Assignment 3 - Criminology - (1) - Someone starting a physical or metaphorical fire

Soulmate - Image of Soulmate in mirror

Slash September - Remus

Writing Club:

Character Appreciation - Trait: Bookworm

Disney Challenge - Character (3) Write about someone who is done with people around them being problematic

Count Your Buttons: AU: Soulmate!AU, pairing: Sirius/Remus

AAA - (10) Write about someone with odd scars or markings

Film Festival: (29) "I'm so sorry I broke up with you."

Pinata - Soulmates


Reflection


Remus' fingers drummed against the desk as he looked at the metal ruler. He could just about make out a bit of dark hair and a set of grey eyes looking back. Grey. He was certain of the teenager that looked back at him - the same eyes had been looking back for years now.

"Mate, he's trying to get your attention again," James muttered, an elbow knocking Remus' in a bid to get his attention. "Are you sure he's not your soulmate? I mean, Brian looks pretty… determined. Dark hair like you described before. Some people's soulmates aren't clear in the reflection, and—"

"Mine is very clear," Remus replied softly. "It's not Brian. I… I shouldn't have even entertained the fixation he has on me by agreeing to that date."

"The awful date." James couldn't hide the amusement in his voice. "How did that end again?"

"With him very publically dumping me because I flirted with the waiter when I ordered my drink," Remus muttered, embarrassed as he recalled the event. "He said that our relationship was over and he stormed out. Thankfully it was before we ordered anything, so I didn't have to cover the bill or anything."

James chuckled. "And he's spent the last two weeks following you around."

"He hasn't approached me yet," Remus said, shrugging. "He'll get tired soon enough."

...oOo…

"I'm sorry I broke up with you." Brian took the unoccupied seat next to Remus and set his bag down. Remus bit his tongue rather than tell Brian that he was sitting in James' seat. Brian would have known this already.

"We weren't dating, so there was nothing to break up," Remus replied, turning around in his chair to look towards the door at the back. He hoped James would turn up soon and turf Brian from the chair.

"Aww, how sweet that you made up," Lily said, glancing over at them. "It's not fun to fight with your soulmate."

Remus stared at her. "What?"

"Your soulmate," Lily repeated, smiling between them. "Brian told us about the misunderstanding the other day. He said you looked so sad in the mirror that evening, and—"

"He's not my soulmate," Remus said, before turning to Brian. "Did you tell Lily we were soulmates?" he hissed.

Brian nodded. "We really are," he replied. "You told me that yours had dark hair. Mine looks like a bookish nerd like you, but not as cute. Close enough."

"Close enough doesn't mean anything. Either you are or you're not," Remus snapped.

"Okay, well I am then," Brian decided, smiling at Remus.

"You can't just decide," Remus retorted, still keeping his voice down. "No-one will believe you when I tell them the truth."

Brian shrugged. "I'm a catch," he said. "Besides, if I wasn't your soulmate, how would I know about those scars?"

"S-scars?"

"Yeah. The ones down the side of your body. Of course I've seen them - I saw them in the mirror reflection."

Remus racked his brain to work out how Brian could have seen them. He had hung about the changing rooms until they were empty a couple of days ago, so he could change without others seeing him. He had thought he was alone.

"You watched me in the changing room," he whispered.

"I did no such thing," Brian said. "Plus, the changing rooms are for everyone."

"Oi, get out of my seat," James said, his tone cold. "Now, before I make you."

Brian sighed loudly and shifted his bag, and James took the empty seat. "Remus, the school are talking about you and Brian—"

"Yes, I've just been filled in," Remus responded. "I'll just keep denying it and people will stop caring about what he said."

"I hope so," James said. "You know what the others are like here."

Remus merely nodded, turning his attention to the metal ruler he had taken out of his bag. He used his sleeve to wipe the ruler, trying to give it the best shine possible.

"You're looking at your soulmate again," James muttered, glancing at the ruler curiously.

"Of course I am. He's beautiful," Remus admitted with a smile on his lips.

"You're as bad as the girls at the front of the class," James accused.

"No. I don't carry a mirror around and stare into it all of the time," Remus replied.

"No. You just carry a metal ruler instead, and stare into that. The geek's way of watching a soulmate."

...oOo…

People were still talking about Remus and Brian even though it had been three weeks. Several times, Brian had cornered Remus and insisted they go out on another date. Remus didn't see the point. Firstly because their one and only 'date' if he could even call it that, ended in disaster. Secondly because Brian had continued to talk about how Remus was his soulmate, even making up stories of things he had seen in the mirror.

Thankfully none of the stories were of a mature nature. Yet. Remus hoped to somehow nip things in the bud before Brian got even more carried away.

