Part 9- Dog Biscuits
A black dog crept silently into the room, a pink tongue lolling out of a dark mouth as dark eyes studied the curtains covering the window, and wandered to the lump in the bed. Nails scraped softly on the carpet, and with a stealthy leap, the dog pounced upon the bed, a tail wagging out from between its legs at the sight of the brown haired man sleeping on the bed.
The dog nudged the man gently with a black, wet nose, leaving a glistening trail of wetness across his cheek that quickly dried and disappeared. Lidded eyes squinted as if trying to see something while being closed, and a hand batted at the dog as if to make it go away. Pink lips pouted in sleepiness, the man not wanting to be disturbed from his sleep. The dog snorted irritably, looking down on the creamy yellow blankets and scuffing them with his left hind leg. Long brown hair fell over a slender jawbone, shining in the lamplight. A copy of the Daily Prophet lay folded upon the unoccupied spot on the large bed, and a white-sleeved hand rested upon it as if the owner of the appendage had fallen asleep instantly when the paper had been put down. The loose shirt was halfway open, revealing creamy skin marred with scars that were clearly visible in the lamplight, and the dog leaned forward on its haunches, licking at his chest and up his neck. “Hmmrmmm…stoppit…” the hand reached out to bat at the dog again, and he leapt aside and kept on nudging up his neckline until that pink tongue lapped out and ran on the skin of his cheeks. “…Siriussss…” the sound came out in a long hiss, and a few moments passed as golden brown eyes slowly opened. A smile went on his lips, and he abruptly grabbed the dog around its body, nuzzling into the furry neck with a sleepy moan. A second passed, and he closed his eyes. He found himself nuzzled into Sirius’ shoulder a moment later, and he sat up, opening his eyes again, comfortably settling down upon his knees in the bed.
“Good morning, silly,” Sirius ruffled Remus Lupin’s light brown hair. “Since when did you take naps in the middle of the day? Getting old, are we?” Dark eyes glimmered with a bit of the old humour he had as a boy, and had never lost, even in Azkaban.
“No, not at all…” Remus yawned. “I’m just tired…that potion takes a lot out of you when you’re not really all that well rested in the first place.” He reached forward and slid some of Sirius’ black hair behind an ear, making sure he looked all right, since he seemed mildly ruffled. Remus’ habits were to be cleanly, and he had a tendency to be a neat freak. His knuckles briefly rested upon Sirius’ cheek, and Remus leaned forward, lightly pressing his lips to Sirius’. He sucked gently upon the black haired man’s lower lip, eyes closed as he indulged himself in the sweet taste of his mate. His breath quickened, and Sirius’ hand tangled in his soft, brown hair as he tilted his mate’s head so he could dominate the kiss. The kiss grew progressively deeper, and Sirius pressed Remus back against the pillows with his arm around the slender waist, before remembering what he had come to talk to him about, and breaking the kiss regretfully. Remus’ cheeks were lightly flushed, and he traced his fingertips along the reddened spots on his lover’s soft skin, looking down upon him. “I presume you had something to talk about…you aren’t just seducing me…?” A curve to Remus’ lips revealed that he was teasing Sirius.
“I would have thought you liked that kind of thing…” Sirius gave him a light, canine-ish nip on the nose, a smile lighting his features. “But yes, I did come to talk to you about something else. I didn’t want to wake you up, but this seems more important.” Remus gazed up at him for a moment and then nudged Sirius so he sat up, doing the same himself as he looked at Sirius intently, wanting to know what was going on.
“Severus-you know about him, don’t you?” Sirius tested his memory for a moment, stroking silken brown hair from absolutely fascinating eyes.
“Of course I do-how can I forget?” Remus’ voice was curious, and he nudged his knees apart a bit as he played with the sheets. The suggestive position was enough to make Sirius’ mouth go dry, since the only thing Remus was wearing was a big, button up shirt with long sleeves. “What about him?”
