February, 1980

Remus looked at the crowd of werewolves gathering in a circle, looks of suspicion and curiosity aimed towards him. They had given him a chance to speak, and he wanted to make sure he did it right because so far, this was the biggest werewolf colony he had come across. Remus had purposefully tied his hair so as to reveal his registry code and his age old scar, making sure that they knew he was not ashamed of who he was. He needed to gain their confidence, to be respected by appearance alone.

'I come to you tonight on behalf of Dumbledore, but let me say beforehand that my message speaks to all of you,' Remus started, radiating confidence that would have the Marauders in awe. 'As you know, Voldemort's power is rising steadily and there have been mass murders all over Europe. Among many others, werewolves are also being blamed for the various attacks that are taking place. Whether these allegations are true or just rumours, I cannot tell you. What I can confirm is that our kind is being blamed and killed for it.' He paused, waiting for their mixed reactions, watching for the expected outrage, pity, defiance, among any others.

'Newspapers are raging over the Ministry's triumphs over werewolves; hundreds of our brothers are being hunted and killed like animals as we speak. It's time, my friends, to inflict a change upon the human mind, to deem ourselves as equal. It's time we fight!'

There was a snort of derision from the man in front – their pack leader, Shikoh. 'Fight? How much harm can the likes of us do? Look at us,' he said, gesturing to the many werewolves around them. 'We live in an abandoned house, confined by our own fears of being found out and hunted. We can barely take care of ourselves.'

Remus shook his head in pity and remorse. 'You underestimate your power. We've been given strength no normal human being can ever possess, endurance borne from our transformations every month, a brand of magic that wizards can only hope to achieve. Yet, we hide it?'

For only a second, Remus thought he saw a familiar face between the crowds and faltered his words from the shock of what he might be seeing. But the face disappeared almost as quickly as it had come, and Remus shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. Perhaps the long hike was taking a toll on him?

Remus wiped the sweat of his brow and continued, 'We hide our strengths from the world, from Voldemort, from everyone. Dumbledore calls to you, my brothers; he's giving you a chance to prove yourself. He's giving you a chance to fight against what's wrong and bring down the abomination that comes in the face of Voldemort.' Remus knew that his hatred for Voldemort was showing now; he had never felt this passionate about any speech he'd given and he hoped that they could see what he was trying to tell them. He hoped that this mission, like all the others, would not be a failure.

Remus took a deep breath, his conclusion already forming in his head as he spoke loud and clear: 'I, Remus Lupin, come to you with an opportunity to finally lead lives that we rightfully deserve! I-'

There was a collective gasp from the crowd and hurried mutterings that cut off Remus's next words. They sounded angry, in fact; many of them now shooting murderous glares towards him and looking at him as if he'd said something horrifying. Remus stared at them in surprise and suddenly at a loss for words; he wasn't expecting a reaction this violent. He definitely wasn't expecting them to be angry.

Remus tentatively stepped towards Shikoh, wanting to ask what he'd done wrong, to ask their final verdict. He had hardly made two steps towards the leader when he was hit hard on the side of his face, sending him flying towards the floor, blood splattering across the stone.

XxxxX

'We'd like our orders today please,' Lily snapped at the waitress who seemed entirely involved in staring at Sirius to even notice her. Sirius, for his part, seemed to be enjoying the attention, giving the waitress an indulgent smile before she left. 'I should tell Remus to keep you on a tighter leash. Honestly, Sirius, do you have to flirt with every single woman that so much as looks at you?'

Sirius shrugged, leaning back in his chair. 'Well, they're all staring. What else am I supposed to do? Besides, I wasn't flirting. She came to me. Anyway, my Moony knows I only have eyes for him.'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'What are you getting your Moony for next Wednesday then?'

Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'Why? Is it his birthday? No wait, that's in March. Is it the day he's coming back from that stupid mission? Because we usually just shag each other then.'

Lily wasn't sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry. 'It's Valentine's next Wednesday. Isn't there some kind of elaborate gift that you've planned out for him?'

Sirius frowned. 'Why? I've never given him anything before.'

Lily took deep, calming breaths. Anger wasn't a good approach for thickheaded pillocks like Sirius Black. 'Look, don't try to reason it, yeah? I want you to buy Remus something romantic for Valentine's that makes him feel special and loved. Take him to dinner, wine, music, whatever, you do it, am I understood?'

'But-'

Lily cut off Sirius's protests with a stern look. 'Am I understood?'

Sirius gave her a mock salute. 'Yes, ma'am.' He made place for the waitress to put their food on the table, giving her one last flirtatious smirk. 'So, are you going to tell me why you decided to have breakfast with me all of a sudden?'

'I had a craving for chocolate ice cream and James is at practice. You were the only one who could take me,' Lily replied, swallowing a spoonful of ice cream greedily. 'Also, mother just dropped off my first pregnancy test report. I was supposed to get them earlier, but there was a massive confusion. Apparently, there are a lot of Potters in the world. I'm a bit nervous to open them myself, you know.'

Sirius scowled in distaste. 'I still don't know why your family insists visiting those muggle hospitals. Mungo's has the most qualified healers in the world and they should be trusted when they say everything's fine. You don't see our healers sticking pins and needles into people, do you? I swear, if my Godchild is born with a hole in its face…'

'Sod off, Sirius. This hospital happens to be the finest of its kind. It's the same place Petunia's going to, you know.' When she noticed that Sirius wasn't quite eating his ice cream, she grabbed a spoonful of his and helped herself. 'They have the sex of the child in the report; Mum asked them to include it.'

Sirius looked at her with renewed interest. 'What do you want? Have you decided?'

Lily shook her head. 'James says it doesn't matter as long as it has his Quidditch skills.'

Sirius laughed, head thrown back. 'The conceited bastard. Go on, open it then. Let's see what it is.'

Lily swallowed, nodding. Hesitantly, she opened the envelope and took out the piece of paper that would determine everything about the baby – health, life, sex…Sirius could feel his skin prickling with excitement. Unable to contain his excitement, he jiggled his foot impatiently as he watched Lily's eyes scan the paper, the smile on her face growing wider by the minute.

'Everything's fine,' she said finally, 'it's a girl!'

Sirius jumped out of his chair with joy, doing a little happy dance and causing everyone in the shop to stare at him as if he had gone mad. 'It's a girl! It's a girl!' he sang to the small flabbergastered audience he'd gathered.

Lily smiled at them weakly, face flushed with embarrassment. 'It's his first time as a Godfather,' she explained. The crowd nodded at her understandingly and turned away. A few of them even congratulated her. 'Sirius Black, if you don't sit down right now, I'll chop your legs off.'

Sirius sat down, breathless and grinning with joy. 'Lily, it'll be the Marauder's little girl, after you of course,' he reassured. 'But what do you want as a baby present? Pink frocks, tutus? Oh, Remus and I saw this advertisement on TV the other day that said Sweet Love was something every girl should have. I'm not sure what is yet, but Remus says it might be lip gloss!'

