(no subject)

[subtlescience]

Who: Lucius Malfoy, Sr. and Severus Snape Beta
What: An Old Men moment, probably
Where: A pub.
When: I will fill this in later.
Notes: None.
Warnings: None. Yet.

Life has been tossing strange curveballs in Severus Snape's direction. That he considers recent events to be curveballs and not the situation as a whole (that is, being abducted to Baedal) is very telling. Then again, he has had a long time to accept that he's dead in his own world, so his tolerance for the weird and unusual may be slightly higher than it once was. Still. First Charity Burbage appears, and though he has deftly managed to avoid talking to her, he's supremely aware that it's a reckoning he'll eventually have to face. Then, he is abruptly removed from the city and given a year's worth of memories from the Barge in the span of three days - something which has put him decidedly out of step with Martha.

Something which he hopes will remain out of step; there are memories he doesn't want her to have.

And then Lily. Every now and again, he reaches for his CiD to contact her, but he isn't sure what he would say. 'I'm here.' He finds he's not sure he wants her to know or just how the conversation would progress from there. He doesn't think he wants her to know simply for the sake of knowing. 'You're safe.' Untrue. Besides, what would Martha say? And the longer he waits, the more he realizes that, as pursuits go, contacting Lily would be better left to his doppelganger. He's closer to her age; it won't be as jarring for her. Though he spent nearly two decades wishing for her, hoping he could see her again, the glimpse he had of her in the CiD leaves him feeling rather removed from the situation.

And rather old.

If he's fair with time and includes those years on the Barge, he's forty-one. Everyone - Narcissa, her husband, Rosier, Nymphadora - seems to be so much younger. Severus is an anomaly. An aberration in the timeline. He's beginning to understand just how Lucius feels; their conversation in his shop starts to take on a new light. His inability to find a common point in time with the others from his world is incredibly alienating.

Which is also something of a curveball, because Severus has never cared before about feeling alienated. But, of course, it was never quite like this.

In the end, he doesn't contact Lily. As the days go by, he finds himself wanting some connection to home, however. He can't contact Rodolphus. Rodolphus is (was) complicated and profoundly simple in a way that goes well beyond annoying Severus. Burbage will ask questions, and he doesn't want to answer them. So it's Lucius he contacts, because whether Lucius hates him for his betrayal or has forgiven him thanks to the protection he gave Draco, they're of the same place and time, and on occasion, that's worth more than friendship. His message contains nothing more than an address and time; he doesn't fully expect Lucius to put in an appearance, but he goes and waits just the same.