Good Girl Gone Bad [LIV BLACK]

34 | Gentle Sin

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR gentle sin
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SIRIUS TOOK ADVANTAGE of the quiet evening to take a long shower, something he had to remind himself to do. He headed upstairs, leaving Remus to watch the muggle TV alone. He entered Remus' bathroom, picked up Remus' towel, and turned on Remus' shower until the water poured hot. He then took of Remus' clothes, untied his hair that had been held up with one of Liv's elastics, and stepped under the waters flow, exhaling heavily.

He let the warm water run down his face and body a while before washing himself, wondering how the vast majority take such beauty for granted. Most would not know how precious the simplicity of a hot shower really was. Cautious of Remus' water bill (and Remus' lack of job) he turned the nozzle of the shower upwards and the water came to a holt. Sirius stepped out from the shower, rubbing the towel through his dripping hair. He picked up a fresh pair of Remus' shirt and jeans and swiftly put them on. He couldn't bare to accidently catch a glimpse of his body in the mirror and see what he'd become over the last twelve years.

It felt wrong to be living in Remus' clothes - with no trace of his own existence. He just closed his eyes and inhaled imagining it was Remus himself up against his skin. His eyes re-opened, catching a glimpse of Remus' reflection in the mirror behind him. For a moment, Sirius believed he was hallucinating. Remus was looking at him curiously, leaning against the bathroom doorframe.

"You should let me cut your hair," Remus said.

Sirius' hair had grown long down past his chest whilst in Azkaban, much longer than it ever was at Hogwarts. Sirius agreed, it needed to be cut.

Remus stepped into the bathroom. "And this," he said, indicating towards Sirius' beard.

"You don't like it?" Sirius asked. "I was trying to grow it out like Dumbledore,"

Remus frowned. "I certainly don't like it now,"

Sirius grabbed a razor, and began recklessly slashing at the sides of his face in an attempt to remove the hair. Remus, behing the perfectionist he was, frowned hard, pulling Sirius' hand away from his face to avoid any injury. Instead, he held the razor in his own hand and softly began to pull it across Sirius' cheeks. Sirius closed his eyes. it had been a while since he'd been touched so gently like this. Remus had his spare hand softly resting on the side of Sirius' face to steady it, and Sirius felt himself lean in closer to his touch. Remus pretended not to notice.

"Much better," Remus said a moment later, indicating his work was done. It had only been thirteen years, though Sirius felt as though he'd aged thirty. He continued to peer into the mirror – although the beard was gone, he still struggled to comprehend that the person he was looking at really was Sirius Black. The prominent lines on his face seemed to have disfigured the face he (and everyone else) loved so dearly, similar to the way his hair was now ridden with grey's and had lost the special look it once had. Sirius tried not to cringe at the sight, and rather accepted  that this were the new him.

"You look good,"

Remus had abruptly interrupted his thoughts. Sirius hadn't noticed that Remus was still watching him through the mirror. He began to wonder if Remus was stood their reading his mind.

"You think so?" Sirius wanted reassurance.

"Oh dear," Remus replied. "Where's the vanity gone?"

Sirius took a long, deep breath. What a curios thing for Remus to say. It got Sirius thinking. Where had the vanity gone? Had the dementors sucked it out of him too? Or was this just the new Sirius Black after rotting in Azkaban for twelve years. It's hard to be vain now i look like this, Sirius thought to himself.