A/n– Inspired by my love for strawberries and the two containers I ate last weekend! I just finished it today (06/03/04) but I want to post it after I see PoA! So please beware that there will be some spoilers at the bottom as a result of mytalking after the movie.
And, if you like this fic, check out Apple Flavored Werewolves.
Remus Lupin wasn't a normal seventeen-year-old boy. Once a month he would turn into a werewolf and run with three of his friends who are unregistered animagus. He studied more than any girl and had the highest grades in the school. Two of his friends were the most popular boys in the school that would show off just to get attention from the girls. And he was in love with one of those boys. But even after all that, he was still different.
Unlike most boys his age, Remus liked the small things. The smile of someone he cared about, the sun lighting up someone's hair, two birds calling to each other early in the morning, the taste of fresh strawberries, the way the air smelled after a rain storm, the laughter of small children, seeing the stars on a quiet night, or hearing his favorite song when he least expected it. Give him any of those, and he would be happy for the rest of the day.
He reflected on the things that he loved as he walked back up to his room in Gryffindor Tower. Two nights ago had been the full moon and, though Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail were there, he hurt himself more than usual. Madam Pomfrey had kept him the extra day just to be sure that he wouldn't collapse in class. He was still sore, but overall in good shape. Remus didn't have to worry about his classes today, it was Saturday and a Hogsmeade weekend. And knowing his friends they were already there, buying sweets and laughing.
Remus sighed heavily as he turned up another set of stairs. His stay in the hospital wing just had to correspond with the Hogsmeade weekend. Normally after every full moon Sirius, James and Peter would visit him, giving him sweets and telling him jokes until Madam Pomfrey kicked them out or Remus was healed enough to leave. Since they were all in the wizarding town, Remus woke up alone this morning and walked back upstairs alone.
He wasn't watching where he was going, and before he knew it he hit the stone floor with a thud. He groaned heavily as his sore back hit the solid ground.
"Remus! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there,"
Remus opened his eyes, despite the pain he was in, and was relieved to see Sirius standing above him. The other boy helped him up and brushed him off while apologizing profusely.
"Padfoot, it's ok, really,"
"I heard that noise you made when you fell... You're still sore aren't you?" Remus nodded and let Sirius help him up the next set of stairs with an arm around his waist. The warmth of his friend may have been distracting, but Remus still remembered where Sirius was supposed to be.
"Why aren't you at Hogsmeade with everyone else?"
"I told Prongs and Wormtail to go on without me. I wanted to make sure that you were all right. I was actually just down to see you when I ran into you,"
"Nice way to greet your hurt friend," Remus mumbled good-humoredly.
Sirius laughed and helped Remus though the portrait hole. They passed the first and second years who were taking advantage of the absence of the senior years and sitting in the good armchairs by the fire. The first year girls broke out into giggles when Sirius and Remus passed them, guessing that Remus must've gotten hurt on his way to Hogsmeade and Sirius was being kind and helping his hurt friend.
Remus snorted when the girls gushed about how gentlemanly Sirius was. If only they had witnessed Sirius running into Remus earlier, that might change their minds. But Remus decided that showing them the truth so soon in their young lives wasn't a good thing; tell the ickle firsties that Sirius is no more a gentleman than any other guy and the poor girl's belief systems would be ruined and they'd be confused for life.
Sirius was talking now as he led Remus towards his four poster and Remus figured that he should listen.
"I have a surprise for you Moony. You climb into bed and stay there until I get back," said Sirius as he directed Remus into bed.
"I just spent a day in bed!" Remus protested. He listened to Sirius nonetheless and settled against his fluffy pillows.
"I don't care," said Sirius. Once he was satisfied he started for the door, but paused with his hand on the doorknob and faced Remus again. "And if I suspect that you even thought about doing homework while I'm gone, you won't live for another full moon. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, mother."
Sirius grinned and left Remus alone. Not that Remus particularly minded being alone. He was used to it during the summer months and he had an interesting imagination to keep him occupied.
Remus smiled softly at the memory of Sirius' perfect grin. Pink, pouty lips such as his should never have to frown. No, those lips could be put to much better use. Remus tore his thoughts away from Sirius' lips on his pale skin and settled on a safer thought: Sirius' eyes. His beautiful, deep blue eyes that would look perfect half-lidded and staring down at him filled with lust.
