Title: As the Wolf Howls
Author: Winter Plot
Rating: M
Summary: James is convinced werewolves are real. Sirius isn't. Until he befriends a mysterious man named Remus who only appears during the full moon. Can love blossom between them, or will there always be skepticism on where Remus is during the rest of the month?
Warnings: There is actually a sex scene in here! Believe it or not. You have no need to worry about bestiality, though. Not... really
I also have to warn you about a ridiculously close-minded Sirius.
Disclaimer: Fuck if I own anything. I barely own my coffee mug! One day, when I take over the world...
I have no excuse good enough to explain why it's taken so long for me to get this up. Errghh. Please understand there are hundreds of reasons and just forgive me? I'm just happy exams are over and I'm at home sick with strep so I can get this up. Well, I'm not happy about being sick, but the free time is nice.
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
Chapter 10: Thirteenth Moon
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
Remus wasn't there in the morning. The human or the dog. Sirius checked, even though he wasn't sure he could face him yet.
He moped around the house, cleaning mostly but sometimes just staring out the windows. He left a bowl of dog food out anyway. He spent the weekend at home, expecting Remus to return in the next few days. Remus did not show.
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
James peeked into Sirius' office at work on Monday.
"Soooo?" he leered. "Get any over the weekend?"
He was met with stormy eyes.
"Sirius?" James asked, becoming worried.
"He's a dog." Sirius ground out through clenched teeth.
James lightened. "Oh, he managed to tell you?"
Suddenly Sirius was on his feet, yelling. "You KNEW?!"
James jumped inside Sirius' office and shut the door, hoping to smother Sirius' yelling.
"You knew and didn't tell me?!"
James grimaced and tried to calm him down. "I've been warning you for-"
"Just as a precaution – insanity." Sirius interrupted. "Not because you KNEW."
James bit his lip and went for the door.
"How long." Sirius said in a measured, forced tone.
James stopped and turned to face him. "Well," James started, "I suspected at my wedding..."
Sirius nodded for him to continue.
"But he actually TOLD me before I went on my honeymoon?" James almost asked, seeking permission and testing the water.
"Since WHEN?!!" Sirius yelled at him.
"Since-" James tried to tell him again.
"You didn't deem fit to TELL ME? Tell me I was going to fuck my DOG?!"
James' eyes widened, trying to calm him down with hand gestures.
"Don't try to calm me down, Potter. What, were you and him having a good laugh behind my back?"
"No!" James yelled.
"What then?" Sirius' voice lowered to a whisper. "Why didn't you tell me? Warn me?"
James' face turned to a frown, then sadness. "He wanted to tell you himself" he told Sirius.
Sirius flomped back in his chair. "You should have told me" he said pathetically. "Told me I was fucki-...kissi-...in love wi-...my dog." Sirius trailed off.
James dropped his folders and gathered Sirius in his arms when he saw the tears.
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
Once James has Sirius calmed down, the two took an 'early lunch'. James was glad Sirius had been able to tell James exactly what had happened with out too much yelling or tears.
"So, have you talked to him yet?" James asked.
"No." Sirius replied in a bitter tone.
"Well, you should," James told him. "Soon."
"Can't." Sirius said. "He's disappeared."
James stopped walking. "Disappeared?"
"Yeah," Sirius said, walking back to join James. "Haven't seen him since the park."
James frowned. "But you... didn't kick him out, right?"
"No."
"Then he should be back."
"I don't want him back." Sirius said defiantly.
"Sirius..." James warned.
"It's true" Sirius said. "That bastard can live out there on his own."
James frowned at him. "He'll be back in a few days, he's just letting you cool down. Giving you space."
Sirius frowned back. "I mean it, James. I don't want to see him again. He's a dirty, filthy liar. And a con, and-"
James put his hand over Sirius' mouth. "I think you should stop there" James warned.
"I don't love him anymore, James." Sirius told him. "I can't."
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
Three days later Sirius was in James' office again. "He's such an asshole" Sirius said as soon as he stepped in the door.
James looked up. "Who, our HR rep?"