Unfortunately, James wasn't in Registration which meant that Brian took his seat and people around them were looking and talking. Remus distracted himself as best he could by staring at his metal ruler. One day he'd meet his real soulmate and Brian would back off.

That day came sooner than expected because when lunch began and Brian tried to take the seat next to Remus, James dropped his bag on the table and loudly cleared his throat. "Not happening," James said, clearly pissed off at the sight of Brian.

Brian stared at James and Remus could see that he was debating whether to move or not. He hoped Brian did, because he didn't want an altercation between the pair.

James turned to Remus. "Sorry I wasn't here earlier. I would have called you to let you know, but things happened that I can't explain right now." He pointedly looked towards Brian. "My best friend moved in last night and we spent the night… dealing with certain issues and this morning he enrolled in school."

"Overnight? That was quick."

James nodded. "Private matters. He's family… well, not blood related but family isn't just about blood. He's as much family as you are." James grinned. "He's going to liven things up around here too. I've seen half the girls and some of the guys staring his way."

"Let them stare all they like," came an arrogant voice from behind Remus. "None can compare to my soulmate so why waste my time on them?"

"Remus, this is my 'brother', Sirius Black. Sirius, this is Remus Lupin."

"Heard all about you," Sirius began, as Remus stood up from his chair and turned to meet him. "James…." he trailed off, his eyes widening in shock. "You!"

"And you!" Remus murmured, his eyes swiftly taking in every feature of the teen standing in front of him. "I knew you were gorgeous, but the mirror doesn't do you justice." Remus clapped a hand over his mouth in shock. Clearly being faced with a hot soulmate made him lose control over his brain and mouth, and he could feel his cheeks burning red.

Sirius' lips twisted up into a grin. "Last night things were really looking bad, but today is getting better and better," he said.

"Hey, mate, he's taken," Brian said, coming to stand next to Remus. Remus tensed, hoping Brian wouldn't do something stupid like attempt to put his arm around him.

"He's not taken," James stated from the other side of the table. "Remus is very single."

Sirius' grin faded as he looked at Brian. "And you are?"

"His soulmate," Brian insisted, glaring menacingly.

Sirius laughed, gaining looks from nearby tables. Well, the ones that weren't already ogling him. "Your soulmate?" he repeated. "Well, I've clearly been wanking off to the wrong reflection for the last four or five years." He glanced at Remus and winked. "And those were a good few years," he added.

"Sirius is right, he's my soulmate," Remus insisted. He bravely reached out and grabbed Sirius' arm. "Come and sit down and have lunch with us," he said. "Sit next to me." He hoped that with Sirius next to him, Brian would go away.

Sirius nodded. He gave Brian one last look before heading to Brian's seat, shoving his stuff aside and sitting down. Remus gave Brian an apologetic look before walking over to join Sirius and James.

Seconds later, Brian grabbed his bag and stormed away.

"So, love, how about I cook for you?" Sirius asked, shifting his chair closer to Remus'. "I can do dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning."

"Please say no," James begged. "Sirius is sleeping in my room whilst my mum turns the guest room into a bedroom for him. There are some things I'd never be able to unsee."

Remus snorted. "I'm sure Sirius is joking."

"If you say no, I'm joking. If you say yes… I've seen you naked and can't wait to get you in my bed—Ouch, why did you kick me?" He glared at James.

"We need to have a talk," James said, narrowing his eyes at Sirius. "But show a bit of decency and respect, yeah? That's my other best friend you're talking to."

Silence followed James' words and Remus sneaked a glance at Sirius, who looked shocked.

Remus stood up. "I've got to get to the library," he said. "I'll catch you later." He rushed off before either could stop him.

"Sirius, I know you're excited to meet your soulmate. I had no idea that you and Remus… I mean, I'm happy for you, for him, but you can't act like that."

"It's harmless," Sirius insisted. "You know that I'm all about finding my soulmate."

"I know that, but Remus doesn't. You're setting a bad first impression, you've scared him off too. If someone else spoke to him like that, you'd probably punch them so what gives you the right? And don't say it's because you're his soulmate because that's not good enough. Treat him with some respect and talk to him how he deserves because Remus is one of the best people I know and I'd protect him from anyone, even you if you don't pull your shit together."

"You're right. I just… I panicked. How do I fix this? What do I do?"

"You do what the rest of us do. You ask him out, be sweet and stuff and you hope that you get a snog at the end of the night, but if you don't, you just continue to treat him good. He's family, Sirius, just like you. So I'll protect him. Don't you dare hurt him."

"What if he hurts me?" Sirius asked softly. "James, I don't have the best track record of people sticking around. What do I do if he leaves too?"

