The pair of sleeping love birds where rudely awoken by Remus's alarm clock at precisely four in the morning. Remus growled and smacked it, poking Sirius, "Move…"

"Mph." Came the response.

"Mooove." Remus moaned, shoving at his semi-conscious friend.

Sirius growled in response but tumbled to the floor and dragged himself to the futon. Within seconds he was under the covers and fast asleep.

Remus smiled blearily and passed out, still exhausted from last night's event.

-seven hours later-

Sirius blinked awake groggily and felt oddly at peace. He was living with his lover's family, they just fucked last night, and he was free. The black haired teen sighed with contentment and glanced above him where a tousle haired sleeping werewolf lay. Grinning, he reached up and ran his fingers over Remus's eyelids, smoothing away the faint dark circles and tracing scars.

Remus scrunched up his face and sniffed, his face twitched as he fell back into a deep slumber.

Fortunately, Sirius had good hearing, so when footsteps approached their room, he sunk into the blankets and feigned sleep.

Mrs. Lupin opened the door and peaked in, the sight of two passed out, ruffled looking men made her smile. She crept around Sirius and gently shook awake her blood son, "Remus dear, time to get up."

Remus moaned something and rolled over.

Mrs. Lupin smiled again, "Reeeemmussss."

"…Sirius." Came the muffled voice.

Mrs. Lupin raised an eyebrow and shook her son awake, "No, it's your mother."

Remus sat up disoriented, "Mom?"

"Wake up sleepy head!" she laughed, "Come down stairs when you've woken up Sirius, I have breakfast cooking." She ruffled her son's hair and carefully picked her way out of the room.

Remus smiled sleepily and stretched, he glanced at his sleeping lover and slid off his bed, coming to a crouch in front of Sirius. He leaned down and softly began kissing him, nuzzling his neck a couple times.

Sirius mentally grinned and he allowed himself to feign sleep a little longer before yawning and opening his eyes, "Morning, love."

Remus blushed like a school girl and poked him, "Shh! What if my mom heard!"

"She knows already." Sirius snorted, pushing himself upwards and yawning again, this time for real.

Remus grumbled something but quickly accept the hug from the black haired man.

Sirius held the lithe body to him and stroked the brown hair, "You know I love you."

They both didn't hear or notice the door opening and Mrs. Lupin sticking her head in, she was about to ask them if they were ready when she noticed them cuddling.

Remus snuggled into Sirius's embrace, "I love you too, Sirius. A lot…"

Sirius held him and rubbed his back, "Thank you. Really."

Remus laughed quietly and pulled away, "Mom has breakfast waiting, let's go before it gets cold!"

"Mrs. Lupin's famous cooking?" Sirius leaped to his feet, pulling the startled werewolf with him, "Let's go!"

Mrs. Lupin stole away from her son's room, a warm smile playing around her mouth, and prepared the food for the ravenous young men.

Sirius and Remus bounded downstairs moments later, hair sticking up everywhere, and eyes alight at the prospect of food.

Mrs. Lupin laughed and served them all mounds of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and toast. Smiling as the men wolfed them down.

Remus finished first, having eaten less than his companion, and cleared his throat, "Do you need us to do anything today?"

Sirius hastily swallowed, "Yeah, like errands? Or chores?"

Mrs. Lupin looked started, "Men who want to do house work? God, the apocalypse is coming."

Sirius laughed and Remus just sighed, "Really Mom, what do you need?"

Mrs. Lupin pursued her lips and then gave in, "Well…I do need to go grocery shopping…"

"Done." Sirius said, draining the remaining milk from his glass, "Want to go now?"

Remus snorted, "In our pajamas?"

Sirius looked down and then grinned, "Ok, when we're ready?"

Remus nodded and they stood, helped clear dishes, and then disappeared upstairs to change.

Mrs. Lupin watched them go and smiled, "Those two…"

Remus followed Sirius into his room and began searching for some clothes.

"Hey."

Remus turned and was about three inches from Sirius's face, "Ack!"

The raven haired man grinned and back up a little, "Are you sore?"

"Sore?" Remus repeated, confused.

"From last night."

"Oh…well a little, but not much." Remus said, blushing slightly.

"Ok, good…just wanted to make sure." Sirius quipped before rummaging for clothes out of his trunk.

Remus smiled and continued dressing.

