Summer Vacation III: Honeymoon in Japan, Part 9

by Geri ([email protected])

My homepage: http://www.geocities.com/geri_chans_fics/index.html

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Aric/Takeshi, Snape/Lupin

Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts

Disclaimer: Based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; no money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.

Warning: This is a continuation of the Always series, but the main focus is on Aric and Takeshi, and Snape and Lupin appear mainly as supporting characters.

Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, Aftermaths, The Revenant, and Ash's Story. Although it's not so much a sequel to the latter two stories as it is a companion piece. The Revenant, Ash's Story, and Summer Vacation III all begin at around the same time, a couple of days after the ending of "Aftermaths," and pretty much run concurrently.

Summary: Takeshi, Aric, Lupin, and Snape attend the Tanabata festival.
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Glossary of Japanese terms:

-neesan; Oneesan=Older Sister (in this case, refers to Takeshi's sister-in-law)

gaijin=foreigner
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As they got ready for the festival that night, Aric learned that it was the custom for both sexes to wear a yukata, a light cotton kimono, to these summer festivals. "I borrowed this one for you," Takeshi said, holding up a light blue garment patterned with darker blue stripes. "You're broader of shoulder than most of the crane men, but I believe it should still fit. They're deliberately cut a bit loose, and not meant to be form-fitted the way British robes are."

The yukata fit well enough, and was quite easy to put on, as it was a simple loose robe with no buttons or fastenings, and was held in place only by a cloth sash called an "obi" around the waist. It was sort of like wearing a long bathrobe.

"Are you sure this won't come loose?" Aric asked a bit dubiously, testing the knot on the obi after Takeshi had tied it in place for him. "I don't want to have the yukata fall open and flash everyone at the festival. I feel kind of naked not wearing any pants." He was wearing a pair of undershorts, of course, but no trousers, as the kimono was meant to be worn alone, according to Takeshi.

His lover just laughed. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, my love," Takeshi said, giving Aric an appreciative look. "However, I assure you that I have tied the obi quite securely, as I prefer to...shall we say...keep your charms to myself. Cranes do not share their mates with anyone."

"Neither do wolves," Aric said, nuzzling Takeshi's neck. He looked gorgeous in an indigo yukata with a design of ripples and dragonflies in a lighter blue.

"Do you like it?" Takeshi asked. "Ichiro gave it to me. I thought I'd wear it because it reminded me of the dragonflies that Remus and Tsubasa were making."

"You look great," Aric said, nibbling on Takeshi's earlobe. "Positively delicious, as a matter of fact."

"Stop that, or we'll end up missing the festival," Takeshi laughed, pushing Aric away from him. "Remus was right; you werewolves really are insatiable!"

"I'm just embracing my wolfish nature, the way you said I should," Aric pointed out.

"Well, embrace it after the festival," Takeshi told him firmly. "Tanabata is my favorite festival, and I don't intend to miss it."

"Not even for amazing sex?" Aric whined.

"Not even for that," Takeshi said sweetly, giving him a light peck on the lips. "Seeing as how we just had amazing sex after lunch, I believe that I can manage to hold out for a few more hours before we repeat the experience."

"What's amazing is how you can manage to sound so sweet while being so sarcastic," Aric grumbled. Takeshi laughed again, and then they headed to the festival with Isamu and Haruko.

Takeshi had given Aric a pair of zori sandals to wear in place of his usual shoes; they looked sort of like the flip-flops that one might wear to the beach, except that they were made of woven straw instead of rubber, with a cloth thong. Aric wiggled his toes and joked, "Even my feet feel underdressed!" But he had to admit that the yukata was much cooler in the summer heat than a robe and shirt and trousers would have been. And then he had to try not to think about how little Takeshi was wearing beneath his own yukata because that mental image filled Aric with the desire to grab his mate, toss him over his shoulder, and carry him back to the house for a night of lovemaking, festival be damned. A feral, hungry smile spread across his face, and Takeshi glanced his way, looking amused but a little nervous at the same time.

"You're thinking something dirty, my wolf," Takeshi whispered accusingly.

Aric didn't even try to deny it. "Yes, I am," he purred in a low, husky voice and gave Takeshi a lascivious look that made him blush.

"Well, cut it out," Takeshi whispered, still blushing. "Because there are children present."

At that very moment, Ichiro's twin daughters came running up, shouting, "Takeshi-niisan! Aric-niisan!" They squealed with delight when Aric picked them up and tossed them up in the air the way Lukas always did with the young cubs in the pack. He probably could have done it even as a normal human--he'd developed a lot of strength in his upper body while playing as a Beater on the Durmstrang Quidditch team--but with his new werewolf strength, the girls felt as light as feathers to him.

