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Ch. 9. Sweet Creature

"Tell me about your tattoos," I'm laying on my stomach, chin resting on my folded arms, feet swinging in the air behind me as I look up at Sirius. He's reclined against the headboard, one arm behind his head and the other draped over his bare stomach.

"What about them?"

"What do they mean?"

"I'm thinking that that's too long of a story."

"Then it's a good thing that I'm a good listener. Also, that's not fair."

He smirks, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my hair, "Which ones do you want to know about?"

"All of them," I whisper, and he chuckles.

I roll over and sit up before kneeling between Sirius' legs, pulling a blanket over my bare shoulders. He watches me with large grey eyes, reaching out to trace his fingers down my sternum. The touch makes me shiver as I reach out to trace the symbols down the middle of his chest, "Tell me about these." I drape the blanket across his hips, pleased to see the fabric tent slightly as I sit in front of him.

"The big one is the alchemic symbol for amalgamation. I got it when I become an animagus for Remus," he shivers when I trace it. "Below it are the runes aesc, yr and haegl. The first two," he points, "are trees. Ash and Yew. The first is a symbol for the brotherhood of the Mauraders. We were partners in everything, brothers until the end," he smiles sadly. "I added yr as soon as I left Azkaban, to signify Jame's death. It was my way of sending him my loyalty from this realm to wherever he is now."

"Why?"

"Because yew trees were often planted on graves to signify remembrance and loyalty, even at a distance. Part of that loyalty is action, and I made it my mission to bring Peter to justice for what he did to my brother."

"These?" I lean forward to kiss his pectorals.

"The right one, and the one on my shoulder, is a bindrune that signifies Odin's sacrifice for wisdom. The left is... complicated."

"Try me."

"There are three runes that traditionally are written right after the other. This is normally the second, it means need. It has many meanings, but I view it as the motivation behind my desires, basically what comes after the destruction."

"Did you get it after Azkaban?"

"I got it during."

"How?"

"I had my ways. It was a reminder to keep fighting for my godson, because I knew there was more to the world than the devastation I was experiencing in those walls."

I hum, leaning forward again to kiss him, this time on his neck and jaw. His hands grasp my hips, fingers splaying across the flesh there.

"This one?" I indicate the one on the left side of his neck.

He barks a laugh, "It means sawgrass."

"What?" I pull back to look at him.

"I lost a bet."

"How does that translate to this tattoo?"

"James loved sawgrass when he was in his stag form. One night, in sixth year, we bet that whoever won the game of cards we were playing could pick a tattoo for anyone to get. Naturally, I was too drunk to win. James and I had snuck in a bunch of Fire Whiskey to our dorm. Remus won, of course, and naturally chose that I would 'get my best mate's favorite snack tattooed where all the ladies would see it.'"