Fortnightly - Dreams: Write about someone needing healing

Fortnightly - Dragons: Prompt set - Safety / Climb / Tight

Around the World: Phrase: Smooth to the touch

Pop Figure - The Falcon - 2 - Wingpack - Wing!AU

Herbology - Word - Consider / Emotion - Relieved

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Seasonal -

Days of the Month - March 3rd - Write about someone grateful to someone for looking after them

Winter - (word) frigid

Colour - Ivory

Birthstones - "Is there a reason why you're staring at me like I'm about to burst into flames?"

Flowers - (word) Incandescent

Elemental - (word) submerge

Winter in Japan - Write about trying to stay warm

Specific House - Other: Colour - Silver

Star Chart - "I just want the world to stop turning. Just for a minute. I just need a minute."

...

Writing Club -

Assorted Appreciation - 12 - Write about someone telling someone else how they feel

Disney - Songs 4 - Write about someone being treated badly

Showtime - 6 - "Sorry, but I really had to wake you."

Amber's Attic - 19 - Write about hiding someone or something [5 bonus]

Liza's Loves - 13 - Write about a character tending to their wounds / another's wounds

Angel's Arcade - Soundtrack 5 - Write about gaining courage for something

Lo's Lowdown - Character 5 - Colour Pink

Bex's Basement - What is love, if it's not guaranteed

Film Festival - 18: "I didn't know."

...

Assignment - Muggle Studies - Task #2 - Texting: Write about eagerly waiting for something

Feathers

Soulmate AU where people gain their wings when they've met their soulmates - and the feathers represent emotional and important moments in their lives.

"I wouldn't call for you - not today at least," James said, sounding relieved as Remus stumbled through the floo. He reached out, taking the case from Remus' hands. "Sorry, but I really had to wake you."

Remus looked almost dead on his feet. "Urgent enough that it couldn't wait for my arrival tomorrow?" he asked. "I only turned back half an hour ago. I said I'm always there if you need me… but not this soon after the full moon."

James nodded. "I understand. You'll understand in a moment. I'll go ahead and put this in your usual room." He glanced down at the case and grinned. "Nice case."

"Shut up, it's my mum's case," Remus muttered, his eyes falling on the pink flowery case for a moment. "What's the emergency?"

"Sirius. He arrived last night," James said, the teasing gone from his voice now. "We've tried to heal him—"

"Heal? Why would he need healing?" Gone was the tired, exhausted voice. Remus was alert now, bordering on the edge of angry at the idea of anyone hurting Sirius. "What happened?"

"His family. He's not talking, but… he was in a bad state. Like I said, we've healed him as best we could, but we need your help. He won't let anyone else in there but I suspect a damaged wing."

Remus nodded. "I'll get him to relax," he said, stumbling towards the stairs. "Your parents?"

"Dad had to go to the Ministry. He's fighting Orion Black to become Sirius' guardian. Mum is trying to get Sirius to let her heal him. He's closed off to everyone. You were our last resort before calling St. Mungo's. But they'd sedate him and we didn't want that - it'd make everything so much worse."

Remus' mouth turned down even further as he glanced back. "I shouldn't be the last resort when it comes to him. I'm his soulmate," he pointed out.

James quickly shook his head. "No. You were only the last resort because last night was the full moon and… well, any other day, we'd have contacted you the moment Sirius arrived." He followed as Remus started up the stairs, his hands wrapped around the small case.

Remus' fingers dug into the handrail so hard that his fingers turned white as he struggled to get up the stairs, but he persevered, stumbling through the house towards Sirius' room.

Dorea was standing outside, her hand on the door. "Dear, how are you?" she asked.

"Surviving," Remus murmured. "Good morning, Mrs Potter."

"I'd normally take time to talk with you, but right now is a matter of urgency. We can have a chat later on though," she said, her fingers wrapping around the handle. "I just need ten minutes to check him over and help him. You too, if anything is hurting." She pushed a pain potion into Remus' hands. "At the very least, get him to take this."

