InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Trust No One."

Remus J. Lupin (slowburn_alpha) wrote in hogwarts_dawn,
@ 2021-06-22 05:17:00

Entry tags:

character: regulus black, character: remus lupin

RP: Remus and Regulus
Who: Remus Lupin and Regulus Black
When: Tuesday, 22 June, 2021
Where: Hospital Wing
What: Remus no longer has an audience for what he has to say

For someone who pushed himself sooner than his body was ready every month, Remus had to laugh silently at how easily he acquiesced to staying in bed and doing nothing when faced with a single concerned look from clear grey eyes. Left to his own devices, Remus would have crawled out of bed and slunk out of the Hospital Wing as soon as his fever broke just a short while ago. But, Regulus had been there with admonishments not to push, that he'd need to stay put for at least a day in order to recuperate and so they could monitor any reactions to the potion, especially since Remus would need to follow it up with a dose of the Wolfsbane potion as soon as possible. And, Remus had agreed rather than further add to the worry in those eyes.

Regulus had been needed to finish curing the rest of those who had been poisoned and petrified, which left Remus a bit of time to take stock of things.

The fever had broken within a few minutes of drinking the potion Regulus had given him upon waking. And when was the last time Remus had been so accepting of an unknown potion? But, if there had been any doubt about how much he trusted Regulus, the docile way in which he had taken that potion without question would have put paid to that notion. It reinforced Remus' desire to tell Regulus how he felt about the younger man as he'd talked to Peter about before they'd been petrified. He'd intended to take Peter's advice to tell Regulus before being petrified, had refrained the temptation to write a letter as originally planned, but when the time came his friends had all been there as well and Remus did not want an audience for that conversation.

Sitting up, he examined his shoulder. The wound there was still covered, but Remus had no reservations about pulling off the dressing to inspect what damage may or may not be left. He hadn't looked at it before being petrified, but could feel, through his fevered delirium, that it hadn't been healing quite as quickly. His body had been struggling to heal the wound and battle the poison at the same time. But, while it still looked too fresh, -- or, perhaps that was what a normal person would see after this time? -- he could feel that it would finish healing at the usual speed with which he healed from most wounds. He thought. There was a vague recollection of discussing scars with someone. Peter? But, Remus had already reached the point where he could truly only focus on a few things by then: Regulus, his friends, staying alive.

Self-examination finished, he took a breath and let it out with a smile as he saw Regulus returning. "My hero," he teased softly, holding out his hand for his lover. "So far, so good?"

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slowburn_alpha
2021-06-23 01:11 pm UTC (link)

"Perhaps a tiny bit," Remus admitted, arm tightening briefly around Regulus for a moment. Perhaps, more than jealousy, it was simple acknowledgement that he was incredibly lucky to have Regulus' affection and Remus was well aware how far out of his league Regulus Black truly was.

"My concept of taking it easy is a brand new concept to me," he pointed out, silently casting a privacy spell to ensure there were no repeats of before. He didn't want a full audience for what he was about to say. He might have no choice about being in the hospital wing for this, but he could control that much since he didn't think he could wait another day to tell Regulus. "It's been a long time since I've been able to let my guard down enough to take it easy, since I had the luxury of being able to slow down when I'm not fine or when I'm in pain." And his friends had a tendency of simply just accommodating his stubbornness, letting him push through, because they were as terrible about it as he was, which meant it was probably a Gryffindor trait as Regulus said.

"However," he continued, nuzzling at Regulus' temple, "I seem to have fallen in love with a Slytherin who is inspiring me to learn how to take care of myself because I would like to be by his side for a very long time, though it seems I have to be separated from him tonight. And I mean this very seriously." Touching his fingertips under Regulus' chin, he gently tilted the younger man's face up to his. "I love you, Regulus."

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te_regulus
2021-06-23 07:32 pm UTC (link)

Everything else faded with those four words. Regulus leaned closer and kissed Remus softly, afraid to hurt him, but unable to resist. Even the fact that they were in public wasn't enough, but instead he took his time, little kisses chasing each other without any ulterior motive. When he stopped, he was grinning. "The things you make me do."

He kissed Remus once more. "I love you, too." Regulus thought that he'd made it pretty obvious already. The concessions he had made for Remus should make it clear, but words were good too. "I'm not sure if the discussion we had when I asked you to move in together was subtle enough, but in case it was, now you know. In fact, in case I was being indirect before, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I told you if we were home, there'd already be an official engagement, a date for the wedding, and all of that."

Lacing Remus' fingers with his, he turned slightly so he could look at Remus better. "I do want to marry you. We can take this slow until you are comfortable with the idea, but there has never been a doubt in my mind that it will happen. I know it would have never happened with our laws, but the laws have changed, and if people in 2038 accept that a marriage between two men is legal, then I want to make it legal. I want the world to know that I am marrying you and no one else can have you. I don't care that people know already, I don't care that people wouldn't try to steal you for me. I still want you to be my husband. Mine."

