"Its been lovely seeing you today, Remus." Lily smiled, clasping her hand on his arm. "This transfiguration project is finally looking good, we should get an O, or at least an E!"
Remus smiled, warming himself by the fire. Their winter transfiguration project was indeed looking acceptable, though it had been odd having someone other than the marauders at his house during the winter break. The sun had long since set, with the clock chiming 12pm a while earlier. Lily's determination to finish the project today meant that she had no qualms about the late hour, having told her parents that she might be out until 2.
"Would you like a cup of hot chocolate?" Remus offered, climbing from his position on the floor.
"That would be nice." Lily smiled, curling up in her chair aside the fireplace as Remus headed for the kitchen.
The kettle began to whistle as Lily stretched languidly, the familiar clinking of cups and spoons coaxing a yawn from her lips. Rolling her neck, Lily's eyes were drawn to the window, where snowflakes curled and span in their path from sky to ground, before an altogether bigger object followed the same route.
Squinting, Lily struggled to identify the rogue object, before a shocked gasp slipped from between her lips. Jumping out of her chair, Lily ran to the front door, throwing Remus' discarded workboots upon her feet as she stomped into the cold snow. A large, gleaming motorbike sat on the drive, its owner looking significantly worse for wear. The helmet was removed, and Lily gasped once more.
"Sirius Black!" She hissed. He appeared ignorant to her, strapping up his bike and putting the helmet away. "A flying motorbike?! What were you thinking? What if a muggle had seen you?! And why on earth have you got a black eye? Black!"
Sirius ignored her tirade, face set in a stony glare as he stormed towards the house, charred robe billowing behind him. Lily jogged alongside him, struggling to keep up. "Sirius! Stop this! What is wrong with you?" Sirius didn't even break stride, staring straight at the open door to the Lupin's cottage. It wasn't until Lily touched his arm that she got any kind of response, as he flinched, throwing his arm away from his body to shrug away her touch.
He stormed into the house, ignoring Lily's annoyed yells that he was treading snow into the carpet. He headed instinctively to the kitchen, coming to a halt as he found his target.
Remus leant against the side, arms crossed, watching calmly as his unannounced visitor stood in the kitchen doorway, mouth set in a fine, tense line. The werewolf let his eyes drop down, examining the charred robes, covered in ice. The snow white hands, shaking ever so slightly. The adams apple, bobbing of its own accord. The hair, windswept and smattered with icy tendrils, until finally his eyes went to the fine line of mouth once more.
The line wobbled.
Remus spread his arms just in time, as Sirius crashed into him, large hands clutching at the back of his jumper. Threading a hand through the jet black locks, Remus sighed, looking over the top of the pureblood's head to see Lily, open mouthed and gaping at the Black's show of dependency.
"Go, Lily. We'll be fine." Remus stated calmly, as a small sob resonated from the mess in his arms.
"But -" Lily started, reaching a hand out for Sirius. Remus shook his head, nodding towards the living room fireplace.
"Go." Lily acquiesced, her hand stalling in mid-air, before dropping as she watched Sirius bury his head in the join of Remus' neck and shoulder. Spinning on her heel, Lily whispered a quiet goodbye before the roar of fire informed Remus that he and Sirius were alone now. Stroking the ice out of the black hair before him, Remus looked down, watching the strongest person he knew collapse in on himself.
"You know," Remus stated lightly, running a calming hand through the hair once more. "A more sensible person would have realised that James' house is less than half the distance from London than my house is."
Sirius mumbled into Remus' neck, lips rubbing against the sensitive skin as the pureblood attempted to reply. Pulling Sirius away from him, Remus looked the boy in the eye, asking silently for him to repeat. The reply was as quiet as a mouse, yet every word resonated through Remus' mind.
"A more sensible person wouldn't have needed this..." Sirius whispered. Before Remus had time to even consider what had been said, Sirius grabbed the sweater before him, pulling Remus close and smashing his lips upon those of his friend.
Remus felt the salty rivers of Sirius' tears dripping onto his own cheeks as he gasped, the small movement allowing Sirius to deepen the kiss.
They stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, Sirius threading his fingers tightly into Remus' hair, as Remus' hands pressed bruises into the hips before him. After an age, Remus pulled back slightly, leaving their foreheads resting against one another for an extra moment.
"Sirius..."
"Just tonight. Please, Rem. I needed that, needed you." Sirius clutched at Remus, lifting him up onto the kitchen side and resting the side of his face on the werewolf's knitted jumper. "I ran away. For good."
"I guessed." Remus replied, watching Sirius through heavily lidded eyes.
"They were criticising James and Peter, criticising you." Sirius buried his head in Remus' lithe chest, sighing as Remus' hand tangled itself in his hair. "The old hag that gave birth to me said that if I had any decency, I would have killed you long ago to keep the blood clean. I may have lost my temper a little -"
"A little?"
"Okay, a lot. We screamed the house down, the old inbred insanity coming to the surface... Then Regulus, the traitorous bastard, told her about you. About how our relationship was different to mine and James's, or mine and Peter's. How we touched more than friends should, how we were far too close for comfort, how occasionally I would stare at you for hours when I was meant to be working until you finally looked up and smiled at me."
"She asked me if I loved you. I couldn't say no." Remus' breath caught in his throat, and he was more than thankful that he was sat down, as his knees seemed to have turned to jelly.
"And then..." Sirius sighed, raising his head so their foreheads matched. "Then, she brought out the unforgivable curses."
"Oh, Sirius..." Remus let his hand untangle itself from the pureblood's hair, letting it run forward so fingers could stroke the strong, aristocratic cheekbones softly. Small tremors still passed through the pureblood, but his tears had dried as he gazed into the golden eyes before him.
"I brought everything. My robes, my books, my records, my heart." Sirius whispered, running his free hand up Remus' chest to rest over his beating heart. "Nothing left for me there."
"So, this is for good." Remus muttered, letting his breath ghost the pureblood's lips. "No going back now." Sirius leant back, looking into Remus eyes deeply.
"No. No, there isn't." Sirius grabbed Remus, pulling him off the side and slamming him into the wall, bodies pressed firmly against one another. "Last chance. We're at the point of no return, Remus. Leave me now or I'll never let go."
Remus stood, panting, for a few moments, considering his options, before his left hand, of its own volition, wrapped around Sirius' neck, dragging the pureblood into a long, heated kiss. Leaning back slightly, he gazed into the pureblood's eyes. "This is a bad idea."
"Those are the best kind of ideas." Sirius grinned, for the first time all evening, before dragging his werewolf into yet another kiss.
Sirius smiled as he picked up his trunk, tucking the shrunken luggage into his pocket.
Whilst his heart begged him to stay here, with Remus, his head knew that despite the werewolf's protests, the Lupin family couldn't really afford to feed another mouth. So, with a final kiss on the smiling lips before him, Sirius turned away, heading for his bike. Turning back to face the tall figure filling the front door, he shoved his hands in his pocket, grinning. "Three weeks."
"Three weeks." Remus called back from the door, crossing his arms and smiling contentedly. "Take the safest route, Padfoot. No risks." Sirius revved the engine, blowing Remus a kiss as he rose off the ground.
"Where's the fun in that?"
You know what you must do. *looks at review button pointedly*. Love you!