“Well, I was listening in on Harry talking to Hermione,” Sirius started, hesitantly, and he bit his lip and chewed on it. “…well, he was talking about Severus and how he had run into him on the way to getting the gifts several nights go. Remember when he came home and had nothing, and avoided us for a long time?”
“Hmm…” Remus pondered a little. “Yes, I do remember, because he refused my cooking. He never does that, and I thought it was strange...so what about him meeting Snape? Is there something going on between them?” His head cocked to the side, and he imitated a young wolfpup’s curious gaze without any effort, the expression natural for him.
“Well, apparently our little Harry’s gotten himself a love life of his own. With him.” Sirius quirked an eyebrow, the shock of finding this out while listening outside of Harry’s door still bothering him.
“Odd,” was Remus’ response, and that was it. His gaze fell to the blankets in thought. “You don’t think Severus is going to use Harry as a replacement for James, is he?”
“That’s what I was wondering about,” Sirius scratched the back of his head, his brow furrowing in thought. “I don’t know much about it, but it sounds like they’ve gotten close, and I’m wondering whether Harry realizes anything about their past relationship.”
“Hmm…” Remus seemed to be deep in thought, and he didn’t say anything for several seconds, his dark eyes unfocused. “I know that Severus probably still feels the loss of James…he had dropped him within days of getting to know Lily…” he sighed, the soft sound of the gush of wind brushing Sirius’ sensitive ears. “But there’s something…some hunch I have…I don’t think Severus is using him for a replacement.”
“I don’t want him to hurt Harry.” Sirius’ voice had laced with steel. “If he hurts him-“ Remus’ index finger gently touched to his lips, stopping him from speaking.
“Shush. If Harry finds out what Snape thinks, really, it’ll be up to him to deal with it. We can’t take care of him like we did before, you know-he’s 19 years old, intelligent enough to make his own decisions…if he wants to come to us, he will.” Remus’ voice was soothing, soft, and unconfrontational, so Sirius wouldn’t feel affronted.
“I know you’re right, but if we can prevent Harry from this…I don’t want him to get his heart broken like the last time, he was in a funk for months.” Remus’ brown eyes gazed at him levelly, and the werewolf said nothing, having leaned over on his knees, his curved back having shifted the shirt upwards, giving Sirius a glance of something that made him gulp. A slender hand shifted on Sirius’ knee, and Remus’ eyes softened. He had seemed to be contemplating why his mate thought the way he did.
“I know he seems to be our cub…but he wants to have a life of his own, Sirius. If he finds out you were listening in on him, he won’t trust us because he’ll feel his privacy disturbed. If we truly care for him, we’ll let him go through with this. And I do think that they’ll end up happy with each other. Remember-Harry’s a master at cracking the toughest of shells,” a smile played across his lips. “Believe me. Trust me.” His hand stroked across Sirius’ cheek, and the Animagus leaned his head towards the touch with a long, deep sigh, his dark brown eyes slipping shut. He seemed to be giving in, slowly, but surely.
“…all right. But if Severus hurts him, he’s going to hear from me.” He finally gave into his mate’s ministrations.
“Good,” said the werewolf, and he smiled. His golden brown eyes lit up again, and he nudged up closer to Sirius, wrapping his arms around his shoulders while forcing him to cradle him. Sirius got a good flash of pale skin from somewhere he’d love to touch, and giving into temptation, he started sliding the shirt up. “Hmmm-mmm…” Remus purred, and Sirius laughed softly. “…shall we?”
Remus’ eyes met Sirius’, and an almost identical grin appeared on both of their lips.
(AN: Okay, okay, so I’m guilty of a love for the Sirius x Remus pairing. Anyone bored yet? Am I stringing it along too much? Part 10 is in the workings right now, half done. I’ll get it done soon. Promise! ^_^ I hope no one gets offended-I know I didn’t mention anything about this pairing in the very beginning. I thought it was important to add to the plotline, since that cracked door “was very suspicious”…good job on catching on, Vic! That’s exactly what I intended. ^.~ )