Chapter 19 – Beautiful at Sunset

Remus returned home the next day, cursing Sirius bike. "Why you had to bring me home on that – that THING I don't know."

"I've not passed the test yet so I'm not allowed to drive your car and you know it. Not that you'd let me anyway."

"I'll tell you something – you shouldn't be allowed to drive the damned BIKE!"

"The only reason I can't drive your car is because I haven't passed the test. I bet I could, you know –"

"I'm surprised you passed the bike one! You're a menace – I'm astonished you've not been in an accident the way you drive!" Remus snapped, then relaxed. "I'm sorry. It's just I worry about you and … your driving is terrible!"

Remus dissolved into a fit of giggles, using Sirius to hold himself up. Sirius smiled. "Did they give you laughing gas to keep away the pain?"

Remus gasped, "No. No, they didn't … It's just …"

Remus tailed off again, unable to speak for laughing. Sirius picked him up and carried him to the house. Once inside, Remus seemed to regain most of his composure and stopped laughing, though a grin still covered his face.

"I'm sorry," he said as Sirius put him down on the couch. "I'm just glad I'm home."

Remus sat up, his legs still stretched out on the couch, to allow Sirius to sit down. Then he lay back again so his head was resting on Sirius lap. He toed off his shoes and socks and Sirius did the same; they left the footwear in two untidy piles on the floor. Sirius touched Remus' cheek and whispered, "So am I. Don't be sorry. It's good to see you smiling; laughing … even seeing you tell me off makes me feel better. I know it sounds stupid but … I've seen you lying in that damned hospital bed for so long, it's good to see you do ANYTHING."

Remus smiled and sat up, swinging his legs off the couch. He leant on Sirius and the animagus slid an arm around his waist to pull him closer. Remus leant back into the couch, pulling Sirius with him. He reached out to stroke Sirius hair.

Sirius' heart fluttered as he closed his eyes, leaning into Remus' hand. He felt the werewolf smile and sighed. Remus leant forwards and kissed Sirius. Sirius twisted to press his chest against Remus', his fists gripping the fabric of his coat at the back. Remus' fingers twined into his hair and his other hand ran up Sirius' spine inside his shirt.

Sirius pulled back first and looked deep into Remus' eyes. "I love you," he breathed. "I love you so much …"

Remus smiled. "You know, Sirius, there's so much more I can do now I'm out of hospital …" he said, pausing to pull Sirius close and tease the skin behind his earlobe with his tongue. Sirius tangled his fingers in Remus' hair, moaning in pleasure. Remus laughed softly, nuzzling into Sirius' hair. Sirius whimpered. Remus pulled back suddenly and finished his sentence, "If, of course, we go upstairs."

Sirius nodded, swallowing hard. Remus stood and tugged Sirius to his feet. Sirius linked his hands behind Remus' back, pulling him close so that the werewolf was pressed up against his body, able to feel his desire. Remus' breath caught in his throat. A smile twitched at Sirius' lips. Remus moved his hands up to either side of his mate's head and he pulled him down into a long kiss.

Sirius was stripped of his ankle-length leather coat in record time and it was dumped on the floor. Then Remus was wrestled out of his black three-quarter-length coat, their lips still connected. They managed to stagger into the hall without breaking the kiss, and once in the hall Remus slammed Sirius up against the wall, grinding their hips. Sirius pulled back. "Wait a minute, you're not supposed to be well!"

Remus growled, "I feel fine …" and Sirius really wasn't in the mood to argue. Remus caught his lips in another searing kiss and Sirius pushed away form the wall to lurch to the bottom of the stairs. Remus pulled away. "I'm not sure going up there like this is a good idea …"

Sirius hooked his fingers through the belt loops in Remus' jeans and pulled him close. "And I'm not sure if I can stand letting you go while we get up there."

After the initial moan of pleasure, Remus gave him a scathing look. "I'm not having it off with you in the hall, Sirius."

Sirius laughed softly, resting his forehead against Remus'. "I didn't expect you to."

Remus linked his arms around Sirius' neck and whispered, "We could apparate?"

"I'm not entirely sure where my wand is at the moment …" Sirius replied, barely able to resist the urge to push his hips up against Remus' to feel that wonderful friction. He felt Remus' hips twitch and knew that his mate was going through the exact same torture. He needed to get Remus upstairs and into the bedroom, right now.

He pulled Remus into a kiss and turned so he could start to back up the stairs, pulling Remus after him by the belt loops of his jeans. Remus followed, not breaking the kiss, almost scrambling so he could maintain the contact of their hips. Finally, after an eternity of distance, they reached the top of the stairs and Sirius was pushed up against the wall again.

