Chapter 3
"You said what?"
Remus was gaping, his expression twisted into one of absolute shock and Sirius just stared with wide eyes until he suddenly burst out laughing.
Thankfully, the pub was as loud and lively as it always was so they didn't have to worry about anyone taking too much notice of James' torment just yet. The hazel eyed wizard glared at his friend from across the table.
"Yes, Padfoot laugh it up. Of course you'd find this hillarious." James then glared at Remus, "Why did you bring him?"
"You said you wanted to talk, I thought-" Remus cut himself off, lips pursing into a tight line before he leaned over the table a bit, "Prongs, why on earth would you suggest having sex in a cemetery with Lily?"
Sirius laughed harder, he was almost on the floor by that time. Hand thumping on the faux leather seat of the booth.
"I didn't mean to, it slipped out." James huffed as he took a gulp of beer, "If this is anyone's fault its yours Padfoot. You and that sexual deviant of yours."
Sirius was still chuckling as he forced himself to sit up, "Exactly, what do Severus and I have to do with your matrimonial bed?"
"You're the one that put the stupid idea into my head, talking about how you had Snape gasping in a cemetery."
Remus' eyes widened all over again, "Sirius, you and Severus... At a cemetery?!"
Sirius paused for a brief moment, almost seemed to sober up only for those stormy grey eyes to brighten with mischief as he leaned back in his seat and spoke with a smug smirk.
"We were right over Walburga's grave too, Moony."
Remus looked apalled and James seemed to recoil in a similar way before he pointed at Sirius.
"See! See, this is why my head's been so screwed up and I ended up saying what I said!"
"Whoa," Sirius interrupted, "I may have hinted at an escapade in a cemetery but I didn't tell you to go and proposition your wife for a night out with the dead. That you did all on your own; so leave me and my sexual deviant out of this."
James glared only to look at Remus who was still staring at Sirius in shock.
"Moony?"
"On your mum's grave?!" He practically screeched and Sirius quickly reached out to put a hand over the werewolf's mouth.
"Keep it down, Moons." Sirius said just as he let go and picked up his own drink, "There are innocents present."
"But-"
"Can we focus on the problem at hand please." James interrupted in annoyance and Remus finally tore his eyes away from the still somehow smug looking animagus. "What am I going to do?"
"You haven't started grovelling yet?" Sirius asked and James sighed.
"I did, she doesn't care."
Remus picked up his own mug to take two large gulps before he spoke, "Well, you could always pass it off as a joke." Sirius nodded in agreement, "I'm surprised she even really took it all that seriously to begin with."
"I don't think that'll work."
"It's better than letting her think you have a necrophillia kink." Sirius said with a shrug and James couldn't help but glare at him, "Unlike you and your deviant?"
Sirius smirked, "Oh Sev and I have many different kinks, necrophillia being on the lower end of the list I'm afraid."
Remus cringed, "You actually shagged in a cemetery... over your mother's grave?"
Sirius rolled his eyes when he suddenly spotted someone walk in the door. The animagus grinned, finishing off his drink as he grabbed his cloak and got up.
"I'm sorry lads, but I can't regale you with tales of my exploits tonight. I have to make up a few new ones."
Remus looked back and saw Severus walking into the pub and heading straight for the bar. James glared harder and Remus shook his head.
"Please don't do something worse than shagging over your mother's grave."
Sirius laughed, "I'm not making any promises."
The werewolf sighed as Sirius waved them off and made a beeline for the bar. He slid up beside the raven who tensed and merely glanced up at him as he ordered a drink. Sirius leaned over to say something in his ear and Snape scoffed, glancing back at their booth. Remus gave an awkward wave while James just continued to glare. Snape rolled his eyes and looked away.
"A bloody cemetery... I want to say that I don't believe it but-" Remus just took another drink from his mug before he sighed and looked up at James. "Sirius makes a good point though, there was absolutely no reason for you to suggest something like that to Lily of all people."
"That's not what I said to her." James said shortly and Remus blinked.
"What?"
"I just... I didn't want to say what actually happened in front of Padfoot."
"Why not?"
James shook his head, "Why did you even bring him here? I told you I wanted to talk alone."
"He said he was coming to the pub to meet up with Severus anyway." Remus frowned, "What happened? Why don't you want Sirius knowing about it?"
"It's..." James dragged a hand through his hair, "It's nothing, forget about it."
"Well its obviously not nothing. You said Lily isn't talking to you. What happened?" James didn't respond and Remus let out a sigh, "I promise I won't tell Sirius, so just tell me what's wrong."
James looked up at the werewolf and then looked over to where Sirius was still sitting with Snape.
The hazel eyed wizard looked down at his half empty mug and let out a heavy sigh.
"I screwed up."
"Screwed up how?"
Another sigh, "Lily and I... well we've been trying some new things, you know." James made a gesture with his hand, Remus just stared back at him blankly and he huffed, "Sexual stuff, Remus."
"Oh right," The werewolf seemed to flush slightly in embarressment at not immediately catching on, "Spicing up the bedroom yes?"
"Yeah," James scoffed, dragging a hand thorugh his hair again. "And, well, last night we tried some bondage stuff. Nothing serious just a few ropes around the wrists and a blindfold, you know."
"Lily didn't like that?"
"No, no she didn't mind it. We were trying new things and she was totally up for it." James assured and Remus frowned.
"What's the problem? Did something go wrong?"
"Yes."
Remus waited for James to ellaborate, when he didn't he leaned forward a bit on the table. "What went wrong?"
"I just... my eyes were covered right and... right near the end I-" James flushed red, Remus' frown grew.
"You what?"
"I... mentioned someone else."
Remus blinked, "You said someone's name?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
James let out a sigh of frustration as he looked over to the bar, back over to Sirius and Remus' eyes went wide.
"Padfoot?!"
"...yes."
There was something in his tone, something that made Remus pause and then his eyes went wider than when he found out about Padfoot's cemetery escapades.
"Severus... you said Severus' name."
James' blush went one shade darker and Remus gaped.
"James?!"
"I didn't mean to, alright! I was just-I couldn't see and Lily gets quiet sometimes, like right in the middle of it and when I don't have my eyes open my mind wanders and-"
"Severus?!" Remus screeched and James quickly reached over the table to put a hand over the werewolf's mouth. Just then Snape looked back at the table with a frown only to look away when Sirius put a hand on the back of the raven's seat to draw his attention.
"Keep it down before he hears you!" James hissed and Remus just pulled the hand away from his mouth.
"How the hell did your mind wander to Severus when-"
"I told you, I couldn't stop thinking about Sirius' situation with Snape and I just... It just happened!"
"Well, what did Lily even say?"
"She pulled the blindfold off and we started arguing for... I don't even know how long. She thinks this new... stuff I want to try is me trying to relive picking on Snape and I was actually getting off on tormenting him or something back in school."
Remus stared at him, "Were you?"
"No of course not! I-" James paused with a frown before shaking his head, "I didn't get off on pranking Snape!"
"Alright, alright." Remus took a deep breath, "Then that's what you'll tell Lily. She doesn't know about them, right? Tell her Sirius is seeing Severus and you just spaced out or something, problem solved."
"I don't know if I can do that."
"What, why?"
James went quiet, he looked over towards Severus and Sirius again. Severus seemed to lean over to whisper something in the animagus' ear and Sirius grinned as he leaned in as well. Onyx black went wide and he quickly pushed Sirius back only for the animagus to grab hold of him and press a kiss on his lips anyway. Severus flushed even as he glared.
"I-" Remus looked away from the scene and back to James. He saw the look in James' eyes and he just knew.
"No..." Remus gasped, "No no no no! No James!"
James blinked, "No what?"
"You can't have Severus."
"I don't-"
"Yes you do, but no you can't have him." Remus said sternly, "You cannot interfere with Padfoot's not-relationship with Severus. You have Lily focus on her."
"I-" James shut his eyes and let out a sigh, before glaring at the bar, "But... it's not fair though is it? Back in school, I saw him first."
