Title: Please
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Multiple. Can’t tell you specifics; it would ruin the whole story. But if you know how I like my Remus, you should be able to guess.
Warnings: Slash & Het, Character Death (see prompt)
Disclaimer: I’m sure JKR would not approve. She created and owns these characters. I’m just playing and I get nothing in return.
Summary: How Remus spends All Hallow’s Eve.
Challenge: Howl-O-Ween Challenge at pervy_werewolf. I was given the word “ghosts”.
Author’s Notes: see endnotes.
Please
The dishes had been washed, dried, and put away. The curtains had been pulled closed. The door had been locked with a series of muggle and magical means. Remus John Lupin carefully selected a leather-bound volume from the dusty bookshelf in the living room, then stretched out on the couch with a blanket to read it. Remus always attributed his strange connection with Halloween to the combination of wizard, muggle, and dark creature blood rushing through him. A book was hardly sufficient to take his mind off it, but at least it succeeded in putting him to sleep. The candle on the side table burned out into a pool of wax not long after.
*
Shivering, Remus came awake halfway in the middle of the night, intending to pull the blanket around himself more tightly and then fall back to sleep. But his eyes fluttered open with curiosity and stayed open at the sight of Sirius Black smiling at him from the armchair. Remus propped himself up on an elbow. There were a hundred questions he could ask, the most important of which was ‘what took you so long?’. But he settled for “What are you doing here, Padfoot?”
“Just watching you sleep, Moony. Like I used to do when we were in Hogwarts. I used to lie awake in your bed at night, listening to the sound of your breathing, watching your peaceful face.”
Remus smiled. “That explains why you used to fall asleep so often in classes.”
Sirius chuckled. “My turn to ask: what are you doing here?”
“I live here.”
“No,” he shook his head. “I mean down here. Why aren’t you up in bed?” His eyes traveled from the book, open and resting on the cushions, to the remains of the candle, where the wax had cooled into a smooth, flat disk. “You were waiting up for me to come home, weren’t you?”
Remus smiled sheepishly. It wasn’t the first time and Remus whole-heartedly hoped it wouldn’t be the last. “Come here, love.”
It was the same old dance with Sirius Black. Unsurprisingly familiar, but nonetheless exquisite. Desired. Needed. They disrobed simultaneously, taking as much pleasure in the sights of their aged and imperfect bodies as they had at the smooth skin of their youth. They bore the scars of their pasts together and acknowledged their struggles even during the joys of sex. But by the time Sirius was starkers, the only thing on Remus’ mind was how hard he wanted to fuck him.
“Do you want me here?” Sirius asked softly. “Do you want me? Do you want to take me?”
“Please,” Remus replied.
Sirius lay face-down on the couch, a cushion under his head and another under his crotch, raising him up. Presented with Sirius’ arse, Remus sighed with delight. “You’re still gorgeous, even after all these years.”
“Only to you,” Sirius replied. Then, in a softer whisper, “Only for you.”
Remus had himself in hand already, stroking himself to full hardness. Sirius squirmed eagerly on the pillow. There was a time, so many decades ago, when their lovemaking would have lasted hours. Now it was efficient. Step 1: undress. Step 2: get ready. Step 3: penetrate. Step 4: fuck and try not to pull a muscle. And though all the originality and experimentation had dropped away to leave a formulaic intercourse, there was still plenty of love and passion.
Remus spread his legs, kneeling on the couch. He cupped his balls with one hand and reached down to run a hand down Sirius’ back. There was nothing to hold onto now. He shivered and closed his eyes. Then his hips jerked forward as he slid in. The first instant was uncomfortable, but then the familiarity of the sensation came rushing back to him. His body rocked on top of Sirius’, rolling and flowing in and out. “Sirius!” he whispered, looking down. Bare back, rough cheek, flowing grey-black hair, and a hint of eyelashes were all he could see. He felt the orgasm rise up in him, and wanted to watch Sirius as it came upon him.
“Oh…” He exhaled, and then his breath caught and jaw drop. His hips gave one last thrust. “Ah.” He arched his back and looked up at the ceiling, forgetting his desire to look upon Sirius until it was all over. Then he looked back down. “Sirius?” he asked. “Did you…?”
Sirius nodded and turned his head to the side, looking up at him as best he could. “Of course.” He moved to the side so Remus could clean up the mess on the couch cushion.
Remus wrapped himself in a blanket and lay down on the couch. He was on his side, with Sirius in front of him. He wrapped an arm around Sirius and closed his eyes. “Love you,” he whispered, and Sirius returned the sentiment in an instant.
