Now, Sakai Michiba presents:
Unfortunate Discovery
Part 23 of the Smitten series
They were to leave for Hogwarts in three days. Remus was nervous about being a Prefect, Sirius was thrilled to be going back, James was glowing about seeing Lily, and Peter was nonchalant. Peter and James had taken the news about Remus being the new Prefect with horror, but it was not nearly as severe as it had been with Sirius.
Sirius found that he could no longer stay away from Remus. Last night had been the full moon, and he had gone down to the basement and waited outside the sealed tunnel. When it unsealed in the morning and swung open, he hurried inside and gathered Remus into his arms. "Hey there, beautiful," he said softly as he sat there on the floor with Remus in his lap, and when Remus turned into him and smiled, Sirius felt his heart warm even in the cool air.
"Mmmn, hi," Remus moaned quietly, and he clutched Sirius's shirt with his weak fingers. "I'm tired…I didn't fight anything, I think. I'm not hurting anywhere." He opened his eyes and looked down at his naked body, satisfied to see that he did not have any trace of blood or bruises.
"You look fine to me," Sirius said quietly, and he leaned down to kiss Remus carefully on the lips. "How about I take you upstairs and give you a nice, warm bath while your father's at work and then I'll lie in bed with you all day?" he asked, and by the pleased look on Remus's face, he knew that those were the right words to say. Standing up, he took Remus into the main part of the basement, letting him throw a blanket over himself before he carried him upstairs.
"Hello, dears," Flora said with a smile as Sirius carried Remus through the living room toward the bathroom. "Have a rough night, Remmie?"
"Not really, Mum," Remus claimed, his voice hoarse from howling. "I'm just really tired. I'll have a bath then go to bed for a while…Sirius's gonna take care of me…" He smiled at he and leaned his head in comfortably against his boyfriend's shoulder.
"I have no doubt," Flora said quietly, and she got up to open the bathroom door for them. "Sirius, don't take too long with the bath; John will be home soon, and Remus won't be up for much longer anyway…" She smiled as he nodded and lay Remus in the bathtub, waiting for her to close the door before he removed the blanket and started the hot water.
Remus rested his head against the back of the tub and moaned in exhaustion, his eyes sliding closed as Sirius smoothed lathered hands over his dirty skin. "You're so good to me," he claimed in a whispered voice, and he leaned up to kiss his lover's lips. "Thank you…"
Sirius smiled and kissed him back, his fingers moving to eradicate the dirt from beneath Remus's fingernails. They grinned at one another when the kiss broke, and Sirius began to rinse him off, kissing his cheek. "You're filthy. Did you roll in the mud?"
"I did," Remus claimed quietly, and he lifted his hands to wash his own face. He felt exhaustion setting in, and he dropped his hands with a small moan. "Sirius, I'm ready to go to bed…" He opened his eyes slowly to watch as Sirius quickly rinsed the rest of the suds off then drained the water around him. "Thank you…I wish I could be entertaining longer…"
"Ah, you're always entertaining, even when you sleep. You get cuddly, and you wank all the time," Sirius teased, laughing as Remus splashed him with the draining water. He lifted Remus out of the tub, soaking himself in the process, and he set him on the toilet before wrapping him in a towel. "You do, but it's all right, because I like to wank to you doing it…"
"You are more full of shit than anyone. Anyone, do you understand?" Remus asked, lifting his arms so Sirius could properly dry him off, despite the snort his lover gave him. "I have never once had a wet dream, much less wanked in my sleep. I'm always waking up screaming, but I assure you it's not from pleasure."
"Sure," Sirius snarked, and he lifted Remus up again, carrying him towel-clad to the bedroom and lying him down on their mattress. Remus was asleep by the time they even went through the door, and Sirius dressed him in comfortable sleeping trousers before he climbed into bed with him, arranging him comfortably and holding onto him from behind. "I love you," he whispered in his ear, and he closed his eyes, drifting off because he had not slept, either.