"I'll do my best." He walked through the door as it opened, his eyes falling on Sirius. Sirius didn't glance up, he was sitting on the bed, his hands wrapped around his knees and his face covered. His breathing was shaky, though he seemed to know someone had come in. His body was stiff, frigid under Remus' gaze.

"I just want the world to stop turning. Just for a minute. I just need a minute," he murmured.

Remus stilled at the words. He had never heard Sirius sound this lost, though the incident with the Willow and Snape had come close. But that wasn't what had halted him. It was the coppery scent of blood in the air. He could see dark red stains on the white sheets around where Sirius sat. He stumbled to the bed, causing Sirius to look up. They stared at each other for a long moment, assessing, and Remus waited for permission to reach for Sirius.

"Moony, what are you… it's the morning after the full moon. You should be resting, not here. You… Is there a reason why you're staring at me like I'm about to burst into flames?"

"I heard you were hurt," Remus said, trying to get a good look at Sirius to assess where he needed help.

"Nothing life-threatening." The warmth left his voice as quickly as it arrived. "Nothing that meant you had to come here. I knew you'd be here tomorrow."

"Oh." Remus tried not to sound hurt, though it sounded somewhat like Sirius didn't want him there.

"Not like that," Sirius said quickly. "I'm safe here, I'm a little hurt, but you have it so much worse every month. I only didn't want you worrying and rushing here to me when you need to be resting yourself."

"I'll rest soon."

"Lay down. I'll look after you," Sirius insisted.

Remus shook his head. "Not until you've let James' mum heal you."

Sirius began to shake his head. "I don't need anyone to look after me," he murmured quietly.

Remus smiled. "You know, I say the same thing every single month and you just scoff at me and tell me that I'm being silly and that you're going to look after me anyway and that's what friends do."

"So do soulmates," Sirius pointed out.

"Yeah I know." A pause. "But that's something we've not talked much about, is it? Our wings came in that first day of Hogwarts when we saw each other. But we agreed to wait until we were older before discussing it. Eleven year olds don't need to worry about soulmates."

"We're older now." Sirius was clearly intent on some sort of answer.

Remus nodded in agreement. "We are," he replied. "And if you're ready to discuss it, we can. But it'll be after you're healed."

Sirius' hand found his and Remus shivered - a movement that ran through his body and to the tip of his wings.

"My wing hurts," Sirius admitted softly. "I didn't want anyone to see it. I don't like some of the colours."

Remus understood that. Each full moon caused a feather to turn a dull brown colour, lined with red. He hated seeing those particular feathers because they served as a reminder. If he was lucky, it was just the one feather. If the wolf managed to break one of Remus' arms however, there would be an additional feather.

"How about I bring my wings out too?" Remus offered nervously. He always kept his hidden from his friends. After the full moon, he'd pull them in as far as possible to hide as many feathers as he could, or ensure the blanket hid them. The rest of the time he kept them hidden under clothes and robes.

"You'd let me see them?" Sirius asked.

Remus nodded his head. "You don't have to let James or Mrs Potter see them. You just need to let her heal you. She won't take long."

"There might be some blood," Sirius admitted.

"Then I'll clean them myself," Remus offered. "Can you stand? We can go to my room - less blood on the sheets." He stepped back, letting go of Sirius' hand and Sirius stood. Remus' gaze moved over Sirius' body, searching for anything wrong. Sirius pulled off his t-shirt, letting out a pained gasp as he did so.

Remus' gaze lingered on the large scar on Sirius' chest. "Where did that come from?" he asked, pressing the pain potion into Sirius' hand.

Sirius glanced down. "That was a fresh wound when I arrived," he murmured. "Dorea must have gotten to that one already." His fingers ran over it. "Must be cursed."

Remus wondered what had happened in Sirius' home to cause a cursed wound across his body and an injured wing, but he knew from experience that pushing for any answers could mean Sirius closing himself off completely.

"You don't need to show your wings just yet. Maybe when you're going to clean mine."

