Severus was dreaming, a much better dream than any other he'd had since he'd been in St. Mungo's. Usually he dreamed he was being tortured by the Dark Lord again. Occasionally, for variety, he dreamed he was being tortured by Lucius Malfoy instead. Or by Lucius and the Dark Lord.

But in this dream, a warm, slightly calloused hand was cupping his cheek, sliding down the line of his jaw to trace his lips lightly with a thumb as Severus sighed in contentment and tipped his head back. Next the dream hand slid gently down his exposed throat to untie the embarrassingly short hospital gown and push it out of the way. A second warm hand joined the first, and both hands occupied themselves with gently exploring his chest. The feel of the firm hands smoothing down his sides made Severus shiver with pleasure, and he murmured, "Remus..."

It was, after all, his dream. He could imagine anyone he wished as his dream lover, and he wanted Remus. Only Remus had ever touched him so gently and so sensually – that one night, before Severus drove him away so viciously, in his effort to protect him, that Remus hated him for it. The bitter sting of regret that pierced Severus’s chest at this thought drowned under a wave of sleepy pleasure and was forgotten as warm lips brushed his neck. Mmmm... yes, there... Even though the real Remus despised him now and would never willingly touch him again, at least he could still dream.

So he dreamed it was Remus's warm tongue circling his nipple, making him shift restlessly and moan. Remus's hair tickling his belly, as Remus's mouth closed over his hardening shaft, sucking and licking. Yes, oh... more... In his dream, it was Remus's hand caressing his balls as that talented mouth wrung pleasure from his sleeping body. Remus's fingers slipping gently into his--

Severus's eyes snapped open. "Fuck! Lupin, what in bloody hell are you doing!?" Severus hissed, staring wide-eyed down the length of his torso. His hips jerked up involuntarily as he took in the sight of the tawny haired man kneeling between his legs on the narrow hospital bed, mouth stretched around Severus's shaft, fingers buried in Severus's arse.

Withdrawing his fingers, Remus gave a last few teasing flicks of his tongue across the sensitive tip of Severus's cock before he released it, and Severus let his head fall back on the pillow with a groan.

"Isn't it obvious what I'm doing, Severus? I'm seducing you," Remus replied, grinning unrepentantly.

Severus felt more than a bit confused, and he didn't think it was just from the mediwizard's obnoxious sleeping potions, substandard work that they were. The way Remus was stroking his inner thigh wasn't helping, either. Severus was desperately glad Remus was here, doing that, but...

"The windows are open, Lupin! The door- The mediwizard- This is a hospital! Anyone could come in!" he blurted in near panic, as he tugged against the straps the exasperated mediwizard had used to bind his bandaged forearms and hands to the bed rails to keep them immobilized. And, Severus suspected, to keep him from trying to get out of bed again.

Remus's grin fell away, and he rested his hands on Severus's bare shoulders to still his struggles before he could hurt himself despite all the muscle relaxants and painkillers he'd been dosed with. Remus held Severus's gaze and said, "I've waited months for this, Severus. I'm not waiting any longer." Releasing Severus's shoulders, he continued in an intense, low voice, "Now, do you have any actual objections to this? Because if you don't, I'm going to fuck you right now, and I don't care how many people hear you screaming my name."

"Merlin!" Severus gasped, slumping back down on the bed.

Remus smiled slowly. "That didn't sound much like an objection, Severus." He unzipped his trousers, and Severus's eyes followed the motion of his hand as he freed his erection and slicked it with glistening fluid from a small vial. "Was it an objection?" Remus asked as he lifted Severus's legs gently, supporting their weight on his shoulders so as not to put any strain on the other man's healing body.

"No," Severus replied. "Not... not an objection."

"Good," Remus said. Without taking his eyes off Severus's face, he slid into the other man's opiate-soaked, relaxed body millimeter by careful millimeter, gripping Severus's hips to hold them still when Severus tried to arch against him and hurry the pace.

Severus was panting by the time Remus was finally fully sheathed inside him. "Lupin," he snarled, "move! Now!"