Remus woke up with a start and a yell, sitting straight up in bed and clutching at his throat, gasping for air. When Sirius shifted beside him, he jumped in shock, pressing a hand to his chest to calm his pounding heart before he slid his hand through his hair. "Fuck…"
Sirius rubbed his eyes and sat up, touching Remus's cheek softly before he leaned in to kiss it. "Hey, calm down…It didn't happen," he claimed, and he closed his eyes as Remus hid his face in his neck for a few moments. His arms wrapped around Remus, and he pulled him as close as he could.
Remus shook his head a little and gulped before he looked into Sirius's eyes. "I almost killed…Snape. He was running around in the woods where I was transformed and I got a hold of him, and I nearly tore his leg off…" He wiped sweat from his forehead and shakily crawled into Sirius's lap, wanting to be held.
Sirius smiled and leaned against the wall, checking the time and sighing to see that it was only ten in the morning. "Well, at least you killed someone good," he said quietly, and he laughed as Remus punched him in the shoulder. "It was just a dream, and it's still early…"
Remus looked up into his eyes and lifted his arms to wrap around Sirius's neck. "I don't want to go back to sleep," he whispered, and he leaned in to kiss his boyfriend, not caring that their breath was stale from sleep. He felt Sirius lean into the kisses, and he moaned very gently, wrapping himself up in the kiss and trying to forget the dream.
John heard Remus cry out upstairs and he sighed, lowering his newspaper. "I'll go check on him…He must be having nightmares again," he said quietly. Flora handed him a glass of water and gave his bum a little pat in his passing. He climbed the stairs and silently pushed open the bedroom door, which was already partially open.
He expected to find Remus panicking, Sirius comforting him, maybe even Remus sleeping again, but he certainly did not expect to see his son cradled in Sirius's lap, caught in a liplock that made him furious. He heard his son declare his love for Sirius in the midst of the kiss, and he cleared his throat harshly. "ExCUSE me?"
Remus and Sirius froze for a moment before they leapt apart, giving him a look of utter horror. John stalked over to them, noticing the red marks on his son's neck and stomach, which matched the ones on Sirius's. He had been stupid, blind to not see this before. "F-Father, I uh…" Remus began, but he seemed at an utter loss for words. "It's not what…it's not what you think!"
John snorted and shook his head. "Yes, I'm sure he was just giving you CPR, was that it?" he laughed bitterly, and he pointed at Sirius. "We invited you into our home, opened our arms to you, and what do you do? You make my son a BLOODY POUF!"
Flora heard those words and felt her heart stop before she rushed upstairs, finding her son and Sirius on opposite sides on the bed from one another. "Oh, dear," she sighed, and she took her husband's arm. "John, come out of here. You and I need to talk…" she whispered, and she frowned as John knocked her away.
"Are you saying you KNEW!" he snapped, and he rounded on her. "You kept secrets from me in my OWN HOME!"
"Because you react like this to ANYTHING that happens you don't like! DAMN it, John, he's your SON!" Flora yelled, gesturing at the boys on the bed. Her eyes widened as John came at her, sticking his finger in her face. "Get that OUT OF my FACE, JOHN LUPIN!"
He shook his head. "You…are in SO much trouble!" he snarled, and he hurried from the room, shaking.
Flora closed her eyes and sighed before she looked over to the two boys. "I'll go speak to John. You two…lie low for a while. Go back to sleep…" She saw Remus begin to panic, and she sighed a little. "Remus, don't. I can handle this," she said, and she left the room, shutting the door entirely.
"Fuck," Remus whispered, and he lay back down to stare at the wall. "Fuck, Sirius, oh fuck, fuck, FUCK…" He felt his hands shaking, and he turned into Sirius when he lay down with him. "He's gonna kill me…"
Sirius drew him close and kissed his lips. "No, he won't. I'll save you," he promised, and when he felt Remus choke up in his arms, he held him to his chest and kissed his hair. He was scared for Remus, but he would not let him suffer alone. Remus cried against him until he slept, and Sirius drifted off again as well, too nervous to dream.