He wasn't having much luck. Everything he thought about seemed to bring him back to Sirius. His hands that were rough, but seemed skilled at everything Remus had seen them do thus far; his firm arms that felt so perfect around Remus' waist earlier; his deep voice that Remus could just imagine whispering to him in the dark shelter of the night.
Loud footsteps on the stairs echoed off of the walls, startling Remus out of his fantasies. Remus was about ready to being grumbling, until the object of his previous thoughts ran in and he regretted the resentment immediately. Sirius' cheeks were flushed, his hair flustered and he was breathing in deep gasps that seemed to affect Remus somewhere deep in his stomach.
Sirius fell on the end of Remus' bed and stared at the cracks in the ceiling as he caught his breath.
"Did you run all the way up here?" asked Remus. Sirius nodded, and responded between two large breaths.
"And all the way down there,"
"Down where?"
"Kitchens," he panted.
"Why were you in the kitchens?" Sirius shook his head and leaned on his elbows to get a better look at his friend.
"It's a surprise," he said.
"Can I know why you ran all the way up here, then?"
"I had to beat the house-elf up here,"
And at that time, as if it had been waiting for an appropriate time to enter, a house-elf appeared on the floor next to Remus' bed. He had ears that seemed to be bigger than the rest of his body, a thin, long nose, two beady little eyes that glowed violet, and was dressed in the Hogwarts house-elves' uniform. In one hand he held a copper platter that was covered with a matching half-circle lid that blocked Remus' view of what was inside. Everything about the elf seemed to be dwarfed by his ears that resembled those of a small elephant.
"Mister Black, sir, here is your dish!" The creature squeaked enthusiastically. Remus smiled at the joy the house-elf was radiating and the way he bounced slightly with each syllable. Sirius hopped up and relieved the elf of its burden.
"How many times must I say it? Call me 'Sirius'!" Sirius said with a grin, which the house-elf returned apologetically.
"Tibbles is very sorry, Mister Sirius," Remus and Sirius shared a look, and broke out into identical grins.
"No need to be sorry Tibbles! Thank you for bringing this up here for Remus," The house elf known as Tibbles looked up as if he had just noticed the golden-haired boy.
"Of course! Anything for Mister–" he glanced at Sirius quickly, "–Remus! Enjoy your snack sir!"
The energetic house-elf disappeared with a loud crack before Remus could say anything. Sirius and Remus met each other's gaze and burst into fits of laughter. Still chuckling, Sirius nudged Remus over and set the platter on his lap. They were close enough that their shoulder were pressed together, distracting Remus from what Sirius had been saying.
"...it is,"
"Huh?"
Sirius smiled, "Before I show it to you, you have to guess what it is!"
Remus groaned; he was horrible and guessing games. "I haven't the slightest," he said finally.
"You're no fun!" Sirius exclaimed. He lifted the lid enough for the smell of the food to leak out. "How about now?"
Once the sweet smell had wafted over to Remus, his eyes widened. "It isn't..." he trailed off. Sirius grinned and lifted the lid off of the dish, proving to Remus that his suspicions were correct.
On the platter sat five perfect strawberries. The tops were 'V' shaped from where the leafy stems had been cut out in two strokes from a knife. Four of them were ruby red, the color of roses, and last was a deep red-purple, much like the color of blood. They were spotted with tiny yellow seeds that had seen many days in the sun, that got slightly smaller at the rounded bottom end. Inside they were hollow, colored with a mix of pinks and cloudy white.
"You are a god Sirius," Remus breathed.
"Oh, I know! I'm surprised they're still here–go on! They're all yours!" Remus tore his eyes away from the perfect fruit to the perfect boy beside him.
"Don't you want..."
"Nope, I got them for you!"
Remus didn't hesitate another moment and snatched up the strawberry closest to him. He bit into it and savored the sweet taste of the sun-flavored juices with his eyes closed. A small moan of satisfaction escaped his stained lips once he had finished the last strawberry. He leaned back against the pillows with his eyes still closed and let out a contented sigh. He felt the platter's weight leave his legs and a quiet clanking sound combined with the shift in Sirius' weight let Remus know that the platter had joined the lid on the floor.