Remus chuckled. "Since you asked so nicely, Severus..." But instead of moving, he wrapped one hand around Severus's cock, not stroking it, just slowly circling the tip with his thumb.

Severus writhed. "Lupin! Please..." He bit his lip.

Remus finally pulled out a few centimeters. Severus moaned as he slid gently back in, so Remus did it again. And again. Agonizingly slowly, until Severus was tossing his head back and forth on the pillow and struggling against his restraints.

"Shhh. Don't hurt yourself. What's wrong, Severus?" Remus soothed.

"Want... touch," Severus gasped, before he managed a complete sentence. "I want to touch you, damn it."

"Next time. Next time, Severus, you have to come to me. And then you can touch me as much as you want," Remus promised.

Severus moaned again, and Remus's thrusts sped up and became deeper despite his intention to prolong this as much as possible. Letting Severus arch up into him, he angled his thrusts until he felt Severus tense and gasp at each stroke. Finally, not wanting to completely exhaust the other man while he was still healing, he began stroking Severus's cock in time with his thrusts.

"Severus. Say my name!" he ordered, eyes still fixed on Severus's face.

"Re- Remus!" Severus gasped. A few seconds later, his body shuddered under Remus's as he climaxed.

“Yes,” Remus growled. "Mine. You are mine," and he let the clenching of Severus's muscles around his cock and a few hard thrusts carry him to orgasm as well.

Severus lay quietly, eyes closed. Remus carefully shifted his legs and leaned over to brush a gentle kiss across his lips.

Severus's eyes opened. "Remus," he said quietly, almost smiling. Then he shook his head and said sharply, "Lupin. Get off me and clean us both up before that damned mediwizard comes in to see what set off his blasted monitoring charms."

Remus eased gently out of Severus's body and slid off the bed. Reaching for his wand, he said, "Oh, did I forget to tell you? You're being released today. The monitoring charms have been removed already."

Severus stared at him. "What? Do you mean to tell me we could have done this," his attempt to gesture was frustrated by the straps still binding his arms to the bed, "in the comfort - and privacy - of my own chambers? Lupin, you... you..."

Before Severus could decide what to call him, Remus said calmly, "You're being released to Madame Pomfrey, not to your own devices. You are on your way to the hospital wing at Hogwarts. You'll be there for at least another week until your hands heal, and I don't think Poppy will be so obliging as to give you a private room just so we can make love."

Severus protested, "A week! The hospital wing- I don't need Poppy Pomfrey hovering over me for a week, Lupin," while Remus cleaned come off Severus's chest and rearranged his hospital gown.

"Of course not, Severus," Remus said soothingly, repeating the cleaning spell on himself and fastening his trousers. He decided not to mention that the mediwizard had said it might be two weeks, or even longer, before Severus's hands had healed enough for the bandages and splints to be removed, even with magic speeding the process. He smiled to himself as he thought of some delightful ways to keep Severus too tired and preoccupied to complain. Much.

Severus's eyes narrowed with suspicion as he watched Remus's next gestures with his wand. "You had a silencing charm up? And wards? Lupin, you let me think that-"

Remus silenced the incipient tirade in the most pleasant way possible, bracketing Severus's face with his hands and pressing their lips together. Severus made several muffled irate noises against his mouth, but gave up trying to talk when Remus sucked on his lower lip. When Severus was finally quiet, Remus ended the kiss and straightened.

"You're mine, Severus. Although I really wouldn't mind having everyone at St. Mungo's hear you scream my name, I'm not sharing you with anyone. Not even an inadvertent eavesdropper."

Severus shivered at the intensity in Remus's voice. He hadn't dared think Remus would ever forgive him, let alone do something like this. And maybe even plan to do it again. Next time. He said next time...

Remus reached down and brushed a strand of hair off Severus's face, then strode toward the door. As he left the room, he said, "Rest now. I'm going to find that mediwizard and tell him you're ready to leave."

Relaxing into his pillows, Severus decided maybe convalescence wasn't so bad after all, if this was what visiting hours were like.