Remus rolled onto his side, facing away from Sirius. He folded his hands under his head as he looked blankly down at the mattress. His face throbbed, and he winced every time he spoke. His breath began to come in short, slow intakes as he blinked away tears. He felt ugly - completely and totally ugly.

"Rem?"

Remus closed his eyes and felt more tears fall down his cheeks, the salty liquid stinging when it ran over the cuts. He didn't answer.

Sirius placed a hand to Remus' shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. Sirius' hand hovered over his shoulder silently before he had stood and began to walk away from the chair he had been sitting on to the other side of the bed. Sirius knelt down infront of Remus; his heart clenching as he watched tears run down Remus' face.

"What's wrong...?"

Remus let his head fall further, his chin rest against his chest. "Don't... don't look at me." His eyebrows furrowed together as more tears fell from his eyes.

"Remy..." Sirius stood and sat down next to his boyfriend, placing a gentle hand to his chin, forcing him to look up. "Why don't you want me to look at you?"

"...B-because I-I'm..." Remus quickly maneuvered his chin out of Sirius fingers and sat up, pulling his knees to his chest, resting his forehead on his joined hands.

"You're what?"

Remus lift his head slightly, his hair fell over his eyes as he spoke. "Ugly. I'm a monster..."

"Rem... you're not ugly."

"Yes I am..." Remus sniffed and felt more tears fall from his eyes. "Just go... leave me alone."

"No."

Remus turned to face Sirius. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked into Sirius eyes. "Please, just go..."

"I'm not leaving you, Remus." Sirius raised his hand and ran it along Remus' jaw, ignoring the twitch Remus gave as he tried to sever the contact. "You're not going to do this."

"I just... I... Go awa-"

Remus' stumbling request was cut off by a kiss. Sirius gently kissed his mate, his hand curling instinctively around the nape of Remus' neck. Sirius parted his lips gently, taking in a slow breath before kissing Remus again. He placed many slow, gentle kisses on Remus' lips, each one received and returned gratefully by his mate.

Sirius rest his forehead against Remus', his hand still on Remus's neck. "You aren't ugly, Remus. You're entirely beautiful. Everything about you is attractive and handsome." Sirius took in a slow breath, feeling more tears fall from Remus' eyes. "I love everything about you... your flawless skin, the way you arch to my touch, and the way you trust me completely... I love your cheeks, your ears, and your wavy hair. I love how your face lights up when you smile, the way your eyes soften when you're happy, the way your nose wrinkles when you laugh. I love your voice, the way you twine your fingers in mine, the way you walk, eat, and drink..." Sirius lent back and looked into Remus eyes. "I don't care about the scars, Remy... I love them because they are a part of who you are."

Sirius cupped his hand over Remus' cheek, and Remus lent into the touch. Nodding his head, Remus changed his position and sat with his side to Sirius' chest. He pulled his knees back up, his arms folded between his thighs and chest. Sirius wrapped both of his arms around Remus' shaking body and held him tight. Softly kissing his forehead, before resting his cheek against the crown of Remus' head.

That afternoon gave way to evening, and the hospital wing fell to darkness, the only light was the shining moon, which cascaded through the large windows and over the many beds. Sirius lay beside Remus, his head on Remus' shoulder. The doctors had permitted that Sirius would be allowed to stay. Sirius had been provided with his own set of pajamas. His slender fingers absentmindedly traced a scar on Remus' chest.

"Siri?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank-you for staying with me..."

Sirius smiled into Remus' chest, letting his hand finally come to a rest. "Your welcome."

Remus tilted his head slowly, resting his cheek on the top of Sirius head. "Valentines Day is next week."

"So is your birthday."

"...Indeed it is."

"It's odd... you being born on February 14th."

"I suppose it is..." Remus shifted his position, turning onto his side on the small bed, facing Sirius. "I'm glad I have you to spend the day with."

"You always will have me to spend the day with." Sirius turned and mimicked Remus' position. "What do you want for your birthday?"

"Mmm... I don't know. I don't really like gifts."

"You have to pick something."

"I don't want to. I don't want anything."

Sirius reached down and took Remus' hand. "You must want something... Anything...?"