This time, he couldn't control his hips and thrust forwards. Remus groaned into his mouth. Sirius pushed him away so that in seconds Remus had his back to the opposite wall, their lips still pressed together. Sirius silently cursed the fact that the corridor was long and their bedroom was at the other end. He needed Remus, right now, this minute.

Finally, they reached the bedroom door. In fact, Sirius' back reached it first, then Remus' hand fumbled with the doorknob so they almost fell backwards into the room. Sirius staggered back into the bed, dragging Remus after him. They fell onto the bed, leaving the door and curtains wide open. Not that it mattered; theirs was the only house on the country lane.

Sirius scrabbled at Remus' t-shirt, managing to pull it over his head while the werewolf roughly unbuttoned his shirt. Sirius pushed Remus back with one hand, using the other to prop himself up. Remus pushed the shirt off his shoulders and leant against Sirius. The animagus leant back down, wrenched his other arm out of his shirtsleeve and wrapped his arms around Remus.

Their hips thrust together, creating a rhythm that was too slow for both of them but they couldn't speed up – yet. The rest of their clothes were getting in the way. Sirius rolled Remus onto his back and knelt up over his legs. Remus looked up at him. He asked breathlessly, "What do you intend to do now?"

"Look at you?"

Remus shook his head, his chest rising and falling quickly. "Don't torment me."

Sirius' fingers fell to the fastenings of Remus tight jeans. Remus gasped as Sirius' fingers brushed his hard cock through the layers of cloth still separating them. Sirius bit his lip as he unzipped the jeans and pulled them off Remus' body. The werewolf's hips jerked as his hands moved back up to the top of his boxers.

In a moment they were gone and Remus' body was completely open for Sirius' inspection. He didn't get long, though. Remus sat up, grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down so that their positions were reversed. Sirius whimpered, his passion mounting up another notch as his cock rubbed against Remus'. "Love, this is getting painful …"

The werewolf virtually ripped off Sirius' remaining clothes, abandoning them at the end of the bed, and lay down on top of Sirius' body. Sirius' hips bucked under his and he returned the action until Sirius was virtually screaming underneath him. Then Sirius rolled them over and ground his hips into Remus'. Remus yelped, his hips jerking uncontrollably.

Sirius pulled back and looked into Remus' eyes. Remus saw the expression of love and devotion there and couldn't hold back any longer. He came with a low moan, and Sirius came with him.

They lay there a while longer, exchanging gentle touches and kisses until they had both recovered both breath and control. Remus whispered, "I love you so much …"

Sirius nuzzled into Remus' shoulder. He murmured back, slightly muffled, "I love you too."

Remus ran his fingers through Sirius' jet-black hair. It had grown down past the base of his neck until it brushed his shoulders since they left Hogwarts. Sirius lifted his head and blew a strand off his face. "You think I need a haircut?"

"No. It looks good on you. Everything looks good on you …" Remus replied, smiling. He kissed the end of Sirius' nose and Sirius lay back down with his head on Remus' chest. He could hear his heartbeat and feel his chest rising and falling slowly. He swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat, thinking that he might never have lounged on the bed like this again with Remus. The werewolf stroked his hair, sensing his distress. "Shh, don't think about that, love. Please."

Sirius sniffed and replied croakily, "Can we forget this happened? Just … forget it?"

Remus sighed. He wasn't sure that was possible. He told Sirius as much, but the animagus just laughed. "Anything's possible. Look, I still love you just as much as before, and nothing's different between us, so … OK, we can't just pretend it hasn't happened, but …"

Remus smiled. "I know. If we don't talk about it while it's still painful, maybe it'll fade. So we'll not talk about it. OK?"

"Mm. Remus?"

Remus made a small noise to show he was listening. Sirius snuggled closer his fingers running up and down Remus' side. "Promise me you'll always talk to me?"

"I promise. Sirius, can you go get me a drink?"

Sirius sat up and looked down at his lover. "Look, I'm only doing this because you've only just got home. Don't expect me to go traipsing all the way downstairs to get whatever you want every time you ask."

Remus smiled. "OK, OK. Please, though?"

Sirius smiled back and got up to go and get Remus his drink. Remus pulled the covers of the bed over himself and curled up, pulling a pillow around to rest his head on. He realised he was on Sirius' side of the bed, but he didn't really care. Through their mind-bond, he called, /Sirius, forget the drink; just come up here. Please?/

/Why?/

/I'm tired and I don't want to be on my own … I need you here …/

Sirius came back upstairs and opened the door of the bedroom. Remus was already half-asleep, but he reached out to Sirius. He walked over to the bed, smiling and discarding his dressing gown on the floor on the way across the room, and snuggled up behind Remus. The werewolf burrowed back into Sirius, forcing him to put his arms around him. Sirius kissed Remus' neck and then relaxed, quickly falling asleep.
When Remus woke up, Sirius was still lying behind him. The setting sun was shining in through the window. Remus sat up to look out of the window and saw that clouds were partly covering the sun, which was painting the whole sky orange. He sighed and lay back into Sirius' arms. Sirius himself tightened his arms and nuzzled into the back of Remus' neck, sending a shiver of contentment through the werewolf. The werewolf reached behind him to tangle his fingers in Sirius' hair, marvelling at how soft it was.

