"I still can't believe Remus inherited a bloody castle." Sirius Black laughed softly to himself as he trudged through the snow, the impressive stone façade of his best friend and former lover's new home impossible to miss even though he was miles away yet. He would have preferred to take his Animagus form, but although Padfoot the Grim was much larger than a regular dog, he was still nowhere near tall enough to make any headway against the snow - this close to the Arctic circle, it didn't matter that it was June, that by all rights the snow should be melting. There was no real summer here.

The castle, part of the last remaining werewolf sanctuary in the world, had been left to Remus by an old man who was also a werewolf, out of gratitude for Remus' assistance in ridding the grounds of a vampire nest not long before. Remus had apparently moved in around the same time Sirius was coming back to England to be close to Harry, and according to Dumbledore was rather enjoying it. There were several packs on the grounds, and all of them knew and respected Remus. Sirius wondered if Remus would need or even want him around on the full moon with all those other werewolves around, but whether Remus wanted him or not, he would be there.

As he drew closer to the castle, Sirius saw Remus standing in the doorway, looking around as if searching for something. He supposed there were wards on the castle to warn Remus when somebody was coming. He transformed and barked, three sharp, loud barks, and Remus' head shot in his direction. He transformed back and waved, and Remus waved back, then started to walk in his direction as fast as he could, hampered only slightly by the thick snow. Sirius started to move again, and a few minutes later they stopped, a foot away from each other.

"Sirius," Remus said softly. "You made it."

"Yeah. Dumbledore tell you I was coming?"

"Yeah." Remus swallowed and fidgeted slightly. "Come in, Sirius. I'll make tea, and…are you hungry?"

"A little," Sirius said. His stomach, in the perverse way that stomachs have,
chose that moment to growl, loudly. "All right, a lot."

Remus chuckled. "Come on, then, Sirius," he said, gesturing toward the door.

"It's a full moon tonight," Sirius said suddenly

"Yes," Remus said quietly.

"I know you've got all these other wolves around for company, but I was hoping Moony might still want Padfoot around." Meaning, perhaps, more than just the wolf wanting the dog's company on the full moon.

"Oh, Sirius," Remus said, and suddenly Sirius found himself being pulled into a fierce hug. "Yes. Of course. Always."

Sirius returned the embrace gladly, pressing his cheek up against Remus'. "I missed you, Moony," he whispered.

"I missed you too, Padfoot. I missed you so much."

"We have a lot to talk about."

"Dumbledore told me. I think he realized it would be hard for you…and he
wanted to warn me." He tightened his grip on Sirius for a moment, then released him. "C'mon, then."

Sirius followed him into the castle, grinning. "I'm glad to see you're doing
well for yourself, Remus," he said. "I was concerned."

Remus smiled slightly. "Werewolves don't have steady jobs very often, but
I manage. The money I saved from that one year at Hogwarts helped. I was sorry, when the man who lived here before died, but I was grateful to him for leaving me the castle."

"Do you run with the packs?"

Remus laughed. "Hardly," he said dryly. "They mostly stay away. I haven't
been here long enough to be trustworthy yet. I have the castle to lock myself up in."

"You can't get the Wolfsbane here, I suppose."

"No. It's probably just as well. It's not very healthy, you know. It makes
me safe, but it tastes awful, and it makes me sicker than usual around that
time of month. It's worth it around people, but out here I don't see the
point."

"And now you have me to make it easier on you," Sirius said softly.

"Yes. Now I have you." Remus smiled, suddenly, brilliantly. "Sirius. I didn't
have time, in the Shack, to tell you. I'm so, so glad to see you again. I
missed you. So much. And…I'm glad it wasn't you. I hate that it was Peter,
but…"

"I know," Sirius whispered, pulling Remus back into his arms. "I know. I…I
remember thinking, 'At least it wasn't Remus'. When. Oh, God, Remus, I'm
so sorry." He tightened his grip on Remus, shaking. "I thought it was you.
I'm so, so sorry. I had no reason…no reason at all, I just thought…I knew, I knew it wasn't me and I couldn't imagine it being Peter. And so…oh, Remus, I'm so sorry."