Lily groaned.

'And then I have to attach a baby seat on the bike and those new baby broomsticks are just-' Sirius suddenly shuddered violently in his seat, his ramblings coming to an abrupt halt.

Lily looked up at him with concern. 'Sirius, are you okay?'

Sirius blinked, frowning slightly. He looked a little pale to Lily all of a sudden and she put a hand over his. 'I'm fine,' he said, swallowing heavily. 'Must have been something I ate.' He smiled at her reassuringly. 'So, where were we?'

XxxxX

Remus didn't want to get up. No, that was not it; Remus couldn't get up. He had never felt this sick his entire life. His whole body felt like it was on fire, and he prayed he would pass out again sometime because the pain felt worse than a hundred transformations. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where he was and what he was doing and how he'd ended up here and why, why this searing pain wouldn't stop.

Someone rolled Remus on to his back and he cried out in pain, curling up into a tight ball. 'Remus, wake up!' Whoever it was sounded a lot like a mouse or a squirrel maybe, or it could just be Remus's ears ringing. 'Remus! Damn it, Claw, give me the antidote!'

Remus only had time to question the name 'Claw' when a hand pried open his mouth and poured bitter liquid down his throat. His gag reflex shot up almost instantaneously, but a strong hand kept his mouth close, forcing him to swallow every drop. He could feel the fluid moving down his throat, warm and bitter, but oddly soothing as it lessened the agonizing pain to something bearable.

Remus opened his eyes, wanting to thank whoever it was and was met by familiar strawberry blond hair. 'Rubel?' He blinked his eyes quickly, willing his vision to clear and confirm that none of this was a figment of his imagination. 'Rubel! It is you! I thought I was just hallucinating when I saw you in the camp! You're alive!' Remus said this all in one excited whisper and ended up in a coughing fit by the end of it.

'Rubel,' another voice said sternly and only then did Remus notice another presence in the room, presumably the one called Claw. He didn't look much like a Claw, to be honest. He was older, nearly Remus's age and looked almost meek with his scraggly blond hair, warm brown eyes, and petite facial features. 'Rubel, if you plan on doing this, we need to hurry. There isn't much time till the others wake.'

Rubel nodded, extending a hand towards Remus to help him up. Remus took it, getting unsteadily to his feet and nearly falling to the floor again before being caught by Claw.

'You've been poisoned with silver,' Claw explained as he forced Remus to walk, pushing him and pulling him like a ragdoll. Silver. For some reason, the knowledge did nothing for Remus's already ailing health. In fact, the realisation made Remus's guts lurch and his insides twist to create the most nauseous feeling. Silver. He tried to distract himself by looking elsewhere and for the first time, noticed his surroundings.

They was in a dank and dusty cellar, floor coated in numerous places by algae and other fungi that he really couldn't name. All he knew was that it smelled horrible, like rotting carcass and that it was amazing how he had never actually noticed it through all his pain.

'We've given you the antidote, but we need to get you out of here before it takes full effect and makes you too weak. We need time to stage a break out,' Claw explained further as he almost bodily dragged Remus out of the door, making him stumble and trip over his feet. Vaguely, through all the information, Remus registered that Claw was deceptively strong.

'Why?' Remus asked, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded. 'Why did they poison me? I didn't do anything.'

Claw snorted as if he didn't believe in Remus the slightest. 'That's what Rubel says as well. That you're innocent, that you're not the reason half of us are orphans or homeless right now.'

Remus blinked, not quite understanding. He was about to question Claw when Rubel spoke for the first time, grabbing Remus's hand tightly. 'He is! I told you, Claw! Why won't you believe me?' he asked, his voice cracking through his anger.

'I trust you, Rubel, that's why I agreed to help,' Claw replied stiffly. He leaned Remus against the wall as he checked the hallways for any passer-bys. 'But none of the outsiders knew of our camp except him, so I see no one else to blame except Lupin for the fire.'

Remus closed his eyes as another bout of nausea overwhelmed his senses. 'I didn't do it,' he forced out, looking Rubel in the eyes, willing the boy to believe him. He didn't know why it was important for a seven year old boy to believe in his innocence, but it was. 'I know you don't believe me, but Greyback was using you. He was using all of us to aid Voldemort. Nothing else.'

Rubel nodded. 'We'll take you home, Remus,' he said, smiling slowly and tugging at Remus's hands like an impatient child. 'Claw was a wizard once; he knows how to apparate. There's a patch not far from here that isn't covered by any shields.'

'Come with me,' Remus breathed. 'I searched for you after the fire, but they told me you were dead. I could give you a home.'

Claw laughed silently, shaking his head. Rubel, on the other hand, looked at him longingly. 'I-I can't,' he stuttered sadly. 'I-My pack brother – Claw – he's here and he takes care of me. He saved me and I won't leave him.'

Claw's hold on Remus's shoulder tightened painfully. 'We don't have a place among wizards, Lupin. Don't delusion the child with such ridiculous ideas.'

'Dumbledore let me in; you're no different,' Remus reasoned as he was dragged to a nearby wall and held against it.

'You – my scent is different,' Rubel replied sadly. 'Not like yours. It's not nice…or pure, like yours.'

'Rubel-'

'Tell us where you live,' Rubel interrupted, his voice sounding unusually strong for a child his age. 'Claw will apparate you there.'

'No,' Remus protested weakly, feeling helpless in his situation both physically and emotionally. Yet, even through his dizziness and distress, he had enough presence of mind not to give away his location. If these werewolves decided to ever turn against him then Sirius's life would be at risk, and Remus wouldn't have it. 'No, just apparate me to the city. I'll manage from there.'

'Remus, you'll pass out mid way. Let Claw take you!' Rubel whispered urgently, squeezing Remus's hand so tightly, it hurt. 'Please!'

''No! The more time you waste, the harder it will be to slip me out!' Remus rested his cheek against the wall, letting the cool stone soothe the migraine that he could feel coming on. 'I'm getting weaker by the second and if you don't hurry, they'll find you out.'

Rubel and Claw both looked at each other; Rubel looked hesitant to let go, but Claw never gave him a chance to protest as he grabbed Remus's upper arm and instantly apparated them to London. Remus had no idea where he was and didn't even have the strength to ask Claw as he disapparated. It was too dark to make out any of the street signs, and Remus's blurring vision and fading mind was proving it even harder for him to walk two steps without stumbling and falling over.

From far away, he could make out the bright yellow sign of a taxi coming his way and he quickly stuck his arm out. The rest of the trip was a complete blur for Remus. He wasn't even sure if he'd said the right address. Remus was sure he'd passed out a number of times because he couldn't remember any part of the taxi ride, or even remember giving the driver any money as he staggered out of the car. He wasn't even sure what sort of power guided him up the stairs to their flat because it definitely wasn't his mind and it didn't feel like his legs, because he'd collapsed as soon as he reached their room, beside their bed.