Remus nodded as Sirius turned his head towards the door. "Mummy," Sirius called, clearly not happy about the deal. The moment the name left his lips, Dorea rushed into the room, her gaze moving across Sirius' body. "Tell me what hurts," she ordered.

"My legs feel a little shaky. My… my head. My wing. Remus is going to clean it though." He watched her warily.

Dorea nodded. "Can you extend it slightly?" she asked. "Just so I can run a scan on it."

The wing moved slightly and Dorea waited patiently. Another inch and she nodded. "Good," she murmured. The test was quickly run, though Sirius flinched as the wand was flicked at his wing.

Another two spells and he let out a breath, the paleness in his face already fading a little.

"We're going to lay down in Remus' room," Sirius said, once Dorea had lowered her wand.

"Only because you both need rest," Dorea replied, glancing between them. "Are you sure you don't want one of us to help you, Sirius? Remus dear, you look exhausted."

"I'll do it," Remus insisted. Wings were very personal and he didn't like the idea of someone else touching Sirius' wings. Especially not James.

She smiled knowingly. "I'll have this room cleaned," she said. "You both go into the other room."

...oOo…

Armed with a bowl of warm water and a soft cloth, Remus set to work examining Sirius' left wing. "Are you missing some feathers?" he asked, as he submerged the cloth into the water, squeezing it so the water fell back into the bowl. A few drops landed on his bare skin.

Sirius nodded. "It's likely," he answered. "They'll grow back in the next few weeks."

Silence followed and Remus began with the very top, trying not to think about why there was so much dark red. Not because of the blood - the dark red of the feathers signified pain and hurt. It showed how long Sirius had suffered. How many times had Sirius been in danger at home before leaving for the safety of Hogwarts? Sirius rarely spoke about it, but his wing volumes.

"This white one?" he asked, gently wiping a smudge of red from it. The feather was smooth to the touch and Remus was gentle. He understood that Sirius was vulnerable, showing this side of him and he wanted to prove to Sirius that he was right to trust Remus with such an important task.

"The day I started Hogwarts," Sirius answered.

Remus continued in his task, examining each feather before giving it a gentle clean, whether it had blood on or not. He sped up slightly when he reached each patch of red, which was followed by a white. The holidays followed by a return to school.

He neared the end of the colourful feathers, knowing he was going to reach all of the naturally black feathers that were waiting to change colour. A pink one caught his attention and he stared at it for a long time.

"You have a pink feather," he said.

"Yeah. I noticed."

"When? I didn't know. I mean… when did it turn pink?"

"Last year on my birthday. You had very little money to spend and you made me that scarf and gave me that bar of chocolate. That was your last bar. You had almost nothing yet I mattered to you so much that you… I knew before that how much I cared about you. But that's the day I realised I had fallen in love with you."

"It's August," Remus pointed out, the cloth gently pressing against the feather, cleaning it. "Nine months."

"Yeah, well… I was hoping that when I told you about my feather, you'd have a pink one yourself," Sirius admitted. "We agreed to wait before talking about being soulmates. But you've not brought it up and I was scared to mention before in case you weren't ready for it."

Remus worked quietly, getting through the rest of the feathers. A couple of white and yellow ones, a few green and purple and blue. There were several more pink ones and Remus wondered what moments brought those about.

Some dull black feathers appeared and Remus wondered if they were because of the incident with Snape and the Willow, but decided to save the question for another time. He moved on, noticing the red ones that followed. He cleaned them all, finally reaching the last one.

It was mostly black, but it had begun to turn pink. Remus had never seen a feather changing colour before and he watched it in fascination for a long moment. His fingers began to climb up Sirius' wing, resting on the feather.

"So… do you need more time to think about what I just said or…"

Remus smiled. "I'm sorry, one of your feathers is turning pink. Just so beautiful to watch that I… I forgot to reply for a moment." His fingers stroked against the feathers gently. "Sirius, do you want to take a look at my wings?"

"I'd love that," Sirius admitted. He turned around to look. "Do you want me to wash them? It was the full moon so… you may not have had a chance."

