Author's Notes: I know it's been forever since I updated. School has been crazy but it's nearing the end! Thanks to Mara for the beta and to MoonyPadfootJr for the email that reminded me I needed to update (will email you back soon!) Thanks also to Assur and Peegchica for your continued support! About the Harry story…I've come up with a werewolf character but I also like another character I created for him so there might be TWO Harry stories…anyone have a problem with that? J

Also…I've got a crazy idea to write Cassius/Corbin in an AU where they take Harry and then Remus and Sirius get back together after Azkaban…anyone want to read? I've gotten a bit obsessed with it. Okay, okay, on with the story!

Chapter 18

Jack was watching the muggle news one summer evening when a loud crash with several successive thuds echoed from the stairs. He grabbed his wand and walked cautiously into the entry way.

"I think I splinched myself." Cassius said slowly from where he laid headfirst down the stairs. "I seem to have three arms."

"One of them's mine, you bastard." Stevens' voice was muffled under Cassius.

"Oh, good," Cassius breathed a sigh of relief. "Do I have legs?"

"Yes, stop moving them. They're kicking me in the ribs." Corbin struggled to sit up.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" Jack asked as he watched the three men trying to untangle themselves. They looked like a human pretzel.

"Oh, no. We didn't land at Windy Corner, did we?" Stevens whispered fearfully.

"No, it's Jack." Corbin said, hauling himself to a standing position with some difficulty and a great deal of help from the banister.

"Thank Merlin." Stevens shoved at Cassius harder, as they struggled to their feet. Corbin walked down the stairs unsteadily, bumping against the wall.

"Hi." Corbin said shyly, looking like a first year who was about to lose house points.

"Honestly, I can see why Remus lectures you. Apparating is not to be taken lightly." Jack took another breath to continue and then shook his head, pulling Corbin into a hug. "Hi, sweetheart," He whispered, kissing his cheek as Corbin buried his face in Jack's neck.

"Jack – you won't tell Remus, will you? Only, after last time, Remus said he'd cut off sex for a month if I Drunken Apparated again."

"Will you just go to a wizarding pub, for Hecate's sake?" Jack shook his head with exasperation. "Then you could floo and there wouldn't be a problem!"

"Wizarding pubs don't have Guinness." Stevens said, as if that should explain everything.

"I won't tell Remus…this time." Jack said, "And next time, I'll get portkeys made because I don't want Corbin getting splinched."

"Portkeys!" Stevens poked Cassius in the ribs hard enough to make him wince. "Why didn't we ever think of using portkeys?"

"That's a bloody brilliant idea." Cassius looked at Jack with awe. "You sure you were in Gryffindor?"

"What would we use?" Stevens poked Cassius again.

"Your finger if you keep poking me!" Cassius growled. "I don't know – coins would be easy but we wouldn't want to pay for a drink with our portkey, that'd bite. A key?"

"What about a button?" Stevens asked.

"Or a watch?" Corbin suggested, turning to look at other two, remaining in the curve of Jack's arms.

"Oh, a watch would be good. We wouldn't have to worry about losing it." Stevens nodded. "And it wouldn't look suspicious to muggles."

"We'd have to make sure it had an adjustable activation spell on it." Cassius said as he started walking. He stopped suddenly. "Where's the floo?"

"This way," Corbin pointed, separating from Jack. "I need water." He started towards the kitchen, bumping into the doorframe as he entered. Cassius and Stevens followed, getting stuck for a moment when they tried to go through the doorway at the same time. Jack followed just to make sure nothing happened and because Cassius and Stevens were usually very amusing when drunk.

"We could do it tonight."

"You can't do spells drunk, horklump."

"I can so!" Cassius answered indignantly. "Anyway, Remus will help."

"So really, you won't be doing the spell, Remus will be."

"Shut up! I'll be supervising."

"Because you're der-unk." Stevens punctuated the last two syllables with sharp jabs to Cassius's ribs.

"So help me, if you poke me again I will cut that finger off."

"You and what spell, Malfoy?"

"I won't need a spell, Aloysius. Corbin has knives. Knives that are sharp. Knives that - Ouch!"

Stevens burst out laughing and Corbin spit out the water he'd been drinking.

"That's not funny! Sodding hell, I'm bleeding. I hate you both."

"Please put the knife down." Jack waited until the knife was on the counter before moving towards Cassius. "Remus will be furious if I let you maim yourself in my kitchen."

"It's not your kitchen, it's Corbin's kitchen." Cassius said slowly, watching Jack do a healing spell. "We did Apparate to Corbin's house, didn't we?"

"He moved in," said Corbin, wiping water from his face with his shirt.

"You moved in?" Cassius and Stevens stared at Jack as he sat down at the kitchen table. Unexpectedly, at least to Jack, Corbin sat down on his lap and put his arms around Jack's shoulders.

"Yes, last week." Jack answered. "After we got engaged."

"Huh." Cassius stared at him.

"Congratulations, by the way, Jack." Stevens said, clapping his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Jack…Corbin's really an all right guy."

"Thank you." Jack said, keeping his voice steady with some effort. Corbin had started licking and sucking at a spot just below his left ear. "I think so too."

