DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling. I'm just borrowing him for a bit of fun.
PAIRING: SB/RL this means SLASH
THIS CHAPTER: Before Remus disappears from Grimmauld, they share a private moment.

WARNINGS: a horrible attempt at… well, I guess 'sex scene' is the only way to describe it, though it's of the hard PG-13/soft R variety, so nothing too graphic. SLASH ahead!
NOTES: This interlude is dedicated to my reviewers, who impressed upon me the need for 'to taste'. I was originally going to ignore that sense, because it didn't want to fit well into Chapter 5 without interrupting the flow. So now it's an interlude. It's also my first scene of… well, that sort (see warning above). Please review and tell me what you think, and if I should avoid writing such scenes in the future.

Interlude

Remember when I moved in you; / the holy dark was moving too/ and every breath we drew was Hallelujah.

Rufus Wainwright

Remus was pacing again. He knew it was a pointless action, but he just couldn't sit still any longer. They had been in his room for two days, working solely on creating a new spell. He ate whatever Molly left at the door, and slept whenever Sirius forced him to, but his mind was always on the spell. Parchment littered the floor and desk, most of it discarded in favor of a new idea. Exactly five hours and twenty minutes ago, Remus stumbled upon the key to creating his spell. Six minutes and thirty-five seconds ago, he had written down the last of the runes needed for it.

"Remus, please," Sirius begged. He was sitting on the bed watching Remus pace from one wall to the other. "You've got it mostly figured out. You need to rest now."

"I told you, I'm double checking the correlations, making sure they are correct. This is not the time to make a stupid mistake."

"I know. But you won't be able to spot any mistakes if you don't take some time to rest your mind."

"We will need some items to help focus the spell—perhaps if I include a Circle of Influence…" He summoned another parchment to him and began jotting down a list.

Sirius sighed and got up from the bed. Determinedly he made his way across the room and stopped Remus mid-pace. He gently took the parchment and quill from him, placed both hands on his shoulders, and proceeded to kiss him. It was a tender kiss, with just enough lips and tongue to coax Remus into relaxing. Instead of loosening up, however, Remus tensed. Sirius withdrew with a puzzled look, and placed some distance between them.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't—I mean," Remus stuttered. He felt himself blushing. With a deep breath, he tried again. "You taste like air—like nothing. It's confusing."

Sirius was thrown for a moment. A few seconds later, however, he was staring intently at Remus. His eyes darkened. "But I can taste you."

Remus's breath caught in his throat as he watched Sirius approach him with a gleam in his eye. The breath was shakily released a moment later when Sirius unclasped Remus's robe. He remained still as Sirius slowly took off his own clothes. Once he stood naked before him, he started unbuttoning Remus's shirt. Sirius followed every inch of exposed skin with kisses and licks.

Remus tilted his head back and his breaths became more halted. As Sirius worked his way from shoulder, to chest, to navel, he sunk lower onto the floor, until he was kneeling in front of Remus, working on unzipping his trousers. Remus knew he was scarred and skinny; the years had not been kind on him. However, Sirius kissed as if he were worshiping every flaw and imperfection. His hands ran down Remus's sides in reverence, then pushed the trousers to the floor. When Remus looked down and met his gaze, Sirius's eyes were flooded with devotion. Neither dared to move for fear of ending this moment of purest connection.

Finally, Remus shakily lay his hand on Sirius's head. He gently smoothed Sirius's hair down, stroked his cheek, and placed his fingertips under his jaw. Placing the barest amount of pressure on his skin, Remus drew him upwards and into his arms. He brushed his lips along Sirius's neck and jaw, placed a whisper of a kiss on his cheeks and nose, and ghosted his lips against Sirius's.

Slowly, the kiss blossomed until it was a battle of tongues. Remus stepped out of his trousers and backed Sirius towards the bed. In the past, their love-making could be so tender that it brought tears to Remus's eyes and left Sirius speechless. He could tell this wouldn't be one of those times. This was pure lust—a need driving them to prove that this was here and this was now. They kissed as they had fought; neither giving ground or pausing to recollect themselves.

As Remus pushed Sirius down onto the bed, the first tingling of taste worked its way down his tongue. It slowly unfurled like the heat building in his stomach, spreading its tendrils and growing in intensity. Taste and lust battled each other, eventually colliding and combining until every lick was a shock down his spine and every caress became a new and exciting flavor. Remus worked his way over every inch of Sirius's body, taking time to taste every nuance of every part. He became Adam, biting into an apple for the first time and rolling its juices around his tongue. If this is damnation, then gladly I will fall.

"I'm here, I'm real—I'm here," Sirius chanted, soothing Remus's deepest fears. Remus responded silently with tongue, and lips, and fingers, calming Sirius's own doubts. They moved against each other as thunderclouds rolling towards each other in a purple sky, closer and closer, the very air laden with energy and every lightning touch the shattering of a thousand worlds.

Remus pressed another desperate kiss onto Sirius's lips, feeling him exhale his name as he pulled away. "You're here," he kissed, "you're real," he stroked, "you're mine," he breathed.

And Remus fell.