Epilogue - The Edge

Remus is startled at the dustiness of his tiny cottage. Everything is coated with a layer of grey dust that seemed to hug his furniture possessively.

He hangs up his cloak on the peg behind the door and makes his way into the kitchen. He fills the kettle with water and sets it upon the hob to boil. His suitcase sullenly stalks upstairs to unpack itself.

Remus leans against the worktop, watching the kettle boil. When it is done, he pours himself a cup of tea and shuffles into the lounge. Tattered slippers jump on to his feet as he sinks into his favourite and only armchair.

He sighs and raises the cup to his lips. The sweet taste of honey and sugar mix with the woody taste of the black tea in his mouth. It tastes like home.

Tomorrow, He muses, I will clean this house.

Lack of sleep the previous night was catching up to him. His bones ache and his eyelids feel heavy. Gently, he places the teacup on to the end table beside him. The dust rises up off the table huffily and proceeds to fill Remus's nose, making him sneeze.

It is not long until sleep overtakes the werewolf.

Unbeknownst to Remus, moments after he had fallen asleep, a huge black dog lets itself into his home. Shaking off the dog form, Sirius stands up, completely naked. He plucks Remus's cloak from the peg and wraps it around himself as he walks further into the house.

Sirius smiles at the sight of the werewolf asleep in his chair. He places the letter he has carried in his canine teeth on the table, beneath Remus's cup.

Slate eyes drink in the image of his former lover and his heart feels heavy at the knowledge that they will not be able to pick up where they left off. Although the past twelve years had been nothing to Sirius, doubtless they were something to Remus. He had twelve years of life that had been taken from Sirius.

The animagus blinks through the tears in his eyes. He stretches out a hand to run the tip of his forefinger down Remus's cheek. The werewolf still holds the same secret elegance and air of innocence that had first drawn Sirius to him. However, his face is lined and his hair is almost pure silver.

Sirius's hand drops to Remus's chest, above his heart. Through the thin fabric, he feels the deep gashes of the werewolf's mark.

A flicker of light catches his eye and he looks up. His eyes are met by the wispy figure of a woman standing behind Remus. He can see straight through her entire body. Pale hair floats around her as if where she is, gravity does not exist. Her eyes are impossibly crimson and tears of blood streak her pale face. She is smiling and holding up a pocket watch.

Tick tock.

The sound is so loud that it echoes around the room.

Sirius inhales sharply and blinks. He looks again at the spot behind Remus's chair, but it is empty.

My imagination.

He leans across to place a soft goodbye kiss upon Remus's lips. Later, he would swear that he felt an intake of breath through Remus's mouth, allowing the lips to part ever so slightly.

"Goodbye Remus."

As he leaves, Sirius makes sure that everything is replaced where it ought to be.

Opening his eyes, Remus takes in the sight of the envelope upon his table. Moony, the envelope read.

Slicing the envelope open with a nail, he extracts the letter within.

Because Remus deserves a short reprieve, the contents of that letter shall remain a secret.

Stones crumble beneath his feet as he watches the waves crash against the rocks beneath him. His dark hair tumbles messily in the rough wind. His eyes tear up at the sting of the salt spray.

Behind him, another boy approaches, squinting. He calls out to the dark haired boy, who turns around. The newcomer stretches out a hand. Hesitantly, the boy moves away from the edge and grasps the hand, allowing the boy to lead him away from the cliff.

He does not look back.

A/N: Ah the end. The feeling of completion is upon me. I shall ride the wave of satisfaction into the realms of... yeah.. Right. Anyway, I feel good, because I've finished. Ultimate goal! hehe

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has stuck with this story and everyone who has read it, even if you haven't reviewed. Thank you and GOODNIGHT!