"We never would have worked out. It's much better the way it is. I'm happy. You're happy. Corbin seems happy."

"I'm happy too." Stevens added, munching on a cookie he'd taken from the pantry.

"Whatever." Cassius waved his hand dismissively. "I'm still mad at you."

"We should let the lovebirds alone." Stevens moved towards the fireplace, tugging Cassius's shirt.

"Oh, yeah. " Cassius followed him. "Hey, I've got a bottle of Tequila at home."

"Tequila?" Stevens asked, with great interest.

"Tessen brought it back from his trip to Mexico. He didn't know I'm not allowed to have it and I transfigured the bottle to look like Fire Whiskey before Remus saw it."

"You are brilliant."

"Brilliant enough to do a portkey spell drunk?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely."

A moment later, Jack was alone with Corbin who was looking at him solemnly.

"Hi."

Jack laughed. "Hi."

"I'm sorry I Drunken Apparated."

"It's all right. Just don't do it again."

"'Kay." Corbin leaned forward to press a kiss to Jack's throat.

"Let's get you to bed."

"'m no' tired." Corbin's voice was muffled against Jack's skin.

"Me neither." Jack answered softly.

"Oh." Corbin gazed at Jack for a long moment. "Oh."

"What?"

"What? Nothing."

"It's not nothing. You've got your thinking face on." Jack drew a finger along the crease between Corbin's eyebrows, which were drawn together in concentration. "What are you thinking about?" he asked fondly. Ravenclaws were known to get lost in thought and were obsessive about details. Jack often commiserated with Clara and Remus about it.

"Sex."

"Oh?" Jack skimmed his other hand down Corbin's arm to entwine their fingers. "What about sex?"

"You've never told me what you like. You know what I like." Corbin said quietly.

"I like what you like." Jack said truthfully. Any intimacy with Corbin was wonderful in his opinion, any way he got to touch the man he loved, even if it was doing things he'd never done before.

"But you'd never done most of it before so…what do you like to do?"

"Well…it's…just…I can show you. Could I?"

"Yeah."

Jack pushed Corbin off his lap and stood up. "Come on."

A moment later they were in their bedroom and Corbin was watching Jack closely. He had the same look of concentration he'd had during Auror training. Jack grinned in spite of his nervousness at being the object of Corbin's scrutiny.

"Get undressed and then come here." Jack quickly pulled his clothes off before he settled on the bed. Corbin straddled Jack's hips. "I like it when the man I'm dating is on top." Corbin immediately looked panicked. "Don't worry, I know you're not ready for that yet. And by the way, you won't hurt me when you are ready. So, this way, you're on top, you control the pace, except I can too, a bit with my hands. All right?" Jack asked, grabbing his wand.

Corbin nodded.

"Good." Jack slipped his hand between Corbin's legs. He did a lubricating spell and slowly prepared Corbin, taking much more than the usual amount of time to do so. Corbin was pushing back against him impatiently by the time Jack felt he was ready. He pulled Corbin's hips towards himself and slowly joined them together.

"All right. You're in control." Jack said, kissing Corbin's nose.

"I…I can't." Corbin protested.

"Yes, you can."

"Jack." Corbin shook his head, his voice sounding more panicked. Jack put his hands on Corbin's hips and moved them back and forth, slowly lessening the pressure as Corbin started to pick up the movement. He started to move one hand away when Corbin shook his head, fingers tightening on Jack's shoulders. Jack kept both hands where they were, his thumbs stroking Corbin's hip bones. Corbin was starting to make small gasping noises as his hips tilted and he pressed closer to Jack.

Jack kissed Corbin, twining their tongues together. He'd just started kissing Corbin's neck, murmuring words of love, when Corbin took a shuddery breath.

"I love you. You're so beautiful." Jack whispered. Corbin shook his head. "You are. Look at me." Jack demanded softly. "You are to me. Inside and out. You feel so good. I love being with you. In you."

Corbin swallowed hard, Jack could tell he was struggling to maintain the eye contact between them.

"I love making love with you. Being with you, together like this. It feels right. I love you. Do I love you?"

Corbin nodded.

"I love being with you, any way I can. But this," Jack slid Corbin's hips up and down slowly, "this is the way I feel about you, like you're something to be treated with the greatest care, treasured, because you're the most precious thing in my life." Jack kissed him gently. When Jack drew back, he saw tears had welled up in the sky blue eyes and started to run down Corbin's face. "You are my everything."

Jack watched with a sense of awe as Corbin seemed to break apart in his arms. Tenderness had managed what force had not, it had found the chinks in the walls Corbin had built around himself and it had made them crumble. Jack held Corbin gently as he shook, drawing Jack's climax from him.

They lay together, a sticky jumble of limbs as Corbin struggled to get even closer to Jack, hiccupping softly. Jack smiled as he played with Corbin's curls. Corbin sometimes got hiccups after an intense orgasm. Jack thought it was the cutest thing he'd ever heard.

"It's all right. I'm here." Jack soothed, tightening his arms around Corbin. "I'll always be here."

In the tightening grip of Corbin's fingers, Jack heard 'I love you' as clear as if Corbin had said it.

"I love you too."