Furry Little Problem
A fanfiction one-shot by sizzleberrylicious
Warning: This is a SLASH ficlet. I repeat. S L A S H. As in, male-male. SLASH! If you don't like it, then don't read it. It's that simple, really.
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Padfoot rushed around the room, nipping playfully at the large werewolf that snapped at him, its sharp talons glinting menacingly in the dim moonlight that streamed in through the shattered windows. The werewolf snarled, it's long, powerful hind legs steadfast on the rickety wooden floor boards, unwilling to hurt its companion.
Come on, Moony.. Just a little longer..
It was nearing dawn, and the slightest sliver of sunlight could be seen peeking up from behind the ancient looming towers of Hogwarts in the distance. Soon, the full moon would go down, and Remus would be back to normal.
Padfoot continued to bark at his transformed friend, wagging his thick black tail. The absence of his other two best friends, Prongs and Wormtail, was nagging loudly in the back of his mind. James had a detention to serve with Professor Grenevelt, and as everyone knew, wherever James went, Peter followed. Even if it was to an extremely boring detention of polishing Grenevelt's endless collection of useless knick-knacks.
Oh, well. At least it's only for one night. And there's no annoying rat to carry around on my back, thankfully. I'm doing perfectly fine on my own, anyway.. No important body parts bitten off yet, thank Merlin..
Moony's shiny black eyes widened as he let out a blood-curdling howl that pierced the early morning, his fur-matted body contorting painfully. Padfoot let out one last bark of reassurance before backing into a corner, whimpering as he watched his friend's gruesome transformation. Moony's shadow on the nearby wall screamed torture as the werewolf's domineering stance staggered and shrunk to the floor, writhing. Piercing howls slowly turned into ragged screams and gasps for air. Within moments, the large grey werewolf was gone; a trembling, naked sandy-haired boy in its place.
Padfoot felt his heart break at the sorrowful sight as he transformed back into human form and kneeled down by his friend's side. He carefully wrapped the shivering boy up in his robes, biting his lip.
"Moony? Are you all right?"
Remus slowly glanced up at his friend, his amber eyes rimmed with red, dusky blue circles forming on his pale eyelids. He forced a small, weak smile. "Yes, Padfoot, I'm fine."
Sirius let out a relieved sigh. He stood up and slowly helped his friend into a warm corner, away from the cold drafts that came in through the cracked windows. The two boys sat huddled together in a companionable silence.
"Err.. Moony?" Sirius asked tentatively, staring at his weak friend. Remus gave him a curious look.
"Yes, Padfoot?"
"Uhm.. I was just wondering.. Would a hug make you feel better? You know, without James and Peter here, you might feel lonely..," he stated in the limited space of three seconds. Remus' tired eyes shone with unsaid mirth. Sirius? The manly, macho Sirius Black? Offering a.. hug? It nearly made him want to roll around on the floor in fits of laughter.
"Sure, Padfoot, a hug would be.. nice."
Rather awkwardly, Sirius leaned over and wrapped his long arms around his shivering friend, breathing in his musky scent. A spasm of something he could only identify as lust shot up his spine at the contact, but Sirius ignored it. Or at least, he tried to.
Smiling, Remus returned the embrace. It lasted for several quiet moments, before he broke off. Remus was very much aware of the tingling sensation that lingered on the tips of his fingers at the lost of his desired touch. "And just so you know, Padfoot, I don't feel lonely at all," he smiled. "I've got you."
Sirius grinned goofily, his heart swelling with happiness. He brushed away an annoying lock of black hair that seemed insistent on getting in the way of his vision.
"It's always nice to have someone with me after dealing with my.. problem. I hope it doesn't bother you," Remus said, quickly, feigning an immense interest in the miniscule cracks evident in the whitewash wall behind them. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, and traced it up to Sirius' set expression.
"Moony, you should know by now that it doesn't bother me a single bit. I'm always here for you, especially when you have to cope with your furry little problem," Sirius gave him a wink. Remus chuckled.
"Furry little problem," he echoed softly. He smiled, his mind dazed. After several moments, he snapped out of his brief reverie and stared into Sirius' deep set onyx eyes. "Thank you, Sirius. For everything."
Sirius smiled at the warm, fuzzy feeling that was growing in his chest. His love for the quiet, shy, nervous boy in front of him grew at the sight of those innocent golden eyes staring up at him gratefully.
"It's my pleasure, Moony. You know I wouldn't let you go through something like this on your own."
Remus pulled the scarce robes around his frail form tighter, shivering. Sirius looked on, worried. Slowly, he reached out his fingers, feeling the smaller boy's forehead. He nearly jumped. "Moony! You're on fire! Incendio!"
Sirius leveled his wand at the lone wax candle that stood dejectedly on the dusty floors, watching as it caught fire and radiated warmth. "Locomotor Candle."
Remus gave Sirius a small smile as he levitated the candle closer to them, soaking them in the little but sufficient warmth it provided.
"I really don't know what I'd do without you, Pads," Remus muttered, his voice muffled as he slowly leaned into Sirius, startling him. Awkwardly, Sirius ran his fingers through the boy's untidy sandy brown hair, his gesture odd yet comforting.
