Idle Chatter

A/N: Big, big thanks to Broomclosetravenclaw for catching a couple typos in the first chapter! Thanks sweetie, you rock!

Here is chapter two of my odd little tale. I hope you enjoy it. Once again I'd like to mention that this has not been beta read, so any mistakes are my own damn fault! If you notice anything amiss, please contact me at Plaidpooka@yahoo.com and I will get it fixed!

Disclaimer: They are not mine; I only take them out to play.

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For the next week, Ron ended up in Severus' bed every single night. The first few times, Ron would hobble over from his own bed when Severus' nightmares woke him. Soon the sneaky young Gryffindor simply stayed awake until the older wizard dropped off to sleep and then slipped in next to him. Ron told himself that it was easier that way, that he was tired of having to get up in the middle of the night, but he occasionally admitted to himself that it was nice to sleep in a man's bed again...even if the man in question was Snape. Never saying a word about his uninvited bedmate, Severus continued to glare daggers at Ron each morning until the redhead woke and got out of Severus' bed. More observant than most people gave him credit for, Ron ignored the glares. Despite the fact that the silent man gave him every indication that his company was not desired, Ron had noted that Severus had taken to sleeping on the far side of the bed--which made it easier for the still unsteady Ron to join him at night.

By the seventh week of their recuperation, Severus was still silent save for the occasional demand that Ron get out of his bed in the morning. Ron, on the other hand, had begun to take a stubborn delight in speaking to the surly wizard as often as possible. For hours each day, Ron chattered on about inconsequential things: Quidditch, chess, and the few articles he found in The Daily Prophet that had nothing to do with the war. When Ron had visitors, he patiently did what he could to include the mute wizard in their conversations. Though Severus wasn't speaking, Ron decided that the attention did the man good. Indeed, Severus looked more alert and interested in his surroundings than he had since they were first admitted to St. Mungo's.

Eventually, Severus broke his silence. Though he spoke only to complain...about Ron's chatter, about the food, about the dull little recuperating room...Ron was so happy to hear the morose man speaking at all that he found he didn't care what Severus said. There were other changes as well, changes which worried Ron quite a bit. When Ron had started going to Severus' bed to quiet the upset man, both men had stayed resolutely on their own side of the bed throughout the night. The bed was small, so a bit of contact was expected--often the men's shoulders touched or their legs brushed against each other. Until recently, the only time they touched deliberately was when Ron woke Severus from a nightmare by taking his hand. The past few mornings had been different. Ron encountered no glares when he awoke, in fact, Severus always seemed to be still asleep...though Ron suspected the man was faking it more often than not. The biggest change was that Severus was no longer sticking to his side of the bed. Morning after morning Ron woke to find the older wizard facing away from him but with his back pressed firmly against Ron's side. It couldn't really be called cuddling, but it was unexpected to say the least.

This "not-cuddling" disturbed Ron greatly, but not for the reason one might expect. It had taken Ron a bit longer than most to figure out that he fancied blokes much more than women. He'd been dating Hermione when he finally realized exactly why their relationship didn't seem to be going anywhere. Though hurt, Hermione had turned into his greatest source of support as he dealt with the changes in his life. The two remained fast friends throughout and now they could even laugh about their doomed relationship and the odd situation they had found themselves in. Therein lay his present difficulty. Ron was gay. Ron hadn't had a man in months. Ron was living in close quarters with a man who pressed up against him at night. Being certain that Severus was only seeking comfort--not sex--did nothing to stop the fact that Ron was finding the older wizard infinitely distracting. Ron didn't even know if the man was gay, in fact, he rather believed that his strange attraction to the man he once hated was as doomed as his relationship with Hermione had once been.

