swim || remus lupin

starlight

The following morning I awoke tangled in Remus's bedsheets, Remus's t-shirt, and Remus's arms.

The boy had one limb slipped around my waist and a fistful of my shirt in his hand whilst his other hand rested carefully on my cheek. I lifted my own hand from its place across his torso and set it down above his with a fond smile as my gaze flickered across his sleeping face.

The sun had just begun to peek over the trees, allowing for cool rays of morning light to wash through the windows and shine over Remus's peaceful features. Slits of pink decorated his cheeks and I traced one of these lightly with my fingertips before pressing a kiss between his eyebrows.

Remus's hold on my waist tightened slightly and he smiled a sleepy smile, pulling me closer to him as he did so. The hand that rested on my face adjusted to hold me better and his thumb slid across my cheek softly.

"Morning," I said quietly.

"Morning, love," he answered, still with his eyes closed. "Sleep okay?"

"Mhm... You?"

"'Course."

And with that, Remus's eyelids flipped open, leaving way for the golden rays of light to float through his honey colored eyes. He smiled and kissed my forehead and I swear I would have been perfectly content if I had died right there.

"So," he said as he pulled back, his soft expression altering slightly into mischief. "Who gets to tell Frank that he's the lucky winner?"

I grinned.

"Rock paper scissors?"

Remus nodded and his hand slipped off my face. We played best two of three and he came out the champion without needing a third round.

"You need to stop using rock every time," he laughed, brushing a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"I'm setting you up," I replied. "Eventually we'll play for something important and I won't throw rock and you will lose and I will laugh."

"So when we play for something important I should be prepared to throw rock to counteract your scissors?"

"I dunno," I said with a shrug. "Should you?"

Remus grinned and kissed me quickly on the lips.

"C'mon, my love," he said. "Let's go have breakfast."

Remus and I dressed quickly and slipped out of their otherwise empty dorm room. We trailed through the castle corridors hand and hand until we turned into the overwhelmingly crowded Great Hall.

It was unusual for the dining hall to be so busy this early on a Saturday, though I suppose it was not unexpected considering we were rounding quickly on our final exams.

Each table had an assortment of books, parchment, quills, and people scattered about. All were chattering nervously and pointedly, doing their best to make up the lost hours of studying due to Sirius's party the night prior.