Sirius shook his head. "Remus. Who else?"
"HR." James said again.
"Rhetorical" Sirius answered snidely back. "He just LEFT. Didn't try to explain, didn't try to calm me down, nothing."
James sighed. "I don't think we should talk about this now..." he looked Sirius over. "Wait until you've thought a bit more about it; calmed down." James warned.
"Calm down? Why SHOULD I?" Sirius' voice rose slightly. "He LEFT. The bastard. Left without explanation, without a thank you for all that I've done!"
James just sat back to listen to him.
"He left without an apology. And DAMN do I deserve one!" Sirius yelled. "Left without an apology, a note, a... goodbye." Sirius paused for a moment. "He left without saying goodbye, James."
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
Two weeks after Remus had run out, Sirius and James were phoning around. Remus still hadn't shown up.
"What if he's moved on to another family?" Sirius asked.
"I don't think he'd-" James stared.
"What if he's in a pound somewhere?" Sirius interrupted. "What if he's out on the streets alone? Tired and cold?"
"Sirius-" James tried.
"What if he's been RUN OVER?" Sirius started panicking. "What if he's DEAD?"
"SIRIUS!" James finally yelled. Sirius looked at him. "Stop being so pessimistic. I'm sure he's fine."
"How would YOU know?" Sirius hissed. "I just want to find him to ask him things, see if he's okay, that sort of thing. He WAS my dog."
"Is." James corrected, printing off 'Lost Dog' sheets.
"I'll give him a piece of my mind, I will." Sirius said. "Tell him what an arse-" he paused. "He CAN'T be dead, James. I need to talk with him."
James nodded. "I'm sure he can fend for himself, Sirius. He managed without you before."
Sirius nodded somberly and phoned another pound.
Five minutes later he slammed the phone down. "FUCK. FUCK. FUCK." He yelled.
James just continued to sort papers.
"No fucking luck AGAIN!" He threw himself down on the couch and started to cry again. "I just want my dog back."
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
A week before the full moon, Sirius was back to being mad about Remus. Furious. So James decided he needed to have a talk with Sirius.
Before Sirius was out of bed on Saturday James went into his house, cooked him breakfast, made a pot of coffee, then woke Sirius.
"Hey lover" Sirius said groggily. "You didn't have to make me breakfast, I'll love you even if-"
James glared at him and Sirius quieted. "We need to talk." James told him.
James waited until Sirius had had breakfast and had drunk enough coffee to keep him awake.
"So?" Sirius asked, settling down in his living room.
"Remus is going to show up at some point" James said, holding up a hand to stop Sirius from interrupting. "And you have to figure out what EXACTLY you feel for him"
Sirius growled slightly. "James, I don't want to do this."
"You HAVE to." James told him.
Sirius settled down in his chair. "I hate him" he said.
"No, you don't" James replied.
"I do, James. He...he's my dog. I can't love him."
"I didn't say anything about love, Sirius." James said. "You did."
Sirius pursed his lips. "Well, it's wrong." Sirius told him.
"But it would be okay if he weren't a dog?"
"That's not the point because he IS a dog."
James glared at Sirius. "Answer the question."
"If he were just a man, then I'd be okay with it."
James smiled. "So, have you ever done ANYTHING to him while he was a dog?"
"No."
"Then, it shouldn't matter."
Sirius gave a small laugh. "Even I know your logic is flawed James."
"Let me ask you this then. Did you love him before you found out?"
"No." Sirius answered quickly.
"Don't fucking lie." James warned,
"Yes."
"And all that's changed is that you found out something new about him?"
"Yes, but-"
James stopped him. "Then you should still love him. At least he's not a mass murderer, or a telemarketer, or heaven forbid, heterosexual. He LOVES you Sirius. He doesn't care, and neither should you."
"He's a dog James. I can't love a dog."
"But you can love Remus." James said. "Do you still care what happens to him?"
"Yes" Sirius answered.
"Would you care if he found someone else?"
Sirius immediately frowned. "Yes."
"Would you care if he doesn't love you anymore?"
