It was breakfast time and there were only 3 days left before Remus had to
leave. He still hadn't told Sirius of his plans. Time was running out but
Lupin just couldn't find the right moment to tell his best friend that he
would be leaving for a while and might never make it back.
About halfway through their meal, Black noticed that their seemed to be two back doors to the house. When he asked Rem what the extra room held, the response was quiet and casual but still surprised him:
"The door on the left is my old workout room." He said smoothly.
Sirius had to bite his tongue to keep from openly insulting his friend. Truth be told, Lupin looked mighty scrawny. Thin and graceful, Rem hardly seemed the type to work out. But the smile trying to surface on his friend's face told him that there was something up his sleeve. Intrigued, he challenged Moony.
"Let's see what you got."
And so, after he was done eating, Siri was taking a sweeping look around the workout room while Lupin changed clothes. The floor was concrete and was lit by fluorescent lights. There were various jump ropes hanging on the left wall and to the right there were a few weights collecting dust in the corner. The real eye-catcher, though, was the professional punching bag that hung from the center of the ceiling. It was a faded blue color and had the words - "Billy the Punching Bag" written in black marker across the top.
Black smiled and playfully smacked Billy in the side.
"You're free to try it out, you know." A voice said.
Sirius started and turned quickly to scowl at Remus. "I used to hate it when you did that!" he laughed.
Lupin was clad only in a white undershirt and grey sweatpants. He was barefoot and had sweat bands around his wrists and ankles that were magically made to be used as weights.
"You sure? Don't you wanna show me how it's done?" Padfoot smirked.
"No, I have to stretch anyway. Besides, I prefer to put you to shame after you've given it your best shot." Moony flashed a smirk that would have made Severus Snape proud.
"Well, well." Black thought. "It seems as thought he's picked up an attitude over the years . about time."
~~~*~~~
Watching Remus Lupin stretch would make anyone wince. He's extremely flexible and slightly double-jointed on account of his Lycanthropy. In his younger years he would force his shoulder out of joint to entertain the guys and terrorize the girls. Black remembered this and so wasn't surprised when he heard various creaks and pops from behind him while he attacked Billy.
Siri was having a great time. Back in school he was the resident body builder. He'd forgotten how great it feels to move and sweat, how great it feels to be alive. A large smile spread across his face as he worked his wasted muscles and felt his heart beat within him.
When he felt as though his legs were about to collapse beneath him he stopped and sat down on the floor, his back to the wall and legs spread out before him. He caught his breath just as Rem finished warming up and stepped up to take his turn at Billy.
His thin mouth set into a serious line, his heels lifted off the ground as if by routine. He circled clockwise once, and began. His punches were much faster and sharper than Black's had been, and for a right-handed person, he used his left a lot. He did not stay in one place for very long, constantly dodging invisible swings. Siri could tell from his stance that he'd surely been trained. It seemed to come naturally to him; he flowed from one move to the next with out a second's hesitation. Sirius' mouth hung open slightly in surprise.
Rem broke into a sweat rather quickly. It was then that Padfoot guessed that the sweatbands were heavier than they appeared. Moony's face was flushed but happy and Black suspected he also missed how it felt to be alive and active. Rather suddenly he stopped the assault on Billy. Sirius shot his friend a questioning glance.
"I'm going to try something I haven't done in a while. See how rusty I am." He said, still breathing quickly. A little too quickly, it seemed. Padfoot looked on with concern as Remus stripped himself of the sweatbands and placed his hand over his chest and closed his eyes trying to calm his heart. His brows were furrowed slightly as if he was pain.
"Hey, are you-"
"I'm fine." Rem cut him off sternly. His voice was strong and sure though his hands were shaking. "Just give me a second. I want to show you something." He finished.
"I want to show you that I'm strong." Lupin thought.
~~~*~~~
A/N - Thank you for reading. Reviews are welcome but no flames please. --This is only part of this chapter. I will try to finish it up soon but until then this will have to hold you over. ~K 3/30/2003
About halfway through their meal, Black noticed that their seemed to be two back doors to the house. When he asked Rem what the extra room held, the response was quiet and casual but still surprised him:
"The door on the left is my old workout room." He said smoothly.
Sirius had to bite his tongue to keep from openly insulting his friend. Truth be told, Lupin looked mighty scrawny. Thin and graceful, Rem hardly seemed the type to work out. But the smile trying to surface on his friend's face told him that there was something up his sleeve. Intrigued, he challenged Moony.
"Let's see what you got."
And so, after he was done eating, Siri was taking a sweeping look around the workout room while Lupin changed clothes. The floor was concrete and was lit by fluorescent lights. There were various jump ropes hanging on the left wall and to the right there were a few weights collecting dust in the corner. The real eye-catcher, though, was the professional punching bag that hung from the center of the ceiling. It was a faded blue color and had the words - "Billy the Punching Bag" written in black marker across the top.
Black smiled and playfully smacked Billy in the side.
"You're free to try it out, you know." A voice said.
Sirius started and turned quickly to scowl at Remus. "I used to hate it when you did that!" he laughed.
Lupin was clad only in a white undershirt and grey sweatpants. He was barefoot and had sweat bands around his wrists and ankles that were magically made to be used as weights.
"You sure? Don't you wanna show me how it's done?" Padfoot smirked.
"No, I have to stretch anyway. Besides, I prefer to put you to shame after you've given it your best shot." Moony flashed a smirk that would have made Severus Snape proud.
"Well, well." Black thought. "It seems as thought he's picked up an attitude over the years . about time."
~~~*~~~
Watching Remus Lupin stretch would make anyone wince. He's extremely flexible and slightly double-jointed on account of his Lycanthropy. In his younger years he would force his shoulder out of joint to entertain the guys and terrorize the girls. Black remembered this and so wasn't surprised when he heard various creaks and pops from behind him while he attacked Billy.
Siri was having a great time. Back in school he was the resident body builder. He'd forgotten how great it feels to move and sweat, how great it feels to be alive. A large smile spread across his face as he worked his wasted muscles and felt his heart beat within him.
When he felt as though his legs were about to collapse beneath him he stopped and sat down on the floor, his back to the wall and legs spread out before him. He caught his breath just as Rem finished warming up and stepped up to take his turn at Billy.
His thin mouth set into a serious line, his heels lifted off the ground as if by routine. He circled clockwise once, and began. His punches were much faster and sharper than Black's had been, and for a right-handed person, he used his left a lot. He did not stay in one place for very long, constantly dodging invisible swings. Siri could tell from his stance that he'd surely been trained. It seemed to come naturally to him; he flowed from one move to the next with out a second's hesitation. Sirius' mouth hung open slightly in surprise.
Rem broke into a sweat rather quickly. It was then that Padfoot guessed that the sweatbands were heavier than they appeared. Moony's face was flushed but happy and Black suspected he also missed how it felt to be alive and active. Rather suddenly he stopped the assault on Billy. Sirius shot his friend a questioning glance.
"I'm going to try something I haven't done in a while. See how rusty I am." He said, still breathing quickly. A little too quickly, it seemed. Padfoot looked on with concern as Remus stripped himself of the sweatbands and placed his hand over his chest and closed his eyes trying to calm his heart. His brows were furrowed slightly as if he was pain.
"Hey, are you-"
"I'm fine." Rem cut him off sternly. His voice was strong and sure though his hands were shaking. "Just give me a second. I want to show you something." He finished.
"I want to show you that I'm strong." Lupin thought.
~~~*~~~
A/N - Thank you for reading. Reviews are welcome but no flames please. --This is only part of this chapter. I will try to finish it up soon but until then this will have to hold you over. ~K 3/30/2003
