Epiphany

Remus sighed and rolled onto his side. It had been 3 months since... Since his life took a turn for the worst. Everyone had been very nice to him, but it was almost to the point of annoyance. Minerva was giving him busywork in an attempt to get his mind off of everything, Albus had been offering advice every third sentence, and Molly had been... well, mollycoddling him. Only his former students seemed to be giving him the distance he requested, although he wasn't sure he wanted it. And Severus...

Well, Severus had been himself. He had driven Remus crazy with his apparent lack of sympathy at first. Remus would get angry with him, or cry, or both. Severus would merely stand there, stress the importance of carrying on, and then expect Remus to do what he'd requested. Remus would grumble about it, but he'd do as he was asked. In the end, Severus was right. He was right. That's something I'll don't think I'll ever get used to saying.

He gave up on trying to sleep, and slid his legs to the side of the bed, where he sat up. He put on a dressing gown, and went downstairs to sit on a couch by the fire. The fire crackled rather cheerily at him as he sat and curled his legs up beside him. After a moment, someone else's breathing reached his ears, and he turned around. There was Severus asleep at the table, parchment littered around his head. Remus smiled and quietly stood up. As he walked over, he reveled in what he was seeing. Never before had he seen Severus like this, with his guard down. Remus chuckled internally when he noted that the sour sneer Professor Snape wore almost every day was gone. No, this was the face of a young Slytherin that Remus had gone to school with. It was permanently worried, eyebrows close together and mouth in a frown. He felt pity, but for whom he was not sure. Was it for the colleague he'd been working with for several years, or was it for the memory of a frightened boy snarling insults at Remus' own friends?

Remus' hand hovered over Severus' arm. They'd changed. Both of them. So much that some days he wondered why they couldn't have been friends before. Underneath his jagged-edged mask of coolness and efficiency, Severus was really an alright person. He was intellectual and quite renowned for his skill at Potions, and could carry on an extended conversation, provided the topic was right. Why hadn't he been friends with him? Because James and Peter and... His train of thought de-railed, and he lost his balance slightly, jarring Severus awake.

"Uhn... Who is it?" Severus squinted. "Lupin?"

Remus managed to nod in his state of slight disorientation. He watched as Severus' momentary look of concern was engulfed by a look of seriousness.

"You should really be asleep," he said, rubbing his own eyes.

"So should you, Severus," said Remus, smiling slightly. "In fact, I suspect you haven't been to your bed here in a long while."

Severus glared a little at the comment, but sighed.

"There's too much to do. We have no time for weaknesses here."

"Needing to sleep is hardly a weakness, Severus. We're only human."

At Severus' almost humorous look, Lupin smiled.

"Alright. Mostly human. But that doesn't excuse you from sleep. Come on, I'll help you clean up and then you can go to sleep."

Severus opened his mouth as if to complain, but nodded curtly instead. His expression was now hidden by the patterns of shadow that litter the room. They both shifted the papers into manageable piles. Severus looked at Remus incredulously as he picked up the larger stack. Remus smiled at him, and Severus shook his head and picked up the remaining pile. They walked to Severus' room, where Remus left the papers on a table.

"I hope we can get together like this again some time, Severus. You're quite the conversationalist," Lupin says, with a hint of a grin. Severus rolls his eyes.

"Very droll, Lupin. I do appreciate the assistance, however. Good night."

"Good night."

Remus walked out of the door, and Severus shut the door quietly behind him. He sighed as he slid back into his own bed. We could be friends, if he'd simply let me in. But in his heart, Remus didn't blame him for not accepting the outreach. It's too new, too fresh. He just needs time. I have plenty of time.