Auction: Wings
Assignment 4 - Aromatherapy - Task 4: Write a story set in a camp or forest
And I really do wanna believe
D&D fic. Sirius has a secret about his heritage that he chooses to share with the others.
Remus likes to think back to the first day he met the other Marauders. They all responded to an advertisement on the noticeboard in a small town that they were all passing through. Four people responded. All four were hired for the job.
Remus had his reservations about the group when meeting them. It's always been hard for him to trust strangers. But somehow they worked their way through the problems in the town pretty quickly. When James - their paladin - suggested they take on the world, Remus couldn't turn down the offer.
Their group knitted together so well. Peter, the skilled half-elf ranger, James the handsome human paladin, Remus the cursed elf, and then there is Sirius. Beautiful, amazing Sirius. Till this day, he can't quite comprehend that he gets to spend his days with someone like Sirius.
He has no clue about Sirius. The man claims to be just the usual sort of elf, but Remus is an elf himself, and he's sure Sirius isn't quite what he seems. James and Peter accept this though and Remus isn't one to rock the boat. He also claims to be a simple rogue. Or bard, depending on his mood. But Remus knows that he's lying about a lot of things. But… Sirius has put himself in harms way to protect the three of them, and Remus believes he can trust the other man with his life. He just wonders what secret the other man has.
Remus can't rest. He just lays in his sleeping bag, his eyes on Sirius, who is sitting by the fire, watching out for trouble. They're in a nice clearing in the forest, but camping in the forest allows for things to sneak up between the trees.
After about half an hour, Sirius lets out a soft sigh.
"If you can't meditate, you're welcome to sit and keep my company," he offers.
Remus nods. He gets out of his sleeping bag and heads over to where Sirius is warming himself by the fire.
"We're off to the Feywilds tomorrow," Sirius murmurs. The tone of his voice tells Remus that it's been playing on his mind for the time he's been sitting there. He pulls out a bar of chocolate from their stash and hands it over to Remus.
"That's right," Remus says. "You said you've visited there before?"
Silence passes between the pair, and Remus moves closer to Sirius, closer to the fire. He opens the chocolate and starts to snack, making quick work of it because of the fire threatening to melt it.
I've been lying to you all," Sirius admits, so quietly that Remus isn't sure he's even spoken. His voice has lost it's loud confidence. It's now haunting and beautiful and it's further proof that Sirius is so much more than he pretends to be. He's heard Sirius singing before, but even that is Sirius trying to change his voice from this haunting sound that sends shivers through him. It occurs to Remus that Sirius forces his voice to be something different than it really is to better hide.
"What about?" Remus asks.
"I'm not who… or what I said I was," he admits. "I… I wanted to tell you guys before, but… for the first time, it's like I had a family and I was scared to lose you all. So I put it off and put it off. But now… you're going to find out eventually. I don't want any of you to think that I'm trying to bamboozle you."
"You can tell me anything," Remus insists gently.
Sirius hesitates for the longest time. "Yeah. I trust you," he murmurs. "Please don't hate me. I don't want to go tomorrow with this secret hanging over me. If we go and I don't tell you all… you may never trust me again."
Remus reaches out, his hand resting on Sirius' hand. "Talk to me."
Sirius' hand turns, and his fingers close gently around Remus' hand, surprising Remus.
"I didn't just visit there," Sirius admits quietly. "I ran away from there."
"Did they trap you?" Remus asks softly. He's heard horror stories about the Unseelie court. About the cruel rulers there. The evil court. Remus isn't sure how much of that is true, because he doesn't believe everything he hears.
"Sort of. You see… I was born there." His head turns towards Remus. "I'm scared to go back. My parents do not rule there anymore, but my brother is a part of the court. If we're there to take down the court…" he trails off. "I don't want to hurt my little brother."
"No one said anything about hurting him," Remus insists, processing this new bit of information. It explains so much. The voice, the knowledge of the fae. It explains why Sirius was the only one reluctant to take up their next job.
Sirius is usually the one who is ready and willing to fight no matter what. But for him to want to pull away from a job, that means something is up. In the three months Remus has known him, he's learnt that much about him.
"What else?" Remus asks.
With that, Sirius smiles. "A few things. The rogue stuff… natural abilities actually. I just liked music too much so took a different path than my parents wanted me to take. And…" He taps at his armour. "Most uncomfortable armour I've ever worn in my life. We're not made for armour."
"It's because you buy the cheaper one," Remus comments. "The other has a better lining."
"The other is iron," Sirius admits. "I can't… I can't wear that. I don't like metal armour at all."
"Well, why not wear the leather? Look, we have spare armour. How about I help you into the new armour?"
Sirius hesitates for a long moment. "After we wake the others," he finally decides. "I need… special armour. I think you probably should know why."
He sits quietly for a moment. "I'm not sure I can do this. I'm not sure I can handle the shame," he admits.
Remus holds his hand tightly. "It seems like you're ashamed of being a good person. We don't judge by race. You matter to us, Sirius."
James and Peter are shocked at the revelation, and neither say anything as Sirius explains about his heritage and his brother.
"That's not it," Sirius says, once he's finished. "Remus, if you could help me now?"