"James?!"
"And it's not like this is even a serious thing anyway, they're basically just... angry fuck buddies."
"It doesn't matter if they're just shagging or planning on getting bonded at the ministry. You are married, remember?!"
"Yeah I... Of course I-"
"You realise what this really is, don't you James?" Remus asked already glaring, "This is just Lily all over again."
"Lily?"
"Yes, Lily. This impossible unattainable prize that you want purely because you want it, that's what this is. You got Lily and now that you have her, you're bored. But now suddenly Severus is here, the one person that can't stand you and probably never will, he's involved with Padfoot; so of course, now you want him."
James mouth fell open in a gape, "That's not true!"
"Yeah, then what's changed James? Why do you suddenly want Severus Snape now of all times, when you never wanted anything to do with him before?"
"I-..."
"Exactly!" Remus huffed in frustration, "Leave them alone. If you try and lay a finger on Severus I'm telling Sirius."
James opened his mouth to protest only to stop at the look in the werewolf's eyes and slumped down onto the table as he looked back at the bar again, Snape was still blushing. "I'm in love with him Moony."
Remus gave him a very tired glare as he picked up his drink, "No, you're not. You just want things you can't have." As he drank from his mug he watched James pout as he watched Sirius and Severus and let out a sigh. "There's this story, muggle greek mythology. It's about the god of the sun Apollo and Daphne. Have you heard of it?"
James looked at him, "No."
Remus scoffed, "Eros was the son of Venus, he's better known as Cupid. You know arrows of love and all that. Apollo got into a disagreement with Eros and so, Eros decided to play a trick on him to put him in his place. There was a forest nymph named Daphne; she was beautiful, clever, strongwilled. She had many suitors but had no intention of ever marrying or anything of the sort. Eros decided that she would be the perfect target for his plan. So he hit Apollo with a golden arrow, so he'd fall hopelessly and passionately in love with Daphne but then he hit Daphne with a lead arrow, so she'd feel nothing for Apollo. So Apollo chased after Daphne and Daphne ran from him. He chased her to the ends of the earth until she eventually became so fed up that she prayed to her father and begged him to change her so Apollo couldn't get to her. So her father changed her into a laurel tree and Apollo was never able to have her, but he never stopped loving her and so she became this eternal, impossible, unattainable love."
James just stared back at Remus as he spoke before rolling his eyes, "What? You think Snape is my Daphne?"
"No, of course not. I just think its interesting. It makes you wonder exactly what would have happened if Apollo actually managed to get Daphne. Would Eros' one arrow have kept them together forever or would he have gotten bored at some point as well?" The werewolf shook his head, "If I had to choose a god for Severus, it'd be Persephone."
"Persephone?"
"Hades, the god of the underworld, had one true love. He was consumed by darkness and forced to forever walk among the dead. But he loved Persephone so passionately, so obsessively that he dragged her down to the underworld and forced her into marrying him. Regardless of whether she wanted him or not. He didn't need one of Eros' arrows, took one look at her and decided right there and then that she was his."
"What was so special about her?"
"She was beautiful, pure."
"Snape? Beautiful and pure?" James scoffed.
"You're the one that's in love with him. You're saying you don't think he's beautiful?" The werewolf remarked and James flushed. Remus arched a brow and James let out a sigh.
"You've made your point."
Remus shrugged, "Besides, beauty and even purity looks different to everyone James."
James shook his head, "I still don't think-"
"I just think it's interesting, that's all." Remus said as he looked up at the bar again, "It's been ten years since that day we all met in the train. I don't think the look in Padfoot's eyes has changed much at all."
James' eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed as he looked up at the two by the bar.
Snape was rolling his eyes again. Sirius' eyes had darkened, the same way they had a few weeks ago when Severus suddenly came back into their lives again. But now, from where he sat, the look in those eyes almost seemed clearer. Stormy grey eyes clouded with all consuming darkness, possession, fear and somehow lit up brightly with the warmest haze as his lips pulled into a smile.