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slowburn_alpha
2021-06-24 12:03 am UTC (link)

A soft, slightly awed smile pulled the the corners of Remus' mouth up as Regulus spoke and his breath caught with the realization Regulus truly meant every word. He remembered that conversation, remembered Regulus mentioning engagements and weddings, but Remus had assumed it was hypothetical. If we were at home, but we're not. And, yet...and, yet, Regulus had said it back. He returned the feeling.

Bringing their joined hands up, he brushed gentle kisses along Regulus' knuckles. "Never any doubt?" he asked. It was difficult to imagine that anyone from their time wouldn't have doubts when contemplating a life and marriage with a werewolf. There were more reasons than lycanthropy Remus could see keeping them from being together in their time, as well. Had they still been at home, could they have had this? Or would war and social position have prevented them from ever finding each other?

"It's not that I'm not comfortable with the idea." His thumb moved softly over the back of Regulus' hand. "I'm not used to thinking very far into the future. I mean, I plan ahead as best I can. But, the future has always been too bleak a concept to contemplate and I was fairly certain I wouldn't have much of one for a long time. Now, it seems so natural with you, to think about plans for the future, to talk about those plans to share a future with you. I wanted to keep things slow because neither of us had ever done this before. We deserve to experience all the steps of a new relationship, to savour each step of the way. I don't want either of us to look back and regret moving too quickly, skipping steps to get to the end faster. But, I can't imagine a future where I'm not by your side, now."

Remus leaned in to catch Regulus' lips in another soft kiss. "It would be the honour of my life to one day be your husband," he murmured, pressing their foreheads together. "To be yours. To have you as mine."

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te_regulus
2021-06-24 12:42 am UTC (link)

It would be easy to give some flippant answer, but instead he thought about it. "In some ways, Sirius and I are very much alike. We know what we want and we go after it. The main difference is that I don't have his insecurities. I know who I am and my place in the world. It allows me to be sure of my choices. I can't say that it was love at first sight, but once I told you that I wanted to be with you, I knew that you were my choice. I knew that day you came for breakfast. The waiting has been so you would finally believe that I'm not playing a game."

He nodded. "I don't think any of us had particularly happy futures in front of us. I guess the difference is that I'm arrogant enough to believe that I will have the future I want. I understand that even now, there are no certainties, but I'll fight to have what I want, just like I fought to ensure that we had an antidote."

Regulus chuckled. "I was planning a wedding before I got here to an unknown woman, got a job I didn't particularly like over one I did simply because of what would be best for my future. I don't need to follow a blueprint written for commoners. I don't need to do the dating and whatever else the world tells us we must have to fall in love. I already know and I do want to get to the end faster, because the end is just the beginning of our life together."

He stayed where he was, foreheads touching. "I hope you understand that I'm saying that 'one day' should be soon, right? Or do you want me to spell it out?"

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slowburn_alpha
2021-06-24 01:26 am UTC (link)

Remus thought that, perhaps, what had first drawn him to Regulus was the fact he always give a thoughtful answer to Remus' questions, questions asked because Remus truly wanted to understand how the other man thought. Even that day in Hogsmeade, when Remus had asked questions that could only be considered prying, Regulus had given a thoughtful response, intriguing Remus further.

And, now...it was hard to believe anyone could have just known and wanted Remus like that, had chosen Remus.

"You take my breath away, Regulus Black. Every time I think I couldn't fall for you any harder..." Disentangling his fingers from Regulus', he ran his knuckles down his lover's cheek. "Even if you do tend to forget that I am one of those commoners," he teased.

"For the record, though? I never thought you were playing a game. I was more concerned about taking advantage of your inexperience. I was afraid that one day you would remember I am just a poor farmboy, tainted by more than just the dark magic that makes me a werewolf. I was giving you time to come to your senses, I suppose. Sirius isn't the only one with insecurities in our circle of friends." He placed a soft kiss on Regulus' forehead. "As for making 'one day' soon, I think that is a conversation better suited for when neither of us is sleep-deprived or waiting on internal organs to heal, hm?"

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te_regulus
2021-06-24 01:41 am UTC (link)

"As I should, because I'm completely amazing," he said with a grin. "And I don't forget. I choose not to dwell on things that don't fit my narrative, and besides, I will teach you what you need to know, which admittedly is not much considering that our entire high society has disappeared.

He snorted. "Just because my sexual experience was non-existent, it doesn't mean that I was naive or that you were taking advantage of me." He leaned in and nipped Remus' lip. "I love dark magic, so I don't really care about that part. The rest- I'm not exactly a saint. You slept with people in the name of survival and I killed them."

Regulus smiled. "I wasn't planning on getting married today. I need a long bath and twelve hour sleep that would interfere with our honeymoon. Although I should probably finish the rounds, see what other potion McKinnon might need. Albus still has problems with his eye, Merlin knows if we can fix it. And you need some rest. I will stop by for dinner. We can eat together and then I really will go to sleep. I'll see you later, okay?"

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