Rainbows after the Rain

Remus sat on the rock at the edge of the lake, knees pulled up to his chest. He didn't care that the steady downpour had him soaked to the skin, or that he had no idea what time it was because of the fog that was shielding everything farther than five feet from view. He just watched his breath rise in little puffs of steam and tried not to think of the reason he was huddled on this miserable little rock.

"Ahoy there!" Remus jumped. The voice had come from the lake. Turning around, grinning as he recognized the voice, he was the faint glow of a lantern through the fog. "Can you tell me the time?"

"Ahoy, sir. Nay, I cannot! But it is Sunday, there are no classes today."

"Moony? Is that you?" Remus laughed.

"Aye, Captain Black. What are you doing out in weather like this?"

"I should ask you the same question. Hang on, I'll come ashore and talk to you...if I can find the shore anyway." Remus shook his head, a fain smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. None of them knew why sixteen-year-old Sirius was suddenly acting half his age, and having an obsession with pirates, but James thought it might have been because he was felling insecure with himself since running away from home the previous summer. Whatever the reason, Sirius had somehow managed to get one of the school boats and enchanted it to be his "pirate ship". He'd spent every weekend since sailing the lake as "The dread pirate Captain Black (argh)".

There was the clunk of wood on rock, a muttered spell, and then a soft splash of someone landing in shallow water. Three minutes later, Sirius was standing by his side. Sirius was carrying an umbrella, and he was completely dry except for his boots (which must have been what landed in the lake). His eyes widened when he was Remus standing there in a completely soaked white tee shirt and a pair of muggle jeans (it was a Marauder thing to wear muggle clothes on the weekends). Sirius took his jacket off as fast as he could without ripping it.

"Jeepers, Moony, what are you trying to do, catch your death? It's freezing out here, and your soaked clean through!" Remus looked up at him as he wrapped the warm jacket over his shoulders, and Sirius let out a small gasp as he saw his face clearly for the first time. Remus's left eye was swollen partially shut, his lip was slightly swollen, and there was a nasty looking gash running from the middle of his forehead, back toward his right temple. "Moony, what happened to you?" Remus looked away again.

"It's nothing."

"Like hell it's nothing!" Sirius cupped his face gently in his hand, forcing him to look at him. "Whatcha do, have a row with one of the suits of armor?" Remus was tempted to say yes, but knew Sirius would never believe him. Instead he averted his eyes.

"No. Really, Sirius, it isn't a big deal. Just drop it."

"Moony." His nickname was said in such a heartbreaking manner that Remus had to look at him. Sirius's eyes were radiating nothing but concern for him and hurt at not being trusted. "Please." Remus sighed. He never could resist that look, and it was an inevitable conversation anyway.

"It's not a big deal, Sirius. I just got in a fight with a bunch of Slytherins."

"Why? You don't usually fight, Re." Try as he might to stop them, his testosterone induced pride at stake, tears came to his eyes. He didn't want to repeat what they'd said. It hurt. Sirius felt his stomach clench as he noticed the tears in Remus's gray eyes. "Remus?"

"They..." he started, then swallowed, and tried again, "they said things. You know how Dumbledore made Snape and his group swear not to tell anyone about me? Well, they decided that...that it was okay to use this knowledge against me. They...they called me a half-breed, and said I wasn't worth the air I took to live. I was worse than a mudblood, I wasn't even human. Freak, filthy, monster...murderer." Remus shuddered at the last word, and it came out as barely a whisper, and the tears managed to fall from his eyes as he shut them tightly.

Sirius's initial reaction was to go hunt down every single one of the aforementioned Slytherins and hurt them for hurting his Moony, but he soon realized that wouldn't help anyone, so he settled for cursing furiously under his breath, reaching out, and pulling Remus's dripping form against his chest, the umbrella falling from his hands.

"Oh, Re, you're not. You know you're not." Remus sobbed as they slowly sank to the grass.