They were ready soon and headed off to the store, joking and poking fun at each other the whole way. The list was short so not to long after they arrived at the store they left, happily wandering home with only two bags between them. When they arrived home and put the groceries away, they found themselves drawn outside again. Walking around and holding hands they talked about nothing in particular, just enjoying each other's company.

Unfortunately, they only had eyes for each other—not the strange person who had been following them for a couple hours.

As the sun set Remus tugged Sirius down a narrow street and paused at an ally, "Short cut!"

Sirius frowned, something…didn't feel right. "Rem, I don't think we should go there…"

"But we'll never get home if we go around, and this cuts across three blocks!" Remus argued, "I've walked here a bunch of times."

Sirius nodded but felt his inner dog raise his hackles and bare his teeth. He gripped Remus's hand protectively and they ventured into the ally.

Remus seemed to sense the mood his boyfriend was in and didn't talk, but after walking about half way a swoop of dread filled him, "Sirius. We need to get out of here."

"Now." Sirius agreed, and they were about to bolt to the end of the ally when two bricks hit them from behind, stunning them as they fell to the pavement. Sirius hit his head again on a small pipe that attached from the wall to the ground while Remus collapsed into some abandon boxes. Sirius began to sit up when he felt something cold and metal snap across his wrists and wrap around the pipe he had hit, "What the hell?"

The person who had been following them grunted approvingly and turned his attention to Remus. The werewolf staggered to his feet, and, sensing the danger they were in, reached for his wand. He felt around his pocket only to come out empty handed.

Of course…the wands were in his room…FUCK! Remus mental mind shrieked.

The man was far taller and stronger than either of them; he grinned viciously and punched Remus hard, sending him crumpling to the ground.

"Leave him alone!" Sirius spat, fighting the handcuffs that bound him.

The man turned and leered at the other trapped man, "Now why would I do that, hmmm?" he had a horrible voice, it felt like a slimy snake was crawling into Sirius's ears and whispering in his mind.

Remus spat out a glob of blood and glared furiously at the attacker, "What the fuck do you want!"

Normally, Remus swearing turned Sirius on, but now when the words were filled with a metallic hate, and Sirius felt his blood boil, "Son of a bitch! Let us go!"

The man sneered and kicked Sirius hard in the face, smirking triumphantly when he felt a nose crunch underneath his boot.

Sirius spat blood away from his mouth and growled dangerously, already used to pain like this.

Remus tried getting back up but the man whirled around and lashed out, catching the werewolf in the chest and slamming him against the wall, "Oh no, none of that." He leaned over the wheezing wolf and growled softly, sending unpleasant shivers down his spine, "It's going to be fun playing with you two…" He twisted Remus's arm, smiling at the cry that emitted from him.

"Stop it!" Sirius yelled, his eyes burning.

"Ok, you first. I'm flexible." The man slithered, and then sent his foot crashing down on Sirius's lower neck, snapping the collar bone in half.

Sirius snapped his mouth together to stop from screaming, his eyes watering from pain.

The man observed his work; part of the bone stuck out from the flesh, and blood was sliding down the chest. "Henh." He snickered, and then turned his attention to the smaller man.

Remus growled as the man approached but froze when he heard a familiar metal click, "Now, don't make a fuss." The man mused, pointing a hand gun at Remus's face.

The werewolf froze, and his eyes slid to Sirius who looked horrified. "W-what do you want?"

The man grinned and rolled his shoulders, "Wellllllll I think I might start with dissecting your boyfriend over here, and then toying with you." His eyes seemed to lust over, "Yes, blood and sex are an amazing combination.

Remus and Sirius's eyes widened in horror and disgust, "What!" Remus snapped, his fury boiling.

The man produced a long jagged knife, "Now don't make a fuss," he repeated, "I promise I won't hurt you…terribly. But of course," he drawled, flashing the knife, "once were done I'll kill you." He said this all in that horrible voice of his with almost no emotion at all, like he was stating the weather.

Remus eyed the gun and wondered if he could jump on the man before he fired.

The man grinned, "None of that, my little bitch. I will shoot you. And then carve up this fine specimen."

Sirius snarled as the man poked him with his boot.

The man loaded the gun and then crouched next to Sirius, sliding the blunt side of the knife across his belly, "Yes…right here…"

Remus watched his lover shiver and turn pale as the knife slowly split his shirt open. "Sirius."