"I have everything I want." Remus smiled, leaning forward. "I have you. That's all I need."

Sirius laughed warmly as Remus' forehead came to rest against his own. "That's rather cheesy you know."

Remus let out a low sigh. "I know. Everything is cheesy when you're in love it seems."

Sirius nodded and the two fell into a long silence. Things between them had changed drastically at the transformation. They both seemed to mature in the blink of an eye, realizing how easy it was to loose eachother. Neither of them knew how deep the bond had run between them – as it was the only thing that brought Remus back. There were times during the day when Remus would forget who he was, every time he would fall silent and his eyes would shift nervously around the room, searching for a way out. And each time he was lost, he was found again by a single kiss or gentle caress of the skin. Sirius helped him remember who he was, with a kind smile and squeeze of his hand. Sirius hadn't left his side once. Keeping the request that Remus had muttered that morning as frightened tears fell from his amber eyes.

Conversation seemed to be lost on the two boys. Both of them only settled when the other was near, they felt each other's heartbeats, each other's breathing patterns... heard each other's thoughts. Remus remembered the sloppy words that fell from Sirius's lips, and the never-ending tears that fell from Sirius' azure eyes when he recalled that morning. The words hadn't made sense to him, they all seemed to be strung together in a giant mass of emotion. It was only then that Remus realized how much Sirius truly loved him. Through the whole thing... Remus heard apologetic words flowing through his mind – referring to Madeline, and words of anger telling him to remember.

"Lily really was pregnant."

"What?"

"She... she had a miscarriage." Remus spoke softly. "I found her in the bathroom... crying, and covered in blood. She was sitting in the corner, her hands and legs were covered in so much blood..."

"Remus..."

"I helped her clean herself up, I held onto her while she cried... I promised not to tell James she had lost their child." Remus shook his head. "She wanted the baby... she wanted it so badly. She was going to tell James that afternoon... before..."

Sirius closed his eyes. "That's why she's acting the way she is...?"

"...Yes. She's had only me to rely on for comfort." Remus laughed slightly. "I had no idea how to cope with a miscarriage. I had no idea how to help her through it. I don't know how I'm doing it, I really don't." Remus curled his neck and rest it against Sirius' collarbones. "Don't tell anyone,"

"I... I won't..."

"Thank-you."

"Mm..." Sirius pulled Remus closer to his body, holding him tight against his chest.

Remus let go of Sirius' hand and let it trace the indent in the middle of Sirius' abdomen as he lay there. His fingers slowly traced over the hard muscles under his skin, moving towards Sirius' boxers.

"...Rem..."

"Shh... just let me..." Remus moved his head back and kissed Sirius' neck.

Sirius' long eyelashes blinked before he nodded – his eyes burned into Remus' as his fingers slid under the thin fabric of Sirius' pants. Sirius eyebrows furrowed slightly as he felt long, graceful fingers curve around his length. Remus smiled, studying Sirius' eyes. Remus had always been told that a person's eyes were the windows into their soul. Sirius face began to flush as he closed his eyes, drawing his bottom lip into his mouth, biting at the flesh. Remus face softened as a small whimper escaped from Sirius' throat as his fingers teased at the head of Sirius' penis, lightly stroking the warming flesh.

Remus lent over and kissed Sirius' lips softly before resting his head on the pillow again. Not once did he stop the movement of his hand on Sirius. He wished that Sirius would open his eyes and look at him... and, just as he finished his thought, Sirius looked up at him - loosing himself in a vast ocean of amber and honey. Sirius mouth fell open slightly as a small groan escaped from his throat, he didn't blink, he didn't want to ever close his eyes. Sirius' cheeks glowed a deeper shade of crimson as small, careful movements of fingers caressed him higher into the throws of pleasure. Remus smiled at him, and Sirius closed his eyes, his body arching towards the werewolf's, his mouth falling open as hurried breaths found their way in and out of his lungs. Remus' eyes traveled over Sirius face slowly, drinking in the way his face looked when he was moments away from climax. Moving his hand one last time, Remus felt Sirius on his hands, slicking his fingers with white. Sirius eyelashes fluttered as he opened his eyes, looking at Remus. His soft azure eyes filled with tears as he fell into Remus' warm embrace. He cried softly in Remus's arms, the pillow drinking up the salty tears that fell from his eyes and slid down his cheeks. Remus closed his eyes and wiped his fingers off before wrapping his arm around his love. He pulled Sirius close to his chest, whispering soft words into his ear, trailing his fingers up and down his back caressing the skin.