"Oh, Siri. Ssh. It's all right." Remus reached up to stroke Sirius' hair.

"I understand. Those were…tough times. Not knowing who to trust."

"But I should have known. I should have known you wouldn't ever."

"I no more suspected Peter than you did, Siri. Neither of us is to blame
for this. I know it's natural to blame yourself, but you have to stop. Nobody's infallible. Blame Peter and blame Voldemort and stop blaming yourself because it wasn't your fault."

Sirius clung to Remus for a moment more, then released him, smiling sadly. "Thanks. I think I needed to hear that."

"You're welcome, Sirius." He smiled ruefully. "I can't tell you that I didn't
hate you. Because I did. For those twelve years…I hated the boy you were, the boy I loved. I hated that boy for the man I thought he'd become. And I hated that no matter how much I hated that boy, how much I hated that man, I still loved them." He released Sirius and walked out of the room, and Sirius watched, confused and slightly alarmed. A few minutes later, Remus returned, carrying a large box. Scrawled messily across the top in black marker were the words 'Padfoot's things.'

"Found this the other day," Remus explained, setting it down in the floor.

"I was looking for something else and it wasn't labeled at the time." He
opened the box and pulled something off the top, a smaller box which he opened and passed to Sirius. Inside the box was a beautiful gold ring, shaped like a pair of hands holding a heart which wore a crown. Nestled in the heart was a small, but genuine, ruby. "Do you remember this ring, Sirius?"

Sirius studied the ring carefully, thinking. "My…my birthday. I was sixteen,
and you gave me that," he said slowly. "And then we made love. For the first time. I remember."

"And do you remember the story?"

Sirius thought hard for a moment. "The…Claddagh," he murmured. "Worn on the right hand, crown pointed in, it symbolizes friendship. Crown pointed out, it means romance is being considered. And on the left hand, crown pointed out...it means your heart is taken. I remember…I wore it on my left hand. Always. With the crown pointed out."

"You did, once," Remus agreed softly. "When you loved me."

"I never stopped." Sirius smiled slightly. "Never. Not once in twelve years.
Loving you wasn't a happy thought any more than being innocent was, because I knew you hated me. And I knew I would never hold you again. So loving you…they let me keep that memory."

"Oh, Sirius," Remus whispered. "I never stopped loving you either."

"You thought I'd betrayed you all."

"I told myself I believed it. They told me my truths were a lie and I told
myself they were right. I was stupid. Young and stupid. Words lie. So do
deeds sometimes. Smells never lie. I made that mistake once and I'm so, so
sorry. I'll never make it again."

Sirius swallowed and smiled sadly. "It's all right, Remus. I made my share
of mistakes then, too. We all did. All we can do now is try not to repeat
them."

"Yes," Remus agreed softly. "Sirius. Will you…may I…" He trailed off, unable to find the words to ask what he wanted to know.

Sirius' sad smile widened slightly, and he held his left hand out, palm-down.

"Remus," he whispered softly. "Crown pointed out, if you please."

Remus reached up with one trembling hand to grasp Sirius' fingers lightly.

The other hand, also shaking, slid the Claddagh ring onto Sirius' finger,
and then caught it out of reflex when it promptly slid back off. "What…"

"The Azkaban diet plan," Sirius said ruefully. "Try another finger, love?"

Remus shook his head, slid the ring back onto Sirius' hand and held it in
place while reaching for his wand with the other. He tapped the ring softly
and murmured something under his breath, and the ring adjusted itself, tightening slowly until it was secure. As he had done many years previous, he kissed the hand, and then, for the first time in fourteen years, he kissed Sirius. Sirius kissed him back, tangling fingers that had never lost their strength in his hair, and for a long moment they just stood there, kissing each other and feeling as if time had stood still just for them.

They kissed, standing there in the middle of the living room, long and sweet, licking each other's tongues and lips, savoring one another. A low growl built slowly in Remus' chest, and suddenly Sirius found himself pinned against the wall, Remus' tongue halfway down his throat, his lover thrusting against him insistently. Sirius whimpered and reached out to Remus, but the werewolf growled again and slapped his hands away, then lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the wall, his back turned to Remus. Slim, impatient hands parted his thighs as clever fingers wrapped around his cock. He moaned loudly, tilting his head back and clenching his hands into fists as Remus bent down, sniffing between his legs.