"Oh my!" Kaori gasped, laughing nervously.

"Stop that, Aric, before you give their mother a heart attack," Takeshi gently scolded.

Aric set them back down on the ground, and each twin grabbed one of his hands and pulled him along, eager to show him around the festival grounds. The shore by the lake had been transformed into an outdoor carnival, and there were game booths and food stalls that would not have been out of place at an English carnival or fair. The decorations were unique, though: strings of colorful origami cranes hanging from poles, and arches hung with huge ball-shaped ornaments that dangled long, brightly-colored streamers. Aric found it a little surreal, as they reminded him of giant jellyfish or octopuses (or was it octopi, he wondered)--if jellyfish or octopuses were red and green and blue and yellow and pink, that is.

"The streamers are supposed to be the threads that Orihime weaves," Takeshi explained, noticing his puzzled look.

"I know that 'hime' means 'princess,' because I've heard you call Princess Chizuru that," Aric said thoughtfully. "So does 'ori' mean 'weaver'?"

"Exactly!" Takeshi said, smiling at him approvingly. "You'll notice that many of the crane women have 'ori' in their names, like Kaori-neesan, or her mother Shiori."

"Many of the cranes also have names that refer to flight or the sky," Ichiro added. He affectionately placed a hand first on one twin's head and then the other's. "Kumi's name means 'beautiful sky'. And the 'sho' in 'Shoko' means 'to fly up'. And Tsubasa and Yokuto-oji both have the same kanji character in their names, which means 'wing'." He murmured a charm under his breath and the tip of his finger started to glow; his finger left behind a trail of glowing light as he sketched a complicated character in the air. It hung in midair for a moment before vanishing. "It's written the same way but pronounced differently in the two names."

"Ah," Aric said politely. He was just beginning to grasp the concept of spoken Japanese; learning to read and write it was obviously going to be much more difficult. "And what do your names mean?" he asked Takeshi and his brother. "Wing? Feathers? Flight?"

"Nothing very poetic in my case," Ichiro said with a smile. "'Ichi' means 'one,' so it's a name commonly given to firstborn sons."

"Takeshi's name means 'strength,'" Haruko said, smiling at her youngest son fondly.

"It's a good name," Aric said, and he realized that it was surprisingly appropriate. His mate had a core of inner strength that was far greater than Aric's physical werewolf strength. Takeshi had the strength to stand by his beliefs; he had befriended the werewolves before it had been fashionable to do so--indeed, at times, it had even been dangerous. He was true to himself, and didn't try to pretend to be something he wasn't to better fit into society, unlike his craven ex-boyfriends. And Aric didn't think that he would have been able to handle becoming a werewolf and losing his family without Takeshi's support. {You are my strength,} Aric silently told his mate, not wanting to speak such intimate words out loud while they were surrounded by the crowd of festival-goers, but his eyes must have conveyed his words eloquently enough, because Takeshi smiled tenderly at him and inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment.

They continued wandering through the festival grounds, and met up with Snape and Lupin along the way. There were several booths with familiar carnival games, which apparently were the same around the world--throwing darts to pop balloons, or throwing a ball to knock over a stack of blocks. They all tried their hand at the games, except for Snape, who of course declined to participate, but Aric proved to be the most successful at them. He bestowed his prizes--mainly stuffed animals and other small toys--upon the delighted twins.

After they tired of playing games, they went to take a look at the food stalls. Aric felt a sudden pang of wistful nostalgia as they bought some cotton candy for the twins; he remembered his parents buying cotton candy for him and Erika at a carnival they had gone to many years ago. Still, he couldn't help but smile a little when he saw Lupin buy a stick of cotton candy for himself; despite being a teacher and a parent, the werewolf still retained an air of boyish mischief, and it was not difficult to imagine what he must have been like as a student at Hogwarts.

"Do you want some, Sev?" Lupin cheerfully offered, and Snape shook his head, a disdainful look on his face. "Are you sure?" Lupin asked. "I thought you loved sweets. Or are you afraid that your image as the big bad Potions Master will be ruined if people see you walking around a fair eating cotton candy?"

Aric had to choke back a laugh at the mental image of Snape in his sinister-looking black robes, walking around with a stick of fluffy, pink spun-sugar candy. Snape glowered at both Aric and Lupin, then said icily, "While I do, from time to time, indulge in gourmet chocolates, I do not care for cotton candy, Lupin."

"You don't know what you're missing," Lupin said with a shrug. "But it's your loss." He pulled a wad of candy off the stick and popped it into his mouth, slowly licking the sugar off his fingers in a sensual manner that made Aric blush and caused Ichiro and Kaori to hastily rush the twins ahead to the next stall.

