Ladies' Man

Chapter Seventeen

Sunlight streamed through the window, waking Sirius up. Remus lay curled up in the bed beside him. Much more peaceful than he was the previous night, he thought, smiling at his peaceful face. He watched him sleep for a while, the way the sun illuminated his hair and turned it into spun gold, the way his eyelashes fluttered as he breathed.

"Morning, Si," said James, turning around, and when he set eyes upon his friend he looked as though he'd seen a ghost.

"What the fuck, Padfoot. What did you do last night? I mean- what did he do to you, I just... I'm in shock, mate-"

"Shut up, James, you're freaking me out. What are you talking about?"

He stood up and walked towards the bathroom sleepily, stopping dead in front of the sink as he saw his reflection. His entire shoulders and neck - his whole torso, his hips, even, were positively covered in purple and red marks, ranging from small nips to round bruises the size of Galleons. He turned around, looking over his shoulder in the mirror in amazement. They trailed down his shoulderblades to his wing bones, and light red nail marks were sunk into his skin.

He turned back to James, who was inexplicably laughing.

"Christ Pads, congratulations, man. You look like you've got a bloody disease, measles or chicken pox or the fucking bubonic plague," he grinned.

Another, softer voice came from the doorway.

"Morning."

"The man, the myth!" exclaimed James. "Well done Remus!"

However his smile quickly dropped in mock-disapproval.

"Serious question though. What the fuck, mate."

Remus chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

"I really don't know, to be honest. Sorry if it hurts, Si. I have no idea what came over me. It's nearly the full moon, and the party was so loud, and everyone was touching you-"

He was cut off by Sirius' arms around his shoulders, staring into his eyes.

Behind them, James made vomiting noises.

"Oh Merlin. Goodbye, loverboys, I'm going back to bed."

"Moony, I... I loved last night. I've certainly never-" he chuckled - "-never seen you like that before. Ever. It almost makes the seven year wait worth it."

"Well, in that case..." said Remus, tracing Sirius' collarbones softly, "we'll have to do it again, won't we."

His breath hitched in his throat as Remus leaned down and pressed his nose deeply into his neck, inhaling, before moving downwards and gently biting over one of his already sensitive marks. He then straightened back up, a pleased smile on his face, and kissed the crown of his head.

"After all, it's Sunday... we do have all day."