His tears eventually stopped. No other words were spoken as they drifted into sleep. Sirius's actions need not be explained – his actions need not to be judged. Remus held Sirius through the night, calmly accepting the dark as it surrounded them. He welcomed the dark, for it left only them to be contended with. Everything around them seemed to be non-existent as they felt the bond between them deepen even more so than before. They were forever a part of eachother. From this moment on, neither would be the same.

....

Sirius awoke to a gentle caress against the nape of his neck. Gentle, loving fingers ran lightly across the skin, slowly lulling him from his deep rest. Remus lay on his side, smiling as he felt Sirius awaken.

"James is here."

Sirius nodded against Remus' chest. "Morning James."

"...Morning." James smiled as Sirius turned to face him, lying on his back. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine." Sirius managed a small smile. "Yourself?"

"Alright..." James' face fell after he had returned Sirius' smile.

"What's wrong, Jamie...?" Sirius turned to sit up and face his friend, feeling Remus' fingers around his waist, holding onto his hip gently.

James took off his glasses and let his head fall to his hands. "Lily was... she... had a miscarriage."

Sirius offered no words, but did take James into a hug. He held his friend close as he wept.

"I was going to be a father..."

"Shh..." Sirius let his head fall beside James' ear. "Shh..."

James's tears eventually ceased, and he sat back, wiping his eyes. James rest his back against the chair, and crossed his arms. "So much has changed in so little time."

"That's life." Sirius smiled warmly, feeling Remus sit up behind him, wrapping his arms around Sirius' waist, kissing his shoulder. Sirius bowed his head down and rest his hand over Remus'.

The three friends sat in silence; none of them knew what to say to the other. They each had their own pains to silently deal with. Remus spoke first.

"Who's up for breakfast...?"

James smiled, as did Sirius.

"Sure... do you want to get dressed first then... and we'll all go down to the Great Hall?"

Sirius and Remus nodded. James stood up and walked towards the exit of the infirmary, telling them he would wait by the doors. The two remaining Marauders dressed quickly and quietly, taking each other's hands as they walked towards James. Remus smiled at Madam Pomfrey as he walked past, ignoring her protests. He was fine, he felt fine. He needed to get away from her, from the hospital room, from the sterile dead environment.

Sirius and Remus walked hand in hand, James beside Sirius. None of them spoke as they made their way to the Great Hall, each of them bowing their heads to the ground. The Marauders had never been known to be quiet in the presence of eachother – and everyone they walked by knew something was wrong. Their friends offered feeble greetings as they passed eachother, the return being a mere smile and low whisper of 'Hello'. Remus looked up as they reached the Great Hall, looking around at his classmates. He scanned the hall momentarily before allowing Sirius to lead him to their table, Remus again let his head fall, trying to hide the hideous gashes on his face. The three friends soon joined Peter and Lily.

Lily looked up at them and smiled. "Good Morning,"

Remus smiled faintly before sitting down, resting his right elbow on the table covering the back of his head with his hand. "Morning."

Lily and James sat beside one another, leaning into the other's warmth, quietly drawing strength to carry on from the other. Sirius and Remus sat quietly beside eachother, their hands joined under the table. Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking up. This was to be the first time everyone had seen him after the transformation. The response he received was not unlike what he had expected.

Lily gasped, as did Peter. The rest of the Gryffindor table eyed him nervously, constantly looking from him to their plates – silently wondering what had happened. Remus took another deep breath and motioned to the pitcher of orange juice.

"Can you please pass me that?"

Peter nodded, a slight smile coming to his lips. "Yeah, here."

Remus took the pitcher gratefully with both hands, pouring himself a glass of juice. As he sipped the juice, Sirius lent over and kissed his jaw.