'Padfoot,' Remus called, his throat hurt with every syllable. He wished he could just sleep, but he knew things would be a lot worse if he did. 'Sirius…'

Sirius scrunched up his face, facing away from Remus. 'Mm, Moony, not now; I'm tired.'

'Sirius, wake up, I-' Remus broke into a wracking cough, blood spitting into his hands and the floor. He tried to stop it, control it, but the harder he tried, the worse it got.

"Moony? You're back?' Sirius sat up immediately, his hand going reflexively to his wand and casting a quick Lumos! 'Remus, wha-fucking hell!' Sirius gasped, jumping out of the bed to Remus's side. 'What happened? What's all this?'

Remus could hear Sirius's breathing quicken from panic and he put a shaky hand upon Sirius's shoulder for reassurance. 'Calm down, I'm fine.' The sentiment was lost when Remus retched all over the floor, a mixture of food and bile and blood and even hints of silver.

'Oh, Merlin, oh shit, we need to go to Mungo's. We need to – fuck, I need to get your papers. They're in the cupboard, I'll just-'

Remus caught Sirius by the sleeve. 'No – not Mungo's –' He panted out, every word costing him a lot of energy. He swallowed thickly, trying to quell down the pain in his throat and his guts and every other inch of his body. 'It's silver – I got the antidote – its working-'

Sirius looked about to faint and he cradled Remus's head protectively. 'Silver? How? Who did this to you?'

'Mum - I need mum…'

'Remus, this is no time to be asking for your mother. We can hurry to the hospital; I can get you under a healer in five seconds. Fucking hell; silver!'

'No one should know - mum can help,' Remus insisted, wanting to explain why and how, but unable to find the strength to do so. He looked at Sirius blearily, willing him to understand and not waste time asking questions.

Sirius looked hesitant for a minute and Remus was sure things were going to go horribly wrong. He was preparing to give up hope of Sirius listening, letting his eyes close and surrendering to the darkness that was beginning to take over the corner of his eyes. However, his eyelids jolted open when he felt the familiar pull of apparition and the discomfort of a badly casted levitation charm as Sirius jogged them towards the Lupin Cottage and banged the door frantically.

'Mrs. Lupin, open the door! It's me, Sirius!

The door creaked open and Remus felt himself being forcefully pushed inside, the levitation charm gone and only Sirius's weight supporting him up the stairs to a place that smelled very familiar – his old bedroom.

'Sirius, what happened? What's wrong with Remus?'

Remus was mostly hearing sounds now; his eyes had rolled to the back of his head, occasionally gracing him with the blurry figures of a distraught looking Sirius and his mother. He wished he could speak to them, explain everything and reassure them that everything was fine. He wanted to tell them that he would be okay now that his mother was here because she knew what to do to reduce the pain and make him heal even faster. Unfortunately, his throat had given up functioning a long time ago.

'Silver poisoning. He said he got the antidote, but god, he's a mess. He's bleeding and vomiting, and I have no idea what he wants, but he said you did. Help him, please, please.'

'If he's vomiting, it's a good sign. It means the antidote is working. Summon a bag with your wand. It's blue with medicine in it; it's in my bedroom. Quickly.'

'Wait, these are potions. How do I know you're using the right thing? You're muggle; you could be poisoning him.'

'I know how to take care of my son, Sirius; he went through the same thing during his registry tattoo. Look, he's going to break into a fever, so I need you to get a thermometer so that I can curb it before it gets fatal.'

'What's a ther-'

'Blue tube, bathroom cabinet, now go!'

Remus was made to swallow some sort of burning liquid that agitated his throat even further, making him scream silently. Tears streamed down his eyes, and he groped blindly for his mother out of instinct, seeking her and wanting her to be there.

Del grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers together. 'Remus, don't panic, do you hear me? Do not panic.'

Remus wasn't sure if he nodded or not. He had definitely intended to, but his mind and body seemed to be entirely unhinged and uncoordinated. Do not panic, he told himself, wondering if his eyes were open or closed now. Do not panic. Do not panic. Do not panic. Keeping that mantra in his head, Remus let out a deep breath and fell out of consciousness.

XxxxX

Sirius woke up, feeling utterly miserable and grumpy from having his sleep interrupted. He couldn't quite place what it was exactly that awoke him, but as he turned to his side, he resolved to find whatever it was and bludgeon it. Blindly, he reached for the familiar warmth of Remus beside him.

It was when his tired brain finally registered that he was reaching for empty space that Sirius's eyes snapped open. 'Moony.' Sirius got up, blinking rapidly and suddenly, his entire body was aware of everything around him. The unfamiliarity of the room despite having spent quite a few childhood summers here; the cold that was settling deep into his bones and making his teeth chatter, the wind whistling through the crack in the bedroom window, and the muffled sounds of someone having a row nearby. Sirius rightly guessed that that must have been why he'd woken up so abruptly.

The row was getting louder now and though Sirius couldn't exactly understand the words being exchanged, he recognised Remus's voice instantly. He assumed the other female voice was Mrs. Lupin's.

For a while, Sirius just lay there, not wanting to move from his comfortable position on the bed and walk out into the cold; but curiosity finally got the better part of him and forced him to sit up. He shivered, wrapping the blanket around himself tightly and slipping on a pair of sandals that were probably Remus's since Sirius himself had come barefoot.

'Remus, will you please just listen to me?'

Sirius peered in through a crack in Mrs. Lupin's bedroom door quietly, not wanting to be caught spying on a heated moment. He couldn't quite see where Remus's mother was, but he spotted his lover immediately, pacing back and forth like a prowling tiger. Vaguely, Sirius wondered if it was healthy for him to expend so much energy after last night's ordeal.

'I don't understand why you have to bring this topic up every time I come, mum!' Remus ran a hand through his hair, moving his fringe out of his eyes. 'Why can't you just leave it alone and accept it?'

'Everything about you has always been acceptance, Remus!' Sirius could hear Mrs. Lupin scream from somewhere in the room. 'I accepted you wanted to be a wizard, I accepted you were a werewolf without any hesitation, I accepted you were gay, I accepted you were in love with Sirius; but I will not accept you coming at my doorstep half dead! I will not, Remus!'

'It was a mistake!' Remus snapped, turning so that Sirius couldn't see his face anymore. 'They didn't mean it!'

There was a sound of something crashing to the floor, and Sirius finally understood where Remus got his rare but violent bursts of anger from. It was the first time he'd ever seen Mrs. Lupin this angry. 'Accidentally stepping on someone's toe is a mistake! Pouring that much silver into your blood is not!'

'I-'

'I don't even know why I bother arguing with you anymore, Remus. You've never listened to me and you're going to get yourself killed regardless of what I say. You're turning out just like your father.'

'Well, that's the problem, isn't it?' Remus asked in a broken voice, and Sirius had only seconds to move into the shadows before Remus stormed out of the room in anger.

