AN: Written for prompt 24 for the live journal rtchallenge, which was this:
am I waiting for
the uncovering
of simple paths
between the branches
flowering chance
fence slats rattling
fingers pushing through
slowly brushing past
a fast glimpse of you
- "Chinese Apple" by Loose Fur
Anyway, the first impression I got from reading this prompt was someone running through the woods and hence the rest of this fic….
Guiding Light by Jess Pallas
It's coming.
Branches slapped against his face with wicked force, bruising, drawing blood as they whipped his skin red raw. His feet pounded the loose earth, catching and stumbling over stones and brambles but he could not, dared not slow his frantic pace for it was coming, he could hear it coming, coming, coming for him…
Where was the path? He could not find it, could not find that precious gap between the trees that would tell him where he was, where he could go, the direction of near lost safety. He could not find the early blooming flowers that marked his mother's garden, the rickety fence slats his father always meant to repair, the familiar, blessed safety of the home from which he had so brutally been ripped. His breath rasped against his throat.
It's coming, it's coming, it's coming….
Close, too close behind him, twigs snapped, a shadow loomed. Golden eyes flashed.
Overhead, the moon gleamed full and silver. A terrible howl split the air.
Oh please no!
And then teeth crunched into his side and he was falling, screaming, pain, so much pain…
"Remus! Wake up!"
The sound of his name was like a slap across the face. He jerked violently for a moment, lost, confused as pain fled and the trees melted, faded, vanished behind shadowed walls and dark curtains lit by sudden light. The golden eyes were gone – instead he found himself gazing into a heart-shaped face that stared down at him, full of concern. The hazy glow of a nearby lantern illuminated her mousey hair like a halo.
Tonks.
He closed his eyes slowly, breathing hard, aware now that he lay flat on his back beneath soft covers, his own bed, his own room, their own room. Sweet Merlin, it was a dream. All right a memory, but still a dream of a memory, not here, not now, not real, not real now….
"Remus?" His name again, more tentative this time, soft and questioning as he became aware once more of Tonks. She was leaning over him, one hand clasping each shoulder, presumably with the pending intent of giving him a damn good shaking. Her dark eyes stared down at him with a mixture of sympathy and relief.
"Greyback again?" she asked softly.
Quietly, Remus nodded. "I know it's foolish. I know it was well over thirty years ago and that Fenrir Greyback is dead but somehow it still just…" He drew a long, shuddering breath. "I always end up lost in the woods and he's there, he's chasing me down and I can't find the path leading home…"
It wasn't until he felt the gentle comfort of her fingers stroking his chest that he realised just how harshly he'd bee breathing. Still glowing against the lantern light, her smile was like the rising sun.
"It was just a dream," she whispered. "It wasn't real."
Remus swallowed hard, still fighting to dispel the adrenalin pumped by his frantic dream. "It wasn't once."
This time her finger tapped against his lips. "Well, it is now. And it's staying that way." Her smile spreading, she made to lower herself but her elbows proved her undoing – with rather less dignity than Remus suspected was intended, his lover deposited herself across his chest with a thud. Resting one elbow against the pillow beside his shoulder with studied I-meant-to-do-that nonchalance, she settled her chin in her palm and gazed down upon him casually. "See?" she remarked. "Unless you have very odd dreams, you're certainly awake and here right now." She poked his nose with her free hand. "I'd be deeply upset if I thought you'd been dreaming about a me so lacking in poise and natural elegance."
Remus allowed himself a flicker of a smile as the horror of his dream began to fade slightly behind the ordinary, familiar playfulness of the woman he loved. "I always dream about you having even bigger tumbles," he replied, as straight faced as he could manage. "That makes the reality seem ballerina-like by comparison.
With ruthless intent, she twanged his nose with her fingertip. "Git. I can always tell you're feeling better; you start taking the piss." Her dark eyes stared down into his, fixing and holding his gaze with a sudden, expected seriousness. "But I meant it, Remus," she murmured gently. "All joking aside, you need to stop dwelling in the past. Just think on this. You found the path." Her lips hovered inches from his as her eyes filled his world. "You're home now. You made it. You're safe and you're with me." Her lips twitched slightly. "And whether you like it or not, I'll always be here, waiting, ready to shout your name or shake you awake." Her eyes twinkled with sudden wickedness. "Or kick you out of bed or pull the blankets away or douse you with a bucket of cold water or slap you across the…"
"All right, all right!" Remus raised his hands in a gesture of mock defeat, before reaching up to rest them gently in her dishevelled hair. "I get the idea. No more nightmares or I suffer the consequences."
She adopted a vaguely lofty expression. "I felt you needed an incentive," he replied, not quite able to keep her lips from curling upwards. "After all, aside from anything else, you keep on waking me up…"
Remus raised a playful eyebrow. "Oh and you stealing all the blankets and sleeping across the bed at diagonals doesn't wake me. Not to mention when you sno…"
Her nose pressed sharply into his, cutting off the dangerous observation mid-word. "Finish that sentence, Lupin and you can go and toss and turn on the sofa," she drawled with narrow-eyed menace. "Because I'll make you wish you hadn't woken up…"
He stared at her, so close, her heart-shaped face and tousled hair filling his vision, her eyes dancing behind her mock glare and felt a smile spread across his face unbidden. Sudden joy seemed to blossom and bloom, a dawning spring that drove away the winter of his memory of Greyback into the recessed shadows of his mind.
"But I did wake," he said quietly. "You woke me. You're the one who brought me back onto a path I thought I'd lost forever." He smiled softly, warmly, sincere and full of affection. "You brought me back from Greyback once and you keep on doing it every day we spend together. You're my guiding light, Nymphadora."
He felt her fingers press against his chest, but her eyes were soft against his gaze. "Don't call me Nymphadora," she reminded him almost absently. "But thanks." She chuckled softly. "I like the idea of being all shiny."
"You could never be anything but."
She laughed outright at that, lifting one finger to curl around her lank, mousey brown, natural hair. "That's very gallant of you," she told him cheerfully. "But even I know that no girl looks her best at three o clock in the morning."
Remus grinned broadly, stroking his fingers through her hair, the glow of the lantern giving it a glow that she seemed to be unaware of. "You always look radiant to me."
"Liar." She gave a rather unladylike snort as she squidged her nose into his once more, leaning forward as she ran her hands gently over his torso. "But I love you all the same."
He rubbed his nose against hers playfully. "I love you too."
A sudden thoughtful spark gleamed in her eyes; her fingers began to drawn careful spirals across his stomach. "I suppose you'll want to go back to sleep now," she remarked almost casually. "You must be pretty tired..."
He caught her fingers softly, his smile suddenly intense. "A little," he replied. "But not really. And I could use a little light in my life right now."
He felt her lips press against his, his love, his guiding light. And he knew once and for all that he was safe and home.
AN: Many thanks to the reviewers of the previous chapter: PaulaS, MollyCoddles, TheGoldenSeraphim, Robin, purebristles, krumfan, thee-unknown-factor, TheJazz, Bardlover, MissLinuxthePenguin, JennyJoy4, Kailin, elka78, ishandtwofourths, xtotallyatpeacex, MooNi13, Fireowlies, Helena Valentine, RubyLinkle, Aloha, elfree, Qymaen jai Sheelal, remusRXOmySOX andRahnee! Bless you all muchly. :)