Ad Infinitum (Remus Lupin X Reader)

XLV • Aspero

XLV • Aspero • Rough

"Good morning," Remus said when I entered his classroom.

"'Morning," I mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and sat down at my desk, shuffling through a stack of papers to appear busy, when in reality, I just didn't want to look at him. Memories of the previous day still stung. Between the failed attempt to watch the sunrise with him and the things he had said to me, I just wanted time alone to think. But that was impossible to get from him.

"I was thinking more about what you had mentioned to me about doing a lesson outside for the kids," he continued speaking. "Uh, I figured we could make it work even if there's no real benefit to us being outside. As long as there's no harm, right?"

I nodded my head absently, willing him to stop speaking. His voice, which usually calmed me, seemed grating today. And his distinct voice made it impossible to ignore him.

"So..." he began, pausing. "You're still upset with me?"

I didn't answer him, not sure whether to say 'yes' or 'no'. To say yes was being too straightforward when I didn't want to be straightforward, and to say no was to lie. Or worse, he would think I was being honest and he would keep talking. Instead, I shrugged, still flipping through papers, pausing every few seconds to stare blankly at a sheet.

"I see," he said and, from the corner of my eye, I saw him nod his head. "Well, then, I don't want to bother you."

I risked a glance at him and saw that he was already looking at me. I looked away quickly.

"Do you want something to do or do you want to keep playing with those papers?" he asked. I looked over at him, exasperated.

"Jesus, Remus, can't you just leave me alone for a little while?" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, I just don't understand what you're upset over. I already apologized. What more can I do?"

"I just want some time to myself, away from you, and it's impossible to get."

"You can leave. I don't need you here all the time," he said, and I could tell that he was growing irritated. His eyebrows were slowly arching further up his forehead and his lips were turning down into a frown.

"You don't have to talk down to me. You don't have to speak to me at all, actually. Preferably."

"Why don't you just leave?" he asked, coming to stand before my desk. He grabbed the papers I was fussing with out of my hands and skewed them across my desk erratically. "You and I both know you aren't going to get any work done while you're pouting, so why don't you just leave?"

"I'm doing my job."

"Not very well."

I stared at him.

He stared back.

"You're insufferable," I said.

"You're impossible to please, do you know that?"

We stared at each other for another moment until I couldn't help myself. His eyes were hard as they stared into mine, burning with annoyance. His cheeks were colored and his chest was rising in time with his deep breaths. And his beauty coaxed instinct out of me. I let my eyes fall to his lips, which were parted as he huffed through them.

And that was when he moved.

Remus lunged across the desk and crashed his lips against mine, his fingers digging into my cheek. I grappled for the collar of his robes and tugged him closer to me. He leaned clumsily over my desk before pulling away with a small gasp for air. Remus rounded my desk, reconnecting our lips.