InsaneJournal

"Is Jupiter visible to the naked eye?"

Severus lay on his back, his clothing spread under him, naked beneath a starry sky. Charity lay by his side, likewise gazing into the heavens.

"I don't know," came her answer, drifting through the night. "Astronomy never was my strong subject."

"Mm. Nor mine."

He listened to the murmur of the sea, rolling and receding, in soothing soft rhythm upon the beach.

"What brought this up?"

Severus shrugged. "The damnedest thoughts pop into my mind after having sex."
`
"Hm." Charity laughed, a quiet murmur resonating deep within her chest. "So I've noticed."


* * *


Severus shifted, tugging at the clothes in an effort to spread them into a better buffer between his skin and the sand. "We ought've Transfigured something into a proper blanket," he muttered.

"What?" quipped Charity. "And sacrifice one of your Elton John shirts?"

Severus sank back onto the ground, folding his hands over his stomach. He stared up into the stars.

"But of course," Charity added, "I'd never ask such a thing of you. Not even for fabulous sex on the beach."

The stars glittered above him. He wondered if Jupiter shone amongst them. He wondered why he should care.


* * *


"It's not just the sex, is it?"

The words slipped out, floated, drifted, dispersed amongst the stars.

He heard Charity sigh. "No, Severus," came the gentle reply. "It's not just the sex."

Severus let out the breath he had not realized he'd been holding.

"So," he said. "You... enjoy my company?"

"Yes."

"Me."

"Yes."

"Just... being with me."

"By Jove, I think he's got it."

Severus rolled over onto his side: Charity, lying on her back, continued to gaze up at the night sky. He picked up her hand, brought it to rest upon his cheek, and closed his eyes.