*
When Remus woke, only an hour later, his arms were empty. He opened his eyes, with Sirius’ name on his lips. But the sound which had awoken him was not Sirius, nor was it Sirius who sat in the armchair. “Tonks,” he said. “Oh, Tonks, don’t cry. No more sadness. We agreed. Remember?”
Nymphadora Tonks nodded and looked up, her face wet with tears. They shimmered in the moonlight, streaming in from the unveiled windows. “I remember.” She lifted the end of her shirt and wiped it over his face. “But, Remus, I wish… I should have listened when you tried to tell me…”
“Tonks, it wasn’t your fault,” Remus said. He propped himself up on his elbows to look at her. They had had this conversation a dozen times or more. And he did not want to have it again tonight, but he knew they’d have to. “I was hurting, after losing Sirius. I was old, and marked. I wasn’t ready for what you had to offer.”
“But I couldn’t be what you wanted.”
“You were yourself,” Remus said. “You were sweet and kind. You looked after me and we were there for each other. And I believe we made a good go of it while it lasted.” He sat up and patted the sofa beside him. “Come, here.”
She went to him at once, gliding over, and curled up on the couch beside him. Tonks placed her head on his thigh.
Remus stroked her hair, once bright and cheery but now dull. “I still care for you deeply.”
She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, but not with tears, this time. “Do you still want me to be there for you?” Her hand stroked his bare thigh where her cold breath blew upon it. It made him shiver. “To take care of you?” He tilted her head, looking at his crotch.
His cock stirred at her words, and at the attention she gave it. “Please,” he whispered.
Tonks rolled onto her stomach. She looked up at him, smiling. Then she leaned forward and wrapped her mouth around his cock. Remus exhaled with a soft groan as he felt her around him. His head felt heavy, and rolled on his neck. He rested it against the back of the sofa but kept his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling again. As she enveloped him, moving up and down, he bucked upward, plunging deeper and deeper into her mouth.
His breathing raced. Her head bobbed up and down more quickly. His thrusts went faster. “Tonks…” He reached down, trying to find her head so he could bury his hand in it. But his fingertips only grazed her. It was enough. He groaned and came violently.
When he finished, he looked back down. “Thank you for that.” He knew he didn’t have to thank her, but he always did. Every time, because of a sense of obligation.
“Sure. I don’t mind.” She smiled and turned back onto her side, with her head on his thigh. She closed her eyes.
“Happy Halloween, Tonks,” he whispered to her. She said the same back, and he closed his eyes with a smile to match hers.
*
Remus did not know if it was the grandfather clock in the hallway chiming the hour or if it was the cold temperature that woke him. His neck had a crick in it from sleeping sitting upright, and he rubbed it out with his hand. “Hi,” he said around a yawn, towards the armchair. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you tonight.”
Severus Snape sat in the chair, perfectly naked and glowing pale in the moonlight. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, his palms pressed together with his index fingers touching his lips. “Naturally, I am here.” He calmly dropped his hands to his lap. “I have no one else to visit.”
Remus knew as much and, though sympathy and relief flooded through him, he replied with a simple. “I’m glad to see you here. I missed you.” Snape snorted lightly in disbelief. Remus smiled. “You always did make me prove it.” He threw the blanket back, revealing his naked body and his growing erection.
“And you were always honest with me.” Snape moved from the chair toward the couch. He stood beside the sofa, his cock in hand, tugging to match Remus’ arousal.
It did not take long, especially as they were face-to-face with each other. Remus looked straight ahead at Snape, feeling himself drawn to it. He had tried a dozen times to determine why. It wasn’t love, like it was with Sirius. And it wasn’t caring, as with Tonks. It was availability and convenience, but also want and desire. It was familiarity and attraction and need. And it was a hundred other words that got him only a little closer to putting his finger on it. Right now, all that mattered was that it was what it was. And Snape was there for it.
“Fuck me,” Remus whispered.
“Is that it?” Snape replied. His long fingers gracefully curled around and stroked his length. “Is that all?”
“That’s not all.” He shook his head. Of course it wasn’t all. But it was all he could take.
“But you do want me to fuck you.”
Remus nodded emphatically, his eyes trained on Snape’s cock. “Please.”
“Whatever you say,” Snape said around a growing grin. Remus turned and flopped onto his back. He spread his legs, lifting one and hooking his ankle over the back of the sofa. Snape knelt on the couch between the legs.
