Sanctuary

Chapter 89

The moonsickness kicked in hard on Thursday morning, and Remus mutely accepted Sirius' assistance to climb out of bed and into the shower cubicle. Everything hurt. Even his eyes burned with tears from the pain. It took him five full minutes just to get his pyjamas off, but the hot, pressurised water helped a bit and by the time he emerged, he was at least able to walk unaided. Not that he needed to. Sirius was waiting for him, sitting on the counter next to the sink, and he jumped down and hurried over when Remus opened the cubicle door, holding out a potion bottle.

Remus' stomach flipped over and he lost the ability to breathe for a moment, thinking Sirius had found his stash of Forgetfulness potion, but the bottle was the wrong shape and the potion inside the wrong colour, and he realised it was the Invigoration draught Peter had given him for his birthday.

'You should take this,' Sirius said, handing it to him and sending a wave of his scent in Remus' direction with the movement of his arm. 'Can't have Lily noticing you're ill today.'

'Thanks,' Remus said, trying to ignore the sudden urge to push Sirius up against the counter and thoroughly snog him. Instead, he pulled out the stopper and took a large swallow from the bottle. The magic in the potion spread through him, leaving behind a gentle warmth that thrummed with energy. 'Oh, that feels good.'

'Yeah? Bubbles will be so pleased.' Sirius' whole face just lit up when he smiled, like a light was switched on just beneath his skin. He glowed when he was happy. And gods, he smelled incredible.

Remus stepped closer to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and nuzzling his face into Sirius' throat, where the scent was strongest with a deep hum of approval.

'And now I'm pleased,' Sirius said with a chuckle as he hugged Remus back. 'Can I get a kiss too? Or are you only interested in smelling me today?'

'If I kiss you, I might not stop.'

'Really?' Sirius sounded excited by the prospect, making Remus laugh into his neck and he hummed an affirmative.

'I feel a little... wild. I don't know if it's the moon, the potion, or the combination of the two, but...' He trailed off because when he lifted his head to look at Sirius, he lost his train of thought completely. All he could focus on was Sirius' lips and how much he wanted to feel them against his own. 'Fuck,' he said on a breath as he leaned in to kiss him hard, using his weight to force Sirius to walk backwards until he was trapped between Remus and the counter.

Sirius kissed him back willingly, but he put his hands on Remus' hips and pushed him back a little, forcing some space between them, and when Remus broke the kiss and moved to his throat, Sirius pushed him off completely. 'Nope, none of that. We've got breakfast in ten minutes. I don't have time to wait for the bruise paste to work.'

Remus growled, making Sirius grin, but he didn't argue. He could wait until later. Probably. If he tried really hard. Gods, why did Sirius have to smell so good? He was leaning back in, nuzzling into Sirius' neck before he even realised what he was doing.

Sirius groaned. 'Remus, we have to go.'

Remus ignored him. Sirius didn't understand that breakfast didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was Sirius' scent and making sure everyone knew it was his. He couldn't let Sirius go downstairs smelling so good without marking him first. He opened his mouth against Sirius' throat and sucked a wet kiss onto his skin before he was suddenly shoved back again.

'Remus, I said no.'

Remus stared at him through the haze, blinking slowly as his mind cleared, and then his eyes widened as he realised what he'd been doing. 'Shit. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking.'