As he watched Remus run down the stairs two at a time, clearly distressed and angry, Sirius wondered if he should go after his lover. It would mean revealing that he had been listening in and for some reason, the thought didn't seem very appealing to him. He heard a muffled sob from inside the room and went inside, feeling incredibly awkward and aware of his limbs as he watched Mrs. Lupin cry into her hands.

'Are you okay, Mrs. Lupin?' It was the stupidest question Sirius could ever ask; clearly she was anything but "okay".

Mrs. Lupin looked up and smiled feebly. 'I'm fine, Sirius. I'm sorry you had to see all that.'

Sirius shrugged, looking down at his feet. 'I wasn't here for very long. I didn't really mean to eavesdrop.'

'It's alright, love,' she replied, wiping her eyes.

'I'm really sorry,' he offered, feeling utterly useless, 'for everything.'

Mrs. Lupin shook her head. 'It's not your fault, Sirius. Do me a favour and go after him for me, will you? Make sure he doesn't get hurt.'

Sirius nodded. 'Yes, ma'am.'

Sirius didn't bother running blindly after Remus; he knew Remus would have nowhere to run to except to their apartment back in London. So, Sirius simply got off the Lupin premises and apparated there instantly.

'Moony, are you-' Sirius didn't even have time to adjust to the dizziness that came from apparating too fast when he felt his back collide hard with the wall and his mouth get caught up in the most brutal kiss that Remus had ever given him. Sirius's hands scrabbled to Remus's chest trying to push him off, but in vain. Remus was pinning him with his entire body, one restraining hand on Sirius's shoulder and the other on the small of his back, keeping him effectively locked in position.

'Remus, get off me-' It was when Remus's hands slipped past Sirius's pyjama bottoms that Sirius gathered enough strength to push him off. 'What the fuck are you doing?' Sirius cried, feeling blood and adrenaline pulsing and pounding in his head from the unspeakable fury he was feeling. It angered him even more when Remus looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. 'Never do that again, Remus! Never!'

'I-'

'Don't use my affections for you as some kind of tool or an easy fuck!'

'I don't know what to do anymore!' Remus screamed, clutching his hair tightly. 'I don't know!' He looked about to cry and Sirius found his anger melting at the sight.

'Remus…'

'She never understood me! Not even with dad there but now, she doesn't even try!' Sirius reached out for him slowly, taking Remus's hand and pulling him into a hug, 'It doesn't matter what I do, Padfoot, it's like she's just waiting to find a fault in me! I've tried, but I can't even stay underneath the same roof as her anymore!' He fisted Sirius's t-shirt, pulling him impossibly close.

'Shh,' Sirius whispered, running his fingers through Remus's hair. 'It's okay.'

'I must sound like such a horrible person, saying such things about my own mother.'

'You're talking to the wrong person here,' Sirius said, trying to keep his voice light. Remus laughed weakly into Sirius's neck.

'I love her, Sirius, like nothing you can imagine, but-'

'But she doesn't understand why you're always trying to kill yourself,' Sirius said, his voice not escaping the disdain he felt for Dumbledore who had sent Remus into yet another deadly mission.

'It's my-'

'Job, I know, I know.' Sirius rocked their bodies together slowly, resting his chin on Remus's shoulder.

'I'm sorry for…you know…I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't know what I was thinking. I just-'

'I know. It's okay. Just don't do it again, yeah? I don't…just tell me and I'll help you, you know that. I'm always here.' He heard Remus hum into his ear, whispering sorry over and over again. 'Do you feel better now?' Sirius felt Remus shake his head against him. 'Would you like to go for a ride? We can forget today ever happened, get some breakfast on the way.' Remus nodded. 'You'll have to let go of me first.' Remus shook his head, holding Sirius tighter and making him chuckle. 'As you wish,' he said before apparating them into their small makeshift garage.

'You changed the leather,' Remus commented when he'd finally let go of Sirius long enough to look at the bike.

Sirius looked at his bike, shined and polished to perfection. 'I didn't have anything else to do, so I pampered the bike for a little while. Changed the engines, strengthened the levitation charms for better control…'

'As if you didn't obsess over the thing enough with me here,' said Remus, smiling, but Sirius thought he heard a bit of jealousy in his voice.

'Do you want to drive today?' Sirius asked, taking his gloves and helmet off the hook.

Remus whipped around, surprised. 'Me?'

Sirius shrugged. 'Sure, if you like.' It was odd how Sirius was giving up control over his beloved bike so easily when he'd been nothing but possessive of it ever since he'd gathered enough money to buy it. He hadn't even let James touch it, let alone ride it.

Remus gazed at the bike with an unreadable expression. 'But I don't know how.'

'That's why I'm here,' said Sirius, kissing Remus on the cheek and dumping the helmet on his head. 'I'll be behind you the entire time, so don't be scared of falling, all right?'

Remus let Sirius put on the gloves for him. 'I'm not scared of falling. I've been on your bike before…just not as the driver. What if I wreck it?'

'Then I shall dump you forever and never talk to you again,' Sirius replied with all seriousness and burst out laughing at the incredulous expression on Remus's face. 'Go on then, up you go,' he urged, slapping Remus on the bum. 'I'll go open the door.'

'Padfoot, no, Sirius!' Remus screamed as Sirius pushed the accelerator and tilted the motorbike on one wheel before lifting off skywards 'Padfoot, its bloody daylight! Get back down! All the muggles are going to think they've gone crazy!'

Sirius leaned his body against Remus's back, guiding his lover's hands across the handles while kissing the back of his neck. 'Don't worry, love. I installed one more thing while you were away.'

'It's definitely not a brain, I can tell that much.' Remus swerved to the right to avoid a very obese pigeon.

'Sticks and stones, Moony,' replied Sirius cheekily, before reaching underneath the handle bar and pressing the invisibility shield. 'Brilliant, innit? We're invisible to everyone but ourselves. If anyone looks up, all they'll see is a shimmery patch of the sky.'

'And they'll think that the heavens are looking down upon them. Yes, it's ingenious,' Remus said sardonically. 'Tomorrow we'll end up on TV as UFO's Anonymous.'

'You really think so? I've never been on the telly before.'

'Really? Because I've been a soap star since I was thirteen.'

Sirius laughed. 'That's my sarcastic Moony. It's good to have you back. I missed you, you know.' He tightened his hands around Remus's lovingly even though there was no longer any need for Sirius to guide him; Remus was doing passably on his own. 'You really scared me last night.'

'Sorry.' Remus sounded genuinely apologetic though Sirius didn't see a reason why.

'How did this happen, Moony? I thought you said they were friendly, that they were willing to listen and even join at times.'

Remus sighed heavily. 'It was a misunderstanding. A lot of them are survivors from Greyback's camp. They think I'm behind the fire and the mob.'

'Shit.'

'I didn't know until they'd already poisoned me. It wasn't a very large dose…just enough to weaken me for a good three days.'

'Until the full moon. The bastards,' Sirius whispered, piecing together all the information. He felt a burning hatred for those werewolves who hadn't even given Remus a chance to explain himself. 'How did you get out? How did you escape?'

