~Out Of Rhythm~

Did Albus Dumbledore plan or expect the rush of passion when he sent Sirius to stay with Remus for the summer? I doubt it. I doubt they expected it either, but they welcomed it with open minds and open hearts, falling with the utmost ease into their old ways.

Sometimes they stayed in bed all day without saying a single word, other then to summon food when they paused their lovemaking long enough to realise that they were hungry for something more substantial.

The weeks passed; one was blissful and wonderful, and, lying naked in each other's arms, they reminisced of the first time it had happened all those years ago, and how much in love they had been back then.

Neither of them mentioned love this time around.

The second week was quieter, and they went about their solitary business in the day, only meeting up for kisses at mealtimes. They slept together at night, but it was no longer passion. It was warmth and comfort, and everything they needed.

The third week was so awkward. They didn't kiss. Sirius moved into the spare room.

Now, it's the first day of the fourth week, and awkwardness has morphed into silence. The late afternoon light shines through the lacy curtains and sprinkles the furniture with specks of gold dust, but neither man notices; when they look up to reach for their coffee cups, all they can see are the growing shadows cast by the sinking sun. They keep their eyes defiantly on their books, unable to read a single word because the roar of silence is deafening. How can they concentrate when there's this much noise?

In the fifth week, they will begin to talk again, to speak of things that matter with words that must be said. Remus will ask to see the letters from Harry and Sirius will show him. Sirius will ask what Remus has been doing since he lost his teaching job, and Remus will tell him.

But like a poem poorly written, they are verses out of rhythm, couplets out of rhyme. Their words -- their lives -- are jarring and discordant, in syncopated time. And by the time they return to Hogwarts in September, they will be strangers again.

~END~