"Oh so that's your name?" The man leered, poking the flesh and drawing a small stream of blood. "You know, I think I have a change of plans." He straightened up and smirked. "I'll slam you boyfriend, torture and kill you, and THEN kill him." He grinned maliciously and turned his attention to a quivering Remus. He gestured with the gun, "Come here."

Remus slowly rose to his feet and walked the couple short steps that brought him within range of the man.

The man smiled darkly and slammed the butt of the gun against Remus's head, eyes flashing at the sickening crack that echoed from the deserted ally way.

Remus crumpled to the ground with a small cry of pain, small black dots clouding his vision. "Ngh."

The attacker smirked and pressed his booted foot on Remus's chest, pressing down.

The trapped man gasped and felt his lungs give slightly under the pressure.

Sirius watched the man lean down and slowly drag the knife up one leg of Remus's pants, stopping at knee level and watching the denim split. The black haired man bared his teeth in silent desperation, tugging at the cuffs.

The man paid no attention to the handcuffed prey and more attention to caressing the face of his victim with this blunt edge of the knife.

Sirius growled, and then, suddenly, and idea sprang to mind. He barred his teeth and growled again, but this time he focused on a specific purpose…

The attacker ignored the growling man until the sounds got more animalistic. He turned around with the intention of shooting the bastard in the knee cap to shut him up when he found himself facing a rather large, rather ferocious, and extremely furious black dog. "What the—?" he began, but got no further.

Padfoot snarled horribly and leapt at the man, his teeth aimed for the neck, and his eyes gleaming with blood lust.

The man shrieked and pulled the trigger once, before the great beast crashed into him and they went flying.

Remus heard the shot and a yelp of pain, but when the great black mass of fur continued snapping and snarling, the werewolf felt his panic ebb slightly.

Sirius had never felt so mad before…not when James had teasingly called him a fag, not when his mother cursed at him and his existence, not when Remus and him had their first fight…this was something new entirely. The black haired dog's mind was set on one thing; kill. Teeth snapped and claws whirled, screams of pain only heightened the monster's fury. He sight flickered and red was all he could see; the defending hands of his enemy were not more than harmless feathers, and his teeth sliced through flesh and hot blood again and again.

Remus stumbled to his feet and watched as their attacker's movements grew weaker and weaker, until he wasn't moving at all. But still Padfoot ravished. "Sirius…" Remus called, his voice shaking.

Some distant part of Sirius's still sane mind heard the call, but it took three more times before the dog realized what had happened.

Remus watched the dog stop, and then freeze solid. The fur shrunk and the muzzle shortened, until a blood covered man was all that was left. "Sirius."

Sirius stared in disbelief at the bloody mess beneath him, his heart beating rapidly, and his mouth tasting like metal. "What…did I do?" he whispered, starring at the blood on his hands.

Remus rushed forward and dragged the black haired man away from the corpse and into a tight hug, "Sirius." He breathed, hugging the shaking man to him.

Sirius's brain unfroze and he let a straggled sob escape his mouth, "Remus…Remus…Remus." He moaned, and wrapped his arms tightly around the smaller man.

The werewolf soothed his rescuer and clenched his fists into Sirius's tattered shirt, "Shhh…it's ok…"

"How is it ok!" Sirius moaned, "I…I killed a person!"

"No, you saved my life. And your own." Remus replied firmly, "Sirius, you saved me." He held the trembling man closer.

Reason argued with fact in the raven haired man's mind. But what Remus had said decided it all; he had saved the one he loved. That was all that mattered. His embrace became less desperate and more calm, a strange growing pain, however, began to appear.

Remus stood and helped Sirius up, he went to wrap his friend arm around his shoulders when Sirius yelped and drew away, clutching his shoulder. "Sirius! What's wrong!"

"I—I don't know." Sirius muttered, and then moved his hands.

They gazed in unison at a perfectly round hole in Sirius's shoulder, and the flow of blood that streamed down his chest.

"You…got shot." Remus whispered, before kicking into overdrive, "Fuck! We got to get home, now! We can heal you and get help, come on!"

Sirius blinked as what Remus said went all over his head, but he allowed himself to be steered gently out from the ally of blood and towards Remus's home.