'I promised I wouldn't tell, Padfoot.' Remus let go of one of the handlebars to reach behind and caress Sirius's cheek. The leather felt sticky and uncomfortable against his skin, and Sirius couldn't help but feel a little disgruntled at Remus's reluctance to give away details yet again. As if sensing his disdain, Remus went on to explain, 'It's not because I don't trust you, and you know that. I'd lay down my life in your hands, but the information I have within me concerns more than just one person. If you were captured or tortured or even cursed, Padfoot, it would mean a lot of trouble for a lot of other people.'

A part of Sirius knew that what Remus was saying was reasonable, but it didn't mean he had to like it or accept it. He could, however, ignore it. 'Sit tight,' Sirius warned before he accelerated and turned the bike a complete three-sixty.

Remus screamed like a girl, caught unawares, and clung on to the bike for dear life as he felt himself move through the sky upside down for the longest ten seconds of his life. 'Sirius, you arse! I'll kill you!' he screamed above Sirius's barking laughter. It was exhilarating and dangerous and dizzying and so liberating from everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours that Sirius couldn't contain himself as he hooted and turned again and again. 'I swear, I'll slaughter you when we get home!'

Sirius was laughing even as he righted the bike with Remus still trembling against him. 'Fun, wasn't it?'

Remus punched him hard on the thigh. 'I was too busy trying not to die to notice.' He pouted and punched Sirius again when all the Animagus did was chuckle in response. 'I hate you.'

'Pity,' Sirius chortled, guiding the bike higher above the clouds. 'I hear unrequited love is a bitch.'

XxxxX

Lily handed Remus his tea. 'I thought Sirius was coming with you.'

Remus, James and Lily were sitting in the kitchen of the Potter's apartment, waiting for Sirius to arrive so that they could go to dinner together. Remus had never seen the apartment so messy; not with Lily around to always keep it spotless. There were labeled boxes lying around the floor, clothes and other odds and ends strewn across the sofas. It would seem that James and Lily were taking their move to Godric's Hollow quite seriously.

Remus sipped his tea, scalding his tounge in the process. 'I told him you wanted to have Valentine dinner together, and he told me it wasn't an important enough reason to miss work.'

Lily hummed. 'He finishes at six though, doesn't he? It's nearly seven now; I'd have expected him to be here.'

Remus shrugged. 'You know Padfoot. He probably saw something shiny on the way and got caught up.'

James laughed, but Lily frowned in disapproval. 'Do you think he's in trouble?'

'Nah, I would have known,' said Remus, leaning his chair on its hind legs in a way that Lily thought was very characteristic of Sirius. 'The worst that can happen is Padfoot splinching himself in a hurry.'

James looked at Lily questioningly. 'Remus,' she said slowly, 'er, I told James…about your connection with Sirius. I thought he might be able to help.'

Remus didn't seem offended by her confession, and Lily figured it was stupid to think he would be, given the close friendship he and James shared. Remus looked at his best friend with a raised eyebrow. 'Were you…able to help?'

James shook his head. 'Afraid not. I mean, I knew you had that connection, even before Lily told me.' He shifted his chair closer to Remus's as if preparing himself to share a secret. 'Do you remember in school? You could always tell when Sirius was around, couldn't you? You were never able to do that with either of us and well, remember how I got jealous about it once?'

Remus smiled. 'How could I forget the hissy fit you threw?'

James slapped him up the head, and Lily suddenly felt very lost between them. She realised that while she admired their close friendship, Lily hardly knew anything about the Marauders. She resolved inwardly to find out more.

'It's a lot stronger now that Remus and Sirius are well…together,' Lily said, breaking the verbal fight between the two boys.

James shrugged nonchalantly. 'Yeah, but it's safe as long as it's just a mental connection like you said. I mean, if Padfoot's hurt, there's no reason for Moony to be also.'

'The body cannot live without the mind,' Lily argued, 'it'll affect him to certain extent, I think.'

'Look, let's drop it, alright?' Remus snapped, obviously feeling awkward at being the centre of conversation. 'It's just one of those mysteries of magic we can never solve.'

'Does Padfoot have it?' James continued, not paying any heed to Remus's request. 'I don't remember anything of the sort from him back in school.'

'Remus reckons there might be, but we can't be sure yet. Given how oblivious Sirius can be, he probably hasn't even noticed it yet.'

'There's a way to find out,' James said, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. 'I've been thinking about it, and I've wanted to test the theory out for ages! What do you say, Moony?'

Remus shrugged. 'Sure, as long as it doesn't end with me dying or worse, ending up in the highway starkers.'

Lily looked at her husband suspiciously. Experiments with James involved rarely meant anything good. 'I don't think you should, James.'

'It's just a little cut on the wrist, I promise. It's somewhat life threatening so if Sirius really has the connection, he'll feel it.'

'Are you mad, James?' Lily screamed, appalled at his suggestion. 'You could break a vein! No, absolutely not. I refuse to-'

'Do it,' Remus interrupted, his face looking strangely determined. 'I don't mind.'

'Remus, no.'

Remus reached out for the smallest knife on the counter and pressed it into James's hands, tactlessly avoiding Lily's eyes.

'It won't be too deep. I'll just break the skin, okay?' James said, rolling the knife between his fingers and looking a bit more hesitant now that he was finally getting his way. 'Tell me if it really hurts.'

Remus nodded, watching as James brought the blade to his wrist. Lily watched, horrified and amazed at the same time when Remus's only indication of pain was an initial twitch of his jaw when the knife first broke skin. The werewolf had to have an amazing threshold for pain to look this impassive.

'James, stop,' she pleaded, trying not to look at the trickle of blood that wound its way down around Remus's wrist.

James looked up questioningly at Remus, who only shook his head. 'I'm fine. You can cut deeper if you like.'

James took a shaky breath but nodded, pushing the blade further into Remus's wrist, making the werewolf's fingers tremble the slightest in response. He moved the blade a little more forward to unmarked skin, obviously not wanting to worsen the wound he had already caused in case it proved fatal. James's hand was shaking like a leaf even as he did it, and Lily could tell clearly by his face that a part of him was terrified and sickened by what he was doing.

'Moony, I-'

The phone suddenly rang, breaking through the silence and startling all three of them. Remus, James and Lily looked at each other simultaneously. Their expressions were mirrored showing clearly that the exact same thought was going through all their heads: had Sirius felt it and called?

'G-Go pick it up,' James said unevenly to Remus after the fourth ring. He picked up a kitchen cloth, folded it thinner, and tied it tightly across Remus's wrist with shaky fingers. 'We'll fix this up later, go.'

'And put on speaker,' Lily reminded just as Remus answered the phone with a shaky 'hello'.

'Moony!' Sirius's voice rang out loudly with a certain note of urgency. 'I was hoping you would pick up instead!'

Remus looked back at them nervously, flexing his cut wrist almost subconsciously.

'How are you? What have you been doing, eh?'

'I'm fine, Padfoot,' Remus answered, this time smiling, and Lily had a feeling that there was certain smugness in that smile in having been proven right. As if reading her thoughts, Remus looked back at James with a raised eyebrow.

'Good, good, just give me a minute until these buggers go away. They keep trying to hog the phone and listen in, I swear.' Vaguely, they heard Sirius scolding someone in the background. 'Hey, you gave me a phone call, and I don't want to do it with you listening in, all right! Go away!'

All three of them blinked.

'Finally!' Sirius exclaimed. 'Moony, you'll never guess where I am! Guess, guess, come on!' Lily had the oddest mental image of Sirius jumping up and down in excitement as he talked. 'It's someplace really fantastic!' He hinted, the excitement barely controlled in his voice.

Remus shrugged. 'Er, the Leaky Cauldron?'

'No, no, you can do better than that, Moony,' Sirius chastised. 'Come on! It's the wildest thing ever!'

Lily rolled her eyes, while James and Remus grinned. 'Maybe he's on those muggle escalators,' James supplied helpfully.

'Or maybe he's in the primate section of the city zoo and has found his long lost twin there,' Lily deadpanned.

'I'm in muggle jail!' Sirius exclaimed happily and there was an ominous silence that followed.

It was broken by the strangled sounds of Remus asphyxiating. 'WHAT?'

'I know, isn't it fantastic?' Sirius asked, obviously misreading the tone of Remus's voice as excitement. It didn't help that James had fallen to the floor in hysterics and was screaming 'brilliant!' between uncontrollable laughter.

'I've always wanted to see the interiors of this place,' Sirius continued, 'and the guys are really nice here. They have cuffs, real ones and I need to get one for us! It would be so kinky! I think I might even be able to cajole one of them to let me take one! And there was this other one who-'

'Sirius, what the fuck are you doing in jail?' Remus interrupted, a mixture of shocked and furious.

Sirius quieted for a few seconds and Lily had another mental picture of him shuffling his feet sheepishly. 'Well, Lily said I should buy you a gift for today,' he said very quickly, trying to get rid of the embarrassing explanations and get to the fun part, 'and I saw those chocolates when I was coming home from work today. The ones that your grandma always used to send you for special occasions; I know how much you like them. But I didn't have any paper money on me, so I just tossed a couple of galleons to the cashier and told her she could exchange it whenever she wanted, and we sort of got into a fight. That ungrateful bitch, after paying her well above the price, she calls the police and blames me for assault!'

There was a loud beep in the background warning them of the approaching end of Sirius's call.

'Hey, mate, you got spare change here?' Sirius asked someone who Lily suspected was the 'bugger' who was monitoring him. She felt sorry for him. 'Come on, I haven't finished talking. Oh sod it! So anyway,' Sirius resumed his story to a dumbfounded Remus at an even faster pace, 'some way or the other, the subject of my bike comes up and well…I don't exactly have a license – muggle or magic…so, they brought me here and told me I had one phone call to make and none of us have a phone except Prongs, so I called!'

Remus slapped his forehead and James was practically having a seizure now. 'Padfoot, we're coming to bail you out, okay. Sit still and don't do-'

The phone clicked.

'-anything stupid.' Remus rounded on Lily, his expression ready to kill. 'You're paying for his bail and I shall slaughter you when we get back,' he forewarned before hauling James off the floor with his arms and marching out.

XxxxX

Many find it hard to believe but Officer Shyam, at the age of fifty four, had an excellent memory. He remembered most of his jailers and a lot of other people who came and went from the station. He also remembered the red headed woman from when she had come last year, distraught and searching for a friend who was standing beside her now along with another man (introduced as James Potter) who looked as if he was having trouble trying to keep a straight face. Either that or he was horribly constipated.

Now, if you had told Officer Shyam last year that people like that red-haired woman and Mr. Lupin (he remembered that one by name obviously) were associated with the likes of Sirius Black, he would have laughed in your face. Today, however, it seemed that Black was doing most of the laughing as he treated a well maintained (according to Prime Minister) justice system like a ride in the amusement park.

'Officer, do you think we could talk to you in private?'

Shyam tore his gaze away from Black to look at Potter and Lupin standing there, looking slightly hesitant. He nodded, moving a little further away from the rest of the men and looked expectantly ay both Potter and Lupin.

'Er, you might have heard Sirius tell you some ridiculous things,' Potter started and Shyam had to snort at the understatement of the century. 'We don't like to talk about it much, but my brother-'

'Your brother? Really?' Apart from the jet black hair, Potter and Black looked nothing like each other. If that was enough evidence to go by then Shyam could have been their father. 'And I suppose Mr. Lupin here is one, too?'

Potter frowned and looked at Lupin. 'Sirius is a cousin actually, but he's family, you know. We grew up together as brothers,' Potter explained, his eyes unwavering and clearly telling the truth, so Shyam let the matter drop. 'Remus is our…nurse.' Lupin broke into a fit of coughs, but Potter carried on, leaning closer to Shyam conspiratorially. 'Sirius is a little delusional most of the time. He's got an insane imagination and a really twisted sense of…pretty much everything.'

'So, really, you shouldn't take anything he's said seriously,' Lupin finished once he was done coughing. It was the first time Shyam had heard the boy speak since all of them entered, and was surprised to find that Lupin sounded very calm and cool for a boy distressed enough to run away only a year ago. He definitely didn't sound like someone who would slit their wrists, but the blood stained cloth tied tightly around his hand said otherwise. It might have been an accident though, Shyam reasoned. Potter might be right, even though Lupin didn't look much like a nurse either. Still, his obvious care for Black showed in his expression that was caught between murderous and loving.

Shyam looked over at Black again who was ignoring Mrs. Potter (the red head)'s scolding for another officer called Paula Yates. He was asking her about doughnuts.

'Black does seem a little disoriented,' Shyam admitted to Potter who abruptly turned to his constipated expression again. Perhaps that was an expression of anger or disapproval? Maybe Shyam had offended him somehow? 'You should keep a closer eye on him,' he suggested to Lupin as gently as possible so as not to upset.

Lupin smiled sincerely. 'I will.'

'And you should renew your license by next week or that motorbike of yours will be confiscated, understood?'

Potter clapped Lupin on the back who looked wistfully out the window, presumably at his motorbike. For some reason, the sleek, black motorbike didn't suit Lupin's persona at all. Shyam could not even begin to imagine the boy spending hour after hour polishing the large bike until it shone bright enough to blind.

'Yes, sir. We'll be a lot more careful with Sirius from now on, I promise.'

'Go on then, take him home.' Shyam resigned, unsure of how to react as Black tried to take the box of chocolates that he had stolen from the shop and received a slap on the hand from Mrs. Potter in return.

It would be a relief to get rid of Black. Shyam was quite honestly getting tired of Black calling him 'Inspector Jack Regan' all the time.

XxxxX

'How did you cut your hand, Moony?' Lily heard Sirius asking as they all made their way towards their reserved dinner table. 'And don't try to deny it. It might be healed now, but I saw it at the station.'

