Vignette fic, R/D

[thrihyrne]

I think that these past few days being a primary assistant caregiver to my grandfather have really rubbed off on me. I wrote this yesterday while watching him do his workout with a personal trainer he has at a nearby healthcare facility.

Not sure that it even warrants a title.
edit: Now titled 'Home, Despite it All'
Not beta'ed, and it's in American English.
Rating: G (unless you feel like thinking about Snape naked; I didn't provide details)
Length: Short (just under 800 words)
Pairing: Ron/Draco, set vaguely after "The Ties that Bind" and the Snape in this doesn't quite jive with the way I have him in that series, but there you go.
Summary: Snape was hit by something that has left him physically incapacitated, but mentally as all there as he ever was, and he's been taken in by Ron and Draco.



Severus closed his eyes, his lips pulled so far down that Ron was convinced he must have extra muscles than the average wizard in his face.

"This is so undignified," Snape growled as Draco delicately ran a soft cloth over the older man's body. Draco ignored the comment and the small splashes of water slowly drenching his shirt as he bathed Severus' palsied form.

"Why won't you simply cast a cleaning spell as I requested?" Severus asked through tight lips, glaring at his caregiver.

"Because proper baths feel better," Draco said gently. Severus' arm flailed in the water, sending a small shower up into Draco's face. Continuing his ablutions, Draco wiped his sopping fringe against his shoulder.

Ron took a hand towel off a nearby rack and handed it to Draco, who flipped it across his shoulder with a murmured thanks.

"Weasley, I wish you had the decency to leave," Severus said, his voice heavy with distaste. "Or haven't you yet had your fill of seeing me in this degrading state?"

"He stays," Draco said firmly, avoiding Severus' kicking foot as a tremor shuddered through him. "You're a part of our family now. Ron finds assisting in your care the same privilege as I do."

Severus released a rumbling, malcontented sound. "Forgive me for finding that thought to be utterly ludicrous."

Draco glanced over at Ron, an apologetic expression on his face.

"Draco's right," Ron said, crossing his legs. "I know you don't believe me, and quite honestly, you don't have to. You're not bad company, especially when you're not in a mood like this."

"In case you hadn't noticed, during the unfortunate events of the War the ability to do my life's calling was ripped from me. My apologies for not being cheerful," Severus said venomously. As Draco soaped the cloth and tenderly washed the former potions master's feet, Severus' demeanor changed and he sagged against the tub, defeat etched on his face. "You should have left me to rot in St. Mungo's."

"Not a chance."

Draco rinsed Severus' long, surprisingly delicate toes, kneeling at the edge of the porcelain. "You've been better than a father to me since my childhood." He clasped Severus' pale feet in his hands, running his thumbs above the arch in a caress, gazing earnestly at Severus' dark eyes. "I know it's hard for you to hear, or believe, but I would never abandon you. You saved me, Severus. For that, and for so much else, I love you."

Severus let out a long sigh before casting a sharp glance at Ron.

"Don't worry- you're not gonna hear the l-word out of me," Ron said, raising his hands in surrender. "But if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have Draco now. C'mon. Let's get you dried off and dressed. Xave's been looking forward to going to the garden all afternoon."

"I can only imagine the spinning Percy is doing in his grave," Severus said sardonically, the bite back in his voice. "His son being raised by you, a Malfoy, and now an ex-Death Eater to make the travesty complete."

"Don't be rude," Draco chided, wrapping Severus' thin, tremulous body in a plush towel. "Even I can tell you're fond of Xavier, Your Bitterness."

The shadow of a smile flitted across Severus' lips as he was dried and Draco and Ron dressed him in loose black trousers and black shirt.

"Perhaps. Maybe with enough influence he'll have the good fortune to be in Slytherin."

"Merlin, don't even joke about things like that!" Ron exclaimed.

Draco snickered as he combed Severus' hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. "Our house robes would certainly go well with his coloring." He winked at Ron, who looked horrified. "You know I'm right."

"Still," Ron muttered, folding and hanging up the towel. "I think Mum'd have a fit."

Despite his near-constant shaking, Severus managed a levelled gaze at Ron. "Molly has survived the death of two of her sons, and now has a part-Veela, a werewolf, and a Malfoy as daughter and sons in law. After all of that, I suspect she would barely bat an eye were her grandson to be sorted into Slytherin."

Draco turned and looked amusedly at his former Head of House. "Severus, you sound almost compassionate!"

Severus scowled. "An anomoly, I'm sure."

Ron followed as Draco led Severus down the corridor to the living room, where Xavier was undoubtedly entertaing himself by playing his own version of chess with Ron's old set. If anyone had told Ron that he'd find contentment handfasted to Draco and a guardian to his nephew and now Snape, he'd have told them they were nutters.

Can't say my life's boring, though, he thought, shrugging his shoulders at the unpredictability of life with a grin.

Comments

[ex-ella-bane358.livejournal.com]

This was lovely :) It's a beautiful little follow-up to the "Ties that Bind" a story I enjoyed mightily! More feedback for that soon, promise!

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the wee story, and I'm again very pleased you liked "The Ties that Bind." Any feedback is graciously accepted, whenever it's given. ;)

Love your icon, too. I'll feel like so much less of a perv when Rupert's legal, y'know?!

[cim-halfling.livejournal.com]

*sighs happily and gives hugs and smooches to Thevina*

Off to work now, but boy do I feel better about going.

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

Off to work now, but boy do I feel better about going.

I'm pleased that I've given you a happy smile for the morning!!