Discreetly, Remus sniffed in Sirius' scent. The monster inside him was still painfully awake, fresh and alert so soon after the transformation. Like the wolf, Remus could sense the basic emotions, urges around him. Joy, fear, anger, sorrow, lust. It was a sort of empathy. His acute sense of smell usually bothered him, as too many emotions at once made him dizzy. Which explained why he hated being around large groups of people. Once, at a Quidditch World Cup he had attended as a child, his empathy had been so overwhelming that he had passed out.
Remus shut his eyes as the wolf's senses drowned him in a mix of emotions radiating off Sirius. But then, he could smell something alarming coming from Sirius that overpowered all the other emotions.. Something Remus would have never expected..
Lust?
Remus' eyes shot open. Slowly, he removed himself from his companion's touch, his head spinning. No.. Not lust.. It.. It can't be. ..Can it?
He nearly laughed out loud in spite at his own foolish thoughts. I could only dream of being in a relationship with Sirius Black. He's the Casanova of Hogwarts, and I'm a gay werewolf. It'd never work out.. He swings the other way!
Sirius had been uncharacteristically quiet. He had been thinking, his mind wandering over to thoughts about his timid friend. Ever since he had uncovered his feelings for Remus in their fifth year, his mind had kept nagging at him to tell Remus, not wanting to be in the shadows any longer. Only James knew of his true orientation, and judging by the way his friendship still stood with the werewolf, James hadn't broken his promise and informed Remus. Sirius' heart positively ached when his thoughts swirled to that of what would happen if he were to tell Remus. He would surely get rejected, thus jeopardizing their friendship. And my friendship with Remus is what's most important..
Sitting upright, Sirius came to a decision. He would tell Remus, then and there. He had to. How could he not? His friend had to know, after all, it involved him. Hell, yeah, it involves him..
Gathering up all the scattered courage he could before it disappeared, he turned to face a sleepy Remus.
"Moony?"
"Yes, Pads?"
"I.. Uhh.."
Sirius bit his lip. I think I like you - Naww, that sounds so wrong. I'm unbearably smitten with you! Pfft, he'd castrate me for sure. .. I love you, Remus J Lupin! I love you, I love you, I love you! .. I have gone mad.
"Yes, Padfoot?"
"Huh?"
"You just said, 'I have gone mad'."
Sirius blushed, all of his courage dancing out the window and running away. Shit.
He nearly jumped when a callused hand reached up to touch his cheek. Remus tilted his head to one side, inspecting his friend. "You wanted to tell me something, Sirius?"
"I.. I.. You.. Uhm.. I think.. No.. I.."
Remus waited patiently, his tired amber eyes drilling through Sirius' facade and reading his soul.
"IthinkIlikeyouRemusLupin," Sirius quickly garbled, stringing his words together. He exhaled strongly before squeezing his eyes shut, waiting for a response.
Remus cocked an eyebrow, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. Inside, his heart was racing, running up to his brain and back down again. Did he just say what I think he said? Oh, Merlin! Oh, Merlin, Oh, Merlin, Oh, Merlin!
Sirius slowly lifted one eyelid and peeked out, coming face to face with a confused Remus Lupin. "Err.. Did you hear what I said, Moony?"
"Actually, no, Sirius. Could you please repeat that?" Remus asked. I hope he said what I think he said..
Sirius grimaced. "Uhh.. I said.."
"You said?"
"Uhm.. Well.. Nice weather we're having today, ey?"
Sirius mentally smacked himself. The crestfallen look on Remus' face ripped him in two. What did I do..?
"Oh. Yes, I suppose," Remus managed, lifting his head to stare out the window at the bright sunlight that streamed in. Yeah, right.. He was talking about the weather.. That's what I get for getting my hopes up.. It just ends up crashing back down again. What was I thinking anyway? Sirius Black will never, ever, ever like Remus J. Lupin..
"We're never had such.. Uhh.. yellow sunlight before..," Sirius commented, scrunching up his nose in horror at his retarded, spin-of-the-moment statement. Yellow sunlight? Gread glorious gods. Just shut up already.
"Err. Yeah. We just don't get nice yellow sunlight in this part of the globe, now, do we, Padfoot?"
"Uhm. No, I suppose not."
Then, just as the first sparrow came out of it's hiding place to greet the warm.. yellow sunlight that highlighted the grassy planes, the same forlorn thought drifted despondently through both boys' minds as they huddled together for warmth in the dark corner of an abandoned shack.
He'd never feel the same for me..
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Disclaimer: Not mine, though I wouldn't mind taking over property of Sirius and Remus if JKR doesn't want them anymore.. ;)
Author's Note: There it is, my first Sirius/Remus ficlet. It's rather fluffy and mushy, but that's what I felt like writing at the moment, so deal. :) I plan to keep this as a one-shot, but if there are high demands for more, I might just consider lengthening it. I can already think of several ideas for a companion piece.. You never know. Well, in between now and then, I'll be writing up more ficlets from my unbelievably long list of ideas. Writing is a great hobby, after all. I hope to get lots of reviews from you guys, so don't disappoint me, aight? Please and thankyouu. :) Ttfn, su yin. xx