"Lupin!" Snape hissed, his pale face turning scarlet. "Will you cut that out?"

"Cut what out, Sev?" Lupin asked in a puzzled voice, with a look of a wide-eyed innocence.

"Perhaps we'd better give the Professors a little privacy," Takeshi whispered to Aric, obviously trying very hard not to laugh. "I think I'd prefer something more substantial than cotton candy, anyway."

Aric nodded in agreement, his stomach rumbling slightly as his nose picked up the scent of grilled meat. But it was difficult to banish that image of Lupin licking his fingers from his mind. Not that he really wanted to think of one of his teachers in that manner, but it did give him some ideas...

"Maybe we could pick up some cotton candy afterwards to take home with us," Aric said to his mate with a suggestive smile.

Takeshi blushed, then shook his head and laughed, "I'm beginning to suspect that all you werewolves think alike!"

"It's Lupin's fault," Aric protested. "He's a corrupting influence on impressionable young students."

"Somehow the words 'impressionable' and 'Slytherin' just don't seem to go together," Takeshi said wryly.

They slowly walked past stalls selling grilled meat and fish, or roasted corn-on-the-cob, trying to decide what they wanted to eat; it all smelled wonderful to Aric. And then they passed by a stall that was selling what looked like little balls of fried batter.

"Ah, takoyaki!" Takeshi exclaimed happily. "I haven't had that in ages, not since last summer, as a matter of fact. It's not the sort of thing you can find in London. Two orders, please."

The vendor handed him two plates filled with the little fried balls, along with a couple of toothpicks. Aric followed Takeshi's example, using the toothpick to spear a ball and pop it into his mouth. It was definitely fried batter, mixed with small chunks of something that was chewy and tasted sort of fishy. A little unusual, but tasty.

"So what exactly is takoyaki?" Aric asked curiously, swallowing the first ball and popping another into his mouth.

"Oh, 'tako' means 'octopus' in Japanese," Takeshi said cheerfully. "It's chopped octopus fried in batter."

Aric had just started to swallow when he heard Takeshi's reply, and he started to gag and cough as the lump of food got stuck halfway down his throat while his body tried to decide whether it wanted to swallow the takoyaki or spit it back up. Both Takeshi and Ichiro burst into laughter, and Kaori gave them a reproving look while trying--not very successfully--to fight back a smile.

"You should have warned him what it was, Takeshi-kun," she gently scolded. "You know that most gaijin are squeamish about such things."

"It's one of my favorite foods," Takeshi protested innocently. "I thought he would like it. In fact, he did like it until I told him what it was. I don't see what the big deal is."

Aric finally managed to swallow the bit of takoyaki, although he still felt kind of queasy, then stammered, "But...but...octopuses...octopi?...have tentacles! Tentacles with big suckers! How can you eat something like that? It's like eating the giant squid in the lake at Hogwarts!"

Takeshi and his family all looked vastly amused by Aric's reaction; even the little twins giggled.

"Actually, an octopus and a squid are two different species," Ichiro helpfully informed him.

"But if it was a giant octopus in the lake instead of a squid, just imagine how much takoyaki we could make with it!" Takeshi laughed. "Enough to feed the entire school!"

Aric glared at his mate, who just grinned back at him. "Are you sure you're not a Gryffindor?" Aric demanded.

"Oh, come on, you British eat weird things, too," Takeshi said. "Blood pudding, for one thing."

"I don't eat blood pudding," Aric protested.

Lupin chuckled good-naturedly and plucked a takoyaki ball from Aric's plate. He popped it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, then said, "Hmm, not bad. It really is quite tasty."

"Here, you can have it," Aric said, handing him the plate.

Surprisingly, he got a bit of sympathy from Snape, of all people. "I wouldn't it eat it, either," the Potions Master told him. "Octopi are carrion eaters. I wouldn't care to eat an animal that feeds on garbage, essentially."

"I didn't know that," Lupin said, looking curious. "That they were carrion eaters, I mean." The idea didn't seem to bother him, though, as he continued eating the takoyaki.

"Octopus ink is used as an ingredient in several potions," Snape said, then apparently couldn't resist adding in a patronizing tone of voice, "Which you would know if you had paid more attention in Potions class, Lupin." Lupin just chuckled again. "In any case," Snape continued, "I made a point of studying, not just about potion ingredients, but the plants and animals that provide them."

"Very thorough of you, Severus," Lupin said with a smile.

"Of course," Snape said, sounding a little offended at the idea of anyone thinking of him as less than thorough.