-part two-

By the time they got home it was well past ten o'clock and Mrs. Lupin was beside herself, "REMUS!" she shrieked when the door opened, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!" She rounded the corner and stopped short.

Two blood covered men staggered into her living room, barley supporting each other. "Remus? Sirius?"

Remus laid Sirius down in the couch and whirled to face his mom, "Mom, Sirius got shot, he needs help!"

"Shot?" Mrs. Lupin echoed weakly.

Remus ignored her and raced upstairs to get his wand.

The entire healing process, for both of them, took all night long. When Remus wasn't muttering spells, he was explaining to his mother what had happened. Somewhere in the middle of it all Sirius woke up and started rambling about sandcastles, but Remus put a sleeping spell over him and he passed out.

-Next morning-

Sirius blinked awake slowly, his entire physical being felt like mush. Groaning, he sat up and stretched, relieved to find only soreness in his shoulder and collar bone. "Remus?" He looked around and found his lover passed out on the floor below him, looking exhausted. Smiling softly, Sirius pulled the sleeping werewolf onto the couch and laid him down in his arms.

Mrs. Lupin walked in to find then both cuddled in each other's arms, fast asleep. Until Sirius cracked an eye open and greeted her, "Morning, Mrs. Lupin."

Mrs. Lupin smiled shakily and walked over, "Sirius, how are you feeling?"

The black haired man grinned, "For someone who'd been shot the previous day; rather well thank you."

Mrs. Lupin's mouth twitched and her gaze fell on her sleeping son, "Sirius, thank you so much." She whispered.

Sirius felt heat creep into his face, "Don't mention it."

"I was listing to the news…" She added, "They found him and said it looked like he'd been mauled by an animal."

Sirius twitched.

"He was a serial killer." She murmured, "And a pedophile." She eyes had steel in them, "He deserved to die."

Sirius blinked but didn't say anything; fortunately that was the right thing to do.

Mrs. Lupin's weird look cleared and her usual happy smiled came back, "I don't know how many times you saved my Remus…I can never repay you."

The black haired man shifted into a sitting position, careful not to jostle the sleeping wolf, and grinned, "You already did. You gave me a place to call home. And you gave me Remus." He felt slightly self-conscious but felt the need to finish, "So really; I'm in debt to you."

"Nonsense." Mrs. Lupin chuckled, standing up, "If that's how you feel than I think we're even."

They grinned at each other for a bit until Remus shifted in his sleep and mumbled about waffles.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and smoothed the thin brown hair from Remus's sleeping face, "Funny thing to dream about…"

Remus frowned and muttered again, but this time he shifted around and cracked open an eye, "Mph?"

"Morning." Sirius grinned, as Mrs. Lupin walked off to the kitchen.

"Sirius!" came a tired but happy sounding voice. Remus wrapped his arms tightly around the black haired man.

Sirius glanced to make sure Mrs. Lupin was nowhere near and then kissed the brown haired man fiercely, clutching the smaller body to his own.

Remus let out a startled squeak but kissed back, humming happily in the back of his throat.

Sirius broke away first and clung to the slightly breathless man next to him.

Remus didn't question the strange notions, but hugged him back.

Mrs. Lupin walked in looking rather pleased with herself, "Sirius, Remus, the book list came a while ago, I forgot to mention, but I had Mr. Lupin head out to get everything, it's all in your rooms. You better hurry up and pack; the train leaves in three hours!"

Sirius and Remus barely had time to exchange looks before they leapt off their butts and raced upstairs to speed pack.

-Ten minutes of speed packing later-

Remus and Sirius shrunk their trunks and raced downstairs, flying out the back door, and all but vaulting themselves into the back seat of Mrs. Lupin's car. "DRIVE MOM!"

"On it!" Mrs. Lupin said cheerfully.

-Ten minutes of the worst driving experience later-

The car pulled to a stop at the train station with half an hour before the train left. Both back doors flew open and two slightly green wizards tumbled out.

"LAND!" Sirius groaned; face planting happily onto the ground.

Remus didn't look much better but he had the dignity not to grovel upon the earth. "C'mon Pads, James will want to see us."

Sirius staggered to his feet and waved good bye to Mrs. Lupin. The car swerved violently, made an illegal U-turn, and nearly ran over some poor small child before it pulled out onto the main road.