"No...no, Padfoot. I am all of those things! I am a freak, a monster. A horrible, blood thirsty, child killing monster!" Sirius grabbed his shoulders, and shook him hard, eyes wide with fright.

"Stop it, Remus! You're scaring me! None of it's true okay? None of it's true! You're just the same as James, or Peter, or me. You're even better than we are!" He stopped shaking him, and put a hand up to the left side of his forehead, brushing back the sandy brown locks. "You're the kindest, gentlest, most patient person I know. If you weren't here, James and I probably would have killed Snape ages ago. Don't listen to them, Re. Don't believe anything they say. You're my little Remmie, okay, and I love you. I love you, and I don't think you're any of those things, and it's my opinion that counts, right?" Remus looked at him, fighting off more tears, and took a shuddering breath.

'Oh, fantastic, he's shivering now,' Sirius observed. He hugged Remus closer to him, and began stroking his hair. "Don't you believe a word they say,' he whispered, "not a word of it, Re."

"They made fun of you too, Sirius. That's why I tried to fight them."

"What did they say?" He asked softly, because he was curious and not because he cared in the slightest. Remus buried his face in Sirius's shoulder.

"They said you were queer, and that you were only using me to get your kicks. They said you didn't love me because no one could ever love a creature like me. They said you were disgusting, a disgrace to your name, and that you were on the road to self-destruction. That, if your dad didn't get you first, Voldermort would kill you." Again, Sirius had to fight the overwhelming urge to go beat all the Slytherins he could find, and help Remus.

"Bet Regulus told you that." Sirius said, lifting Remus's head so that their foreheads were touching. "Don't you believe any of that, Re, because none of it is true, okay? I love you. I need you. More than air, food, or my bike. I need you more than I need anything else in the world! And, I'm Captain Black, the invincible. The only way to kill me is to kill you, and since I won't let that happen, we'll be together forever, okay?" Remus nodded, choking back another sob, before throwing his arms around Sirius's chest, and clinging to him like he was his only link to the world of the living.

'Maybe I am...' Sirius killed that thought immediately. Remus was strong, a lot stronger than anyone but he thought. If anything happened to him, he'd be okay. His Remmie would be okay.

"Do you really believe all that you said, Sirius? Did you really mean it?" Sirius laid his head on top of Remus's, inhaling his sweet scent mingled with the smell of rain.

"Every word of it, and more." Sirius wrapped his arm around Remus's waist, and was taken back by how small he was. 'I could break him. He's so small, and helpless. How could Snape, the git, ever want to hurt him?' Sirius laughed a little as he imagined Remus's protests at being called helpless. Remus relaxed into Sirius's embrace, closing his eyes, and resting his head against Sirius's chest so he could hear the reassuring heartbeat.

"Tell me."

"Well, I'm no poet."

"I don't care. Tell me anyway." Sirius sighed. He knew what he was going to say was so sickly sentimental that it was laughable, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. He made a mental vow to memorize some poetry so he could recite *that* next time he was asked.

"Well, Moony, you're my sun, moon, and stars. You're the air that I breathe, and the person I long for when I'm alone at night. You're my everything, and if the world ended I'd be okay as long as I had you with me. I don't need anything but your love to keep me going. I want to be with you, forever. I want to worship the ground you walk on, and hold you close until everything ends. I want nothing more than to be able to say you are mine and I am yours, only yours. As long as you're with me, I can do anything, and I would fly to the edge of the universe and back if it I could be with you forever and for always." Remus laughed a little at the end of this speech, nuzzling his face into Sirius's neck, and kissed the curve of his neck gently.

"You're so sweet," he whispered. Sirius shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. He helped Remus stand up, and then grinned roguishly before shaking his now dripping black locks.

"Come on, let's go get you warm and cleaned up." He wrapped an arm around Remus's waist as they started toward the general direction of the castle. "And maybe later, I can make Snape take a long walk with a sudden stop, argh."

Remus laughed at this horrible pirate impression and thought to himself that, even though it was still raining, there was a rainbow beyond the clouds. As long as he had Sirius, there always would be.

THE END