Sirius muttered something and leant his head against Remus' shoulder. He rolled over and stroked Sirius' cheek. He whispered, "Sirius, wake up."

After a moment, Sirius opened his sleepy eyes and frowned at Remus. "Is it morning?"

"No. It's nearly dark. We must have been asleep all day. Shall we go downstairs and get something to eat?"

Sirius rolled over onto his back and nodded. Remus sat up, framed against the sunlight blazing through the window, and scratched his head. He turned to Sirius and found him staring at him. "You look beautiful. Especially with the light like that …"

Remus smiled, blushing. Sirius sat up and kissed him. Sirius murmured to him, "You look even better by moonlight. The first night we were … together … it was by the light of the moon. Remember, wolf-boy?"

Sirius smiled and his mate smiled back. Sirius gently touched the thin creases that appeared at the corners of his eyes. Remus looked down, his mouth turning down again. "I'm getting old."

"You're getting beautiful," Sirius told him softly, his voice a mere breath against Remus' ear. The werewolf shut his eyes leaning into Sirius. His mate sighed in contentment, looking down at the flecks of grey in Remus' hair. "So beautiful …"

He ran his fingers over Remus shoulder; skin normally as pale as milk but for the scars was now dyed golden by the light of the setting sun. Remus looked up at Sirius; the leaves of the trees outside dappled the sun shining on his face. He ran his hands over Sirius' smooth, now-gold skin. Sirius moved his fingers up into the werewolf's hair, which had turned bronze. Remus drew in a shuddering breath. He could never tire of looking at Sirius, especially when he looked as perfect as this.

Sirius leant forwards, whispering his name, and brushed his lips to Remus'. The werewolf shut his eyes, every nerve so sensitive to Sirius that he could tell exactly were his mate was without his eyes. He sighed as Sirius trailed oh-so-gentle kisses down his neck until he reached his shoulder and then rested his head there, his lips just touching the skin of his neck. Remus breathed, "You're amazing …"

Sirius chuckled, running the fingertips of one hand up Remus' arm. The werewolf shivered in pleasure. It was moments like this that made his life worth living; that drove away the shadows in his head; that made him love Sirius more than ever before. It was when Sirius acted like this that Remus could really see why he had fallen in love.

Sirius ran his fingers over Remus' lips and whispered, "I love you."

Remus trembled. He breathed, "I love it when you say it first …"

Sirius smiled; even though Remus couldn't see it he could feel it. He opened his eyes again and looked down at Sirius as the animagus raised his head off his shoulder. Amber eyes met deep blue ones and locked. Remus' breath slowed right down as he drank in the look in those eyes. Sirius brushed Remus' cheek with suddenly tentative fingers. He could see the adoration in Remus' eyes and, as always, could barely believe it was he that the werewolf loved. He murmured, "You're the most incredible person I have ever known."

Remus blushed again. Sirius smiled, reaching up to cup Remus' cheek. "You're the same for me."

Remus smiled, his blush deepening. Their eyes met again and Sirius sighed, basking in Remus' gaze. Remus told him softly, "I could look at you all day."

Sirius sighed, snuggling up into Remus' arms, his head under Remus' chin. Remus cuddled him for a long time, his eyes shut, memorising the feel of Sirius' skin and hair as he gently ran his hands over his mate's body.
Eventually, when the room was almost completely dark, Sirius muttered, "We should go eat."

The werewolf shrugged then nodded, letting him go. He stretched and got out of the bed. Sirius also got up and started to get dressed. Once they were both decent, they went downstairs and Remus started to get some soup going.

There was a knock on the door just as he was pouring the soup into two bowls. Remus spilt the soup all over the floor, swearing, and rushed to get a cloth. Sirius went to answer the door. Remus had just finished mopping up the soup when Sirius shouted, "It's Snape. He wants us both."
(A/N: Ooo, what does Snape want? Is it good news – or bad? Or is it because he's really on the side of the Dark Lord and is on an errand for Him? Wait 'till the next chapter to see …

And REVIEW!! NOW! This minute! Do it! Please! There isn't really a good reason. But it'll make me happier than ever. After all, we just won sports' day for the first time EVER! But seriously, when I wrote this, I'd just had a really horrendous day and I don't know how I wrote it … I was in a bad mood, and I usually write really bad angst when I feel bad … Anyway.

Review, please? Make my day even better?)