And here is installment number two. I have a feeling this will be a shorter story after writing this chapter. But don't worry! It'll be good! Enjoyyy!
Chapter Two
"Sirius. Sirius, wake up. We are so late."
The boy rolled over to see a frantic Remus searching for the clothes that had been carelessly strewn about the room not long before. Sirius always hated waking up after sex that amazing to find Remus busy with something else. It made him feel as though he couldn't hold the boy's attention for more than thirty minutes. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and yawning, stretching freely in his naked state.
"Come back to bed, Moony," Sirius said, mid-yawn. "You always leave me. It's like a constant one-night-stand with you." He smiled, standing up and reaching for the lycanthrope, hoping his exposed skin would be enough to coax the boy back into bed with him. Alas, his attempts were fruitless. Remus danced just inches out of Sirius' grasp, swatting at his arms with the shirt he had just pulled out from under a pillow that had previously been on Sirius' bed. Sirius took the hint and flopped back into bed, laying on his side, head propped up by his elbow.
Having located all of his clothing, Remus turned back to Sirius' bed. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"
Sirius looked down at himself with raised eyebrows, shrugging. "I figured you'd like the view."
Remus rolled his eyes. He would never understand how sex had taken over such a massive part of Sirius' brain. It's not like they slept together constantly, nor had they been having sex for more than a few months, maybe a year. Sirius certainly made it seem so. Wasn't there more to this relationship? "Please get dressed, Pads. We are ridiculously late for class right now."
Now everything made sense. Sirius had completely forgotten about their last class. He had intended on leaving for it shortly after they had finished. Instead, the two boys had fallen into a well-deserved slumber. And yet, even with this knowledge, Sirius still could not find the motivation to remove himself from his bed. They had already missed the majority of the class; what would be the point in making an appearance now?
"Remus," Sirius began, very sternly. "It's too late. We missed it. I promise it's not the end of the world. Prongs'll let us know what happened and we'll get the assignments done." He knew this for a fact, Remus would ensure it. "Just come back to bed." He paused to bat his eyelashes, "Please?"
Remus dropped his arms in defeat. Sirius was right, of course, but skipping class really wasn't something Remus ever did. It was only on a rare, important occasion that the lycanthrope would allow this. Sirius was lucky. This time. Slowly, Remus removed his shirt and crawled back over to his lover, settling in his arms.
"No more of this in between classes, Siri," he said, strictly. "We can't afford to miss classes." Sirius rolled his eyes where Remus couldn't see them, nodding simultaneously. The werewolf smiled as he nuzzled into Sirius' bare chest. Maybe this was worth missing one class over.
Remus allowed the silence to ensue for several seconds before he, once again, attempted to bring up Sirius' father's letter. He knew it would ruin whatever bliss they had felt and erase any good feeling left in the boy beneath him, but it had to be done. They had to talk.
"Sirius," he said softly.
"Mmm?"
"Can you talk to me…? Please." Remus knew Sirius would know what he was referring to. He felt the body beneath him tense slightly before relaxing with a deep breath. The werewolf repositioned himself so he could still lay upon his partner but also see his face. The pain he witnessed was hard to bear. He traced a finger along Sirius' jaw line. "Please." It was a whisper, a hidden plea for Sirius' trust and faith in his partner.
Sirius closed his eyes. "What do you want to know, Rem?"
"Why did that letter disturb you so deeply? Please don't deny it, I know you, Pads. I know when you're upset." He desperately wanted Sirius to let his guard down, to let Remus in. It was something Sirius found difficult, he knew, but the boy had done it before. After all, Sirius knew every disgusting detail of Remus' life and problems. It was only fair that he be comfortable enough to share his own.
The ebony-haired boy was looking away now. Gently, he removed Remus from his chest, not in anger or distress. He simply needed to sit up. Remus sat up with him, placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder. He stayed silent. Sirius knew Remus would get it out of him; all the same, he knew he really wanted to talk to him. He didn't understand why this always got so difficult for him. He trusted Remus with his life and everything in it. Why couldn't he share a simple feeling with him, then?
He reached for his nightstand, grasping his wand and a half-empty pack of cigarettes. He placed one between his lips, igniting it with the end of his wand. As the smoke entered his lungs, he felt his nerves subside, though only slightly. He laid his free hand over the one Remus had resting on his shoulder. The touch was comforting.
With a deep inhalation, Sirius tried to explain. "It was from my dad, Rem. That wasn't my mother's writing. That was my father. You read the terrible things he wrote…. About you, Rem. You saw what he said about you. I'm sorry. " He had to stop, emotions threatening to overtake his calm demeanor. Remus squeezed his shoulder in what would have been a reassuring manner had Sirius been capable of paying enough attention to it. Remus knew Sirius and his father had been close many years previous. Maybe, part of that bond was still alive in Sirius' heart. It made sense. Remus moved to wrap his arms over Sirius' shoulders and around his neck, nuzzling his face gently into Sirius' hair.
