Beyond The Arms Of Solitude

The sky was crying.

In all its dappled glory, teardrops fell like fallen stars, casting a certain veil of silver yet intangible emotion upon the once crystal-clear lake. Deep shades of bruised violet rolled across the sky like the threatening wave of an evil hand, grasping the turbulent scene with its vice-like grip. Lightning crackled intense sensations that seemed not lost upon all the negatively charged energy - pivoted upon such a concentrated span of time.

He leaned against a motherly oak, face half-illuminated by irregular bolts of sudden light, half-shadowed by the rustling canopy that shielded him, staring at the furious waves as they lashed out upon earthen shores. Being a werewolf, Solitude was his only comfort, wrapping him in its hazy embrace, that like any other, would eventually end.

"Moony?"

The sound of that familiar voice made Remus Lupin turn, and with undying certainty, acknowledge the other's presence.

"Sirius," he said, a half-reproachful look in his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be having Charms now?"

Sirius made a face. "James said he'd fill me in on it later. But I wouldn't miss telling you this for the world." There was a pause. "Moony - we've done it. The potion is completed, and we will become full Animagi by tonight."

There was shock, and a mixture of alien awareness and bliss darting through his veins. Remus felt unsteady for a moment, the world spinning beneath an ever-changing myriad of colours. He felt a hand close over his wrist, and somewhere in the blurred peripheral vision, Sirius reached out to grab his shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

Remus felt his face flush. Breathlessly,

"I'm sorry, Padfoot. You just - I…you don't know how much this means to me."

Of all things, Remus felt obtuse, yet shyly euphoric into oblivion as tendrils of rain danced around them in a storm of winds. It seemed to him that Time itself had placed barriers between the downpour and reality, and nothing could get any better.

Then Sirius leaned in, and kissed him.

The gentle way which by their lips met uttered a sense of assurance, and Remus felt the rhythm of their heartbeats pulsing in time to each other like an unsung duet, harmoniously intertwined. The world around them corroded away into dark nothingness, leaving only the bare thread of incessant rapture hanging in their kiss, delicate yet still whole in its unmarked existence, spinning hopelessly in unrestrained pleasure. It echoed strength, and as Remus closed his eyes, he felt his wounds heal beneath this endless moment.

Sirius pulled away quietly, almost tenderly, a smile flickering sadly upon the curve of his flushed lips. Breaking the stillness, he traced the outline of Remus' jaw, hesitant touch radiating warmth yet lacking the certainty of previous contact.

"I guess I'd better go. Do you -"

"I'll stay here for a while." Remus felt his voice waver slightly, lips still smoldering from the salty taste of Sirius. Smiling, his dark lashes widened slightly. "And - thank you, for everything that you've done for me."

They held a gaze for an insubstantial moment, and then, he was gone, darting through the yielding raindrops like a rapid dryad.

Remus tilted his head toward the river, watching the rain dance across the glistening lake surface like lithe silver fairies. And somehow, Solitude's arms didn't seem so welcoming anymore.