Now that Severus was talking a little, Minerva McGonagall visited him daily. It was obvious that the older witch was thrilled by the improvement in her friend. What disturbed Ron was that McGonagall always seemed to be touching Severus...patting his arm, tucking his unruly hair behind his ear, kissing his cheek, and giving him a quick buss on the lips as she bid him goodbye each day. What the hell was going on between the two of them? Were they just close friends or was McGonagall anxiously awaiting the day when her lover would be released from the hospital? Watching them covertly every time Minerva visited did nothing to help Ron figure out the situation. Though Severus did not protest Minerva's over solicitous attitude, neither did he seem to encourage it. Their parting buss was always friendly, never passionate, but Severus always returned Minerva's kiss--a fact that was beginning to make Ron jealous.

Why was he jealous in the first place? Why was he having all these stupid blasted thoughts about an unpleasant and rather unattractive man that he'd spent most of his life hating? Was it only because he was young, wasn't getting any, and Severus was the sole man he saw everyday? No matter how Ron tried to deny it, there was no ignoring the fact that he was indeed attracted to the other wizard and--even worse--that he was starting to feel that Severus Snape wasn't nearly as horrible as he had always assumed. Severus was quite sweet to Minerva, which infuriated Ron on a daily basis.

The days passed slowly by. Severus began to speak more frequently with each day that passed, but he remained silent when Ron had visitors. On occasion, Ron could talk Severus into a game of chess and he found Snape to be an admirable opponent. Both Hermione and Minerva had brought the two invalids books and each afternoon found the two men propped up in their beds reading. Even then, Ron was not quiet. Every so often Ron would break the silence by reading Severus bits from his own book or asking the other wizard about whatever book he was reading. Oddly enough, Severus no longer complained about Ron's chatter, not even when Ron interrupted his reading. Ron might have taken note of this if he hadn't been so distracted by the daily smooches between Severus and Minerva.

One evening found Ron more irritated than usual by Minerva's daily visit. The normally stern witch was constantly touching Severus and practically fawning over him. When their dinner arrived, Minerva insisted on feeding Snape, despite the fact that the man was perfectly capable of feeding himself. And Snape let her! Instead of glaring at her, he calmly let the old hag fuss over him, speaking to her kindly and thanking her for her concern. When dinner was finished, Minerva sat there holding tight onto Severus' hand while they chatted. Disgusted by their behavior, and more than a little jealous, Ron barely spoke to Minerva while she was there and only managed the curtest of goodbyes as she left. After Minerva left, Severus confronted Ron about his rudeness.

"Do you have a problem, Mister Weasley?" he growled.

"Not at all, Mister Snape. Whom you spend your time with is none of my concern," Ron snapped back.

"You were unspeakably rude to Minerva and I simply cannot understand why. Explain yourself!"

"I don't have to explain anything to you, Snape. Let's just say that I don't care for McGonagall and leave it at that, shall we?"

Glaring daggers at Ron, Severus growled, "Minerva McGonagall is the most amazing woman I know. She is brave, kind, and intelligent. If you cannot appreciate that, then you are more of a fool than I thought!"

For the remainder of the evening the two wizards sat sulking in stubborn silence. When it came time for bed, Ron was determined to never comfort that pig of a man ever again. Instead of waiting for Severus to fall asleep and then moving into Severus' bed, Ron resolutely closed his eyes. Eventually he slept.

Waking late that night, Ron's resolve broke into pieces when he heard Severus' pitiful moaning. Rising as quickly as he could, he managed the short walk without his canes and climbed into Severus' bed.

Shaking the sleeping man gently, Ron called to him, "Severus...Severus, wake up, love. It's just a nightmare, you're safe...nothing will harm you here."

Waking abruptly, Severus blinked up at Ron in confusion for a moment before he completely shocked Ron by wrapping his thin arms around Ron's back and burying his face in Ron's neck.

"Ron...please...don't leave me...don't leave me alone..." Snape whispered in a voice so quiet that Ron could barely hear him.

"Of course I won't leave you, don't be stupid," Ron gently chided. "I'm right here...I'm not going anywhere. Hush now. You're exhausted. Lay back and get some sleep; I'll be here."