"Come, my wolf, let's find you something else to eat," Takeshi laughed, taking Aric by the arm.

"Oh look!" Lupin said, hurrying over to another food stall. "This one is selling roasted squid!" He wasn't joking; the stall really was selling tiny squids cooked on skewers, not just chopped pieces but the entire body--head, tentacles, and all.

"Now that really would be like eating the squid in the lake!" Aric said, shuddering slightly. "Or worse, its babies. I'd be afraid to ever walk by the lake again!" He had a sudden vision of an angry giant squid on a rampage, seeking vengeance for its lost children.

Lupin tried a roasted squid and pronounced it delicious, taking a big bite out of the head as Aric shuddered again, which in turn caused Ichiro and Takeshi to burst into laughter once more. After Takeshi finally stopped laughing, he took pity on his mate and bought him some grilled beef at another stall.

Thus fortified, Aric was ready to continue exploring the festival. Two small, sticky hands grabbed his, and the twins eagerly cried, "Let's go write our wishes now, Aric-niisan!"

Takeshi explained to Lupin and Snape about the custom of writing wishes on pieces of paper and hanging them from bamboo branches, while Shoko and Kumi hauled Aric over to an area in the middle of the festival grounds where a temporary grove of bamboo branches had been set up. There was a table next to it where blank paper slips attached to bits of string had been laid out, along with calligraphy brushes and bottles of ink.

Giggling, the girls wrote out their wishes and hung them on the branches. As the rest of the Kimuras wrote out their wishes, Aric peered over Takeshi's shoulder to watch as he wrote out his wish, but couldn't read it, as it was written in Japanese. Aric picked up a brush and dipped it in ink, wondering what he ought to wish for. He already had the thing he wanted most in the world, which was, of course, Takeshi. Should he wish for a reconciliation with his parents and grandparents? But that would probably take a miracle, or at least an Imperius Curse, and Aric thought that it would probably be asking too much of a simple wish that wasn't meant to be taken seriously. So he finally wrote, "To get to know my new family better, and be a good mate, son, brother, and uncle to them," using both sides of the paper tag to fit all that in; Takeshi smiled at him tenderly when he saw it.

"So what sorts of things do people wish for?" Lupin asked curiously.

"The children usually wish for things like new toys or clothes," Takeshi replied. "Teenagers often wish for spending money, success on their exams, or success at love. Many adults wish for the latter as well. It is a festival celebrating two lovers, after all." Then he grinned and laughed, "Every year, I would always write, 'I wish to find my true love'!"

"He's always been a romantic, ever since he was a little boy," Ichiro said, smiling at his brother fondly. "It's all those fairy tales that our mother told us when we were children."

"They didn't seem to have the same effect on you," Haruko said, laughing gently.

"Oh, I believed in true love, too," Ichiro said, smiling at Kaori, who smiled back at him. "But I had faith that it would find me when the time was right. I didn't feel the need to go seeking it out."

Lupin smiled and wrote down something in Japanese on one of the paper tags, hung it up with the others, then turned to Snape and asked, "Aren't you going to write one, too, Severus?"

"No," Snape replied curtly, giving Lupin a look that seemed to say, "You've got to be kidding."

"Oh, come on, Sev," Lupin wheedled. "Everyone else has. This is a festival, after all; we're supposed to be having fun! Don't be such a spoilsport."

"Oh, the Professor doesn't have to participate if he doesn't want to," Haruko hastily assured him.

"Never mind, Haruko," Snape sighed in a resigned voice. "It's easier to just humor the werewolf, otherwise he'll nag me about it all night." And he filled out one of the wish tags, bending over it as he wrote to shield it from prying eyes (mainly Lupin's, although Aric tried unsuccessfully to sneak a peek at it without being obvious). Then Snape folded it up to hide what he wrote and hung it from a branch.

"So what did you wish for?" Lupin asked, still smiling mischievously.

"None of your business," Snape replied coolly.

"Are the wishes supposed to be secret?" Aric asked. "Like when you blow out the candles on a birthday cake?"

"Hardly," Takeshi laughed. "They're hung out in public where anyone can read them, after all." When Snape glared at him, he quickly added, "Although you don't have to tell anyone what you wished for if you don't want to."

"Well, I wished for a new kimono!" Kumi announced.

"And I wished for a goldfish!" Shoko chimed in.

Their parents laughed. "Well, a new kimono can be arranged, although it will take some time to weave," Ichiro said.