"Remus isn't going to leave you. I mean, unless you act like a dick and make comments about getting him into bed. Remus is amazing and I used to worry about who his soulmate was and who yours was because I was scared one of you would end up with someone who wouldn't treat you right. I think you could be amazing together, but earn this, Sirius. Show him that you're worthy to be his soulmate because he's going to be doing the same, trust me."

"Right. Where do I start?"

"The library. Use the card they gave you earlier and read a book. Ask him for a recommendation. Ask him for the class reading list."

"I already have that," Sirius said, tapping his bag.

James grinned. "I know that. Just ask him anyway. Or ask him where the books are. He lives in the library so you better get accustomed to it."

"And he'd go on a date with me?"

"Offer to pick him up from his house and don't make any sex jokes," James replied.

...oOo...

"Hi, Remus. It's Sirius."

Remus smiled nervously. "Yeah, I remember your name."

"Oh. Great, well… I need help finding the books for my reading list, and you said you were coming here… I thought it'd give us a good opportunity to talk about earlier."

"It's fine," Remus muttered, turning towards the bookshelves. "I have the list memorised, the first is—"

"—No, James is right - the way I talked to you is not fine at all. You're my soulmate and if someone else spoke to you like that, I'd hurt them. So I have no right being so forward with you. I also don't want you to get the impression that I'm some sex-mad guy who only wants that. I've waited a long time for you, and I want a real relationship. So… could we start with a date? Maybe just go and see a movie or go for a walk in the park, or even if there's a museum… just a nice date, hopefully a kiss at the end when I drop you home. Kiss is optional of course."

Remus smiled. "I'm free on Friday," he replied.

Sirius grinned. "Great. I don't really know the area, so if there's somewhere you like to go…"

"There's a small observatory not far away. It's only thirty minutes on the bus," Remus offered. "We could do that on Saturday instead? Make a day of it… if you want."

"Perfect. I'll pick you up from your house in the morning, we can have some lunch and go there and you can maybe show me around town."

Remus hesitated. "The comments you made…"

Sirius shrugged. "I'll admit that I've admired how you look. Teenage boy and I couldn't help myself. If things get physical, I'm very interested in that too. But I'm not going to rush this because you're my soulmate and you deserve respect and for us to get to know each other. So we'll take it slow and… we're just starting with a date."

"You're forgiven," Remus replied. "But thank you, it means a lot that you… that you said that, that you think like that."

"Yeah. James set me straight. I'll be honest. Things don't go well for me and I have… trust issues. Abandonment issues. Let's just say there are a lot of issues, but I'll try not to bring that into us."

"I'm your soulmate. I'm here to help you with whatever problems you have. Instead of trying to keep these issues in check, maybe one day we can talk about them and share them? That's what I'm here for - to be with you no matter what."

Sirius smiled. "That sounds perfect," he said softly. "And if I act like a dick again… well, you won't need to do anything because I think James might murder me or lock me in his basement. He's very protective, isn't he?"

Remus grinned. "Let's get you those books, shall we?"

...oOo…

The week sped by and Remus was surprised at the change in Sirius' attitude. There had been one or two innuendos, but they weren't as bad as the comments on the first day and Remus felt more at ease with them, after his talk with Sirius.

"Remus, what's going on?" Lily asked, turning around in her chair on Friday morning. It was the first day Remus had been in class alone, as Sirius had always turned up on time, ready to escort Remus around the school like a lost puppy.

"What do you mean?"

"Sirius. He's gorgeous and all, but… Brian. You dumped Brian for him. That's harsh. Soulmates are forever."

Remus hesitated for a long moment. "Soulmates are forever," he agreed. "And I feel sorry for the person Brian does see every day in the mirror. But that person has never been me. I've always seen Sirius."

"And I've always seen Remus," Sirius insisted, coming up behind them and placing a kiss to Remus' cheek. "Sorry, running a bit later this morning. Did you sleep well?" He sat down in James' usual seat, shifting closer to Remus as he did so.

Remus smiled warmly. "I did. You asked me that by text too."

"Just wanted to make sure," Sirius insisted as James took the seat on Sirius' other side. "I can't wait until tomorrow."

"I can't wait either," Remus said.

"After the date, do you want to come over?" Sirius asked, glancing around at James for approval. "I mean, James said you come over all of the time, but I mean do you want to come and hang out in my room… with the door open. Mummy D has rules about doors being closed ever since I bragged about how I get to have you as my soulmate."

"We'll all be hanging out," James added.

Remus nodded. "Sure. I can come over for a bit."

Sirius reached his hand across the table, quickly grabbing Remus'. He looked at the board as the teacher came in.

Remus smiled, turning his own hand over and letting their fingers entwine.