Falling // Wolfstar

One

The year is 1977.

August 23rd.

The sky is a brilliant shade of pink tonight. Splashes of purple and hints of orange weave their way between the wisps of clouds just above the horizon. The sun is low, but the world is still lit by its hazy glow. Even the moon doesn't dare come out yet. It looms beyond the clouds waiting to welcome the night.

A large splash disrupts the serene stillness of the lake. Peter's head bobs above the surface, whipping his sopping hair to the side. He turns back to the dock where two other boys sit in lawn chairs.

"I'd say that was your best one yet mate!" James shouts as he waves his sign with a large 9 on the front.

Sirius scoffs. "Please," he counters, putting up his sign that reads 8 1/2. "He was holding his nose!"

Peter climbs back onto the dock, shivering from the instant wave of cold air. "Alright you're up then Pads," he says ushering the boy out of the seat.

Sirius gets to his feet, shooting a look at James. "Watch and learn boys..." he states confidently.

Taking a running start, Sirius leaps off of the end of the dock and tucks his legs closely to his chest. He braces himself for the impact of the water and is suddenly submerged. The water is cold, though not unbearably. It surrounds him like a hug, taking over all of his senses. Under the water, Sirius finds peace. The ambient noise of crickets and croaking frogs are gone, and a silence so still envelopes him. His movements are graceful, gliding through the water slowly.

Reaching the surface, everything comes back to him at once. The frogs are louder. The crickets are chirpier.

Sirius wipes the water from his eyes to get a proper view of the boys. "A bloody six!" he shouts angrily.

"It was okay at best!" James replies.

"You don't have your glasses on! You can't even see how amazing that jump was!"

A loud ring echoes its way through the air to the boys. Both Peter and James look to each other with excitement. That sound meant only one thing -

"Dinner!" they shout in unison, launching from their chairs to race back to the house.

"Oi!" Sirius calls as he swims towards the dock. "Gits..." He hauls himself up the ladder, biting his lip to mask the breeze hitting his bare back. Once on top, a blue towel is handed to him.

"I'd give that jump an eleven out of ten," Remus says with a smile. His cheeks are slightly pink, but they always are when he's around Sirius. Every time he sees the boy, it was like seeing him for the first time all over again.

Sirius wipes his face with the towel before draping it around his neck. He stares at Remus, dressed in his usual summer attire. A nicely pressed short sleeve button up and a pair of colorful shorts. Tonight he sports an electric blue.

"Thanks for waiting for me," Sirius says as they begin walking towards the house.

"Mrs. Potter made me," Remus replies nonchalantly. Sirius smacks him with the towel. "Oi! Watch it there love."

"Or what?"

Remus rolls his eyes, reaching over and pulling Sirius' face to his. They wrestle for a moment until they're both laying on the grass entangled with one another. Remus stares at Sirius' face, taking in all the beauty. His eyes are glimmering with happiness.

Sirius reaches up, cupping Remus' cheek with his hand. The light catches his silver ring, shining on the R; it's a perfect match to the silver chain with a small S dangling from Remus' neck. He caresses his thumb over his cheek, smiling when Remus leans his head. A softness tugs at Sirius' heart. Somedays he didn't understand how lucky he'd gotten to be with Remus Lupin.