"But a goldfish--I think we can make that wish come true now," Takeshi said with a grin. The girls squealed with delight, and Aric found himself being dragged back to the game booths. Goldfish-catching was a popular festival game, Takeshi informed him. You purchased a net from the vendor and used it to scoop up goldfish from a large, shallow tub of water. You could keep as many goldfish as you caught, which sounded too good to be true, and indeed, Aric quickly learned that the game wasn't as easy as it looked. The net, which was actually shaped more like a small flat paddle, was made of paper stretched over a wire frame, and would quickly tear once it got wet. Aric broke three nets in a row, the goldfish falling right through the wet paper. However, he didn't feel too badly, because the others weren't doing much better. They bought a couple of nets for the girls, obviously more to let them have fun trying than out of any expectation of success, and Ichiro and Takeshi each broke a couple of nets before Ichiro finally managed to catch a fish.

"The trick is to flip the fish out of the water quickly before the net has time to tear," Takeshi explained.

"Wouldn't it be easier--not to mention cheaper--to just go to a pet store and buy a fish?" Aric asked.

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" Lupin laughed. Kumi now wanted a goldfish, too, in spite of her wish for a kimono, so Lupin took a turn trying to catch a fish, but was as unsuccessful as Aric.

"Oh, for pity's sake, we'll be here all night at this rate," Snape said. And to everyone's amazement, he took a net and flipped a goldfish out of the tub with a quick flick of his wrist on his very first try. The twins applauded, and even the adults looked impressed.

"Have you ever played this game before, Professor?" Takeshi asked.

"Of course not," Snape replied in a scornful voice, but he looked a little smug, as if he were secretly pleased by the others' admiration. "But some of my potion ingredients do come from living creatures, and although I buy most of them at Slug and Jiggers, it is occasionally necessary for me to catch my own ingredients. Or sometimes a specimen will escape from its cage--often with a little help from a student. Usually a Gryffindor student."

"Only a Gryffindor would be brave enough and foolish enough to dare the Potions Master's wrath," Takeshi laughed.

"Quite true, Mr. Kimura," Snape agreed, his normally sour face relaxing slightly and easing into a faint smile. "But for whatever reason, it is sometimes necessary for me to catch my potion ingredients, which requires quick reflexes. It wasn't really that difficult to scoop up the fish; a quick flick of the wrist is all that's required. Actually, it reminds of me of what Flitwick always tells his first-year classes--"

"Swish and flick!" Lupin and Takeshi chorused, then burst into laughter. Noticing the puzzled looks on his family's faces, Takeshi added, "It's something the Charms Professor at Hogwarts always says. I guess you'd have to be a Hogwarts student to understand."

"Thank Snape-sensei for the goldfish, Kumi-chan," Kaori instructed her daughter.

"Thank you, Sensei," Kumi said obediently. "I like my fish; he's very pretty." And then she impulsively threw her arms around Snape.

"You're...ah...welcome," a flustered Snape said as Lupin doubled over, laughing hysterically. Snape glared at his lover, then hissed out of the corner of his mouth, "Kimura! Will you please remove this child?"

As if she were some sort of unwanted growth, like a limpet or fungus, Aric thought with amusement, although the Potions Master probably had a higher opinion of fungi than he did of young children. Fungi at least could be used as potion ingredients.

"Sorry, Professor," Takeshi said, the expression on his face hovering somewhere between laughter and fear as he gently detached his niece from Snape.

"I like your sensei," Kumi whispered to Takeshi. "Is he one of Tsubasa-niisan's tengu friends?"

Aric realized that Snape's black hair and beaky nose did make him look rather like a tengu, and had to bite down hard on his lower lip to keep from laughing out loud; Lupin had no such reservations and continued laughing so hard that he was having trouble catching his breath. Takeshi cast a nervous glance towards his former Professor, whose face had turned red and whose black eyes were glittering dangerously, then said hastily, "No, Professor Snape is quite human, Kumi-chan." Some of the students at Hogwarts would no doubt beg to differ on that, but Aric thought it was probably wiser to keep that observation to himself.

"Well, it's getting late," Ichiro said pleasantly. "I think it's time to get the twins home and into bed."

"I'm not sleepy!" Kumi protested, then spoiled her argument by yawning widely.

"Bedtime," Ichiro said firmly, gathering his daughter up in his arms, and this time she didn't protest.

Shoko was yawning too by now, and Kaori's arms were full, carrying the bowl with the twins' goldfish and the other prizes that Aric had won them, so he picked up the little girl and started to lift her up onto his shoulders. "Here, I'll carry her home; I don't think that either of them will be up to walking."

"Let me take her," Isamu offered. "You and Takeshi should stay and enjoy the festival."

So the rest of the Kimuras went home, and Snape said that he'd also "had enough festivity for one night," giving his lover an icy look. They said goodnight, and the two Professors left, with Lupin still struggling to get his laughter under control.

"Well, looks like it's just you and me," Aric said to Takeshi. He felt a little odd as it suddenly occurred to him that with the two of them alone at the festival, it was almost like going out on a date. They had become lovers and were now living together, but they never gone out on a real "date" together before. Or did the hikes and picnics count as dates, he wondered. He looked around and saw many young couples walking together hand-in-hand. "Would anyone care if...well...?" Aric asked hesitantly, then reached out and grasped Takeshi's hand.

"No, my love," Takeshi said, smiling at him tenderly. "The crane folk have no prohibitions against same-sex romances. No one will care."

"Good," Aric said, and they leisurely strolled through the festival grounds. Aric felt a bit self-conscious, but it also felt good to be holding his mate's hand, and when no one paid any attention to them, he began to relax. "So what do you want to do next?" Aric asked. "Shall we play some more games?"

"Will you show off your prowess and win me a prize, my wolf?" Takeshi teased.

"Sure," Aric replied with a grin. "So long as you don't want a goldfish! How about a teddy bear? Let's go try that dart game again." Laughing together, they headed over to the game booth, and Aric asked curiously, "By the way, what did you wish for?"

"For continued happiness with my true love," Takeshi replied, smiling at him tenderly. "And you?" Aric told him what he'd written on the wish tag, and Takeshi whispered, "You're already the best mate that anyone could ever wish for, Aric. I love you."

Aric pulled Takeshi into his arms and kissed him, right there in the middle of the crowd of festival-goers, no longer caring what anyone thought of them, ignoring the stares and whispers and giggles that they attracted. As Takeshi kissed him back, he felt his spirit soar, as if he were being borne aloft by the birds of the Tanabata legend, who formed the bridge every year for Orihime and Hikoboshi to meet. Except that he had Takeshi not just for one day out of the year, but every day for the rest of their lives, and that realization brought tears of joy to Aric's eyes. And for just a moment, the crowd around them seemed to disappear, and Aric forgot about everything except his mate, as if they were the only two people in the world...
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"Young people these days," Kazuhiko grumbled as he walked past the two oblivious young lovers. "No sense of decorum."

Yokuto, Reiko, and Tsubasa also happened to be passing by, and Yokuto laughed, smiling indulgently at the pair. "No one has a sense of decorum when they're young and in love, Kazuhiko-sama. As a matter of fact, I seem to recall a young man who would stand outside the bedroom window of his beloved and recite poetry to her."

Kazuhiko flushed, then sighed in a resigned manner. "Young lovers must always be dramatic, I suppose...but did Takeshi really have to choose a wolf as a mate?"

"Rather than saying that he chose Aric, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they were chosen for each other," Tsubasa said, his voice carefully neutral. "It is fate; who can argue against that?"

"You're a fine one to talk, Tsubasa-kun," Kazuhiko said, a bit waspishly. "Do you really think that you will find your mate among the tengu?" He turned and stalked off without waiting for a reply.

"All the recent changes have put him in a bad mood," Yokuto told his son apologetically, switching to English although they had been speaking Japanese with Kazuhiko. The family had gotten into the habit of speaking it among themselves since it was Reiko's first language, although she spoke fluent Japanese. "He's just taking his frustration out on you."

"He's always in a bad mood," Reiko said with a wry smile.

"Well, in a worse mood than usual, then," Yokuto amended. "He wasn't always this way, though. He was adventurous as a boy, even spent some time studying and traveling in the human world. But the violence that he saw there frightened him, and he returned to the valley convinced that we needed to remain isolated for our own protection."

"There will always be violence in the world," Tsubasa replied. "And I would rather learn to defend myself than to hide. But Kazuhiko is right about one thing--I don't think that I will find my mate among the tengu. I have been living with them for a decade, and I haven't met anyone that I care for as more than a friend."

"You will find the right person when it is time, dear," Reiko said gently, reaching out to lay a hand on his arm.

"But there is no one in the valley who seems suited to him, either," Yokuto said, frowning worriedly for a moment. Then he smiled at his wife and said, "Perhaps his love will come to him from across the seas, as you came to me, my beloved?"

"Or perhaps it is I who am meant to cross the seas," Tsubasa said, and explained about Dumbledore's job offer.

"We would miss you, of course, but perhaps this is meant to be," Yokuto said, the expression on his face brightening. "I didn't want to trouble you with my concerns, but it has worried me that you have not yet found your mate."

"Of course I would like to find the one who is meant to be my mate," Tsubasa said, looking both amused and a little exasperated. "But if I take the job, it won't be just to expand my dating pool!"

Yokuto smiled sheepishly and Reiko laughed. "Of course not, dear! But I've noticed that you've seemed restless these past few years...maybe a new challenge is what you need."

"I have felt restless," Tsubasa admitted. "The tengu have been good to me, but still...I feel as if I don't quite belong there. I feel as if something is missing, somehow."

"And you are not meant for a quiet, peaceful life in the valley," Yokuto said. "Whatever decision you make, we will support you, my son."

"England is so far away, though," Tsubasa said uncertainly.

"And so is America, but we visit my family all the time," Reiko said briskly. "If you take the job at Hogwarts, then your father and I will use the Portkey to visit you, too." She added with a smile, "In fact, I would love to play tourist and have you show me around London!"

"Thanks, Mom," Tsubasa said, bending down to kiss her on the cheek. "I was afraid that the two of you would be opposed to my taking the job."

"I admit, if you were moving to a place where you have no kin, I would worry," Yokuto said. "But Haruko, Isamu, and Takeshi will be nearby to look after you--and young Aric, too, of course."

"Well, not 'nearby,' precisely," Tsubasa said with a smile. "But definitely within Floo and Apparition range."

"And as Reiko said, we can use the Portkey to visit you," his father continued, then laughed. "It will give us an excuse to sample Isamu's good cooking!"

"Thank you," Tsubasa said. "I need to think about this a little longer, but...I feel like I want to do this. I had never thought of going to Britain before, but now I'm sort of excited about the possibility of going someplace new."

"It will be an adventure, like when we all went to America," Yokuto said.

"Yes," Tsubasa murmured thoughtfully, his eyes taking on a faraway look, as if he were already looking ahead to England. "An adventure in a new land, a chance to start over again..."
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Meanwhile, Lupin insisted on buying more cotton candy before they left the valley. They Apparated back to the temple grounds, but took a leisurely stroll together before heading back to the house.

"Thank you, Sev," Lupin said between bites of candy. "I know that festivals aren't really your thing, but I did have a very good time tonight."

Now that they were alone, Snape seemed much more relaxed. "Ah well, it is the sort of thing that would appeal to a Gryffindor," he said in a superior but almost indulgent tone of voice.

"Do you want some?" Lupin asked, offering the stick of cotton candy to Snape, who just sniffed disdainfully. "Aw, come on," Lupin cajoled, waving the candy beneath his nose temptingly. "You know you want it, and there's nobody here to see."

Snape tried to glare at Lupin, but a smile kept tugging at the corners of his mouth. "The way you word that sounds almost obscene, Lupin," he said.

"You have a dirty mind, my love," Lupin laughed. "But you're a Slytherin, so I suppose it can't be helped. Does the color of the candy really bother you that much?" He took out his wand, cast a quick charm, and the spun-sugar confection changed from pink to green. "There! Now you can have no objections, as it's a proper Slytherin green."

Snape burst into laughter, and Lupin beamed happily at having been able to evoke such a response from his normally dour lover. "Oh, very well, Remus, since you're so insistent about it," Snape said, still laughing. Lupin pulled a wad of candy off the stick and held out his hand, then shivered as Snape's mouth closed over his fingers. The sticky candy clung to his fingers, and Snape thoroughly licked off every last grain of sugar from them.

By the time he was done, Lupin's face was looking rather flushed. "Mmm...that was very nice," Lupin murmured. "Although I can think of another part of my body that I'd like you to do that to."

Snape grinned wickedly and retorted, "Now who's the one with the dirty mind?" He pulled a bit of candy off the stick and offered it to Lupin, and they took turns feeding each other the cotton candy, licking and nibbling on each other's fingers. When all the candy was gone, they kissed, slowly and deeply, delighting in the sugary sweetness that lingered in each other's mouths.

"Bed," Lupin whispered in a hoarse voice when they finally pulled apart to come up for air. For once, Snape offered no snide or sarcastic remarks, and they quickly retreated to their room in the Kamiyamas' house and cast a silence spell. (Embarrassment aside, it wouldn't be very polite to keep their hosts up all night with their lovemaking.)

Items of clothing went flying every which way, and soon Lupin was sprawled out on the futon mattress with Snape crouched over him as he honored Lupin's half-joking request. For someone who could normally be so contrary and obstinate, he was applying his lips and tongue quite diligently and enthusiastically to that "other part" of Lupin's body.

A little too enthusiastically, perhaps. The sensation of being engulfed in his lover's mouth, the wet heat of it, was exquisite, not to mention the tantalizing feel of his lover's hair, smooth and sleek, lightly brushing against his thighs--it was all too quickly combining to send Lupin over the edge.