"You're doing so good, Rem... I'm proud of you."

Remus smiled, blinking his eyes a few times, washing away the tears he knew were trying to free themselves. He pursed his lips gently before nodding and taking a sip of his juice.

The rest of breakfast was mostly silent, until Dumbledore had stood at the front of the Hall, clapping his hands a few times rather dramatically to attain everyone's attention.

"I would like it if all but the 7th years would vacate from the Great Hall please!"

By this time, everyone had finished their breakfast, and they all nodded – muttering incoherent words under their breaths as they left the Hall. The great wooden doors closed behind them as Dumbledore addressed the 7th years.

"As this is your last year here, I have come up with a plan." He smiled when a good portion of the graduating class began to whisper amongst themselves. He waited for them to stop their whispering before he continued. "I have decided to hold an exclusive Valentines Dance for you all, with the help of the Prefects and Head Students. It will be held on the evening of the 14th, so be sure to have your dress robes ready and clean so that you may wear them." Dumbledore smiled kindly. "That is all, you may return to your previous activities."

The doors opened again, and most of the students had vacated the Great Hall – all muttering about the dance. Regulus had stayed behind, his long black hair tied back with a short length of ribbon. He slowly made his way over to Sirius.

"...Hey."

Sirius looked up, he smiled gently at his brother. "Hey."

"Er..." Regulus looked around the table, his eyes resting on Remus' face for a moment before looking to Sirius. "Mum wants us to come home and start to get our things. She's having the Malfoy's stay at the mansion in June... and she'd like our rooms to be cleaned out by then."

"You're kidding? I can't empty my whole room and bring it all to Hogwarts – most of my stuff is strictly against the dress policy... and she fucking knows that." Sirius ran a hand through his hair, looking back at Regulus.

Regulus raised his arms, holding his hands in the air. "Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy will be staying in my room, Lucius in yours." At this, Sirius cursed loudly. Regulus began the next statement slowly, dragging it out. "Don't kill the messenger, Sirius. Talk to her if you don't agree with this. It's not exactly as if I'm all to pleased to have all my belongings around me – I havn't got enough room and we'll only be bringing it back home after."

"God Damnit that woman is bloody insufferable. A Malfoy in my room?" Sirius let out an irritated breath. "When's she want us back?"

"Last couple days of the month. We'll have to have all our stuff out by the beginning of June. We still have 3-½ month's left to get our shit out, so start taking some of it now. It'll be easier in the long run."

"...Yeah." Sirius rest his elbow on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Thanks."

"Mhm." Regulus let his eyes fall back to Remus. "See you Remus." He smiled warmly.

Remus was shocked at the amount of kindness that came out of the Slytherin. He had only managed to nod his head vaugly before speaking. "...Yeah. See you."

With that, Regulus turned, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's waist who was standing behind him. He lent over and kissed her neck as they walked out of the hall. Amazingly enough she wasn't a Slytherin – but a Gryffindor... by the all too familiar name of Madeline.

Sirius' eyebrows rose as he watched his brother leave the Great Hall. He didn't dare say anything about whom he was with.

"That was interesting..." James raised his eyebrows and nodded as he looked over to Sirius.

Lily nodded as she smiled slightly. "Quite..."

"Valentines Day!" Peter interrupted suddenly causing his friends to jump with alarm, hoping to change the subject. "Valentines Day is really quite interesting if you think about it. Did you know that-"

"It's Remus's birthday on Valentines day." Sirius spoke up, smiling as he looked over at Remus.

"You're kidding?!"

"You should have known that, James." Remus scowled slightly at his friend's misplaced memory, but soon recovered. "But... yes... It is on Valentines Day, and before you ask, I don't want anything – so don't get me anything."

"Ah but what's a birthday without gifts?" Lily smiled, leaning over the table. "You must want something, Remus."

"I don't like receiving gifts." Remus stated, running his hand through his hair, strands of sandy-blonde hair catching the light. He then gracefully rest his hands on his teacup. "So don't get me anything. I don't want anything." Remus furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "I feel like a broken record."