Remus and Sirius exchanged looks and made their way through the crowds to platform nine and three quarters. Arriving with ten minutes to spare, the happy wizards un-shrunk their trunks and climbed aboard.

"PADFOOT! MOONY!" Came a rather unmanly screech from a nearby corridor. The two men barely had time to glance up before a tall black haired someone body slammed them into the wall, "HOLY FUCK!" Sirius shouted as his ribs collapsed, "PRONGS!"

Remus wheezed and tried to find his lungs.

James Potter grinned excitedly at the pair, his glasses slipping off his nose, "Hey! Come on I got us some seats." He dragged the two into a compartment and sat them down. "So! How was your vacation?" He grinned and bounced up and down like a little boy.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other and then grinned, "Pretty uneventful." Sirius chirped.

"Oh yes, very boring." Remus sighed.

James nodded and then began spewing off about some muggle sport called Soccer that he thought was the most amazing and stupidest thing in the world.

They talked for a while until the train suddenly jerked into motion, startling the trio, "Where's Pete?" James wondered, sounding as though he couldn't care less.

"Dunno." Sirius answered in the same voice.

They continued talking until James got up to find the trolley full of sweets.

Sirius immediately whipped around to face Remus, "I'm going to tell James that I got booted out; I won't say why, and I'll tell him I spent the last week in the Leaky Cauldron, ok?"

"Sounds good." Remus agreed.

"WHO'S HUNGERY!" James crowed, arriving with his arms laden with sweets.

"Hey, mate, I gotta tell you something." Sirius began, nibbling on a gray jelly bean before making a face, "Gross, pepper."

"Sure, what's up?" James quipped, munching away on a chocolate frog.

"My parents kicked me out." Sirius said, his voice a careful monotone.

"Oh that's cool—WAIT WHAT!" James shrieked. "Where were you living!"

"Whoa, Prongs, chill." Sirius chuckled, "I got a room at the Cauldron, don't freak."

James fell back to eating his frog moodily, "Why didn't you send me an owl? You could've stayed at my place."

Sirius shifted uncomfortably, "I didn't want to mess with your parents, and I hate mooching."

James snorted and the mood lightened, "Well next time get your furry ass over there!"

"Sure." Sirius said, grinning.

Remus remained quiet throughout the entire trip, mentally reliving their summer adventures…

The train pulled in and the students all milled out, greeting friends and hugging all around.

James glanced over his shoulder to see a red head running towards him, his face lit up hopefully until Lily Evans rushed past him and straight into the arms of Severus Snape.

"SEV! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Lily shouted, hugging the startled Syltherin around his neck.

"I missed you to, Lil." Severus replied, hugging her in a happy bliss.

James bared his teeth as the happy couple strolled past, holding hands and chatting about the summer, "Slimy girlfriend stealer!" He spat.

Remus rolled his eyes but knew better than to mention the fact that his friend had never gone out with Lily and further more Lily Evans HATED James Potter.

They hailed a carriage and Sirius and Remus were stuck to listening to James' snarling all the way to the castle.

Once they arrived James had settled down enough to comment that it was nice to be back. Remus and Sirius lunged at the change of topic and animatedly talked about Hogwarts and the classes. After a bit, James joined in and they all happily cursed homework and responsibility.

After the feast had finished and everyone was in bed, Remus found that he felt lonely. Rolling over, he punched his pillow and tried to sleep, but the bed felt sadly empty. The dorm soon filled with James' snoring; Peter hadn't arrived yet, but the lacking of Sirius' heavy breathing made Remus smile. "Padfoot."

"Mooney." Sirius purred from across the room.

They both lay there for a bit, wishing for each other, until Sirius sat up and stretched, "Well," he said in a whisper, "I fancy a shower." And with that he pranced out of the room and disappeared into the bathroom.

Remus lay in his bed; feeling conflicted; should he join Sirius? Or try and sleep? The answer was quite plain—no way in hell could he sleep. The werewolf slipped out of bed and scurried into the bathroom, sliding inside and shutting the door quietly, locking it. Almost immediately two matching hands grabbed the front of Remus's shirt and shoved him against a tiled wall. He opened his mouth to gasp when another hot mouth was placed over his own. "Mph!"

Sirius groaned and kissed the trapped werewolf harder, pressing up against him.

