Author's Notes: I'm going to respond to the reviews of chapters 21 and 22 here because, darn it, I want to. :-) There is some info in the comments that I think everyone might enjoy…maybe?
MJLuvsPolar: I'm glad you picked up on what I was trying to do which was to make allusions to Cassius's memory problem being more than just a normal thing. :-) And yes, Julius Malfoy (my own name and invention) is a total prick. I do also feel sad that Cassius was the one who killed Lucius (in OANR) but Lucius wanted to be free of Voldemort so in a way it's a good thing – the way I see it, although still sad. You know?
Maurynna: thanks for your continuing encouragement!
AffectedMangoO: Dumbledore refers to Cassius as Cassie (his nickname) because Cassius lived at Hogwarts for 6 years, year round so…Dumbledore was more than just the Headmaster to him. That's my reasoning there…hope that makes sense. :-) And the thing about him not getting lost – I just really wanted to contrast how he'd been before and then after.
Mon2: I'm never bored with reviews so review all you want! :-) Thank you so much for your review! (Blushing) You are too kind! If you want a Harry and Draco story, it won't happen in the FL and OANR universe but if you (or anyone) send me an idea, I'll work on writing something. :-)
Gil-Celeb: Thank you for your fantastic review of my stories! I am glad you were inspired to review and I hope you will do it again soon! I was so proud of myself after reading your wonderful compliments!! I hope I am addressing your concern in my other story now – let me know! And I do have some ideas for Harry and Draco growing up and leaving the nest. :-)
Thanks for all the constructive comments and feedback, it helps me to be a better writer which is my goal!! Also, I'm kind of introducing some new character background (about Owen Jones) and I hope it's not too out of left field. Let me know so I can fix it. It makes sense to me but…you know how that goes. :-)
Chapter 23 – Reunited (and it feels so good!)
Cassius lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, on the floor in the room at the end of the hall on the second floor. Remus used the room when he transformed on full moons. There was a bed in the corner, and some miscellaneous pieces of furniture. The room had been Owen's, he had lived here, after graduation, until he died.
They'd slept together every night, either in Owen's bed or Cassius's, but Owen had wanted to have his own room, after 7 years of sharing a room at school. Cassius couldn't remember what Owen looked like anymore…it'd been so long since he had seen him. He rubbed his eyes, noticing he was crying. None of furniture was Owen's, Stevens had taken everything a few months after Owen's death, at Cassius' urging. It was too painful to have reminders of Owen around. For years he had avoided even being in Owen's room, as he still thought of it. But now, he was driven into it because it hurt too much to sleep in his - their bedroom without Remus. The two people he loved most in the world and he was without both of them. At least – he thought, he would always have Stevens. Stevens would never leave him alone – not even when Cassius lost his temper, like he had every day this week. He moved restlessly on the floor, trying to find a comfortable position.
The bed in the room smelled too much like Remus, so Cassius had taken to sleeping on the wooden floor whenever he could escape from Stevens' watchful eye. Not that he slept much. He felt like someone was pounding a spike into his temple and his body ached as though he'd been in a losing battle with a giant. He cursed Sirius Black for keeping him away from Remus. He cursed Dumbledore for offering Remus the job at Hogwarts. He cursed Tabby and Stevens for babying him, slipping him sleeping potions and trying to get him to eat more. And he cursed everyone else just for the hell of it. It made him feel a little bit better.
"Cassius?" Remus's voice floated up the stairs. Cassius didn't move. 'I must be hallucinating', he thought. Maybe this was another stage of the separation illness. He wondered idly how long it would take to die from it. None of the books he could find had an answer to that question. He heard footsteps coming up the hall. Apparently these hallucinations were quite realistic. Remus appeared in the doorway.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing in here on the floor?" Remus looked down at him in surprise.
"Go away, you're not real." Cassius closed his eyes. The footsteps got closer. Remus kneeled down next to him. Cassius could feel his hot breath on his cheek.
"I am real. I've come home. Happy anniversary, husband." Remus kissed his cheek and brushed a hand through his hair. Cassius realized he hadn't been keeping track of the days, was it really their anniversary today? "Cass, open your eyes, please."
"You're really here?" Cassius opened his eyes to see Remus' amber eyes just a few inches away from his own. He was kneeling in the floor next to Cassius.
"Of course I am." Remus grabbed his hand and pulled. Cassius sat up slowly, still not sure that his senses weren't fooling him. "Do you sleep in here?"
"I try." Cassius rubbed his forehead, he couldn't remember, had Remus owled him that he would be coming home?
"Why aren't you in our bed? It has to be more comfortable than the floor." Remus tilted his head questioningly. "If you have the aches I have, I can't imagine making myself more uncomfortable by sleeping on the hard floor."
"I can't sleep without you." Cassius shrugged as he ran a hand over Remus' slender leg, it felt real. The pounding in his head was a little less now Remus was near him.
"I've missed you so much." Remus' voice was a hoarse whisper, his lips moved to cover Cassius' mouth. Cassius threw his arms around Remus, moaning as a surge of desire coursed through him. He couldn't remember the last time he had held Remus. He straddled Remus' thighs and Remus pulled him closer, burying his hands in Cassius' hair. Remus' tongue invaded his mouth and Cassius gripped Remus' shoulders, digging his fingers in, trying to pull him even closer. After a moment, Cassius felt a warmth spiraling through his body, he shuddered, rocking his hips into Remus's as he came.
