Author: Mosh Title: On the Bridge Note: You may not archive, re-post, or alter any of my stories without my permission. Please contact me first. Thanks! |
Sometimes, Remus would wonder if his heart could continue to take it, if he'd ever reach his thirties. His twenties. He'd wonder it aloud. Not exactly the nicest thought to be going along with. That's why James and Sirius would often grab him and pull his sweater up over his head, from the back so he couldn't see, arms flailing around madly to catch them. It didn't shut him up, not by far, but it stopped those dark thoughts that all of them shared from being voiced. At least for a moment, while he would stick his middle finger up in salute and call them, "Absolute, fucking pillocks". He'd pull the grey wool over his head, annoyed but smiling, his hair going crazy with static, not-quite-blond streaks flicking around his face. James and Peter would laugh. Sirius would watch, and watch. Remus would call them twats for good measure. On his sixteenth birthday, they took him into the forest. "We'll get in so much trouble if Pomfrey finds out." "So she'll force feed you even more healing potions, you lucky bastard. Stop complaining." Sirius threw a charming smile over his shoulder, beckoning the others to hurry up. "You'll get expelled." "Yeah." Sirius left it at that. Worryingly, he didn't sound too fazed by the prospect. They walked for an hour, the thicket around them steadily growing denser and darker. It was surprisingly warm as they trekked onwards, further into the black. "Are you sure this is the way?" Peter asked, not for the first time. "Dead sure," said James, stumbling over a tree root and cursing. "Why do you have to say dead like that?" "Because it scares the pants off you," said Sirius, pushing a branch out of his way and trudging on like the leader of some great expedition. Peter laughed, then. "Right. Bastards." "How're you doing back there, Remus?" called James, hot on Sirius's heels. "Yeah, fine." Remus was behind them, for some reason trusting their plan, whatever it was. "Where are we going, again? Did I mention I'll be in so much trouble if Pomfrey finds out I'm not in the Shack?" "Repeatedly," said James. "Ah, here we are!" Sirius led them through a curtain of low hanging vines, into a clearing. Squinting in the light of Sirius's wand, they stopped and stared at a stone bridge up ahead. Whatever used to run under it had long since dried up. Like a few other bridges of its kind, it had probably been built hundreds of years ago, when Goblins still dwelt in the forest. It was covered in vines and soft, dark green moss, but still held. Expert structuralists, Goblins. "This'll do." Sirius headed over to it. "Is that thing even safe?" said Peter. "Only one way to find out." Tentatively setting one foot in front of the other, Sirius stepped up onto the first stone, then the second, and the third. "Yep, seems fine." "C'mon, Remus. Moon's about to rise." Remus allowed James to drag him by the arm over to where Sirius was standing, framed against the navy blue night. "This is your plan?" Remus said. He looked down at the stones as he walked, half expecting them to give at any moment, regardless of how much faith Sirius put in them. "'Anything would be better than the Shack', you said," James pointed out. Remus sighed. "True." Sirius ran his fingers over the bridge wall, then turned to Remus with a wince. "Am I hallucinating, or what?" On closer inspection, the sides appeared to be made up of not only stone, but bones as well. "Cheery," Remus muttered, his hand gliding along a small skull - an animal of some kind, perhaps a squirrel - to meet Sirius's. Their fingers brushed. Sirius pulled away as if he'd been electrocuted. "Right, well." A small snort floated over from James's direction. "Now we wait," Peter said, sounding a little anxious. After a moment or two, Sirius brought a Galleon out of his pocket and started to flip it, up into the air, then back down into his palm, then up into the air again. "Call it, Remus." Flip... flip... flip. Remus smirked. "Tails, of course." Catching the coin, Sirius smacked it down on the back of his hand, then held it out for them to see. "Tails it is. How're you feeling?" "Not long to go, now." Remus plucked the coin from Sirius's hand and held it up. "Swear you won't let me out of your sight." "Of course I - we won't." Sirius reached for his Galleon, but Remus held it back out of reach and smiled. "Give it here." "No." With a flush, Sirius muttered, "Fine." Slipping the Galleon into his trouser pocket, Remus glanced at his friends. Particles glowed in the rising milky light, wisping around his face like fireflies. Very quietly, he said, "This is nice." And then his mouth twisted suddenly. Without a second's hesitation, Sirius took him by the shoulders. "Easy, Moony." "Oh, fuck." "You're all right, mate," said James, patting Remus's back. "We're here. Just... go for it." One of Remus's hands came up and gripped Sirius's face, thumb pressing against his cheek. "Thanks." Sirius stared at him, anxiety etched into his frown. It wasn't like he hadn't seen Remus transform before, but tonight it seemed too soon, like the month had flown by. "What about... my... my clothes?" "We'll get you new clothes," James said. "Don't even think about it." Remus squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and when he opened them again they weren't the same colour as before. "Here we go," said Peter, quickly transforming. "Wait!" shouted James. "He's not done yet." He got behind Remus and wrapped his arms around his shuddering form, staring Sirius right in the eyes across Remus's hunched shoulders. "Ever going to tell me, Padfoot?" Sirius looked at him, an awkward flush dusting his cheeks. "Of course. Just didn't know - whoa, Moony - when to bring it up." "It's not like I didn't already know." Remus bucked within their joined arms, letting out a cry of absolute pain. "Come on, Moony." "So you knew?" It wasn't the most ideal time to be talking about it, but when was? Sirius and Remus had been putting it off for weeks. "Yeah," said James. Bent double, Remus lurched forward and retched, unable to drag in even the smallest breath. "About time, eh?" Sirius stared at his best friend, then slowly a smile crept across his mouth. "I guess so." He rubbed circles over Remus's back, then his neck. "Well, for what it's worth, it's fine with me, you know." James grinned back. "And now I get to call you a couple of great big poofs." Sirius stepped out of the way at the same time James released Remus. "Great. Good. Yeah." Then, after a horrible rip of fabric, he added, "Look, he's too far gone. Let's transform." With a nod, James backed off and shifted in a flurry of coarse white fur. Hooves clopped on the stones. "See you later, love," Sirius whispered to Remus, before changing into Padfoot. As Moony howled into the night - a great black dog, a silver-white stag, and a scruffy grey rat at his heels - a gold Galleon bounced with an echoing ching on to the bridge. The next night Sirius went back for it on his own, and the morning after he slipped it into Remus's palm with a kiss. ~Fin~ |
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