The part of Remus's mind that wasn't blank factored in that Sirius didn't have any clothes on. Remus moaned and held his lover's lower back, moving his mouth in sync to Sirius's.

"Mmmmhhhh…" Sirius moaned, drawing away slowly, his chest rising and falling rapidly, "Wanna take a shower with me?" He breathed.

"Yes." Remus whispered, pulling away and yanking his clothes off.

Sirius grinned sharply and stepped into the shower, humming happily as the hot water cascaded around him. He brushed his soaking hair from his eyes and felt his chest throb as Remus slid under the steamy spray.

Remus closed his eyes for a second to enjoy the heat, and then turned to his lover, blinking water droplets from his eyes.

Sirius moaned and shoved Remus against the wet tile, smashing his mouth on the smaller man's.

Remus pulled Sirius against him, kissing back eagerly. They broke away from lack of air and smiled at each other.

"God I fucking love you." Sirius whispered, his words almost lost to the sound of the shower.

Remus blushed and smiled, "I love you too, and…" he grinned suddenly, his eyes blazing, "and I wanted to jump you on the train today."

Sirius growled throatily, "I was thinking the same damn thing…you looked so fuckable…I could barley pay attention to James." He nipped Remus's collar bone and lapped at the mark.

"Ah!" Remus breathed, "No marking…not now…"

Sirius kissed Remus's neck, "Why?"

"James." Remus huffed, trying to keep his mind in focus.

"Damn." Sirius growled, thrusting his hips toward the captured man, groaning at the friction.

Remus moaned, spreading his legs and tilting his head back, "Yes…oh yeeessssss…" he murmured.

Sirius reached down and fingered the slit of his partners member, "You have no idea how bad I want you right now…"

"You have me…" Remus breathed, "forever and always."

Sirius growled in agreement and swiped up a trail of water from Remus's chest with his tongue while playing with Remus's cock.

"Gah!" Remus murmured, jerking into the hand, "Sirius…want you…now…please."

Sirius groaned and turned Remus around, pressing his lover's torso against the tile, "Prepping?" he panted, caressing the perfect ass.

"Yeah…but hurry!" Remus commanded, arching his back.

Sirius slipped a finger inside to find the entrance already rather stretched, grinning, he inserted the other two fingers and moved them back and forth.

Remus whimpered and jerked his hips backwards, "Sirius…fuck me, now!"

"I love it when you get all commanding." Sirius purred and pulled his fingers out. He placed both hands on Remus's scarred waist and sunk himself deep inside, tossing his head back into the spray of hot water as he did so.

"YES!" Remus cried, spreading his legs and clawing at the tile, "Move!"

Sirius smirked and drew out, slamming back inside making them both cry out in pleasure.

"More! God Sirius harder!" Remus moaned, his nails scrabbling the tile to find purchase.

"So fucking tight…" Sirius panted, thrusting in repeatedly, aiming for Remus's spot.

"AH!" Remus shrieked, his cry muffled by his arm, "There! Siriusssss…"

The raven haired man felt his gut begin to tighten as he adjusted himself and slammed back inside, "I fucking love you…" he growled, snapping his hips forward.

"I—ohfuck!—love you too!" Remus managed to get out before his orgasm electrocuted his body.

Sirius felt the velvet wall clamp down around him and he howled into Remus's neck, releasing deep inside his lover, "R-Remus…" The raven haired man drew out and felt his vision flicker slightly.

Remus moaned and his rubbery legs gave out. He slid to the bottom of the shower and lay there limply, letting the hot water wash over him.

Sirius sank down next to Remus and shakily turned the shower off. They exchanged glances and grinned tiredly.

"Wow." Remus breathed, pushing his wet hair sloppily out of his eyes.

"You where amazing." Sirius murmured, leaning down to kiss his partner.

Remus grinned weakly, "You too. Now let's get out of here before I pass out."

Sirius snorted and staggered to his feet, helping a slightly bowlegged Remus up, "Come on, let's get dried off."

They towel dried each other silently, smiling the entire time. They slipped into their pajamas and weaved their way back into the dorm room.

Remus silently kissed Sirius on the cheek before stumbling off to his bed and promptly passing out.

Sirius smiled to himself and teetered to his own beckoning bed; collapsing on the sheets he gratefully pulled the covers up and passed out.

Neither of them noticed that James's snoring had stopped.