"Ah...ah...so good...too good," Lupin said, his words coming out in gasps as he struggled to catch his breath, panting heavily, like a wolf on the hunt. "Please, Sev...too much...not yet...not yet..." Snape ignored his pleas; if anything, he redoubled his efforts. "Ah! Ah, Severus...please...I'm going to..." The pleasure kept intensifying until it finally went spiraling out of control, like a light summer breeze that had suddenly turned into a whirlwind, and Lupin threw back his head and howled as his body arched up off the mattress.

He froze in that position for a moment, then fell limply back onto the futon as the howl died away and faded into a breathy sigh. Snape looked down at him, smiling smugly as he licked his lips and savored the sight of Lupin sprawled out beneath him, face flushed and eyes half-closed, his gold-and-silver hair fanned out against the white of the sheets, giving the illusion of a halo around his head. He looked like an angel--an angel that had just been thoroughly debauched, that is. Snape's smile grew even smugger.

When he had returned to full consciousness, Lupin gave his lover an accusing look and asked, "What did you do that for?"

Snape raised his eyebrows and replied in a silky voice, "Why, I was just giving you what you asked for, Lupin. Was it not to your liking? You certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself a minute ago."

"I was," Lupin said, still sounding a little miffed. "But I wanted to enjoy it with you. I wanted to come with you." He reached up and slowly trailed his hand down Snape's chest and belly, running his fingers through the thick thatch of hair below, until they came to rest on what was by now a sizable erection. Snape shuddered and Lupin smiled, enjoying having turned the tables a bit. He stroked his lover lazily, evoking another shudder, and said, "Giving pleasure without receiving anything in return? How very un-Slytherin of you, Professor Snape."

"So who said I wasn't going to receive anything?" Snape retorted with a wicked grin that began stirring up the beginnings of fresh arousal in Lupin. "Since you are such a demanding lover," Snape continued, "what with all your werewolf hormones, I was merely giving you a head start so that I might be able to keep up with you without collapsing from sheer exhaustion." He leaned down and purred into Lupin's ear, "Rest assured, Professor Lupin, that I intend to receive my fair share of pleasure tonight."

"How very practical of you, Severus," Lupin said in a husky voice; he found that he was having trouble catching his breath again. "I apologize; I should have known better." His fingers began to move less lazily and more purposefully as they continued stroking. "So come and claim your fair share, my dear Slytherin."

"You see?" Snape panted. "You're already getting your second wind." Lupin wrapped his arms around Snape's neck and impatiently pulled him down for a kiss. A long moment later, Snape pulled away slightly, gasping for breath. "I may collapse of exhaustion, after all," he muttered.

"We werewolves are insatiable, after all," Lupin said, grinning wolfishly.

Much, much later, they both collapsed in mutual exhaustion and lay contentedly in each other's arms. They were just starting to drift off to sleep when Lupin suddenly remembered something that he'd wanted to ask Snape.

"Severus?"

"Not again, Remus," Snape groaned sleepily. "I'm too tired to move."

"No, not that, silly," Lupin chuckled. "You have quite worn me out as well."

"Will miracles never cease?" Snape muttered in a sarcastic but affectionate tone of voice. "Well, what do you want, then?"

"What did you wish for?" Lupin asked.

"Are you still thinking about that?" Snape grumbled. "It's just a silly game for children."

"Aw, come on, Sev," Lupin wheedled in a childish whine, poking Snape in the side with his finger. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"Oh, very well," Snape groaned. "If only so that you'll leave me alone and let me get some sleep! For my wish, I wrote, 'Nothing. I already have everything I want.'"

"Why, that's really rather sweet of you, Severus," Lupin said, smiling at his lover tenderly.

"I take it back, then," Snape said snarkily. "I wish for that new Potions text that I saw in Flourish and Blotts." He paused for a moment, then asked reluctantly, as if loathe to admit that he really was curious, "So what did you wish for?"

"To be by your side always," Lupin replied, serious now, all the laughter and mischief gone from his voice.

Snape felt tears sting his eyes, and he had to blink several times and clear his throat before he was able to to say in a gruff voice, "Just what I'd expect from a sentimental Gryffindor."

Lupin kissed him lightly on the mouth and said, "I love you, too, Severus."

A derisive snort was the only reply that Lupin received, but a moment later he felt Snape's lips pressing gently against his forehead in a tender kiss, and he sighed happily and snuggled against his lover's chest.

And just before sleep claimed him and he slipped into unconsciousness, Lupin heard Snape whisper, "I love you, Remus."
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Author's Note: Just wanted to notify everyone that I've updated my contact info with this current chapter. My Excite account was bouncing some messages back to the senders, so I have a new email address: [email protected]

Chapter 10

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