Author's notes: Enjoy the fight that's been several installments in coming!
And now, Sakai Michiba presents:
Loss of Face
Part 6 of the Smitten series
Remus Lupin was terribly ashamed of himself. He had lost control completely with Sirius, and though to Sirius it may only have been a gentle kiss on the fingertips, to Remus it was a total embarrassment. Then Sirius had held him like that, and for a moment it had felt as though they were truly together and in love. Sirius laughing at him had just been too much, and in his horror, he ran from the room, wanting to be as far away from Gryffindor Tower as he could possibly get.
When he stepped into the common room, however, he saw James standing there, blocking his exit with a nasty scowl on his face. "Get out of the way, James," he whispered dangerously, not in any mood to fight at the moment.
James, however, had other ideas. He took a few steps forward and seized Remus by the shoulders, throwing him backward against the back of the couch and coming at him, fists raised. "You know what you did, Lupin," he snarled, and he came close to him, getting right in his face. "How dare you kiss her…You bastard, you knew I had dibs on her…"
Remus's eyes narrowed, and he hissed through his teeth, "The last time I checked, Potter, Lily was a person, not an object. You can't call dibs on a person. Also, last time I checked, she hated your damn guts because you're the smarmiest bastard that ever lived. Why do you think she kissed me, anyway? Maybe it's because I know how to treat someone."
That did it for James. He brought up his fist and decked Remus right in the nose, smirking as the smaller boy yelped and brought his hands up immediately to his face, blood seeping out from between his fingers. Sirius came down from the stairwell just to see this action, and he started toward them.
It was then that the Marauders learned something about Remus Lupin that they had never known before. They discovered that he was not just smart, small, and bookish. As he suddenly launched himself at James, throwing him to the ground and thrusting his foot so hard between his legs that Sirius could almost hear James's children screaming in pain, they learned that they had always underestimated Remus.
James was screaming as Remus then threw himself down on the other boy, drops of blood dripping onto James's glasses as he pummeled him in the stomach and chest, screaming in a frighteningly animalistic manner. He had lost control of himself again, he knew, but he could not stop it. It was as though he were watching himself from the other side of the room, his fists sinking again and again into James as though he were a pillow that needed a good fluffing. He could hear Peter screaming and the younger years freaking out, but it could not register in his mind that he should stop.
He felt hands on his shoulders, pulling at him, but he fought against them, turning around and taking swings at whomever was attempting to get him off of James. His fist connected several times with their stomach, and Remus could hear himself screaming to be let go, that James deserved it and he was sick and tired of being treated as though he was the one responsible. James could not seem to move or breathe, and two third years were pulling him out of the brawl, picking him up and taking him from Gryffindor Tower and, presumably, to the Hospital Wing. There were whispers of broken ribs.
Remus seized his captor around the neck and started to strangle the other, but when he looked up and into his next victim's eyes, he found it to be Sirius, and he leapt backward in shock. "S-Sirius!"
Sirius took in a gasping breath and rubbed at his throat a little as he looked at Remus, who was shaking and covered in blood and bruises. He had never seen Remus let loose like that. "Remus, we need to get you to Pomfrey," he said quietly, and he stepped over to him, reaching up to touch the blood on his face. "Your nose is broken, Remus, and we need to get you there because you're losing a lot of blood."
Remus stared at him and nodded a little, hands trembling and a little moan of pain escaping his lips. He fell forward then, his hands sliding around Sirius's neck as he fell into him. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry," he whispered into his best friend's ear, and he choked before he buried his face in Sirius's neck.
"Ah, gross," Sirius joked quietly as he felt blood dripping into the dip of his collarbone, and when Remus grunted at him, he picked him up off of the ground and carried him from the common room. "Good job, mate," he said into Remus's ear.
Remus laughed very quietly and gave Sirius a bit of a squeeze as he was carried down through the castle. Sirius smiled and squeezed him back, and he touched his cheek to Remus's forehead.
Notes: Remus got his revenge… I heart violent Remus. – Sakai Michiba
