I can't tell you guys how sorry I am it took me this long to update. Life got in the way and the next thing I knew, my last update was months ago. So sorry. :-(
"God, Sirius," Remus groaned.
Still panting, Sirius tossed his dark hair out of his eyes. His lips twitched, as if fighting back a grimace, his emotions almost betraying him. But he fought back the tears. Sitting down beside Remus, he growled deep in his chest, a dark, painful sound that could be mistaken for anger if you didn't know better. But Remus did.
"He's made a mistake," began the young man with blonde/brown hair.
"A mistake?" the other boy let out a bark of laughter.
"A mistake," Remus said again. "Can't you forgive him?"
"No." Staring at his hands, Sirius found they were shaking. This surprised him. He was normally so much in control of his body that he could quell even the strongest of emotions.
"We're all human, Sirius."
"Really?" Sirius' voice was like acid, burning into Remus' skin, deep down until it reached his heart. "Last I looked, you weren't."
Remus flinched.
A heavy silence fell between them while Sirius wrestled with his conscience. "Remus…" he said at last, voice hardly a whisper. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." His friend tried to shrug it off, but it was evident that the words still stung.
"No, I should be. I was wrong."
"How so? Look at me." Remus gestured to himself weakly, barely having the strength to lift his hand. The effort of it seemed to exhaust him. "I'm not human."
The dark haired boy sighed sorrowfully. "You are," he reassured him. "More human than the rest of us."
Remus almost laughed. "Humans don't turn into monsters when the moon is full."
Sirius cocked an eyebrow. "You're not a monster," he said at last. "You could never be a monster."
"If I'm not a monster, then what is?"
"I am."
Remus blinked.
"You?" he managed at long last, obviously taken aback.
"Yeah, me." Sirius stared at his hands again, the shaking subsiding. "I'm a monster, Remus. Look at what I've done. I've destroyed my brother's family, torn James and my friendship apart…and look at what I've done to you?" Tears started to well in his eyes—tears of remorse and self-loathing.
"You didn't do this to me." The words were quiet.
"I hurt you. How can you forgive me for what I said?" demanded the young.
"Because I'm human." Remus gathered his strength and lifted his arm to rest it about Sirius' shoulders. "And humans have an amazing capacity for love and forgiveness."
Sirius sighed tiredly, but he managed a weak smile for his friend before it faded as quickly as it had come. "You do, Remus, but the rest of us are bastards."
A faint smile pulled at the corners of Remus' lips. "Bastards?"
"We have an amazing capacity for hatred—our words hurt, our touch destroys. That's what being human means."
"No." Remus shook his head. "Just because we're human doesn't mean we have to fall. We're not all bastards."
"No you," Sirius agreed.
"Nor you," his friend said quietly. "Or James."
Sirius harrumphed.