Remus nodded shyly. He was scared of Sirius even looking at them. Washing them was such an intimate action, but Sirius had allowed him to do so, even though his wings painted a terrifying tale of what Sirius had gone through.

He turned around, extending his left wing which was the only one that had feathers that had changed. His wings had been an almost ivory colour when they arrived when he was eleven - upon setting his gaze on his soulmate for the first time - which was a surprise. He had expected them to be more different than everyone else's because of what he was.

From what he had seen, people tended to have white feathers. Ivory wasn't a massive leap from that.

Sirius and the Black family were the only ones whose wings weren't white - they were pure black feathers which seemed to add to the family's views on how they were better than everyone else.

Remus didn't know the colours of his feathers. He had stopped looking at his wings, despising the brown and red feathers so much. He wondered what Sirius would find.

The warm cloth touched the first one, causing Remus to jump slightly. He stilled so Sirius could get to work and the gentle touch relaxed him.

It was the most amazing feeling.

"Pink," Sirius whispered after a few minutes. "So much pink." His voice shook as the words fell from his lips. "Your wings are beautiful, you know."

"Yours are," Remus said too. Because even with the hurt and pain on them, they were Sirius' wings and they told the story of his life. And everything about Sirius was beautiful.

"And this one is silver?"

"That was one of the feathers that was coloured when the wings came," Remus murmured. "It was the last one before the white and it's almost the colour of your eyes. I think that feather is our meeting."

"Your pink feathers appeared before mine did," Sirius commented softly. "I think. It's hard to tell."

"We were fourteen and I broke my arm and you were so annoying, rushing to do everything for me to the point where you wouldn't let me do anything for myself. Just seeing how worried you were - how much you cared. That I meant so much to you… it wasn't hard to fall in love, Sirius. I'm surprised that I don't have any pink feathers from when I was twelve and you were protective over me."

"You do have a yellow feather that might be that," Sirius commented. His fingers stroked over the feathers. "Does that feel good?"

Remus shivered. "Yes," he whispered.

"Good. Now you know how turned on I was getting when you were touching mine," Sirius murmured. "You have three pink feathers right at the end, following the brown and red… are they the full moon ones because they're so consistent."

"They are," Remus confirmed. "But the pink… what do you think they mean?"

Sirius considered the question for a long moment. "I think one is because we're taking care of each other," he began. "Another is because you know you love me and that you'd do anything for me… the same as I'd do for you. The last… well, you found out today that I have an incandescent love for you." He shifted from the bed, setting the bowl aside on the bedside table. "But right now I'm exhausted and I'm sure you are too." He pulled the cover back, shivering slightly. Remus realised that it wasn't that warm in his room, as they hadn't used any heating charms, having not expected him.

Remus moved aside so Sirius could get under the covers. He climbed under himself, pulling the cover up over them, hoping they'd warm up quickly. Sirius' arm wrapped around him, holding him tightly.

He stretched out a wing and allowed it to wrap around Sirius, resting on Sirius' side, underneath Sirius' wing. He didn't have the courage to stretch it all of the way over Sirius. Not without any idea that Sirius approved. Sirius extended his own, allowing it to cover Remus.

Sirius' feathers on his own felt more intimate than anything and Remus shivered, causing Sirius to move closer, his hold and wings tightening around Remus. Remus liked how tight Sirius was holding him.

"I've never felt safer," Sirius whispered, the last word turning into a wide yawn. "I had a sudden burst of courage. Is that all right?"

Remus nodded. "Me too," he whispered, unable to hold back his own yawn. "Goodnight, Sirius."

"Does this mean we're dating?" Sirius checked. "Or will you at least consider? I mean, we both have pink feathers, so it—"

Remus smiled at Sirius' words. "It does," he agreed, cutting Sirius off before his friend… boyfriend… soulmate could get worked up. "We can define everything when we wake up, but I'm yours. I always have been."

Sirius smiled. He leaned in, closing the distance between their lips and softly pressed his against Remus'. "And I'm yours."