"Hey, have you seen Sirius? I know he's back from his mission but he hasn't called me or said anything for the last couple of days." Remus stirred the onion soup, his phone in his other hand, and pressed against his ear. "Usually he leaves like twenty voice messages on my phone, but he's awfully silent."

"Yeah, no, I haven't heard from either," Marlene said, and Remus stopped stirring for a moment, dismayed. He'd already tried James, Peter, and Lily; if he wasn't here, he would normally crash at one of their places. Marlene was his ex-girlfriend, and Remus figured that was next in line after best mates and best mate's girlfriend. "He's unusually quiet on social media too — by now, he'd have posted at least three or four dog memes, but there's not any in the last twenty-four hours."

Remus worried his lower lip, glancing out the window. Darkness was falling. He wondered where Sirius was, what he was doing, if he had a place to stay. Perhaps he was at one of his coworkers' flats?

"Talk to you later," he said to Marlene. She muttered a goodbye and hung up.


Remus loved outdoor markets; he loved the atmosphere and the bright, colorful stalls. His favorite was the small book stall that stood at the end of the market; the owner had such a wonderful collection of tomes.

But as he approached the stall, he saw a man with a black bun and wearing a royal blue long-sleeved shirt (in this heat? It was bloody August!). His arms were unnaturally stiff and straight, but what tipped him off to the man's identity was the tattoo peeking out of the collar.

"Sirius?" Remus uttered in disbelief.

The man turned and Remus's breath caught in his throat. It was Sirius, in the flesh, and he was avoiding Remus's eyes.

"Sirius, where the hell were you?"

Sirius said nothing to him, but muttered something to the bookseller and strode away.

"Sirius, what are you doing? Don't you dare walk away from me!"

He was walking away. Remus's words fell upon deaf ears.

"Fine, you want me to chase you? I will give you a fucking chase," he said under his breath.


After ten minutes, four collisions, and hoarse shouts, Remus finally cornered his boyfriend outside of a flower shop. Sirius stumbled over one of the vases and caught himself, but it was all Remus needed to catch up to him.

"Don't you dare run away," he said firmly, blocking Sirius as he tried to keep walking. "We need to talk. Where the hell have you been the last three days? And don't give me a bullshit excuse."

Sirius, who had been staring at his feet, finally lifted his head, his eyes sparkling a little. "You know, you're very persistent. Especially when it comes to my 'bullshit'."

"I was designed to not put up with your bullshit," Remus retorted. "And you still haven't answered my question. Why are you like this? Why have you not been returning my calls or texts?"

He grabbed Sirius's arm and gave it a hard tug, intending to pull him down the street — but he did not expect was his arm to come cleanly out of its socket.

Remus screamed and leaped back, the severed arm falling to the ground.

"Oh yeah, funny story," said Sirius, using his other attached arm to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. "See, what happened is…"


"You're an idiot."

"It was an accident!" Sirius protested. "It's not like I meant to knock over the tray of chemicals — it's not like I went hey, let me burn my arm off for fun!"

"But you should've been more careful!" Remus snapped. "You could have died if the doctors hadn't amputated your arm in time. What if you'd been even more than a minute later? I would've lost —" He swallowed, cutting himself off as he tried to rid his mind of that horrifying thought.

"All I'm saying is," he said softly, "just be more mindful next time, okay? There are so many people who care about you. I know it was an accident, but it was dangerous and —"

He was interrupted by warm, soft lips covering his own. "Don't worry," Sirius murmured. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"You'd better be," Remus whispered, his lips tingling. "If you die, I'll kill you myself."

Sirius chuckled, and Remus felt the wings on his heart flutter. Curiously, he peeled back Sirius's sleeve to view his arm properly — without screaming, of course.

Sirius's arm was made of shiny titanium and flexed like a regular human arm, except it was stronger and could crush anything if he permitted it to.

"Can you...can you still use this for other activities?" asked Remus, smirking suggestively. Sirius's eyes darkened.

"Why don't we try it out?"


810 words

Sci-Fi September, Day 9 - You've been avoiding everyone for a couple of days and I noticed your arm seemed paralyzed or something and I wanted to talk to you except when I grabbed said arm to stop you from running away it came out... oops

Founder Says - "I was designed to not put up with your bullshit."

Build a Better Breakfast - 20. Orange Juice

Pick a Wick - 27. Sage

Skyscraper, Floor 3 - "Why are you like this?"

1000 - 253. "Don't you dare walk away from me!"

365 - 6. Activity