"Why'd you get those for me?"asked Remus without opening his eyes.
"I wanted to do something nice for you since James, Peter and I didn't get to come down to the Hospital Wing this morning. I know how much it means to you,"'
Remus opened his eyes and looked at Sirius. Sirius looked away shyly when their eyes met, the movement causing his hair to fall in dark curtains on either side of his face. Remus ignored the protests of his sore body and wrapped his arms around Sirius' shoulders in a tight hug. Sirius snaked his arms around Remus' waist and squeezed reassuringly, obviously being gentle because he was afraid to hurt Remus. The smaller boy tightened his arms around Sirius' shoulders and moved up closer to his ear.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"You're welcome," said Sirius quietly.
Though the position was slightly uncomfortable, Remus didn't want to move. His face was buried in Sirius' scented hair and the other boy was rubbing his back gently. Sirius rested his chin against Remus' thin hair, letting out a small sigh as he pulled him closer. It was when he was almost asleep that Remus finally pulled back, just far enough to rest his forehead against Sirius'.
The warmth they shared combined with his feelings of lust and longing for Sirius filled Remus up, warming his limbs and making him drowsy. He was drunk on the feeling that made his eyelids feel heavy and his throat dry.
"I could kiss you right now," Remus whispered in a voice filled with longing that he didn't recognize as his own.
"Why don't you?" asked Sirius in a matching voice. Remus looked into Sirius' eyes and saw the same thing in their blue depths that he felt; longing, lust, fear and love. Without another thought, Remus closed his eyes and smashed his lips against his friend's.
At that moment, nothing else around him mattered except for the lips against his and how close he could get to them. Sirius pulled Remus into his lap without breaking the kiss, but deepening it with a tongue run along Remus' bottom lip. Remus moaned the in the back of his throat and lost his fingers in Sirius' hair, pulling him closer still.
But they had to part sometime. When they did, they were both out of breath and gasping to try and find it again. Sirius had been flushed and out of breath earlier that day, but Remus got more satisfaction knowing that he was the one who caused it this time. They pressed their foreheads together as they waited for the freshness of the air to fill their lungs.
When at last their breathing was regular, Sirius gave Remus a soft kiss that held more love than the one before it. Sirius chuckled quietly, sending vibrations and unmentionable sensations though Remus' body.
"What?" Remus whispered.
Sirius caressed his lips again and then breathed in his ear, "You taste like strawberries."
Remus' response was slowed due to the things distracting him; Sirius' warm breath on his neck; the strong hands that had found their way up Remus' shirt in the past few minutes and were rubbing small circles on his scarred back; the taste in his mouth that was a mix of the lingering strawberry flavor and the deep, masculine taste that was Sirius; and the feeling of that black, shoulder-length hair around his fingers. But once his body had caught up with his mind, Remus smiled.
"Do you like the taste of strawberries?" he asked in that voice that wasn't his. Sirius kissed his neck.
"Well, if I didn't before, I sure do now,"
Sirius pulled him into another deep kiss, giving Remus one more reason to love strawberries.
A/n– I saw PoA! Below is ranting on the movie (or, at least the Sirius-Remus-canonness):
A lot Pup-love fans were freaking out over the hug (which was good, no matter how short it was) and Snape saying the 'married couple' thing. But the thing that got me the most, the thing that I think had the most Remus/Sirius potential was the scene where Remus started to turn into a werewolf. Sirius ran up to him and put his hands on his chest and said something like this: "Remus don't forget who you are, don't give into the insanity. You know who you are, here, in your heart."
I loved that part. I didn't get the quote right, but I saw it last night, so give me some slack. Sirius was saying that because earlier in the movie when Snape was teaching Remus' lesson he said that werewolves lose their minds and forget who they are when they change. I thought it was sweet, and showed loyalty on Sirius' part whenhe did that.
And they left out the explanation for how Remus and Sirius knew how to work the map, the nicknames, and why the three Marauders became animagus. As much as that pissed me off, I still loved it! And I have one more comment before I end this:
David Thewlis played an awesome Remus Lupin!!
Please reviewNote: Edited on 12/20/04 for spelling, grammar and punctuation. A few things may be different from the original version, but nothing drastic.
:-:silver-sunn101:-: