BLACK MOON ⍋ Remus Lupin

Chapter 102- Stop Staring.

Arty's POV

I wrapped myself in a fluffy clean towel that Remus got out of the bathroom cupboard, as he did the same. Dabbing at the wounds across his body first.

I couldn't drop the slight smile that rested upon my face. I didn't feel scared being that bare around him. I had figured I knew something deeply intimate about him, something only a select few know and he didn't react unkindly to figuring out that I knew. I could trust him. He was safe to be that vulnerable around. I was naked but I didn't feel exposed or insecure. It felt completely natural, innocent and delicate.

Remus' hair was sticking up in all directions after he rubbed the towel across his head.

"Stay here. I'll grab you some clothes." He smiled and left the room still with a little limp.

He came back with a pair of boxers and jogging bottoms. I had already changed into the oversized T-shirt that I had disregarded on the floor. I took the clothes, sliding on the boxers and jogging bottoms that hung loose on my waist.

He pulled me closer to him by the drawstrings that were on the jogging bottoms. Adjusting as tight as they went, then folding the band over once so that they fit.

"Comfy?" He asked. I nodded.

He got dressed himself, wearing a pair of checked pyjama bottoms and a loose white buttoned shirt in a soft material. Which I buttoned up for him, as he laughed at my insistence.

We wandered into his kitchen. Peter no where to be seen, which felt like an extra blessing.

Remus charmed eggs and bacon to be cooked for us. Scrambled and crispy. Not wanting to spend too much energy cooking without magic.

He rested against the wall as we waited, getting progressively more hungry with the aromas that began to fill the kitchen space.

He yawned. His energy levels beginning to fall again. I couldn't imagine how draining a transformation could feel, but I would hazard a guess that all his body wanted to do now was sleep and eat. I could now understand why he would have a number of days off during school. He would have been visibly exhausted and stiff with his movement. Just like he was now.

Thankfully, despite how tired he still was, there was life back in his face. A warmth returning back into his skin. That same glint that I have come to love, appearing once more. More smiles and laughter amongst yawning.

Last night made me feel terribly sad and uncomfortable, the way I couldn't see him behind his eyes. The way he had to force any sign of emotion, which was quickly dropped from his face. How pale he was, when he usually has a little golden glow within his tone. He looked so ill. So frail. So depressed.

I had anticipated wounds. I was ready to clean them, dress them and view something horrific if I had to. Something physically painful. I hadn't anticipated how much of his personality was robbed from him when he had been drained of all energy.

It did make me realise how strong his personality really is though, how much it even vibrates through silence. He doesn't have to speak for it to usual reverberate around a room. Without it, everything felt so bleak.

Today, nothing physically had changed except the fact that he was managing the pain better (thanks to the numbing curse) but I could feel him in the room with me again, not needing to be physically next to him to sense him around. Which I was incredibly thankful of.

He never told me that he was falling in love with me too. I would have liked to hear a reciprocative response but I didn't expect one. I wondered whether it would take more time for him to feel the way that I did, if reading those letters gave me any sense of a clue. He thought I actively ignored him for years, it made sense if it took a while longer to feel a similar way to how he used to. I didn't need to hear the words anyway, he treated me with enough care and kindness that I didn't mind waiting.