Calling Out

A/N: Thanks to the folks who have left me a review; it means a lot to me!

Big thanks again to the lovely Broomclosetravenclaw, who helped me tidy up chapter two a bit. You rock!

Here is chapter three and I'll warn you that I've made my first foray into slashy smut goodness by the end of this chapter. So if you do not enjoy slash, now is the time to go read something else!

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I just take them out to play. Sometimes they play with each other. ;)

***************************************

The new torture that Ron now had to face occurred nightly. Bedtime would begin with Ron and Severus lying next to each other holding hands in a friendly fashion and it would end with Snape wrapped around Ron like a barnacle...something which made Ron feel far more than merely friendly. Waking each morning, Ron would find the former Potions master pressed intimately against him, Severus' arm wrapped snuggly around his waist and his leg thrown over Ron's. The raging erection that Ron found himself burdened with each and every morning did nothing to help him keep his composure. Slipping out from under Severus as quietly as possible, Ron would then attempt to make it into the loo and take care of his problem before Severus noticed the tilt of his pajama pants. Doubting that he was all that successful, Ron wondered why Severus had never used his obvious morning stiffy as a subject to taunt him. Though Severus was speaking to him more and more with each passing day, the older wizard never spoke a word about them sleeping together, Ron's obvious arousal, or the fact that Severus had taken to clinging to Ron at night as tightly as a child to a teddy bear.

There had been a couple of occasions when Ron, barely awake, had sworn he felt more than Severus' hips pressed against him. However, by the time Ron was clear-headed enough to be sure, Severus had always scooted a bit farther away from him in the bed so that Ron couldn't be certain if what he had felt was real or perhaps only wishful thinking. The mere thought of Severus Snape's possible erection pressing up against him had become the main focus of Ron's early morning wanking sessions. So hard that he couldn't manage a piss, Ron would stand over the sink, drop his pajama pants to his knees, and take his cock in hand. Stroking hard and fast, Ron would bite his lip to keep from crying out as he came to visions of Severus grinding against him as they lay in bed. When he finished, Ron would find himself still frustrated and on edge as he rinsed out the sink and continued with his morning ablutions. True, he'd taken care of the obvious, but Ron's growing attraction to Severus could not be so easily handled.

Attempting to hide his feelings for the older wizard was getting harder and harder for Ron to manage. Now that he was able to walk short distances without his canes, he was beginning to help Severus. The Healers had told Severus that his shattered legs were healed enough for him to start trying to use them again, but it was a slow and painful process. When it became obvious that Severus had no patience at all with the orderlies who came to assist him, Ron began trying to persuade Severus to make an effort without the orderlies. It had begun slowly with Ron simply helping Severus out of bed and supporting him with an arm around the waist while Severus draped his own arm over Ron's shoulders. They would stand like that, pressed close together, for as long as Severus' weak leg muscles would allow. When the Healers realized that the easily irritated Snape made much more of an effort to improve when the young redhead was helping him, they told the orderlies to leave off their attentions. Unsure why Severus allowed his help over the hospital workers...perhaps he was simply more comfortable not showing his weakness amongst strangers...Ron encouraged Severus to do more every day and was astonished when Severus complied without hesitation or complaint. All that Ron knew for certain was that the constant physical contact between himself and the man he was lusting over was the sweetest torture he had ever been forced to suffer. He loved the feeling of his arm wrapped around Severus' waist. He loved the weight of the man leaning against him. Merlin help him, he even loved the way Severus smelled. Finding it a bit distressing how much he loved about the man, Ron was beginning to be very concerned that his little crush was far more serious than he had at first assumed.