James stiffened beside Lily, but Remus kept a completely straight face. 'It was an accident. Lily was making me chop vegetables for lunch tomorrow.'

'And your wrist looked a lot like lettuce, did it?' Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lily wondered how Sirius would react to the information of James cutting Remus's wrist for the sake of an experiment; the black haired boy could get extremely possessive sometimes and cases with Remus in it were always extra sensitive.

'Here we are,' Lily said, hoping to divert Sirius's attention from Remus. She slipped into the chair on the right, opposite to James and beside Sirius. 'Seems incomplete without Peter, doesn't it,' Lily said, fixing her dress and looking wistfully at the entrance.

James shrugged. 'It's that bitch of his; wanting to spend time with him alone and what not. Ditching his best mates for a woman, honestly, I never did that with you, Lily.'

'No, you only talked about her with us, twenty-four-seven, and drove us mental,' Sirius replied casually. 'I would have rather preferred you ditching us really.'

'It's not only today,' Lily continued, ignoring the glares that Sirius and James shot each other. 'He seems to be getting distant, don't you think? I mean, I know he visits whenever he can, but he doesn't seem himself anymore. I mean, he's seems terrified all the time.'

Sirius dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. 'Wormtail's been in a state of constant fright since the day he was born. It's in his nature.'

'You're just reading too much into things, love,' James assured her with a smile. 'Relax. It's Valentine's Day. Enjoy my undying love and attention.'

Sirius gagged.

'Hm,' Lily replied non-comitally. 'You know,' she continued thoughtfully, playing with her cutlery. She wished the waiter would hurry up to their table already; her stomach was growling painfully from hunger. 'James never told me how the two of you got together. I mean, everyone knows our story, but what's yours?'

Remus looked at Sirius who shrugged. 'I don't think we have one,' Remus replied slowly, looking almost confused.

Lily rolled her eyes, exasperated at the boys' complete lack of imagination. 'Everyone has a story, Remus, you just need to bind in the details. When did you first feel attracted to each other?'

Remus and Sirius blinked, and James snorted. 'What you should ask, my dear Lily, is that when did those two not feel attracted to each other,' James said with an air of smug superiority. 'Padfoot was obsessively in love with Moony even back in first year.'

'I was not!' Sirius retorted, standing up suddenly. His face flushed from embarrassment when he noticed people turning to their table to see what the commotion was about.

'Were to; don't deny it!' James shot back quietly. 'I remember you always following him and trying to pull pranks on him just to get him to notice you! Wormtail and I saw it coming from a mile away!'

Sirius spluttered indignantly and Remus bowed his head, hiding a grin.

James rounded on Remus. 'And you, Moony, always sensing Sirius whenever he was close by and always standing up for him. You'd let him get away with murder!'

'I'd have let either of you get away with murder,' Remus replied defensively, 'and I think I have numerous times, too. I'm fond of all of you quite equally, thank you very much.'

'All right, no fighting at the dinner table,' Lily intervened, placing her arms between the boys. 'I'll ask another question, okay. What was your first kiss like? Was it romantic?'

'Moony was trying to throw me off the Gryffindor Tower, so I kissed him.' Sirius grinned, casting a wink towards Remus. 'It was fun.'

Remus stabbed the table with his fork moodily. 'You got me angry.'

Sirius raised an eyebrow. 'And that justifies you trying to kill me, does it?'

'Hey, how come I don't know this bit?' James asked petulantly, looking between his friends. 'I thought I knew everything that happened between the two of you!'

'You were asleep or something, I don't know,' Remus dismissed. 'And I wasn't trying to kill you, Padfoot, I was threatening you.'

Sirius snorted derisively. 'Lies, all lies, Lily, don't you believe a word he says. Our Moony here is quite the animal.' He pointed towards a large purpling bruise on the inner side of his right arm. 'See that, he did it.'

Remus frowned. 'Padfoot, you got that from the stunt you pulled last week with the bike.'

'Well, I wouldn't have gotten it if you had just shut up and let me concentrate. You're always telling me to turn left and turn right and-'

'Not crash into the ground and break your neck, you bastard! If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even have that bike today! Prongs made me your nurse, you know that? Nurse! For-'

Lily cast a desperate glance at James, looking for help. She hoped she wasn't the reason they would end up fighting on Valentine's Day.

Her husband simply smiled and raised an eyebrow. 'You should know, love, that there's a reason why we never talk about Sirius and Remus's relationship,' James explained gesturing at his two friends who were now bickering about who kicked whom in bed the most. 'It's lethal.'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Oh hush, listen to the two of you, bickering like an old married couple!' Sirius and Remus's mouths snapped shut immediately at the comment. 'Almost five years together and the two of you don't even know how you got together.'

'Psh, of course we know that bit,' Sirius said offhandedly, 'Moony and I shagged after I ran away from home.'

'Then Padfoot got angry when I rejected him and punctured himself with the bathroom mirror,' Remus continued, smiling dreamily like it was the best thing ever. Either that or he could smell the rare steak the table beside them was having.

Sirius smiled back, resting his head against his hand. 'It scared Moony shitless, or course, and he realised how wonderful, handsome and irresistible I am.'

'He also realised that Padfoot was stupid enough to kill himself in that state,' James deadpanned, rolling his eyes at the lovesick looks his friends were casting each other.

Sirius nodded. 'So we decided that the best solution to all this was to sleep with each other regularly.' He blew a kiss towards Remus. Unfortunately, the waitress behind them thought it was for her and tripped over her feet, sending her tray of glasses crashing to the floor.

'And we continue to do so because therapy is just too expensive for either of us,' Remus finished, gesturing impatiently at a nearby waiter. 'The end.'

Lily slapped her forehead. From the corner of her eyes, she could see her husband laughing and clapping Remus on the back. He caught her eye and mouthed the words 'lethal'.

'I'm sorry I asked,' Lily groaned. She noticed that Sirius and Remus's dreamy expressions had not faltered the slightest and they were in fact, looking at each other rather lovingly. She realised with utter dissatisfaction and faint disgust that she would never understand those two or her husband.

'I thought it was quite romantic, actually,' said James cheekily. 'Oh, and Padfoot, those are mine. Moony's balls are slightly more to the left.'

Remus choked on his own spit, and Lily heard Sirius make a disgusted noise as he jerked violently in his seat.

'May I take your order, please?'

XxxxX

Sirius and Remus tumbled into their apartment, lips locked and hands flying to touch as much skin possible through layers of clothing. Remus felt his back hit against the wall, wincing in pain momentarily before losing himself in the feel of Sirius's lips against his neck.

'God, do you have any idea what you've been doing to me tonight?' Sirius murmured against Remus's skin, nipping just hard enough to leave a mark the next day. 'Driving me fucking crazy.' He fumbled desperately with Remus's belt buckle, growling loudly when it put up a fight. Sirius pushed Remus's trousers down, revealing long, lanky legs and a growing bulge in Remus's pants. 'Couldn't even - do anything about it - in front of Prongs and Lily.' Sirius grabbed Remus's thighs roughly, hoisting him upwards so that those lovely long legs were forced to wrap around his waist.