"Yes." Slipped out of Sirius' mouth. Sirius paused. "Yes" he said again, tears welling in his eyes. "He has to still love me James. What would I do without him?"
James said nothing.
"He has to love me. He has to come back. He has too. I love him too much."
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
James made sure he was there the night of the full moon. Sirius had been pacing all day, quiet.
The doorbell had already rung twice – the first a local charity and the other Lily bringing the two supper. It obviously had make Sirius more antsy.
Nine thirty rolled around and Sirius told James he was going to head upstairs to bed.
James didn't argue.
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
At nearly ten, there was a faint knock on the door. James opened it, expecting it to be Lily checking up on them, but found himself face-to-face with Remus.
"Re-"
"Please don't be angry with me." Remus said, cutting James off. "I'm angry enough at myself. I just want to say I'm sorry to Sirius and I'll leave."
James shook his head. "I need to ask you one thing."
Remus froze. "What?"
James waved him off. "Will you ever hurt him again?"
Remus gave James a questioning look.
"Answer me." James said quietly.
"If he'll ever have me back, I would do everything within my power to never let him be hurt over anything again." Remus said honestly.
"He still loves you." James said bluntly.
Remus looked hopefully at James. "Are you sure?"
James nodded. "I made sure he realized it too. You owe me. And so does he."
Remus hugged James. "I can't thank you-"
"I just want Sirius to be happy." James said. "And for all this nonsense to be over."
Remus nodded. "I'm sorry."
"He's upstairs in his bedroom." James said with a small smile
Remus smiled back.
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
"What did Lily want this time James?" Sirius asked when he heard his bedroom door open, head buried in his pillow.
"Not James."
Sirius spun around in his bed. "Remus" he breathed.
Remus nodded, but didn't move any closer.
"Why didn't-" Sirius started, but Remus cut him off.
"Do you love me." He asked, almost as if it wasn't a question.
Sirius stopped to catch the breath that was stuck in his throat. "What?" He choked out.
"I need to know." Remus said, still not moving from the doorway.
Sirius crawled across the bed towards Remus. "Why didn't you come back?" Sirius asked.
"I knew you needed time, and I was sure you would only feel comfortable talking to me while I was human." Remus explained. "Do you still love me." He asked again, not letting Sirius get out of answering his question.
Sirius stared with his mouth open.
"Yes." He said quietly.
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
Clothes had been torn at, fingers had touched bare flesh, hot breaths had been mingled. Before Sirius was able to touch Remus' dick, Remus spoke for the first time since Sirius' answer. "Before we have sex, Sirius, I need to know if you can deal with this."
"With what?" Sirius panted, almost delusional with ecstasy.
"With me. Only human for one night a month. Even though I am a wolf and a human, I do 'mate for life' so to speak. If we have sex, I'm not just going to leave. I can't have you leave me either."
Sirius shook his head. "If I fucking love you now, I don't think anything else is going to change that."
Remus gave a small laugh.
"I mean, we'll have to work things out when you're a dog, and I'll have masturbate most of my life, but... I can deal with it."
Remus smiled at him.
"Blue moons are going to be my favorite months though." Sirius joked.
Remus laughed. "It's not like the moons are any closer together-"
Sirius cut him off with a kiss. "You better not leave me either."
Remus moaned a 'never' into the kiss and hands began to roam again.
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
Sirius woke groggily the next morning. He couldn't open his eyes with the sun glaring through the window at him. He hurt all over, but felt so satisfied. His hand went out to the other side of the bed, blindly reaching for fur.
Hair, skin, ears, nose, mouth.
Sirius stopped. "Skin?" He asked aloud. The sun didn't stop him from opening his eyes anymore. He sat bolt upright and turned to a supposed-to-be-dog-Remus next to him.
Remus stretched and yawned and looked up at Sirius. "Morning?"
"Human?" Sirius stuttered.
linelinelinelinelinelinelinelinelineline
Winter: ALRIGHT! So that chapter is finished. Finally. Sorry for the crappy writing, but better late than never? Right?
If you're excited, you better press that button and let me know. Five chapters to go! I'm sure I can manage that, don't you think?