After a week of standing for periods of time that grew increasingly longer as his muscles began to strengthen, Severus was at last able to manage short walks as long as Ron was at his side to steady him. This allowed him to go to the loo on his own, which was a bit of a triumph for Snape. Ron knew very well how disgusted Severus had been when he had to be helped by the hospital orderlies for the most simple of bodily functions. Now he could manage on his own if Ron helped him to get there. Helping Snape into the tub for the first time proved to be Ron's most serious trial to date. When Severus had insisted that he could manage on his own, Ron had reminded him that all it would take was one fall and he'd be stuck in bed for another month.

"Either you can let me help you, or you'll wait until I fetch one of the orderlies. Take your pick."

"I'm a grown man, for fuck's sake!" Severus snapped. "I think I can manage to get into the tub on my own."

"You are weak as a kitten. You can barely walk--even with my help--and you think I'm just going to stand here and let you crack your skull open?" Ron shouted. "We can stand here all fucking day, Snape. You are not going to get into that tub unassisted! I will not allow it!"

"You won't allow it?" Snape shouted back. "You have no authority over me, you insolent boy! Exactly who do you think you are to order me about?"

Practically nose-to-nose with the furious Snape, Ron snapped, "I'm your fucking friend, that's who! And I lost enough friends, thanks to the ever fucking war, so forgive me if I'd rather not walk in here and find you lying on the floor with your fucking, stubborn-arse head leaking all over the fucking tiles..."

His voice breaking a bit with emotion on the last phrase, Ron turned away from Severus in sudden embarrassment. Waiting in silence for the stubborn wizard to begin shouting again, Ron felt how warm his face felt and knew he was blushing. Fully expecting Snape to deny his help, deny that they were friends, and deny him, Ron was completely gobsmacked when the wizard behind him spoke in a quiet voice.

"Ron...would you help me with my nightshirt please? I can't get it off one handed and if I let go of this towel bar, I will probably fall."

Turning in astonishment, Ron saw that Severus had unbuttoned the placket at the neck of his old-fashioned nightshirt and was patiently waiting for his assistance. The man looked decidedly uncomfortable...he wouldn't meet Ron's eyes and his cheeks were brightened by a slight blush. Ron didn't know if he was embarrassed by needing help or if it was because Ron was gay and about to see Severus naked. Oh dear gods! He was about to see Snape naked! Closing his eyes for a moment, Ron prayed he had strength enough to deal with this situation and tried to speak in the same bantering tone he used with Harry and Hermione.

"Of course I'll help you, you great git! That's what friends are for."

Stepping up to Severus, Ron gently helped him out of the nightshirt. He then steadied Severus as the weak man stepped into the tub while resolutely keeping his eyes off places they had no business straying. When Severus tried to lower himself into the water he lost his footing, and Ron's Quidditch reflexes saved Severus from a fall. Grasping him under the arms, Ron lowered Severus into the water until he was securely seated.

"I'll leave the door ajar," Ron said as he headed for the door to give Snape some privacy. "Call out if you need anything and please call me when you are ready to get out."

"I will," Severus said quietly. As Ron stepped through the door, Severus called him back. "And Ron?"

Turning back, Ron saw that Severus was meeting his eye for the first time since their shouting match. "Yes?"

"I obviously overestimated my capabilities. I will not cause such a fuss in future. Thank you. You are...a good friend."

"No trouble," Ron replied with a grin. "Mates watch out for each other."

"Yes," Severus agreed, "that they do."

When Severus called to him and Ron went to help him out of the tub, Ron was faced with yet another nail in the coffin of his self-restraint. Helping a very naked and very wet Severus out of the tub was bad enough. Helping him dry off was pure, unadulterated torture. Once he'd gotten Severus standing with one hand on the towel bar to steady himself, Ron grabbed two towels from the freshly laundered pile on the counter.

Thrusting one towel into Snape's free hand, Ron said awkwardly, "Why don't you dry off the...er...front bits while I dry your back and legs?"

