loss of words for a moment. He knew Severus had no money issues since he had begun working as a potioneer for St. Mungo's, so his mind insisted that Severus had given him a family heirloom because he wanted to. His giddiness reached unbearable levels. "Thank you." Severus nodded.

From there, things went from bad to worse. If before Sirius and Severus had an intense physical relationship, now, they didn't do anything else. Before, they would banter in bed, talk about things like their days—always with a lot of baiting and teasing—sometimes they even exchanged funny insults out of sympathy for the other's problems, but now—now, they just fucked. It was as hot and intense as always, but it held a type of desperation neither of them had known to possess until then.

Then, before things reached their breaking point, Severus relapsed.

5. Mixed Emotions.

They had known this would happen. It had been the reason Severus was placed at the number 12 in the first place.

Kingsley, as the Minister, had come up with a custody program of sorts in order to help war heroes who had nobody to turn to. Since Severus had been in a critical condition after the snake's bite, Harry had volunteered to take care of the man. Hermione had helped, and soon Sirius—guilted into it by Remus—invited the three of them into his home. Severus recovered soon enough, but they were warned that he might relapse and that he needed close supervision just in case.

Sirius sat in the floor just outside Severus' room, gathering the courage to walk inside. The Healer had stabilised Severus' condition, and now all that was left was wait for the man to recover naturally. It was rather like a cold—except that Severus could've died. Just the thought caused Sirius' heart to constrict so painfully he thought he was going to die, too. He couldn't tell why.

Remus exited Severus' room with a relieved sigh. Then, his gaze fell on Sirius and he startled—just before the most innerving smirk made its way to the werewolf's face. "He's fine, Paddy," Remus soothed, using Sirius' teenage nickname. "He's asleep now—in case you want to visit."

Taking Remus' suggestion for what was worth, Sirius stepped inside the cool room—a necessary environment—and took the seat next to Severus' bed. It was a long time before Sirius finally took his lover's hand and entwined their fingers. He didn't expect it to calm his nerves the way it did.

Sirius didn't realise he had been stroking Severus' hand with his free one, until a rough voice sounded in the bedroom. "I must be in my deathbed if it's you who's watching over me, Black." Severus pushed himself into a sitting position and Summoned a glass of water. Reluctantly, Sirius let go of his hand to let him have it.

Then, with sudden purpose, Sirius took the empty glass and placed it on the bedside table. He sat on the bed next to Severus, leaned forward under the baffled gaze of his lover, curled his arms around Severus' shoulders and pulled him against his chest. The ex-Slytherin tensed at first, but then seemed to deflate with resignation—regarding his feelings or Sirius' own display, he didn't know—and held Sirius just as tightly.

Neither heard the door open. "Oh—oh! So sorry. Please continue." Harry hastily added, before closing the door on his way out. But the spell—the word is used loosely—was already broken.

Both men found themselves at a loss of what to say next; they had never been much of a talker each, and they didn't know how to cross the bridge made of unspoken words. It was the legendary Gryffindor courage that made them take a step forward. "You're going to move into my bedroom," Sirius informed Severus dryly.

It looked like Severus wanted to argue—to speak for his independence and need of space—but then he just nodded. "I accept your invitation—" He hesitated. "—Sirius." Unbeknownst for the other tenants of the number 12, they shared an understanding smile.

They relationship was made of things like that—of meaningful birthday gifts, and subtle changes and ordered invitations that spoke volumes for their need of each other. They couldn't have it any other way, especially because they were both aware of how much those things meant, and it was scary.

THE END

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