"A very sexy broken record." Sirius smirked leaning sideways to kiss Remus' neck. Remus rolled his head to the side – allowing Sirius more skin to lay his lips on, though still rolling his eyes – trying to show his annoyance at his boyfriend.

Peter made a face. "Cut it out!"

"Ahh, a homophobe are you?" Remus smiled, his cheeks growing slightly pink as Sirius began to lightly suck on his neck, producing a small hickey.

"No, I just don't want to watch anyone sucking on someone else's neck."

Remus smirked and placed his right hand to Sirius's cheek, lightly asking him to stop with the touch. Sirius smirked before kissing Remus' cheek, receiving a warm smile at the kiss.

"What's wrong with being in love and showing it, Pete?" James tilted his head to the side, running his hand up Lily's thigh.

Peter's eyes traveled to James' hand, then back to his face. "Er... nothing. I just don't want to see it."

Lily smacked James's hand rather hard when his fingers began to find their way up the hem of her skirt. "Stop it! Peter's right... we shouldn't do these kinds of things in public."

"Then would you care to accompany me to a more private local, Lily dearest?"

Lily took a deep breath before glancing over at Sirius and Remus, who were both smiling at them. "Perhaps later."

"You tease me." James scowled before placing a light kiss to her cheek.

A smile formed on Lily's lips as she began to run her hand up James' thigh, smiling when he gave an interested twitch. "I know I do." She then promptly removed her hand and stood up. "I've got to clean my bed up a bit, see you all later."

James sputtered as Lily stood to walk away. "TEASE!"

Lily turned and kissed her fingers, blowing a kiss at James. She smiled widely before turning around and purposefully swinging her hips as she disappeared.

"Gah... Women." James sighed as he crossed his arms, resting his elbows on the table.

"Woman indeed." Sirius agreed, mimicking James' position.

"Stop mocking me."

"I'm not mocking you, I'm simply agreeing with you."

"Mocker."

"That sounds like a chocolate or some sort of sweet snack... 'Hey! Would you like a mocker? They're fresh out of the oven, just made!'"

James raised his eyebrow – very unimpressed. Peter sat with a confused look on his face – as per-usual. Remus merely shook his head and laughed.

"Well... at least he thinks I'm funny." Sirius made a face at James before turning to Remus.

"I only laughed because you made an ass of yourself, Siri."

James and Peter broke out into a laugh. James took a breath and spoke first.

"Now that's funny!"

"That hurts Rem, that really hurts." Sirius frowned and looked down at the table.

Remus on the other hand, smirked as his hand fell under the table. Sirius squeaked as fingers found his crotch, his arms flew into the air and he dropped his juice all over the table. Remus merely laughed and took his hand back, while Sirius cleared his throat and crossed his arms.

"What the hell!"

Sirius looked over to James and smiled apologetically. "Heh... Nothing."

When Sirius' slightly angry gaze found Remus, he saw that Remus was smiling widely whilst chewing on his bottom lip. He looked completely innocent of the act that just occurred. Remus tilted his head to the side and proceeded to contort his face into 'the look.'

If Sirius were to say anything at that moment, whatever words he may have said leaked from his mind as his stern face melted into a helpless smile. Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head, laughing softly.

Sirius soon found himself muttering something he often did when Remus was in the room. "You're going to be the death of me."

"And what a way to die..." Remus cooed into Sirius ear as he lent over, twirling a lock of shining black hair in his graceful fingers before kissing Sirius neck.

Author's Notes:

Yes, well, nothing doing over here in Author's corner... Pretty quiet these days. HUUAAH!

SPOILER TIME: Now, to torture you all - think of Sailor Moon and that damned thing that she had in the middle of her forehead while transforming.

Weee...!! That's it for now, if anyone has questions/suggestions - please leave them and I'll answer them with the next chapter.

I pose a question to all of you: How many chapters do you think I can write in a row that do not involve sex or sex related things? Leave your response in your comments. (smiles) Make sure to tell me... and don't just leave a random number. Woo.. That's it for now... Off to phone Tracey!!

(Leaves out cookies for Kylia and somerandomcrazyperson - as requested)

Ehrm...

(Leaves out seperate batch for everyone else...)