"It's okay," he whispered, "Your mother put him up to it."
Sirius hadn't even considered that possibility; Remus sounded so confident. It was certainly something that bitch would do. Anything to put him through a little more pain. "You know what," Sirius said, turning toward Remus with a slight smile, "You're probably right." His heart felt lighter. Even if it wasn't true, it was a nice way to look at the situation. Somehow, Remus always managed to make things better with his rational, sensible way of viewing things that Sirius had never and would never possess. "Thanks, Rem."
Remus nodded, smiling as Sirius crushed his cigarette out on his desk. Remus disapproved but kept his mouth shut. "What are we going to do for the rest of the evening?" he asked, smiling that devious smile only a true Marauder could pull off. He succeeded in pulling Sirius back onto the bed to lay beside him. Sirius could only smile. He was happy they had had that conversation, even if it was quicker and less traumatizing than he had originally apprehended. He kissed the lycanthrope gently, half-chuckling, half-growling as he pulled his naked body atop his lover's. Remus couldn't help but nip at the boy's neck. Sometimes, the werewolf had a lasting effect on him.
And yes, they really did have sex too much. It was no wonder Sirius' mind was overtaken with perverted thoughts.
***
The days were passing slowly. The season had barely begun to change from summer to fall, though it should have done so weeks ago. It was still a constant swelter through out the castle. Sirius found himself and Remus spending the majority of their days outside or in the library. It was becoming harder and harder for him to keep himself together in the presence of others. He knew he must respect Remus' wishes for privacy and, as Sirius constantly referred to it, secrecy. He knew the boy couldn't bear the thought of 'being outted' to the general public of Hogwarts, but Sirius was really having a problem with the temptation to kiss Remus in the common room, take his hand at dinner or wrap a protective arm around him in the hallways. He watched as his peers did all these things he could never do with his significant other. It was enough to drive him mad. It was raging jealousy that drove Sirius to the edge on one particular near-one hundred degree day.
They were seated in the back of the library, a stack of books placed a mile high on the table next to Remus. Sirius was slumped in his chair, sprawled over his half of the table snoring as loud as he felt he could without alerting Madame Pince. She was a right nasty librarian even by Remus' standards.
Remus prodded him constantly, whispering, "Get up, Pads. You're not being cute." To which Sirius would reply indignantly, "I'm always cute. Ask any one of these birds in here," and would immediately return to his snoring. Remus could only roll his eyes and return them to the pages of his books. They were attempting to finish up some Transfiguration essays, but it seemed only the lycanthrope was making any progress.
After several minutes of increasingly loud snoring, Sirius shot up in his seat. He was looking over Remus' shoulder to where a Hufflepuff girl was snogging a Ravenclaw boy in the fourth year quite vigorously behind a bookshelf. A flash of anger passed over Sirius' face, but he could only let it go. It wasn't their fault they were a completely acceptable, heterosexual couple, but it still made Sirius' jealousy peak.
"Rem?" he said as sweetly as he could muster. "Do you see that?"
Remus turned in his seat, glimpsing the scene behind him. "Yeah?" he shrugged.
"Don't you understand that we've never been able to do that?" Sirius' voice was holding a significant amount of sadness now.
"Sirius…." the lycanthrope placed his hand on the animagus' wrist, in a comforting gesture. "People don't understand what we have. I'm just not ready to throw it all so blatantly in everyone's faces." Sirius could only nod, though a plot was already forming in his mind. It was a talent only a Marauder possessed.
"Okay, Moony," he said quietly. Remus nodded before removing his hand from Sirius' arm and returning it to flipping the pages of his book. Before Remus could look away from the words, Sirius had removed himself from his seat and was now sitting directly next to the werewolf. "Remus," he whispered, "Do you love me?"
Remus' heart was beating quite hard. He knew this wasn't going to end the way he wanted it to, but some part of him was quite thrilled to see just what Sirius was going to do. "Of course, Padfoot. That's a stupid question."
"No matter what?" Sirius pursued.
"No matter what."
As soon as the words dropped from his lips, Remus knew he had said the wrong thing. At light speed, Sirius had thrown himself towards the boy, crushing their lips together before Remus could protest. His eyes were wide as golden dinner plates. He sat completely frozen as Sirius backed away. Somehow, it seemed quieter than it normally should be in a library. The red crept up Remus' cheeks with astounding speed. He knew people had seen; he knew they were still looking at them. Oh, this was not going to end well for the lycanthrope.
Ducking his head, Remus grabbed as many books as he could carry and practically ran from the library, Sirius at a generous pace behind him.
I hope you liked it. I had fun writing it! Please review, I'm beginning to feel lonely... =]