Biting back a regretful sigh when Snape stopped holding him and lay back down to sleep, Ron was soon comforted by the older wizard's hand seeking out his own and clutching it tightly. In the morning, when Ron woke, their fingers were still intertwined.

After that night, Ron gave up all pretense of sneaking into Snape's bed after Snape had fallen asleep. When Severus shrugged out of his robe, drew the blankets up over his nightshirt, and prepared to sleep, Ron finished whatever he had been doing and climbed in next to him. After murmuring a quiet, "Good night, Ron," Severus would seek out Ron's hand and hold it tightly while he fell asleep. None of this did anything to alleviate Ron's frustrated attraction to the older wizard. Indeed, some nights it was a very long time before Ron could settle down enough to sleep. Having decided that he would have to be content with whatever contact he was offered, Ron did his best to ignore the bulge between his legs that seemed overly interested in the man who slept beside him. The matter of Severus' sexual orientation was still very much up in the air, and Ron wasn't about to risk Severus' anger by questioning him on it. Besides, Ron simply could not think of a way to approach the subject with any sort of subtlety. Snape never said one word about the fact that they slept together at night or the fact that they always fell asleep holding hands. The overly-friendly visits from Minerva continued as well, and while Ron made an effort to at least be civil to Minerva, her relationship with Severus still confused the hell out of him.

So things continued and they may have continued in that uncertain fashion until the two men were finally released from St. Mungo's, if something hadn't happened to change things. A change did eventually come about and Hermione was the catalyst that caused it. In for their twice a week visit, Harry and Hermione had been happily chatting with Ron while Severus sat silently reading in bed as he sipped a cup of tea. The calm was suddenly ended by a lighthearted query from Hermione.

"I know you've been cooped up in here for nearly three months now, Ron, but how are things on the boyfriend front?" she asked cheekily. "Are there any cute Healers you're interested in?"

Refusing to look at Severus and inwardly cursing Hermione for outing him in front of his (probably) straight crush, Ron's frantic search for some reply that would get him out of the uncomfortable situation was interrupted by Severus violently choking on his tea.

"Severus!" shouted Ron worriedly as he limped over to Severus' bed. "What's wrong? Shall I call a Healer?"

Following Ron over to Severus' bedside, Hermione calmly took the teacup from Severus' shaking hands as he continued to cough. With a sweep of her wand, the tea Severus had spilled over the bed disappeared. "He'll be fine, Ron, I think he's just choked a bit on his tea." As Severus' coughs began to quiet, she bent down to put a gentle hand on Severus' arm. "Are you all right, sir? Shall we get you anything?" she asked kindly.

For the first time since Harry and Hermione had started visiting Ron, Severus spoke in their presence. "I am fine, Miss Granger, thank you. You were quite correct; my tea went down the wrong pipe, I'm afraid."

"Would you like me to fetch a Healer?" Harry asked.

"That will not be necessary, Mr. Potter, thank you," Severus said simply before returning to his book.

In the excitement of the moment, Ron, Hermione, and Harry forgot all about Hermione's question, but Severus Snape did not. Later that night, when Ron had slipped into bed beside him, Severus brought the subject up.

"I did not realize that you were gay," he stated simply.

Mortified that he'd forgotten all about Hermione outing him, Ron's mind whirled for a moment as he tried to think of something to say. Damn! If he were able to walk, Snape would probably run screaming from the room! In the end, he settled on the only response he could think of.

"I am. Is that a problem?"

"No, I was merely surprised to hear it." With that said, Severus' hand sought out Ron's and they went to sleep just as if nothing surprising had happened at all.

When he woke the next morning, Ron found himself in a new situation. One of Snape's arms was banded tight around Ron's waist and Snape's leg was thrown over both of Ron's own. Turning his head enough to look at Snape's face, Ron noted that the man who was holding him as tight as a lover was still fast asleep.