Remus obliges. He helps Sirius out of the finicky armour straps - something Sirius has always refused before. But when the armour comes off, Remus can see why.
Black wings sprout from Sirius' upper back. They're beautiful, and remind him somewhat of dragonflies, but there are holes and tears.
"Well, this is new," Peter murmurs.
"You're hurt," Remus gasps.
"Unseelie," Sirius explains. "We don't get the beautiful seelie wings."
Remus frowns. "I think they're beautiful," he insists, before sitting back down. "There's damage. Is it because you keep them behind the armour?"
"I think that's why they're taking so long to heal," Sirius admits quietly. "When you leave, they take your wings. It's a punishment. They were in tatters the day I left. Ripped and torn. I thought they'd never get better. I've been… I can't heal too well... "
"I can heal," Peter murmurs.
"I know. I think they've slowly been getting better each time you've helped me," Sirius admits. "Though the armour is preventing them from stretching and getting air. But I was scared to show them." He pauses, stretching them out and breathing a sigh of relief as they stretch. They are still torn and broken, but Sirius glances at them, looking pleased at their condition. Remus can only imagine how bad they had been when he first ran away. Sirius rolls his shoulders and stretches his arms up. "I think you're better of without me there. I mean… I'll understand if you want me to leave the group. I know this world doesn't trust fae. But don't have the knowledge to distinguish elves from fae elves. I had hoped to earn your trust more before revealing myself. I… I didn't want to go to my world only for you all to find out the truth and realise I had lied."
"Actually, you didn't lie," James points out. "You said you're an elf. Fae are types of elves. You said you're a bard, you are. You said you had roguish abilities. That's the truth too. You haven't actually lied. You can't lie, can you?"
"Fae can't lie," Sirius confirms. "We can avoid the truth though. We're evasive. One of you asked if I was an elf, which is true. I let you come to your own conclusions and didn't deny anything."
"It's why you're so good with words," Peter murmurs. "Because fae are good at talking. They have to convince people of things without actually lying."
"So… what's it going to be?" Sirius asks, pushing them back on topic. "Am I staying behind for this mission, or am I leaving this group?"
"I trust you with my life," Remus mutters, hoping the others follow lead. "You constantly risk yourself to protect us. You're overly reckless, but… you never put us in harm's way."
"Remus is right," Peter agrees. "You've proven yourself to us. What more can we ask?"
Sirius looks towards James.
"We're family now," James says, after a moment of thinking. "You should come with us. We trust you." His serious expression fades into a smirk. "So… when you told Remus how nice his arse is… or the time you said how beautiful his eyes are… you can't lie."
Sirius laughs softly. "Well, perhaps now he'll believe my words." He stands up and stretches out his legs. "Thank you, all of you. It's a huge weight off my shoulders to find out you still want to be my friends."
""When you're scared and insecure, that's when you need your people the most," James murmurs. "We're here for you."
"Do you guys want to get back to sleep, or trance? I can watch for a bit longer," Sirius offers.
"I'll take the next watch," Remus insists. "You guys get some rest." He glances up. "I'm staying up to watch the meteor shower."
Sirius nods. He walks over to Remus and leans in, his lips brushing gently against Remus'. "Thank you for being so… so accepting, I knew you would be. You are beautiful, Remus. The most beautiful being I've ever met and now I finally have the confidence to do that. There has been something starting to bloom between us, that I would really like to address and explore. In the morning though, if that's okay?"
He smiles, a little shyly now as Remus nods. Sirius he heads over to Remus' sleeping bag and lays down, and Remus can only stare at him.
"Come join me when you need to trance. I promise I'll be good." Sirius winks at him and Remus can't help but blush as a smile finds its way onto his lips. He's dreamt about a kiss from Sirius since the day they met. Now his dream is coming true.
The meteor shower is beautiful, but he finds himself watching Sirius instead. He's feeling optimistic about whatever the future has in store for the both of them.
1884 words
Back to school: 73: Optimistic
Cat herding - Sirius / Faculty Room - "You've caught me at a really bad time."
Writing Club
Gotta Catch Them All - 14. Sentret: (plot point) Someone keeping watch/guard
Written in the Stars - 6. (word) finicky
Book Club - Remus Lupin: (food) chocolate, (setting) full moon, (plot point) hiding a secret (emotion) shame
Showtime - 18. Can't Fight This Feeling - (trope) Friends to Lovers
Film Festival - 29. (dialogue) "When you're scared and insecure, that's when you need your people the most."
Lizzy's Loft - 18. Machine - I'm not scared of what you're gonna tell me
Elizabeth's Empire - 15. (trait) kind
Sophie's Smut Bucket - 11. (dialogue) "I promise I'll be good."
Lyric Alley - 14. Tell me that I'm strung out, wasted on the daily
Throwback - 27. (dialogue) "I'm staying up to watch the meteor shower."
Hobby Hole - 1. Word: Bloom
Artist Appreciation - 6. Better Be Good To Me: Prompt - (plot point) a lie
Buttons - Word: (2) Bamboozle / Action (4) Eating chocolate / Emotions (3) Affection
Resolution Evolution - 5. Write a fic including the genre: Drama
TV Spree - 22. (dialogue) "It seems like you're ashamed of being a good (insert pronoun)."