Hiya! This was written for livejournal's dogdaysofsummer prompt number 10 which was a picture of an upturned red umbrella on a cobbled street. I hope you like it. Feedback would be marvellous and much appreciated. :)

Disclaimer: Not mine. No money being made. Don't waste your time suing me - you'd get more money out of a stone.

NOTE: I've written a very long (nearly 37 000 words long) Sirius-centric fic called, 'Without Fear' which has been posted to the BIG BANG BLACKOUT community. I'm not sure how long it will be until I can post it here, but I'd love to get your feedback if you have some spare time to read. lady_annikaa did a wonderful sketch of Sirius and Remus for it. She's a talented lady! You can find the link at my bio as ffnet is a pain in the arse about deleting links here. Thanks guys!

What The Red Umbrella Saw

Remus paid the broken red umbrella on the footpath only cursory attention as he ran past, wand aloft and his feet splashing in puddles of grimy rainwater. When he reached the end of the alley, his panicked gaze streaked left then right then he called out hoarsely, 'Sirius!' as he peered through the haze of London summer drizzle.

He grimaced at the beginnings of hysteria that he could hear lacing his voice. When the latest skirmish with the Death Eaters had come to its usual bloody end, and he hadn't been able to find Sirius, Remus had backtracked to this now-deserted alley where they had lain in wait just an hour ago. But Sirius wasn't here...

'Merlin, help me,' he begged then his ears pricked up when he heard a soft popping sound.

'Remus?'

He spun around when he heard the fervid call, murmuring, 'Lumos' as he did. His body shuddered with the force of his relieved sigh when he saw the familiar dark head, barely ruffled even now after battle.

'Moony!' Sirius cried when he caught sight of him.

His feet threw up droplets of water as he ran the short distance that separated them then he launched himself at Remus, embracing him with a desperation that terrified the werewolf, but that he returned just as fervently. As they held each other close, Remus could smell the acrid scent of burnt cloth and the lingering prickle of magic on Sirius' skin and his heart skipped a beat.

'Are you hurt? Are you alright?' he asked urgently as he clung to his friend and when Sirius nodded, he hissed, 'James? Lily? Peter? Padfoot, who...?'

'Fabian,' Sirius whispered in his ear, his breath warm, but his words chilling Remus' marrow. 'Gideon. Gods, Moony. When I couldn't find you, I thought the Death Eaters had...'

Remus felt Sirius' breath hitch as he broke off, felt the shiver of fear that made one of the strongest men he knew tremble in his arms like a frightened child.

'I'm fine,' he breathed, burying his face in Sirius' neck. 'I'm okay.'

Sirius lifted his head and Remus had only a moment to register the burning ferocity that turned grey eyes into quicksilver before cracked lips crashed down onto his in a rough kiss.

It wasn't what Remus had dreamed their first kiss to be all those fantasy-filled nights. There was no slightly awkward date, no uncertainty at the front door (do I? don't I?), no soft, tentative touch deepening into a intense, powerful kiss, no shy smiles afterwards.

Instead, Sirius' mouth was bruising, his tongue, tasting of curry and beer, insistent. Sirius didn't give, he took; desperately, relentlessly, commanding a like response from Remus who mashed his face painfully against Sirius' as he kissed back just as forcefully. Teeth clicked and bit, tongues battled for dominance, lips were demanding and uncoordinated as they slid without rhythm against each other.

This kiss was nothing like Remus had imagined.

It was perfect.

A rattling sound parted them and they instinctively took defensive positions, wands up, hexes on their lips. The bright red umbrella paid them no heed, rolling past them on a gust of wind to lodge itself in the gutter.

Sirius laughed a wild, delirious laugh and Remus joined in, tears of both grief and relief filling his eyes. Sirius saw the first tear fall and his laughter petered out. He reached out, twisting his hands in Remus' rumpled and battle-torn shirt then pulling him close.

'I feel awful because I'm relieved,' he whispered, resting his forehead on Remus'. 'I'm grateful that you were spared. If you'd...and I'd never told you that I...'

Remus saw Sirius blinking hard before he rasped out, 'It would kill me, Remus. It would kill me to lose you.'

Remus clasped Sirius' face between his hands and kissed him; this time, it was soft and sweet as they gave comfort to each other.

'Let's go home, yeah?' Remus whispered against Sirius' lips and, when the other man nodded, he wrapped his arms around him, the broken umbrella the only witness as they disappeared.

fin.