**smooches and hugs back and hopes you had minimal traffic**

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

So poignant! I especially like Draco's "You've been better than a father to me since my childhood." *sigh*

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

So poignant! I especially like Draco's "You've been better than a father to me since my childhood." *sigh*

Thank'ee very much, especially coming from you, my angst-loving friend… this was my first attempt even to incorporate any of the new canon, albeit obliquely. Glad you enjoyed the ficlet.

(((hugs, and really misses you)))

[snottygrrl.livejournal.com]

this is so lovely. really like your snape (as always), and the relationship between all the men.

((hugs)) ♥

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

this is so lovely. really like your snape (as always), and the relationship between all the men.

Thanks so much!! I'm glad that you and eldritchhobbit are fans of my Snape portrayals. I do tend to injure him a lot, unfortunately. Or kill him. Whoops. ;)

::loves::

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

oooh, really like your Snape. for all the damaged folks that this short fic has in it, I found it a heartening piece of writing. things happen, people cope, and there are surprising actions from those we thought we knew.

after reading this and your RW/DM story, you've made me think of the way I characterise Draco as essentially and always a selfish and impatient soul who is consistently undemonstrative. *goes off to check own biases*

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

oooh, really like your Snape. for all the damaged folks that this short fic has in it, I found it a heartening piece of writing. things happen, people cope, and there are surprising actions from those we thought we knew.

I'm so glad you liked it! I do love writing some disgruntled Snape; for some reason, it seems to come easily. But I'm also pleased that you didn't find this cloying; it was my fear, despite it being so short.

And hey- that's just my interpretation of how Draco could be. Canon!Draco wouldn't do this, I don't think, although in HBP he is revealed to be showing some intense emotions, so maybe something like this isn't out of the question. It's author's perogative, after all… I enjoyed writing the "Degrees of Burning" series mostly for the imagery; I wouldn't actually see Remus immolating himself. But for the sake of The Author going full tilt with flame images, well, it had to happen.

Nice icon- that 'tis yarn, yes? Who's Arnold??

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

Nice icon- that 'tis yarn, yes? Who's Arnold??

lol. Ms Thevina - have you read your HBP? :)

Arnold is the pygmy-puff critter Ginny Weasley takes to Hogwarts in HBP. The icon is made by none other than the art/brain-heavy euclase. I love it.

re author's perogative and characters - my version of canon!Draco is a tad frozen in his teenage persona, I realise. but I suspect that I like him that way. *g*

[matildabishop.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming your care of your grandfather has worked its way into your writing? I really like this gentle little piece. I love that you've added a little snapshot like this, that didn't neccessarily have a home in the main fic. Fills out the picture for a greedy reader like me. Do enough of these and you'll have A Ties that Bind Universe...and that would be a good thing.

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming your care of your grandfather has worked its way into your writing?

Oh, yes. :)

I really like this gentle little piece. I love that you've added a little snapshot like this, that didn't neccessarily have a home in the main fic. Fills out the picture for a greedy reader like me. Do enough of these and you'll have A Ties that Bind Universe...and that would be a good thing.

Thank you!! Yes, and in a way, it also ties into my "Cartography of Fire" series- in fact, it fits into it snugly, and on purpose, except in the Cartography series Ron's straight and involved with Hermione. So this is a sort of parallel-but-intertwined series. And yes, it could well continue, especially now that I have Severus there for dripping sarcasm and to test Ron's patience. I can only imagine how much fun a Christmas scene would be with George picking on Severus, Remus chastizing him, the Ron/Draco dynamic, Ginny & Neville with a baby, and Xavier, his grandparents, Bill/Fleur and Charlie. Too bad I could care less about Harry; he never makes an appearance in these stories of mine. ;)

[matildabishop.livejournal.com]

Oh, do me a favor and love Harry just a little. He's the reason everyone else got together. He's not my main dude, either though. Ron is, obviously. I think it's because the movie casting. Rupert's the guy I would have liked when I was sixteen. Dan would have been too pretty/geeky for me and Tom would have been on a social plane high above me. Anyway, I like rare pairs. I once stumbled over a really nice Ron/Remus WIP and haven't been able to find it again to see if it updated...such a loss...I'll have to write my own.

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

Oh, do me a favor and love Harry just a little.

*g* Okay, I have, I wasn't being completely honest. I've actually written a couple of H/Ds for snottygrrl, and one Harry/Ron for shocolate for a Ron ficathon. But like you, I focus on Ron, or the twins, or basically the redheads, unless I'm writing for someone else. Ron/Remus, eh? I like rare pairs as well- my OTP, for example, which is the whole basis for my "Cartography" series, is George/Remus. Lemme tell you that I think I'm just about the only author out there who's put those two together. It took me ages to do so, which is probably why I ended up writing 4 stories in the series. ;) If you get bored and want to read them, I'd love your take on them. You'll definitely want to read them at my website, though, because euclase and llembas made a sort of 'movie version' of the 3rd story, complete with pictures and intermissions as my Christmas gift last year.

You should write a Ron/Remus! If you haven't read josanpq's 'Aftermath,' which is Ron/Severus, you absolutely must. So, so amazing.

[matildabishop.livejournal.com]

Redheads...yeah, that's it. I read in the paper recently that they're dying out, so we gotta love while we can...I will check out your story...hope my weak little computer can handle a COOL movie.

I have read Aftermath. And loved it. I'm not sure I responded because that was back in the early day when I was just a lurker. I remember Josan from her X-files days and I haven't quite forgiven her yet for only writing Krycek/Skinner, when I wanted Mulder/anyone/everyone...I need to open my narrow little mind. The one that killed me was Heartache or Heartbreak on the Snape/Weasley archives. That author kind of left Ron in a lurch and I wrote her and begged her for a sequel...but alas...