A/N: A moment of contentment in the life of Remus Lupin. Written in first person, something I've not tried in a long time so comments on whether it works would be appreciated. Set post-Hogwarts and pre-Azkaban.
41:"This is heaven to no one else but me;
and I'll defend it as long as I can be" Elsewhere - Sarah McLachlan
He sleeps more than I'd ever have thought possible. When he doesn't have to worry about getting to classes or work on time, he sleeps as if he could never get enough of it. Lying on his back, head slightly to the side his eyelashes fluttering gently, dreaming of some fantastic place or people, no doubt. So at ease. Such a contrast from myself. His sleeping form clad only in boxers, and radiating heat in this cold room, mine wrapped securely in pyjamas and still chilly. I dare to drape my arm across his torso: he doesn't move. Moving slowly, millimetres at a time, I advance. Till my head rests on his chest, rising and falling in time with his. I move my head just slightly and it lies over his heart. Beating so strongly, so steadily. My anchor in a world that is all at sea. I've always had a restless soul, but when I listen to his heart I can believe, if only for a little while that he will always be there to guide me home. I'm so engrossed in the sound of it, in the security it's lulled me into that I don't notice the slow progress of his arm out from under me till it's wrapped round my waist. A soft kiss on my forehead and a sleepily murmured "mine" and he's fast asleep again. My heart swells in a weird way that I'm not sure whether I need to laugh or cry only that I must do something to let this overwhelming flux of emotion out. I move slightly and my head slips into the hollow of his shoulder, as though it was designed specifically for that purpose. The analytical part of my mind contemplates evolution and grand design, but the subconscious lets a murmur slip between my own lips in reply. "Mine." No silly pet names for us, merely a statement of possession. Mutual possession. He is mine and I am his. And I would do anything, to keep it this way. I know it cannot be forever. Nothing is, especially not for my kind. One day I will have to leave. Leave him sleeping with no leads to follow, no way for him to find me. But for one day after another, let that day not be this morning. A contented sigh drifts from us both and if I squint and imagine, I can almost see them twining in the air above us. But that requires me to open my eyes and they're so heavy now.