"Remus…"

"Ssh." Remus touched his tongue lightly to the ring of muscles, prompting
a stunned gasp from Sirius. "Taste you," he growled. "Learn all your secrets
again." Sirius whimpered and tried to thrust, but Remus held him down asily.

"Mine," he growled, tracing the rim slowly with the very tip of his tongue.
Sirius whined, long and steady, as he slowly slid his tongue in further,
finally holding it still where the tip just barely brushed his prostate.

The whine got louder, stronger, but Remus ignored it, continuing to tongue-fuck him slowly, only barely brushing that so-sensitive organ.

"Remus," he whimpered, "oh, Remus, please. Please, love, fuck me, I need
you. I need you, I love you, I want you, oh love, please. Fuck me, oh, please, fuck me, touch me, god, your hand, your mouth, want your cock, Remus, oh God I want your cock."

Remus growled and thrust his tongue in all the way, his fingers tightening
on Sirius' erection, pulling and twisting, wringing noises out of him he'd
never heard before. He pulled away, and Sirius cried out sharply in protest.
Remus leaned over him, plastering their hips together. "You drive me crazy,
Sirius Black," he snarled softly, nipping lightly at his ear. "Drive me mad."

"Feeling's mutual." Sirius grinned, then gasped as Remus dug his teeth into
his sensitive earlobe, flicking the end softly with his tongue.

"Sirius?" he whispered roughly after a moment. "Are you ready for me?" He
rubbed his hips up against the curve of his lover's backside, heavy cock
grinding across sensitive flesh. "Are you ready for my cock?"

"Yes. Oh yes. Oh, God, Remus, please."

"Are you sure, Siri? I don't want to hurt you," Remus whispered. "Are you sure you don’t need me to lick you some more?"

Sirius whined and thrust back as hard as he could, panting loudly. "Damnit…Remus…pound me, damnit, now!"

Remus growled and pulled away, and then Sirius felt hot, naked skin press
against his, and he shuddered all over as Remus plastered their bodies together again, the head of his cock poised at the entrance to his body. "Remember, sweetheart, you asked for it," Remus purred darkly, and set his teeth in Sirius' shoulder as he entered his lover in one long, smooth thrust.
Sirius let out a strangled, choked gasp as he felt himself be impaled on
Remus' cock. The hand on his own erection was twisting it, fierce and demanding, and Remus' other hand had wrapped around his chest, the fingers of it playing with his right nipple. He whined, unable to even touch himself as Remus had his arms pinned to his sides. "Remus," he whimpered, "let me touch myself, please…"

Remus replied by growling around his shoulder and speeding up his thrusts.
Sirius gasped and shut his mouth, biting his tongue to keep from crying out. "Want to hear you," Remus snarled in his ear. "Want to make you scream."

Sirius whimpered and licked his lips, panting softly. "Oh. Remus," he gasped between breaths, closing his eyes. "Remus…oh, God, Remus!" he yelped, and came with a hoarse cry.

Remus grunted as Sirius came, causing his entire body to clench up. It
felt good, so good, and Remus thrust almost violently into the suddenly-tighter-than-usual hole, tilting his head back and howling as he came.

For a few moments, they leaned against the wall, breathing heavily and trying to calm their pounding hearts. Then Remus slid slowly out of Sirius, ignoring his lover's whimper of protest, and smiled, kissing the back of Sirius' ear. "I needed that," he murmured, his smile widening as Sirius chuckled.

"Mmm, I did too," Sirius said, turning and smiling at Remus before kissing
him again. After a moment, his stomach growled, and they broke apart, laughing.

"Come on, love. We've got a while before the moon. Plenty of time for you
to eat something." Remus took Sirius' hand and led him into the kitchen,
and Sirius went happily.

"As the Muggle saying goes, a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou, and I will be content," he said, and meant it.

"Will you settle for roast beef and Firewhiskey?"

THE END