The body of the man he was drying off was still thin and pale, but the feel of it--even through the plush fabric of the towel--was like heaven. This time, with Severus facing away from him, Ron could not keep his eyes respectfully off the man's body. Knowing he was tormenting himself, he still couldn't help but admire the man's broad shoulders, his thin but shapely legs, and the deliciously tight curve of his arse. It was true that the man's face would win no prizes, but Ron could see that with a bit more meat on his bones, Severus would have a body that any wizard could be proud of.

At last both clean and dry, Ron helped Severus into a fresh nightshirt and then guided the tired man back to bed. Sitting Severus on the bed's edge, Ron went to fetch a comb. When Ron climbed onto the bed behind Severus and began carefully combing his hair, Severus grumbled.

"I think I can manage to comb my hair without cracking my skull open," he said, his tone more teasing than upset.

"You're exhausted. Just let me do it, it will be faster."

Carefully combing the tangled mess that Severus called hair, Ron couldn't resist following the comb with his fingers as if to smooth it. He found that Severus' hair was really quite soft and smooth when it was clean, and he combed it for far longer than was strictly necessary simply because he enjoyed the task. Not seeming to mind, Severus sighed softly and leaned back against Ron as he combed. Eventually, Ron remembered that Severus really was tired and helped him stretch out in bed for a nap. As soon as the older wizard was asleep, Ron snuck back into the loo for his second wank of the day.

The ritual of Severus' bath and hair combing was added to the list of Ron's daily trials. Some days, it seemed that he walked around half aroused every single minute of the day. Never having been a particularly patient man, Ron feared that one of these days his patience would run out and he would do something unforgivably stupid. So much pressure was bound to cause an explosion at some point.

The day of the explosion soon came. Ron was sitting behind Severus, combing his hair, when the door opened unexpectedly and Harry and Hermione walked in. Reacting instinctively, Ron jerked his hands away from Severus' hair as if they had been burned. Scrambling up off the bed, he went to greet his friends as if they hadn't just caught him combing their ex-Potions professor's hair. It wasn't so much that Ron himself was embarrassed by the situation, but he doubted Severus would want his ex-students seeing him with his admittedly gay roommate's hands all over him. Praying that Harry and Hermione wouldn't tease him about it in front of Severus, Ron did his best to make small talk, though he was rather clumsy about it.

During the awkward greetings of the three friends, Severus lay down and turned to face the wall. Of late, the once irritable man had seemed to be making an effort to speak to Ron's friends, but on this day he said not one word. Cutting the visit shorter than usual by telling his friends he was a bit tired, Ron saw them to the door and then turned to deal with Severus.

Severus was not in his bed. Leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, Severus stood glaring at Ron, looking every bit the terror of the dungeons that he had been when Ron was in school. Shocked to see him standing on his own--not to mention the ferocious expression on his face...Ron nevertheless noted how heavily Severus leaned against the wall behind him. Despite his attitude, it was all too easy to see how weak the proud man still was.

"I see how it goes," Severus growled, his voice low and menacing. "You've obviously no problem cuddling up to me at night or fondling my hair...so long as no one is looking. But let your insipid friends come into the room and you pull away from me as if they caught you snogging the giant squid!"

"What are you on about?" Ron asked, honestly confused.

"I'm 'on about' the fact that you jumped out of my bed so fast that I'm surprised you didn't do yourself an injury!" he shouted. "What's wrong, Mr. Weasley? Afraid your little friends will catch you touching the greasy git of the dungeons?"

"You've got it wrong," snarled Ron. "And why exactly is it that you're standing there shrieking at me like a jealous..." Wait a minute...jealous? Eyes opening wide with shock as he calculated the meaning of Severus' anger, Ron abruptly changed tactics. "What's going on between you and McGonagall?"

Pausing his tirade in momentary confusion over the sudden switch in topic, Severus snarled, "I fail to see what the bloody hell Minerva has to do with this conversation..."

"She's always touching you," Ron snarled back. "Fondling you...kissing you...exactly what is the relationship between you and McGonagall? Hmm?"