Remus broke the kiss, panting, "Missed me, did you?" His amber eyes glowed. Cassius' cheeks flushed. "I'm not done with you. Come on." Remus pushed Cassius off his lap and stood up, grabbing his hand tightly. Cassius got to his feet, and followed Remus into their bedroom. He glanced out the window, judging by the position of the sun, it was just after dawn. Remus pushed him onto their bed.
"I love you." Remus quickly laid on top of Cassius, and threaded his fingers through Cassius' silky hair, holding his head in place while he kissed his face all over. He felt Cassius' long fingers slide under his shirt causing his skin to tingle from the hot touch. He moved one hand to glide over his mate's chest and was shocked to feel Cassius' ribs sticking out. He tore his mouth away.
"You need to eat more."
"Do I sound so pushy when I say that to you?" Cassius' cheeks flushed again as his hands glided over Remus' thin torso, stopping to linger over his heart.
"Yes, you do." Remus smiled then looked earnest. "You need your strength."
"I just…" Cassius' voice trailed off.
"I know. I missed you too." Remus rubbed his nose against his mate's, then nuzzled Cassius's neck. "I talked to Dumbledore, I'm here for almost a week and I'm coming home for the Easter holiday as well."
"But…"
"No – I've already cleared it. So don't argue with me." Remus said as authoritatively as possible. "Dumbledore suggested I ask Madam Pomfrey about a potion to help us so I did and she developed something, I've been testing it the past few days and it helps a lot with the symptoms. So you'll need to take that every day when I'm gone, all right?" There was silence and Cassius was avoiding his gaze. "Cassius Lupin."
"All right." Cassius sounded a little sullen.
"Good." Remus kissed him briefly. "And they both say hello."
"What?!"
"They know about us, I told Poppy but Dumbledore already knew."
"Who told him?" Cassius' eyes narrowed.
"Moody did." Remus answered, inwardly wincing. Moody would get some harsh words from Cassius the next time they saw each other. Cassius felt strongly about secrets, especially since their relationship was a secret to keep Remus safe.
"That old bother! I'll jinx him in next week!" Cassius moved, struggling to get up from the bed. Remus took a deep breath, trying to stay focused on the conversation, Cassius' movements were driving him mad with need.
"Jinx him later. If you think I'm going to let you up from this bed before we've…you know…you are very mistaken." Remus felt his face get hot. He was hoping Cassius had forgotten his plan to not have sex with Remus until the school year was done. He didn't care if anyone found out about their relationship, he could defend himself.
"We're going to 'you know'?" Cassius immediately ceased his efforts to get out of bed and started grinning. Remus smiled back but he knew his face was probably bright red.
"Yes." Remus whispered. Cassius always teased him for being shy about talking about sex. His blushing had decreased over the years but hadn't completely gone away.
"Could you tell what's 'you know'?" Cassius had a mischievous look in his green eyes. "Because I think I'm not know that word."
"No! I mean…I could…of course, I could…We're…I'm…just going to show you." Remus found an escape from the conversation and sat up, pulling off his shirt quickly. Cassius's eyes glowed with desire as they skimmed over Remus's scarred chest. Cassius put his hands on Remus's hips and pushed down until Remus was right over Cassius's hardness. Cassius pushed his hips upwards and Remus took in a sharp breath. Remus looked down at Cassius – suddenly, he needed Cassius naked now. He leaned over the side of the bed and pulled his wand out of his robes and with a shaking hand he did a quick undressing charm on them both. Remus looked down at Cassius's chest. He traced his fingers over the bite mark as Cassius shivered beneath him and trailed down to the ring piercing through Cassius's left nipple. He slipped his index finger through the ring. He looked down at his hand with the two wedding bands on it now. Pressing his hand against Cassius' chest, he could feel the quickening heartbeat.
"Happy eighth anniversary, husband." Remus leaned down and whispered against Cassius' neck: "I love you." He licked over the bite mark feeling Cassius shudder beneath him. He slipped his hand free and stretched out on top of his mate, kissing Cassius until he felt dizzy from lack of oxygen.
"I love you." Cassius whispered when they finally came up for air. He turned his head to suck on the bite mark on Remus' shoulder. Remus felt himself get even more aroused, he was so hard he hurt. He kissed Cassius passionately.
"Mate with me." Remus said urgently, "Bite me."
"And then you'll…" Cassius' eyes were dilating with desire.
"Yes, but we have to keep it even. I've mated with you three times and you've only mated with me twice and it needs to be equal, you'll be stronger if it's equal." Remus had done more research while he was at Hogwarts – the restricted section had a great book on werewolves - and discovered an unequal bonding would result in worse separation illness symptoms for the mate who was bonded less.
"I missed you so much." Cassius said, stroking Remus' cheek tenderly.
"I missed you." Remus reached up and brought Cassius down for a breathtaking kiss. "I love you." Cassius separated and turned Remus over. Remus sighed as their bodies joined together. He felt complete now, he was truly home. It didn't take long before he cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure as Cassius bite down hard on his shoulder as they climaxed. He swallowed Remus' blood eagerly, causing shudders of pleasure to wrack Remus' body.
"I love you." Remus said, turning on his side to snuggle up against his mate, kissing Cassius' neck.
"I love you." Cassius murmured, pulling Remus even closer to him. "Can you do that after we sleep a bit?"
"Mmmm…you bet." Remus replied sleepily. Cassius pushed at him and moved to lay on top of him, resting his head on Remus's chest. They were both asleep in seconds, Remus held securely in Cassius's arms.