'Padfoot, wait…' Remus protested weakly, throwing his head back and groaning when it collided painfully with the wall.

'No,' Sirius commanded in between kisses and taking off Remus's jumper. 'I've waited long enough. I want you NOW.'

'Padfoot, come on. Padfoot!' Remus grabbed Sirius by the wrist, effectively stopping part of his ministrations. 'Let me down, alright? I've got something for you.'

Sirius, who had considered the entrapment of his hands as an encouragement to put his mouth to full use, stopped and raised an eyebrow. 'You got me a present?'

Remus smiled. 'Not quite. Just a little something for Valentine's, I guess. I mean…it is the first time we're celebrating it, right?'

Sirius hummed, reluctantly letting Remus pull out of his arms and feeling ridiculously empty about it. Part of the feeling was also guilt for not having gotten Remus anything on their supposedly "special day". It wasn't that he hadn't tried, but he had a knack of getting into trouble and causing havoc wherever he went. Besides, Lily could have been a bit more specific about what you were supposed to get your "boyfriend" for Valentine's. It wasn't like Sirius could give Remus jewellery.

Sirius could hear Remus rummaging in the cupboards and the clink of beer bottles as the fridge door opened and closed. He sighed, looking down at his crotch and comparing it to how it looked only seconds ago. 'You know, Moony, you're really killing the mood here.'

'Happy Valentine's,' Remus said as he entered with a small, heart shaped cake. As he neared, Sirius could see that the top was decorated with vanilla icing, with 'For Padfoot' written in loopy handwriting and a few distorted heart hastily drawn at the sides. One of the hearts Remus had carelessly pierced with a candle and the whole thing looked more like…

Sirius coughed. 'It's rather red,' he commented, not sure what to say as Remus sat down beside him, cake on lap.

'I know,' Remus replied, licking icing off his finger.

Sirius watched, mesmerised for a moment, before snapping back to reality. 'Lily made you buy it, didn't she?'

Remus rubbed his neck, grinning abashedly. 'She did. She actually dragged me out of bed to go shopping. She finds it hard to believe we've never celebrated Valentine's before.'

Sirius shrugged, blowing out the candle. 'It's not like we could walk into Hogsmeade hand in hand. Besides, I always thought it was a bit daft, even back when I was dating those ridiculous girls.'

'I still think it's ridiculous,' swiping his index across the cake surface and putting it into his mouth. 'Not chocolate, but still good. We should get Lily to pick out our cakes more often.'

Sirius smiled, reaching out Remus's right arm and kissing his palm. 'I'm sorry mine didn't turn out that well. I know you love those chocolates.'

'It's the thought that counts.' Remus replied, closing his eyes a little as Sirius kissed further up his arm.

'You don't mean that.'

'No, I don't. I really do love those chocolates.'

Sirius smacked him lightly. 'Prat! You could have had them if you just let me take them from the station. None of the muggle officers were looking. I bet they're eating it right now, enjoying the smooth, creamy, rich tex-'

Sirius found himself spluttering cream as Remus shoved a handful of cake into his face.

'You bastard!'

Remus giggled, dodging Sirius's attempt to retaliate with more cake and ending up getting hit in the neck.

'You think it's funny, do you?' Sirius asked, waggling his eyebrows dangerously before launching himself towards his lover. The cake lay forgotten on the sofa as both boys tumbled over, Sirius getting the upper hand and pinning Remus's wrists above his head. He licked the cake off Remus's neck with a single swipe of his tounge. 'Mm…tastes better this way. Moony cake.' Sirius chuckled at his own joke.

Remus mock struggled under Sirius's hold. 'It wasn't my first choice of a gift for you, you know.'

'No?'

'No. My first attempt was without Lily, but then she saw what I bought and had a conniption fit.'

'The one where her face matches her hair?' Sirius asked, letting Remus sit up underneath him.

'No other…'

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. 'What then?'

'Well, I was subjected to a three hour lecture about how I was an inconsiderate boyfriend with no sense of gift giving at all, and how is that romantic, and why would I want to give you something like that on Valentine's Day, so on and so forth. Apparently, my gift lacked thought.'

Sirius frowned in distaste. 'Did you get me socks or something? It sounds ghastly.'

Remus shrugged. 'I'll let you decide,' saying that, he rummaged his wand out of his discarded shirt pocket and summoned a dark brown package from the bedroom. 'Go ahead, open it.' When Sirius looked hesitant, he nudged him lightly with his foot. 'It's the least you can do after not getting me a present.'

Sirius opened the package gingerly with the tips of his fingers. His eyes widened comically as the package revealed a black, silver studded leather collar. 'Moony, you kinky bugger! To think I always thought of you as the innocent one.' The collar was nearly as thin as a finger and when Remus helped Sirius put it on, it was barely visible from underneath his t-shirt.

Sirius gasped as Remus hooked a finger underneath the collar and pulled lightly. 'See, I didn't think it lacked thought at all.' He pulled again, bringing their faces closer so that they were practically sharing oxygen. 'I thought about you a lot when I bought it.'

Sirius smirked, running his fingers over the bow of Remus's lips. 'Thoughts are useless until you put them into action.'

XxxxX

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, it's great to be back with a fresh new chapter and writing longer than ever before. Anyway, before I start rambling, I must say that Inspector Jack Regan was from a TV police show called The Sweeny. And yes, I have yet again tortured one of the pups with injuries; it's beginning to become a routine, isn't it? But what else do you expect during a war where drama is needed and tears must be shed? Lol…anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. The muse came to me while sun bathing in the beach (don't ask me how that's related to anything I've written). So let me know if you liked it, if there are modifications you'd like to see in my writing, mistakes, suggestions, whatever your heart desires. You could also flatter me with praise. Lol. Anyway, to all of you who haven't given a reply address:

Antares: Well, New Years's is easier to write as peaceful in your imagination, I guess. Actually, over here, where I live, New Years are actually like that. They are wild parties if you know the right place to go, and there are always fireworks, but there are certain areas that are generally peaceful. Sighs. Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing. I really appreciate it! Anand: Well, I'm not going to be ending it for a while, but I will be taking an AU turn for this story. So no afterlife but a definite happy ending! A Person: A lot of people write Lily like Hermione, I think, so she comes off as a bit annoying at times. To me, Lily is very righteous, like Harry, but incredible intelligent (unlike Harry), caring and actually a lot of fun to be with. I think its funny how she's stuck between four boys, fitting in but growing tired of testosterone all the time. Kyshal: Well, I hope there was enough dangerous werewolf stuff is this chapter for you. I actually got the idea of the beginning of this chapter from you, so thanks! Keep the suggestions coming because they always fuel my mind into thinking up more creative plots. Cheers, love!