"That's disgusting!" yelped Snape. "Minerva is like a mother to me, you imbecile! Even if I were so inclined, I would hardly choose Minerva as a female paramour and I expect she feels the same way..."

Quite frankly, Ron had completely stopped listening to Severus at the phrase 'even if I were so inclined.' Walking up to the man, Ron pulled him into his arms and stoppered Severus' words by kissing him hungrily. The man in his arms had stiffened for an instant and then the mouth beneath Ron's own had come to sudden life. Returning the kiss with an almost desperate passion, Severus brought both his hands up to wind tightly in Ron's hair. When Severus' legs gave out halfway through the kiss, Ron solved the problem by pressing Severus firmly against the wall at his back.

The two men were nearly the same height. When Ron instinctively thrust his hips against the older wizard's, his already hard cock met the proof of Severus' arousal with enthusiasm. Growling huskily into Ron's mouth, Severus' hands gave up their place in Ron's hair in order to clasp Ron's hips and encourage their thrusting. Breathless, Ron reluctantly left off kissing Severus to nip and lick at Severus' neck.

"You impossible...brat..." Severus spoke between panting breaths. "You've been...driving me mad...for weeks..."

"You might have mentioned that you were gay," Ron groused. "I wanted to throttle Minerva every time she touched you."

"I had thought that I made it obvious enough even for an obtuse Gryffindor. And--if you'd drop the subject--Minerva is hardly an image I want in my head at the moment." Hissing in pleasure as Ron's tongue made a skillful foray into his ear, Severus tangled his hands once again in Ron's hair in order to drag Ron's mouth back to his own. "Don't stop..." he murmured against Ron's lips, "good gods don't stop...need you...need you so badly..."

"Yes," groaned Ron. Closing the small space between their mouths, Ron kissed Severus until they were both breathless.

Pressing Severus against the wall was heaven, but Ron was growing desperate for more contact. With trembling hands, Ron pulled Severus nightshirt up over his hips before he pushed his own pajama pants down to his knees. When bare cock met bare cock for the first time, both men moaned in pleasure. Simple frottage shouldn't feel so good or so exciting. When Severus ran his hands down Ron's back to knead and squeeze Ron's bare arse, Ron almost came then and there. By the unending stream of hisses and groans Severus was giving voice to, Ron knew that the man in his arms must be near his own release. Working a hand between their grinding bodies, Ron wrapped it around both their cocks, stroking them both at once and squeezing them tightly together.

Bringing his mouth to Severus' ear, he whispered hoarsely, "Come for me, Severus. I want to feel you. I want to hear you. Come for me, love."

"Yesssss...Ron...yessss...I...oh...I..."

Severus hissed like a snake when he came, the sibilant sound sliding into Ron's ear like a caress. The cock held tight against Ron's twitched wildly and Ron felt the hot liquid of Severus' release coating his cock and dripping down over his balls. It was more than the over excited wizard could take. Stroking erratically, Ron growled Severus' name as he came hard and fast.

The two men rested against the wall for a moment, but when Ron felt Severus' legs trembling, he knew the wizard had been standing too long. Pulling up his pajama pants, he gently helped Severus to bed.

"I'm all sticky," grumbled Severus petulantly. "Why won't they let us have our blasted wands?"

Chuckling at Severus' familiar complaining tone, Ron chided, "Don't fret, I'll fetch you a flannel." Retreating to the loo, Ron took a moment to clean himself up a bit before he returned to Severus, a damp flannel in his hand. When Severus tried to take it from him, Ron batted his hands away. Lifting Severus' nightshirt, Ron tenderly cleaned the protesting Snape off and then bent to place a gentle kiss on his spent length. Tossing the flannel to the floor, Ron climbed into bed and wrapped his arms around Severus. Severus returned the embrace and for the first night since they came to St. Mungo's, the two men fell asleep wrapped tightly in each other's arms.

That night, there were no nightmares.