Snape reached down, but couldn’t touch Remus. Remus was more than capable to taking care of himself, however. And Snape could still provide something more. Remus had long ago decided that this was enough for Halloween. With a hand around his own cock, Remus exhaled and stroked while Snape slid in. His hips jerked forward with a thrust. Remus felt the strange sensation fill him, then became attuned to the Snape’s rhythm. Shivering and shuddering, Remus nonetheless relaxed into enjoyment.
As waves of pleasure coursed through him, Remus felt the desire to close his eyes again. He kept them open, staring up at Snape until the last moment when Snape came. With a soft groan, Snape moved back, out of Remus’ line of vision, and Remus found himself once again looking up into nothingness when he came.
He felt Snape leave him, and looked back down to find he was alone. “Severus?” he whispered. “Tonks? Padfoot?” There was nothing but silence and the quiet ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall.
Remus gathered the blanket around himself and picked his pajamas up off the floor. He padded over to the bathroom to clean up. He glanced at the clock on his way, but didn’t need it to know the time. The curtains had been drawn when he’d first gone to sleep, but now the windows were not only uncovered but wide open. Feeling the terrible chill, he wondered who had opened them. But he was too cold now to shiver. And too tired to stay awake and make breakfast, he lay back down on the couch to rest.
*
Bill Weasley woke with a stretch. His arms reached up in a circle over his head, then his hands separated. He flung an arm out, intending to slip it around Remus. But the spot beside him in bed was. Bill pulled his eyes open and blinked at his lover’s absence. It took him a moment to remember the date, but when he did, he sighed and pulled himself out of bed.
Bill grabbed his bathrobe and slid his bare feet into fuzzy beige slippers on his way out of the bedroom. The early morning sun glowed faintly through the open windows, making Bill feel warm and cozy even on a crisp November morning. But warm and cozy was just a step away from warm and drowsy. ‘If Remus had been in bed,’ Bill thought to himself as he descended the stairs, ‘I’d have gone back to sleep.’ But Remus hadn’t been in bed. And in the three years they’d been together, Remus had never spent All Hallow’s Eve in bed with Bill.
As expected, he found Remus asleep on the couch. The man was curled in a ball on the cushions to conserve body heat, his pajama top unbuttoned and open in the front. He had his arms tucked against his chest and his head on a pillow. Upon closer inspection, there was a small damp spot on the pillow by Remus’ eye. Bill felt his heart go out the man.
He popped into the bathroom for a box of tissues, which he set on the side table by what used to be a candle. He noticed a blanket on the floor, and picked it up. He gave it a good shake to straighten it out, then draped it over Remus’ sleeping body. Bill couldn’t resist tucking it securely around Remus, to keep him warm, and that’s what woke him up. “Sorry,” Bill said quietly, sounding heartfelt. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” He brushed his fingertips across Remus’ forehead to push hair away and make room for a soft kiss.
“It’s morning,” Remus registered, gazing up not at Bill but at the windows.
Remus seemed to need to hear it, so Bill squatted down beside the couch and nodded. “Yeah, it’s morning. Hey, I was going to go make a pot of tea. Do you want a cup?” Bill wasn’t sure why he needed to ask, since Remus had never turned down tea in his life, but it felt right to try to get Remus in a conversation.
But Remus did not seem to be in a talking mood. He sat up, however, pulling the blanket around himself like a cloak. He looked straight at the tissues, then ignored them and rubbed his eyes with a fist. He looked up at Bill, eyes bloodshot and bleary. “Tea… please.”
Bill nodded and got on it right away. He could see a sliver of the living room from the kitchen, and kept glancing back at Remus as he walked from one side of the kitchen to the other. Bill shook his head in pity. Halloween always did this to the man. Remus wasn’t even this bad after a full moon. ‘If he’d just gone to bed…’ Bill sighed and shook his head as he set the kettle on the lit burner. So far as he knew, on Halloween Remus never wanted love, never wanted talking, and never wanted sex.
Or maybe he simply didn’t want Bill. As the water warmed its way to a boil, Bill glanced again out at the living room and Remus, who had stopped staring up into space. Remus took the blanket and began folding it. Bill walked over to the wall calendar on the side of the fridge and flipped it to the new month. Whatever worries he had about Remus would wait another year.
Endnotes: With apologies to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, I had those three ghosts in mind when writing these three and Remus’ relationships. I picture Remus/Sirius as the “past” sort of relationship. Tonks/Remus is clearly “present” in the book series as it is now. And I can see Remus/Severus gravitating to each other after that sort of in the “future”. But then I see Remus finally ending up with Bill so the three are conveniently dead at this point in the timeline :-)